loamy and clear trail.Only obstical is a sink hole has opened where the old gully was.So much for all those chunks of concrete that were laid out there.Otherwise,great shape.Oh yeah,the little bridge where you come back into the woods from the road is gone,too.Go rail!B

What: Launch Party
When: * Wednesday, October 12 @ 6:30pm
Where: Positively Chiropractic
5105-A Backlick Road
Annandale VA
RSVP: drkathy@posichiro.com

This event is for team members AND non-members! Come learn more about the fast growing sport of XTERRA!

Local Pro-XTERRA triathlete Suzy Snider will be present to answer any specific questions on what it's like to race as a pro, what it was like to race with Lance Armstrong last week at Nationals, and how to prepare for worlds XTERRA.
Anne Mader of The Bike Lane will be there to answer questions on mountain biking, how women can get more skill sets in the sport, and to hand out 20$ gift certificates to current and new members of Team Capital XTERRA.
Endurance Coach Patrick Maher will be discussing the latest in sports nutrition - both how to train and race. Learn how to tailor your nutrition to get more from your training.
Current World Champion, Dr. Kathy, will talk about how she is preparing for her sixth trip to XTERRA Worlds - including*tips for those joining in on the fun!

We will be handing out Team Capital XTERRA shirts and will have yummy healthy snacks.

Attached Files

2011 October LaunchParty.pdf (117.3 KB, 67 views)

What: Launch Party
When: * Wednesday, October 12 @ 6:30pm
Where: Positively Chiropractic
5105-A Backlick Road
Annandale VA
RSVP: drkathy@posichiro.com

This event is for team members AND non-members! Come learn more about the fast growing sport of XTERRA!

Endurance Coach Patrick Maher will be discussing the latest in sports nutrition - both how to train and race. Learn how to tailor your nutrition to get more from your training.
Current World Champion, Dr. Kathy, will talk about how she is preparing for her sixth trip to XTERRA Worlds - including*tips for those joining in on the fun!

We will be handing out Team Capital XTERRA shirts and will have yummy healthy snacks. *

Attached Files

LaunchParty.pdf (117.3 KB, 74 views)

Did "the local" yesterday,& low & behold;6-8 riders!Good to see these fun trails being ridden.Nice to see you,Rhino.

It's a very Tick-y world we ride in,more so again this year.The big ones you can easily see are a pest,the tiny ones you can't are Lymes carriers.Be very aware!!B

Hi there. I'm new. I used to live in Calgary, Alberta, where mountain biking was kind of a norm. I moved to this country for personal reasons that did not quite work out, and i am very much now feeling isolated. Clearly this is not a therapeutic organization, but getting back on my bike would be a very good thing. Might I ask this favour: I need advice on a new bike, and then want to get involved in MORE.

Any input would be greatly appreciated. I thrive in the wilderness, be it under water, in the air, or on mountains.

But first i need a darned biike. I gave my bike to my step son, so need a new one.

Michael Steven Ross

So folks,what's the problem with Fairland?The past two Sunday afternoons,Wifey & I have ridden there ALONE!(Well, we encountered A rider today:total gridlock!!)As a place to learn our sport,it's the best.For us riders who love a flowey trail system with a low terror factor,it's ideal.Plus skinnies,logs,&"Austins' Alley"rollercoaster section.People,go ride!B

