singlespeeds, singletrack, and not a single moment of free time...

I'm hoping that in the five minutes I have allowed myself to write this blog, that I can cover everything I've contemplated spewing here...  here goes nothing.

This is my last week of classes.  Friday starts my first week of finals, and it consists of an eight a.m. two-hour genetics exam, an hour break, followed by a two-hour chemistry exam.  My only other exam is the following Wednesday.  Also, Friday is Skyler's tenth birthday so I have a party to prepare for on Saturday.  Thankfully, she's chosen to have her party at the Skate-Inn (yet again) which means I don't have to clean the house for guests, I don't have to clean up after them when it's all over, and I don't have to provide entertainment. It's a busy freakin' week! I'll be concluding the weekend with EFTA's Battle at Burlingame MTB race.  

The Root 66 Series' Fat Tire Classic was two weekends ago, and I'd preregistered.  However, as the weekend approached, I kept getting this nagging feeling that racing would be a bad idea (I really had a lot of schoolwork to do), but oddly enough, Skyler really wanted to go and do the first-timer's race.  This would have been an ideal race for her, but that would have meant leaving at some ungodly hour and being there all day because my race would have been in the afternoon.  There's no way I would have gotten anything done all weekend.  So, at 6am on Sunday morning, I made the executive decision that Skyler and I would spend the day local.  She easily convinced me to take her to breakfast, and I told her that when we got home, I would work on my paper while she did whatever she felt like until lunch time.  Wouldn't you know, I got oodles of work done. After a light lunch, we loaded up the bikes and went for a ride at Goodwin.  Skyler is getting more comfortable and more enthusiastic about riding every time we go, and we had great time.  When we got home, we did some baking, and while I definitely missed the whole racing thing, I undoubtedly made the best decision that I could have.  

I've been messing around on the singlespeed for a few weeks now, and if I'd raced the Fat Tire Classic, that's what I would have used.  The reason for being so single-minded (yeah, cheesy pun) was prep for singlespeed-a-palooza which happened yesterday (April 28).  I'd heard awesome things about this race from others who'd done it, and I felt a little guilty because I made the registration cut-off the first day while a lot of die-hards didn't get in in time.  I'm not entirely new to the singlespeed; I have a 26" rigid Redline that I've played around on in the past, but since I've been riding the 29ers lately, I have been neglecting the smaller wheeled bikes.  I got a rigid 29er SS instead so I'd have something more similar to my Specialized Fate.  The SS rig is a Soma Juice frame with Stan's Crest wheels and other bits and pieces.  I LOVE the frame.  It's light and responsive. After some adjustments with bar size and stem, I've almost got it exactly how I want it.  As a side note, if anyone wants to buy that Redline, let me know.  I'm short, so it's actually an ideal bike for a tween-aged kid.

no gears

Singlespeed-a-palooza is more than just a bike race; it's a veritable celebration of singlespeeds which coincidentally includes carousal, hoppy beverages, a shedload of ice cream, and one hell of a delicious spread.  The course was carefully chosen to make for a most enjoyable ride, and we had some gloriously good spring weather.  I'd talked my friend Melissa into doing the race back when registration opened, and when the Root 66 race for that day was cancelled, she was happy that I'd peer pressured her into what will prove to be the dopest race of the season.  She's been racing singlespeed since she started racing (originally a bmx racer back in the day) and had only just started dabbling in the world of gears; this was her kind of gig.  We rode out to NY together alongside a car full of our guy pals.  

Dark Horse Cycles, the shop that puts this event on, allowed camping in their yard, so we all slept there - some of us in tents and some just in sleeping bags under the stars (silly boys).  We ate our breakfast in the shop's parking lot before pedaling about a half mile over to the race venue at Stewart Forest (Montgomery, NY), and got our timing chips strapped on with enough time to pedal around and get the low-down about the race.  Shortly after that, we were at the starting line and rearing to go.

podium car - fast girls travel in packs

The race started out on a dirt road which was ideal because if you know anything about singlespeeds, you'll know that one gear means it takes awhile to create a decent gap in a crowd of over one-hundred. The open women started with the open men, and the sport men, fat bikes, and sport women were staggered at two minute intervals behind us.  When the start was called, it was a mad scrabble of clipping in and furiously spinning because much of the first section of road was a descent.  As the dust began to clear and the lead group of men started to pull away, I could see that the road was changing to an incline; I could also see one of the other women that I was up against.  As the incline leveled off, we were all going pretty steady, and it wasn't until the next incline that I decided to try to make a move past her.  I'd intended to go all out in the beginning so I could put some distance and some humans between myself and the other girls before we hit the woods; this seemed to work because I never saw another woman racing during the entire 24 miles.  I didn't know it until I saw her come through, but Melissa was just a couple minutes behind me and was trying to chase me down the entire way as she was catching glimpses of me throughout the race.  

