The Road to Somewhere

[xc62701]

I have been taking it pretty easy since the race weekend. Monday was an easy spin, Tuesday and Wednesday I didn't ride. Both of those days I didn't sleep well the night before and the weather was really crappy, so it was better to focus on rest. Yesterday, it was time to get back on the bike. I aimed for one of my favorite roads in Flanders, which is River Road. I like to go up that most rides and then either come down Naughtright or go further down Flocktown and keep heading southwest. I was wondering how the legs were of course, and just figured I'd go steady on the climb and see how it went. The legs felt good. I kept pushing up the climb, and where it usually hurt, it felt good to keep on pushing. I steadily ramped up my effort and got to the top banging off the rev limiter. It was crazy. I didn't think my legs would feel like that, especially given that I had raced 8 hours only a few days ago. I kept wondering if the wind was pushing me or if it was actually my fitness that was helping me. I thought for sure I'd need more time to recover but that's promising. That makes me think I should have gone harder in those events last weekend.

On the weight front. Things keep progressing. I was heavier after fueling/indulging this past weekend but I'm headed in a good direction again. Since early Jan I was 206.4, and I was 179.2 after the weekend of racing(after going up 3 pounds) and now I'm down to 173.6 this morning. Getting my diet and exercise back on track is really doing the trick. I even had a few more snacks Monday - Wednesday as I was just so hungry throughout the day. 165 by spring break(April 9th) seems completely feasible. I don't mean to pat myself on the back, but I've dropped weight like this in the past and for some reason its going much better this time. Here's a little weight history. It took me a few years - back in 2006 - to cut some major weight. After realizing I was too sedentary and my girlfriend at the time wasn't helping with this, it was time to change. My buddy kept talking about bike racing and I always liked biking, so I figured I would do that more. Then I realized that I could probably beat my buddy who was racing, so why not give racing a shot. The most I weighed back then was 213. Racing at that weight was PAINFUL. I knew I had to work on myself. At one point I got down to 149(for a day), and I'm guessing that was in 2012. I realized that was too light and unmanageable so it came up to around 157 for a while and that's when I was at my best race weight. 157 to low 160's was incredible. I raced at that weight for a bunch of my 2010 - 2015 seasons.

To think that it was possible to get anywhere near those weights again is blowing my mind. Discipline is the key to most goals in life it seems. It may not be the most fun but that and a bit of sacrifice can help get closer to whatever goals you're trying to attain. Now...I have no intentions to be getting back to the focus racing I had back in the day, it's just nice to think that I don't have to settle for being overweight and blaming the family for everything. If I can be lighter, happier, healthier, more confident, and more fit. That's a bonus. The big think for me is to be healthy so I can enjoy life and the kids. I am going to do more racing this year as I'm enjoying it again, and I just miss events. I love riding, traveling, and new experiences. Why the hell not. I know I'll get my ass kicked, but at least I'm getting out there and enjoying.

Today is a 90 min ride. I'm going to do a nice rolling hills loop and just keep the legs and the metabolism going. I'll have to see what I can fit in this weekend as the weather is going to suck again. One last thought - I just realized the other day that I signed up for the 12 Hours of Port Jervis. That's coming up sooner than later. So I've got that in May, and Wilderness in July. Maybe if MTBNJ can pull off this Supersonic race, then I'll be set for May, June, and July.

 

[xc62701]

The weekend went pretty well, even though the weather was horrendous. I got some time on the trainer and some time to ride outside. I also got plenty of activity rock climbing with my daughter and trying to remove the glacier from my driveway. I feel like today is a turning point. No more days in the extended forecast with any freezing temperatures, and daylight is later now! For me the winter months are always depressing and it feels hard to get any motivation. From here on out it should be getting easier and more enjoyable as every minute is closer to spring and summer. Of course I still have my lingering boat project which I need to get back to soon. My goal was to have that thing all back together by April, but I'm not sure that's going to happen. Maybe mid April. We'll see. But riding is progressing and training feels good. Now we need all of the snow and moisture to absorb so the trails are enjoyable again. I've been enjoying the gravel bike, but going down to VA last weekend has me wishing we had some good dry trails to cruise around on.

