xc62701
Well-Known Member
Nope won't go Schwalbe. Besides mortgaging each tire and some other issue with them I'm done. I'm thinking of the WTB Rangers or the Maxxis Ikons. I had really good luck with the Ikons.
The Long Road Back
- Thread starter xc62701
- Start date
xc62701
Well-Known Member
I had to try. It didn't go well
xc62701
Well-Known Member
Even better. I forgot to mention I'm sick. I was hoping it wasn't the case but Saturday night I had no sleep since my leg was cramping all night and I was coughing and sneezing and hacking up some nice lung cookies. I'm sure the body liked going as hard as I did being a little funky. Sometimes I think it's good to try and kick some of this stuff, but it might not be the case this time. I need to eat and sleep. And maybe drink some beer.
xc62701
Well-Known Member
Monday I finished up my last masters class for this semester so there was no riding. Still feeling like crap and I hope I'll get rid of this congestion and sneezing fits soon. Tuesday I did get to do a recovery ride on the trainer and started to workout the soreness from the double race weekend. I was really tired last night and just wanted to sleep in to help feel better so I called in sick and slept in. It felt sooo good to sleep in and not have to get up at 5 for work. So good I then went for a nice ride.
My ride started off by riding the road to Mahlon and doing a nice flowy loop there and getting some good roll time in the park. I think it was almost 2 hours of rolling time by the time I left. Then headed over to Kittatinny. Did a nice section of trail there and headed down the railbed to Cranberry lake where I parked. A quick refill after 3 hours and headed into Mooch. I did a nice bunch of trail up and over cardiac and down to 517 for a gas station pit stop. Deer park was next up and did a bunch of the good stuff including Rogue of course. Lastly over to Stephens for a good bit of last singletrack then back up the railbed to the car. 6+ hours of rolling time and just over 60 miles for the day. The bonus was lots of good dirt riding with 5k plus of vert.
What a nice day to be on the bike. I don't know if it really helped my cold but it sure as hell helped my spirits!
My ride started off by riding the road to Mahlon and doing a nice flowy loop there and getting some good roll time in the park. I think it was almost 2 hours of rolling time by the time I left. Then headed over to Kittatinny. Did a nice section of trail there and headed down the railbed to Cranberry lake where I parked. A quick refill after 3 hours and headed into Mooch. I did a nice bunch of trail up and over cardiac and down to 517 for a gas station pit stop. Deer park was next up and did a bunch of the good stuff including Rogue of course. Lastly over to Stephens for a good bit of last singletrack then back up the railbed to the car. 6+ hours of rolling time and just over 60 miles for the day. The bonus was lots of good dirt riding with 5k plus of vert.
What a nice day to be on the bike. I don't know if it really helped my cold but it sure as hell helped my spirits!
xc62701
Well-Known Member
This week I've been battling a cold on top of allergies(that I don't get). I don't know what the combination is but I was really out of it early this week and I think I'm on the upside of it now. Monday I rode and couldn't breathe after a couple hard efforts and limped home. Yesterday I rode Splitrock for 2 hours and had a couple of efforts in there with no ill effects. That has to be a good sign.
On the racing side of things French Creek was postponed from this Saturday to August so I've got more time to prep for that That does mean that I would just have the Xterra at Waway before Mohican. I was hoping for one other event before that and I may have just found my answer. Williams Lake.
I haven't been to Williams Lake in a few years so why not go back and give it a shot. I still need work on my high intensity engine and the rocks and grit there should do the trick. As long as it's clear on the homefront that seems like the plan before Mohican. That is as long as I can breathe and this cold goes away.
On the racing side of things French Creek was postponed from this Saturday to August so I've got more time to prep for that
That does mean that I would just have the Xterra at Waway before Mohican. I was hoping for one other event before that and I may have just found my answer. Williams Lake.I haven't been to Williams Lake in a few years so why not go back and give it a shot. I still need work on my high intensity engine and the rocks and grit there should do the trick. As long as it's clear on the homefront that seems like the plan before Mohican. That is as long as I can breathe and this cold goes away.
