mike joos mountain bike blog (my bikes better than yours)

photos from last sundays ride

2012-02-14T00:50:00.000-05:00

me 23 degrees at start

Dylan

Dylan jumping

Dylan on banked turn

me with broken derailleur hanger

Kevin

Ian and me

fairfax county eppic

2012-02-12T20:56:00.000-05:00

Jeff, Dylan and i did are weekly training ride today... Ian and Kevin also joined us... i rode for 8-9 hours and 85 miles... i believe this is the longest mountain bike ride i have done since i did a solo 24 hour mtn bike race when i was 23... Jeff and Dylan did more than me...i was the weakest guy on the roads and bike paths and was holding down the pace so i bailed out early with Ian who hurt his knee. Jeff did about 95 mile and Dylan who rode his bike from home did about 110 miles.

photos from last saturdays ride

2012-02-07T19:17:00.000-05:00

weekly team training ride, Fairfax County Epic

2012-02-06T00:09:00.000-05:00

this week we rode the trails in fountainhead park... lots of berms and fast rolling, short intense climbs and ladder bridges to ride on.

and we rode some of the Fairfax county cross country trails... lots of open field and fast rolling but less berms and less intense climbing than fountainhead...

we linked it all together with roads and bike paths... it was 6 hour 75 mile ride...

it was at a pretty hard pace (at least i thought so) i was dropped 3 times and the last 10 miles i was getting light headed... Jeff, Dyaln and Ian were merciful and slowed down the pace for me... and it started to rain in the last 10 miles... being wet at 38 degrees was pretty uncomfortable.

weekly team training ride

2012-01-30T17:09:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday for are weekly epic team training ride Jeff Dickey and i rode about half of the moco epic loop and we also did some extra exploring of trails on top if that.We did about a 4 hour 40 mile day.Trail conditions were great considering how wet it was earlier in the week. The trails of the moco epic loop are pretty flat and non technical so they are way more fun when the trails are dryer.Next team training ride is scheduled for next Saturday Feb 4th.

pics from sunday ride

2012-01-24T02:54:00.000-05:00

Frederick watershed ride

2012-01-22T23:26:00.001-05:00

this week we did are team training ride at the watershed again instead of the moco (Montgomery county epic loop) that we had originally planned... we were guessing that it would have been too wet and muddy to do the moco.

it was cold during are ride... about 25 degrees.. i had my winter riding shoes on and my motorcycle booties that i fit over those, many layers and saran wrapped helmet... i am sure i looked like a weirdo but i felt comfortable.

we rode for 3 hours and 15 min...

the unseasonaly warm weather has stopped and there have been more and more cold days... i am spending more time on the trainer (witch can be boring)...so it felt really good to get outside.

my garmin GPS is broken and i in the proccesss of trying to get it fixed. so that past week or so i havent been able to log rides on strava.

next team training ride is planed for next Sunday jan 29th.

2012 race license

2012-01-18T13:30:00.000-05:00

for 2012 i will be going with a wolverine theme race license... haveing accelerated healing and heightened senses should be an advantage in the 2012 season.

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

photos from watershed training ride

2012-01-09T14:29:00.002-05:00

Dylan

Jeff

watershed training ride

2012-01-09T10:31:00.000-05:00

MO CO epic training loop was canceled yesterday due to wet trails, in its replacement we did a long ride at Gambrill state park and the watershed (water drains much better at the watershed, trail conditions were great)... it was a 3.5 hour ride and we went 30 miles... Jeff Dickey and Dylan Johnson were there... this is where i normally ride (7 miles from where i live) but on most occasions i only ride the dirt roads of the park because much of the trail riding is very technical and falls and broken parts are common... also maintaining a certain HR intensity can be difficult... despite being my home turf Dylan showed me a a gem of a trail i didn't know about... it was one i had been down before but was unaware that it had a lot of trail work done to it and was 10 times better than when i last rode it... it was a northshoreish downhill with large rock features... no team ride next week Dyan and Jeff have other training/ vacation plans... i will probably end up doing a epic solo ride though...next team training ride is scheduled for Jan 22.

