Mountain, Cross and Shuffleboard Nats

[pixychick]

The drive east went well and surprisingly, we had no rain. Rain was following us so we did not stop to ride anywhere mid country. Now at our 6th time across country we are learning what works for us. We try to stop every 3-4 hours and move even if just for 10 minutes. With fuel, bathrooms and eating, that seems to be what happens anyway. We try to eat standing up. This year I made 8 salads in mason jars. They kept fresh and we were able to avoid all junk food on our travels. However I did drink a few espresso shots to keep me awake while driving.

Home 2 days and I already had a hummingbird at the feeder. There is a beaver situation as well. Things on the pond keep going even when we are away.

I am enjoying my dose of humidity! It is certainly nice to have a change in weather conditions. Soon the canopy of trees will fill out and summer back east will take form like I remember. I got out for a ride at Sterling Forest and enjoyed the rocks, however my neck is letting me know. Four days in the car probably does not help, but I am hoping I can work that out over the next few days.

Hopefully, pictures to follow in a few days:

 

[UtahJoe]

Great seeing you and art today... Wish I had more time to chat... Welcome home

 

[pixychick]

Yesterday I got up to Ringwood for a ride. I had to think about where I was going like I somewhat forgot the trails and how they connected from my house. I started from Shepherds Lake on the race course reverse. I was thinking I wanted to get over and check out Crossover Tr since there was talk about needing some maintenance with our steward group. Then I ended up near the entrance to Skylands Trail and decided to take that over to Red and Crossover. Wow, so much fun! I had forgotten how great that trail can be, and it was in great shape. The usual May columbine were blooming on Red. It was nice to confirm my reasons for coming back east. The new handlebar set up is working but they may still be too wide. I clipped trees 3 times on Skylands. Jungle will probably be a total fail. I may cut them down another tad.

 

[pixychick]

My new camera arrived Tuesday! I have not read the whole 500 page manual yet, but at around page 10 I spotted some turkey in my back yard and put the lens on and started shooting pictures. It is really nice and I look forward to taking more pictures and perhaps doing some video. I have been yearning to have a better tool to explore more creativity. I have really missed having a telephoto lens too. I had a good film camera in college and enjoyed taking black and white back then. Not that I am trying to pick up where I left off 4o years ago, but it is nice to have a creative outlet.

While I do not have plans to race bikes yet, I have been getting out for some short rides. Today was jungle and that was a blast! As fun as it was, I may have lost some rock stamina. It seems like my neck and hands get fatigued after an hour. Hopefully the stamina will come back. Even trail building was fatiguing. You would think that smashing rocks is smashing rocks. The rocks here in NJ are harder to smash than the ones in Arizona. I was pretty wiped out after an hour of smashing yesterday. Luckily and hour was enough time to fill in the low spots in order to finish this section of reroute. Things are moving along well at Ringwood. I am stoked to have new trail being built and multiple connectors to Sterling in the planning. Great opportunities ahead!

If you are reading this and have not gone out to help in your local park, you should consider doing so. Spring is the best time, and many maintainers could use a hand after a wet winter.

 

[pixychick]

Rain, rain .... makes mushrooms! ....and flowers, fungus, lady slippers and gloomy pixy!

After a few weeks of overwhelming neck pain and difficulty riding my bike, I have finally had some relief. I have been to several doctors and they all diagnosed me to have arthritis in my neck and was told to stretch more. It did not seem to help all that much, and I was starting to think about selling some of my bikes. So, I started trying different pillows. Even ones that I had tried and disliked. I found one that works. My neck pain is not completely gone, but I wake up not in pain and can ride my bike. Yay!

I am registered for the 25 mile version of Bearscat and plan to go if it is not raining. I am really looking forward to riding at Waway. In the meantime, Art and I have done a ton of rainy day projects on our condo. New hood and range which included installing duct work across a room and out the back of our unit. It came out great! At the same time we updated lighting and I made new drapes. It feels more like our our house now.

The trail up at Ringwood is coming along great! We have had some real productive work days. Thanks to those that have come out to work. Trail working had completely stopped for me because of my neck and last Saturday I was able to work with the improved neck. It was so satisfying to be able to work, and see the progress. Just a warning to all: ticks have been the worst this year. Probably the most I have ever seen. It might be worthwhile to invest in some essential oils or at least check your self after each ride, if you are up here.

