Return to Dirt Asylum

First day back on the bike was a good one. It's the cure for what ails me.
I dialed it back a lot and took it slow through corners, trying to regain my confidence. Downhills were really conservative and climbs were done in big gears which drove my lower back nuts. Really concentrating on technique through corners trying not to over-steer and using body english. I rode for about 2 hours and could really feel that I had been off a bike for 8 days. My legs were fresh but they didn't have much endurance. I rode about 16 miles. I always forget how much upper body strength is needed for mountain biking. My triceps and shoulders were really screaming today. Trail conditions were nearly ideal after some recent rain. A lot of grip and very little powder.

This morning did some trail work. SORBA Woodstock had a last minute post o Facebook about this party. Helped build a wall ride at the bottom of the new downhill area at Blanket's. I'm not really a downhill rider but it's always rewarding to help out building trails.

That's all for now.

Peace,

-J

Allatoona Creek trail run race report

First year doing the Allatoona Creek race. Missed it last year because I had a duathlon on the same day. This course is sneakily difficult with the most challenging being the Mason's Bridge section. On a bike, it's easier and more fun because you can roll through all the dips but running through those is really tough. There aren't very many climbs and no big hills but that course is a grinder. There was a torrential rainfall a few days before the race so the first 3 miles was a mud run through open cross-country. I really liked this part though felt I got off to a slow start. Pacing is so difficult because I don't know how much energy I need to spare. Feet were wet out of the gate but it was no big deal. There's a twisted part of me that prefers adverse conditions. Went in to the singletrack section at Rusty Bucket and shuffled through twisty sections, not very fast through there. In fact, I felt leaden the entire race. I had ran the da...

Solar Eclipse 2017

The solar eclipse just happened and it has me feeling cosmic and appreciative of our wondrous universe. It makes me feel pretty small and realize that most of my concerns are really trivial. I was amazed at how the quality of light changed and how the crickets began to chirp. Not to mention the crescent-shaped lights on the ground beneath the trees. We had a colander out viewing crescents on the patio because we had no solar glasses. Briefly, a cloud covered the sun and we looked up for a few seconds at the eclipse. Then some neighbors let us borrow their glasses. They are neighbors who for some reason we have never even spoken to, but people realize this is a rare event, so it makes us more human, more kind. This is an amazing time to be alive, with my daughter just turning 1 year old and now this truly inspiring event of nature. One can't help but feel gratitude and a sense of contentment. One of my favorite Carl Sagan quotes: “The surface of the Ea...

Dilemma for bad-assery

It's been a long year of hard training and racing, both on the bike and trail running. Mentally I feel like a need a break at this point although I trained 39 hours in November, my 2nd highest total of the year and most of those hours were of high quality. Physically, I feel pretty fresh still. I feel as though I could just train year around but know that I need some sort of rest period for next year's race season. My training has remained fresh in part because I attained a road bike, which I've ridden about 12 hours so far. It's been a huge boon to my training although I still need to get a proper bike fit done to alleviate neck and knee pain. The training book I'm reading recommends to take a 2-4 week Transition period to let my body and mind recover before moving on to next year's Base phase. Question I'm pondering is when do I begin my Transition period...I feel like I'm in a great groove right now and I'd like to build up my Lactate thresh...

Mountain Bikes, Bass Guitar, and other stuff I like

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