MOCO epic 3 and 4 cancled, Strava

2011-12-26T21:29:00.001-05:00

weekly MOCO epic training ride didn't happen yesterday and will also be canceled for next weekend... with x-mas and new years there are too many schedule conflicts... im going to use these two weeks get some longer rides in to hopfuly get my fitness to a place where i dont feel like i need to go race pace to keep up with Dylan and Jeff... next MOCO epic ride will be on Jan 7th.

i recived a GPS for Christmas... one of those Garmin ones that you can use with your bike and i set up a Strava account... they are one of the sponsors of are team... Strava lets you download your ride, calculates your power output, shows a map of where you road, lets you compare and compete with others on climbs, gives an easy to read line graph of heart rate, elevation , power, distace and speed.... all in one cart... its also a social networking type of site you can follow other riders and comment on their rides... i am liking it so far... it has made me more motivated to ride.

the Strava site...

http://app.strava.com/about

MOCO epic training ride # 2

2011-12-19T11:18:00.000-05:00

this time Jeff, Dylan and i did the loop backwards... we didn't do the official MOCO loop we made some modifications and did a little bit of exploring... it ended up being a 4.5 hour / 50 mile ride like last weekend it felt like plenty...the temp was about the same (about 40) but it was less muddy than last week.

here are some pics...

crossing a stream

Dylan

first MOCO epic training ride

2011-12-14T00:22:00.000-05:00

last Sunday (the Dec. 10th 2011) was the first MOCO epic training ride... it was raining most of last week... but the Friday and Saturday before the the ride was dry so i though conditions wouldn't be horribly muddy... it wasn't bad at first but later in the ride it started getting pretty muddy... we ended up cutting off the last 15 miles because of the trail conditions... it ended up being a 4.5 hour ride 47 mile ride... witch felt like plenty at the time... next week we plan to do the loop backwards... my weather channel app tells me it will most likely be clear for the rest of the week... so hopefully trail conditions will be better.

Dylan Johnson dialing in his new Scott carbon 29er before the ride

Jeff Dickey being cold before we got started moving (35 degrees at the start but warmed up to low 40's later)

2011 recap/ update

2011-11-16T21:22:00.001-05:00

I didn’t do too much racing in for the 2011 season… I made agoal for myself last winter to ride at least 12 hours a week… I was doing thishad some great fitness up till January when I got sick… It was bad strep throator the flu not sure I didn’t go to the doctor.. but I had a high temp and my wakingHR was around 10 beats over normal for about a week… I was sick for about 2-3weeks till the sore throat went away and I felt safe to ride again…I started tobuild some fitness again but I seemed to loose it again in spring when Istarted working more… I was cleaning ponds for work and it was labor intensive… spring is the biggest season for pond work… during this time I was exhausted and only riding 2-4 hours a week… I didn’t start gettingreasonable hours of training in till mid summer when I wasn’t working as much…I was feeling like my normal racing self tord the end of summer… I only did 5races and i only had fitness for the last one… this is the least amount ofracing I have done in a year since I was 18.

I just noticed that I made a lot of excuses for my bad raceyear… at the end of my 2010 season I said 2011 would have less excuses… Ifailed there.

For 2012 I plan to put a bit more preparation and planningin to having a successful season… ive just purchased a new bike that I willonly use for racing..

it is the same size and geometry as my current bike just4 lbs lighter and made of carbon and lighter parts… the weight savings will be nice but the partthat I think will help me the most is having new unworn parts that are lesslikely to fail during a race… fresh tires, fresh drive train and fresh cables.

I normally havethe mentality that don’t replace things till they break… I have gone into raceswith very worn tires and frayed cables and have probably had more than my fairshare of race mechanicals because of it… no more.

For training starting on Dec. 10^th team mate JeffDickey and I (plus whoever else wants to join) will be riding the MO CO epic loop… it’s a 62 mile mostly off-road ride that goes through 9 different parksin the WA DC area…we plan to do it every Sunday (weather permitting) till raceseason starts … every other Sunday we will reverse the loop.

