Riding, Racing, and Reporting

Its only Monday and I am totally slammed. Gone all day tomorrow at a meeting. So I am out for the ride. Still waiting for the podium picture to post of Rock God. Cross is in the blood.


Try not to become a man of success but a man of value.
Albert Einstein

The way I see it Rock God's value is now $50. The race is on my friends. Oct 11th...who will have the most valuable cross season. I greatly value being passed by, not one, but two women...such a caring guy I am.

Sounds like the deer from Camino is in for this weeks ride!

5:45 Mosquito...Exit 54 - oh you know it - he is all in!

Until we ride,
LOtB

Rock God Rockin the House

FT3 stayed on the podium this week at the first race on the Sacramento CX calendar. In raging heat, Green Fro, Cap'n, Rock God and I all unquivered the cross bikes and toed the line. Rock God raced in 45+ B's with Cap'n and Green Fro racing at the same time in 35+ B's. Cap'n showed some early wings but suffered in the heat. Rock God, showing his wise ways, stayed in his own zone, taking a quick flyer to win the preem ($50.00) and then holding form to place 2nd in age group 3rd overall! Spot on mate...by the way you lie like a dog, no one belives that you were sick, just off doing some secret training. Cap'n and Green Fro finished just a tad back racing hard.

Why do chicks always line up in my race! Man, this sucks. I am doctoring my birth certificate to race in the 35+. So I got doubled chicked but still managed to feel good about the race.

More info and pics coming.

Did anyone pick up my helmet?

Until we ride?
LOtB

Fear the Cross Ride, and Bring More Cowbell

With the official kick off to cross season four days away, FT3 rolled out CX style last night. Cap'n, Rock God, and I all welcomed Green Fro back into the fringe for the first ever all cross FT3 ride. With everyone else being scared away by our cross supremacy! Or maybe they just figured that this ride would just be too much of a cross geek fest for even the most hardy FT3 rider. Anyway you cut it, the ride was awesome and pureish to the CX call out.

We started with a quick hit to the west shore of the lake loop and then headed around the lake on the road for a bit before taking the Pre-Qualifier up to Park Creek. From there we headed down Hazel Rd to the Flume and climbed up the Flume Re-Entry. We dropped the top part of Wedding March to the cut off and headed back to the Qualifier for a return ride home. Well Green Fro and I headed to the Qualifier, Cap'n got spun around again and missed a few turns on the way home. Rock God fighting off some rare illness suffered temporary deafness and dementia and kept on keeping on right on up to Sly Park Road. He paid his dues by riding the gutter of Sly Park Rd. home and then buying the birthday beverages for Ghost and Cap'n. The remaining three rides gave a solid look around for Rock God, gave up the search and headed home only to run into Xteric (on the 1:9) out for a solo mission. In the end, the Tuesday CX adventure will be repeated!

Ghostrider and VD joined for Tacos. The normal red carpet service got derailed for some reason, and tacos slowly drifted out to us. The hot sauce offerings were either bland or blazing hot! But most importantly Ghostrider produced the proofs for the new kits!!

Kit Orders:
Please email or post orders for Ghostrider, as soon as he has a complete order that will determine price...the more we order the cheaper the unit costs get. For instance, I am ordering two bibs, one long sleeve, and one short sleeve...doing my part.

Rock God is no longer invited to my birthday party!

Until we ride,
LOtB

Time Managment!

With Sunday marking the start of the CX season in our area, it is imparative that all of us use the minutes and hours we are at home to bolster the DTI and make ourselves available for racing and riding and such. Who better than Cap'n to show us how to get the job done and get some riding in as well. Not only is Cap'n killing the perverbial two birds with one stone, I am pretty sure the increase efficiency in mowing might clear up even more time for riding. Additionally, is that some Titanium I see on the mower frame?











Allez, Allez!

SPECIAL NOTE CONCERNING TONIGHT'S RIDE!
Tonight's ride is going to cater to the crossers in the group. Some of us are racing this Sunday and need some time on the CX bikes! Therefore, as ride leader, I have linked together a nice ride that will be accommodating to some good cross practice while also offering anyone on a MTB the terrain necessary to categorize the ride as FT3 worthy.

Therefore, choose your weapon wisely!

