This race series is going to be incredible and everyone should give it a try. As with all of Ray's events, the prizes are stacked. The trail is dry, and fun will be had by all. The course is better than ever, really fast, and challenging. This is going to be a good series and you don't have to worry about me getting in your way to the top of the podium. As is usual with these events, the pros are barred from kicking your asses.

Ray's Indoor Cross Country Time Trial

JUST FOR REGISTERING: (1st registration only per series)

RECEIVE: Tri-Flow lube sample; 1 Redbull energy drink; Free Chipotle Guac & Chips

PRIZES:

Every time you register for a time slot, you’re automatically entered into a drawing for a FREE BIKE. The more times you register, the better your odds of winning. ANYBODY CAN WIN! (Unrelated to race results)

PLEASE READ: This is a completely new, unique concept in mountain biking. Unlike the outdoors, course conditions are always perfect at Ray’s. This simplifies the equation and allows you to consistently measure your fitness level, experiment with bike components, tweak your fit, and improve your performance. And compete with your friends in a controlled environment with professional time-keeping equipment. We hope you like the idea! Race as many times as you like! Thanks – Ray

WHAT IT IS: • SERIES 1: Nov. 14, 2009 – Jan. 10, 2010 • SERIES 2: Jan. 23 – Apr. 3, 2010 A Two Series Time Trial. Separate winners and prizes for each series. Race held 7AM-9AM on weekends and holidays with eight 15 minute time slots on each race day. (7:00, 7:15, 7:30, 7:45, 8:00, 8:15, 8:30, 8:45 AM) View time slot availability:

XCTT Calendar. Each series has 184 time slots. Sign up as many times as you like. Park opens at 6:30AM for racers. Park opens at 9AM for regular riding.

FEE: $15.00 per time slot (cash only) on arrival. 48 hour cancelation/reschedule policy. No-shows still owe the fee. ALL proceeds pay for Race Official salaries and your prizes. This is for fun, not for profit. START and FINISH triggered by breaking a laser beam, supervised by a Race Official.

COURSE: START/FINISH: GT Deck. Race totals 3 XC loops and 7 GT lines (shortest lines throughout)

START: Break laser beam to start clock on GT deck

Prologue: Line P (marked), return to deck

1st lap Fisher XC loop, return to deck

Line 1, return to deck

Line 2, return to deck

2nd lap XC loop, return to deck

Line 3, return to deck

Line 4, return to deck

3rd lap XC loop, return to deck

Line 5, return to deck

Line 6, return to deck

FINISH: Break laser beam to stop clock   CLOSED COURSE. Shortest and least difficult lines throughout. Times displayed on large overhead LED clock. Results & Calendar updated every 24 hours.

RACE CLASSES: Enter your normal Race Class. We reserve the right to re-designate entrants.

MEN:

CLASSES: Expert; Sport; Novice

AGE GROUPS: 19 and under; 20-29; 30-39; 40+   WOMEN:

CLASSES: Expert; Sport; Novice

AGE GROUPS: Open

As soon as I heard about the new Taco Bell Black Taco, I ran out and got one. Rather, I bought two of them and a chili cheese burrito. Excited to eat my new tacos in the perfect setting, I drove around and ate the burrito while looking for the right place. The chili cheese burrito is difficult to eat while driving and I wasted a lot of time trying to deal with this thing. I made it as far as my driveway before carefully opening the first one.

The first batch of Tacos where good. However, I didn’t have the right words to describe them at the time so I decided to make the critique more scientific by getting two more black tacos and a regular taco as a control. This was important work and it could not be rushed or thoroughly conducted during a parked feeding frenzy.

A couple things separate the new taco from the old taco. The black shell isn’t made of blue corn. Rather it is just black, and that is not such a bad thing because its flavor has been refined for years. Next, the cheese is no longer just cheddar. It now contains a delicate blend of Mozzarella, Cheddar, and Pepper Jack cheeses. The intricate flavors of which are further sophisticated by the addition of the hotly anticipated zesty pepper jack cheese sauce.

The resulting taco is cheesy, crunchy, meaty, and spicy. It is better than the original, and it costs less than $1. Viva La Bell.

Oh yea, ride bikes. GT Bikes, and umm, Ray’s is open for the season!!!

2^nd

The Mohican State Forest trail is an amazing, and the race had a great turnout. The weather was warm at race time and the course was completely dry.

The race came down to a sprint finish. My/Our finishing time for the race was 1 hour 51 minutes. We exchanged the lead several times throughout the race, but in the last few millimeters, Steve took the win. He was riding incredibly well throughout the race and seemed to have the trail dialed. He took a number of new lines that didn’t occur to me. Despite pushing to the limit, we each only crashed once. It was exhilarating to pedal that hard through the woods.

