tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19369585273911938842024-02-18T21:09:22.533-05:00the bridgeBill Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07338522471680628446noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1936958527391193884.post-57938722127270669632012-04-16T21:43:00.002-04:002012-04-16T21:48:09.520-04:00The Race CourseHere is a look at the race course. I did two laps, so we are looking at approximately 7.5 miles per lap. Also please note on my second lap we climbed up towards Williams hill which is not in the race. I think everyone will be happy about that.<br /><br /><br /><iframe height="405" width="590" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" scrolling="no" src="http://app.strava.com/runs/6828526/embed/a28636d81ca6a6d64e0ce3d80a8a1a70ae8e178d"></iframe>J Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16709207784362195218noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1936958527391193884.post-34070755809954235312012-04-04T08:56:00.002-04:002012-04-04T09:12:53.199-04:00NoTubes Race Gold 29er Wheelset Review<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI3PHzgG-81DHrcI9cBd5l2iL8wEeJurCaOvxYOgypmAVnQU3hEOwzGJqvj3WXBJBRv6w1ibS2cFXinxMbhlagUvZm8M64maFeQVN0eke1fAm8SIOSkt1bGgqwdlTFxt7HLunYCCBV/s1600/IMG_4841.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI3PHzgG-81DHrcI9cBd5l2iL8wEeJurCaOvxYOgypmAVnQU3hEOwzGJqvj3WXBJBRv6w1ibS2cFXinxMbhlagUvZm8M64maFeQVN0eke1fAm8SIOSkt1bGgqwdlTFxt7HLunYCCBV/s320/IMG_4841.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5727532101030726178" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221635" style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-size: 12px; font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Great Product from a Great Sponsor</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"> </span></span><br /><br /><span id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221546" style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-size: 12px; font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">NoTubes Race Gold 29er Wheelset Review by Jason Matthews - Cat 1 Rider and TBR Member for 4 years.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"> </span></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-size: 12px; font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-size: 12px; font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-size: 12px; font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;"><b><u>Style Factor and Weight Comparison</u></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"> </span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-size: 12px; font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Right out of the box the all black wheelset gets a solid 9/10 for looks. NoTubes should have sprung for the Gold Alloy Nipples just to complete the package however, the black Revo Spokes and the black rims with race gold stickers look pretty good to me. Oh yea it comes with titanium skewers adorned with carbon levers. However being the weight considerate guy that I am, I replaced the end caps of the skewers with lighters caps I had laying around.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"> </span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-size: 12px; font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">These wheels definitely score a 10/10 for weight or should I say weightlessness!!! I think the name itself "Race Gold" is pretty cool as this wheelset has indeed set the gold standard for lightweight aluminum 29er wheels. How light you may ask, well how about 1345 grams or 2lb and 15.44 oz for the set vs a standard Crest 29er wheelset at 1575 grams or 3lb and 7.55 oz.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"> </span></span><br /><br /><span id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221614" style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-size: 12px; font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Ok, that is total wheelset weight but what about the weight of the rim? This set has your covered with the rims coming in at a scant 320 grams vs. the crest at 380. That is a distinct advantage in racing - just saying. FYI - you can only purchase the entire wheelset, rims only is not available.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"> </span></span><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-size: 12px; font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;"><b><u>The Ride and Durability</u></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"> </span></span><br /><br /><span id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221612" style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-size: 12px; font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Before jumping into this topic, you should know I am running Maxxis Aspens on the set. I figure what is the point of having a such a lightweight wheelset and running bulky tires, so I mounted (same effort as any other notubes rim) up my 2.1 Aspens from last year that weight in at about 530 grams each with a decent amount of sealant. BTW these tires are my absolute favorite(supple casing, round profile with outside offset lugs) but, the jury is still out as to how durable the sidewalls will be (Think multiple rides at french creek). My bike is an original Air 9 frame, manitou minuite fork, 1x9 drive train (32x34) with xtr,xt mix, carbon, ti bolts and other secret goodies.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"> </span></span><br /><br /><span id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221610" style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-size: 12px; font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">With 6 rides on the wheels, including French Creek......</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"> </span></span><br /><br /><span id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221608" style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-size: 12px; font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Acceleration and Climbing with these wheels makes your bike feel like it should. I can't think of any other way to put it, the wheels come up to speed and spin easier and faster than any other wheels (26 or 29er) than I have ridden. The hub engagement is very solid and with no problems getting engagement when needed - say on the half pedal strokes when in a rock garden.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"> </span></span><br /><br /><span id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221606" style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-size: 12px; font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Durability, so far has been top notch, these wheels have not complained one bit and are still true and good to go. If any of you know how I ride, I am definitely not the most skillful when it comes to getting over logs and rocks with smoothness. So the fact that these wheels have not had any issues to note says they may be stronger than I was expecting. Honestly I was planning on having to throw these on the truing stand one a month........only time will tell.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"> </span></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(69, 69, 69); font-size: 12px; font-family:sans-serif;font-size:85%;"><b><u>Wheel Statistics</u></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"> </span></span><br /><br /><form target="_blank" action="http://www.notubes.com/Product.aspx?ProductId=782&CategoryId=57" method="post" id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221433"><table id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221549" style="text-align: left;padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: table; border-collapse: separate; "><tbody id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221553" style="width: 513px; "><tr valign="top" id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221552" style="display: table-row; vertical-align: inherit; "><td id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221551" style="display: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;font-size:12px;"><br /></span></span><table id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221557" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: table; border-collapse: separate; "><tbody id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221561" style="width: 507px; "><tr id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221604" style="display: table-row; vertical-align: inherit; "><td id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221603" style="display: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221602" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;font-size:12px;color:#454545;">Max recommended rider weight</span></td><td style="display: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;font-size:12px;">170lbs (FYI - I weigh in at 161)</span></span></td></tr><tr id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221600" style="display: table-row; vertical-align: inherit; "><td id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221599" style="display: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;font-size:12px;">Rims</span></span></td><td style="display: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;font-size:12px;">ZTR 29er Race Gold BST<sup>TM</sup> Disc</span></span></td></tr><tr style="display: table-row; vertical-align: inherit; "><td style="display: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;font-size:12px;">Rim Material</span></span></td><td style="display: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;font-size:12px;">6061 Alloy</span></span></td></tr><tr style="display: table-row; vertical-align: inherit; "><td style="display: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;font-size:12px;">Rim Depth</span></span></td><td style="display: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;font-size:12px;">15.6mm</span></span></td></tr><tr id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221595" style="display: table-row; vertical-align: inherit; "><td id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221594" style="display: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221597" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;font-size:12px;color:#454545;">Rim Width External</span></td><td style="display: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;font-size:12px;">24.2mm</span></span></td></tr><tr id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221592" style="display: table-row; vertical-align: inherit; "><td id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221591" style="display: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;font-size:12px;">Rim Width Internal</span></span></td><td style="display: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;font-size:12px;">21.3mm</span></span></td></tr><tr id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221589" style="display: table-row; vertical-align: inherit; "><td id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221588" style="display: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;font-size:12px;">Front Hub</span></span></td><td style="display: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.notubes.com/hub_info.aspx" style="text-decoration: underline; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; "><u style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;">Stan's 3.30 Ti</span></u></a></td></tr><tr id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221586" style="display: table-row; vertical-align: inherit; "><td id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221585" style="display: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;font-size:12px;">Rear Hub</span></span></td><td style="display: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.notubes.com/hub_info.aspx" id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221429" style="text-decoration: underline; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; "><span id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221428" style="color:#454545;"><u id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221427"><span class="" id="lw_1333544590_0" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;font-size:12px;">Stan's 3.30Ti</span></u></span></a></td></tr><tr id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221583" style="display: table-row; vertical-align: inherit; "><td id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221582" style="display: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;font-size:12px;">Hub Bearings</span></span></td><td style="display: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;font-size:12px;">Stainless Cartridge</span></span></td></tr><tr id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221580" style="display: table-row; vertical-align: inherit; "><td id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221579" style="display: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;font-size:12px;">Spokes</span></span></td><td style="display: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;font-size:12px;">1.8/1.5 DT Revolution Black</span></span></td></tr><tr id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221577" style="display: