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

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

Back In The Swing

When does normality become the exception? For ages the usual routine was a Night ride mid-week and a Sunday ride. But it's been bloody ages since I have managed to do this with any kind of regularity. Maybe life is regaining some semblance of order cos for the second week running both the night ride and the weekend ride both happened. And conditions for both were absolutely freakin splendid! Midweek and although the temp crept above freezing briefly during the day (putting the ride in jeopardy for a while) by the appointed time the mercury was buried nicely in the "bugger me it's cold" region. Flurry of emails and on arrival at the appointed launch site turns out a couple of Brian's mates are joining us - more the merrier, splendid.

So the roll call for this iteration of the "oh so infrequent of late" night ride was Dave (who road with us once before), Kenny, Todd, Brian, George and DB.

All starts as it should, Small Intestine, Belmont and "up the Purple" (snicker..oh grow up!). Belting along at a fair old clip. At the crossroads we decide that the same route as previous Sunday sounds damn fine - Ridge to White and down the Hike Only section. New guys and old guys vying for bragging rights so the speed down White is higher than usual - not to my taste at all! Over to BC side and it's time to take on Soapstone, trails are very conducive to climbing - hard and no loose surface. Still involves a lot of out of the saddle anaerobic effort but the climb is completed just before my heart explodes. regroup at the top and work out it's a night for climbing! So the aim is down Vineyard, up House of Pain then down Mission Impossible - EPIC!

Vineyard passes in a complete blur - the guys are up for it tonight and it's all I can do to keep in sight of their lights as they hurtle away from me. Fortunately House of Pain is a great leveller - I can push my bike as fast as the next man! Stupid steep at the bottom, fun going down but virtually impossible up, some loose stones make the steep section even tougher as spinning back wheels add to the torture. Second section is almost doable then the upper third, more gentle (but still a heck of a climb) feels like a holiday in comparison to what we have just endured. Regroup again, and hit Superhighway to Mission Impossible, at the junction though there is a change of heart! Instead of Mission Impossible we take the re-routed Patarini Hill to the the top of the Hillside section and then the group splinters, George and I opt for Tunnel Trail (now "officially" closed - sign up and everything) whilst other favor staying on official trails. But you know how it is, within seconds on George and me starting on Tunnel we are joined by Brian and Todd - just couldn't resist this trail. It's been knocked about a fair bit in attempts to close it with a few obstacles being made just about unridable - result is that each of us take one trip over the bars in the first half of the trail. With ice and snow George is only one who takes on the big rocky section and then I opt for discretion and walk a fair bit of the very steep leafy descent. At the road we head to the bridge then take the steep route to the right of the waterfall, Brian absolutely crushes the first (and steepest) portion of the climb and is still cranking away on his Redline SS 29er when he gets to the stoopid rooty section. Gets as close to riding it as anyone I have ever seen. At the top of the hill pause for the (now routine) group photo. Down the rocky stream bed descent and Brian mentions to me that although he has ridden bikes for over 20 years with some guys, and only just over a year with me, that he has seen me fall off my bike more than anyone else he knows - Cheers Brian!

By now legs are fried, lungs are seared and thirsts are well developed. Talks of extra sections are quelled and we take a direct route back to the cars and beers. Fantastic Ride! Longest of recent times and fast ads we have gone for an age. Couple of beers and it's time for bed.

Sunday came and with it a lonely ride for MLW and me! Were suggestions that may be five of us, but with the Bollux-house thermometer reading 17oF when we left I didn't hold out much hope, and so it proved.

MLW was a bit leery both of riding just the two of us and riding in such cold conditions. We took on the "big loop" from Landing - Small Intestine has again been removed and "Not Trespassing" signs erected - so we took the old route up to Belmont Road. Fist 15 min were pretty hard on the hands but once we got some body heat going all were happy. Along Ridge two guys rode on MLW wheel for an age - despite her offering to let them pass. I thought perhaps they were just enjoying the view but the reason became apparent after a brief stop to catch breath at the top of one on the hills, we set off ahead and they just disappeared! So not (as MLW though) so much trying to pass MLW - they were desperately trying to stay on her wheel!

Trail again just perfect, SWMBO was a little bothered by "trails like concrete" descriptions, but by the end she was a convert! Admitted the trails conditions were the most fun she has ever ridden. Some hills climbed that I haven't made in many months and when we got to the waterfall on Cascade it id frozen solid! Photo-opportunity or what?! Bikes are discarded on the trail and we scrabble down to stand on the petrified splash pool and get a picture right in front of the falls - magical.

Quick sprint up Cascade back to the car and the big loop has been done faster than ever before on a Sunday - we the team!

Enjoy the cold while we can - summer soon.

DB

Gathering of the Tribes!

So it turned out to be an interesting weekend! Normally the midweek night ride is with George, Todd ,Brian etc and then the Sunday am ride is with Sean, MLW et al. This weekend things turned out a bit different. Sunday was planned as usual then MLW found she had run out of contact lens! Bless her cotton socks, she's as blind as a bat without them. Having attempted emitting high pitched squeaks and echo location and not been that good at it she abandoned all hope of riding Sunday am. Then Todd calls to say the Night riding posse is deviating from the norm and riding in the daylight hours on Sunday am.





Long story short, Sunday am we meet at Rockburn Branch Park to amalgamate the Nightriders and the Sunday Riders into one happy cohort. Turns out there are six of us (biggest turn out in living memory) representing 4 different nationalities (US, British, Irish and Dutch) a melting pot indeed.





Quick spin along the power lines and over Landing Road and we are ready to hit the Happy Trails of Patapsco! Oh joy! Turns out the devastation of New Trail and Small Intestine have been reversed, so the first ride at Patapsco of the New Year is on old favorite trails. At the top of Small Intestine the balance section is still removed but a "ridalong log" has been placed on the trail side. Too much for George to resist! Best college try but only rides about half of it. Mr Biking Sean then shows us how it is done, that guy has balance in spades! If we strung a piece of fishing line between two trees I think he would ride along it. After a few more failed attempts by us mere mortals and another demonstration of how it should be done by Sean the Balance King and we head off in the direction of Belmont. Quick pit stop for Todd to fix a flat then race down the Belmont hill and over the "bouncey" section to the water crossing. Very interesting!! The stream is frozen solid. We look at it, think about it, think some more......then get off our bikes and walk across it - except for Brian who sails gracefully across the sheet of ice crying "just don't pedal". Over the water and Sean repeats his balancing act on the next log, to George and my chagrin (as we make a complete dogz breakfast of it). Up the Purple (so to speak.... oo er missus) and we are at the Crossroads. Quick conflab and we decide Ridge to White and down the "Hike Only" trail is the way to go. White is fantastic as always, we reckon that at 8:30 am on a Sunday (when the air temp is only just above freezing) is pity safe, unlikely to meet any hikers. Would you Adam and Eve it! Just as we hit the bottom section we startle a runner heading up! No harm, no foul - luckily.



Over to BC side and you know with the fantastic condition of the trails Soapstone is a must. Trails are sweet, hard and sticky (oo er Missus) so even given the grade Soapstone is pretty manageable. We lose Reender though - having spent the Holidays in his native Holland (not too many hills) he is feeling the pace a bit and decides discretion is the greater part of valor - he heads to the bottom of Vineyard to meet us.



I love Vineyard! Fun but not too scary. Uphill is better but even downhill I have a fairly good time. Meet Reender at the bottom and the group decides it is time to head back to HC and the cars.



At the base of the Water bar we encounter a group of riders being lead out by Jon "the Poz" Pozner and after a fun climb we head back along the newly reinstated Small Intestine, New Trail and back to Rockburn - just time enough to fit in a close encounter with Mr Eatough (who is heading into the park from Rockburn). Then before I know it it is time to say goodbye to the guys and head back to reality - and Splashdown with the youngest!