Mosquito @5:45 Exit 54...who am I kidding, does that guy even live in El Dorado Co. anymore?

Until we ride,
LOtB

I am only religious on Christmas!

I know a fair number of people that claim to be religious, even very religious, but those same people hardly ever make it to their pre-determined place of worship at the agreed upon time that worship should take place. I have often looked to these folks with a raised eyebrow knowing full well that my worship would never be denied. Well, my brothers and sisters, it is with my head hung low that I too admit that I have been absent, absent I say, can I get an AMEN?,absent from my house of spirits, absent from my seat next to a higher carbon being, absent from sprints and attacks, absent from spandex, absent from GU and cytomax. Our Lady of the Skinny tire has not seen me in too long! On my knees, with arms raised, offering a sacrifice of inner tubes and friction shifters, I found myself back in the pew on Sunday ready to listen to the sermon that was offered.

Brothers Cap'n, Rock God, and Xteric were also present for Sunday's worship. Others may have been ready to attend but due to some rare child illnesses and out of town visitors the CX ride was sacked for a classic Apple Hill loop.

And what did we hear in the Sunday sermon? First we heard that today, friends I say today! TODAY is Cappy's birthday...36!!!! That being made clear on Sunday, I had to drop the hammer and see what he was made of. Apparently he is made of better stuff than I am. After the first climb to Ables, Rock God had to prove he is made of the best stuff of all, and took every climb from there. Cap'n proved he is skilled in both going up and down and took the down hill sprint to Camino. Feeling the need to the the congregation know I was back, I launched a super early break for the Daves Christmas tree sign, and was able to pull off the long attack...figures I win the sprint to the Christmas sign...In all a good day on the bike and fine day back in church.

Our Lady of the Skinny tire meets every Sunday at 7:30ish at the bagel shop and has a Youth Group Meeting of the Fat Tire Extreme Radicals every Tuesday night!

Until we ride,
LOtB

Top of the World

In the premier event of the young cross series, it appears that we finally got an FT3 solo top podium placement. Cap'n went out and battled the seven other most dedicated CX racers around.

CycloCross
Place Pts Bib Racer Name FO Time Avg Lap
1 20 689 Barton, Jerry 18 0:35:42 0:11:54
2 19 1229 Clark, Scott 22 0:36:37 0:12:12
3 18 426 Wood, John 24 0:37:09 0:12:23
4 17 325 Kretschmann, John 29 0:37:36 0:12:32
5 16 193 Upchurch, Mike 38 0:39:00 0:13:00
6 15 480 Eipper, Don 56 0:40:49 0:13:36
7 14 69 Salas, Asa 67 0:42:09 0:14:03
8 13 271 Miglaw, Doug 91 0:45:27 0:15:09


All joking aside, a win is a win, and I bet Cap'n felt great coming across the line first! Spot on mate!

Sundays Cross Adventure:
It appears this Sundays ride will indeed mark FT3's mass return to the CX scene. Meeting will be at the Bagel Shop at 7:30 with a eta in Coloma for the Music Festival around 11:00. I say we hit as much dirt as possible and catch Baine Rd. into Coloma! Some run ups and a few dismounts for good measure!

Until we ride,
LOtB

Neither of either of those are going to be good!

Good to get back in the saddle for FT3 last night. I had the easy ride last week and then it was game on last night as my return to the bike. It had been awhile since I rode hard and it felt great. Well let me augment that, it felt good until Ghostrider, fresh off his podium in the Tahoe 100, went flying off the front! Man alive that guy is fit!

NoCar (bringing B's Voodoo out of retirement), Ghostrider, VD, Rock God, NoHandle, and I all gathered at the designated meeting place. Cap'n and B were there to see us off. Got up to the lake and met Xteric. We did a great loop almost all single track with some dirt roads connecting some of the best offerings of the lake loop and Fleming. Once again I flatted on the back side of the lake. "Got to get a carbon frame".

Taco Report:
B joined us late (I can't add the image to the blog, B can you send it as a jpeg?) for tacos and placed a taco order via text message. VD complained of stomach issues. Rock God did some groceries looking for the right beverage choice. NoCar pulled out the seldom used 6 pack order. The evening was capped off with a sheriff sitting in our parking lot, I think they might be on to us.