table-row; vertical-align: inherit; "><td id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221576" style="display: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;font-size:12px;">Spoke Nipples</span></span></td><td style="display: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;font-size:12px;">Silver Alloy</span></span></td></tr><tr id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221574" style="display: table-row; vertical-align: inherit; "><td id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221573" style="display: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;font-size:12px;">Front Spoke Lacing</span></span></td><td style="display: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;font-size:12px;">32H, 2 Cross</span></span></td></tr><tr id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221571" style="display: table-row; vertical-align: inherit; "><td id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221570" style="display: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;font-size:12px;">Rear Spoke Lacing</span></span></td><td style="display: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;font-size:12px;">32H, 3 Cross ND Side, 2 Cross D Side</span></span></td></tr><tr id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221567" style="display: table-row; vertical-align: inherit; "><td style="display: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;font-size:12px;">Spoke Length Front (L/R)</span></span></td><td id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221566" style="display: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221565" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;font-size:12px;color:#454545;">283mm/288mm</span></td></tr><tr id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221560" style="display: table-row; vertical-align: inherit; "><td style="display: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#454545;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;font-size:12px;">Spoke Length Rear (L/R)</span></span></td><td id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221559" style="display: table-cell; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><span id="yui_3_2_0_4_1333544095221563" style=" -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;font-size:12px;color:#454545;">293mm/283mm<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></form></span><div></div></div>J Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16709207784362195218noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1936958527391193884.post-48208468858950530482011-09-28T20:11:00.002-04:002011-09-28T20:11:37.188-04:00until next year...<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirRFVxzNQQEq7bxoDgUOm3NA58BkbSiuc6RyGutbWfXvOWMvJpEUPP9w6osrv4SDE2Yc3GnlC_LpcFtrWyd8xkXeztENBL2x9qfMlm8cj1ryLQjOPek3HmDy2rX8o0ohs7noFjxjJiwSz2/s1600/P9240030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirRFVxzNQQEq7bxoDgUOm3NA58BkbSiuc6RyGutbWfXvOWMvJpEUPP9w6osrv4SDE2Yc3GnlC_LpcFtrWyd8xkXeztENBL2x9qfMlm8cj1ryLQjOPek3HmDy2rX8o0ohs7noFjxjJiwSz2/s400/P9240030.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kingdom Trails 2011</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15461348029664124489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1936958527391193884.post-10277804120295562612011-06-20T22:50:00.004-04:002011-06-20T22:54:34.434-04:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMx8K8_sGPIU_9gf7iEiDHjFvXwHWUmB-t3B0J3LtwU1diVZVCW4Dd7ru6DNu5VvrSFvrv34lH4L3N3STkTAOc1XiP_km9CGTE0mUmx-mKD8wXCht58g3J5z15VhuuJNwbgD_7_9tghE4/s1600/dickes2+copy.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMx8K8_sGPIU_9gf7iEiDHjFvXwHWUmB-t3B0J3LtwU1diVZVCW4Dd7ru6DNu5VvrSFvrv34lH4L3N3STkTAOc1XiP_km9CGTE0mUmx-mKD8wXCht58g3J5z15VhuuJNwbgD_7_9tghE4/s400/dickes2+copy.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620500312016569794" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; " ><table width="608" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; margin-top: 1px; margin-right: 1px; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-left: 1px; width: 608pt; background-color: transparent; "><tbody><tr height="14" style="height: 14pt; "><td height="14" colspan="2" class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; height: 14pt; ">Division: Expert Singlespeed Open</td><td class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; "> </td><td class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; "> </td><td class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; "> </td><td class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; "> </td><td class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; "> </td><td class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; "> </td><td class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; "> </td><td class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; "> </td></tr><tr height="14" style="height: 14pt; "><td height="14" class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; height: 14pt; ">Place</td><td class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">Name</td><td class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">Team Name</td><td class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">Bib</td><td class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">Laps</td><td class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">Total</td><td class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">Lap 1</td><td class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">Lap 2</td><td class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">Lap 3</td><td class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">Lap 4</td></tr><tr height="14" style="height: 14pt; "><td height="14" align="right" class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; height: 14pt; ">1</td><td class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">Nick McCormick</td><td class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">TRESTLE BRIDGE RACING</td><td align="right" class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">1842</td><td align="right" class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">4</td><td align="right" class="xl64" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">1:56:40</td><td align="right" class="xl64" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">0:11:31</td><td align="right" class="xl64" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">0:33:45</td><td align="right" class="xl64" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">0:35:17</td><td align="right" class="xl64" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">0:36:07</td></tr><tr height="14" style="height: 14pt; "><td height="14" align="right" class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; height: 14pt; ">2</td><td class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">Charles Kline</td><td class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; "><span> </span></td><td align="right" class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">1710</td><td align="right" class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">4</td><td align="right" class="xl64" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">1:58:18</td><td align="right" class="xl64" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">0:11:53</td><td align="right" class="xl64" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">0:35:09</td><td align="right" class="xl64" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">0:35:35</td><td align="right" class="xl64" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">0:35:41</td></tr><tr height="14" style="height: 14pt; "><td height="14" align="right" class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; height: 14pt; ">3</td><td class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">SCOTT GREEN</td><td class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">SPUD RACING</td><td align="right" class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">118</td><td align="right" class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">4</td><td align="right" class="xl64" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">1:59:06</td><td align="right" class="xl64" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">0:12:05</td><td align="right" class="xl64" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">0:34:57</td><td align="right" class="xl64" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">0:35:42</td><td align="right" class="xl64" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">0:36:22</td></tr><tr height="14" style="height: 14pt; "><td height="14" align="right" class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; height: 14pt; ">4</td><td class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">BILL FEDERER</td><td class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">TRESTLE BRIDGE RACING</td><td align="right" class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">142</td><td align="right" class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">4</td><td align="right" class="xl64" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">2:01:39</td><td align="right" class="xl64" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">0:11:55</td><td align="right" class="xl64" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">0:36:34</td><td align="right" class="xl64" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">0:36:48</td><td align="right" class="xl64" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">0:36:22</td></tr><tr height="14" style="height: 14pt; "><td height="14" align="right" class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; height: 14pt; ">5</td><td class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">JOHN ROONEY</td><td class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; "> </td><td align="right" class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">127</td><td align="right" class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">4</td><td align="right" class="xl64" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">2:10:11</td><td align="right" class="xl64" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">0:12:27</td><td align="right" class="xl64" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">0:38:20</td><td align="right" class="xl64" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">0:39:53</td><td align="right" class="xl64" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">0:39:31</td></tr><tr height="14" style="height: 14pt; "><td height="14" align="right" class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; height: 14pt; ">6</td><td class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">ERIC NEFFERDORF</td><td class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">WOODEN WHEELS RACING</td><td align="right" class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">532</td><td align="right" class="xl63" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">4</td><td align="right" class="xl64" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">2:15:57</td><td align="right" class="xl64" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">0:13:16</td><td align="right" class="xl64" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">0:39:36</td><td align="right" class="xl64" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">0:40:49</td><td align="right" class="xl64" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: top; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; white-space: nowrap; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 2px; border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-right-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-bottom-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); border-left-color: rgb(135, 157, 176); text-align: left; ">0:42:16</td></tr></tbody></table></span></div><div><br /></div><div>New team issue Dickies are on order...</div>theToddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08562993106218614869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1936958527391193884.post-86279619637015893732011-05-10T16:38:00.006-04:002011-05-10T18:04:03.099-04:00I Love/Hate French Creek Pick One (Oh, and Racing with Teammates)<div>This blog post will not be particularly interesting, insightful, or humorous. Largely because I'm not feeling particularly interesting, insightful, or humorous. In fact, in the two days since the French Creek race I've been feeling rather listless and more than a little unmotivated. Too hard an effort? Probably. Meh...