Betcha thought I was gone huh?

Yep it's been a strange old year - getting no less starnge I can tell you.


The lack of Patapsco standard trails has put a big dent in my MTB time - poor old bike just sits there in the garage and sulks as I walk past. Not even much road biking........so not much motivation to hit the blogshere and prattle away.





But, if ya thought that meant I've just spent the last year sitting on my ever expanding arse drinking beer - you'd have thunk wrong! Well mainly wrong.

Okemos MI, it's where the Bollux-clan reside

Different drum up here in MI, different beat - but still some marchin' got done. Just got to adapt and survive. Heard last year bout a cool run up here in the "frozen North", name of Dances With Dirt! Running on (and off trails) thru a cute little town called Hell. Couldn't make this stuff up could you? Trail race - to Hell and back! Couple of choices, 100 km relay (5 person teams), 50 km or 50 miler. Only one choice really. So New Years Resolution is to have a bash at the DwD 50 miler. This settled it set the tone for the year - not much biking but shite loads of running - go figure.





Cut down on the boozing (Holy Moly must be serious!) and hit the roads/trails with the Marks. Mid weeks early (and I mean seriously early - 5:30 am for F's sake) starts often times with Running Mark (6-8 miles) and then weekends 10+ miles at often stretches with pace below 7 min/miles with "fast" Mark.





By March (with Running Mark training for marathon) plenty of miles on the books. So all set up for first race in MI - the Pinkney Trail 1/2 marathon - race report to follow. Hard run but great day and a podium finish! Couple of trips back to MD and even a sneaky night ride at Patapsco. All building up to the "big one" in Hell on 09/11/10 second 50 miler.





Who said MI would be dull? No freakin way!





Later (good to be back)





DB

Death By Raft (almost!)

Morning after my night in the back yard and it was still F'in cold - the Brass Monkeys would go childless!! But hey no excuse to creep inside and get into a warm bath. Oh No! Not the Bollux-way at all. Time for some ill-advised fun on the Grand River, what could possibly go wrong!

Kevin had asked if I fancied a trip down the river in a raft - in January, in Michigan - sounded like fun. Up for it. Dropped car off in Grand Ledge and headed back up stream to Lansing in Kev's car to the drop in. Raft, not so much a raft as a dingy - kind of thing you buy for your kids at the beach - and the oars are a kayak paddle cut in two with duck taped ends.

Alarm bells should have been ringing but were remarkably silent at this point. Drag the SS. Deathtrap into the water and clamber inexpertly in, only got a bit wet - at 11 oF how much trouble could that be? With my and Kev's weight the dingy "jack knifes" in the middle, with the bow and stern pointing skywards and us sliding together in the middle. Alarm bells heard in the vague distance.

"So.... it's about 12 miles to the car" says Kev, "how long do you think it'll take? About an hour?" Alarm bells are suddenly deafening!! In the middle of the river, already wet, freezing conditions, with more like 3 to 4 hours of paddling in front of us. Things could go seriously wrong here. But no choice other than forwards. I have a three hour window before MLW wants me home to go XC ski-ing - potential disaster. Paddled like a mad thing to pick up time but fatigue soon kicks in. Fingers and toes losing feeling, legs cramping and life is F'in super! All I can think is "if something goes wrong, I'm not even sure what I'll tell the emergency services in terms of an excuse"

Scenery is pretty spectacular - ice laden trees overhanging water, herons, even some kind of daft mammal swimming in the river - what was that all about?

After three hours though things are a little out of control - very cold, my iPhone has stopped working cos it got wet (so no GPS) and both absolutely knackered. Ice formed on gloves to point where bending fingers is difficult - gloves have hardened like cardboard. Time to abandon ship!!

Decide to hit the next boat ramp we see and get a ride home. Phone Kev's wife to come and get us - no idea where we are (no GPS) so she just heads out in our general direction and we will call when we hit land and have an address she can plug in the car's Garmin. Spot a ramp and paddle our frozen arses off to hit it. Getting out of boat onto terra firma - over nice ice shelf is fan-freakin-tastic. I go through the ice up to my knees and fill my boots with super-chilled water. Kev trips and goes into the water up to his elbows on both arms. Drag the boat ashore and now life is seriously F'ED UP!! And life just gets better, as we dragged the boat up to the road Kev finds he has lost his phone!! Dropped out his pocket when he tripped! So....... no way to contact Kev's LW, both very wet and getting seriously cold, dangerously cold. Stumble back to river and for the first time today the gods are smiling at us. Kev's phone is found, perched on a chunk of ice, out of the water and still operational. Wife called and back to road to wait. We accost a local dog walker to ask if we could perhaps, maybe find someplace (maybe indoors?) to avoid dying of cold. In true Michigan friendliness the walker does not even break step or make eye contact. "I suggest you call 911" is the sum total of the discourse.

In the end Kev's wife finds us, we are neither arrested or die - so it's all good really. Something to look back on as a (somewhat extreme) adventure. To be sure today we got away with one!! the gods will not always be this benign and we were lucky.

Oh the fun we had

DB

Lazy B!

