What Happened in July?

If you are mildly interested; following is a partial pictorial account of the first half of July (incomplete and not in its entirety):

Most importantly; A new Bike!


The 'Little Man' trying out his new Early Rider balance bike. More on this bike later.




A ride at Sewanee with Cory, a pre-med student at The University of Auburn. Cory grew up a few blocks from my current domicile and returns to Huntsville on occassion to help meet outlandish sales quotas at Bicycles Etc. and to torment our local talent with his worldly cycling skills.


Roots, rocks and singletrack, the main ingredients for making mountain biking taste like it should.


An early AM drive to Raccoon Mountain.


And upon arrival, a ride with Big Ring John Eighmee at aforementioned Raccoon Mountain.

The first half of July as you now know through this painstaking update was comprised of a new bike for 'The Little Man', a nice Independence Eve ride at Sewanee, some more riding on Monte Sano and on the road, and a visit to Raccoon Mountain to get dragged around by the Big Ring John Eighmee from Hawley USA.

The second half of July (which will be up soon) will tell of my trip to Asheville to ride with Rich Extreme. Rich and Becky have been doing some big riding this year in places like Costa Rica, Snowshoe and a little known place called Whistler, I think that's in Canada, or somewhere. They are living the life.

Check back soon and often! Oh yeah, Black Bear Rampage coming up.

Sorry for the blurry pic, apparently I was going so fast at the top of the climb the photographers shutter speed was not set appropriately and there fore could only catch this blurry glimpse of my cycling ability.

2009 SERC #8 Raccoon Mtn Race Re-Hash

At approximately 10:30AM on Sunday morning while bouncing down a technical descent, I arrived at the bottom and looked up to find Namrita O'Dea struggling up the adjacent climb. The single speed group I was flailing off the back of had caught some of the pro/expert women early on in the first lap due to crashes and the heat and whatever, but I did not expect to see Namrita until the finish. I came around her and asked how she was, she mumbled something that led me to believe she was not feeling 100%. After talking a little more I found out that she went down at the bottom of the descent where there is a really rough rock garden, it obviously rattled her up a little. She rode along at my pace for a while and then got her legs back and took off.

The day for me started with my alarm sounding off at 4:30AM letting me know it was time to consume breakfast, affix the Kidney Shaker on the back of he FJ and take off for Chattanooga, TN. I had my usual fare; low fat, plain yogurt with Kashi and blueberries, FRS and Tazo Awake black tea. Afterwards I usually take in a LaCroix, a multi-vitamin for old people and two glucosamine tabs. I have learned to keep race morning as normal as possible and today was pretty normal except for the earlier wake up time. For what ever reason I felt nauseaus the whole drive to the race and was hoping this would pass. It did, sort of.

I was close and beginning the drive up the mountain road to the top of Raccoon Mtn. when I noticed a single speeder riding up the steep winding road toward the event. I thought to myself, surely this guy is not riding to the race as it was already very hot and humid and it was a long, steep climb.

Anyway, I arrived excited to race, and forgetting that I felt a little ill, stood in line for over 30 mins even though I had pre-registered. During regsitration I learned via anouncement that a course change had made the two lap distance of the race right at 25 miles instead of the expected 22 miles. I was happy to have a little extra distance even though the temps were going to hover around 95 degrees. There was a neutral feed zoned at about 6 miles into the first lap so I was okay with just taking my two smallish bottles. After registering and suiting up, filled my bottles took a quick ~5min spin and it was time to toe the line. When I found my single minded bretheren and lined up guess who was to my right? Yeah, the guy I saw coming up the road, I asked if he did the climb as a warm up and his response "This is a short race for me so I just rode from my house". Some other guy asked him if he was doing Leadville....again and he said "Definitely". What a drag, the single speed class is attracting some success oriented racers, this is not congruent with my mission of langudily cruising along to mid-pack dominance.

The whistle finally blew and we were off, spinning like mad on the pave' for a 1/4 mile before hitting the technical singletrack that would put us all in a dusty single file, grunting line. I entered the singletrack off the back of the main group and there was some pretty quick carnage and I gained two spots in the singlespeed group. The pace was hurried as I knew it would be so I just tried to keep the group in sight around the first part of the course. I held on for through the first part of the course and up the biggest climb and somewhere before I ran into Namrita I fell off the back and lost sight of the group for the rest the race. Before the end of the first lap I was felling a little sick every time I tried to push it a little so I knew I better settle in to a comfortable pace in order to make the climbs on the second lap.

