The Nature of Things

Sometimes people ask me why I ride, or why I run or hike. The short answer is I am not sure. Something inside me wants me to be moving outside. I get antsy if I go for more than several days without some sort of physical activity outside of the usual work stuff.

The long answer is... I like being outside. A while ago I told my sons that I think I am part druid. I need to be around trees. But it's not just trees. I think I am a reincarnate of a nomadic tribesman. Being indoors is all well and good and I don't argue with the virtues of a roof over the head or electricity for my coffee maker. Just like being outdoors.

Heading up the hill near Clarion, PA

Yesterday when I was riding the mountain bike trails at Royalview mountain bike trails (Strongsville, OH) there's a section that goes through a grove of pine trees. I love going through that bit. The smell is almost like perfume to me. (Don't say I'm a weirdo now, you knew that much long ago). I can tell when lilacs and honeysuckle are in bloom as well.

Not to mention temperature differences. When I was riding the Decker Creek Trail out of Morgantown, WV it was a pretty warm day. However, a good section of that trail is under a tree canopy, making it an easy 6-10 degrees F cooler. Not to mention there's a section about half mile or so that is even cooler. It is situated just right in this valley for the winds to blow through. Not strong but certainly much cooler. You notice it on the bike but walking I think you'd move too slow to really notice the drop and rise. In a car it wouldn't be noticed at all.

Very close to the road, but you'd never see it unless you followed a tiny little dirt path off of the road.

Animals are more easily spotted as well. Sometimes that's good. Other times you have a dog chase you which is not always bad as most times the dogs are like me. They just want to play. But once in a while it gets dicey. Mean dogs will come after you and I don't need a dog trying to take off the very leg I need to get  home. Most of the time small rodents don't bother but sometimes they feel the need to run out if front of you. Sometimes disconcerting. A squirrel through the front wheel will bring everyone to a screeching halt. I do that enough on my own.
                                                                                                                                                     
Being on a bike I get to see things you wouldn't normally see from a car or would just be a blip. It's like exploring.

While it looks like mud, it's deposits/buildup from iron in the water. Found along the Greater Allegheny Passage.

But aside from the physical world riding my bike, or sometimes running, is my meditation. Zen time. A good friend of mine says he likes to sometimes just ride until his head is empty. I feel the same way. It's a good way to clear the mind. I'm not trying to convert you... well OK, perhaps I am.

Yes, after a long or difficult ride I am tired and sometimes sore. But my mental well being is usually much better. Even if I've gotten caught in the rain or one of those silly races I do where it's very cold and very muddy. And while if you tally up how much I've spent on bikes, parts, tires, etc. it's not cheap, it still seems to be cheap therapy to me.

Thanks for reading. On with the show.

A lot to be thankful for

I know, it's not Thanksgiving and I'm talking about being thankful. The world is all topsy-turvey, eh? Well my world always feels that way. I just try not to get too dizzy and fall down. Still, it happens upon occasion.

Obviously I am thankful for those men and women who have served this country in the military, regardless of the branch. Don't think I need to rehash that much. As a one-time firefighter/EMT I also have a great appreciation for the folks who ride the trucks and work their butts off to try to save people's lives.

But on a bit more personal level, there's others. Like the people that I've met through cycling. As always there's a few whom I wouldn't need to spend too much time with but the vast majority are some great folks. And with the work/life schedule that's keeping me busy I don't get to go ride with them or even just go hang out as often as I'd like to. Some are super-competitive. Some are the complete opposite. They'd just be fine lazily pedaling down the bike path or through the neighborhood. Some folks I just see when I stop in to the bike shop and we just shoot the breeze. All are great people and I always wish I could spend a bit more time with them.

I've always told people that growing up with my family was sort of boring. I know, it sounds almost derogatory to say that. But to me, it is something to be very thankful for. Not for any lack of challenges or such. But the drama was kept to a minimum compared to many other families. Through some recent events it is good to see that we can still work together pretty well.

Of course there are our three sons. I was about to type "boys" but I don't think I can say that any longer. One is about to finish his MOS school for the Army. The other is working diligently also and is much taller than I am. They are indeed good men. I think we've been very fortunate to be able to spend the time we can with them.

Last but certainly not least is my lovely bride. Dealing with me provides many challenging days for her. Hard to imagine, I know, but I'm not the easiest person to live with. Still she has somehow managed to work with my many issues and not flee the country. She also comes out to the bike races when it's cold, raining, freezing and other miserable weather when most folks would have said "I'm going in the warm, dry house. I'll see  you when you get back. Take your muddy clothes off before you go trotting through." I do appreciate her very much.

Looking forward to spending time with you, on or off the bike. Over a coffee or sharing a beer. Thanks for reading.

Cold Shower Challenge completed! The results are...

After the 30 day Cold Shower Challenge it looks like we've been successful. The plan was to raise money for Ghost Rider Foundation and I want to thank all of you that made contributions. Certainly it is my hope that you remember the great work done at the Ghost Rider Foundation and make donations again in the future but first and foremost I certainly want to thank all of those to contributed for your generosity in helping Veterans with PTSD.

The big question is; now that I'm done with my obligation for the cold showers will I continue to keep taking them? In short, not if I can help it. Now I know that I can do it if need be and it's not so bad, really. But man made hot water heaters for a reason.

Time for more sleep before tomorrow's long day full of adventure Thanks for reading.