Lazy B, yep that's me.
Slowed down on the old blog, mainly cos life is so much more busy right now - new job and youngun's doing loads of crazy sh%t - water polo for C's sake! What's that all about?

Anyway, despite crazy busyness been really doing quite a lot really. Lots of adventure type stuff and been training if not everyday (like the New Years Rezzies initially prescribed) then certainly 3-4 times a week. Two and a half months in and I've probably strung more runs together this year so far than I manged all last year put together. Nothing too long yet, 13.5 miles longest yet - remarkable as a run less for it's distance than for the fact that I was desperate for the loo within 10 min of starting. Few dodgy moments that even had me searching newspaper boxes for paper in case I could find a secluded spot to "lose some weight" so to speak. Tell you what, high visibility, neon yellow HAT Run running shirts are great when you want to avoid getting hit by cars when running - when you want to sneak away for a sneaky poo, not so good.

In the end no harm no foul, managed to make t home with my dignity intact!!

Earlier in the year the fun was mainly enjoying the nice cold weather up here in MI! MLW got me an industrial strength sleeping bag (rated down to -15!!) for Crimbo so needed to check it out. So one cold Saturday in January I shovelled the snow down in a patch in the back yard, pitched the tent - so cold one of the bendy poles snapped. That night just happened to be the coldest of the year! Down to below zero!!! as I head out for the night. Lowest I actually confirmed in the tent was -2 oF. Smashing, crowned me the "King of Cold" with the guys, coldest night camped out by any of us! Nice and warm in the new bag and a nice rime of ice inside the tent in the morning as evidence that I had indeed kept breathing all night. Quite an adventure, but the next day (Sunday) the adventures really began.......... Fill you in next time!

Soddin' Cold

DB

Where'd the time go?!

Wow, nearly the end of Feb already. Where the hell is the time going?
No posts for over a month - fortunately the blogging desert hasn't reflected a lack of activity but rather a lack of time/opportunity/desire to get down to the writing. Much has been going on and it will take a few posts just to get up to date.
First things first though - have some administrative duties to attend to before the saga of the first winter proper in MI can be recorded.

(i) review of 2009! Bit of a strange old year - most of the year was spent considering, then organizing and finally surviving the relocation from MD to MI. Realized that was considering the move as far back as February - when I did the George Washington Birthday marathon - geez that feels like more than just twelve months ago! The chaos didn't make for a particularly productive year race wise. One marathon (though did manage a PR and a 4th place overall and 1st Vet), one ultra (Hat run again) and a somewhat disappointing 10 miler, Baltimore 10 miler. So with the exception of 64 miles running not other competitive miles! To keep my life a bit interesting I initiated the Mi 1000 on my fixie and finally finished the year with 1038 miles on the fixie! The cyclometer registering a rather anticlimactic 968 miles when I ceremoniously replaced my cyclometer batteries to start 2010 with a clean slate - as a result of 70 "lost miles" from my first weekend in MI (courtesy of a dropped computer!). On the other hand there have been some pretty outstanding bits to 2009 too! Rode in CO for the first time ever! Converted the Big Dog to a fixie! Not a bad year on the whole. Now then DB get out there and take 2010 by the horns!

(ii) New Years Rezzies - bit late but wtf! The year of sub 180/160 to bracket the easiest and hardest of my resolutions! Sub 180 is a bit on the optimistic side refers to target marathon time! Been 26 years since my first marathon and with the passing of the years the time is now or never probably if breaking 3 hours is ever going to happen. Means dropping over 6 min from the PR! Sub 160 is my target weight in lb! Prob the easiest of the resolutions - though not been as easy as originally though and the weight remains a solid 10 lb above this target despite two months trying to shed the excess weight! Other resolutions reflect usual race targets - another 50 miler and one race of 12 hours or longer. Last one is actually to start the DFL sportswear line I have been considering for the last two years. Designs done just need to pull the trigger on first run of shirts - the T-shirts will be advertised here if it ever happens.

O.K. so the posts for 2010 have restarted - time for a beer!

Cheers

DB

Meryy Christmas.... and a Happy New Year

So come Dec 27th it was time to head south to the Ol’ Burg in MD for the New Year. Time to reconnect with old friends and to hit some old trails. Some doubt as to ridability in the wake of the big storm that hit MD a week before Christmas but in the end “No Worries”. Emails are sent to set up rides at Patapsco, unfortunately Mr Todd is no available as he is traveling with his folks but the kind Gentleman is good enough to donate his bike to “Yours Truly”. As it turns out two rides are arranged – one in daylight with Biking Sean and a nocturnal adventure with Hard Biking Brian. And due to the vagaries of my life in the end they both end up taking place on one day. Ace fun, sore legs!

Mr Todd's 69er (ooer missus)

But the fun in MD starts with two chilly runs with Mr Running Sean. First is a 50 min trip round my old “Hilly Run” – hey it ain’t got no flatter since I have been in MI! Next morning and the wind is bitter! All the running clothes are donned and we head off from the Mall, Sean, MLW and me for a jaunt around Wild Lake. Right leg is sore but holds together for another 50+ min run, all good.
The dawn of the next day sees Biking Sean picking me up at 8 am for a trip to Landing Road and a reacquaintance with the loveliness that is Patapsco. Great to get back on these trails. Take the “old” usual route along Morning Choice to the “loggy section” (despite my time in MI without log overs all is well). First stream crossing is fun with steep ramp on far side and freezing conditions – trails are as hard as a hard thing.