After easing up a little and finishing up the first lap I surprised myself by continuing on for the second lap when I really just wanted to stop at the FJ, sit down in the shade and drink the one cold beer I had in the cooler. Instead I settled into a mechanical pace that I would hold the rest of the race. Right before the end of the race I had three pros (who started 12 mins before my group) come by finishing their third and final lap. They were still riding a fast, smooth pace. I am always impressed at the difference between weekend warriors and the pro pace these guys were riding like I did in the first 10 mins. In the last mile of the race there were a few racers that were suffering from their earlier efforts and I was able to come by a few people but did not catch any single speeders. I finished in ~2hrs 35 mins which was good enough for 19th place. I felt really good at the end of the race which tells me that I did not go near hard enough. I have got to figure out what is going on with this nausea that I keep having while racing. Maybe I am just slow and getting slower or maybe the single speed class is just getting a whole lot faster and more competitive. Either way the SERC #8 was a great race at a great trail network and I am sure that I will be suffering through it again next year.

Next race, maybe, 'Fools Gold'?

Peligroso: Top Secret Race Preparation Underway

Before I get into the race report and eventual result of said race, I thought it might be interesting to disclose some of the Mountain Mist Cycling Teams top secret race preparations.

Since my body was not really prepared for the SERC # 8 at Raccoon Mountain I thought I might make sure my bike was ready. I had two concerns with the bike, my fitness is a concern too long to get into right now. First concern, the extermely narrow width of my new flat bar set up. Solution, buy another bar, can't commit to that right now so problem ignored. Second concern, to eliminate the absurd creaking going on in the bottom bracket area of the Kidney Shaker.


The creaking in the bottom bracket area of the Kidney Shaker would prove to be a pivotal element in Sunday's race. Since I had already removed the new Niner EBB (that designed by NASA engineers to be mute) and cleaned it thoroughly after DSG the only other source of the creaking would have to be the bb cups themselves. When I installed the bb cups I greased the threads thouroughly so I was skeptical that this was the problem. Just to be sure I removed the Chris Bling bottom bracket cups to reveal still moist and pristine, uncontaminated grease. Just to go the extra mile (I don't mind going the extra mile figuratively) I wrapped the threads with teflon tape. I have always had quiet bottom brackets and when I haven't I have always solved the offensive creaking with this application. Well the creaking is still there and I am sure now it is the new not so silent EBB. I think my bb shell is a little out of round from the old EBB so I can not totally blame the new one. I can just blame the old style for not allowing the new style to work.

After not correcting my two concerns I decided to just go over the details of the Kidney Shaker to check for any other potential issues.

Pre-flight inspection:



Cockpit..........CHECK!


Anterior softening device...........CHECK!


Mid engine rotating propulsion arms.........CHECK!


Posterior propulsion mechanism..........CHECK!

Everything else seemed to be in order with the exception of a very sketchy sidewall on the rear Maxxis Ardent I am running. The threads are showing through the sidewall and a few are tearing in one spot in particular. Hopefully it will hold up for one more race. Since my fitness is not where it usually is at this time of year and I have not solved any problems with my bike I feel pretty much like usual going into this race. Great, just a typical day at the office.

Full race rapport next post.

Ride, Ride, Ride, ...........Race!

Paging Rich, come in Rich. I hope that you are not bored enough to be reading this incoherent blurb but if you are contact me at 'gregorycurl at comcast dot net' and let's make plans for Girls Weekend. Special note: All other readers kindly destroy this message after reading.

Now on to cycling.

So much for 'tapering off' before a race. My goal for SERC @ Raccoon Mountain is to arrive sunburned, tired along with some lingering effects from the night before and suffer through the 22 miles on my one gear kidney shaker.

Note: Archived image of the Kidney Shaker in its stock (original, unmodified and not set up specifically for me) form.

