WBL #7 Putnal

This is the guy that beat BK

 Doulos kit debut! Everyone had nothing but good things to say about the kits. Like, that pattern looks like the one on the side of Scooby Doo's van. Or Ya'll look like Shrek with those leg warmers!
 Charlie put together an awesome route, nice and hilly 83 miles 4:16:33 Doulos represented well with eight of us: BK, Buck, John, Chip, Kenny, Randy, Charlie and me. I think all of us rode strong and with good form all day. It had been four weeks since my last long ride, and it showed at about mile 75. When everyone started to accelerate with a salvo of attacks, I had nothing to respond with. It reminded me that I'm just a middle of the packer, with a good day every now and then. Today was a good workout, but not a day to mix it up in the attack zone. But, BK was the man all day. We shared pulls a few times, and the last one leading up to the attack zone did me in. He put a hurt in my legs, and if he could have gotten some help from his team, he would have won the sprint. 
 Another great day on the bike....BK, hopefully I can help you next time.
I wish I had a picture of the kit, but the camera on the "crackberry" quit working....Later

Hide & Seek

 Hello, my name is Go Turtle GO, and I love bicycles. I like to play hide & seek. I play on trails, and sometimes I like to go into the city. I also sometimes get bored with my wardrobe, and need help designing a new one.
 If you find me, please take me to a new hiding place, take a picture and post it on( http://www.sorbaomba.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=2 )maybe with a riddle. 


 Do you want to play hide & seek with me?

 

Some trails are smooth, some trails are ruff

So my hard shell protects me from scuff

Sometimes I pedal, sometimes I coast

You can find me near stem and post

....Later 

Contest!

                          First to name this person wins a pack of espresso hammer gel!

HINT: surfer/bass fisherman/hunting guide/mountain biker/roadie/secret agent(CIA)/all around groovy guy

Crazy season!

 Ohh the crazy season is upon us. For most of us (especially for me) this time of year is "play it by ear". Do we go to my folks house this weekend or hers. Do I have time for a quick ride before we leave or not. Do I make mac-in-cheese or sweet potato casserole. Do I go for a 5 hour run at Pine mountain and leave the kids at home by themselves (with knives, exposed wall outlets, leave the iron on, and oven, you know all the standard stuff) or do I play soccer in the back yard. Do I go shopping, do I feed the kids, do I write a silly blog, or do I ride the trainer. Decisions decisions, you know the crazy season. This is the time of year I take a break from training and racing. I try to just chill and do what ever sounds fun "recharge my batteries". Run when I want to run, ride when I want to ride, push a dead golf cart with granny and two boys for a mile at Newnan country club when I want to push a dead golf cart. 

A rare sighting of Bill on his bike

 Shopping is always crazy, if I could ride with the same ferocity as some of the people with shopping carts, I could make the podium every race. Don't get me wrong I love shopping for the kids but "MAN" I could buy a new set of Vittoria open corsa's for what that Wii costs. Well this is the time of year we spend crazy amounts of money on our kids. But that wheel set is half off, now its only $1200.00, No, I'd better buy that Leap Frog touch. Its true, you can get some good deals this time of year, but its not the time to be selfish. So I will settle for some year old espresso hammer gel at half off instead. 
 This time of year is for base miles, LSD, build fitness and enjoy the fitness that you've gained through-out the year. You know, going up that hill and thinking that was easier than last time. Building and bonding with family and friends, and preparing for a successful 2012....Later

