The Kalmyk
Well-Known Member
Last edited:
Jshort’s bike thread
- Thread starter jShort
- Start date
Jenson doesn't sell Turner yo...
Turner sells turner. It was on sale though. Find a 29er carbon frame with DW for under 2k anywhere else.
Jenson doesn't sell Turner yo...
Turner sells turner. It was on sale though. Find a 29er carbon frame with DW for under 2k anywhere else.
I think he meant the orange forks?
Dave Taylor
Rex kwan Do
I meant the orange fork...doh!Jenson doesn't sell Turner yo...
Turner sells turner. It was on sale though. Find a 29er carbon frame with DW for under 2k anywhere else.
It’s been a long time since I checked in, so here I am. I always have these great ideas for topics to cover in this thread, usually when I’m in the middle of something else and it never makes it to the keyboard. But I swear… lots of interesting thoughts.
Last year I did a bunch of cross races, starting with Nittany the week after a vacation. As I expected, It didn’t go well. Probably because I was drunk for the 7 days leading up to the race. Like all-day-drunk kind of drinking. Come to think of it, I did take the day before the race off in an attempt to “clean up” before race season kicked off. Needless to say it did not work and I suffered.
Maybe I drink too much? I’ll add that to the list of potential topics to cover here.. but again, not likely that it will make it to the keyboard.
Back to cross, I got sick at the end of MTB season and that turned into a long break of not training with any real intensity for cross, and that lead to a shitty start. However, I assumed this would happen and actually planned for it. The next two races included flat tires, so while my fitness had improved, my luck went to shit. And then I got sick again, this time with some bronchitis that went untreated for 6ish weeks and included me wondering what the fuck happened to my legs. Eventually I got on antibiotics and got over it, but by then cross was pretty much over till nationals.
That is a 10K foot view of my cross 2017 cross season. Lots of excuses, but all pretty legitimate to me. So when I started thinking about this season and what I wanted to do differently I had a few ideas.
First, time for a perspective change. I am still one of the few that enjoys XC racing, and that is my primary focus. Cross is something for me to pass time in the offseason and avoid gaining 15lbs before thanksgiving. It’s tough to be anything other than “ALL IN” for racing any discipline, especially when your ego insists you care about where you finish. So finding that balance is going to be interesting. I may do a race and get crushed, get pissed, train with newfound dedication just in time for it to be all over. We’ll see.
Second, I want to limit the number of races that are over an hour’s drive. That eliminates most of the big races, but Spending hours and hours in the car for a 45 minute race just isn’t worth it to me. I’d rather drive 90 minutes and ride my MTB for 3 hours.
Lastly, and kind of a contradiction to the first two, I need to spend more time on the cross bike doing cross practicing. I over estimate my ability to jump on my cross bike and rip the terrain and turns like I’ve been riding the bike regularly. I’m not that good.
First cross race will be Nittany on Saturday. We’ll see how I feel on Monday.
Last year I did a bunch of cross races, starting with Nittany the week after a vacation. As I expected, It didn’t go well. Probably because I was drunk for the 7 days leading up to the race. Like all-day-drunk kind of drinking. Come to think of it, I did take the day before the race off in an attempt to “clean up” before race season kicked off. Needless to say it did not work and I suffered.
Maybe I drink too much? I’ll add that to the list of potential topics to cover here.. but again, not likely that it will make it to the keyboard.
Back to cross, I got sick at the end of MTB season and that turned into a long break of not training with any real intensity for cross, and that lead to a shitty start. However, I assumed this would happen and actually planned for it. The next two races included flat tires, so while my fitness had improved, my luck went to shit. And then I got sick again, this time with some bronchitis that went untreated for 6ish weeks and included me wondering what the fuck happened to my legs. Eventually I got on antibiotics and got over it, but by then cross was pretty much over till nationals.
That is a 10K foot view of my cross 2017 cross season. Lots of excuses, but all pretty legitimate to me. So when I started thinking about this season and what I wanted to do differently I had a few ideas.
