Wot a weekend!!

Whoo Hoo!
That just about sums it up!

Like all the best weekends this one started on Thursday. Got invited out for a road ride on Saturday by a work colleague (David), so decided I have bloody well better get used to riding on the roads at some kind of pace! So Thursday after work I did a quick change and was out on the fixie by 7 o clock - giving me just an hour before the light would get dodgy. Aimed for approx 20 miles and so headed south on Okemos Road. Dead straight! Try and keep the pace at 19-20 mph but it is a struggle in places, a cross wind takes it's toll and the gentle uphills drain the legs a bit. Turn left on Howell Rd with wind behind me and the pace really ramps! Feel almost like a real cyclist for a bit. Then left again on Meridian Road and I'm heading home - weather looks like it might chuck it down any minute but in the end I escape with nothing more than a few drops. Meridian Road seems to go one forever, no shoulder for much of the way and a pretty pock marked surface makes in interesting. Wind feels like it is more in my face than sideways and the pace drops to mid teens for sections. Over I 96 and all of a sudden the sign for Jolly Road appears. Blimey never though Jolly Road was so up and down! Wind in my face doesn't help but the end is near! Finish with 20.2 miles on the cyclometer and an average of 18.9 mph - solid effort.

Friday (with Saturday on my mind) head out for a repeat of Thursdays adventure - weather is awesome! Sunny so just short sleeves tonight and no hint of rain. Plan is to take it easy but the evening is just too nice. End up with exactly the same average as Thursday.

Saturday and the morning (up here without the family) is directionless! Need order! So I decide it's time the bikes got some TLC. Spend a good hour and a half (probably much to the bemusement of the other hotel guests) out the back of the Staybridge Inn Okemos cleaning both my fixie and my Rockhopper! Oh the beauty of a sparkling hub!

Happiness is a sparkling hub!

Afternoon (after an abortive attempt to bike to Denny's Bike Shop in Okemos - flat bloody tire on the Rockhopper) and its time to head to David's house in Watertown for my fist "proper" road ride in Mi! Windy as a cowboy in the bean sequence of "Blazing Saddles". Riding into the teeth of the wind is a real adventure. But we doggedly stick to the task and cover just over 40 miles at 18 mph average (15 mph into wind and 23 mph with the wind). Beautiful countryside, rolling hills, Life Is Good! Afterwards David and his family invite me to dinner - which is marvelous - then back to the hotel and I watch 24 solo on DVD for about the 6th time. Awesome movie! Makes me homesick big time for the gorgeous trails of Patapsco! But motivates me for Sunday and my inaugural ride with Kevin (Biodegradable Bike) Karpinski!

Sunday 2:30 and after many telephone calls and emails DB and Kevin finally meet in person - both riding Specialized MTBs - just made about 20 years apart (as I am riding my 1986 Rockhopper and he is riding an early naughties Stumpjumper). Head for Charlotte and a new section of trail. When we finally find it (after may missteps and me going over the bars trying to jump a log on the entrance to the first trail we find - I do like to make a good impression) we fins the new trail! It is pretty spot on - not much in the way of obstacles but twisty as a twisty thing and as tight as a nun's bits!

Kevin thru the flowers

Sections were hard to decren as we scooted along. A couple of fallen logs gave me the opportunity to fall off a couple more times and soon it was time to go home - DARN!

Here endeth the first ride!

Still 4 days/4 rides and nice clean bikes! Can't complain - life is treating me well in Mi!

Till Next Time

DB

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

Crazy Shit Goin' Down

Yeah, I know......... Been too freakin' long! Well guess wot? Shit been goin' down in my life.

Enough already, I'll explain.

Stuff was stirring in the depths even as I ran the George Washington Birthday marathon back in Feb. Not bike, run type stuff (so not important enough to make it into the old Bollux-blog), but stuff to do with the other bits of my life...... you know work and stuff. Turns out that I was offered a job in Michigan! Yep they do exist! This lead to a huge amount of teeth gnashing and sleep loss as MLW and I tried to work out if we wanted to leave the delights of Maryland (and proximity to Patapsco and all the adventures that allows us) and head West. Too much on my mind to get round to scribbling for the blog.

In the end we decided we had better take the plunge! So I am currently sat in Okemos, Michigan (just outside Lansing) trying to remember what the F has been happening for the past three months!

Weather has been pretty dodgy so a lot of biking (both Sunday morning rides and night rides) has been washed out. Nevertheless there have been some rides of note - both in Md and else where!