Till next time

DB

2008 - Wow! What a year!

Well, it's been quite a year! First full year of the DogzBollux Blog and a year of some fantastic highs and a few painful lows.

Some great biking has been done in all weathers, majority at Patapsco but we also had our first foray into self-guided MTB tours (we certainly learned a lot from the Massanutten Mountain Madness experience!). Some great new trails appeared , and then unfortunately disappeared, at Patapsco - RIP Small Intestine, New Trail and Tunnel.

Competitively as well it's been a year of mixed fortunes. 7 races and some 233 competitive miles covered. Injuries looked likely to spoil the fun somewhat but in spite of this three podium places were achieved - probably best year in that regard.

Best Event of the year has to be 12 Hours Lodi Farms - just for the huge fun element in this race. Least fun was 6 Hours of Patapsco (but just because of the appalling weather conditions). But the thing I am most satisfied by was the JFK 50 finish, really was touch and go and given the issues during training the end result was the very best I could have wished for.

Looking back, 2008 was a pretty good year, hopefully 2009 can follow the same pattern. Plans are already fulminating! The year started with the HAT Run already entered and then on New Years Eve (after a few bevvies natch!) Running Sean raised the spectre of Boston (Marathon) qualification. MLW was very excited by the prospect of an opportunity of a trip to Boston so plans were quickly sketched out. GW Birthday Marathon (Feb 15) was selected and wadda you know on Jan 1 2009 I entered what will be my first marathon since 2002.

My poor old legs don't know whats hit them! After months of training at 9+ min/mile pace all of a sudden I am (trying at least) training at sub 7:30 min/mile pace. It's nice to have the base miles in so with 5 weeks to go the aim is mainly to get the speed work done. Hurting like hell but things are getting better - running two 10+ mile runs a week at approx 7:30 pace currently. In the next few weeks hopefully the mileage and pace will both increase. Course this means the anticipated increase in biking time is not going to happen any time soon, but at least (injuries avoided) I should be in good shape for HAT!

Cheers

DB

Winter Solstice (Part 2)

Yeah, so this should have been posted before or during the Holidays - Hell life got in the way! Anyway here goes.

Having "celebrated" the Winter Solstice (2008 version) on Saturday with the Celtic Solstice 5 miler a good old night ride on the day itself (i.e. Sunday Dec 21st) seemed only appropriate. Not a usual night ride night so "special dispensation" from SWMBO was sought and duly obtained. Out went the email - in a fit of solstice-inspired exuberance, aided by a couple more "sherbets", the email suggested that in time honored fashion the gods would expect to be worshipped by way of a NAKED ride. I assumed this piece of British style humor would have been appreciated by my New World riding buddies. The deafening silence in response to my email suggested otherwise!

A few phone calls later and many reassurances that clothing would be acceptable and a ride was potentially on the cards. Then the weather and some familial commitments scuppered the plans! BUT out of the ashes of the Solstice Ride rose.... wait for it! The Solstice + 1 ride scheduled for Monday the day after the solstice.

The gods must not have been annoyed because the conditions were absolutely magical! Dry and blisteringly cold - temp measured at 19 oF at the end of the ride. Trails were solid and had a rimey grip to them that only occurs when the temp is at it's lowest. Three takers for the ride, George, Todd and "Yours Truly" DB. Thermals, winter gloves and even ski goggles were in attendance. Headed out through Belmont and up to Ridge, then down the "Old Ridge" hiking trail (White?) to the road - this trail is amazing, in both directions, but tonight with the moonlight shining through the leafless trees and visibility good enough to enjoy the trail life was good, even the shaley section (made even more treacherous by a layer of leaf litter) was fun and no injuries to report.

Few bike issues, loose chain on the faithful old monocog, which called for some speedy trail side maintenance. Too cold on the old hands to spend too much time arsing around with bikes tonight.

On a night such as this the BC side was calling and the call did not go unanswered. Up Soapstone and round the Community College loop. At the top of climb (by the Maintenance sheds) the decision was made to hit Mission Impossible - Whoo Hoo! The riding was fantastic and no falls pretty much the whole way to the log crossing. After the log things were a bit more sedate for Todd and myself as we rode less and pushed more on the technical sections. George of course tried to ride anything that looked even vaguely plausible and he fell the customary few times. The stream was frozen over in places and the waterfalls were spectacular.

At one such waterfall it was decided that a group photo was in order - "right then lads, kit off!" was the rallying call and although Todd didn't understand the "Brit-speak" (how do I organize close captioning?) George understood and with a whoop started shedding clothes left and center! Despite Todd's pleas of "what the F and you two doing?" within two minutes George and DB were standing starkers in front of the frozen waterfall! Todd played his role in this madness by operating the camera and the rest is history.

In the time it took to take the incriminating photo the sweat on the inside of my outer shell jacket had frozen and it took a while for George and myself to regain feeling in any of our extremities!

The remainder of Mission Impossible passed in a hypothermic blur as I worked as hard as the trail would allow - mainly pushing the bike - to generate some body heat. The end of the trail as always is fun - the stupidly steep and stepped decent that Todd and I struggled to walk down with our bikes and George rode down!


Back across the swing bridge to HC and a quick jaunt across the waterfall to the Cascade trail, few more water crossings just for good measure - they sure are fun when it's that cold. And then back to the cars. At the cars I find my shoes are frozen to my socks and have to be torn way - luckily fresh clothes and shoes are waiting and then (in a departure from the norm) we congregated in Todd's automobile to make the post -ride beer a bit less of a challenge.

Ride was fantastic, trails were awesome and the gods (I hope) were appeased!

Cheers

DB

It's been so long!

Wow.....so long since I have gotten of my arse to try and write something here that (i) I hadn't realized my last post was the JFK 50 race Report and (ii) I'd forgotten my Google password.

Since the JFK it's been time to heal the broken body and actually spend some time relaxing. Legs took a surprisingly long time to heal! They never felt really bad but nagging aches and pains that let me know I am getting too old for this foolishness (yeah right). I've done a couple of short (5 mile) runs at comfortable pace but been sore the next day - this running at faster than 10 min/mile lark sucks.

Mother nature has taken care of the biking thing to a large extent. No night rides for past three weeks cos of rain and this week looks like another wash out. Got in a couple of Sunday morning rides at Patapsco - one of which was in the wet. Too wet really to be riding, but the rain started just as we got to the trails and as we were there..... It was cold (in the 30s) and damp/wet but as four of the group were from Europe (two Brits, an Irishman and a Dutch guy) the cold and wet didn't seem such a good excuse. Trails were not muddy but as slick as hell. Plenty of slick roots and logs, many obstacles were just plain unridable - as such a short miserable ride. This was the first time this group has ridden together (an amalgamation of Biker Sean's friends and the usual Sunday group) so nobody wanted to be the wimp would complained first. Due to riding conditions the pace was painfully slow and so only a short ride. Last Sunday fortunately the temp was ow enough to keep the trails frozen for much of the ride. Last 15 min were a bit dicey and a friend who rode later in the day confirmed that once thawed the trials were a mess. But at 8am conditions were pretty damn good and it felt great to be back on the bike. Mojo was in full flow and we took everything the tail could throw at us. Small Intestine, Belmont (including riding the log), Ridge and Cascade - beaut!

On the was down Belmont hill came across an arrow embedded about 8 inches into the side of the trail. Nice carbon (oddly Easton, I thought they only made bike bits) shaft and a razor head. Bit of a worry that from the angle of impact the arrow must have crossed the trail before burying itself in the dirt! That would have ruined a ride if it had hit a biker.