During most of the race, I was riding with one guy who seemed to be pretty well matched to my pace (after a good chunk of the race, we finally introduced ourselves), and it wasn't until I started popping on a couple of climbs towards the middle-end that I really encouraged him to just go on past me.  I still managed to keep him in sight the rest of the way and somehow got my mojo back after only a few tough little climbs.  Having no idea where I stood the entire race, it was tough to know what I should be doing or where I should be putting out effort.  I never bothered to throw a GPS on the bike, and I've never ridden there before. Also, I don't wear a heart-rate monitor, so my only measure of capacity was the way my legs felt on hard efforts and the time it took for me to recover after one of those efforts. Aside from the fact that I just kept telling myself to go harder, I had no way of knowing where I stood except that I was keeping a good enough pace for people to tell me, "I think you're the first woman rider."  Every time I heard that, I was like, "Cool, but where are they!?" It's tough not knowing!  Fortunately, I did a good job of whispering sweet nothings into my own ears during the race; that's the benefit of being your own coach - you can bring your coach with you during your race, and they won't leave your side (and if they do, there are ways to push the demons out and bring the coach back).  I told myself that I had it in my legs to go hard, and when I felt like my legs were done, I told myself to eat a GU and GO HARDER!  It worked.  In the last section of downhill, one of the open men (who had gotten held up with a flat tire at some point in the race) came up behind me and told me that we were almost done.  I think he said something like, "this is the last section... let it roll and have fun."  And so I did!  I rolled through the timing tent in just under two hours which is probably the fastest I've ever finished a 20+ mile race.

First ever podium beer buzz 

As it turns out, I was the first woman, and Melissa finished less than two minutes behind me as the second woman.  We were stoked to be on the podium together, and Dark Horse Cycles hooked us up with some hefty prizes - cash, limited edition budweisers, and really unique trophies.  A lot of our buddies did well too.  Alby King finished in eighth (men's open), Donnie D in 15th (men's sport NJ and first race in a long time), and Jesse finished the race after having 3 flats, a bottle-cage debacle, and two beers to take the edge off.  Our friend Oliver finished first in his category (sport men NJ).  

Same gear ratio as my winner of a bike - 32X18

What a blast.  I'll definitely be racing more singlespeed events, and I'll probably be racing that bike in some of the regular races as well - either in women's open or men's singlespeed open.  Crap.  This has taken longer than five minutes.  I'm racing Sunday, so it's likely that I will have something to say again soon... come back next week.  

Hop Brook Dam - Root 66 Series Season Opener

When a race is really challenging, it's always fun when something happens to make your experience more complicated.  Well, I like fun, so it makes sense that I'd lose a contact lens out there - YET AGAIN!  I'd noticed early on that my left lens felt a little "off" (pun absolutely intended), so I was consciously trying to keep it comfortable for the long haul out there, but somewhere in the middle of the 3rd lap, on one of the fast gravely downhills, my eye teared up and the wind blew.  Before I had a chance to blink, I could see out of the corner of my eye that there was a folded up piece of silicone lens on the inside of my glasses.  Lucky for me, I plan in advance for situations like this, and I brought my glasses along (so that I can see on my way home at least).  This has happened far too often, and it makes the rest of the race a whole lot more difficult than it normally should be.  I managed to stay upright, and my lack of depth perception had me picking the straightest lines without knowing what sort of jagged rock might be in the middle... I finished and did not die.

Coming into this race, I was hoping to beat my time from last year.  Unfortunately, I finished 2-3 minutes slower.  I'd like to blame that on the wind resistance, but I'm sure there were times when the wind was helping me along instead of pushing me backwards.  Like anyone, I have a long list of excuses for not living up to my own expectations... however, I'm going to look at the cold hard facts: 

1. I have ridden the road only once this year (on a mountain bike). 
2. It is only the beginning of April.

Based on just this, I know that I need to get my lazy ass out on the road and do some work there.  I can ride tech all day long, but that doesn't mean anything if I can't maintain speed on a fast xc course.  Quite frankly, these xc courses are pretty tame compared to what I constitute as "epic mtb riding."  Don't get me wrong, I don't huck 4ft drops or anything nasty like that, but I like a good rocky trail with some steep climbs and hairy descents.  That stuff is fun!  However, I also like to go fast, and when the race courses offer opportunity for that with a bit of challenging singletrack here and there, I am generally pleased.  If I want to go fast, I need to practice pedaling harder, and that means I need to go somewhere that I can pedal hard without being forced to slow down.  That's what the road is for (yeah, I know... yucky road.)  Also, it's early, so I have time to start riding the road...  ugh.  

So, here's the breakdown of the race:

I warmed up with almost a full lap, lined up with the rest of the ladies (5 in the open/elite group), and tried to keep up with them through the first lap.  I kept Sue and Madeleine in sight for most of the first lap.  Sue flatted on the second lap which was disappointing to me (and obviously to her as well), and I found out later she tore her sidewall.  For the rest of the race, I did my best to stay consistent until my vision was impaired.  From there on out, consistency was met with some cautiousness.  I was grateful that we only did 4 laps because I don't think I was ready for climbing at race pace for the two hours I was out there - never mind another 30 minutes of it.  When I saw Kate pass me as she moved up from the Cat 1 group, I knew I was going way slower than I wanted to be, and so at that point, my brain became fixed on my getting through the next lap without getting caught by anyone else in Cat 1.  Somehow, I managed to do that, but Stacy B. wasn't far behind.  In fact, her time was a couple minutes faster than mine.  

