Ships Log: Fat Aircraft carrier war games
- Thread starter UtahJoe
- Start date
incorrect.....I LOVE this...I LIVE for this...I mean I know you never raced...but I did make it to "local pro" because I could ride tech on an XC bike....this is what I think is stupid in XC. Richie Rude isnt even doing this in world cup enduros
PS....that picture you posted....fucking lewis morris has more tech than that...PLEASEEEE! That isnt technical
I agree, that guys style isn't great. Never is long time, but has been a long time since I raced.
little drops like that I don't mind, they have been in courses forever, as long as I have been racing anyway.....even locally in the kenda cup 10+ years ago
but...
This is UCI Downhill now
This is UCI XC now
This trend happened the same in mx
I attended motos since 1973
Moto mecca
Clifford
Sleepy hollow
And that one in ellensville at the old ski resort, name slips my mind. Bikes like the CZs were still dual rear shocks and metal tanks lol. My neighbor used to take me all the time. Hell even Unidilla wasn't jump city forever except for screw U.
Suspension pushed the tracks for more eyeballs, same now with xc now.
I attended motos since 1973
Moto mecca
Clifford
Sleepy hollow
And that one in ellensville at the old ski resort, name slips my mind. Bikes like the CZs were still dual rear shocks and metal tanks lol. My neighbor used to take me all the time. Hell even Unidilla wasn't jump city forever except for screw U.
Suspension pushed the tracks for more eyeballs, same now with xc now.
It is similar in the sense that its driven by spectators, not by racers......But "motorcycle cross country" as moto x used to be called was also the only game in town. Then it starting moving from huge areas to closed course tracks...than tracks with jumps...then eventually supercross tracks..... But what's different with what is happened with XC.....There is already Downhill, slopestyle, hardline, rampage, enduro, plus countless free style jump competitions.......XC is now being turned into this to draw spectators....and its just not what XC is....XC is what motorcycle enduro and hare scrambles became. This is a bunch of promotors saying: we can mine more money from the idiots watching this otherwise boring spectator sport if we just add jumps and crashing.
But doesnt it echo the evolution of riding in general? Why would the course be the same when the bikes are more capable and the riders are more skilled. Sure you have these other disciplines but XC riding is what most of is do and is the most accessible discipline. To me, the promoters had to change things up a bit or it would die. i watch xc worlds and it seems like they rarely crash on the jump features.
Here is an example, your trail rides with your son appear to have tech and jumps on every ride. I would assume he will do NICA when old enough. I know you NICA in some respect and have heard all the wheels on the ground preaching, yet half the kids are wheeling and getting wheels off the ground every chance they can. So now you have to tell him "its nica, we don't do that here". Even nica has started to soften with the jump zones at practice and stuff yet the HS number dwindle. Maybe if the courses had a HS only section with a jump that emulates the world courses, there would be something to keep the kids through HS.
Last edited:
But it's not at all what "we're" doing.... It is strictly world cup/national level races that are doing this.... Local races are not running courses down trails with big jump lines to entertain spectators....but then to do that, that ONE thing...for that one very small portion of highest level XC racing...you need a totally different bike....So now XC bikes are nearly as slack as my 2020 santa cruz bronson. And yes I get that the promoters are trying to make the sport more interesting for viewers....but they have figured out a way to make the TDF the most watched cycling event...and its like 60 hours of people slow pedaling in a group, and maybe 30min of excitement over 3 weeks.....Adding jumps to me is just lazy....film xc better, produce it better....the sport is what it is...Its an endurance/fitness based discipline where you need to have good skills to win, but you really need to have GREAT fitness.
I mean we can all rant about NICA...but as a coach...you know like every aspect of NICA involves risk management....And ya, im pretty sure my son will be bored on NICA race course....However, if I just grabbed one of his 10 year old friends and put them on his bike...they would be a complete train wreck...I mean I have done several rides with Kristines team where I helped with the complete noobie kids.....the simplest trails were a total white knuckle experience for me watching these kids.....So for them, I think its awesome...I hang out with my sons friends parents and most of them know absolutely nothing about what mountain biking even is...I think its great for these kids to have a way to get into the sport at like the complete base level. But is my son going to bitch at me about it some days?...im sure....as I have explained to him....You had the benefit of starting at age 3, you know alot more than other kids....you WILL be helping other kids learn. And there are jumps on the Stephens NICA loop, not sure if they let any of the kids jump them during the race tho. I mean what can you do....Mountain biking is not like organizing a soccer team where at the base level...kids can usually, stand up, run, kick a ball. Anyway, ya, my son will bitch im sure, but he bitches about everything...he bitches about going to mountain creek.....not like I ever listen to a word he says, we'd never leave the house.
