Congrats Bike Chain

Way to go Bike Chain!

From the racers to the cheerleading section, the chain gang was in full effect this weekend. It definitely makes the racing much more fun to have the whole family out there in attendance.

Gotta give all the racers due credit; each rider brought something to the table. Tim, jeeeesh, what a breakthrough performance. Expert podium, not much more to say, that was awesome. Ric, prolly not what he would have liked under normal circumstances. However, to have been sick (in the lungs too), make a game day decision to race, and not have been run off from the soflo bullies - that was very impressive to pull off a 3rd place with mad consistent lap times. Its crazy to think that 3rd place in expert is a dissappointing finish for you. Zak finished a race!!! And got 3rd place in expert lite (singlespeed). He looked solid on the first two laps, leading some of it, until a couple crashes and a wall got in his way. Way to gut it out to 3rd. David won in sport class and made it look easy with expert lap times (very consistent too). Tyler did his first race, and won!! On a fully rigid bike by the way. Terry trained so much in the past three weeks that he caught and passed Steve (who beat him at the last race). Maybe Terry gets the most improved medal?? And then Steve, who showed up at like 10 or 10:30 wasn't even going to race. He finally got talked in to racing (luckily, he just so happened to have his bike and all necessary race gear :)) and raced with style - enjoying a quesadilla from Tijuana Flats while coming through for his last lap. I'm not sure how Colter and Jason did, but I know Colter was never going to race again at his last race; but he did. And jason seemed to be pretty happy with his race and more happy that it was over....

You guys be sure to go by Tijuana Flats and let them know how good the food was and that we all appreciate their support.

If the phone doesn't ring, its me not calling

Well, FSC #3 at our local trail is coming up this weekend and I won't be racing. For those of you who have raised children before will understand and my excuse can be shortened to just a few words (I have a 5 week old girl). For those of who have never had the pleasure, I don't think you will ever understand the level of pain until you do get the chance to care for a newborn baby. It is not as simple as saying that you get robbed of sleep. It is day in and day out of pure sleep deprived misery. You get to sleep at intervals of 1-2hours at a time with 1-2 hours awake time between. If you are like Darien, no problem, you just go back to sleep. If you are like me, that basically means you don't ever get back to sleep after your first 1-2 hour "nap". Have you ever had a couple of bad nights of sleep in a row?? Yeh, try 40 days in a row so far. So, to say I feel like crap is an understatement. I tried to do round #2 and realized that was a mistake. And, that was three weeks ago, I am way worse off now. In the past 5 weeks, I should have gotten in around 50 hours of riding with structure, to include approximately 30 rides, 10 runs, 20 days in the gym. Hmmm, not quite. I've gotten in three bike rides to total about 2.5 hours, 2 runs that equal about a mile if added together, and 100 pushups (50 on two different days). So anyway, I am not racing. Not because I have a problem not winning, but because my body and my schedule will not allow for recovery if I were to attempt to race.

But enough about me. It is beginning to sound like everyone is backing out?? We drive out of town all the time to race and now we can't even race out of our own back door? Ric, sick. Jim, sick. Ken, Sick. Terry, not sure but he seems down that everyone else is backing out. Tyler is doing first timer and going full rigid to give his competitors a fighting chance. Chris? He was motivated to help provide on-trail protection for Ric in case those clowns tried to jump him. David will race, but he will be all decked out in his endurancefactor gear. Steve and Tim???? Darien, you better race now while you can. Zak HAS to race cause he has a new bike to show off. Kent. ( I figure that was enough said about that). Anyone else gonna race? Come on we gotta represent. It all about flying your colors. What gang are you with?

A man’s got to know his limitations!

A good size group of Bikechain’s posse made the trip to Fernandina Beach this past weekend for the second installment of the Florida State Championship MTB Series. Me, Big Worm, Wrecking Ball and Spanish Mackerel loaded up the truck on Saturday and headed over. Derwood with his liter, Red Dragon with the Ball and Chain, and Iceberg with his parental/sibling units also made the drive over Saturday. Marko and Silk got up before the chickens on Sunday morning and headed over in time to make the race.

Saturday’s pre-ride was uneventful. This course is fun to ride. Nothing real technical, but fast and flowy. You can lose your head on this course if you’re not careful (literally). There are quite a few low hanging limbs waiting to take your head off if you are not paying attention. Not a big deal on pre-ride but be careful on race day when oxygen deficit is maxed out. Load the truck back up, head to the hotel, get cleaned up then go find grub. Hmmm, ate at a really good Italian restaurant there last year so we hit it again. Good food, good times. Argue about what each of us owe, stress about it a little more until Big Worm starts to explode then head back to the hotel for some R&R. Watch a little Police Women of Broward County to look for lil Ronnie (Big Worm says he wears skirts and rides like a girl so he might be featured on the show). Get ready for sleep before a tap on the door. Bikechain’s CEO decides to make a late night sales call pimping the new Bike Chain gear. Swag and monies exchange hands and finally get rid of CEO. Lights out.