Happenings of late

Blue Hell

 I've been tired and busy lately, a lot going on for me. Started with the Pinhoti 100 (crewing and pacing John) on November 5th. Woke up about 4:30am, took John to the start, and off to aid station #1. Teri and I were the first to arrive. Then the aid station radio operators showed up. Watching them set up helped pass the time, waiting for the first group of racers to show (A home made table and uneven ground make for good comedy). Teri met some wives, and girlfriends of first time 100 mile ultra runners. They traded pleasantries, and Teri gave them a few pointers. Then the lead pack came through (John was in it) and off to aid station #2. We said goodbye to Teri's new friends and off we went. They responded with, see you at the next aid station. Teri and I thought to ourselves (no you won't,  you have no idea of the kind day and night your about to have). 
 This race was a race for second, due to the fact that Karl Meltzer came. He was here for the sole purpose of beating his course record. At the next aid station, Karl had a good gap on the field, and when John came in he had a good pace, but was behind the lead group. I told him he looked good and he was two minutes ahead of his planned pace. Then I told him to not worry about those guys, because they were chasing Karl. John gave a look, as if to say, "suckers"! Well we followed John for the rest of the day and most of the night. He looked good all day, but getting tired. 
 I started pacing him at Porters gap, about 68 miles in. He was in good spirits and we held a really good pace heading up to Pinnacle. Well as good as you can for someone who has been running for the past 13 hours! Finally got to Pinnacle and the best fried egg sandwich in the world was waiting for us. The wind on top of Horn Mt. was terrible, we were told there were 40 mph gusts. And the aid station crew looked like they had been to battle. They poured us some soup with one hand and held their canopy with the other. I think it was easier to run the race than to work that aid station. Those guys were tough. From there we just ran when we needed to and walked when it hurt too bad. 
 Helping John finish the race with a time of 20 hours and 38 min. for 4th place felt rewarding.  As a pacer you don't really do much, but from what I can understand its just being there that makes the difference. And having some cheesy stories and jokes help. 
 One more note, pacing John from mile 68 to the finish in 7hr, 38min. was my second fastest 50k, and he had already run 68 miles....Later

The Schlecks get punked

 I love this, its sooo! funny. 

 Some sort of Dutch candid camera....Later

The most beautiful people in the world

 Long video, but a gooden

http://ndss.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=275:ndss-times-square-video-2011&catid=74:video&Itemid=120

This is the picture I submitted:

  

 Should have had a close up....Later

Fun with the kids

 The best way to spend the day after a race is to go ride bikes with the kids. We headed out to Arrowhead Sunday afternoon (day after Fried Green 50). We tried to make the work party, but we got there too late. So off to having fun we went. I parked the truck at the very top of the park because Arrowhead is not the easiest place for kids to ride. The trails and the paved roads at the top are the flattest, and you can always go down hill with lots of fun. We started riding the trail next to the power-line, back and forth, then crossed over the service road and down the trail that goes to the bridges, and then we played in the creek. Before we left for home I took Thomas and Casey back up to the top and they bombed down the hill that comes out next to the playground. They both had huge smiles on they're faces, and so did I.

 Gavin was having so much fun he would not stand still to take a photo with his sister and brother. He actually got mad at me and took off into the woods. He was not ready to go home.

 Times like this is what makes fatherhood so fun....later

                                               

                                            This video is for Thomas it's his favorite

                                          

                                         

Fried Green 50, 2011

 What an awesome event! Great job! goes out to Monte, and all of the volunteers. The weather was perfect all day, about 47 at the start and I think about 65 at the finish. 
 Monte lead all 49 of us out for a neutral start, and it pretty much stayed that way for the first four miles. A few small attacks, and accelerations, but a group of about 15  made a break and came to the "foot traffic only" section first. The race was neutral again through this whole section (.68 mi.), we all just walked and had a conversation about bikes and stuff. We got to the end, back on the bikes, and it was full on at this point. Jeff took of with the first pull, not to hard, but a strong pace. I think I was third wheel, looked back, and saw what looked like only eight guys. I expected we would start a pace line, but Jeff is a beast....long pulls. He probably pulled the first five miles. Finally Charles got up front, I looked back again, and it was just Jeff, Charles, and me. And I felt like I was about to fall off also. A few more good rollers and POP! their I go. So I put my head down (suffer, suffer, suffer), and to my surprise Jeff and Charles sat up, and waited on me....Holy Cow!  I pulled up along side and Jeff asked me "feeling o.k." No, kind of nauseous I told him, really weak, so off Jeff and Charles went.
 Got to the wildlife loop, and slowed down big time. Two guys past me there. When I got to Juliette rd. I rode in three little circles, contemplating a DNF. The truck is just down the road!  The truck is just down the road! THE TRUCK IS JUST DOWN THE ROAD. Then I straightened up and thought all I have to do is pedal my bike. Off to Caney creek road I went. Felt a little better ( flat roads), then here came the Mo brothers, big and little. These two hills are not what I wanted to see at this point. Head down and grind them out. 
 When I reached hwy 11 I started to feel good again. I felt like I had some power. Paved road will do that to you sometimes. I remember thinking, "man I love my road bike". Cruised down hwy 11 and a left turn back into the Piedmont, only 16 miles left. Started to ride with some power again, and when I reached Baron Russel I was moving pretty good. Its funny that when I know I'm almost done I get that sudden freshness in my legs....What is this, looks like Charles up ahead. Even fresher I felt. So just for the sake of doing it, I whizzed right past him. Your killing me, I yelled. Ya but you caught me, he said. So we rolled in together to finish 4th and 5th. 
 Jeff "Stoney" Clayton gets the win. I don't know Jeff all that well, but actions speak louder than words they say. When I finished (25 minutes later) he was on the bridge congratulating all of the finishers. 
 Great race, great volunteers, Great job Monte! Hopefully this event will do nothing but grow. Can't wait till next year, its on my calendar. Oh ya, what constitutes a race? More than one person going in the same direction at the same time....Later

Can I get an Amen!

