Gardiner Biathlon

The week has finally come to an end and with no races in site for the next few weekends it was time to go out explore and indulge in some good old fashion fun. Living in Gardiner has some great benefits for the active set. Among them are Stewart State Forest, home of the Dark Horse 40 and  over 5000 acres of some of the sweetest single track you can turn a wheel on. There is also Minnewaska State Park and Mohonk Preserve, back in their day the playground of the Mellon's, Rockefeller's and Morgan's, which between them boast a staggering 10,000+ acres of woods, single track, carriage trails, lakes and rock climbing.

The weekend's adventure began with a ride deep into the woods of Monhonk Preserve to the northern most end to an area know as Table Rocks. My guides were a sweaty, falling apart trail map that did no good as I left the reading glasses at home and Paul Livornese, one of my weekend riding mates and single speed racer.

Paul showing no concern over the impending thunderstorms

Paul has this ability to find great trails in some of the most obscure regions and always manages to get us back to the trailhead before dark. Again he lived up to his abilities and after 14  miles of trails (mostly downhill) we arrived at Table Rocks, a spot that provided one of the more spectacular views of the Catskills.

The scramble up to the rocks was a bit tricky with cleats on but having avoided falling into the abyss between the rocks it was time to relax, contemplate life and worship all things natural. With our heads spinning and time flying by we were brought back to reality by a sudden boom of thunder and the distant flash of lightning. Holy shit, countless miles of up hill riding on metal bikes and the forecast was for severe thunderstorms....not the best combination.

Chris doing the backwoods version of a trackstand

Well what started as a mellow ride back not so slowly turned into an all out sprint to make it to the nearest shelter, the pavilion half way home. We arrived just as the rain started to fall and lightning strikes all around. Forty minutes later we were back on the trail, dodging thunderheads and getting covered in mud as we hightailed it back to the safety of the cars and cold beer. With the buzz gone it was time to head for the hacienda and once the skies cleared begin the second leg of the day's activities - kayaking the turbulent waters and class .5 rapids of the mighty Wallkill River.

Keeping the beer upright is essential in the rapids

Beth and I packed the boats with almost the same skills as Admiral Perry when he set out for the pole and over the course of the next 3 hours we managed to consume all of the beer, wine and food before we finally pulled out of the river and made our way back home for the nightcap.

Ahhh, nothing quite like a weekend in Gardiner!

Back in the Saddle

Thanks to all from Team Seagal and my family for the well wishes during my recovery. Funny how it took less to get over the surgery then it did the Mohican 100 but so is life.

All of the conditioning helped with the recovery and I found myself back on the trainer the day after surgery and out on the road just over 48 hours after leaving the operating table! Wasn't a hard ride but it sure felt good to be back out in the "fresh air" of NYC.

This weekend the focus will be on rebuilding the strength in the upper body where the brunt of the operation took place. Most likely will be punching out multiple sets of 12 oz curls and maybe even a ride on the carriage roads of Minnewaska State Park.

Surgical Purge of the Aliens

Here I sit in a vicoden haze having just come off a round at the hospital to have 3 tumors removed. The time was right, just off a race and in full recovery mode so it was off to a visit with the surgeon-

to remove the suckers before I have an episode like this occur -

Well all was a success, I shed a few additional grams and should be back on the bike in a couple of days no worse for the wear. One of the great things about ultra endurance racing is that recovering from surgery is a piece of cake compared to the races! For now the good news is that none appeared to be malignant - time to celebrate!!!!!

Mohican 100 - Superior Attitude, Superior State of Mind

IF riders were well represented at the Mohican 100 with Harlan Price 5th overall, Alex Kopko 23rd, Trish Stevenson 5th in women's, Chris Wurster 3rd in Masters and Kerry Combs 11th in women's in the 100km.

And now for the summary of the weekend's events and trust me it was something else.

I thought I had seen the worst of it when first a deer ran across the highway 50 yards up the road. Then on the other side of the highway I saw a deer with it's head buried in a bag running in circles in the middle lane, the last sight being the smoking wheels of a semi. As I crossed into the heartland of America the body count kept rising, stopping at 32 by the time I arrived at Camp Nuhop. Certainly it could only get better from here, but it was not to be the case. 

Setting up camp next to me were Eddie & Greg from Team Seagal, a single speed team based out of St. Louis. Giving the cult-like status to such a great actor as Steven Seagal, the team finds it's inspirational guidance from the Steven Seagal heads carried on each handle bar, chanting the mantra "Superior Attitude, Superior State of Mind". They are fueled by PBR and were very clear they were about going out on the course to "snap some wrists" the following morning.

And sure enough as we rolled out of town by the second climb Team Seagal had come along side and they had a look in their eyes that would make children run and orthopedic surgeons smile. 

The first 34-40 miles were on what I am sure is beautiful single track when it is dry but this is the morning after thunderstorms that sparked tornado warnings the night before (we were warned to grab Toto and head for the basement if the sirens came on) and now it was mud coupled with short steep climbs and no place to get a good pace going - just the kind of course I don't enjoy!

Finally coming out of the woods I felt like it was long past the time to be back at the car having a beer and relaxing. But I was still in the running and there was that lingering fear of having a wrist or two snapped if I didn't catch Team Seagal. Shorty after getting on the roads the body count began to pile up again and in one stretch at the top of a climb the scene was something like this

only it was four in a row and smelled worse then the gloves on my hands. Will the carnage ever end?

I continued with the mental tug-of-war about whether to bag it or keep going (amazing the games your mind can play when you put in a 40+ hour week in 3 days and don't sleep all that much), grinding away the miles riding with the Rebecca from team Wake & Bake and then more single speeders until we were a group of 7 riding a pace line on the endless miles of rail trail, which was a nice place to get some additional recovery in!

While in last in the pace line all of the sudden my chain breaks while I am coasting and before I know it the pack is gone and I am on my own trying to fix a chain with no reading glasses....the downside to being a Master! Few minutes later and it was back on the trail grinding away. At aid stations 4&5 my requests for EPO went unanswered so it was time to push on to the dam marking the final climb of the race.

On the preride yesterday it was impressive looking from the top but the view from the bottom was like looking up Mt. Everest, and after 97 miles of riding with my trusty Sherpa no where in sight it was going to be quite a climb. Inspired by some beer swilling locals chanting at the top, I shouldered the bike and found the strength to make the climb and ride the ensuing climb to finally close out one of the more painful days of riding I can remember, coming home what at the time was recorded as second.

The final kick in the teeth was finding out they missed Greg Turner, yes he is that fast and giving me that much of an ass kicking, and I found after all the drinking that I was not in second but had ended up in third....trust me I am not complaining about that either.

As a thank you to the hosts, Camp Nuhop and on behalf of Independent Fabrication, I donated my prize money to the camp, one for the kids!

Hard ride, great reward, good karma and oh yeah I managed to bring it home ahead of Eddie and Greg so no broken wrists! In fact it turned into a session of Del Maguay Mezcal and PBRs. The night was beautiful and with a bit of arm twisting Team Seagal camped out. Nice surprise when at 2 am the thunder came roaring in and the rain came down in buckets. Sorry about that one guys.