Now it;s a sad fact that although I have lived in the Good Ol' US of A for over 7 years, I have never mtb'ed west of the Appalachians! So when a business trip to Boulder Colorado was on the cards - Woo Hoo! Contacted a colleague across there and plans for a bike in the foothills of the Rockies was confirmed - bike borrowed and work schedules wiggled so it would fit in. Only slight issue is the weather, sunny Colorado and all that! Talk to colleague two days before departure and he announces all is well with the world and temps are in the 70s. Fan-freakin-tastic! Pack accordingly and am only slightly bemused by the pilot of my plane announcing ground temperatures in oC when I realize he soddin well isn't! It's bloody 15 oF in Denver! Snow on ground the whole soddin lot! And me (like a pillock), short sleeved shirt, and a light casual jacket. Worse still only short fingered bike gloves and no hat! Quick trip to Safeway sorts that - nice pink woolly beanie and a pair of fleece gloves later and it's "Mother Nature - bring it on!"

Ross against a majestic backdrop

Ride is a blast - deserted trailhead, cold but not too far below freezing and a lovely grinding climb for the first mile and a half or more to get the blood pumping! Ross (my colleague) suffers up the hill - a result of no mtbing all winter - slacker! But then after we pass a Prairie Dog "farm" at the summit shows me how Rockies technical riding is done as he disappears down a wicked rocky downhill (boulders the size of cows I tell you! Well nearly). I pick my way down sections, walk others and launch myself over my bars a few times - oh what fun we are having!. Then we take wide open swoopy sections which are about as fun as life gets, past abandoned ranches and herds of deer. Far to soon it is time to head back to the car and thence to a local brew pub for excellent beer and food!

DogzBollux in Co - In the words of the Lengendary Max Boyce "I was there"

Does life get any better?

Yep apparently! Cos I fly home the next day and get a pass from MLW to go night riding with the guys!! Two days, two rides, two states!! Died and gone to heaven. Turn out is Brian and George (as it turns out last time I ride with George before I leave for Mi :( but that is in the future and not known as we head out into Patapsco. Usual trek up and onto Ridge, then down the white hike only trail to the road! Soapstone anyone? WaddaUthink? Up we go gasping our lungs to capacity. At the top Brian mentions a new bit of trail that is huge fun! Rocky, rooty downhill between tight trees, woo hoo - and I don't even fall off. At the bottom is a plain stupid steep approach to a drop off with a run out that I can't even discern. No way in God's earth am I even thinking about it. George of course throws himself (and hit rigid single speed) at it and bugger me if he doesn't make a complete Dogz Breakfast of it and nearly eviscerates himself on jagged log that is sticking out from the right hand side of the trail!! Exactly how I will always remember riding with George!

Brian and me walk it (and that's tough enough) then we scoot back uphill to take the steep down, up and down again that takes us to the base of soapstone (by the toilet block). And so with limbs intact we head back to HC side and the cars and beer I'm knackered but as happy as a pig in poop! Unfortunately (and unbeknownst to me at the time) these nights would be in short supply!

Next adventure involved a trip back to Old Blighty in April to see the folks, which gave me the opportunity to reacquaint myself with my nephew Chris. Now Chris is a pretty keen roadie and even though last time we went "home" he was only 15 he kicked my butt pretty bad! So it was with some apprehension that I saddled up to join him on a 50 miler on his home turf roads. Needless to say in the past twelve months I have not gotten any fitter - Chris on the other hand has grown up even more and added 15 lbs of muscle to his frame - 6ft 4in and 155 lbs, man this was going to hurt!

In actual fact had a blast, scooting round the Cambridgeshire countryside - felt almost like a real cyclist for a bit! Chris took it easy on me and it wasn't until the final 3 miles that he put the hammer down and left me for dust. I tried to hang on but my legs were spent and I finished with stars flashing before my eyes and having to go and lie down in the porch with a powerbar for 15 min to get my blood sugar back to a range that avoided the imminent danger of me passing out.

Once back in USA and the decision to head to MI is made - notice at work handed in and leaving date confirmed. Just three more chances of night rides with the guys! With Todd traveling extensively with a new job of his own every chance was like the last one - so despite some soggy weather a ride was slated - a change in venue was called for (i) to safeguard the health of our beloved Avalon trails and (ii) to allow us to start and leave from a pub! Good thinking my man! Cars parked on the pub car park (can't recall pub name - it'll come back to me and I'll edit later). New trails and a guest appearance by not only Todd's dog Pepper but a visitation from Mr Mike! First time he has ridden nighttime with me and first time ever for him in the dark on his single speed! Possibility/probability tat this will be our last ride together - Todd, Brian, Mike and me - so we keep it fairly short - couple of hours - to allow time for brews in the pub. Excellent time all round having a warm pub to crawl into after a ride certainly has it's advantages - bikes, beers, barmaids! This was last ride with Mr Todd :(

Da Guys!!

