First Blood - Fountain Head

This afternoon I set out for more training for the Wilderness 101.  My goal was 3 laps around the Fountainhead mountain bike trail.  I've ridden this trail 3x previous with pretty good success.  I have even renamed the ominous Shock-O-Billy Hill to Speed-O-Billy because I just haul down it.  OK, a little caution on the first half, then it's off the brakes.

The trail is about 8 miles and just beats the tar out of you from beginning to end.  I have to say that I'm pretty tired of riding over roots at this point.  The first lap was just getting my legs under me and warming up.  The 2nd lap I really picked it up.  One of the longer straightaways I honestly took a little too fast.  I think it was either my front or back bike tire that was hitting the trail every 5 feet.  It was one bouncy affair.  I'd like to name this section Nutcracker Run.

I took a bypass that a dude told me about on the first lap.  It's a short section that brings you to Woodpecker Hill.  This hill got me as it's REALLY steep but short.  I didn't make it up, but I got even on the 2nd lap as I smoked this hill.  

The third lap started to get me a bit fatigued.  Cardiac Hill got me on this loop as I was indecisive on my line up the hill and a root caused me to get thrown to the right.  I never thought about it before, but my Camelbak acts like a cushion when falling on one's back.  Fortunately, the ravine on the right wasn't too steep so I only slid a little with my bike on top of me.  Those shoe clips really work.

Later on there are boardwalks designed to test one's riding skill.  Fountainhead has raised platforms about 3 feet high.  The boardwalk comes at the top of a hill and I decided to give it a go.  I was quite pleased with myself with making the entrance ramp onto the boardwalk given that it's at the top of a hill and kinda steep.  I rode around the length of one, then rode up another one.  I was at the end of the second boardwalk and feeling quite happy with myself.  

My 3rd lap and I just completed two boardwalks that really kinda scared me.  I distracted myself with my "King of the Universe" thoughts and took the exit ramp for granted.  Holey Crow that is steep.  I was not paying attention.  I had too much speed and did a nose dive straight into the dirt.  Unfortunately, my speed kept me skidding as I rolled to my left.  I remember grinding my left elbow and left leg along the dirt and rocks.  

Boardwalk Example

Pain is an interesting phenomenon.  All my fatigue, sore hands, sore neck and everything else took a complete back-seat to the pain that emanating from my elbow.  You don't feel the pain immediately, as I laid on the ground wishing this hadn't happened.  I picked myself up, looked around to see if anyone had seen me, but there wasn't another sole on the entire trail.  I started riding again and then the wave came.  Oh man, it really hurt.  Not just because I ripped up myself, but the sweat and salt was in the abrasions.  I was ready for this ride to be over.  I rode really fast for the remainder of the ride.

I've got a couple photos below of the boo-boo's.  Believe me, the elbow hurts a lot more than it may look.  My leg is more scraped up than shown, but I'd like to keep this PG-13.  Despite the advertising on the Bactine bottle, it really DOES STING!!!

It has a lot more ooze now.

Scraped pretty good, but not a lot of pain.

Update July 15:  Turns out that fall wasn't just into dirt.  It was a patch of poison ivy.  Half of my left forearm was covered in it.  It was pretty painful, but I toughed it out with some Gold Bond.  What I couldn't predict was the infection that would occur 1 week after the poison ivy was pretty much healed.  This felt like a blow torch on my forearm.  An ER visit later I got some vicodin, prednisone and cephalex to heal that up.  That episode was incredibly painful but I'm pretty good now.

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Danimal's Inaugural Cobia Ride

Danimal ventured out for his inaugural ride on the new Gary Fisher Cobia, and what a ride it was.  We spent 2.5 hours cruising around Lake Mercer, Burke Lake, South Run and the mighty Spartan trail under the power lines.  Danimal held up pretty well, which is to be expected.  The trail is about as flat as one can get in this area.  The "hills" that Danimal likes to refer to around Lake Mercer are nothing more than short inclines.

As expected, a bit of soreness started near the end of the ride.  Biggest pain point: the palms.  Putting that much consistent pressure on the palms is painful after awhile.  My palms get pretty sore on the century rides as well.  I just bought a pair of "Grab-On's" for my mountain bike that have a lot more cushion than the existing ones.  I'm sure that will come in helpful on July 30.

Other soreness will have to wait for Danimal's update.  I'd also like to get an update on the 2" rib-eye that he cooked up for himself right in front of me.  He's promised a BM update on that rib-eye as well.

Danimal is officially up and running, er biking, to condition himself for the Seagull Century on Oct. 15.

Many miles ahead,

K-Wants a Rib Eye

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Wakefield / Accotink 52+ a Nose Dive

How not to jump a creek

Ouch!  No, that's not my head criticizing me for taking a 6' drop into the creek head first.  It's my ass complaining about riding 52.5 miles in gym shorts.  That was the start of my Saturday June 18.