Frequently asked questions about the Cold Shower Challenge

Ever since I started this madness (otherwise known as the Cold Shower Challenge) I've been getting bombarded with questions. Well maybe not bombarded. More like a hefty pile of questions. Oh alright, more like a slow trickle... as most people just figure my brain has vacated the premises and don't need to ask any questions. But for those folks who have indeed asked questions, here's the down low (sweet-n-low?) 

Q: Are you nuts?
A: This has been established long ago. Next question.

Q: Why?
A: Why what? 

Q: Why take a cold shower?
A: As I've mention before, the Cold Shower Challenge was brought to my attention by Joel Runyon in his post about 30 Day Cold Shower Therapy. At first I thought it was nuts, too. Actually I still do. But the heart of the matter is that A) You can withstand much more that you think you can, and B) When you need to make a change in your life (start losing weight, quit a crappy job and risk unemployment so that you can pursue something meaningful, et al) sometimes what you need to do to start this change is going to suck. But you need to put up with the discomfort in order to make any real progress. 

Q: So why are you doing it?
A: Because Joel Runyon went on a tear where he was challenging everyone to take up the Cold Shower Therapy. I decided I would take up that challenge IF I could switch it up a bit and use it as a means to raise awareness and money for the Ghost Rider Foundation. The Ghost Rider Foundation is run by some folks who work ceaselessly to help Veterans with PTSD. So I would be the guinea pig if enough people coughed up some dough for the Ghost Rider Foundation.

Q: Did it work? Did people contribute?
A: I'm taking the f-f-f-freezing cold showers, aren't I?

Q: Seriously, are you mad?
A: Did you sleep through the first question?

Q: Do you feel better? 
A: Yes. The minute I get out.

Q: Are you going to talk me into taking cold showers?
A: No. I'm going to talk you into walking your little fingers over to www.ghostriderfoundation.org/donate.aspx and making a contribution to a damn worthy cause. Look, our Veterans decided to willingly put themselves in harm's way to defend this country. We should be there to help them out when they return.

Q: Are you going to keep taking cold showers when the 30 days are up?
A: If enough folks contribute more money to the Ghost Rider Foundation you guys can watch monkey boy turn blue for another 30 days. But I'm not affiliated with those folks officially so you have to let me know when you've made the commitment. 

Otherwise, it's like this: Man invented hot water heaters for a reason.

Q: Seriously, you have no idea how much people give? People could be giving $5 and you're freezing your butt off all month for $5? 
A: That's $5 more than was in the pot before. Enough people kick in $5 and it starts to add up. 

Feel free to ask any other questions, I'll be over here bundled up with two pair of socks and mittens on... indoors.

Thanks for reading.

We interrupt your irregularly programmed schedule

Last week there was no posting from me because we went down to Fort Jackson, South Carolina to see our middle son Jovid graduate from Army boot camp. It was indeed a proud moment for us, and a journey that does include some trepidation for my wife and I.

Family Day - Jovid with proud Mom

Those of you who were with us from the beginning of this blog/journey probably understand why we are a bit nervous as well as proud of our son. For those who haven't, you can read about it *here*.

Nonetheless on Tuesday evening we piled in the car along with our youngest son and our boy's good friend. We got to our destination hotel about 5 in the morning. Just enough time for us to get a few hours sleep and meet Jovid on base for Family Day on Wednesday. While he wasn't allowed off base we did get to spend all day with him.

Thursday was Graduation day. A very proud moment for us as well as the family & friends of 1,217 other young men & women who are now members of the U.S. Army. After the ceremony Jovid was allowed off base until 4:30 AM the following (Friday) morning. So what did we do? Whatever he wanted, which was not much really. He just wanted to go to the hotel pool with his brother and friend, play video games and catch up on sleep. While it wasn't anything terribly exciting it was good to see and hear the boys having a good time.

I was surprised to find out how many new recruits go through Ft. Jackson. Some times they will graduate classes of this size every week. That's a lot of people deciding to make a big step with their lives. I wish them all a safe return to civilian life, whenever that may be.

Now I'm back to my so-called civilian life and am still continuing on with the Cold Shower Challenge. Which also means I am still going to badger, coerce and insist that you make a contribution to the Ghost Rider Foundation. I've gotten enough pledges to keep me going through the initial 30 days but I'm still looking to see how many people will step up and contribute to see me do an additional 30 days of freezing cold, no-hot-water allowed showers. (As to "Why this stupid cold shower idea?", please see: http://joelrunyon.com/two3/cold-shower-therapy). Or better yet, just make a contribution because these Veterans with PTSD really NEED some help. 

Now, on with our show! Thanks for reading.

Cold Shower Challenge progress report

Day 1: WHAT THE F WAS I THINKING?!?!?  OH HELP ME OPRAH WINFREY!!! But I made it through 5+ minutes.

Day 2: This is stupid! This is Stupid! Joel Runyon is stupid, why did I ever listen to him? Oh yeah…  And yes, body parts will indeed get numb when subjected to very cold water for extended periods of time. Shrinkage, talk about shrinkage!

Day 3: These are the fastest showers I’ve ever taken. In fact, I often have to stand in the water for over a minute just to complete the full 5 minutes.

Day 4: Yes, the cold water does indeed take your breath away. But hold still, relax into it and all is good. However, as soon as you move the process starts all over. Loose your breath, hold still, breathe, move.

Day 5: If I stand for more than 20 seconds with the water hitting my chest, arms or legs I slowly adjust to the water. If I stand for more then 20 seconds with the water hitting my back, it starts to sting almost as much as when I got my tattoo. I don’t know why. Hit the stopwatch function instead of the timer and spend over 7 minutes freezing.

