Bedford Mtn Cross Series 2011

Bedford Mountain Cross Race Series:  Held every February, usually at Bedford Trails Falling Creek Park, lies an early chance to test your fitness and / or just get out and ride your bicycle.  Entry fees are low, sandwiches are guaranteed, and conditions are Anything Goes Postal!  Why weren't you there?!

(btw. Serious thanks to Tim Dahl's photos on Smugmug.)

Race #01 - Restless for Spring, over 20 of us gathered to re-acquaint and toe the line... 1st, 2nd, and 3rd overall is the series format for Fortune and Glory; only time delay handicaps separate the advantages of experts to first time juniors. -- Placing 2nd for the day was my wake-up call to 'game-on.'  Would this be my year for first in the series?!  -- Although some of 'the usual riding suspects' were notably absent, sunshine and a nudge into warmer temps were quite present for the day.

Race #02 - Jumping into action and establishing the series lead. -- The almost spring-like warm temps & sunshine brought me once again to second place for the day but gaining first place in the series overall.  Jake B. (Men's Expert <35) who placed first from race #01 was out of town and did not race today.  While Ritche V. (Women's Expert <35) placing first for the day by an extra lap on everyone, was absent from the first race.  Consistency pays off; you've got to show to win.  Still, there were others, hungry and fast on my 'six'!

- on a side note...Davey & Kelly rocked it home on the mountain tandem that day!  Seriously, they should have gotten a lap per person.  What a team!



Race #03 - the Night Race! - Going fast in the dark!  Did I forget there is a lights-required night race in this series?  Seriously, what other series has a night race?  But honestly, this is still beginner friendly racing! -- Bruce M. (Men's Vet Sport) dug deep with his new bike and the time bonus head-start system to hold off the field for first place for the day, all while maneuvering into 2nd place for the series.

"The 'Forest Leprechaun' is in his element with night riding"

"And, yes, the Mountain Tandem was rockin' the night riding, too!"

Race #04 - Because Mountain Cross is 'any conditions go'...  This year's Going Postal brought Torrential Rains, Wind Gusts, Wintry Cold, Flooding Creeks, and Sloppy Mud.... and we turned it up to Eleven.  Eleven of us braved the elements..  Some were fighting for Fortune & Glory.  Others were defending their sanity.  Still others were there just for the sandwich & cheetoes and a chance to ride their bicycle with friends.

Bruce fought hard with grit in his eye, fire in his engine, and perhaps a little swagger in his helmet.

The Leprechaun dug deep against the day and the head-start time-bonuses.

Some rode with smiles..

Some rode with Postal Crazed Looks..

But I had the agony of defeat.

While Bruce had the elation of an extra lap.. just 30 seconds before I could get there.

Meanwhile, this fitness packed runner and Masters rider, slipped in for 2nd for the day.

Series Results - Lots of fun, good people, mountain bike riding, and racing, all while getting that much closer to Spring! -- Stuck on my gears & suspension, my single speed was missed, but I was glad to be riding... and riding fast and well enough to capture second place for the series. -- Being an expert level racer is tougher than one might think in this series; competing not just against the other experts, but also competing against lost ground from the head-start time-bonus handicap system. Whew. Now that's some hard racing!  -- Good Job, Kenny Palmer & Bedford County Parks, for another great year of the Bedford Mountain Cross Series.

Left to right: 3rd place-Kevin Painchaud(Masters), 2nd place-David Tompkins(Vet Expert), 2011 Series Champion-Bruce Meyer(Vet Sport)

See you there in 2012!

BB Bearing Beyonce Upgrade & forced to ride Gears & Suspension

So I've been riding my Superfly Single Speed... a lot... regularly...

At the 3rd Disco Race, though, folks noticed I looked a little different.  I tried to distract them by dressing in theme... seems I was the only Funkadelic / Expert to do so this night, too....  bonus points for me :-)

Well.. the plan didn't quite work.  Most immediately noticed that not only did my hair look like Wake's previous Disco, but my bike also looked like Wake's bike.  Its true.  I was on my Superfly 100... yup, my own Superfly 100 since about December of 2009.  Full Suspension and gears all the way baby.  An awesome bike in all its rights that I really enjoy riding!  Not my first choice for my only chance at the Disco Series, though....  I am a little 'single speed meshugana'...

