The Joy of Mountain Biking

MissJR

not in the mood for your shenanigans
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Yeah yeah.. race recaps and shit.. it's going to have to wait.

Because fucking NJ Transit has decided to shit the bed. AGAIN.

How fucking incompetent can one organization be? And why the fuck do I deal with this shit? Seriously. I think every monthly train ticket purchase should come with the option to punch the NJT executive of your choice. How fucking awesome would that be?! Shit would probably run a lot fucking smoother after I got done with them.

So I'm currently sitting in the tunnels outside Hoboken. Mechanical issues. Like they get just far enough to fuck us all over and I'm stuck and I'm going to miss my fucking transfer and who the fuck knows when I'm going to get home. As if I haven't had a long enough fucking day, let's have NJ fucking Transit add to it.

But hey! They apologize for the fucking delay and the fucking mechanical team is working on it! Thanks! Your sincerest apologies make this shit so much more tolerable!

Fucking assholes.
 

MissJR

not in the mood for your shenanigans
Team MTBNJ Halter's
aaannnddd... They're moving us backwards into Hoboken. I'm so not getting home until like 9 if I'm fucking lucky.
 

Magic

Formerly 1sh0t1b33r
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Sorry about the commute BS, but you should have had plenty of time to do a write up in that time. Just saying.;)
 

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
Haha, my company paid me for parking when used to work in the city. Yes the drive sucked on the way home, 7am starts are usually smooth, but can never leave early enough. When the tunnel was jammed, I'd just go have dinner with my dad. Commuting is the worse, I appreciate my 20 min drive everyday now...
 

MissJR

not in the mood for your shenanigans
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Which lines are you taking?
Morris and Essex mainly. Although once in a while a different line just to get from Hoboken to Newark for a transfer.

They're doing work on the lines so some of the trains I take have been "temporarily" changed or cancelled, but then they do things like cancel a replacement train (the other morning) or this stuff where it's always some kind of mechanical issue and I start to question my life choices.
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
Morris and Essex mainly. Although once in a while a different line just to get from Hoboken to Newark for a transfer.

They're doing work on the lines so some of the trains I take have been "temporarily" changed or cancelled, but then they do things like cancel a replacement train (the other morning) or this stuff where it's always some kind of mechanical issue and I start to question my life choices.
I manage projects that do inventory at the stations for all NJ Transit lines and they basically all stink with the exception of the North East Corridor, which obviously has issues but not like the other lines. Probably the most frustration part is the only thing you can control with mass transit is if you decide to use it or not. Good luck!
 

MissJR

not in the mood for your shenanigans
Team MTBNJ Halter's
so i'm way overdue with updating this thing. i'm pooped and the coffee isn't helping with my pep this morning... and i have zero fucks in me right now... but i have a few minutes and i'll do some mini-race recaps for now and hopefully get to the kingdom trails stuff later.

PI Mousetrap @ Stewart: yeah... like i said, i'm really fucking behind on this thing. i really like riding at stewart but I just don't get to go very often. It's not much farther than other places but, for some reason, it feels like it takes twice as long to get here. must be the highways and shit. i don't know. anyway... so since this was a team race, i had to get up super early (like 5 am or something) to get to stewart early even tho my race went off at like noon. steve and i try to give ourselves extra time to get there but still wind up like half an hour later than we'd like. we also made a pit stop for the world's shittiest coffee. it was so bad, i actually complained to starbucks and got my money back. we're never stopping there again. anyway, team stuff in the morning... blah blah blah... my stomach was all messed up because i didn't eat breakfast but i needed to eat lunch but i can't eat too much because of butterflies... fuck.... will i ever get this food thing down right? so, this is the biggest women's cat 2 field so far this season with six. six women. that's total. :/ on the one hand, there's some fast ladies in here and it's great to see some young faces racing... but on the other hand, i'm the old fart in the group with only one other woman i've actually raced against in previous seasons. ah well.... i'm having a crappy season and this is all a learning experience sooo whatever.... we're off and it's really fucking apparent i'm slow. really slow. really really fucking slow. sigh. i hear some cheers when i come thru some open areas (which is super awesome and always makes me smile) but this is yet another race where i'm just trying to survive to the finish. i pass a couple of guys but then i get passed and i lose track of who's where. for the most part, everyone's cool with passing minus one young guy... which i think was just a lack of experience thing. (the guy in front of him called out a pass but he didn't and i didn't realize he was there. but he had passed me another time and was super polite about it.) anyway.... i'm all by myself and i make it to the second lap and i zone out and just keep pushing away. nothing too exciting to report actually. one tumble in the first lap (stupid over correction thing)... and i eventually cross the finish line. DFL. not just dead fucking last in the cat 2 ladies group... but i'm pretty fucking sure i was dead fucking last coming in overall. in fact, i was so slow that the official time emails went out with me still listed as -1 lap. yeah. THAT fucking slow. but i finished. i haven't given up or quit a race yet. i was worried that i would wind up with a DFL listed for the H2H records but after some back and forth with Norm and Dominique, they told me i was all good and the second lap was counted and all that. whew.

