A day at Yellow Creek......

Spent Saturday morning riding at Yellow Creek with Monkeyboy, The Disenchanted one and Sean. Spend about 2.5 hours riding the trails built by LHORBA. The trails are in really nice shape and well maintained, but if you don't know where they are....GOOD LUCK. The trails themselves reminded me allot of the trails at Boyce Park (8 years ago), as that is the last time I was there. There is nothing I would consider to be technical, although Steve found a way to get bloodied up. Can you believe I actually had time to pull out my camera on this one?

There was one rock garden that I doubt anybody except a trials rider could ride but for the most part I would say that these trails are beginner to intermediate in nature.

The other annoying thing was the bridges. It was pretty damp and the bridges were treacherous, so if you happen there on a rainy day...and you can actually find all of the trails watch out for the bridges and the single board bridge that kind of jumps out of nowhere at you. No real penalty if you happen to miss it,at least that I can remember, but watch for it.

There are also several tricks and log piles to ride over as well. they are all ridable...even Steve managed across one without any mishaps.

All in all we had a really good time and supposedly there is a map of the trails that somebody has mad up and I am trying to lay my hand on one of these right now.





If you get the opportunity to get out to Yellow Creek to ride you wont regret it. The park is beautiful and I am sure that they will work harder to make the trails easier to find. There are plenty of facilities and the lake is there for an after ride dip.

Mountain Weekend

Spent the better part of Saturday at roaring Run with Sean, Bill, Jay, Liz, Dave, Chris, Paul and Nina. Had a really good time and the group only had a couple of mechanicals. One really bent derailleur hanger and back to back flats. We road all of the old trails and most of the new. About half of the group bailed while we fixed the derailleur hanger but they all had to keep moving. Chris had just driven in from Maine the night before so he was already tired before we started.

Had another group Ride at Laurel Mountain on Sunday but was unable to attend due to my wife having to work. Hope to make it up there some day.

The bike is finished......

Finally got my sons bike finished this morning. I must say I was kind of concerned that he wanted it painted gold but it turned out really nice. I ordered some red stickers from eBay which finished it off quite nicely. Its a TREK but since there aren't any mass produced bikes made in the good Ole USA these days, not that there would b ea 20" anyway, any of them will do now.

Why is it I never have my camera......

So I got a late start on my ride to day and had a laundry list of things to do as well so I headed out for a quick 35. SO I am riding along minding my own business and I notice this truck sitting along the side of the road. As I approach this guy starts to get out and kind of flags me down, and as a fellow citizen I start to slow down.

As I get closer he asks if I want to see something cool, and as I ride past I notice he still has his pants on, (someday I will have to have my wife write about all of the times she has been flashed in her life), so I figure it might be safe to stop about 25 yards or so down the road from him just in case. As I stop and turn around he points to the sky and says check that out , a bald eagle. Now that is pretty cool. I have heard of some nesting near a rails to trail about 6 miles from here but come to find out there are a couple of eagles nesting near Keystone Dam as well.

Here is a crappy photo I took with my phone.


















Now the only bald eagle I have seen up until this point in my life was when I was in high school. I was a member of the sportsman's club and for our field trip we went to Pymatuning. Now this was an impressive feet in itself as most of us were completely plastered (about a three hour drive on a greyhound bus, with all the smuggled liquor and dope you could handle) by the time we got there. That coupled with the spotting scope you had to look through to see the birds was ridiculous.

Not much to say but this is funny.......

Shoveling poo and paintin frames

So as the weather could not decide what it was going to do yesterday I bagged the ride since it was pouring down rain and told my son we would take his bike apart and repaint the frame to a more manly color. It is hard to lay down hard cash for a bike that will maybe last a year, and as all cyclists I have along list of friends that have barely used, good quality bikes that their kids have outgrown as well.

So I scored this bike for him last summer from a friend whose 4th kid had finally outgrown it. Unfortunately all but one of his kids have high levels of estrogen so a more testosterone based color was in order. We got the bike tore down, sanded and the primer coat on. My son is only six but he did a pretty good job helping me sand and I even let him shoot some of the paint.