 

[pixychick]

Yesterday was the Bearcat 50 and I did the 25 , which was actually 28 miles. The climbing and distance was an effort for me this year. Doing the 28 miles was nearly as hard for me as the 5o a few years ago. I suppose I am just not in race shape and going a tad slower makes for a bigger ride time wise. Although the trails were wet, they were in great shape. Only a few slippery or muddy sections on red dot and pump house. I cleaned some sections of trail that I had never cleaned before when wet. So while I may not be as fast as I used to be, it was nice to know that at 59 I am still improving in some ways.

We had a separate start from the 50 milers which made for an appreciated relaxing start pace. Even with that, I struggled to keep up on the fire road start. It was humbling to say the least. I just kept going at my own pace and once I hit the single track, race thoughts left my mind and I was just riding. It seemed like not many people out there. I know the weather forecast was not good, but in my opinion, this is some of the best single track that I have ever ridden, and I would hoped for more racers. Either way, it made for very little traffic.

It did not rain until later in the day, so most of us got in before things went down hill. I was on my last 5 miles when it started to drizzle and the rhododendron and trees seemed to protect parts of the course from the rain. It was a little cold riding the road to the finish line, but I was done, so I really did not mind.

There were a few times that I questioned why I was out there because I seemed pretty tired, but I never gave up and stayed on my bike for every climb and most tech sections. I thought I was way off the back, but when results got posted, I saw that I was 3rd and only 20-25 minutes behind 1st and 2nd. Much better than I expected. I guess it was good that I did this one and if my neck holds ok, I will keep riding and maybe shoot for another race.

Our kitchen fix up is all done: Out with the old microwave fan unit, electric cook top and built in oven. Replaced with induction range and hood fan. Art had to swap out a bunch of electrical stuff to accommodate, plus cut some of the granite countertop and install a bracket where a cabinet was removed. There was a bit of planning involved and some unknowns going into the project. Photo of soffit below, where Art installed ducting through our dining room to the outside for the stovetop hood fan. While he was doing that, he added spot light and sconces. It totally changed the look of that wall. All things considered, it went smoothly. New cooktop and fan work GREAT!!

 

[pixychick]

The laurel are finally blooming in Ringwood. Sterling and Waway will follow over the next few weeks. The ferns are starting to reach my handlebars. I love this time of year, and this is why I come back from Arizona, to get engulfed in green. I could always use a few more sunny days, but rainy days are what make the forest green, so I'll take it.

Our back yard pond had been quiet the last few weeks. An occasional beaver surveying the dam or the mink frolicking along the shoreline, but no herons or wood ducks. Then yesterday, I spotted baby wood ducks following their mom near the far shoreline. Art ran into a bunch of baby turkeys as well. So it seems like things are getting active again. Soon the heron will come back. I think they nest elsewhere. Not sure where, but they usually nest in groups near swamps.

I am still feeling pretty flat after the Bearscat, but I got out for some short rides this week. I saw there were only 2 laps for Cat 1 women at Kittatinny so I signed up to race tomorrow. I totally understand if some women prefer the 3 laps, but as of today, I am glad for the 2 laps. If I take it easy, I should be recovered in a few more days. Major efforts take me 10+ days to recover these days. Not sure if it is my age or my lifestyle. It seems to take me longer than others to recover.

I noticed that at Bearscat, I was the oldest racer to finish. I am not saying this is good or bad, just noticing that I have graduated from one of the older racers to the oldest racer. Well, I have 3 on my team older than me , and I am working on getting them back out racing. I signed Art up for this weekend, but not sure if we will actually race. He has not ridden his race bike since his accident. So if he does line up, it may be on his 32 lb bike.

 

[pixychick]

Well, I made it to Bulldog Rump at Kittatinny. I even was able to encourage to get Art and my teammate, Tom to get back out to race. They both have been out for illness or injury. It was nice to see Campmor colors in 60 plus on course. It was a beautiful day, maybe hot for some, but I thought it was perfect. I always enjoy hanging out at this event. It is a beautiful park and makes for a relaxing day.

