It’s been a week of paperwork, forking out some cash, and getting certified to do things. Following my hunting adventure last weekend, I decided to go ahead and buy a hunting license. I somehow thought this would expensive and somewhat difficult, but at $25 and just a little application with a flash of my drivers license, and I was good to go. So watch out creatures of Texas, I am now licensed to kill you. Kill is a strong word, though. While that will be the end result, I prefer to use the terms “harvest” or “take” since these words clearly infer that I’m terminating their lives not only for sport, but for meat.  High quality, great tasting, wild caught meat, the way nature intended.

While I’ve had some small architectural side jobs keeping me afloat since getting laid off, I always told myself if I did get laid off and was hurting financially that I’d take up pedicabbing. I’m not exactly hurting financially since I live a very frugal lifestyle and had a decent savings account built up, but I was ready to give it a try. I think more than the monetary rewards of the profession, ever since I moved to Austin and started riding a bike everywhere, I’ve viewed the job as a great way to get a hard workout, meet new people, and be part of the downtown vibe that makes Austin what it is. After finally getting all the require documents from DPS ( a criminal history report and certified driving record,I met with Capital Pedicab last night to finalize some paper work. After passing the written exam abd throwing down some dough, I received my Chaffeur’s Permit from the City of Austin. I am now legal to haul your butt around downtown via a human powered taxi. Training starts Thursday, steady work thereafter. I look forward to the adventures to come through this new endeavour.

Finally, I submitted my application for a passport today. It was a lot of money and a lot of paperwork and you actually have to schedule an appointment to get in these days, but it went through. Hopefully in five weeks I’ll be free to move about the world.

It’s really astounding how much of our lives are on paper and are regulated by little pieces of plastic we carry around in our wallets. Whatever happened to just doing things the old fashioned way? I suppose liability is a nice thing to have since we are all human and prone to error, but sometimes the systems put in place to protect against the carelessness of a few really sucks for the majority of people who do the right thing.

That’s it til next week, site work still in progress. Thanks for reading.

I enjoyed Thanksgiving break with family this past week. Aside from lots of good food and conversation, two important things took place. My brother and I took to the bush (the deep woods, for you non-hunters) after our second Thanksgiving dinner at Dad’s Saturday for some feral pig hunting. I’ve been practicing with the bow Colleen bought me for my birthday and felt confident enough to head into the woods to lethally shoot an animal. This would be my first opportunity to test my abilities. My brother Jarred is good friends with a fellow that manages some land in east Texas that currently has a bit of a hog problem, so he let us in for free, which is nice usually considering most land owners charge $75 or more a day. The hike to the tree stand was muddy and otherwise uneventful. By the time I was settled in it was dark, and I was beginning to worry about my ability to shoot something in such low light. I had equipped the bow with some red LED headlamps to give me enough light to see the peep and sight on the bow, but I did’t have a night vision spotlight to shine an animal with. However, it was nearly a full moon out so I just decided to wait and see whether I had a good shot when a pig came along. About a half hour into the stakeout, something came up from behind. It was a doe. I much rather would have shot that doe than a stinky pig, but she was behind me and I didn’t have a hunting license (you don’t need one for feral pig if they are on private property and they are destroying property), not to mention that it was past legal shooting hours for a deer,  so I just watched as she walked on by. It was cool knowing that my presence was undetected, and it been a legal shot, I might very well have taken it.

After that, it was a boring but nice 3 hour wait til a large herd of grunting pigs came along, again, from my rear. I could turn just enough to see the varmits, but not get a shot. I went ahead and turned on my sight lights and got and arrow nocked. Then, all of sudden, those elusive things must have sensed trouble and high tailed it back into thick, muddy cover. About the same time, I saw my brother’s light heading back down the trail from his stand. He hadn’t seen a single thing and was ready to hit the road, so that was the end of our trip. Despite not bagging a pig, it was a good experience and I will definitely be back for me to fulfill my destiny as a Caveman.

