Skinny #1 Racing

I think I've got developed something that I just made up: The Curse of the Blue Tees. After my remarkable 79 ten days ago, I decided that I would move back and start playing from the blue tees. Big mistake. Since that epic day I haven't shot good at all. The worst part is that the driver used to be my go to club, and now I'm hitting it so bad. Sometimes I'll hit a big hook, other times a big slice, and sometimes she'll go straight. I just can't figure it out. I've been to the range a lot and think I have it straightened out, and then I get out on the course and she's all over the place. I'm still hitting my mid-short irons real nice and chipping the ball like a champion. I'm getting better with my long irons, too. All I need to do is start putting better and hitting the driver and 3 wood consistently and I'll be unstoppable. I want to break 80 again before I leave to go to school in only 19 days. I can't believe it's going to be that soon.

I finished up a good week of training with quite a few long days. It ended up being 17 hours which is quite a bit for me. I even took a new route that my dad told me was 3 hours (it ended up taking 3 3/4 hours). It was so hilly though, I don't know that I'll be doing it too often. Before I leave for school I need to get both of my mountain bikes in tip top condition. I just put together my FS with the XT hydraulic disc brakes today...I think I'm going to get used to the STI shifters. I also just ordered some Avid SD7 brake calipers for my hardtail so that I can try to keep the weight down. I figure I'll end up racing the HT on most short tracks and cross countries, but that I'll keep the FS in case it's a little burly. Our home race (the one at Beaver Meadows) is pretty nasty so I'll probably unleash the dually for it. I think I have a rest week this week but I haven't got my workouts yet...let's hope.

I set a new record yesterday by shooting a 79 on the golf course. It was really wierd because I wasn't even hitting my irons that well, but I was chipping great and my putting was so-so. After playing a few holes on the front nine, I started thinking that I could break 80 if I played decent. Flash forward: 16th hole. I need to bogey 16, 17, and 18 to shoot a 79...a task that shouldn't be too challenging considering the fact that I hadn't gotten worse than a bogey all day. The 16th hole is a 150ish yard downhill par 3, so I hit a pitching wedge on the green. OK...I ended up 3 putting, my first 3 put of the day. I had made bogey so it didn't matter. 17 is a 500ish yard par 5, slightly downhill. I can come really close to knocking it on in two with a good driver and 3 wood. Today wasn't a day to be taking risks like that, so I reached into my bag and hit 6 iron off the tee, followed by a 7 iron to 150ish. I hit another PW, this time right of the green. I chipped on so I had about 20 feet (it was a tough chip I had no green to work with). I 3 putted again and made double bogey, my first of the day, meaning that I would need to par 18 to break 80. 18 is another 150ish yard par 3, that goes down, and then back up...so you are actually hitting slightly uphill. It's the 7th hardest hole on the course. A 9 iron can get me there, but I decided to play it safe. I hit an 8 iron pin high and two putted for my par. What an epic day.

I'm a little fed up with road racing. It's pretty much the most ridiculous thing ever. Wednesday night I crashed and I wasn't even doing anything wrong. My right wrist/bicep is still sore, and I'm going to need a new derailleur hanger, cables, housing, and bar wrap for my bike. I couldn't even finish the race because my rear wheel wouldn't spin because the derailleur was in the spokes. That's the first race that I have ever failed to finish, and there was absolutely nothing that I could do about it. In conclusion, I would much rather golf than do road races.

First of all, congratulations to Colt for winning a national championship in the marathon on Thursday. I was on the edge the entire time reading his website. All I know is that the race was 120 km, and my longest ride this year has been 60 miles, which is about 100 km, and it was on a road bike. I couldn't image racing that long on a mountain bike, unless of course it was on a straight up lame course.

Anyways, my predictions were way off, I don't think I got a single one right. The most surprising of them all, Jermiah Bishop finsihing second in the ST. I didn't think he knew how to race a short track, but oh well. I can't believe T O double D went down in the XC after he had dropped JHK.

