Off to Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico for a week of work. Monday morning I hit the road early to visit our manufacturing plant in Guaymas. It is not the most fun time of the year to visit. The temp was in the mid 90s all week with high humidity. You don't want to be outside.

I spent my time catching up with my General Manager and reviewing the progress of the plant.

I did get in some exercise also. I opted not to bring my bike this time as it is just too hot late in the day to ride back to the hotel from the shop. Instead I figured that it was time to start doing a little running. As I sit here in the airport on Friday night I remember how painful it is to start running again after not for awhile. I keep vowing to maintain some running but I just love riding too much. Oh well....

I also went to visit a customer in Tijuana. The plane flight from Guaymas to Phoenix to San Diego was uneventful. The transition between flights wasn't. We arrived in Phoenix about 45 minutes late. I had about 40 minutes to get off the plane, get my luggage, pass through customs, go back through security and get to my gate. I ran the last stretch to the gate. Boy am I glad that I did! I got to the gate and the door was closed. I jogged up to desk and commented in a sad tone that I missed the flight. The flight attendant looked at me and said "I will open the door if ou run down the jetway and jump in the first available seat." I made it! That was the closest that I have ever come to missing a flight. I wish that I knew the name of the USAirways attendant to send a note to the company telling them how much I appreciate what she did.

I did have a nice view from my hotel room in San Diego, albeit I got to the room at 11pm and left at 6am.

I can't tell you much about Tijuana as we took a shuttle straight to the factory and then back across the border. It looked very similar to Nogales. Lot's of people and activity.

I was able to spend the late afternoon in San Diego's Gas Light Quarter and walking along the bay. It is a nice city. I would like to come back and explore southern California someday.

GT Force 1.0 | Cyclingnews.com

GT Force 1.0 Cyclingnews.com

Just saw this on Cyclingnews.com. Nice review. It has been quite awhile since I last posted. I have been laying low and trying to train. The only race I have attempted recently was the one at Domnarski Farm (www.domnarskifarm.com). It was an awesome course. I wish that I could say the same for my body. I did one lap of the two lap race and was totally exhausted. I began to wonder if I had contracted lyme disease or something. It turns out that I was just on the verge of getting sick. I had a cold the entire following week.

The next race that I will get out for is the Hodges Village Dam race. This is another really fun course. Here is the link about the race http://www.root66raceseries.com/page/10-winstead-woods-short-track.

I still have to post some pics of Mt. Rainier and will sometime soon.

Time in Seattle

I just got back from 2 weeks in the Pacific Northwest. What a great place for cycling! We had 2 weeks of sunny skies also! I guess that is completely unheard of at this time of year. Anyway, It was some good R and R. I spent the first few days with Lars while Mel was at the ACSM conference. We brought our bikes and the trailer with us so we would be able to explore without a car. In fact we did not even rent one until we left Seattle on the weekend.
Lars and I had a great few days exploring the bike paths of Seattle with a few breaks for parks, the Seattle Aquarium, REI (with a 4 story climbing wall), lunch with friends at the conference. We rode for at least 2 hrs each day.
On Saturday we headed on down to Portland, OR to visit one of Mel's college roomates. We had a great time hanging out with them and once again using our bikes as the main mode of transportation. Portland beats Seattle for a bike friendly city. I just couldn't get used to motorists giving cyclists the right of way. I found myself trying to wave on cars many times when I should have been going. We also visited many parks and had some great food in the local restaurants of Portland that serve dishes made from local produce primarily. It was nice to eat out with some great food and not the airport travel food.
On Monday we headed out to Mount Rainier and I will leave that for another post. Ok, one little teaser, there was 10 feet of snow at the Paradise Lodge where we stayed.

UMASS MTB Race

Training is starting to pay off. I felt pretty good last weekend at the Orchard Assault race. I beat a few people that had beaten me previously. My training method of riding to work and one MTB ride on Wed night seems to be starting to payoff.

I also think that riding with Lars in the trailer up 7 mile climbs tends to help also! It also takes your personal best time on the climb and almost doubles it.

Looking forward there are some great events coming up. CTNEMBA is hosting a trail school on Saturday May 16th in Redding, CT. See www.ctnemba.com for the details. On Sunday is the Winsted Woods race. This is one of my favorite races. It has some great technical sections. The GT Zaskar Pro will handle them perfectly. I really love how nicely the lightweight carbon frame handles the technical terrain.

Tomorrow night is the CTNEMBA board meeting at CFPA headquarters in Rockfall, CT. See our website for details. We will be riding at Wadsworth falls before the meeting and then meeting around 7 pm.

Time flies

I can't believe that it has been two weeks since I last posted! It has been a busy two weeks. I have been doing the usual training by riding to work and the weekend family rides.

Last weekend I raced the Winding Trails race in Farmington, CT. Lars and I got there early to get a good spot for the Dirt Coalition tent. We were 100 feet or so from the start line. Once we got the tent set up we camped out under it and had lunch. As usual Lars used his outgoing personality and smile to draw people over to the tent. We talked to several NEMBA members about the goings on in their area of the state and fielded a bunch of questions about GT. As we reached the hottest point of the day (92 degrees!) I got ready for the race. When Mel arrived (she rode from home), I headed for a lap of the course. It was in good shape and would be a fast day. The race started out quickly. During the second lap of the race the heat started to take its toll on me. I was going through the usual thoughts of dropping out but that wasn't going to happen today. As I was descending one of the final hills of the course, I could see Mel and Lars in the corner and Lars yelled "Go Dada!" That is just what I needed to get remotivated and recharge for the remainder of the race. All in all I improved over my finish at Hopbrook. I came in 18th. If I can maintain my steady climb in finishing spots I should be in the top ten before the season is out.

Cat 1 Start H3 | Root 66 Bunny Hopbrook Dam on CyclingDirt

What a race! I guess that it is fitting that the Connecticut MTB season would start with an epic race. It was not epic by distance but by conditions. On Saturday night the forecast was calling for the rain to stop late morning. The forecasters really missed this one. The roads were almost dry mid morning and the rain started again just as we got to the race course. It was 43 degrees and pouring rain as the racers gathered!

About 25 racers lined up for the start in the Cat 1 30-39 age group. Even with the weather it looks like attendance will be up this year. I had heard rumors from others that MTB is getting more popular again.

You can see a video of the beginning of the course at the link below:

Cat 1 Start H3 Root 66 Bunny Hopbrook Dam on CyclingDirt

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It didn't look to bad in the video but it got slicker and slicker. The soil on the course had a fair amount of clay in it making for a very slippery race. Considering the amount of high intensity training that I have had this year I felt pretty good. I ended up 21st. Now I have a baseline to improve upon. It has been several years since I last put in the miles necessary to finish in the top 5. I am now figuring out how to balance work, family with a young child, and riding. I can do it but I will have to manage my time well.

I have to compliment GT bicycles for making an awesome product. The Carbon Zaskar that they gave me when I signed on to the Dirt Coalition team handled flawlessly considering the conditions. I do not miss my full suspension bike one bit. It is extremely light and nimble. The carbon does a nice job of damping the bumps while still being stiff.

I did have one mechanical issue. The front Deore XT disc brake kept intermittently losing pressure. I have to look into this today. It slowed me a bit during the race but certainly my fitness is the limiting factor.

The next race is at Winding Trails in Farmington, CT. Come out and see the Dirt Coalition team members and check out an awesome venue for a MTB race.

Now with a beautiful day off from work I need to get outside for some active recovery.

Help my Dirt Coalition Clothes have been stolen

I did find the culprit!