Sigh... Alas, all this aforementioned riding on the Superfly Single Speed left my drive-train feeling like some torturous work-out machine at the RAC.  Now as much as I'd like to improve my leg strength... I had to draw the line somewhere.  Without gears, the resistance was limited to the rear hub, Chris King B'lingle Speed specific, yeah right, or the crank-set / BB, Shimano XTR, not likely, but more likely than the hub.  I like this simple stuff.

So I figured... since I was prepared to change my BB... why not pull a Beyonce Upgrade and replace the bearings in my cups w/ ceramic bearings?!

Well... thanks to the Enduro BB ceramic upgrade kit, Enduro removal / press tool, some paper instructions, and expert mechanic advice & experience... well lets just say my cranks never spun so smoothly!!  - that's right.. 2 exclamation points!

Should you ever want such smooth crank rotation?  Just stop on by this place called East Coasters Bike Shop and let Gary (Roanoke) or Ian (Blacksburg) help you on your way.  --

Come on... you know you want it... yes you do... it will increase your speed and bling factor almost as much as this vintage, orange, superfly, 'Luxurious Matte Jersey.'  Say it with me now.. 'Ceramic Bearing Beyonce Upgrade.'  That's good.... yeah... real good.

I mean.. for real.. you can trust a 'Disco Forest Leprechaun' can't you?!  I'm betting you can ;-)  After all, the Leprechaun is now friends with Churchhill Charlie Horse of Churchhill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby.

Single Speed Shifting

How Single Speed'ers Shift Gears...

Good riders know to shift before the stress hits the drive-train.  For single speed'ers... that means more than just pushing a shift lever!  Preparation & knowing one's self is key to at least just finishing... and possibly finishing with honorable mentions.

Superfly100 in Action

More to come soon.  Things have been fast paced lately ;-)

(if you look closely, you can almost see my new Bontrager Heritage Wristband!  its on my left wrist... yeah... stylin' fast!)

Tour de Floyd 2009

The 3rd annual Tour de Floyd. My first. What a beautiful day.



Two wheels.. new friends.. beautiful views.. delicious cookies.. fresh perspectives.. on the list for next year.

RMBC 2008 results

More than a week later... details and results.

Saturday Day 01: Up hill time trial on Mill Mountain; 3 miles and 900 feet.

Starting at the Star Mart at the bottom of the hill, heading up the alley just off Walnut (past the man trimming his hedges w/ a 2 cycle gas powered trimmer), right on Sylvan, onto Monument Trail just below Terra Alta House, cross the road at the Monument, continue up hill on Ridge Line Trail (over the switch back I helped to build), past the zoo and Discovery Center for the final push up the grassy knoll to the upper picnic shelter. This was no picnic, though.



With a late start from the shop (East Coasters) and pulling a Ron Glowczynski by arriving at the start gate with elevated heart rate and 20-25 seconds to 'go' I managed a pretty good time, so I thought, of 20 minutes 11 seconds for 4th in 35-44 men expert and 6th overall. I was hoping for top 3 and sub 20. (maybe next year without sapping myself just trying to get to the race.) Then back to work at the shop where I spent another hour helping customers before being able to change out of my kit and shoes. (Thanks to Wes, Ted, and Bob for hanging in there while I left to go race!)

Sunday Day 02: Carvins Cove Cross Country Mtn Bike Race.

Expert Course 20 miles: rolling start down pavement to full throttle at the gate, left onto Songbird, right onto fire road, left onto Enchanted Forest, cross the creek, right onto Lower Comet, left up 1000' climb, left onto Hemlock Tunnel, left onto fire road, right onto Upper Comet across to Lower Comet, left up 1000' climb, right onto Four Gordge, left up Hi-Dee-Ho (of pain), right along fire road, right down Bucks Rut, right onto Hotel and finish at the parking lot... finally.