</div><div><br /></div>I love and hate French Creek. Always have. Both are true, sometimes on the same ride. Like many others in the Pennsylvania/Maryland/Delaware mountain biking community (see one blog-post down), French Creek was the first area that I rode regularly after "discovering" mountain biking as an adolescent. (My first ride at French Creek was on a too-big burnished chrome Ross Mt. Hood that my mother pulled out of the trash. Sans helmet of course. I was an invincible teenager after all.) If you can regularly conjure the elusive rhythm necessary to flow through a ride on the French Creek trails I congratulate you and am a little jealous. For you are a better rider than I. Finding that rhythm was not a regular occurrence for me back then and still isn't. Finding it during a race, all but impossible. If you can find it though, if you can unlock the rocks, if only once in a great while, riding at French Creek is awesome and will bring you back again and again. (In fact one summer as a sophomore in college I rode French Creek literally everyday for like three months. I never spent so much on replacement parts as I did that summer. I think I went through three SRAM 9.0 derailleurs in three weeks). French creek is at the top of the list of places that people say is great to ride, but not so great to race. I totally agree. This Sunday's race was probably the hardest XC length race I've yet participated in. For those interested, a race report follows:<div><br /></div><div>Kathleen, Patton, and me along with relative newbies Mike O'Connor and Jeff Stephens pre-rode the course (shh, don't tell) the Tuesday night before the race, which may not have been a good idea in this case. The course difficulty revealed by the pre-ride did nothing for my race confidence and I think Katheen and I were both looking at the race as something that needed to be done rather than something we were looking forward to doing. I warmed up well, lined up on the far right side of the course, the only single speed in the elite field as has become the norm, and when the sadistic course designer yelled "go" I got out uncharacteristically well. For a brief moment at the start I was actually in second place behind Mr. Shalk himself having made a beeline for the tangent cutting across the entire elite field from right to left (I was most assuredly the only one that noticed). Once I ran out of gear, which happened almost immediately, I was passed by six riders (Fawley, Draugelius, Snyder, Schempf, Gamahno, and teammate Showers). Seventh into the single-track with a sizable gap between myself and eighth, with Schempf and Showers just ahead. I yo-yo'd off the back of Schempf and Showers for the better part of four miles until the first of what would be many climbs. Halfway up the climb my right foot started feeling a little loose. I reached down and felt my cleat and sure enough it was loose. I clipped back in and rode to the top of the climb where I planned to stop and fix it. When I unclipped to make the repair the cleat, shoe plate, and both screws came completely off and fell in the dirt. This constitutes my first ever race mechanical. (I still have never flatted during a race. That's right, I said it. I thumb my nose at the mountain biking deities.) I was very lucky that the cleat fell off right as I unclipped and simply lay in the dirt right where I stopped. It took me a couple of seconds to find all the bits, but soon I was sitting in the dirt next to the trail with both shoes off attempting to reattach the cleat to my shoe. In the minute or two that this act took seven riders passed me, seven! I went from seventh to fifteenth just like that. I thought about pulling the plug, but I felt okay and figured that a couple of people would bail, suffer mechanicals, or blow-up and I'd make up a few more spots and possibly finish in the top ten. So I put my head down and ramped it up a bit to catch back on. By half way through the first lap I had caught all seven riders except Yozell (ridiculously fast forty something year old WTS!?!) and had caught back up to Showers. In the meantime Snyder and Gamahno had both suffered mechanicals and bailed. So I was back in seventh. I rode with Showers and Yozell ever so briefly until I couldn't hang anymore. Soon after that I completely unraveled and resigned myself to trudging through the second lap in no-mans-land alone with my too tall gear (34x18, a bad decision born mostly from apathy earlier that morning as I couldn't get 34x19 to result in a chain-stay length I was happy with and so through in the towel after only one try) and my ever present thoughts of bailing. After riding back into seventh I couldn't bring myself to pull the plug . On the second lap I went over the bars, ran/walked/shuffled up two climbs, got caught and passed by Cameron Dodge (ridiculously fast teenager WTS!?!), re-caught Cameron Dodge, and continuously lamented my single-speed until the finish. Narrowly besting Dodge for seventh by a mere five seconds. French Creek 2011 taught me that I still love and hate French Creek, and that geared bicycles do indeed have a place in bike racing. I should probably think about getting one.</div><div><br /></div><div>Did I enjoy the race? No, not really. Am I glad I finished? Yes, yes I am. Am I looking forward to next year's French Creek race? Meh...</div><div><br /></div><div>In response to some post race discussions and emails, I had a whole blog-post drafted that explored the age old question of Nature (Showers) vs. Nurture (Harding) as it relates to racing mountain bikes, but decided to scrap it. The truth is that nobody (least of all Showers and Harding) really cares. Sure a friendly gentleman's rivalry fueled by a spirit of competition exists (after all we are both first born males from families with all male siblings, type A, highly competitive individuals, that have competed in endurance sports since high school). That's why we race down 322 on our single-speeds like we're leading out a field sprint and otherwise attempt to rip each other's legs off on Wednesday nights like a couple of tools. That rivalry makes all of this all that much more fun. At the end of the day though I think we both feel fortunate to occasionally find ourselves in the top ten (even more occasionally the top five) given the level of competition we take part in. The fact that there's a friendly face there wearing the same jersey is a bonus. That said, could either of us tell you who has won what and where the imaginary "count" lies? You bet your ass.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ronaldo</div>Ron and Kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06763986927332568392noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1936958527391193884.post-39228599914961081652011-05-09T08:31:00.010-04:002011-05-09T21:30:26.284-04:00Traveling Through Time; Racing 'On the Rocks at French Creek'I <em>love </em>French Creek State Park. This place has been a part of my life for as long as I care to remember. Looking back, Some of my fondest memories are of camping here with my father and my brothers. Throughout the nineties we camped here regularly, year round. As kids, we'd go for a hike and when I picked up running in High School, we'd explore at about 7:00 mile pace. As a young teen, it was awesome to be out there in the seemingly endless wilderness. The feeling of freedom I found while exploring these trails is a memory that remains fresh in my mind. My love of French Creek was forged in these explorations.<br /><br /><div>After High School, life took me in a different direction. The camping trips came to an end and it would be nearly a decade before I'd find my way back to French Creek. I'd long since hung up my racing shoes and I found myself yearning for a competitive outlet. Enter: cycling. </div><br /><div></div><div>One day in the fall the fall of 2006, I walked into <a href="http://www.loweriders.com/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">LoweRiders</span></a> to change my life forever. I treated myself to a modest <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">singlespeed</span> 29er - a bright green <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Kona</span> Unit 2-9. One of the first places I took that bike was to the trails of French Creek. I went there alone - which I <em>never </em>do, even to this day - as if to take a ride into my past. As I pedaled through the trails of my childhood, I brushed shoulders with my future. In a fleeting moment out there in the wilderness of French Creek that day, I found my true love...<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">.....<br /><br /></div></div>I was perplexed about how nervous I felt Saturday morning. Kim reassured me, but that only helped marginally. The drive to the park was pure torture. When Kim joked that she might lose her breakfast, I chuckled nervously to downplay <em>her</em> nerves but secretly I thought the same thing. It wasn't until we got on our bikes that they subsided. After that, everything just felt right. Before Kim and I parted ways, we shared our good luck sentiments and reiterated our goals to finish the race in one piece.<br /><br /><div></div>On the start grid I found myself oddly relaxed as I sat upon my top tube, waiting for the green light. <a href="http://chaoticgroove.blogspot.com/">Marcus</a> started his countdown; 3, 2, 1, GO! I had a decent start hitting the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">singletrack</span> just inside the top ten.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU3fJui1taNw9NqxSCqcOo6Ny4C2beBU-DiE6dCYrDhrJOw_hH6c2xQ00InbvNr-elMOhk4YMP6pkKaMRfPCi36Y1EbRJJjoNAc9-PdKCu7aD4aiVSe-EHlNrkw74JOB_C2W6kM3j1cByf/s1600/DSC_0141.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU3fJui1taNw9NqxSCqcOo6Ny4C2beBU-DiE6dCYrDhrJOw_hH6c2xQ00InbvNr-elMOhk4YMP6pkKaMRfPCi36Y1EbRJJjoNAc9-PdKCu7aD4aiVSe-EHlNrkw74JOB_C2W6kM3j1cByf/s320/DSC_0141.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604874228248323010" border="0" /></a>(entering the Single track with Ron in tow)<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br />For the first few miles, I felt great sitting in 5<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">th</span> place. Felt great, that is until I was on the rocks at French Creek - literally. At the bottom of a fast decent, I hit a rock garden with way too much speed. My bike went left, my body went right. I slid head first across some rocks while my bike came to rest upside down in the middle of the trail. It's too bad I didn't have a camera. All I've got to show for it are some nasty bruises and abrasions. Luckily the only thing that came home in two pieces was my bike... considering the speed at which I crashed, I'll gladly take the $50 replacement fee for this lever blade...<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXSqyCtIv-zn8LFX77dxFsLo4t-4OaLoFGNqzC9HSQF9wTwYyFM4eKwydiJ8Y18-nU5PW-Er9mUHDpTtv0kCrEwDanbzGlV7W5je3QwlCwpkvlt4IPeQq2xifabCUF5bt20BreRMDLNxYZ/s1600/DSC_0420.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXSqyCtIv-zn8LFX77dxFsLo4t-4OaLoFGNqzC9HSQF9wTwYyFM4eKwydiJ8Y18-nU5PW-Er9mUHDpTtv0kCrEwDanbzGlV7W5je3QwlCwpkvlt4IPeQq2xifabCUF5bt20BreRMDLNxYZ/s320/DSC_0420.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604877727056393282" border="0" /></a>It took me a minute or so to collect myself, and get back on the bike. In the meantime the race was still going, Mike <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Yozell</span> and Cameron Dodge caught up. Apparently I looked a bit disheveled because both of them kindly checked in to see if I was OK. Shook up, I persevered and rode with Mike for the rest of the first lap and part of the second. I don't think I ever fully regained my composure out there, and Mike's descending skills were way too hot for me to handle... On the second lap he rode away from me and I was relegated to sixth place for the day. I feel like I was very fortunate to have finished the race and the sixth place finish was a nice bonus.<br /><br />Looking back on the day, I think Marcus designed the course this year with one intention: to punish people... I picture him sitting at a table on Wednesday night, with a beer in his hand saying: "eff em... I'm making this year the hardest yet." I think he succeeded...<br /><br />Our Mother's Day recovery couldn't have been more perfect...<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdfh57Ju3y2erEjdVS3Mi7cihZ8sgUiGDdj8OWDOO4pJJREn8Us3wjILJIr5eNRwdmj7zUPsvOLKqrpdkuclVZnMRjF0lKuwn2syJpdJG5jE6TSOTJpvGF27fSQsox-bJFWw1R15MsglHA/s1600/P5082520%25282%2529.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdfh57Ju3y2erEjdVS3Mi7cihZ8sgUiGDdj8OWDOO4pJJREn8Us3wjILJIr5eNRwdmj7zUPsvOLKqrpdkuclVZnMRjF0lKuwn2syJpdJG5jE6TSOTJpvGF27fSQsox-bJFWw1R15MsglHA/s320/P5082520%25282%2529.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604887123154902626" border="0" /></a>Hope you had a good one. I know we did.<br /></div></div><div></div>Bill Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07338522471680628446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1936958527391193884.post-31345144312190553172011-05-03T10:25:00.008-04:002011-05-05T09:08:06.439-04:00Wawayanda Spring Cleaning H2H series #1<div align="left"><span lang="en-us"><span style="font-family:Georgia;">The alarm went off at 5am. I really wished it hadn't... I loathe that cell phone jingle, alarm thing. I would have loved to stay in bed for a couple more hours, but no, that was not to be. I rolled over, stumbled out of bed and threw on the clothes I had laid out the previous night. I staggered around the house, searching for the kitchen and ultimately, some breakfast. I sourced some mediocre scrambled eggs, a nice buttered multi-grain bagel, a pint of OJ and a shitty cup of french press coffee - why can't I make a</span></span><span lang="en-us"><i> <span style="font-family:Georgia;">good</span></i></span><span lang="en-us"><span style="font-family:Georgia;"> cup of coffee anymore? I pinched my nose and pounded the coffee in an effort to jumpstart my race morning with some UCI legal stimulant. </span></span><br /></div><br /><p align="left"><span lang="en-us"><span style="font-family:Georgia;">I had just about everything I needed prepared and ready to go the night before. It's so nice - and so different from the norm - to not have to scramble the morning of a race. Apparently, some of the good in Kim is rubbing off on me. It's a damned good thing too... we needed to be on the road at 6. BP showed up in our driveway at quarter till.