For quite a few years now I have been thinking about giving solo endurance racing another shot. Well, it's not like I gave it much of a go before either. I've done one solo 12hr race in my days... Lets just say it didn't end bad but it didn't end great either. Somewhere around the 5 hour mark my lack of preparation and insufficient hydration caught up to me and my quads revolted in major cramping. So much so that I sit in the grass along side the trail for about twenty minutes before trying to get back on the bike. So that was that, I limped back to the start finish and tried to get my legs to stop seizing up for the next few hours. In reality it wasn't too bad considering I had only decided to try it about three weeks prior to the event.
After way too much thinking about it I decided to put up or shut up. I'm going to dip my toe in the water so to speak and sign on for a solo 6hr in June. I've decided to work in baby steps to my goal of another solo 12hr attempt and ultimately the BT Epic. I'm not sure why these things seem so appealing at this stage in life. Perhaps, it is the realization that we are all mortal and youth is the most unfaithful mistress. In the last few years I have begun to watch my parents health and quality of life get lower and lower. It has really driven home the hard truths of life. We really only get one chance at this life thing and it's up to you not to waste it.
How I have missed this up until now, I will never know. It's even more unbelievable that we haven't seen this since j.rider is a huge Voigt fan. Either way... It's still pretty awesome. Yet another group of cycle fans who love the punk rock. Let me present to you.
JVA 'Jens Voigt Army'
Complete with paisley adorned kits and a down loadable Jens Voigt soundboard! JFA 'Jodie Fosters Army' is a seminal skate rock band of the 80's that still is around today. As an aging 80's skater I can remember reading about them in the newsprint pages of Thrasher. Along with bands like Agent Orange and Black Flag the Big Boys the provided the back drop for many ramp sessions or drive to a hot skate spot. In my heart I will always be a skater even though my knees seem to think otherwise these days. I still get in a bowl session now and again just because and it always brings a smile to my face.
The weekend started off with a bit of good trail karma. GORC had a work day at the park j.rider is a trail steward. So I grabbed my workday bag and loaded up The Chrimson Ghost SS and headed out. We were going to be working on finishing off the newest section we've been working on. We had a big turnout and easy digging so we got done with the bulk of things a bit ahead of schedule. I started out on some solo maintenance of the older sections and took care of a few issues here and there. Then it was back to meet up with the rest of the crew just starting on lunch. I opted for a Stinger waffle and changed out of the Carhartts and into spandex.
After j.rider finished with his duties we got ready and set off on a romp on the single track on the single speeds. We were having a good time jamming the trails and railing the 1x1s. After a hot lap and a through gassing of our already tired legs, it was time for a real lunch. At lunch we discussed upcoming events, future plans and a handful of bike talk. One thing we both chatted back and fourth about was training, diet, and feeling lost (More on that in a minute) We wrapped up the meal and headed back to the man cave to shorten the steerer tube on his fancy high dollar rigid fork. For trimmed and painstakingly fitted to the 'Big Unit' it was time for the family man to head home. We made plans to meet Sunday for some laps and Greensfelder for some race recon.
Sunday came and j.rider picked me up at 09:00 and we headed out for a little evidence gathering. One thing about Greensfelder is it seems to kind of get into your head when you haven't ridden it for awhile. For someone like me it always adds to the anxiety. We finished some laps and had to get headed for home as j.rider had to look after the boys. As we got back into the car and headed home we started to have talks about motivation, training and a bunch of other topics in between. So remember earlier about the feeling lost stuff? Well it got me to thinking and ultimately to this post. Over the years I have been about the hardest critic of myself that anyone could be. The level and intensity of my self-hatred was pretty incredible. I will spare you the details... Lets just say I have had a very long and hard road to travel. In the last few years I have really been working on getting beyond lots of the ghost from my past. What I have endured I would not wish on anyone else. I am just happy to finally be getting to the other side. That in a nutshell is what I am getting at. We cyclist make a big deal about watts and heartrate, miles in the legs etc. One thing that gets overlooked a ton is the heart and mind. I don't wanna sound all new age like here. But, honestly you have to be positive and really convince your self to be. It has made a huge difference in my life over the last few years to really focus on the positives and not the negatives. It's a lesson I should have learned years ago from the Bad Brains, it just took 25 years to sink into my thick head. As Toby Morse puts it PMA ALL DAY.
It may not be the key to happiness but it sure as hell helps. Maybe it's my return to the straight edge but it just really rings true in my life. You can't get to wrapped up in things in your head, it will kill you. I should know, I'm an expert over thinker.
To wrap it up, training and planning is great. However, if you don't have the right mindset it might be all for not. I think I might need PMA added to my top tube graphics.
I cannot take full credit for this blog post. As j.rider was the one who brought this too my attention. None the less I feel it's worthy of talking about. It's sort of funny how I got into this whole cycling thing anyway, so let me give you the back story. It was the late nineties and I had been towing the line of a Vegan Straight Edge Hardcore singer for the better part of the decade. My band at the time was coming apart at the seams for various reasons and my position in the local scene was fading. In short I needed a change, the type of change I wasn't sure. It just so happened j.rider picked up a Stumpjumper about the same time and took up ridding. After a few months I gave in and borrowed a bike to see what the hubbub was all about. I still remember how hard the first ride was, but I was hooked. Later that year we went to a local race just to spectate. At the race we ran into an old scene friend of mine and got to talking. It was m.rider or Pauli if that makes it easier. I'm not sure why cycling seems to have a punk rock or hardcore following but it sure seems to. Quite a few of the scene folks from my day have become bike shop monkeys or racers. Maybe it's something to do with the struggle and pain? It didn't take long to figure out i had found a new passion.
Every now and again it's nice to see that the death riders aren't alone in our love of cycling and music. As i stated earlier j.rider forwarded me a link to a blog for reading. His quote was something like READ THIS! So I headed over to Revolting Cogs. It was as if I was looking into a mirror so to speak. The more I read the more it sounded very familiar. Click on over and read the 'if you drive in a bike lane...' post. It's a gem of 90's hardcore banter and the struggles of being a punk rocker triathlete and cyclist. It's a fun read and hits pretty close to home... As I type this I happen to be once again straight edge and wearing tulasi beads.
This time at 38 sigh...
It seems like the winter has finally taken a hike and spring has sprung here in the midwest. Having a weekend of sun and temperatures in the upper sixties to mid seventies has succeeded in lighting the inner fire. We have about five weeks until the one of the biggest races of the season. I'm going all in on training for the next few weeks and trying to whip myself into some kind of respectable shape. I was pleasantly surprised how i felt on the bike this weekend. Some of my off season planning seems to bearing some fruit. Time well tell on how this fits into my bigger picture for things this year.
So for the next few weeks the hammer program is going full tilt.
As this boy sets fire to his legs.
bring it on I've got your life when I've got your fear