  Lets all burn our couches and go outside and do something.

Camp Thunder

 22 miles, 3:51:19, 3730 ft of ascent. No hiding at Camp Thunder, my first time running there. Iv'e ridden there many times but never ran. I believe you can get good training here for any event, be it cycling or running. John and I started in the normal direction, river road first, then up the switchbacks. Going up the switchbacks was easier running up at the beginning than ridding. I guess I get warmed up faster running. I ran in my Columbia Ravenous, their first true trail test....my new favorite shoe. I love these running on base(pavement and mild trail), but on true trail these really are awesome. Camp Thunder has a lot of rock, everything from small rock to baby head. All of it loose. Cushy, cushy, cushy, but I could still feel the trail, but not uncomfortable. Well John in me ran together for lap one, ate a couple of Newtons then back out.   We went backwards on the second loop, going up the moguls first. They've been logging at the top so the view was a good one.

About 1175ft

 After the glamour shot it was back to running. When we started down water tower hill John pulled away. At the bottom I recovered and caught back up. John bombs down hill like he is on his bike. We then got to the yellow trail, which starts to go up, and I lost contact with him for good. Only five more climbs to go....oh joy.  I actually felt stronger than anticipated, but the pain still hurts the same. Finally reaching the top of the switchbacks was a good feeling, then the river road and back to the truck. I looked at my watch and knew if I could keep a steady pace I could break four hours, that effort hurt. I had a good run, I think If I could have done another lap in less than 2:30. It would be my fastest 50k ever. But we will save that for another day. I can't wait to get back, but after Pinhoti....Later

David Millar meets Freddy Mercury

 I need a velvet painting of this cat.

Running again...again

 I've been running more lately, trying to get my running legs back so I can pace John at the Pinhoti 100. My plans are to pick him up at about 70 miles and help get him through pinnacle, and power line climbs. The race is won or lost in this section. I plan on pacing him for this 16 mile section, then pick him up again for the last 5 mile section, which is all asphalt, YUK! He wants me to run the whole last 32 miles with him....it would be my fastest 50k, OUCH! we will see how I feel.
 Sunday we ran 17.5 miles at Dauset, 3 hours. Not bad, good steady pace. I ran in the mountain masochists, they felt fine for that distance. I could probably run a 50k in them. I just like more forefoot cushion. My feet were a little tender after this run, in these shoes. But more time on my feet would probably help too. So my next long run will be this Sunday at Camp Thunder, two loops, 22 miles. I'm going to run in my Columbia Ravenous, can you say cush. I hope they feel as good on rocky trail as they do on milder trails. But I am going to have the Montrails in the truck in case I need to swap....Later

WTF!

 This is depressing!

This is not depressing!

                                     

Gravel Grinder

 John and me met up in the morning and went to Juliette. Woo Hoo! started out on the river road on an attempt to ride the fried green 50. I say attempt because we had never ridden it without Monty. We had a map, but before, riding with Monty we never really paid any attention to the route. Although It didn't matter because we knew we were in the Piedmont, so we thought. After several turns that we were not supposed to take, we ended up on some county road in Jasper county. 

If you see this camp six sign, your not in the Piedmont. Maybe the Oconee nat.forest.

 Anyway, after consulting the handy dandy google map on Johns cell phone, we discovered we were only a few miles off course. Found the correct roads and finally got to Round oak. It was getting late so we decided to just go straight down Juliette rd. What is it about a paved road and a mountain bike that makes for a good hammer fest. Well we got back to the parking lot and we looked at each other....what was that about? Another good day on the bike, and its always fun to test your training partners....Later

