SUMMER!!!

I think I was a bit too far forward.....

School is out, work is light (3 days a week, 6 hours a day is pretty schweet) and I am trying to ride as much as possible. The hard part is this week is the week of my first "big" race of the summer. Big meaning I go to Canada and try to race for 100km. I think that is like 60 American miles, but I haven't checked the exchange rate today. The race promoter likes to send emails that scare people, like recommending no one try the race on a bike without squish in the front and back, and also that no one try a single speed and that you should start the race with new brake pads. I have chosen to scoff at all these warnings, and race the single speed. We will see. Either way, I plan on being really sore next week.

Riding in VT continues to be good, when it isn't pouring, but the trails are drying out pretty quick and the options for people to ride with are increasing everyday. Hopefully a 12 hour race in Presque Isle, aka East bum fizzle, will materialize and that would be interesting.

Duck and cover.

Yeah, the past few weeks have been a bit busy. Lots to do, not a lot of time to write. Trips to NH for family stuff (and a bike race) then a trip to Maine for wifey's race, and an ill-fated rendez-vous with Rick is! Rick and I couldn't get together, so I had to ride Maine singletrack at Bradbury all by myself. Good thing, because Rick wouldn't have been impressed by my pampered, VT style riding. Maine has roots and rocks. So does VT, but we like to space them out a bit, and throw some hills in to keep things interesting. Maine keeps them all together, and packs more twists and turns into one collection of single track than we have in Chittenden county. The riding was still fun, and I was bummed I couldn't finally meet Rick.

Wifey's race went pretty well, and I got to spend Sunday watching people run around in circles for 50, 25 or 15 miles. It made my legs and feet hurt just watching. Sunday afternoon I got to drive home, and then Monday, it was Christmas on Labor day.

It is not everyday the Moots demo van comes to your (friend's) house to share ti goodness with your friends and local riders. We planned a ride from the driveway in the picture (my buddy and grassmoots teammate Jason) up and over two large VT hills on some sweet singletrack and into the Hinesburg town forest to ride with the Mooties and some local bike shop guys. It was

good. We rode for a total of 5 hours, in which I managed to warp the front tire on my single-

speed. First I tried a new, scary large roller (steep rock face with several holes in it, for about a

15 foot drop) I hit the transition and my bike made a cracking noise that made me think I had

just snapped my carbon fork. Luckily, it just looked like a gorilla had tried to twist off my tire.

As this was before we met the Moots guys (about two minutes before) I borrowed a pump and

tried to fix the tire by deflating and inflating it several times. It helped. Then we finished our

ride in the forest and I hit a small jump on the way out, landing heavily on the front tire and

creating the cracking noise again. Long story short, I am in need of new tires.

Oh well, it was fun anyways. This weekend the Pinnacle happens, and I will be there getting

my ass kicked.