First, time for a perspective change. I am still one of the few that enjoys XC racing, and that is my primary focus. Cross is something for me to pass time in the offseason and avoid gaining 15lbs before thanksgiving. It’s tough to be anything other than “ALL IN” for racing any discipline, especially when your ego insists you care about where you finish. So finding that balance is going to be interesting. I may do a race and get crushed, get pissed, train with newfound dedication just in time for it to be all over. We’ll see.
Second, I want to limit the number of races that are over an hour’s drive. That eliminates most of the big races, but Spending hours and hours in the car for a 45 minute race just isn’t worth it to me. I’d rather drive 90 minutes and ride my MTB for 3 hours.
Lastly, and kind of a contradiction to the first two, I need to spend more time on the cross bike doing cross practicing. I over estimate my ability to jump on my cross bike and rip the terrain and turns like I’ve been riding the bike regularly. I’m not that good.
First cross race will be Nittany on Saturday. We’ll see how I feel on Monday.
Pearl
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
Meh, thats just the new bike syndrome kicking in. Eventually that will fade and you'll be itching to rip peoples legs off on the cross bike. I recall you being super stoked for CX last year, I think it will start to creep in hard and just like last year, you'll wish it wasn't the end of the season.
Based on your location, what does the calendar look like that is only an hour away? I remember my rule one year was 1:30, still allowed for a good selection of events. For me, it seems like the average is 1:30, and some of them are 2 hours away. Thankfully they are mostly close to begin, but as the season goes on...
If your driving distance/mtb-ness extrapolates out, doing Shenandoah next year is going to be a priority? Or the Stokesville Stoopid 50? Or the Massanutten hoo Ha XXC?
Based on your location, what does the calendar look like that is only an hour away? I remember my rule one year was 1:30, still allowed for a good selection of events. For me, it seems like the average is 1:30, and some of them are 2 hours away. Thankfully they are mostly close to begin, but as the season goes on...
If your driving distance/mtb-ness extrapolates out, doing Shenandoah next year is going to be a priority? Or the Stokesville Stoopid 50? Or the Massanutten hoo Ha XXC?
Drive faster.
ChrisG
Unapologetic Lifer for Rock and Roll
I live in Monmouth County and Google has Bridgeton 2 hours and a few minutes from my house.
That shit is WAY down there.
Town Hall is the day before, in another state, and will still cost me an hour less in the car, over the round trip.
Race Recap - Bear Creek Enduro!
Like I said, Whirlybird was way too far and I had no interest in that. I saw on the calendar that Bear Creek Enduro was this (past) weekend and decided to give it a shot. This was my first time trying an enduro and I had no idea what to expect other than I was going to use my Habit. More on that later.
3 other peeps from the team were Reg’d so I decided I would rely on them for making sure I didn’t do anything stupid. I should have checked with them before I registered, because I had the great idea to sign up in the cat 1 / pro class. The look on Ryan’s face when I told him that was telling.. He’s an experienced enduro guy with the right bike end everything and he was reg’d in cat 2. Never the less, no big deal. Being the first time at one of these races I didn’t feel too invested in results.
The race started at 10 so I rolled up around 8:30. Immediately ran into @BrianGT3, and @ryanP. @muddybike got there right after me. Brian was kind enough to let me borrow some pads which was nice. I’ve never worn pads but not knowing what to expect and trying to leave in one piece, I took them. Plus it seemed like everyone else had some pads and again, trying to not look stupid here.
After some brief chit chat and saving Kris’s day with some electric tape, me Ryan and Brian headed to pre ride part of the last stage. This was my first look into the trials being used and it gave a false sense of security. What we rode was pretty tame actually.
I only raced at Bear Creek XC once at nationals a few years ago and it was definitely on the techy side but nothing too crazy.
Anyway, riders meeting was next and I was surprised how few people where there. I thought this was where all the former XC racers were since they were not at the XC races. So much for that theory.
The first part of the race required the entire field to climb up the switch backs (Stage 5 backwards). I was really good at this part J . Having a 120mm trial bike as opposed to a 160mm enduro bike definitely helped. Unfortunately this isn’t part of the race. Sheeeeit..