12 Hours of Dauset...FINALLY

My pit

 Finally, all my training and suffering paid off....Where do I start. John got to Dauset early so he could get in a 17.5 mile run and set up my canopy. Which brings up another thought, John is the best crew you can have. I could not have done so well without his help, and I was told that all the top finishers had excellent crews. I had the best!! 
 Woke up early (couldn't sleep), ate a quality breakfast, then met Larry at the Waffle House, and ate a chicken bisquit. I know what your thinking, how much coffee? Maybe 40 oz. I estimate I had a 1500 calorie breakfast. 
 Got to the trail earlier than I had planned, but this was perfect. I had enough time to get my pit set up for John while he was running, sign in, help with the kids race(12 minutes of Dauset), and just relax and get prepared. Talked to a few friends I only see at races, then line up for the le'mans start. 
 The start, ran to my bike, I was one of the last people to get to the bikes, and I hear John....ITS A GOOD THING THE RACE IS NOT WON OR LOST AT THE START. I was making sure I was not going to go out to hard. like last year. I hit the trail about mid pack, that includes all racers, 6 hour and 12 hour teams. First lap was a great pace. The course that Dave set up was a good loop, I had never done that combination before. Second lap I was passing a lot of people. Wait a minute, I need to slow down, is what I thought. When I came around for lap 3 John yell'd what happened? that lap was 4 minutes slower! I answered, I think I'm going to hard. NO! pick it up John says.....thanks for that by the way. I was in 6th place at this point (12 solo). And then started to reel them back. I caught 5th place on upper sandy creek, then 4th and 3rd on huff-n-puff. This boosted my confidence, Now i'm in 3rd coming in for my fourth lap, I didn't know I was in third until John told me only two guys were in front. I feel really strong, and very happy with my pace at this point. I ask John, where are they. Second is 9 minutes ahead and first is 20 minutes ahead..."Holy cow". I made myself think, ride your race Greg, race the clock not the racers. I caught second place on my 6th lap, the last hill on brown lee. He was hanging his head when I came up, and I picked up my pace as I went around, hoping he wouldn't grab my wheel. I don't think he noticed me at all. One more to go. By the end of my sixth lap my back was hurting bad. John fed me ibuprofen the remainder of the race, this kept the pain bearable. I think by the 8th lap I told John, where is that guy? Dude, he is 25 minutes ahead of you. Don't worry about him, just keep 3rd off of you. Now I think, good advise!
 Well, at this point that's the race. The field is set, just maintain. When I finished lap 12 John said "you did it, 13 laps is yours" I had 9 minutes till cut-off. That was my goal. On my 13th and last lap, the first place guy passed me to put me a lap down. Hats off to Michael Christopher, he passed me like It was his first lap. 
 Second place, 130 miles, 12 hours 18 minutes, I'll take it!! Perfect race for me, perfect weather, trail conditions, equipment, and the crew. Thanks to everyone who came out and cheered me on. It means a lot to me....Later

Trail work and Training

 Well I guess to catch up, I'll talk about a couple of things. The first thing is I've ridden three times at Arrowhead...AWESOME! Helped out at the work party Saturday the 3rd. A lot of people showed up for a good day of  progress. There is about 6 miles of trail to be ridden and we need to ride it as much as possible to wear it in, hopefully 10 miles in the near future. Some of the trail is in real good shape, some needs to be ridden, and the rest is real powdery. Maybe the rain we are getting tonight is just the right amount to pack it down a bit, but not enough to make a mud pit. The side away from the lake is smooth and beginner friendly, and the trail by the lake..... ohh doctor, it is the stuff of race course immortality. Let me be the first to say, Arrowhead can be the premier venue for future XC races in Georgia. So everyone get out there and ride it and work it. Lets finally have a trail in middle Georgia we can be proud of. One more thing, all the props to O.M.B.A. Great job!!

 The other thing is my Dauset training. I've been struggling lately with a bad numbness problem in my hands and arms every time I ride my Jet 9. Been trying everything I could think of from grips to handle bars, But nothing helped. Then I remembered thumb shifters! I dropped thumb shifters and went to grip shift a long time ago because of this problem. But when I changed over to 2x10 I had to go back to thumb shifting.  Well, Sram doesn't make a 10 speed grip shift yet, so, I put my 9 speed grip on. Just out of desperation. Holy cow it works, and works well. Their are two gears that get skipped sometimes when shifting but the beauty of grip shift is you can drag those gears when changing and it will drop right in. Put my Ergons w/bar ends back on, and so far so good. Hopefully I can get one more day at Dauset before the race to make sure.....Later

Dauset training....attempt

  Back to Dauset, Plenty of fluids, plenty of food. I think I have my nutrition and my fluids dialed in. Ready for a six hour day....I got two. Broke a spoke on Turkey trot, where that group of rocks are on the top of the hill, the ones I always have trouble clearing for some reason. Well, my wheel was too wobbly after that to continue, and they're too expensive to take a chance. So mad I got. I hurried home while I had time to ride, and jumped on the Lemond.