</span></span> </p><br /><p align="left"><span lang="en-us"><span style="font-family:Georgia;">The drive took us through scenic Bucks County and into the rolling hills of North Jersey. As we approached the venue, I marveled at the menacingly large hills and plentiful rocks. The terrain wasn't nearly what I was expecting, but I'm not sure exactly </span></span><span lang="en-us"><i><span style="font-family:Georgia;">what</span></i></span><span lang="en-us"><span style="font-family:Georgia;"> I was expecting... Regardless, the landscape had my mind racing and my nerves churning. We arrived a full two hours early for Kim's race at 10:30. I knew she was a bundle of nerves being her first H2H race<em> in</em></span></span><span lang="en-us"><em> <span style="font-family:Georgia;">years</span></em></span><span lang="en-us"><span style="font-family:Georgia;">. Fortunately for her, relief was coming soon, whereas I needed to wrestle with mine for almost five hours before toeing the line. Some light hearted joking about Ron's amusing USAC license predicament helped pass the time. I also snuck away to catch Kim on her laps to give her a lil love. </span></span><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602815334221388610" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMRg3GVi-yGDNjvWFEHLMI9Qkhmt6rA9er2skEhR-xZewUjQrSNhEJqxxymcLkV90NvrR0ZtcmvwGbe3qlh8Dii8Y_-g-hFl84nEdABjIqla2ZdGeGQCo-affs4LHGaTq0lmmiPqwdbEGY/s320/DSC_0350.JPG" border="0" /></p><br /><div align="center"><span lang="en-us"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:78%;"><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">(Kimmy racing up the double track)</span></span></span> </div><br /><br /><div align="left"><span lang="en-us"><b><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:130%;">Time for the Gun Fight.</span></b></span> </div><br /><br /><div align="left"><span lang="en-us"><span style="font-family:Georgia;">Ron and I lined up on the front line wielding our knives - our rigid steel singlespeeds. Ron was the only familiar face in the crowd. I love that. I love to think that the other guys are grumbling about "the tools with rigid singles on the front line... they don't belong up there... they'll be out the back door... etc, etc." In reality, they probably couldn't care less, but it fuels my fire - so in my head - they're saying it. </span></span><br /></div><br /><br /><div align="left"><span lang="en-us"><span style="font-family:Georgia;">I got a good jump on the start and was second wheel at the top of the first hill. Unfortunately, I spun out the 32x18 pretty directly thereafter on the doubletrack descent into the woods. Ron was better geared than me - more on this later - and he was one of the first to blow by. A few more guys made a last ditch effort to get ahead of me into the woods. They succeeded and I was relegated to 7th or 8th into the singletrack - not really where I wanted to be on a technical course. Meh.</span></span> </div><span lang="en-us"><span style="font-family:Georgia;"><br />For the first couple miles I was getting jammed up by the traffic. It was frustrating for sure, because I could see Ron slipping away and I knew there was at least one guy away from him. One by one, the guys ahead of me were making mistakes that I could capitalize on. Finally I managed to break free and bridge up to Ron. </span></span><br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602841268260742546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJw8RhtRtEcbLimUQVooLdEIcodmiqqI1Ip_sbFh9-le3k1luBRqlSnhE6ohdMS1I0CNEDtwnPrmw3EHB441TY_ml-r9OsQo6hpna1FdajvPVX9i-vvTciXKKu_N07KcoxNYtwcnWzsZIZ/s320/DSC_0369.JPG" border="0" /> <span lang="en-us" style="FONT-STYLE: italic;font-size:78%;" ><span style="font-family:Georgia;">(</span></span><span lang="en-us"><span style="font-family:Georgia;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">There's Ron checking his gap to the next guy - me)</span></span> </span></span><br /></div><br /><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span lang="en-us"><span style="font-family:Georgia;">Unfortunately, that was short lived because the last third of the lap is mostly doubletrack. I waved by-bye to Ron as he just walked away, pushing</span></span><span lang="en-us"><i> <span style="font-family:Georgia;">the right</span></i></span><span lang="en-us"><span style="font-family:Georgia;"> gear.</span></span><br /></p><br /><p align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaGkjhUiPyv5vaZCtK2JCgStJzcyl4JdFaDCRCrEhw-rwSYZ2_IrDkrX7kUN008QJ15YVQ_IY7DcmaqvWOpuX-FFrMmCnID-1CIJ4Po9TFHJexU0J7Dol53zLvQ0NmG7oNvyC17eqcE98u/s1600/DSC_0385.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602814355964092866" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 256px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaGkjhUiPyv5vaZCtK2JCgStJzcyl4JdFaDCRCrEhw-rwSYZ2_IrDkrX7kUN008QJ15YVQ_IY7DcmaqvWOpuX-FFrMmCnID-1CIJ4Po9TFHJexU0J7Dol53zLvQ0NmG7oNvyC17eqcE98u/s320/DSC_0385.JPG" border="0" /></a><span lang="en-us"><span style="font-family:Georgia;">Early on the second lap, I traded spots with Brian Lariviere and another guy for a mile or two. On one of the pretty techy sections, Brian took a nice digger in front of me... I went left and made it through unscathed while the other guy got jammed. After that, I managed to</span></span><span lang="en-us"><i> <span style="font-family:Georgia;">almost</span></i></span><span lang="en-us"><span style="font-family:Georgia;"> bridge back up to Ron again. I got to within 10 seconds, but just couldn't close it. The double track struck again and that was the last I'd see of</span></span><span lang="en-us"><i> <span style="font-family:Georgia;">any</span></i></span><span lang="en-us"> <span style="font-family:Georgia;">of my competition. It made for some interesting head games on that lonely third lap. I'd push hard, then follow it up with complacency. I'd get scared, look around and push again. For a while, I was fueled by the prospect of reeling in Ron, but it just never came to fruition. Not wanting to get caught with my pants down, I pushed as hard as I could on the double track. I knew if I was going to loose 3rd, it'd be here. In the end, I found out that Ron was only ~20 seconds up. Damnit... just out of sight. </span></span><br /><br /></p><br /><p align="left"><span lang="en-us"><span style="font-family:Georgia;">At the end of the day, TBR brought four racers to Wawayanda and we earned four podium spots. Not a bad showing, not bad at all. We were all pretty destroyed after our efforts on a truly abusive - but super fun - course. This was more technical than any course in the MASS, I think. This place is ROCKY. This place is AWESOME. This place will make French Creek seem kinda tame. See you out there... </span></span></p>Bill Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07338522471680628446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1936958527391193884.post-23038324644524869492011-04-28T09:25:00.005-04:002011-04-28T10:58:00.661-04:00Wednesday Night Ride: The Good, the Bad and the UglyIt's no secret that many of the TBR crew use the Wednesday night group ride as our proving grounds. In reality, this ride is a balls out interval workout disguised as a group ride. We ride our new rigs, we try out new components and we test our mettle against one another. We do this on one of the toughest trail networks in the tri-state area. I think sometimes we all take for granted how fortunate we are to have these awesome trails in our back yard.<br /><br />In seasons past, these weekly efforts slowly build up team members, setting the foundation for some pretty solid results throughout the season. This year, there are some new regulars to the ride, who are pushing the veterans along. It's great to see the team growing, but still retaining that small team feel.<br /><br />Last night was one of the toughest Wednesday night rides that I can remember. The trails were good but not especially fast... Looking down through the group, I think every rider had somebody to battle with and it made the whole ride faster, harder, more rewarding. It just shows that there's a lot of fitness floating around the ranks and it's exciting to see. I think the team is poised to have a great year, all around.<br /><br />The post ride at <a href="http://www.fosterboyspizza.com/">Foster Boys</a> had a good turnout as well... there were 25-30 people hanging out between the two groups. Nick hooked up a case of <a href="http://www.bellsbeer.com/">Bell's Brewing IPA </a>and some other leftovers from his fridge. The Bells was a nice change, but I missed out on the "<a href="http://nationalbohemian.com/Home.aspx">good stuff</a>." I'm over it.<br /><br />Now, I don't know if everybody has spring fever, or if it was a full moon, or what... but at about 9pm, things got a little out of hand...<br /><br />We're all sitting around, talking, having good ole time, when out of the corner of my eye I see a yellow blur coming towards the shop. Seconds later, I see a middle aged woman wearing full tights and a day-glo windshirt, throw open the door to Foster Boys. Her attire was perplexing, since it was 80° and extremely humid yesterday. I was just about floored when she started screaming at our group of ~30. Just as quickly as she appeared, she was off and running towards <a href="http://www.loweriders.com/">LoweRiders</a> - where about half of our cars and bikes are parked.<br /><br />10 or 15 of us emptied out into the parking lot to see what all the fuss was about. She's standing in the middle of our cars, yelling about effing tow trucks, effing parking and yelling at us to effing move oure effing cars. We try to peice together what the hell she was talking about, but there's just no way to rationalize her gibberish. Ron, being unusually non-angry in such a situation tried to calm her down. She returned the favor by pushing him away and taking a swing. Then she proceeded to place a call to 911 Emergency services.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisuh5jkKfogm-WKVHsQQMmLnnLBqqa6mCHfaxcxJi0asYNA0IIMJI01_S_W0YKnROmnhztZ9EGjXftm0qdzdw6DmVg_aBUYP24S9wYTNvXeaV2VKpdPK9kdN4YeBOgVwTiEsmwvnJsTIO5/s1600/DSC_0002.JPG"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisuh5jkKfogm-WKVHsQQMmLnnLBqqa6mCHfaxcxJi0asYNA0IIMJI01_S_W0YKnROmnhztZ9EGjXftm0qdzdw6DmVg_aBUYP24S9wYTNvXeaV2VKpdPK9kdN4YeBOgVwTiEsmwvnJsTIO5/s1600/DSC_0002.JPG"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQWBPiUQPHpXa7J2kb3SkGOTdzDO_cKVOVrKfLTHCVbrKdjfSRYPn__vX2okBs6_XhAILApHMUbgfBN14fX5hxXybk9mE9ybtyikgd_GX92Ttx1IfIqWf_Aa5Tm0L3liMtpzM11tmvZ8LR/s1600/DSC_0002.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600638073518796514" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQWBPiUQPHpXa7J2kb3SkGOTdzDO_cKVOVrKfLTHCVbrKdjfSRYPn__vX2okBs6_XhAILApHMUbgfBN14fX5hxXybk9mE9ybtyikgd_GX92Ttx1IfIqWf_Aa5Tm0L3liMtpzM11tmvZ8LR/s320/DSC_0002.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Rather than hulking out, Ron took the high road and walked away. <a href="http://emblemandpatchsales.com/images/PA_Downingtown_PD.JPG">Downingtown's finest</a>, show up in full force, sending four peace officers. They were pleasant enough and not terribly interested in any of us. They seemed more intent on finding the lady who fled the scene after she saw them arrive. I doubt we'll make the blotter.<br /><br />Never a dull moment in good ole Downingtown, Pennsylvania.Bill Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07338522471680628446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1936958527391193884.post-25259137100426989662011-04-15T19:09:00.006-04:002011-04-15T19:50:20.854-04:00Pre-Intergallactic Interplanetary Anti-Matter, blah, blah, blah...(Marysville Relay) ConversationMy Buddy (excited) - Do you want to race Marysville this year?<div><br /></div><div>Me (confused) - huh?</div><div><br /></div><div>My Buddy (confused at my confusion) - Do you want to race Marysville this year?</div><div><br /></div><div>Me (still not understanding) - I don't understand the question.</div><div><br /></div><div>My Buddy (dumbfounded and getting a little exasperated) - Do. You. Want. To. Race. Marysville. This. Year...</div><div><br /></div><div>Me (unflinchingly) - You can't "race" Marysville.</div><div><br /></div><div>My Buddy (bewildered) - huh?</div><div><br /></div><div>Me (nonchalantly) - In order to be considered a "race" the possibility of winning, no matter how unfathomably improbable, must at the very least be a remote possibility. </div><div><br /></div><div>My Buddy (wide eyed in disbelief) - ...</div><div><br /></div><div>Me (not affected) - A one-legged, custom-wearing, midget riding a tricycle has a better chance of winning Marysville then you and I and whatever team we pull together.</div><div><br /></div><div>My Buddy (rolling his eyes) - ...</div><div><br /></div><div>Me (continuing) - Unless we pull together a team of 12-year olds, or a team of pros, the ranks of which neither of us belong to, we have no chance whatsoever of even finishing in the top ten.