Other than the two rides and two runs the majority of my training has been in the pool - half a mind to aim for an Ironman in 2009 (MLW is not too convinced). We'll see, swim twice a week during the winter and see how it's going by Easter.

Well, I'm back in writing mode and hopefully there will be more to talk about once the weather gets cold and the trails are good a solid!

Cheers

DogzBollux.

Crazy Times!

Since the Massanutten debacle life has failed to get any more sane.

Seems that the only time I get to do any real training is when the sun is nowhere to be seen and the bloody moon is out! One single solitary mtb ride - yep you've guessed it, a night ride. Initial plans were for a fairly major turn out, but as it transpired there was just Brian, Jon (from SSOFT) and DB. Still with Jon on a 29er SS it was good to have the SSers outnumber the gearies for a change. Changed things up a bit - Small Intestine, Ridge, Cascade then up to the old railway ties. At the junction hung a left down the shaley descent to the road. The results of the hours running in prep for the JFK 50 are becoming apparent, legs and lungs are fine but my bloody technical riding is (as Sean would describe it) "pants". As a result I'm up front pushing on the uphills then playing the "rusty wheel" on all the downhills.

Head across the swinging bridge and the pattern continues, fine up the climbs but hating every minute of the technical descents. Finish off up the water bar and backwards on Small Intestine for a nice 2 hour ride before we adjourned to the cars and a couple of beers - Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale - not as bad as it sounds!

Most of effort currently running though - trying to put in miles wherever they can be inched into my schedule - lunchtime runs and early mornings. Oh the joys of being an ultrarunner, Saturday morning and the 5am alarm call. On the road for 5:30am and 15 miles done by 7:30am. Home in time to take MLW a cup of tea in bed and make the children pancakes before the sun is even up properly! Sunday night it's another 10 miles in the dark and Tuesday morning another 5:30am start to get 10 miles in before work. Still only another 9 weeks to go! In all honesty I'm going to need every second of those 9 weeks if I am to get my fitness level to anywhere near where it needs to be, weekly mileage (even with early starts) if topping off in the 40s, and I need to get up to the 80+ mark pretty damn soon. Wish me luck!

Cheers

DogzBollux

Back to Night Riding

It's been ages! Weather and scheduling issues have kept the Night-Ride group for convening for what seems like a bloody lifetime. Well that all changes last week, emails, texts, smoke-bloody-signals, whatever it took were exchanged and resulted in George, Brian and DB meeting up finally for a good old fashioned blow out.
Todd was absent partly due to some exams-thing coming up in the next few weeks but more importantly due to an ankle injury picked up during the Bike Polo escapade up at Ganoga - Bummer!
Ride started as any good NR should, with a trip up Small Intestine. Disaster is narrowly avoided as the rickety bridge is not so much rickety but more collapsed! Fortunately having got the new light i had just enough warning to both brake myself and to shout a warning to the others (close on my heals) before we all disappeared into the abyss. The section just after Small Intestine (with all the sticks/logs laid on the trail) was in pretty dodgy shape too, yielding the first fall of the night when George lost his front wheel on a log lying across the trail at about 45 degrees.
As it's been so long we were all full of enthusiasm and after a short confab decide the "Old Ridge Trail" uphill is in order. Tough, tough, tough! Fortunately we have Brian with us to show us how it is done. thence onto Ridge and a foolish decision (by Yours Truly) to take the descent from Ridge(just before the Cascade rock garden) down to the road! This descent scares me rigid in the daytime so at night I am a nervous wreck. George and Brian disappear into the gloom and leave me picking my way down pitifully slowly. This descent was the inspiration for the "SloMo Endo" post as a little over half way down I perform this little stunt to end up in a tangled mess amidst frame and undergrowth. Nothing too major though post ride checking reveals I've removed a fair amount of skin in various (some rather delicate) area of my body!
Once at the road it's over the Swing bridge and up what has now replaced Vineyard as my favorite climb on the BC side - the Convent climb! No dogs about this time to make friends with. Then it's a circuitous route to Bullrun and then we head back to HC via the waterbar and take Morning Choice back to the cars. Fun, fun, fun. About 2 hours worth of solid effort - feeling quite good (limitation of beer intake for past month is beginning to show effects both weight and fitness wise) and we have certainly earned our beer and pesto-bread "post-ride repast". Surely there should be a law about having this much fun - Oh yeah I think there probably is!

Till next time

DogzBollux

Busy, Busy, Busy

Wow! Been pretty much too busy to poop the last few weeks! So time on the bike has been hard won, as as for writing about biking? Forget it!
Most productive efforts have been on the fixie-commute to work. This has become an established twice a week routine (as hoped) and is continuing to kick my ass every which way - great stuff.
Night riding only happened once - Todd George and Yours Truly - nice two hour effort. George had gone easier on the pre-ride nourishment so there was a distinct lack of technicolor yawns (which is a good thing). Unfortunately I apparently had my "Mr Fallioff" head on so spent more time than really necessary picking my sorry arse up off Terra Firma than I would have liked. Rode some trails we haven't before - including the "Old Ridge Trail" from bottom of the water bar up! Whow nice climbing and then a short price of white blazed hike only trail. Rest of the ride on trails well travelled.
Weekend rides, not so much! Family commitments and then trip to the beach put paid to these for a couple of weeks! At the beach we tried to become the "Eco-friendly Bike Warrior" family by deciding to cycle everywhere rather than take the car - child # 2 is fine and dandy on her 24 inch wheeled Specialized Hot Rock, and Child # 3 is happy as a clam (most of the time) on her tag along behind her Dad (that'd be me) on my "super-cool" (notice a hint of sarcasm?) hybrid. MLW rented a beach cruiser and we were set. First day at the beach "sans" car and a huge bloody thunder storm rolls in!! By the time the "family Bollux" is rounded up and ensconced back on the bikes the rain is coming down in sheets! The three mile cycle back to the hotel is punctuated only by the complaints emanating from child #3! "Daddy I'm never going to be happy EVER again", "Daddy I think it's going to rain forever and we are all going to drown" - you get the idea! The rest of the day was spent watching Mother Nature put on one of her more spectacular shows! Hail the size of peas (in August?!) and lightening that you could literally hear fizzing as it streaked across the sky, one simultaneous thunder clap and lightening blot that made our chests reverberate was enough to send us scooting for the safety of our room and bed. And that would have been the end of the biking adventure - if the car hadn't decided to breakdown at that point! So despite the very vocal wishes of Child #3 the biking "Bollux-clan" was back on the road for the next day!
Back in Md and have managed to hit the trails just once more - nice ride with Sean - including a traverse of Mission Impossible, but generally I'm having little inclination to write about the same old trails at Patapsco - I feel the need for adventure. So it is good that in only a few weeks Sean and Yours Truly are heading off to deepest Va for a mtb-adventure!

Enough already!

DB

Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

We all make plans... And too often they come to nought!



For the first time (ever) this year I actually committed myself to a list of races I wanted to do, it looked something like this:

Hat Run (50 km trail run) March 29
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

As luck would have it many of my plans have come to fruition! YIPPEE! Done both Hat (had an absolute stinker) and Lodi (went well) - even managed to throw in a couple of other races not planned!

BUT

Keeping early season momentum up over the summer months is always dodgy. As mentioned in last post MTB fun has been severely restricted of late - though fixie fun has been some compensation (Averaged 18.6 mph to work this am!!). Looks like Wilderness 101 is a no-go! Fitness not where it needs to be and anyway I spent the entry money buying my new helmet light. So the big question was whether the JFK 50 miler would really happen this year. I have spoken confidently about doing this race every spring for the past 4 years, but the resolve has evaporated with the summer heat. 2008 is a different year! With "Running Sean" on the case the entries have gone in - and when I checked the website yesterday there we were as official entrants for this year's episode - GAME ON!!