Day 6: Now *THAT’S* a party! Yeah! Again, I missed the timer function and instead hit stopwatch function and spent 8+ minutes in frigid waters.

Not that I’m starting to enjoy these. Frigid cold water is still frigid cold water and man built fire for a reason. But it’s starting to change the mindset about it. Instead of dreading the experience I now know that I will get through it just fine. Like any other change in life.

While changing my mindset has made taking the cold showers a bit easier, the raising money for Ghost Rider Foundation hasn’t. Please, these folks are working extremely hard to get some of this country’s Veterans back on their feet. Let’s give a few bucks to allow them to continue this mission. Please go to http://www.ghostriderfoundation.org/donate.aspx and make a contribution.

As always, thanks for reading.

The freezing cold shower challenge

After a hard bike ride or first thing in the morning I, like about 98% of the people, like to take a hot shower. Or bath. Something that gets me clean. Jumping into a cold shower doesn't seem like fun but I'm prepared to do that all month - for a full 30 days.

Why? Why in the hell would I willingly subject myself to that?

Here's why: Joel Runyon kept bugging people to take the 30 day cold shower therapy. Read's Joel's post about it but the summary is that you CAN do it. And once you realize you can do it repeatedly you'll realize you have the fortitude for other big changes in your life.

Good idea. But Joel, as of late, has been relentless. He continues to challenge anyone and everyone to take cold showers for 30 days. Not luke-warm showers. Not sorta-kinda-cold showers. No. All out, no hot water allowed cold showers of at least 5 minutes for 30 days.

So I decided to take his challenge and make it into another challenge. I'll do it. 30 days of freezing my various sundried body parts off. BUT here's the challenge. I want you to contribute to the GhostRider Foundation. Please, please please read more about it here. The long and short of the GhostRider foundation is they help returning Vets with PTSD. Just make a donation regardless of the amount. Tell your friends and neighbors. Enough people contribute, no matter what the amount, and I'm set to freeze. Hell, enough people contribute and I'll keep it up for 60 days. Just leave a reply here or shoot me an email or tweet (@grog_jd) when you make your contribution  because I am not affiliated with the GRF and I don't see when the contributions are made.

The question now is how bad do you want me to freeze? How long? Better yet, how interested are you in helping our Veterans out?

Starts.... NOW!

How I can tell if you're a friend or not when you come to our house

The one thing that seemed to stick in my mind lately is how our neighbors and I live in  this town. It's a bit different. Not like it's invaded by zombies or anything like that. Not like nobody talks to their neighbors. Far from it. It just seems like most people around here don't really use the front door.

I guess it's because every one's driveway goes to the alley in back and people normally park towards the back of their house. Or maybe because this little town we live in now has alleys and all the places I lived before didn't. It's not something I can really put my finger on. And it's not everybody.

When some good friends (Joel, Richie and James) came over last week for our inaugural Beer Run Ride (23 or so miles, stop at the awesome Rockmill Brewery, then go ride our bikes some more) everyone naturally parked in the back of our drive just past the back door. We unloaded, chatted a bit and then took off. When we got back, the guys had to leave but it just seemed to generate the thought in my head. Our friends all come to the back door at our house and a lot of our neighbors are the same.

With some of the houses, coming to the front door seems formal. That's for delivery drivers and door-to-door stuff. If you come over and head to the back yard then you must be a friend. It means you know us. You know the dogs (and aren't scared of them). You're ready to find me in the bike shed or sit by the fire (if you come over in the evening) and have a drink of your preference. It's the same around the town. Our friend across the alley would sit out in the back yard as soon as the weather is warm enough and when we'd get home on a Friday he'd encourage us over and always have a drink to put in our hand. If we head north down the alley there's the guys out behind the auto repair shop who, after hours, are out shooting the breeze and they're always open and gregarious. During the Old Timer's Festival we go and watch the old time baseball game from the garage on the alley of other friends.

Not all the houses are setup for this sort of interaction but it just seemed to highlight to me how we live and setup our living spaces. So when you come to our house I'll know how to treat you depending on what door I hear you knock at.

You're in the Army now!

Yes, long lay off since my last post. Think of it as a sabbatical. That sounds much more professional than "I was too busy doing other crap". But it all means about the same. So, without further ado, here's today's post:

Since last time I posted I raced at Smith Farms. It wasn't the best race of my life as the week prior to the race I got hit with the flu pretty darn good. Wiped out. I started making improvements on Friday and Saturday but I wasn't in top shape come race day. So it goes. However it did afford me to take second overall in the Masters division of Cap City Cross for the 2012 race season, so HELL YEAH for me. Congrats to Larry Pesyna for winning the series outright and to Jon Clouse who is a heck of a bike rider.

Next was the King's International Cyclocross race at Kingswood in Cincinnati, Ohio. That was fun to do as it was the week before the World Championship races in Louisville, KY. It was a fun course to race. I was surprised that there seemed to be a low racer turnout for this day, but an exceptionally high spectator turn out. Race went well, a few good battles as the race went on and a solid top 10 placing for me. Maybe could have been one place higher but I made a poor choice of gloves at the start of the race and my fingers where getting frostbit pretty bad and I had to stop in the pits for a glove swap. Yeah, I know - who ever heard of that? Well, another lesson learned.

Off to a good start in the Cap City kit (far right)

We hung around and watched all the racing. In Men's Elite race Neils Albert came to the states with his 5 mechanics or whatever and pretty much rode away from the field from the start but not everyone was showing all their cards. This was pretty much a warm up for the World Championships so no need to go all out. On the Women's Elite side Katarina Nash pretty much did the same thing, riding away from her Luna Pro team mate Georgie Gould, who rode away from the rest of the field herself. Some commanding performances and good racing.

