Is This A Logo??

Is This A Logo??

Tuesday 31 May 2016

Mountain Biking: PreRode one EB; Missed one STC; Just for Fun with PPP



It has been quite the weekend, considering I chose not to race....exactly...

It all started back in grade one, when my mom used to walk me to school...(we were in the same grade)...

Kidding, of course, (sorry mom)....it started Thursday, with an invitation from DanOfSubstance to, once again, pre-ride the EagerBeaver 100 2.0 course.  We pre-rode the course in the Fall (I still wake up in cold sweats from those memories), and Dan had made some changes to the course, and was close to determining a 'final' route so went off to check it out.  Just for fun...100 miles (yes miles = 160 kms) of gravel, fireroad, farm lane...fun...

Dan insisted I wear his XCMarathon Leaders Jersey...



It kind of, almost, matches with the rest of my kit...or not.  Actually, the only person to comment on it clashing was a Scotsman...you know....the guys who wear plaid...   ...   ...   skirts...  Ah well, you can't judge an entire culture by one individual...

Anyways, so, you know...simply 100 miles of gravel could be fun....but what kind of fun would that be??

Actually, the route starts out great...the first 5 km is a nice gradual, gravel road descent...but let this be fair warning, right off the bat; any descent in this race WILL be followed by a legitimate (feel free to read 'legitimate' as 'extreme') climb.  Oh...and the first 5 km descent is the only gradual, relaxing decent...any climb, except the last, will be followed by a sketchy, steep descent.

Anyways...the first climb of the day Dan pulls no punches...it is very likely the toughest climb of the day.  Dan has dubbed it 'The Murderhorn'!!  (Named after the Simpsons episode 'King of the Hill'...look it up...).  9 kms, 500 metres elevation of loose, sketchy, rutted, rocky fireroad....when it flattens out and you think you are done...you are not...at least three times not.   Then followed by a descent, very similar to the climb...

And this pattern repeats itself for the first 80 kms of the race.  A very long, tough climb, that reapeatedly seams to end, but doesn't, followed by a fast, technical, descent.  Again....be warned, there are no rollers in this route...if you find yourself going uphill, grab a cigar, a whiskey, and pit in...you are in for a steep, long, technical climb...there are no easy things here.

There may be some water...





There may be a small amount of hike-a-bike...one climb is a very, very, rocky, steep stream bed, that will test the most technical of riders ability to stay on the bike...(Hope I am not giving too much away here, Dan...).

On the second last, and what I consider the second toughest (but at this point they are all killer) climb of the day, at around the 65 - 70 km mark (depending on your device), you will (hopefully) top the climb do a double right hander on a short paved section...pass a church on gravel...then get ready.  The longest, sketchiest descent of the day...2 kms of twisty, rocky, rutted farm lane, that opens up into pristine new pavement...but still descending for another kilometre...and twisty, and steep.  In fact this section of pavement is the fastest I have ever clocked my CX bike.  At 82.5 kmp around a blind left curve, I finally got nervous enough to feather the brakes.

Then almost immediately into the last real climb of the day...at 5 kms long it's not the longest of the day...but at this point they are all killer (did I say that already??)...actually after climbing the Murderhorn, they are all killer.  Again, this hill has multiple points that you may think you are done...you are not.  Not until you look down at your garmin and see 80km.  Once you hit 80 km...you are golden...no more significant climbs.

Dan, caught this pic on one of the climbs...kind of blurry...but...hmmmm...






So, be warned, I am not overstating...the first 80 kms is devastating...it will break some riders completely in half.  There will be many who will throw their bikes in the ditch, pack up and book a flight to Saskatchewan.  So, once you hit 80km....its all flat-ish hammering.  And that may be the other challenge.  After 4 - 5 hours of repeated killer climbs you hit the flats, and want to hammer...on depleted legs...pain of climbing....followed by pain of wanting to finish as fast as possible.  But if you have survived the first 80 km...you can survive anything.

If you are able to notice, the scenery is awesome...here are a couple of pics that do not do it justice...




Better than these show, there are many views of spread out vistas from up high.  And the traffic on the route is incredibly infrequent.  In fact, especially after the first 80 km...feel free to find a nice flat spot to sit and rest....



Or maybe more like this...





