Bloomer pre ride

Today's Bloomer pre ride was pretty eventful..I've never been a big fan of Bloomer....Although it is about 4 miles from my house I almost never ride out there. The trails just aren't my cup of tea...It was almost whoever laid them out thought to themselves...Hmmm how can we get 7 miles of trails into 6 acres of land ( I know the park is bigger than that but so much of the singletrack is up and down the side of the same hill) Well anyways DC, Butt and myself decided to ride the course this morning for shits and giggles. The sledding hill is in play early which will most likely kill some people right out of the gate. I debated on racing but decided that what the hell if nothing else I'll go hard for two laps and if I crap out whatever...I can either DNF or cruise for the last 2 laps and try not to finish last. But anyway back to Butt...Apparently there was a partially downed tree right at head level around this blind corner..DC and I managed to miss it but Terry cracked it square on with his dome. He tumbled pretty hard from the shock of it and seemed pretty shaken. He even cracked his new Specialized decibel helmet. DC and I had some pretty interesting ideas on some new neck therapy that he could do but he wasn't having anything to do with it. Hopefully I won't suck to bad tomorrow...and if I do oh well at least I'm giving it a shot...Hope to have a full race report tomorrow. My $$$ is on DC to clean up in the expert class and Frenchy to unfortunately beat Joeberon for the elite win...I want Joe to win and hope he does well but Bloomer is Frenchy's home course and that dude flat out cuts that place up like a Ginsu...Gotta fly..TC

26 vs. 29 any thoughts?

I recently rode Joe's Q29 er for a little while at PLRA. I must admit I was kinda in awe at the way it got up to speed and it did seem like it rolled pretty quickly. There were only 2 things that I can say that I didn't like. The first being what appeared to me to be a higher center of gravity which made the bike feel "tippy". The other thing was that the bigger wheels didn't seem to corner as quickly. I imagine if you eased into a corner using more brake then accelerated out it might seem faster but that would definately be something that I would have to work on. Overall I think that in 2 track or backroads the 29er would have an advantage but in tight singletrack I'm not sure and since I prefer riding trails to the backroads I don't know if it would be the right choice for me. Any suggestions?

couchs are coffins

I've decided that the only way to snap out of this funk that I'm in is to keep riding. I guess an attempted lap at PLRA with DC and the Butt wasn't the smartest thing I could have done but I'm so sick of riding alone I had to do something. I have been riding alone lately but my efforts have been pedestrian at best so I finally decided enough is enough and headed out to PLRA. One lap kicked my ass. Maybe it was the heat or maybe it was the fact that my body has turned into a bag of goo. Whatever the reason I have come to realize one thing nothing is going to make me feel better unless I get up off of my ass and get going. Hopefully the plan 4 tomorrow will include 2 laps. TC

The journey of life

I haven't updated this in a long time and there are some things that I need to say. Anyone who knows me knows that I am normally easygoing, a bit of a smartass, and could usually be found riding with my buddies and occasionally trying to smoke some of the local choads at ILRA or PLRA. My world seemed OK..About two years ago my dad was diagnosed with something called chronic myelodysplasia. It was a disease that slowed production of red blood cells and hemoglobin (Hgb). I didn't think much about it. The doctors told him it wasn't leukemia and that with treatment he could live a relatively normal life although he would need to go to the hospital for blood transfusions when his Hgb was low. My dad did OK for two years. He was slowed physically and got tired easily but still managed to do everything for himself. Then earlier this year he began having night sweats. Not a good sign. He was still going in for transfusions every 3-4 weeks but I could tell he was getting weaker. About 5 weeks ago he had another bone marrow biopsy which confirmed that his disease had progressed to an acute leukemia. The doctor told me he would probably only have 3 months to live (although he didn't tell my dad that I suspect he knew that he didn't have much more time left). My dad went home from the hospital 3 days before his 74th birthday and seemed to be doing well. He was getting around at home and we even managed to have a big party with him. I couldn't even imagine how he must have felt knowing that it would most likely be his last. One week later was my parents 51st wedding anniversary and the next day my dad went back to the hospital again. The fevers at night were getting worse and he was rapidly getting weaker. Seeing someone who you love actively dying is the most empty feeling you can ever imagine. I remember asking my dad if he had been watching the hockey games or any basketball and all he said was " no I've been thinking about dying". What can you say to that? I felt helpless. The next few days were the worst as my dad got weaker he became unable to feed himself or even lift his arms. He took his last breath on May 5th and I can say I was there when he passed. Death is inevitable it can't be cheated. I always knew there would come a day when one of my parents would pass away but I could never prepare myself. I am angry. Mad that my dad won't get to see my children grow up or that my kids probably won't remember him. Zach is two and Jenna is four. At the funeral Jenna kept on asking why Pop-pop was sleeping and the other day she said she hopes he gets better soon from his cold so he can come home from the hospital. I told her not to worry he is home. With death comes a great deal of introspection. The Wiz once told me who cares how fast you can ride a bike the only thing anyone is going to remember about you is what kind of father you were and if your kids turned out OK. I never thought much about it at the time but now it seems so very true. I have also had the priveledge of developing a nice case of anxiety and have had some unreal dreams. It seems that riding my bike is something that I should be doing for my own mental health but I am also feeling guilty when I do because I feel like I should be spending that time with my kids. So basically my riding has been very spotty and uninspired to say the least. There have been guys who have always chapped my ass throughout the years...Baldovery, Speky and R2D2 to name a few but like I told DC the other day...It's like I could be out riding at PLRA and all three of these guys could blow past me and I wouldn't care. So I am trying to re-ignite the passion to ride and race but I'm not sure it is there anymore. RS told me something about adversity making you stronger..I believe that to be true but right now I'm having a hard time motivating myself. I am hoping that this blog might help the healing process along. Right now I need any encouragement that I can get. I will try to keep blogging on a more regular basis........TC

Drumroll please......

The mystery rider was none other than Mark "the Cubbes" DeCubber. Yes the man who took one of the most notorious diggers at ILRA 2 summers ago was back to frolic in the cold. Saturday's ride was also very eventful as Mark went down twice on the ice..Both times I was behind him thinking man he is flying (I was to scared to go that fast) then BOOM down he went. I have to admit the second crash was pretty entertaining. Mark hit some ice, unclipped his left foot in an attempt not to go down then at the last minute when he had to eject he somehow Kristy Yamaguchi's his was across the ice on his right foot with both arms extended and does this triple axel thingy....I thought for sure he would have Hermit manned his ankle but he bounced up and was like no big deal..The details of his first crash at ILRA 2 summers ago will have to wait for a future blog but let's just say after it happened Cubbe wasn't sure where he was..TC

One more hint

The mystery rider is not only known for his road, cross and MTB skills but also was a serious amateur motocross rider. His highest accomplishment was lining up at an outdoor national heat race against an aging Damon Bradshaw and getting his ass handed to him....He also has a cousin who is pretty fast on a bike for a guy that only trains once a week....

Here's a hint

To figure out who "Mystery rider" is here is a simple hint...Two of the choices can easily be eliminated because they would never change their own car tires....Any guesses? Who would call AAA?