JDurk
Well-Known Member
Jumps during the race? I don't think so.
Take a look at this post from @Matt_ on FB.
https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https://www.facebook.com/matt.s.defelice/posts/pfbid021TFyaPkFhoXJaRGfXaNHkya5XnMZXXccnm1sbJi3gwmtGp5xkWs5gomuc9M7axb2l&show_text=true&width=500
Take a look at this post from @Matt_ on FB.
https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https://www.facebook.com/matt.s.defelice/posts/pfbid021TFyaPkFhoXJaRGfXaNHkya5XnMZXXccnm1sbJi3gwmtGp5xkWs5gomuc9M7axb2l&show_text=true&width=500
ya I remember now seeing the skills thing set up at the chester race
This is on the Stephens NICA loop, but no idea if anyone was jumping it on race day....but it did at least exist
Yes, that was my mention of it, trying to adapt to keep kids interested. Coach Shreddy gets the credit for those.
Zack 54
Well-Known Member
The NY MX course was Mt. Cathalia.. I raced there in the 70’s for many years. It was part of the Metro league. The downhill at the north side of the track was awesome as you went right into a 90 degree turn at the bottom right in front of spectators!
Highland Camp and Kingdom trip
So this is the 3rd year in a row now that I have done this trip....First 3 days at the highland summer ride camp, then after the camp...Robert and I drive to Kingdom and spend the rest of the week in and around there
Its been a rough summer for Bob thus far. We were really on a great run at creek....started on opening day with his new bike...he was just VASTLY better then the year before. He was going faster and faster...and while I knew he was due to get himself checked, I was just hoping it wouldnt hurt too bad. On May 19th he had a hugey at creek while going pretty fast....Broke his helmet, his leatt brace and unfortunately his right arm. It was a displaced fracture, so 6 weeks in a cast and no activity. He got thru this fine...I got him back on his bike...his confidence was off as would be expected. Finally started to get him back into things and then bam...he gets Lymes. So June and July were pretty lean times for riding with my buddy. But such as life... Anyway, I had hoped he'd be more ready for camp this year, but whatever....He was in one piece and feeling ok, so can't ask for much more than that....
Sunday...we rolled out around 730 and along the way we stopped at Yudicky farm for a short ride. @Norm just so happened to make his wiki post about this place the week before and it was a perfect quick detour. Small, fun place....trails were similar to kingdom....Unfortunately, Bob didnt eat his breakfast...then took his doxy....after 45min of riding he got pretty sick to his stomach...so we wrapped up the ride early and went to get food. Then we drove to highland...checked bob into the camp, dropped off his gear and his bike...Put my bike into storage (really nice not having to drag it thru the hotel....Then food shopping and back to the hotel. We meet up with Fred and his two boys Adam and Paul...then Frank and his son Johnny. These 4 together, my god....they have enough energy to power the USS Nimitz. They are unbelievable. At times we want to murder them, but they are just living their best lives....shananigans non stopped
We drop the boys off every day at 8:30 and they ride until 4:30.....
We see then on occasion in the lift lines or on the mountain.....I always like seeing how bob is doing, etc. Almost always....Robert rides in the back...usually is more conservative than I would otherwise see him....im not really sure why this is...I think maybe highland intimidates him a bit? Not sure, but usually once we leave camp, he flips a switch...so I don't really worry about it much. The good thing is that the boys complain about their coaches not letting them do this or that....we want to do X and he wont let us....This to me is good, im much happier with the coaches running the show. I do find the mind of a 10 year old funny.....He will easily hit table tops that I won't....yet some of the most nonsensical features (mostly drops) he wont do lol. Anyway, this will all work itself out one day...but for now its entertaining.
While the boys were in camp all day, me, Fred, Frank and Ben did laps. I always do something to scare myself just enough...Thortons drop, Stepping stone drop, reef drop....I can get some of the jumps on hellion but not all of them....Maybe if I lapped it all day....I get better with each lap, but steep jumps are really my nemesis. Anyway....thats about as much as ill do...so that means I can kinda hang with the 10-11 year olds at highland jump wise lol. It was a good few days, we had fun...nobody died.
