Tag Archives | 2014 Race Report

A Saturday of Racing

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I don’t consider myself much of a mountain bike racer anymore. I no longer worry about planning a season, sponsorship proposals, race nutrition or how many hours I’m getting in on the bike. I’m also finding that where I once gravitated towards races of six to twenty-four hours in length, I am now drawn towards shorter marathon races (in the 50 mile range) and cross-country racing.

There is a variety of reasons for this: some burnout, some “been there, done that” attitude (seriously, there is no need for me to EVER do another 24 hour race in this lifetime), increased parental responsibilities and demands, and of course my recent history of DVTs and being on blood thinning medication. If I am going to crash and potentially have a bleeding issue, I would rather do it on a 10 mile loop with easy access to help, rather than in the middle of nowhere during a 100 mile race.

Still, no matter the length, I enjoy racing and continue to do it just as unsuccessfully as I did five years ago, This time making sure that I don’t take it too seriously.

With that lengthy, un-needed introduction out of the way, I now move on to yet another un-needed race recap that truly did not need to be written, this time from Saturday’s MMCC Rust Shaker XC race in Harrison, Michigan.

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Back To Racing (Sort of)

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As I drank a couple of beers late last Saturday afternoon I somehow convinced myself to go ahead and enter the Barry-Roubaix’s 36 mile race, a distance– at the time of entering–roughly 15 miles longer than any ride I had done in 2014 due to the relentless and brutal winter we’ve had. It would also be only my second ride not to be completed on fat bike this calendar year. “This could be bad for me, but other than a few out-of-staters, everyone else will be in the same frigid, snow, ice and shit filled boat as me,” I thought as entered my credit card information and took the final draw from my pint of Founder’s Imperial Stout. So let it be done… it’s God’s will… it is what it is. Pffft! Whatever, it’s just bike ridin’.

And with that, I now give you yet another race ride report, in a long history of Soiled Chamois race reports, that didn’t need to be written…

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Being A Fat Virgin

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In my old job at XXC Magazine I was a big supporter of fat bikes, it was hard not to be as they were often the chosen steeds for the races and adventures that many of my contributors wrote about in the articles I had the pleasure of working on. Having said that, for my riding I often shunned the idea of riding a fat bike, I never owned one, I still don’t own one, and earlier this year when I bought a new bike I opted for a 25 pound, full suspension 29er with little or no consideration given to purchasing a fat bike.

My entire fat bike history was one short spin on a two sizes too small Surly Pugsley in a driveway. I had never ridden–let alone raced–a fat bike until this past Saturday when I did both for the fist time on a borrowed bike, that while a capable enough machine, is not exactly considered top-of-the-line. That was OK with me since I am not really considered a top-of-the-line racer, rider, employee, husband, father, person, etc., etc., etc.,..

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