I did my short 2 laps and it was just what I needed. I felt slow, but it felt good, in a painful kind of way, to be back out there racing. 2 laps of pain is always better than 3 laps of pain, so I am grateful for the shorter race this time. There was only 1 other signed in Cat 1, and she was 15 tears old. I actually caught up to her on the last lap, but did not pass her. I was hoping that if I made some noise, she would push a bit harder and hold me off, and she did just that. This was a perfect place for me to be. Strange, but my neck was really fatigued on my warm up, but did not bother me while racing. After the race, my endorphins were kicked in so I was fine.

I used to do strength training for many years, but after some overuse injuries, I quit. I feel like I could really use it again to help balance things out, so started again last week. I am going to do core and upper body for now. I feel as if my legs get so much from cycling, but my back needs some help. It may be part of what is bothering my neck. Even if it doesn't help my neck, I should get in better shape for life. It's all about staying in shape and prolonging getting old, right?

 

[Pearl]

Them kits look snazzy!

 

[Magic]

Good see Art back and racing! I need tons of core work myself. Any ride over an hour, I get lower back pain. Definitely more pronounced after a road ride, but also after some bumpier mtb rides. I think I remember reading that core also has a positive effect on neck strain, which I also get.

 

[pixychick]

Well, I finally broke down and used my heart rate monitor yesterday. I have been sluggin along at a snails pace for about a year now. I was uncertain if my heart rate would even go up any more. So, I figured it was time for pixy to do some hill repeats. Long Meadow road was all dug up, so I abandoned any thoughts of doing this on a road bike and took my mountain bike to Sterling, since there are some good smooth climbs.

It felt kinda crappy to start, but it got better as I went. This route usually takes me 1:30, but yesterday I shaved 15 minutes off the ride, pushing the climbs. So all in all, my first day of training in 2017 went well. I have a tendency to not believe I can do something, and when I put my mind and body into it, I am usually pleasantly surprised at the outcome. I am thinking I may race Lewis Morris this Sunday. I really do not like that place, hence the reason I usually ride a single-speed at LM. The single-speed which is not my normal go to thing is a major distraction that gets my mind off of the course and towards the actual bike and riding.

I am currently on the fence about whether to single-speed or not to single-speed. I currently have my HT set up with gears, and would have to remove stuff if I wanted to race SS. I may just go to Lewis Morris to ride on my hard tail tomorrow and not shift. Perhaps, I can make the call then. Next decision will be whether to register for Nationals that take place in West Virginia next month.

Yesterday and today have been #10 days weather wise. I am loving the summer and glad to see the sun! I have had to clean my hummingbird feeders more often than usual because of all the rain the past weeks. The feeders have been getting moldy. There is this small male that tries to dominate the feeders. He is so small that he barely reaches the hole when perched. Art and I make a joke that he has to get on his tippy talons to nectar. For a little guy, he does a lot of posturing. He would not feed when we were sitting close to the feeder, but last night he came right up to feed. I guess he is getting used to us.

 

[pixychick]

I went to Lewis Morris yesterday and had a great ride. I love my Siren! I have not been able to enjoy a ride on my Siren for almost a year now. Because of neck pain over the past year, the Siren has literally been a pain in the neck, along with numb hands and sore back. Yesterday the bike felt awesome at Lewis Morris. My legs were a bit on the flat side, so my idea of not shifting did not happen, but neck and hands were fine. I did 2 46 minute laps. Yikes, 3 laps will a tough race for sure.

I gave it some thought and call me crazy, but I set my Siren up as SS for this weekends race. My thinking is that I am lazy and will just plod along in an easy gear, knowing that I have to do 3 laps. If I want to race Nationals, I do not need long slow rides. I have been doing that for 20 years. I need to push, climb faster and suffer a bit. There is no lazy in SS. I will have to charge at every up hill. The worst case scenario: I drop out after 2 laps. Maybe I will race with no tools or tube just incase of a convenient mechanical .

I am really happy that this neck thing is finally working it's way out of my life. It was disappointing, borderline devastating, to be told by 2 doctors that my pain was arthritis and I would have live with it. I retired so I would have more time to ride my bike. I felt so empty not loving to ride my bike. I guess I do not give up that easy and I am glad I kept to my beliefs and tried more pillows. I think I have developed some arthritis in my neck over the past year from lack of mobility. At this point it is manageable and I am hoping that exercise can improve things. One thing that most doctors tell me is that I should continue to ride a bike. There are so many health benefits to exercise and many Americans do not want to exercise.

