Bedford Mtb race

This was my first Mtb race of the year. I have maybe been on the bike 15 x's this year and was in no race shape. But what the heck, I race because its fun, not to win. Plus, I love introducing others to the sport. Greg Bartocci and my son Seth participated in the race. It was a beautiful day for the race.

I'm really not that good at singletrack. The course is tight, twisty and rolling. My technical skills needs lots of work. I prefer long uphill grinds! Anyway, I wanted to hit the woods in the top 10 position. I hate getting bogged down in the field and like to try to follow faster riders and learn from them. The course starts at the bottom of a grassy field and has about a 1/3 mile climb to the woods. The horn sounded and the riders took off. The pace was not as fast as I thought it would be. I figured all would be sprinting to the woods. I got in a good cadence and found myself working bast the 12-15 riders into 2nd hitting the woods. Oh, if only I could hold it. Switchbacks, downhill, uphills, I found myself losing the wheel of the guy in front and having to let riders through. I guess I fell back to about 10th when things thinned out and hit some flatter sections.

Then there was the BIG log. There was 3 guys on my rear and the one right behind me shouting, "I'm going over." I responded, "Me too!" Then bam. Oh yeah, I went over. Endoed! That log was a little taller and steeper than I thought. I didn't pull up enough on the bars. Lost 3 places and Greg came around too. Chris Clark quickly caught up and we had about 5 riders grouped together for the first lap.

Finished the first lap 7.5 miles, and I feel strong. We hit the field and started climbing again. I knew this was a chance to get a good gap. I tapped Chris on the rear and said, "let's go." Took off and climbed hard. I hit the woods with about a minute on the NC Cricket guys. Chris was out of juice. I road the 2nd lap a little better. And then there was that big log again. EEEKk. I didn't make it again! I still had about 20 secs on the NC guys. They were much better technical riders so I hoped to gain time on the short, steep climbs. I hit them hard every chance and continued to get a gap only to be caught in the flats.

I had about 30 secs on them and hit a slight up river grade that is non-technical and straight. I pushed it as hard as I could and gained some more time. The last section before hitting the open field is tough. Lots of roots, rocks, and trees to knock me down. 2 other riders were coming in view giving me a rabbit to chase. I caught a guy just as we entered the field and attacked hard. Looking back, I didn't see the NC guys or the one I just passed trying to hang. Hit the final uphill section hard, came back out to the field and no one was with me. So I coasted into the finish, 5th place in sport 36-49. I was pleased with that. I haven't ridden much and have difficulty with the technical stuff.

Frank putting a little WD40 on his chain. For security reasons, I can not show his face!

Ron in his usual goofy self.




The proper equipment. Pink water bottle cages.

With painted pink toes to match!
Hey, not my toes. Their hers!

Seth excited to be there

what the heck is he doing?Ah, a clean bike is a faster bike. I might could learn a few things:)
man, i think he takes this stuff too seriously. He had the same look at the Greenbrier Triathlon.Crossing the finish in 2nd place!Ah the prizes!

Ok now for the big kids.

The RCO gang had some great results and brought home lots of swag.

Skeetz - 2nd place Single Speed

Yenski - 1st Expert 36-49

Pookie - 1st Singlespeed Women

Jen - 1st Sport Women

18-35Adam - 1st Clydesdale

Some had to result to stealing the swag. Jen, what are you doing? Get out of there.

Nah, she won but looks guilty:)
Warren and Gordon fight it out over a pair of gloves.

Hey Jen, I'm taking a picture here.

Greenbrier River Race

Marlington does a great job hosting the Greenbrier River Race.
3.5 mile run, 4 mile kayak. 10 mile bike on the River trail. This was Seth's 1st tri of the year. It was kinda long but thought he could do it.

Pre-race meeting. Man he is serious!

He listened intently to the rules for 20 minutes in this position.

Left to right: Darren Verable, Patrick McNown, Trey Lewis

Keith "Mountain Man" Simpson. AKA Superman:)
He rides his bike while I run. I had a really fast run for me. With stopping to take pictures, I ran it in about 24 minutes. Ok, it's hard to remember everything. I forgot food this time. Seth is like me. Without proper food, we bonk. We got halfway through the canoe and he said, "daddy, I'm hungry." Crap, I forgot the food. We did have a flask of Hammer gel which is great for carbs and a bottle of Heed. I finished that off but was still out of energy. The canoe took forever. The boat was so heavy and river slow. We were passed by everyone!