Next week and as luck would have it weather was kind and back for one last scoot round Patapsco in the dark! Oh how I love that place! Leaving the guys and nightrides in Patapsco was infinitely more difficult than leaving the "dream job" I had dragged my family 3000 miles across the Atlantic to pursue! Great hilly ride, Soapstone, down Vineyard, up Convent and then the steep up and down to Bull Run - with Mr Mike and Brian as company. Even got a nice trail tattoo to remember the night! No pain when it happened but when I got home I had a nice inch long split in my shin that went right to the bone! Cleaning it out with alcohol wipes, a face cloth (swigging heartily from a bottle of Blue Moon) was a real blast and then trying to hold the two edges together - at least a bit - with strips of band aid - Oh good times I'll miss them immensely.

Guys! Thanks for all the memories! Small Intestine, New trail, Soapstone, Tunnel trail, Mission Impossible all will live long in my memory!

And now on to the next chapter...............

DB

Fools, Damned Fools, and Cell Phones!!

It is one of those things that really gets on my nerves - not just when I'm riding my bike (though it is worse then), but all the time! Car drivers using cell phones! I mean who would want to be concentrating on what they are doing when they are in sole control of half a ton of metal and glass travelling at 60 mph - Nah! It's far more vital that they call their friend to discuss dinner plans, etc.

Anyway as you may be able to detect I have an issue with people driving and using their cell phones.

Last night driving home from work - yes I know I should commute by bike but getting kid #3 to preschool prevents this at the moment - I am cut up, not once but twice by drivers using their cell phones. You know how it is, no use of signals (cos they have one hand on steering wheel and one holding their phone), general obliviousness (cos the conversation they are having is soooo riveting) and besides, they just don't give a damn (the selfish bastards who put peoples lives at risk by talking and driving don't really give a sh*t about anyone else). So I'm getting pretty steamed up!

I consider starting a "hall of shame" in this blog; containing photo's of drivers using their phones. Two problems (i) I have left my camera at home and (ii) there is a slight contradiction in objecting to people using their phones then me driving whilst taking photo's - you decide.

Either way fortunately no-one was hurt, no photo's were taken and once I got off the highway my blood pressure returned to normal. Just then I pass my LBS - great store, great selection of bikes, knowledgeable staff and supportive of the loal bike scene. However on a Tuesday at 5:30pm they host a group ride from the store. So just as rush hour hits it's peak a large group of (fairly novice) bikers spill out onto a pretty busy suburban commuter route. Fan-bloody-tastic! I fear it is only a matter of time until someone gets hurt! Tonight luckily everything is hunky dory and although they are riding three abreast the traffic is well mannered and gives them space by forming a single line around them. Me (being a cyclist) make sure I am 100 % considerate and pass leaving plenty of space and smiling in a friendly fashion to any rider who makes eye contact. (I'm a nice guy aren't I!)

As I approach the head of the pack I see the guy leading the ride is riding up the street, sat up without hands on bars. Bit strange I think - probably just stretching out his back ready for a good old fashioned workout! As I pull level though I discover............. No he is actually sat up with his cell phone pressed to his ear in the middle of an animated converstaion!

The moral here my friends is.... just because someone is a cyclist, doesn't mean they are not a d*ckhead as well.

Keep the rubber side down and the cell phones in pockets

DogzBollux

Back on the Monocog (at last)

It's been far, far too long, but at last me and the faithful Monocog 29er finally got a couple of rides in in the past week. The last time I had ridden her was at McKeldin with Todd and George so it was fitting that the first ride was a night ride.



Lovely night - warm and dry - it won't be long before the night temps will get so high that we will be sweltering and won't be able to remember the bitterly cold winter night rides when the ice covered the bike frames and shoes after the first water crossing and the post-ride beer was curtailed due to the fear of frost bite and hypothermia. Best make the msot of the current lovely weather rode in shorts and summer jersy for the first time in 2008 and was absolutely comfortable.