On Wednesday we usually get the boys out of class a little early and do laps with them in the afternoon. Fred rides with older boys, I take bob and paul
It was a great 3 days...Wednesday night, bob and I drive to Kingdom for the rest of the week
So this is the 3rd year in a row now that I have done this trip....First 3 days at the highland summer ride camp, then after the camp...Robert and I drive to Kingdom and spend the rest of the week in and around there
Its been a rough summer for Bob thus far. We were really on a great run at creek....started on opening day with his new bike...he was just VASTLY better then the year before. He was going faster and faster...and while I knew he was due to get himself checked, I was just hoping it wouldnt hurt too bad. On May 19th he had a hugey at creek while going pretty fast....Broke his helmet, his leatt brace and unfortunately his right arm. It was a displaced fracture, so 6 weeks in a cast and no activity. He got thru this fine...I got him back on his bike...his confidence was off as would be expected. Finally started to get him back into things and then bam...he gets Lymes. So June and July were pretty lean times for riding with my buddy. But such as life... Anyway, I had hoped he'd be more ready for camp this year, but whatever....He was in one piece and feeling ok, so can't ask for much more than that....
Sunday...we rolled out around 730 and along the way we stopped at Yudicky farm for a short ride. @Norm just so happened to make his wiki post about this place the week before and it was a perfect quick detour. Small, fun place....trails were similar to kingdom....Unfortunately, Bob didnt eat his breakfast...then took his doxy....after 45min of riding he got pretty sick to his stomach...so we wrapped up the ride early and went to get food. Then we drove to highland...checked bob into the camp, dropped off his gear and his bike...Put my bike into storage (really nice not having to drag it thru the hotel....Then food shopping and back to the hotel. We meet up with Fred and his two boys Adam and Paul...then Frank and his son Johnny. These 4 together, my god....they have enough energy to power the USS Nimitz. They are unbelievable. At times we want to murder them, but they are just living their best lives....shananigans non stopped
We drop the boys off every day at 8:30 and they ride until 4:30.....
We see then on occasion in the lift lines or on the mountain.....I always like seeing how bob is doing, etc. Almost always....Robert rides in the back...usually is more conservative than I would otherwise see him....im not really sure why this is...I think maybe highland intimidates him a bit? Not sure, but usually once we leave camp, he flips a switch...so I don't really worry about it much. The good thing is that the boys complain about their coaches not letting them do this or that....we want to do X and he wont let us....This to me is good, im much happier with the coaches running the show. I do find the mind of a 10 year old funny.....He will easily hit table tops that I won't....yet some of the most nonsensical features (mostly drops) he wont do lol. Anyway, this will all work itself out one day...but for now its entertaining.
While the boys were in camp all day, me, Fred, Frank and Ben did laps. I always do something to scare myself just enough...Thortons drop, Stepping stone drop, reef drop....I can get some of the jumps on hellion but not all of them....Maybe if I lapped it all day....I get better with each lap, but steep jumps are really my nemesis. Anyway....thats about as much as ill do...so that means I can kinda hang with the 10-11 year olds at highland jump wise lol. It was a good few days, we had fun...nobody died.
On Wednesday we usually get the boys out of class a little early and do laps with them in the afternoon. Fred rides with older boys, I take bob and paul
It was a great 3 days...Wednesday night, bob and I drive to Kingdom for the rest of the week
Attachments
I got us a small condo on the ski hill at burke...like last year. We got up on thursday and went for breakfast at cafe lotti...
Then we drove over to the Darling hill bike shop and started riding around in the skills park
We found this step up on sneaky petes that bob couldnt get enough of sessioning.....
After playing in the skills park for almost 2 hrs...We went for a ride to sidewinder, then jaw, heavens bench, etc.
After our ride we got some ice cream, went for a swim in the river....then drove up the toll road and went for a hike around the mountain
It was a great first day..
Then we drove over to the Darling hill bike shop and started riding around in the skills park
We found this step up on sneaky petes that bob couldnt get enough of sessioning.....
After playing in the skills park for almost 2 hrs...We went for a ride to sidewinder, then jaw, heavens bench, etc.
After our ride we got some ice cream, went for a swim in the river....then drove up the toll road and went for a hike around the mountain
It was a great first day..
Friday: The rain stopped early and we took a ride over to east haven to ride black bear.....its a long climb straight up a fire road for ~800ft....so I usually hook up the tow rope. At this point, bob is 95lbs, his bike is ~30.....I can't just pull him up and 800ft climb like its nothing....He is actually helping alot...I would say the rope just takes the edge off and we can go alot faster.
We rode the new trail up top called sunnys...its fun, nice warm up for black bear
Then we hit black bear....did a few laps on the top part....such a fun piece of trail
We eventually rode all of it, sessioned some of the jumps, then headed back to the condo
Then we got changed and rode out the door....got into the DH park trails and rode to the Burke lift. I have always liked burke DH park...its small, fun, nothing crazy...but entertaining. Have been wanting to take bob to it for a while now
We kinda settled on the merlin trail to session....Robert was really into getting this step up down nicely...after a few laps he was hitting it really well.....
