Ya I have to take it back out and work on the pins...its amazing how they were able to build one of these cars in ~60min...every part on the car doesn't just get installed...it needs to be tweaked and adjusted.
Ships Log: Fat Aircraft carrier war games
- Thread starter UtahJoe
- Start date
So I came back here to do a little mustang update.....and I realized that I never got around to recapping my trip to Sedona/Utah or Rays a couple weeks after......Its a little late for that now..But given the current times...I was think about how lucky I was that I managed to get 3 vacations in before this whole mess started.
Its been 6 weeks now since I was last in my office....really its not that bad....The days my wife is working and its just me and bob...If my work is busy, it gets rough. But overall, I figured I have saved about 30 hours of commuting time in the past 6 weeks....1 tank of gas in my in car....been averaging over 10hrs a week on my bike...Really, hasnt been too bad for me personally. I mean outside of my teaching my sons kindergarten...this is absolute fucking bullshit on a stick.
Now that I have 3 full suspension bikes I have been keeping myself entertained cycling thru them. I think I finally have the perfect mix of mountain bikes...100mm XC bike for going fast, 120mm all mountain bike that is good at everything, 150mm 27.5 for bombing downhills and is still pretty good at everything else. Usually this time of year I would be road bike 3 times a week, mtb 2...getting ready to start racing....Feels so strange after 11 years of this routine.....If racing started tomorrow, id say I would be ok...I havent been doing any race efforts, but a good 3 week block of training and I think I would be in form. I think i have done 6-7 weeks in a row of 10hrs or more...which I dont think I have ever done. Lucky for me...the two closest parks to my house havent closed, so no illegal riding required.
On the mustang front....I last left off when i started to put the dash back together...since then..
I got the steering wheel sorted out and the steering column wired...
I kinda forgot about the firewall insulation...so I had to back track a little to get this piece in...but it wasnt too hard...I mean anything under the dash is a pain in the ass
Then I put the heater box back together and got it installed
After this I took a bit of a break for a couple of months...sometimes I just need to walk away...Im not slapping this car together, so every part needs to be planned, thought out and if im not in the mood, I just walk away and come back later.
Anyway, so when I picked back up I started sorting out every loose wire under the dash and where is goes...this car has so little wiring and still pages of wiring diagrams...i cant imagine a new car.
Hooked up the windshield washer pump.....my 64 galaxie had a modern style electric pump that worked pretty much the same way as your modern car does....my 67 mustang has a pump you have to pump with your foot tho...but it has a relay so that when you pump it...it triggers the wipers...point being, I have no idea the thought process behind this system.
I also started getting the rest of the interior parts sorted out.
They make repo versions of these vent panels...but they are about $350....I took a crack and restoring the originals...I think they came out ok
These are the side panels that go next to the rear seats....My dad painted them in the 70s and the paint is pealing off...They also make repros of these, but they are also $350 and from what I have read, they are total crap. So I took these apart, sanded them down and gave them to the guy who painted the car....I was going to paint them, but he will do a much better job. I have some new lights and speakers for this, just waiting to get them back
I got the dashpad, instrument cluster and dash trim installed....This was a huge ass pain that took me probably 8 hours of tweaking, shimming, adjusting to get everything to line up nicely.
I made a little video...now everything works when I turn the key on
I took a break from inside the car and did the bumper and the letters on the trunk....waiting for decklid trim piece to come in.
Im converting the car to 3 point seat belts, so i started on that the other day....cutting a hole in my new headliner was pretty nerve racking
Then I started on the carpet...and wow is this a pain in the ass. the carpet I bought has this really thick plastic backing and is super rigid...so this has been alot of work...im about 30% done now...my new console came in....been test fitting it
So progress has been good....Mechanically...I need to figure out the parking brake set up and put the exhaust on it and it should be ready to drive.
The windshield is on order and when it comes in, I have someone who is going to install that and the rear glass.
Then ill put the fenders and hood on....at that point, id say I can take it out for a road test.
Is the center console era correct? I don’t know shit about old American cars, but that looks modern with the sliding door. What’s behind it anyway? Storage or audio controls?
That is an exact replica of the original console, like right down to the same way the ash tray opens and closes... my car originally came with one but the plastic sides under the dash portion for both broken and it looked awful... So I took it out... this was before the days of this replica being made.. so people would go to Great Lengths to restore them... I ended up getting $750 for that broken one in 2002.. Which just about paid for this one.
so its been a month.....hey teaching kindergarten still blows...and its getting worse every day. But that aside, things are going ok. Now that I dont need to wake up at 5am to get to work I have been working late into the night on the mustang. I feel like I made some great progress in a month...
this piece of trim across the trunk....I cant even describe in words how ridiculous this thing is to put on without breaking.....between me and the guy who painted the car, we broke 3 of them....Thankfully the company who makes this piece knows this and sent me 2 replacements for free. its so paper thin, if you push on it with your thumb, it will dent or kink...if i ever see anyone breathing on this piece, ill tackle them
All the lights and trim in the back of the car, wiring for the fuel gauge, reverse lights...done
The ebrake was another adventure bc of the new rear disc brakes....the instructions to make this work were "uses the stock cable"....many hours of tinkering later, I got it to work...of course the major issue is that the cable has to be a tad longer...so getting all of this together was a trick....works good tho...that was a big checklist item....This car needs to warm up for a few minutes before you drive it...thus when the parking brake doesnt work, its a real hassle to keep the car from rolling away
Next i got the exhaust done....originally I planned on replacing the H pipe with a new X pipe....I will eventually, but for now I just cleaned up this system and put it on...