The conspirators this week were Brian and Todd (George off climbing or some such daftness - even though the Nomad is back in action! What can I say?). As it's been so long we headed of on what had been the "usual route". Up over Belmont (where the trail is seriously boggy!) and then down the fun downhill. After the usual climb to the cossroads at Ridge, Mrning Choice, Rockburn Branch and the fire road the decsion was made to hit the BC side. Smashing! Over the road and the Soapstone climb beckoned us. I was the "rusty wheel" as so often but in a blazing show of defiance (to my early season lack of fitness) I crawled my way to the top without cracking! That is one serious climb, just when you think it is nearly done the trail just keeps getting steeper. So a fine start to the ride with all three up the climb and pushing on. Past the Community College and climb two was likewise vanquished by all three of us - turning into a classic effort this ride. At the top we were so full of exuberance that we decided to take the long route home so straight on down the Superhighway (first time in ages) and onto the Charcoal trail. Nearly lost here cos it's all been redirected but with Brian's local knowledge the correct trail is identified and off we head toward the big decents! Just as we head to the top of the decent we rather startle a young courting couple! I think they assumed that at that time of night they would be fairly safe and undisturbed deep in Patapsco State Park. So they were probably a bit shocked when three lycra-clad guys on bikes with lamps attached to their heads came bombing down the tail. That'll learn em! Get a room!

The decent (sorry forgotten it's name) was steeper and far more skethy than I remember - a bit of the but clenching side at times - and the back wheel was felt to rise a bit on the high side on a couple of occasions. Fortunately I got my arse back far enough behind the saddle (normally a shortcoming of my riding) to avoid disaster. As always by the time I got to the bottom I was a bag of nerves and the final steep drop was an obstacle too far and I bottled it! Needless to say Todd and Brian were sat at the bottom of the hill getting cold by the tiome I got down - those two having bombed down the trail at fearsome speed!!

Over the swing bridge and traverse the waterfall back to Casade - nice ride back past Landing Road - cleared both the Big Rock (first time in bloody ages) and the Rooty Stump - before taking the rail back to the car via the "New Section" with the big obstacles - by the time we got here my bar light was gone and I was relying on my helmet set up only! Makes life interesting.

Back at the car and it was all smiles! Great ride, beautiful weather and no-one is in a rush to get home. Few beers loads of chat and plans for a ride from Todd's house in a couple of weeks to celbrate the grand opening of his new hot tub!

Sunday and despite some bad weather late in the week the trails are deemed ridable - Small group - just Richmond and me! Richmond turs up having forgotten his helmet and despite my pleas otherwise he insists on riding without one! His dreaa sense is a little left field as well! Jeans and a sweater! Makes me feel a bit stupid in all my bike gear to the point where I forgo my shin and elbow pads and hope for the best!

First big climb and two bikers are far less than happy to be (i) overtaken by me on a rigid single speed and then (ii) to be overtaken by a guy with no helmet and dressed more for church than a Sunday moring ride.

We organize the ride to avoid the bits of trail likely to be boggy so it is a series of small loops on the HC side - take in the Big Rock on cascade twice (the "yip" is history) and all the fun bits of trail. Ride for about 80 min then time for Richmond to go to work and me to head home and prepare for the "Mommies Gone Wild" Roadride #2. Same course as two weeks ago similar issues with bikes and nerves - consensus appears to be forming that everyone wants to get road bikes and dispense with the hybrids - so a deal of time will be spent on CraigsList in the next week or so trying to find decent roadbikes at sensible prices!

Cheers for now - enjoy the nice weather!

DogzBollux

Inactivity is expensive!

It's an interesting paradox that the less time I spend actually riding my bikes the more money I spend on them! Not that I ever spend a lot of money but relatively my purchases recently (during a real period of inactivity) has been high.

First of all I used my cycling inactivity as an excuse to finally finish building up my old Specialized Rockhopper. This old beast is a classic! Biopace chain ring, rigid fork, spectacular - probably dates from late 80's. This was the bike I converted to a single speed when my transformation into a SSer was in it's infancy. With the purcahsee of my beloved Redline 29er Monocog the poor old Rockhopper was consigned to a roof hook in my garage - and there she lay abandonned for nearly a year now. But I always wanted to emulate the great John Tomac and the "drop bar" Yeti he rode in the 1990 MTB World championship.

John Tomac in daredevil mode in 1990 on his Yeti

With my free time off the bike now seemed like a good opportunity so I set to work assembling my homage to John Tomac.