Bumble bee riding bike

2011-08-13T21:40:00.004-04:00

Burger King guy riding bike with hamburger wheels

2011-07-29T20:07:00.005-04:00

Ronald McDonald on bike with hamburger wheels

2011-07-28T20:48:00.001-04:00

Iron man riding palm laser bike

2011-07-27T08:26:00.003-04:00

Cat in the hat riding bike with Thing 1 and Thing 2 wheels

2011-07-21T23:03:00.003-04:00

Pinocchio riding bike made of his own nose

2011-07-21T09:28:00.002-04:00

Hamburglar riding bike with stolen hamburger wheels

2011-07-20T17:58:00.003-04:00

Native american riding bike with dream catcher wheels

2011-07-19T14:35:00.004-04:00

Dr Weird riding bike with Meatwad wheels

2011-07-01T05:06:00.002-04:00

Citizen Kane riding bike with snow globe wheels

2011-06-29T08:52:00.002-04:00

Swamp Thing ridng bike with lily pad wheels

2011-06-27T10:49:00.002-04:00

Leonardo Da Vinci riding bike with anatomy wheels

2011-06-25T00:57:00.000-04:00

Elvis Presley riding bike with jeweled wheels

2011-06-21T19:41:00.000-04:00

Guy's Neshaminy Classic 2011

2011-06-18T23:08:00.001-04:00

Jeff Dickey and i carpooled to this race... we started off a bit late, then ran into traffic, then realized that we were going to the wrong address so are drive ended up being about 45 min longer than we had planned... made it to the race with no time to spare just before regestration cut off (15 min before my race). lucky Scott RC team members Bart and Scott Wilson were there to help me with regestration and to organize my feeds or i would have most likely missed the start.

it was a fun race.. lots of twists, turns , dips and jumps... the weather was good too high 80's but it felt a lot cooler than that in the woods... almost the entire course was in the shade...

started off in the rear and worked my way up to finish mid pack with team mate John Arias. (17th and 18th out of about 35 starters)

overall a great race for Scott RC mountain bike team... we had 3 riders in the top 5... Jeff Dickey was 5th, Cam Dodge 3rd and Aron Snyder 2nd.

here is a truck that Jeff and i were stuck in traffic with... it had country music lyrics written all over it... how lame.

Colonel Sanders riding bike with chicken wheels

2011-06-17T09:21:00.000-04:00

Oscar the grouch riding bike with trash can lid wheels

2011-06-15T23:32:00.000-04:00

James T. Kirk riding bike powered by the Enterprise

2011-06-13T19:20:00.000-04:00

Spock riding bike powered by the Enterprise

2011-06-12T23:18:00.003-04:00

Dr Manhattan riding bike with atomic particle wheels

2011-06-04T20:33:00.000-04:00

Ghostbuster riding bike with ghost wheels, 5x5 print

2011-06-04T07:59:00.002-04:00

Indiana Jones riding bike with snake wheels

2011-06-03T14:27:00.002-04:00

greenbrier 2011 race report, esi grips

2011-05-27T23:10:00.000-04:00

the race went well…. Bike was working, I was feeling good and the weather was nice too (75 degrees). The course is not too technical and its got a lot of climbing and a lot of laps (5 for the pro category; 5 mile laps)… The course was a little wet… It didn’t seem that bad but I was covered in mud by the end of the race.

I started off in last place going up the first climb... and I didn’t make much progress on moving forward till the 2^nd and 3^rd lap…only passed 3-4 guys in my category to finish13^th…. last year with the same amount of effort I managed to get 6^th… as I mentioned in my last race report my expectations of my self are on a lower level this year due to not being able to ride as much because of work.

I jumped in the pond and cleaned up… I decided to swim around while I was in there and was kind of wondering why no one else was too … it wasn’t till I was getting out of the lake did I notice the sign saying no swimming… oops.

Put some new grips on my bike…The ESI grips…

close up...

looks like Luke skywalkers light saber...

they feel super soft and comfy.. it feels like the equivalent of riding fat tires at a low tire pressure for your hands.

Buddha riding bike with yin yang wheels

2011-05-24T01:30:00.000-04:00

Steve Jobs riding bike with Apple wheels

2011-05-18T20:48:00.002-04:00

Dr Doom riding bike powered by concussion beams

2011-05-13T23:16:00.000-04:00

Batgirl riding bike with Batgirl logo wheels

2011-05-06T16:10:00.002-04:00

Andrew Mein's Excellent Adventure at Granogue race report

2011-05-04T22:40:00.002-04:00

nice day for racing... about 70 degrees and partially cloudy...

i was imminently dropped by the field of about 30 or so riders (in the elite open cat). its normal for me to be floundering off the back for the first quarter of a lap or so then work my way back up to finish 5th -10th... but today i was only able to manage getting up to 15th (where i finished) ... i felt i did as good as i could do... my bike was working well and i was feeling fresh and motivated.