The run up at Heckle Hill. Did not take the tequila shot hand up.

So racing is done, finished, kaput for the season. But that just means we'll give it a whack in a road race or two and probably some mountain bike races this spring and summer, all in the name of getting tuned up for the 2013 cyclocross season. Good news is that we've brought two more sponsors on board as well as continuing our relationship with existing sponsors. Crank Brothers and SockGuy will be aiding our efforts and I'll be doing the best to represent these fine folks well.

And now to the big news. Jovid, our middle son that started out racing with me three years ago is now at Army boot camp. My lovely bride and I meet this newest bit with trepidation certainly, as well as pride. We know he will do well and are looking forward to the man that will emerge.

As always, thanks for reading.

Houston, we have a donut.

Once again it’s been a while since I’ve written much and once again I’m full of lame excuses. Well, I don’t think they are so lame. Nonetheless the fact remains it’s time to get busy going tappy-tappy-tappy on the keyboard with my fat fingers. So here goes.

The Sunday after Thanksgiving was the “Postgiving” race, Cap City Cross #5 at Darree Fields, the return.  I say “the return” because there was a race here the week before as well. Darree Fields is a large park run by the City of Dublin, Ohio & the City has been very helpful and kind to us. They even built a run-up for Cap City Cross even though they knew not of what they were building. Cap City guys just said “Hey, we’d like to do something like this” and the folks at Dublin Parks said “Well, OK”. The part of the park we got to use is pretty flat except for a few dirt mounds that were utilized. Also, most of the course area had been growing wild for some time so it was very bumpy. Sometimes cyclocross courses are not all smooth and groomed. Hey, that’s a part of ‘cross!

Unknown rider on run-up at Darree Fields. Photo courtesy Susan Hackett

I was feeling pretty fair prior to the race, not wonderful. Took off to a great start and only let a few guys slip by. Held on to the wheels of several guys that I normally don’t hold on to (seeing a pattern here?) and came home with an 8^th place. It’s better than previous years & judging by the folks I was able to stay with most of the race my overall performance is improving over last year even if the standings don’t really sound like it.

Teammate and bluesman extraordinaire, Rich Hamrick. Photo courtesy Susan Hackett

This past Saturday, the 8^th of December 2012, had Cap City Cross returning to Big Run Park once again. Usually Big Run is earlier on the calendar so it was going to be interesting to see what returning to it later in the year meant. This year it meant wet, soggy, muddy conditions. Big Run is hard enough because it’s a hill built to race soap box derby cars on. We, however, had to race our bikes UP the hill. But not just on the pavement. Oh no, those guys who laid out the race course had us coming up the side of that hill straight on, diagonally, across – any which way they could torture us. Add in two days of rain before the race and there was a lot of slipping and grunting to get up that hill multiple times a lap.


Just a small portion of the race course.

Big Run was a race that prior to the start I was ready to blow off. The long & short of it is that I was getting burnt out. Burnt out from helping to set up courses, trying to race, tear down everything afterwards, squeeze in bike maintenance, work some really long hours & maybe get a bit of training in. Oh yeah, there’s this whole family thing.

Chris Knapp and Rick Voithofer coming up the hill. Photo courtesy Susan Hackett

In any event I rolled up to the starting line and… Whoa, hey!... I was off to a great start! Time to get my head back in the game. Go, go, gadget legs! Big Run as a course seems to suit me well with the steep climbs & wide turns where you could ride multiple lines. I was in the top three by the time we crested the soap box derby hill and with some changing places managed to stay there until I hit a slippery spot on the course and fell straight into the course tape. It took a bit of time to get the stake and tape out of my wheel so I lost contact with Jon Clouse and Andy Hague. I tried to get back to them and was making up a bit of time but not enough. Guess I had to settle for third. What? Yeah, finally, after three years of racing I finally hit the podium! Now to win one of these things outright.

For those about to rock...  Photo courtesy Susan Hackett

The season is winding down with only one race left on the Cap City Cross calendar. Sure, there’s Nationals in Madison, WI or I could return to Master’s Worlds on Louisville, KY at the end of January but I think given everything else on my dance card this upcoming Cap City Cross race at Smith Farms will be it for me. Sort of a bummer as I’m really starting to make some improvements. Then again, I need a reason to look forward to next year, right?

Short visit to North Bend Rail Trail

A few weeks ago I had the fortune of being able to stop mid-work travel and put in a short ride on the North Bend Rail Trail. Here's photos of a few of the many tunnels you'll see along the way.



Ooh, it's spooky dark! Tunnel #8 entrance



Don't know who thought spray painting the sign would be cool. Probably some kids. Ugh.



Tunnel #7 entrance is a little cleaner. Wonder who they paid to sweep the leaves from the trail over here?




Nice autumn day. Trail here was built up over a ravine or hollow or whatever they call it around here. Great scenery, whatever it is.



More racing, more sponsors. More cyclocross goodness!

With more racing and training than the last several years it leaves me less time to pound away at the keyboard like so many monkeys looking to finish that last sequel to Shakespeare. Nonetheless it is my duty to try to keep up so here we go.