</div><div><br /></div><div>My Buddy (with renewed hope) - Yeah but I was thinking we could dress up as the gang from Speed Racer.</div><div><br /></div><div>Me (flatly) - There was a "gang" in Speed Racer?</div><div><br /></div><div>My Buddy (his excitement returning) - Yeah, you know, Speed, Trixie, and the monkey and that little boy that hang out in Speed's trunk.</div><div><br /></div><div>Me (annoyed) - ...</div><div><br /></div><div>My Buddy (unaffected by my lack of enthusiasm) - Come on it will be fun.</div><div><br /></div><div>Me (now in disbelief) - Fun?</div><div><br /></div><div>My Buddy (in opposition) - Yeah, fun, you remember fun? A light feeling of joviality precipitated by an activity that one finds enjoyable.</div><div><br /></div><div>Me (incredulously) - U-huh, So you want me to dress up like a racecar driving twelve year old complete with red bandana and white bell bottoms and ride around the farm in the mud for "fun." What is this Halloween?</div><div><br /></div><div>My Buddy (trying to be persuasive) - No, its for fun.</div><div><br /></div><div>Me (flatly) - oh...</div><div><br /></div><div>My Buddy (hopefully) - So?</div><div><br /></div><div>Me - No thanks.</div><div><br /></div><div>- end -</div><div><br /></div><div>We did go to Marysville and "race" although we didn't wear costumes. Marysville is always a good time that even though I may not look forward to it each year, I always begrudgingly admit in the end that it is fun.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ronaldo</div>Ron and Kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06763986927332568392noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1936958527391193884.post-78279702127189769252011-04-15T09:24:00.014-04:002011-04-16T20:43:28.112-04:00Baker's Dozen 2011 EditionSaturday April 9th marked the 5th annual Baker's Dozen on the historic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockland_%28Leesburg,_Virginia%29">Rockland Farm </a>in Leesburg, VA. This would be my first race on the farm and Kim's second. We were looking forward to a great weekend away with some fun racing bikes mixed in there.<br /><div></div><br /><div>We climbed into the XTerra just before lunch time on Friday in good spirits, despite the fact that it was cold and rainy here in good ole Dub C. Hopes were high that 150 miles to the South, things would be a bit more cheerful. They weren't. It rained the entire drive and after a couple hours, our conversations and thoughts turned from: "It'll be warm and sunny and dry because its Virginia" and "I think it's clearing up!" to "it's cold and wet and we're mudders; these are our ideal conditions!" We were thinking positive either way and looking forward to toeing the line the next day.<br /></div><br /><div>As we pulled into the pasture, we found a decent pit area on high-ish ground and started to set up shop. Dodging rain drops and cow pies, we pitched our tent. We debated setting up the "camping" tent and scoffed at the thought of camping here, on this night. The $60 or so spent for a room at the <a href="http://hiltongardeninn.hilton.com/en/gi/hotels/index.jhtml?ctyhocn=IADFRGI">Hilton</a> turned out to be the best 60 bucks I've spent this year. Score. </div><br /><div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5JGJudv97WIvMUxgJI1aF81J_UxTbFkDda7CaWLCNExOBIUed-a3PihSIMSAlULStvJwZ-L46-nTYMMUvDPBw0zMYE88Krh-swkUa_jXcumTtgYhypWhv4d2rd22vDuTAnbucZHnEJJuG/s1600/P4082898.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5JGJudv97WIvMUxgJI1aF81J_UxTbFkDda7CaWLCNExOBIUed-a3PihSIMSAlULStvJwZ-L46-nTYMMUvDPBw0zMYE88Krh-swkUa_jXcumTtgYhypWhv4d2rd22vDuTAnbucZHnEJJuG/s320/P4082898.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5596337011504883890" border="0" /></a>As we finished setting up, the mud had already claimed its first victim... a big ass box truck.<br /><br />And Yeah... those clowns are trying to push that 20,000 pound truck; up hill, in the muddy cow shit, in the pouring rain. I thought about offering to hook them up to the XTerra and pulling them out. I thought about it for a minute... but gladly dismissed the thought when I overheard that some farm equipment had already been dispatched to rescue them.</div><br /><div></div><div>The rain stopped for a minute, so we swiftly kitted up. Just before pushing off, we ran into <a href="http://www.anemonijewelers.com/">Benny the Jewler</a> and crew who were just wrapping up their pre-rides. It was nice to see some familiar faces and despite their advice to bag the pre-ride we were set on getting in a lap. As luck would have it, our pre-ride lap was great. It was super muddy, super slick, super FUN. Feeling good about how fun our lap was, we cleaned up in our hotel room shower (can't imagine how miserable I'd be if we were camping...) and went out for some grub. We relaxed at <a href="http://www.brewers-alley.com/">Brewer's Alley</a> with some good food and a couple decent IPA's.</div><br /><div></div><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">The Race</span></strong></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgENdPZ0Y0KOl7pHIT7O1NhFNlDQHpJYIRENDE476YTpJFwD9TjyvhEtYLa3SWzZHt-x2seWuh_vrbdQIBIhGB7KYgnjO3DoDERxOzNh78-2AMbzx5nsaIRSE6xwydhmhhqH_GB4HNxds2E/s1600/202114_1996101347935_1405525912_32366863_3114778_o.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgENdPZ0Y0KOl7pHIT7O1NhFNlDQHpJYIRENDE476YTpJFwD9TjyvhEtYLa3SWzZHt-x2seWuh_vrbdQIBIhGB7KYgnjO3DoDERxOzNh78-2AMbzx5nsaIRSE6xwydhmhhqH_GB4HNxds2E/s320/202114_1996101347935_1405525912_32366863_3114778_o.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5596339899080401922" border="0" /></a>Saturday morning we made a Starbucks run for some coffee and a breakfast sandwich before driving to the farm. I'm surprisingly relaxed as I roll to the start line. <a href="http://twenty20cycling.com/about/">Mister Twenty20</a> and I line up together and awkwardly exchange a few words... then just like that, the 13 hour race was under way. </div><br /><div>As always, my strategy seems simple: sit back so I don't blow up... This is a 13 hour race, after all. That first lap isn't gonna make it or break it, ya know? I'm third into the woods and hot on <a href="http://scottrcmtb.blogspot.com/2010/12/gunnar.html">Gunnar's</a> wheel. So much for my race strategy. It felt like we were movin' pretty good considering the super slick conditions. Movin' pretty good that is, until I launched myself over the bars about a mile in. Meh. I recovered and pick my way back through the riders to sit on Auer's wheel for the rest of the lap. In retrospect, that crash was probably a good thing as it forced me to be more conservative that first lap. </div><br /><div>There isn't much to report on the next few laps, except that the course was <em>sort of</em> drying out. The trails were turning from muddy-slick, to muddy-peanut butter. It was a tough day to race, that's for sure. As soon as I entered the woods on my 6th lap, I had a spectacular crash which left me bruised, bloodied and battered; lying on a boulder. I dont even know what happend, but it hurt pretty damned bad and I had to walk it off before retrieving my bike from the brush. I limped my way through what would be my last lap.</div><div></div><br /><div>At the end of the day, We ended up 5th place after pulling the plug just short of the 11th hour. Given the circumstances, deciding to bail early was a pretty easy decision - it needed to be done. We were both already hurt and finishing this mud-fest in the dark just wasn't worth risking the rest of the season over.</div><br /><div></div><div>We retired for the evening with some breakfast courtesy of <a href="http://scottrcmtb.blogspot.com/2010/12/gunnar.html">the only place left open and serving food</a> and a much needed hot shower, mattress and pillow at the Hilton. </div><br /><div></div><div>Maybe we'll head back next year for redemption, maybe not. Time will tell. </div>Bill Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07338522471680628446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1936958527391193884.post-48220061143540335372011-03-28T10:26:00.000-04:002011-03-28T10:27:19.617-04:00Which One of These Things is Not Like the Other?Why is it so much more fun to ride one bike than another? Both weekend rides brought Kim and I to French Creek. Same trails, two different bikes; and two completely different outcomes. <br /><br />Saturday, Kim dabbled on a borrowed full suspension rig, while I played on my "race bike". In retrospect, the <a href="http://www.ellsworthbikes.com/bikes/mountain/truth/">Ellsworth</a> may not have been the best choice of steeds - but let's be honest, with access to a really nice bike to tool around on, how could you not partake? Well, the dually was all out sketchy and Kim's ride suffered dearly. While Kim was battling with the <em>Truth</em>, I had my own demon to slay. This demon has been harrassing me for a while now: My "race bike" doesn't feel especially racy, especially fast, or especially fun. It's been a thorn in my side and I just can't figure out where in Hell it comes from. <br /><br />A couple years ago, I started riding a rigid steel singlespeed - all the time - and <em>loved</em> it. A couple months ago, I set up that <em>rigid singlespeed</em> as a 1x9 looking for a little extra push for the upcoming race season. The bike worked flawlessy, but something was missing. A couple weeks ago, I put an F29 on the bike thinking, I better get this figured out before race season. That was no good... the bike just seemed to flatline after that. <br /><br />Sunday morning, Kim was obviously much more at home on <em>her</em> <a href="http://www.salsacycles.com/pdf/Moto.Rapido.Bike.Card.pdf">race bike</a>, while I found myself having a blast on my rigid SS. Yesterday, I had a bit of a revelation. I felt great, my lines were clean and I was having *gasp* <em>fun</em>. It seems that I've found what the other bike is missing: <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/soul"><em>soul</em>.</a> <br />So much for keeping up with the peleton at those wide open XC start lines this season.Bill Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07338522471680628446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1936958527391193884.post-79858701411352193542011-03-22T14:13:00.007-04:002011-03-22T15:08:07.203-04:00Tarmac, Metal and Gravel: Lunch Time Explorations Gone AwryLast week I ventured out for my first lunch time road ride from the new office. I came up with a loop from the confines of my cubicle with a little help from <a href="http://www.google.com/">the people whom are methodically taking over the world.</a> I need to keep the loop under an hour, so I looked for the nearest climbs to make it as worthwhile as possible. My first loop at about 18 miles, came up a little short but it had some promising roads and some decent climbs.<br /><br />I went out again today with intent to get the loop dialed only to find myself exploring disappointment. A single lane, open grate bridge at the bottom of a screamin' descent is enough to sketch me out of <em>that</em> road. A long un-road-bike-able gravel climb is enough to exclude another. <br /><br />Oh well... I'll get it figured out in the next couple of rides. Nevertheless, its a great day to get on the bike so what are you waiting for?Bill Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07338522471680628446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1936958527391193884.post-86249788444461808952011-03-15T12:34:00.001-04:002011-03-15T12:36:14.128-04:00A reason to smile...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirwzbZUZ3Axj4n7K_tztkcustYT3tOhlnpEKzG6oECIe1nd1GyhMeDJKbXaS1oA7l4wXAXaDeyIOQpzJaoQ0_62WhHEimKjhfiQ_LYb0S1rzb53Jj5d_wzAaoztqkH3FGloJn6i41tmFY/s1600/kat-smile.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirwzbZUZ3Axj4n7K_tztkcustYT3tOhlnpEKzG6oECIe1nd1GyhMeDJKbXaS1oA7l4wXAXaDeyIOQpzJaoQ0_62WhHEimKjhfiQ_LYb0S1rzb53Jj5d_wzAaoztqkH3FGloJn6i41tmFY/s320/kat-smile.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584346347522500802" /></a><br />its almost race time...<div><br /></div><div>smile!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>theToddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08562993106218614869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1936958527391193884.post-49917728194052934652011-03-11T09:24:00.018-05:002011-03-22T15:09:37.629-04:00Just Around the Corner: The 2011 Racing SeasonThis weekend is officially mid March 2011. To many of us 'mericans, it means that in just a few short days we all turn into whiskey swilling "Irishmen," complete with slurred accents and T-shirts that direct us to kiss each other. Ironically however, In Ireland it's pretty much just another rainy day.<br /><br />For those of us at TBR (along with the rest of the competetive cyclists in the region) it means that the Start of the 2011 racing season and the <a href="http://www.masuperseries.com/">Mid Atlantic Super Series </a> are just around the corner. The other day, I planned out my race calendar. I'd be lying if I said that I'm not excited to start racin' again. With the months of foul weather and trail conditions, a few recent tastes of dirt have me raring to go. Clearing the cobwebs out will be tough at the <a href="http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=12599">MASS Team Relay</a> and <a href="http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=11915">Baker's Dozen</a>, but it sure will be a fun way to kick off the season.