The Poo Part

Since it was damp from the rain I wanted to give the paint a good day to dry so we hopped into the truck and headed out for some manure for our garden. Its a short trip as there is a farm just across the road from our house. Of course my son came along to supervise the operations and to ask questions. He can make me nuts some times with all of the questions he has, so I asked him "Whats up with all the questions son?" He replied " I just want to learn all I can". Now how can you argue with that response? I guess all those books and tapes my wife invested in when he was a baby are paying off.

No....It's more like riding in the garage.

Was the response I gave to my wife the other day when she asked if riding my trainer felt like riding outside. I have been using the trainer in the garage on bad weather days, since I have moved it out there for doing some fittings for some friends. Of course this response was totally off base according to here but after all of our years together you would think it would be the answer she would have expected.

Riding with Brownie......

Brownie was in town the other day to finish the testing that Monkeyboy is conducting for his thesis. we did the revers five points loop and ended up running into both Wallwork and the rain. Fortunately though we were only about 10 miles from home and you can only get so wet. Unfortunately the temperature dropped about 10 degrees from when we started so needless to say we were pretty cold by the time we returned to my house.

More riding less blogging.....

So i have been riding more lately. Did 50 on Tuesday, 25 on Saturday and 30 on the TT bike last Friday.

Last Fridays ride was miserable. I went out hare without a warm up and fought to keep my heart beating correctly for most of the ride, so I m not sure if my tt position is bad or if I was just so uncomfortable because of my heart. Brownie, Steve and I did the Tanoma loop and Caught Music Matt just past the prison. Brownie of course is in great form already and Steve is coming along as well. They both did TT's this past weekend, Brownie in Carlisle TT and Steve the Presque Isle TT. Both did pretty well and Brownie added a hill climb TT later in the day.

Brownie and I did a quick twenty five on Saturday morning before heading out to Pro Bikes in Squirrel Hill. What a tremendous shop loaded with eyecandy, and very professional service, I highly recommend.

Tuesdays 50 miler was an awsome ride. Did 50 miles through Marion Center by myself. I tried to talk Nicol into going along, promising a LER, but he was taking a couple of recovery days. So I went alone. Fortunately for nicoll he did not come along becaus it ended up being a pretty fast ride. The MC loop is probably the flatest 50 miles you can do around here, although I still think I had over 2000 feet of climbing. Anyway I hammered the flats sections and paced the climbs. i did not PR the loop but it probably was for April.

Legstrong County invasion part II

So "The Disenchanted One" and I headed out into Armstrong County again yesterday morning. We went out through Conemaugh into Saltsburg, then across 286 to 380. Took 380 back to 819 then into Apollo. Back out Sugar Hollow then across to King Road then out towards Maysville to Edmon. Cut back through Saltsburg to Parkwood then back home. 82 miles with over 5300 feet of climbing for the whole ride, though I must say it felt like much more climbing than that. My legs were really fried form the weeks Vo2 max testing and the other 2.5 hours of testing Monkeyboy put me through, but pushing through the pain is good.

We were supposed to meet up with a couple of other guys in Apollo but we ran into "Scrawny White Pale Guy" just outside of Salstburg and chatted for a while thus throwing our schedule off but I that's OK I haven't seen Dirty mike in a while. He had just finished up a 13 mile run...I guess he isn't having enough knee pain these days. Before we dismissed ourselves he handed off a cliff bar that I later gave to Steve...Thanks mike.
So in the end we ended up finishing at a brisker pace than last weeks climb fest so I guess that means that our off season ,off the bike, on the couch, feeding frenzy type training has paid dividends...NOT. Anyway will probably do a long ride next Sunday as I am meeting Brownie and some of the other team members at the oval in Pittsburgh for some TT training.


Look out Beachcomber........

So one of our team members has a propensity to find and retrieve many numerous and sometimes odd things along his training routes. everything from water bottles to a full on pair of cover-alls. So look out beachcomber there is a new kid in town......









That's right my son found these and they are kids glasses to boot. Now if I can only get him to find his own bikes that would be great.

Well I'm of to hit the spinner for a recovery ride.

And I thought yesterday was bad

So Duane set me up for Vo2 max testing yesterday afternoon. The test went pretty good. For those of you that aren't familiar with Vo2 testing it is a test that is considered the best indicator of cardiorespiratory endurance. As exercise intensity increases so does oxygen consumption. However, a point is reached where exercise intensity can continue to increase without the associated rise in oxygen consumption, this is VO2 Max. In other words how hard can you go before your heart cant get enough oxygen to your muscles to function under stress. Oh ya, and your nose is plugged an there is a device you breath through your mouth with that records data as well. So no drinking, or swallowing for the entire test. It takes only a bout 5 minutes before you start wishing you could at least swallow properly and not nearly that long before you wish you had a drink of water. Oh and thanks Duane for standing there drinking your powerade in front of me while I gasped for air.