The one new piece are the tips...This car came with 1 7/8" exhaust...so when i put the 2.5" system on it, the tips no longer fit.....they kind of complete the look of a 67 GT, so i found a company that remakes them that will fit on a 2.5 in pipe....they dont look as good as the originals, but close enough
I had to use this tool to trim the pipe....got this is awful, really aggravated my tennis elbow bc of this #$%^&* thing
always loved how the 2 chamber flowmasters sound
Then i moved back to the interior....I got this sweet radio from retro sound...I needed a radio if for no other reason than to fill the hole in the dash and the original was a mess...so i got one with bluetooth...what was awesome was that i spent alot of time on getting the radio lined up and perfect...only to realize that it had to be removed to install the console
installing the console meant that I had to get 100% of all of the other wiring under the dash in order since once its in, I would no longer be able to get it it
those side panels I mentioned...painted with new lights and speakers...i dont love the speakers, but the holes were there already from my dad, so im stuck with them for now
got the vent window frames back from the chrome guy.....$500 to chrome these 2 pieces, sucks but thats the going rate these days
another major ass pain to put together
still alot of trim missing in this pic (need to wait until the rear window is in) but the rear seat is done
then last night I got the front seats done
omg, getting all of the interior lights working properly....that was a chore.
So its coming....doors need to be assembled, glass installed, hood/fenders, wheels. working on all of that...
this piece of trim across the trunk....I cant even describe in words how ridiculous this thing is to put on without breaking.....between me and the guy who painted the car, we broke 3 of them....Thankfully the company who makes this piece knows this and sent me 2 replacements for free. its so paper thin, if you push on it with your thumb, it will dent or kink...if i ever see anyone breathing on this piece, ill tackle them
All the lights and trim in the back of the car, wiring for the fuel gauge, reverse lights...done
The ebrake was another adventure bc of the new rear disc brakes....the instructions to make this work were "uses the stock cable"....many hours of tinkering later, I got it to work...of course the major issue is that the cable has to be a tad longer...so getting all of this together was a trick....works good tho...that was a big checklist item....This car needs to warm up for a few minutes before you drive it...thus when the parking brake doesnt work, its a real hassle to keep the car from rolling away
Next i got the exhaust done....originally I planned on replacing the H pipe with a new X pipe....I will eventually, but for now I just cleaned up this system and put it on...
The one new piece are the tips...This car came with 1 7/8" exhaust...so when i put the 2.5" system on it, the tips no longer fit.....they kind of complete the look of a 67 GT, so i found a company that remakes them that will fit on a 2.5 in pipe....they dont look as good as the originals, but close enough
I had to use this tool to trim the pipe....got this is awful, really aggravated my tennis elbow bc of this #$%^&* thing
always loved how the 2 chamber flowmasters sound
Then i moved back to the interior....I got this sweet radio from retro sound...I needed a radio if for no other reason than to fill the hole in the dash and the original was a mess...so i got one with bluetooth...what was awesome was that i spent alot of time on getting the radio lined up and perfect...only to realize that it had to be removed to install the console
installing the console meant that I had to get 100% of all of the other wiring under the dash in order since once its in, I would no longer be able to get it it
those side panels I mentioned...painted with new lights and speakers...i dont love the speakers, but the holes were there already from my dad, so im stuck with them for now
got the vent window frames back from the chrome guy.....$500 to chrome these 2 pieces, sucks but thats the going rate these days
another major ass pain to put together
still alot of trim missing in this pic (need to wait until the rear window is in) but the rear seat is done
then last night I got the front seats done
omg, getting all of the interior lights working properly....that was a chore.
So its coming....doors need to be assembled, glass installed, hood/fenders, wheels. working on all of that...
ChrisG
Unapologetic Lifer for Rock and Roll
I had these on my 86 5.0 with off-road pipes. I rarely drove that car without having the windows open at least a little.
One of my favorite things to do was pull into the garage when coming home after 12 midnight, and give the pipes a crack or two before shutting it off. The neighbors probably weren't thrilled, but my mother said she liked the fact that she always knew I was home safe when I was driving that car.
I had them on my 5.0, too. No sneaking out for me. When I was 16 I tried to coast it like a block away before I started it and I still got busted.
ya I had them on my 90Gt and 93 LX....I used to roll the car down the driveway first if I was trying to get away quietly....ALWAYS had to shut the car off and coast to my GF's house, then roll away after dropping her off lol
So the other thing im trying to work out right now are the wheels....for years now, i always had my heart set on these....remakes of the original styled steel wheels, but 15in rather than 14s...i like this look
BUT....these remade chrome wheels are not the chrome wheels of the 60s...thanks to the EPA and their concerns about bull crap like our "drinking water" my chrome wheels have to suffer.....so i have been reading alot of reviews and these wheels seems to rust REALLY easily and if anything can rust, NJ weather will make it happen as we all know....so im now less in love with this idea.
They do now have another option...they make an aluminum version of this wheel....I think it looks good, but without the chrome...im just not in love with it
center cap would be the same mustang one
i cant find a pic of a set on a 67, but here is a pic of one on a 65...(terrible tire choice...i never understand why people go thru the trouble of picking out cool vintage wheels and put modern looking bargain tires on them)
Those are the stock wheels....then of course, i have always kinda liked the look of magnum 500 wheels on a 67 (they came on 69 and up mustangs)
in yellow, less blurry
they also make alloy versions of these
again, i like them...but I dont LOVE them...I think the problem is that the satin finish just doesnt match anything else on the car
So the other thing im trying to work out right now are the wheels....for years now, i always had my heart set on these....remakes of the original styled steel wheels, but 15in rather than 14s...i like this look
BUT....these remade chrome wheels are not the chrome wheels of the 60s...thanks to the EPA and their concerns about bull crap like our "drinking water" my chrome wheels have to suffer.....so i have been reading alot of reviews and these wheels seems to rust REALLY easily and if anything can rust, NJ weather will make it happen as we all know....so im now less in love with this idea.
