Gravity Always Wins

The weather mucked up my weekend plans so I hit the road Saturday instead. I picked out a loop that normally takes me about 1:20 and change and planned to do it 3 times. What a joke. What a cold hard dark dreadfully boring joke. After 2 laps I threw in the towel because it was so beyond dreadfully boring I had to get off the bike. I think I've also verified that my stomach has jumped the shark on both Heed and Perpetuem. Not a good realization 2 weeks before the race. Oh well there's always ham and cheese or turkey sandwiches.

That afternoon I took Julia and we went out to see Terren and family and I dropped off his bike which I fixed up. I had an old chain lying around which worked well for the bike. Seems like his cassette and rings are worn just enough for that chain to work. So I threw the bike on the back, the kid in the seat, and off we went.

This is sort of a new thing we're doing, where I take Julia somewhere for the afternoon (or stay at home) and mom gets some down time. This is good for everyone, since it allows daddy and daughter to bond a little more and gives mom some child-free crack smoking time, or whatever it is she does. I'd like to think we already have a good relationship, and this is borne out by the fact when she spilled hard Friday night she clung to me and didn't scream for mommy. The one-on-one time can only help.

Another good thing this does is that it makes me feel less guilty for going on my long bike rides. So our generic weekend approach is going to be that I do one huge ride and maybe a short ride the other day. And one afternoon we take off and do our thing, dad/daughter in one car and mom in another. Then that leaves one morning and one afternoon for family time. I'm sure this will change in a month but for now this is the plan.

Sunday we went to brunch with my parents, dim sum which is basically Chinese buffet on carts they roll around. You pick what to eat and they charge you for it. So we ate like slobs then I met Woody over at Chimney Rock for a quick afternoon spin. In the warmup area which I refer to as the Playground I bit it hard on a fallen tree that was at one of the fast descents. The trail turns a hair at that point so I was absolutely flying and on an angle. The front tire cleaned but the rear caught and flung me way up and over, and I took it all on the left shoulder. Woody said the whole bike went flying in the air.

After that I was a little sore, but fine. The rest of the ride was basically pain free though pulling the water bottle out hurt. But riding the bike was not hindered at all so I figured it was all good. Well Woody took off at one point and I did another lap on the red trails. When I got back to the car it all started to come together, or fall apart. Getting the bike on the car was difficult. When I sat down and started driving away, searing pain shot through my left shoulder. Moving it at all hurt. All I could think of was that my season was done. I mean after the 24 hour race fine, whatever. But this would blow if it were to happen now.

When I got home my wife said one shoulder looked rounded and lower. Not good. Well after a shower I though it was fine, if maybe a hair swollen. I put a tank top on (painfully) and asked my parents and they said it looked fine. I could lift my arm, with some pain, but no grinding, no deformities or bulges so I ruled out a break. Woody and his nurse wife Beth came over for dinner and didn't comment that I looked broken so that was good for me. 5 hours and 4 beers later, it all felt fine if not a bit sore. This morning more of the same, a little sore but probably not as bad as it should be. Like I said last week, become an expert at falling. And apparently you need to have some crash mojo to spare because this is 2 weeks in a row I went down really damn hard and walked away with little to no pain to show for it. I gues the Pain and Suffering gods are content with the bridge fall from earlier in the year and are letting me slide thus far.

I popped a spoke on the rear wheel of the DumpTrucker so I need to either rape a wheel again or go to the shop and get one. The last time the shop gave me the wrong size so I may just pull one out of another bike. What I really need is some spare spokes, especially since I'm bound to pop one at the 24 hour race. The squeaking is gone so it must have been the swingarm-bb shell bearings I changed last week. Shifting is fine. Rear suspension probably a little soft.

I mixed Accelerade and Heed yesterday and that seemed to work OK. I felt better at the end of the ride than at the beginning. I also locked out the suspension on the climbs and holy shit what a difference. The "pro pedal" doesn't work like it's suppose to. After that I locked it out on pretty much any climb, at least the rear shock. The 2 major differences I notice are that the bike is much more repsonsive to my pedal stroke and my traction is a ton better. I don't spin out the rear tire nearly as much as I used to, actually not at all. I really need to make that part of my normal routine, locking and unlocking the rear. The front doesn't seem quite as big a deal since I don't stand on most of my climbs anyway.

By the end of the week I should have everything I need for the bike build. On Friday night I found a new set of Deore shifters/brakes for $50 including shipping on eBay. So all I really need to do is work out the stem length and I'll be good to go. I think having that together for the 24 is a bit of a stretch but you never know.

Apologies for the hastily written entry. I have training today which is sucking up my free time. Seems like all they want to do is send you to training anymore. Nobody actually works these days. I have training Tuesday and Wednesday as well. Exactly what they're training me for is a good question. I'm not even sure anymore.