The best part of the day was the drive there and home.  Skyler accompanied me to the race this weekend, and she's at the age where she can check in with friends throughout the day but ride around and have fun too.  She wants to race the first-timer's category (for her second time) at Winding Trails, so I might have to do that along with her and see where she's at...  I don't know if she'd be comfortable on her own.  Anyhow, on the way to the race, we kept doing math based on what the GPS was telling us for "miles to go."  We'd convert the miles to feet, and then based on our speed, we'd calculate how many feet we were traveling per minute and second.  On the way home, Skyler got cupcake crumbs all over herself and spent most of the ride looking for them... and eating them.  I'm looking forward to bringing her to lots more races.  She was a fun travel buddy.  

So, that's it for race day, but I can't help but mention something about the USAC/UCI non-sanctioned vs sanctioned race debacle.  It is in rather poor taste that these rules were clarified 1/4 of the way into 2013 rather than prior to the new year.  Being an amateur racer, I would NOT have renewed my UCI license this season if I thought it meant I couldn't do EFTA races, the NH100 or Singlespeed-A-Palooza. Now, having already registered for non-sanctioned events, I'm stuck with either braking the rules, downgrading my license (and missing out on the Pro XCT events that I'd been looking forward to), or forgoing a bunch of awesome events that I've already committed to.  At this point, I refuse to give up the events I already registered for.  Here's hoping these issues can somehow be resolved... it's looking like USAC needs to step up to the plate to contend with the UCI over this rule as it applies in the U.S.  The current ruling is too restricting on all accounts for racers in the U.S., and the USAC needs to lay-off their monopoly scheme.  I doubt they will have this straightened out before the Pro XCT events this summer (if at all) which is very unfortunate, so it's looking like a downgrade for me.  Before I do anything hasty, I plan to email the New England USAC rep to let her know my concerns.  I'm sure I won't be the first or the last.  

See you all at Winding Trails, and I will be breaking the rules for Singlespeed-A-Palooza...  

"Eat my shorts." -Bart Simpson

Spring Break - Part 2: Flying, Riding, Driving, Eating, Riding, Eating, Driving, Eating, Riding, and Flying

After doing some very last minute packing and doing my mommy duties by way of waiting with Skyler at the bus stop, I was off to meet the guys to get our Western MTB Adventure underway.  Our travels went smoothly, and we arrived in Denver around 4pm to some baggage confusion.  The place where Marc's bike was supposed to be was empty, and nobody seemed to know where it could be... fortunately, after about an hour, someone who knew what a bike box was told him where it was.  A bit of sketchy parking, and some hustle in the busy passenger pickup area had us in Dan's truck and on the road faster than a NASCAR pit crew.

Downtown Boulder, CO

Our first stop was downtown Boulder.  What a cool town!  We went into University Bicycles, and I must say, that place is the biggest bike shop I've ever seen.  I can't even imagine the money in that building with all of the high-end bikes they have for sale.  A shop employee recommended we go to Mountain Sun Pub and Brewery for dinner; the wait was long, but the beer was good. We were all
pretty exhausted after a day of traveling, so after a stop at the grocery store for some necessities, we went to Dan's to crash for the night.  Dan is in the middle of relocating his family to Colorado, so his new home is awaiting all of its furnishings...  it's going to look great with the family in it and some furniture.  It's also quite nice to know that I have a place to crash anytime I decide to spread my wings and fly out West for another vacation.

View from the backseat of the truck

The next morning marks DAY 1 of our MTB Adventure.

Tile from the wall of the pizza place in Vail, CO

Me getting the feel of the Yeti at Lunch Loops 

Here we all are... ready for something EPIC! 

Before we could do any riding, we had to do some driving.  Crammed into Dan's pickup truck, we picked up rental bikes for Kevin and myself at Golden Bike Shop - FS Yetis for us both (SB95), and then we were on the road.  For anyone who likes amazing scenery while they're road-tripping, I highly recommend I-70.  I don't know that it can be beat.  We stopped in Vail for lunch and ate at a pizza place.  I had a veggie calzone without cheese while Marc had the meat lasagna... more on that later.  To sum up Vail, it is a really cool ski resort area if you like spending $1 each on french fries.

