Yeah, that's what I said to the 12' hill at Loch Raven that always laughs down on me as time and again fail to clean it. Oh, but not this time I finally conquered it. Using BJ's trick I rode up and off the trail giving myself enough space to turn and it worked like a champ! I'm not saying I didn't come to a crawl and I'm not saying it wasn't the suck, cause it was. But I beat it's dirty a$$ (get it, it's a hill made of dirty. No huh? damn). I was so excited I was struck with the idea to stop and take a picture so I could include it with this post but then I'd have to stop. My nemesis is just the start of another climb that wines it's way back up to Mid range. I was on a roll and didn't want to stop so I just kept on going until I reached the intersection with the Mid Double Track. This weekend was a good one, the temp and humidity were both down and it felt great. I got ditched on Sat but there was no way I was going to miss such a great day.
I don't know if I've improved this weekend or if it was just because of the wonderful weather (aka no humidity which seems to beat me down) or that I might actually be gaining some form. I've lost some weight so that's helping for sure but I'll wait till next weekend before I decided that I'm feeling stronger.
My MTN ride was the best of the season. I cleaned all the hills that usually give me grief and never had the taste of my spleen well up in my throat. Oh yeah it still hurt but no where near as bad as it has been. I went from Mid down down the S's to the shore past Sam's Grave crossed over the log pile bridge cleaned both steep sections and made my way back up to Mid without taking a break. First time in awhile I didn't feel spent and could just keep on keep'n on. Went up to Provident Road hit the speed loop dropped back in and then even cleaned the other rutted steep curving hill that I usually burn out on. I had enough juice in the tank to pick a good line and take my time, most of the time I'm just seeing black spots hit a root burn out and then start cussing. No cussing required this time. 8)
The root section down my the shore was the only painful section for me. My knee still isn't 100% after the accident but it's feeling a ton better. I can at least get out of the saddle to climb now. I finished with a good time and even had enough energy when I got home to get out the never dull and polish the Chameleon (that's my bike, a Santa Cruz Chameleon, get your mind out of the gutter).
Sunday it was again super nice. I headed up to Falls Road to get in my climbing loop. My knee started out a little sore but it cleared up pretty quickly. I felt good most of the ride until the last big climb at mile 40. But at least I'm feeling stronger and that is a bonus. If I can just get my insurance bike stuff all cleared up and done.
Showing posts with label good days. Show all posts
Showing posts with label good days. Show all posts
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Nothing says fun like Pee'n Blood
I was looking at a web site and this story pop'd in my head. It was probably about eight years ago now and me and many of my friends had gone to Carlise PA for a car show. My Friend Frank and I ran an online magazine at the time and we were there for their online coverage. Other then the location that really doesn't have much to do with the story. But I figure some background builds the story up.
Frank and I were up there with about 25 of our friends and we had all booked rooms at a Quality Inn up there. That in itself is another story. Come to think of it, every year we went up there it, it resulted in at least a handful of insane moments. But this was our first trip up to Carlise and it was pretty hectic. We had a booth to setup, we had made stickers to hand out, and helped our friend John get his stuff ready as well. He runs Speedesign, one of the biggest graphic shops on the East Coast. We did the setup thing and then hit up Bob Evans for some grub, it was getting late and we were all thinking about heading back and crashing until someone saw "it". And by "it" I'm referring to most bestest go cart track you would ever be blessed to drive on.
Now, if you have partaken of the joy that is go carts, you know how fun they are and how much more fun a slick track is. But usually a slick track is just a big circle and you mainly just drift around the circle, which is fun but nothing compared to this course. Our large group charged across the grassy field and made our way over to the tracks. At first we thought the course was a standard street course. But no, this was the most awesome slick track ever. It had at least 8 turns, some of them incredibly tight. Plus a pretty long stretch that took you past the pit area. There were 26 cars and their was actually 26 of us there, awesome! The whole track was ours.
As we stood there waiting in line we watched the other people driving and the course looked like it was indeed quite slick. We also heard the GC conductor (guy that worked there) going over the "rules" of the track. No Bumping, No Crashing, when the yellow light comes on you have one more lap, when the red comes on pull into the pit. What the hell, that doesn't sound like fun, no bumping or crashing? No, that just won't do. We were next and this is about the time that the smack talk started. People saying I'm going to beat you, I'm going to lap you. I laughed, "you may just do that, but my goal isn't to win. It's to put you in the wall." And there is was, the decision was out. This was going to be a no holds barred slaughter fest. We also decided that rules were for sissy's and we all agreed that when the yellow light turned on we were all going to go nuts and do donuts or whatever so our "last" lap never ended.
Our turn, we pile in and people go diving for their choice ride. I was in the 2nd row next to my boy Frank. Everyone is in and the guy is walking though "his" rules and then starts the countdown. When the light turned green the carnage began. We didn't even make it through the first turn, 8 cars piled up and people were already facing the wrong way. I got through the pile and mashed it, 1) I knew there were people on my butt and 2) I want make ramming speed. I made it through the first lap mostly unscathed and was now coming back into the first pile up. Off to the side I heard the GCC yelling " NO BUMPING! " but really what I had in mind wasn't really considered bumping. I lined up on a kid named Kevin (aka Smokey, and it has nothing to do with drugs, his POS car just smoked like a champ) and bored on in. I hit him in the rear wheel area spinning him around again, I saw his whole body slam over, I smiled with pride. Thankfully my momentum keeping me moving, but not for long, my impact slowed me down and left me out there a target for someone behind me. I got rear ended right into a guard rail and was being pushed along. The other car shot free and I mashed it, sitting still was certain death.
