The front side of the course (the first 3ish miles) was fast and techy slithering along the west side of the water.  After a short road climb the roller coaster takes control and momentum is essential especially for the single speeders.  A few long rocky climbs mid-course definitely sucked the calories out of your body and kissed you at the top waiting for your return.  Once you got to the long and rocky downhill it was the home stretch…and hammer time.  The last few miles are all smiles along the other side of the lake with no place to pass so you had to get on the cranks with the hope of no time killing traffic.

Chris Sams of the LC three man team was the first in on the Le Mans start which is pretty much the norm.  The next loop requires a bit of explanation.  The current course record is 41 minutes and we all know how just a minute or two is a huge effort to best a CR.  Ok…I’ll just say it, Coleman stuck a 36 minute loop.  Then a 37 minute loop after that.  Rod and Chris put in consistent 40ish loops.  They crushed the next closest team by THIRTY MINUTES.

Ez put in a brave solo effort at 9 loops and finished 6th in his division.  All in all, the LC crew brought it.  As a matter of fact they brought it enough to ignite a bit of frustration and poor sportsmanship from a racer that goes by “Jdog” that you will find in our string of posts calls out our club as being “poor passers.”  Look away from your computer screen and think about that notion for a second or two.

Now that your brain has told you how ridiculous that is, let’s talk about it for a second.  No…how about I talk to Jdog for a second about it.  Look man, we’re trying to win races.  We don’t care about your team, your bike, your loop or the fact that you can’t handle getting passed.  I say that because you are now saying that “the field will be looking for you.”  I guess what that really means is “you” will be looking for us?  You should stick to looking “at” us while we pass you on our way to the podium.  These are mtb races and if you had the legs you would tell us to get out of your way as well.  Again, you were told to get out of the way because you’re slower than we are.  Like Ez told you, I’m sure you were asked gently the first time because we’re not the kind of guys that would just try to punk someone verbally.  We’d much rather punk you by beating you like anyone would.  I think you should respond to this post and say that you were embarrassed that you got passed and that’s that.  No hard feelings.  Don’ try to be a hard-ass and post something on our site calling us out for telling you to get out of the way…it makes you sound like a little girl, Jdog.  Maybe you and your “homies” should ride a little more.  You definitely put the “cranky” in that day, little monkey.

If you still want to look for us, I think you know where we’ll be and until you can tell us to “get out of your way” you might want to think about publicly complaining about getting beat.

Hugs and Kisses.

The other interesting thing about this race is that it’s early in the season for an endurance ride.  Whether you solo it, run a duo or triple-up the day is long.  The Luv crew is featuring 7 riders:  A 3-man team made up of speedsters Rod, Coleman and Lil Chris.  All three of them could be in the contention for fastest lap time in the entire race as well as a podium spot and they only know three words in the English language which happen to be, “on your right.”  Look at it this way…at least you’ll get to see a nice little bit of pink-n-blue when they do it.  Could be worse.  Our 2-man team made up of racing newbies, Todd and Adam, will jump directly into the deep end with strong body and strong mind…they’ll need it.  Rounding out the crew are distance dogs, Rocco and Ez.  Last year these two pulled one another to 88 miles during the 12hr…not a bad day.

Well, as far as pre-race posts go that’s about it.  This is a new race so there’s nothing to think about.  There’s no “last year.”  There’s no expectations or hard feelings.  There’s also no reason not to get on top of the dirt and dump your sweat into it.  It’s the 9th hour that really counts.  The clock will tick…your heart will pound…you will be going after someone out there who will be looking to take you off the podium.

9 hours baby…9 mile loops…540 minutes to check yourself.  How dirty are you willing to get?  Ride your bike man…just ride your bike.

Go on and get’cha some.

Lose Undesirable Visions,

Luvroc

Designed specifically for cyclocross use, the CX’s stout design delivers superior stiffness under braking. The full carbon steerer and fork body reduce overall weight while maintaining lateral rigidity even while cornering. Available now, the CX fork can be purchased with any Seven cyclocross model or by itself. MSRP for the CX fork is $545.

