A Little Halloween Fun

Lat night, Wifey and I had the opportunity to hit a Halloween Party without the D Man! A friend was having an adult party , so we thought it would be a good idea to try out the costumes! Since we have the Halloween party at our house every year, we don't get to see what other people do for fun! We do up Halloween pretty good, but our friends really outdid us with their party. Caterers and bartenders were only a few of the things they did. The decorations were awesome, and everybody came rocking some cool costumes!

What are you looking at

Evil Joker

Wifey looking good!

Yes, that is a funnel

I thought he was dead!

Wife with our host

Lovey dovey time!

Exotic Animals Should Not Be Caged

If you have heard about the 56 wild animals running lose just outside of Columbus last night, than you have probably seen this picture already. If not, please check out one of the articles on line about how the Sheriffs department was forced to slaughter animals in order to protect the public. According to an article in the Columbus Dispatch, of those animals, 49 were killed. Six animals -- a grizzly bear, three leopards and two monkeys -- were captured alive and taken to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, and a monkey and a grey wolf were at large. The animals that were killed included 18 tigers, nine male lions, eight female lions, six black bears, three mountain lions, two grizzly bears, one baboon and two wolves. There was even concern that the escaped monkey poses a danger because it is infected with herpes, As much as I hate it, the animals had to be put down. The public was in too much danger to try to wait and capture these dangerous animals! This is just another example of why people need to stop raising these dangerous animals outside of zoos and professionally controlled habitats.

This could happen to you!

Chestnut Ridge Review

Chestnut Ridge was opened to the public to today so I decided I would venture down and see what the trail was like.  The turn out at the trail was awesome and they were even having a little cookout throughout the day.  They have been working on the trail for awhile now, so I was hoping for some great single track.  What I got was not exactly what I was hoping for.  Out of the gate, there was a little double track through a field which led immediately to some single track through the woods.  The trails were soft and added to it were a lot of leaves which made it a little difficult to travel.  There were definitely more hills here than at Alum, which was not what I was expecting at all.  The hills themselves were not that easy.  They were longer then expected, the ground was soft, and the switchbacks were very tight, making it tough to muscle through.  With all of the hills on the trail, one would hope for some rewarding downhill, but to be honest, the trail didn't have a lot of fast downhill.  There was not a lot of flow to this trail, with far too many tight turns which took away any speed and momentum that might of been had.   There were a few technical sections with some rocks, and a few bridges, but nothing spectacular.  Near the finish, there was a nice straight little downhill that will test a few riders but other than that, not worth the 45 minute drive from Lewis Center.  I guess the one good thing, is that it will take some pressure of the Alum trails, but that is about it.   Sorry, if you were looking for a sweet place to ride, I would say pass on this one.

Mohican Action Shot!

Mohican Race Wrap Up!

