River City Shootout - George of the Jungle

Could have really used this advice yesterday!

To say I've had a lustrous racing career would be a flat out lie, I've always been kind of a middle of the pack sort of guy until I hung it up about 5 years ago when that middle of the pack started gravitating towards DFL and in all honesty had I continued to race and not stepped away it probably would have eventually ended in a bunch of DNFs. Now that's not to say that there haven't been decent races at one time, I did rack up some hardware for a third and then second place finish two years in a row in the Cornhusker State Games once upon a time and I even remember one or two top ten finishes with the Psycowpath Racing Series "back in the day". Anyway, because of events outisde of racing, it got to the point where it just wasn't fun anymore, training (which isn't my strong point anyway) and fitness became poor to non-existent and the fun soon followed so I decided it didn't make any sense to do something I wasn't doing well at or more importantly, something I wasn't having fun at or enjoying anymore. Yesterday was the first race of the 2016 Psycowpath Racing Series and I found myself toeing the line once again in the old-ish guy marathon category this time, first time I'd ever done the marathon so this could be interesting. The old-ish guy marathon category seems to be the place to race currently, with 19 of the 38 marathon racers racing in that category. I'm not sure if that puts me in good company or just in some really deep water full of sharks with just an inflatable raft to keep me afloat.

Photo Credit: Joel Tabor
While the fitness level still has room for more improvement, it's far better than it was just a couple of years ago and I'm riding for a great shop now that is more concerned with how a rider fits with the shop than with race results (which is a good thing for me) and I've got a great support team at home who understands my obsession with things on two wheels. So basically life is in a better place for me again all together than it was when racing stopped being fun. It's amazing what surrounding yourself with the right people can do for your over all outlook on life and how that carries over to the rest of the things you're involved in. My weapon of choice for the race was my Trek Farley, while some might argue that it's not the ideal choice for racing single track, I'd say there were wrong. Sure it's not the lightest bike in the world but it is a bad ass, fully capable dirt shredder if you've got the motor to keep it going. Ironically I did see a few 29+ bikes but I was the sole Fat Bike on Saturday in the marathon category, hopefully that trend will change as the year goes on, it'd be rad to get a group of Fat Bike marathon racers battling it out on more equal footing.

Photo Credit: Todd Eyeberg
Photo Credit: Joel Tabor
The very wise emcee for the day and one armed bandit, Ryan Feagan, stated that the marathon race isn't decided in the first lap. Good advice for the day really because the racers at the front shot out of there like their rear tires were on fire. One of the things I've had to work on over the years is racing my own race and not chasing rabbits at the gun otherwise my race is pretty much decided in the first lap because I would blow my load trying to maintain a pace I wasn't comfortable with and bonk on the second lap. I resisted chasing the rabbits and rode out at a pace I felt I could maintain for 4 hours, which found me in familiar territory, squarely mid pack.




First lap I thought went really well, I was holding my position and not really passing or being passed, legs were feeling good and I was at a comfortable pace. Start of the 2nd lap didn't go so well, a split second lapse in concentration and I clipped a smallish tree in the first tree lined section (the last section of the trail normally that dumps you into the parking lot) while it is a tighter section it's not overly difficult but that's what happens when you aren't focusing. Even though I just barely clipped the tree with my handlebar it was enough to cause an impromptu yard sale right there on the trail. From my perspective it wasn't that spectacular of a crash but the guy behind me kept asking if I was sure I was ok, so I guess it was better as a spectator sport. I took a pretty good spill for sure but popped back up and didn't even notice the scratches on my arm until I was down the trail a bit, had to pull over a straighten my helmet and that's when I noticed that my Garmin had popped off during the crash. Not being all that far away from the scene of the crime I circled back and looked for it but couldn't find it, being only the second lap of a 4 hour race I figured I'd be by the spot a few more times and I could look after the race as well but for now it was time to get back to racing before too much time passed. I probably lost a minute to a minute and a half between the crash and the recon operation, in that time I started to feel some of the scrapes and scratches, although I didn't notice the ones on my fact until I got home and was getting ready to shower. Probably the most concerning result of the crash was a tightening of my left thigh and a dull ache in my left ribs, the same spot I took a really good flop on last winter on some ice. I was hoping neither would become a real concern during the race but I knew I'd be feeling the rib the next day for sure, it's no where near as bad as the first crash on the ice but it's noticeable this morning but I'll live to race another day and I've been told that chicks dig scars. I managed to find the Garmin on lap 3, surprisingly the only damage to the device was that the small plastic "wing" broke off of the mount. Luckily it's completely replaceable and a fairly inexpensive part so over all things couldn't have gone any better in that regard.