New shoes! It's been a few years, and as you can see I've shredded these things. After epoxying them numerous times, it was time to break out the new ones. My feet should thank me. I did get Sunday's ride in on them and they felt odd as I forgot to switch my insoles. Oops. They should feel much better on the next ride.

As for weight, today I weighed in at 171.2. I'm going in the good direction and 165 is getting closer and closer. I need to do some shopping this week as no clothes fit. It's all too big or now too stretched out. I've gotta get some new cycling gear too as it's getting more and more baggy each day. That's a great problem to have considering I've been depressed for the last few years when less and less fit. Just under 4 weeks to my goal deadline and that's ~2 lbs per week. I need to stay the course and I'll be a happy man.

 

[xc62701]

Not much of a change on the weight front for the time being. A couple of bigger meals helped the scale go in the wrong direction, but not by much. Plan is to stay the course and it'll get going where I want it to go. I'm sitting at 172.4 this morning and so close the the 160's. I'll stay with my diet and get my rides in and the scale should go in the right direction then. I've gotta say, I want to get to the 170's but I'm appreciating this weight. I just feel so much better in my daily routine, it's kinda crazy. I know I could bring the daily calories up a bit and maintain this, but I've done so well I want to see what my body will normalize at if I don't have any cheat meals.

Riding wise, things have been great. I did short of a 6 hour ride Friday. I did a 78 mile loop with gravel, trails, you name it, in there and just enjoyed a beautiful day. I can't wait for more of those. This Saturday I have time to get a bigger ride in. If conditions allow I'll be getting in the woods for 4-5 hours. I'm thinking it's time to get back in Mooch. After that I've got two weeks until spring break! Then it's time to get away and hit the beach. I won't have a bike so it'll be running and/or spinning for me but it'll be nice to get away and enjoy not the usual routine.

One of my winter curiosities was trying to make maple syrup. So over the past month I collected probably 2.5 gallons of sap and Saturday was the day to cook it down. It took probably 5 hours to cook it down and get to the final product. TOTAL FAIL...lol. When I was getting close to the point where it turns to syrup, I had the flame way too high and it started to get viscous fast. I tried to filter it as I bottled it and the filter clogged. I tried to poke a hole in the filter just to get it to flow and when I pulled the knife out, the hand holding the filter got covered in boiling syrup. OMFG that hurt. So I wasted half of the syrup on my hand and the other half that actually got bottled, was over cooked and is more like maple candy. Live and learn I guess. So for the investment of gear to make this happen I ended up with a learning experience, a burned hand, and very little product if any to enjoy. It probably would have made 1 cup of syrup - if everything went into the bottle. Crazy. Now I know a bit more to attempt this again next season.

 

[Patrick]

Liked for maple candy.

 

[xc62701]

Here’s my maple candy bounty from 2+ gallons of sap. Not much but delicious. Together that’s probably the size of a fist.

 

[xc62701]

I had a good ride yesterday. The legs have been feeling the extra efforts lately so it's been more low key road/gravel rides. I have some rides planned for today, Thursday, and Friday, but I want to make sure I'm good to go for a longer ride this weekend. I'm hoping to get in some big miles in Mooch. It's been a while since I was there last, so I'm dying to get back. From what I've heard conditions have been decent. We are supposed to get some rain tomorrow, but with Friday to dry out I'm hoping it'll be good for Saturday. At this point I'm looking at a 4-5 hour ride so 3 parks will fit the bill. That reminds me that I have to make sure my plus trail bike works or I'll be taking one of my other xc rigs. I sure would like to use the plus for the early season leaves and debris. There is something quirky I have to work out on that bike, but I just don't remember.

