I heart recovery rides. When I wasn't chasin' Wild Bill I was suckin' his wheel.







42 degrees feels warm up here.





Does BJ have enough BAR jerseys to fill a closet yet?














Happy New Years Eve to all


RideOn

JB

Back in high school my friends mom used to tell us that before we went out and caused all sorts of mayhem.

Looking through and thinking back over the whole NATz thing :

It was a fun new experience. Some great racing going on. Sifting through 100s of pics is like reliving the races all over again.







Just as Virginia is the land of 7-11s (we can't go 2 miles around here without seeing one) Providence seemed to be the land on Dunkin Donuts, so when in Rome...........

Some prerace eats for the hungry boys.












Our "pits" were far and away below the standards set by some, but still gave the guys what they needed to get ready and warmup away from the cold wind.

We had a real hell of a time getting the helmetcams setup. A short in one of the power supply lines keep melting wires and burning up batteries. 4 trips to RadioShack in the 2 days before the event. Trying to whip this whole setup together the night before the race was a difficult and possibly futile task. Needed time for more beta testing.



During the race one of the miniDVRs got so hot it burned Mike's ass. Actually melted the paint off the thing. Sorry, no butt picture here. We had the DVRs in the pockets of a jersey he was wearing inside his skin suit, so there was no way he could get 'em out till the race was done.

As were packing up to head out I ran into John J. He told me he'd be there, but in the excitement of the weekend, I'd forgot. Was nice running in to him. Heard Sandy was gonna be there too, but never saw him. It's a small world.

Last but not least big props to Dee Dee, representing our district well. After having a baby 17 months ago she strated cross racing. Now she has a Stars and Stripes jersey, and a spot on the National Team to race at Worlds next month, WTG and best of luck. Liz put a bunch of stuff on Dee Dee here

So I hope everyone has a great, safe, enjoyable holiday spent with the ones you love and hold dear. You birds be good.

RideOn

JB

(This Post was written on Feb 8th 2007 and "filed" back here just because it didn't deserve the front page)

The Ultradistance Board at Topica has been on fire of late. Seems many are using it to voice opinions, threats, accusations, and feelings about how the UMCA has or has not been doing things of late. People are particularly taking issue with the purchase of RAAM by the UMCA. Secondarily some have issues with the way the UMCA has been run, specifically with regard to transparency (from what I've heard a budget/financial statement hasn't been made public since 2004), and delayed elections. Third, there is debate about the international nature and/or vision of the UMCA.

The UMCA went on to explain the whole RAAM transaction both on their website and in the latest UMCA magazine, which was delayed for over a month while the facts were written down.

Now my opinions, for what they're worth (not a whole lot):

1.) I don't have a problem with the UMCA owning RAAM, nor with the terms of the deal. It seems it could've been disclosed in a more timely manner. I glad RAAM was "saved". It hasn't ever made money and was in serious danger of not happening at all. That would've been, in my opinion, a tragic loss. Thanks to all those that had a part in making sure it goes on.

Although the chances of me ever doing RAAM, are nearly non-existent. I still remain hopelessly enthralled by the drama, dedication, emotion and perseverance necessary to both participate in the event AND to run the thing. It IS the premier ultra-distance cycling event in the world.

2.) By very nature I'm non-confrontational, so when I see people "going to war" about something I love (Ultra cycling), I tend to just sit on the sidelines and wait for the dust settle. There ARE issues that the UMCA needs to address, and the sooner they do the better, because there is a swell of disillusion and budding malcontent that seems to be driving people apart. That isn't good. I've met many many people involved with all aspects of cycling in the past few years. Many of whom I've gotten to know and consideration my friends. I would hate to see these issues grow into something that would endanger the relationships we all hold dear.

I hope that all these organizational issues are addressed and the sport continues to grow with leaps and bounds. Transplant athlete Lou (you'll need to scroll down the link to see the relevent posts) has jumped into the "fray" and voiced many valid concerns about the issues at hand. We need this. Open forums are just that. A place to air out ideas and concerns that SHOULD be addressed and remedied. The Topica board is the only "real-time" place to do this, but does not represent the entire UMCA membership. Maybe we need a board that does.

3) On the whole interanational thing. It doesn't really matter to me. We (the international community) DO need standards by which records are set and verified.

Unfortunately internet communication does have it's limitations. Innuendo is oft misconstrued or wrongly inferred. Tone of the written word is really nonexistent and mostly misinterpreted, subject to our own preconceived bias and agenda. It IS all we have, and hopefully can serve a purpose if we all just concentrate on what is important. Our common love of the ride, the friendships and culture shared, and the joy of the experience.

Blah Blah Blah,

Thanks for reading, now go get your

RideOn

JB

Getting Cyclocross Nationals pictures up.

Couldn't resist this,


Steve Tilford destroyed the Men's 45-49 class, AND he stayed dry, which he was unable to do earlier in the month.