Man it was hot. mid 90's hot. Praise God for the cool breezes out of nowhere when we needed it the most along slow exposed steep climbs, and thanks to Dick Howard for dumping cold water and Warren S. handing out cool bottles of water. Did I mention it was hot? That was Wes with a look of surprise from the refreshing cool water. Man, it took my breath away when I got my refresher on trip two up the 1000' climb. Made me crave a 7-Up or Sierra Mist the rest of the race.

What a way to start a race, though. Nothing but having a Sunday ride in the woods on my mind and no pressure. Sure. There were guys who are usually faster than me, but most of them had not raced in the Time Trial. Not to mention, one of those faster than me at the time trial (Warren Carswell) was not racing today and the only racer behind me (Warren S on the Singlespeed) opted out of the XC race. By default and just finishing, I was guaranteed 3rd in the Overall... so I thought. I had forgotten about the experts being combined for overall and there was one more in the 19+ age group that could have displaced me. But I was just heading for a conservative but steady fast paced 20 mile Sunday Ride in the woods... with a smile on my face. Did I mention it was hot?! Check out the sweat stains on my jersey!

It was a scramble for the entrance to Songbird with Gary Roach taking the risky move of the allowed shortcut. Ed Dickenson was next with entry onto the official trailhead. Someone bobbled and the rest of us bottlenecked and ended up tire to tire on single track. Not really caring much, I hung back last in line. Finally, some passing started, and I fell into a group with Davy Hazelgrove of Blackwater Bikes Lynchburg, VA and some fella I didn't recognize. As Davy and the other battled a bit, I hung back and conserved while taking the new log bridge crossing on Songbird. Wait a minute... playing around during a race?! It was a good day ;-p I shouted encouragement to Davy as he and the other battled around a bit. This was Davy's first Expert Race after winning Kyle Inman's series in the sport class. Davy was no stranger to the distance and terrain, but I think the high speed start and battle royal for hole shot caught him a bit by surprise.

Later on Lower Comet, I took a stump jump short cut (still playing around) and passed Davy and the other. Shouting encouragement back to Davy and feeling well warmed and ready for the 1000' climb, I lit my afterburners. When who do I see fixing a flat... Chris P. Suddenly by the fates, I've moved from 3rd to 2nd overall. I just had to maintain the lead.

Once on the dusty 1000' climb, I started picking off the riders. Little did I know, most of them were non racers. None the less, I kept climbing like the El Gato I am. Latching onto a Cardinal Jersey, I caught Charles of Cardinal Bicycles at the entrance to Hemlock Tunnel... where he left me like I was sitting still in a rocking chair. That is until suddenly I was on his rear wheel as the trail leveled out and started heading upwards again. Passing with a steady pace and purpose, I proceeded to shake Charles off my back and out of sight before the next downhill onto Upper Comet. (Sometimes, all you have to do is get out of sight to end the pursuit.) I was having a great day, and my decision to gloveless had paid off with easier feeding access into my pockets. Did I mention it was hot and dusty! Check out the line just about my socks. That's no tan line. And yes, those are Roanoke Valley Mountain Bike Patrol Socks...

Well. keeping the pace and rolling like a Forest Leprechaun, I passed some spectators at the 4 Way Intersection saying I was only 2 minutes back.. from whom? I had no idea who was still in front of me at that point. Little did I know.. it was precious few.

Rolling onto the 1000' Climb for round 2, I passed Andrew Issem, junior racer and son of Mythical Legendary Rob Issem. Riding Support was his mother, Christina. Way to go you two. Well, I got my breathtaking cold water douse as I hit the Four Gordges Trail. What a crazy feeling to race on trails I helped build over almost 3 years ago. Keeping the pace and wondering if I'll catch anyone else. I cruised along the connector trail.