And here she is! I must admit as soon as I finished her I realized what a terribly bad idea it probably was - she has the potential to be the mother of all endo's but I love her just the same. The final touch in getting this baby ride ready was the bar tape - so I sneaked down to my LBS and to my amazement who was I served by? Only Jon Posner himself! Trek team manager, best supporting actor for his role in 24 h solo (inexplicably overlooked at last nights Oscars) and now bar tape salesperson extraordinaire - is there no end to this man's talents. Having put the finishing touches to her on Friday pm (MLW ws out) I was icthing to take her for a test run. So Saturady afternoon when an unexpected "free" couple of hours cropped up I didn't need any persuading. On with the cold weather gear and I headed off from the "Bollux mansion" for a exploration ride around Columbia's bike trails. If you know where to look even in a suburban setting like Columbia there is a fair amount of unpaved trail you can hit. I managed around 15 miles of which perhaps 2 miles was on roads, 8 miles was on paved trails and the remaining 5 miles was on either single track or power line tracks. Fan-bloody-tastic! A few minor adjustments were made but on the whole I was very pleasantly surprised how she handled! The decision not to travel to patapsco was justified as sections of the trails had the consistency of overcooked rice pudding - the top layer moving over a soggy underneath. Finished tired, muddy but happy, especially as "the leg" held up and showed no adverse effects.

The going was a bit muddy on the inaugural ride!

Sunday, as the weather had not been cold enough to freeze the trilas that were still recovering from the winterstorm that hit the previous Friday, and Patapsco was still a no-go. However MLW has signed up for a ladies triathlon so needed some roadbike time. Having disposed of children #2 and #3 to a friend we had just over an hour to hit the road. As MLW does not have a road bike and to even things up, MLW took my roadbike and I tagged along on the Rockhopper! We were joined by one of MLW friends and so we heade off into the Maryland countryside. It is a reasonable undulating ride and it soon became very apparent that my 38/20 gear and 26 inch knobblies (oo er missus) were not really up to a roadride. MLW had a great time and soon disappeared into the distance whilst I span like a mad bugger just trying to break 16 mph.

Taking a break at half way on MLW's first Roadride of 2008

The whole ride was just 12 hilly miles but MLW and I were both suitably worn out by the end. She acquitted herself admirably for her first proper road ride and I was left pondering the prospect of switching out the 20 tooth cog for an 18 tooth on the Rockhopper to make her more "cross-friendly"







Cheers all







Dogzbollux

Mid-Winter Blues

The weather is really playing havoc with riding at the moment! I haven't been out on the trusty 29er monocog since early December! I installed the disc brakes on December 10 and haven't had chance to test them in earnest yet - BUGGER.

Biking has been restricted to a single road ride (back on the Cannondale R400). Fearing for my bonk-liability after the UK adventure I made sure I took plenty of calories (banana, power gel and blueberry breakfast bar). At 30 miles I made mayself stop and chow down. IN the end it was all gravy! Did the Columbia Tri-course then added on a section along Highland Road (216) as far as the APL and back! Finished off along Little Patuxent Parkway and the Mall for a 55 mile ride averaging 17.7 mph. Respectable but hardly earth shattering.

The real effort has been on the running front however - the race schedule for 2008 is taking shape (see below) and the first stop is the HAT RUN (www.hatrun.com). Now in it's 20th year and with an increased entry (to 450) only 44 places left as I write. Looks like 31 miles of fun, this will be my fourth running, I'll let you know how it goes.

So it's been trail running with Sean II at Patapsco for the last two Saturdays. Must say the trails look great and with a number of trees down over the Holidays I can't wait to get back and try the trails before the overzealous trail keepers and their chainsaws remove all the newly fallen fun! Then at night it's been the lonely road running to build the miles in the legs. Tonight could be interesting with the snow on the ground and a 1.5-2 hour run scheduled Ho Hum.

Hopefully this Sunday will be a go for MTB fun at Patapsco and there is even a slight danger of the night ride making a long overdue comeback next week.

DOGZBOLLUX 2008 RACE SCHEDULE (tentative)

Hat Run (50 km trail run) March 29 - confirmed
12 Hours Lodi Farm (12 hour mtb race) May 3-4
Wilderness 101 (101 mile mtb race) July 26
JFK 50 miler (50 mile trail run) November 22

Bonking in Dear Old Blighty!

It's been a fair while since I got round to posting anything, the hiatus has been caused partly due to my inactivity - for which I have already (and no doubt will again) paid a highj price as you will see - and cos I spent the two weeks over the Holidays in my homeland across the pond! December 20th MLW, child 2 and child 3 and Yours Truly headed off to England for Chrimbo with the folks!

England was pretty much as usual, cold damp and dreary. Arriving on the winter solistice (shortest day of the year) we couldn't understand why it was going dark at 3:00pm!!

