So Little Time!!

Holy Moly, it's been over two weeks since the last post!

So much to do, so little time. No time at work to prat about blogging and at home everything is still upside down from the move north.

But seems to have been plenty of time to ride my bikes so can't complain (too loudly). Managed the first night ride in Mi - hard runnin' Mark, he of the fast marathon and National level orienteering also turns out to be an experienced Adventure Racer. Has his first 30 (count them 30) hour race in Sept so some nocturnal mtbing is on the cards. Got himself a new light and wants to check it out. Well........ as I have found the local trails that look "nightridable" (from the trail run the other week), and have checked them out again on a trail run with Daughter #2, who has taken, somewhat kicking and screaming (or at least moaning vaguely), to middle school cross country. Seems like a plan.

Meet up with Mark at the appointed time and place - pretty obvious that his light will be a limiting factor - and hit the trails. Ride round, get lost, get stung by some bloody huge nettles! Oh I'd forgotten the delights of nettles living in Md (none down there, out of the ocean anyway). Nettles so bad on one trail we just give up and head back the way we came! But on the whole the trail has potential - need to think about a bit of trail building to add some spice but the basics are all there. Short but might be a life saver!

The the weekend comes around and I have my first ride with "Smilin' Bob" a neighbor who mtbs a lot but I haven't managed to ride with before. Sunday morning and I skip my usual date with deities to worship the trails (I know where I'd rather be). We absolutely bloody blast round Birchfield, neither wants to give an inch so we crush it. Bob even shows me a new section of trail I've missed in the past and which is the most similar to back East I've seen here - nice log overs and tight twisty. After one lap too much fun!! So we do a second, blasting away and inevitably tiredness takes it's toll! As fatigue mounts mistakes creep in and we both taste dirt before we are back at the cars. Spec-freakin'-tacular! Get home to find LW has only gone and bloody well won her age-group at the local 5 miler road race!!! First individual gold, she is psyched as a psyched thing.

Thursday and back to Birchfield (followed by beer) with Kevin - all is well with the world.

In between times the Mi 1000 is slowly progressing - up to nearly 800 miles and still a vague chance of success before winter sets in. First really miserable ride this week, heading home in the rain, mid 50's and a decent West wind that had me leaning at 20 degrees into to stop me blowing over - fantastic fun! Scaring car drivers and the occasional dog walker with my off key rendition of Song Two (by Blur). Guess it must be a bit disconcerting if you are out in the rain walking the dog and some idiot blasts past you on a bike screaming "Woo Hoo when I feel heavy metal!". Just happens to be my go to song when life is at it's best (i.e. toughest) on my bike!

Till we meet again


DB

In the groove (at last)

It's been a long time coming!
But the past week and a bit has actually seen some quality biking time!
Turns out we are only ging to have one car for a while (shame) so poor old me has to cycle to work..... like everyday, in the words of the immortal (probably) Belinda Carlile "oooo oo heaven is a place on earth" right now that place is Okemos Mi.
So I've cycled to work on the fixie everyday for the past week - only 6 miles (20 min) but enough to get the heartrate up and to log over 50 miles since Monday. With the 20 mile road ride I did with MLW last Sunday the past 7 days have taken in 6 consecutive days on the fixie totalling over 70 miles. Hardly epic but a start.
Thursday was a departure from the norm in that I didn't ride home but was picked up by SWMBO in the Bolluxmobile so we could head to Burchfield and introduce MLW to both Kevin and the local trails. MLW liked Kevin (and his family) more than she did the trails but overall whole thing totally positive!
Another short post but back in the groove.

Later.......

DB

Two Rides in One Day!

I need to get back in the saddle!

All week life has been crazy! Spent Wednesday and Thursday in Illinois and so it's been eight days since I have even broken sweat. Bad enough, but next Saturday I am running the Baltimore 10 mile Road Race - guess that's gonna hurt!

One week left and a level of fitness that is lower than a midget limbo dancers arse! Time to step it up big stylee.

Friday and there is no bloody option. Finish work, change into running gear and hit the road. First road run in Okemos - how long have I lived here? What the hell have I been doing? Headed up Okemos Rd then turned off to the left along a footpath - pace is kinda fast, trying to stay smooth and keep the stride stretched out. By 10 min I am gasping. By the end I reach the end of the trail I'm winded and wondering if I should cut the run short. Eventually I find my way to Hulett Rd. Hang a right and keep going. Over Bennett, rail tracks and finally hit Okemos again. Left over the river, round the park, finally to Marsh Rd. Right and then Dobie Rd? Heading home but bugger me Dobie is quite hilly! By time I hit Jolly Road I am 55 min in and more than happy to head right and back to the Hotel. In the end 1.05 hrs effort. Sore legs, clogged lungs. All is good.