Saturday morning I got a 7:10am wake up call from Scott Kelly telling me to hightail it over to Wakefield Park.  Now I've been trying to get Scott to come riding with me for months.  Throughout this time I've offered time and time again to take different routes and areas to explore.  I don't believe I ever asked him to call me at 7:10am on a Saturday to go riding.

I met him and John Kidd at Wakefield Park at about 7:30am.  John Kidd was there already, prompt as he will always be, and then Scott rolled in.  Mounting their bikes, they really didn't strike me as well seasoned riders.  Scott said he checked out his bike, but he was riding on two flat tires and a clown bike.  What's up with these guys and their small bikes? (Danimal?)  John Kidd had a hybrid with road tires and a seat post with a built in shock ... how long ago did they stop making those?

It was pretty wet out there as a torrential rain came through the evening.  They appointed me as leader and I decided we'd stay clear of the off-road trails since it was so wet and John would be slipping on the smallest twig with his tires.  We did ride some very light trails and it was entertaining.  Note to fellas:  You need a little speed when approaching hills.  The fact that neither of them had toe clips didn't help.

Scott wanted to see where the trail went under RT236 so we rode up that way.  On the way back we rolled through a stream and Scott wanted to check out where the other fork of the trail went.  We went over there and there was a 6' drop into the creek with a short steep incline on the opposite bank.  Scott asked if I did this kind of thing. I said I haven't, but I would.  And so I tried.  He said he was scared for me to try it.

The mistake was not enough speed.  It's around 8am on a Saturday and my brain isn't firing on all cylinders.  I was thinking about getting up the embankment on the other side, rather than the 6' drop into the creek.  I backed up a bit and started pedaling in a low gear.  I reached the drop-off, pulled up on the tire, but my gear was so low that the front tire started dipping prior to my back wheel clearing the ledge.  Straight down like Jared does pencil's on the diving board.  I felt my front fork with 130mm of travel completely compress and then my face smashing into the creek bed followed by the rest of my body.  Thankfully, it was a hot day and the creek water felt great!  No injuries other than bumps and bruises.  I vowed to come back and do that drop-off again with more speed and a video camera.  Stay tuned for a YouTube posting of how to do it correctly.

I had to get back to the car by 8:30am for my Truro tennis match at 9am.  I broke the strings on my one and only good racquet and thus had to play with my backup.  The match was fairly quick with Bill Young and I losing by a break each set.  It's still better than being in the office.

Back to the house for a change into dry clothes and onto the bike again.  I planned on 3 laps of my 17.5 mile loop around Wakefield and Accotink.  The first lap is always fun and fast.  There is a little heavy breathing on some hills as the body is acclimating to the ride.  1hr 10 min's for the first loop.  The second loop feels a bit different physically.  The muscles are moving well and time usually passes quickly, except when you get hungry.

I figure I had been pretty active for over 4 hours so far in the morning.  The breakfast of two Quaker bars and a coconut water had run its course.  On the Mountains of Misery century ride a few weeks ago they had boiled potatoes at the later aid stations.  Simple cut up pieces you could grab, add salt and chew to your stomach's content.  Those potatoes tasted like food from the gods.  On the second lap, all I could think about were those potatoes.

No one was boiling potatoes for me on this ride so my mind raced to come up with the next best thing ... McDonald's French Fries !!!  I pass one at Pickett near the end of each loop.  My single motivation, single focus, sole purpose in life was to reach McDonald's.  No other thought, intent or idea distracted me from my goal.  I made it, and being as ridiculously muddy as I was, there was no way I was walking into the place.  So I stood in line behind a few cars at the drive-thru and chowed on a large #5 quarter pounder with cheese, powerade and the potatoes!  Words do not do justice for how good that #5 tasted.

Lunch completely invigorated me, but I was still getting a little pooped.  Almost 35 miles on the body, plus the tennis match, plus the 6' face first drive was taking it's toll.  I stayed with the plan for 3 loops and continued on.  Admittedly, I may have dogged it a little bit on that 3rd lap.  I did make the final loop amassing 52.5 miles  with about a 4 hour duration.

Little rest for the weary, as I got home, showered and then off to a party where badminton and basketball were the theme.  Rockland's catered the event and it never tasted so good.

Sunday morning was less than an ideal feeling trying to get out of bed.  Nothing "hurt", but the fatigue was high.  Thank goodness for Father's Day!  Michelle made a king-size breakfast that was fantastic.  I strung my tennis racquet and left for a USTA tennis match at 12:30pm.  Getting going for this was a bit rough, but in end I think it helped. Rob and I lost that match 7-6, 2-6, 9-10.  The final set is a 10 point tie-break.  We ran out of time down 9-10 ... I'm chalking that one up as a DNF.

A quick trip to the library for some books with the family and then back to Truro for Jared's tennis clinic.  Bill Donnell was down there with his son and the two of us hit for another hour.  I honestly thought something bad was going to happen given all this physical exercise.  It was hot, we had no water, and we hit for a solid hour very aggressively.  Nothing bad happened, and I actually felt pretty good afterwards.