Planned for plenty of riding in UK - nice mtb trails near the in-laws house (Cannock Chase) and one of our nephews (of whom I will speak later) is an avid road cyclist so some riding on the cards there. Of course plans and reality are so often radically different and so it was only a minor shock/disapointment that exertion in the UK was in reality one short run and two road cycles.

MLW's sister, the avid cyclists mother, lives in Cambridge which is (darn sarf) as far as a midlander such as myself is concerned, so it was a fun car trip south down the M6 and A14 to Cambridge on the day after Boxing day (i.e. Dec 27). That Saturday the cycling nephew and I finally go out on our bikes. Let me give you some background. The said nephew (Chris) is 15 years old, but is 6 ft 3 inches tall and weighs in at a feather light 140 lbs. He has been cycling for about 3 years and is a bit of a phenom as far as I am concerned! Last visit home he gave me a goood test on the road and that was back when I was kind of in shape. Fair to say I am nowhere near in as good condition now as then and Chris is only getting stronger - never come across anyone who can pack so much food away and stay so rail-bloody-thin. Standing next to him in the hallway just before we leave I really feel (and to be fair look) like a short fat bloke!

The weather for the ride is pretty challenging, not too cold, mid 50's, but bloody windy and damp. Its the wind that really does for you, several sections of the ride were up grinding uphills, not steep but draining - especially when the feild hedges have bee removed and there is no shelter from the strong gusting wind. Chris sets off at a cracking pace pulling for the first two miles at about 21 mph. Eventually I decide I'd better take over and am very despondent when the speed drops dramatically almost immediately to a rather embarrassing 17 mph!! It could be a long day I think as I really dig in just to try and get back to an acceptable speed. In the end it turns out that I probably took the lead just at the wrong time as we share the pulling duty to a degree, though Chris does the lions share I admit, and there are sections (with a head wind) when we are doing 14-17 mph on the flat and others where we chug along at 20+ mph (tail wind). In the end it is a short but satisfying ride approx 32 miles with an acceptable average (17.2 mph) given the weather conditions.

Saturday afternoon is were it all starts to go a bit pair shaped for me (though I wouldn't know this for another 20 hours). Having exerted myself pretty hard in the cold and damp of England I develop a severe wheeze and have a very constricted chest - the cold damp air and 2 hours of gasping have irritated my lungs. Secondly I really have no appetite when we get back and end up missing lunch and not eating again until dinner (BIG MISTAKE). Saturday night I end up on a blow up camp bed in one of the children's rooms as my chest is so tight and wheezy that i am keeping MLW awake! It is so bad that when I finally sleep I have the "Claustrophobia" dream I always have when I can't breath! I have to go to work in a subterranean room and the only way down is a tiny elevator that I have to crawl into so my knees are up round my chest. All the time in this tiny elevator I am gripped with the fear that when it stops I will not be able to get out as the doors won't open - strange old dream!

Fortunately next morning, after a few rasping coughs, my chest clears and I throw on my cycling gear and throw down a small bowl of cereal (have you guessed where this is going yet?) before heading off on the local club's (Cambridge Cycling Club) weekly group ride. There are three rides on offer - touring, advertized as around 40 miles at 12-14 mph; intermediate, 40 miles at 14-16 mph or sporting advertized at 40-60 miles at 16-18 mph. After yesterdays performance (which Chris insists was harder than the group ride normally is) the sporting ride looks very do-able and Chris is planning to do it so "Old Fat Uncle" can hardly duck out!

The group of cyclists that show are a revelation - so much different from the group rides I have been invloved with in Maryland. Whilst in the US evryone seems to ride a new high(ish) end bike and look very lea and fit the group in England really are a real "rag-tag" band. Real mix of youngish through pretty dams old guys, wearing a real mix of clothes (some even without helmets) and the bikes are a huge cross-section from rusty fixed gear bikes, through mid 80's steel frames to the "usual" Trek, Cannondale staples. The winter weather conditions mean that no-one rides their high end stuff from October till April as the road gunge that smothers all moving parts of a bike in winter really eats drive chains.

One thing the guys i the sporting ride do have in common however is - cor they can't half ride a bit! old and young, mild mannered and very out-going and confident, they share the ability to scoot along at a fair old clip. Initially I feel bloody great, mixing it wit the pack and with even Chris and me taking our turns at the front pulling. At one point my (and Chris's) inexperience in group rides show as we misinterprete a hand signal by one of the guys pulling to tell me that he wanted me to take over for him indicating an obstacle on the road. By the time I have realized what he really meant and Chris and I have jumped to the front we have been castigated by the guy leading the ride! "Bloody concentrate" were his exact words.