Same...soon as my road bike tires turn green, intervals become an issue.
xc62701
Well-Known Member
Sounds about right. I've been fortunate enough to never have an issue with allergies, and maybe they are catching up with me. That's alright it's good timing for a rest week as I'll be on the gas hard soon for the Mohican 100.
xc62701
Well-Known Member
This weekend is the Xterra Tri that is in Wawayanda. I figured I'd give it a go since the weekend was open and I should be heading home by noon. Also the thought of triathletes on the rocks of Waway sounded interesting so I signed up. As I'm coming up to this thing I realize I have a few issues:
- The last time I swam more than the length of a pool was probably 3 years ago.
- I have no idea what to wear as I don't have a wetsuit,
- I'm going to be freezing getting into and out of the water so I have some lycra swim shorts and maybe some sort of tight fitting jersey/baselayer to wear before the start and during the swim?
- I have goggles for the swim but I don't have a clue where they are.
xc62701
Well-Known Member
Good news...I survived the Xterra Tri!!
I rolled up to the start of the tri after hopefully laying out all my gear. The water temp was 68 and the air temp was about 55 degrees. Of the 120 racers there, I was one of the two without a wetsuit. Great... I thought I might be doomed from the start.
The swim goes off and I hit the water and it's chilly. I haven't swam in a few years so who knows what would happen. I have zero technique but I am stubborn. I blow bubbles and choke a few times but grit it out and get out of the water only to run on the beach and do it all over again. Same deal second time and I finally pop out to transition to the bike, surviving the swim. Of the 120 starters I was probably 100th to the bike. Very few bikes were left in the pit. To top it off I struggled to get my jersey and gear together before heading out so I was even more behind.
I get on the bike and pedal hard. The legs wouldn't go since they were so cold. I thought to myself I have to get the hypothermia out of them first before being able to pedal hard. I get into the first singletrack and my dream was realized. People struggling riding the rocks everywhere. I passed when I could and kept on the gas hard. People were out there strolling around and I had a mission. I would pass groups of 4 or 5 here or there at difficult points. I rode smoothly and fought through the traffic aiming to gain as many places as I could. It worked. I rode hard through the rocks and ended up in 6th place overall after the bike. Holy crap!!!
The run was next. I haven't run 5 miles in a couple of years so this should be fun. After another sad transition I headed out hoping the gap I put on people from the bike would hold enough to not let too many pass. The run was just as rocky as the bike too - partly running on the Appalachian trail. I tried to make sure I didn't snap an ankle. That was the goal. I had a couple uneasy steps but held together for the singletrack. I got passed by three in the woods and passed one guy as well. I just wanted to pick it up a bit and run the remaining road/fireroad to the finish solid and hopefully squeak out a top 10. Sure enough less than a mile to go I am running the fastest pace I can and 2 guys get through me. There's no way to go faster so I'll just have to accept my place. I crossed the line in 2:30.
I ended up in 10th place overall and second place in my age group. I am super stoked with that considering how poorly I swam. If I learned to swim and do a decent transition I might actually be good at these Pretty good for my first Xterra ever. After I got home I assessed the massive blisters on my feel and my generally sore body. I've gottta say it's one heck of a workout!
I rolled up to the start of the tri after hopefully laying out all my gear. The water temp was 68 and the air temp was about 55 degrees. Of the 120 racers there, I was one of the two without a wetsuit. Great... I thought I might be doomed from the start.
The swim goes off and I hit the water and it's chilly. I haven't swam in a few years so who knows what would happen. I have zero technique but I am stubborn. I blow bubbles and choke a few times but grit it out and get out of the water only to run on the beach and do it all over again. Same deal second time and I finally pop out to transition to the bike, surviving the swim. Of the 120 starters I was probably 100th to the bike. Very few bikes were left in the pit. To top it off I struggled to get my jersey and gear together before heading out so I was even more behind.
