First race of 08

Terlingua, Tx. This one is a marathon, sport racers do one lap of 31 miles. Our usual distances are more in the 18-22 mile range. I signed up for the 100k, or two laps, with my first lap counting towards my TMBRA points.





The weather was great this year compared to the last two. It was mid 40's at the start, and quickly jumped up from there. I did run with leggings and a long cotton shirt.......was only warm and uncomfortable for the last 1/4 of lap one. I started strong at the front behind the pace guy and ran in the front group most of the way to the singletrack. Knowing I was going to do 2 laps, I did back off a little. Hit the feedzone at the airport feeling good, should have kept moving, but took a quick break. I ate a PB&J, drank a sport shake and refilled my water bottle......took like 3 minutes. I hit Tres Cuevas refreshed and strong, making everything except the 40 yard section of babyheads towards the top. As usual, I flew the downhill at top speed......this is where I pass a bunch. Many riders are very uneazy and timid on this section, and rightly so. You really have to trust your skills and pay solid attention.....or you will pay the price. I saw a couple of riders go down on some of the sketchy turns, and I managed to avoid them.

I stopped at the start of lap 2 to drink another sport shake. I wasn't looking forward to doing the second lap. To be truthful, I almost bailed 3 times. Once, mile 1, before I even crossed the highway to enter the desert. Second, mile 7, where the split for the 30k-50k takes you straight to the airport. Then again, mile 20, after arriving at the airport. But, I was still feeling OK, even though the temps had dropped and the headwinds were in the 35-45 mph range. Another sport shake and I was off to challenge Tres Cuevas again. Surprisedly I only walked a small section of the first switchback, and the 40 yards of babyheads. This really made me feel good as I rode a 1x9 with a 34 ring up front. Not the best choice but I seem to be able to mash it OK. The winds on the climb were unbarable and so cold that it was actually hard to breath. They were so bad that several riders told of being knocked over by them. Then a lite rain/drizzle started........and it was coooooold.....nasty cold. At this point, all I could think of was, I've passed the hard stuff, all that's left is the sketchy downhill back to the finish. I hit it as hard as I did the first lap, just slowing in some of the corners due to the wetness. Luckily, the mist stopped and the temps came up a tad with about 2 miles to go. I came down the last piece of single track, hit the finish line, and hammered it all the way across the line.

Results, I finish 5th in my TMBRA group for the 50k, and 15th in the 100K. And I could have done another lap.............NOT!!! LOL!!

To much today

Started out doing about 4 miles riding OCNP backwards and marking it. I switched the direction of travel to make it interesting, it will be this way for 2 weeks. Then Jeremy and I did 50+ miles thought south east Dallas. Started in Hutchins, west to Lancaster, southeast to Ferris, southwest.....then southeast to Palmer, ALL INTO a stiff 30-40 mph wind. Finally, after crossing 45, we headed northeast will the wind at our backs. Good to great roads for the most part, just a couple of bad sections. The finish was downwind along the railroad tracks from Ferris back to Hutchins. Much of it has been recently repaved, and man, was it smooooooooth.

Then, after picking up my stepdaughter from school, I head to OCNP. Probably not the smartest move.....but I did it backwards in 44:32. Still pretty good, but I was still hurting from the road ride.

Frozen Four Hour Race

We held the 3rd FFH race at my trail, OCNP, on 02/02/08. We had the largest feild with 169 racers entered. The fastest lap was 36:02 by one of the elite/pro riders. He completed 7 laps......only 6 people got in 7. My asst trail steward and good friend Jeremy turned in the 3rd or 4th best lap with a nice 36:42. Most riders were in the mid to high 40 minute lap times. I videoed a lot of it.....like about and hour and a half worth. I edited into this video....check it out, this is my trail. This is the first half........I had to split it for it to upload to photobucket properly.
http://s125.photobucket.com/albums/p66/shadowjohns/?action=view&current=OCNPFFHbest.flv

Second half.
http://s125.photobucket.com/albums/p66/shadowjohns/?action=view&current=OCNPFFH2ndhalf.flv

Tomorrow I'm going to switch the direction of the trail. I do that from time to time, usually 6 weeks in the normal direction, then 1 or 2 weeks backwards. It is like riding a completely different trail.............and a nice change of pace.

First timed time

Funny title, but I ran an almost all out race pace lap today. I say almost, because I never maxed out my HR, and ran at recovery pace for too long after 2 climbs. I still ran a 40:25 lap, which beat Racer99's 42 minute lap of last Sat. Next time out, I will break 40 minutes.

Loop 4 is really turning into one of the best loops out there. It has everything, tight trees, good climbs, fast downhills, open fields. It is 1.62 miles from where it starts to where it rejoins the main trail. The ridge at Jeremy's Playground is the halfway point. Once I get final OK from TLC, we will finish the other downhill runs.

Finished loop 4

Well, we opened the last 1/2 mile addition to loop 4. This brings the trail to just over 7.5 miles. Also, and more important, this is in time for it to be packed in somewhat for the race on Feb. 2nd. Here is a slide show of the new stuff.

http://s125.photobucket.com/albums/p66/shadowjohns/?action=view&current=327ec000.pbw

I hope to ride it for the first time myself tomorrow. This weekend the trail saw a lot of action, and the reports I'm getting on the new section are very positive. If we get the rain they are forcasting, I will go out after it gets tacky and ride this section back and forth. That will pack it down some....LOL.

OCNP tool shed

I got to keep 8 4x8 sheets of heavy 3/4 plywood from a shoot today. Oh, I should mention I shoot commercials.

Anyway, I will build it next week.....and post some pics. This is to keep a mower, chainsaw, 4-6 loppers, rakes, 4 wheel cart....and misc. tools in. There are 10 people who are responcible for helping to maintain the 7 plus miles of trail. They will be able to ride out to the shed, get the tools they need, do the work, put tools back.....then finish their ride.

I'll put up a link to photos of my trail soon.

first post Jan 2

This blog will be about my racing in and around Texas. I race XC mountain bikes. I also ride road, but just for fun and training. I also have built 2 mountain bike trails in Dallas, well, I'm finishing up the second one this year.

MORE to follow soon.