I shot into the hard S turns and saw my good buddy Smokey again, so off I went. I smashed into his right side and actually ran him into another guy (Lance), which wasn't good for him as he went head first into a guard rail stopping dead. Me and Smokey just laughed, but our team ended there and I spun him out high speed police style. He turned around just to have John crush him. Off I went, I was ahead of most so I was now trying to survive the last turn. There were a few girls out there with us and I passed one, I had promised them all I wouldn't crash them. Too bad Smokey's girlfriend didn't reciprocate and she smashed into me hard as I made it to the straight away. Lucky for me I was ahead of her and her collision didn't spin me. LAP 2, I shoot past the pit and GCC guy, he's screaming now " What the hell are you all doing?! " I don't know who yelled it but from behind me I heard " Having Fun! ".
I make the first turn and as I head into the S turns there's John. Dead stopped and sitting by the rails. He sees me coming and his eyes get huge, he's a sitting duck and he's expecting my attack to be ruthless. But for some reason I felt pity in my heart. I laughed and went at him but swerved at the last moment, putting a scare into him but the relief was visible. Though it was only visible for about 3 seconds as Frank barreled into him full bore. I guess he didn't feel he could pass up the target of a wide eyed John. The collision was so hard that it actually sent John up on to the rail. No small feat as John is no small feat himself. The shock his body took was painful to watch so I can only imagine it was quite painful to receive. The distraction cost me though and I got spun out by Lance as soon as I passed the carnage. He clipped me good and I ended up stopped facing the rail myself. One of the workers (not GCC himself but a helper ) ran over to free me up. As he ran up he was laughing pretty heartily, " You guys are crazy! " he said as he tried to right my cart. He had just freed me when someone else came blasting in smashing me in the back. I launched away almost taking his foot with me. I just waved thanks as I shot away.
I caught up with John as we came around the final turn, both of us were recovering from the solid hits we had just taken so we nodded our agreement of truce. I was just planning on making it to the straight to recover before jumping back into the fray. That plan went out the window as soon as I saw Lance ahead of us. I wanted revenge for his hit and Lance for one is a nut and two a smack talker (well I guess that is actually 3, Revenge + 2). It was on, I motioned toward Lance to John and he caught on immediately. I went in first caught him hard on the front section of his cart spinning him, right behind me John came in hard crushing him T Bone style. He forced his car over at least 3 feet and put him halfway over the guard rail (these rails are only about 4 inches high but as the carts are flat on the ground, it's quite impressive). Since I had only forced the spin I kept going or at least tried to. I put the pedal down but the cart just died. Looking around in confusion I saw that everyone else was having the same issue. I then noticed the GCC jumping up and down screaming at us " That's it, that's it you are all done! I'm going to turn your carts back on, bring them into the PIT! " He turned the carts on and then turned on the YELLOW light.
That was a mistake, of course he didn't know that but that was all we needed. Everyone went nuts, people doing donuts, some going backwards and I saw 2 people head to head just mashing the pedals. Everyone was laughing loudly at our cleverness, well not everyone. GCC flipped out screaming again and this time ran out into the track. "Pull in the pit, pull in the pit!" I guess we decided we didn't want him to have a heart attack so we stopped our freak out session and started to head for the pit. As we neared it I realized that the pit lanes were separated by little orange cones. Little orange cones that weren't attached to anything. I was near the front of the pack so only about 3 carts had come in already and I figured I'd end the course in grand fashion. As soon as I got into the pit I slammed on the brake, pulled the wheel hard right and went plowing through the cones sideways. Cones were everywhere and I mean everywhere which was awesome but that wasn't the worst of it. I was now all blocked up in the pit area and that caused a whole new pile up. Cars were facing every direction and jammed up completely. Nice.
I was drawn back to reality pretty quickly as GCC came running over " You A$$holes! You are out of here, you, you and YOU! " The last "you" was me, he was standing there pointing right at me. All I could do was laugh, " Dude they are only Go Carts ". He didn't appear to feel the same. We started to hop out of our cars and headed for the exit. The people that were waiting in line where laughing, cheering and clapping "That was Awesome!" "You guys are crazy!". Sweet, we had an audience.
As we all huddled up after our expulsion from the track some of us were a little bummed. We had bought 2 tickets, not that we were really worried about the money but we wanted to get back out there again! So that's when we decided our banned status didn't include the normal track. We walked over and gave the GCC there our tickets and he gladly let us in to which we all cheered. This track was normal (non slick) so we couldn't get to crazy. But that didn't stop Lance from yelling at the slick track GCC and then giving him the finger. Yup, we made ourselves a nice impression at the Go Cart track. After our race was done we all went back to the hotel and crashed out. It had been a long day and now I was sore.
The next morning while taking a shower I noticed my back was real tender. I looked in the mirror and have a big ol bruise on my left kidney area. Wow, that hurt. But it only made me think about last night and start laughing. I got ready and headed out of the bathroom still laughing. Lance was standing there, "what's so funny?". I pulled up my shirt to reveal the bruise. John looked over "Oh that's a good one". Lance smiled, "this morning when I got up a p1$$ed some blood, I laughed too". Yup, something isn't right with that boy.
