Heart of Darkness

For 40 days and 40 nights the rains have lashed the surfaces of the East coast making this summer the wettest that any of us can remember. With all racers having survived the mudfests called Singlespeed-a-Palooza and Dark Horse Gallop, it was time for the crew at Dark Horse Cycles to begin laying out the course for the Dark Horse 40. With water levels not seen since the Jamestown flood the team set out with survival locator beacons and waterwings to scope out a rideable course.Immediately the speculation began on where Hawaiian Mike was and there was unanimous agreement among the troops that due to the rain Mike was is a state of bliss on the couch surrounded by doughnuts and surfing the channels for the latest Simpsons episode.Normally the 40 is a 2 lap event that spans all corners of Stewart and provides a mix of buff singletrack, short punchy climbs and smooth flowing sections that leave your mouth watering for more. The current conditions have changed all of that and the general consensus (read that to be Mayoral Mandate) was to change the format to 4 laps of 10 miles each to provide more opportunities for those with broken spirits to hit the keg a bit earlier. The day's conditions put a smile on the faces of Tom "3 Beer" Rossi and C-Dubs since there would be plenty of water obstacles to ensure neither of us (and those that got too close) would come away either dry or clean. As we set out on the first recon lap our efforts were quickly thwarted by massive flooding and deep mud with 3 Beer and Top Chef going at it in the water only to take each other out and end up taking a swim together.
As we pushed on deeper and deeper into the jungle in search of the ultimate lap we suddenly found ourselves trapped by a fast flowing river of water across a spot that is normally not more then a couple of inches deep. Normally in these situations we would call up Hawaiian Mike from the back of the pack to do his Moses impersonation and part the waters in typical stylebut having missed out on the ride once again the troops had to make the leech infested crossing at full depth.Here we have the 24 Hr of Moab team (sans Mike) preparing for sudden dessert floods.Shop Sidekick showing everyone how to clear the river (and later how to service you bottom bracket and hubs).Once we had cleared the river it was out to the flats where 3 Beer and C-Dubs plotted race strategy and proper gearing with Hawaiian Mikewho provided this feedback
The end result of the day's ride, soaking wet, covered in mud, all smiles and of course massive carb loading at the cooler afterwards where 3 Beer was caught flashing his gang sign

Dark Horse Brewery - Stupid F*#king Customer Double IPA

This just released grainy picture has confirmed what everyone on the Dark Horse Cycles Racing team has long suspected but never been able to confirm - Dark Horse Cycles Double I.P.A. is secretly being brewed in the the woods of Stewart State Forest by that crotchety old brewmaster - The Mayor - caught in this shot taste testing "Stupid F*#king Customer Double I.P.A.".Later in the parking lot the Mayor was heard slurring something about a "peaty taste with a hint of methane, horse manure and a beautiful puss green coloring", "pehaps the best double I.P.A. this side of Route 84". When Top Chef offered up a Dale's Pale Ale this was the Mayor's reaction -

Shop Sidekick's Technicolor Yawn

Alp d' Minnewaska 1 - Cyclists 0. Having been shown the beast of the East, Shop Sidekick has made it his personal goal to be the first to summit the Alp on a singlespeed. This past week on yet another reconnisence run to the summit, Shop decided to have a go at the lower slopes in big ring and really put the hurt on everyone he was with. It was an impressive show and left us in awe until a sudden sweat broke and in an attempt to clear his throat he instead cleared his stomach.....all over the Alp.

Alp d' Minnewaska

Well loyal fans of the New East Coast Syndicate, this past Sunday was a continuation of the painfest of training that leads up to the Wilderness 101, a race that hurt so bad I swore never to go back yet find myself prepping for a seventh consecutive start.
On the menu for the day was the fabled climb up Alp d' Minneswaska. While not quite on a scale with those of the tour, this offroad painfest serves you up a main course of 14 switchbacks and a veritcal gain of 1300+ feet in a scant 2.9 miles with several pitches exceeding 14% grade and follows with a dessert portion of another 14 switchbacks and a gain of 700+ feet in 1.9 miles. With most of the troops off doing battle at Kittatinny, Shop Sidekick (still pouting over missing the Peekamoose 100), opted for the beating to be doled out the day's ride.
Warming up with a preride meeting in the C-Dubs man cave, Shop and I set out at an easy paced roll over to the base of the climb (I was still feeling a bit ragged from yesterday's 62 mile offroad racepace training ride) before paying homeage to the gods of climbing and setting off.
After setting off up the trail below (this picture doesn't reflect the impending doom)it wasn't long before my legs started screaming and I was cursing the previous night's bottles of wine. In true warrior spirit I pushed on, with Shop Sidekick showing mercy and not riding off into the distance (probably because he didn't know where to go) leaving me to eat his dust. Half way up I took a gut check/lung rebuild and rested for 5 minutes listening to the frogs in the pond and thinking of the days when I was young and would have been tossing M-80s into the water. From here the trail/fireroad washe out as the pitch steepened with it tipping up to 14% at one point. We were going so slow that at one point (I believe it was a hullcination) I thought I saw an old man with walker pass me.
Finally cresting the top we were blessed with a couple of miles of nice rolling singletrack before round two, the carriage road to the summit where we were blessed with this view.It was all smiles realizing that the ride home would be more then 80% downhill with speeds in excess of 35 mph being hit on the lower part of the alp. Back at the man cave it was straight to the fridge for a cold yeastly malted beverage before hitting the couch for well earned rest.

The Independence Day Assault on the Peekamoose 100

To celebrate our nation's independence day and to kick off the official training for the Wilderness 101, the NECS planned for a century ride in the back country of Ulster county. The ride featured 3 great climbs, both ways over the Shawangunks and a summmit of Peekamoose in the middle just for good measure. And to add just a bit more spice to the ride this would be self supported with no stops for food or drink, think of it as a tame version of the Bataan death march.
News of the pending ride went over about as well hitting a hornet's nest with a stick and then standing there for the onslaught of stingers. There was a fair amount of interest expressed, to join in for a portion of the ride, and only Shop Sidekick was in for the long haul (as long as the Mayor closed shop for the day and with the kegerator freshly tapped hell would freeze over first) so it looked like it was going to be me and the demons only.
To beat the hordes of weekend travelers that would make the climb up to Minnewaska State Park look as crowded as the Col du Galibier during a tour stage, I saddled up with a 70 oz camelbak, 4 large bottles and enough food to feed a drought stricken sub Saharan family for a week and rolled out of the driveway at 6am. The 5 mile climb was immediately followed by an equally as long high speed descent (clocked 41 mph) before the long grind into the backwoods of Sullivan County started. The silence of the ride was broken by my playlist from the Cape Epic and it was the start of the climb to the summit of Peekamoose mountain, a climb that while not steep runs on for the better part of 10 miles and takes you through a land that is straight out of Deliverance - 1st cousins married, mangy dogs and the fear that I would be enslaved to either split firewood or service some toothless hag for the remainder of my life. Safety came in the form of beer swilling and dope smoking campers lining the river in stunned silence as I pedaled by.
Once over the summit it was about an hour before stopping at Jack & Luna's, Top Chefs favorite midride espresso bar, for a double shot and the climb back over Minnewaska State Park. The beauty in this ride is the last 7 miles are downhill and easy rollers to the finish where a fridge of cold beer and post ride goji berry snacks were sure to recharge the batteries. Simply put today was just Living The Dream.