"Hey you're the mountain man"

Yesterday afternoon Sammi had me come talk to her class about bike safety and try to give her kids a little excitement. She teaches 1st through 3rd grade mild to moderate special ed and deals with kids of varying disabilities.

Before I came in she had discussed some basics with them and let them know I was coming. I wasn't sure what to expect when I walked in the classroom but the responses were priceless:

"Hey you're the mountain man!" Yup, that's me.

"It's the bike... guy!" Uh-huh.

"Bike (long pause) errr!!!" Mmm hmm.

I proceeded to show them my helmet and asked them what it was. Lots of hands, calling out- "a helmet." Indeed it is. And why do we want a helmet? "To protect your head." Hey you kids are good. Sammi prepped them well.

I clipped my shoe in to a pedal without my foot in it and spun it around. That really stole the show.

Lots of random questions and comments later we went outside and I bunny hopped over a cement wall and down a drop on to a grassy hill. At first I was skeptical and didn't think they'd be too impressed but I had to do not one, but two, encore jumps.

The best (almost worst) part came when I said goodbye to the class and got on my bike to ride away... with my helmet in a bag. Oops. I took the opportunity to ask the kids what I was forgetting (phew good save). A few "You're #1's" and I was on my way.

After I was thinking that she probably has one of the most challenging jobs out there of but I could see why it can be so rewarding.

Green Thumb?

I wanted to help Sammi work on the yard so she put me to work planting some tomatoes. Hmmm, yeaaahhhh, anyone who knows me well knows I don't have a green thumb by any stretch of the imagination. I can barely grow the hair on my own head. I guarantee the ones I planted will be dead in a week.

Stage 3

With BC Bike Race looming on the horizon it seemed like a good idea to stretch the limits a little bit to get used to the feeling of going out and riding hard when you are totally blown. While the 'rest when you are tired'and 'when in doubt leave it out' philosophy is good for most of the time, we figured we'd try out a solid block of riding.

Stage 1: Soldier Hollow ICUP. Somehow I pulled off a win ahead of two local legends and a solid local field. Its great to see how fast everyone is going around the 801 right now.

Stage 2: Mueller Grueller with Matt, Bart and Burke. 5 hours the day after an xc... lots of climbing= ouch.

Stage 3: 4 hours in the 90 degree heat with lots of road time. Bart and I rode down to Draper and checked out the race course. I had never done Jacob's Ladder so we took a spur up and then back down. Climbing Jacobs Ladder= super ouch. Maybe OK with fresh legs. We cleaned it though.

This is probably normal for any real pro but was stretching it for me. I can't speak for Bart but I think (hope) he was tired, Ohran was smart and threw in the towel today. He's resting up for a 4 day secret training session at sea level next weekend. Watch out. All in all I felt better today than yesterday and was pretty happy with how the legs felt once they got going. Stopping was a different story as they tended get pretty heavy after. Luckily in stage racing you aren't stopping to chat. Probably a good idea to get some rest now. Lame post, no pics.

6 reasons why July 19 is going to rock

Mountain Single Track

Got to ride some mountain single track for the first time this spring last weekend.

Saturday was the ICUP race in Logan Perfect conditions for racing- cool, no dust, tacky trails.

Sunday Bart and I rode over to Park City from his place and checked out Glenwild and part of Flying Dog. We hit the road back over Big Mountain pass and down to Emigration. Psyched for some more high elevation trails to melt out.

Some beer brewing in between... I just watched. Pretty crazy process.

The gift that keeps on giving

Heading to the Bombay House for dinner tonight for Sammi's mom's birthday. I'll see what kind of damage I can do to myself for tomorrow's Intermountain Cup race. It's going to be tough to not go big on some spicy curry, though I don't really want to be enjoying Indian food's reputation as "the gift that keeps on giving" tomorrow on the side of the trail...

Mohican 100

So we are going to the Mohican 100 in Ohio at the end of the month. Its been a few years since I've done a 100 mile race and I am trying to figure out how to prepare for it. I got this suggestion from Jeremiah Bishop:

"I would recommend doing a tough 6 hour ride mid this week with tempo on all the climbs and then do the last 2 climbs as hard as you can! Good practice for the nutrition and attrition!"

Hmmm, well I didn't have 6 hours so I figured I could adapt it in to a day of work and just do 4 hours. I busted out of the house in a rush and hopped on the mountain bike yesterday afternoon. Three hours and 50 miles of pavement on my mtb later I rolled in to Soldier Hollow just in time for the biathalon. Up Emigration, Parleys, Deer Crest @ DV then down 40. Probably not the best way to prepare for racing this weekend but I am trying to get some long rides in with a little intensity thrown in to get ready for the blistering pace @ the Mohican. Will have to see if it helps at all.

Cinco de Dishwasher

Holy crap we have a dishwasher now. Installed with the help of our plumber friend Jose Cuervo.



Odd, he doesn't look Mexican...

Worms

I remember when my dad used to drop me off at school in the rain I would always have to walk across a parking lot covered in worms, most squished by cars and shoes. The smell of the squished worms stayed with me over the years and I always recognize it when its raining. Warm wet pavement must feel pretty good to them or something. Anyway, I've had plenty of quality time with road worms recently as I've gone 4 for 4 weekend days of getting caught in pouring rain while riding. I even got to scrape some off my down tube this afternoon. A tasty snack...

So yeah, soaked to the bone twice again this weekend- this time I had company though as Bart was unfortunate enough to join me and my bad luck. Both days it cleared up as I was getting home and got nice.

Refueling with the silver bullet on top of Big Mountain. The contents of this can remain top secret for the time being...




I knew there was a reason we haven't mowed the lawn yet

2007 5- Mile pass pre ride: an epic adventure

Two years ago I went to pre ride the 5 Mile pass loop. I had never done it before and didn't realize that a pre ride wasn't necessary since its all double track road. Anyway I went out to check it out and of course it started pouring right when I got there. I suited up anyway not knowing I was about to embark on an epic adventure. A 3 hour 11 mile adventure that involved the stickiest clay mud ever and about 6 miles of hiking. So be forewarned: if its raining, watch out. That kind of dirt does dry quick and I bet a couple hours is all it needs. But if its raining in the morning I'm staying home! And no I'm not a fair weather racer, growing up in VT I raced in the rain a ton. Its just that clay... Kind of a bummer because I'd like to race. Hope the rain holds out...