Anyways...Dan has fashioned this race after the Iron Cross...one of the toughest gravel grinders out there.  So, once again, consider yourself warned...for the 3 of you who read this (not including my mother) you now know and are aware of what to expect....and so Dan has instituted a strict no whining policy.

Registration is open...in fact you have until midnight June 1st to catch super early bird pricing.  Register here.

So...it has taken almost literally until today for me to recover from this ride.  Which is one of the reasons that I missed this weekend's race, The Hardwood Single Track Classic (formerly the Single Track Challenge).

All reports say the race was great!  For sure, the weather was intense at over 30 degrees!  I did manage to scoop a couple of pics....

It looks like Fatboy Nation infiltrated the podium, and tried to convince JeffS to join the cause...




And it looks like Raf was trying to infiltrate the female category...




Karen and Jenn again dominating the podium.  Is anyone going to step up and challenge these two??


If you want proper professional pics (and you should!), ApexTed was on site to capture the action in the heat...you may not have noticed him in his ninja thong, but he was there.  Find your Apex pics here.

And for a more thorough write up of the race by someone who raced it check Colin's Blog...always a passionate, relateable read.

I did not do nothing on the weekend, however.  Me, NewfieSteve and Lisa packed up our trailers and headed to Albion to test them out...to camp and ride...

NewfieSteve & Lisa's shiny new trailer....that he built from scratch...seriously...he is handy like that...



My old but new-to-me home of TeamRiotMobile....



The innards, where the magic happens (magic = Lois snores & I pass out).  The back room is the bike shed...




By the way...if you have never camped with a Newfie...



If you don't believe me, ask Lisa...
And yeah...I'm trying to cut down on the cat pics...our cats here are starting to get vindictive...like this guy...




Anyways....after a light recovery ride Friday evening...we joined the Pinoy Pedal Pushers for a group ride early Saturday morning...

To keep it fun, we broke out the fatbikes!!


And to prove Pinoy Ryder allowed us to join in with his group...




I have to say...what a total pleasure to ride with this group...an awesome reminder that mountain biking isn't just about training, racing, podiums or medals.  At it's core it's about fun, being a kid again...forgetting about life to enjoy life, with friends.

Anthony Bourdain recently did a piece about Filipino culture, and he nailed it...



One of them said it best when he quipped, "It makes me happy to be kind and generous to others. I feel like I won a spot on the podium 😍😊."  I'm pretty sure that was you, Robert.  Maybe you can judge a culture on one individual after all...

So thank you for letting us be part of your morning!!

Then, Jaimie and PowerPaul showed up to finish up the day with another ride...then some recovery around the firepit!




Sorry...I know...long post...but it was quite an eventful weekend of not racing!!

However, the next month or more is packed with racing weekend after weekend...
Have to preview what's coming up....Thursday...

Stay posted!!





Thursday 26 May 2016

Mountain Bike Relaxation

So, I am not racing this coming weekend.  I will ride, some for training....but mostly for fun.
There is a race this weekend....there is this...

Click on pic to go to webpage...(Yeah...tricky like that...)


Looks like a great race, fun times, great venue...50 kms at Hardwood...gotta love that.  But with the racing schedule packed full for the next month, I opt to take this weekend off.

I will be riding, however.  In fact today (Thursday), I will be pre-riding The Eager Beaver 100 2.0 with Substance Projects promoter DanOfSubstance.  100 miles...160 kms...of gravel, farm lane, and double track...in 30 degree heat...should be sufficient to provide a crushing workout...

Should be a nice healing workout for the ribs...

Actually, CoachRob has me working more on power than endurance right now, but the 100 mile route has over 8000m of climbing....so a good mix of power and endurance work.
I also asked CoachRob about working on dismounting and mounting like a Cross racer...
He asked, "How flexible are you?"
I said, "I can't do Wednesdays."





Yeah...sorry...bad joke...I guess.

Anyways, if that wasn't enough riding...this weekend, Friday to Sunday, will be spent camping and riding with this guy...NewfieSteve (and whoever else shows up...)




Except maybe we will ride with a more serious look...






Yeah...that's better.  And this shenanigans will be happening out at Albion hills.  Feel free to join...will be there all weekend.  And who knows...maybe ApexTed will be jumping from behind trees to take pics??