<br /><br />Pre-season bonus points to whoever can tell me which TBR member is shown here, "clearing the cobwebs" in 2006:<br /><a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v439/BShowWRX/?action=view&current=DSCN2159.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v439/BShowWRX/th_DSCN2159.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" ></a>Bill Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07338522471680628446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1936958527391193884.post-34428814063168228232011-03-02T11:03:00.003-05:002011-03-02T11:08:21.250-05:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd7Yn8SLAw9gbbZMfftQPXDkoACXpHTGj2EjbziXZvNsEVE_GjPjMbX1hPBGbLDwwOci47pG_rUIwHEUYPLZOJxHSTpk1SnuA_gZkdSdXtRZe8vI_Gzl70hg_ScHEDhcJVR6BRSLZreOw/s1600/stansweb.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 208px; height: 76px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd7Yn8SLAw9gbbZMfftQPXDkoACXpHTGj2EjbziXZvNsEVE_GjPjMbX1hPBGbLDwwOci47pG_rUIwHEUYPLZOJxHSTpk1SnuA_gZkdSdXtRZe8vI_Gzl70hg_ScHEDhcJVR6BRSLZreOw/s320/stansweb.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579515101407768562" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfmTvG35QsBMXErVk_ltUyz0bzRCvWtsqNoVj0-o2YrOYbd7Jtih-FpKs4L5pU27-fFCulX9qhiMAAUBcmISguhVKZneX892BpLu7L0mvUlzObi04WM1854D6CziMpWu6_jNdm-tmxHEs/s1600/stansweb.jpg"></a><br />Were rollin' with Stan's this year... <div><br /></div></div>theToddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08562993106218614869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1936958527391193884.post-61738621604054600692011-03-02T10:54:00.002-05:002011-03-07T08:27:52.340-05:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHuE2BXxesUIYjwEefoPDmu2Jq8jW3ZR1Aj-Z71K4FMJKCRYmEOoaAs01IuCCCBvZBZK00EKVmzji5F0FQHbCbSUsHthQCqmS3Xk6fsHpwH1Lb1R-rsBoEgNgkkmJ0jAiINW11VK44VcU/s1600/VBCweb.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579513666070267506" style="WIDTH: 212px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 81px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHuE2BXxesUIYjwEefoPDmu2Jq8jW3ZR1Aj-Z71K4FMJKCRYmEOoaAs01IuCCCBvZBZK00EKVmzji5F0FQHbCbSUsHthQCqmS3Xk6fsHpwH1Lb1R-rsBoEgNgkkmJ0jAiINW11VK44VcU/s320/VBCweb.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><br /></div><div>Proud as hell to have the VBC on board to keep us hydrated this season!</div>theToddhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08562993106218614869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1936958527391193884.post-63812368277894232792010-05-12T13:30:00.004-04:002010-05-12T14:03:45.759-04:00On the Rocks<a href="http://www.midatlantictiming.com/MAT/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=101&Itemid=1"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>French Creek</strong></span><br /></a>08-May. I love riding French Creek, always have. There are miles and miles of awesome singletrack that just never gets old. Racing there, is aonther story though. Sure, the trails are still fun, but put yourself in debt there, and you could pay dearly. Today I woke up feeling fresh, relaxed and all around good. I loaded up my bikes (which as it turned out was clutch) and drove 30 mins to the park.<br /><br />A few of us roll out for a warmup. I hadn't had my bike out for a shakedown since installing the new gearing (which necessitated the use of a half link) so I was taking it easy. We pedaled a half mile or so up the road start and dropped into the woods. after a few hundred yards of descent, we make a hard right at the bottom and start climbing. It takes a few hundred yards until the bottom dropped out. I looked down and saw my chain dangling with only half of the half link. Eff. I had to hoof it out. time was of the essence because I had a long-ish run out with an inoperable race bike all with maybe 40 mins from gun time. Dodging sport and endurance racers the whole way back, its no wonder I didnt break an ankle out there, but I made it back. There wasnt time to fix the bike, so that meant that I was racing my rigid steel singlespeed. I had no choice really, so might as well go out and have fun right?<br /><br />Well fun I had. I sat back at the start, full well knowing that the first couple miles are all climbing. People love to blow themselves up here. I was right. People were dropping like flies and about halfway through, I was in no man's land. I had no idea where I was in the field... I was just riding and having fun.<br /><br />Toward the end of the first lap, I passed Alesio #2. At the beginning of the second lap, I passed Alesio # 1. Knowing that these guys are headcases, I wasn't convinced that I was doing well. So I just kept plugging away. Toward the top of the Orange climb, I see two guys ahead. One is Cameron Dodge (who DNF'd and was just riding along) and the other was a Team CF guy. I pushed hard to catch Cameron on the flats above Orange, only to have him veer off in front of me to let me race (since he was out). Him being there helped, but it was disappointing that now all of the sudden I had no carrot. I pushed the downhill pretty hard, hoping to catch a glimpse of the CF guy. I came out of the woods at the lake and there he was...<br /><br />I wanted to catch that guy bad. I pushed with all I had to catch up, but he was staying away. I reach the double track which leads to the finish maybe 3/4 mile out and for some reason, I'm pulling on him pretty hard. Turns out that he was fiddling with his number plate. D'oh! So I announce my presence on his left. He looked up and looked shocked. As he looked at me, he drifted over and I clipped his bars sending him off the trail a bit. Sorry! I yelled as I pushed on. He came back with a vengence though, passing me just before the last hairpin. I pull alongside on the field with one hard corner to go. He drifted out sending me into the bushes and I tried to cut back inside. He got me by a wheel.<br /><br />After the race, I sat down near the finish area and Harlan came up to me to offer congrats and make sure that I was OK with his antics in the last quarter mile... "totally fine" I said. "that's racing" It was a ton of fun rubbing elbows at the finish, as its not something that happens every day in mountain bike racing. Good stuff and a great race. A crispy new Benjamin in my pocket on the day.Bill Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07338522471680628446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1936958527391193884.post-79628947682054831752010-05-12T12:51:00.002-04:002010-05-12T13:30:41.484-04:00Granogue WeekendSaturday 01-May. Today I went to the Granogue charity Pre-Ride with Ron, Kat and Campbell. I showed up a minute late for my guided tour of the estate, but not to worry, I caught up quickly. Riding out there was fun. The trails were in the best condition that I ever remember, which is to say that they beat you up slightly less than usual. Even at a leisurely pace, they take a toll. <br /><br />New this year is the TT. A short Time Trial on the trails? Of course I'm gonna do that... thats what I do best. Short, hard efforts. Marc used the first half of the course as the time trial loop, so its about 3.5 miles or so. This is the fun section for sure, whereas the other half is the hard, definitely more painful side. Good call on the TT course. Anyway, I caught a few people out there and rolled away with some swag and a fancy plaque for taking the win. Good stuff and I hope they keep it going next year.<br /><br />Sunday 02-May. The main event. I show up to the venue, and man is it hot outside. And humid. And did I mention that it was hot? <br /><br />After the warmup, and like an idiot, I take my sweet ass time getting to the start line. I'm rewarded for my lackadaisical attitude with a sweet second to last row start position. I think I was behind the dude on the Pugsley. Meanwhile, team Turd Cannon shows up late again and forces their way into a start position that doesnt exist. Assholes. <br /><br />Marc sounds off the start, and we go. I'm spinning like up the road like an idiot on my singlespeed. Oddly, I find myself passing people <em>on the road.</em> Wierd. There's some confusion up front, which is funny because there are barriers, cones and caution tape funnelling you into the same start that this course has had for the past five years. I totally understand the confusion. I take the first turn wide into the woods... Guess who tries to force his way past me in the first 20 yards of trail? One of the twins. He's trying to force a line that isnt there, so he yelled at me. I graciously declared that I was racing too, and politley called him an asshole.<br /><br />The first lap went well, I was riding smoothly and in good position hovering around 6-9th place. Once that first lap started wrapping up though, I could tell that I was coming unglued. It was a downward spiral from there, culminating in a 3rd lap that was 5+ minutes slower than my opener and a 13th place finish overall. And that's all I have to say about that.Bill Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07338522471680628446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1936958527391193884.post-4542756212440033852010-05-12T09:46:00.003-04:002010-05-12T12:49:28.054-04:00Mmmm RacingSo I've done a some racing since the first MASS race at Fair Hill. Let's see, There was Danville, There was Granogue, and there was French Creek. I guess I'll go in order...<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><a href="http://www.midatlantictiming.com/MAT/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=98&Itemid=1">Tour De Tykes</a></strong> </span><br />April 17, 2010 - Danville, PA. Historically, this race is later in the season. This year, they made a good move and bumped it up in the season. Not only did this mitigate the 150° temperature issues of years past, it also helped drive numbers to what I'm certain is the largest showing to date. Good stuff. <br /><br />This year, it was downright cold on April 17. It was cold and I simply was not prepared - <em>at all. </em>I had zero cold weather riding gear. I warmed up by sitting in my sleeping bag, in the fetal postion. Then finally I emerged to spin on the bike - in jeans and my puffy North Face jacket. V<em>ery</em> cosmopolitan. <br /><br />I took my start position in the second row, with Ron somehow lined up well be hind me. The starter calls out "One Minute!" And here comes one of the Alesio twins. He forces his way onto the start line directly in front of me. Grr. I'm a reasonable guy, but if you're gonna show up to the start of your race within a minute of the gun, don't force your way into the front row. Tenout ten seconds later, the other Alesio twin forces his way into the same position... I think these clowns are stuck together at the hip. I hear guys yelling at them from behind me and I'm annoyed because I can see exactly how this will unfold.<br /><br />Countdown begins... and its on. Just as I suspected Alesio #2 trys to cut me off. Luckily, I got a good hard crank off the line and closed his non-existent gap and pushed him off as he leaned into me. He called me an asshole, I assume because I didnt let him cut me off. Ill take that as a compliment to my start. Thanks! <br /><br />The first half, I just chilled. Theres a ton of climbing here, and even with my chill pace, I felt like the 32:19 was the wrong gear. I wanted a 20t cog. Or a granny gear. Quads burning, I pushed through. Coming across the bridge into the second half, I was feeling pretty good. Immediately I came up on Alesio #2 like he was standing still. As I pass, I think: "that sucks, you can't get a good start <em>And</em> you're blowing up." I start picking off others as the race progresses. At the bottom of a long downhill, I look up the longest climb of the day and see Ron and Yozell battling. Ron looked and saw me... I knew he'd dig deep on the climb. He dropped Yozell and was gone. I caught Mike up top in the flats and we rolled down the hill together. He graciously let me pass as the trail turned skyward. I would catch glimpses of Ron every once in a while on these twisty trails, but I just couldnt bring him back. Hiking up the power lines, I just didnt have it in me to run. I ripp the final descent to finish sixth place, ten seconds back from Ron in fifth. I was definitely happy to feel good out there and stoked about taking home some cash. After the race I heard that Alesio #2 dropped out of the race just after I passed him citing something stupid about the weather not being hot enough. yeah. that's valid.Bill Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07338522471680628446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1936958527391193884.post-56282143358550622982010-04-13T08:19:00.006-04:002010-04-13T10:16:27.939-04:00Let's try this again...Wow. Has it really been 200 days since my last blog post? I swear that I had good intentions... I meant to post about cross (which obviously was so much fun that I didnt have time to blog - Or I'm lazy). I wanted to post the trials and tribulations of the winter riding season. I even had an epic trip out to Fruita, Moab and Boulder to talk about - failed there too. So let's give this bloggin' thing another try, shall we?