They do now have another option...they make an aluminum version of this wheel....I think it looks good, but without the chrome...im just not in love with it
center cap would be the same mustang one
i cant find a pic of a set on a 67, but here is a pic of one on a 65...(terrible tire choice...i never understand why people go thru the trouble of picking out cool vintage wheels and put modern looking bargain tires on them)
Those are the stock wheels....then of course, i have always kinda liked the look of magnum 500 wheels on a 67 (they came on 69 and up mustangs)
in yellow, less blurry
they also make alloy versions of these
again, i like them...but I dont LOVE them...I think the problem is that the satin finish just doesnt match anything else on the car
i mean the biggest killer of chrome is road salt, followed by gravel being kicked up, i assume this is going to stay in the garage during road salt season . . . . .
you could also have the chrome clear coated over as an additional protective layer.
alloy wheels still corrode in NJ (granted, at a substantially slower pace).
you could also have the chrome clear coated over as an additional protective layer.
alloy wheels still corrode in NJ (granted, at a substantially slower pace).
So yes, this is true...I mean the mustang certainly would never see road salt, or much rain.....every once in a while I got caught in it...its a truly terrifying car to drive in the rain
So in the end, I decided to go with the original style steel wheels...like the black car up top. They are what the car came with and im trying to make the car look "stock" so its just the look I like...even tho ill get 15s rather than 14s. About 200 different companies sell those wheels...and even some they will sell them with the tires mounted...sweet. However, getting anyone on the goddam phone to make an order has been a week of me getting nowhere. They make the wheels with several colors and im trying to get the exact one I want...which requires a phone call.
Incorrect. These chrome steel wheels (Cragers etc) basically rust as you open them up from the box. A set of these wheels made in the 70s will polish up. A set made this year, crap.
so on saturday this happened
It was pretty amazing to drive this car after more than 5 years of it sitting motionless. The point of this was to check the clutch mainly....with this new hyd throwout bearing setup, there are endless adjustments and its hard getting the feel just right with the car on the lift.....So I wanted to just roll it out and try it. In this video...god just the satisfaction of watching the reverse lights work....like running those wires, getting that switch set up on the trans and working...getting the lights cleaned up and put on the valance...every little detail is so much fucking work.
That one minute was the high water mark....shortly after this video ended...The clutch pedal went to the floor and the car would not move....yet I could still cycle it thru the gears...Thus, the clutch was stuck in the engaged position...which seemed very strange to me since usually if something breaks, it would release. So with the family, we pushed the car back inside and i got it up on the lift to find this.
the seal on the throwout bearing popped out and looks to have jammed the the piston in the extended position. It also spraying the fluid (brake fluid) all over the clutch.
So from a very high high, I sunk to a very low low. This is a set back and a major one. TB is obviously fucked, the clutch is also now trash. Trans has to come out and everything here replaced. This whole system was put together with the help of modern driveline, they helped me with all the parts I needed for this conversion.....I I have a long email chain with their engineer. I sent him and email on saturday to let him know what happened....he got back to me this morning...
Joe,
I can see the orange dust seal is been moved from is normal position. I have not see this before. The real seal is behind the piston, the orange is there to wipe the piston. At this point is needs come back out to see what is going on. From your emails from below the setup sounds correct. It could be that the piston did not come back after a few cycles and it extended out. I did have a batch about a year that did. Everyone that was sent back to Tilton was fixed. I can have Tilton make repairs to the unit you have at no charge. They are quick about turning them around. Contact so I can set this up for you.
So yippie fucking skippy......as absolutely horrendous as the stock clutch set up is in this car....I did have some regret last night that I made this conversion. But its too late now. Honestly, pulling the trans SUCKSSSS...but worse is that to disconnect the shifter, I have to remove the console...that really pisses me off as it was a total bastard to get in and right. Next will be getting someone to pay for the clutch disc that got ruined.
Anyway...from day 1 on this project I tried to mentally prepare myself for the setbacks that come with doing any project.....And rebuilding a car from top to bottom...its inevitable. That said, it did have me in a funk this weekend. I feel a little better today...im a little bummed as I was hoping to have this car ready for fathers day and that now looks doubtful, but whatever.
It was pretty amazing to drive this car after more than 5 years of it sitting motionless. The point of this was to check the clutch mainly....with this new hyd throwout bearing setup, there are endless adjustments and its hard getting the feel just right with the car on the lift.....So I wanted to just roll it out and try it. In this video...god just the satisfaction of watching the reverse lights work....like running those wires, getting that switch set up on the trans and working...getting the lights cleaned up and put on the valance...every little detail is so much fucking work.
That one minute was the high water mark....shortly after this video ended...The clutch pedal went to the floor and the car would not move....yet I could still cycle it thru the gears...Thus, the clutch was stuck in the engaged position...which seemed very strange to me since usually if something breaks, it would release. So with the family, we pushed the car back inside and i got it up on the lift to find this.
the seal on the throwout bearing popped out and looks to have jammed the the piston in the extended position. It also spraying the fluid (brake fluid) all over the clutch.
So from a very high high, I sunk to a very low low. This is a set back and a major one. TB is obviously fucked, the clutch is also now trash. Trans has to come out and everything here replaced. This whole system was put together with the help of modern driveline, they helped me with all the parts I needed for this conversion.....I I have a long email chain with their engineer. I sent him and email on saturday to let him know what happened....he got back to me this morning...
Joe,
I can see the orange dust seal is been moved from is normal position. I have not see this before. The real seal is behind the piston, the orange is there to wipe the piston. At this point is needs come back out to see what is going on. From your emails from below the setup sounds correct. It could be that the piston did not come back after a few cycles and it extended out. I did have a batch about a year that did. Everyone that was sent back to Tilton was fixed. I can have Tilton make repairs to the unit you have at no charge. They are quick about turning them around. Contact so I can set this up for you.
