Man Down!! Medic!!

Wwnt out on a ride this afternoon w/ the Sycamore Cycles crew. Eric and Hugh from the Aerospace team were in town so I invited them as well. Wanted to get in 3-4 hrs. nice and mellow on the mountain bikes so we figured out a good route and took off. First up was North Slope trail- a nice 3.5 mile loop. We rocket up the climb w/ Wes D setting a good tempo, get to the top and regroup to start the downhill. There were numerous close calls due to the massive leaf fall on the trail but it was still fun. Nearing the end of the DH I decided that I hadn't had a hard crash since the Wissahickon Cross race back in Oct. and wondered to myself if I could still crash really hard and get messed up bad. If you have ridden N. Slope you know there is a tiny section of nasty rooty steps near the end. Today they were wet and covered with leaves. Nope, I did not answer my previously pondered question here- I did however crash spectacularly on a tiny section of wet roots 100 yards later. I have ridden that trail hundreds of times and had not even noticed that root before. However, it was my lucky day and the cosmos and stars and whatever aligned perfectly to drop me like I had an Aneurism or been shot by a sniper. After nearly being run over by The Weapon, regaining my feet and composure, ( in that order ) I brushed the mud off my white vest (a wise fashion choice today) and surveyed the damage. Surprisingly I got off relatively easy, until I saw the hole in my knee. It was the big enough to stick the tip of my pinky finger in ( I know this because I had to try it- much to my surprise it hurt very badly when I did that!) Anyways, the hole had big chunks of skin hanging off it and was rapidly releasing my blood into the open where I did not want it to go. So I pull my knee warmer down to cover it up- that will fix it and we ride on. After another 2 1/2 - 3 hrs. we roll back into town at the right time because the temp. had dropped 10-15 degrees. I go searching for Ibuprophen and go home to clean up. I'll spare the details of the cleanup but it did involve tiny scissors, toenail clippers, rubbing alchohol, neosporin, towels, and a large dressing. Lifting weights tomorrow will be fun!! Later- DH

How it went down

I Dave Hall went to Wes Dickson's birthday party. Not Harland Price's. But Wes'. All the usual suspects were present. A good time was had by all- well nearly all, the Yeti will have it rough tomorrow. The KOP seemed to be having a great time, which is always fun to be around. Anyways- Happy Birthday Wes and good luck next year.

UCI cross weekend

Drove to Philly (10 hrs.) for the Verge Mid Atlantic UCI cross races @ Granouge Estate in DE and the Wissahickon cross in PA. Stayed w/ Ben and Terri (who is very pregnant and thankfully did not give birth while I was there ) and got to check out lots of cool stuff in Philly. Rode through Camden, NJ ( highest murder rate in the US), saw Independence Hall/ Liberty Bell, the Dolly Madison House ( yes, the same one that makes the delicious pastries in convenience stores), ate the most phenominal french toast ever (huge with a layer of cream cheese and bananas between slices), checked out Manayunk, and saw a comedy show (the headliner was Biff from back to the future). Oh yeah- I did also race. How did that go? 2 front flats at high speed + 1 rolled tubular= 2 hard crashes. 2 hard crashes = multiple lacerations + 1 good head whack + 1 dislocated thumb + lots of time fixing bike and running around = getting lapped and finishing 48th and 52nd respectively. 2 many equations there. Better luck next time and thanks for playing. By the way Ryan Trebon absolutely DESTROYED a stacked field. Look out fellas cause I don't think he can be stopped.
This weekend should go better, going to a small local race to lick my wounds and feel better about myself. Plus I get to race in a costume for bonus points! Rock On! Later-DH

Off to A Beating

I'm off to Wilmington, DE for the Verge Mid Atlantic Cyclocross Series #1. These are big time UCI races- they don't get any bigger on American soil. I checked the start lists and all the heat has registered. Loaded up the megavan and I'm off. I'll post afterwords if I can still form a cognitive thought process. Later-DH

Bluegrass, barriers, and campfire pizza

Loaded up the megavan w/ camping equipment, cyclocross equipment,Liza and Alex and headed up to Johnston City, TN for some MSG cross action on Sat. Got there, warmed up and got ready to race. Hadn't ridden in a couple of days so my legs were really stale. The plan was to start slow and work in to it. Gun goes off and we race up the pavement. Somehow I get the holeshot. Plan A ( starting mellow) is abandoned- I am leading so no choice but to drill it. The race gets strung out pretty quick , I ride smooth in 2nd. 2 guys catch me and from the sound of their wheezing I know they won't get far. Sure enough, they detonate soon, I roll by, get on the gas and am gone. Can't catch 1st, he is in another county by now, so I roll in for 2nd. Pack up the van, get my check and we are off to Kentucky.

We stop for the night in a place called Jellico, TN. It's up by the TN/KY border. They are suppose to have a state park here. We find it and I set up camp. Liza and Alex drive off to find a Wal-Mart and some firewood. Shortly after they leave I saw an A-10 Warthog plane fly over at treetop level, bank west, circle, do a barrel roll, and fly upside down over the ridge and out of sight. I would hate to be an enemy of the US Government in a tank.
The megavan has been gone awhile and I am starting to get a little worried. I am from Western Carolina and I am going to go ahead and call this area a little backwoods hillbilly. By now it is dark and getting cold. Alas- headlights! The magavan has returned. They drove 15 miles into KY and there is no firewood in sight. They did requisition some charcoal however so I get that rolling while Alex does what he does- goes to mooch some firewood somewhere in the campground.
Alex is successful and so is Liza, the pizzas are on the grill and cooking. After dinner, we walk through the campground and get treated to an impromtu concert. We are treated to the stylings of Johnny Cash-done in Blugrass. Off to bed.

Wake up, DiDi, and hit the Huddle House for some huddlin' up on grease. Back in the car and head to race #2. Pre ride the course-lots of 180s and a run up the size of Mt. Everest. Legs don't feel great so I decide to go for yesterday's plan A again. This time I execute the last place start to perfection. On the 2nd lap I can't ride that slow anymore so I attack the group I'm in and drop 4 guys. At least I'm not last anymore. Start picking off guys lap by lap as Mt.Everest keeps growing, I almost don't make it the last lap but roll on in for 5th, the last spot in the $.
Repeat yasterday- pack van, grab check, go home.

Long drive home. Crappy meal at Denny's but that was balanced out due to the fact that we saw an RV on Fire on the side of the road. Hope everyone got out OK.
Pictures soon. Until next time- DH Out.

Photos

More photos can be found at http://jjakucyk.rwaarchitects.com/stampede2006