For riders planning to take advantage of Shimano’s Di2 groupset, Seven Cycles offers an internal cable routing option on our frames. Since the introduction of Di2, Seven has been building frames with standard cable routing that allows riders to use zip-ties to secure the Di2 cables. Now we offer the clean, protected look of internal routing on all road and cyclocross models. The Internal Cable Routing option is available on new bike orders only, for an additional charge of $400. Team Luv Cycles are big fans of Seven Cycles, and recommend a custom build if you can find the $$$!!!

Also wanted to put my 2 cents in as far as some other gear is concerned. Mountain bike gloves. So important, yet nothing takes as much of a beating or get that ripe smell as fast as the trusty gloves. That being said, the gel protect gloves from Chiba are hands down the best I’ve ever had.

http://www.chibagloves.com/id75.html

These gloves last over 2 years for me, and are still going strong. Pay close attention to the piece of fabric combining a few of the fingers. This small detail makes it nice and easy to slip the gloves off even when they are sopping wet and muddy. A big plus. Take it or leave it….just thought I’d put my two cents in!!! Stay Dirty

EZ

Luv Cycles™ would like to extend a big thanks to the good folks at Adventures for Cure, MASS and Patapsco Valley State Park for hosting the Sugar Hill Classic and officially kicking off the race season. What a stellar day. The weather was great, 75+, and besides a few boggy spots, the course was super fast. Riders from all over the Mid Atlantic showed up to kick off the 2010 season.

The first race of the season never comes soon enough, until of course you get on the trail. One quickly realizes just how hard mountain bike racing is. It seems year after year, I have to re-learn the same lessons for race prepartion. And this year was no exception.

The extra 10lbs, not matter what you tell yourself, is not going to help. Your girl might say, “Babe, you look sexy” when referring to your well defined upper torso and arms. Or more commonly, she might say “You look healthy and well fed” when referring to the beer gut and bacon hanging from your lower back. Either case, no matter what you tell yourself, the 10 lbs does not help. Yes, you may win the pre-race pull up contest or the post race drinking contest, but you will suffer on the course.

The hours spent on the road, and with this years epic snowfall taking the road out of play, the hours spent on the trainer do not prepare you for the rigors of the trail. Yes, riding the road and work on the trainer will help build the fitness, but when it comes to the lung burning climbs and hair-pin turns of single track, there is no substitute for the trail. You may tell yourself, “Man, I’ve been riding this great hill on the road bike. I am ready to grind.” or “I just did hill repeats of Illchester. I am unstoppable.” Well, one quickly finds, that a spin out on a big climb and regaining the line will require every muscle in the body to engage. The heart will instantly redline and yes, the suffering will begin. There is simply no substitute for mountain biking.

And finally, I always seem to convince myself that since my bike cost more than my car, that it is always ready for action. Tire pressure is good, chain greased, everything is ready to roll, right? Why should I take my rig to the shop? The bike has just been sitting there. It was fine when I last rode it. Yes, the pressure maybe fine and yes, there may be some old grease on the chain. But one quickly finds the bike is not ready for the trail. The spokes are creaking, the brakes squeal, bolts are rattling, and then suddenly the tires deflate and chain splinters. Just like the body, the bike needs some trail work. And it will let you know.

Saturday was a wonderful day. Perfect weather and it was great to see all the racers back in the game. The long snowy winter made it that much better. But for me, it was a wake up call. After 21 miles of slugging around 10 lbs of extra bacon with 2 flat tires on a less than in shape legs, I have re-learned one valuable lesson of mountain bike racing.  The only way to get in shape for mountain biking is to get on the mountain bike and ride fast for a long time.