Second, there was some cross racing going on in Dallas Saturday and Sunday. Colleen went off early in the morning to finish her first ever cyclocross race and had a blast. My turn came at noon. Having decimated the 3/4 field on a SS last season, I vowed to never race that category again, and true to my word, I entered the Pro/1/2/3 category. The blistering pace from the start was expected, but when it didn’t let up after 15 minutes, and I fell to last place with little chance of catching the next guys up, I was hit with a pretty big slap in the face.

Burnout. It’s what happens to an athlete when they push their bodies too hard for too long. As I dropped further and further back, and pushing the only gear I had hurt more and more, I completely had the sense that all the racing I’ve done this year, the 24 hour race, and everything since then, has finally caught up to me. There’s not much you can do at that point except pull out, and take a much needed break.

The decision not to race Sunday was a no brainer as I helped Colleen pack her gear and we headed off to Dallas to participate in her race. I didn’t even bother packing my bike. It’s interesting being on the other side of the fence. Usually, she is the one tagging along with me for support and to spectate. Those duties were all mine that day! No registration, no suiting up, no warming up, no spilling my guts on the course for an hour. Just chillin on the other side of the tape and cheerin’ on my baby. There were no regrets, just joy of a different kind, especially since Colleen looked much smoother than the day before and had a great race.

Work on the website is slow, but steady. I’m reading an awesome new book that will factor in heavily to the new website content. I’m thinking sometime late next week it’ll be up and running, so keep checking back.

Thanksgiving is over, but let us not forget the true spirit of the holiday, and always count our blessings, not our problems. I’d like to leave you with the wise words of the Haudenosaunee “Thanksgiving” Prayer.

Every SRAM Shifter Dies, not every one lives.

Colleen and I headed out towards Palo Duro Canyon Thursday afternoon as soon as she got off work. What an adventure we were in for. Hardly 70 miles into our 1060 mile round trip journey, some Texas Pit BBQ was calling my name in Lampassas. With a tummy satisfied and a full cup of tea, we hit the road again, stopping in a few other small towns before reaching Abilene and taking I-20 45 more minutes west to our resting spot for the night, the Lake Sweetwater Municipal park. While searching for a good halfway point to camp at along the way, I happened to notice this small park on my Roads of Texas supermap. A google search revealed that they had some campsites for cheap, so we planned on staying here. After finally getting someone on the phone at the lake’s bait shop after trying all day to talk to someone about camping there all day, Colleen seemed to squeeze out enough of a response from the man to indeed confirm they had camping. We had no trouble finding the lake, but a helluva time finding the camping area. After 30 minutes of circling the water and wandering strange unlit backroads, we finally found the unmarked campground. Sadly, we had unknowingly passed right by it upon initial arrival at the fork in the FM road. There wasn’t a soul in sight, and it really didn’t feel like we were supposed to be camping there, but we were tired and setup camp quickly. Maybe an hour into our slumber, some drunk kids, from the hopping town of Sweetwater, no doubt, came tearing butt through the camp area in their mom’s minivan and felt compelled to drive right up to our tent with brights on and honk a few times. Boy did they get a kick out of that! After attempting a few more donuts in the field they peeled off and let us be for the rest of the night, but following this incident we didn’t exactly sleep soundly the rest of the night.

Come sunrise, we packed up and got the hell out of there in search of breakfast. Sweetwater claims to be the wind energy capital of the US, and adjacent map dot Roscoe supposedly has the largest wind farm in the world,  but strangely, we couldn’t find any good places to eat in either town that time of day. Luckily, we found breakfast taco salvation in Snyder, the next town up Hwy 84. That would keep us going for the uneventful drive up to Plainview (so named for the vast treeless plain surrounding the post office) for lunch at a supermarket, and then on to Palo Duro. We settled in at a friend’s campsite, pre-rode part of the course, had dinner, and went to bed early at 7pm. 12 hours of beautiful sleep later, we awoke to a chilly, moist morning in the canyon. We mosied over to Juniper Canyon campground to register and setup for the race after a nice Caveman breakfast.