I was very interested in finding out what a fast lap time on the course would look like. It has been a topic of discussion for a while, and I have heard rumors that seem too good to be true. At the race there was a little bit of a problem in that the race didn’t start in the parking lot, but rather a half mile away. Luckily, I compared my computers trip distance to the 1-mile mark on the trail. As I passed it, I had 1.17, which seems close enough. On the return trip, the extra distance probably took us an extra 2-3 minutes. It’s hard to say.

1^st place

Westbranch was a mud hole, but I lowered the air pressure on my GT Marathon and it performed as it always has. I rode straight over every rock and root that Westbranch had to throw at me and never put a foot down. The cool thing, I reached down to switch my Fox RP23 shock from fully active to platform mode and it was actually hot from absorbing hits. It is neat to think that enough friction occurs from the oil whooshing around in the damper to heat the entire shock. I think it did a great job handling the bumps that I found on the trail, but it makes me want to ride it even harder next time.

On another note, It’s the end of the season and if you haven’t put your racing resume together it is time. Most teams want your resume in hand before the end of October. If you haven’t done this type of thing before, there are a few things that you will need to include. First, give them a biography. Start with accomplishments and passions, but remember to make connections that your sponsor will understand. Then, outline your results for the season and remember to include your class, the location, and the events name.  Bear in mind, you should also tell them how you have been making a difference in the cycling community. Lastly, explain what you will be doing in the new season and how you will help them promote their brand.

Here are a few tips from another site, but If you have any questions, I will be glad to help. You can email me directly at David_H_Walker@Hotmail.com.

1st

I’ve had mixed results at time trial races in the past. At these races, riders start at intervals not as a group. They then race on their own from point A to B, all the while not knowing how the competition is doing. In that scenario, I tend to take risks, which have led to big crashes. Of course, one crash leads to more speed, and more speed leads to even more crashes.

Today I started in the 16^th spot, 20 seconds behind 15^th and so on. It’s understood that I was working hard, but it was a surprise to have caught three riders within the first couple miles. I think that I passed eight in all. This brings me back to what I was thinking last week. Not knowing the course, I pedaled hard many times when I would not have If I had known what I was about to see. Is it faster to pedal into a blind corner or to relax knowing that you will be slowing down in a moment? Today I pedaled, but it was my way of making up for taking fewer risks.

1^st Place Neo Power Series Overall

1^st Place Reagan Park Time Trial, Neo Power #3

Some Fotoooos

For winning this series, I won a years worth of Chipotle Burritos, but I am not the only one. The prizes, cash, bike frames, and burritos flowed like water, furthering the case that this may be the greatest race series ever.

1^st Place

This win secures my win for the Groovy Series at Vultures Knob and puts me into a solid position to take the overall lead for the Neo Power Series. These two race series have the promise of becoming the preeminent series in Ohio. They are amazingly well put together and draw great crowds of riders at all competitive levels. I also like riding trails that are so familiar. With each lap, I push deeper into each section without braking.

I did realize that knowing the trail keeps me from pedaling when I would otherwise and I’m wondering if this is slowing me down. I should probably be pedaling if I’m not braking. The problem is that I think it’s easy to become comfortable with riding a trail at a certain speed. Pedaling were I usually don’t has the tendency to put me on lines that I wouldn’t normally ride.

Fotos

Leading up to this weekend we had a great time at the Cleveland Air Show, the opposing Peace Rally, and at Oktoberfest in Berea.

On another note, the 2010 GT bikes are on the site and they look good.

Neo Power Series #1

1^st Place

The GT was at full power for this race even though I was distracted. Last week I bent a pedal and I’ve been riding on it since. Even though I was able to get a replacement for the race, my non-drive side hip felt bad. It didn’t feel as though I could push hard without it hurting. To make matters worse, I got my handle bar tangled in an electrical cord that was hanging from a tree at the top of a climb and smashed some of my favorite bits into the back of my stem.

However, the course at Manitoc is great and its shame that we only get to ride it one week a year. Unlike years past, despite the rain, the course was very fast. Before the race, I had been whining about not having enough knob on my tires for the slick course, but I was sarcastically told to “just bring out more skill”.  It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. My average speed was nearly 14 mph, which equates to crossing lots of wet roots at a good pace. The race distance was 30 miles and since I have been doing longer races it felt great.