l just found out today a rider bud of mine (Aaron Ryan) lost his life, possibly due to a crash he had with a car while riding his fixie home from work. He rode his fixie to and from work almost every day of the week... he totally loved riding his bike to work. He didn't need to ride his bike --- he owns a perfectly good -- new(ish) Subaru. After thinking about him... l'm honored but saddened to think it was me who turned him on to the fixie thing several years ago. He fell in love with it and he's also been an active XC rider too. l raced with him several times through the years.. l lost count how many times we did local/casual rides when we lived closer to each other. l don't know the full details yet but he had an encounter with an automobile about two weeks ago. (not the first time he got hit by a car while on a bike)... from what l hear, he didn't really get hurt and didn't see a doctor or anything. l also don't know who was at fault or even how bad the crash was. Fine one day -- started to feel like he may have had nerve damage so he went to see a doctor... left the doctor and suddenly died while at work on Friday. He was extremely fit so it's very shocking to hear about him passing on. Fit as in: e.g. we did a single speed stage race up in MD a few years back -- the bike race was at least 4 hours long, very grueling.. l was only rider support and l had a hard time finishing the ride. After getting back from the ride, he swam across Liberty Reservoir (must have been at least a mile swim, if not more). When he races, he always had very fast times -- he was no rookie rider. Now he's gone!!! leaving behind a beautiful wife and daughter . We're going to put together some sort of awareness ride in honor of Aaron. It's very soon after learning about Aaron so l'm blank at the moment but l'm open to ideas.

God bless you and your family Aaron.


l will miss you.

Love Mike


P.S... do they have bikes in heaven?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Pavi --- Aaron's wife: Aaron's memorial service will be held at the Church of the Resurrection, 2280
No. Beauregard St. on Tuesday the 17th of May at 11:00 A.M
Reception will follow in the church parish hall. Burial will be private. In
lieu of flowers. there is a "Bank Fund" set up for his children (Pavi is
expecting) if you want to contribute. Checks to be made out to "Pavlina Ryan"
with a memo to "Ryan Children's Schoolarship Fund" Check can be mailed to

Pedal Shop LLC
C/O Pavi

932 Edwards Ferry Rd
Unit 72
Leesburg VA 20176

From time to time, Dr. Kathy will be sharing her training experience with us as she prepares for XTERRA Richmond on her way to defend her World Championship!

----------

APRIL 29th - Spring has sprung, HALLALUAH, and though the trails may be wet, you can still run on them! So Coach Patrick has me this weekend doing lots of fun hard workouts. Tomorrow, I am running 1 hour 20 minutes (it'll be on the horse trails at Fountain Head with my husband, 2 dogs, and one other great running buddy.) My focus right now is to introduce small sections of hard heart rate with a small break in between to regroup before hitting it hard again. All with a good warm up and a good cool down. This will have to happen very early, as The Bike Lane's CYCLE FEST in Reston is my main focus on Saturday! (Hope you can make it!)

Sunday I am soooo hitting the mtn. bike trails, it'll be perfect by then. So I am riding what is termed the "kitchen sink" with my hubby. There will be many different elements to this ride, like 5 by 1 minute all out with a minute between, 3 by 10 minute in zone 3, 3 by 5 minute zone 4, and so on, with lots of roots and logs and hills to enjoy. 2 and a half hour Sunday rides are the time frame I have to commit to more or less until Richomond XTERRA, and then until HOPEFULLY Maui XTERRA. The time and distance on the legs are imperative to tranisition to a run with a much less "LEGS FEEL LIKE JELLO" factor.

I hope you are thoroughly enjoying this amazing spring weather, it is about time, 'eh!!!! Hugs to all, Dr. Kathy

Prompted by a recent thread. My current stable is:

Complete Bikes:
geared 2x9 29er HT (AIR9)
SS 29er HT (converted EMD9)
geared cx bike ('10 Kona JTS)
winter road bike ('03 Trek 5500 w/ '09 gruppo)
summer road bike (November Wheelhouse)
original road bike ('08 Trek 1.2 3x8).

Frames:
SS 29er HT frame ('07 Rig)

Wheels (other than part of above bikes):
29er geared set (Bontrager Rhythm comps)
cx tubular racing set (Williams)
36-spoke tank road set (Bontrager)

upcoming changes for 2011/2012 (in order of priority):
sell Trek 1.2
buy Jet9 w/ X0 2x10 group
buy new fork for EMD, then sell off Rig frameset
buy new cx frameset or complete 2nd bike
buy new SS wheelset (Hopes/crests)
new carbon clincher road set (November RFSC38)

The scary part is, each bike has a purpose and gets ridden enough during the year to justify its existence and upkeep. To think this all started when a friend sold me his old Mongoose FS bike after he got a Fisher FS 4 years ago.