Ive been working more so haven't been able to ride as much... building ponds and cleaning ponds (the job i am doing) is hard labor... i feel like i am in shape and healthy from all the physical labor but i am not in bike riding shape... i normally have no motivation or energy to ride after work... the rides i am able to squeeze in are super easy recovery rides... i might have to lower my standards of what i expect from myself as far as race results till something changes.

Team mates Jeff Dickey, Gunnar Bergey and Scott Wilson had good showings... Jeff finished 4th Scott and Gunnar also had a top ten finishes.

Scott on cooler...

Sole sandal...Sole makes some nice sandals.

Batman on a bike with Batman logo wheels

2011-04-30T10:09:00.002-04:00

Wolverine riding bike with wolverine wheels

2011-04-28T22:18:00.000-04:00

Lex Luthor riding bike with kryptonite wheels

2011-04-28T22:15:00.002-04:00

Supergirl riding heat vision bike

2011-04-17T12:08:00.000-04:00

Superman riding heat vision bike

2011-04-16T19:16:00.000-04:00

Aquaman riding bike with fish wheels

2011-04-15T21:53:00.000-04:00

Admiral Ackbar riding bike with fish wheels

2011-04-12T23:57:00.002-04:00

Chewbacca on a bike with millenium falcon wheels

2011-04-12T14:44:00.000-04:00

first race of the year...Fair Hill.

2011-04-12T14:01:00.000-04:00

this one is in Elkton MD, it was around 60 degrees and cloudy... pretty nice conditions for racing... big turn out, just over 40 riders in my category (open/ elite).

last year i was having bad luck with getting flats during races... my average was a flat every 3rd-4th race...so for this year i want to make more of an effort to avoid flats and mechanicals all together...so i made sure my tires were in solid condition before the race... i replaced my rear tire and replaced my drive train.

during the start of the race i felt super stale from not being able to ride that week, i immediately fell to the back... i wasn't too worried though because i was confident i would start feeling better eventuality and make up some ground... before getting to the single track i noticed i wasn't able to shift with the rear derailleur... i discovered that my cable had snapped... so the rear derailleur was stuck in a 12 tooth gear (the hardest gear)... i put the front in the smallest gear to balance it out... but i still found it very hard to push over the gears... i got too the first short steep climb and my gearing was too difficult and i ran up it.. at this point i was mentally broken and gave up on achieving a good finish... but i decided to finish the race because i was there and dressed up for it... i came in 40th.

hopefully my next race report will have less excuses in it.

Franklin D Roosevelt riding bike with dime wheels

2011-04-09T12:22:00.002-04:00

Thomas Jefferson on bike with nickel wheels

2011-04-09T02:55:00.003-04:00

George Washington on bike with quarter wheels

2011-04-07T07:05:00.000-04:00

article on BIKE RUMOR .com

2011-03-31T17:14:00.003-04:00

the article is about my art... click the banner to to see the article...

pro race license photoshoping 2011

2011-03-28T17:26:00.000-04:00

every year i photoshop my race license... for 2011 i went with a Dr Manhattan theme...being able to control every partial of matter with my thoughts will give me the edge in the 2011 race season.

2010 i went with a goblin theme...

2009 i went with a devil theme...

2008 i went with a hokey playing neanderthal theme...

The Comedian riding bike with smiley face wheels

2011-03-18T12:09:00.003-04:00

Mr. T riding bike with gold chain wheels

2011-03-18T08:32:00.001-04:00

new sunglasses!

2011-03-15T11:58:00.001-04:00

Optic nerve sent some shades for 2011...Their otto syte sunglasses are my favorite... I lost the pair i had last year and had been missing them.

flood ride

2011-03-07T19:42:00.000-05:00

rained all day yesterday...

C3PO riding bike with R2D2 and R2D1 wheels

2011-03-06T23:27:00.000-05:00

first no-snow mtn bike ride of the year

2011-03-05T15:09:00.003-05:00

(except one freak patch) and in short sleeves...