Pictures from the race

1st Place

Caesars creek is always a great place to ride. The hillsides and low valley areas are filled with trees and roots. It also has many high-speed corners, which made my bike the perfect choice for this race. I have been there a number of times in the past and had the chance to run the course in both directions. For my money, the path on the right is the best way to get started.

A week ago when I was racing in Michigan, the guys mentioned that there 29” bikes were catching me in downhill to uphill transition areas. They said that they could see my suspension working and that they would have to tap their brakes to keep from running into me. My rear suspension is set up to be active, so they may have a point. However, the guy who said this was nearly five minutes off my pace. Despite that, I added pressure to the rear and was surprised at how much better it climbed.

The day was not without its downside, a rider confronted me in a weird way asking, “How’s your mouth”. How is my mouth? I didn’t want to know what he was talking about, but that didn’t stop him. A couple weeks ago at Lake Hope while trying to kill Steve Hill with pace, I find this guy. From a good distance out, I say “rider up” and nothing happens. Now we are on top of the guy, “RIDER UP”. Taking his time he answers back, “I’m looking for a spot”. To which I respond, “Get off the trail”.

It works like a charm and we are on our way. Later, I hear that the guy is deaf in one ear. That would have been a nice thing to know, but it doesn’t change the facts. He’s holding a grudge and he said that he has some kind of great dirt on me. Well, I have done over 300 races in which I have been lost, kicked, punched, pushed, disqualified, and spit at. It’s a sport and things happen, so there is plenty to tell.

More fotos are here :)

2^nd place Pro

This race is part of the USAC MTB Michigan State Championship Series and it draws a huge crowd. The Pro Men were first to leave and we were followed shortly there after by a huge wave of experts. The promoters did a great job of keeping lap traffic down by starting the hundreds of sport and beginner riders two hours later at noon. It also helps that we raced three ten mile laps. Even though we kept a strong pace, we never caught any lap traffic, which was nice.

At the start of the race, there was a call up to the line, which I was left out of, as I have not been a part of this series. To get onto the front line I had shove my bike between two riders who gave less attitude than I expected.

Everything started as it usually does with a super fast race to the woods. I entered the single track in second place and followed as a Bell’s rider laid down a ridiculous pace. I found out later that this was his job. However, his reign was about to end. He slowed on a switchback while climbing and I made a pass on the inside of the turn. Now in the lead, I could hear the rest of the pack begin to panic. Instead of working as a traveling roadblock though, the Bell’s rider who gave too much acquiesced and let the pack through in one big clump. Yea, it was going to be one of those kinds of races.

I pushed hard out front and the pack wore down to only a few riders by the end of the first lap. Judging the situation, I decided to let someone else work for a while. Back into the woods on the second lap, I was sitting comfortably in third place. The two riders in front of me were more than capable of widening the gap on the rest of the field and best of all they were beginning to fight one another. Being pulled to the finish at mach ten and getting a ringside seat to the action was more than I could have asked for.

The GT Marathon functioned flawlessly. In fact, it allowed me the confidence to ride at full speed on a completely unknown course. I pedaled through two wheeled drifts, took bad lines over drop-offs, and blasted over rocks and roots when I should have been slowing down. The bike is more than capable.

More photos from the race

I have been thinking a lot about road racing. I even had a dream about it where I spent a long time trying to put the front wheel on the bike. Still, I have mixed feelings as to why I want a road bike. I have done a handful of races in the past, none of which went as well as I had hoped. In one, I pulled forever only to have everyone zoom around me at the end. Another, I crashed in a corner with someone else and had to catch the pack before they could get away.

I’m not sure how to win a road race. I think I all comes down to sprinting because it seems rare to make it to the end of the race alone. When I compare myself to the sprinters that I have seen its clear to me that I am out of my league. I have only gotten to 39 mph once on flat ground. It’s not something that I can just pull out of my hat. If I am going to stand a chance, I have to be in very specific situations and I have to be careful not to do too much work.

Here is what I’m thinking. I would like to stay near the front of the peloton; this would have kept me from being sent into the weeds by a squirrely rider. Then, I should get into breakaways, they are a good way to reduce the number of competitors that I will have to deal with at the end. In addition, I should do races with long climbs, as they will equalize the riders who work with those who draft. Ideally, I should be on the front and then in a breakaway at a race with long climbs. That is probably not as easy as it sounds.

Actually, that sounds naïve. In reality, the experience of being drilled repeatedly by super strong riders would be great for my training. Road racers also cover huge distances. I am riding a mountain bike, but 70 miles seems like a long way. I’m not sure what condition I would be in at the end of 90 miles.

It’s something that I have been thinking about for two seasons. I guess it would be hard to call me impulsive.

