Mt. Biking: Try Number 3

If you actually read this thing, you may remember that a little over a year ago I had my first mt. biking experience at French creek. I hated it. What I didn't know is that French creek is one of the harder places in the area. A few weeks ago the shop had another Employee Appreciation Day and we went mt. biking at the Wissahickon (Valley Green or Forbidden Drvie for you locals)... in the rain. I didn't hate it as much. After everyone at the shop telling me to go to White Clay before I decided to give up on mt. bikes altogether, I agreed to head down there with Isaac.

White Clay is a park in Delaware, so it already has one strike against it. It has a ton of trails running through it, of varying difficulty, so it is supposed to be enjoyable for all skill levels. They even have a skills course for people that enjoy falling on their faces.

The steed for this excursion was to be Specialized Epic Comp (http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCProduct.jsp?spid=52787&scid=1000&scname=Mountain). Ideally, I'm told, one would want to ride a hardtail in White Clay, but the only two test bikes we had in the shop were a FSR Stumpjumper and the Epic, which is also full suspension. What is cool about the Epic is that it has an adjustable Brain, so you can set it up so the rear is locked out until it encounters a sharp enough impact, and then it does all of its suspension goodness. While still not as stiff or responsive as a hardtail, it was much better than if I hadn't locked out the Brain. I didn't have any of the super annoying bouncing when climbing, or pedaling in general. The Epic is lighter than the Stumpjumper as well.

After stopping in Newark to fuel up on a breakfast burrito and an awful excuse for a pineapple smoothie, we headed to White Clay and parked. Then we realized that we were at the furthest point from the easy trails we could possibly be. So we re parked. We went out on the easiest trail first and I was terrified. Death gripping the handlebars the entire way, skidding on leaves because the brakes are just ridiculously strong, turning in too late because I was afraid to hit trees... then it was over. We were back at the car and I wasn't sure how I felt.

After discovering we were both over dressed, we changed, then headed back out into the park. I started to get more comfortable, and my speed picked up (I still wouldn't call it "fast") as I got used to how much grip the bike had. The trails were harder, but not impossible for me. Isaac would blast through and then wait for me to catch up.

After a slight detour (getting lost), we headed down one section and Isaac pulled over. He told me that for the next section, I didn't have to pedal and to maintain my speed (I.E. stop riding my brakes). It was just a bunch of bumps set up on a slight downhill, but they were different sizes, getting bigger as you went. I listened to Isaac and just kept my speed up. It was awesome. For the first time ever, I smiled on a mt. bike.

We went on for a while longer. There were some narrow, windy climbs that were a little tough, and I realized I was tired. Not "rode too hard and have no energy, but can recover" tired, but "physically exhausted" tired. I was getting sloppy.

On the downhill from the twisty, narrow hills, I was flying. Then came a section of bumps. I decided to just plow over them. What I didn't expect was that I was going fast enough that I caught air over all of them. I smiled again.

After a short uphill, we headed down again. This time it was slightly steeper (read "faster") and there were more bumps, only closer together. That was fine until the last bump, where I landed right where the next bump started to rise. I somehow managed to keep it together over the last bump, but then there was a sharp right turn and I had a death grip on the brakes and just slid until i fell over. It didn't hurt at all, but it reinforced the fact that I was spent. From that point on, I just made mistake after mistake. And it was all uphill to get back to the car. I made it, but barely.

So, here's what I learned:
1) I kind of like mt. biking... at White Clay.
2) Hitting a tree with your shoulder hurts. A lot.
3) I don't like wide handlebars. It freaks me out because I think I'm going to hit everything. Then, when I tell myself to turn earlier, it's just in my head, I hit everything.
4) If you relax your upper body, it's easier, but if you're terrified, you can't relax.
5) Specialized Epic Comp is an awesome bike.
6) White Clay is beautiful.
7) Riding mt. will make you a better road rider.
8) Make sure everything is bolted down properly before going for a ride.
9) Don't forget your water bottle because a DeerPark bottle will fly off the bike within two minutes (Isaac)
10) All bikes are fun.