Dale Earnhardt riding bike with NASCAR wheels

2011-03-05T03:22:00.002-05:00

cat riding bike with yarn ball wheels

2011-03-04T15:19:00.002-05:00

cookie moster on bike with chocolate chip cookie wheels

2011-03-02T18:54:00.002-05:00

Oprah Winfrey quote

2011-03-01T14:17:00.003-05:00

Boba Fett on a cryogenically frozen bike

2011-02-28T22:06:00.000-05:00

statue of liberty riding USA bike

2011-02-28T10:58:00.000-05:00

thor and silver surfer on bikes

2011-02-27T23:23:00.001-05:00

godzilla on bike

2011-02-27T01:49:00.000-05:00

unicorn riding bike

2011-02-23T10:32:00.000-05:00

print, warmer weather

2011-02-21T01:38:00.003-05:00

seems like the weather is warming up a bit witch is motivating me to get outside and ride more... after being sick for most of January i have been slow to get back into riding...

i am still not at pre-sickness fitness but i should be there in a month or so.

and...

here is a new print...

more prints

2011-02-06T20:58:00.002-05:00

click on any image to go to the esty shop where i am selling them... prints are also available on t-shirts and totes.

snow ride

2011-01-27T23:28:00.003-05:00

first good sized snow fall frederick (MD) has had this year... about 7 inches... did a ride while it was snowing with other Frederick mtn bikers...

a skier was getting pulled behind a car... it looked like fun...

crankskins deal

2011-01-22T00:52:00.005-05:00

crankskins is one of are sponsors... they are offering this deal through are team...

crankskins sells sticker protection for parts of the bike that are prone to wear... like the chainstay, the headtube where cables rub and ect... they are used to prevent damage and increase the life and resale value of your bike.

they have a ton of color and design options... they also have clear for the non-adventurous... my favorite is the rasta weed skulls

here is the website...
http://www.crankskins.com/

Jeff Dickey is is one of the riders on are team that's why the code is jdickey

the cold, cycling related prints

2011-01-10T00:30:00.005-05:00

i just got over a bad cold...i havent rode my bike or done any type of exercise in a week and half... i am feeling better now and plan to try doing a short ride tomorrow to see how my body reacts.

and

i just listed some cycling related prints on one of my esty shops... here are a few examples click on any of the images to be linked to the shop where you can see all of them!

cold ride

2010-12-14T19:44:00.005-05:00

i rode today... it was cold... 25 degrees and 25 mile an hour winds... i thought i would be all set with the extra winter gear i got this fall but i froze... i was ok till i did a 5 mile decent... that got me.

ive decided i will not ride outside unless it is above freezing (maybe i can get away with it if i don't do long descents?)... which shouldn't be a big deal... its above freezing a lot here in frederick MD during the winter... not like ME where i moved from.

also..

ive been using those motorcycle rain covers booties that i made a video about... i put them over the top of my winter riding shoes... they are awesome! my feet will still get a bit cold but they help a lot.

first snow, rain pants

2010-12-03T17:18:00.000-05:00

got snowed on today during my ride ... i felt ok about it though... i had enough layers to keep me warm... ive started carrying along rain pants... they roll up pretty small... i put them on before long descents or if im feeling cold... it's a windbreaker for my legs... i think it will become a routine thing for me to carry them on 40 or below days.

fun ride in the watershed (frederick MD)

2010-11-15T16:23:00.002-05:00

Jeff and a couple of his friends made a trip up from DC to ride some more challenging terrain in Frederick... they got the double whammy, more technical and a ton of leaves to make the terrain even more demanding.

it was a fun ride about 3-4 hours long... i had two flats... Colby was kind enough to give me a spare tube... then we all ate at the mountain view diner... great place... large selection, big helpings and great price... The best after ride restaurant in the area (in my opinion)

took a few pics... modeling are self's with a beautiful autumn background.

bullfrog and toad knogs

2010-11-05T17:28:00.002-04:00

sorry about the horrible camera job

imba weekend

2010-10-24T18:51:00.004-04:00

the imba trail crew came to Frederick this weekend... there was a class on trail maintenance, the actual doing of trail maintenance and a group ride... i skipped out on the trail maintenance because i was still sore from shoving and moving rocks helping my housemate Hillery with her backyard pond business... during which i saw a black widow...
i did go to the group ride... it was a big group... probably 30+.