Frank and I were up there with about 25 of our friends and we had all booked rooms at a Quality Inn up there. That in itself is another story. Come to think of it, every year we went up there it, it resulted in at least a handful of insane moments. But this was our first trip up to Carlise and it was pretty hectic. We had a booth to setup, we had made stickers to hand out, and helped our friend John get his stuff ready as well. He runs Speedesign, one of the biggest graphic shops on the East Coast. We did the setup thing and then hit up Bob Evans for some grub, it was getting late and we were all thinking about heading back and crashing until someone saw "it". And by "it" I'm referring to most bestest go cart track you would ever be blessed to drive on.
Now, if you have partaken of the joy that is go carts, you know how fun they are and how much more fun a slick track is. But usually a slick track is just a big circle and you mainly just drift around the circle, which is fun but nothing compared to this course. Our large group charged across the grassy field and made our way over to the tracks. At first we thought the course was a standard street course. But no, this was the most awesome slick track ever. It had at least 8 turns, some of them incredibly tight. Plus a pretty long stretch that took you past the pit area. There were 26 cars and their was actually 26 of us there, awesome! The whole track was ours.
As we stood there waiting in line we watched the other people driving and the course looked like it was indeed quite slick. We also heard the GC conductor (guy that worked there) going over the "rules" of the track. No Bumping, No Crashing, when the yellow light comes on you have one more lap, when the red comes on pull into the pit. What the hell, that doesn't sound like fun, no bumping or crashing? No, that just won't do. We were next and this is about the time that the smack talk started. People saying I'm going to beat you, I'm going to lap you. I laughed, "you may just do that, but my goal isn't to win. It's to put you in the wall." And there is was, the decision was out. This was going to be a no holds barred slaughter fest. We also decided that rules were for sissy's and we all agreed that when the yellow light turned on we were all going to go nuts and do donuts or whatever so our "last" lap never ended.
Our turn, we pile in and people go diving for their choice ride. I was in the 2nd row next to my boy Frank. Everyone is in and the guy is walking though "his" rules and then starts the countdown. When the light turned green the carnage began. We didn't even make it through the first turn, 8 cars piled up and people were already facing the wrong way. I got through the pile and mashed it, 1) I knew there were people on my butt and 2) I want make ramming speed. I made it through the first lap mostly unscathed and was now coming back into the first pile up. Off to the side I heard the GCC yelling " NO BUMPING! " but really what I had in mind wasn't really considered bumping. I lined up on a kid named Kevin (aka Smokey, and it has nothing to do with drugs, his POS car just smoked like a champ) and bored on in. I hit him in the rear wheel area spinning him around again, I saw his whole body slam over, I smiled with pride. Thankfully my momentum keeping me moving, but not for long, my impact slowed me down and left me out there a target for someone behind me. I got rear ended right into a guard rail and was being pushed along. The other car shot free and I mashed it, sitting still was certain death.
I shot into the hard S turns and saw my good buddy Smokey again, so off I went. I smashed into his right side and actually ran him into another guy (Lance), which wasn't good for him as he went head first into a guard rail stopping dead. Me and Smokey just laughed, but our team ended there and I spun him out high speed police style. He turned around just to have John crush him. Off I went, I was ahead of most so I was now trying to survive the last turn. There were a few girls out there with us and I passed one, I had promised them all I wouldn't crash them. Too bad Smokey's girlfriend didn't reciprocate and she smashed into me hard as I made it to the straight away. Lucky for me I was ahead of her and her collision didn't spin me. LAP 2, I shoot past the pit and GCC guy, he's screaming now " What the hell are you all doing?! " I don't know who yelled it but from behind me I heard " Having Fun! ".
I make the first turn and as I head into the S turns there's John. Dead stopped and sitting by the rails. He sees me coming and his eyes get huge, he's a sitting duck and he's expecting my attack to be ruthless. But for some reason I felt pity in my heart. I laughed and went at him but swerved at the last moment, putting a scare into him but the relief was visible. Though it was only visible for about 3 seconds as Frank barreled into him full bore. I guess he didn't feel he could pass up the target of a wide eyed John. The collision was so hard that it actually sent John up on to the rail. No small feat as John is no small feat himself. The shock his body took was painful to watch so I can only imagine it was quite painful to receive. The distraction cost me though and I got spun out by Lance as soon as I passed the carnage. He clipped me good and I ended up stopped facing the rail myself. One of the workers (not GCC himself but a helper ) ran over to free me up. As he ran up he was laughing pretty heartily, " You guys are crazy! " he said as he tried to right my cart. He had just freed me when someone else came blasting in smashing me in the back. I launched away almost taking his foot with me. I just waved thanks as I shot away.
I caught up with John as we came around the final turn, both of us were recovering from the solid hits we had just taken so we nodded our agreement of truce. I was just planning on making it to the straight to recover before jumping back into the fray. That plan went out the window as soon as I saw Lance ahead of us. I wanted revenge for his hit and Lance for one is a nut and two a smack talker (well I guess that is actually 3, Revenge + 2). It was on, I motioned toward Lance to John and he caught on immediately. I went in first caught him hard on the front section of his cart spinning him, right behind me John came in hard crushing him T Bone style. He forced his car over at least 3 feet and put him halfway over the guard rail (these rails are only about 4 inches high but as the carts are flat on the ground, it's quite impressive). Since I had only forced the spin I kept going or at least tried to. I put the pedal down but the cart just died. Looking around in confusion I saw that everyone else was having the same issue. I then noticed the GCC jumping up and down screaming at us " That's it, that's it you are all done! I'm going to turn your carts back on, bring them into the PIT! " He turned the carts on and then turned on the YELLOW light.