With the demise of the Widerness 101 attempt my summer mtb activities were in real danger of withering away! But just as all hope appeared lost a new plan has come together - Boys weekend away in the Massanutten Mountains. Two days, 71 miles of single track and a promise of insane trails. Preparations in full swing for a mid-Sept attempt.

With the plans forming the Sunday ride was a bit more focused than usual - just "Biking Sean" and me, but as we are both committed to the Sept jaunt and want to build fitness the ride was planned to test our limits and kick our butts! Four "big" climbs - (i) up to the railway ties on Cascade (ii) The Convent trail (between House of Pain and Vineyard) (iii) Soapstone fire road - overtaken by a girl on a bike! and (iv) the Water bar. Lots of sketchy descents in between and finished with Small Intestine and the New Trail for good measure. Two solid hours riding - hot and thoroughly enjoyable.

Since then two commutes on the Fixie - including the first climb this year of the "Killer Hill" and life is good. If a night ride materializes it will have been an almost magical week - looks like weather may scotch the night ride though!

All in all fun time!

DogzBollux

Best of Times, Worst of Times!

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"

Some bloke called Charlie wrote that! He was talking about the French revolution (apparently) but may as well have been describing the past two weeks (since my last entry) in the Bolluxsphere!

Mtbing has been at an all time low - just one measly ride in 14 whole F'in days! OK it was a decent enough sojourn around the usual trails on Patapsco (even discovered some illicit renegade trail - but enough of that), but it was still the only action the Monocog has seen, just not good enough that man!!!

On the up side, the fixie is seeing more action than any time in recent history! With the "young'uns" out of school an agreement has been negotiated between MLW and me (aided by the high gas prices - every cloud!) that a cycle commute twice a week was acceptable! So for the past three weeks the fixie has seen the light of day at least twice a week! And the benefit in terms of leg strength is already being felt! Average speed up form a humble 16 mph (10 mile route) to a thoroughly average 18 mph - but hey heading in the right direction.

Meanwhile Mr Running Sean (not to be confused with Mr Biking Sean) is all hot to trot for the JFK 50 this year!! With him getting the "grand permission" from his respective SWMBO, MLW was forced to concede and grant me a day pass to have a go at this little romp. Fan-bloody-tastic! The reality of this commitment however is harder to stomach - long miles throughout the Maryland summer! So for the past two weeks we have been hardening ourselves by getting used to the inevitable "sh*t it's early" runs. Headlamps on, rising at 4:30am to hit the road at 5:00am giving us enough time to saunter round 15 or so miles before the 7:30am roll call at "swim team".

All in all a real dearth of mtb-fun but plenty of other stuff to keep me entertained!

Then this weeks night ride hoved into view Whoo Hoo! Gonna be a classic! I've just caved and purchased a "proper" light - a rather spectacular Light and Motion unit!!!! Got my Monocog back in original condition- rear wheel picked up from LBS with new free hub in place. New hydration pack - bigger pockets to allow multi day rides (more of which in later posts - I hope) and to top it all off a full bloody moon!!!!!!

New launch site and new company (Jon the gatecrasher). So George, Brain, Jon and DB at the new launch site - how much more fun could we have? Brian's bike is playing up from the off, over the first big log and problems are obvious. I turn to see what's up and Brian has already removed his back wheel - never a good sign. After a brief discussion we conclude Brian's free hub is playing up (ring any bells?) and will probably be O.K. but we decide to head back to the cars to get some lube to make it run more smoothly. Two minutes later on a small rooty uphill as I attempt to crank over a large root there is a "pop" and I literally fly over my bars from a standing start!! I assume I have snapped my chain - but no! Bloody F'in freehub (new, just installed, only half a mile on it) is knackered and spinning freely!! Ride over for DB! Push bike back to car swearing loudly and my "magical" nights riding is over! At the car I swear some more, rack my bike, say Goodnight to the guys as they head back out onto the trail and then I head home!

As I am heading for bed at 11 pm I reflect (somewhat sourly) that the guys are probably still riding and having a blast! Oh well there will be other nights with full moons and good vibes.

Cheers

DB

And then there were five!

New technology is messing me about! The guys from the night ride have started using this new fangled texting lark to organize the time/launch point. Yes I get the texts, and can probably even access them and read them, but that is dependent on me actually turning my cell phone on! Not going to happen!



So I didn't find out until midday (when someone kinding emailed me) that the ride was on for that evening! Great and shit at the same time! Always great to be heading out for a night ride, shit cos I'd assumed there was no ride (missedthe frantic text messaging) and so had commuted to work on the fixie! Result i turned up a bit late for the ride and with tired legs! Guys had done a 30 min small loop before heading back to pick me up and......... there is a new face! Excellent! Brian has brought his friend David along! As we head off I notice immediately the ride is different. Looking round I realize everyone else is on a shifty! That together with David's desire to show what he can do and the other guys wanting to show david what they can do means that the pace is red-bloody-hot. I just try and holdon at the back and hope to the gods that the pace will slow at some point!



No Small Intestine tonight, but head down the Belmont Hill and up the steep slope after the water - I am gasping like a stranded fish and so no "extra point obstacles" for me tonight, just try to keep it simple and stay in touch. The group consensus at the four way junction is that the BC-side is a must and George wants to hit House and Pain and Double Drop. It is decided that the best route is along Ridge and down the fire road to the Swing Bridge. All along Ridge the pace remains absolutely sodding relentless - I am miserable and paying for the previous weeks excesses. The only thing that keeps me going is the knowledge that once we hit the bit climbs across the Swing Bridge we will all be pushing! By the time we hit the Fire road I am so far behind Todd has stopped to make sure I am not lost! Oh the embarrassment!



Across the bridge and George opts to go for the climb up Double Drop! We take the road to it's base and I let everyone head off in front in the knowledge that my pedaling time will be very short on this hill. As it turns out it is short for everyone, so within a minute we are all off our bikes and forming a merry little line of bike pushers! As the trail becomes more ridable we remount and soon I am riding in splendid isolation again - legs just don't have the kick needed to attack the combination of grade and obstacles. At the top of Sudden Impact Todd is waiting again to show me the way. I try (I really do) but this descent kicks my butt every time, steep as anything and with wicked drop offs that are just itching to catapult me over my bars. Add to this the knowledge that the trail always ends (for me) in the ignominy of having to walk down the last uber-steep section! I limp down, well last and almost a defeated man! Heading back along the road and as we discuss the next move a mad idea takes shape - up House of Pain and thence to Mission Impossible! Fortunately by the time we hit House of Pain I seem to have recovered my climbing legs, to a degree at least. Todd leads the way but I am able to hold my own in second - even manage the big step up at the base of the climb. At the top we regroup, for the first time tonight not for my benefit, and head for the Superhighway. Now Ladies and Gentlemen, for those who have not tacked this section, it is fun! It is a gradual down slope made fun by the fact that the surface is a mass of fist sized rocks. The effect is of a sadists cobbled street, rigid single speed anyone? Beats the living poop out of you!



As we enter the Superhighway George (who is on point) shouts to me that the new log that was built up isn't now. I didn't even know there was a new log! When it hoves into view it is a doozy. Big and lying over the aforementioned jagged cobblestones. George of course makes it look easy and there does in fact appear to be a reasonable ramp up made of small logs. Riding fast and feeling brave I give it a go - FOOL. Turns out the uphill side is ramped but the downhill side isn't! My front wheel takes a dive for the ground and I sail, not so gracefully, over the bars!Fortunately though the effect is quite spectacular the result is no more significant than a bruised palm on my left hand. David starts to mumble at this point that we may in fact be absolutely bloody mad!



