Rumble in Da Jungle

3rd place... need I say more? OK, I need to say more. We headed up to West Millford, NJ at 7am so my son could race CAT3 15-19. His race started at 9am with a light mist coming down but not too cold. Not his best showing, he normally gets a great start but he was feeling crappy and lagged behind. The important thing is he finished and without injury on the season's most rocky/muddy/tight and twisty course! Nice job mini-me, the new IRC MIBRO tires and the new set of specialized shoes helped I hope!

I had a good start- 10th or so into the singletrack after the long pavement section. I started passing dudes once we hit the 1st rock gardens and reeled in quite a few guys on the singletrack. I only had 2 or 3 guys pass me on the second long pavement section which ain't my strong suit! I was maxing out my heart rate but still felt good with no bonking or cramps... then my chain dropped into the spokes on the switchbacks at "animal chute"... 3 times! A train of 8 guys passed by and a few more individuals before I realized I couldn't use #1,2 or 3 of the rear cassette. I got going and made up my mind to stay in the race. I pushed hard and started reeling those dudes back and wasn't passed again for the rest of the race. By the time I finished, jr. had been waiting in the van for an hour and really needed to get back home so we left before results were posted. I found out that night that I had locked up the 2nd loosers spot! that's my 1st poduim in cat2/sport class. Next up in the H2H series is Ringwood, last race of '09... unless I put my cross itres n the hardtail again! Hmmmm.

Blue Mountain- H2H race #5 recap

SWEET MOTHER OF GOD, IT WAS AWESOME!!! Can you tell I haven't raced XC
since breaking my collarbone this spring? Blue Mountain continues to
be the best of the H2H series with WMBA doing a stellar job organizing
the race, building the trails and maintaining them! Conditions were
amazing- light rain the day before left it dust-free, temps weren't
the typical 50degrees we've had in past years either! The competition
was tough as my 35-39 age group had the fastest Cat2 lap times of 1hr
26min, my time was 13 minutes off the leader-YEAH BABY! The new course
layout was killer even though lots of racers complained about bad
trail marking, I call it "creative navigation" especially on lap 2
when I was delirious, dehydrated and alone… A short recap- I felt
great right from the start, I rolled into the singletrack in prolly
10th place after the long straightaway sprint. A dude on a steel Surly
passed me a few miles in and at first pissed me off because I assumed
that being on a Surly he was singlespeed and full rigid which turned
out he wasn't either one, my ego is still OK as I race full suspension
geared wuss bike! Trying to pass him I notice he was picking some
killer lines thru the rockgardens and had a really fast flow... so I
rolled in behind him and started taking notes! I finally decided to
pass him before the end of lap1 and use what I remembered of his lines
for lap2! I had an over the bars moment just into the second lap
landing feet first! I made another stoopid move with my new lockout
fork which I had in no-squish mode so's I could open up a gap on the
dude following me. I came up on some rocks after a blind corner and
lost all tire contact with the dirt, again didn't land too hard! My
chaser didn't catch me as I recovered quickly but Mr fork lock-out was
used more sparingly after that move! I was able to hammer all the way
to the finish with only some minor cramping and some minor "being
passed" as some dude I was sure was an expert on a blazing fast
preride blew by about 2 miles from the finish! I felt my finish was
definitely in the top 10 or better. Very happy to see 6th place!


photo: BIKEZILLA


H2H#7 Jungle Habitat is in 2 weeks. I hope to get my 15 year old son

to the race- he loved it last time he raced there so I just have to
convince him this is better than his XBOX!

H2H#8 The Leaf Blower in Ringwood NJ is in October, that's always a
great finisher to the season...

new race rig is in the works

Yeti AS-R SL... I test rode one in Golden Colorado a few years ago and
it's fast in climbs, descents and can handle the rough stuff.

broke my collorbone

I developed a slow leak in my front tire and washed out on a fast
corner and plastered a tree. I'm off the bike for another 8-10 weeks.
The crappy part is my new race frame and components arrived last week
and they are taunting me! I wanna ride!

deathstar vs enterprise

http://current.com/items/90029658_death-star-destroys-enterprise.htm

NTSB is pro-bike!

Welcome to the Fast Lane – The official blog of the US Secretary of
Transportation
Cyclists are important users of transportation systems • Friday, March 13,
2009
http://tinyurl.com/da7v3a

Forest Service Issues Important Guidance on Mountain Bike Management

For Immediate Release
09-05-08
Contact: Drew Vankat, Policy Analyst
drew@imba.com
303-545-9011

Addressing hundreds at the IMBA World Summit, Jim Bedwell, Forest Service director for recreation, heritage and volunteers, made a major announcement that will benefit mountain bikers nationwide. Bedwell presented a new agency memo clearly defining mountain biking as similar to hiking and equestrian use, and an activity to be managed separately from motorized travel.

The document, written by Deputy Chief Joel Holtrop, is a significant step in the evolution of mountain bike management on Forest Service lands, and has been distributed to agency staff at the regional and local levels.

At the core of the letter are important clarifications on the nature of mountain biking and how this activity is addressed in management plans. Holtrop writes, "I want to emphasize that mountain biking is a non-motorized use of National Forest System trails, along with hiking and horseback riding. In our planning and policy documents, a distinction between mountain biking and motorized uses...should be made."

As Bedwell explained, "The Forest Service uses letters to communicate quickly to field units about important issues they may face, and to promote consistent understanding about how to approach them. In some cases, such as this one, the letter precedes desired policy revision, which requires a longer and more involved process to complete."

Bedwell's announcement comes at a time when some national forests have applied similar restrictions to bicycles and motor vehicles. IMBA believes most Forest Service staff understand bicycling is a quiet, non-motorized, low-impact activity, and hopes the letter provides the guidance necessary for consistent treatment of mountain biking on every national forest.

"Deputy Chief Holtrop's letter also acknowledges the important and productive partnership between IMBA and the U.S. Forest Service," says Bedwell. In 2006, the two entities renewed their Memorandum of Understanding for the third consecutive time and mountain bikers are prolific stewards in many national forests. The volunteer National Mountain Bike Patrol works to inform, assist, and educate mountain bikers and other trail users on Forest Service lands across the country.

LINK: http://www.imba.com/news/news_releases/09_08/09_05_usfs_policy.html