The best update is my weight milestone. Today I broke into the 16X's! 168.6 this morning. I ate more this past weekend so I was hoping the body was ready to burn it off as I got back to my regular diet and it did. Down almost 4 pounds from Monday, and 5 pounds from last week. My goal of 165 is quickly approaching. If I stay on track I could see that as early as next week. Of course that starts me thinking about where the bottom of this weight loss thing is. I really want to keep the diet consistent to help to find that bottom number. I'm still at a low number of calories, but honestly I don't need much more. If I eat clean and all the good things I'm having, I'm content. The only extra calories I really want are beer and treats. I don't need those. They certainly taste great, but aren't a necessity.

10+ years ago I was able to race well and maintain 157. That's only 11 pounds away. It's possible that I could see that again. It seems far fetched, but so did trying to get to 180 again...

 

[xc62701]

Sting hanging in the 160’s. I’ve been fluctuating between 168/169 but have been eating more too as I had a great sushi diner Friday and some beer and pizza yesterday. I also did a large ride, so the beer and pizza was a reward.

Check it:

Then I was hoping for a nice peaceful afternoon and instead it turned into riding around the block multiple times with the kids, splitting some wood, and then hiking all over Turtleback zoo. Of course the kids didn’t want to walk, so I had to be the daddy taxi.

It was a good day, but I’m beat now. I don’t know if my back and shoulders hurt more from the mooch rocks, or putting the kids in my shoulders.

 

[jShort]

Nice loop. You always have great Allamuchy loops. I’ll have to save that one.

 

[Over the Bars]

Damn that's a hell of a loop

 

[xc62701]

Another fun loop. This time in Wildcat today. It’s been a while. Lots of rocks, leaves, and hills. I’m getting the diet back on track after some extra calories this past weekend. 168 this morning. Hoping for a better weigh in tomorrow and it was a good diet day. That plus a good workout usually helps the scale keep going in the right direction. 🤞

 

[xc62701]

166.2 this morning! That wildcat beating worked!

 

[xc62701]

164.4 this morning. I've officially hit my goal of being 165 by spring break which starts this Saturday! I can't believe I've done it. That's 42 pounds in 3 months. I can't begin to say how much this has affected my life. From just mood, to energy, to fitness, it's amazing. All it took was to be given some motivation to get this done and stick to a much healthier eating plan. This plan is sticking around as well. It's easy to prep, costs a lot less than eating out with crappy food, and has so much better health benefits. I can't wait to get back to the doctors and see how my overall numbers are. I have been having some "normal" foods here and there but it's been the exception, rather than the rule and I love it!

On the flip side, from where I stand now I'm still not happy with my weight. I have some areas that I can still work on so I'm going to try to get down to 155. I set that goal in the weight loss thread. I'm giving myself until June 1st. Let's see how this goes. I did 40 pounds in 3 months, I should be able to do another 10 in 2 months. Beyond that I don't think it will be sustainable.

 

[Santapez]

164.4 this morning. I've officially hit my goal of being 165 by spring break which starts this Saturday! I can't believe I've done it. That's 42 pounds in 3 months. I can't begin to say how much this has affected my life. From just mood, to energy, to fitness, it's amazing. All it took was to be given some motivation to get this done and stick to a much healthier eating plan. This plan is sticking around as well. It's easy to prep, costs a lot less than eating out with crappy food, and has so much better health benefits. I can't wait to get back to the doctors and see how my overall numbers are. I have been having some "normal" foods here and there but it's been the exception, rather than the rule and I love it!

On the flip side, from where I stand now I'm still not happy with my weight. I have some areas that I can still work on so I'm going to try to get down to 155. I set that goal in the weight loss thread. I'm giving myself until June 1st. Let's see how this goes. I did 40 pounds in 3 months, I should be able to do another 10 in 2 months. Beyond that I don't think it will be sustainable.

You looked pretty svelte in the picture of you and Steph from yesterday.

 

[xc62701]

You looked pretty svelte in the picture of you and Steph from yesterday.