<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Fair Hill </span></strong><br /><br />On Sunday, Bike Line put on the first official XC race of the <a href="http://www.masuperseries.com/2010/">MASS </a>at Fair Hill. This is a first class event for sure; Huge attendence, Smokin' fast course and Awesome competition. Its a great way to put yourself in a world of hurt and officially kick off the racing season.<br /><br /><br />Sunday morning, I roll up to the venue with all three of my 29ers in tow. Usually, I know which bike I'll race on any given day, but today... not so much. Long story short, I wanted to ride the singlespeed that I built up this year but it's having some issues - okay, it's only having one issue: chain tension. Its kindof a big deal. For some reason I found confidence in the loctite that I slathered all over the EBB the night before and raced it anyway. More on this later.<br /><br /><strong>So it begins.</strong><br /><br />We stage at the starting line and Ron saved me a sweet spot in the middle of the scrum, row two. Then they unexpectedly move us up about 20 yards to the <em>actual</em> starting line. Fail. Now we're in row four - I'm not sure exactly how that happened.<br /><br />The horn sounds and we're off. Much to my surprise, I'm in the mix for the entire mile long downhill start. Sure, I'm spinning like an idiot, but I'm in there. I figure I was top 20 into the woods - which I was stoked about. I knew I'd be riding up people's backs in the singletrack, so i wanted to get out as hard as I could. The turns were so fast that you had to line up the passes perfectly. I got a couple of them, but the first short steep climb was it... I think I passed four or five people there. About half way through the first lap, I found myself riding Wes Schempf's wheel. At that very same time, I found myself thinking: "what the hell am I doing here?" But I felt great! So I rolled with it. I passed Wes coming through the feed zone at the start of lap 2 and pushed hard for the first half of the lap. I held him off until the field. Those fields get me every freakin' time - I think I'm gonna go do repeats in the fields of Fair Hill. Wes rolled past me and slapped me on the ass? Mmmmkay. I rolled with him for another mile or two until he opened a small gap he then made a pass that I couldn't close. I got stuck behind whoever he passed and I never saw Wes again.<br /><br /><br />Somewhere in the mix of the first to laps was Mike Montalbano whom I chatted with after the race. Super nice guy - animal - that was pushing a ridiculous 35-16. He destroyed me. He said he rode my wheel for a while until my drivtrain started making all kinds of racket and I started cursing at it... That's wierd. He said, "that's when I knew it was time to pass" Great. Fortunately, he did give me some outside of the box ideas on how to fix my EBB woes.<br /><br />Anyway, The third lap was a bit of a blur. I was "battling" with Adam Driscoll from Adventures for the Cure for most of it, and there was nobody else in sight. Man did his Superfly creak - a lot. It was bad enough that I considered unleashing a barrage of Carbon Fiber jokes upon him, but I decided to save my breath instead. I knew It'd be me and him at the line. Unfortunately, he's pretty strong and It was tough to drop him. Annoying. We chatted it up for a couple minutes and as it turns out, he seems like a pretty nice guy. Wait... Did I just think that on a race course? WTF? ... I meant to say to myself, "that guys a total asshole and you're in the last couple miles of a race. F him, it's time to go! Get moving Showers, you big pussy!" So I cordially sneak by the inside line of a corner, say my goodbye and push hard for the line.<br /><br />Ending up 10th overall left me feeling really good about the race. Good start, good passes, and I was bangin' with a lot of good guys that coming into the race I thought I had no business riding with. The team was out in force, and a lot of people had great races. I'm pretty excited about the upcoming season.<br /><br />Post race with the team was cool. Getting burnt by the sun, throwin' back some <a href="http://www.averybrewing.com/">"coffee"</a>, Grillin' some burgers and dogs, relaxin'. Good stuff.Bill Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07338522471680628446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1936958527391193884.post-69254125485674878082009-09-28T10:54:00.002-04:002009-09-28T11:23:24.328-04:00Whirly Bird Cross - So it Begins.This past week, I finally did something that I've been threatening to do for the past three years - I tried Cross. And I liked it!<br /><br />Back in the day, I was a relatively competetive runner. I was a middle distance guy on the track, and I <em>loved</em> racing. Specifically, I loved to beat people. I loved to break people. I loved to put myself through an extraordinary amount of pain, just to hear them fade off the back. The past few years, I've been using my mountain bike as a competetive outlet. Sure, I've beaten plenty of riders out there, but for some reason, its just not the same. In a MTB race, I feel, almost lonely - always strung out in no man's land, no idea where my competition is. Nobody there to beat. Nobody there to crack. While it's great fun to push hard on the trails, there's just something missing and I can't quite put my finger on what it is. I truly miss whatever it is that I'm missing. <br /><br />So after one practice and one race, I can tell you that without a doubt, Cross has what I'm missing. Cross has what I need. I'm a little pissed that it took me three years of Competetive mountain biking to finally pull the trigger and give cross a go.Bill Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07338522471680628446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1936958527391193884.post-52769423454051057522009-09-09T09:58:00.008-04:002009-09-09T12:00:00.718-04:0024 Hours of Racing?<strong>Endurance Racing is <em>not </em>my thing...</strong><br /><br />Last year sometime, I made the proclimation that I would infact dabble with endurance racing in the 2009 season. I really have no idea why I might have done this... Last season, I found myself cramping and coming unglued at cross country races that were on the north side of 20 miles. Of my 10 cross country races last year, only one was under 20 miles. That one was offset by 4500 feet of climbing in +95° heat with 357% humidity (it felt like I had the slug from .357 mag lodged in my head after this race). In summation, as far as I can recall, I cramped and/or came completely unglued at every race last season. Why I decided that I'd want to try endurance racing next year, is truly, beyond me.<br /><br /><strong>Endurance Racing <em>is </em>my thing... Sorta.</strong><br /><br />This season, true to my word, I took the plunge. I started small with a muddy, early season 4 hour race, followed that up with a mid season 9 hour race, and a 24 hour relay in the waning days of this season.<br /><br />The first race, 4 Hours of Iron Hill, I was a fool. I went out too hard and didnt drink nearly enough fluid. The second half was a downward spiral which cluminated with my last lap of doging mortar shells. I wasn't quick enough.<br /><br />The second race was one of the <a href="http://www.highspeedcycling.com/stagerace_info.html">best grassroots cycling events I had ever witnessed</a>. The official race was 9 hours. My race which was riddled with shouldering trees, cramping and general soreness, only lasted 6 hours. After 4 hours, dry clothes, folding chairs and coolers full of ice cold brew were taunting me. By hour 5, those three inanimate things had launched a barrage of fire onto my morale and motivation. At hour 6, I succombed to the attack and called it quits. Fortunately, my partner in crime - Adam - had a strikingly similar mental battle brewing, pun intended.<br /><br />My first two endurance races were clearly less than stellar. Oddly enough, I still found them fun.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Seven Springs Champion Challenge 24 hour MTB Race</span></strong><br /><br />This past weekend marked the finale of my 2009 racing season. And what a finale it was. After all my displeasure with endurance races, Seven Springs blindsided me. I had heard that 24 hour relays are "fun," but admittedly, I was wrongfully skeptical. I was pleasantly surprised that everything about this weekend was laced with fun. Epic, masochistic, fun.<br /><br /><strong>The Lemans Start...</strong><br /><br />For those of you that don't know my history, I'm a bit of an ex-runner. As such, I feel quite at home doing LeMans Starts at bike races. In fact, I'm reigning LeMans start champion at the early season <a href="http://www.highspeedcycling.com/">Marysville Team Relay</a>. I saw no reason to let my undefeated status slip away here. Not surprisingly, I claimed the holeshot with authority. It took 6 miles for my singlespeed and I to be caught. The guy that caught me, was shredding, so kudos to him. I finished out my first lap without incident, although the half mile run did take its toll. I ended up finishing second wheel, about 2 minutes off the lead. Lap time: 1:06:34.<br /><br /><strong>Lap Two</strong><br /><br />Lap two was my fastest lap - by far. I felt like I was on fire for this one. I was rockin' the descents, railing the corners and hammering the climbs. I finished this lap in 1:04 and change which gave me a top ten lap time overall and 3rd fastest on lap 2. I was pretty stoked and felt great. Lap time: 1:04:27.<br /><br />After this one, my next lap was going to be around 1:00am, so I needed grub and sleep. I gorged on some great food prepared by John Plewa and other friends and teammates (without you all, this would NOT have been a good experience). I plugged in my lights and got some sleep.<br /><br /><strong>Lap Three</strong><br /><br />After a couple hours sleep, I rolled up to the team HQ feeling fresh. I prepare my gear and start setting up my lights. I'm excited to try out a new light that I had just received the week before. I'm a little wary about the fact that I am relying on an unproven light during a race in the dark. I'm comforted by the fact that I have my trusty NiteRider HID as well. Wouldn't you know? 10 minutes till start and my NiteRider is shorting out. Perfect.<br /><br />Now, I'm considerably more nervous about running a shady, new, unproven light on smokin fast, dark and twisty descents. The light held up, but my lack of confidence showed. Lap three was my slowest lap by about 5 minutes. Oh well - lesson learned: Check your gear DAYS before the race, not minutes. Lap time: 1:14:40.<br /><br /><strong>Lap Four</strong><br /><br />Lap four would be my last lap, starting around 7:00am. For me, this was the toughest lap. I was tired, I was cranky, and I was cold. I didnt want to get out of bed, nor did I want to suit up. Once I got out there, though, everything was A-O-K. The course was great at getting you going. The whole first three miles are downhill, so it really pushes you to race your lap rather than sit back and ride. After the long climb just after half way, I raced hard. I was redlining because I knew that our race as a team was close. Our main competition had some type of mishap overnight, but I knew they were coming for us - and they were hungry. It was all I could do to muster up a sub 1:10 final lap. Lap time 1:09:51.<br /><br /><strong>Finish it up</strong><br /><br />The race was out of my hands now so it was time for a beer - at 9:00am - which felt totally normal and tasted delicious. Ron put in a nice final lap. KTown amazed everyone with what was nearly her fastest lap of the race. Federer rolled out a good lap and Campbell managed to hold off the final charge of our competition by riding in his flat tire to clinch first place in our 5 person coed division. KTown, Ron, Campbell and Federer all rode well to contribute to our team victory. What better way to end an epic race than with a top spot on the podium.Bill Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07338522471680628446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1936958527391193884.post-44086091238799224072009-09-08T13:26:00.005-04:002009-09-09T11:52:05.896-04:00The Convenience of Selling OnlineI'll admit it. I have a problem with buying things online. Specifically, I buy second hand stuff from people on Craigslist. I've scored some seriously good deals in the past couple years and as a result, I compuslively check CL for <em>more deals</em> on stuff that I <em>must have.</em><br /><br /><strong>Giving Back</strong><br /><br />Recently, I decided to offer some of my crap to the Craigslist community. I decided that was time to give somebody else the opportunity to score a deal. I'd allow someone to have the joys of finding a great deal on something that they <em>must have.</em> I'd simultaneously be cleaning out my garage of useless crap while putting cash directly into my pocket. Its really a win, win situation, and Its seemingly a fool proof plan. Well... that was my plan.