Bam-B Ride

Isaac and I both woke up and made it out for the ride down to the Art Museum yesterday. I had forgotten how little you work when riding in a large enough group and was surprised at how quickly and easily we were moving. We sat in the group until the hills outside Manayunk, when Isaac and a few other people sprinted off the front. I increased my pace until I found a nice sweet spot and then caught everyone halfway up the hill. I thought about passing everyone to prove that I was faster, but I decided to just hang on to the back in an attempt to show some restraint. Once we got down to West River Drive (sorry, but I'm not going to call it MLK) this one guy took off. Isaac and I were still feeling pretty good and upped our pace to what was comfortable for us. About halfway down the Drive we could see the guy who shot off slowing a little bit, and like total ass clowns, we decided to bring him back. I did the majority of the pace making and the second I got Isaac to him, I got spit off the back. In my defense, I did feel like hot garbage when I woke up yesterday. The night before I ate like shit and had some beer and I had given a serious thought about not riding at all. My letting my man-pride get the better of me and crushing myself to catch a guy for no reason other than to prove I could is indefensible. That was just stupid.

On the way back, I couldn't even hitch myself to the group for the first half of WRD. Eventually, Isaac just pulled me up. I ate half a Larabar while we rested because I couldn't stomach eating anything. Once I was hitched though, I started to feel a little better, and by the time we got to Manayunk and stopped at Saxoby's, I felt okay again. Isaac was nice enough to buy me an orange juice and we waited for the majority of the group to eat. Half of the group left about ten minutes after we got there, and Isaac and I wanted to leave with them, but we had just gotten our drinks when they were going, so we waited with the second group. So we sat in the shade and enjoyed a beautiful morning, watching people on nice bikes ride by.

I have two major problems with stopping in Manayunk on the way back. 1) We just stopped ten minutes ago at the Art Museum and rested for fifteen minutes. 2) You've cooled down and haven't had enough time to warm up again before you hit the hills on the way back. Because of these two reasons, the group always splits and it always Splits on the largest hill on the way back. The first hill is longer, but not as steep. It flattens out and there are stop signs to slow the pace a little. Then there's a nice down hill that most people will fly down so they can use the momentum to get them up the second hill. It's a short but steeper hill that seems to drain everyone. Isaac went flying down the down hill and as soon as he passed everyone, some other guy jumped on behind him to race up the hill with him. I didn't even start the hill until the two of them were almost halfway up it. By the top, I had caught and passed Isaac. Easily. I'm not sure if it was the sugar rush from the o.j. but I normally would have sprinted up, been out of breathe and gone to shit in a hurry once I was over the top and then soft pedal the rest of the way home. This time I cleared the top with a ton of energy, my breathing hadn't really changed and I pulled anyone who could stay with me back to the bike path. I set such a pace that There was no one but Isaac. We slowed our pace, but even by the time we got to Conshohocken, they still hadn't caught up. We waited a few minutes, but Isaac had to get going, so we left. He lives in West Conshy so Conshy is his stop. I, obviously, just rode home.

While all of that may seem like me bragging about how much faster I can shoot up hills than the people I'm riding with, there are two reasons why I'm excited about it. I can recover now. The past two years, if I had blown myself up at any point, I wouldn't have had the strength to make it back at anything other than a crawl. Steep hills would put me so far into the red that I couldn't come back after making it up. I've also got some legs under me now, I have the strength to ride in a higher gear on hills and can handle the pain better. It became really obvious when the group hit the first hill coming back through Manayunk that I accelerate so much faster than I used to. Not only can i accelerate now, but I can change my pace either faster or slower and handle the change without blowing myself up. I've never been able to do that before and it feels great. Because there are mostly rolling hills and not longer climbs, It's hard for me to test how much longer I can go while on a hill. I'm going to see if I can talk Isaac into doing the "Mother Fucker" hill (see post dated July 2008, I Don't Waste Any Time, Do I?) with me on Thursday, because that's a longer hill with gradation changes that has hills before and after it. If I can make it up that without much incident and make it home, I will feel really proud of myself.

"Oh! I Shit On Myself!"

Remember how I was talking about the Vredesteins I just bought were a little too tight? Well, I went on the shop ride today, and about ten minutes in I hear a "click click click" and before I can go "what the fuck is that noise?", there's a nice, loud explosion and steering inputs become a suggestion. At 22mph. I kept the bike upright, changed the tube fairly quickly and tried to fill it with my pump. I say "try" because it's a complete piece of garbage that will only put 40psi into the tire. It's now smashed and in a dumpster.

