Taking a break...

After recovering from the trip to Ohio, things have been strangly busy around here. We were constantly doing something, or, we were totally wiped out and thus, doing nothing. I have been having some good training, but just to see, I decided to run a little loop called "Wilson Creek Mini-Moab" out of the Boise area trail guide. The difficulty rating on this loop is "Gonzo" whatever that means. Apparently, as I found out, it means "you will regret trying this and you should plan on being sore for 6 full days afterward." Anyway, 15.6 miles and 3000 feet of elevation change and you have yourself a dirty little pain in the quads. I had planned on running the loop with company, but apparently they all knew better and stayed home, so after 3 hours of intense physical effort, I completed the longest distance I've yet to run and the most vertical feet I've ever traveled by foot before. I should note that I knew exactly what this loop entailled because I rode it with a couple of friends back in the Cafferty's days and vowed to never take my race bike back there again. Regardless, this insanely challenging workout left me feeling the need to switch it up a bit so I decided to put the shoes away for a week and do some riding. Sunday I rode my Neuvation F100 road bike on a sunrise ride up to the Deer Flat Wildlife Refuge. It was a great ride, but I and decided that the frame just wasn't working out for me so I listed it on Ebay (just the frame, so I still have all the necessary ingredients of an awesome road bike but lack the bike itself...) and sold by Tuesday. That left me riding my old friend, the shiny Sette Razzo 29er for the remainder of the week. Needless to say it was a great week of doing something different and just enjoying the outdoors and the feeling of movement and speed. The week was capped off by a great little ride in the Boise foothills on some of my favorite trails.

(Looking back down to Boise from the 8th street parking lot at the access point for trail 4.)

(The last section of our ride took us to Bogus Basin Road via "Corrals")

(Close up shot of the Razzo, love those big 29 inch wheels!)

I managed to land some great company this time, with Mike Lapp and his father-in-law joining me. We covered about 14 miles and about 1500 to 2000 vertical feet. Looking back, we rode less than I ran one week earlier, ouch... No wonder I was so sore.

Now its Monday again, and I have put my feet to the road once again. Six miles in 43 minutes on an 85 degree day tells me my legs are fresh again and ready for the big push to a fall race. If I could just decide what that will be... I'll be looking forward to some time on the bike when necessary.

First weeks of real training...

Mohican is a long way off, but I have started the "official" training this month. All I can say is that it is going to be a long stretch through the winter to get to where I want to be by April/May. I have laid out a schedule to serve as a guideline for training, since riding with two little ones at home and a busy work schedule often changes my plans.

Yesterday I went out for a 2 hour mountain bike ride and was reminded of how much work it'll take to ride for 9-10 hours. Although the trail I rode was very rough and technical, the effort to simply ride for those 2 hours was significant. I will definately need the long rides in my schedule if I want to have any hope of riding well in June.

On a positive note since the last update, God has really provided and I secured a great road bike to help with the training. I don't have any pictures yet, but I will post some soon. A super nice Neuvation F100 popped up on Craigslist and I was fortunate enough to buy it. So far I have put about 300 miles on it and hopefully will have 1000 on before January.

Action

In endurance events, there are times when it just comes down to putting one foot in front of the other. I'm motivated to do just that right now. I had to do a similar process to finish the Galena Marathon both times. Here I am at the start of the 2009 Galena race. The FCA-E yellow is easy to spot.

In my pursuit of moving my faith into action with the Mohican project I have decided that the only thing I can do while I wait on certain peices to fall into place is keep moving. I have to keep training and praying about how God will use me on this mission. It is not my race, I'm just lucky enough to get a go at it and whatever is provided for me to use as I continue on is a blessing.

Here is an update on the progress:

• still waiting for two families to be acknowledged through the Nampa, ID and Ashland, OH areas and for God to provide a bridge for me to raise funds for their needs


• looking for a road bike, which I will need to serve as a critical part of my training


• Mohican 100 date is still not set, so I'm concerned I'll be rushed to get back to Ohio in time


• financial cost of this project is looming, it is intimidating to think of what I will have to invest


• no word back on various side projects, including a weekly off-road time trial in Kuna or the Owyhees

"He who hears my word and puts it into practice is like the wise man who built his house on the rock." Matthew 7:24

Dealing with Doubt

I have been stricken with feelings of doubt this week. It is hard when all the details that need to come together are still in the air. I have such a hard time with processes that take so long. I'm used to jumping into a situation at 100 miles an hour and just going, and it is hard to wait while we find a family to raise support for. Unfortunately I've also realized that in order to be fully prepared for 10 hours of mountain biking, I'll need to log some serious road miles on a bike I don't yet have... another area where doubt is creeping in. I guess this is what God wants, because I have realized that I cannot possibly do this ride without His providence in every way. I trusting him to lift up this mission and make it what he wants, I just hope I can get out of the way and let it happen.

The bike of choice for the my endurance races

Many of you may wonder what kind of bike someone rides for 100 miles in the woods. I have ridden all kinds of bikes, and for now I've come to the conclusion that simple is better when your relying on your bike to get you through hours of riding in remote places. I picked a hardtail 29er for my endurance bike because I needed this simplicity but found the standard 26" wheels on a simple hardtail (no rear suspension) to have less desireable traits for racing 100 miles. After much debate I set my sights on the Sette Razzo 29er from Pricepoint.com. I have been impressed by the bike on all my training rides, and have now completed my first long race on the bike. The race was the annual Galena Grinder in Sun Valley, Idaho. The course involved over 3000 feet of elevation change on each lap. Riders in my race category complete two 22 mile laps. I can say that the bike performed flawlessly. With the bike taken care of, now I guess its my turn to make sure I'm ready for the challenges that lay ahead.

**UPDATE** I just made this video... sorry its lame, I'll blame my camera man :)

Galena Report and First Wave of Support

In my journey to complete the Mohican 100, I needed to complete some races to fine tune how I will approach racing my mountain bike for 9-10 hours. The race at Galena is considered to be one of the hardest races around... so naturally I found it hard to resist! It provided a great way to test my race strategy and build some base fitness going into next year. I guess I'm thinking long-term.

The Galena Grinder was one big challenge, partially due to its extreme course elevation starting at 7000 feet and going up and down a lot before climbing to 8,400 feet and then going up and down some more... Because I only trained hard for about 3 weeks prior to the race I knew I would be tested. I would have to go up to the race in the morning, ride for five-and-a-half hours, and then drive back home. I left the house at 3:30 AM and arrived at Galena Lodge by 7:00. The drive was beautiful but trechorous due to the animals moving about during those wee hours in the mountains...

At the start of the race, I lined up knowing that the next five plus hours were going to challenge me, and I was right. The race started quickly, and I raced conservative on the first lap. My heart rate was right where it would be if I were going for an easy jog, and I was able to keep it there until the killer climbing began. After pushing my body and bike up to an elevation of around 8,400 feet only to have to go back down and then do it again.

By the end of the first lap, I was feeling great. I met up with a strong rider who rode with me for the next 10 miles until I started to hit my limit around mile 32. Thats right about when I had to go back up the huge hill again, and I did all I could to survive. For the last ten miles, I simply held on and rode as hard as possible dispite some cramping and a minor mishap with a large stick... ouch! Finishing was one of the best experiences I have ever had on a bike... I'm so glad to have reached an important milestone in the preparation for the Mohican 100. I know what I can and cannot do during long races and how to push through when the going is tough.

After returning home and recovering, I found out that I actually placed third in my division... guess I should have stayed for the awards, but I was anxious to get home.

Some of you have received an email from me, please continue to think about how you can help me fight child abuse and neglect. Feel free to email me at any time...