Join us for XTERRA NIGHT at The Bike Lane Burke on Wednesday, April 20 7:30pm.

Learn about the exciting sport of XTERRA from Dr. Kathy Coutinho and local XTERRA Ambassadors!
Come learn how to successfully train for an XTERRA so that you can reach the finish line confidently and without injury!

Join us for a night of great energy, fun, food, and conversation AND XTERRA giveaways!

The Bike Lane Burke
9544 Old Keene Mill Road
Burke VA 22015
703-440-8701
thebikelane.com

Greetings MORE Community!

Welcome to the PosiChiro blog! My name is Patrick Maher, I'm one of the endurance coaches with Positively Chiropractic. Along with Taneen Carvell, we will be posting regular racing and training tips on this blog. Feel free to contact us with your questions and we will do our best to provide you with an answer and share some of those answers here on this page.

To get us started, I wanted to talk about proper cycling technique (and by proper, I mean efficient). So often I see cyclists out on the road/trails who have great natural ability but the mechanics more suited to wrestling a greased pig than riding a bike.

Now the information on proper cycling technique can fill several books (and it has). There are also varied opinons on what that right form is. But today I want to discuss an area that should be less debatable: pelvic tilt.

In this case, pelvic tilt refers to how we address the saddle or position our rear ends on the seat. Most of us spend a good deal of our days sitting at a desk or driving the car, and our seated position during those activities has influenced how we sit on the saddle: in short, we sit on our saddles the same way we sit on a chair. Our pelvis is rotated backwards, hips pointed to the sky, and our spine rounded forward to allow us to reach the handlebars.

The main problem is that last part: the center of our rounded spine becomes the focal point for a lot of energy and pressure. Think about bending a stick; at a certain point, that stick will break at the center where all the pressure is focused. Why not relieve that stress and allow your spine to be in a neutral position by rotating your hips forward?

Here's a quick drill I do with clients to help them find this position and feel what a neutral spine feels like:
1) Put your bike in a trainer - do NOT attempt this while riding;
2) Stand out of the saddle with your hands out wide and the handlebars (on the hoods/brakes for road bikes), bring your crank arms to be parallel with the ground, pedals at 3 and 9 o'clock;
3) While keeping your behind off the saddle, bring your nose down to the handlebars (a nice hamstring stretch as well);
4) Keep your nose down and then slowly lower your behind to the saddle and move it forward and backwards until you find the most comforting and conforming place to sit;
5) Then keep your hips still and slowly raise your head and shoulders (your pelvis should now be rotated forward);
6) Now think about stretching your spine along the axis that goes from the bottom of your spine to the top of your head, elongating your spine and further putting it in a neutral position (do not arch your back forward or back, but engage your core to help stabilize this position);
7) Lastly, relax your shoulder and arms. Let your arms be your shock absorbers and not translate impacts to your shoulders and back.

You should now feel like your handlebars are closer than they ever have. Try pedaling now. In addition to creating a better position for your back, you should be able to better engage your hamstring, hip flexors and quads.

Note: This is primarily for flat, seated riding. There are many situations that may change the position of your pelvis, back, etc; but a little efficiency here and there can make a big difference on your overall riding experience. Enjoying our sport means staying injury free and this should help prevent some pain in the back.

Thanks for reading and check back again soon for more training and coaching tips.

Yours in training,

Patrick Maher
patrick@viaverafitness.com


----------

About Positively Chiropractic

We welcome everyone from athletes to expectant mothers, children to seniors, and virtually anyone in between who is looking for pain-relief, increased and sustained mobility, and an overall healthier lifestyle. Our practice offers chiropractic and Active Release Technique®, deep-tissue massage and other gentler forms of therapeutic bodywork, endurance coaching and testing, and naturopathic medicine as well as nutritional consultation.

