It's been a long time...

It's been a long time (almost a year!) since I last updated this blog. I don't have any particular reason why I haven't updated it. I have thought about doing so numerous times, but, alas, I haven't done so until now. A lot has changed with regards to my riding. I am not sure why, but Summer always seems to become my time for road riding. Yeah, mountain biking is my shit, but I do really enjoy long road rides. It's the pleasure of tuning everything out, all my worries and woes. I am totally emmersed in the ride. My mind shuts off and this tiny part of my brain is all that is accessed. This part of my brain only does one thing: it says "Keep going." So that's what I do. I just keep going. If there is a hill, I go. If there is nothing but flat, I go. It is this bliss of ignorance of all else except "keep going" that I enjoy. I don't quite get this on singletrack rides. My guess is that this is because I am constantly trying to push myself and find the best line through, over, or around obstacles. On my road bike, the only obstacle is myself.

I have done several road rides so far this summer and have racked up a few hundred miles. Not much, but I didn't really start to ride until I was done with classes at the end of June. Two rides stand out above the others in my head. The first was a 64 mile out and back trip I did because I was bored. I hadn't ever ridden that long consecutively before and I definitely felt it. I hadn't been as exhausted as that in a very long time and it felt good. I had also pushed my body and my mind further than I had done previously. Six days after this awesome ride, I rode my bike up to Indianapolis for my graduation party. This was a 58.xx mile ride. Even though it was only 6 miles shorter, it felt much shorter to my head and my body. I'm sure the fact that I didn't have to climb three Cat. 5 hills twice helped. I rode to Indy with a total ride time of just 4 hours and 7 minutes. Not bad, but I am sure I can improve.

Many other developments have occurred in my stable as well! I built up an '80s Schwinn World Sport frame as a SS commuter/tourer. It has 46x16 gearing and bullhorn handle bars. I am really digging it and I enjoy riding it more than I thought. I also bought a 2010 GT Sanction 1.0 brand new not too long after my last post on here. It is a sick machine and I have definitely pushed my skills and nerves far past where I was. I have also stripped my 2000 idrive frame down and I am converting it to a SS full suspension machine! I will post pictures of it when I am done, as it is a super budget build.

After the Sub 9 Super D last year, I competed in a TT at Town Run Trail Park in Indianapolis as a fund raiser to HMBA. I competed in SS class and got 1st. My brother was the only other SS competitor and he used my bike. He signed up after we learned I was the only SS guy so that I would have competition. I smoked him, but he did a geared run first. His SS time was better than his geared time though.

I will again be competing in the Sub 9 Super D this year and it is coming up in late August. I would like to do the Brown County Breakdown, but funds are tight at the moment...

Pics and updates to come!