Well, I signed up for the Working Man's Stage Race yesterday, and it starts tomorrow. Time trial tomorrow, circuit race Wednesday, and a points race on Thursday. I don't really know how everything is going to work, but I think I might go for the KOM if I feel good. I figure I'm pretty fast on my mountain bike, so I should be able to give a bunch of old cat. 4 roadies a run for their money. On my ride yesterday I rode by this guy who was completely covered in sweat. I got to a big climb and had to keep my HR in zone 2, so at the top of the climb the guy caught up to me and we started chatting and he was pretty whipped. Anyways, turns out he's a cat. 4 roadie and I was about a million times faster than him. Hopefully he's not the kind that get dropped really quick. I've got a big day of golf ahead of me, maybe 36 holes. The other day John and I played a 2-man scramble in 1 hour 45 minutes for 18 holes...

I rode for 3 hours and 10 minutes in the pouring rain yesterday. It started off overcast and then about 15 minutes into the ride it began to drizzle. I guess the pace slowly picked up and by the end of my ride it was an absolute downpour. The weather said isolated thunderstorms with a 50% chance of precipitation, so for NH I figured my odds were pretty good! Along the way I drank 3 bottles of gatorade/water, two packets of gushers, and a huge banana. However, when I got home the only thing that could satisfy this wild beast was a large cheese pizza from Gabby's. When I got that craving for pizza, a craving for Ninja Turles came along with it. So, I got my pizza and popped in the movie. The movie was excellent, and the box of pizza (yes, I ate the whole thing) was excellent as well. There is a whole lot of stuff from the movie that I didn't remember, like this one part where Michaelangelo acts out Rocky...it's so funny.

Anyways, it looks like rain again today. A couple of hours on the mountain bike probably isn't going to be too pleasant. I can't wait until I get back out to Colorado and I hardly ever have to ride in the rain. Here, I think I ride in the rain just as much as I ride in the sunshine. It's a real bummer. Mountain bike nationals this weekend, these are my picks:

Men's XC: 1) JHK 2) Todd Wells 3) Jeremiah Bishop
Men's ST: 1) Todd Wells 2) JHK 3) Adam Craig
Women's XC: 1) Mary McConneloug 2) Shonny V 3) Heather Irminger
Wonem's ST 1) Katerina Nash 2) Shonny V 3) Willow Koerber

So my favorite race of the year has already come and gone. The course was in fantastic shape, probably the best that it's ever been in. They cut this new singletrack-ish section in to replace the old one that was kinda burly. It was really nice, the soil was perfect for mountain biking. Unfortunately, I didn't have too great of a race, but what do you expect after back to back rest weeks. I ended up 5th, but Brian had an even worse day than me and took 6th...what a way for us Semi-Pros to represent in the Epert Senior I category!

My dad raced, too. He took 3rd in Novice Clydesdale. There were only 3 racers. HAHA. It was really funny seeing him out there in his baggy shorts and sleeveless white shirt. He had on one of my old helmets and some black half finger gloves with big hiking boots on. He might have been able to compete for second, but he said he was just going for a ride to finish, and that he really wasn't too tired. I told him he would just have to try harder next time.

Well, I need to go work on my golf game today. I haven't played a real round in about a week, so I need to get back into it. I shot 90 one of my first times out this year, but haven't been able to get below 90 yet. Last time I played the same exact ball the entire round until 18, and then the luck turned on me and I just quit. Hopefully today it will all come together and I'll hit my irons accurately. I have no trouble hitting them solid, I can just never hit them where I want to.