So yippie fucking skippy......as absolutely horrendous as the stock clutch set up is in this car....I did have some regret last night that I made this conversion. But its too late now. Honestly, pulling the trans SUCKSSSS...but worse is that to disconnect the shifter, I have to remove the console...that really pisses me off as it was a total bastard to get in and right. Next will be getting someone to pay for the clutch disc that got ruined.
Anyway...from day 1 on this project I tried to mentally prepare myself for the setbacks that come with doing any project.....And rebuilding a car from top to bottom...its inevitable. That said, it did have me in a funk this weekend. I feel a little better today...im a little bummed as I was hoping to have this car ready for fathers day and that now looks doubtful, but whatever.
Glen Park Enduro and a little update on all things biking in 2020
I had to go back and look, it was Sept. 23rd 2019 since I last raced a bike, which was the bearscat.....thats the longest hiatus I have had from bike racing since I started back in 08. Thanks covid
So had the world not ended, I cant say I was jumping up and down excited to do XC again for the 13th year in a row.....I feel like i have gotten into this rut with XC, bc quite frankly, even racing pro class, its become rather routine...and while the races arent "easy"...I feel like I have reached the top of my little XC racing mountain...which in the grand scheme is more like an ant hill...but that said, I still love XC, I just look for the races I enjoy now.
Last fall @muddybike was telling me about her idea to focus on enduro this year and got me thinking this might be a nice change of pace. Enduro has it problems, but just the pure racing of it.....when you strip off the pre riding, the prep, the pedaling your ass up the same hill over and over and over, fancy bikes, lots of driving......Just the pure racing is about as fun as it gets IMO. Its fast, its social, its a very chill atmosphere...the misery factor is very low...at least for an XC weenie like myself...and when your out there ripping downhill, hitting jumps...what a rush.
I had done about 4 or 5 enduros prior to today....I have always done them with little prep and a less than stellar bike. When I decided to get into this last year, I planned to take it a little more seriously....Which you know..... change my whole diet, hire a new coach, work out like crazy, squats BRO!.....ya no actually...in fact i didnt do any of that ...But I did go out and by myself a new Santa Cruz Bronson....Because step 1 should always be buying some piece of equipment that is capable beyond your limits...then you will work harder to justify your purchase....At least this is how it works for me...your results may vary. Actually, I was riding my trigger at glen Park around this time, put it into a tree and broke the frame...which made this decision to buy a new bike a little easier. So with a new bike, @muddybike, @Chris26er and the crew always wanting to smash downhills....I was getting excited for 2020.
Well ya, than covid....which pretty much sunk any and all plans I had for this year....outside of just riding my bike as much as I can.
So today, all of the plans of last fall finally came together. This was my first attempt to give enduro a proper effort. This started with pre riding the course on Friday...sessioning a few things with the crew....running my gopro and trying to remember which stage has what jump, hole, death trap, quick sand, etc....Making some course notes...getting all of the jumps....ill say it as "down"....as in, ill get over them, but im not going to make it look pretty like @Ryan.P....It is an individual sport, but I think there is alot to be gained from a team effort....I cant tell you how many jumps I have had Ryan tow me into.
The Race:
Sadly, the thing I love most about Enduro was not possible today...Usually we all hang out together as a team and ride around....its one of the things I love most about this sport. But covid rules meant we had to go off in our age groups. It ended being me, 6er, Johnny Nickelson and Pat. Which was fun a group. We rolled up around 11 and over to stage 1..
I might race alot, but Enduro is just so different than XC in so many ways. To start...the speed and being right on the edge of crashing factor....I once read a quote from a Top Gun instructor (a real one, not "HOLY SHIT ITS VIPER") about how they want their pilots to fly their planes..."One inch from out of control at times, but in a purposeful manner"....Thats how I like to think about racing enduro. As fast as possible, in control, but just barely
To start your day of riding...you are going from 0 to turn volume to 11 in 1 second....no downhill warm up...as in, you just need to instantly remember how to ride your bike at max speed.....So stage 1 didnt have a great start, sluggish, but I hit the lines exactly as I had planned, cleared the jumps without issue, however at the finish which was super steep hill, I slid right past the timing box....this cost X seconds, dont know for sure, but EVERY second in an enduro race is very important.
Stage 2....This starts with fast, flat, loose turns always making me feel slow...I have a hard time pushing them without the bike getting loose....Then as i came into the first jump it occurred to me that I had never sprinted at this thing full power before...im now going WAY WAY faster than I have ever hit this...I did the math quick and decided it would be best to slow down and not crash...Crashing in an enduro can be detrimental to your overall time so i usually lean towards the conservative side....Anyway, I cleared the jump, slower than I would have liked, but everything else went pretty well...
Stage 3 (stage 5)
We skipped ahead to stage 5 bc it had the most pedaling and the idea was to do that while our legs were fresher...made sense. Pedaling is good for me.....ill take it in an enduro where ever I can get it....And this stage had quite a bit....even had a small uphill...I remember hitting this uphill in a tall gear and just kicking it over hoping my chain wasnt going to snap.....now with your HR at max, you head into these steep loose turns with a few drops....i always find that transition from sprinting to holding the bike steady thru loose turns tricky...made it thru clean and now I was starting to feel pretty good.
Then back to stage 3...Stage 3 is my favorite...Pedaling up top, into steep/loose switch back turns, into a solid rock garden, to a long/fast/straight section to the finish.....This bit of trail just feels built for my 27.5....Its the one section where I feel like "im going fast"....The rock garden is not super hard, but you need to aim and keep your bike on a line...if you do that, its cake. Came out of there, sprinted the DH....at a speed way higher than I ever tried before....little pucker, but made it thru with no issues..