Finally at the top the Pros start going off and I get behind Brian. He goes off and then I wait 30 seconds and make my way. It took all of about 9 or 10 seconds to bottom my fork HARD. If I needed to reset the lefty before the race, that was no longer necessary. It was reset. I probably bottomed my fork 15 times on the first stage. The rocks weren’t huge but they were everywhere. There was no smooth line a lot of the times and I was trying to carry as much speed as possible so BOOM on the fork. The course markings left a lot to be desired and I frequently found myself looking for where the trail was. Luckily when I got to the end, Brian was there to tell me where to swipe my card to time out.
After 1 stage, whew, that was pretty crazy. It was clear I was at a bit of a disadvantage with my bike. Everything was ridable, but knowing the difference between riding my XC bike and my Habit, I can only assume riding a real deal enduro sled with 160 of travel would allow me to carry a ton more speed in the rocks.
The rest of the stages went similar to the first. It was surprising how fast I ran out of gas. I would sprint for 6 or 8 seconds to the first bits of tech, and then try to tackle the rocks as best as I could. Usually at some point of the stage I would have an opportunity to use my legs and spin but my legs were already hurting too much. It was definitely harder than I planned.
After the last stage I saw the current results which was far from complete. Brian and I were definitely 2 of the quicker guys up the hill each time between stages so we finished petty quickly. But I was sitting second to last. Eh, I can’t deny that stung a little, but I had to expect it.
When the results were posted online I ended up 14th of 19 which isn’t terrible. My time would have been good for 6th of 21 in the cat 2 field which made me feel a little better.
I definitely regretted not pre riding. Going in totally blind made things harder than then should have been. I would have had a better idea when in the segment to burn a match and when to hold back. Instead I just went 100% till I died, then limped my way to the end.
The next Enduro is Glen Park which is Dan’s race. I’ve heard it’s a little more tame and my bike would probably be a much better fit for it It’s the day before (or after, I am mixing up sat and sun here) Marty cross. This will be interesting because I probably won’t do both….
Like I said, Whirlybird was way too far and I had no interest in that. I saw on the calendar that Bear Creek Enduro was this (past) weekend and decided to give it a shot. This was my first time trying an enduro and I had no idea what to expect other than I was going to use my Habit. More on that later.
3 other peeps from the team were Reg’d so I decided I would rely on them for making sure I didn’t do anything stupid. I should have checked with them before I registered, because I had the great idea to sign up in the cat 1 / pro class. The look on Ryan’s face when I told him that was telling..
He’s an experienced enduro guy with the right bike end everything and he was reg’d in cat 2. Never the less, no big deal. Being the first time at one of these races I didn’t feel too invested in results.The race started at 10 so I rolled up around 8:30. Immediately ran into @BrianGT3, and @ryanP. @muddybike got there right after me. Brian was kind enough to let me borrow some pads which was nice. I’ve never worn pads but not knowing what to expect and trying to leave in one piece, I took them. Plus it seemed like everyone else had some pads and again, trying to not look stupid here.
After some brief chit chat and saving Kris’s day with some electric tape, me Ryan and Brian headed to pre ride part of the last stage. This was my first look into the trials being used and it gave a false sense of security. What we rode was pretty tame actually.
I only raced at Bear Creek XC once at nationals a few years ago and it was definitely on the techy side but nothing too crazy.
Anyway, riders meeting was next and I was surprised how few people where there. I thought this was where all the former XC racers were since they were not at the XC races. So much for that theory.
The first part of the race required the entire field to climb up the switch backs (Stage 5 backwards). I was really good at this part J . Having a 120mm trial bike as opposed to a 160mm enduro bike definitely helped. Unfortunately this isn’t part of the race. Sheeeeit..
Finally at the top the Pros start going off and I get behind Brian. He goes off and then I wait 30 seconds and make my way. It took all of about 9 or 10 seconds to bottom my fork HARD. If I needed to reset the lefty before the race, that was no longer necessary. It was reset. I probably bottomed my fork 15 times on the first stage. The rocks weren’t huge but they were everywhere. There was no smooth line a lot of the times and I was trying to carry as much speed as possible so BOOM on the fork. The course markings left a lot to be desired and I frequently found myself looking for where the trail was. Luckily when I got to the end, Brian was there to tell me where to swipe my card to time out.