Its good to be back

Bikin' Sean..... bikin'

Up and over and I am actually feeling OK (a feeling that would not last the day). Down to the next watercrossing and onto Belmont life is good. Down Belmont hill and the next stream crossing is too bloody deep! Forget to “half pedal” and soak the feet - clever move! Up onto Ridge (via the grinding middle route) and then along Ridge to the White hike only trail. Who in their right mind will be out on the trails this early on a frigid Dec morning? No one sane so the decision to hit the white decent is taken. Few changes at the top end (including a superfun set of steps) which has me questioning if we are on the right trail but by half way down all is familiar again. At base of hill realize we have used up over an hour of our allotted time and it is time to wend our weary(ish) way back to the car. This is the point where Sean discovers his gears are frozen! In a big gear, oh the joys of single speeding are ever more obvious. Let me tell you the Water Break “in the dog” as Craig Gordon would say is no fun. Mr Sean walks up! I’m motivated and doing OK until rear wheel hits a patch of ice on one of the minor step ups and I am suddenly on my arse! Pick myself up and struggle to the top with lungs threatening to make a bid for freedom! Right at top along Morning Choice via derelict houses and back to car. Ninety minutes of effort, feelin’ fine and happy to be alive.

Night ride scheduled for a 9 pm launch, many calls/emails/texts fail to raise George so it is scheduled to be just me and Brian! In end Brian ropes in two friends (Mike and Dennis) to add a bit more spice to the ride! Nothing like riding with new people to add some edge to the ride. Had a few drinks even before the ride starts (courtesy of a dinner invitation MLW accepted on my behalf and I fulfilled, in full biking regalia, “men in tights!”). Oddly Dennis also admits he is probably biking “over the limit” too thanks to a couple (or so) pre-ride cocktails so it’s all good. Full of beans and good humor as we head to Belmont and down the hill. At the top of Belmont I badly mis-judge a patch of ice to everyone’s bewilderment and the bike just launches out from under me – down on my arse with a right old thwack, sore bum for days. Down Belmont hill and all is good – over the water crossing – I remember the drenched feet from earlier and hang way to the right (beyond the “stepping stones”) following Brian’s lead and keep the footsies nice and dry – Dennis and Mike take the traditional line and I can hear them swearing behind me as I clear the water. Up the hill, the left hand trail to the top (taking in the “extra point” big log over at the top –which bizarrely doesn’t cause me any agro) and thence down to the Ridge trail junction. I’m given the choice of route so choose to repeat the morning ride along Ridge and down the white “Hike Only” trail. Brian is very happy with the choice and the other two don’t know what I’m talking about. Half way down the white and everyone knows where we are – used to be the “old” Ridge Trail and lots of nostalgia ensues – memories of ancient rides in the mid 90’s and earlier. At the bottom there is decent in the ranks! Force of will wins the day and we head to Soapstone (big mistake). Was a time I could take Soapstone – especially when it is hard and grippy like tonight. But Mi has taken its toll! Half way up and I am completely done! Mike (with gears) crushes it!! Passes us all and is still accelerating. But for the rest of us (all on SSers) it is a death march to the top. Dennis is feeling his cocktails and announces there is no F’in way he is climbing another hill – so we agree Vineyard and back to HC. Take the cut through trail that George nearly killed himself on (silly double drop off which looked no more ridable tonight than then) way back when and down Vineyard. By bottom I am in last place (a position II was to maintain for the rest of the ride).
Over Swingbridge and back to Ridge. Stop at base of the major climb for “team photo” and then the agony begins.

Team photo - let the pain begin!

I am done, cooked, knackered – rest of the guys flow up Ridge and I struggle after them actually manage to stay on the bike all the way to the rockgarden and clear it but the “the wheels come off” so to speak! Hit a patch of ice and I am down again. Cascade is a nightmare; I think I ride over every patch of soddin ice and hit the ground every bloody time – no flow, mojo out the window just a hideous struggle. Realize this is what I am missing – haven’t had a decent work out like this since left MD. Need mates who will happily take me out and destroy me. Back on Morning Choice and I gather myself a bit but last hill beyond the “loggy bit” is another nightmare. I am gasping and groaning just keeping the pedals turning and Brian is happily riding just behind me happily chatting away hardly out of breath! Soon enough it is over though hard, brutal and absolutely beautiful! Sit in Brian’s car share a beer and a few yucks and it is time to draw a curtain on my MD riding once more. Back to Running Sean’s house and a sleeping bag downstairs so that I don’t disturb anyone’s sleep. Next day is New Years Eve and the end of the Noughties! The decade that brought me to USA, introduced me to mtbing and now has taken me away from Patapsco for pastures new up north. But I will return!
Happy New Year

DB