The race started at 10am. I signed up for the open category and lined up with 7 others at the front. It was a mass start with all remaining age group racers behind us. I wasn’t feeling particularly strong this day, but I was able to secure the hole shot and held the lead for about a ½ mile, at which point I decided I was winded and didn’t want to be there anymore, so I let a group of  7 go by when the trail widened enough. I caught my breath and proceeded to set a fast tempo that I hoped to hold for 45 more miles. I was never much of a go getter at the beginning of a race anyhow; I like coming from behind and digging deep in the 9^th inning when everyone else starts to tire to make my surge. The first two laps went pretty smooth, and while I conceded time to the top 4 racers (3 of which hold a pro license), I had passed two others to move back into 6^th and wasn’t too far from 5^th. I was noticeably fatigued going into lap 3, but could sense the gap shrinking on the next rider up. Big Tex was really eating the course up and I was having a blast barreling down some of the more technical descents and carving the twisties with ease. Just when I started to think how nice it was that I hadn’t had a mechanical yet, my rear shifter pod stopped downshifting about 3 miles into the 16 mile lap. With the front still working on my 2×9 drivetrain, I was thus relegated to 2 gears: medium and high. Luckily, the rear cog was set in the middle of the cassette when the shifter broke, so it was manageable gearing with a 26t and 40t up front. I was prepared to finish the race this way and walk any steep uphills that I had to.

Unfortunately, the upshift function still worked and occasionally a knuckle would accidentally tap it to shift into a harder gear. The first time it happened, it wasn’t a huge deal. I had caught 5^th by this point and although it hurt like a dog, pushing a bigger gear than I really wanted was helping me to get a gap on him. But then it happened again, and again, and before I knew it, I was in my 11t on the rear cassette. The lowest gearing I now had was a 26-11, or a 2.37 to 1 ratio. Normally, when singlespeeding a 29er on a course like thise, you want around a 34-19, or a 1.8 to 1 ratio. That gear was absolutely killing me, and I just couldn’t push it anymore, so I was forced to stop and turn the outer limit screw all the way in on the derailleur to push it back on the 3^rd cog, or about a 15t gear. Still a little bigger than I wanted, but much more manageable than the 11t! I dropped back to 6^th, but now sensing 7^th closing in on me, I pushed through some pretty serious pain, cramping, dehydration, and energy depletion (I had a hard time eating and drinking during this race since the pace was so high and there were few good places on the course to do so) to finish the final 5 miles or so an maintain my position by less than 20 seconds.

Even at 6^th place, the payout was good enough to cover my entry fee (major kudos to the promoter and sponsors!) Although completely drained and hurting bad afterwards, it was one of the better marathon races I’ve competed in. Trail was in great shape, was a lot of fun, competition was good, and the weather was decent too. A total of 101 men entered the full marathon, so even though 6 of 7 in the open category didn’t look great on paper, 6 of 101 was a bit more respectable.

A nice little hike with my lovely fiancé before sunset followed by a super awesome caveman dinner consisting of salad, avocado, Cornish game hen spit cooked over campfire, and little cocoa beverage sweetened with agave nectar rounded out the evening’s festivities before a hard night’s sleep and a very long drive back home to Austin. No races for me until possibly Thanksgiving weekend, when there are some cross races up in Dallas and I’ll be up that way to visit family anyways. In the meantime, the break will be a nice opportunity to rest and work on the ‘new’ website. Thanks for reading.
Greg

As for the opening quote of the story, my old SRAM X.O shifter lived a good life. It began its duties on the Turner Flux in 2005 and 2006, before being transferred to Proud Mary for 2007 and 2008. This year it was put on Big Tex and had some awesome races before finally giving out in Palo Duro. It will be missed, but not forgotten. A formal changing of the guard shall commence as soon as I find a new one… and get around to cleaning the bike… RIP shifter.

I’m so happy that the October rains brought Barton Creek back to life. Being unemployed in Austin during the nicer months of the year has its perks…

I never knew why the trail was called dumptruck til this very day…

It’s off to Palo Duro Canyon for Pain In The Plains MTB Marathon race. Rumor is Lance might make an appearance. We’ll see. Check back next week for a recap.

