Wrap up and for sale

The season wrapped up for me last weekend. Skinnyski has a pretty accurate report on the race except for the fact that I ran a 42x16 not a 42x18 in the SS State Championship ;-) I won the race on my cobbled to gether SS bike, which was my Top Fuel with one cog on the back, a shorter (tight) chain with the regular derrailluer, and my shifter moved away from my grip so I didn't accidentally hit it=) After the race was over, I swapped wheels and put a normal length chain on. Single speeding is novel for the once or twice a year I do it, but I prefer gears for sure.

The course was indeed very fast and honestly Scott and I were riding it as fast as our tires would let us. Every open section was pretty close to full on too. Either way, it was good to see Scott get the win. He has had a strong season.

I was planning on doing some CX and still may, but it won't be until later. This weekend I will be out at the Trek Demos Saturday and I am Jenn's mobile pit crew for the TC marathon on Sunday. I won't be around the next 3 weekends, but hope to keep the fitness reasonable over that time.

It is fall, so it is time to sell stuff. This is first on the docket:

It is a 2011 18.5" Remedy 9.7 with the following upgrades/mods: XX rear derr, XX rear shifter, XX brakes, Bontrager XR2 2.35 tires, MRP 1.x chainguide. I will include all the original chainrings and front derr, but I don't have a front shifer for it. The bike has 6" of travel with a carbon front triangle and it weighs in at 25.5 lbs without pedals. That is pretty amazing for a super capable bike. The bike has not been ridden a ton and is in almost new condition. Price is $3100.

Contact me at bjmoore1@uwalumni.com if you are interested.

I will be selling my race bike, or at least the frame, later this fall.

Come on out!

Laddies

Better late than never as it is often said....

Laddies Loppet up at Maplelag is the highlight of my family's racing year. We simply love it up there and with Tegan being on 2 wheels we told him he can go "anywhere but the lake" on his own, which was a new experience of freedom for him.

While I really wanted to do well at the stage race this year, my preparation was less than ideal for the very short high intensity events with an 8 hour and 50 mile race being the previous 2 XC races I had done. My only bout with intensity since the 8 hour race was a TT at Murphy Hanrehan.

That all said I felt reasonably good in the cool weather TT, but was bested by Doug Swanson who was going really fast (top secret cross training I am told=). In the STXC, I led it out and should not have. With temps only in the low 60's my legs were rioting after the summer of heat and they locked up after the fast lead out. It went from full power to engine misfiring in about 30 seconds. I should have sat back and let them warm into the race, but I didn't and was forced to drop back to the chase group. Doug rode away impressively again. I sat on for a bit, recovered and used Jake Richards 2nd to last lap attack as a a catapult to second place.

The XC course was partly new this year with 3 miles of my favorite stuff: non-IMBA (i.e. difficult, punchy, tight, demanding) full on rock'n singletrack. Maplelag is hands down the most technical course in the MNMBS series now. I think only Spirit Mt, if it ever returns, could give it a run for its money. In order to win the stage race, I had to give it my best and hope that there was one person between Doug and I. I DID ease into this race and it benefited me later as I was able to keep nearly identical lap times for the 2 ten mile laps. The final placings put me at the top of the Stage Race podium where I have stood second fiddle for a number of years to TJ and Jason Sager. There is an XC video recap here and a STXC video recap here.

After the race Tegan and I hit the Richards jump park pump track area where he was rocking the rollers. He can't seem to get enough of the "bumps" as he calls them. He wanted to know why he could "fly" (i.e get air). I told him to give it a little time.

Sunday night was filled with food, drink (Fat Tire on TAP!), and merry times by the camp fire. Jen headed to bed early, as she ran 17 miles that morning in Prep for her 3rd TC Marathon, so I was left to talk bikes and hockey by the fire... =) Thanks Richards family for hosting us!!!!!!

Next on the life agenda, is to have a weekend at home. However, the weeks are still full with Tues Night CX racing, 2x hockey (by the fire at Maplelag Jon Richards helped me decide that I should go ahead and spend too much on some Supreme one80 skates...I can't wait to try them), and Tegan starting "pretty" (read Pre) school. Then later this fall, I will likely be shipped of to China for 3 weeks of work and with weekend 2-wheeled exploration.

Life will slow down eventually right?

RIP little buddy...

Andrew took his last breath at 7:03 Sunday morning. We were up at Maplelag at the time... more than once I had to hold back tears in the XC race later that day. I raced in honor of Andrew, and I will put together a weekend summary after things settle down.

I know Ty is pumped to have a cousin in Heaven with him. Play nicely boys, and Ty, share your toys!

Murphy Menace 50

A first time and not widely publicized 50 mile mountain bike race rolled at Murphy Hanrehan last Saturday morning. I took it as another opportunity to try endurance racing...and it was nearly 100% singletrack, so plenty of fun was to be had. The plan next year is to try to expand this race to 150-200 entries.

My form is certainly much better than when I did the Sandwich 50 this spring, and I finished the race at a good pace with plenty left in the tank (the course is easy peasy compared to Afton!). The only bummer was that my front chainring appears to be shot, as the new chain meshed so pourly that I could not stand up with any power the entire race. Other than that, the top fuel was the perfect bike for the day keeping me fresh, and the super light EC90 wheels made all the seated accelerations tolerable.

Peace.

More Love

The Andrew Morris benefit at the Famous Daves in Janesville (Andrew's daddy is the GM there) blew me away. It was hard to hold back tears when we first arrived. So many people care for Andrew and his family.