I get on the bike and pedal hard. The legs wouldn't go since they were so cold. I thought to myself I have to get the hypothermia out of them first before being able to pedal hard. I get into the first singletrack and my dream was realized. People struggling riding the rocks everywhere. I passed when I could and kept on the gas hard. People were out there strolling around and I had a mission. I would pass groups of 4 or 5 here or there at difficult points. I rode smoothly and fought through the traffic aiming to gain as many places as I could. It worked. I rode hard through the rocks and ended up in 6th place overall after the bike. Holy crap!!!
The run was next. I haven't run 5 miles in a couple of years so this should be fun. After another sad transition I headed out hoping the gap I put on people from the bike would hold enough to not let too many pass. The run was just as rocky as the bike too - partly running on the Appalachian trail. I tried to make sure I didn't snap an ankle. That was the goal. I had a couple uneasy steps but held together for the singletrack. I got passed by three in the woods and passed one guy as well. I just wanted to pick it up a bit and run the remaining road/fireroad to the finish solid and hopefully squeak out a top 10. Sure enough less than a mile to go I am running the fastest pace I can and 2 guys get through me. There's no way to go faster so I'll just have to accept my place. I crossed the line in 2:30.
I ended up in 10th place overall and second place in my age group. I am super stoked with that considering how poorly I swam. If I learned to swim and do a decent transition I might actually be good at these
Pretty good for my first Xterra ever. After I got home I assessed the massive blisters on my feel and my generally sore body. I've gottta say it's one heck of a workout!
Kaleidopete
Well-Known Member
Wow! Great job out there! I knew you'd kill 'em in the rocks. I watched and heard some of the casualties the rocks beat up.
Heard things like we don't have rocks like that in Long Island! Congratulations.
Heard things like we don't have rocks like that in Long Island! Congratulations.
xc62701
Well-Known Member
Thanks! People knew there were rocks but probably weren't expecting the roughness of the course. I knew Dave had another rockier course in mind that the park denied. That would have been more fun
From my announcing bunker out there in the middle of nowhere, I thought you were meat. Heading for the water, you looked like a baby deer crossing it's first street. Your bike leg was awesome, but not unexpected. You do bikes well. Holding a top ten through the run, though? Unreal. The run is pretty much the wheelhouse for a lot of tri folks. I expected you'd get chewed up out there. Losing two spots in the last mile means you didn't just complete it, but you're legit competitive. Well done Ryan. Now go buy a wetsuit and burn those bibs.
pxs231
Active Member
Nice Job!
I did it as relay. The other guy without a wetsuit was my teammate. I saw basically the same thing in the rocks, except my teammate put me in a really good position so I was dealing with guys who were in really good shape even though they weren't the smoothest in the rocks. I was going back and forth with a few of them. I'd pass them in the rocks and descents and they would blow by me in the road climbs. I had a broken spoke that I forgot to take care of and broke another one adjacent to it on white dot. After that I figured I would save a little in the tank so I don't get sloppy in the rocks. We basically got the same time as you, except obviously had the benefit of the relay.
Your little one is very cute btw!
Here's a video of the start,
I did it as relay. The other guy without a wetsuit was my teammate. I saw basically the same thing in the rocks, except my teammate put me in a really good position so I was dealing with guys who were in really good shape even though they weren't the smoothest in the rocks. I was going back and forth with a few of them. I'd pass them in the rocks and descents and they would blow by me in the road climbs. I had a broken spoke that I forgot to take care of and broke another one adjacent to it on white dot. After that I figured I would save a little in the tank so I don't get sloppy in the rocks. We basically got the same time as you, except obviously had the benefit of the relay.
Your little one is very cute btw!
Here's a video of the start,
xc62701
Well-Known Member
Thanks Sean! It was entertaining hearing your commentary as soon as the suffering let my hearing work again. I thought the bibs would have given me some style points? I probably should actually pick up a wetsuit though. For these random events it would be worthwhile. Is a snorkel legal for these events. I would have used that for sure.
xc62701
Well-Known Member
Thanks! It was a fun course for sure. My little one is a ham.
I dunno, but if you can, do. Also, mebbe water wings.