We got out of the canoe and headed to the bikes. I started asking folks for food. A lady had a couple of energy bars she gave us and gobbled them up. Off on the bike. We got about half-way through the bike and it started pouring rain. A cold rain too. My first thought, "Oh no, I forgot the jackets too." I can endure the cold but he is too young to have the ride miserable. He never said anything. He just found the puddles of water to ride through and kept splashing me.
Christy's first triKeith andTerry's first tri. She later crashed on the bike:(

Terry is one tough woman. She crashed and had a really bad wound. They tried to talk her into going straight to the ER but she wanted to finish. When I was picking up the canoe after the race, I overheard a couple of guys talking about her and the crash. They said, "That was one tough woman. She refused to quit. Blood was streaming down her arm and she kept going." She received the Fire & Rescue award

Erin's first tri. Oh yeah, Terry is the mom and Christy and Erin sisters
About 2 miles before the finish, he was toast. "Daddy, my legs are tired," he said. So I placed my hand on his back and helped him move down the trail. I tend to play games with him to help distract from the event when he gets tired. So much of it is mental. We started to talk about the sprint finish. It is a nice downhill to flat section and I challenged him to the sprint. If he can beat me, he gets a prize! We turned the corner and he took off. Its about a 200 yrd dash. He pumped hard and made it a photo finish. He won by half a bike! We found some food and then he said, "daddy, can I play in the river?" Sure, to the victor goes the spoils.



As they began to hand out prizes, he heard his name called out for being the youngest participant. Everyone had seen him and cheared for him during the race. He ran hard up to the podium with everyone chearing. Who doesn't like affirmation for a job well done. The prize: FREE ICECREAM! Oh yeah!

Total Time: 2:43! That's a long time for a little guy. Way to go Seth. My hero!

His usual post-race nap

Trail Nut Half Marathon

5/10/08 - Trail Nut - Trail 10k and Half Marathon,
at Falling Creek Park
Bedford, Virginia

What was he thinking with this license plate?

Great day for a race. Temps were in the mid upper 60's with a cool NW wind blowing. The trails were a little slippery due to rain the night before. I hope they are that wet next week for the Mtb race. Ryan Middleton and I took out Sat. morning heading to Explorer Park. Yeah, that's right Explorer Park. WRONG PLACE! I'm the one that usually gets lost or has the wrong location for races so I thought Ryan was correct when telling me that it was at Explorer. We arrived at the park around 7:45 with no one in site. My first thought, "ha, I'm right. Its in Bedford." My second thought, "Oh crap, I'm right it's in Bedford." I figured we had just enough time to make it to the Falling Creek Park. So off we went. However, neither of us could remember how to get to Falling Creek. After calling several folks, I found Mr. Instant Info (real name withheld for security reasons) and he guided me to the park. With about 15 minutes to spare, we were registered.

The bell rings and we take off. There were about 35 runners doing the 10k and 40 doing the 13.1 mile half marathon. Ryan is a good runner and I knew he would be near the top. I'm not much of a runner and was hoping to finish without much walking or problems. I figured my best time might be a 2:20 or 2:15.

We take off and I'm taking it easy for the first lap. The trail was really slippery so I tried to focus on technique, efficiency and not losing traction. About to finish the first lap, I'm feeling good and start to pick up the pace a little. I'm working on relaxing and letting my body fall downhill and not working too hard going up. Usually my legs give out before my lungs with running. I even played around on some log hops wishing I had my bike. I'm maintaining about a 9 minute mile pace and feeling good. Around mile 10 my calves started to twinge a little. Oh crap, that's not good. I took some Hammer E-Caps which help prevent cramping for me. Nothing locking up so I keep running. Mile 11, I'm still holding my 9 minute pace. Mile 12, wow, 1 more mile to go! My feet start to hurt a little but all is good. The finish is much like the Mtb finish. You come out into the grassy field then a short, steep hill on the left. I pumped it as hard as I could and crossed the finish line in 2:02:40. I was so stoked. Couldn't believe I ran it that well. I took 2nd place in men's 40-44 class!

Ryan had a great run finishing 2nd overall with a time of 1:41:53.
Mark Tuggle for Asheville won with a time of 1:34:17

Oh yeah, I was beat by only one girl:)

Now the fun begins. Ryan has completed the Richmond marathon and Charlottesville half marathon. Each time he got severe stomach cramps after the race. This leads him to dehydration and a depletion of nutrients. Same thing happened again. We brought our bikes to ride the course after the run but we didn't even stay for the awards. Off to the ER

Well, I guess he did get several awards.

3 bags (7lbs) of fluids

1 urinal flask

1 poop catcher

2 shots of Demerol

Admiring his trophies

Josh Gilbert and the Mountain Junkies do a great job with all of their events. The race runs smooth and awards are always unique. Thanks Josh and all your help!

Bland VA Hike

I finally catching up on some photos of a few hikes. This one was done last yr around Bland Va.