Stage 4
This to me was the hardest stage, the upper portion is very fast, VERY loose, off camber...loose turns, lots of speed...into a really fun double jump...but then you switch gears and enter this very steep/narrow chute where you are in a full lock slide trying to navigate between trees and keep from dropping off a ledge....Just riding it isnt too hard per say...racing it where you are thinking...."ok ride it, but ride it as fast as possible"...gets tricky. I was really happy that I kept the bike upright and felt like I kept a good speed to the bottom.
In all a good effort. With the exception of missing the timing box on stage 1 I dont think I had a big mistakes....Each stage tho, I feel like if I went back and hit them again today, I would go faster. There was still something in every stage that I didnt get right.
Stage 1, the timing box,
stage 2 misjudging the speed for the first rock jump
stage 3 going faster in the rock garden...that said looking at my time for stage 3, it was pretty solid I think
Stage 4 there are multiple lines as the start of the stage, i picked the wrong one and took one that was slower....dumb mistake
Stage 5 again, when a couple of lines split on an uphill, I picked 1...it was the wrong/slower one...ther was also a rock i should have went stright over and jumped rather than around, but I hadnt tried it before.
So out of the 35 people in 40-49 group, I finished 7th. Which I was really happy with and was LIGHT YEARS better than I have ever done in an Enduro. I think my previous best was somewhere in the middle of a much smaller field. In 14 minutes of total time, its staggering what 20 more seconds will get you. it was great doing this with 6er and the crew...the little tips you get from everyone before the start can be so helpful....6er likes to remind me to stay higher up on berms and hes correct...so its gets in my help on a run and sticks with me.
Huge congrats to @muddybike who slayed the field as she usually does....after riding with her for as long as I have, I was not at all surprised...But given her cancer not all that long ago...To say it was awesome to see her back on the podium would be an understatement.
Kris did get one picture of me as i was trying to find the finish line box
I had to go back and look, it was Sept. 23rd 2019 since I last raced a bike, which was the bearscat.....thats the longest hiatus I have had from bike racing since I started back in 08. Thanks covid
So had the world not ended, I cant say I was jumping up and down excited to do XC again for the 13th year in a row.....I feel like i have gotten into this rut with XC, bc quite frankly, even racing pro class, its become rather routine...and while the races arent "easy"...I feel like I have reached the top of my little XC racing mountain...which in the grand scheme is more like an ant hill...but that said, I still love XC, I just look for the races I enjoy now.
Last fall @muddybike was telling me about her idea to focus on enduro this year and got me thinking this might be a nice change of pace. Enduro has it problems, but just the pure racing of it.....when you strip off the pre riding, the prep, the pedaling your ass up the same hill over and over and over, fancy bikes, lots of driving......Just the pure racing is about as fun as it gets IMO. Its fast, its social, its a very chill atmosphere...the misery factor is very low...at least for an XC weenie like myself...and when your out there ripping downhill, hitting jumps...what a rush.
I had done about 4 or 5 enduros prior to today....I have always done them with little prep and a less than stellar bike. When I decided to get into this last year, I planned to take it a little more seriously....Which you know..... change my whole diet, hire a new coach, work out like crazy, squats BRO!.....ya no actually...in fact i didnt do any of that ...But I did go out and by myself a new Santa Cruz Bronson....Because step 1 should always be buying some piece of equipment that is capable beyond your limits...then you will work harder to justify your purchase....At least this is how it works for me...your results may vary. Actually, I was riding my trigger at glen Park around this time, put it into a tree and broke the frame...which made this decision to buy a new bike a little easier. So with a new bike, @muddybike, @Chris26er and the crew always wanting to smash downhills....I was getting excited for 2020.
Well ya, than covid....which pretty much sunk any and all plans I had for this year....outside of just riding my bike as much as I can.
So today, all of the plans of last fall finally came together. This was my first attempt to give enduro a proper effort. This started with pre riding the course on Friday...sessioning a few things with the crew....running my gopro and trying to remember which stage has what jump, hole, death trap, quick sand, etc....Making some course notes...getting all of the jumps....ill say it as "down"....as in, ill get over them, but im not going to make it look pretty like @Ryan.P....It is an individual sport, but I think there is alot to be gained from a team effort....I cant tell you how many jumps I have had Ryan tow me into.
The Race:
Sadly, the thing I love most about Enduro was not possible today...Usually we all hang out together as a team and ride around....its one of the things I love most about this sport. But covid rules meant we had to go off in our age groups. It ended being me, 6er, Johnny Nickelson and Pat. Which was fun a group. We rolled up around 11 and over to stage 1..
I might race alot, but Enduro is just so different than XC in so many ways. To start...the speed and being right on the edge of crashing factor....I once read a quote from a Top Gun instructor (a real one, not "HOLY SHIT ITS VIPER") about how they want their pilots to fly their planes..."One inch from out of control at times, but in a purposeful manner"....Thats how I like to think about racing enduro. As fast as possible, in control, but just barely
To start your day of riding...you are going from 0 to turn volume to 11 in 1 second....no downhill warm up...as in, you just need to instantly remember how to ride your bike at max speed.....So stage 1 didnt have a great start, sluggish, but I hit the lines exactly as I had planned, cleared the jumps without issue, however at the finish which was super steep hill, I slid right past the timing box....this cost X seconds, dont know for sure, but EVERY second in an enduro race is very important. Stage 2....This starts with fast, flat, loose turns always making me feel slow...I have a hard time pushing them without the bike getting loose....Then as i came into the first jump it occurred to me that I had never sprinted at this thing full power before...im now going WAY WAY faster than I have ever hit this...I did the math quick and decided it would be best to slow down and not crash...Crashing in an enduro can be detrimental to your overall time so i usually lean towards the conservative side....Anyway, I cleared the jump, slower than I would have liked, but everything else went pretty well...