That was a mistake, of course he didn't know that but that was all we needed. Everyone went nuts, people doing donuts, some going backwards and I saw 2 people head to head just mashing the pedals. Everyone was laughing loudly at our cleverness, well not everyone. GCC flipped out screaming again and this time ran out into the track. "Pull in the pit, pull in the pit!" I guess we decided we didn't want him to have a heart attack so we stopped our freak out session and started to head for the pit. As we neared it I realized that the pit lanes were separated by little orange cones. Little orange cones that weren't attached to anything. I was near the front of the pack so only about 3 carts had come in already and I figured I'd end the course in grand fashion. As soon as I got into the pit I slammed on the brake, pulled the wheel hard right and went plowing through the cones sideways. Cones were everywhere and I mean everywhere which was awesome but that wasn't the worst of it. I was now all blocked up in the pit area and that caused a whole new pile up. Cars were facing every direction and jammed up completely. Nice.
I was drawn back to reality pretty quickly as GCC came running over " You A$$holes! You are out of here, you, you and YOU! " The last "you" was me, he was standing there pointing right at me. All I could do was laugh, " Dude they are only Go Carts ". He didn't appear to feel the same. We started to hop out of our cars and headed for the exit. The people that were waiting in line where laughing, cheering and clapping "That was Awesome!" "You guys are crazy!". Sweet, we had an audience.
As we all huddled up after our expulsion from the track some of us were a little bummed. We had bought 2 tickets, not that we were really worried about the money but we wanted to get back out there again! So that's when we decided our banned status didn't include the normal track. We walked over and gave the GCC there our tickets and he gladly let us in to which we all cheered. This track was normal (non slick) so we couldn't get to crazy. But that didn't stop Lance from yelling at the slick track GCC and then giving him the finger. Yup, we made ourselves a nice impression at the Go Cart track. After our race was done we all went back to the hotel and crashed out. It had been a long day and now I was sore.
The next morning while taking a shower I noticed my back was real tender. I looked in the mirror and have a big ol bruise on my left kidney area. Wow, that hurt. But it only made me think about last night and start laughing. I got ready and headed out of the bathroom still laughing. Lance was standing there, "what's so funny?". I pulled up my shirt to reveal the bruise. John looked over "Oh that's a good one". Lance smiled, "this morning when I got up a p1$$ed some blood, I laughed too". Yup, something isn't right with that boy.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Back when I was called Fast..
The other day while climbing a small hill and hurting up a storm it got me to thinking,. about five years ago people would refer to me as fast. I personally never thought of myself as that fast but I was very consistent and that would help me climb the hill pretty well. As I climbed up the pseudo hill I thought, " damn I'm slow ". And I am now, that's hard to take when not so long ago I was at least "not slow". And this had me thinking back to when I got my first "fast" reference.
My friend Donald use to own and run a bike shop. He's a great guy and an awesome rider, be it mountain or road, he's a beast. So I stopped down his shop at lunch to bring my bike in and get the new cassette and chain I had ordered put on. While there Donald asked me if I wanted to go riding that night and it sounded good to me, when we rode I would push and it was nice to have a high paced ride. He'd have the bike ready to go by the time I got off work and we'd roll out. Cool.
Thankfully my house is only 8 miles from work and his shop at the time was only 1 mile the other way from work. So I ran home, got my gear and then headed back up to his shop. When I got there he was half dressed and was running around trying to finish up some shop business. While running around he tells me that he talked to some buddies and we were going to do a group ride down in Ellicott City. "Huh? I thought we were just going to cruise up to Falls from here and back", "Nah, this will be a much cooler ride!". Oh boy, that got me a little nervous as Donald is a strong rider and I'm wondering which of his friends we are going to ride with. I know some of them are super strong. "Don't worry man you can hang, it's all good. it'll be awesome!" awesome was Donald's word.
I load up our bikes on my car and Donald yells out "lube up the chain, I didn't have a chance to." well it's on the car so I said I would before we left on the ride. He finished up and left Pat in charge and off we went. We were late so I was rolling out. During our drive he tells me it's going to be 4 or 5 guys that he knows. One owns a shop down there where we'll be leaving from and the other guys are peeps he knows from races and rides. Oh boy, races? I'm now thinking that I'm in trouble. Two of the guys ride for teams that I've heard of so now I know I'm in trouble. We get to the shop and are a little late so we jump out and start to get ready. Three of the guys are pretty cool and we are talking a little bit which is only making me more nervous. They are talking about racing this and racing that. Bah .. I'm having a sinking feeling I'm going to be puling up rear guard.
The owner of the shop comes out and immediately I can tell this guy is an ass. He's probably in his forties a little overweight but is talking like he's got big game. Donald introduces me and trying to be cool I throw a little self deprecating humor out there "don't crush me out there guys" finished with a slight chuckle. The guy says "Don't worry we won't let you fall too far behind." I think I must have stopped dead, Donald must have seen this and said "Don't worry about Todd, he's a good rider." "We'll see" the owner's buddy chimes in (he will now be know as Cronie). Ok, now it's on. It might sound like they were joking but by the tone it didn't sound like joking. It sounded ignorant to me, firing me right on up. Right then and there I decided there was no way I was going to be dropped that day.