So I finally replaced my 2+ year old Bontrager Hardcase 23mm tires (2000+ miles no flats) with a set of new Conti Gatorskin 25mm tires. After the inaugural ride I can't really say I've noticed a difference in feel between 23mm @ 120psi and 25mm @ 100psi.

These tires will stay on my Race Lite wheelset for everyday riding. My lighter wheelset (for throwdown contests like the Speedworks ride or if I ever do a road race) will have Vredestein Fortezza Duo-Comp 25mm on them. That set should be about 1/2 lb lighter than the RLs. (and cost much less...)

I was meaning to eventually "upgrade" my 7005 aluminum EMD9 frame to a scandium Air9, but that got accelerated when an enterprising MORE member posted his used AIR9 for sale w/ a headset for a good couple of hundred less than a new frame, so I jumped on it. Frame is scuffed and has been well used (plus has a tiny ding in the TT), but is structurally sound.

The frame is their "Kermit Green" color, which I have never been keen on, as I am a fan of black frames, but for the price I wasn't going to complain. Turns out, I love how the bike looks with the frame, though the various red parts that went well w/ black look a bit odd (lock-on clamps, hubs, nipples.)

I basically just move all the parts and pieces over from one frame to the other, the geometries are identical so no need to play with the fit. I've been on one 18 mile dirt/gravel road ride and one session at Laurel Hill and the bike rides nice. I can't say if it is just a mental thing or not, but the frame does feel a little different, I haven't taken it off any ledges hit rocks yet so I won't definitively say whether the scandium is more compliant than 7005 yet, it just feels good.

The EMD9 will be repurposed into a SS. The magic gears for that frame are supposedly 32x20 or 34x18, the Rig is 32x20, so gonna slap that on the EMD and see how it works out. The EMD was ~25 lbs geared, so I expect about 23ish as a SS.

Figure this might help some people out.

The below gear will let me ride road in the mid-30s, and mtb down to mid-20s:

Feet: wigwam wool socks + Lake boots
Legs: bib shorts + performance thermal tights *
Torso: C9 l/s baselayer, icebreaker l/s 200 mock w/ zipper, nike windbreaker w/ zipper.
head: Sugoi winter running cap
Hands: Performance Scirocco winter gloves **

The 4" zippers on the windbreaker and icebreaker let me regulate if I start to overheat.

* am going to experiment w/ Voler Artico fleece bib-tights for the road this winter
** the Performance gloves are only good to the mid-30s unless I use them with Bar Mitts. I'm currently borrowing a pair of Pearl Izumi PRO Barriers and they awesome in the mid-20s.

I'm also going to experiment on the road w/ my Voler team thermal jacket. I think I can drop one baselayer and the windbreaker and replace w/ the jacket for the 30s. Anything warmer than that and I would roast in the jacket.

According to the MORE forums, I created my account in Sep 2006, 4 years ago. At that time I had just taken a job up here and was renting a room while waiting for the family to come up in Jan when our rental lease was going to expire. A co-worker from my old job had just upgraded from his Mongoose to a Fisher Cake, so gave me the old bike so I would have something to do after work while I was a geo-bachelor.

I was that guy who couldn't clean any of the monstrous hills of Wakefield and fell trying to cross every stream or log. But I was hooked. I lost about 20 pounds riding 3-4 times a week over those 4 months and met some great people.

So 4 years later the Mongoose is long gone, I now have 5 bikes (mtb geared, mtb SS, alum. road, carbon road, cross) and am still contemplating adding a few more. I joined a racing club, race mtb and cross for fun and will probably try a road race or two next year for the hell of it.

How time flies.