Stage 3 (stage 5)
We skipped ahead to stage 5 bc it had the most pedaling and the idea was to do that while our legs were fresher...made sense. Pedaling is good for me.....ill take it in an enduro where ever I can get it....And this stage had quite a bit....even had a small uphill...I remember hitting this uphill in a tall gear and just kicking it over hoping my chain wasnt going to snap.....now with your HR at max, you head into these steep loose turns with a few drops....i always find that transition from sprinting to holding the bike steady thru loose turns tricky...made it thru clean and now I was starting to feel pretty good.
Then back to stage 3...Stage 3 is my favorite...Pedaling up top, into steep/loose switch back turns, into a solid rock garden, to a long/fast/straight section to the finish.....This bit of trail just feels built for my 27.5....Its the one section where I feel like "im going fast"....The rock garden is not super hard, but you need to aim and keep your bike on a line...if you do that, its cake. Came out of there, sprinted the DH....at a speed way higher than I ever tried before....little pucker, but made it thru with no issues..
Stage 4
This to me was the hardest stage, the upper portion is very fast, VERY loose, off camber...loose turns, lots of speed...into a really fun double jump...but then you switch gears and enter this very steep/narrow chute where you are in a full lock slide trying to navigate between trees and keep from dropping off a ledge....Just riding it isnt too hard per say...racing it where you are thinking...."ok ride it, but ride it as fast as possible"...gets tricky. I was really happy that I kept the bike upright and felt like I kept a good speed to the bottom.
In all a good effort. With the exception of missing the timing box on stage 1 I dont think I had a big mistakes....Each stage tho, I feel like if I went back and hit them again today, I would go faster. There was still something in every stage that I didnt get right.
Stage 1, the timing box,
stage 2 misjudging the speed for the first rock jump
stage 3 going faster in the rock garden...that said looking at my time for stage 3, it was pretty solid I think
Stage 4 there are multiple lines as the start of the stage, i picked the wrong one and took one that was slower....dumb mistake
Stage 5 again, when a couple of lines split on an uphill, I picked 1...it was the wrong/slower one...ther was also a rock i should have went stright over and jumped rather than around, but I hadnt tried it before.
So out of the 35 people in 40-49 group, I finished 7th. Which I was really happy with and was LIGHT YEARS better than I have ever done in an Enduro. I think my previous best was somewhere in the middle of a much smaller field. In 14 minutes of total time, its staggering what 20 more seconds will get you. it was great doing this with 6er and the crew...the little tips you get from everyone before the start can be so helpful....6er likes to remind me to stay higher up on berms and hes correct...so its gets in my help on a run and sticks with me.
Huge congrats to @muddybike who slayed the field as she usually does....after riding with her for as long as I have, I was not at all surprised...But given her cancer not all that long ago...To say it was awesome to see her back on the podium would be an understatement.
Kris did get one picture of me as i was trying to find the finish line box
Good times, now go get you pinky fixed before it falls off 😊
I went to urgent care and paid $65 for the doctor to tell me the X-ray tech isn’t in today, so that was cool.
Glen Park ESC enduro!!
Hey im back. Wow you know it sucks when i come back here and I see the last thing I posted about was an enduro race at the same location.......well sorry folks, but thats whats happening....
Well since the bear creek enduro last fall, I have pretty much came to the conclusion that I wasnt making any XC plans for 2021.....Its been hard for me to grasp since I have been racing XC since 2007, but for now at least, im done....thats today, I might change my mind tomorrow, who knows? I did sign up for Iron Furnace, but in the end, I decided to not go....Looking at the results, I understand why.....after so many years of doing XC with mostly the same people...I can look at a list of finishers and pretty much go....ok, in this group, id finish "here" and its just not motivating me to train anymore. With enduro...I pretty much dont know anyone that I race against, and I show up and have 0 expectations of how I will finish...I mean I hope I dont finish last, but ????? no idea. Enduro is easier to do than XC in the sense that you dont have to suffer like XC, but its definitely harder to do well than XC. The racing is so close and every second is so important....you are alone on the course so you have no real in the moment feedback of how fast you are actually going.
So I was pretty stoked for this race all year....I know Glen park, not great, but well....Most of the jumps they use in a race I can do without issue now....I have been feeling great on the bike this year....THEN.......3 weeks ago I had a stupid crash at wildcat. Break 1 of my ribs and have a stick go thru my side....the puncture wound was bad enough that I need two different cat scans to confirm I wasnt bleeding internally.....Anyway, I lost 2.5 really important weeks when I would have been going to glen park and just trying to get my brain up to speed. That said, I was still going to do the race, just wasnt sure if I would be as sharp having not ridden my big bike in quite a while.
@muddybike and I met up friday for some pre riding....it can be tricky at Glen park bc there are so many trails running on top of one another....you think you are on the course then another 4 way intersection and your lost. So we did our best, hit the features that are usually always in, worked on some lines, then bailed when the thunderstorm rolled in. Plan was to come back in the morning and give it another go with the course fully taped. Saturday we did a little more full top to bottom runs...Which I like doing bc I find that while sessioning is good....when you are then running at full tilt on race day...for me, its easier to miss visual cues to turns, etc.
Sunday I again met up with Kris and we headed out to the park for 7am.....which I mention only bc dam this is going to be a LONG day. Went to the 8am riders meeting, watched Kris head out with the rest of the pros, then I began the WAIT for my turn at 11. Went back to the car, fell asleep....woke up boiling... just tried to find something to do to pass the time. Im really bad at this, I am used to just get on the bike, warm up, roll into the starting line and lets rock. Finally my group starts assembling for timing chip activation....I hang back with another guy @eragot who like me saw no point in sitting in the blazing sun any long that necessary. We finally roll up, get our chips and make out way to the top for stage 1. When we arrive, the line is nuts....seemed like 75 riders....now we are out in the hot sun with no shade.....for an hour and fifteen minutes we sat there cooking. I drank my whole race water supply before the race had started. But on the bright side, I chatted with Eric who was a former road and cross guy and we had alot of mutual friends. Seems like many guys like Eric in my class....Dads whose sons are also racing...and im hoping I get there one day.