The rocks I have trouble clearing

 Not realizing that I had not drank enough fluids at Dauset, I quickly got dehydrated on the road. But still a good ride.  I rode to Byron, Boy scout, Juniper creek, then to Roberta and back. The country store in Knoxville is the best. Always the best people there. I need to take pictures next time, good conversations with good people. Leaving Knoxville back home is a man maker, and Smoky bear hill will get you coming or going. Ended up with 60 miles on the road, 20 on trail.
 Back to Dauset, it was also supposed to be a test and tune day. New tires (Michelin xc a/t 29er) and Oury grips. The tires worked pretty well. The trail was damp, so that means the roots were dangerous, no tires are good for that. These tires are old school, but they seem to be durable. I just need to learn there limits. They have predictable control, I am referring to traction in the turns. This is all relative though because I usually hit the corners too hot anyway.  Braking performance could be better, but nothing that better handling skills can't fix. They do seem to roll quickly, this I like. I have had another ride on them at Arrowhead (very dry and powdery) where I thought they could hold there own against any tire in those conditions. All in all I am pleased with these tires, I would buy them again, especially for the price, $14.99 at Performance. I'll post a report about Arrowhead later, it is looking AWESOME! 

UROAR

 Well, URoar was a fun, tough, and profitable race. Second place ($500) John, Andy, and me went as hard as we could. We lost about an hour or two floundering around a couple of checkpoints, but most of the other contenders had trouble with the same ones. If I plan on doing any more adventure races, I need to do some canoe training. I suck! when it comes to paddling. 
 I wish I had more to write but now that I think back most of the race is a blur. The dehydration is what comes to mind the most.

scouting for UROAR

 John and I went out to the Hichiti trail to do some snooping for the up town rotary ocmulgee adventure race (UROAR) coming up. We ran the trail, which is a good running trail. Its about 5 miles long. Some areas have a lot of growth, but still run-able. A real nice creek along the much of the trail, nice rocks, and a couple of nice pools. Several good places to take the kids. Think I will do that soon.
 We then headed over to lake Juliet. The water was real low so we rode our bikes down to the lake and rode on the bank. Not the easiest thing to do, but fun. Good thing no game wardens saw us. Anyway, good day of goofing off.

Back 3

 A few of us went up to Helen and road the back three gap, Hog pen, Jacks, and Unicoi. We pulled out of Helen and decided to do a lap around Lake Unicoi, just to add some miles and get a good warm up. Very nice warm up, completely shaded and a couple of steep hills. Too bad hog pen didn't have the cover that the lake had. We then crossed the river, took a right on Russel scenic hwy. and let the pain begin. Like always starting out on a tough climb I feel strong and ready for the challenge, and then, like always I wonder "WHAT WAS I THINKING". All and all, I did well going up. My slowest speed was 5.5 mph. I past the first overlook on the right, and there were two guys taking a break. They yelled some words of encouragement, and I remember thinking, oh I want to pull over and rest. But if that overlook was not there I would not have given it any thought.  So I suffered on. When John, BK, and me reached the top heaven was waiting in the form of Ethan's truck, and Julie driving with cold drinks. It was awesome to have sag. 

BK's bike and mine

John and me didn't want to wait for the other guys, so we took off. BK stayed to hang out. Fun, fast decent off of hog pen, 53 mph for me. John said "no way". He and I worked good to get to Jacks gap, and we ate a snack once we got there. Stairing at the Brasstown entrance we decided to go for it.

half a mile up I couldn't take it any more and turned back, Superman kept   

going. It took John around thirty minutes to reach the top and back down. By this time the group caught back up, BK then went up. Two out of twelve, not good odds. We all left as a group for Helen, but first Unicoi gap. This will make you feel strong. Unicoi has a steady grade but not steep. John and I motored up about 15 mph. Once we started back down to Helen the weather turned bad. Wet roads are not fun when coming off a mountain. It was dry down by the Chattahoochee and I opened a gap on John, First across the line(Helen city limits). I may have been the only one racing, oh well! 

 Good day for the training, but bad day cause it hurts. If someone says they were fine after this ride I would have to call "bu*#sh@#t". I must be sick but I can't wait for the next round of suffering. 