On to Mission Impossible and the going is pretty good - David goes over his bars once as do I but no injuries and after our falls we decide to be more circumspect for the rest of the ride. At the end of Mission Impossible the ridiculous final descent (rocky, rooty and kin steep) is taken at speed by George (who clearly has his "foolish head" on tonight), Brian starts to take it on but aborts half way down when he realizes the enjoyment to imminent death risk ratio for this particular section is too low. After witnessing Georges performance, David is now confident in his earlier prediction concerning out mental state. The rest of us just walk/slide down the trail to the railway bridge!



Then it is time to head back towards beer. Back over the Swing Bridge and up the fire road onto Ridge. Just after the Cascade rock garden we regroup (Brian having some bike issues) to decide on the way forward - down the steep rock, or the "mans' route" up and over the rooty section. George doesn't give it a second though and launches himself bodily at the rooty section. George is on form tonight! Front wheel jams and he is thrown forwards and almost over the side of the trail down the 15 foot drop, fortunately one of his shoes doesn't come unclipped and his bike -snagged in a tree - stops him falling too far. After this little excitement the rest of the ride is fairly innocuous, Cascade, Lewis and Clarke and then New Trail for finishers. another solid 2 hours effort (2.5 hours for those who went before me).

Back at the cars and the party begins! Beers (as usual) but yet again the ante is being raised! Todd produces some cake and not to be outdone George has brought along two loaves of bread (one cheese and one garlic). So now the night ride is catered! Just settling down to our post-ride repast when we are joined by a biker riding home after his own night ride revelry. Jon (member of the SSOFT) is heading home from Columbia on his fixie after a night riding with a different group. Never met, but hey! Night riders and fixie riders are one big happy family - so he joins us for a beer and we spend the usual time chatting and plotting/planning future rides. Soon enough time to go home so we bid each other a weary farewell and head off back to reality!

Till next time

DogzBollux

Sorry For The Inconvenience!

As of now, usual service is restored!







O.K. as you already know I have the tendency to be a bit of a lazy Bastard - but things have really gotten on top of me. You know work, family stuff (in-laws here from homeland) etc., not enough hours in the day.





Pity really cos the night ride last week was something close to epic! Now epic, as an adjective, is a little overused these days in the mountain bike fraternity. Personally epic describes a ride that is measured not in miles, but tens of miles and elevation gain in thousands rather than hundreds of feet. Against this background the last night ride wasn't epic - but it was damn close! Todd was a "no show" so George, Brain and DB made up the "three Musketeers" that assembled, in remarkably timely fashion, and launched onto the trails just after 9:30pm. Small Intestine for starters - got to love that! Now, it occurs to me that as the trail naming scheme I use is somewhat abstract (in that it doesn't coincide with any designation found on any map) I should perhaps describe the trails ridden in greater detail. To do this for an entire ride would be tedious in the extreme, so I'll parcel out the descriptions amongst future posts. For now a description of Small Intestine will suffice.



As the mane suggests it is fairly short (probably less than a mile in length) very narrow and bloody twisty. Although there is very little in elevation gain or loss the feature that makes the trail so much fun is the logs! Not big but loads of them!! Every ten feet or so there is a log to negotiate. Combined with the tight twisty nature of the trail this means there is almost no way to maintain flow or momentum. As a result it is a workout from start to finish, working the shoulders lifting that front wheel as well as the legs. Fun is enhanced mid-way by a section of small logs over a boggy patch and then a rickety bridge of small logs. All in all a joy to behold!



After SI we take the usual route down Belmont Hill and up the recently re-opened climb that formed part of the "6 hr of Patapsco" course. At the four way junction we decided BC-side was "a-callin" so we set off down the Water Break. Just across the river as we were about to emerge from the short riverside trail section car lights stopped us in our tracks - the dreaded DNR? The car slowed and parked at the exit to the trail we were on, not a good sign! Lights were extinguished, no panic though - soon as the Ranger gets out the car and heads into the trail we will simply "hightail" it out the other direction (sounds like a plan). Then to make matters interesting a second car pulls up! Could be in trouble now as our "friends" the Ranger's could potentially block both ends of the trail - HUM! At this point with minimum lights we retrace our steps (whilst Mr Ranger is planning their strategy) and then ride "sans Lights" back to the Water Break. Up we go! Always fun.

At the top I take lead duty and lead up Morning Choice, past the derelict houses thence on to Old Loop Trail and back to Cascade (via the decimated Lewis and Clarke). Head down Cascade, up the left fork "rocky climb" to the old railway ties. Brian becomes the "Decider" at the top of the climb and opts to head left down the sketchy downhill to the road. At the road nerves return - in case of a second close encounter with DNR. Lights off and we ride stealth to the swing bridge and over to BC-side.

George is in true fighting mood tonight and takes the lead up House of Pain - woo whoo! By the top we are all pretty spent but having a blast. We pause for breath and to plan the next installment, Community College loop to Soapstone meets with universal approval. Sweet riding tonight, we all look like we know what we are doing for a change! No technicals no falls and soon we are scooting down Soapstone - George takes on the big log at the top of Soapstone two or three times but hell - tonight it's not happening! Brian and I just ride the chicken run round it and spent our time laughing at George's antics!

At the base of Soapstone and it it time for stealth number 3 - ride in blissful darkness under the bridge and as no car lights are visible we light up and head for the site of our earlier sighting of the DNR. As we enter the trail we ride past 9and almost into) a group of young guys apparently night swimming in the river! We are just about to shout out warnings about our earlier DNR sighting when we realize these guys were probably in the cars we saw an hour or so earlier! DOH!

Back to HC-side another heart pumping, leg burning climb up the Water Break and it is time to think about heading back to the cars and beer. Rockburn Branch, up the Belmont Hill and it's time for Small Intestine in reverse! Big fun in either direction. At the end of Small Intestine we regroup and "synchronize watches" turns out it is five minutes to midnight! What to do? Only one sensible call - lets head left onto the New Trail and make sure we ride into tomorrow. New Trail with all it's big logs still fails to induce a fall - tonight we can do no wrong! and before we know it we are back at the cars - 15 miles and 2 and a half hours - as I said "almost an epic".

Beer and chat before heading home tired and wearing big grins! Tomorrow will be tough at work. Next week I miss out as I'm on vacation but hopefully the 20 mile night ride is only weeks away! Top F'in Notch

Cheers

DogzBollouz

FULL HOUSE!

With the weather still seemingly in schizophrenic mood opportunities to ride have been few and far between of late. Despite this the regular(ish) night ride was convened and as luck would have it, for the first time in many months it turned out to be a "Full House". Todd, George, Brain and yours truly DB all present and correct. Launch site was PNR for a change and George announced early there were "trails out there that needed riding". So we were on a mission!

Todd took the lead early and lead us down one of the many Soapstone options. Despite me having freshly installed batteries to maximize my lighting there were a couple of dicey moments early on when lines that would probably been either avoided or walked in daylight were taken on at full speed because I didn't see then in time! With each avoidance of disaster my confidence grew and by the time we hit the bottom of the opening descent I was in gung ho mode!!

Up the fire road climb to the road and thence to the water tower where a quick regrouping was called for before the descent to the Community College loop - we were crushing! Big surprise was the removal of the big log just before the wall gap! whoa those chain saws are hungry at the moment! Although my early form was good by the time we hit the rocky climb to the road atop House of Pain I was "out of my zone" and the others had to wait for me at the top! Todd was having a few seat post issues again! So waiting for me was not completely lost time.