So stage 1...This is where im really bad. Sitting for 4+ hours, baked....ok, now...go at volume 11!!! In XC, if im cold, I just wait....ill ride for 10 or 15min in last place, then when im warmed up, ill get going. Not a good strategy here. So I blast off.....and it takes me a minute or two for my brain to realize how fast im going....I made a mistake on the first jump...enough where I said to myself "WAKEY WAKEY!!!!" Then into the next set of jumps I made and even bigger mistake, ended up having to go thru the woods and back.....I just have a hard time getting myself sync'd up in that first minute or so at this speed. Im a little rattled, but I got thru the rest of the run ok.
Stage 2...I hooked up with Eric again for the pedal up....Feeling a little better now, which is good bc stage 2 has a long pedaling start. I hit it hard out of the gate, the heat and no training hasnt been kind to my sprint power and by the time I finally hit the hill I was huffing like mad. I started feeling better and more together on the downhills tho. I happened to catch the guy in front of me, who was awesome and let me buy, but it of course costs a little time.
Stage 3....By this point the heat was pretty brutal. Its not that I cant ride, ride fine, etc....Its just that when I am feeling good, I can do 5min of microburts at over 1000w for each effort....on this day, that aint happening. So im just leaning more on coasting and maintaining my speed....stage 3 has the biggest jump in the course, a double across a fire road. This is one that I have not done yet, the jump is sizable....really its not that jump that bothers me, its the very sharp left hander next to a giant treee that you need to make the second you hit the ground. So I skipped it.
Stage 4...this one has alot of familar stuff...gulleys, jumps, and ends with the steep chute....when im feeling good I can get the gulley jump down, back up...double over...right turn, jump the rock, and hit the right side line into the next gulley....if I can do this, I feel like im a little more sorted out. And I nailed it just right. Got a little sloppy in a turn and almost lost it....sorted that out and then hit the chute....as im coming in i can hear all the yelling and screaming, whistles and bullhorn.....im thinking....oh right, heckle pit = CARNAGE.....I have ridden this chute probably 10 times now....prior to sunday, the dirt was good and no ruts, so its steep, but so long as you check up your speed at the top, its not too bad. However, as I found out there was now a big rut, and some exposed roots....I remember seeing this and momentarily releasing my brakes to let the bike roll over....got a little sideways but rode it out....In fact, IMO, best thing I rode all day.....The crowd went NUTS yelling and I hit the finish line at the bottom pretty stoked.....Looked over at another guy who had just finished this same section and said: well my asshole is now puckered, how about you??? We had a good laugh, but then sadly noticed another guy lying in a pile with a injured shoulder......The photog got a great shot of me here
My man @Pearl told me that I looked pro AF in this pic....and I mean hell....what else could I possibly ask for out of this day????
Oh and @Soundguy dug up this gem for us today.....Im pretty happy that Kris and I didnt make this reel LOL. And you it doesnt look that hard in the video, but I assure you that there are people wiping out in this video who are WAY better riders than I am.
So after that, stage 5 was just like the cherry on top. Few big bermed up turns, into the rock garden and then the long easy run out. It was slick but hit it fine, I was now totally smoked tho. Heat had really gotten to me
Got to the tent in time to be greeted by the Queen of Rocks, her giant wheel of fortune check and huge flavor flav medallion! So happy for her....we have been racing together for a LONG time and im used to seeing her on the podium, but it never gets old.....and I still learn things from her all the time.
As for me, I knew I was not podium, material on this day and by now its like 3pm and I was now burnt to a crisp. When i left I was still in 7th, in the end I ended up 8th out of 37 finishers. Probably about the same as the fall race, although id say ESC might have stronger competition.....Not sure, but I know I could have done better if I had felt better. But good...I like where im at right now...I like that this is hard and I really am motivated to work on it and get better. 10 more seconds off my finish time would have made a big difference...and I know I can find that somewhere.
Hey im back. Wow you know it sucks when i come back here and I see the last thing I posted about was an enduro race at the same location.......well sorry folks, but thats whats happening....
Well since the bear creek enduro last fall, I have pretty much came to the conclusion that I wasnt making any XC plans for 2021.....Its been hard for me to grasp since I have been racing XC since 2007, but for now at least, im done....thats today, I might change my mind tomorrow, who knows? I did sign up for Iron Furnace, but in the end, I decided to not go....Looking at the results, I understand why.....after so many years of doing XC with mostly the same people...I can look at a list of finishers and pretty much go....ok, in this group, id finish "here" and its just not motivating me to train anymore. With enduro...I pretty much dont know anyone that I race against, and I show up and have 0 expectations of how I will finish...I mean I hope I dont finish last, but ????? no idea. Enduro is easier to do than XC in the sense that you dont have to suffer like XC, but its definitely harder to do well than XC. The racing is so close and every second is so important....you are alone on the course so you have no real in the moment feedback of how fast you are actually going.
So I was pretty stoked for this race all year....I know Glen park, not great, but well....Most of the jumps they use in a race I can do without issue now....I have been feeling great on the bike this year....THEN.......3 weeks ago I had a stupid crash at wildcat. Break 1 of my ribs and have a stick go thru my side....the puncture wound was bad enough that I need two different cat scans to confirm I wasnt bleeding internally.....Anyway, I lost 2.5 really important weeks when I would have been going to glen park and just trying to get my brain up to speed. That said, I was still going to do the race, just wasnt sure if I would be as sharp having not ridden my big bike in quite a while.
@muddybike and I met up friday for some pre riding....it can be tricky at Glen park bc there are so many trails running on top of one another....you think you are on the course then another 4 way intersection and your lost. So we did our best, hit the features that are usually always in, worked on some lines, then bailed when the thunderstorm rolled in. Plan was to come back in the morning and give it another go with the course fully taped. Saturday we did a little more full top to bottom runs...Which I like doing bc I find that while sessioning is good....when you are then running at full tilt on race day...for me, its easier to miss visual cues to turns, etc.