Photo Credit: David West
Overall, other than the crash and the resulting injuries, I would say that the race went really well for me. Nutrition could use a little tweaking but it was better than it has been for previous races. The combination of water in the Camelbak Skyline LR10 and a bottle with Gatorade in the bottle cage worked really well, I didn't drink near enough Gatorade, two bottles total during the race, but I knew that it'd be hard to get a lot of opportunities to drink from a bottle on the course so I relied mostly on the water from the Camelbak because I could put the hose in my mouth and ride with both hands on the bars while sipping water and breathing all at the same time. I wasn't sure if I was sold on the Skyline as a pack because of some of it's shortcomings for me but in this type of race it really excelled, it kept the water weight low and off of the shoulders so that they didn't fatigue and it kept most of the back uncovered to I didn't feel like I was carrying a wet sloth on my back for the second half of the race. I really need to get my thoughts on the pack out on the blog so that I can provide my opinion of what it does well for me and what it doesn't but overall it's a great offering from Camelbak for this type of use.


As I kind of expected it was another mid-ish of the pack finish, I'm not going to use the crash as an excuse even though as the race went on the leg stiffened up a bit and the ribs became more noticeable, but I was spent after 6 laps, had time for another and started on a 7th but made it only as far as the parking lot turn into the main course when I came to the conclusion that there wasn't going to be a 7th lap that day. I did manage 6 full laps nonstop in 3 hours and 30 minutes which was my personal best on single track and sat just fine with me for the first race in half a decade. Live to race another day as they say, next race is about a month away at a course with even more climbing and technical features so I'll have to find time to make it out over the next few weeks and get some re-familiarization time with the course. I'm in all fat this year because honestly it's one of the most fun bikes I've ever ridden, it's a fully capable single track machine and for me the traction, ability to roll over most everything and fun factor out weighs the weight penalty that you get with a Fat Bike... I'll also likely do the marathon category as well, that format fits better with my riding style as I'll likely never be the fastest guy but I can grind it out much better over multiple laps/hours than I can maintain a fast pace for 2-3 laps.

Always In The Wrong Gear

It's often said that a singlespeed is always in the wrong gear, which is pretty spot on unless you happen to be riding on a flat trail with a tail wind. Today that sentiment was probably more true than usual, took the singlespeed out to Swanson Park, not having been out on it much lately the 32X15 gearing was just a tad steep for the trail. I'm not sure what it is about this bike, it's certainly not made out of the sexiest material being made out of plain old steel, it's definitely not the lightest and certainly not the most expensive but it just rides like a dream, something about that heavy ass steel frame just seems to smooth out the bumps. Despite not being ideally geared had a great ride out there, trails are near perfect and the weather actually stayed pretty good despite the clouds and threats of rain.

Mellencamp-town races

When I was a young boy
Said put away those young boy ways
Now that I'm gettin' older
So much older
I love all those young boy days
With a girl like you
With a girl like you
Lord knows there are things we can do, baby
Just me and you
Come on and make it dirt...
Picked up a book the other day, "1000 Excuses So You Don't Have To Do Shit", it's a crappy read but it lets you come up with reason to avoid doing stuff you know you should be doing but aren't, It's a NY Times best seller. I should be racing these races instead of making excuses not to, to be honest though the last few years my prep work and training just hasn't been nearly what it was or should be when I was racing more... I think that's excuse # 205 in the book if you're keeping track. Any way... Psycowpath had their first race of the season today, didn't race it but did volunteer to help out...




...and cook an ass load of bacon, 9 lbs to be exact. The apartment still smells like bacon, I may have destroyed a kitchen and I pretty much felt like I absorbed one of these jars full of bacon grease through my skin. but man was it worth it, it is bacon after all.


Got up early and took my loot to Swanson to get ready for the race.


7:15 in the morning and all is calm and quiet for the moment, not sure what the total racer count was on the day but there seemed to be a really good turn out.


Water, bacon, good tunes and cowbell, lots more cowbell, what else could you possibly need for a bacon hand up station halfway through a lap?


Good help is always needed and this guy was here to lend a hand.... er, paw in any way he could.


The Feagan's were even kind enough to provide some pit stick just in case someone didn't feel fresh halfway through their lap?!? Naw, it was just in the bag with the cups but now that the idea is out there just wait, in a year or two pit stick handups will be the norm. Just you wait.