I ride when I can and this past month has been difficult to get on the bike due to a minor injury, work and family vacation. The same challenges almost everyone else has. This week has afforded me the opportunity to log almost as many hours on the bike as I have in the past month. I didn't plan this, it's just the way it worked out. Things are going just as unplanned. I told myself when I started racing mountain bikes that I would not let racing or a race or God forbid training, interfere with my enjoyment of riding a mountain bike.


Here I am half way through the SSUSA race in 2008. You won't see Jeff Kerkove chugging a PBR at mid-point in a ride, much less a race. Now that's what mountain biking is all about, riding, having fun, and riding some more. It did kinda upset my stomach on the the next climb filled lap though, but who cares.

I gotta ride when I have a chance and I can't be 'tapering off' or 'ramping up' or doing 'recovery rides'. If I try a training schedule I will miss out on a lot of good rides. That stuff is for people that get paid to ride their bikes and plan out their riding and racing like it's their job, cause it is. This doesn't mean I am going to show up at a race and just ride along and be in the way, it may seem like that's what I am doing sometimes, but trust me that's really my race pace.

One thing I have missed this year is the Wednesday night group ride. This week it was not a total hammer fest but a few of us did roll out pretty hard. There are always several groups to ride with and I joined in with Hammerhead Chad, the only other SS'er besides myself, Never Ready Freddy, Lil' Ray, T.R., Shirtless Joe Jefferson (although uncharateristically clad in a Trailhead jersey), and Jerry. We took off from the bikers parking lot and took the Sinks>Goat Trail> Roller Coaster (aka Flat Rock Connector)>Flat Rock>and up to the water tower>closed road back to parking lot. And then I pedaled home for a nice and fast ~2hrs on the single speed including the usual group required stops. This is only my second group ride of the year, hopefully I can join in on the suffering and camaraderie more often.

Thursday I got out for a hush, hush ride on the Renegade (aka Forbidden) Trail. I can't say much more than that, other than it is extra sweet when your ride is on a kinda hidden, secret, unmarked, not on any map trail with coyotes, deer, spiders, snakes, wild turkeys and all sorts of other trail obstacles. I had a busy day at work so I didn't pedal away from the house until almost 6PM and this is usually a 2 plus hour ride that finishes with me doing about 4 miles on the road to get back home. It was about dark when I hit the road, got yelled at by one driver for not having a light and pedaled my way home.

Race day on Sunday. My plan is to leave the house at 5:30AM CST on Sunday in order to make it to Raccoon Mtn by 8:00AM EST and put forth enough effort for a mid pack SS finish in the SERC race. Results on Monday, maybe. I might take the morning off and go for a recovery road ride. Who knows?

News You Can Use from My Office

I am having a difficult time coming to grips with not being on vacation. I did make it into the office at 6:45 this AM and was really motivated for a couple of hours. Now I am not so motivated, so while you are working, and I am not, I can report to you what is going on in the cycling world.

Tour Divide: It looks like Matthew Lee is in the lead at the Tour Divide Race arriving in Steamboat Springs just a little while ago.

Tour de France: Will Tom Boonen be racing the Tour de France or will he be free to saunter down to the local European club where cocaine flows like coffee? We will all be on the edge of our seats until Thursday.

NUE Series: Jeff Schalk won the latest race in the NUE Series.

Missy "The Missile" Giove: It has to be for medicinal purposes, she is so clean cut.

Gotta get back to work, ride tonight, more tomorrow.

Vacociones de verano

Back at work today after a week at the beach with La Jefa and The Little Man. I wish I could spend all summer like a kid on holiday. Funny how fast we wish to grow up, start driving, gain independence, stay out late, go off to school, get a job, buy a house, pay a mortgage, start a family and then realize how much we want to be a kid again. Let's all slow down, maybe take a walk on the beach and enjoy where we're at in life right now.