Joe was the ride leader...

motercycle boot covers

2010-10-15T14:09:00.002-04:00

mushrooms

2010-10-11T21:47:00.004-04:00

went back and picked mushrooms i found while riding ... most of them were overripe.

processed...

puffball mushrooms

2010-10-11T18:35:00.006-04:00

found a field of puffball mushrooms when i was out riding today... at least a hundred of them... all about the size of softballs some bigger some smaller...my housemate Hillery introduced me to these... she saw some along the side of the road a few weeks ago... she brought them home and we grilled and ate them.

i was only able to carry one home... had to carry it in my hand ... it was too big to fit in my jersey pockets.

i think they go bad pretty fast... and dont think they store well... but for the next few weeks anyway i know where i can get all the mushrooms i can eat.

bear creek race 2010 sept 19th

2010-09-19T23:09:00.012-04:00

I think about 20 guys showed up for my category (elite)… 65 -75 degrees… ski mountain course so there was a good amount of climbing and descending… there was a few technical section thrown in but not horrible… It all seemed ridable except one tricky switchback with a lot of big rocks … Im sure someone can ride it but not me.

the fist lap decent I found that my front breaks weren’t working… the pivot pin came out… i tried riding with no front breaks for a while… but I ran in to serious issues when trying to ride down the steep switch backs … I would find my self going into corners with too much speed and rear wheel locked up making me unable to steer effectively… I decided to stop and fix it… fixed it using the pin from my chain breaker tool and some electrical tape to hold it in… it worked and I was able to finish… I came in 11th

this was the series finally of the mid Atlantic supper series … I was trying to do well in this series overall but after having a bad string of flats I lost any chance of a respectable ranking… since ive switched to tubeless its been a lot better… I went from getting a flat every week to getting a flat every month (on average)… so hopefully next season will be different with less flats and less excuses.

Might be the end of the season for me… I don’t have any races on my radar but something might come up... i'm sure i will still be doing a lot of riding either way

ride with the mayor (of frederick md)

2010-08-29T15:32:00.004-04:00

the Frederick bicycling coalition had a deal going on where you can ride your bike to the minor league baseball field in town and get free tickets. the mayor was leading the ride... it was all put together to promote people riding there bikes around town instead of driving.

Anna Kelso was the master-mind behind the project
Anna talking w/ one of the police escorts
the mayors ride
i successfully completed the 1.5 mile ride and was was awarded this certificate sighed by the mayor (i'm adding this to my resume)
free ticket... i didn't end up going to the game though. no food or drink allowed in the park... i lost my motivation after going back home to drop off the snacks and drinks i had packed... i'm not a big sports fan... so i stayed home and ate my snacks all alone.

machaux, fall

2010-08-28T16:31:00.004-04:00

Rode at machaux with Joe and Larry…

it was fun to go someplace new … I’ve been doing the same ride over and over… Larry knows his way around… it was nice to have him as are navigator… some pretty technical sections … one of which I had a pretty bad fall… I went to put my foot down but continued to fall down a slope… kinda like the guy in this video…

I only fell about 15-20 feet… and landed in a soft section of soil.. my left buttock absorbed all the impact… over all I got pretty lucky… I had no control over my momentum and I was moving pretty fast.

My bike seat got messed up during the fall.

giant horse fly

2010-08-06T14:28:00.001-04:00

Delaware Trail Spinners Fair Hill Classic XC Sunday July 18, 2010

2010-07-19T00:16:00.003-04:00

Delaware Trail Spinners Fair Hill Classic XC

Sunday July 18, 2010

Race went good… again no flats witch is a key factor in having a satisfying racing experience.
There was a large field…maybe 40? It seemed like 40…. I had a slow start … i spent the race passing people … even though I wanted the race to be over by about mile 20 or so I did pass about 3 more people after that… so I suppose those extra 7 miles were good for me even if I wasn’t having fun anymore.

I came in 10th.

It was a cool course … lots of bend and short steep climbs.

Jeff Dickey, teammate came in 5th… even after stopping to fill a water bottle and making a wrong turn.

Rest of the team had solid results too…I believe we were all mechanical and injury free this weekend!!!

John Arias and Scott Wilson scored 1st and and 3rd in cat 1 race

Danzeisen and Quigley Summer Sizzler

2010-07-12T00:20:00.008-04:00

Sun July 11 Danzeisen and Quigley Summer Sizzler Gloucester County College, NJ XC

Race had lots of bends... it was fast rolling with slick roots.

Race went well… I didn’t flat…. I came in 7th place witch is about par for what I expect from myself assuming that everything is working correctly. Aaron won the elite open!!! and Jay won the masters Category!!! but things didn’t go so smoothly for the rest of the team… crashes, broken seat posts, broken chains and possible broken hand.

Hopefully all injuries sustained will heal fast.