Thanks!!! That was me in my baggy, but used to be tight windbreaker. I hardly recognize myself in pics now.

 

[xc62701]

I did the long commute to work this morning. Up at 4, out the door by 4:30, arrive at work at 6:15 and get my last day of teaching in before spring break. I hope the commute home is better. It was water, and debris, and closed roads I had to avoid on the way in. I hope it’s a little better on the way back. It’ll be some good saddle time today before some hard earned R&R next week.

I am signed up for Ringwood next weekend so that should be a good slap back to reality. I’m happy that I’m away for the Jungle race tomorrow. I would be having a hard time justifying racing after all that rain. It’s going to be SUPER challenging for sure. Good luck to those that get after it!

 

[xc62701]

I’m back - from Mexico! The family and I had an amazing week away in Playa del Carmen. We had lots of sun, playtime, drinks, and some good eats. It was amazing to be away, but good to be back as well.

We got home at 10 last night and at 9 this morning I was on the line to race at Ringwood. The Fatbike race was first and I had no idea what to expect as these guys had a few races under their belts already this season, and I haven’t raced any xc races since 2019. As we went off, one of the guys flew out hot and I just let him go. I picked up the pace but I want going to chase hard. He got a nice gap and then let yo and came back to the group. I figured I’d go around and keep the pace I was rolling at. Up the first steeper incline and into the first descent, I looked back and saw no one. At that point I figured I’d just stay on it and see if anyone gets back to me. I figured if I got to the top of Pierson’s ridge, it would be hard to get around me on all the tech since it’s tight and relentless. I just focused on passing the next guy in sight and protecting my tires since the rocks are brutal at race pace. I didn’t want to make any dumb mistakes. I rolled across the line in 1st around 1:06. Mission accomplished. Next race was 30 mins later.
10:45 I was off again in the Cat 1/2 race. I was not looking forward to the start. I knew it was going to be a drag race and my legs didn’t want that. I was dropped behind pretty quickly and was ahead of 1 or 2 guys by the time we made the first turn. I was ok with this as I knew the first race would ding my legs pretty good. I would try to make it up on the climbs or tech to come. I did just that. I never felt great. I just kept a consistent steady pace and I would pick off guys here or there. I had no idea what class they were in and I figured I would y worry until the results anyway. I crossed the line in 8th place of 15. I’m amazed at that result. I was going ok but nothing special. It was great to get back to racing at the venue that starts it all for me. October of 2005 my first race was here and was horrendous, but enough to get me hooked.

 

[xc62701]

As I figured, Mexico added a few pounds to my weight, but it was well earned and a nice reward for working so hard this winter/spring. I'm back to my previously beneficial diet today, so hopefully by next week I'll be back to my pre-tequila and buffet weight. I did a nice ride yesterday since I had off. Sunday I didn't even get to ride as everything was so hectic with the family and hosting dinner. I figured my recovery ride from the double race Saturday would be a nice long road ride.

I headed out towards Bedminster, not for the gravel this time, but for the quieter roads. I figured out a new link through Pluckemin and then went to Bedminster and over towards Califon and back. While I got the miles in, damn it was cold! I wore appropriate gear for the temps, but the wind killed my feet. I finished and was hoping to get some other chores done, but all I could do was get some warm food and chill on the couch for the remainder of the afternoon. With the last day of my spring break, that was fitting anyway.

This week I'll try to get a few rides in, but mostly short ones. Probably some trainer recovery today, a Hilltop ride Wednesday, and I'm debating going to check out the Port Jervis racecourse. I'm not sure if I'll race this weekend as it's a pretty big chunk of time away from the family, but there's a possibility. I didn't think I would be able to finish as well as I did after my time away from the xc scene. Of course now I am wondering in the back of my head, how Saturday's cat 1/2 race would have gone if I didn't decide to do the fatbike race as well. I know I wasn't feeling energetic after the previous race, which makes me think I could have moved up some in the results if I had concentrated on the one race. I'll give another xc race a go this season, but not sure when if it's not this weekend.