Anyway as I said the test was going pretty good til near the end when my heart decided to p-lay tricks on me.I'm not sue exactly at what point it happened but it felt like it started sometime after the next to the last increase in resistance. It was not bad at first but on the last 3 minute interval I was a wreck but I pushed through. I was really disappointed because it totally goofed my reading and I would have really liked to push it to another level. I did however complete the actual battery of test so I am happy with that. I ended up with a reading of 42 and they said that that was probably about 10% under my actual so I was somewhere between 42 and 46 which isn't bad considering.

That was yesterday.....

So today is another day and I really wasn't feeling up to snuff as I do some days but I thought that a ride would cure me. Big mistake....We started out on 6th street and I didn't make it to the first turn...stupid heart. So I told the guys the route and headed for the barn. I probably should have pushed through and kept going but I had some lactic cramping in my neck and just was not into it this evening, so I headed back to the barn

Looking forward to a long ride Saturday. Probably do 80 or so in the morning..

Legstrong county invasion.........

Took Monkeyboy and The Disenchanted One into Armstrong County yesterday. We went out five points to Copper Valley then across old 210 through Girty then into Brick Church. Then back across through Shady plane and into Avenmore. We then proceeded back to Parkwood and finished up on the 3 man loop through Bethel Church then home. All told it was a pretty good ride with lots of climbing and an unrelenting headwind. we ended up with 77 miles with 5160 feet of elevation gain for the ride. We gained most of our elevation in Armstrong County which is to be expected, but by no means the most you will encounter there. It always has amazed me how the rides we do in Indiana are so much flatter.

So I ended up with a pretty good 4 day stretch, no PB by any stretch of the imagination but I did brake 150 miles. I had planned on 200 but Fridays fishing outing put the cabosh on that one. we did 39 on Thursday with 2060 feet of elevation and I did 42 with 2020 feet today. The wind today and the sub 40 deg temp really put the hurt on. I had actually planned to do over 50 but time constraints adn a good meal waiting on me at the end of my ride ....well I think you get the picture.....

Speaking of pictures........

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and maybe even a few laughs. Videos sometimes have the same affect on you as well......

Anyway if I was to just tell you about the sign we saw on our ride yesterday, through rural PA you might believe me. But if I were to tell you that there were 2 of them you would probably raise your eyebrows and say..."yeah right". So we are riding along and Monkeyboy says ..."Hey , did you see that sign back there?" "What sign?" we reply. "The one that says the same thing this one does." So fortunately I had my camera and Monkeyboy and TDO were more than happy to pose. They actually kind of fell over each other to get to it. Anyway here it is.

That's right it says "GAY LOVE"

Enough said :>)

Like fishing in a barrel........

Skipped the ride today and went fishing with my son. A friend of mine keeps a nice sized pond near his house pretty stocked up with trout, bass, perch and such. We scored 6 today, 1 perch, 3 brownies, 1 palomino and 1 rainbow. All but one were really nice sized and we threw the perch back since they tolerate the warm weather better than the trout that will probably not last the summer.

And the spoils of our outing....fresh fish and chips.

Going to do 60 or 70 tomorrow with Matt and maybe Steve and another 60 or 70 on Sunday.

Please don't mistake my compasion for weekness.....

As you blow by me gritting your teeth as I slow down to wait for you. Don't get me wrong, Ill help you fix a flat, Ill stop along the road to adjust your shifting but we wont put up with that crap all summer. BTW you did not ride us off the back this evening we rode you off the front.

Rode with Wallwork, Steve, Blankman and "The Helmet" this evening. I have been sick for five days so I did no expect much tonight,but we lost Blank early on and rolled along pretty good. Steve wasn't feeling very well so we slowed to wait for him and the Helmet blew by us like we were sitting still, because that's basically what we were doing. So we waited on Steve and decided to divert the route (see what yo miss by not hanging with the group). We added Cabbage hill, Washington road and skyline drive to our outing an ended up with around 39 mi. (The helmet only got about 28). It was a good ride with plenty of climbing.