After I got the wonderful 40psi in, everyone started riding like I didn't have a problem with my bike. I had no confidence going down hill and I could only make contact on the uphill sections because everyone else was a much weaker climber than I am. Knowing that I'm out of shape and can out climb a group of people was about the only highlight of my day. It finally got to the point where I couldn't continue on without at least trying to get some more air in, so I yelled ahead for everyone to stop, and no one did. I hopped off, put in as much air as I could (5psi. Really, the pump was straight garbage) and started trying to catch them. I get to the first intersection, and after making a point of telling everyone I had never done the ride before, and had no idea where I was going, they didn't wait and I had to make a choice. I chose home. I knew enough of where I was to get me back to the shop, and I do have a Garmin, so if I got lost, I deserved it.

I was furious when I got back to the shop, and when I went to pump up my tire, I got to 100psi on the nose and the tube exploded again. I took a look at the sidewall of the tire and it had completely blown out in one spot. The guys warrantied the tire, and tube, on the spot. I had them watch me put the new tire on just to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong and they all said I wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary. Oh well, chalk it up to manufacturing defect.

The bike is in the shop anyway and their going to take a look at the wheel and make sure everything is kosher. I'm going to do a cross ride later this week and then bring the bike home with me Saturday so I can do the Tania ride Sunday.

No More Hair Piece

I did go for a ride yesterday and it was a sad sight. I was struggling to keep an 18mph pace and I started off way too quickly and caused my knee to act up. Again. I rode up to the Pawlings lot and back, which is about 15miles at best. It was ugly, but necessary.

When I got back I decided to take my bike into the shop to have one of the mechanics look it over. I do that once a year just to make sure I haven't fucked my bike up too much. I had a loose rear hub. I hadn't even noticed, but there was a little bit of play, so we tightened it up.

I also decided on my ride that my saddle (Toupé) can go fuck itself. I've been trying for three years to like it, and I can't do it any more. I've tried everything I can think of to make it work and I'm done with the numbness. I bought another Romin.

My tires were shot and I knew that going in. I had blue Vredestein Tri Comps, 700x23. My original Specialized Mondos, or whatever they're called, gave up way to early. I replaced them with some Vittoria something with a 300TPI count. Great tire that didn't even last as long as the Mondos. I figured I give the Tri Comps a shot because they seemed like a durable race tire. They are. I don't know the exact number of miles I got out of them, but they had consistent grip for their entire life, survived two glass punctures with no ill effects and handled my want-to-be cyclocross fix before I bought my cross bike. I happily replaced them with an all black pair. The first set I had went on perfectly. A little snug, but nothing ridiculous. The new set... not so much. I have me a nice blister on my thumb from trying to get them on by hand before giving up and using a tire lever.

It's raining something fierce right now, and there's more forecast for tomorrow, but I'm hoping for some dryness from 6-8pm tomorrow. I've decided that to make sure I ride more, I would commit to doing two rides a week. I'm going to do the shop ride on Tuesday nights, and the Bam-B ride on Sunday mornings. The shop ride is a 30mile ride on mostly quiet roads with rolling hills. The Bam-B ride is from Betzwood to the Art Museum and Back. It's a pretty horrible name and from now on I'm just going to call it the Tania ride because It's hosted by Team Tania, which is the team I did the MS ride with a few years ago. All I know is that I need to ride more. With more riding will come more writing, so it's a win for you guys as well.

I should Probably Write Something

So, yeah... I haven't done any riding. I'd like to blame my lack of writing on laziness, but I've been on a bike 3 times since April. To be fair, there was a wedding and honeymoon that took up two months of my time, and we did have three weeks of 95*+ heat. Call me a sissy all you want, I HATE hot weather. I may add it too my list of "Top 5 things I would punch in the face if they were human." I think it would slot in after monkeys, but before sheep.