Sunday I again met up with Kris and we headed out to the park for 7am.....which I mention only bc dam this is going to be a LONG day. Went to the 8am riders meeting, watched Kris head out with the rest of the pros, then I began the WAIT for my turn at 11. Went back to the car, fell asleep....woke up boiling... just tried to find something to do to pass the time. Im really bad at this, I am used to just get on the bike, warm up, roll into the starting line and lets rock. Finally my group starts assembling for timing chip activation....I hang back with another guy @eragot who like me saw no point in sitting in the blazing sun any long that necessary. We finally roll up, get our chips and make out way to the top for stage 1. When we arrive, the line is nuts....seemed like 75 riders....now we are out in the hot sun with no shade.....for an hour and fifteen minutes we sat there cooking. I drank my whole race water supply before the race had started. But on the bright side, I chatted with Eric who was a former road and cross guy and we had alot of mutual friends. Seems like many guys like Eric in my class....Dads whose sons are also racing...and im hoping I get there one day.
So stage 1...This is where im really bad. Sitting for 4+ hours, baked....ok, now...go at volume 11!!! In XC, if im cold, I just wait....ill ride for 10 or 15min in last place, then when im warmed up, ill get going. Not a good strategy here. So I blast off.....and it takes me a minute or two for my brain to realize how fast im going....I made a mistake on the first jump...enough where I said to myself "WAKEY WAKEY!!!!" Then into the next set of jumps I made and even bigger mistake, ended up having to go thru the woods and back.....I just have a hard time getting myself sync'd up in that first minute or so at this speed. Im a little rattled, but I got thru the rest of the run ok.
Stage 2...I hooked up with Eric again for the pedal up....Feeling a little better now, which is good bc stage 2 has a long pedaling start. I hit it hard out of the gate, the heat and no training hasnt been kind to my sprint power and by the time I finally hit the hill I was huffing like mad. I started feeling better and more together on the downhills tho. I happened to catch the guy in front of me, who was awesome and let me buy, but it of course costs a little time.
Stage 3....By this point the heat was pretty brutal. Its not that I cant ride, ride fine, etc....Its just that when I am feeling good, I can do 5min of microburts at over 1000w for each effort....on this day, that aint happening. So im just leaning more on coasting and maintaining my speed....stage 3 has the biggest jump in the course, a double across a fire road. This is one that I have not done yet, the jump is sizable....really its not that jump that bothers me, its the very sharp left hander next to a giant treee that you need to make the second you hit the ground. So I skipped it.
Stage 4...this one has alot of familar stuff...gulleys, jumps, and ends with the steep chute....when im feeling good I can get the gulley jump down, back up...double over...right turn, jump the rock, and hit the right side line into the next gulley....if I can do this, I feel like im a little more sorted out. And I nailed it just right. Got a little sloppy in a turn and almost lost it....sorted that out and then hit the chute....as im coming in i can hear all the yelling and screaming, whistles and bullhorn.....im thinking....oh right, heckle pit = CARNAGE.....I have ridden this chute probably 10 times now....prior to sunday, the dirt was good and no ruts, so its steep, but so long as you check up your speed at the top, its not too bad. However, as I found out there was now a big rut, and some exposed roots....I remember seeing this and momentarily releasing my brakes to let the bike roll over....got a little sideways but rode it out....In fact, IMO, best thing I rode all day.....The crowd went NUTS yelling and I hit the finish line at the bottom pretty stoked.....Looked over at another guy who had just finished this same section and said: well my asshole is now puckered, how about you??? We had a good laugh, but then sadly noticed another guy lying in a pile with a injured shoulder......The photog got a great shot of me here
My man @Pearl told me that I looked pro AF in this pic....and I mean hell....what else could I possibly ask for out of this day????
Oh and @Soundguy dug up this gem for us today.....Im pretty happy that Kris and I didnt make this reel LOL. And you it doesnt look that hard in the video, but I assure you that there are people wiping out in this video who are WAY better riders than I am.
So after that, stage 5 was just like the cherry on top. Few big bermed up turns, into the rock garden and then the long easy run out. It was slick but hit it fine, I was now totally smoked tho. Heat had really gotten to me
Got to the tent in time to be greeted by the Queen of Rocks, her giant wheel of fortune check and huge flavor flav medallion! So happy for her....we have been racing together for a LONG time and im used to seeing her on the podium, but it never gets old.....and I still learn things from her all the time.
As for me, I knew I was not podium, material on this day and by now its like 3pm and I was now burnt to a crisp. When i left I was still in 7th, in the end I ended up 8th out of 37 finishers. Probably about the same as the fall race, although id say ESC might have stronger competition.....Not sure, but I know I could have done better if I had felt better. But good...I like where im at right now...I like that this is hard and I really am motivated to work on it and get better. 10 more seconds off my finish time would have made a big difference...and I know I can find that somewhere.
Great recap dude, and awesome job!
The heat and the sitting around, then trying to go straight to 11 is something I’m really struggling with in DH. Last race I camped out, so it was 2 full days without AC, there was no shade anywhere, and my group didn’t go till 3pm. when I had to line up I was so dehydrated and heat exhausted I couldn’t tell if I would puke first or pass out. Crashed 20 seconds in and was just happy I made it down. Definitely a big transition from XC!
The heat and the sitting around, then trying to go straight to 11 is something I’m really struggling with in DH. Last race I camped out, so it was 2 full days without AC, there was no shade anywhere, and my group didn’t go till 3pm. when I had to line up I was so dehydrated and heat exhausted I couldn’t tell if I would puke first or pass out. Crashed 20 seconds in and was just happy I made it down. Definitely a big transition from XC!