Going fishing in the morning and plan to do another 40 tomorrow. Hoping to do 200 miles, including today, and finishing up on Sunday morning. Might even try to sneak in a century before the end of the month.

I hate the wind

So I was unable to make the Tuesday evening hammerfest but did go out on my own. 38 miles of small chaining, high cadence riding. Did the Eastern Shore Loop in reverse. The ride is definitely harder in this particular direction but there are some pretty good flat sections that would be great with a group. I can remember ever doing this particular ride in a group, at lesat not in recent years. Anyway I had a pretty good ride an was plenty spent from fighting the wind by myself the whole time.

Then came Thursday evenings ride. Monkyboy, Wallwork, Steve and the Helmetless Wonder and myself actually did something other that the IUP standard Tanoma Loop. We actually did the same ride I did Tuesday straight up.

Before we even really got started Wallwork broke a front derailleur cable. So we wound it up and continued on our way. So since he now only had a small chain ring to ride with I also opted for another small chain ring ride....OUCH. It took at least ten miles before Andy and I could shame the rest of the group into doing the same. It is amazing how much harder you have to work to keep up with a guy riding in the big ring when your not. I did go out too hard though and had a heart flutter about two miles in but after that I felt pretty good. I was pretty beat by the end but had the second of two really good base workouts this week so I am not complaining.

What if:

What if:

• You lost everything you had
• You had to choose between paying bills or eating
• Your child had a debilitating disorder
  
• You were so tired you didn't think you could go on
• You were sick and could not afford to go to the doctor
• Jesus Christ did not die on the cross to redeem us from our sins

It doesn't take nearly this much to let you know where you are in your faith.

Building a base.......

Did the first loop of the Triple Loop Century (53 miles) with "Disenchanted One" and Music Matt today. Unfortunately though we missed the nicest part of the day. That was spent working on their bikes. Steve needed a fit and Matt was having derailleur problems and I was more than happy to help out. It amazes me that bike shops either don't have all the proper tools or have a that's good enough attitude (Matt actually had his to a shop). His derailleur hanger was visibly bent even before I went at it with the alignment tool. Maybe you can get away with the eyeballing it method with 7 & 8 speed components but with 9 & 10 speed the derailleur has to be as close to perfect as possible for things to work right. The tool cost under $100.00 bucks and lets you get the job done right.

Anyway we did 53 miles and had a really good ride. I always forget how hard it is this time of the year trying to build a good solid base, while at the same time trying to knock off a few pounds(low calorie intake = low energy) and keep up with everybody that already has a base(good off season training

A thank you to all the consistant people in my life.....

Now I don't know about you but I can not stand it when one day somebody totally ignores you and then the next day acts like they are you best friend. Now I now that this is a tired old subject with me but man I just cant stand it. Tonight was another perfect example...My son goes to a christian school and they had their spring concert this evening. Now the children and teachers there are great and all treat my son with the utmost respect and courtesy but, many of the parents have much to learn, from the way their children act and respond to each other. Unfortunately though , most of the children will probably learn their parent bad habbits..

Of course there were some people from our church there as well and it is the same from some of them as well. these events are more like a big my kid goes to private school social event, instead of the great concert an message that was presented by the kids and the faculty. You can tell that everybody puts their best effort into making these programs a learning experience for the kids as well as those in attendance.

So that all being said, a heart felt thanks goes out to all of my friends...both old and new , fellow church members, and to those that are mere acquaintances. You all know who you are and I thank you for being the type of people you are. People that you can count on, talk to, be honest with and of course have fun with.

A Musical Montage......

So I thought it might be fun to blog with links to music to go along with comments.......

Just got of the phone with Monkeyboy to verify the time of my Bicycle Maintenance Clinic this evening. Maybe Baumer will be there so we can discuss how he is always finds some way to break the chain on his bike. The Disenchanted One will probably be there as well. He is on the hunt for a new 29'er as is Monkeyboy. He is also facing the reality of his training program this past winter, I was afraid he was about to break, but see that he has found purpose in his pain. Catching up in your training this time of year can seam to take forever but it is worth it in the long run, though it will hurt for a while. Lets face it, competitive cycling hurts all the time, it is just learning to deal with the pain and as Monkeyboy says feed the warrior.

Bike Maintenance Clinic........