Guest Author:
Here is the MS 150 write up from Cap'n:
MS 150 RIDE REPORT
This was easily the most meaningful and inspiring ride I have done. Thanks much to those of you who donated, especially the last minute push. At first I was thinking of this as 'just a fundraiser ride.' Indeed it was much more.

DAY 1
I originally intended to leave for the ride on Friday night, but with an offer to go out to sushi with the fam (Pville's own all you can eat, no doubt) I decided to pack on the sushi calories, stay the night at home and leave early on Sat. I set the alarm for 4:15 but woke on my own at 3:30 and decided to get up and hit the road. By the time I got past Auburn up I-80, with no coffee on board, I was very tired. I pulled off at the rest stop at Gold Run around 5:00am for a 'cat nap' and - whoops, slept until 6:20. The ride was scheduled to start at 7:30 and I was more than an hour away. So I flew past Truckee and as I got close to the ride start I saw everyone heading out. OK, I got some catching to do. Pulled the bike out and had a flat rear tire. A little flustered I left the start house at 8:22am. The ride began with a huge, long and very legit climb. I started picking off riders and am noticing this is not your typical ride. There are people out there just struggling to get this thing done, clearly not the same crowds we are used to riding and racing with. As I approach the first false summit, I come upon my uncle and he looks to be struggling. He recently purchased a motobecane road bike and he has a double chainring. He also has MS. Talk about HTFU! We chatted a bit and he told me his right leg was giving in to the disease, basically his leg is an 'anchor weight'. He could not stand on the bike, and had a hard time clipping that right foot in. He was very motivated to get the ride done, so what else would a good FT3 rider do? I helped him. We got the first summit bagged, stopped at the first rest stop and then started up the second summit. In spite of all the suffering and struggles, he was in good sprits the whole time, which is inspiring in and of itself. We bagged the second pass. At the bottom of that one, there was a long route/short route split. He took the short I took the long. He finished his 48 miles before I finished the 68 miles on the day. My last several miles were flat and windy, he had to bag another small pass. He rocked it. They had free Coors Light available after the ride, not PBR, but... bonus! That night there was more Coors Light and a delicious dinner, some awards, best legs, best kit, etc and a heart-wrenching speech by a 17 year old who was recently diagnosed with MS. Then there was more free Coors Light.

DAY 2
Day two was very different. Had I arrived on time on day 1 both days would have probably been like day 2 but in the end I wouldn't have it any other way. I met up with Craig (from a consulting firm I am working with) and his teammates from the Lenovo team. Unbelievable, these guys were wearing full WHITE kits. White arm warmers, white leg warmers, shorts, jerseys - classic. They had sparce red lettering on them. Craig dubbed them whitie-tighties, thankfully before I did. I guess they get pretty damn good deals on Ridley bikes, otherwise, why bother??!!! Hmmm, white FT3 jerseys, uh... NO! I sat on the back of their train for a short while and when the road turned up, I went to the front to say hi to Craig. I think they were all wondering who the heck I was, so I kindly pulled them into the first rest stop. The day was mostly flat, so there was a lot of paceline riding, All of the riders, four males, and one female were very strong. That said, in keeping it "FT3 real", I was issued a few warnings to slow up off the front to keep from blowing the pack apart. By the last few miles of the ride the pack was blown apart and there were three of us remaining. I looked at Craig and said, "I guess we'll see the rest of them at the end?" he said yes, and I figured a finish line is a finish line, right? My attempts at a solo breakaway finish were thwarted by this big man and his friend, not to mention a poorly timed run in. A quick peel off and wheel suck allowed me to pull ahead in the final 100 yards or so, but, alas, we all rolled in together. According to the speed control sign we flew by on the last stretch into town, we were doing 33 on a slight incline. It was a legit offering for a day 2 push.

WRAP UP
This area north of Truckee is very beautiful, excellent road riding country. I appreciate all your support. I signed myself and Kelly up already for next year, hopefully some of you FT3ers will sign up too. The white kit crew will be back next year as well, so there is more fun to be had.

Thanks for reading.
-Cap

Keep watching for plans for Sunday's first cross adventure.

Until we ride,
LOtB

Two parts dust, one part rain!

