Baby Gets a New Rattle

The first race is out of the way and the weather is finally turning to spring so it was time to get out on the trails with the usual suspects from the hood and do a bit of exploring and trail maintanence. The enthusiasim was high, the pace fast and the as luck will have it the motocross bikes had been in the woods providing us with miles of new twisty technical single track to explore.

Well you can imagine the surprise as I crested a roller and on the descent heard the sound of one of these......

which means in the middle of the trail is one of these........


and sadly it all happened so fast that I ran the guy over and put an end to his day which resulted in one of these for dinner.....

It's A Girl!!!!!

I am the proud father of a new daughter, Beth! She is a beautiful titanium 29er, a confirmed lefty and swings both ways.....geared or single speed with a beautiful set of Paragon sliders on her rear end. Her genes are 100% Independent Fabrication and she carries the colors of the IF Grassroots Team. Shortly she will be getting her first pair of shoes from Industry Nine with Vulpine's for soles. This girl will be ready for some long races and will have her coming out party at the Mohican 100.

Land of Pickups, NRA & Explosives

Notice a theme here? You can imagine how it gets when the moonshine is flowing!

Cohutta 100 - The Good, The Bad & The Muddy, IF Brings Home The Hardware

IF was well represented at the Cohutta 100 with riders featuring in the results in Men's overall (6th - Harlan), Women's (4th - Trish Stevenson) and Master's (3rd - Chris Wurster).

The previous day's recon ride of the course proved to be all for naught as Friday night brought showers and the Saturday morning start still had a cold mist in the air. Despite checking the conditions of the soil at the starting area for moisture and determining things would be similar to home, I came up with the wrong call in a big way. With a lot of insight from Harlan I was anticipating a fast course with good hard packed conditions and the opportunity to post a fast time.

Well if you ever watched My Cousin Vinny, there was no embellishing by the director in the scene where Joe Pesci sleeps in the Caddie only to be awakened by thunderstorms and mud that is like pudding on a linoleum floor. After the opening climb up Route 64 we turned onto the fast flowing single track section that would last for the next 15+ miles, only it was no longer a fast flowing pump track, now it was a survival course that felt like one was riding on ice. It didn't help that I had opted for Killer Bee 2.4s which when new have little tread, and this was a worn set, so it was a close to riding slicks as you can get. The result was that by the time we got out onto the fireroads I had ridden too hard, sliding everywhere, spinning the rear on every small climb and had failed to keep properly hydrated - this was going to be a long painful day if things didn't get better and fast!
Early into the fireroad riding I learned that most of my competition in Master's were behind me which provided a bit of an uplift and let me focus on settling into good pace for the duration of the road section. Shortly after 40 miles I came on fellow IF team rider, Patrick Jones, who was suffering from stomach issues and not having a good day. We decided that working together as teammates was going to be the most beneficial to both, would keep Pat going and keep me focused on maintaining a good pace position. We worked together over the next 40+ miles, alternating taking the lead and were able to pull out solid distances over the riders around us. At the last aide station, in a selfless act, Patrick urged me to go off on my own, as the stomach issues were upon him again, to secure my position in class.
The final pair of climbs took everything I had left. After 80+ miles on muddy, soft, freshly graded roads and being slightly dehydrated I began suffering from cramps and tightening hamstrings which slowed my pace and allowed a couple of riders to get by. The final insult came in the final mile when I lost all focus and caught the guardrail and went down hard on the only paved section of the course! Managed to get is all back together, get on the bike and bring it home in 3rd place in the Masters with a personal best of 9:20, shaving 1:17:00 off of my previous best 100 time and making the podium for IF - there wasn't a better feeling then climbing onto the box flying the colors of Team Green!

Just Another Friday Night in Ocoee

After spending the night near the Atlanta airport, Beth and I made the 2 hour drive into the three corners where Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina all come together, and come together they do. Being from New York City, the air was so fresh that we couldn't get enough, despite the heavy doses of pine pollen in the air. And the mountain pines have a beautiful blue glow that make one really appreciate just why they are called the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Our cabin, right next door to Joe Jacoby's place, is at the end of a cul-de-sac and immediately we befriend the next door neighbor, Mike, engaging him in conversations about gardens, roto tillers, property taxes (non existent in this part of the country) and the possibility of hitting the local fish fry after the race.

From here it was off to the Cherokee National Forest and the Ocoee Whitewater Center for registration and a preride of the course. After coming all this distance as I set off on my ride I ended up riding with Mike Davies, another Masters competitor and a fellow rider from the Newburgh area. After chatting about the virtues of Stewart State Forest and the flowing singletrack we dropped into some of the most amazing riding with a flow so smooth and effortless that it felt like we were on a pump track. Things were looking good for the race, I felt good and the trail was nice and firm, fast and flowing.....this is going to be fun.

One final stroll of the neighborhood and we ran into Floyd rocking away on the front porch and spent a bit of time enjoying a beer or two and flagging down the locals to score some Tennessee White Lightning. Well along comes or neighbor Mike and by the time it was all over there it was at $8 a pint and able to run a small car engine on it's own. With that it was a pass and off to bed for a good rest before the race. 

Tennessee, Tennessee There Ain't No Place I'd Rather Be

At long last the endless season of indoor training is coming to a close and with bike in box I am off to the airport. First destination - Tara and the land of Scarlett O'Hara, for a quick overnight at the real life setting for Gone with the Wind.

Then it is off to the deep woods of Ocoee, Tennessee home of the Cohutta 100 - first leg of the NUE Series. The digs for the race look pretty good, the Joe Jacoby cottages. As luck would have it I happened to have scored the one cottage with an outdoor hot tub so the post race relaxation and cocktail party is all set. With Floyd and the gang staying just down the driveway we might luck out and get Rock Racing to send over their stable of groupies to really get the hot tub party going!

It does feel a bit strange to have a full range of gears to select from and I hope that after a couple of years of not having to consider which gear to select that I manage to get it right. And Harlan, thanks for the run down on the course, nothing worse then having to ride the first race of the season "blind" and with no vertical under the belt since October!

Nice Pair

What you are looking at is the sweetest set of wheels on the market - Industry Nine 29ers. The wizards from Asheville have taken their 6 pawl drive hub and lefty front hub, laced them up to a set of Stan's Arch rims (yes I am one of those heavy guys that shouldn't be on 355s) and made a set of wheels that would make even BC jealous.

I have only had the opportunity to fondle these babies while IF is putting the finishing touches to the Lefty Ti Deluxe that will be mated to these wheels. The drive train is silky smooth and the 6 pawl engagement mechanism has a sound that is music to the ears. All of this is topped off with one piece aluminum spokes that lower the rotational mass and add stiffness without a weight penalty.

Sadly they will not be making the trip to Cohutta but if all goes according to plan they will make their debut at the Mohican 100.