Here began George's mission! Super Highway and then a funky little left turn onto Pig's Run. Never done this so another inaugural ride in the dark. i knew by reputation that this would be challenging but as it turned out with the exception of a couple of sections most of the trail was navigable. Course George considers any trail 100% navigable and throws himself bodily (several times on occasion) at all sections, even though tonight he is sporting the 29er SS rather than the Nomad. Indeed Brian is the only "shifty-demon" tonight as the other three of us eschew the "new fangled trappings of multiple ratios". Having survived a virgin ride down Pig's Run there is only one option - UP the ANTI! Or rather up Mission Impossible! MF this is a tough trail! Much pushing - the sign at the bottom announcing it is "Hike Only" is redundant as I can't foresee anyone actually riding their bikes up the first section - vertical bloody rooty climb! Once we gather on a trail that has some semblance of ridability we mount up and push on. First log and George hops over - me? Not so much! Make complete dogz breakfast of it and complete a rather spectacular endo, just about managing to stay on the trail rather than disappear headlong down into the stream far below. There is silence for a couple of seconds as I gingerly extricate myself from both my bike and the vegetation I end up in - then Brian asks "can I laugh now?" I'm fine! Grins all round - no harm no foul. We pick our way to the Eatough log crossing then George announces he need to change his left crank! Yep he just happens to be carrying a spare. He removes a very nice - but clearly knackered White Industries crank and replaces it with his spare. What to do? Decide that this piece of used/abused but still beautiful biking flotsam deserves a special resting place. At the base of Patarini Hill I install it in the Log Shrine that overlooks the stream.

Up the hill and I take the lead deciding on Double Drop as a way down rather than Sudden Impact. Just as we hit the final sketchy downhill we meet two female walkers (with very inadequate flashlights) ascending! Fortunately they see/hear us before we see then and we pass in the night without incident and no more than a quick "hi there".

Along the road - quick jaunt up Vineyard and then Brian takes over, instead of back to the Water Tower we skip left down the hill and up what possibly forms part of Bull Run. Some pushing, some riding, fun downhill along the ridge and we are back at the base of the Mile Smile. Over two hours riding under our belts and close to 10 very challenging miles covered with no real damage. At the top of the Mile Smile the third "mechanical" of the evening occurs as Brian snaps his chain - resulting in us pushing him along the road back to the PNR.

Back at the cars, beers and much discussion of the power of the text message! This may well end up the dominant route of communication betwixt us night riders - HUM! All I can say is "Spr?"

BB4N

DogzBollux

Slippery When Wet!

It's been tough to get out there and ride since the "Lodi" debacle. I've been raring to go but the weather here in Md has really not been playing fair. We've had pretty much the wettest May on record and the trails have spent much of the month as "no go-zones". Despite the weather last week we did have a few dry days prior to the weekend which allowed a ride to take place with a clear conscience. Turned up at Landing to be greeted by, not only Sean (Mr Regular) but also Doug (Mr Irregular). The aim was to try out the "Six Hours of Patapsco" route (wwwsixhourspatapsco.com). Fromthe map it looked like it took in mainly the best drained trails and should be easily ridable. Let me tell you guys (i) it was not as well drained as I thought and (ii) if the course we rode was actually the race route then I'd like to meet (and shake the hand of) any "Sports" rider who can do that loop in 40 min (as the website suggests). A solid ten miles taking in all the Ridge and Cascade fun, some milder Morning Choice and Old Loop Trail sections and for good measure the fireroad decent (and climb!) from the valley floor! Great loop but for mere mortals like me I think 4 to 5 laps in six hours is going to be a push rather than 6-8! We'll see.

Since then I have tried to be good and restrict my biking to Fixie-fun on the roads but at times I've felt like a recovering alcoholic watching all his ex-drinking partners getting hammered whilst he sipped his soda. Every time I have driven past Landing Road there are cars there with bike racks!! It's been killing me. As the call of the trails got louder so the call came from George for a night ride - what was the option? There wasn't one - I'm "in".

Met usual time, usual place - me with my now botched light set up (having lost my bar light at Lodi). Brian turned up just to say Hi (2 weeks post surgery, so no riding yet) and to laugh even louder at my lights. As it turned out lights performed absolutely bloody great - Small Intestine, three times (once out and twice back) a never ridden trail to the road, the fire road up from the parking lot (a'la 6hrsPat) and loads of other fun stuff. Rode for over two hours, not finishing till midnight. Coupl of quick beers before home and bed (to be followed by a very glased day at work)

Weekend and I weakened again - supposed to guide MLW round "sixhours" course but that didn't happen - another story! So just Sean and DB again. Rode Small Intestine to initiate Sean and then took on a trail neither of us had seen before! We looked for signs as to whether riding was permitted - no signs - so he went for it! Short interesting loop couple of sketchy sections, clearly not ridden for a considerable while so lots of potentially slippery leaf litter. Good fun - turns out (when we hit main trail again) it is "Hike Only" but signage is only from one direction (DOH). Still no harm no foul.

On the trail back to the car bump into Brian on his "comeback" ride - 3 weeks post-surgery and he handily makes us look like the amateurs we are as he rides fluently and without breaking sweat over trails that have Sean and me struggling. Nice ride again probably in double digits for milage so heading in the right direction for June 7.

Cheers for now - enjoy the warm weather, summer heat/humidity is just around the corner.

DogzBollux

12 hours of Lodi Farm 2008 (Race Report)

So this was the biggest weekend of the year so far..



Friday and I took advantage of daughter #2's lacrosse practice to take a final re-Lodi spin around Patapsco, just to make sure pedals and cleats were in good communication. An hour having fun HC side (including Small Intestine twice - in the light for the first time!) and everything is A.O.K. With this confidence booster Friday night was a more relaxed affair than previous years (this was my third year at Lodi Farms, second in solo SSer class), I decided that I was going to just take it easy and chill - so a couple of beers Friday and a bit later to bed than probably justifiable.



George arrived at the Bollux-mansion at 3:30 pm on Friday and by just after 4pm we were rolling south on 95 towards Fredericksburg. George had his Nomad as his "go-to" bike and his IF single speed 29er as a back up for both of us. For me it was the 29erMonocog obviously. We were at the site by just after 6pm and took full advantage of our relatively early arrival to (i) get a good camping spot and (ii) grab some of the wonderful free beer from the keg at the registration tent - this is how life should be. Once registered I put up the tent and inflate the blow up mattresses. Georg was a bit sceptical about this set up - a bit "flasher" than we have done in years past but I figured if one of us had a disaster (mechanical or physical) at 3 or 4 am we would be more than happy to have a tent and sleeping bag to crawl into.



After checking all the gear - setting up a feed station in the back of the van we watched the live band (and had another couple of beers) for about half an hour. Then at 9 pm in a flash of sensible thinking (not a common occurrence for solo riders) we decided a couple of hours kip before the off would be a good idea. We settled into the tent and drifted off to sleep with the bass guitar and drums from Annapolis's finest "the Cheaters" reverberating around the tent. Actually found sleeping, or at least achieving a semi-conscious fugue-state, surprisingly easy and woke up shortly before the alarm was due to ring (at 11pm) with several nagging issues that had been spinning round my head resolved - funny how the brain sorts stuff out while you sleep. Main decision was "Yes wearing the dress and bunny ears was a good idea". I have been thinking of repeating last years dress wearing escapade for a couple of weeks - but in the cold light of a pre-race gathering, when everyone else looks so much better equipped and fitter I was a bit worried that I'd just look like a Jerk! Well my "sleeptime" revelation was that I didn't really care what I looked like and my kids find it kind of amusing that their Dad wears a dress when he races (Philip Larkin wrote a poem about what I'm doing to my kids I suspect - check it out, it's called "This be the verse").

George "togged up" and race ready

Second epiphany was concerning racing strategy and I'll get to that a little later.