I'm not sure if that's how you spell fo shizzle. Me, being a white American, am challenged at spelling words of the African descent. Anyways, these past few days have been pretty good, except for the fact that nobody at Gearwork's Cyclery is capable of selling me the right bottom bracket that I need. All I want is a 68 x 113 octalink, that's all I want. First, Andy sold me an e-type, so I had to bring that back. Next, Gene (the owner) was like I'll sell you this XTR for the same price. I'm thinking to myself cool, now I have a lighter bottom bracket. I get home and install it and have to adjust the front derailleur. I go inside and have a message from Gene saying that the BB is XTR specific, and I'm like what's this guy talking about, it's working fine. So I go to leave on my ride and I feel this dead spot on the bottom of each pedal. Back to the barn...I take the crank bolts off and the arms just fall off...ooops. I guess that BB was XTR specific. My old one is still on there now, and it's got so much play. Looks like I'm going to have to race on it this weekend.

BIG NEWS!!!!! I put disc brakes on my hardtail (the only IronHorse that I'm riding). I'm using the wheels off my FS for now, but I think I'm going to get some Stan's and maybe their new tires, too. On their website it said a 150 pound person should start off running them 20 psi front and 23 psi rear...WHOA!!!!! If I can run a tire that low and not flat all the time, then I will run that tire until I die.

I got some massive burns on my back today...I guess that's what I get for mowing the lawn all day with my shirt off. The burn on my back should accompany the one on the front pretty well though. I have to go to the dentist at 8:30 am tomorrow, so I think I'm gonna go eat some dessert and head to bed.

These were my riding partners for the day. I talked my dad into racing Moody Park this weekend, and Ed said he was up for it, too. We rode for two hours, training for them, recovery for me. Not a bad ride though, lots of stops and lots of goofing around.
We started off with what we would do when we were little: ride to the lighthouse. It used to be a huge deal, but not it's only about a 15 minute ride from the villa. If you walk along the beach it would probably take a little less time.
This little guy was running around down by the docks. I wonder what he was up to...
We rode over to this golf course that is pretty fun. We didn't play but this is the major attraction on the way there. It's so big. The rock itself must be about ten feet tall.
This is right in the center of town and I couldn't pass it up. I was laughing as I snapped this one.
This is another major attraction in the town of Mattapoisett. It signified to me when I was a kid that we were almost there. It's only about 5 minutes from the house, but it's pretty cool.
Last but not least, Oxford Creamery. This is one of the best ice cream places around. They also serve fried food and stuff like that, but I'm more into the ice cream aspect. I got a large peanut butter cup two nights ago and I'm wanting some more right now. Hopefully the ice cream truck pulls up here pretty quick because I'm ready for a snack.

I arrived at the villa around 2 in the morning today. Aggie wasn't done with prior commitments until sometime around 11, so we got kind of a late start. It's not that big of a deal though, I'm used to driving at all sorts of times these days.

Thursday, I woke up at 1 am to drive down to Maryland to pick up some cement mixers. It was supposed to be a six hour drive down, one hour there, and an eight hour drive back. As always, nothing went according to plan. On the way back, the fuel filter in one of the trucks was clogged. This meant that we were going 15 mph uphill on the New York Thruway. Talk about scary!!!!! Most cars were going 65-75 mph and we were only going 15. We ended up getting a new fuel filter for that thing, and then of course more had to go wrong. In the other truck we had a blow out in the front, so we had to leave that one on the side of the road for the towing company to come and pick up. OK, just when we thought it couldn't get any worse it did. In the same truck that we had already replaced the fuel filter, we ran out of gas. This is because the gas gague didn't work...go figure. Luckily, we were only a few minutes away from a gas station so I had to go and buy a can, put some diesel fuel in it, and drive back to the truck. We got it started, drove to the gas station and were finally on our way again. 10:30 pm came around and we finally arrived home, 21.5 hours later. Talk about the longest day ever.

Today me and Ed went in search of some trails that my dad told me were really nice. He said that they were good and he had a fun time or something like that. All we found was mud and dead ends, it was pretty much the worst ride ever. To supplement this lousy ride, I decided that swim out to the raft (which was put in this morning) was the only solution. It looks like it's only about 200 yards away, but it feels like it's way longer when you have to swim that far. Now that I have a good wireless connection right outside my front door and not much to do for the next few days I'll be able to update.