It’s been 3 weeks since I crossed the finish line at this mountain bike ranch, and for some odd reason, I felt compelled to do it again. Not exactly for the 169th time, but I’ve more races under my belt at this ranch than any other venue, so the count is pretty high. At least this time, I didn’t have to worry about pacing myself. Every category would race the same 21 mile loop. 21 miles should be a walk in the park compared to 182. But, do it against the fastest guys in the state (and even a few in the country-Jason Sager and Adam Snyder from Team Jamis decided to pay a visit while in town for Lance’s race next weekend), then you’ve got pain of a different sort. A lung bustin, leg screaming sufferfest for 1.5 hours. To make it a bit more challenging for myself, I even decided to ride it rigid, based solely on the perception that the Salsa cro-moto fork I bought for the Dark Knight looked sexier than the Reba. At least I went with gears this go round. I was able to pull of a 9 of 15 finish in 1:32:01. Sager went on to win in 1:25:26, so all things considered, I was pretty pleased with the effort. It’s nice to know I can go out and kill it at a 24 hour, and three weeks later go out and kill it with the Big boys on a rigid at Cross Country pace.

With my time off work,  I’m going to be redeveloping the website for a new look, new navigation, and new articles, including the one on bike fit that I never quite got around to… Anyways, Team NRC/Kona is out, team Caveman Productions/ East Side Pedalpushers is in. Working on a new kit, but for now I like the understated blue black like that I picked up while in transition. Happy Monday! Have a great week!

Caveman

Shorter days…cooler nights…more cowbell. This could only mean one thing. ‘Cross season is here.

I kicked off cross season in style Tuesday night at the weekly Dirt Derby. I haven’t seriously ridden a cyclocross bike since winter. I only tinkered around the neighborhood on the latest contraption to make sure the frankenbike build I did on the IRO fixie frame would actually work. It’d be cool to say I dusted off Rocinante, the super rad Jamis Supernova I added to the collection last season, but alas, that bike is for sale and will be going to a friend of a friend in Houston, where I’m sure it’ll get good use. Not that I didn’t like that bike, but times are a bit thin and it is more bike than I need anyways. I like steel these days, and as far as cross racing goes, dislike gears. Tuesday night’s results verified that for me.

The course was still holding some muddy patches from last month’s rains, and was super rutty in a few places. The track leading to the run up was rough, and bike down even rougher. It’s one of the most technical cross courses I think I’ve ever ridden. Not exactly the conditions I was looking for to get back into the sport nor test out an unproven setup. The intermediate race had a large field of some 23 racers. I was looking to use this as a warmup and get a feel for the course. That took all but 2 laps, and then all bets were off for the remaining 4. 3^rd place was a nice little finish to welcome back the season. The bike felt better than expected. I felt better than expected having taken 2 weeks off following the 24 hour race at Rocky Hill.

Having learned the lines, timed the run ups and barriers better, and figured out how hard I could push the bike, I was set for a faster Open race. Some pedal engagement issues at the beginning set me back to the rear, but I was quick to get back to the front, work up to 2^nd, and pack on some heat to finish second. I couldn’t have asked for a better performance out of the bike, nor my rusty legs, all things considered.

It just amazes the hell out of me what can be accomplished on a so called “less technological” bike. You’d seriously have to see this bike in person to really appreciate this statement. An IRO steel frame that is designed as a fixie commuter, tack on a mismatched LeMond steel fork, throw a BMX freewheel on a non competition, non machined fixed gear wheel, slap in a heavy square taper bottom bracket with an old school heavy mountain bike crankset, a funky steep stem, some cool bartape, a mismatched set of front cantilever brake, rear caliper brake (with just barely enough clearance for a 30c cross tire, I might add) and somehow you still have a machine that can carry you to the podium. I love it, but I digress.