Lewis Morris: this fucking race. one thing i've never understood is that this race is the official start of my Lew-Mo-itis: that condition where i never want to see this fucking place again for the rest of the season. i ride here all the time and i like going by myself and riding patriot's path to LM for some extra miles... and i like the wednesday night rides and hanging with those guys... but this race... UGGH! i can't explain it. i'll ride the same exact loop by myself any other time and i'm fine with it. during this race, i want to fucking shoot someone. there's only 5 ladies for this one. it's hot and i've already seen some team members quit their races after completely blowing up. so we're off to a bad mental start already. we go out and i'm with the front of the group for about 30 seconds. woo hoo! at least it looks like i'm actually in competition. HAHAHAHAHA. so the race basically is up the fucking hill, down the fucking hill, over the fucking roots and repeat. like i said, lew-mo-itis. so fuck this race. i'm last again. as long as there's macho nacho afterwards, who gives a shit?!

Bulldog Rump: i was actually really nervous with all the rain the night before this race... and waking up to rain and thunder. the rain, as messy as it makes things, doesn't bother me much... it was the thunder that made me nervous... makes things seem more intense. it rains a bit on the way up to the race but it stops by the time we get there. everything is muddy and slick and i'm just like whatever... because i'm officially the only cat 2 woman in this race. so all i have to do is finish. kind of a bummer. i mean, last place sucks balls but it's nice seeing the other ladies out there. being the only woman makes me feel like a freak show. :( i had the flat pedals on my bike still from the kingdom trails trip and i decided to leave them on for the race. figured with all the mud i might want to not be clipped in for quicker emergency exits. but the five tens don't have great traction for walking on muddy roots. :/ they let me go off with the fat bikes and those guys are really nice... team tuxedo (?) actually even asked if i wanted to lead going into the turn. i let him go in front of me which may or may not have been the right choice there... there was a little bit of a stumble on everyone's part but he had more stake in the race than i did. and i knew he would pass me eventually anyway sooo... there's a little back and forth with another guy but he decided to pedal up some of the hills where i decided to just walk and he told me later he should have done the same as me... that he wore himself out doing that. so at least i made one right decision! ;) i slow down/pull over for some endurance racers that come thru... yeah yeah... it's my race too... and they should make the pass on their own and whatever... but, seriously, i'm the only woman out there... why the fuck should i fuck up their race for what amounts to 30 seconds on my overall time? there is one thing to note about the race which has never happened before and made me go WHOA. i'm seriously at the last mile or so of the race... i know there's the downhill switchback area and then the flat grass and then i'm done... just before i hit the downhill, my brain went foggy. i didn't get dizzy and it wasn't me zoning out... it was like in the summer when too many A/Cs are using up the electricity and the lights dim but you don't lose power... like that.. like a brown out... and i was seriously like what the fuck was that. i came back on line but took it slower going down the hill (and i pulled over to let an endurance racer pass) just in case. the heat has been getting to me lately and i was really hot during the race but i didn't think i was dehydrated or anything. but maybe i was. maybe i was overheated. maybe i didn't eat right. i don't know. but that was the first time that ever happened. i had issues at kingdom trails which i'll talk about later... but not that foggy brain feeling.

anyway... if you're still reading this and not just looking for how many times i say fuck, i just want to add that i literally just got another phone call AND email from the toyota salewoman from down the street asking if i'm still interested in a rav4. those fuckers.
 