Finally, after 3 years of wanting to have a custom wheelset built, I pony'd up for it: Bonty 29er Duster rims laced to Hope Pro II hubs w/ DT comps and alloy nips. All black w/ red hubs/nips. Built by Mike Curiak (lacemine29.com). New wheels naked: 1900 grams exactly

Last winter I ran Conti Mountain King tires (2.4/2.2) over the winter. I mounted Bonty FR-3 tires (2.35) tubeless front and rear for this winter, a really beefy tire, decent clearance on the rear, pushing it on the front fork. Will be more than ok for Shed/Furnace rides yet still work good on the local stuff.

First ride will be tonight assuming the LBS can get my derailleurs setup on the way to the TNR. I've been spinning the wheels in the basement just listening to the Hopes click away :)

Picked up my new cross bike (Kona jake the snake) on Wed, set up my cockpit, and rode it @ the Wakefield TNR ride. Started with 35 psi in the tires, but bottomed the front rim a few times on small roots and the CCT bridge transitions. Bumped up to 40psi, still had to be carefull with the front, but the rear was good except when I screwed up a bunny hop. Any more pressure and I felt like I was going to bounce around too much. Might try 45psi next time. (165lb rider w/ 35mm cross tires)

Swept the casual ride into Accotink where we mostly did the upper trails by the tracks, but dove down to the stream crossing once. Here are my observations about cross on singletrack:

1: definitely need to protect the front tire, picking good lines is a must.

2: you get a ton more braking power when you are in the drops. I was worried about being so forward and low, but I never felt like I was going to go over even on the steeper descents. probably due to the lower center of gravity. which leads to:

2.5: pedal strike. I didn't attempt any large logs, but on smaller stuff that was rolleable w/o hitting the chainring, pedaling up and over like I am used to resulted in pedeal strike, again probably due to a lower BB height.

3: I was worried about climbing with a 36x25 low gear, but the bike was so light (~ 3.5lbs less than my SS mtb) it was like a billy goat.

4: I was worried about being rigid on skinny tires off-road since my road bike is so harsh on bad roads, but the fatter tires and much lower pressure had me hardly noticing it. Still nowhere near as smooth as my mtb, but no residual hand/forearm fatigue.

5: toe lap...defintely not used to that, went over once (at low speed) and then really paid attention on the tighter sections, especially going uphill when you still had to pedal.

It was a fun experience, though I am much slower in technical sections since I am trying to save the rims. I will probably repeat this a few more times until I am more comforteable with the bike and get better with technical handling.

A recent MTB trip to the Davis/Canaan Valley area inspired me to post an update to my old blog account of a solo ride I made back in 2008 down the length of Plantation Trail.

On my latest trip I again rode the Plantation Trail - this time with my regular NVA riding posse - Howard, Wayne, and Greg. Since that first solo ride 2 years ago, I've become more familiar with the great technical trails the Canaan Mountain backcountry is known for. My MTB skills have grown quickly as I've ridden Plantation and the technical trails that cross it more often.

Our ride began on Canaan Heights at the trail head for the "Green Trail" just off the Canaan Loop Road (AKA Forest Road 13) before the National Forest gates. The Green Trail is a sweet loamy singletrack that traverses along the steep slope of Canaan Mountain through a mature pine forest that feels a bit like the Pacific Northwest. Green leads to the Northwoods Express which snakes its way back out to Forest Road 13. These are both "fast and flowing" trails by Canaan standards - lots of fun and a great warm-up for the challenges ahead.

Rolling back up the forest road towards our vehicle we duck again into the woods onto Fire Trail #3. Fire Trail #3 is a super fun downhill ride over rocks, roots, and drop offs that leads to Plantation. For this ride, we stop short of Plantation and hang a right at the unsigned intersection with a trail locals know as Fire Break.

The next few miles of this ride report have been redacted to protect local knowledge - but if you read these boards regularly then you already know how to get more info.:)

Following this network of unnamed trails we eventually drop down onto Plantation just about a mile or so from its eastern terminus on State Route 32. Instead of heading back to the highway, we turn left and follow Plantation to its far western end almost 8 miles away.