Trail seemed to be in really good shape despite the rain we had on Thursday, wish I would have had more time today so I could have ridden a few laps after the race.


New this year was a running race prior to the MTB race, seemed like a really good concept and everyone I talked to was having a good time and a few of them ran and then rode, I call those people insane but you might have your own word for them.

I was only able to stay until noon so didn't get a chance to see the category 1 or 2 racers but the marathoners and the beginners are always fun to watch and it seemed like almost everyone had a great time.

I say almost because there is one dude out there that should really take a close look at himself in the mirror and make a few changes in his life. About the only negative on the day was the one Jr. racer who showed up at the bacon station almost in tears and ready to quit. She was dead last by a long ways but that wasn't what had her upset, one of the marathon racers decided that they needed to curse at this young girl of about 10-12 because she was "riding too slow and was in the way"... really dude, you should be ashamed of yourself. Guys like that aren't the future of our sport, or at least I hope they aren't, that little girl and her friends are the future of the sport and to yell at her because she was naturally not going as fast as the much more experienced riders seemed more than a little uncalled for. Luckily after a few pieces of bacon, some water and a pep talk from those of us up there, to include her mother, the girl decided to get back on the bike and finish the lap... despite knowing that the "really scary hill" (decent section) was coming up. I truly hope that the encouragement that she was able to get at the halfway point was enough to keep her going in future races and she can block out the bad seed who decided it was more important to Strava the section than to encourage a fellow racer. Fortunately those kinds of people seem to be the exception rather than the norm at these races... deep breaths, rant over... hope everyone who participated had as good a time out there today as I did volunteering. 

If A Tree Falls In The Woods...

Today was the first mountain bike group ride with the folks at The Bike Way as the trails were finally dry enough, as luck would have it one of my favorite trails, Swanson Park, was on the menu for tonight's festivities. I think I've ridden Swanson more times in the last 7 days then I did all last year and that's definitely a good thing.


Parking lot was packed with people tonight, always a sign of a great trail. There was even a Pyscowpath MTB Wagon sighting.


Mr. Feagan, working hard or hardly working, it's all the same when nobody is looking, I'm sure there was lots of high level strategizing going on right here that just looks like gum flappin to the untrained eye. All kidding aside though, he was actually working in a new reroute that should make this one screaming fast corner when it's done and properly burned in.



Calling for rain tonight and into tomorrow, hoping it's not enough to make these trails muddy just when they were getting really good.


This bad boy came down between laps and I can tell you for a fact that when a tree falls in the woods it makes a really freakin loud noise. Luckily nobody was under it when it decided to fall over or more to the point pushed over by the wind, can't really blame it the way that wind was howling today but with T.H.O.R already on sight I'm sure it's already gone.


Post ride chit chat session and cokes... soooo much Lycra you'd have thought it was a road ride, although I could just be jealous because I look like a ball park frank after it's exploded on the grill when I try to squeeze into one of those jerseys. Fat dudes in tight clothes and your grandma naked, two things nobody should ever have to see more than once in their lives, trust me on that gravity is friend to neither one. A great things about mountain bikers though is even if you don't know each other there's always plenty to talk about once the sweating is done.


While cokes are good, I had to indulge in a more appropriate post ride beverage after I got home... yeah, yeah, yeah it's no craft beer but I like it and I swear I can hear Jimmy Buffet singing inside the bottle every time I take a sip so what it might lack in cool beer snob points it more than makes up for in pure entertainment value.

First Dirt

This place will be teeming with people next Saturday but today there were only a few people out, not being the nicest day we've had lately. Would have preferred warmer weather but with this seemingly never ending polar vortex chilly would have to do.


Since I haven't been out riding all that much lately figured the El Mariachi with it's gears was probably a better choice, I am really liking the roof rack over the Bones rack I had before. It is taking some getting used to with lifting the bikes above my head to get them up there but for the most part it's a vast improvement...


And then it goes and bites me, actually the bike is what did the damage, man there was blood and a lot of it, somehow I managed to remove the skin from the top of my knuckle, had it not happened as soon as I got there I probably would have just headed home. Not wanting to miss out of the fist dirt of the year, I gingerly slipped on the glove and set off, if the finger stays attached I'd say it was the right choice.



Trails were in really good shape, few soft spots but I'd say about 90% totally dry.


"Don't Ride Wet"... me thinks it's missing a word.

Never noticed this little Blair Witch thing happening just off the trail before... creepy!


Little bit of dirt sticking but really not too bad at all, now if the warmer weather would just stick around.