Follow Up

So after that little fiasco of motivation a week ago I should provide an update:

I finally hauled all my mountain bike crap out and drove up to Lincoln Woods. By the time I arrived it had gotten considerably colder than I was expecting, but I managed to stay warm by riding uphill. The really scary part was riding downhill thanks to all the fallen leaves. There's always a part of the fall season after the leaves have dropped but before the trails pack out again. Well, not really pack out, but the leaves break down under tires, feet, etc. until traction is somewhat restored. As of Tuesday, November 11th, traction had not been restored. There was a 6" accumulation of nice, dry, slippery leaves on all the trails. This made it impossible to see baby heads, slick rock, mud, roots, or really anything other than leaves. Simply discerning the trail was tough most of the time. The only option was to just go with the flow, braking where possible and riding it out the rest of the time. I could tell when I was off trail by the softness of the ground. I rode a couple of my favorite trails and while I didn't fall I was really sketched out. Sad to say I decided to call it after only 45 minutes or so.

And now it's practically winter. The road rig is set up on the trainer, this year with a pad underneath the whole works. Much quieter. The mountain bike needs to go into the shop for some work on the rear brake. I've got a kinked brake line and the lever feels squishy. There might be a couple more mountain bike rides before the snow flies and the mud returns, but it's touch and go at this point. Time to get fat... er.

Just like that

It's over. The weather has deteriorated enough that the Greenway Challenge has been postponed. No big deal, except that the new date is next weekend and I can't participate. D'oh! Sad... but I'll do it next year. And I discovered a new place to ride, albeit one that is far away, not that big, and full of motorcycles.

And perhaps worst of all, my streak of consecutive days riding to work has now been broken!

Greenway Challenge Course

The course for the Blackstone River Greenway Challenge has been released. According to my team captain, the mountain bike section is tough. Says the course designer, "The mountain bikers will like this course!" Also, says our captain, "The road riders will hate this." Glad I'm doing the mountain section. Over there on the left you can see a little topo for the course. Looks like flat out (and flat) for the beginning. Then a quick jaunt through a wastewater treatment plant (How come it's always about the poop?). The technical stuff is loaded on at the end. One massive climb and a couple smaller ones. The descent from Goat Hill looks to be interesting as well.

This is an area I've never ridden before so it'll be good to check it out beforehand. Hopefully tomorrow will be the day. We have two weeks to go so I will try to ride up there a couple of times. Because, you know, it's crucial that we WIN!

And speaking of the Blackstone, yesterday I went paddling on the Blackstone River in a whitewater boat. I have sea kayaked for years but I have never paddled in moving water before. You know, rivers with rapids and stuff. The experience was fun and much more difficult than I expected. It gives me a whole new appreciation for how skilled the people you see in movies or on TV running huge rapids are. I'm scared of fresh water in general (who knows what sort of creepy things live there?) so my biggest difficulty was just relaxing in the boat. My arms are tired from over-gripping the paddle. All of my instincts were backwards. Which side to brace? Lean which way? Whoa, now I'm spinning... If I focused carefully on one skill at a time it was ok but when I had to react to the river more quickly I didn't feel entirely in control. Once in awhile it's fun to shake things up and try something new, to rediscover the beginner's mind.

NEMBAfest

The plan was flawless, but I should have known better than to expect to ride well after a Sharks Come Cruisin' show. So that's where we start. Friday night Sharks Come Cruisin' played at Patrick's Pub up on Smith Street. The show was fantastic, as usual, despite a lame group of pirates. Pirates? Yup, there was a "Pirate-themed party" in the house. Apparently the buccaneers didn't realize that they were supposed to be drinking heavily and singing along. By singing along, of course, I mean yelling at the top of one's lungs. Anyway, I was not impressed by the pirates, except for the cute one we nicknamed Pirate Spice, so I felt compelled to redouble my efforts and "sing" louder. This continued well into the night, i.e. until the bar closed at 2. The ride home was interesting as well, but the important point here is that I remember it being 3:26 when I closed my eyes.

When I opened my eyes, my clock said 7:00. While I waited for the anvil to drop on my head, I quickly realized that there were two ways the day could go. I could stay in bed and sleep more, read: all day, or I could suck it up and go riding. Since there were five other people involved in the planned NEMBAfest adventure it really wasn't a choice, so I got up. Stumbling around, drunk over, or maybe hung ovunk, it took me 40 minutes to load my rig onto the car. I also brought tools and a bike for E to ride. I did not eat because there was no food in my house, but I did suck down a pint of water. Off we go, quick stop to "fuel up" at Dunkin' Donuts. An hour later I arrived at Wompatuck State Forest in Hingham.

Originally I had planned on getting up to Hingham early enough to check things out, register, and maybe jump on a 10 o'clock group ride. I chose 10 because I knew I'd probably be tired from the night before. The reality of the situation proved that I had woefully underestimated the amount of fun I'd have on Friday night. While I successfully navigated to Wompatuck by 9:30, I was in no way prepared to ride near other people at 10. It took until nearly 11 to get everybody together, bikes prepped, lids on, mentally pumped and jacked.

There were group rides firing off every half hour, so despite the fact that J and I missed the start of the 11 o'clock "Advanced Intermediate" ride we were able to catch up quickly. It took us one climb to demolish the group, despite the fact that I was sweating alcohol. We decided to ditch the group when the group leader couldn't make a rock garden section and proceeded to stand right in the middle of the trail, obstructing me and everybody else. I could have made it, I swear...

So off we went on our own, following the red arrows. Seemed like a good idea at the time, but I have to admit I was a little nervous about committing to 22 miles in 95 degree heat with no food and a raging hangover. Onward we rode, J battling through minor mechanical issues and me fighting my caloric deficit and dehydration. And then there was the issue of water... about half way through the ride, right when I was getting worried about how empty my camelback was, we discovered a water source in the campground area. This absolutely saved me because I was already starting to get the chills from being overheated. Supply replenished, I was again able to drink heavily. Water, not booze... Onward we rode.

I ran out of water for the second time when we were close enough to the finish to hear the announcer-guy setting up the contests for the afternoon. Huffy toss anyone? The only way out was through, so we kept riding. I was on the verge of serious problems as I was thoroughly chilled, despite the heat. I was still sweating, but I knew bad things were happening to me. The announcers voice was ahead of us until the trail bent and we realized that we were riding around the field instead of towards it. The only way out is through! My front tire washed out in a swoopy section and I nearly ate a tree. The voice is closer! And then, success! The heat crushed us as we emerged from the forest back into the festival field. I rode directly to the water tent and was restored.

The rest of the afternoon was spent chilling out and attempting to gather my wits. We watched the aforementioned Huffy Toss contest (which J entered and won...), watching Mike Steidley throw down some amazing trials skill, and talking to the girl in the Larabar tent. Mmmmm, Larabars. Actually, I had never eaten one before, but the girl in the tent was beautiful and fun to talk to so I felt compelled to chat for awhile and try out each flavor. Should have gotten her number... lesson learned, I'll do better next time. Did I mention I was hung over and dehydrated? After some more lounging around in the shade, we disbanded and headed for home.

Wompatuck is a cool place to ride. It's big and confusing, but all the major trail intersections are numbered so it's fairly easy to figure out where you are. There are also lots of fire roads and bail-out points if you, say, run out of water. It took a little over an hour to get there, so it's not the most convenient place for those of us in the PVD, but it would definitely be worth getting a group together and heading back.