RideOn

JB

PhArt = Photo-Art

10 hour drive back yesterday. Playing with some of the photons I captured while up in Providence. Putting this up here rather than the photo blog as it's a bit more than a photo

The barriers were a bit surreal at times ............














RideOn

JB

Lots of big stories. You can read about those everywhere. Trebon won. So did Katie Compton. DeeDee got her Stars and Bars on Friday, then made the world take notice with a strong 4th in Elite today. Too much to write about. Kevin put some pictures of the craziness here.

A smaller but no less significant sidelight on the Sager Saga. If you don't now the story, you should. Read it here. The buzz in the crowd was "Who the heck is Jason Sager?","Do you know who this Sager guy is?", "Gonna have to Google Sager when I get home" It's nice to see some representin' goin' on.

Not just by the DangYO locals
(to the va bch locals - that's Paul Davis on the box!)











But by the not so locals as well :






It was an incredible weekend. Many more stories to tell.




RideOn

JB

Gonna be quick. Not much time.

Drove the team van up to Nats. Up here for the fun, photos and to support the boys. <---Don't they LOOK like they need some help? Rode the course, conditions are FAST.





Got to see my sis on the way, that was very nice.

Over looking the Hudson as the fog burns off.














The Tappan Zee - and I always thought it was one word.......



Don't forget to check the LTRphotoblog

RideOn

JB

Just barely 36 hours till

Pretty much finished with JohnJ's RAAM blog/site. Some minor fine tuning to do here or there. When updates are made I'll post a linky here. Used the new BetaBlogger. Spun my mental wheels a bunch learning the new template code, but it came together nicely. BetaBlogger is a better more stable and functional platform. Probably migrate this blog to beta over the holiday. Would really like a 3 column template, but Blogger doesn't have one. I almost have it worked out.


So how do you train for RAAM in the great white north of New Hampshire? Mainly on an indoor trainer like everyone else does when it's too cold. JohnJ is kicking it up a notch by riding indoors for 50 HOURS at a local fitness center. Yep. 50 hours on a trainer, day and night, 'round the clock. He started today at 4PM. He'll take part in a bunch of spin classes as they come and go. He'll be riding until Wednesday morning. SICK.

That's some (RAAM style) mental toughness there. Where do I get mine?

Working on a new helmet cam setup that uses flash memory instead of a digital recorder with moving parts. Should test it out tonight and tomorrow, and hopefully have the bugs worked out by Cross Nats. The entire setup weighs less than a pound including the power supply.

Props to all the TriPower crossers on a successful VACX series.

RideOn

JB

So the words is that Danbo is out cavorting in my neck of the woods......

Must go and find evidence..........

First, rise out of my hut (the nice bed is doing wonders for my back)








Then set out in search of tracks ......

He had a little trouble on that fixie with those smooth skinnies in the deep sand.......












Yep, looks like he was here ..........







More tracks, looks like he almost lost it coming down that hill












So much for the morning adventure, back to the hut for some rest and therapy .






33 degrees, nice and sunny. A great morning to get a little

RideOn

JB

Especially you bike ridin' monkeys








Ride Monkeys Ride!

JBMonkey

OK, even the wise one is pissed. I've been a bad boy. Ignoring my blog. Busy with Trashmore Cross pics and making up another blog.


Been off the bike for 5 days, that sucks. Had an old back problem rear its ugly head and immobilize me. Was reaching for something and sitting down at the same time. BAAAM, like a hot poker in my back. By the end of the day I could hardly move without yelping like battered pup.

Medication and rest seems to have it under control. May ride tomorrow. This is what I would've been doing today if I could walk comfortably. Looks like Danbo, Crazy, K-Dog and da boys had a great day of it. I'm green with envy.

On the Ultra Road front :

RAAM has been sold. John Hughes and Fred Boethling purchased it with the intention of keeping it going. Best wishes to them on their endeaver.

An Ultracycling buddy (and old highschool classmate) of mine will be doing the RAAM solo thing in '07. I'd love to be able to crew for him, but that amount of time off would be impossible. So I'm helping the best I can by setting up and running his blog for him. Should be exciting with daily reports during the race. JohnJ has incredible ultra palmares and an unbelievable ability to recover quickly. If you or anyone you know is looking for an adventure as his crew member, let me know.(this blog name at mindspring dot com)



The final results are up for the 24hr John Marino Competition. Whozat at the top? BFDeal. One of my goals for the year was to get in 3 24hr road races. I did. They were certainly my best rides (at any distance) of the year. That I'm first in the group doesn't mean a whole lot. I'm happy with the results regardless.

If I was really after the "title" I would've entered the drafting allowed divisions, and made sure I did the National 24 in Michegan. A fast drafting race. I think its a requirement to do the UMCA24 also. Nevertheless, I got to race with some great folks and had some awesome experiences. Looking forward to next year.





Hope ya'll got out there and got you're

RideOn,

('cause I couldn't.)

JB