Dan played the role of tour guide well, taking us straight to Lunch Loops in Grand Junction, CO where we went from sitting with full bellies in the truck straight to pedaling up gigantic hills at a high altitude. Needless to say, meat lasagna and anything with red sauce was probably not the best food choice.  I can honestly say that I don't remember the last time I felt that awful on a bike.  The trails were amazing, the scenery was unreal, and the bike was a great fit, but my lungs were forsaking me in the worst way.  While it wasn't overly hot outside, the heat was a shock...  I questioned my ability to ride out there.  I also questioned my choice of a full suspension bike (not for long though).  Towards the end of that first ride, I started to feel a little better... it also helped that the ride ended with an awesome downhill run.

That's me coming down the rock in the front... so cool!

Day 2 of our MTB Adventure started with only about an hour drive this time.  We headed to Moab where Dan had the day already planned.  He had also informed us of this plan at least 10 times, but every time he said it, it sounded different so I really had no idea what we were doing.  Well, as it turned out, we we parked at the Negro Bill Trailhead (interesting name choice) so we could ride into town and had pedal uphill to the Slickrock Trailhead.  Coincidentally, there was a Jeep Jamboree going on while we were there, so we got to see some very expensive, very pretty, and very smelly vehicles driving up and down the same slickrock we were pedaling on.  The loop out there is like something I would have imagined on another planet.  It looked like a rolling desert made of rock instead of sand.  Here and there were pockets of sandy soil where plants were growing almost as if someone had landscaped them into the scenery on purpose.  Riding on the rock was like nothing I'd done before.  Rocks in New England have traction when they're dry, but there is still not enough traction to ride up a steep rock without the chance of slipping.  At slickrock, the only thing you have to worry about is having enough power to keep turning the cranks on the way up... if you stop pedaling, you will tip over (possibly backwards).  It took me awhile to get used to climbing on the Yeti, but by the end of our ride there, I was pleased with the bike and the way it felt.

Don't forget to stand on your head!

We took a break at the trailhead and downed some snacks before setting out on our next part of the adventure.  I had no idea what I was in for...

So, to get to the Porcupine Rim Trailhead, most people take a shuttle up the mountain before climbing the technical trail and descending down the 11 mile downhill on the other side.  Not us.  We are all pedal all the time.  We set out up that hill guided by Dan and completely unknowing of just how long we would be climbing for.  We left Slickrock at about 1:30.  It took us an hour to get to the trailhead and another hour of climbing to get to the lookout.  While it would have been nice of Dan to tell us just how long it was going to take for us to get to the top, I suppose it's fair to say that it'd been awhile since he'd done it so he probably had no idea... plus, we weren't exactly doing it with fresh legs.  At one point, Kevin seemed about ready to kill Dan...  I will admit to biting his head off at one point when he asked why were stopping as we were attempting to eat some candy bars before death could set in.  We didn't believe him when he said the lookout was just ahead.  It's funny, Kevin and I thought that after that we'd start descending... WRONG!  We had more climbing to do.  By the time we started descending, I was thinking, 'okay, the long hard part is over.'  Little did I know how long the descent would be.  Full suspension was absolutely the right choice.  I had the time of my life descending back to the truck and even got in some 'hucks' off the small drops while rolling a bunch of other steep rocks.  Towards the end, they guys let me go up front to 'take us back to the truck,' and I had the impression that the trail was going to be more of the mostly rideable stuff we were doing.  Again, WRONG!  The trail got insanely tricky towards the end, and I had to do quite a bit of hike-a-bike.  It was still fun though.

Porcupine Rim's Witches Tongue

Back at the truck, we cleaned up as best and as quickly as possible and drove into town because Moab Brewery could not be ignored.  The food there was pretty good, but with it being so busy, the service was a little rough...  no complaints though; they had what we needed so desperately... sugar and fat!  Unfortunately, our late arrival to town meant that a lot of the shops were closed, so we didn't get to explore, and on the drive back to our hotel, I couldn't keep my eyes open.

Kevin posing on Mary's Loop in Fruita

'More Fun' at Fruita, CO

Day 3 brought us to Fruita (where our hotel was) and back to Lunch Loops in the afternoon.  At Fruita, the terrain was totally different from what we'd ridden in Utah (which was totally different from Slickrock to Porcupine Rim!).  We started the ride off in Fruita with a trail called 'More Fun' which we accidentally did opposite the suggested direction.  This was no problem except that it started off with tough technical climbing that left me feeling like I left my lungs and legs back in Utah.  We saw lots of people going in the opposite direction, and most of them were runners.  Completing that trail, we started onto 'Mary's Loop,' and found that again, there was a lot of traffic going against us, but this time it was all mountain bike traffic.   I've never seen so many people on a trail in my life.  What a gorgeous loop!  We decided that after the previous day's torture, we should stop and have a lunch break somewhere out of the sun, so we went to Buffalo Wild Wings where we made smart lunch choices this time.