All right, enough with the life lessons. I did manage to squeeze in some riding while at the beach. It was hard to find the time with eating big breakfasts, then walking to the beach, afternoon beers followed by an evening of fried shrimp washed down with margaritas and topped off with an ice cream cone. I was sluggish to say the least on the 7:00AM rides but managed to log some hours. The beach where we stay has a ~30mile bike path that is not really a "bike path" but a thoroughfare for languid pedestrians, moms with two seater baby strollers and tweeners on beach cruisers. You really can't ride a road bike, or any real bike for that matter, on the "bike path" without endangering yours and other peoples lives. This bike path causes a lot of conflict with locals driving on the 35mph road because they believe you should be on the "bike path" and not on the two lane highway. This causes some serious user conflict and I was a target of more than one pissed off redneck. I can understand how they don't comprehend why we have to ride in the road but it shouldn't make them mad enough to want to fight about it. I was cursed at, threatened and had someone try to run me down like I had committed a crime against humanity while all I was doing was riding a bike at 20-25mph in a 35 mph zone. How big of a hurry can you be in not to have 15 seconds to go around a cyclist? Uh oh, I am almost back to the life lessons, on to cycling; for real this time.

Upon return to my half underground lair high atop Monte Sano Mountain I was destined for the quiet solitude of a mountain bike. So Sunday began my reverse taper training for SERC at Raccoon Mountain next Sunday. I am going to pile on the hours this week and if I have to race tired so be it. I am really working toward a different goal with another stepping stone along the way. We will see what happens to foil my well thought out plan.

Mudder Truckin' Rain

Ride update:

Saturday: wet trails = 38 mi. road ride, nice, kinda cool and sunny.
Sunday: the same only ~45 mi. on the road.
Tuesday: A mostly dry mtb ride on Monte Sano..... alone.
Wednesday: Date night, so a 5:30AM road ride, hill repeats.....ugh.
Thursday: Rain from Wed. and earlier Thursday = slick mtb ride with bAlbert.


The drop in to the lower portion of Goat Trail.


bAlbert arriving and ready to slip slide his way through the lower Goat.


Even The Little Man has resolved himself to the fact that 'If you're gonna ride this year, you're gonna have to ride in some mud.'

The GDMBR starts today at high noon. If you don't know what that is look here. For a quick synopsis I will tell you that it is a 2745 mile self supported mountain bike race from here...............


Banff, AB, CA

To here...............


Antelope Wells, NM

I have been following this race for the past 4 or 5 years and it is incredible what some of the riders endure racing day and night for weeks on end. I am talking riding 18 hrs a day, sleeping on the ground beside your bike in the rain or snow, grizzly bears, freezing temps in the Rockies, and blistering heat in the deserts of New Mexico. It makes what most of us do on a bike seem like child's play. This year has the largest start list ever, so it should be a very interesting 20 days or so. Check it out.

I am off to the beach for a week with La Jefa and The Little Man......of course I am bringing a bike, two bikes in fact.

Oh yeah, there maybe some Moots news by the time I return. I will keep you, the faithful readers of this incoherent dribble, properly and completely informed.

U.S. Cup (aka Bump N Grind) Race Rapport

BUMP was a great host this weekend for the 2nd race of the inaugural U.S. Cup East mountain bike race series. The food was plenty and the bathrooms few as is the norm at an event that involves a bunch of caffeinated adrenaline junkies mixing it up on a quick anaerobic loop around a rooty, somewhat technical, rock strewn course with one really good climb and some smoking fast singletrack.

I have ridden the course, Oak Mountain, several times before but not in the past few years, and never, ever on a single speed. The website for the race hinted that there had been some improvements or changes or something going on with the course that was different from last year. It also stated repeatedly; pre-ride, pre-ride, pre-ride. I took this to heart and chose to ride Raccoon Mountain in Chattanooga the weekend before the race. This would count as pre-ride uh ride. Granted it is roughly 4 hrs away I figured it would count for a good pre-ride uh ride, it's not like it's in a different time zone or anything, well, yeah technically it is, but how much different can the course be for God's sake.

As is typical in the days prior to a race, I started having some aches, pains, concerns and some questions about why I eat so much pizza and chase it down with beer so often. Maybe it was Raccoon Mtn or the heated pace of riding with a bunch of hammer heads for 3 + hrs, I dunno but I felt my back tightening up at the end of last week. You know I have had back trouble for a while, but I was not too concerned as it just tight and was not giving me too much trouble.