Once you catch cross fever, it’s a bit hard to let go. There are a lot of cross races all over the state this season, but I’m not sure which ones I’ll make. Like I said, times are thin. Racing isn’t life, either, although I’ve never been one to let finances keep me from doing the things in life that I enjoy most. Racing just happens to be one of those…

So, having completed the dirt derby races with good results and without any nagging pains, soreness, delayed recovery, etc. etc., I’m ready to ease back into some training for what cross races I do plan on attending, but also the upcoming marathon MTB series. Damn Texas racing…just when you think your season is over, another one starts up. Oh well, as long as I’m having fun and not feeling burnt out, I’ll keep on keeping on.

Cheers,
GP

PS. Enjoy this pic from Halloween! Wolverine, my alter caveman ego!!

Hello all,

I’d like to welcome East Side Pedal Pushers as my new shop sponsor. I’ve been patronizing Lee ever since I moved to the Austin east side 4 years ago. Lee is not only conveniently located for me, but competitively priced and just a damn nice guy. Whether you need to stop in for a new tube, or to get your bottom bracket chased, he will take care of you. Unlike a lot of shops in the Austin area, he will not try to sell you the most expesive bike or part, only what you need.

Please consider giving Lee a visit for your next bicycling need.

1414 E. 5th St. Austin, TX 78702

826-3414

http://eastsidepedalpushers.com/

Hi Friends. I had a little free time this week while in recovery mode so I made this short little movie/photo montage of the race I hope you enjoy it. For best viewing results, click on the HD on the bottom right corner, and let the movie fully load before starting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1T1C3Zc1P48

Also, friend and fellow racer Patrick Barrett took a helmet cam along and got some great footage of the course. Check out his video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qC_0MACrPeA

Today, I got back on a bike (my commuter) for the first time since Sunday. The saddle soreness has healed, and most of my muscles soreness is gone. There appears to be no major injury to any body part, so I know my bike fit was dialed in pretty good, I was well conditioned, andthe Paleo diet continues to demonstrate incredible recovery attributes. Saturday is my birthday, and I don’t really have plans, but I’m sure it’ll be a nice day. Hope ya’ll have a nice weekend. Thanks for checking in.
Greg

If there’s something I can grab, you can bet, I’ll pay the tab.

From Peace by Weezer

The body is a resilient thing. I found this out first hand back in October 2007 after winning the 24 hours of Rocky Hill. It is, however, with limits, as I painfully found out at the 24 hours in the Old Pueblo (Tucson, AZ) the second weekend of February 2008…I was about ¾ through lap 7, about mile 110 or so, and I started to feel a sharp pain right below the left patella. I knew it was only going to get worse and if I kept pushing on, it would do some pretty bad damage. So right then and there, I was faced with a pretty tough decision. I was a little over halfway though the 24 hour clock. I was moving up the ranks to where I wanted to be before really laying down the hurt in the late night hours when most people start to cave in. That’s when the race is really won. I had the energy to keep going. I definitely had the desire. Too bad I didn’t have the knees. I rolled back into camp and called the race. I’m not a quitter, and in fact, this was the first mountain bike race that I’ve ever thrown in the towel on. I don’t know that I’ve ever been so heartbroken over a decision like that…I’m out for vindication. Moab Rocky Hill is where I’m going to get it.

Reprinted from “In Search of Vindication” February 2008 (except for that Rocky Hill insert!)

Neither that 24 hour race in Arizona nor the one in Moab last fall went very well. I somewhat regret having skipped Rocky Hill to do Moab last year and have been looking forward to a return trip to the race venue that launched my 24 hour racing career ever since. My first outing, I cranked out 17 laps in 23:53. Last year’s winner also cranked out 17 laps, but on a single speed and in 23:30. I had no way of knowing if he would return, but I would prepare as if he were. You never know who else might show up either. Plus you never know what mother nature and lady luck might throw your way.

So, I not only planned on matching the previous year’s feat by racing single speed rigid (no suspension), but I also wanted a performance that would be worthy of a national caliper race. Having attended a few of these big boy races the last few years has taught me what it really takes to be the best. I was going to shoot for 20 or 21 laps, even if it only took 17 to win. I was also hungry for the $50 bonus awarded to the rider with the fastest lap time who also finished in the top 3 overall.