Saturday, and my mission (if I chose to take it) is to window shop for new cars. Yeah, like I'm not gonna drive so it's me and the Rockhopper. Spend the best part of 6 hours riding and looking at cars.

Sunday and I have two rides planned (Yoo Hoo)! Mark (my adventure racing friend) has lived in Okemos for over 5 years and has never ridden Burchfield! To quote the Pet Shop Boys - "It's a Sin". Arrange to pick Mark up at 2:30 and we head to Burchfield with me (as ever) apologizing for the state of the Bolluxmobile. As I left my helmet in Kevin's car the other evening I am sporting (against the advice of everyone who I've asked) the V1-Pro helmet! It's a bit of a classic ride, cos I'm on my mid-80's Rockhopper and donning my vintage lid and Mark (bless his cotton socks) turns up on a mid-80's Stumpjumper (Biopace chainrings and all).

I'm trying to remember the route we took the previous week and we are tearing it up! Decided Annie's Playground is just about my favorite bit of Mi singletrack (so far). It's in a shallow(ish) depression in the ground but by heck the trail builders have done their best to utilize every bit of elevation possible. The result is a twisty, up and down rooty fun fest. If only a decent hurricane could come along and drop fifty or so logs across the trail it might just be a classic to rival the long lost (but not forgotten) Small Intestine!

Good as Small Intestine (almost)

First obstacle (the titter totter thing) and I balls it completely! Over the bars, not even close! Pick myself up - minus pride - and carry on, at the next obstacle (the elevated boardwalky thing) I have a bit of a half hearted crack but sod it not today. All in all a nice ride - take in the swampy bridge portion and Dragonball Run .Then it's time to get Mary home cos, he has a dinner party and I am supposed to be meeting Kevin for a ride in 15 min!

My Nemesis!!

Fortunately Kevin is as late as me and so we both arrive at 5:00pm for Burchfield Park take two! manage the whole big loop with Kevin - get horribly lost and do a couple of loops around the lake on the back half of the trail, ah well adds a mile or so to the total. By 7pm we are back at the cars and partaking in some rather smashing "High Seas" IPA. Two ride, one day - sore but happy legs, and a bike that is complaining - think I may have nicked a tooth on my back cog!

Next day legs are sore, but sun is out and bugger it I have nothing better to do so I hit Burchfield for third time in two days! That bloody first titter totter thing (My Nemesis) I try to ride it three soddin times and end up arse over tit each time, let's face it "it owns me!". Lost as a lost thing by the raised walkway thing - round and round and round I go, but I'm always seemly heading the wrong way down a rail and no matter which way I go i end up back at the raised walkway! All a bit Blairwitch for my liking!

Scary elevated walkway thing!

About the fourth time I meet a jackass at the raised section - no bloody helmet! Remembering Todd's parable about pointing out the stoopidity of this behavior I decide to keep my mouth shut! I ask the guy if he knows the way out and he completely misunderstands me and replies that "no he isn't going to ride the raised obstacle cos it's his first ride of the season". Something in my head goes ping! Whether it's the humiliation of being lost, the irritation with the plonker with no helmet or what, but I suddenly have a desperate urge to ride the bloody obstacle! Up I go and bloody well get on the raised section!!! Only when I get to it's zenith do I think about how much this is going to hurt when I fall off (it's about 3 feet off the ground). But in my panic I stay upright and even manage to make the left turn to dismount in a vaguely controlled fashion! Don't know if Mr Jackass was impressed, but I was bloody amazed!

Between us, Jackass and DB finally found our way out of the lost world and parted company. About five minutes later, by one of the car parks I ride up behind Mr Jackass again and as I reach him start to chat away - he never even registers my existence, well bugger him! It's not till about 2 minutes later as I pass by him to take the trail to his left that he jumps half out of his skin and declares "Shit, you scared me half to death" and pulls his earplugs out of his ears!!!!! Yep he's the real deal, no helmet and ipod so loud we is completely oblivious to the rest of the world! Glad I came across him while he was riding his bike not driving his car! As I finish my ride I do a bit of exploring and end up in a clearing with just me my bike and a mother dear and her fawn - stand and look at each other for an age - I get out my camera and take a load of photies, she just stamps her hoof occasionally - I decide discretion is the better part of valor and leave them on their own and retracing my tire tracks to the car.

Two's Company

Fantastic - knackered, skeet bitten and happy as a pig in doo doo!

Cheers

DB

1985!

"there was Sprinsteen, Madonna,

way before Nirvana,

there was U2 and Blondie,

and music still on MTV,

her two kids in highschool,

tell her that she's uncool,

cos she's still preoccupied

with 1985!"

Oh yes for us Generation Xers the mid 1980s are days to dream about - days when we could go out biking all day and not have to worry about anything except being home before it got dark - and doing our homework for the next day!