-Rod

Here’s the field of play:  the dance floor is directly in front of us, the bar and the food spread is to the left, and the seating is to the right.  Everyone is dressed to impress (although it seems like there’s always that “different” family member that just can’t ever get “wedding attire” right) and the single guys are well on their way to a blackout on free booze and the single women are pissed no matter how big their smiles are because they haven’t met their long-lost mate yet.  And those same women secretly hate the bride because she’s happy…sorry ladies, you’re hardwired for it!  Anyway, as the night goes on and the liquid courage begins to mix with the lovely elixir that water, hops, barely, and diluted streams of corn liquor can create…the magic happens.  The magic happens and as master-apprentice deejay I get to witness “The Approach.”  You know it, you’ve seen it, and you do it every single time you go to a wedding.

Just as the square of the cheap laminate dance floor acts as the playground its borders hold the starting line.  How do these boys and girls train for the game day approach?  There really is no simulation for it…you just have to go to as many weddings as possible and do it.  After a while you start to figure out just how much hooch you’ll need to take in to get those dancing legs working.  However, like everything else in life it’s how you actually DO it that makes all the difference.  Nobody dunks a basketball like Michael Jordan does.  Nobody tells a joke like Richard Prior does.  And nobody, I mean nobody paints a happy tree like Bob Ross.  Just as nobody approaches the dance floor the same.

The categories:  1.  The “I’m not really drunk enough for this guy/girl.”  This species presents as very awkward…like cold, stiff glass just waiting to shatter.  Not that cool and very dependent on their drink-in-hand as a emotional crutch.  2.  The “I really want to dance with that person but I’m just getting warmed up so I’ll play it cool (so I think) and make way too much eye contact like a creepy pedophile would and play hard to get.”  Not as awkward as the first case and spends most of his/her time in a delicate 50/50 blend of dancing and requesting songs at the deejay table.  Each of the above are only dependent on time (to drink) as it relates to progressing to the third and final observation.  3.  The “I don’t care who’s getting married, I’ll dance with old women/men to shun them with my youth, tie off/shoes off, starting to sweat profusely, hair tousled, booze inflicted maniac on a crash course to either total or mostly total embarrassment.  This person could care less about their drink.  It’s either in the bathroom, in their hand (spilling all over the place), or left on the deejay table because the mix-master just played their favorite song EVER and they ran to the dance floor.

Each has their own approach to the floor…again all approaches are 100% dictated by blood-alcohol-level.  It’s imperative at this point to tell you as the reader of this post that (1) I am acutally going to relate this to mountain biking and (2) how one actually gets hammered and why it completely takes over your entire being.  From the first time you take a sip the wild-juice starts to take over.  By the time you have to pee you’re already screwed.  This is your bladder getting way too distended with said wild-juice and needing to be expelled.  Then, by the grace of God your kidneys can’t keep up with your intake and the potion starts to swim into your blood-stream.  I like to refer to this as awesomeness to the highest degree.  Hence, blood-alcohol-level and your body hates it but you on the other hand do not.  The next day you crave 1000 calorie cheeseburgers because your insulin levels are so out of sorts that your body has a small conversation with your brain and commands it to eat crap food so as to restore those levels to equilibrium.

And now we arrive at the parallel.  I see the same thing at every race I’m at.  You have people who aren’t ready mentally, nervous as hell, and very stiff.  There’s the racer who feels just the same but you can tell he’s masking it by being overly loud in speech and obnoxious…pretty much like he’s interviewing for the Jersey Shore.  The guy who looks like he could care less who weighs 125lbs with his bike is the one you’ll need to watch out for.  Like the wedding approach, there’s no way to train for the race day experience and getting into the field of play…you just have to keep doing it to get it right.  Everyone has their ways of dealing with it.

In the end, the wedding approach and the race approach couldn’t be more different in execution but are almost identical as it relates to HOW you approach them.  Everyone does it different but unlike actually dancing not everyone races the right way.  Find your “approach” people it’s about time to get it on.

Keep dancing, keep riding, and for the love of god…keep requesting Michael Jackson at every wedding you go to.

Let’s get filthy dirty this year.