Running again

 I've been running again, well I never stopped but I've been more consistent. I really like my "Columbia Ravenous". They are good feeling shoes on and off the road, although I haven't had them on real trail yet. 300 miles and no real trail...sad. I have had my Mountain Masochist on the trail and these are sweet. Running and my "workout runs" have made the difference in my cycling this year. Since I am limited on my ride time, running has kept me in good shape. And it is also what started my habit of getting fit.
 I've been entertaining the idea of running another ultra, but I am afraid of losing time on the bike. But ultra training shouldn't hurt my fitness. Maybe just some long trail runs at Pine mountain would curb this appetite. I need to give this some thought, because I do have a "milestone" goal I would like to reach (ride to Pine mt. then run the trail). I had three goals I wanted to meet when I first started getting fit, which I thought would be milestones to mark my progression. 

1. Run the whole Pine mt. trail (23 miles)
2. Run the whole trail, then ride my bike back to the start
3. Ride my bike to Pine mountain, then run the whole trail

 But we'll see, 2012 season could hold a different plan. 

Dauset training

Dauset again. I attempted a six hour ride but only ended up with five. Started out pretty good, steady but not slow "LSD". This ride really tired my out. A week off of training, hanging with the kids in Florida, eating nothing but junk food, really not the best training plan. But it was fun and my legs felt great. I cut another rear tire,(man I have bad luck) on huff-n-puff. I brought my other wheel set so I just swapped rear wheels instead of adding a tube and fighting all the stans boogers in my good wheel set. Besides if I had added a tube I probably wouldn't have found the object in the tire and popped the new tube. So off I went back on the trail with my old rear wheel that has a nine speed cassette. Oh ya my bike is now set up with a sweet 10 speed group. Well it actually shifted o.k. There was only three gears that didn't shift very well, but manageable. This also caused me to push harder gears than I wanted, because the gear I wanted would always seem to skip. Oh well, what you don't like makes you stronger. I fumbled my way through another lap and did some pine mountain repeats, and then I had enough. I would like to think if I hadn't punctured my spirits would have been better, and possibly rode for six hours.

I also gave those Ergon GC2 grips again. What an enigma. I think I am done with these things for the final time. My hands are killing me and my four arms tingling. The Ergon kool-aid drinkers say I don't have them turned correctly, but I have them in the recomended position. They feel great at first, then after a couple of hours, OUCH!

Well for now I will be in search of the grips that take me to nirvana.

Fried Green 50, fun ride

Fried green 50, cut a little short (46). Monti, Charlie, Mark, John, and me were OTT at 7:30am real good pace all day. A gravel grinder in the Piedmont is a great way to spend the morning. We had about 2800 ft. of ascent, 46 miles, very sneaky elevation gain, you feel like you've done the work but the miles click away quickly. Awesome ride, fun, and good training for anything.

Monti has set up a good route, I knew where we were for the most part, but I was surprised when we popped out on highway 11 in Round Oak. I grew up down the road in Wayside.

We took a short break at the forestry station, then headed back into the Piedmont. This section started out fast and rolling then the pain began. Some of the steepest hills were on this part. Good day, I can't wait till we do this again.

Mmm!

Charlie getting stuck in a tree?

Dauset training

T.O.T.

Started 12 hours of Dauset training yesterday. Got five hours in, all in all a good day. Dauset really beats you up, especially when trying out new grips and adjusting my seat all day. Just could not get comfortable. The grips are my new Cohutta 100 grips (lizard skin), they are a lot smaller diameter than the SRAM grips I was using, my hands and wrist hurt a tad.

First two laps(35 miles) I rode steady, averaged 10.7 mph. I'll have to maintain that for the next nine hours if I want to be on the lead lap. I was running my skinny tires, so I had to pick my lines carefully because these tires will kick you all over the place, and the rear slides a bit. Skinny tires and big fat roots are not a good pair. Yes I went down, (only once)

Met up with Monti at Brown Lee, we talked about the price of rice in China, and just the state of mountain biking in general, John's foot and up and coming rides. Then we took of on our own way. Got up to the parking lot and met up with Chris, Mike, & Tiffany, Thomas, and Jason. They had just finished running a 20 mile training run. Chris, Mike, & me went out and did huff-in-puff before they all had to leave. I enjoyed riding with those guys, just spinning and joking, lots of fun.

After hanging out with everyone I went back at it, not as much "want to" as before. I guess I lost interest. And I was running out of time, lost to much time hanging out. So just did some Pine Mt. repeats. Next round of Dauset training I'm going with more purpose. Ended the day with 57 miles. Hopefully I will have some different grips to try too.