We did 10 laps....had an absolute ball.....Then we went and got pizza and wings. The storm then in and before long we had no power
We rode the new trail up top called sunnys...its fun, nice warm up for black bear
Then we hit black bear....did a few laps on the top part....such a fun piece of trail
We eventually rode all of it, sessioned some of the jumps, then headed back to the condo
Then we got changed and rode out the door....got into the DH park trails and rode to the Burke lift. I have always liked burke DH park...its small, fun, nothing crazy...but entertaining. Have been wanting to take bob to it for a while now
We kinda settled on the merlin trail to session....Robert was really into getting this step up down nicely...after a few laps he was hitting it really well.....
We did 10 laps....had an absolute ball.....Then we went and got pizza and wings. The storm then in and before long we had no power
So new T was closed, river run, few of the fire road connectors got washed out.....sidewinder was rougher than I have seen it in some time...but I would say nothing major to the single track
Saturday: Loon....We checked this place out last year and it was a smash hit. Best bike park lift ever....Creek is pretty good, but not this good. ~5min to the top....super easy to get the bikes on and off....VERY comfortable... There are also some very fun blue runs with entertaining but not gigantic jumps. Really nice turns....Its not very steep, so very little breaking bumps. And the runs are LONG...5min ride up, ~10 min ride down. Oh and bonus...Ikon pass got me free passes for me and bob....so cost me $0 to ride there.
Like I said, lift is awesome!
there is a big sign
The blue runs have tons of jumps like this....pretty easy and you can send them
We did a few runs on the blue...which High ball to Derailleur, to Cinder to Hot shot....so fun! Then a couple laps on the black diamond run, King pin...Robert was kinda meh on this one, so we kept lapping the blue trails. Even stopping for lunch, and then a snack later....we still got in 15 runs...45 miles with the lift, 35miles without it. So fun....Really is an fun place, highly recommend checking it out. Perfect for old dads who don't want to follow their kids down dominion.
We rode til 5, then stopped in town and got some pizza and wings....Headed back to Burke and passed out. What a day!
Sunday: So I got up at 630 and packed up all of our stuff. Bob wanted to head home, but I had one last thing I wanted to do. I had not seen the latest stuff they opened on Kitchel. In july we rode the green line, but they have since built a blue line and they are working on a black line.
So we parked at the tiki bar and rode up.....along the way we spotted the new drops on the expert line....and goddam. For kingdom, this is some BIG stuff
There is another one on the line like this, not quite as big.
From there we went over to the blue run. This was great, flows really well and some decent sized jumps on it
We did a few runs, then headed back to town. Stopped at the store for a shirt, then hit the road home.
Truly an amazing week....The entire week I thought about all you who have older kids.....and I know these times will not last forever....So im trying to really make it memorable. I also thought about how my dad died at the same age I am now....He was a mess by then....So I thought about how awesome it is that I am still here and I can ride bikes, keep up with bob and watch his progress. I never take this for granted. Great trip, can't wait for the next one!
I put this together....highlights of the week.
Wrapping up summer break with one last trip
Friday: hit the road at 730 and got to stratton by 11....Allisons first experience at a downhill park....stratton isnt much of a DH park, but its great with the family, and free tickets. Good lift, place is usually totally empty.
she did really good and we managed not to kill her....I think my wife likes riding, but she also like the free time that me riding with bob provides her...so she doesnt come with us all too often, but its nice when we can get her out.
After our ride we drove an hour or so up to Killington...checked into our condo, then went to dinner.
Next morning we hit killington....the free tickets I have from VMBA arent good on saturdays, so my wife decided to go hiking instead and just bob and I rode. We were having a blast riding the blue jump trails there....when we stopped to eat...they have axe throwing for kids and he met another 10 year old kid who was there riding....His parents didnt ride, so they were just sending him off by himself and occasionally with his older brother who was REALLY annoyed to have to babysit him. So he started riding with us....He was a bit of a sketchy disaster but my son was having a blast riding with him and trying to teach him stuff....so whatever. We rode from 10-5 with very little stopping.....not sure how many runs we did bc my garmin died, but it was a really fun day.
Bob was getting this hip jump down really well....which was frustrating, bc I can't seem to do this...I can jump straight, but that mid air turn I suck at.
But whatever, at least dad could do the bigger drop the kids were scared of lol.