So lots of hard but fun riding,  relaxing but not exactly relaxing...at least not like this...





Hopefully not like this...unless I get heat stroke today...or if NewfieSteve pulls out the Jager...








And unfortunately not like this...unless Lois surprisingly shows up...







Anyways....so, no racing...but riding.  But as mentioned the schedule is packed with upcoming races the next four weekends in a row, with the next two being back to back Canada Cups, followed by a weekend of another Marathon race...then finishing off the month with the 24 Hour Summer Solstice, which I will be soloing.  Looking like I may have quite the pit crew for the 24 Hour too...with Blaze and Matty Tee manning my pit...and Lois dropping in early Sunday morning.  It doesn't get much more grueling than that, but looking forward to it!!

So for this weekend fun riding, with much more racing and reporting to come...

Stay posted!


Me after writing this??

Tuesday 24 May 2016

XC Marathon 2 - Long Sock Classic Race Review

So, since it was two weeks since the last race...the mind and competitive spirit were looking forward to racing again...the ribs were more like, "Wait a minute...".  Some SpiderTech tape, and a Naproxen (no 40Creek in the water bottle...this time) quieted the ribs enough to pile into a truck with NewfieSteve (I talked him into doing at least the HalfMarathon) and Fig and head  to the Ganaraska Forest Centre to compete in DanOfSubstance's (Substance Projects) Long Sock Classic.  This was the second race of Substance Projects' XC Marathon Race series, and Ganaraska offers hundreds of kilometres of killer trails that we normally don't get to ride...and Dan always puts on a great event, so busted ribs or not, I couldn't pass it up.

We got there in time to catch Oggie and Giant 'warming up' together...






Not really sure if Oggie was warming up for the race or...






Anyways....was surprised to see EnglishJim in attendance...haven't seen him on a bike much lately...but in fact Dan, once again, had a great turnout for this race.  Happy for Dan, as mentioned he puts on great events at venues with some of the best trail systems in the province and it is well past time more racers started noticing and participating.  

Hey...and DonnaDub was there!!  I was able to get her her water bottle back, and again say 'Thank you!'

And so, I sidled into the start paddock somewhere between Jaimie and Alexa...and looked behind me.  There was a huge crowd of racers in the paddock behind me!  Oh, no, I thought...I probably shouldn't be this far up front in the paddock.  My goals on this day were to enjoy the day, compete and push to my limits, and primarily NOT CRASH!!  Crashing could put me back to day 1 on the rib-heal scale...and I don't want that.  They are slowly getting better...but still very annoying in many ways;  I'm still terrified to sneeze...I'm not a back sleeper, and I still have to sleep on my back...and cats from all over have started to get back at me...

Seriously...it started with my daughter's cat Felix mocking me...




Then somehow (is there a cat-internet...caternet???)...I was inundated with pics of cats displaying how they perceive my bike abilities...


Great 

Then this one is just nuts...


And so on....





Oh, this is just a small sampling...even one of my own got in on the act...







Anyways...sorry...badly off track...again.  So...I was where I was in the start paddock...and once we got going, I kicked it hard to not clog up the way for all those behind me, hard up the doubletrack climb off the start...and although I had warmed up well, I felt heavy and sluggish...and my heartrate was already topping out.  Onto 2 kilometres of gravel road/farm lane that was a series of sharp rollers starting with a short climb, then a long, loose, rocky descent into a lengthy mess of deep sand bed that washed racers somewhat uncontrollably back and forth across the road.  Then up the next longer, rockier climb, where now a thick cloud of dust had made it difficult to see to navigate, I struggled badly, I felt no energy at all, and my ribs were screaming (and I noticed I lost a water bottle...again!!  WTF!!??)...and upon cresting the climb, before heading down the steeper, longer, rockier descent, into a longer, thicker sand bed, I decided to back off...at this rate, I was too likely to not attain my primary goal (remember...NOT CRASH).  So, I let my heart rate settle...I let many racers pass (there went Burnsy past me at a top speed!) and I navigated with caution.

I am typically a slow starter, and have been pushing harder on the starts to try to correct this...however, in the longer races this has cost me, leaving me gassed well before the race is over.  This was a point my good friend serious has noticed, and made a note to point out to me earlier in the day.  (serious competed in the Half Marathon on this day).  And I remembered something that Alexa had mentioned earlier...that, in longer races she prefers to not overdo it at the start and spend the race at a solid pace picking off zombies...zombies being people like me, who start too hard then fizzle out and ride slow and depleted...like a zombie.