Plantation is tough riding. Lots of short technical downhills over rock and roots and drop-offs followed by technical stream crossings followed by steep technical uphills featuring step-ups over more rocks and roots exposed by erosion and washouts. There are very few smooth or even level parts of this trail. It has been described as an 8 mile long rock garden. You will love it or hate it.

While my fitness is probably about the same, my riding skills have grown since my original blog post on this trail. On this ride, I left the 34lb All-Mountain Scott Ransom at home and opted for my ~26lb Santa Cruz Blur classic. The combo of improved skills and a light ride upped the fun factor big time for me. My Blur is a great trail bike that can climb just about anything but descends like mad with great stability over technical terrain. In general, I recommend a lightweight 4" full suspension rig to get the most enjoyment out of trails in this area.

While there are plenty of rocks and technical obstacles on Plantation, there is not anything really scary or truly unrideable. The downhill rock gardens can be ridden fast and with confidence by experienced riders. I was also able to make all but the steepest uphill climbs on this ride. There remains a 1/4 mile boggy section of the trail just beyond the intersection of the Railroad Grade trail. But push through the bogs to reach a sweet section of rarely ridden swooping downhills that dump out onto Forest Road 13 at the remote western end of Plantation Trail.

Turning left on 13, we rode no more the 25 yards to reach the trail head for Table Rock. The Table Rock trail is about 1.5 miles. It is a technical trail, with some long gnarly rock gardens about halfway down its length. Some might hike-a-bike through these, but we got a little tired of pushing our bikes and ditched them in the woods and continued on foot to Table Rock. Table Rock is a spectacular overlook that opens up into a wide view of the Blackwater Canyon. From this spot you barely can spy any evidence of man's dominion over this great land.

We returned along the Table Rock trail to the Forest Road and pointed our bikes eastward. We had traveled about 15 miles of singletrack at this point and faced an 11 mile gravel road grind back to our vehicle. The first 3 miles is brake searing fast downhill. The rest is... well uphill. Shortage of water deterred us from ducking back into the woods for a singletrack return trip. Staying on the road we made back to my truck in a little over an hour - and down to Hellbender burritos in Davis 10 minutes later! A great end to a great day in the woods with our bikes.
[IMG]http://www.blackwaterbikes.com/images/canaan5.jpg[/IMG]
The Davis area has gotten more positive exposure in both magazines and online MTB forums over the last two years. In that time, I've met and ridden with a few regular MORE posters up in Davis. Several MORE forum regulars have experienced the notorious Revenge of the Rattlesnake endurance race, and a few have raced over the legendary "Moonrocks" in the WV State Championships - held just 2 weeks ago on the sweet singletrack that sits right next to town.

If you have not been there yet [I]and [/I]you like technical riding with a true back-country feel, visit Davis this summer. It's also a great way to escape the Washington heat - the high temp this summer has been a mere 82 degrees. Plus, there is the added advantage of never being more than a 10 minute drive from the trail head to great pizza, burritos and beer in town.

Repo

Decided to give tubeless tires a try. Already had a Bontrager Rhythm wheelset, so bought the TLR rimstrips back in Feb and had them installed, never got around to the tubeless part until early June when I had time to kill since I was out for a knee injury.

Have had the front tire (Bontrager 29-3 front) tubeless for about 6 weeks now, realized why people actually run the pressures so low: the tires are too damn stiff otherwise due to the sidewalls. Aired up w/ a floor pump and took all of 5 minutes to seal w/ Stan's. Haven't gone below 30psi on the front, I've been happy w/ that so far. Dropped the rear (Conti RaceKing) to 30psi tubed and liked it.