 

[xc62701]

I had a dentist appointment in Upper Montclair yesterday so I took my bike with me and rode some of the forbidden lands. It was great to be out there as I used to ride there daily when I lived in Bloomfield. I also realized how tired I was riding Saturday's race on my full suspension. That bike is so much fun. I've been riding the hard tails all winter and forgot how much you can really put the fs through while ripping in the saddle. It was nice to be fresh on that bike and really play around with it.

I'm going up to PJ today to go check out this weekend's race course. I'm leaning towards racing this weekend but the family dynamic is still making me debate it. I do like that place and Sunday is supposed to be a nice warm day to race/ride. I'll probably have a better idea after riding the loops today. Oh and the weight is settling down again after spring break. I did bounce up to 170 but this morning I'm back down to 167.2. I'm hoping to be back to 165 next week and maybe see a new low.

 

[xc62701]

And I’m in! Racing Sunday.

I got to PJ yesterday and did one long lap and one short lap. I also did one of my favorite extra descents and some extra noodling. I forgot how much fun that place is. I’ll be lining up and I hope more people sign up! Registration looks light at the moment so I hope today will be a big increase. Trails are riding great including new trails! Yes new stuff!!! Get out there and support our local racing!

Body is definitely liking the pre-spring break routine. Almost a new low weight this morning. 164.8. Low before break was 164.4. If I don’t log out this weekend I could see numbers I haven’t seen so once my wedding. That would be amazing!

 

[xc62701]

Yesterday was race day! I was stoked to get back out and put on the number plate again. I wanted to give this one more of a serious effort since last week's race at Ringwood was more of a trial by fire. Stepping off the plane the night before and racing two races was a nice experiment, but it hurt. I then put in a few good rides, including an Easter Monday 4 hour ride and then did my openers Saturday and hit it Sunday.

Here's how the race went. I never look forward to the start. I always feel like it takes my body forever to get going. So the gun goes off and we hit the pavement opener into the first entrance to the singletrack and I'm sitting in 5th. I was happy with that. Of the 9 of us I was hoping to come in the middle of the pack somewhere. As we kept on it, I was on the back of the lead train for the first mile or so. All 5 of us were moving along pretty good and then I started dangling. And dangling. And dangling. Half way through the lap I just couldn't close the gap. Towards the end of the lap they were out of sight. I figured that was ok as I was in my spot and maybe I could dial it back a bit. Yea right. I could still see guys behind me, and besides, it's a race! I wanted to see how well I could do and maybe I could get past someone that was falling off the pace up front. Soon enough I got my wish. I see the 4th place guy coming back early in the second lap. I make my way to him and pass but then he latches on. I figured I could get away clean but hey this is cat 1. We ride together for the next mile or so and I'm thinking I need to shed him or he could pass me back. On the new switchbacks I put in a few good efforts to see where his legs were. I got a gap so I pressed it more. By the top of that climb I had maybe 15 seconds. I knew I had to keep on the gas to keep the opening and try and get out of sight. That was what the remainder of the race was focused on. I kept seeing him behind but the gap seemed to be steady or opening so I just kept going hard. Into the last lap I just remembered to stay smooth and get to the finish. I had to deal with some lap traffic but luckily it was towards the end of the lap and a bunch were on the last fireroad climb. I got through pretty easily and crossed the line in 1:35.

That finish was great since I estimated probably 1:40 from the preride I did. I rode well and stayed on the gas the whole time and didn't blow up. I made some mistakes here or there but it was a very good honest effort. I was wondering if I was still a cat 1 racer, as it's been quite a while since I've been in the XC scene as I've mostly done the fatbike and endurance races. Looking at the times, especially in a rocky place like this, I guess I'm in the right spot. Now to do more work on the fitness and just riding in general. Next up is the 12 hour race here. That's going to be interesting...