So where is this going? Well as it happens I was doing a bit of exploring in my new "burg" today and passed a consignment store. In the window all forgotten and forlorn was a thing of great beauty, a thing to behold. A thing that took me back to - yep you've got it - 1985!!!!!

A Bell V1-Pro bike helmet!!!!

"That's one BAD HAT Harry!"

An object so 80's I had to have it.

So $3.99 later I am now sporting a fantastic new (old) lid

OOhh I feel just like John Tomac!

So if you spot an older guy on a yellow mid-80's Rockhopper wearing a ridiculous looking helmet (specially if you are riding in Burchfield Park) don't yell abuse or laugh - I know I look stoopid! You've just eyeballed the DogzBollux!

Cheers

DB

And then... there were three!

Tuesday and I finally made it to the "track club" running group, invited by two of my work collegues. Wow...... I had forgotten just how unremittingly painful track work outs were! Paired up and had to run 800 meters, 1000 meters, 1200 meters, 1000 meters and 800 meters in a continuous relay with your partner! Only three miles, so why does it hurt so much eh? Still the beer and burger afterwards helped. Hopefully this could become a bit of a regular bit of agony.

Then Thursday it was time to hit BurchField with Kevin. As we leave the parking lot a guy shouts "Hey Kevin" turns out it is another of the team Kevin organizes (Joe). Now then - Joe is the Man! KNows the trails and leads us on a magical mystery tour around bits of the park I had completely missed on my first exploration! Twist and tight (like Charlotte) but with more ups and downs and some fun obstacles and roots etc. Several "teeter-totters" the first of which nearly does for me and quite a few elevated (O.K. by about 6 inches most of the time, but still)sections.

Logs to get over (though most almost inexplicably built up on both sides - even when less than 12 inches in diameter) and some nice short steep downhill sections! All in all pretty much spot on - in no time we had over 8 miles under our belts and it was time to head back to the cars and a sneaky beer (somewhat spoiled by a policeman showing up!).

Skeets were out in full force and I'm still scratching now but it was all worth it!

Nuff already

Cheers

Jim

Making Friends in Michigan

Been here for over a week now - Wow it's been a blast.

Without the beloved family (not moving up here until after "school's out for summer") time seems to be sucked up mainly by work. Hoped to cycle to work but pressure to turn up (i) bloody early and (ii) looking half professional have crushed that ambition! BUGGER.

Still found time on the weekend to hit the roads on the fixie, and what an adventure it was. Searched on line and found a site that gave me a whole host of road rides around Okemos - ranging from well over 100 miles (Crikey!) to 10 milers. Smashing. Chose a 50 miler for Saturday am, headed north into the country with a detailed route scribbled on a piece of hotel writing paper. Not too far into the ride I turn right and wadda you know the road is dirt! What the....! At first I am non-too pleased, as it has rained overnight and still drizzling the road is slimey and soft. But after half a mile it turns out to be massive fun. To the point that by the end of the ride I am disappointed when the road is paved. Biked up as far as Sleepy Hollow State Park and round the lake - checking out the trail heads for XC ski-ing this winter - cos biking will be out and I'll need to find some novel way to hurt myself! At one crossing I see a large yard sale outside a church and stop to check it out - despite my somewhat unusual lycra clad appearance the people at the sale are spectacularly friendly and only slightly bemused when I start eying up a pair of XC skis! "Bit tough on your bike" is one comment -" yeah" I sigh "guess so". But they come to my rescue putting them to one side till I can finish my ride and come back in the Bolluxmobile! Cracking.

As I return to my bike I meet an older Gentleman eyeing up my fixie. "How many gears you got" he asks and is somewhat surprised to hear I only have one! "I've got 26 on mine" he tells me - then if he was surprised by my lack of gears then I was flabbergasted when he revealed that he still rides with a club, did a 400+ mile tour a couple of years ago and that the next day was going to be his 82nd birthday!!

Sunday and I headed south, not so many unpaved roads (only found one section) and the paved roads were pretty straight and flat. Pretty countryside and some nice old farms and small communities but not as cool as heading north the day before. Managed to get another 35 miles in to make it about 90 miles for the weekend and just over 100 miles in my first week in Mi.

Tonight - bugger it it was time to try and find some trails!! Headed over to Burchfield State Park - which is rumored to have some smokin' technical trails. Another website claims it has trails that "are straight out of a B movie". Rode for about an hour - still early in the season so some sections under water - found some "technical" sections, very short and man made rather than the natural goodness of Patapsco. Nothing I was uncomfortable attempting on the Rockhopper SS conversion! So even though I fell my regulation twice the ride was not super taxing, the second half of the ride I followed a young local who I met as he took a spectacular fall right in front on me - on a completely flat piece of trail - my kind of rider I thought!! Will go back and explore some more another night next week - it is 15 miles from Okemos and likely to be my only regular mtbing in Mi for the foreseeable future so I better damn well enjoy it!





Ciao for now

DB