For this race, I setup the Dark Knight with a rigid fork and traded in the gears and shifters for a DMR chain tensioner. I didn’t feel like changing out the Middleburn Duo crankset so I just ran a big cog in the rear for 40-21 gearing. That’s slightly tall gearing for a 29er, especially for an endurance race, but the setup was light at 19.5 lbs. I wanted to crank out some fast daytime laps and then switch over to Proud Mary when the sun went down.

Come high noon the race kicked off with a LeMan’s start. There would be no walking this year as I was serious about starting off in good position and wanted to get to work right away. I only wish my bike wanted to get to work right away…

Although I had tested out the chain tensioner around the neighborhood, I didn’t have a chance to ride it hard on a trail due to all the rain Austin had been getting the week before. The chain popped right off in the middle of one of the first climbs. Put it back on and reset the tension and was good to go for maybe another mile or two before it did it again. I think I dropped my chain no less than 7 times that first lap until I figured out that having the chain roller in the up position was causing the problem, so I flipped it to the down position and seemingly fixed it, although I no longer had confidence in it, so I switched off to Proud Mary for lap 2. My 1:15 first lap was very frustrating and had already set me back by ten minutes, but I knew I had plenty of time to make it up.

Proud Mary had 34-19 gearing and a bonafide sliding dropout chain system, so I was much more comfortable on her. Mechanical worries aside, I was back in a rhythm and ready to get to work. The 2nd lap gave me the $50 fastest lap I was looking for. Somewhere around lap 4 or 5 the 34-19 gearing became tiring so I took a pit stop to trade the 19t for a 20t cog. It was a huge sigh of relief since all the climbing on the course was a bit easier on the body. Unfortunately, my mechanic/fiance forgot to tighten the dropout bolts completely and the chain came off or the wheel came out or something that forced me to stop and fix it midway up the first climb. Not a huge time loss, but a mental frustration I could’ve forgone.

By lap 7, my times had been strong and consistent enough to erase the lap 1 deficit. I wasn’t in first yet, but I was getting there. I was still having pesky mechanical problems too, though. On one lap, I tried to clip out to hike a steep climb and just fell over because my cleat was loose and just stuck in the pedal. Turns out it lost a bolt, so I had to super tighten the one that was left to finish the lap, then steal one from my spare pair of shoes back at the pit. My mechanic again (bless her heart, I love you cupcake!) didn’t tighten the bolts well enough and I had to stop mid lap to tighten them properly. I have no idea how, but the other shoe cleat bolts loosened during a later lap in the night and I had to stop and tighten them. Not once, but twice, did I smack the same low lying branch on two night laps knocking my light and battery (and luckily not my head-although it did hurt) off my helmet. Both times they went tumbling down into a creek and I had to fetch them. Even though I was still gaining ground in the standings, these silly problems were just killing me. I was praying for just one single lap without any issues. I maybe had 5 such laps, but it only felt like 1 or 2.

By midnight I had clocked 10 laps and was on pace for the planned 20, but fatigue was setting in and I knew it would be more like 18 or 19. A critical turning point came at the end of lap 12. I rolled in to see the leader checking in, right before me. He looked at me, and must have known who I was, and how much trouble he was in for showing himself. I wasted no time getting re-stocked and going back out.

A lot of people say that these races are won or lost in the wee hours of the night. It was true for my first go round, and it remained true for this one. I cranked out laps 13 and 14 only to learn that 2^nd place hadn’t gone back out yet. He was reported stretching, changing clothes, and hopping in his sleeping bag. I’m sure it was a tough decision to concede the race like that, but everyone has their limits. The guy raced his guts out for 15 hours and needed a break. Like I said in my last post, anyone who even attempts these races is a winner in my book. He did wake up and go back out in the morning for 3 more laps to hold on to third place, so kudos to him for getting back in it and putting up one hell of a fight until that point.