In fact, there was Alexa just ahead...I sped up to catch her and we rode together for a short while...until the dirty hill...also know as the Amsterdam Brewery Big Wheel Ale Big Ascent...



The dirty hill, a 2km long steep doubletrack climb...that ended with about 100ms of steeper climb.  I hit it hard just to get it over with....passing a couple of riders...including SingleSpeedSteve...ribs screaming all the way.  As I crested the hill I noticed my heart rate at 172...wow...I better step it down some...but maybe I was finally warming up?

Then into a tight, twisty singletrack downhill, I ducked into it carefully...and SingleSpeedSteve was right on my tail.  He said this kind of trail is his thing, so if I could let him pass....so I did.  Boom!!  He was off like a rocket!!  He wasn't kidding!!  I worked hard just to keep him in sight!

I would catch him on the flats and climbs, then let him go on the single track descents...we were faster together that way.  Then somewhere along the way I noticed, I was feeling much better, energized, and the always present stabbing rib pain had reduced to a dull thud...either my body was running out of pain juice, or the naproxen was kicking in.  So, perhaps I could make this a race after all...


Out there somewhere...


Into another singletrack downhill...and there was Alexa and SingleSpeedSteve back on my tail (SSers stick together like that)...I let them by...and fought to keep them within catching distance.  On the flat, I powered to catch SSSteve, and did, but Alexa had pulled away, dropping us both.  I passed SSSteve, then headed into the last 5km...which was not SS friendly at all...including a long, loose, rocky climb, followed by double track flats, and a long, flowy double track descent into the start-finish.  I hammered it, hoping to catch Alexa, but never did.

But as I pulled into the start-finish there was Alexa and Burnsy just pulling out for loop 2.  I had to stop to refill my water bottle (since I only had one now!!)...and as I took off to start loop 2, SSSteve was just pulling in.  I hammered to catch Alexa and Burnsy...but they were totally out of sight...how the heck did they get that far ahead??

Then up the dirty hill once again...but this little girl flew past me like I was standing still.  She was tiny, but her power to weight ratio must be through the roof!!  She was a rocket on the climbs...wearing a red, white, and green WCC jersey...one of these, I think...



By the way, extra big thank you to ApexRacePhotography for providing many cool pics!!

So, I made it my goal to keep that green and white jersey in sight (I do better with a visual goal I guess, and no...I didn't mean it like that!!).  I was now much more into race mode, and slowly started picking off zombies (thanks Alexa!); then into a tight switchback climb, there was Giant...just putting his back wheel on his bike; I stopped to see if he was OK...all was good, he had broken his chain but was back in action.  I took off knowing he would catch me...and he soon did.  He asked if I had passed Fig or Jaimie...I said no.  They had taken off hard on the start and I never saw them again.  Boom!!  Giant was off!!  Standing up, sprinting like this was a 2km race...his goal (I guess) to catch Fig and/or Jaimie.  I am so impressed with how much power and stamina Giant has developed!!  It is borderline ridiculous!!

By now, I was feeling much better...energized, and totally in race mode...ignoring the dull thud of the ribs; and seeing Giant take off like that was just a little further motivation.  I hammered, knowing that from my start I wouldn't be in contention, but determined to get this thing done in style.  

I stopped briefly to get more water at aid station 2, and that familiar green and white jersey pulled up behind me, she was still flying!  At about, the 15 or 10 km to go point, I thought I saw Burnsy on a switchback...I hammered to hopefully catch him and Alexa.  With about 5km to go I caught Burnsy...he was looking quite zombified...just turning the pedals to get done.  I passed him, and he encouraged me on (which was cool!  Fig would have likely kicked me off the trail...) then I managed to get past a couple more racers in the last couple of kilometres...then into the finish.  Done.  Time 4hr:10min:48sec.  There was Alexa, finished a couple of minutes ahead of me...

There was Oggie, finished over 20 minutes ahead of me...sitting in the shade, his jersey coated in his own salt...trying to rehydrate and recover.