Should be good tonight. With a touch of rain over the weekend the dust beast may have been bedded down a bit. I think there will still be some good dust, but nothing like it has been. I am still on the green light for tonight, what a wife! There might be some tired legs out there, do I hear a cheer to HTFU and get out there on potentially tacky trails.

Short post today, too anxious to write!

One

Until we ride,
LOtB

And they're off...

What a weekend! Northern California, the Foothills and Sierra especially, were hit with the perfect storm of riding this weekend. With Cyclebration in Folsom, the MS150 north of Tahoe, and the Sierra 100 all being attacked by FT3 riders, the prefect storm met our motley crew.

Sierra 100:
Ghostrider reported a good event with some serious rainfall right around mile 60 or so. Ghost put a solid day in on the bike, I believe his finish time was just over 11 hours good enough for 3rd in the open class...that's right folks, FT3 on the podium! The race report included some serious cramping taking place beginning around mile 35 or so. However, it true FT3 style, Ghostrider pushed through, "and I never feel the pain," and kept right on pushing. It sounds like he had a breakdown in the solid food and salt management program, essential in longer races. A lesser rider, suffering from massive cramps prior to the half way point, would have called it a day and turned in...but not an FT3 rider. Gritting it out to a podium is spot on mate.

In-law showed up in the hills again and took on the 50 mile race with VD. Sounds like this event got off without the hiccup of the rain. In-law reported being solidly in third as well coming in to the last major climb. However, on the climb, he spied a rider charging up the hill behind him, attempting to take FT3 off the podium. Good thing tacos weren't on the line! In-law held off the late charge and secured yet another podium for FT3. No cramping reported from the 50 mile effort. Oh wait just a second, I am getting a report over the FT3 bat phone, yes strike that last statement. VD is claiming to have suffered a massive pinky toe cramp! Sorry, couldn't resist...no report from VD, just confirmation that he was there. In all honesty, I am loving the Garmin ride reports! I am sure we will see a good one from this event...my bet, max HR 198 (sounds like there was some serious climbing).

Cyclebration:
Green Fro raced the 4/5 circuit race down in Folsom on Sunday. Sounds like a solid event marked by some classic 4/5 race strategies. From the report, sounds like Green Fro was pretty aggressive off the front, and kept looking for the long steady climb that really just wasn't there. After a few attempts off the front, it was clear the the wind and the rest of the group were going to keep any attacks at bay. Without a good climb to showcase his mad skills, Green Fro was forced in to the pack to battle out the line. In a bunch sprint if your not first, well you are in there somewhere. So we will call it finishing with the group, somewhere between places 10 to 30. No podium but a solid effort and reason for me to have hope, Green Fro is also a father of three! There is indeed a chance I will see a bike again. In the end, avoiding all crashes and finishing with the group is another spot on performance.

MS 150:
Sounds like if you show up for a ride that has some great purpose other than mashing gears with some of your buddies (but yet I could argue that there is not greater purpose than that) that you are in for a pretty powerful weekend. Cap'n requested a chance to collect his thoughts prior to getting a full ride report up. From the readers digest version I got, I am happy to report that less than top end competitiveness did not completely vanish for the whole weekend. Sounds like a pretty spectacular ride with some pretty sobering moments. Spot on for keeping the philanthropic arm of FT3 alive and well. An additional spot on for those FT3 riders coming through in a last minute sponsorship bomb to get Cap'n over the 100% mark.

Top of the Podium:
If we count the young Bolster as one of our ranks, we can take our first victory of the fall. Apparently he took top honors in the Jr. race on Sunday down in Folsom. Spot on, and get that ticket to Europe young man!

Other reports:
Rock God was there to check out the CX event at Cyclebration. Word has it that the B's are looking lean and mean. I think Sunday would be the right time to start up the CX training rides again!

Got the Sunky back on the road last night! Good times.

Rain in the sky, dust be gone!

Until we ride.
LOtB

Everyone is a Winner

Could you imagine this group atop Prospector? I like the guy who just goes with it and follows the commentator off to drug testing! EPO much? Thanks to the Cap'n for supplying a bit of culture to the blog with this subtitled film...Anyone up for the Cannes Film Fest this year?

Congrats to the Larsen Family on the new addition: Posted late yesterday afternoon, they had a new addition arrive at noon on Tuesday. If you ask me, that was plenty of time for Councilman to make the ride!