Bart the team director gave me a new nick name “stacks”… in reference to the height of the spacer on my steer tube… hopefully I don’t end up like the stacks form Goodfellas

GoodFellas Full "Stacks Gets Whacked" Scene

"GoodFella" David Johnson | MySpace Video

Bart was kind enough to host a BBQ at his place after the race… it was a good time

I car pooled with Jeff Dicky… we saw some crazy people while driving home…

Mr stroller in his lap

And Mrs doing a u turn at the toll booth.

iron hill challenge, mountain king tires

2010-06-14T13:48:00.000-04:00

Two weekends ago I did the iron hill challenge race. I set my bike up with my new continental mountain kings 2.4”… I set the rear up tubeless… they are nice tires… sizing is a little off more like a 2.25 but they are tall extenuating the 29er feel. Rolling over and absorbing bumps noticeably better than the maxis ingnitors that I was running before (especially in messy rock gardens)… they run a little sketchy on the road being tall with large nobs but seeing as they are mountain bike tires and they weren’t meant to ride on the road I suppose I cant complain about that. (even though I just did)

Ok back to the race… it was a hot day 90 something degrees and course was super flat and fast… my new big aggressive tires didn’t suit this course but I’m not one to buy and switch out tires to suit particular races. I think people who do have a mild case of OCD.

I didn’t start very strong but I was slowly passing people and expecting to real in more as the heat got to people. A lap and a half in I got a flat… in the rear.. the one I was riding tubeless…I could hear the air leaking out and the sealant wasn’t doing the trick so I put a tube in… it took me a while to fix it and by the time I did I pretty much gave up on a respectable placing… I rode the rest of the race with teammate Jay Dodge (who was riding strong, winning the masters men).

I haven’t looked yet to see what the issue was with the tire… I’ve done 6 races so far and have had flats during 3 of them…

I heard Greg lemon would stop and let the air out of his tires when he was doing bad during races… with the high frequency of flats I imagine people are thinking I am pulling a Greg lemon… I’m not but I am getting so many flats that it seem unbelievable to me and probably others… hopefully I can figure out away to avoid flats in the future so I can regain my reputation as a 5^th -10 th place finisher (on a good day).

anoher wednesday night ride

2010-05-27T00:25:00.003-04:00

3 flats in the fist fifteen minutes... i was responsible for two of them.ferns looking pretty...

golf & Wednesday night ride

2010-05-19T22:19:00.004-04:00

Wednesday night ride...

Golf cross training with Jeff Dickey...

ride, sticker patches

2010-05-15T22:10:00.002-04:00

rode with Jay, Doug and Joe... Joe showed me some new trails i haven't seen before in the watershed.

sticker patches seem to work well about half the time the other half of the time they go flat again within a couple of weeks... you live you learn then you get luvs ( i mean glue patches)

Sammy and Me

2010-05-13T20:18:00.005-04:00

I’ve been plagued with flat tires… If I had to guess I would say I’ve had one flat a week on average (including winter months) since moving to Frederick… this week alone I’ve had five and I’ve only rode about 5 hours… a thorn, a nail, 2 pinch flats (w/ 35lbs of pressure in my tube) and a slow leak that I have yet to investigate.

I could ride a bit slower through rocky sections... that would probbly help cut down on my # of flats... but I can’t force myself to do that … Sammy Hagar knows exactly what I am going through… he deals with a similar situation where he can’t drive 55… he wants to but he just can’t.

I purchased some continental mountain king 2.4” tires… which are listed as all mountain tires and I plan to set the rear up tubeless… hopefully that will solve my flat problems.

On the Rocks At French Creek

2010-05-10T14:24:00.001-04:00

On the Rocks At French Creek
Elverson, PA
Saturday, May 08, 2010

A two lap (each lap 10 mile) race. same as last weekend’s MASS series race (@ the granogue estate) this race is the only time that bikes are allowed on the property. So I felt fortunate to have the opportunity to ride these sweet trails on the only day every year that it is legal to do so.

About half way through my first lap I get a flat tire and was passed by all riders in my category. Flat tires during races are pretty demotivating. But seeing as money goes 15 deep I knew I still stood a chance to rake in some cash so I resorted to plan B which was finish top 15.

I pulled it off, finishing 13th.

All results

Several others on the scott rc crew were there…

Scott Wilson finished 2nd in cat 1

Jay Dodge finished 1st in the maters cat 1

Cam Dodge was riding strong in the pro/open until he got a mechanical

-Mike Joos

Weekend riding and Andrew Mein's Excellent Adventure at Granogue race

2010-05-02T23:38:00.006-04:00

Friday I did a ride with Anna...