Live Unchained and Vigorously,

Luvroc.

I was thinking last night about how I’ve gone this long without a post when it’s genuinely fun for me to do?  So I thought about it and besides the everyday busy stuff, I think it’s because my posts are usually sparked by a riding experience or an opinion on riding itself.  Neither of which I’ve been engaged in lately.  When I ride with the Luv crew all afternoon and we’re washing off the bikes and having a brew I get inspired to write about it, you know?  SIDENOTE:  I’m super guilty of spraying the hell out of my bike with a hose to clean it.  So much so that I’ve managed to go through a couple bottom brackets, a head-set, and now my rear hub on my i9’s needs a fixin’.  I believe it’s called insanity–doing the same thing and expecting a different (or just not the one you want) outcome.

So what is a cyclist to do?  Yoga, killer balance workouts, running (by far the worst), and when possible riding my SS roadie.  Oh, I forgot…even worse than running:  SPIN CLASS.  Who builds those machines anyway?  In the first ten minutes all of my man parts start to burn and in less than twenty minutes I feel like I’ve had a sex change right there in front of everyone.  Then, adding insult to nature I keep getting my bike magazines that have pictures of guys riding in Oregon and such.

If I had enough money to afford the postage to send this as a letter to Mother Nature herself I swear I’d do it.  I would tell her how grumpy we are that we can’t play in the dirt.  I would tell her that there’s quite a few races that we want to do one of which is in May and it’s training time.  I would make-out with her and do anything she wants me to do to her if she would just hook us up.  I mean, I would “jump on a grenade” like your boy in college would want you to do for him.  I would punch my dog in the face seven times.  I would burn my Sidi’s on a stick over an open flame like a marshmallow.  I would drink a 50/50 mixture of ranch dressing and beef broth right after I ate a Pop-Tart with a pint of a homeless man’s spit on it.  Seriously, what wouldn’t I do to get rid of all of this snow and have it dry enough to ride my friggin’ bike?  I sure as hell wouldn’t give up this glass of bourbon right now!  I’d wait another day or so to ride for that.

Cabin fever is really starting to creep in.  I sure hope this is over soon.  Can’t wait to ride.

Here’s to waiting…

Luvroc.

Everyone can help the cause:

• Do not ride at night, the watershed closes at dusk and riders have been ticketed.
• Do not ride at wet or muddy trails, this can cause erosion and damage our trails.
• Follow the rules of the trail and yield right of way to hikers and equestrians.
• Check out some of the other great local trails or go for and epic ride (check the MORE website for some great choices).
• Join MORE to support your local mountain biking trails.
• Join IMBA to support national mountain biking.

Prior to New Year’s Day getting out on the rig is pure bonus but after the good folks of western, PA slop down their pork-n-sauerkraut for good luck in the new year, it’s time to build the “base to race.”  The Luv crew has made some changes this off-season favoring body-weight agility workouts that slide your heart in and out of cardiac arrest over straight-up lifting in hopes of getting a leg up on cycling fitness.  This is where the old guy spits that life-lesson crap on you that nothing worth having comes easy blah, blah, blah.  This is also where you become wildly irritated that he is completely right.

Our local spot, Patapsco State Park, is about as ride-able as your best friend’s sister so we rolled out to Merrimans at Loch Raven.  LR is currently under a sort of bureaucratic/economic attack these days that has resulted in hundreds of dollars of fines slapped onto the tab of local riders and even reports of bike confiscation.  However, our new mayor-to-be has stepped in and ordered hand-slapping instead of fines until we see what happens at the next meeting between bicycles and politics.  See the “To Ride Or To Train” post on this site for a briefing on this loop if you have not had the opportunity to ride there.