I must preface today's ride report with a few guilty statements: First, I greatly regret calling for a ride report last week and then failing to post Rock God's brilliant write up, it will happen again only under pain of death. Second, I am terrible with real name and much prefer introductions via taco handles, although this is not a very polite way to be introduced. Finally, even though April HTFUed last night to let me out for a ride, arriving home at 11:00 to multiple awake children may lead to some interesting spelling and grammar on today's post.

Last nights ride was a well attended affair on all fronts. Ghostrider, VD, Who's Tyler, Rock God, Piff (new rider), and I all met at Mosquito ready to ride. Cap'n and NoCar were there to ensure a solid send off. The group was met at the lake by NoHandle and Xteric. I will note that no riders were left behind in this posting! With a new rider in tow we headed off for the qualifier after a bevy of bike swaps. Ghost was on the Old Soldier and I took the Raleigh 29er. I do love the big wheeled revolution (No pun intended, the 29ers are taking over the world). Although Piff made the qualifier, he and I decided for an abbreviated route. We dropped down the return route to the flume while the remaining group took the longer route around. After making the cross flume connection, Piff and I headed back to the cars. The remaining group did the flume, to wedding march, rock garden 1a and then the remaining lake loop back in. On Piff and my return to the knot hole we came across a women running in the pitch black with a lame little flashlight, interesting sight (that will be the only running reference in today's posting).

Taco Report:
Not much of a crowd at the Knot Hole last night, worth note was B nesteled in at the bar in full spandex taking down some pre-group tacos. Points on the twofer taco making, one you made it for tacos, two you rode the road bike up to keep the spirit of tueday alive. The selection of sauces is still very good. Although, I do think we are on to something with the homemade contributions. Ghostrider produced another winner last night that made for a nice base layer and packed some solid flavor and good heat. Xteric attempted to order three tacos and was almost 86ed from the venue but quickly changed the order to an evenly divisible two! Math, I tell you, it gets you every time. I do not envy VD today and I will leave the discussion at that. The chill of late summer set in and we departed.

Racing:
Cap'n is on for the MS 150 this weekend. Good cause, good ride, good fun...Cap'n, have you got the miles in? There was some question last night on the volume of training?
Ghostrider is tackling the Sierra 100! Bike Selection? You do know that Cap'n is going 50 more miles. I say you cross the finish line and back track 50 miles, thus bringing your vertical to a round 25K.
Rock God is still talking about CX at Cyclebration?

Good luck to all.

Until we ride,
LOtB

Riding The Wave

Yeah, its dusty!

I had a big weekend. I don't get to brag all that often about results, so forgive me if I get a little excited here. The Run on the Sly is a great annual event in our backyards that I enjoy competing in. I have had some good runs and some fun runs at this event but have never really gave it a go. Nothing like no sleep and a new baby to HTFU and throw down. I arrived at the race tired and having not run over an hour in two plus weeks. However, I am still riding the wave of Iroman fitness and knew that the reserves were there and waiting. The temps were cool but the clear skies were a clear sign that a perfect day was in store. At the gun I was a bit back in the group, not yet believing this to be a full on kind of day. But hey, I paid money to go suffer, I better go suffer. I quickly made it up into the front group and decided to see what it was like to run with this group. Knowing the trails so well paid huge dividends as I knew where I could push and I knew where I needed to back off. The top two runners were clearly in a different league and they took off pretty quick, watching them go was a bit heartbreaking, but I was easily holding pace with places three to ten. Four miles in I was comfy in a small group and things were starting to spread out a bit. From mile six to ten, my group picked up a dropped another runner and three of us were trading off spots six through eight. At mile ten I knew that the big climbs of Fleming lay ahead, I slowed a bit and let the other two runners go. I ran miles ten to about twenty five alone. At twenty five, things started to get exciting again. By backing off, I think I had better legs coming in to the last six miles than some of the others out front. I started to see dust clouds and then other runners. During the last several miles I picked back two more runners and found out that yet another had to abandon at an aid station. I came into the finish 5th overall and 2nd in age group, by far the best overall placing I have ever had in a running event.