I wandered over to the truck to change and recover...there was Fig, Jaime, Giant, who all finished well in front of me, and EnglishJim and NewfieSteve who did the HalfMarathon.  We went to hang out for the podium presentations...although I would have been OK to go home, since none of us were podium bound, but Fig wanted to stay for the draw prizes...go figure...

Anyways, I had just cracked one of PowerPaul's recovery beverages (thanks PowerPaul!!), when I heard my name announced...WTF??  Third place, Master Men!!  At first I thought Dan was BSing me...but no it was true.  Third to Oggie in first, and IanPtall second...two legends of the sport!!  Pic to prove...


Yeah...that's a six pack...of Amsterdam Brewery BoneShaker...yum!!

I should point out that TerryS mechanicaled out with a broken derailleur...otherwise I likely would not have been anywhere near that 3rd step...

Alexa came in third in Female...well done!!

DonnaDub came in second in Female Half-Marathon...did that new water bottle have anything to do with it??


That is KarenG in 3rd...now a regular on the podium!

Anyways...I am sitting enjoying my recovery beverage from PowerPaul (thanks PowerPaul!!), when I hear my name again!!  Huh???  Series Leader Master Men (a combination of the two race times so far...the series is four races)...ridiculousness!!!


Yeah....that's a big cookie!
Cookies and beer...a dream made for a Riot...





Uhhh....thanks Shadow...


Anyways...another race in the books...
But what a crazy day!!  
How does one follow this up??  I have no idea!

So....stay posted!!



 Yeah...I know...but I don't catch one of these that often...


Thursday 19 May 2016

Prepping for the Ganny...

So, after missing the OCup 2 at Highlands last weekend...I am looking forward to participating in this...

XC MARATHON 2: The Long Sock Classic promoted by Substance Projects and DanOfSubstance; to be held at the Ganaraska Forest Centre this Saturday the 21st.  75kms of trail...should be fun!
Looking forward to it...but not sure the ribs are...

Its been almost 2 wks....they should be healed right??  I know...I jest.  It will be weeks yet.  They still make their condition known when I anything.  Seriously, from breathing to going to the can (try it sometime).  However, the current conventional treatment is to stay as active as tolerable.  So off I go...

osteo, MTBer/osteopath/therapist has instructed me on how to use SpiderTech kinesiology tape, and it helps...although it is a little tricky to position it so it doesn't interfere with my heart rate monitor.  And I have yet to decide if the pink tape works better than the blue.  (see, yeah...another little joke there...very little, I guess...)

In fact it works so good I just may make this my kit for the LSC...






Ah...perhaps not...that's more EnglishJim's style...(although I don't think SpiderTech makes nipple tape).






Ooookay...anyways the race should be an adventure to write about...







Sorry....guess I have an abundance of stupid pics today...helps to distract from the crappy writing...

Anyways....looks like spring is actually here...maybe...







Looking forward to it after last weekends weather fiasco....





Exactly...


Anyways...another reason I am looking forward to the LSC race is Lois, Blaze, and I went to VeggieFest in Ancaster this last weekend...and I may have gotten a little carried away...






Yeah, I have been training all week, but still....a marathon race should burn a few calories...

So, if you are into vegan...and food trucks....check out these guys...  The Vegan Extremist   May be the best tasting food of any kind I have ever sampled!  Serious.

While I am on the topic, also found out at VeggieFest that my friend Kris, who owns 50 Pesos (formerly Sabores Latinos), won the Food Network's Food Truck Face Off....and won a Food Truck!!!  And has great Latino/Mexican food!!

So there ya go....a couple of refueling sources to plan your rides around??
If you do hit up a food truck...try this....tell them your name is Buehler...then don't answer when your food is ready...

Anyways...back to the LSC...a few questions...

DonnaDub, will you be there?  I have a water bottle for you.
Will 13stone, Unglued, and serious be there...and if so, singlespeed all?
Alexa?  SingleSpeedSarah?
Will the JeffS clan show up and monopolize the podium?
Will Giant and Oggie duke it out?
Can we talk NewfieSteve into doing the full Marathon?
How many  R&R jerseys at this race??
Should I drop off, or refill?
Does Dan have socks for me?
Are those really dead Minions inside each Kinder Surprise??


All soon to be answered...and more.

Stay posted!!



Remembering Batoch, 130 years ago...