Six thirty came early. Big Worm did his usual jump right out of bed, head for the door and hit breakfast. The big man worries that he will not get his 5 waffles if he is not first to breakfast. Terry is on the big man’s heels. Me and Mackerel take a while to get motivated enough to get up. I am in my typical race day panic mode questioning why in the hell I put myself through the stress and aggravation that comes with racing. I can’t bring myself to eat much on race day due to nerves, but manage to swallow a bagel and banana. Off we go.

Yellow wave goes first. I’m in my second ever Sport race and about to soil myself on the starting line. Horrible start. I KNOW everyone is faster than me so I go into the woods near dead last. Crashed 2.5 times in the first lap. Needless to say, this is not going well. Get behind a few guys not going very fast and just sit there knowing I should get around. About get head taken off while trying to let Mr. Amazing Pro Dude (Bob) around. Three laps and cross the finish line in 20th place (out of 27 riders). Did I give it all I had NO, was I disappointed YES. If I can’t get these pre-race panic attacks in order then my racing days may be numbered. I’m pretty good at handing out water bottles. Maybe there’s a place for me as the MTB version of a domestique.

Congrats to Iceberg (1st); Big Worm (3rd) and Silk (4th) on their podium finishes. Great job to the Red Dragon and Bikechain for being the round sponsor . Tom Brown in two weeks. Trying to get my wife to get us out of town that weekend but no luck as of yet. Damn I may have to enter ANOTHER race. Do I feel lucky, well do I, punk.

Sound the Charge!!

By my count, we've got 9 Chain Gangers rolling to Fernandina, Saturday, for the 2nd round of the Florida State Championship Series. I know of at least 2 more showing up Sunday morning.

Personally, I've been tired from the race travel, but a couple of months off does wonders for, or to, the psyche. This race was on my "schedule, so I could race my 29er at least once, and with my sketchy ankle, not too many courses are agreeable. This one is flat, fast, and not too rough, so here goes.

Next thing I know, BikeChain is a round sponsor. Let's hear it for K-Dub's vision, or madness! Either way, you gotta back your brother's play. Chain Gangers en masse. They're coming out of the woodwork for this one. Human Wrecking Ball is on his 15th racer reincarnation. We can rebuild him. He will will be stronger. He will be faster. He may blow sky high, but the tales afterward will be enthusiastic and entertaining! Longshanks will be expanding his views from the inside of the expert torture chamber. Silk will be debuting his latest Frankenbike. Spanish Mackerel heard the trumpets calling from his place in the clouds, and will drift earthward for a weekend with the boys. Clearly, Big Jim Slade has not had enough to fret about since the GA Series, so he's jumped on board. Even New Baby Daddy, Marcus, is looking to participate in the race foolishness. It's probably a lot easier than the new baby madness that's been his reality, lately. Derwood has started threatening us with his RV racermobile. If we go over in that rig...God help us! No, really! I mean God help us. I'd like to actually arrive, and a little divine influence could go a long way.

If you find yourself along the North Florida Atlantic Coast this weekend, and there are a bunch of hyped up, lycra clad, mountain bike kooks buzzing the beach line, look around for the BikeChain tent. Stop by and say hello, but beware, if you get a little madness on you, we are not responsible.

Fine Print: BikeChain madness may stain. You may be able to get it out with seltzer water, but I wouldn't know because I don't believe in froo froo stuff like seltzer water. You may find you like the stain, and that's ok. It's not like it's some sort of social stigma. Well, actually it is, but we kind of like social stigmas around here, so embrace it. If the stain is left too long, you may find yourself suffering side effects. Side effects may include: leg shaving, lycra wearing, mud splashing, bike part cravings, possible divorce due to inordinate amounts of riding time on weekends when you should be mowing the grass, planning your vacations around the 50 mile race you read about in Dahlonega, and having entirely too much fun with a bunch of two wheeled misfits who enjoy the same BikeChain, stain driven, side effects. Not so bad, huh? You may have noticed that anal leakage was nowhere in that list. Now you're gettin' it!