I have been doing some bike related things, if that makes you feel any better. I've been working part time at the bike shop again, and I've gotten quite good at getting people on bikes. That's a good thing, no matter how you look at it. And last night, Jen and I went down to Westchester to cheer on Ryan Dewald (Jen's cousin's boyfriend). He's a pro level rider who, along with 13 other riders lapped the field 25 laps into the race, then 8 of those guys, Ryan included, shot off the front again and came with in 10 seconds of lapping the field for a second time. That's crazy. Ryan took a few turns in the lead and thanks to the all too familiar crash in the last corner of the last lap, he finished 5th. He didn't wreck, two guys in front of him did, but he lost his momentum. Still, 5th at a pro level event after almost lapping the field twice is bonkers.

And of course, I'm watching the Tour. I'm about 3 days behind, and I'm sick of flat stages, but I'm watching it.

It's 10am on a 78* Sunday morning, and even though I'm working off the aftermath of a night of beer, I'm going for a bike ride.

Oh, by the way, I got married.

In the title of my blog it says something like (yes, I'm too lazy to look and see what it actually says) "the ins and outs of my riding plus big events in my life." Up until this post, it has been all bike, all the time. So, here is my first "big events" post. Enjoy.

On the 23rd of May, 2010, Jennifer Fugo and myself (Nicholas Gresh) were married. Thus creating "Greshgo" an enormous Japanese mega-robot that destroys small fishing villages and has a totally awesome theme song, sung by some high-pitched Japanese dame. We kick ass!

If you're friends with me on Facebook, you've probably seen a picture or two of how awesome we looked. If not, don't fret, I'll be posting pictures as soon as I get back from my honeymoon.

Belize, since I know you were going to ask.

God Damn!

Isaac and I went for a ride in Valley Forge yesterday, and we were heading around the back side of the park to get to some of the trails when disaster struck. We were coming down a hill and were going to cut across a grass patch to get to the walking path. The grass patch was flat, then downhill, nothing out of the ordinary. Isaac hit it first and as soon as he started going down the hill I just saw him go right over his bars and roll. He was going 28mph. I locked my brakes and pulled off the line he took, and when I got halfway down the hill I saw what he hit. A service pipe and it's ditch. He popped up right after he stopped rolling and the side of his face was already purple and he looked very, very surprised. I did a quick concussion check and he was okay, but his helmet was cracked and you can see from the picture what his bike did. To the credit of both Giant (bike) and Specialized (helmet), both did their jobs perfectly. His front wheel, the only front wheel he had for both of his bikes, the rim is surprisingly untouched, but three spokes ripped themselves right out of the hub, so the hub is toast. Five spokes were turned and two more were just spaghetti. No damage to the fork at all. All the components still work as well. He just needs a new frame, front wheel and a lot of ice.

Snow & Mud

My winter riding didn't go as expected this year. Two massive snow storms and the ungodly amount of snow they left on the ground made riding close to impossible for me. Two weeks ago Isaac got himself a used cross bike and crank, and threw some Rival on it, so we decided to give the trail a try. There was WAY too much snow, but we kept pushing to the Perkiomen Trail. Surprisingly, we both only fell once. Isaac went right over his bars and scuffed himself up. Mine was a combination of tired and lack of concentration; it was a nice, slow sideways dump. The ride was judged as an over-all success and we were looking forward to the snow melting and getting in some mud time.

Last week I managed to tweak my right knee coming down the stairs. Just for the record, my knees are complete garbage. The "injury" kept me from walking for two days and has me limping like a jack-ass. Today was a beautiful, sunny day and at 50+ degrees, I couldn't help but go out and test how my knee was doing. Isaac and I headed down to Betzwood where we got on the gravel path and rode up to Pawlings road. A bunch of trees were still down (the snow destroyed many a tree in the area. Most seemed to be laying across the bike paths) so we got some muddy grass/ cyclocross style dis and remount action. At one point Isaac decided to try and hop a downed tree. The outcome was as you would expect.

So, I love riding my bike through mud. The Guru is caked. My bottom bracket area looks like when you stare down the hole of a porta-potty. My rear brakes don't look much better, and there is a lot of grime for me to clean out of there so that my bike will come to a stop without it sounding like I've both run over a cat and am mixing cement. The back of my jerseys look like modern art, but actually done by a person of talent. It's supposed to be sunny and in the sixties later this week. There will be more riding done, I assure you.