At 11;45pm the pre-race meeting convened - George decided he would also partake of a bit of cross-dressing tom-foolery (I must say his prom dress put my little cotton summer dress in the shade!), so we stood there together, only to be joined by another guy with the same idea - fabulous! A rousing chorus of "I'm a Lumberjack" Monty Python stylee was in order but thankfully for everyone in attendance didn't happen. The race meeting dragged on till very close to start time and as George and I had neither our bike shoes, helmets (or indeed our bikes) with us we missed the last five minutes going back to the tent and finishing our preparations.

DogzBollux modelling the "2008 Walmart Transvestite Truckers Clothing Collection"

The course itself was similar to last years with a couple of changed sections. Personally I break the course down into sections that allow me to track where I am. The initial portion is hilly and leads to a meadow that you scoot out onto a number of times between dropping back into the woods for more technical sections - lots of rooty climbs and off camber sections with a few logs thrown in. One grassy climb is one of the toughest on the course. Once you leave the meadow behind you descend on a section of single track that takes you alongside the railway line and over the campsite access road (onto the section that was used for the parade lap). The campsite is skirted for a while then the trail dips and traverses a raised boardwalk over a boggy section (looked like a new boardwalk this year). After the boardwalk is the famed "twisty bridge" that slopes up and to the right. Over the bridge and a sharp right takes you to a new section that was fresh cut single track, flat but soft and with a couple of bridges to navigate. The route then rejoins the old course for a decent rooty climb that lead to a section that mixes climbs with rooty decents (several of which lead to short narrow bridges across stream beds - a bit nerve-wracking the first lap). After one screaming decent the course cuts right up a hill onto an off camber section that bumps you on a bridge leading to the only section of the course I walked every lap. It's a tough rooty climb that is just (in my mind) not worth the risk/effort to climb - this was my walk and rest section every lap. After this climb the rest of the course was 100% ridable a twisty, bumpy soft section that was interesting but hard work then a fun rooty downhill section leading to a completely flat very twisty wooded section, no real obstacles, few logs and a couple of bizarre "moguls". Then there were three tough but very do-able climbs followed by a very short steep downhill and the rest of the lap was a fun piece of cake. Some nice ups and downs along the river, off camber section leading to the last bridge and then the section through the derelict buildings including the "up and over the oil tank" and a bumpy ridge thing - no effort but fun riding - then repeat!!!



Every ones 12 hour solo race experience is completely different and so I can only take you though how the next 12 (and a bit hours) unfolded for me.



Lap One

Starts with a "parade lap" through the woods adjacent to the campsite over the raised boardwalk and then back to the start/finish. Very slow progress, not bothered! Just shooting the breeze with some other riders and trying to relax (long way to go yet). Then it's out onto the course proper, within minutes we see the first riders with their bikes upside down fixing tires/chains - that's harsh luck. First lap is a matter of scoping the course, working out what is new/difficult/ridable or better just to walk. Rode with George for a while then he nipped ahead and I let him go - first lap just a matter of controlling the nerves, avoiding disaster and settling in for the nest 12 or so hours. The course was fun but not as difficult as I remember previously - although much of it was a repeat of last year (I suspect the wet conditions last year made benign sections more treacherous) there are no really tough sections and I would say it is 95-98 % ridable. The one pleasant surprise is the last steep downhill, which I fell badly on twice last year and ended up walking every lap, was a doddle this year. I think this was new last year and age has mellowed her somewhat. So I finished lap one felling pretty bloody great! Course was very manageable and I was happy with my set up. The disc brakes on the Monocog were a major upgrade since last Lodi and I had Todd's light this year (Light and Motion -LED lamp, I used the dim setting to prolong battery life - still brighter than my Nite Hawk). With the Nite Hawk bar light as back up I thought I was prepared for anything - oh yeah like you can ever be ready for everything in a 12 hour solo race. End of lap one and time to put my "pre-race sleep-game plan" into action. Last year I had been 3rd in the solo SSer category until the last two laps! Then the guy behind me snuck in a double lap effort and overtook me whilst I was sat at the car taking a between lap rest/refuel! So I finished fourth! Nearest I've ever been to a podium finish on the bike - BUGGER. So this year I decided I would ride double laps throughout! I regularly ride 2+hours with the guys so resting every lap seemed an unnecessary luxury and skipping the rest would save me 10 min every two laps (as long as I could hold mind and body together). So Lap One finished and straight out for lap two



Lap Two

The lap of nightmares! Just when I thought I had every angle covered the Mtb-Gods just decided to play with my head!! First on the first hilly section I notice a rattle on my bars - first though is that my headset is loose. I stop and check, nope it's firm. But the rattling continues, then I notice my bar light mount has loosened and spun round and is rattling around. O.K. no major aggro I plan to stop end of this lap so I'll tighten it then, I toy with the idea of removing my light and sticking it in my pocket but (i) with the dress on access to pockets is difficult and (ii)I fear I will take a tumble and land on the light damaging either it or me irrevocably. So the light stays on the spinning mount. Five minutes later I fall on a rooty section and notice my bloody bar light has gone!! I retrace my route for about 200 yards but no joy. So now not only have I lost my light I use weekly for night rides but of more immediate concern, if Todd's light goes down I am stuffed, with no back up. But it's only lap two so I put these thought behind me and just bloody well ride. Settling into a nice rhythm when, just after the last steep down hill I go over an innocuous bump, I hear a loud crack and my saddle slumps backwards! Closer inspection confirms that i have broken my seat post! Fortunately my saddle was kept in place by the saddle bag that I have attached between the saddle rails and the seat post - if the saddle had dropped off the bike and I'd come down hard on the broken seatpost life would have looked very bad! Obviously no fix is possible on the trail so I velcro my saddle bag with saddle still attached to my (now light deficient) handle bar and hold the seat post in my hand as I complete the lap standing. End of lap two and after finding the guy at the "bike shop" tent is walking his bloody dog and won't be back for a while I give up on replacing the Monocog's seat post (26.8 - not the most obvious size either). Head back to the van for my planned break and as luck would have it George is in residence. I confirm I can use his IF SSer and we change the pedals from Georges Time Attack to my spd. George helps, loosing about ten minutes of his race time (cheers George) - the Mtb gods will be kind to him later, so it must be karma or something.



Lap Three

Longer inter-lap break than expected, but at least lap three is happening. On paper the Monocog and the IF sound very similar (except for the price tag) - both 29ers, steel frames and very similar gear (32x20 on the Monocog, 31x21 on the IF). The bikes even have the same tires!! Only major difference is the IF has H-bars. But the bikes are chalk and cheese to ride! Completely different feel, the IF feels so much lighter and responsive (guess this is what your money gets you), I struggle horribly for pretty much the whole of lap three - I'm sure it's comedy to watch. For the first section I simply cannot keep the back wheel on the ground and I spin on every root I find and the front end is popping up at every opportunity. This could be a very long night.



Lap Four

No break so straight out for Lap Four, by now I have mastered the IF (the Monocog will probably never feel the same again) and the laps are beginning to settle into a routine. The first couple of sections with the majority of the hills are hard work but the second half of the course allows you to rest and get ready for the next lap. On the flat soft section at 3 miles I ride with a lady for awhile until she falls emitting a very loud shriek. Having confirmed she was O.K. I ride off into the night only to her another half dozen or so shrieks within a matter of minutes (guess she was not having a great time). Rest of the lap goes fairly smoothly, but then the seeds of doubt start creeping insidiously into my mind, is my light dimming? Is it about to burn out? I've been riding now for over four hours and Todd said he thought he could get four hours burn time! What to do? The original plan was to just run it down then switch to the bar light - easy! But with that plan nixed potential problems exist. I have no choice but to finish lap four but the I could either risk Todd's light or switch to my emergency lights on my other helmet. These lights are in reality just no up to the job so at the end of lap four I decide to "throw the dice" and chance Todd's light. At the end of lap four the guy at the desk says "you've been out a long time now are you going to take a rest?" Yep I confirm, give him my tag and head back to the van. Re-lube the private bits, change gloves to short fingered one (getting too hot) and change my sweat catching bandanna. Then a drink of water, refill the camelback with Gatorade some Pringles and a Fig Newton and I'm all set. Ten minutes and I'm back at the desk asking for my tag - the guy looks at me incredulously and says "I thought you were going to stop for a while?". "Just did" I reply, grab my tag and go. Guess he found it hard to take a guy dressed in a pink dress and bunny ears seriously - go figure!