Lunch Loops after lunch is only a good idea if you don't eat meat lasagna or red sauce or sit in a truck for four hours.  With tired legs, we made our way up, up, up on some really fun trails.  I think Lunch Loops has the best trail network out of all the places we went... mostly because all of the trails were marked at junctions and all were built by and for mountain bikers.  We rode a trail called, 'Free Lunch' that had huge rollers and drops that were marked by a sign that read, "entering play area," and another sign that read, "end of play area."  Some of the features (okay... most of them) were above my head.  Literally.  I impressed myself by trying some easier rollers.  I have to admit that for our ride at Lunch Loops, I was pretty well spent...  I didn't talk much, and I sure as heck didn't want to stop for too long because I didn't know if I'd be able to get going again...  fortunately, the guys kept things fun and moving along, and we took the same descent out that we took on the first day.  It was an excellent way to end the ride.

The "guys"

Somehow, I was finally able to convince they guys that we should go to a juice/smoothie bar, and as it turned out, everyone liked it!  Dirty and happy, we set back on the road to Castle Rock where Dan's house is, stopping in a town called Rifle, CO at Rib City Grille for what was our absolute best dining experience of the weekend.  The town itself was a little off, but the restaurant was kickass.  The rest of our drive back was not quite as good as our drive out West.  We hit snow storms in the mountain passes which added stress to our exhaustion, and had a near death experience as some butt munch went zooming past us going the wrong way on the interstate just miles from Dan's exit.  It took us all a few moments to register what was going on, and Dan saw the telltale sign of a car wreck in his rearview mirror as that vehicle swerved in traffic and rolled into a ditch.  We were lucky.  And tired.  I never slept so good on a floor as I did that night.

Our last day didn't leave us with much time since we had to be at the airport by 1:30 for our 3pm flight, and we still had to drop our bikes off in Golden.  Fortunately, Rhyolite Bike Park is less than a mile from Dan's door, and behind the park is a mesa with a fast, flat, and flowy 3 mile track.  We rode over to the mesa, climbed to the top, did a lap and then came down the bike park's dirt jump downhill track.  Dan and Kevin wanted to play at the park, so Marc and I went back up to the mesa, and after doing a quick lap, we decided we'd race around just one more time.  It was the perfect way to end the weekend, and we all felt surprisingly good...  I should note that at the top of the mesa, the elevation was around 6,300 ft which is higher than the elevation at porcupine rim!

That was it... we packed up, dropped off our bikes, and Dan cried when he dropped us off at the airport (haha).  The trip back was quiet...  Over the course of the weekend, I'd been trying to get some homework assignments done, one of which was starting and finishing a 300+ page book.  As we were descending into Providence, I finished the book.  It doesn't get much better than that... especially since, in true New England style,  it was pouring rain and chilly.  I was in bed shortly after 2 am and back at school the next morning for 9am.  Best Spring Break EVERRRR!

Fruita, CO

P.S.  Go to Colorado.  Go to Utah.  Go ride a bike!

Spring Break - Part 1: Racing, Building, Planting, and Packing

I can't believe it's Spring Break already because it seems like the semester just started.  In reality, there are just four weeks left after break, and then a week of finals.  Somehow, I haven't been as stressed about school as I normally am, and I think that's because I've been doing a relatively good job of staying on top of my assignments.  However, I have a few to do this week and have yet to do much with any of them...  I will probably need to be responsible and carve out some time.

So, I started the weekend off with work followed by a last minute assessment of my bike.  The tires I had just put on a couple days earlier were holding air and not holding air.  The ardent I have on the front is made of some of the thickest rubber I've ever seen, and that thing set a mighty tight bead that hasn't leaked a drop of air.  On the rear, the ignitor just didn't seem to want to cooperate.  I finally added some more sealant, blasted it up with air, and spun the living crap out of the wheel for a few minutes.  The next morning it was mostly full of air...

The King (Queen) of Burlingame Time Trial is a fun way to kick of the season and a rather fun race course with a little bit of everything except any major climbs.  Last year, my time was 49:20, but I didn't look that up until after I got home from the race Sunday.  After pre-ridng half of the course with Melissa, I checked that rear wheel again, and the tire seemed to be holding air - good thing because I definitely forgot to buy some CO2 for my pump.  Ooops.

There were 8 of us pre-registered and all 8 of us showed up.  Not only were there that many of us in expert, but 12 women signed up to race the sport category and 7 in beginner's.  It's so great to see that many women racing mountain bikes, especially this early in the season.  We went off every 30 seconds following all of the men.  I think they had us wait in the cold for all of the men to go because they know we are way tougher than them.  Anyhow, my start was a little lame because I couldn't find my pedal to clip in, but I took off feeling pretty good... that is, until Karen caught up to me within the first 5 minutes or so.  Everyone says that endurance is her specialty, but I would definitely like to argue that she is just rip-shit fast no matter what kind of racing she does.  Yes, she can ride fast for hours, but she has skill and the kind of stamina that's good for short races as well.  I can not wait to see her kill it out
there this season.