So in the big picture, what happens at Lewis Morris or any race is not really that important. The important things are staying healthy and trying to continue to ride my bike however I find it to be fun. Today I am stoked to have had another sweet ride on my Siren.

 

[pixychick]

First off, sorry for lack of pictures the last few posts. There is a reason. ..I am riding my bike more these days. Today was a rest day, so I got a few from my day.

Yesterday was Lewis Morris Race. The place was jamming as usual. Always a great vibe at LM. The weather was PERFECT! My day started out awesome right from the start. I raced my steel single speed in Cat 1 women 15+. There were three 15-17 year olds and two 59-60 year olds. Sounds weird, but it was actually pretty cool. I will be happy to tow the line with future shredders any day. I am so stoked to see so many NICA kids out there racing the other races. I talked with a bunch that are going to nationals. Is this cool or what?

Race: I was rocking a 30x20 which is a pretty light gear, the same one I had to push up Readington Pass for 30 minutes in SSAZ. Even at Lewis Morris, 30x20 made me suffer. I was feeling motivated Sunday and probably would have done better with gears, but it really does not matter. I did it and finished all 3 laps! The race ended up being just what I needed to feel like I was racing again. My 3 laps were very consistent and on my last lap I caught back up the same junior as I did at Kittatinny. I was checking off all the climbs as I went on my last lap, and there are a lot of climbs. My single speed kept reminding me on every single one. When I saw Emma, it completely made me forget the last climb. That says something about the mental powers each of us possess. It is so easy to get discouraged, or concentrate on suffering, but we should never give in to it or give up. We are all suffering and must dig for just a tad more.

As I stood on the podium next to two 15 years olds, I could not help but feel good. All the effort spent encouraging women to race mountain bikes over the past 20 years has truly trickled down, and they were now my carrot on a stick. It was a great time hanging out after my race and seeing some people I had not seen in awhile.

 

[pixychick]

Food: In the past, I have not posted too much about food or diets, but today I may just share some ideas and goals. Maybe some others will have some suggestions, as a lot of diet talk in this part of the forum. When it comes to diets, I am a rank beginner.

Art and I have both been slowly moving towards a plant based diet. I also have put on a few pounds and should try to get them off. I can not do anything extreme right now because I am still hoping to top off some high end fitness in the next few weeks so that I can race Nationals. However, eating healthy is always a good idea.

About a year ago, we cut out some processed meats, daily sandwiches and decreased our meat intake. We still have been eating yogurt, ice-cream, cheese, eggs and smaller amounts of chicken with an occasional serving of meat or fish. The big switch was to eat salad for lunch instead of turkey or chicken sandwich or wrap. For dinner I would often make double vegetable with a small serving of chicken. I can honestly say that I am loosing my taste for chicken and meat. Grains seem to get a bad rap these days, but I feel like I miss grains the most when I do not have much of them. This is all new to me, and in the experimental stage, but I may try adding some more grains as I phase out animal protein.

Giving up cheese and eggs will be tough. I do not think I will give them up totally. Perhaps just cut back amounts. I actually gave up cheese and chocolate for a full year in 1985. It quickly came to end on a trip to Switzerland. From that point on, I only ate the types of chocolate and cheese that I really loved. Sometimes you need to give something up to know what it is that you actually really love. A snickers bar does not even appeal to me, but I will always take a small piece of fancy plain dark chocolate. Maybe I will keep the dairy products that I really like but in small portions.

Anyone want to chime in with suggestions on plant based diets? Right now I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and some nuts as well. Trying to add a variety of grains and some beans to make up for the animal protein I am phasing out. I have no experience with cooking with beans. Last night I through lentils in with rice and quinoa. It came out good, but I will get sick of that pretty soon. I looked online for ideas, but so much soy and processed crap used to replace real stuff in plant based recipes. I do not want to go that route.

 

[Pearl]

I've had three eggs for breakfast, so many days in a row at this point, I can't eat eggs anymore.

 

[pixychick]

I've had three eggs for breakfast, so many days in a row at this point, I can't eat eggs anymore.

Many people have sensitivity to egg whites. Yokes less so.