Bamm. With a left turn, Hi-Dee-Hoe hit me like Hulk Hogan body slamming Andre the Giant in Wrestle Mania. Well, I made it to the first sharp left turn anyway before dismounting like usual on this steep, hot, crazy climb. Did I mention Praise God for the cool breezes?! I don't think I got any real consistent remounts the rest of climb. I also started battling cramps at this point. I knew I was only losing time by walking, but I was staying in the race. Funny, where's Chris P.? He should have caught me by now.

Hitting the top of the ridge with a solid remount, I fending off cramps and starting picking up the pace... from walking speed.. and heading with a purpose towards Bucks Rut. Picking up courage, I started the descent and slid off the trail. Bobbling at a creek crossing as Buck's Rut melds into Hotel, I knew I was tired.. especially as Gretchen Wilson's 'Red Neck Girl' came to mind. I hung in there, like Christmas lights on your front porch all year long, and maintained a smart steady ride, hoping to prevent anyone from catching me. Still a Sunday Ride in the Woods... Well a long steady Sunday ride in the woods anyway.

Finally. At 2:09:44, I rolled into the finish. Less than 10 minutes back on Ed Dickenson and not more than 15 minutes back from Gary Roach. Wait a minute. Is that all?!! I had just placed 3rd in Men's expert 35-44!! Sweet! With only Ed in front of me (remember that Gary did not race the time trial) and the 19+ expert guy dnf'ing... I had placed 2nd overall in Omnium!! Ultimate Bonus. What a great weekend. Not to mention, Chris P. after flatting a 2nd time was talked into finishing by Wes Best, racing on a Trek 69er, and just for finishing, Chris placed 3rd in the omnium... still in the money. WAY to Go, Chris. See you at Rowdy Dawg 12 oct 2008.. I'm sure you'll put the hurt on.

See the Forest Leprechaun's Gold?! 3rd in men's Expert 35-44 xc race and 2nd overall in the Roanoke Mountain Bike Omnium. Check out the check.. made out to Dave 'the Forest Leprechaun' Tompkins. It's not often El Gato the Forest Leprechaun places on the podium let alone with prize money! Check out the koozies and tire levers too. Thanks Maxxis.



A final shout out:

Props to Wes Best, my boss and co-owner of East Coasters Bicycles - I didn't think you would show. Good to see you out there... warming up for cross season.

Props to Maggie Crawford and Susan Heck of the Diva Dirt Girls. Excited to see ya racing and placing... you two are better than you think.

Props to Ron G and crew for another fun event with Roanoke Cycling.

God Bless you Dick Howard and Warren S. for the cool water on the 1000' climb.

Keep the rubber side down and the smiles rolling along.

local racing...

Will you be there?!
Bring your mountain bike.
You too, Wes, Kristin, and Frank.
(Gordon will be crankin' it up at SS Nationals)

Click Here to get more details.

Dirty Dawg Report

Hmmm. Tails from the Dirty Dawg.

A good day, not a lot of folks :-( Enough to keep it fun, though!

Pro / Expert add on loop was tough. way tough. at times, i thought about easier trail on rough sections of the Appalachian Trail. God bless Ben Brown for trying to keep it fun and challenging, but let's keep it ridable for folks other than the top pro / experts. Rumor has it, Ben is already planning on a different route for next year.

Well at least the main loop of the race was much more reasonable and ridable. This is the section most used by intermediate and beginners. So, still a reasonable mountain bike course for most.

Being unfamiliar with the course was my disadvantage. somewhere in there, i never picked up on the multi loop idea once the pro / experts completed their add on loop. I never quite knew where I was other than looking at my odometer and time. oh well. as Thomas Jenkins said when I commented about what I was doing at the start line with all these fast people, "It's just another Sunday ride in the woods." Well, Thomas rides quite a bit faster on his Sunday rides than I can, but hey, I was there and did not finish last. Yup. Some poor soul dnf'ed, and I finished 6 of 7.