Just got back form IUP and the maintenance clinic. Had a pretty good turnout for a Thursday evening during March Madness. All the regular suspects were there as well as "Blankman". Blank is a tri-geek so he is always out for a run, and I have yet to see him on his bike yet this year, although he has been riding. We actually are planning a ride for tomorrow afternoon. I am going to call Hammer and Nicoll (ok maybe that one was a little mean but I could not find the theme song from The Tick) and see if they want to join us. Probably just do the Five Points Loop since I will only have much time.

Another Holiday is coming.......

Now I really do love the Holidays. Getting together with the family, good food and such but unfortunately my sister-in-law will be there. Now for some reason my brother finds her humorous, and I did one time while strung out on vicodin due to an abscessed tooth. Now some of you might think I am exaggerating, and maybe I am a little, but not very much. Fortunately the kids all get along and will have a good time.

Good ride tonight....I think............

Started off the week on Monday with a run at lunch time. My legs finally stopped hurting form last weeks run so I thought I would try it again. I felt allot better after this weeks run that after last weeks so I guess you would say that is progress.

So as I stated I think I had a good ride this evening. It's so hard to tell though. Lets face it I did no training this past off season unless you consider being on the go from 3am until 9pm...a majority of that spent working, so i ts not that I did not have the desire it is the fact that I did not have the gitty-up and go. The other factor is that the group this year has been training except for the "Disenchanted One" and for the most part have their game on or at least more game than I. I also have come to some other conclusions about this group this year, particularly those that rode tonight..

1. Most of them are about half my age (Monkeyboy, Nate, John, Blankman and the "Disenchanted One"
2. One has a pretty good base from his commute to Florida this past Holiday season.(Monkeyboy)
3. They have all been doing off season training. (Monkleyboy, Nate, John, Blankman and Nicoll)

So as you can see it is pretty hard to see where I stand at this point in time. Although I did not break and hung on. I just don't have that snap on the climbs yet, but on the rollers and flats I am still able to ride a couple of them off of my wheel so I have that going for me at least.

I do like the fact though that they do a nice warm up before putting the hammer down giving everybody ample time to warm up, which with my heart I really need. They do need to work on keeping the group together a little more. Everybody would benefit from that. The guys that are in really good shape could take longer pulls and everybody would get some good speed work and some good efforts with recovery as well. I talked to Monkeyboy toward the end of the ride and he was thinking the same thing, so I guess we will see how the next ride goes.

Fun at Roaring Run

Spent part of the day with Monkeyboy, Nate and the Disenchanted One at Roaring Run. I had invited others but they were a no show. Mike did call and beg out because he wasn't feeling well and Bill had to teach a spin class this morning so I will give them both a pass this time.

The trails are in really good shape right now, I'm sure due to the efforts of Jay and Liz. We rode allot of the old trails and most of the new. The cistern trail is in pretty good shape right now due to all the river weed and greenbriar being dead due to the winter freeze. Maybe those trails will be able to remain open this year throughout the summer. We tried the cistern trail late last summer and could not get through.

Of course you cant leave Roaring Run without drawing blood...and Nate and Monkeyboy were willing to oblige. Nate had blood coming from near his knee and Monkeyboy did a header coming down off of the elevator shaft trail, not sure how, all I heard was a ruckus behind me only to turn around just in time to see him tumbling down the hill. Of course the Disenchanted One has been riding a borrowed mountain bike so he had nothing but mechanical problems all day.

On a side note.. .. just after you top the ZIG ZAG Trail there is a pretty good gas leak coming from an exposed pipe, so please no smoking.

Man...where did this week go?

Holy crap...It's Friday already and I haven't blogged all week. So I started my week by running at lunch time on Monday...My legs still hurt...is that normal. I have been out on the bike twice since but my quads still ache. It is no wonder you never see somebody running and smiling at the same time, I'm pretty sure it cant be done. But life must go on.

Tuesdays night ride......

So I was unable to make the Tuesday night ride this week but had a chance to get out with the "Disenchanted One" on Wednesday. We rode out to the Blairseville speedway and back to town. The weather was pretty balmy but still was not super comfortable by the time we got back. I also got out last evening with Monkeyboy, Nate, Wallwork and the "Disenchanted One". It was 55 deg when we started and 44 deg when we returned. That's the real drawback to riding this time of year...it is really hard to decide what to wear.