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MadisonDan

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
so i'm way overdue with updating this thing. i'm pooped and the coffee isn't helping with my pep this morning... and i have zero fucks in me right now... but i have a few minutes and i'll do some mini-race recaps for now and hopefully get to the kingdom trails stuff later.

PI Mousetrap @ Stewart: yeah... like i said, i'm really fucking behind on this thing. i really like riding at stewart but I just don't get to go very often. It's not much farther than other places but, for some reason, it feels like it takes twice as long to get here. must be the highways and shit. i don't know. anyway... so since this was a team race, i had to get up super early (like 5 am or something) to get to stewart early even tho my race went off at like noon. steve and i try to give ourselves extra time to get there but still wind up like half an hour later than we'd like. we also made a pit stop for the world's shittiest coffee. it was so bad, i actually complained to starbucks and got my money back. we're never stopping there again. anyway, team stuff in the morning... blah blah blah... my stomach was all messed up because i didn't eat breakfast but i needed to eat lunch but i can't eat too much because of butterflies... fuck.... will i ever get this food thing down right? so, this is the biggest women's cat 2 field so far this season with six. six women. that's total. :/ on the one hand, there's some fast ladies in here and it's great to see some young faces racing... but on the other hand, i'm the old fart in the group with only one other woman i've actually raced against in previous seasons. ah well.... i'm having a crappy season and this is all a learning experience sooo whatever.... we're off and it's really fucking apparent i'm slow. really slow. really really fucking slow. sigh. i hear some cheers when i come thru some open areas (which is super awesome and always makes me smile) but this is yet another race where i'm just trying to survive to the finish. i pass a couple of guys but then i get passed and i lose track of who's where. for the most part, everyone's cool with passing minus one young guy... which i think was just a lack of experience thing. (the guy in front of him called out a pass but he didn't and i didn't realize he was there. but he had passed me another time and was super polite about it.) anyway.... i'm all by myself and i make it to the second lap and i zone out and just keep pushing away. nothing too exciting to report actually. one tumble in the first lap (stupid over correction thing)... and i eventually cross the finish line. DFL. not just dead fucking last in the cat 2 ladies group... but i'm pretty fucking sure i was dead fucking last coming in overall. in fact, i was so slow that the official time emails went out with me still listed as -1 lap. yeah. THAT fucking slow. but i finished. i haven't given up or quit a race yet. i was worried that i would wind up with a DFL listed for the H2H records but after some back and forth with Norm and Dominique, they told me i was all good and the second lap was counted and all that. whew.

Lewis Morris: this fucking race. one thing i've never understood is that this race is the official start of my Lew-Mo-itis: that condition where i never want to see this fucking place again for the rest of the season. i ride here all the time and i like going by myself and riding patriot's path to LM for some extra miles... and i like the wednesday night rides and hanging with those guys... but this race... UGGH! i can't explain it. i'll ride the same exact loop by myself any other time and i'm fine with it. during this race, i want to fucking shoot someone. there's only 5 ladies for this one. it's hot and i've already seen some team members quit their races after completely blowing up. so we're off to a bad mental start already. we go out and i'm with the front of the group for about 30 seconds. woo hoo! at least it looks like i'm actually in competition. HAHAHAHAHA. so the race basically is up the fucking hill, down the fucking hill, over the fucking roots and repeat. like i said, lew-mo-itis. so fuck this race. i'm last again. as long as there's macho nacho afterwards, who gives a shit?!

