Well, that day of rain sure brought an end to any hope of riding anything but fender bikes for the rest of the year.
That on top of two days in bed makes racing seem like months ago!
Work has not been much fun lately, don't know what's gonna happen there. Suddenly, after 9 years I've become a problem? To a manager who is 1 year with the company, and complaining will only make it worse. I expect to get demoted in the next few months. What the heck?
I am going to visit family in Ireland for 4 days in November (plus 2 days travelling), hopefully I won't go "Postal" before then!
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Post Racing depression?
Not been feeling too chirpy this past week, is it post race depression, or the fact that my boss has been busting my chops? I even lost my "ride friendly" work schedule....That Sucks.
Oh, Yes go out and buy a MARCROFT winter bike!! or 'cross bike, If you're into that madness.
Oh, Yes go out and buy a MARCROFT winter bike!! or 'cross bike, If you're into that madness.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Ring of Pain?
I know it's been forever since I blogged, we've had some good races, some not so good. Now this weekend was the 3rd annual Ring of Fire 12/24 hr TT. Martha did it last year and says she had a really good time (the 12 hr version) and she brought me to do the Deschutes River TT festival in April and I really enjoyed the suffering on the Tandem there, ably provided by George Thomas and Terri Gooch and their new baby Amelia.
Well, we decided (or, I was told?) to do the 12 hour version on our Tandem, so as Martha did 186 miles last year, we had to do 200 on the Tandem. That was no easy deal, as we had to do almost 15,000 feet of climbing, most of it on the same climbs as ther hardest stage of the Mt Hood Classic did this year. We started next to last and had the defending champion and ultra distance stud Kenneth Philbrick in front of us, so we never got to see him, we did pass some riders before the climb up to hwy 35, but seemed like we were not going very fast, 8-10mph, plus 2 pee stops and two food stops, how were we going to make 200 miles?. We just kept pplodding along and made it back to Maupin for the 27 mile "night loop" after another bathroom break, we hit 112 miles in about 6 1/2 hrs. The night loop started with a 3 mile climb, followed by a flat 4 miles, 5 miles downhill and 5 miles of hard rollers (on a tandem anyway) then another 1 mile down to the Deschutes River and a 9 mile flat ride along the river to Maupin, or something like that anyway! I know that doesn't make 27, but It was about those distances.
Everything went fine, with stops of about 2-3 mins when we got to the start area at the Imperial Hotel in Maupin, we did 3 laps and need 7 miles for the 200, with 42 mins to do it, I believe. Well with 3 miles uphill, and us getting tired it was not as easy as it sounded, we did make it though, so we were crowned Ultra Cycling's 12 Tandem North American Champions with a total of 200 miles.
When we stopped, we had to turn around and ride back to the Hotel (you tell George and Terri your last mile marker reached when your 12 hrs are up) I almost passed out and HAD to lie down, was in a bad way. Lucky for me, Mike Rogers was passing ( he had to abandon because of flu like sympthoms) on his way home, but was nice enough to take me back to town, thanks, Mike, I owe you a beer!
There was not room for Stoked in the car, so she rode the Tandem solo back, what a woman!
So, now despite my late ride implosion I am thinking of taking on Race Across Oregon , solo in 2008! I think the hardest part will be getting two people to drive support for 35 hrs at 10-30 mph, if all goes well.
Anyone out there want to spend a weekend in a car next July??
Crazy old fool, I am.
Well, we decided (or, I was told?) to do the 12 hour version on our Tandem, so as Martha did 186 miles last year, we had to do 200 on the Tandem. That was no easy deal, as we had to do almost 15,000 feet of climbing, most of it on the same climbs as ther hardest stage of the Mt Hood Classic did this year. We started next to last and had the defending champion and ultra distance stud Kenneth Philbrick in front of us, so we never got to see him, we did pass some riders before the climb up to hwy 35, but seemed like we were not going very fast, 8-10mph, plus 2 pee stops and two food stops, how were we going to make 200 miles?. We just kept pplodding along and made it back to Maupin for the 27 mile "night loop" after another bathroom break, we hit 112 miles in about 6 1/2 hrs. The night loop started with a 3 mile climb, followed by a flat 4 miles, 5 miles downhill and 5 miles of hard rollers (on a tandem anyway) then another 1 mile down to the Deschutes River and a 9 mile flat ride along the river to Maupin, or something like that anyway! I know that doesn't make 27, but It was about those distances.
Everything went fine, with stops of about 2-3 mins when we got to the start area at the Imperial Hotel in Maupin, we did 3 laps and need 7 miles for the 200, with 42 mins to do it, I believe. Well with 3 miles uphill, and us getting tired it was not as easy as it sounded, we did make it though, so we were crowned Ultra Cycling's 12 Tandem North American Champions with a total of 200 miles.
When we stopped, we had to turn around and ride back to the Hotel (you tell George and Terri your last mile marker reached when your 12 hrs are up) I almost passed out and HAD to lie down, was in a bad way. Lucky for me, Mike Rogers was passing ( he had to abandon because of flu like sympthoms) on his way home, but was nice enough to take me back to town, thanks, Mike, I owe you a beer!
There was not room for Stoked in the car, so she rode the Tandem solo back, what a woman!
So, now despite my late ride implosion I am thinking of taking on Race Across Oregon , solo in 2008! I think the hardest part will be getting two people to drive support for 35 hrs at 10-30 mph, if all goes well.
Anyone out there want to spend a weekend in a car next July??
Crazy old fool, I am.
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