We finished gearing up and they decided where we were going (this is the first time I've ridden here so I'm lost). The loop we were going to hit was 50 to 60 miles and was going to be pretty hilly. The first part of the ride was just getting out of the main congested area. But once we got about ten miles into the ride it started to kick up and we hit the first big climb. Me and Donald were just chilling at the back of the line riding easy, so far the ride wasn't too taxing. The climb was kind of long but the pace was actually pretty low. I don't remember what me and Donald were talking about but we were joking a bit and had drifted about 20 feet off the other guys who were now spreading out a little bit. The guy turns around at says " Don't worry Todd the hill is almost over" laughing.. Yup, I hate this guy. But I was done with his crap so I yell up " I didn't even know we climbing we are going so slow " Donald laughs and leans over saying " Yeah he's kind of a dick, lets pass um ". Donald and I get out of the saddle and blast past them all. We were pretty close to the top and didn't take but a few more mins to get to the top and an intersection. There was a snowball stand on the corner and it was looking pretty damn good. They caught up and we headed off, crushing my dreams of a blood-orange snowball.
After that hill it quited down. The two "Cool" guys were now trying to push it. But the pace still wasn't too hard so I wasn't having any problems. But one of the others guys was having a hard time and actually called it quits about 30 miles into the ride. We said take care and rolled on. Around this time "cool " guy says to his buddy "think we should take Todd to seven hills?" "yeah we can do that" smiling. I lean over and ask Donald "what's seven hills?" " It's called seven hills to college, just seven biggish climbs up to the college. Lets hurt them!" As we get to seven hills one of the other guys says "that's enough for me, I'm just going to creep over these" and slowed up. Donald and the "cool" crew take off. Donald is a sprinter and that's how he climbs. He'll burst then slow down, burst and then slow down so I wasn't surprised to see him take off. I'm a consistent climber. I just find my gear and motor away, usually on longer climbs I'll start to feel better and I can push the pace up.
They smoke me on the first hill, I just settle into my rhythm. Down the first and start on the second, I'm starting to catch up. By the fourth I was right behind them and was picking up steam. Down and back on the fifth, about halfway up the fifth I pass Donald and Mr. Cool. Donald yells out "Get it man!" so to be a jerk I ask Mr. Cool (as he is now known) "Where do I go after I finish these?" Shooting him the biggest smile I have. Donald says "Just stay to the left and stop at the bottom of the decent". Cool, all I needed to know. I took off, passing Mr. Cool's cronie on the sixth hill. I was alone on the seventh and after cresting I turned left and bombed the decent. I was hitting it pretty hard at first but then slowed up. I had no idea where I was haha. So I let the Cronie catch me, I just hung a little behind him for the rest of the decent. We stopped at a little intersection and waited. He was out of breathe, I was not. At this point I was feeling pretty damn good.
Donald and Cool showed up shortly and we waited for the last guy. Donald was all smiles, as soon as we started off again he rode up and said "that was nice man. Lets finish them off". Cool, I was all for it. But at this time two things happened. 1) I was almost out of water 2) I didn't lube my chain. I've explained before what happens when I run out of water and I was getting nervous. Plus on the next climb my chain was starting to get a bit audible. Then my right leg started to cramp up. I was getting annoyed, I wanted to finish this ride up strong and send a message. I downed the last bit of water I had, shook my leg out on a decent and then nodded at Donald. He knew the final section of the ride and we started picking up the pace. First the tired guy dropped out the back. Then the cronie. Mr. Cool was trying to hold on with all he had but as the last climb got steeper he drift back farther. We cleared the top, tucked and hit the decent hard. The last section of the ride is a false flat that takes you back to Rt40 and his shop. We had lost sight of them and by now my leg was cramping bad. I told Donald and he gave me what water he had left, "Come on man, keep it up."
Finally we leveled out and came to the intersection of Rt40 where his shop is, I can see my car. We wait for the light then start to go, well, Donald does. My chain locks up. I limp to the side of the road and straighten it out, cross the road to my car. "Thankful the chain waited to the end to get crazy!" "I told you to lube it, haha, hurry up get the bikes up on the car and change. I want to rub this in." So we changed super quick, got the bikes up on the car and just as we sat on the bumper they rolled up. Donald stands up "Damn man, where you been?" Cool just glared. "Thought for sure you were going to catch up when Todd had to fix his chain. Told you he was a good rider." All I got was a "yeah". I talked to the tired guy for a few mins and said it was fun to them all. We hoped in the car and took off.
Donald was so stoked, "Man, you rode him off your wheel. That's Awesome! I know that's going to bug him." "well he was being an ass, no need to talk down to me and all." We stopped at a gas station to get some Gatorade as I needed some drink bad. As we walked him Donald says "You've really improved man, I'm impressed". It felt good, he's a strong rider and the fact that I had put those guys into the hurt locker was nice. I dropped him off and rode home feeling like I had just won something.
The next day I stopped down his shop and found Donald, Patrick and Mike in the shop BS'n. "And here he is, should have seen him last night. He rode (enter names here) off his wheel. Todd's fast!"
