Having missed out on the Vermont 50 with broken ribs I opted to extend the season and step out of my comfort zone by racing an XC format 6 hour race at Cathedral Pines State Park. Course conditions were perfect with each lap consisting of 9.5 miles of super buff, narrow, twisty singletrack, less then 300' of climbing per lap and a 1/2 mile lap through the pit area. Avoiding the temptation to go with the pack on the first lap I settled into a pace with all 7 laps +/- 2 minutes of each other. Patience paid off and I was able to close out the season on top of the box in Masters with an 11 minute cushion, 27th overall out of 250 and collar one of these awesome medals.

We have a local series that isn't too public. Beer runs. Pretty simple, beer entry fee, race a super D style course, winner shares "pot" with losers. Tons-o-fun and low budget (unless your group is a bunch a beer snobs like us). Anyway, we did three this season. All three runs were won by different riders. All three riders have GRASSROOTS. Chad Miller, Travis Coldsmith, and Moi. So I decided to add a team classification to the mix.

Trophies taste gooood, you should try the muffins.







We're all winners!

Dark Horse Cycles hosted an end of the season team mtb/orienteering event in the woods of Stewart State Forest, home to Singlespeed-a-Palooza and the Dark Horse 40.
I was the "lucky" one to be paired with Mike Montalbano, previous winner in singlespeed of the Shenandoah 100 and Mohican 100.
Using a time trial format we were the second to last of 12 teams out on the course. Maximum speed and pain was obtained by our team and despite getting lost and riding an extra 3-4 miles we managed to get all the card punches in and were the first team to cross the line in a winning time of 55:05 for the 16 mile course.

Nothing beats a night ride, add to that the festivities of Halloween, costumes and a few yeasty malted beverages and you have the perfect brew for a great time. Wearing some vintage '07 kit and disguised as Thor God of Thunder I rode the course with hammer in hand to a second in masters and most importantly have a great time.

Huge photo complements of Ron Spillers
thanks Ron!


So the past weeks have been hectic with race travel and three year old birthday parties, but I survived. The down and dirty is as follows.

SM100-- Had and awesome time for the whole weekend, family, friends, beers, bikes, great weather. Didn't crack the top ten but oh well. If you include fun and all that, I kicked everybody's ass. 9:23 is just fine for myself. Other IF'ers included Mike "On my bike all day" Ramponi,( 2nd SS 8:22!!! ), Travissimo Coldsmith, and Chad MIller, also SS'ers. Kyle Rodland and few others were there too. GREAT EVENT!

Michaux / Terror of Teaberry -- This was the final in a three race series here near home. I was in the lead for the series with a few good riders looking to take me down. It rained overnight, which I like. There was a lemans start which I DON'T like, although it did serve me well. I had a good start and worked hard all day to take the win and the series. Since you're only as good as your last race, I guess I'll be a winner all winter.

Closing out what had to be the hottest July in recent memory Team IF ventured down to Central PA for the 10th running of the Wilderness 101. Conditions turned out perfect with low humidity, temps topping out in the low 80s and a dry super fast course that would guarantee some fast times.
Spreading the love across the classes we had Chad Miller and Mike "I want to ride my bike all day, do dah do dah" Ramponi representing in the singlespeed division, Chris Wurster in the masters for his 8th straight 101 and back from a 3 year hiatus on a geared bike and supplying the crew with fresh IF water bottles, Greg Montello.
When the dust finally settled Chad was in at 8:30/11th ss, Ramponi didn't get to ride his bike all day, finishing at 8:38/14th ss, GTL matched his previous go at 8:45 and Wurster set a pr at 9:32/8th masters. And a special thanks goes out to Buck who passed on the race and had his table there to bring relief to the battered masses.
Still had my wits about me at the finish to grab a pint right after ringing the gong and head to the Freeze Thaw hospitality area for some sweet IPA.

Showing the versatility of IF bikes, Beth Wurster took second in Masters class at the Pancake Triathlon. Coming out of the swim in 5th place she scored the top time on the bike riding a Planet X (w/o aero bars) while the competition were all on TT bikes. Beth also scored the top time in the run missing out on the top step of the podium by 47 seconds.

What a fun day! Saturday the boy and I delivered the shirts to the venue and hung out with the trail marking crews. Holly picked up the boy and dropped off the dog, who spent the night in the lot with me. Good times throwing sticks and drinking a few carb loading beers. Sunday came and we got suited up for a 40 mile loop through my hometown woods. Myself and the other racers that is, not the dog. She got to walk and spectate with a friend's girlfriend. The weather was great, unlike what the forecast had predicted. It was a wee bit overcast with some heat early and then some cooler light rain.

What was beautiful singletrack on Saturday became a mudfest on Sunday as heavy rains pounded Stewart State Forest and continued through the first lap. In the open class Mark Elsasser came in 14th and Chris Wurster taking up the rear opting for the fun aspect of the event as you can see from this shot.

Well the "Queen of America's Classics" is in the books as my first ever road race. Rode at a maximum of 85% effort to use this as a test run to see how my hip would hold up under a good amount of climbing and racing. Was smart enough to get in the front end of the pack and avoid the crash a 1/2 mile in, but learned the hard way that you pay a big price for slipping off the back of the 15 man group on the climb. Rest of the ride was either solo or in 2-3 man groups which hurt with a 15 mph headwind. Finished 14th, had a great time, but even better I came away almost pain free which bodes well for the Wilderness 101.