At 3:30AM Sunday I peeled myself from a mattresss that was not offering me anything resembling sleep to finish loading the FJ Cruiser and double check my gear, shoes, helmet, gloves, bike, epi-pen, special kit to wear on podium, etc. and start the drive down to the race venue. My back was really stiff with some pain on the right side (my good side). I thought it would loosen up and I would feel better. I arrived and immediately got my schwag bag, and # plate, looked around eyeing others with single mindedness and then proceeded to organize my things. We were given I.D. bracelets, time chips what ever, to wear on our shoes. After a quick refresher course in trigonometry I was able to attach mine to my left SIDI. After the unexpected mental challenge I began to try to loosen up my tight back. All good I am ready to go, sort of. I did an enjoyable ~20min warm up on the bike and then some more stretching before the start.

As I rolled up to the start with the other single speeders I did as any other competitor does, I started eyeing the competition. While I did not immediately recognize anyone as a threat to my mid pack finish quest, I did notice one thing. I had a belly and hairy legs and the other mmmm.... 24 contestants did not. I sorta looked behind me to make eye contact with the person or persons that I was pretty sure were either going to run over me or yell at me for holding them up at the start.

The whistle blew and I got spit out the back like the peloton of single speeders had been shooting EPO and eating Laxatives for the past few months. It was all I could do to just hang on. Several thoughts started drifting through my head as I pedaled up the road toward the single track. Maybe I should be running a 18t cog instead of this 20t? Should I have a bagel or an orange at the finish? Will there be snacks along the course? Will shaving my beard make me faster or will it just take up more time in the morning with maintenance that could otherwise be spent training? The single track will soon let me know the answers to these questions and more.

When we, I mean I hit the single track I was pretty much in last place and my back was really hurting, not excruciating but pretty painful. I slowed down and told myself to take it easy and see if I felt better at a more relaxed pace. Wow I can see again and that loud percussion occurring in my chest is getting more faint. Hey I'm not dizzy anymore either, this is nice. Surprisingly enough I began to catch and pass a couple of single speeders and quite a few geared guys when I backed off and settled into the ride a little. Obviously a few people went out way too hard and just by simply passing a few people I began to feel a little better. Nothing lifts ones spirit like seeing others suffer and endure misery.

After about 30 anaerobic minutes the climbing began and the trail continued to gain elevation and then give it away for several miles. Up and down and then the big climb hits at about 40 minutes into the loop. Somehow when the climbing began I started to feel a little better and ended up reeling in a few more of the single speeders and some of the geared guys too. Once at the top it was time to spin time away, take in some scenery and go back to daydreaming. Did I leave the iron on? I wonder who will be at the pool later? What kind of beer in the can should I drink at the pool? The Tecate in a can is pretty nice. The flat part at the top of the ridge goes on forever and I was spinning like mad and getting passed by a lot of people with way more gear combinations than me. When after what seemed like forever I arrived at the descent and ended up behind a geared full squishy that I followed maybe a little too closely all the way down to 'Blood Rock'. In the rockiest, gnarliest section of Blood Rock the geared squishy went down and not wanting to stack right on top of him I chose to exit the trail to the left where a bluff resides and immediately stacked right into a huge rock. It really wasn't very dramatic so no damage to me or the bike. I jumped back on and was almost tangled in another crash but kept going and finished the technical descent feeling better as the race progressed.

There was one more hill to negotiate and I managed to get by some more people on the final significant climb that graduated on for a while. The track was really tight so passing was quite tedious but I was getting by without too much trouble and made up for some of the time I lost at the beginning of the race. I was really beginning to feel pretty good at about 1hr 10 mins into the race and kept a strong pace to the finish. Official finish time 1:30:53. 18th place Single speed. Out of 25. Not so good, but in retrospect, it was a really strong field, and I am not too disappointed with my time. Maybe I should have run a 19t or even an 18t on the rear but then the climbing would have taken more out of me. Who knows.... oh yeah; I guess the guys that pre-ride the damn course know after a few loops, hey I am really much faster with the blah, blah, blah tooth cog. Big deal, I had fun and rode myself silly, so in that respect I did what I came to do.

Oh yeah, the training and fitness recap, I really think my fitness is better than my time shows and I feel like I could have done better if my back was not hurting in the beginning but I also felt a pretty high PE in the beginning too, so I don't know if I could have done much better. The competition rode strong and stomped on me pretty hard so I have to work on my top end a little more, I think the endurance is pretty good for now. I had a great time and enjoyed the race and am looking forward to SERC at Raccon Mountain at the end of the month.