 

[pixychick]

Today I registered for mountain bike nationals and got on my road bike for my first official road training ride this year. 28 miles up into Harriman. The weather today was outstanding and riding through the park was amazing. I am not much on road riding, but this ride is special, both beautiful and good training terrain. I did "MY usual climb" and was 7th off of PR. Some days the hills feel smaller, and today was one of those days. It is only a few weeks to nationals so I most likely will not get where I want to be in time, but I think I can improve from where I am now.

Yesterday I ate plant based but today I had an egg for breakfast and a few pieces of chicken on my lunch salad. So I am going gradual with the change . My energy levels were good today. I'll see how I hold up at trail work tomorrow. Thursdays are tough because I usually ride early in the day AND go to trail build. Trail building really fatigues my neck. I do love the satisfaction of seeing a trail appear in front of me! Totally worth a pain in the neck now and then.

 

[pixychick]

While things were shut down in "jerzy", I checked out some more in Sterling. There are 2 professional paid crews currently working. One from the south and one from the north. While the work that has been done on Hutchinson and Redback is super flowy and fun, some of this new stuff is going to be awesome! It reminds me a bit of Waway with big rock slabs, ferns, moss and laurel. There is quite a bit of potential in this place. All the trail building going on is really nice. I would say that they are not even 1/4 way through yet. If you any interest in working, they could certainly use more help. There are a few work days coming up. Check the new Sterling section.

If you want to check out Sterling by bike, it is easy to navigate, but I would gladly show anyone around. Just PM me. The trail coming in from Ringwood is almost done. Art estimates a month left to get us the the state line. We are working on approvals for 2 connectors, allowing a loop between parks. In the mean time, there is a short section on pavement to connect.

 

[pixychick]

I have been enjoying the pond. There is a beaver that swims around most evenings for a check, but she does not seem to build or build dams. She also does not want to get caught. My neighbor spotted 2 large beavers hiking though the woods about 1 mile north. My guess is that they were past beavers finding their way back home. I am half expecting a beaver building party in the near future.

Also on the regular list each evening are the 2 green herons and a chatty king fisher. The other day a blue heron flew over like Rodan while all 3 of the others were on the pond. The blue heron has been back a few times. I think he hunts crayfish on the lawn when it rains. He was out in the pouring rain last week looking all soggy with flat hair.

As for riding, I am still on track for nationals and had a very successful week training wise. Even if I missed a training day, I made it up got back on plan. Sunday I raced at Port Jervis Point Peter Pounder. I pre-rode during the week on a day that I was tired and was worried about the course being too long. But it worked out great. I got a good start and jumped on a train of ladies and hung. I have not done that since my last cross race a few years back. It felt great and was super good practice for nationals. I kept my heart rate up and consistent for 1/3 a lap to the first long uphill power line section. I sensed discomfort in both racers so I passed knowing there was a good downhill ahead. I was able to hold them off and caught the leader of my class. I am not sure what happened to her but she encouraged me to pass her and I do not think she finished.

It felt great to call on my legs and have them there. My first lap was 1:12 so it was not long after that, that I began to slow up a bit. I am sitting at about 1:30 for intensity right now. On my last lap, my left foot started to cramp if my body english was too loose. I needed to steady up a bit to prevent a calf from cramping as well. I drank everything I had, taking my last sip in the last few 100 feet. It felt great to be out racing and not be tired.

 

[pixychick]

Art got a message last night that it is close to proposal time in Sterling. So, today I dropped all my training plans and planned a scout day with Art. As much as nationals may seem like a priority, getting a new trail approved is way more important than racing for me. Sure racing motivates me to stay in shape. I keep in shape so that I am healthy enough to do what I like to do, which is riding these fun trails. It's all related.

Some of the terrain we checked out today was super rugged. We had private property on both sides and had a sliver of park land that had a huge cliff band running through it. Not sure if it will get approved but it reminded me of lumpy bumpy. Once we got to the top, I was quietly waiting for Art to catch up and a pack of coyotes happily ran across the woods in front of me. They seemed to be unaware that we were there. There was a bit of understory between us and a high vernal pool where they were probably headed to drink. Eventually they started barking and I think they were on to us being there. I have never been so close to pack here in NJ/NY. It was pretty cool!

Not much more to say about the possible trail, other than we are exploring a few ways to connect Ringwood and Sterling.

More Maiden Hair Fern:

Cliff band above. There is one below as well.