Race to the Hills - WVMBA #10/OMBC #8 Lake Hope

1st Place

On the way to the race, I decided to enjoy my bike as much as possible. My mission was accomplished within the first two miles as I was going way to fast and ended up going right off the trail. When I got back on the path, I was in fourth place sitting right behind Steve Hill. Quickly I made a pass on the inside of a turn to end up in third right behind Ben Ort and Tim Carson. Tim was riding fast on the down hills and all of us were doing a lot of drifting through the corners. It felt like my rear tire was doing most of the steering as I tried to slow down for each turn. I could actually feel topsoil hitting my legs under braking. It was nice to be in a group of fast riders doing such an incredible job on the trail.

 I was in this group for about two miles before my opportunity to pass came. Ben is a great climber and he was able to close the gap that Tim had put on him.  When the two of them came together at the top of a hill, I used the chance to pass them both. Now at the front of the race, I opened up a solid gap on the field, but concentrated hard to get back into my rhythm rather than launching a larger attack. In hindsight, this was a mistake.  It gave Hill the time necessary to pass Ben and Tim. I didn’t know this was happening, but five miles down the trail he linked up with me.

If I couldn’t get rid of him I would have to go head to head with him at the finish. I raised the pace repeatedly, but I could not shake him. During this, I was getting a great understanding of his fitness level.  It gave me confidence for the sprint finish and I started looking forward to it. Sadly, he got a little loose on his bike and he hit a tree. I was not going to wait around and I won without any contention.

Congratulations Justyna, She did her fourth novice race the same day and finished fifth. However, she became the victim of trail bullies who pushed her off her bike as they passed. She landed in a ditch cutting her thigh, shin, and shoulder. She feels much better now. However, I regret to say that we currently have no leads in the investigation. 

 1^st Place

This course poses a few interesting challenges and brings strategies into play which usually don’t come up in mountain bike racing. The race starts with a 3-mile dam crossing that is exposed to the wind and is completely open visually. Eventually racers drop into quick but very twisty single track for three six-mile laps. During which, the goal is to open up any kind of gap on the other riders that may be with you. The worst thing that could happen would be to come back onto the long open dam crossing in a group of riders. It has happened to me in the past and the results were bad. I ended up pulling when another rider attacked. He got away, and I ended up fighting three other riders for second place.

This year the plan worked perfectly. My lead was such that I could not see the chase group as I did my best time trialist impression on the dam crossing.

In other news, I have a new pair of shoes, which have worked out very well. They are Pearl Izumi P.R.O MTB shoes. A couple races ago, I had a bad crash in which my cleat was ripped from the bottom of my Adidas shoes. I looked in all of the usual places to find a replacement set but I was not having much luck. At the same time, I have always loved Pearl stuff, but I have never seen a pair of their high end cycling shoes. I ended up liking what I saw and after I got them, I was amazed at the quality of the shoe. First, the carbon sole is more than eye candy. It runs toe to heal and across the full width of the shoe. The unidirectional carbon sole makes up the entire area that is usually plastic. The result is a very light shoe (385g) that is the stiffest that I have had. The uppers are also very nice. They equal or exceed the quality of any other shoe on the market. In addition, the sizing ran true to the chart on the website and I was able to fit my carbon Soup Can insoles right into them.

GT Force Carbon Expert Review

I recently completed an extensive test on GT’s carbon fiber Force. It’s GT’s All Mountain long travel cross country bike. I can tell you right from the start it feels perfectly suited for long rides on demanding trails. The first thing that I noticed is that it feels athletic like a XC bike should. It is also light for a bike with this much going on. This is a new bread of trail bike.

The Force has 6” of travel in the front and rear. Out of the box, it weighs 26 pounds and it comes with Fox shocks front and rear. The Fox Float RP23 rear shock has an anti-bob feature that is adjustable on the fly and rebound control. In the front, the bike gets a Fox TALAS 32 R with a 15mm through axle and travel that can be adjusted from 110 - 150mm while riding. The quality of the suspension components does not get any better than this.

The main feature of the Force is it’s I-drive suspension. From experience, the I-drive does a number of different things depending on the input it receives. Due to the pivot locations when peddling hard the rear suspension stiffens up, let off the power for an instant and it becomes fully active again.  For instance, when standing level and riding like a corpse, the suspension absorbs small, medium, and large sized hits very well. The damping, compression speed, and reactivity are all properly tuned. Come to life, start giving the bike some body English and watch out. It will take you just about any place you might want to go. The best thing about the I-drive is that it adjusts to suit the situation.