An Evening with Tools

One recent Friday evening found me unsupervised as Le Jefa and the Little Man were called out of town for a baby shower. This meant that I finally had the time to hunker down in my half underground lair to install all the new unobtainium drive train parts on the Niner. Follow along in picture book fashion as I proceed to install a new go system in a record time of 4 beers:


Old go system removed and bb shell is ready for facing.


Required tools, parts and hydration......check.


Who knew that all you needed to PROPERLY face a bottom bracket shell was an old piece of 200 grit sand paper and a sanding block?


New and 'Improved' Niner EBB correctly installed in shell.


Unobtainium Chris King BB and XTR Single Ring crank partially installed.

I had to install the CK BB three different times before I figured out that I did not need any of the 3 spacers provided with the new 73mm width bb, as noted in the instructions. This took 2 beers on top of the 1 beer that was spent facing the bb shell. I decided to stand around and have a 4th beer and look at my handy work that took 3 times as long as it should have and start a new the next day.

Summer is for racing. That is unless you have money for a beach vacation, a pool membership, a friend or family member with a boat or anything else better to do. Since I have none of the above I started training for Bump n Grind yesterday with a recovery ride. I don't know what I was recovering from but I just felt like I needed a recovery ride and I hear a lot about these such rides so I thought I would give it a try. Kinda boring, spinning around on the road atop a skinny tire bike with gears and hair on my legs, doesn't make much sense, but then again not much of what I do anymore makes any sense. Today I will try some short 'Race Pace' intervals, I hear a lot about those so I will give that a try as well.

More on race prep. tomorrow.

The Question is Moots

I told you I was very, very close to winning a Moots frame at the 3rd running of DSG. I had a feeling that I might win the frame since I have been so deserving of a Moots for so long that I bought five chances to win the Moots. I was sure I would win, since I am incapable of winning the single speed class I might as well have some luck and win the door prize. So how close was I?




Becky won the Moots! You know Becky, the faster half the dynamic mountain biking duo known as Becky and Rich from Charlotte, NC. They even stayed with La Jefa, the Little Man and I the night before the event (I refuse to call what transpired at DSG this year a race. You can't get too much closer than that. It was a well deserved win for Becky and I am happy that she won the frame.........maybe something good will happen to me because of it. I have not given up on something positive coming out of the misery that was DSG this year. Okay enough about Dirt, Sweat and Gears, I am going to put it out of my mind, if I can.

Some changes were made on the Niner for this season of racing. The first change has been aimed at improving the drive train of this bike. The old Niner EBB just hasn't performed like it should so Niner designed a new 'Clam Shell Type' EBB.



It is new and more expensive so naturally I had to have one.

Also new and more expensive and previously discussed and desired on this very blog is the new Chris King BB.



I had to have one of those also.

Now all I needed was a crank,



and some rings.





File photo, I actually installed a 20T.

Joining all of these parts proved to be more than a two beer task like I had originally estimated. After three beers I became more patient and learned yet again to not only read the manufacturers instructions but to follow them as well.

Performance review to follow later this week. Oh yeah, Bump n Grind pre race report will be out this week also.

You Know the saying; April Showers Bring ......... More Rain in May

It has been a long, wet spring in the southeast. I have only been on a handful of decent mtb rides since returning from AZ and blogging about rain soaked road rides sucks even more than road rides, or at least as bad. Reading about them is even worse. But things are going to pick up, the trails are going to dry and some exciting stuff has happened and is going to happen.

An fortuitous moment occurred last weekend, I finally met Team Dicky at Mud, Tents and Beer. This has been an event I have been looking forward to since last years edition of DSG, there was nothing about the race that could be construed as mountain bike racing, however I did meet Team Dicky and that is an event in and amongst itself.

In addition to meeting Team Dicky last weekend I was very close to winning a new Moots frame. Very close. Very, very close.

More about that, Team Dicky and more about nothing on Monday.