Getting caught by Karen

So, I didn't get caught by anyone else, but Crystal wasn't far behind.  I knew she'd be close since she only just finished an insane cyclocross season a month or two ago.  With her starting a few minutes behind me and finishing right on my heels, she definitely had me beat.  In fact, Karen and Crystal finished within ten seconds of one another, and Karen set a new course record.  After the rest of the ladies came through, I found myself with the third fastest time, and my teammate, Liz, was fifth.  I was super excited about how good I felt out there.  I never felt like I was about to die.  Now I'm thinking that may be a bad thing... I obviously didn't push hard enough to feel like dying.  I also rode sloppy.  Regardless, for a horrendously wintery winter here in New England, I am feeling mighty strong for this time of year, and I'm happy with my first results of the season.  I'm extremely fortunate to have such high-class competition to race against, some really cool teammates (as well as non-team-mates), such awesome events to race at, and circumstances which allow me to keep training and racing.

The rest of Sunday, I attempted to work on some schoolwork, but really didn't get much done because Spring Break mode overtook me.   However, Monday and Tuesday were production-mania, except for the fact that I continued to do NO schoolwork.




And so... here is the story of our greenhouse:

Mike and I decided to order a kit because all the parts and pieces you need come together for one price with instructions, and we wanted something that had been 'peer reviewed' which means, other human beings have bought the thing and written some sort of review about the process...  It came in two giant boxes, and in those boxes were a bazillion pieces all with different numbers on them.  The instruction book was thick and scary looking.  Every step was a wordless diagram, and the only writing was on the first page where you got the warnings: do not set up in wind, do not skip steps, do not do steps out of order, and so on...  So, we started setting it up a week or so ago on a lovely sunny (and horribly windy) day.  At about 4pm of that first day, we realized there was no way in #%*! we were going to finish.  Our options were take it all down OR brace it from the wind as best we could.  We went with the latter and did what we could to prevent wind damage until we could get back out there.  Now, anyone who knows either of us is aware that we don't have many days off together...  let alone days where the weather is decent (it's been extraordinarily windy lately).  So the greenhouse has taken one hell of a beating while waiting for someone to finish assembling it.

Shower door table top

I made it my number 1 priority to get that thing finished by TODAY (Tuesday) because I leave tomorrow for Colorado (hence Spring Break Part 1 in the title).  With a whole lot of help from my brother, it is now complete.  Some mistakes were made, and some cursing occurred.  It isn't exactly level which probably did not help us with assembly.  Not only that, but some of the aluminum parts got bent slightly from the wind.  Despite all that, now that it's together, it's quite sturdy, and I used all of the cardboard that it came in to seal up the drafty spots.  Corrugated cardboard is made to insulate!  Seriously, it was warm within a couple hours of sealing up the drafts and getting some cloudy sunlight. I'm assuming that when the sun starts to blaze it's going to be unbearably warm in there.




Rather than buy tables or use something nice, I went to my dad's junk pile and found some snazzy old buckets, a shower door, and a beautiful piece of stainless steel for one low row of tables.  On the other wall, I made a taller planting table using a wooden platform and a portable commode.  We will likely put some shelving in there, and the roof has some little metal brackets in the center for hanging a few plants.

That's not for pooping.  It's a table base.

I'm holding off on starting a lot of my seeds because it's still too early for many, but I did go ahead with some peppers, cucumbers, squash, and dill.  I plan on transplanting anything that successfully sprouts as soon as it grows 'true leaves' and to make it simple, I planted my seeds in biodegradable egg crates.  I also put all the crates in corrugated cardboard trays with the hope that they'll hold some of the heat from the greenhouse into the soil overnight when the temps drop.

grow plants here

seeds in dirt in egg containers

dill - even the seeds smell like dill

Now that all of that is done, I can start packing for Colorado.  The plane leaves early tomorrow afternoon, and the plan is to ride bikes and eat a lot for the rest of the week until Sunday.  We (my buds and I) fly into Denver, then drive to Grand Junction, and ride around there and Moab...  It's going to be a blast.  Stay tuned for Spring Break Part 2.






Okay, obviously I don't want you to stay tuned, but check back in at some point because I will hopefully have some cool stuff to write about (or at least some really dope photos).

Oh, hey there, I have a neglected blog...

In the wake of a whirlwind school semester which is currently being finalized with... well...  finals, I have been well aware of the lack of blogging I've done.  It's just that, every time I thought about blogging, I realized that I had some other pressing assignment that I should be working on.  This blog isn't going to get me a really sweet career someday (or is it?), so I need to focus on reaping the most from this educational opportunity which is consuming my already preoccupied life.  Right on.

And so, a whole lot of stuff has been happening, and I haven't been able to write about it.  If we are related somehow via social media, it's likely that you are up to speed, but if not, buckle up; this could be a long and wordy ride...  but I'll try to be brief(ish).

I never planned to race much cross this season - that is, I hadn't planned on it until I realized MTB race season was ending, and I wanted to add some more fun to my schedule.  So I barely rode, didn't exactly train, but raced nearly every weekend.  Now that it's officially over with, I'm glad I did it.  Talk about a learning experience - damn!  I've mentioned in previous posts that I haven't really raced cross before.  I've done a few races here and there, but it's never been my thing.  Yeah, it still isn't - not really.  I do like it though...  next year I'll know what I'm getting myself into, and I'll put a little more effort into being prepared.