After 14 laps myself, I was ready for a break. I was feeling light headed, hungry, cold, and of course, exhausted. My lead over the new 2^nd place was comfortable, so I  changed into my wool jersey and warmers, cuddled up under a blanket, drank some water, and ate. Up to this point, my homemade caveman energy bars and Puresport were getting the job done. It seems though, that it gets increasing harder as the race progresses to eat and drink the same thing over and over. When word broke that some teammates at a nearby campsite had a surplus of Mr. Gattis pizza, I jumped at the chance and downed three slices.

The pizza and about 30 minutes worth of rest brought me back to life and it was time to put the hammer to the nail. On lap 15 a new problem had arisen: saddle soreness. Despite the fact that I was riding an unsuspended bike with only one gear for already 150+ miles and arms, shoulders, legs, and kneew were being subjected to the beating of a lifetime, my sore butt was giving me the most worries. The pain from trying to sit and take the weight off my legs was incredible. But without giving my legs even some relief on the flats and downhills, I didn’t know if they could hold up, literally, for another 4 laps.

The solution was to compromise. Sit as much as I could, support the rest of my weight with my legs. If worse came to worse, I wouldn’t sit at all. Just stand and hammer away. In a very sick and twisted way, I began to love the climbing at this point, because it meant I didn’t have to sit! I found being on a single speed to be advantageous in this respect. I’ve never stood and hammered out of the saddle for so long in my entire life. I’d easily say 80% of the last 3 laps was spent out of the saddle. That’s what it took to get ‘er done.

Lap 15 was a scary one in another sense as well. The course itself wasn’t very muddy, but had some creek crossings that were full due to recent rains. With about 20 crossings on the course, it was ample opportunity to get your bike dirty and tear up components. Since I was running a singlespeed, I didn’t even worry about cleaning it each lap. My rear Stan’s ZTR freewheel just wasn’t up to the challenge. Somehow, about 1/3 through the lap, I lost freewheel capability, and hence the ability to coast. It was completely seized. I’ve wanted to try fixed gear mountain biking for a while now, but this was neither the time or place for it! After riding this way for another two miles or so, I was involuntarily backpedaling down a steep descent and it sort of unseized itself. Coasting was real rough, and it sounded absolutely horrible, but at least I could coast now. I’m guessing one of the pawls became dislodged and stuck, and then partially broke, then maybe fully broke a little while later because full coasting resumed, only engagement of the hub took ½ a revolution and drove me nuts. I was ever so thankful that it got me back to the pit though. We changed out wheels and off I went for lap 16, which was pretty non eventful

Heading into 17, I was pumped up and feeling strong. I didn’t stop in the pit, just changed out bottles and kept on going, a strategy I had intended to employ the entire race but for one reason or another didn’t work out til then. 2^nd place (John Russell-Pedal Hard) was 15 seconds ahead of me, starting his 16^th lap. I caught up to him and we chatted a while, before I sped up to a pace I was more comfortable with on the singlespeed. I had problems on this lap with my rear wheel slipping out of the dropout, and John passed me back as I was fixing it one of several times, and we chatted a bit more before he continued on his mission to secure 2^nd place. These silly mechanicals were no longer frustrating at this point, just nice opportunities to take a break. I think it was the same lap that I passed a rider who was running with a chainless bike. “Lemme guess, no chaintool?” to which he replied, “Nope, but don’t worry, I don’t mind running.” I started to keep riding before thinking to myself, man this guy has a long way to run. I pulled over and fixed his broken chain for him. I just hope it didn’t break again!

I completed lap 17. I had matched my feat set here 2 years ago, only with a different bike setup and a faster time. Now it was time to best that feat and complete 18 laps. At 23 hours 41 minutes  I crossed the finish line and called it a day. John had started his 18^th lap just minutes before I arrived and I was pretty sure he wouldn’t turn a 20 minute lap to start a 19^th lap so at high noon Sunday afternoon, I was the official winner. 19 laps was not out of the question. Physically and mentally I still had it in me, but there was no sense in causing any more damage than I had to.

Another epic race, another epic victory. Hopefully, many more to come.