Bulldog Rump: i was actually really nervous with all the rain the night before this race... and waking up to rain and thunder. the rain, as messy as it makes things, doesn't bother me much... it was the thunder that made me nervous... makes things seem more intense. it rains a bit on the way up to the race but it stops by the time we get there. everything is muddy and slick and i'm just like whatever... because i'm officially the only cat 2 woman in this race. so all i have to do is finish. kind of a bummer. i mean, last place sucks balls but it's nice seeing the other ladies out there. being the only woman makes me feel like a freak show. :( i had the flat pedals on my bike still from the kingdom trails trip and i decided to leave them on for the race. figured with all the mud i might want to not be clipped in for quicker emergency exits. but the five tens don't have great traction for walking on muddy roots. :/ they let me go off with the fat bikes and those guys are really nice... team tuxedo actually even asked if i wanted to lead going into the turn. i let him go in front of me which may or may not have been the right choice there... there was a little bit of a stumble on everyone's part but he had more stake in the race than i did. and i knew he would pass me eventually anyway sooo... there's a little back and forth with one guy but he decided to pedal up some of the hills where i decided to just walk and he told me later he should have done the same as me... that he wore himself out doing that. so at least i made one right decision! ;) i slow down/pull over for some endurance racers that come thru... yeah yeah... it's my race too... and they should make the pass on their own and whatever... but, seriously, i'm the only woman out there... why the fuck should i fuck up their race for what amounts to 30 seconds on my overall time? there is one thing to note about the race which has never happened before and made me go WHOA. i'm seriously at the last mile or so of the race... i know there's the downhill switchback area and then the flat grass and then i'm done... just before i hit the downhill, my brain went foggy. i didn't get dizzy and it wasn't me zoning out... it was like in the summer when too many A/Cs are using up the electricity and the lights dim but you don't lose power... like that.. like a brown out... and i was seriously like what the fuck was that. i came back on line but took it slower going down the hill (and i pulled over to let an endurance racer pass) just in case. the heat has been getting to me lately and i was really hot during the race but i didn't think i was dehydrated or anything. but maybe i was. maybe i was overheated. maybe i didn't eat right. i don't know. but that was the first time that ever happened. i had issues at kingdom trails which i'll talk about later... but not that foggy brain feeling.

anyway... if you're still reading this and not just looking for how many times i say fuck, i just want to add that i literally just got another phone call AND email from the toyota salewoman from down the street asking if i'm still interested in a rav4. those fuckers.
about fucking time... ;)
kidding. keep at it.
 

Santapez

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
my stomach was all messed up because i didn't eat breakfast but i needed to eat lunch but i can't eat too much because of butterflies... fuck.... will i ever get this food thing down right?

Be honest. How much effort did you put into your race day nutrition? What did you bring for breakfast, lunch or on the bike?
 

MissJR

not in the mood for your shenanigans
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Be honest. How much effort did you put into your race day nutrition? What did you bring for breakfast, lunch or on the bike?
i can't eat breakfast at 5 am. i can barely eat breakfast at 7:30 am.
 

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
i can't eat breakfast at 5 am. i can barely eat breakfast at 7:30 am.

maybe not thinking about it as eating breakfast, rather fueling for a race. ??
jumping in a car a 5, and racing at 11 (??) is tough. but gotta have a plan to be at your best.
 

Santapez

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
maybe not thinking about it as eating breakfast, rather fueling for a race. ??
jumping in a car a 5, and racing at 11 (??) is tough. but gotta have a plan to be at your best.

Exactly. I had a plan. I ate around 9 or 10. Everyone else has a plan they follow.

"Breakfast" is just the first meal of the day, it can be at any time of the day.
 

ChrisG

Unapologetic Lifer for Rock and Roll
"Breakfast" is just the first meal of the day, it can be at any time of the day
It can also be any kind of food, as long as it's something that you find appealing, is easy on the stomach, and has decent nutritive value.
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
t want to add that i literally just got another phone call AND email from the toyota salewoman from down the street asking if i'm still interested in a rav4. those fuckers.
i think the count is somewhere around 43,378 and you had at least one fuck to write the post o_O
 
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