Switched to a Bontrager XDX 2.1 on the rear but kept it tubed @ 30psi for W@W#2&3 since I didn't have time to set it up. Handles about as good as the RK on hardpack. Set it up tubeless last night, this bead is MUCH tighter than the 29-3 and took some muscle to get on, but it needed a compressor to set the bead and took about 5 minutes as well to seal w/ Stan's. It held air fine so I left it @ 40psi and will see again on Sunday if it lost any air.

I will run the XDX/29-3 through the end of the CM series, then I plan on switching to an FR3 on both wheels as a general trail tire for the winter to replace the Conti MK 2.4s I was using.

Got a ride in at my old stomping grounds last week. Hooper Rd. and Comite River Park used to be my weekly ride. The travel time from New Orleans is at least 70 minutes.

The terrain is very fast and tight single track. The area at Comite is the flood plain of a river, so the ground is dense and compact. There are some incredible banked turns and big gulley drops, as well as a few north shore styled bridges.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/35805990

The good old days. :)

I got a frame from ebay (Seven Sola Ti).

I got some rims from ebay (Mavic XM819).

I'm looking at a lot of bike parts, checking out the latest and greatest.

Background: my solo Baker's Dozen attempt ended at 9.5 hours w/ pain developing on the left knee. Next morning the knee was very stiff (but not swollen) and like an idiot I spent 2 weeks walking around and popping ibuprofen hoping the pain would go away before deciding to get it diagnosed.

X-rays show no bone damage
Ortho visit results: no soft tissue damage.

I basically have a massively irritated patella and/or acute tendinitis. I might be able to get on the bike after next week depending on how the visit w/ Dr Kathy goes.

Here's a blog page from some friends of mine in Hawaii

http://eatsingride.blogspot.com/2010...-hot-lava.html

Back from the C&O trip with 210 (approx) miles under my belt.

184 for the canal
14 (approx) for a side trip to Antietam
11 from canal mile 0 on the Potomac to Alexandria to pick up my truck

The bike functioned flawlessly. The only issue was keeping up with my ride partner who was on a geared bike. That said, it was a fantastic workout, spinning a high cadence most of the way.

I really appreciated the gear ratio though, when it came to climb the knee-popping hills we encountered on side trips to our accommodations. Some were insanely steep.

It was an extremely satisfying experience, that I'll remember for a long time.

It's not my blog; its author is a loose aquaintance. But for those of us with a sense of two-wheeled wanderlust, it's a really neat read: http://blazingsaddlebags.blogspot.com

p.s. - Yet another reason why I will never allow myself to buy a motorcycle.

Who knows if she will be into mountain biking, but she did a real bang-up job on her very first bike build!

Just got tomorrow (Tuesday) off from work to better prepare for Wednesday. We leave Alexandria at oh dark thirty for Cumberland.

Hoo RAH

Ok,

So it's only a few days before hitting the C&O.
Actually, start day is next Thursday, and I've got a full week plus Saturday and Sunday to hammer out a model for 2 days of presentations Monday and Tuesday.

It's going to feel really good to hit the towpath and ride for four days after all that.

But I haven't even left yet and I'm already thinking about the next goal; a smaller one, but one I've been hankering for as well as the C&O.

I'd like to ride the CCT from Gt Falls all the way to Occoquan. Not that long a trip, and likely doable in a day if I want to kill myself. But I like to enjoy where I am, even if I'm riding through it, so I'll do it in a weekend.

I'm curious to see how much of the trail has been turned into double-wide stone dust. I recall from back when our office was in Fairfax City and I used to ride the CCT home to Reston on a Friday evening; that the section from Oak Marr Park to Vale Road, was really primitive. Some sections were heavily rooted, muddy and really nasty. It felt like the weekend was four days long when I did that ride home...

I'm hoping it won't be a cake walk.

Everything is more or less complete.

May change the saddle for something cooshier, and add a light for late commuting and the Paw Paw tunnel.

Only other major item, is to add a down spring to the Singleator, and add more chain to accommodate the big ring as well as the 32.

Simple and fun to ride.

Hoo-RAH !

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