Everybody gotta have a dream

So I've been in my own personal Siberia. I'm no different than any other fool out there. By all accounts I have a perfect life. An American life - A job, wife, kids, two dogs and BBQ on the weekends. I look at the kids homework, do odd jobs around the house and sling my own version of TPS reports at work. Let's just say that I'm invested in the family. That is great but I got this devil on my shoulder driving me to be more, whispering pipe-dreams of stand up comedy fame, real estate tycoon status and bicycle parts liquidator warehouse Internet mogul thingie. I feel guilty for wanting more. I don't need more things. But I do need more achievement. I can't shut the brain down. Meanwhile I'm either losing it or really inspired by a morality play that shouldn't inspire - but it does. Terrance Howard's DJay character has caught my attention with his proclamational song "It ain't over me." The movie is Hustle and Flow from 2005. It's a tough watch because the guy is a scum bag pimp and drug dealer, but yet you can't help from being drawn to the character. I'm guessing I like it because DJay climbs from one of the worst places you can imagine to implied success. I think I'll ride my bike today.

Red Dragon

From the Weekend

Great ride on Sunday. Unfortuantely the numbers twindled as the ride went on. A little weird that out of 5 guys I'm the only one with hair on his legs.

The End

Ok, so let’s rap this thing up. On Saturday Me, Big Worm, Ice Berg, and Graham Cracker piled in the truck and made the long drive to Helen for the last of the Georgia State Championship series. Big Worm and I had participated in most of the series races with Ice Berg and Cracker just tagging along. Longshanks and his wife headed up on Thursday to make a long weekend of it.

I was so stoked that this was the last race in the series and I can promise you it will be the last series I commit to.

The trip up was fairly uneventful. We made the usual stop at the sausage place so Worm could get his fix. We were pretty happy once we finally made it into Helen, only to find out that place stays crowed with tourists all year long. It took us 30 minutes to get through town before we could make our way to Unicoi for our pre-ride.

The trails at Unicoi are awesome. Nothing real technical and the trails were in great shape. Plenty of climbing but all were doable. The descents were fun (even though I loved my brakes on most of them – I’ve got to work on this weakness). Berg and Cracker did their thing while the Worm and I decided a slower pace would be more appropriate for a pre-ride.

When we get back to the truck I see foot doc at the parking lot. Foot doc was only 2 points behind me in the series points (me in second and him in third). He notifies me that he will not be racing the next day due to an injury he sustained in the Ellijay race. Sucks for him, but my race just got easier. The fourth place guy was 4 points back so he should not be a problem.

A walk in the oven (it was hot), some mediocre food (but good beer) and we are back at the hotel for an early night of it. Sunday morning comes and we are off to Unicoi. We find a good park, set up the tent and Worm and I get ready for the early wave start. Thank God for this. It was brutally hot and we knew the second wave guys would be suffering.

I’m not quite as terrified as I usually am before a race but the butterflies were still there. Worm is off and I am awaiting my start. Small group this race as only 9 guys show up. We’re off and I am second going into the woods behind “evil bastard.” Of course the race starts going uphill and then a sharp switchback. EB hits the deck while trying to negotiate the switchback. I get around and am leading the race. Roadie dude is on my wheel and stays there for a while before he decides to get around. He’s gone. By that time EB finds my wheel. He stays there for most of the .lap. We start discussing politics and the state of the current health care system before he realizes I can’t climb worth a damn so he gets around and he’s gone. I keep a steady pace and start picking guys off from the other groups. I’m starting to think that a third place finish would be respectful and this way I am assured of my number 2 series placing. Every now and then I can spot roadie dude in front of me but never really could bridge the gap. I’m tired of climbing and my heart rate is way up. I’m ready to be done. I pop out of the woods, think “thank God” and start to make the 75-100 trek to the finish line. I look back to see who’s behind me and thought I saw a guy in my class. I amp it up then look back again. The guys not coming (he ended up not being in my class). I look up and notice roadie dude right there. The kick in the balls for this race is that the last 30 fee or so is straight up. I kid you not that sport guys were walking up this thing. Well luckily for me roadie guy did not know I was coming until it was too late. I was in the perfect gear and he was not. I stomped it out, caught him, and beat him to the line by about a foot or two. I was stoked to have stolen second place.

Big Worm finished up and got his first place finish. Who cares that he was the only guy racing in his class.

Graham Cracker destroyed his field. This kid flew. I know because he flew by me during my race. What’s amazing is that he hit something that stung him on the mouth about 10 minutes into his race. His mouth swelled up like a life raft.

Berg being the amazing racer that he is (if you don’t believe me just ask him) destroyed his field as well.

Longshanks in his first expert race suffered. Three laps and a hot day made the conditions tough. It still looks like he had a respectful finish. I sure wish I had your toughness LS.

We hit the series ending awards ceremony where BW and I collect our plaque and swag, jump in the truck and head back home. I’m in the door about midnight, announce to the wife that amazing his home, show off the swag and hit the bed.

Georgia series in the books.