Saturday morning came early for me as I could not sleep.  I was stoked about the opportunity to race Mohican and I couldn't wait to get going.   My bike had already been loaded up so I cooked myself a little breakfast and  got on my way.  Registration was at 10 am and I had about an hour fifteen minute ride, so I left about 8:30 to make sure I got there on time.  Additionally, there were multiple festivals going on near Mohican so I expected to get slowed up a bit.  Zimmer and Kade bailed on my, so I was on my own for this one!
The day was beautiful and the drive was uneventful.  At least until I got to the hills, where I ran into some festival traffic, but nothing major.  I found the parking lot after missing the turn (should have realized this would be a trend) and parked the truck.  I hiked down hill to get registered and was back at truck doing "race prep" for the next hour or so.  Race prep for me was some servicing of the bike, eating some energy food, and basically chilling out in the sun listening to lithium on XM!
Right before the race was to start, I had to hit the head and ran into Montana Miller, who races many of the races in PA, W VA and Ohio.  He also just completed  in and won the Pigsah Stage race in North Carolina.  Not only does this guy entertain me with his unique blogging style (I am easily entertained), he also can ride pretty damn well.  Although he didn't do as well on Saturday as I thought he was going to do.   To his credit,  there was some damn top talent racing! 
12:00 and it was time for the race.  We had a little late start because the festival was causing some havoc on the rest of the field and there were a few stragglers rolling in.  Unlike some other races I have done, they sent the experts (pros) off first and these guys took off like someone was breaking into their houses.  Flat out flying! The Sport guys and gals went next in various groupings, and then finally us "novice" riders were allowed on the course.  The experts and the sports were going to do the full loop or roughly 26 miles.  The novice riders were going to do a couple short laps of hills then back to start for a total of about 12 miles.  More than enough if you ask me, especially when there are hills involved.
They called my group and we were off.  My goal was to be near the front when we hit the trails.  The last race I allowed people to get out in front, and I spent entire race trying to get back through the field.  This time, I was on the leaders rear tire as we hit the woods and the first vertical climb.  Let's just say he didn't make the climb and therefore I didn't either.  We were both pushing/hiking our bikes and I actually mounted up before him and got started again..Yeah....the lead....It lasted about a minutes and he caught me like I was going the other way! Although we are grouped by age, weight is not factored in.  This guy weighed about a buck ten and I go about 220.  A hell of a difference when you are climbing.  Oh by the way, I also realized quickly, I was still having derailluer issues.  Big and little were working for me, but middle ring caused my rear deralluer to skip and jump around like crazy.  Not good when you need the ring for racing!
Still not to bad, in second place, no wait, someone else just passed me.  Now third.    Stayed in third for about another mile or two, then started to drop more positions.  I could hang with any of them on the flat sections, rock gardens and the downhills, but these guys destroyed me on the climbs.  A few more riders got me some from my group and some of the high school guys who seem to have all of the energy in the world.
Made the turn to do the second loop and I was miserable.  I had caught a chest cold earlier in the week so I had no lungs.  My hamstring was tight and I had no energy to to anything but bitch!  I struggled mightily with the next few miles, at times having major challenges breathing.  Finally, I saw the mile marker which said I should have been a mile or so away from the finish.  Unfortunately, somehow, I made a wrong turn somehow.  I was riding all alone, and had no idea of where I missed the turn.  My navigation skills cost me an extra mile or so until I figured out my mistake.
I finally found the finish line, and cruised across to a sweet 6th place finish.  Not sure how the hell that happened, but I will take it considering just how miserable I felt.  I parked the bike, grabbed a few Great Lakes brews and got the hell out of dodge before they arrested me for stinking up the joint so bad.  To make my effort more clear, I finished in about and hour and a half for 12 miles or so.  The winning expert did 26 miles in just less than 2 hours!
I learned a lot of lessons on this ride.  First, I am not good on hills.  Second, I don't like hills.  Third, without a working derailluer, hills suck.  Fourth, a chest cold can cause major issues when climbing.  And finally, fat guys cannot climb with little birds, not even sure why we try!
At least the beer was cold!  and free!
Click here for race results!

Race Update........

You will have to wait a bit for the update.     Still recovering!

Upcoming Race Prep

Big race tomorrow!  This will be first time racing on hills.  I will be racing the novice race tomorrow at Mohican State Park and doing the 12 mile race.   The race will consist of a 1 mile sprint, then immediately into a 2 mile climb.  There will be then be some flowing single track for a couple of miles,  followed by a nice little fast downhill section.  Then it is back to the bottom of the first hill for lap two and back around again.   The finish will be a 1 mile sprint back to the start finish!

At present time, not sure what to expect.  We rode the 26 mile course last week, so this will obviously be easier in terms of climbing, but I have never raced up hills before.  Let's just say, this is not my specialty.  I am much better navigating the flowy sections of single track that allows me to pass a lot of people.  I guess I will just have to push it hard to make sure I am close enough to make my move on the flat sections.  I don't expect as many riders in my division this time, I think people may shy away due to the hills.   Hopefully, I will still have enough in me to place, which is how I finished in the last race.

Time to put the beer down, eats some more bananas and get ready for bed.   I will be racing in 15 hours!  Wish me luck!