CTNEMBA Fall Fiesta

On Sat September 19th CTNEMBA held its annual Fall Fiesta at Gay City SP in Hebron CT. This event is our big fall event and also the annual meeting where we elect and/or elect the board.

It was a perfect day. It started out a chilly 45 deg. but ended up being 70 deg. We had several rides including a long ride that explored both Gay City and Case Mountain. We had 14 people on the ride and got to experience some of the best singletrack in the area with some dirt road sections in between.

The event also had rides for all abilities that were marked with arrows in the park and a skills clinic by Salem Mazzaway. Everyone came back with smiles on their faces.

The event concluded with a pizza lunch and then a raffle where almost everyone won something. We even had a raffle for a GPS.

The existing board was reelected. However, due to term limits, we will be changing some of the officers. I am at the end of my term and look forward to serving on the board next year in another capacity and also helping the next president be successful.

Once the cleanup was done a group headed out for a second ride! They were also gracious enough to take down the arrows. It is important to leave the park as we found it.

Our next event will be Take A Kid MTB day at the West Hartford Reservoir on October 3rd.

Check out http://www.ctnemba.net/ for more information.

Landmine Classic MTB

Two weeks ago I did my final single bike MTB race of the year. It was the Landmine Classic in Hingham, MA. After an extremely rainy Saturday the race promised to be wet. We had stayed a friend's house near Boston the night before so we didn't have too far to travel. So after a fantastic breakfast of pancakes and coffee we headed out. We got to the general area with enough time but the Google directions let me down. So after about 30 minutes of going by gut feel we got to the race with just enough time to get ready and line up.

The race course was a single 25 mile loop. I like this format. It helps keep the different classes separated better. We started out in the usual fast pace and quickly settled in as we reached the single track. The first part of the course was fast singletrack that was moderately technical. As the race progressed we got into some terrain that had relentless roots and rocks. This part, although I really like this kind of riding, really took its toll on me. Did I mention the hub deep water also? It made for some really tricky lines through wet roots and slimy bridges. Fortunately, I was able to keep the rubber side down for the whole race.

I didn't feel great on this day but sure had alot of fun riding this course. I will be back next year and maybe if I can find the fitness I will do the 50 miler.

Mel and Lars also had a great time riding the roads and dirt roads of the park.

Although this was my last single bike race I will be racing the VT50 on a tandem for the 3rd year on Sept. 27 and then look forward to a handful of cyclocross races.

happenings as of late

After my trip to Guaymas for work I have been flat out between work and NEMBA events.
I did race at Hodges Village Dam in Oxford, MA 2 weeks ago though. It turned out to be an extremely hard race for me even though there wasn't too much climbing. If you haven't ridden there it is great fun. The trails are not super tech and flow really well. This was the longest race of the year for me. It was 25 miles. Needless to say, after 18 miles I started to cramp up a bit and then by 22 miles I couldn't stand up anymore or my legs would cramp. It took me 2.5 hours but I finished and was happy just to complete the race.
The real highlight of the weekend was that my son Lars did his first kids race and had a great time. We had to hold him back at the start. He wanted to jump the gun! Apparently the race was too short for him as he had to keep riding for quite awhile after the race. It was great to see the excitement in his eye about racing.
Last weekend we hosted the IMBA Trail Care Crew in Milford, CT. Joe Woyciejes has been working hard to get the town's permission to restore a shared use trail system at Eisenhower park in Milford. It has been a challenging battle as there is no real precedent for what he wants to do and there are many groups with interest in the park. Kelly and Collins Bishop from IMBA and I sat down with Joe and put together a proposal for a pilot project to demonstrate NEMBA's skills in restoring a shared use trail. Then we met with Mayor Richitelli and several town committee members to discuss our proposal. The meeting went extremely well and the Mayor asked us to select the area for the pilot project and make it happen. It was a great success.
Even with all of this going on I also managed 2 group rides and to commute by bike 2 times this week. Tomorrow I look forward to riding the Tandem MTB with my tandem partner Mark to prepare for the Vermont 50 and then riding with Lars and Mel. On Sunday I will ride from Granby to Springfield and race the first cyclocross race of the season on my new GT Type CX cross bike. It built up nicely and came complete with the correct size bars and cranks. I sometimes have trouble with this as I have shorter legs and a long torso. Kudos to GT for thinking of me.....
Next week I will again commute to work at least 2 times.

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.