VA Tech Cross

   Today was the cyclocross race in Blacksburg. This was a fairly large event with around 70 to 80 racers total. When we arrived, the temperature was 36 degrees and it didn't warm up much, if at all. The cold wasn't the worst part. The  course was very tough, a lot of steep climbing and sketchy downhills. After 1 lap, I was hurting. I settled into a groove and tried to hold my position. Finally after 5 gruelling laps, it was over. That seemed to be the consensus from all the racers all day, "I'm glad it's over". I ended up in 6th place out of about 15 in my class.

The Jeep

   I love my old Jeep Cherokee. I was never big into SUV's or 4 wheel drive vehicles, after driving aircooled VW's for many years. But when my first Saturn coup was totaled, which I love them too, I found a great deal on an 89 Cherokee. It was nothing special, slightly bigger tires and a 5 speed. It would go anywhere and everywhere. There's something about the older Jeep transmissions. Even some of today's computer controlled All Wheel Drive systems don't perform as well. After a couple years, I sold that Jeep and bought another Saturn. I still wanted another jeep though. Finally a friend was selling his 89 Cherokee and I grabbed it. This one is automatic, which I don't like as much as the 5 speed, but it already had a 4.5 inch lift and 33" tires on it. After making some much needed repairs to it, I have been driving it for over 4 years now and it is well over 200,000 miles. I wanted a safari look, so I built a full roof, and then some, rack for the top, with a ladder mounted on the side to climb up. It's now badly in need of some body work and new paint, which I hope to take care of next Spring. The old Jeeps seem to go on and on. Hopefully this one has a lot of life left in it.

NBM #4 The mall has it all!

Or does it?  I think Lynchburg has quite possible the worst mall in Virginia. The worst that I have seen anyway. Even when I came to this area in the mid 80's, it wasn't great, but it had decent stores and was clean and modern looking. Still nothing compared to the malls in Northern Va. Now, the same decor from 25 years ago doesn't fit well in 2010. Many of the popular brand stores are gone and only the same old tired names remain. Most of the newer stores coming in are super cheesy clothing stores or dollar stores. There's one saving grace, and I believe it's a last ditch effort to save the mall. They built a new, large movie theater. The old one was terrible, tiny theaters and uncomfortable seating. Now it's a stadium seating style theater. With not much else to offer though, I wonder how many more years the mall will survive.

#3 NBM ???

Wow, day 3 and I'm already getting stumped for topics. I have a lot I want to write about, but I want to save it for later in the month, when the crunch is really on. I guess I should make a list of possible topics. So today will be about the onset of Fall. It's my favorite time of the year. The air is cool and crisp and the leaves are so pretty, well usually. This year the trees seem fairly drab. The rain at the very end of Summer was not enough to make the colors as vibrant as usual. I still love it though. A nice jacket, a hot cup of coffee, and sitting on the porch. Which reminds me, I want to look for a new jacket. Maybe some kind of peacoat or something with some warm fuzzy faux fur around the collar and cuffs. :)

Day #2 NBM, Cyclocross

   Adding to the list of firsts for me in bike racing this year, is cyclocross. Cyclocross is a strange thing. You take a slightly modified road bike frame, put thin knobby tires on it, and go go race Criterium style through fields, mud, and rocky terrain. It's very intense and exhausting, with virtually no chance to rest during the 45 minute race. Of course I don't have a cyclocross bike yet, but I have borrowed one for a race( 4th place) and I've used my single speed mountain bike in one race ( 3rd place). Mountain bike races are still my favorite, but cyclocross is definitely getting my attention. Unfortunately the season only lasts 2-3 months. I guess I need to add a cyclocross bike to my want list, along with a time trial bike. :)

National Blog Month

   Ok, I'm back. I've let this go for too long. My dear friend has challenged me to blog with her everyday for the month of November. So this will not be just about cycling, but nything and everything I can think of. Since I'm blogging about blogging, this counts as day 1.

24 Hour Burn 2010

   The 24 Hour Burn us one of the largest mountain bike races on the East Coast. Over 350 riders, solo and on teams turned out for a full day of the pain train. Last I (Cliff) attempted a solo ride. I had to abandon after 9 hours with saddle sores. This year it would be a team race with fellow Dire Wolf teammate, Quinn. To round out the team we had Chris Willis and Ben Waren. We had a camp setup with 3 teams and 2 solo riders. Friday evening, we needed all those riders to hold down our canopies as a huge thunderstorm hit the area. Very strong winds and driving rain destroyed a lot of other teams canopies and tents. After it passed, the weather cooperated for the rest of the weekend.
    The race started at Noon on Saturday. It's a LeMan style start. A team memver has to run around the camp area and tag the first rider. Ben did our run and I was the first rider. After a trail mix-up that had us do the beginning twice, the first lap went pretty smooth. We would switch riders every lap and the times were all within 10 minutes from the fastest to slowest.
   When it got  dark we switched up and rode 1-2, 1-2, 3-4, 3-4 to try to get some rest. Of course the times got longer at night, moreso closer to morning when the dew made the roots very slick. On my 3rd lap, my battery died halfway through the course and i lost about 8 minutes.
   When the sun comes up in a 24 hour race, it rejuvinates you. Amazingly, we all started pulling times close to the ones at the beginning.  Our recovery surprized all of us.
   In the end we were in 11th place out of 50 teams, with 32 laps. We were within 15 minutes of the top 10.  It was tons of fun. Everyone had a good time. Special thanks to my wife Jess for cooking for everyone throughout the night and Richard for keeping us organized.  Someday i will go baack and try it solo, but the team aspect is so much fun!