Thanks be to God, for whom all glory is due, for I am nothing without Him. Thanks to my pit crew, Colleen and her cousin Christie who just moved to Austin from Connecticut. These ladies supported me without end and were crucial to my success. Patty B and Mike Pawlik also helped out mechanically when they could. Thanks to Dennis Lozano’s girlfriend who brought the Mr. Gatti’s pizza that revived me in my hour of exhaustion. Thanks to Proud Mary, who, although gave me some hiccups, pulled through and showed what a tough, efficient steed she is and rode away with her second 24 hour win. Thanks to all my sponsors, for this particular race most notably Puresport who provided liquid nutrition, Performance Wellness for providing pre and post race physical therapy and massage, and Bobcat13 Photography for coming out and shooting photos. I’d also like to thank my new shop sponsor, East Side Pedal Pushers. Owner Lee Gresham gave me a great deal and shop use to get the Dark Knight setup for the race. Thanks also to you, my readers. All you guys are awesome! Now, time for me to get some more food, and more rest!! Til next time,

Caveman

Race stats:

lap splits/results  here: http://redbarnsystems.com/timer/24hourrh.asp

18 laps 23 hours 41 minutes

1st place Expert Male

1st place Singlespeed

Fastest Solo lap (1:00:28)

each lap ~10.1  miles, 182 total miles*

each lap ~900 ft elevation gain = 16,200 ft total*

consumed about 12 full bottles of Puresport, at 120 calories each = 1500 calories

about 10 full caveman bars which I estimate to be 250 calories each

1/2 lb Turkey, 1 lb of strawberries, 1 lb of grapes, 4 bananas, some apples, 3 pcs of pizza, and a good 30 ounces of Odwalla “Monster B”

In the end, I was probably a bit undernourished, but my day to day “Caveman” diet and lifestyle more than accounted for my nutritional requirements.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. There is no other better way of eating than the Paleo diet. For me, this race was ultimate proof. Except for that 5am moment of exhaustion, I didn’t feel hungry or lacking energy, and in fact, that moment was probably more induced by lack of sleep

*I do not use a heart rate monitor, power meter, Garmin, or computer, so I cannot provide any of those stats in case you were curious. The course numbers listed above are from other racers who do.

Hello friends.  Been MIA since getting back to Austin. Been taking care of some business. Cleaning house, selling stuff, fixing bikes, playing on the internet at coffee shops, and staying hungry. Yes, hungry. Not only for Tex Mex and copious amounts of caveman fare (since I’ve been training a lot), but also for what I’ve been training for: 24 hours of Rocky Hill. I had already committed the cardinal sin of assuming i’d be the favorite for this race and things would go my way. I was looking forward to it, but my head wasn’t where it needed to be. Luckily, I ran into a good friend and fellow athlete at the therapist’s office yesterday while getting a tune up. A strong 24 hour racer himself and likely threat should he attend (he’s doing Xterra worlds in Kona instead), he told me of another racer that will be in attendance that should give me a run for the money. I fully trust that he will, and I hope he does. I hope he’s not the only racer that puts up a fight either. The world champ could show up for all I care. That would be awesome. I’m never one to back down from a challenge. In the end, if I fall short, then I fall short. As long as i left it all out there and made minimal mistakes, I’ll be satisfied. After all, it’s not where you’re going, it’s how you get there. You know, Rocky didn’t win his first match with Apollo Creed. But he sure made one hell of a statement. In the meantime, I’m waking up to “Eye of the Tiger” downing 4 raw eggs for breakfast, doing my workouts, and getting plenty of rest. The moment of truth approaches… The man who does the most laps in 24 hours will be given a 1st place trophy come 1pm this Sunday, but everyone who even attempts the race is a winner in my book. Stay hungry, fight the good fight.
Caveman

P.S. If you are in the Austin/Bastrop area this weekend and have nothing to do, drive on out to Rocky Hill ranch near Smithville and watch the race. Bring some beer, firewood, and a tent to enjoy the overnight festivities and see what this 24 hour racing stuff is all about. We’re not crazy, just different…ok ,maybe we’re a little crazy…