Outside of the first two pro / expert finishers (Thomas Jenkins and Chris Pohowski, the other four of us finished fairly within reason of each other. In fact, in my efforts to not start too fast and finish within reason, I apparently put the fear of challenge in Ashwin's mind. Apparently, having left me behind in the technical walking section, Ashwin slowed down... until I came up behind him at the most in-opportune time... when a stick jammed in his rear disc rotor. I didn't even look at his face as I rode by and said "Sorry about the stick, good catch on not breaking the bike." Later, when I dismounting to ease my weary legs, Ashwin slow motion attacked from behind and took the lead. Good job Ashwin! (read Ashwin's report here.) I never got back on the lead, but I at least put the fear of mountain biking in someone's mind!

I finished 20+ miles at Mountain Lake's Dirty Dawy mountain bike race at 2:29:27 just 2 minutes and 12 seconds behind 5th place and less than 1/2 an hour behind first and second. oddly enough, those are about the speed and time I expected. Hmmmm. maybe my days as an pro / export are not over yet.

Good to see everyone from the Blacksburg shop, especially with so many of them participating!

Props to Wake Fulp of Roanoke kicking some XXC results!

btw. this race was much better for me in the realm of pace and lack of cramping wise :-) I started more reasonable for 20+ miles and made sure to drink while including e-cap powder in my drink mix and hydration pack. only started to cramp while trying to give it extra umphf out of the saddle on the last section of pavement and gravel road. I was happy with my results.

Pre Dirty Dawg 2008

it's 20 to 12am. i should be sleeping. funny how that always works. oh well. i've just been getting some stuff together and ready for the second annual Dirty Dawg mountain bike race.

last year, on 01 april 2007, for what was supposed to be the first of the Series 5 races, i volunteered and cheered folks on. it was good to see a lot of peeps i knew and used to know smiling and happily grimacing on their bikes.

this year, after my ill fated race at douthat, part of Kyle Inman's series, Middle Mountain Momma, i have mixed emotions regarding the possibility of being tackled by another grueling mtn bike race. hmph. bring on the pain train baby, 'cause i've got mind games on my side. ;-p yes, mind tricks of the jedi i have... hehehee.

oh yeah, also have the power of atari. Gordon pointed out the font on my Fisher HiFi XC Procaliber strongly resembles that of the fabled Atari. now if i just could get my hands on that Atari belt buckle....

Virginia Tech A day of Cross

I'm a little miffed. I lost a cyclocross race today due to a continuously plaguing seatpost clamp issue. Until now, I have calmly dealt and accepted it as a working issue. Today, though, I had the holeshot and could have held it... until the clamp slipped... again. The Thomson is on the way and can't arrive too soon now. I did however get props for making up minutes off the back to reel in two other riders (sorry Skip) and could have got a third rider if there had been one more lap. None the less, it was another great day of racing, and for once was in my own home turf (Blacksburg). Thanks to the Virginia Tech Cycling Team for hosting a cyclocross race!

MSG Cross 2007 #03

It's not every day you get to enter a Spiraling Cyclone of Death... unless you ride / race cyclocross!

Rowdy Dawg 2007

It's been a few years since I raced the Rowdy Dawg. The Rowdy Dawg roots go back a ways with me to my college mountain bike racing days. 2007 was the year, though, perhaps due to my new Gary Fisher HiFi Pro, to dust off my memories and bark out some new ones.

What was I thinking!? What was the course layout thinking?!... oh yeah.. epic. 30 miles for the Expert course and with only two laps up to the Fire Circle. None the less. Fresh with only one Cyclocross race under my belt (yes, the time of year I should be focusing on short, hard and fast efforts) I went for the expert course. My goal; to finish... in about four hours or less. That's about an 8 mph average. More than doable for me but would I last the duration?

With 74 other finishers, I did last the duration. In fact, I met my goal. 3 hours 55 minutes. Fourth Place in Men's Pro/Expert.... of four riders. It hurt.. a lot, and there was even plenty of conservative bike pushing for me. I was mainly worried about being able to complete the course and riding smart enough to last. It must have been fun, though. Several folks commented that despite my tired appearance, I looked happy :-) As a side note: the first place Chris Pohowski finished just shy of one hour before me and was quickly followed by second place Mike Coco on his single speed. Third place Derick Dotson had a more palatable 21 minutes on me.