The annual Uncle Steve’s Halloween race: As it is with every year, Uncle Steve’s means dressing up in your Halloween costume and having a good time – nay, a great time. The weather never seems to quite cooperate and this year wasn’t much different. Chilly temps started the day with threats of rain that were fulfilled during our race (Masters). It dampened the ground (turning spots into greasy slippery or all out mud-holes) but it didn’t dampen our spirits. My Cyclocrossworld.com teammate Rich Hamrick got halfway through the race and at the far side of the course found he had a completely flat tire. The decision of running with bike back to the pits OR calling it a day and getting to the barley-pop drinking early resulted in NOT running to the pits. 

The CX-Rated Cowboy. Photo courtesy of Meredith Gabriel

I did go out in full regalia, as a CX-Rated Cowboy. It being a play on “CX” being standard abbreviation for “cyclocross” as well as a local band that goes by “The X-Rated Cowboys”.  All was well and good but multiple times I had to stop and fix my chaps until I gave up fixing them and just stopped and took the time to take the chaps off so I could finish the race. This of course did not yield the best finishing results. Nonetheless this was a fun race with full on hand-ups of the adult variety. 

Displaying my assets. Photo courtesy Meredith Gabriel

After that we (Rich Hamrick and I) headed over to participate in the Kings’ Cross/Lionheart Invitational race, part of the Cincinnati UCI3 races. The UCI3 is a full weekend of big-deal racing and are top-notch events. Once again Rich had horrible luck, this time in falling onto a barrier during warm-up. Landed squarely on his thigh and created a huge bruise. He started the race in a massive amount of pain and while he couldn’t generate much power in being so wounded, he never gave up and finished the race. Kudos, mate.

Early in the day, before racing. Love that Unicorn. It's located on Heckle Hill.

I didn’t fully commit until the Thursday night before (about 9pm). I knew this mean I was not going to get a good call-up (starting place was way in the back row). However, on the Friday before I just made up my mind that Saturday was going to be a good day to race. I start in 86^th place and it started to rain during my race (Cat 2/3 Masters 45+ & Cat 3 Masters 35+) making the course very slippery in spots. Staying upright was the main plan. I only fell three times. I had a decent start and slowly worked my way up from 86^th to a finishing placement of 47^th. Now 47^th place is normally not something to brag about but having passed almost 40 other racers I’m going to call it a good day. Cold, wet, muddy – that’s a good race day!

The run-up at Heckle Hill. Photo courtesy Julie Sroka

This past weekend was supposed to be back in the Columbus, OH area for Darree Fields #1 on the Cap City Cross schedule. However there were a few issues we ran into while setting up the race course and Cap City Cross felt it best to postpone the Sunday, Nov. 11^th event in order to make sure we have all the details squared away.  Please watch the website (www.capcitycross.com) for updates.

In the meantime we’ve also picked up a few more sponsors. Fluid (www.livefluid.com) is a maker of exercise and recovery drink mixes that I buy and am now very happy to be associated with. Beljium Budder (www.beljumbudder.com) are makers of an all-natural anti-chaffing cream. I’m certainly in favor of their all-natural angle but the product has to work which Beljium Budder does well. Along with IgY Nutrition, Feed The Machine and Duro Tires I think this year will finish up quite well.

Next week we may be back to racing, maybe in two weeks. In the meantime, be sure to thank a Veteran for their service on this Veteran’s day. Thanks for reading.

State CX Champs, Uncle Steve's, . . and new sponsors!

Recent recap!
Let's start with Ohio State Championships. Two Days in Dublin, it's called. Because it's held in Dublin, Ohio (a Northwest suburb of Columbus) and because it takes two days. Clever, eh?

Saturday, 20-October was the age group races; Juniors, Masters, that sort of thing. This was one of the main focuses of my race season. Quick summary - while not quite as strong as I had hoped to be I was stronger than last year by far. Several laps in and my rear derailleur decided to not work any more, so to the pits and swap for the pit bike. Chase back on and I'm doing alright. With a quarter of a lap remaining I lose half the air in my rear tire. The back of the bike is squirrelly as all get out. Duncan Spillman, who I just fought so hard to get by, then gets by me. But I'm not giving up, I'm trying to go as fast as the bike will allow. Duncan slows down on the finishing stretch and I put in a hard sprint to try to get around him and the chain breaks. Kaput. At least I can coast through the finish and not have anyone else pass. Finish up 10th place in my age group. Hey, top 10 for the Cyclocrossworld.com team.

Photo courtesy Susan Hackett

Sunday the 21st of October was the Category races. This year I was bumped up from Category 4 (Beginners) to Category 3. That in mind this was my first State Champ race in this group. Started off feeling pretty bad but after a few laps my legs started to come around and carry my sorry butt around the race course. Slowly I was gaining on folks that last year I couldn't hold on to, including being able to pass my coach in the closing laps. Finish with a 16th place. I'm good with that. What floored me was hearing how many people complimented me on how strong I was riding this year. I certainly appreciated how many folks recognized my efforts and really didn't know how to answer it. So, to everyone who noticed - wow, thank you!

Photo courtesy Susan Hackett

 Next race was Uncle Steve's annual Halloween race as held by Cap City Cross. As usual this means folks dressed in costumes, fun and frivolity. Not to mention it's not considered the most serious race of the year. First thing about this is THANK YOU UNCLE STEVE for letting us use your private property to ride our bikes around and tear up your grass. Always the gracious host and we appreciate it.

This year I went as a CX-Rated Cowboy. It is a play on "CX" being commonly used as shorthand for "cyclocross" as well as a reference to a local band called "X-Rated Cowboys". Hopefully I didn't embarrass the Cyclocrossworld.com folks too much. And them chaps I wore proved to cause interference with the chain multiple times until the wardrobe malfunction caused me to just stop and take the chaps off. Yes this means that I lost a bunch of time in the race but again I should remind you that it's not considered the most serious race of the year. Add to this the weather starting as cool with temps falling. The rain started during our race and the track got muddy and very slick in spots.