Bob towed at least 4 different adult into this one which I was pretty funny.
Rode all day....back to the condo, hit the pool, dinner, fixed bikes, crashed
Sunday: back to killington again, this time with Allison....much better trails for her at killington that she loved. We did a couple laps in the morning with her, met up with bobs friend again and rode with him some more.
We left Killington at 230 and drove to Leverett Massachusetts to Allison's cousins house. Wayne and Barbara are allisons cousins who used to own the yacht in the Virgin Islands that we would go on for charters....best vacations ever....they are really awesome people. Their boat was destroyed in the big hurricane in VI in 2017, so they decided to retire. We hadnt seen them in some time so it was great to catch up. Wayne is really into old cars and also restores old wooden boats....super talented guy, I could talk to him all day. This is his 28ft 1930 Garwood that he is restoring.....he remade every single piece of wood on this boat...WHOLE shit ton of mahogany wood and screws.
will look like this when its done
Wayne also fully restored a 1930 LaSalle. So cool....
He has some other cool stuff in his barn, 56 jag, 46 chevy pickup, another 1930 lasalle.....warehouse full of old car parts.
Had a great night with them, got up the next morning...Wayne made us waffles, then bob and I drove about 40min to Thunder. Allison stayed and went hiking with her cousin.
I had never been to thunder and it didnt disappoint. What a fun place.....we just hit the blue trails and bob was having so much fun, we didnt do a ton of exploring....need to come back and spend a couple days there for sure. The new lift is awesome.
Did laps until 330, hit the road back to Leverett....picked up my wife and headed home.
Today's bobs first day of school....we got every last drop out of his summer break that we could. Awesome weekend!
Friday: hit the road at 730 and got to stratton by 11....Allisons first experience at a downhill park....stratton isnt much of a DH park, but its great with the family, and free tickets. Good lift, place is usually totally empty.
she did really good and we managed not to kill her....I think my wife likes riding, but she also like the free time that me riding with bob provides her...so she doesnt come with us all too often, but its nice when we can get her out.
After our ride we drove an hour or so up to Killington...checked into our condo, then went to dinner.
Next morning we hit killington....the free tickets I have from VMBA arent good on saturdays, so my wife decided to go hiking instead and just bob and I rode. We were having a blast riding the blue jump trails there....when we stopped to eat...they have axe throwing for kids and he met another 10 year old kid who was there riding....His parents didnt ride, so they were just sending him off by himself and occasionally with his older brother who was REALLY annoyed to have to babysit him. So he started riding with us....He was a bit of a sketchy disaster but my son was having a blast riding with him and trying to teach him stuff....so whatever. We rode from 10-5 with very little stopping.....not sure how many runs we did bc my garmin died, but it was a really fun day.
Bob was getting this hip jump down really well....which was frustrating, bc I can't seem to do this...I can jump straight, but that mid air turn I suck at.
But whatever, at least dad could do the bigger drop the kids were scared of lol.
Bob towed at least 4 different adult into this one which I was pretty funny.
Rode all day....back to the condo, hit the pool, dinner, fixed bikes, crashed
Sunday: back to killington again, this time with Allison....much better trails for her at killington that she loved. We did a couple laps in the morning with her, met up with bobs friend again and rode with him some more.
We left Killington at 230 and drove to Leverett Massachusetts to Allison's cousins house. Wayne and Barbara are allisons cousins who used to own the yacht in the Virgin Islands that we would go on for charters....best vacations ever....they are really awesome people. Their boat was destroyed in the big hurricane in VI in 2017, so they decided to retire. We hadnt seen them in some time so it was great to catch up. Wayne is really into old cars and also restores old wooden boats....super talented guy, I could talk to him all day. This is his 28ft 1930 Garwood that he is restoring.....he remade every single piece of wood on this boat...WHOLE shit ton of mahogany wood and screws.
will look like this when its done
Wayne also fully restored a 1930 LaSalle. So cool....
He has some other cool stuff in his barn, 56 jag, 46 chevy pickup, another 1930 lasalle.....warehouse full of old car parts.
Had a great night with them, got up the next morning...Wayne made us waffles, then bob and I drove about 40min to Thunder. Allison stayed and went hiking with her cousin.
I had never been to thunder and it didnt disappoint. What a fun place.....we just hit the blue trails and bob was having so much fun, we didnt do a ton of exploring....need to come back and spend a couple days there for sure. The new lift is awesome.
Did laps until 330, hit the road back to Leverett....picked up my wife and headed home.
Today's bobs first day of school....we got every last drop out of his summer break that we could. Awesome weekend!