The bike comes with a straightforward group of light and very effective XT components. The brakes from which are the star of the show. The XT disk brake has so much power that I would love to run them on my bike. I don’t because I’m a weight weenie, but none the less. The XT group is perfectly suited for All Mountain riding.

Dislikes… The Kenda Nevegal tires are far too knobby. They are excessively heavy and have too much rolling resistance. They would be the first thing to go. In fact, I would take them off before riding it for the first time as to not taint the experience.

GT Force Carbon Expert

Pros- Lively carbon frame… I would ride this bike if I were not racing cross-country.

Cons- Tires, Tires, Tires

26 lbs.

MSRP $4299.99

 

DW

1^st place

Some recent training has paid off and I was able to set a new course record at S&S Trails. The racecourse was very nice, but deceptively hilly. The trail is a well-maintained 5-mile loop that stays tight enough to be very spectator friendly. In addition, the riders that steward the land have spent a lot of time clearing brush and dead branches from the general area, which gives the wooded sections an open feel. The general layout reminds me of the XC course at Mickey’s Mountain Bike Challenge, which was popular in the mid 90’s, but appears now to be used for bluegrass festivals.

Click here for pictures from the race.

The GT Marathon was rock solid through the race. I can’t begin to complain about this bike. It’s been a consistent performer through the entire season.  I’ll admit, before I had a chance to ride it I had reservations about longer travel bikes, but none of my concerns have become issues. With 2500 miles, 2 chains, 3 sets of tires, and 9 races on the books, this bike is still a cruise missile.

6^th place

Ohio Mountain Bike Championship Series #5 at East Fork State Park

Things started out well enough and I was leading the race during the second lap. That is until I came across a young rider who was off his bike standing on top of a jump in the middle of the trail. He quickly got out of the way, but with trees on either side, it was going to be a tight fit. At the last moment, his bike fell into my path and I hit it, sending me flying through the air like a frog. I was able to get back on the bike before the third place rider could pass me, but I was now making many dumb mistakes. One of which would lead to a flat tire in the middle of a stream crossing.

I ran and rode the flat about 2.5 miles back to the start/finish were I was able to put more air into the wheel. During the run, many riders passed me but I was able to pass about 10 pro/experts in the third lap to finish in the sixth spot.

1^st Place at the 13^th annual Appalachian Classic Mountain Bike Festival - WVMBA #5 in West Virginia

I barely made it to this race with only 7 minutes remaining before the start. We had used Google Maps to plot the course to this race, and in haste not checked them over before leaving. Consequently, we ended up driving on single car width back country roads for over 15 miles. The clock was really starting to tick down and our already aggressive drive turned into an all out rally race to the finish. I can remember miles of twisting road covered without ever having to come out of second gear.  My rev limiter kicks in at 7800 rpm, so I’m sure you can imagine “the hills were alive with the sound of music”. Luckily, I had a new set of sticky Nitto tires put on the car only days earlier.

1^st Place Groovy Series #3 at Vultures Knob

The race was held on June 13^th and as is usual for this series, it came with all the extras. Each of the Groovy series races starts at 5pm on Saturday instead of Sunday. All of the events come with with food and drinks, a DJ, a bonfire, tons of prizes, and most entertaining, events like the single speed bad ass MOFO competition.

The next and last race in the Groovy Series will be held on September 12. It will also be part of the Neo Power series, so it should be good.

Fotos from the race are here

I am now using a pair of custom carbon cycling insoles from SoupCanInsoles.com. They have a retail price of $340 and claim to increase power output 26 watts on average during maximum effort. They were hand crafted from molds of my feet by Dr. Suppan and designed to align my foot for increased power transfer.

After racing my fist race with the insoles, I can say that they have done a bunch of things that I was not expecting. For instance, I no longer slide or move inside the shoe at all. They feel like they are part of my foot. In addition, my feet no longer hit the crank arms or the frame, which I thought was just part of riding. As for power, I feel very good, but I have no way of measuring the output with any accuracy.

I had a great race at the Massanutten Hoo-Ha in VA. The competition at the race was top notch, as were the trails. The course was 12 miles long and included three good climbs, one of which lasted for several miles. On the up side, the downhill lasted for several miles, which gave me many opportunities to use my downhill skills before buckling back down for the climbs.

The GT Marathon ran surprisingly well on the course. Prior to the start, I heard nothing but horror stories about unridable rock gardens and climbs so rough that I would be forced off my bike. In actuality, I was able to ride unscathed over the rock gardens, never putting a foot down. And the huge step ups and rock piles on the climbs, they weren’t a problem either. The travel on the Marathon is very much suited for tracking confidently over fields of lunchbox-sized rocks.