My friend Donald use to own and run a bike shop. He's a great guy and an awesome rider, be it mountain or road, he's a beast. So I stopped down his shop at lunch to bring my bike in and get the new cassette and chain I had ordered put on. While there Donald asked me if I wanted to go riding that night and it sounded good to me, when we rode I would push and it was nice to have a high paced ride. He'd have the bike ready to go by the time I got off work and we'd roll out. Cool.
Thankfully my house is only 8 miles from work and his shop at the time was only 1 mile the other way from work. So I ran home, got my gear and then headed back up to his shop. When I got there he was half dressed and was running around trying to finish up some shop business. While running around he tells me that he talked to some buddies and we were going to do a group ride down in Ellicott City. "Huh? I thought we were just going to cruise up to Falls from here and back", "Nah, this will be a much cooler ride!". Oh boy, that got me a little nervous as Donald is a strong rider and I'm wondering which of his friends we are going to ride with. I know some of them are super strong. "Don't worry man you can hang, it's all good. it'll be awesome!" awesome was Donald's word.
I load up our bikes on my car and Donald yells out "lube up the chain, I didn't have a chance to." well it's on the car so I said I would before we left on the ride. He finished up and left Pat in charge and off we went. We were late so I was rolling out. During our drive he tells me it's going to be 4 or 5 guys that he knows. One owns a shop down there where we'll be leaving from and the other guys are peeps he knows from races and rides. Oh boy, races? I'm now thinking that I'm in trouble. Two of the guys ride for teams that I've heard of so now I know I'm in trouble. We get to the shop and are a little late so we jump out and start to get ready. Three of the guys are pretty cool and we are talking a little bit which is only making me more nervous. They are talking about racing this and racing that. Bah .. I'm having a sinking feeling I'm going to be puling up rear guard.
The owner of the shop comes out and immediately I can tell this guy is an ass. He's probably in his forties a little overweight but is talking like he's got big game. Donald introduces me and trying to be cool I throw a little self deprecating humor out there "don't crush me out there guys" finished with a slight chuckle. The guy says "Don't worry we won't let you fall too far behind." I think I must have stopped dead, Donald must have seen this and said "Don't worry about Todd, he's a good rider." "We'll see" the owner's buddy chimes in (he will now be know as Cronie). Ok, now it's on. It might sound like they were joking but by the tone it didn't sound like joking. It sounded ignorant to me, firing me right on up. Right then and there I decided there was no way I was going to be dropped that day.
We finished gearing up and they decided where we were going (this is the first time I've ridden here so I'm lost). The loop we were going to hit was 50 to 60 miles and was going to be pretty hilly. The first part of the ride was just getting out of the main congested area. But once we got about ten miles into the ride it started to kick up and we hit the first big climb. Me and Donald were just chilling at the back of the line riding easy, so far the ride wasn't too taxing. The climb was kind of long but the pace was actually pretty low. I don't remember what me and Donald were talking about but we were joking a bit and had drifted about 20 feet off the other guys who were now spreading out a little bit. The guy turns around at says " Don't worry Todd the hill is almost over" laughing.. Yup, I hate this guy. But I was done with his crap so I yell up " I didn't even know we climbing we are going so slow " Donald laughs and leans over saying " Yeah he's kind of a dick, lets pass um ". Donald and I get out of the saddle and blast past them all. We were pretty close to the top and didn't take but a few more mins to get to the top and an intersection. There was a snowball stand on the corner and it was looking pretty damn good. They caught up and we headed off, crushing my dreams of a blood-orange snowball.
After that hill it quited down. The two "Cool" guys were now trying to push it. But the pace still wasn't too hard so I wasn't having any problems. But one of the others guys was having a hard time and actually called it quits about 30 miles into the ride. We said take care and rolled on. Around this time "cool " guy says to his buddy "think we should take Todd to seven hills?" "yeah we can do that" smiling. I lean over and ask Donald "what's seven hills?" " It's called seven hills to college, just seven biggish climbs up to the college. Lets hurt them!" As we get to seven hills one of the other guys says "that's enough for me, I'm just going to creep over these" and slowed up. Donald and the "cool" crew take off. Donald is a sprinter and that's how he climbs. He'll burst then slow down, burst and then slow down so I wasn't surprised to see him take off. I'm a consistent climber. I just find my gear and motor away, usually on longer climbs I'll start to feel better and I can push the pace up.
They smoke me on the first hill, I just settle into my rhythm. Down the first and start on the second, I'm starting to catch up. By the fourth I was right behind them and was picking up steam. Down and back on the fifth, about halfway up the fifth I pass Donald and Mr. Cool. Donald yells out "Get it man!" so to be a jerk I ask Mr. Cool (as he is now known) "Where do I go after I finish these?" Shooting him the biggest smile I have. Donald says "Just stay to the left and stop at the bottom of the decent". Cool, all I needed to know. I took off, passing Mr. Cool's cronie on the sixth hill. I was alone on the seventh and after cresting I turned left and bombed the decent. I was hitting it pretty hard at first but then slowed up. I had no idea where I was haha. So I let the Cronie catch me, I just hung a little behind him for the rest of the decent. We stopped at a little intersection and waited. He was out of breathe, I was not. At this point I was feeling pretty damn good.