After 1 stage, whew, that was pretty crazy. It was clear I was at a bit of a disadvantage with my bike. Everything was ridable, but knowing the difference between riding my XC bike and my Habit, I can only assume riding a real deal enduro sled with 160 of travel would allow me to carry a ton more speed in the rocks.
The rest of the stages went similar to the first. It was surprising how fast I ran out of gas. I would sprint for 6 or 8 seconds to the first bits of tech, and then try to tackle the rocks as best as I could. Usually at some point of the stage I would have an opportunity to use my legs and spin but my legs were already hurting too much. It was definitely harder than I planned.
After the last stage I saw the current results which was far from complete. Brian and I were definitely 2 of the quicker guys up the hill each time between stages so we finished petty quickly. But I was sitting second to last. Eh, I can’t deny that stung a little, but I had to expect it.
When the results were posted online I ended up 14th of 19 which isn’t terrible. My time would have been good for 6th of 21 in the cat 2 field which made me feel a little better.
I definitely regretted not pre riding. Going in totally blind made things harder than then should have been. I would have had a better idea when in the segment to burn a match and when to hold back. Instead I just went 100% till I died, then limped my way to the end.
The next Enduro is Glen Park which is Dan’s race. I’ve heard it’s a little more tame and my bike would probably be a much better fit for it It’s the day before (or after, I am mixing up sat and sun here) Marty cross. This will be interesting because I probably won’t do both….
has 40 to get to lambertville....includes parking and taking the shuttle bus so not to miss the departure
BTW @jShort - i think i'm going to buy dedicated shoes for the trainer and spin class. the mtb shoes are heavy and sweaty, so i nice, lightweight, vented pair would be nice.
- i kinda thought it was funny when you were shoe shopping - now i get it.
They are my road shoes really. I just use also always use spd SL on the trainer to.
I've been battling sleeping issues for a while now. No insomnia, but i am a pretty light sleeper. Combine that with some normal work stress, kids waking up for whatever reason they decide is good on that particular night and all of a sudden i find myself on a streak where i'm less than 6 hours of sleep for 4 or 5 consecutive days. This doesn't work for me. I need at least 7. The wheels start to fall off at home, at work, on the bike.
So I am going to try something a little crazy... give up beer and coffee for a week.
I am pretty sure the comnination of these is a major driver of my poor sleep. My current consumption is 2 travel mugs of coffee a day. I am not even sure how many ounces it is, but Its about 3 1/2 cups each mug. As far as Beers, I'm fidning myself drinking 2 16oz beers and they're usally 6-9% each.
This crazy-ness will start Sunday morning and continue to next sunday. What will happen after this week is still TBD. I dont want to stop beer forever. I love beer. But I need to moderate a little better.
I also dont feel like quitting coffee. I also love coffee. But again...moderation is necessary.
Ideally 1 smaller serving of coffee a day and 1 beer every few days is where i would consider to be an accetpable amount. I'll give this some thought next sunday.
So I am going to try something a little crazy... give up beer and coffee for a week.
I am pretty sure the comnination of these is a major driver of my poor sleep. My current consumption is 2 travel mugs of coffee a day. I am not even sure how many ounces it is, but Its about 3 1/2 cups each mug. As far as Beers, I'm fidning myself drinking 2 16oz beers and they're usally 6-9% each.
This crazy-ness will start Sunday morning and continue to next sunday. What will happen after this week is still TBD. I dont want to stop beer forever. I love beer. But I need to moderate a little better.
I also dont feel like quitting coffee. I also love coffee. But again...moderation is necessary.
Ideally 1 smaller serving of coffee a day and 1 beer every few days is where i would consider to be an accetpable amount. I'll give this some thought next sunday.
i don't know if you are a coffee snob (if you are, my suggestion is get over that horseshit) but switch to decaf. i still have my coffee in the morning, but my caffeine intake is way lower than it used to be. i'll sometimes pop a scoop or two of regular coffee in if i need a boost that day. when you decaffeinate yourself, any caffeine you get will actually work, versus just satiate your addiction. if you do the decaf switch, you'll avoid the dreaded withdrawal headaches.