For two hours I felt like a real cyclist! Then all of a sudden things were not right! On a gentle hill all of a sudden my legs started feeling heavy and tired. I tried to keep tempo but slowly I drifted off the back, only a few yards and I quickly regained the group when the road flattened, but it was a bad sign as the traditional "mis-ride stop" was still over ten miles away. Evevitably on the next hill the same thing happened and on the next it was worse, first a yard lost, then two, suddenly I was off the back! Ten yards lost, then my will to go on just abandonned me! I looked up to see Chris drifting back, initially I think he is suffering too but then I realize he is just heeding his Dad's words not to leave Uncle DogzBollux behind. "Just go Chris" I implore him "I've got a map, I'll just find my way back to the house!"

The I endure the final ignominy of the dropped rider, the ride leader - a guy with no helmet (which at this moment I am so glad I didn't admonish him for earlier as I had been tempted to), glides back to me and with his hand on my saddle pushes me back into the group! All the while I am pleading with him to just go and leave me! I know the sad truth that even if I get back to the group I am now feeling so wretched that it'll only be a second until I'm spat out the back again. Even his shout of "Easy on the front" isn't enough to avoid this happening as I am a broken man!

At the next junction, with me begging incoherently to be left to die a slow and lonely death, Chris is dispatched to lead me via a short cut to the cafe where the group will stop for snacks. Chrsi leads his fat,old and knackered uncle Bollux throuh a few small villages at ever deminishing speeds (I swear at one point I was doing 12 mph on the flat!) towards Waresly. The realization that I may have well and truly "bonked" drfts across my mind at glacial speed. I feel absolutely dreadful, gritted teeth, unable to talk and an absolute desperate desire for food. I am literally fantisizing about cake and as we pass a field where leeks are being harvested I have to fight a strange desire to get off my bike and eat a raw leek there and then (I blame my Welsh heritage).

Finally we reach the cafe - by which time I am barely functioning at all - there is a bloodyline waiting to be served! I have to almost physically stop myself from barging people slowwly ordering cups of tea and crumpets out of the way in my rush to get a piece of cake and devour it! Eventually I end up sat at a table with a large slice of Bakewell tart, a large latte, a bananna and an energy bar. I have just sat down when the rest of the group arrive - having done an extra 7 miles! After the food and a ten minute sit doen the change is amazing, I actually feel human again. The only strange thing is that my mounth feesl a bit odd. Finally it dawns that during my teeth grinding stage I actually manages to chip a large chunk off one of my front teeth (one of the ones I had replaces after a bike crash a few years ago). BUGGER, that's going to be expensive to get fixed!

After the stop I am a changed man. from here we only have 12 miles to go and with new energy stores I am happy flying alonf with the wind at our backs at 20-24 mph. In no time we are back at Chris's house, we bid the reast of the group a fond farewell and a Happy New Year, and my English cycling adventures are over for 2007. Final tally is about 48 miles at 17.4 mph - so longer and faster than the day before (so much for an easier ride Chris!!). First time I have ever bonked - hopefully the last, really unpleasant - still knowing I can push myself to that level of discomfort and continue to ride (however slowly) is kind of nice.

In all the English riding has put into sharp focus just how bad my conditioning is after months of no hard riding and not enough running. With the New Year upon us I have made my resolutions as far s what i want to achieve running and biing this year - a bit of a bloody challenge from this starting point.