WTC 09 WOWAZ Prologue and Stage 1

I arrived in Tucson without incident only to find out that Declan's flight had been delayed. I had some reading to do and just hung around Tucson International for a few hours until Declan arrived. After Declan and his bags arrived we were off to meet the couple that agreed to put up with us for a week. Mary Ellen and CJ live in a certified wildlife habitat with a house planted right in the middle of all the fora and fauna that is indigenous to the area. They call their home Way Out West Arizona and it is located in the desert north of Tucson east of the Catalina Mountains.

WOWAZ, our Margarita, er, I mean Mountain Biking headquarters for a week.

After leaving a smooth paved road for a potholed third world country kinda road that eventually deteriorated into a dusty, dirt road, cross a cattle guard and through a big green gate we finally arrived to WOWAZ about 9 or 10PM. Upon presenting ourselves we got to know Mary Ellen and CJ over a couple of New Belgium beers before resting our travel weary minds with a sound sleep.

The morning greeted us with a breakfast spread that would satisfy even Oprah's appetite. We gorged ourselves on a variety of fresh fruits, yogurt, granola, an array of juices, hot tea, quiche and yummy muffins. I was moving a little slow after shoveling in all the tasty treats on display at breakfast so I just relaxed while CJ helped me mount up some new tires with his secret desert no flat formula. I can't remember what he calls his concoction but I will just call it CJ's Desert Juice or CJDJ for short. This juice will play a huge part in my enjoyment of riding in the desert. After getting the tires mounted up with CJDJ sealant inside Declan and I decided to head over to the 24hours in The Old Pueblo event.



If you live under a rock and are not familiar with this event 24 hours in The Old Pueblo is the largest 24 hour race in the U.S. and A. By the time we arrived at the venue the clouds rolled in and the wind picked up and it was cold. Maybe it was cold even before we got there, I don't know, all I know is it was cold when we got there and it was warm when we left WOWAZ headquarters. Like an idiot, I did not have the appropriate gear for hanging out in the cold. This would be one of only two times in 12 days of being in the desert that I got a little chilled. Since I am a sissy when it comes to being cold we walked through the vendor area, looked around a little and went back to WOWAZ heaadquarters. Mountain biking is more of a participatory sport as opposed to a sit and watch kinda sport so Declan and I were keen to get on our bikes and ride.


Back at WOWAZ we assembled our bikes and sat around in the sun for awhile before starting our ride. Perfectly situated for cacti hugging nature lovers, hikers and mountain bikers all you have to do to access the huge myriad of trails and desert flora is to walk or ride out of the back yard and start enjoying your particular pursuit.

See the snow up in the mountains? Pretty cool when you are riding around in ~75' F weather.

CJ, anxious to start riding, hit the trails before us and agreed to meet up with us on a section of the 50 yr Trail to show us around. Mary Ellen gave us a first class escort through the wash and up to the start of a trail aptly named Roller Coaster. Declan and I began the climb up roller coaster and I immediately came to terms with the altitude, dry desert air and my fitness. I decided to start off easy and then back it off a notch or two and was happy to see the top of the first climb. We were greeted on the 50 by CJ and was given a tour of a small part of what I began to think of as CJ's 5500 square mile back yard. And that is just the state land, I have no idea how much of the Coronada National Forest we rode on, but it was a lot. We were treated to great single track with rocky, technical climbs and fast, fun descents all connected by the nice flow of the 50 year trail.


This section of trail is known as 'The Overlook'. Almost all of the trail in this area offers a great view but this is the official 'Overlook'. Oh yeah, you can see CJ's house from here, it is one of the ones with the whitish roof.
If I remember correctly our first day we went up on Roller Coaster, down part of 50, rode the Deer Camp Loop, back to and down 50 to the Chutes. The Chutes are a labyrinth of bermed, swoopy trails that descend down from the 50 into a wash area not far from CJ's back yard proper. It was on one of these sections of the Chutes where Declan got his first real taste of riding in the desert.

That is a Cholla stem stuck to Declans leg. The needles on this cactus can be quite painful and usually penetrate pretty deep.

The desert can be as hard or harder on your bike as it is on your body.



The scene of Declan's introduction to the desert and the first of many flat tires. None for me thanks to CJ's Desert Juice Sealant.

After fixing Declan's flat we headed back toward WOWAZ for some hot tamales, ice cold Fat Tire Ale and a nice soak in the hot tub. Man, what a great day in the desert and a nice taste of things to come!