Saturday I did a ride with Joe...

Wile riding with Joe I saw my fist rattlesnake… I guess there are a lot of them in the area...

How to treat a rattlesnake bite

Granogue race…

The course ended up being really fun… it was a pretty fast with some hilly sections and only a few rocky sections… Teammate Aaron Snyder took an easy victory today with no real challengers …

I came in 5^th

Some horse and buggies that where passing through the race venue...

Greenbrier Challenge, xc Mountain Bike Race 2010

2010-04-25T21:17:00.013-04:00

Greenbrier Challenge, xc Mountain Bike Race

April 25th 2010

Was supposed to rain for this race… but it didn’t, so that was good.

the course was pretty wide and fast for the most part... w/ a decent amount of climbing

team van and tent wast there...

Footage from the movie Max V02 was filmed in 08 during this race…looks like a pretty lame movie… but it involves mtn biking so I might watch it anyway… I honestly can’t think of any other mtn bike movies.

Anna Kelso was there… she got the W in her category.

team mate John Arias came in 3rd and friend Colby came in 2nd in the cat 1 race.

Teammate Aaron Snyder came in 2nd and I came in 6th in the pro elite (just off the podium)…

I was happy with my finish... no serious issues… I did fall once and hit my knee…

Nothing compared to my teammate Jeff Dickey’s leg injury in a race the previous weekend (no photoshopping was done on this image it is his actual swollen leg)…

reminded me of this arm wrestler's arm... see video

Next weekend I will be racing Andrew Mein's Excellent Adventure at Granogue

Frederick bicycling coalition fundraiser dinner

2010-04-20T15:29:00.005-04:00

The Frederick bicycling coalition is having a fundraiser dinner
Where: Agro Dolce Restaurant, Germantown, MD
When: April 20th, 7pm
$65/person

Call for reservations. 301.528.6150

For details check out this site.

Also...

Win a date w/ mike joos!!!

highest bidder will have dinner with pro mtn biker and wheelie expert mike joos at the Frederick bicycling coalition fundraiser dinner tonight (you pay the dinner bill)...all proceeds go to the Frederick cycling coalition.

Happy bidding

Tour de Tykes 2010 xc mtn bike race

2010-04-19T08:12:00.010-04:00

This past weekend I was racing the Tour de Tykes… a 19 mile point to point race w/ more climbing than mount snow’s xc race! it was fun course but riders needed to be attentive the entire time… there was lots of situations where you are going fast down a decent and a sharp corner comes out of no where.

I got a flat at about 2/3rds through the race… i was riding 4-7th? I lost some spots and finished 15th… but my 15th place finish still paid!!! And pretty good too, about the same as a 3rd place finish in the root 66 series! (the series I had been doing for the past 4 years previous while living up in ME and NH).

The payouts in the Mid Atlantic Super series are insane… they go 15- 20 deep!! And the competition doesn’t seem any more competitive than what I am used to for regional races up north…

w/ my normal mediocre finishes 5th-10th I will have no problem making enough cash to pay for my registration and gas money for MASS series races…. so if your looking to have your mtn bike racing hobby pay for it self the mid Atlantic is the place to be (specifically racing the MASS series)

It was a bit cold 45 degrees (warmed up to low 50’s later in the day) Jeff Shalk is in his car staying warm (I carpooled down with him… he won the race!!!)

In other news… check out this wicked big blood blister .

Fair Hill mountain bike race 2010

2010-04-11T23:30:00.002-04:00

First race report of the year… even though I feel race reports are cries for attention they are still more interesting than me taking about melting snow or anytime I am not riding by myself (my main focus on this blog for the past several months)

First race of the year…

Fair Hill
April 11th 2010
Mid Atlantic Super series

I had long wait till the start of the race… I thought the race was at 10 so I showed up @ 8:30… But the race wasn’t till 12:30.... This gave me plenty of time to meditate and find my inner chi before the race.

The race was fast and windy… There were 30 riders (my guess) in my category (pro-open)… it was chaotic in the beginning… Tires were rubbing and riders were cutting each other off for position... But once that was over it was a fun race… It wasn’t too bumpy so you could really concentrate on leaning deep into corners and ripping through sections with no worries.

I came in 8th I think (that is what I was told by a woman @ the finish)and team mate Aaron Snyder won!!!

P.S. I forgot my camera but if I get my hands on any pics others took I will post them.