Donald and Cool showed up shortly and we waited for the last guy. Donald was all smiles, as soon as we started off again he rode up and said "that was nice man. Lets finish them off". Cool, I was all for it. But at this time two things happened. 1) I was almost out of water 2) I didn't lube my chain. I've explained before what happens when I run out of water and I was getting nervous. Plus on the next climb my chain was starting to get a bit audible. Then my right leg started to cramp up. I was getting annoyed, I wanted to finish this ride up strong and send a message. I downed the last bit of water I had, shook my leg out on a decent and then nodded at Donald. He knew the final section of the ride and we started picking up the pace. First the tired guy dropped out the back. Then the cronie. Mr. Cool was trying to hold on with all he had but as the last climb got steeper he drift back farther. We cleared the top, tucked and hit the decent hard. The last section of the ride is a false flat that takes you back to Rt40 and his shop. We had lost sight of them and by now my leg was cramping bad. I told Donald and he gave me what water he had left, "Come on man, keep it up."
Finally we leveled out and came to the intersection of Rt40 where his shop is, I can see my car. We wait for the light then start to go, well, Donald does. My chain locks up. I limp to the side of the road and straighten it out, cross the road to my car. "Thankful the chain waited to the end to get crazy!" "I told you to lube it, haha, hurry up get the bikes up on the car and change. I want to rub this in." So we changed super quick, got the bikes up on the car and just as we sat on the bumper they rolled up. Donald stands up "Damn man, where you been?" Cool just glared. "Thought for sure you were going to catch up when Todd had to fix his chain. Told you he was a good rider." All I got was a "yeah". I talked to the tired guy for a few mins and said it was fun to them all. We hoped in the car and took off.
Donald was so stoked, "Man, you rode him off your wheel. That's Awesome! I know that's going to bug him." "well he was being an ass, no need to talk down to me and all." We stopped at a gas station to get some Gatorade as I needed some drink bad. As we walked him Donald says "You've really improved man, I'm impressed". It felt good, he's a strong rider and the fact that I had put those guys into the hurt locker was nice. I dropped him off and rode home feeling like I had just won something.
The next day I stopped down his shop and found Donald, Patrick and Mike in the shop BS'n. "And here he is, should have seen him last night. He rode (enter names here) off his wheel. Todd's fast!"
Friday, April 17, 2009
Those Rare Good Days..
You ever have that really awesome day? It doesn't matter what you are into, but whatever it is you do do (haha do do), that is your day to do it. It's like a spotlight from heaven shines down and you are just on point.
Even I do have those days on the bike. They are few and far between now as I've gotten fatter, older and much slower but they are still there from time to time. A few years ago some friends and I went out for a ride at Ptap (Patapsco State Park) and it was one of those days. Ptap is probably some of the best mountain bike riding you are going to get in the Baltimore area. Some hard technical climbs mixed in with fast descents and things that are just fun to ride.
We usually drop in from a park and ride just outside of the park and make our way in on a trail that is just down right awesome fun. It's fast with drops, jumps, a few berms and just enough tech to make you pay attention. It gets you pumped up for the ride and usually you need that for what's coming up next (if you choose to go that way that is). It's called heart attack by most, after you come blasting out of the entrance trail you hit the road for a brief section then to you turn right and it shoots back into the trail. It's a steep harsh tech climb that usually breaks most people I see on it. Typically when I get to the top I'm huff'n and puff'n, where did all the air go to? But not on this day, I cleaned everything with ease and got to the top ready to go. It was just one of those days.. My buddy BJ was right there with me which is no surprise as he's a beast on most occasions. The other guys slowly made their way to the top and they looked as I normally do. Out of breathe and wondering why I choose to ride this stupid climb. But even on the days my chest burns it also serves another purpose. All the other climbs to go up that day will never be that hard and all you have to do is think, DAMN .. at least it's no heart attack.
Anyway .. we meander our way through the old camping area take the fire road and drop back in. This is a long fast downhill that feels like it just goes on forever. But it usually never fails, you are bombing this DH and there has to be someone climbing up it! I've climbed it once and I have no idea why anyone would ever want to. It's long and uneventful, just a long gradual uphill. Well unless you are going up to come right back down! That might be worth it. Not this day though, it was clear and we bombed it hard. It has a lot of twists and turns that give you the option to get some nice air off the banks ( just watch out you don't go too crazy and launch off into the stream to the left). You cross the stream and then run under the railroad bridge and are now back on the paved path. That takes you up to the swinging bridge that crosses the Patapsco River. I use to go there with my parents as a kid so I always get a kick going over it. On the other side you can enter the blue/white trail but I prefer to head up the road and enter on the Orange Trail (Ridge). It starts with a climb up to the ridge and just rolls along, up and down, up and down. It's not too tough but to the left it drops off and if you happen to shoot down that slope you are not going to be a happy camper.
There are some good climbs on your way to the horse farm section with more technical areas. Ptap is a great mix of all types of riding, it's a blast. I was riding strong all day .. climbing without issue, cleaning whatever I saw. Hit the horse farm and the triple drops then started to head back to the crossroads. On the way back we ran into a group of eight or so riders that were walking their bikes over something in the trail. From a distance it was hard to see what it was but it was huge. It appears a tree fell and someone had went all beaver style piling a ton of logs, branches and pretty much whatever they could find. It was at least four feet high and about eight feet wide of unstable mess. Me and BJ were in the lead and without even questioning it we hoped up on it and picked our way across it. At the top my right foot camp out of my pedal to which I road down the backside one footed. We came off the pile and stopped to wait for our friends who did walk across the pile, as we waited the other guys were saying " damn you see those guys go right over it?". It's not much I suppose but it does make you feel good haha.