I'd love to say that I trained my ass off for this event and this is the product of all my hard work. But in the end, we all know that ain't near the truth. I was absolutely blessed with a year of good health and solid training to get me to a pretty fit state. That wave of fitness rolls on and I am a happy passenger along for the ride. With all of life's little (and 8lb 10oz) curve balls, I am happy to embrace fitness and health when it is present and attainable. Hopefully I can hold on to this for a bit, or at least through cross season. In the end, I feel incredible fortunate to have the ability and comfort to go run, bike or swim.

I am in for this weeks ride. I am still wondering if this is a good decision or not, but I miss you guys and I am bringing another rider!

The best of list is still coming. However, I thought I would name at least one winner this week. Best Pizza definitely goes to the place in Chico that Cap'n visited. A good pizza is one thing that P'ville is indeed lacking.

5:45 at Mosquito...Exit 54?

Two
Until we ride
LOtB

Best of FT3

Who's Tyler?

I received the following post from Cap'n as a result of a lack of communication on the ride report. In the end I did get a report and it sounds like the guys who showed up, rode a bit, sang some kumbya, and held hands through some good hot sauce tastings.

If the FT3 riders are non-responsive, I would like to submit the following remote location ride report:

Met with some cool transpo consultants in Chico, finished up the work then hit the road (with consultants in tow) riding the first big and famous Wildflower Century “Honey Run” climb from Chico to Paradise. Much to my dismay neither my name nor Lance, or Elliot Lancelot Karpet’s name was painted on the road. There was a lot of interesting artistry to take in though. After the ride we made our way to the Sierra Nevada Brewery where there was much talk of FT3 and the others indicated they have a strong desire to make their way over for a FT3 excursion. In proper FT3 fashing I ordered the Chorizo Pizza, (actually the best pizza ever) and crushed the whole thing. I made them aware of the ‘tabling discussion’ rule, ‘running sweep’ rule and discussed appropriate taco ordering ratios. When they show, they will be somewhat prepared. While this may sound counter-intuitive, the texts from Ghost at the Knott table kept me from driving into an orchard on the way back home. Thanks FT3.

Glad to hear that Cap'n got in some good pizza eating and FT3 discussing. However, it has gotten me onto an idea. It is time we start compiling a Best Of list for FT3.

Best Trail
Best Hot Sauce
Best Handle
Best Road Ride
Etc.

Send me the thoughts for the best of topic and watch for the voting post.

Until we ride.
LOtB

The Ride of Life

If life were a long ride, and often I believe it is, I think I have figured out exactly where I am on that ride. I think I am on a long flat road in the middle of nowhere, fighting a headwind. My head is down and the legs are turning over, and over, and over. For the energy output I am moving remarkable slow, but still making headway, albeit slowly. I trudge on knowing that I can make it, that I can hold the pace, that I will at some point see a change in the road. Up ahead there is sure to be a bend, a hill, some gravel, some change to the long hard pull I am currently holding. In fact that change may be disguised in some other way. The wind could shift to help me out, the rain could come to clear the air, the sun could set forcing me to find my way in darkness. Any way about it, the hard laborious ride will inevitably change. The more I think about it, for the current stretch of the ride I am on, gears are pointless!

S2ft3!!! For those of you scoring at home, today is indeed the first Tuesday in September! Bring out the single gear and the HTFU attitude for tonight's ride! I am looking for 6-4-3 double play on the taco order tonight and some good speed and good distance for the ride. I made a delivery to Ghostrider over the weekend and we will see what, if anything, he is able to produce? If he does bring something forth, I recommend a tall glass of milk be sitting in wait.

I am out for at least one more week. Elliot is doing great but another night at home is probably best for the DTI.

Racing:
Sept 12th if fast approaching. Two events are going to experience the FT3 throwdown over this weekend.
1) Tahoe 100 - Ghostrider is still pondering the gear of choice but will do very well on this slog of a race.
2) CX at Negro Bar should be attended by at least Cap'n, possibly NoHandle, maybe Greenfro, and I will not rule myself out yet.
3) I have actually been getting in a little bit of secret training. I am going to be running the 50k Run on the Sly on Sunday (I think, I may get pulled off the starting line at the last second, who knows). So if anyone is looking to ride in Pollock on Sunday, swing by and you may see me passed out on a trail somewhere.

Mosquito 5:45 @ Exit 54???

Zero

Until we ride,
LOtB