The day started out awesome…my jockey-wheel on my rear derailleur was completely smooth which is like flying with one wing…you just can’t ride it.  So, I borrowed EZ’s Superfly SS and we piled in the truck and off we went.  We’ve been to Merrimans plenty of times which doesn’t explain why Rod and I got lost in suburban hell for 25 minutes.  We asked an elderly couple which direction Delaney Valley Rd. was and they both started off their responses by pointing in different directions…perfect.  Then, the truck ate his phone and finally gave it back to us and we had to globally position our way out.  We get to the trail-head and meet up with Mike the Greek who has been patiently waiting for us.

First thing I realize when I’m getting ready is that it’s colder than out than I thought.  Nevertheless we pedal on to get after it on the SS’s and I begin to figure out that Ez’s bike is a large frame and I ride a medium which is not a deal-breaker but it can get a little hairy trying to control that much bike.  Within 15 minutes Rod and I get separated from The Greek which is super easy to do at Merrimans.  The next time we saw him he was in his truck leaving the trail.

Push-pull-push-pull-groan-push-pull-don’t get off-push-pull-push-pull-my back hurts-push-pull-push-my knee kind of hurts-push-pull-push-pull-repeat x’s 75.  That’s about the simplest way to describe riding a SS.  There’s a very blue-grass feel to it because it’s the same rhythm, it must continue to move, and it never changes.  No shifting, no decisions, no breaks just keep pedaling.  As long as you continue to kiss her she’ll kiss you back but the second you slack, she turns her back on you and pushes you off the bike…keeps ya honest.

All-in-all, it was a great day to ride and the perfect way to start building a “base to race.”  The best part is you don’t need a SS or a fancy carbon bike to get a little dirty and enjoy the woods.  You will need a few CO2 cartridges though…just ask Rod.  So, here we are with another year of riding and competition ahead of us and we’re already riding in January and you gotta luv that.  Good luck building your “base to race” or just a base to kick your riding buddies butts up and down the single-track.  Your bike isn’t going to ride itself…

Get up, Get out, Get movin’

Luvroc.

Most of our riding here in Baltimore is done at Patapsco State Park which isn’t exactly cracking the outer atmosphere with a top elevation of roughly 500 feet or so.  Quick side-note to Mr. “Hammer O’Reality” who said, “while you guys were standing in the woods at 241 feet above sea level packing your one hitter…”  We don’t get high and with a random number like 241, you would think that you would somewhat know what you were referencing but then again you’re from Boulder and you invented mtbiking and you can name drop a bunch of people that no one really knows about.  Let me guess…you only listen to the “B” sides of albums because listening to anything that’s remotely “main stream” would mean that you’re not as progressive as you like to portray yourself to be.  However, I would love it if you could point me in the direction of a that “monkey knife fight” that you referenced.  And I’ll also have you know, Hammer Time, that 500 feet is huge compared to 241 in some situations.  Mtbiking however is not one of them.

I always hear people talk about training or living at “altitude” but there are levels of altitude that correspond with an actual scale (in feet for us Americans).  8-12k is HIGH, 12-18k is VERY HIGH, and 18k+ is considered EXTREMELY HIGH.  The entire Leadville course is above 9k ft. and peaks at the 50 mile turn-around (Columbine Mine Aid Station) at 12.6k ft.  From what I’ve read the reason the scale starts at 8k ft. is because while everyone reacts to altitude differently, most humans experience minimal effects under that particular level.

AMS or acute mountain sickness often occurs at high altitudes.  At 10k+ ft., 75% of all people will have mild symptoms.  That’s not even at the 50 mile marker at Leadville.  AMS is also dependent upon rate of ascent which tends to be rapid during the beginning of the ride when riders feel strong.  So, an east coast rider from Baltimore with NO altitude training hops a jet plane to Colorado the day before the Leadville 100 mtb race and is fully trained for that distance (on the east coast that is).  More than likely this is what would go down:  a severe headache would in sue that is NOT relieved by medication, ravaging nausea and puking your guts out which all leaves you gasping for air and dog-tired.  Not to mention your lack of coordination will set you up for a sweet digger on the hard-pack.  These symptoms are consistent with moderate, not severe, AMS according to princeton.edu and states that at this point you MAY be able to walk on your own and a an immediate decent of at least 1-2k ft. is recommended.  This east coast, non altitude trained rider won’t be finishing that race.  All that training and fitness.  All those hours on the saddle and no finish line memories to take home.  That sucks…believe me I’ve been there (not at Leadville though).

