I hooked up the trailer and drove to Sam Brown campground last Thursday. It's located on Forest Service land near Grants Pass between Highway 199 and the Rogue River. Nice campground.
Jake went with me. It was HOT. I don't' know exactly how hot but the forecast said high 90s. Too hot for a dog with a fur coat and an old, fat guy from the coast.
Jake spent most of his time in the back of the truck and I spent most of my time here. Note the cheese and crackers and wine glass.
I race STXC on Saturday morning. I rode my single speed. There were only two of us so I got second place. The other single speeder lapped me twice and won the Sport Class overall. It was a neat course. Uphill on a gravel road from the start and then downhill on a fire road leading to single track that looped around the campground, all slightly up hill. It was hard. It was hot. I had to ride about three laps more than I wanted. It was a 30 minute race. I'm used to the first lap being timed and then a lap board showing the remaining laps to make approximately 30 minutes. This race was 30 minutes plus one lap with everybody finishing on the same lap as the winner. I was out almost 40 minutes, seven laps.
You have to click on this picture to see what it is. Yes, it's a rattle snake in our camp. He didn't hang around for long, though.
Sunday morning I raced XC on my geared bike. It also was a neat course. A lot of climbing though. I felt pretty good on the first part which is the lower loop in the picture. The upper loop is all uphill to the top of the loop and then downhill on the Jedi Trail. Actually it's uphill from the bottom of the lower loop to the top of the upper. I bonked. Badly. I've never bonked like that before. Once you get to the Jedi Trail it's mostly downhill. Mostly wasn't good enough. Each little uphill killed me. I had to walk the uphills. I was so lightheaded I thought I would crash unless I stopped and rested. Then I got a cramp in my thigh and thought "Great I can't ride and I can't walk. How am I going to get home?" Then, as I was walking along the trail I heard bzzzzz. I knew what it was and that got my heart going good. I knew I would finish the race because that was the only way back to my trailer. Eventually I felt better and rode to the finish. I was surprised that I came in ahead of some people. I'm not sure what went wrong. I was well hydrated before the start, I ate a gel pack before the start and during the race, I drank a bottle of Heed mix and had a hydration pack. It was probably the effects of the race the day before and the heat. There was one good thing that happened. I braked to a stop at the finish line and let them take my tag and then peddled off. The next time I touched my rear brake it didn't work. I had lost the pivot pin, right after the finish. Perfect. I went back later and found it.
I hooked up the trailer and drove to Sam Brown campground last Thursday. It's located on Forest Service land near Grants Pass between Highway 199 and the Rogue River. Nice campground.
Jake went with me. It was HOT. I don't' know exactly how hot but the forecast said high 90s. Too hot for a dog with a fur coat and an old, fat guy from the coast.
Jake spent most of his time in the back of the truck and I spent most of my time here. Note the cheese and crackers and wine glass.
I race STXC on Saturday morning. I rode my single speed. There were only two of us so I got second place. The other single speeder lapped me twice and won the Sport Class overall. It was a neat course. Uphill on a gravel road from the start and then downhill on a fire road leading to single track that looped around the campground, all slightly up hill. It was hard. It was hot. I had to ride about three laps more than I wanted. It was a 30 minute race. I'm used to the first lap being timed and then a lap board showing the remaining laps to make approximately 30 minutes. This race was 30 minutes plus one lap with everybody finishing on the same lap as the winner. I was out almost 40 minutes, seven laps.
You have to click on this picture to see what it is. Yes, it's a rattle snake in our camp. He didn't hang around for long, though.
Sunday morning I raced XC on my geared bike. It also was a neat course. A lot of climbing though. I felt pretty good on the first part which is the lower loop in the picture. The upper loop is all uphill to the top of the loop and then downhill on the Jedi Trail. Actually it's uphill from the bottom of the lower loop to the top of the upper. I bonked. Badly. I've never bonked like that before. Once you get to the Jedi Trail it's mostly downhill. Mostly wasn't good enough. Each little uphill killed me. I had to walk the uphills. I was so lightheaded I thought I would crash unless I stopped and rested. Then I got a cramp in my thigh and thought "Great I can't ride and I can't walk. How am I going to get home?" Then, as I was walking along the trail I heard bzzzzz. I knew what it was and that got my heart going good. I knew I would finish the race because that was the only way back to my trailer. Eventually I felt better and rode to the finish. I was surprised that I came in ahead of some people. I'm not sure what went wrong. I was well hydrated before the start, I ate a gel pack before the start and during the race, I drank a bottle of Heed mix and had a hydration pack. It was probably the effects of the race the day before and the heat. There was one good thing that happened. I braked to a stop at the finish line and let them take my tag and then peddled off. The next time I touched my rear brake it didn't work. I had lost the pivot pin, right after the finish. Perfect. I went back later and found it.
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