The highlight of the season came a little unexpectedly.  We were planning to put on a DAS cyclocross race; there's been one at Owen Bell park since Donnie opened DAS.  This year we'd talked about changing the course a bit - Donnie had some ideas to make the course more spectator friendly.  We also had to change the name of the race because we were using a town park and calling it 'Beer cross' wasn't really good for town image.  No problem...  after joking around at cross practice one Wednesday night, we somehow decided on Beaver Cross.  We got ourselves all set up through USA cycling, and seemed off to a good start.  Then a Facebook post about inequality in women's payouts vs men's payouts spiraled into a never-ending dialogue that had everything from seemingly chauvinist pigs to radical feminists.  Okay, I might be exaggerating, but there were a lot of concerned individuals who felt strongly about what they were saying...  finally, someone pointed out that maybe we should do something rather than talk about it.  Right-O!  Almost immediately, Beaver Cross became all about the Bea....  um, all about the women's payout being as awesome as possible.  Yeah, equal payout would be cool, but how about this time, we show all the ladies that there are people willing to put up some money for them to race.  We ended up with $850 in donations and distributed it 5 deep for both the open women's category AND the 3/4 women's category.  There were also lots of other sweet goodies donated.  Donnie's buddy Oliver offered some of his jerseys... check them out!

Race day went off beautifully!  We had an amazing crew of volunteers helping out, built a kick-ass course, and the weather cooperated for set-up, racing, and clean-up.  This year's race featured in a DJ, a fire, and a quadruple uphill sandpit from your wildest cyclocross nightmares.  To quote one of the participants, it was the "raddest course ever!"  SOOOoooo looking forward to doing it again next year.

...But before next year's cross season gets here, MOUNTAIN BIKE RACING RETURNS!!!  Can you tell I'm excited!?   Well, I have reason to be because there's a lot to be excited about in the New England MTB racing world...  Nationals are coming back to the East coast!  That's right, the end of July will bring some of the fastest racers in the USA out to Bear Creek Resort in PA.  AND THAT'S NOT ALL...  The USA cycling Pro XCT is coming to the East TWICE - to Windham, NY and Catamount, VT.  I bet you're beginning to see why I'm using so many capitals (I'm not sorry if that annoys you... I'm excited; deal with it).  The 2013 season is already looking like it's going to be an amazing one.

Meanwhile, my BA in English is nearing completion...  seriously, I only have senior seminar (two semesters of it) which I'm starting in a few weeks, and my BS in Biology is about a year and half away...  that's if I really buckle down and bust it out - which I've been doing.  Also, my knee problems are en route to a state of resolution...  my IT band is pulling my knee all 'outta-whack' so I'm supposed to be stretching and what-not.  Stretching and use of the foam roller of death seems to be helping a whole lot, so I'll keep on it.

I suppose this wasn't nearly as wordy or long-winded as it could have been...  I'm on break for the next three weeks, so I plan on posting some interesting stuff about fun rides and trail-building.  Here's hoping it doesn't rain the entire time I'm on break!

Gloucester GP - adding some experience to my inexperienced status...

Well, that sure was something.  I was hoping to experience a muddy cross race yesterday, and it was delivered.  I don't recall there being many sections of the course that weren't mud unless they were puddles, sand, or pavement.  Challenging is an understatement.

I arrived in Gloucester with plenty of time to register, warm-up, and pre-ride the course.  What I didn't anticipate was maybe wanting to clean my bike off before the start or the fact that it would take me a fair amount of time to get around the course with it being so sloppy.  Slop - what a fun word.  Anyhow, John and John were Skyler's buddies for the day, and she had a blast hanging out with them while I slopped it up.  So I finished my inspection of the course with just under 20 minutes to spare, rode up to my car to drop my water bottle and grab a GU, and by the time I got down to the start area, I'd missed my call-up to row 3 or 4.  

My start in the back of the pack didn't really bother me; I don't have enough experience to warrant a good starting position just yet, and it wouldn't have been fair to people who've been doing this longer.  Last row was just fine.  However, as we hit the mud and I found myself having to dodge other riders, I soon saw the value of starting closer to the front.  At one point, a girl fell in front of me and I rode directly into her.  We politely apologized to one another and were on our way, but in the meantime, the field was getting pretty stretched out.  Over the course of the first lap, which seemingly took forever, I was back and forth with a few other girls, and I tried my best to ride as smooth as possible.  

To sum it up, I managed to stay on the bike when necessary, and I shouldered my bike the proper way on the dismounts, but I had some really ugly moments out there.  All semblance of technical ability was left on the first lap.  I learned a LOT in those three laps (I think it was three anyhow...).  The course was definitely challenging and fun.  It would have been nice to experience the double-race thing and do Saturday's race as well; from what it sounds like, the course was an entirely different animal.  Maybe someday I'll be up for it, but for now, Saturdays I am up for delivering mail.  