All of this is in preparation for the Wilderness 101 mountain bike century on July 30 in Rothrock and Coburn National Forests in PA.  Given this weekend's physical output, I'm starting to think that I might be able to finish that ride.

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Fountain Head Regional Park - Solo

An incredible mountain biking trail

I set out Sunday morning to get in a few laps at Fountain Head.  As noted in previous blogs, this trail makes you "Bring It" for the entire 8 mile figure 8.  If you aren't ascending steep ravines like Cardiac Hill, Holy Grail Hill and Salamander Switchback, then you're crazy descending on roots and rocks with the ultimate test descending Shock-O-Billy hill.  Yes, that's a hill that even a Billy Goat would think twice about.  Even the "flat" terrain is loaded with rocks, roots, sharp turns and narrow paths with big drop-offs on one side.

I set out on my first lap and took it somewhat aggressive.  I powered up the hills and took the descents fairly quickly, with some caution so I didn't maim myself.  Even cautious riding draws blood as my rear wheel was slipping on the roots and I hammered my knee on the stem.

Different conditions make it a different ride.  The first time I rode this course it was very dry.  This time it was still wet from the nights rain.  This adds a few mud puddles and the worst is the slippery roots.  Ascending and turning on wet roots is problematic to say the least.  I equate it to the difference between a hard court and clay court in tennis.

I completed the first lap in a moderate 1 hour 10 minutes.  I stopped at the parking lot to refill fluids and have a quick bite.  The debate to tackle a second lap was in progress.  I was talking with a guy named Ed in the parking lot.  He said the second loop is usually easier because you're all warmed up and loose.  I couldn't fathom how that could be possible.

I did decide to take a second lap and amazingly cruised in at 1 hour 5 minutes.  For me, impressive.  It really wasn't much more difficult and seemed to go smoother than the first.   One noted change is the first lap I took Shock-O-Billy without pausing, the second I attacked that hill and even laid off the brakes for the bottom half of the hill.  Descending was generally faster as well.

Shock-O-Billy:  How to do it.  How not to.

I expect to get many more runs over the next 6 weeks in preparation for the Wilderness 101 mountain century on July 30.

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Accotink 100 degrees - Bring It!

As D-Atlas has been told many of times, "Bring It".  Last night took off on the Stumpy in extreme heat.  It was about 100 degrees and muggy. Fortunately I was not going to be riding in the direct sun.  I got on the Wakefield Park and Accotink trails and just kept going.  I rode lots of trails I had never ridden before and I couldn't believe how much I was sweating.

Thoughts did occur to me that I need to be mindful if I stop sweating.  That's when really bad things happen to your body.  Fortunately, I never reached that point and had plenty of cold water.  Riding time was almost two hours.  This kind of riding is far different than the road riding.  Road riding you are generally pretty consistently  pedaling with no crazy change in heart rate.  On the mountain bike, your heart is up and down as frequently as the hills.  It's very different training.  I noticed that I'm already sucking less air on certain hills that I was when I first rode just a few weeks ago.

Nothing too eventful on the trip itself.  Just some long runs through Accotink with a few quick sections at Wakefield and then on to Jared's baseball game.

I did stop by Billy's house for CamelBak reload.

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Fountain Head Regional Park

Brandon gave me a call last Saturday June 4 to see if I was up for a mountain biking extravaganza.  Of course I was, and Fountain Head was the choice track.  I've read about the track online and in lots of blogs.  It is a highly rated course and I was anxious to try it out.

Loaded up the bikes and off we went.  Weather was extremely nice for biking, a little on the hot/humid side.  We got to Fountain Head in about 20 minutes and unloaded.

The trail doesn't waste any time getting down to business.  It is serious technical riding over roots, rocks, trees, down ravines, up ravines and dodging various obstacles. Early on you're going up steep hills so the heart gets pumping early.  The track is sort of a big figure 8.  There are directional areas to prevent people from colliding head-on.  There are many points of the track that you don't want two-way traffic on.

Each of the hills has a special name.  I remember Cardiac Hill, ugh, but not too bad.  The more interesting of the hills is Shock-O-Billy.  I stopped at the top to get a good look at the hill going down.  You can't see the whole hill because it's so steep and the erosion control blocks your vision.  There was no way I was going down that hill first without surveying it more properly.   Brandon was egging me on, and I asked him how many times he's been down it.  "Never" was his reply.  After a few minutes, another rider who obviously had done the hill 50x before zipped down it.  I watched his line to get a little confidence and then let it fly.  Man, that's a steep hill.  Going over the erosion control adds some scare because it's a drop and you pick up more speed quickly.  I got down safely, then wiped out going up the next hill.

The figure 8 is pretty long.  I can see going back and riding it 2 or 3 times for a really good workout.  The more the merrier on this trip, but it's dangerous, technical and a lot of work.

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