Happy New Year ALL

The Renaissance Continues

Well last post I concluded that maybe the tide was turning (in terms of my riding at least), and so it continues. I spent the majority of last week camping at the Assateague National Park in Md’s Eastern Shore. Original plan was for a “whole family” trip but this was nixed by daughter #3 (the three year old) taking a huge dislike to the tent during a trial run and the tentative trip coinciding with the same daughters “Princess Dance” summer camp. So it was just me, daughter #2 (the nine year old)and her friend that made the 3 hour trip to the Eastern Shore. Company was provided by half of another family (Jen and her two boys) Jen’s husband was supposed to be there but reneged on the commitment to compete in the National MTB Championship in Vt (fair excuse I suppose). With the youngest absent and all the kids being old enough to attend the gratis kids club at the campground the mornings were left free for a road ride. Whoa the Eastern Shore is flat! How flat? I hear you ask. Damn flat, pancake flat – no flatter than that! The result is road riding that is an intoxicating mix of constant high(ish) speed and essentially continual effort. There is no real opportunity to coast as there are no down hill stretches and the continual flat nature of the terrain enables you to reach speeds not easily achieved (by me atleast) without gravity’s assistance. As a result we hustled for ≈ 30 miles on both days available riding. Jen regaled me on both days with accounts of her exploits as a leading roadie “back in the day” including a podium finish in the National Road Race Championships after she had managed to bring down the majority of the leading pack in the final sprint with some borderline shenanagins but miraculously remained upright herself. On the first day I even attempted to initiate a mid-ride sprint at the turn around point. Feeling f,ing great as the extra effort kicked up my speed I felt a little idiotic when I glanced back and realized Jen wanted none of it and had just turned around already and was just waiting for me to catch her up once I had had enough of my foolishness. Looking back I am somewhat relieved Jen took this view of my over exuberance as she is still a pretty mean sprinter and would have undoubtedly kicked my arse and dented my ego if she had taken the bait of an impromptu intermediate sprint. The second day ride followed the same route but was slightly extended coming in at around 32 miles at an average of a respectable (if not outrageous) 19 mph. I must admit I was surprised and disappointed by the average speed as I had been pretty much convinced that we had never let the speed drop below 20 mph for the whole ride, guess those traffic junctions really screw your average speed. The afternoon was spent mainly relaxing in the “Lazy River” at Frontierland a trip to which was the payoff for daughter #2 agreeing to tolerate a second morning at the kid’s club

The longer and more concentrated efforts than usual on the road bike left my MTB accustomed legs feeling somewhat worse for wear after just two days and a third would have been great, but daughter #2 was not in favor of kids camp three days running so the last day at the beach was a “cool down” day on the Boardwalk in Ocean City. To be honest this was not totally unappreciated by “yours truly” after a nightmarish final night which allowed little sleep due to a sudden short but very vicious storm that blew up on the final evening and lifted my tent (along with contents) about four feet off the ground and probably thirty feet towards the ocean before I managed to pounce on it and hold it down – with the help of two over kind souls who came to my aid – until the storm abated. By the time the wind had dropped most of my stuff was wet and I couldn’t be arsed to put the tent back up. I chose to sleep in the car instead, until my daughter and friend woke me around 2 am scared because the wind had risen again and they were afraid that their tent would blow away with them in it. They then slept in the car and I took the duty of sleeping in their tent (after anchoring it to the best of my ability with some large chunks of concrete I scavenged) to ensure it (and I) didn’t blow away into the Atlantic.

The benefits from the Assateague adventure (well the riding bit anyway) were felt on Sunday however during the now regular social ride – wow I felt great! My love affair with my Monocog 29er is going from strength to strength, I just love the way those big ass wheels allow me to ride! Sunday saw the addition of another MTB-rider reborn to the group. Sean another friend was coaxed out of “MTB retirement” and proved to be a very able rider indeed – God the guy looks the part, lean and mean in his “Irish” MTB jersey and he rides with a purpose! In fairness Sean would have been out with us weeks ago if he hadn’t decided to show off “how well Daddy can ride his bike” on his sons new BMX ramp – ramp designed for small wheels and 26 inch rims were a bad combination and so a broken hand was the result.

The Sunday ride took the now regular route from Landing Road, through Lewis and Clarke (where the revelation was that all the jumps and berms have been completely irradicated! Whilst we never really took any of the jumps on it was always kind of neat to have them there just in case the confidence/stupidity was ever found to give them a go. Then on to the “loggy section” that leads to the Belmont loop and the Rockburn Trail. After the third water crossing we again turned left up the insanely steep hill (Sean damn near cleaning it) then back onto the Rockburn Park Trail. A few twiddly bits added probably a mile to make the total distance to perhaps a shade over 10 miles. Legs felt great and MLW complained a couple of times that maybe I could slow down a bit – Yeah right that’s going to happen when the “Mojo” is in full flow, though to be fair to MLW her riding is just going from strength to strength and she is throwing that bike around a fair bit – she can a cropper a bit towards the end of the ride when a sudden last minute hesitation and approaching a log at a sligt angle resulted in a rapid testing of gravity a bruised side and a scrapped elbow. Good on her she never even hesitated and just got back on and attacked the next obstacle – that’s my girl! There was an option of extending the ride along Cascade but the need to catch a plane to Ca in the afternoon vetoed that option – bummer.

Still, life is good, my love for road riding is returning and the MTBing just gets better and better. Hopefully a few longer rides will be on the cards in the next couple of weeks cos the legs are begging for it right now.

Cheers

Dogzbollux