We crossed back onto the end of the Orange trail and blasted down the waterbar section. You can get so much speed there that you can pretty much double the waterbars, you are flying. It takes you out onto the road by the pavilion area and you ride the road back if you choose but you can take a small tight little trail that follows the river. We cut in and start making our way along the trail knowing there's a nice built up dirt jump at the end. We pick up speed, come out of the trail and head for the jump. It's right by a parking lot and it's still pretty full of riders coming in or getting ready to head out. I'm in the lead and as I head up to it I decide I'm going to go for a tabletop. I go all BMX style rocking back and forth and picking up as much speed as I can. I launch off the top and start to flatten out the bike. As I do my right foot pop's out again and I do a big ol one footed tabletop. My foot came right back down and I road away clean like that had been my whole plan. A group of people in the parking lot let up a cheer and said "that was awesome man! nice". BJ who was right behind me saw me pull off my impressive air. He road up and said, " Nice man, you totally weren't trying to do that were you?" "Hell NO! When I get up the road I might even have to check my pants".
Even I do have those days on the bike. They are few and far between now as I've gotten fatter, older and much slower but they are still there from time to time. A few years ago some friends and I went out for a ride at Ptap (Patapsco State Park) and it was one of those days. Ptap is probably some of the best mountain bike riding you are going to get in the Baltimore area. Some hard technical climbs mixed in with fast descents and things that are just fun to ride.
We usually drop in from a park and ride just outside of the park and make our way in on a trail that is just down right awesome fun. It's fast with drops, jumps, a few berms and just enough tech to make you pay attention. It gets you pumped up for the ride and usually you need that for what's coming up next (if you choose to go that way that is). It's called heart attack by most, after you come blasting out of the entrance trail you hit the road for a brief section then to you turn right and it shoots back into the trail. It's a steep harsh tech climb that usually breaks most people I see on it. Typically when I get to the top I'm huff'n and puff'n, where did all the air go to? But not on this day, I cleaned everything with ease and got to the top ready to go. It was just one of those days.. My buddy BJ was right there with me which is no surprise as he's a beast on most occasions. The other guys slowly made their way to the top and they looked as I normally do. Out of breathe and wondering why I choose to ride this stupid climb. But even on the days my chest burns it also serves another purpose. All the other climbs to go up that day will never be that hard and all you have to do is think, DAMN .. at least it's no heart attack.
Anyway .. we meander our way through the old camping area take the fire road and drop back in. This is a long fast downhill that feels like it just goes on forever. But it usually never fails, you are bombing this DH and there has to be someone climbing up it! I've climbed it once and I have no idea why anyone would ever want to. It's long and uneventful, just a long gradual uphill. Well unless you are going up to come right back down! That might be worth it. Not this day though, it was clear and we bombed it hard. It has a lot of twists and turns that give you the option to get some nice air off the banks ( just watch out you don't go too crazy and launch off into the stream to the left). You cross the stream and then run under the railroad bridge and are now back on the paved path. That takes you up to the swinging bridge that crosses the Patapsco River. I use to go there with my parents as a kid so I always get a kick going over it. On the other side you can enter the blue/white trail but I prefer to head up the road and enter on the Orange Trail (Ridge). It starts with a climb up to the ridge and just rolls along, up and down, up and down. It's not too tough but to the left it drops off and if you happen to shoot down that slope you are not going to be a happy camper.
There are some good climbs on your way to the horse farm section with more technical areas. Ptap is a great mix of all types of riding, it's a blast. I was riding strong all day .. climbing without issue, cleaning whatever I saw. Hit the horse farm and the triple drops then started to head back to the crossroads. On the way back we ran into a group of eight or so riders that were walking their bikes over something in the trail. From a distance it was hard to see what it was but it was huge. It appears a tree fell and someone had went all beaver style piling a ton of logs, branches and pretty much whatever they could find. It was at least four feet high and about eight feet wide of unstable mess. Me and BJ were in the lead and without even questioning it we hoped up on it and picked our way across it. At the top my right foot camp out of my pedal to which I road down the backside one footed. We came off the pile and stopped to wait for our friends who did walk across the pile, as we waited the other guys were saying " damn you see those guys go right over it?". It's not much I suppose but it does make you feel good haha.
We crossed back onto the end of the Orange trail and blasted down the waterbar section. You can get so much speed there that you can pretty much double the waterbars, you are flying. It takes you out onto the road by the pavilion area and you ride the road back if you choose but you can take a small tight little trail that follows the river. We cut in and start making our way along the trail knowing there's a nice built up dirt jump at the end. We pick up speed, come out of the trail and head for the jump. It's right by a parking lot and it's still pretty full of riders coming in or getting ready to head out. I'm in the lead and as I head up to it I decide I'm going to go for a tabletop. I go all BMX style rocking back and forth and picking up as much speed as I can. I launch off the top and start to flatten out the bike. As I do my right foot pop's out again and I do a big ol one footed tabletop. My foot came right back down and I road away clean like that had been my whole plan. A group of people in the parking lot let up a cheer and said "that was awesome man! nice". BJ who was right behind me saw me pull off my impressive air. He road up and said, " Nice man, you totally weren't trying to do that were you?" "Hell NO! When I get up the road I might even have to check my pants".
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