We had a great weekend hanging out w/ our family and Ben even made the 15 hour non-stop drive back for the weekend. You would think that would wear Ben out, but I only used 2 cogs on our ride Saturday so clearly it did not.

An update on Andrew: He still loves to swing on his new Rainbow Playsystems swingset several times a day, and he and Daddy make frequent trips to the grocery store to buy "Queen-car Patta" (Lightning Mcqueen Mac n Cheese). They had over 10 boxes of it in their pantry. Other than that, it seems that he mostly sleeps due to the heavy dose of pain meds. His breathing has become labored in recent days, which is really hard for everyone to see. He is still drinking but not really eating (thus the build up of Queen-car patta). Our hope is that he does not suffer too much.

16,000+ = tired

I decided to go out and do the 8 hour race self supported at the Salsa 24. I rode for 7.5 hours before I called it "good enough," as I was getting tired and had accomplished my goal of testing the endurace racing waters. I am unsure of the exact numbers, but I was told that the lap was 7.5 miles long and ~1500-1600 feet of climbing putting the race total for me at 16000+ feet of climbing and ~80 miles.
I felt strong through about 6 hours, and then I started to fade a little. This is better than I expected given my rides in the summer don't get much longer than the XC races on the weekends...many are significantly shorter like Buck Races or casual rides w/ friends and family. I only cramped twice on Saturday and both times were on the Manhandler climb (bottom to top up the ski hill), so my nutrition plan of Salted Nut Rolls, Gu Brew, Gu, Honey Stinger waffles, and endurolytes worked just fine. I even had to stop and pee once, which was a good sign!

Today, I am still a little tired (even my Madone felt slow on the commute in) and am intersted to see how long this recovery will take. The TT at Murphy on Wed will tell me somthing. After that it is off to Madison to visit my Nephew and attend a benefit for him on Sunday (i.e as I mentioned last entry, no Border Battle unfortunately).

Equipement wise, I went with the Bonntrager XR2 tires at Afton. It is a more durable, versatile, and slightly heavier tire. It worked well because I didn't have to worry about traction in the slippery first laps or side wall cuts in the later laps when my riding got a little sloppier.

Cheers!

5 in 11.. or 6 in14

There has been lots of racing going on lately contrary to what I expected. It has been a wait and see game with Andrew, and he is now at home under hospice care, which has been much more peaceful for my sister and her family. While we did not expect him to last this long, he still continues to have some happy times and that strong cardiovascular system has kept him going.

Why so much racing? Well, I am home here in the Cities waiting for the inevitable, so I might as well race. It clears my mind.
This has ended up being a strenous stretch, maybe my toughest yet quantity wise, and it is not over. I did 6 mtbk races in the past 14 days. For the most part, none of them had drafting, coasting, or tactics involves...it was go from the gun and rest when you are done. I mentioned Elk River and the Andrew Morris Benefit Race at Buck Hill already. In addition I have hit Time Trials at Murphy Hanrehan (a 10 mile singletrack course <8 miles from my house) and the MNMBS up at Lester Park.
The Murphy TT's have been great, but I am perplexed on how to break 38 minutes out there. The twisty single track has been the limiter, not legs and lungs. Freewheel puts on a great show with a kids TT and food and drinks after the adult TT. There is one left next week so come on out!
Lester Park is a true gem of a race (or just ride) course...much like Maplelag with rocks, roots, steep ups, bridges, etc. It is a must ride for any midwest mountain biker if you find yourself in Duluth. I would suggest printing off a map prior to riding, as it can be confusing when it isn't marked for racing.

Next up, maybe some endurance racing this weekend...
It looks like I will miss the Border Battle unfortunately, as we will likely be headed to Janesville next weekend to see Andrew and Family.

Thank You MN Mountain Bikers

Thank you again for all the support at the Andrew Morris benefit at Buck Hill this past Thursday. Also a super special thanks goes to Dawn and Pat, who orchestrated this event. Over $3000 was raised for my sister's family. While the generous donations will not heal Andrew, it will ease the stress on the family, and I am hoping help pay for a family healing vacation after all this is done.

We sure had a great time Thursday, and the adult race on kids bikes was harder on me (especially my calves) than the adult race I think! Even worse, I suffered a demoralizing defeat to a trash talking Tyson Meyer riding a pink bike. My manhood definitely took a hit from that=)

I will leave you with this (I didn't want to be long winded on Thursday and it can be tough to hear): Andrew's favorite past time during the past weeks has been walks with his daddy, Joe. ~10 miles of it per day! Well, last week, he just got fed up with walks on pavement, and now DEMANDS all walks be on dirt and wooded singletrack=)

Friends

The outpouring of support for Andrew and his family has been unreal. Thank you all so much.

Andrew continues to worsen and is now on a pretty heavy constant drip of morphine. That said, his waking hours are pleasant for the most part with long walks, swinging, and playing cars. He is on a steady diet of cake and fried food...that is what the little man wants so that is what he gets!

For those that haven't heard, this Thursday night's Buck Hill race is a benefit for Andrew and his family. I hope to see you all out there, as we celebrate his short life.

Finally, some of you may have heard Jenn tell Andrew's story on 98.5 KTIS this past week. It was followed by the heart wrenching song, "He's My Son" by Mark Schultz. Powerful.

Sunday I won a tough one for you Andrew....