I ended up finishing 38th out of 42 finishers - there were a handful of DNFs and DNSs, too.  I wasn't last, and I finished, barely.  It certainly was a learning experience.  Today, my shoulder is sore, it hurts to wear my backpack full of books, and I think I still have some mud in the corners of my eyes, but climbing four flights of stairs with said backpack seems a lot easier than climbing a muddy hill shouldering a bike covered in 20lbs of debris.  Believe it or not - I'm looking forward to doing it again.  The Night Weasels Cometh this Wednesday to Shrewsbury! 

Cross Twenty-Eleven = 3 Races in 3 Months; Cross Twenty-Twelve = 3 Races in 5 Days... any questions?

I guess I finally get it.  There's just something about racing for 40-60 minutes at the highest level you can manage to put out...  I can't say I'm completely buying into it enough where I'm going to do all the silly stuff - like spend time gluing tires to wheels or bring two bikes to a race, though I can see the value in these activities - but I fully intend to learn how and when my body should be pushed to its limit within the course of a race.

Last year, I raced three times, and I had no idea what I was doing other than riding my bike, getting off my bike, remounting my bike, and suffering.  I raced at Mansfield Hollow, Hopbrook, and the local DAS race all at random throughout the season.  While my intention coming into the 2012 season was not to race every weekend, it seems as though I might come pretty close.  The races are close enough, short enough, and fun enough that they don't take too much time out of my homework-filled weekends. The brevity of the actual race and the fact that the course is a shorter circuit than a mountain bike race makes it an ideal event to bring the family to.  I'm not saying that cross is better than mountain biking - I'm only admitting that it does have some perks, and I've decided to embrace it.

So, I started out the season last Saturday at the Expo Wheelman's Silk City Cyclocross in Manchester CT.  The starting line was filled with experienced racers and regardless of my mountain bike fitness, I knew it was going to be a tough race.  Before the start, I spent plenty of time warming up, but I didn't get a chance to ride the course at all.  Rumor had it that it was a mountain biker's sort of course because it had some good off-camber sections and some tricky stuff, so I was hoping that would work to my advantage.  I should have pre-ridden it.  Yes, it was my kind of course, but I made some stupid mistakes, especially on the first lap, that I wouldn't have made if I'd spent some time going through the course carefully before the start.  There was one spot in particular where I was going to fast over a blind hill and didn't know there was a corner on the other side.  No amount of braking could stop me from going through the tape and off course.  You live/race and you learn.  I finished 4th and got to podium with some very fast ladies - the loot was pretty sweet, too... cash and Verge accessories.

Sunday I went up to Auburn, NH for the 2012 Suckerbrook Cyclocross Race.  Unlike Saturday's race, there were two options for the ladies - a category 2/3/4 race and an open race.  Based on my mountain bike license with USAC, I was automatically registered as a Cat 1 cyclocross racer (despite my HUGE lack of experience).  I'm trying to embrace this, and realize that it won't really hurt anything for me to race against the really fast girls.  So that's what I did on Sunday.  It was insane, and I watched as woman after woman rode away from me on the straightaways and I caught up to them in the very small sections of woods.  I left that race with a finish of 15 out of 20 and the knowledge that I needed power...  unfortunately in this case, knowledge is NOT power.

Wednesday night...  The Midnight Ride of Cyclocross in Lancaster, MA.  The women's open race was dubbed Elite Women and for good reason.  The best of the best were there.  Not only were there some of the best women in New England signed up, but these girls are some of the best in the country.  My goals for the night were 1) gain experience, 2) not get lapped, and 3) push harder than I did on Saturday and Sunday.  So, I spent some time warming up with Jordan Dube, and with 15 minutes to go before the race, I noticed my tire was getting a little squirrelly.  Sure enough, I had a flat - fortunately, I had a tube in the car, and even if I hadn't, a couple of people offered to lend me a wheel (thank you again, both Shawn M and Kate N's hubby).  So, I somehow was in the second row at the start and shakin' in my chamois.  Racing on pavement and in a tight pack is terrifying for me - mostly because I have no experience at it - and as luck would have it, the start was on pavement.  I'd pre-ridden this course earlier in the evening, but the sun was still out, so when I hit the dark corners of the course, it was a little unnerving.  I eventually got into a groove and rode hard.  The course was fun.  I managed to ride everything smoothly until the final lap where I went down in some woodchips.  The rider behind me gained some ground but didn't pass me until the final straightaway where we had a sprint finish.  I ended up finishing 11th out of 22.

What a fun couple of days...  and there're more coming.  I can't race Saturday at Gloucester because I need to work, but I'm signed up for Sunday and should be starting somewhere in the last row.  Wednesday night will be a race in Shrewsbury, MA called the Night Weasels, and the following weekend is the Providence Cyclocross Festival - again, I can only race on Sunday.  It's crazy how much more I like it the more I try it.