Lap Five

This is the best lap of the race - the lap when the sun comes up and you can stop worrying about lights. Odd this year because I noticed the sky getting light above the trees before the birds started singing. Happy times! It's amazing how different the course is when you get your peripheral vision back and you can see beyond 50 feet in front of you. The light creeps back but by the time I hit the last flat section day is hear and life is good. Finishing lap Five about 6:30am meant that planning the rest of the race started to factor into my riding. Pre-race targets were - 6 laps to avoid embarrassment, above 8 would be great and 10 if all the planets aligned. With 5 laps done and over 5 hours left 6 laps was in the bag and 8 was looking comfortable (assuming no further technicals and no bodily malfunction).



Lap Six

After the best lap of the race comes the worst! It's light, your knackered and you've still got 5 hours to ride for - mentally it's a killer! The hills are steeper than they were last lap and it started to be a bit of a mental battle for me. Around this time people had noticed my unusual racing kit and a few shouts of "Hey it's the Bunnyman" were heard. This kept me amused for most of the next lap or so as I sang the few words from "the Killing Moon" and "Bring on the Dancing Horses" that I could muster in my befuddled state - wondering if (i) anyone would actually recognize the songs and (ii) even if they did would they put my somewhat tortuous joke together - the stuff you do to get you though a 12 hour solo ride.

Somehow the words

"First I'm gonna make it,
then I'm gonna break it till it falls apart,
hating all the faking and,
shaking while I'm breaking your brittle heart"

seemed strangely appropriate for my physical and mental state. Magic stuff

If anyone is wondering what the F**k I'm talking about search "Echo and the Bunnymen" on YouTube and your ears will love you forever - I'm listening to them as I type - Lovely).

Lap Seven
Tempted though I was no break between a lap 6 and 7 I plowed on. Fatigue was set in good and proper and I was becoming increasingly clumsy. I think lap 7 was the only lap I had a decent fall during. I just completely screwed a rooty section on the first mile of the lap, my pedals and cleats had started not talking again (like an old married couple) and I face planted pretty damn good. Fortunately the ground was pretty soft and with the exception of my dignity nothing was too badly hurt. Lap 7 was also when my fagile mental state allowed minor body pain to be an issue - my right hamstring started to give warnings and my back started to howl like a dog! Fortunately the H-bars on Georges IF were perfect to stretch out on smooth sections and releave the back strain. Every steep hill I was expecting the quads to wave a little white flag and give up, but it just didn't happen - in fact this was the first lap I took some of the steeper climbs - just too tired to get off and walk.

Riding is so much easier when it's light!

Lap Eight
O.K. so life is now getting seriously fuzzy, the fantom people among the trees have started to appear - happens every year so I'm not too spooked. Think it is the peripheral vision going again, a couple of times I see people running toward the trail ahead of me, look to see and there is nobody there. Pass a guy on a cheapo mountain bike, wearing jeans and no helmet (not a clue waht that was about). A little later I catch and pass a couple of guys in "Single Speed Outlaw" jerseys. The second one I recognize as Ricky D - now Ricky is a super strong rider so I figure if I'm passing him I must be doing O.K. and this morale boost sees me though the rest of the lap. When I finish lap eight it's time for a break, new gloves and bandana and a wipe down with a towel. At the car I meet George, just heading out for his lap eight - he is psyched to the max cos eight is the most he has ever done at Lodi and with 2 h left he is a certainty for nine this year barring disaster. I decide that I'd better start takinmg this racing lark a bit more seriously and with the sunrise the temperature has risen by now - so unfortunately the dress that I wore the whole 12 hours last year ad eight this year is sacrificed in an attempt to keep my body core temperature in the "viable-zone".

Lap Nine
All I can think is that this may well be my last lap! With that though I seem to gather some extra strength. Hills are less steep and I'm feeling pretty damn good. Half way through I bump into the SSO guys again (they must have forgone the between lap rest - as they were in a race to the death between themselves) I chat with them both but as before they eventually drop behind as i am feeling strong. As I chat with Ricky he mentions that he has done perhaps 9 or10 laps - Bugger that's one more than me and if they are racing each other that means I can be at best third - respectable! So for the reat of the lap I am trying out different scenarios, either the two SSO's are on their lap 10 - in which case I can't catch them and if there is anyone else ahead of me I'm off the podium orthe SSo's are on lap 9 (with me) in which case is I stop after lap 9 and they make the cut off (as was likely) and go out for lap 10 then I drop two places. I decide that I will keep things steady (knowing I will make the 12 cut off with time to spare) then check the standings and if I am out of a podium finish it's time to hang up the bike shoes and get a beer. When I finish lap nine I ask the timekeepers and the initail news is devastating - three guys in front of me! Oh well beer time! Then they say "check for yourself" and I scan the read out - only to people in front od me! I confirm this is correct with he timekeepers (who confirm that I am in fact in third). This is perhaps even more devastating as it means I need to keep riding!

Lap 10
I am perhaps a quarter of a mile into lap 10 when the realization that if the two SSO's are the guys in front on me I'm possibly doing a lap more than I need hits me. I forgot to check the status of the guys behind me! Bugger. Oh well at least I will be able to say I rode the whole 12 hours. THis lap I know all I have to do is not be overtaken by another solo SSer and I will ahve managed my first ever placing on a bike - it may not be a big thsing for you guys, but for me it would be something special! The first big hill I just give up on and walk, but after that I feel stronger as the lap progresses. I ahve afew scares when guys on SS blast past me but I figure that if they are going that fast now they are either part of a team or have rested a lot. In any case there wasn't a hope in hell of me staying with them so it didn't really matter (I'd done all I could and I would have to be satisfied with that). I counted the "landmarks" of the course - distinctive rooty climbs, logs and fun downhill sections and bid them farewell for 2008, knowing that I would not be seeing them again until next year. Down the last steep decent and I knew the lap was essentialy over and neither SSO had gone past me. Through the derelict buidings and before I knew it onto the campground! Woo Hoo! "Yo Bunnyman" someone shouted and I actually dared to lift both hands from my bars in a faux roadbikers salute.

At the table I ask tentatively what the standings are and it was confirmed - DogzBollux 3rd in the SS solo class!! For a moment I felt almost like a real biker! Then I noticed the SSO's were already in camp - turns out they were riding fixed gear bikes!! Whole different level of crazy! I thought it was odd that I could ride with them (let aone ride past them) all is revealed!

George finished at around 1:30pm as the last rider to complete the course - resplendent in his prom dress that he had donned for his final lap - a man with real class! He was chuffed to bits that he had bagged 9 laps, on more than previous years - seems the 10 minutes he lost helping me get the IF ready to roll hadn't come back to bite him. The Mtb-gods were kind all round.

12 Hours of Lodi Farm, more fun and pain than you can normally cram into a Saturday night/Sunday morning. Organizers deserve medals (if not sainthoods) and all the riders are stars - no egos anywhere and the politest race I've ever encountered. How often in a competitive setting does someone come up behind you and ask "excuse me, do you mind if I pass on your left?" of actually get off the course when they hear you approaching. Restores you faith in humankind.

Cheers

DogzBollux