On the bike displaying my... ahem... assets. Told you I was a CX-rated cowboy! Photo courtesy Meredith Gabriel

Letting it all hand out! Photo courtesy Meredith Gabriel


The tires did the best they could do to hold me upright but there were spots where I could have used more traction. Nonetheless I ended up with a 7th for the day. Better than that was the fact that so many good people were out, dressed up & having fun. To all those folks who came out to race, cheer, heckle - you rock! 

I know, a cowboy with a didgeridoo is a bit disjointed. Photo courtesy Meredith Gabriel.

Next line of business is the new sponsors. I certainly need to say thank you to Igy Nutrition, Duro Tire and Feed the Machine. I'm looking forward to a long working partnership with these fine companies and of course I urge you to check them out. Time to get back on the stick and do well for these fine folks.
As always, thanks for reading.

It's the wind up... and the pitch!

Ah yes, cyclocross season in firmly underway! And long time, no update. Gah. I need to stay on top of this…

To sort out the business end of things; I’m racing for the www.Cyclocrossworld.com Grassroots team along with Rich Hamrick for the extent of cyclocross season. A tip of the hat to these gentlemen for opening their door to us as it’s a great program that they have. Rest of the time I’m riding with Cap City Cycling and many thanks to the great guys here also.

First race was Cap City Cross opener at Lobdell Frisbee Park. This is always one I’m on the fence about. It is a fun course to ride because there’s three “tiers” which makes for some hard climbing and some screaming fun downhill. However because it’s so stretched out it’s not the best for spectators. Nonetheless it was time to get to business. Racing in the Masters race I had a great back and forth battle with Scott Murschel (BioWheels). He’d get me on the uphill and I’d make the tires stick on the downhill and get back past him. Then on the flats to the Start/Finish I’d put in an effort to gap him and he’d either jump with me or slowly reel me in on the ascent. Also, I have to thank Rich and his son for one of the most pro-level bike hand ups at a Cap City event. Didn’t like the way the Fuji was handling with the tire setup I had so I went to the backup bike. Great plan because I was really able to rail the downhill bits; including carrying so much speed into the bottom 180 Left-hander that I had my left foot out Moto-X style.  Overall a fun, hard race. While I didn’t have the finish I would have liked I found that I was riding stronger than last year. I guess all this “training” stuff is really helpful after all.

It could be worse...

Second race was at Caser’s Ford Park in Xenia, Ohio. This was the third race in the OVCX series and as always, OVCX works at a high level. Caser’s Ford is a park that hasn’t been used in five years and contains a large outdoor amphitheater. By laying fallow for so long it meant that the ground was not smoothly packed down – a very bumpy course with soft grass that wanted to take whatever strength you *thought* you had in your legs and pull it straight down to the earth. Again I was racing in the Men’s Masters Division, this time it was Category 2/3. As a newly minted Cat. 3 I have a ways to get to the front of this pecking order let alone with the Category above. Ultimately this means “get out there, race your butt off and you’ll get there.” Definitely had me racing above my comfort zone. Again I have several gentlemen that we traded places with throughout the race and in the last three or four laps I was able to reel in some.  I may not always be racing for podium; there is someone that I’m always racing against.  I have to say that in the first two laps there was a section that had my legs hurting so much that I thought this was going to be the race where I pulled the plug. Glad I didn’t. The legs came around. Besides, our slogan is “Die First Then Quit”.  While my finish reflects me being off towards the tail end I can see that I am indeed making progress.

Third was Cap City Cross race #2 at Alum Creek beach area. This ain’t no beach blanket bingo. Annette and Frankie can’t hang. Unfortunately neither could I as I had to catch a flight out to Tucson at the same time that the Masters race was to start. Grrr. So I didn’t get to race but this didn’t mean I stayed away. As part of the Cap City Cross group I wanted to make sure the racing went off well. My lovely bride Catie also stepped up her involvement with Cap City Cross and is now working the registration process.  I’m proud and thankful for her willingness to help. 

While it is a bit painful to watch and not be participating it was fun to watch so many of my friends race so well. It was of course frustrating to seem some good folks not have the race that they were capable of for whatever reason. I enjoyed watching my Cyclocrossworld.com team mate Rich is his back and forth battle, I just wished it would have played out with him coming out ahead. This course had racers hitting the beach area twice. If you thought running was difficult in the sand you ought to try riding your bike in it. And the wind –Holy Wa, the wind! It was brutal. Not to mention when you hit the sandy sections you were headed straight into the gales. Double brutal.

Up next is State Championship races at Coffman Park in Dublin, Ohio. While I am going to miss the age-group races on Saturday, October 20^th I will be racing on Sunday the 21^st in the Category 3 championship race.  It’ll be demanding and fun I have no doubt. Hope to see you out there as this is a great course to be a spectator at and lots of great people will be there.

Thanks again for reading.

The life of a traveling bike riding monkey

First off, if you want to see what all this madness is about, check out the Cap City Cross website. Come out and watch, heckle, jeer, poke fun at or - *gasp* - even race!  http://www.capcitycross.com/
We look forward to seeing you out there.

The process of being a bike riding guy who has to travel for his job is one I'm trying to figure out. It means bringing the bike, several sets of bike clothing, some bike tools and such. Some days I work from dawn to dusk and don't always know the roads or trails near where I'm staying. So that means I'm bringing the bike trainer with me, too. (For those that don't know, a bike trainer is sort of like a treadmill for your bike. You're getting the workout in, but you're not going anywhere and it does get pretty boring).