What to do?  Train at altitude?  For how long before the race?  Conventional thinking says that training at high altitudes enhances performance compared to living and training at sea level.  This presents a side argument however.  Research has shown that any positive acclimatization effects can be lost by a de-training effect as the athletes are usually not able to exercise with as much intensity at high altitudes compared to sea level.  Very interesting.  This has lead to a training modality referred to as “Live-high, Train-Low” in which the athlete spends numerous hours every day resting/sleeping at one specific high altitude, but engages in most of or all of his/her training at a lower altitude.  This regimen was carefully studied in the latter part of the 90’s by Ben Levine, Jim Stray-Gundersen, et al.  They found that their subjects showed significant performance gains when following this protocol.  When you can’t find me riding in Baltimore, you can find me sleeping in the Alps.  Hardly feasible for most of us but look on the bright side…you could just spend thousands on a hypoxic system to “rest” in and increase your production of red blood cells.  18…that’s the “magic” number.  18 days needed at altitude (or simulated altitude) coupled with lower altitude training.  Translation:  take a week off of work and go to Colorado and ride…and hope it’s enough.

Let’s swing it back to the right coast and you’ll experience something quite different: humidity.  I’ve lived on the east coast all my life in the PA/MD area and the summer humidity is killer.  By definition humidity doesn’t sound that threatening.  Humidity is simply the amount of water vapor in the air.  High humidity will make you feel hotter outside because it significantly reduces the body’s ability to sweat which of course cools you off by reducing the evaporation of perspiration from the skin.  Translation: humidity at it’s worst feels like an enormous rottweiler panting on the nape of your neck.  This effect is measured in the “heat index” and squeezes your blood right to the outside of your skin practically.

Like AMS, heat stroke and its counterparts can vary between certain people (how hydrated you are for example) and completely sucks.  You get pukey, you cramp, your salt deposits deplete along with your electrolytes and you can ultimately pass out and or die.  Speaking of cramps…they’re pretty awesome to watch and and pretty horrible to have.  Your body turns into the liquid metal Terminator.  When you bonk from the humidity, man you really bonk hard.  It feels like your sucking wind through a pillow when you climb and sitting in an oven when you stop.  Coordination and strength start plummeting at a rapid rate and you didn’t bring enough water…not good.  Prophalactic use of electrolytes and salt tabs are important but once the humidity slides in between the fibers of your soul…you’re toast!

What to do?  Train at “temperature” I assume?  I have noticed that getting a few “heat” rides under your belt when it starts to get really humid here is about the only thing you can do.  No humidity systems to sleep in to get used to it.  Plain and simple:  you just suffer in the thick haze of hell until your body can tolerate it (if it’s hydrated). No measureables, just sufferage and each time you go out in the stuff can be the one you bonk in which is a quite different from being trained to altitude.  I would guess that once you’re trained at altitude you’re good?  That’s a question for anyone who knows by the way because I sure don’t.  You can be just a little dehydrated (perhaps after a good redneck party with dark beers?) and you’ll be paying high rent in bonk-city.

The adjustment to altitude seems to be documented and more scientific as it relates to adaptation and the “train-high, live-low” tactic sounds super interesting if one actually had the time and means to do so.  Humidity rears a different but equally as ugly head as it relates to adaptation and safety. Bottom line: both can shut a rider down if he/she is ignorant to its necessity to preparation.

So what’s the verdict?  20 miles of single-track for the mid to high level sport mtb racer at a race-pace with all fitness variables equal.  Would it be more difficult for an east coast cat to sky-walk or for a lefty to sweep in hells kitchen?  Anyone live and ride in both conditions that could offer some insight?

High in Hell,

Luvroc.