<br /><br /><strong>Easy money</strong><br /><br />I listed two items recently, and just minutes after my ad went live, I had my first set of replies. Score! This stuff is gonna sell like hot cakes. The emails received were from foreign countries attempting to purchase my items... odd. The emails are so generic and vague, that its almost as if they're prefabricated and dont even apply to my item... odd, again. Seriously, after reading the first line or two, I realized that its a total scam attempt. The thing is, I just dont understand how these scams are ever allowed to come to fruition. They are so blatant, that I can't wrap my head around it. Are people really so trusting that they would mail an item to somebody with a mere promise of payment? Its like Wimpy making a promise to Popeye... "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday..." They're so absurd, that I just can't see how anybody, ever, could fall for them. Yet they must work, because I'm two for two with my listings... two items listed, two scammer's firing out repeated messages from foreign countries.<br /><br />The best of the two was in response to my King Headset advertisement. A woman from France is willing to have her secretary mail me a certified check, then send her "movers" to pick up the item. She wanted to be "surprised to have it in her house upon her return to the country", which is why she needed a mover to pick up a bicycle headset. I sent her a message to set up the logistics of my sale, but unfortunately I haven't heard from her since. If anybody happens to know Jenny Gold, from France, please have her look me up. :-PBill Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07338522471680628446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1936958527391193884.post-81227035771777443012009-07-02T08:29:00.009-04:002009-07-04T21:01:12.314-04:00Tweet You, network security.<strong>Twitter, the cool thing to do.</strong><br />Apparently, twitter is all the rage these days. I hear about it on the radio and the news all the time. All these celebs and <em>cool </em>people are tweeting this and tweeting that. They tweet from their movie sets, they tweet from their cars, They tweet their 911 calls, they even tweet about the deuce they just dropped. Whatever, the bottom line is that everybody's tweeting. Until now, I just havent felt the urge to visit the twitter website let alone actually tweet for myself...<br /><br /><strong>A Daily Routine</strong><br />Each morning, I rise at 6am, I commute to the office the same way through central Philadelphia. Once in the office around 7:00, I grab a cup of coffee and settle in at my desk. As I sip my coffee, I enjoy searching for updates to various web pages and blogs that I follow in a specific order - the same order each morning. One of the websites that I enjoy most is <a href="http://www.fatcyclist.com/">Fatty's</a> blog. Basically, I enjoy (abuse) unlimited access to the world wide web. Once about 4 years ago, I accidentally tested those limits by clicking on a link to a porn site. That site was denied, and until this morning My access was literally unrestrained.<br /><br />At the bottom of Fatty's recent blog post, he linked to Lance Armstrong's Twitter page. For some reason, despite all the other celebrity hulabaloo about Twitter, because of Fatty's comment, today was the day that I would deviate from my routine and check to see what its all about. Or not. See, apparently, Twitter is a <em>really</em> <em>bad place</em> - or at least my network security thinks so. This morning, I fired out a nice big red flag to my network police, that I, wshowers, have hereby been procrastinating at work by attempting to access the vile social networking site that is Twitter. Ordinarily, I wouldn't think it strange that a stuffy, ultra conservative, international Pharma company would block out such a site. This is not ordinary, however. As I said, I've got basically free riegn over the entire internet, with only two exceptions. Porn and Twitter.<br /><br />I have to wonder why Twitter is grouped in with Porn? I have access to facebook, myspace, craigslist, every message board I could ever want, chat rooms, blog sites, etc, etc. Bot not Twitter! Twitter is a devious social networking site!<br /><br />Is it really <em>that bad</em>? Maybe I'm missing out? Maybe I <em>need </em>to be a twit. My curiousity level is now spiking through the roof. I have an insatiable urge to access the forbidden fruit of Twitter.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHCjbGhIumUC-pCZmfOsqxfYmW0giLOgQZAzcVWCeEmf1mhxcMMbrlfk0SQpCeG1c5ErxgMBok0Hf4ZWThkP0m7q9GQLNO-uLNc4NydlbBA3flWf4eEoqfypR8WduTJJGEVL94L3yHf8rd/s1600-h/Blocked!.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353877337116948018" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 320px; height: 240px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHCjbGhIumUC-pCZmfOsqxfYmW0giLOgQZAzcVWCeEmf1mhxcMMbrlfk0SQpCeG1c5ErxgMBok0Hf4ZWThkP0m7q9GQLNO-uLNc4NydlbBA3flWf4eEoqfypR8WduTJJGEVL94L3yHf8rd/s320/Blocked!.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Twitter must be very evil indeed, and I must have access. Right Now.Bill Showershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07338522471680628446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1936958527391193884.post-76061808899058712972009-06-30T11:10:00.002-04:002009-06-30T12:06:16.743-04:00Centrifuge of Fun...Riding in Circles in Marysville, PA<div>[Disclaimer: This will be mostly a photoblog as I'm busy today and because of the sheer awesomeness of the event there is too much to discuss. Ronaldo]</div><div><br /></div>June 26, 27, and 28 marked <a href="http://www.highspeedcycling.com/stagerace_info.html">visitpa.com's Mid-Atlantic Super Series Mountain Bike Festival Weekend</a>. Honestly, if the Neshaminy race hadn't been cancelled I'm not sure that Team LoweRiders (TLR) would have made an appearance, but it was, so we did with more than 15 racers, and I'm glad we did because Mike Kuhn and the vistiPA.com guys put on an awesome event. The festival was held at the Oesterling's Farm in Marysville, PA and consisted of a night time trial (NTT) (team or solo) on Friday night, endurance event (9-hour solo or 12-hour relay) on Saturday, and a short track race on Sunday. There really isn't a better more versatile venue for a multiple day mountain bike race/festival. The NTT consisted of a twisty 6.5 mile loop with multiple low hanging branches, logs, and other various technical obstacles. The endurance loop was an 8 mile backwards hybrid of the NTT loop. And the short track was a 1 mile flat and fast loop around the camping and "festivities" area.<br /><br /><table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/hb_L2d9FSlKkSrrw9Ru1ig?authkey=Gv1sRgCJHxvMuOgOOrjAE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_rBEURE5ZzB0/Skoi_4fNuwI/AAAAAAAAAH0/7uWFDtsKSbw/s144/IMG_2429.JPG" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table>TLR's Tent City (located ~5 miles into the ~8 mile endurance loop)<br /><br /><table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/2y8DKdR1SlQg7UVSsZ7YNw?authkey=Gv1sRgCJHxvMuOgOOrjAE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_rBEURE5ZzB0/SkojAnW36EI/AAAAAAAAAH8/C3iDSt1ilk8/s144/IMG_2430.JPG" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table>TLR's "Pit"<br /><br /><table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/NYPTbWxj8aLzKMxqrEvjkQ?authkey=Gv1sRgCJHxvMuOgOOrjAE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_rBEURE5ZzB0/SkojCSRTroI/AAAAAAAAAIE/YFGxMub87SY/s144/IMG_2432.JPG" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/xDLdPG_gO43j5qjOtZtQQQ?authkey=Gv1sRgCJHxvMuOgOOrjAE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_rBEURE5ZzB0/SkojDCxz1fI/AAAAAAAAAII/K3bmjkFPc-w/s144/IMG_2433.JPG" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table>Le Mans Start of the Endurance Event<br /><br /><table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/5XpR-N1neL6Qgzei9fqtEg?authkey=Gv1sRgCJHxvMuOgOOrjAE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_rBEURE5ZzB0/SkojE5m9ZJI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/1lrtqpgdRQM/s144/IMG_2435.JPG" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table>Campbell, Ktown, and Bshow at the start<br /><br /><table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/M9G1DlpHYguY8vzE4MIuLA?authkey=Gv1sRgCJHxvMuOgOOrjAE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_rBEURE5ZzB0/SkojJr9UUgI/AAAAAAAAAIs/dD8hEEgSfEM/s144/IMG_2441.JPG" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/I0q5E0ObR5tKPeubK6mMlA?authkey=Gv1sRgCJHxvMuOgOOrjAE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_rBEURE5ZzB0/SkojKr0Y87I/AAAAAAAAAIw/lI_iCrusuJI/s144/IMG_2442.JPG" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table>"Oddly" BShow was first to his bike and started the clock<br /><br /><table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/mVUoKa3Wk8YwfWYZgn94IQ?authkey=Gv1sRgCJHxvMuOgOOrjAE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_rBEURE5ZzB0/SkojLf6IhPI/AAAAAAAAAI0/zeLDREMqvGs/s144/IMG_2443.JPG" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table>AJoelsen and Ktown finding their bikes<br /><br /><table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/X36LhFOanz5cY5g4XIqsYg?authkey=Gv1sRgCJHxvMuOgOOrjAE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_rBEURE5ZzB0/SkojNIN420I/AAAAAAAAAI8/jgjj4xfRTBc/s144/IMG_2445.JPG" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table>Jason Grant after putting in a loop for his duo<br /><br /><table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/aL7jKNuN3cNPXw9ROS5G6g?authkey=Gv1sRgCJHxvMuOgOOrjAE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_rBEURE5ZzB0/SkojO_6Ps3I/AAAAAAAAAJI/xT--hRmUr8A/s144/IMG_2448.JPG" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table>Mr. Showers Spectating in the shade from the pit<br /><br /><table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/r5A6-UqMPWoqRX2KRYJYjw?authkey=Gv1sRgCJHxvMuOgOOrjAE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_rBEURE5ZzB0/SkojPkKDQNI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/hdDDyA_jQEI/s144/IMG_2449.JPG" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table>BShow and Adam calling it a day after six laps each in the 9-hour solo<br /><br /><table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/GFURGGKhvy1WgbmpYosZ5g?authkey=Gv1sRgCJHxvMuOgOOrjAE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_rBEURE5ZzB0/SkojePLKmrI/AAAAAAAAAJs/1p1413uaDfc/s144/IMG_2456.JPG" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table>The short track crew before the race<br /><br /><table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Hw8wv0FEeSI3BTcdYTRE9A?authkey=Gv1sRgCJHxvMuOgOOrjAE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_rBEURE5ZzB0/SkojkOVNCpI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/kQgvNqTbxdg/s144/IMG_2464.JPG" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table>Ktown railing a corner<br /><br /><table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/883LlW1z0NJkeVpSL3VMGw?authkey=Gv1sRgCJHxvMuOgOOrjAE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_rBEURE5ZzB0/Skojp6uGjpI/AAAAAAAAAK0/Kba9kParfqs/s144/IMG_2472.JPG" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/CK67xB8fDebQmP2WqrAKNQ?authkey=Gv1sRgCJHxvMuOgOOrjAE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_rBEURE5ZzB0/Skojq45dMkI/AAAAAAAAAK4/lPZ18i8NQpU/s144/IMG_2473.JPG" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table style="width:auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/qKm2qIcT1-bujY-O6JpZSw?authkey=Gv1sRgCJHxvMuOgOOrjAE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_rBEURE5ZzB0/Skojro0NhqI/AAAAAAAAAK8/_T91JRhlHlw/s144/IMG_2474.JPG" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table>BShow, me, and Adam taking the same corner<br /><br /><div>TLR participants and results are listed below:</div><div><br /></div><div>Night Time Trial:</div><div><br /></div><div>Bill Showers - Fourth Place, Solo Men</div><div>Michael Campbell - Seventh Place, Solo Men</div><div>John Engle - Thirteenth Place, Solo Men</div><div>Travis Cardoza - Fifteenth Place, Solo Men</div><div>Kevin Mertz - Seventeenth Place, Solo Men</div><div>Ron and Kathleen Harding - First Place, Duo Coed</div><div><br /></div><div>Endurance Event:</div><div><br /></div><div>Bill Federer - Eigth Place, Solo Men</div><div>Travis Cardoza - Fourteenth Place, Solo Men</div><div>Bill Showers - Nineteenth Place, Solo Men</div><div>Adam Joelsson - Twentieth Place, Solo Men</div><div>Michael Campbell - Twenty-Second Place, Solo Men</div><div>Kevin Mertz - Twenty-Seventh Place, Solo Men</div><div>John Engle - Thirty-First Place, Solo Men</div><div>Martin Eckberg - Second Place, Solo Masters Men</div><div>Jessica Eckberg - Fourth Place, Solo Women</div><div>Ron and Kathleen Harding - First Place, Duo Coed</div><div>Jason Grant and Dan Joelsson - Seventh Place, Duo Men</div><div>Dan Williams, Toni Ogborn, and Joel Flambaum - Fourth Place, Trio Coed</div><div>Tommy Oneil, John Plewa, and "He who shall not be named because he rides for bikeline" - Second Place, Trio Master Men</div><div><br /></div><div>Short Track</div><div><br /></div><div>Ron Harding - Seventh Place, Expert Men</div><div>Bill Showers - Ninth Place, Expert Men</div><div>Adam Joelsson - Fourteenth Place, Expert Men</div><div>Kathleen Harding - Third Place, Expert Women</div><div><br /></div><div>That is quite enough (can't wait until next year),</div><div><br /></div><div>Ronaldo</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Ron and Kathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06763986927332568392noreply@blogger.com1