Generally I pull up videos of other cyclocross races on the computer to watch while I'm on the trainer. Reminds me of why I'm on this self-inflicted torture item.

Traveling with all this... stuff had been an adjustment. I generally like to pare it down to the bare minimum of things to take with me. Now I am bringing more and more stuff along. It is certainly a learning process. Trying to figure out what I should be taking with me to stay on track for racing and what I can leave home.

Sometimes I end up on the treadmill, too. So I have to bring running shoes, shorts, shirt for that. I'm certainly not running in my work clothes!

It also usually means washing out my stinky, sweaty clothes by hand. Sure I could bring a weeks worth of stuff and have a huge bag of sweaty clothes baking in my car while I'm driving from place to place. But my car smells bad enough and space in the car is getting to a premium. practice seems to dictate workout in the evening when I can wash my clothes afterward, hand them to dry and hopefully all's good by morning so I can pack up and go. This means sometimes I have to get creative with the clothes-drying arrangements. Sometimes I even end up hanging clothes across my bike in the back of the car in order to allow them to finish drying. Yes, it does look weird to have socks draped across the spokes of a wheel or a jersey hanging from the handlebars. So it goes.

Let's see, what else can I stick in there?...

It was the best of times, it was... oh, geez, who are we kidding?

Couple of weeks ago, on a whim, I thought I'd try running a 5K. They were holding a race in a village (Baltimore, Ohio) near ours so what the heck? Let's go pretend to run! I can maintain a decent pace for 4 or 5 miles so I figured I should be able to run a 5K (3.1 something miles. Maybe it's dog miles).
After a half mile or so, I marked a guy who was running a similiar pace to myself. Turns out that staying with him had me run a bit faster than I would have if left to my own devices. Ended up with a time of 23:08. Not bad for my first-ever 5K.

Photo courtesy of Marianne Henderson

The next day was Cap CIty Short Track race #3. Again at Darree Fields in Dublin, Ohio. If the day before was a good race, this was the not-so-good race. It started good. Fought hard to be in the lead group from the gun. Second lap I went too wide going up the big hill, slid down the edge and let a bunch of guys go by me. So I get up and give it all I've got. One big effort, making ground on a couple of guys it seems and then G-GRRR-GA-GRR-GA-GRR >stop<!  I somehow managed to twist the front derailleur around enough to not let the bike be pedalled at all. What to do? Take the bike for a run! I didn't want to just toss in the towel so I kept going. After half of a lap Rich Hamrick saw me running and quickly handed his bike over the course tape to me. Whoah, back in the game! Which lasted for several laps until I got to the tight hairpin in the back section and... HEY! WHERE'D THEY GO? No back brakes. So I grab a handful of front brake and flew over the bars, through the course tape. I gathered up my wits and finished the race to the best of my abilities. In only a 20 minute event I managed to wipe out three times, and breaking two bikes. (On a positive note: Craig's front derailleur was easily fixed by Todd from Cyclist Connection, and Rich's rear brakes seemed to heal themselves when Rich was reviewing the damage at home).

photo by Jamie Clifton/Jamie Clifton Images

Yesterday I went out to my second Warrior Dash. I sort-of talked my brother into it and well, I couldn't really back out. With bad timing on my part I of course do what most people do - drive like hell to get to where you're going. Of course, this does indeed mean I got a speeding ticket. Now I'm REALLY late. Again, of my own doing. I miss my race time (my brother and I were supposed to run at 4pm). My wife is pushing me to get ready because there's one last race at 4:30pm and somehow we get parked, checked in and I'm on the starting line with less than 3 minutes remaining before the last race of the day.

Holy Wa. Just like last time, it was hard. Put in a couple of good efforts. I actually slid in the mud on my back across the finish line. I laughed at that point. But I didn't think I ran as well as last time until later that night when the results were posted online. Almost a full minute faster than my last Warrior Dash. So lessons learned (thanks to my wife): Don't ever ever ever EVER give up. Don't give up on getting to the line. Don't give up during the race. Keep putting in those efforts.

My brother Jeremy had a pretty good race, too. I am really bummed I missed him finishing by getting there so late and having to be at the starting line. This was a race we were supposed to do together and my mistakes prevented that. On the flip side, he's jacked up and ready for the next one which is next year. So next year we'll have another go at running, swimming, climbing and just getting really, really muddy.

Thanks for reading.

The speed of human movement

Last week my bride Catie and I were out in our kayaks paddling around a couple of times. As usual, she seems to be just cruising along and making good time while I keep falling behind. Then I have to really put some effort into it to catch up to her. It is sort of frustrating at times that I have to work so hard to keep up with her seemingly effortless gliding around on the water but I've begun to realize it's probably more to do with technique than brute force. Somehow she naturally has a much better manner in the kayak than I do.

In any event, paddling around got me to thinking: We do manage to make decent time in the kayaks. It's fast enough that you really see and feel like you're covering a pretty fair distance. Yet not so fast that everything off to the side is a blur. Slowing down to look at something, like a heron, is easily accomplished and we can get much closer than if we were in a boat with a motor. It seemed the right speed to be going. The speed of self-propulsion.

Of course I feel the same way about riding the bicycle. Whether I'm trying to prep for a race or if I'm just coasting around the neighborhood, the speed in which I'm able to push myself along seems to be about right.