More exciting trails, a Sonorasaurus, Gila Monster and a Flat Tire Festival in the next report.


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Yeah, But it's a Dry Heat

I am back from 'Winter Training Camp 09' with a tan and confirmation that I am out of shape going into the 2009 season. What a surprise! This is no different from any other season so I expect to continue my mid pack domination of the single speed class this year. If you are looking to finish mid-pack or slightly farther behind in the races I choose to participate in this year you will have a fight on your hands (until I get tired and fall way off the back). With or without fitness it is time to make some decisions about which races I will drag my anaerobic body through this year. Look for The Mountain Mist Cycling South Eastern United States Tour Schedule to be revealed on this very blog soon.

The city of Tucson's slogan is 'Real, Natural, Arizona'. Yeah, sounds great if you are retiring there. I have derived a different slogan: 'Tucson, warm and sunny (in the winter), with bike lanes seemingly on every road, and mountain bike trails with real mountains and trail features that can kill you. What more could you desire in a winter playground?



Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum) on the side of the trail. As a child in America I had dreams. Dreams of devoting most of my paycheck to taxes and health insurance, having a mortgage with no forseeable end and to see one of these beautiful lizards in the wild. I can now rest easy that all of my dreams have come true.




Saguaro Cacti (Carnegia gigantea). Some of these are over 150 years old.




Okay, since this is a cycling blog, a riding pic for your perusal. Moab isn't the only place with slick rock.

Look for Part 1 of WTC 09 to be posted on Monday, where you can learn more about riding and, well, just being in the desert.

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Winter Training Camp Preparation

Yesterday, the first task of "Winter Training Camp '09" was completed. Since I have been told by those who are paid to make me feel better that I shouldn't lift heavy things like a 70lb bike box, I felt it necessary to separate the travels of the Mountain Mist Cycling Team. This has occurred on only one other occasion when on my honeymoon I felt it prudent to mail my bike to Hawaii instead of dragging it through the airports and to the rental car with La Jeffa also in tow.

Just because it is as interesting as the ideas Obama has for stimulating the economy I have jpeg-edly recorded the first preparation for WTC '09.

First step, open box.




Step B, insert partially disassembled bike into box.



Step 3, insert more cycling related paraphernalia into box.



Step 4, throw in wheels. Or place gingerly into foam packing material, it doesn't matter these wheels are as round as a box and as true as as the comments from Bush regarding weapons of mass distraction.



No, I didn't forget about tires and no, I am not going to ride on a rails to trails project before they remove the tracks. I am awaiting shipment of new tires that will make the plane trip with the second part of the team.

Final Step, double check to make sure everything is packed inside properly and close securely. This always seems to take more effort than I am ready for.



Oh yeah, after wrestling with closing the box for fifteen minutes it is easy to remember what I have not inserted into the box. This will require an additional 30mins of wrestling and cursing.

More to come on final preparations for WTC '09.

Having Trouble Cranking Up Oh Nine

I usually like to hit the ground running (or actually riding)in the New Year but this year has been as slow as the economy, going in reverse, in fact, just like all of the lackluster investments these brilliant financial planners have managed to wrap up our retirement savings in.

Following is a list of what has happened and not happened so far in 2009'er:

Happened Painful injury that won't go away.

Didn't Happen Long slow leisure rides to build endurance.

Happened Bought a trainer and rode indoors. Something I vowed I would never do, but it doesn't suck as bad as your wife making you watch a 2hr episode of The Bachelor. I had no idea TV had gotten so terrible. Thank God for TWC.

Didn't Happen (for me anyway) Tour de Felasco



This is a fantastic event that I had to sacrifice for the sake of health, or lack of health, or maybe because I am getting old, but age has only made Tinker faster so that's not a viable excuse.

Happened A very cold, wet winter in the South that has almost replenished our water table.

Happening Road racing will be exciting this year with Armstrong, Basso, and Landis back in the game.

Gonna Happen I am off to the desert to ride and recuperate and have enlisted some outside help to get my own ass back in the game. (more on that later this week)


Check back into the blog often to stay ABREAST of the current news and events of Mountain Mist Cycling.


And you hear all of this talk about how unfriendly road racing is. Seems quite nice to me.


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