Mt Du Lac

I was excited to race some fun singletrack this weekend and I wasn't disappointed.The only thing I forgot were my climbing legs.I cannot find them for the life of me.I was physically and mentally drained for the entire race.The starting climb had my lungs on fire and the legs pinging.Laps 1 and 2 I was sitting on the back end of a train at least 8 deep.Lap 3 and 4 I was searching for a granny gear which I couldn't switch into.And lap 5 I just rallied hard to stay in front of a hard charging 185lb LCR rider.Oh,and at the end I got beat at the sprint with a guy who had no chain.He must run track or something.I slid out on one of the grassy corners comming down to the finish,and that gave him those 2 seconds that he beat me by.Oh, well.I was 17th or something like that.But hey,next week I'm going to be shopping supper hard for a new set of legs in South Dakota and Wyoming.A week of just training and recovering,can't beat that.I can't wait.Right now my mind is just all over the place.Alot of deciding and planning to do.Sorry to make this so blah,but check back in a couple weeks and I should have lots of pics and stories.And hopefully I can redeem myself in the second half of the racing season.-E.O.

The Avalanche of Pain

Afton always has the reputation to be one of the toughest races of the year for alot of people.Its usually hot with wide open climbs that seem to never end.With the Shady Lane climb out and an added extra lap, it didn't ruin its reputation at all.For a warm up this time I just rode an easy lap instead of boring myself going back and forth down the road.I knew right away it was going to be a long race and the legs had no efforts in them.I took a spot in the second row at the start and just hung back a bit to let myself work into this one.The climbing and heat was taking its toll on the field as I joined forces with Dave Meyers and Hollywood for the first couple laps and we just kept plugging away.I rode my own race and relied on a steady state approach.I think it was lap 3 that I realized Chris was shelled in font of me and he joined our train.He must have the Samson syndrome.He shaved his legs for the first time and it was his first terrible race this year.Everyone yo-yoed all over the place.At the start of lap 4 Chris DNFed,I had a nice gap on Dave,Hollywood was gone,and I had cought Ben Moore and Jan Rybar.I picked up Ben first and pulled him up to Jan by the switchbacks of suffering.Ben took to the front with a half lap to go and put in some efforts which I didn't have.My legs were on the verge of cramping again for a full lap every time I would ramp it up.I rolled in a respectable 9th in a super tough race.I guess thats not too bad considering what the work week was like.I predicted Sam might break the top 5 and he did, taking fourth behind Jeff,Brendon,and Brian Narum.He's on a roll now.He'll be bringing a new weapon to the races now since he built up an El Santo full suspension.Next week we head up north to Mt Du Lac for some singletrack bliss.

The post race grande meal.Didn't quite make it though.I could only go 7/10.

Weekend report

Project Thumper complete.....almost.

Yep,got the plates friday and took it for a litttle spin.pretty fun.I still need to get a federal saftey sticker somehow within a year in order to make it pass the inspection.But for now I can still ride it.I also have new enduro tires to put on yet too.

this weekend a group of riders met up at Afton for a couple laps.Chris and Sam are still riding strong and it should be a good race for Sam as he has found his climbing legs.As for myself I have no expectations as Adam Craig would say "I'm riding like a small child".I plan on riding the Bandito for this one.lots of smooth climbing here.

I sold my kx125 today.Finally, thats out of the garage.I'm on a roll for selling stuff lately.I still have more to go.

I bet 80% of the graduation parties were this weekend.I went to our neighbors yesterday after Afton and loaded up on pasta salad, sandwiches,and fruit salad.Right when the party started a car hit a power pole down the street knocking out all our power.They had it back on in a few hrs though.The neighbors brought over a bunch of the left overs today.Meat and cheese tray and two containers of fruit salad.I already put a dent in it after I bonked today on my ride.Has anyone ever bonked really bad and ride into one of those parties and just start helping themselves to the food.I felt like doing that today.The worst is when you get a big whiff of BBQ steak or chicken when your ravenous for something to eat.The M&M's on the side of the road were looking pretty good.The sad part was I could feel it only 2hrs into the ride.I need to eat more during the day or something.

The next two weekends are races then we head out west for the fourth.Made reservations at Kemps Kamp.Does anyone know of any good riding in Wyoming?Never riden out there and thought we'd give it a shot this year.-EO

News coverage

Steeplechase This is the link to the news story from last weekends race

rollin the big wheels

The prolouge was fast and rough through a 1/8 mile grassy cut section before going down into the single track.Once in the singletrack there was no passing at all unless someone fell or went trail blazing down the side of the hill.Just picture a goat trail traversing across a steep hill and thats what it was for half a lap.Once on the bottom it was a supper bumpy cut grass trail for a mile or so before heading back up the major climb.It wasn't that bad of a climb as I anticipated.It wasn't steep at all and would level off once in a while.The first lap was uneventfull really,just finding the groove and relaxing in the singletrack.Since you had half a lap to recover you really had to pound it on the flat and the climb as Sam showed me when he passed me like I was standing still on the bumpy flat with his hardtail.The second lap I stuck with Dave Meyer and another dude that was riding out of his league.He would blast one section and crash, then go slow in others.He made an unannounced pass on Dave in the crappiest section and Dave yelled "Don't crash on me" as he passed.I had to laugh after that one.Luckily he got his chain stuck in his wheel up the climb and that was the last time we saw him.Lap 3 it was just me and Dave untill Scott Ralston hit his shin on a tree.He was shaking and screaming in agony when I passed him.I thought he was done for the day but he somehow managed to join us by the end of the single track.At the start of the 4th lap I made an attack before going into the singletrack thinking I could open a gap through the twisties.Right away in the same spot Scott wacks his shin again.After saying "oops I did it again" he started to think of Britney Spears and that made him feel much better.Then the inevitable occured,after riding 3 laps flawlessly I put up a yard sale right in front of Scott and Dave.The sale included the family jewels too.By the time I got back into it Scott and Dave put a nice gap on me and I rode alone for #5 and rolled in 11th for the day.Sam was smoking and took 7th behind Chris...on his hardtail.I think its a really fun course and I don't mind if it stays in the series at all.I don't have my climbing legs yet but I better soon because Afton is in 2 weeks.Thats one place that if you get a bad day its torture the whole race.

I sold my Fuji team this weekend for $700.I paid $800 for it 4-5 years ago when I worked at Rice St.Bicycle.I put new rubber,chain,and cassette on before it went.

Parents are comming home tonight.They called at Kemps Kamp last night in SD.Which is where I'll be in a few weeks!

I started "Project Thumper" a few weeks back and now that I'm in the legalizing phase of it, I'm getting the run arround like none other.Am I the only one in the state that has done a dual sport conversion other than a dealer? Tousley does them all the time and they have no problems whatsoever.I'm waiting on some answers tomarrow so hopefully I can get somewhere with this.