Which is not to say I'm anti-vehicle. In fact I'd be a hypocrite of the largest order if I did say that. We own several motorcycles as well as my job depending on me driving all over several states. I grew up in a family who worked on, built up and raced vehicles in several venues. Yes I had a great time going fast in motorized vehicle. But when going at the speed at which I am responsible for just seems to be the right speed.

A case can be made for the kayak and bicycle being machines, or tools if you will. If I were to truly mobilize at the speed of human movement it's be by walking or swimming. 

Regardless, the speed of which I can propel myself satisfies my speed desire as well as being relaxing. I'm sure it's not the same for everyone else, nor for anyone else for that matter. It just works for me. Feel free to comment on what goes best for you.

Thanks for reading.

Not a simple man

I'd like to think I'm a simple person. Not simple as in "stupid" but I'm sure that depends on whom you ask. Simple as in not needing much, not much to explain.

If I were honest however, I'd have to say I'm not. I'm a mass of contradictions, fallabilities and insecurities. But I do not think I'm alone in this qualification. I don't know if it's good or bad. I just know that I, and most people, have many many facets. Sometimes we don't see how or why seemingly different pieces are part of the same entirety. We don't know the reasoning, the back story. We just see some oddities. I also think that the older we get, the more pieces there are. Unlike pebbles in a stream that get worn smooth with time I think people get chiseled a bit more and more.

It's not a bad thing. It is just something we have to hold in our mind as we get to know more and more about one another. I believe it is a good thing. Gives people more to talk about. More to discover about themselves.

Nonetheless, I'd like to be a simple person. Honest, direct and always acting in good faith. Guess I need more work.

Recent results, where to get those AWESOME SHIRTS!

It's been a while since posting. No good excuse except the usual - work, work and more work. It's summer time so guys are taking vacation and the remaining folks have to pick up the slack. So it goes.

I'll start with Warrior Dash. Having talked with several bike riding friends and some co-workers about this event I decided that "sure, why not?" was the way to go. It was fun, hot and very muddy. Challenging as well. I wasn't sure how to pace myself for such an event so I think I ran a bit conservatively in some parts but it worked out. I placed 29th out of 620 in my age group on Sunday, 3-June-2012. Which put me the overall standings as 219th out of 6,774. Not bad, I'll take it!

Two weeks ago was the Lake Hope Mountain Bike Race. My first MTB race ever, and I was indeed the only monkey to try it on a cyclocross bike. I cued up with the Novices and took 9th overall with a 5th in my age group. Not bad, I'll take it.

While the results seem pretty decent I also see that I have many areas for me to work on so I'll keep this short as I need to get work and riding done. Well, there'e the coffee-drinking to be done as well.

Last bit of info: Several people have seen me at races or whatever with my "Die First Then Quit" shirt & have asked me where someone would get such a thing. I had them whipped up at CafePress so here's the link:
http://www.cafepress.com/hughjasseclothing . There will be several more designs coming out in the future. It's an idea I've been knocking around for a while. If you need a reminder to get going, or you think other people need a direct form of motivation, then here you go!

Thanks again for reading. I look forward to your photos of what you're doing when wearing these shirts.

Not good enough?

Here’s my little secret for today: I’m not really that good at a lot of things. I was never a great athlete as a kid. Oh, I played a lot of pick up sports and wrestled in High School but I wasn’t great. I never was any good at wearing the “cool” clothes.  I really wanted to look cool and wear that stuff but on me those things just looked… not right. I was a decent student at school but not the best. When it comes to writing I am slow to get started and irregular (if you’ve been keeping up here, you know what I mean). As a person, I have a lot of faults. When it comes to racing bikes I will certainly not be any competition for Lance Armstrong.

In fact, by not thinking I was good enough was my mental block from doing a lot of things. I didn’t jump in to cyclocross or any bike racing for several years because I thought “I’m not good enough”. When I played guitar it took Nick Riff hearing some of my music and asking me to be part of his band – an idea I never would have approached before because I thought my guitar playing was not good enough.  There are a lot of things that I didn’t try or at the least, held off from trying for a long while because I thought I wasn’t good enough.

Don’t let thinking that you are not good enough stop you from doing something you really want to do. It’s been a gradual revelation to me. Once you say “So what?” and do it anyways, you will find out you will probably exceed your expectations. There’s nothing like throwing yourself in a situation where it’s sink or swim. Often times you find that you can swim. Many times you find that you can swim much better that you thought.

And if you don’t perform all that well, what then? Unless you’ve decided to go running with the bulls or naked skydiving with no instruction I think you’ll be fine. Decide to start a band and no one shows up? Or better yet, you start with a bar full of folks and after song number three they all have wandered off? I know that feeling. It’s definitely a bummer but it’s not the end of the world. You didn’t lose a limb. Decide to enter a mud run and realize you just can’t run that much? Guess what? Neither can a lot of people who’ve already entered. Coming in dead last is a blow to the ego but hey, YOU tried. Use it as motivation for the next event. Besides that, even by coming in dead last you are still way ahead of those who did NOT even try.

Don’t think you’re good enough? Need a push? Check out these folks:

Chris, who wrote the book “The $100 start up” that’s been changing many lives has a good starting point here: The Art of Non-Conformity - Qualifications

Need a kick in the pants? Joel is where I turn to when I’m feeling like hanging it up or saying “fuggedaboutit”: The Blog of Impossible Things

How about this? How about “How to stop sucking and be awesome instead”? (geared more toward software writers but as a general idea it’s great stuff)

You might need training or practice. So what. Quit worrying if you’re good enough to accomplish “X”. You already are good enough.