Four hours of fun, fourth and last place, and I still walked away with Rowdy Dawg socks, a pint glass, tire levers, and second pair of socks with flowers and skulls.

Topping off the whole enchilada of my return to racing Rowdy Dawg... during a post race meal at the Cellar, I found Corvette Pinball. I rallied my senses enough to get in two games. The second of which ended with 110 Hundred Thousand plus points. Sounds pinballaliciousness! But not really. High scores were well over 100 Million points. Still, nothing like a good game of pinball.

Apparantly, it was pretty entertaining to watch me play. Too bad no cameras were available, but I least, thanks to the wonderous interweb, I was able to quickly find these pics of a similar but apparantly recently restored and available for purchase Corvette Pinball.

Looking forward to next June for the 2nd Dirty Dawg at Mountain Lake. Do I hear a Shenandoah 100 whispering to me?

Urban Cross at Ix 2007

Here are a few pics of my first cyclocross race of the 2007 season, Urban Cross at Ix. Photos are courtesy of Kevin Dillard. Check out his great photography at Velophotos.net

Note the slightly askew front shifter. Must have been post crash.

Definitely post crash. See the road rash on my bleeding left elbow? That's cross.

Not me, but hopefully my remounts look this good. Besides, this is just a cool 'just the right moment' photo. Props to Kevin!


Hmmm. Maybe all that Mario Kart from days ago has something to do with my love of cyclocross. Toad and Yoshi were my favourite drives.

Cyclocross at Ix 2007 - My first CX race of the season

My first cyclocross race of the season; Cyclocross at Ix 2007. I digged deep, but my front tire dug.

I am not looking at a very full cyclocross season this year. This is mostly due to race dates on Saturdays (a day I am usually working) and a lack of desire to travel far and wide this year. So, my season goal is to have fun, race what I can, and try some new things.

Cyclocross at Ix 2007 gave me a chance to try three new things. One that went wrong, one that just didn't go so well, and one that went great.

My front tire 'dug' was what went wrong. I was trying (completely through authorized experimentation) Stan's No Tubes on my front wheel. The Stan's had held well enough in trials and practice and seemed ready for racing... until about a quarter into the first lap. The tire 'burped' and lost significant air. I kept pushing despite the air loss. It didn't seem too bad. Yup. While digging into a 180 corner (on a small section of concrete pad) at the bottom of a descent and before an ascent, my front tubeless tire dug deeper with enough lateral pressure to pull it off the bead. - Mental note: no more Stan's for my road rim w/ low air pressure cx tires.

Quickly rebounding back up, I shouldered the bike and took off running for the pits, only one third into the first lap. Fortunately, the layout of the course allowed cutting the course to reach the pits but returning to exact point of leaving the course. Grabbing my spare front wheel and briefly explaining to a curious young boy (who had raced earlier) what my birthmark was rather than road rash, I ran back to the my crash site and dug deep to finish the race. Somehow I even reeled in at least one other rider.

Experiment two: I'm returning to moto style brake set-up. I'm just too used to moto and had difficulty braking into barriers and steep, off camber 180 descents. So, back to moto.

Experiment three: I'm really glad I went to a 27 tooth cog.

Thanks to all those unknow spectators who encouraged and cheered me on! I was a tough but fun course. Not to mention a 5' wide by 10' long by 10" deep sand pit. Props to Blue Wheel Bicycles and all those who participated in running the events of the day for a great day of cyclocross racing.

MW Windows Rocky Mount Mtn Race 2007

Yup. I was there. Hurtin' it up and putting some pep into my cyclocross training.

Keep that bicycle dry as possible (just like your M-16A2 rifle). My mechanic (and my Drill Sergeant) would be proud.


Stay calm and look fresh (and exciting); especially at the start.


(photos courtesy of the Alpine Group @ www.alpineonline.com)



Now where to put that water bottle?!