Triple Crown DH Race Report on the new bike

Man,

I had some kind of fun this weekend getting back on a bike that is all my own. I've been riding borrowed bikes from time to time when buddies are able and time allows. But I've not been able to truly pin it and feel comfortable on someone else's rig.

I got the Turner built up thanks to oh so many good friends help and literally finished building it in the parking lot Saturday morning. Maiden voyage went well thanks to the fact that DH bikes these days are getting closer to being idiot proof. Geometry, suspension, drivetrain...they all bolt on and go these days.

Saturday the track was twice as tacky as the first race, with grass off the slope and the soil down to the underlying hardpack, instead of loose mulch, topsoil, sod and goo. Even the bog at the bottom, although wet, was fast and rock solid. Since I was back on a Turner, I wanted to clip in again for the first time in 2 years. It was fantastic being able to float over roots and hold the rear wheel in place.

I even wound out sprints with no issues and didn't feel blown up for the first time in a long time. Maybe just the excitement of having my own bike again gave me the mental edge I needed to race hard again, or the comradarie and excitement of racing locally again.

Qualifying seemed kinda silly at first so I just sprinted around the corner, sat down and rode no handed, went around the first double, rode no handed on the lower straight..and clowned for the crown by doing an aero tuck into the finish. Popped off a 2:32, 3 seconds faster than my clean race run from race run and 8th fastest qualifier. But now I regret not doing a full speed run!

Race day came and I'd been dodging the top double jump thinking it wasn't costing me. Followed a buddy into it to see if I was right but got dropped by going around...a good 3 seconds!!! So next run, I went for it behind Greg and got it with a pedal crank. After that I didn't even pedal, just pump over it. So nice and so much faster.

My race run, I felt great. Charged it and then just fell down in a flat right hand grass turn. Took forever to get up, get back on and go around the rock under the slope...even saw a shrew turning into the woods, which was weird. But I finished the rest of my run trying to salvage some dignity for the crowd. I honestly had my name shouted top to bottom, so that cheered me up and some nutty guys chased me ON BOTH SIDES down the straightaway...so awesome!

Finished with a cruddy time, 1 second slower than the previous race at 2:36. Between gapping the double (2-3 seconds) and picking myself up off the ground, there was roughly 10-12 seconds to be had by staying upright, but that just doesn't count in a race run. The clock does not care what you "could" have done.

But I feel confident again in my riding and that I can maintain a great race pace again. The Dirty Bird is coming up and not the kind of course I shine on, but on the new bike, I like my chances for a good result. It's gonna be tight times and a clean run will mean everything. Should be a blast!!!

Bike parts floating around

It's like I'm in a dream and there are bits and pieces of other people's pasts running around me. I call a buddy, ask for their parts run down, and then pick a piece worth using or that's compatible with my setup. Then I float onto the next guy's stash and pluck a part. Almost there and getting so very, very close. Need a good rear wheel and to save the last of my money up for the fork my buddy has stashed away and then I may be done.

I've been selling every oddball part I've had lying around and all the back up pieces from my days of serious racing that I "thought" might come in handy. I'm coming out OK thanks to people out there having so many extra parts off old bikes. It's a good day when your stuff converts into someone else's so easily. Used to, a used DH bike part was more useful as a paperweight.

Wish me luck.

So it begins

Courtesy of the greatest guys to ever have a bike company, I present to you a frame made from ALL U.S. made parts. Now the hard part will be finding all the various bits and pieces durable enough to handle my riding style. Anyone interested in selling/barter/trading, drop me a line and we'll work something out. www.turnerbikes.com

Sanity and hope return

It's official. My mental status is directly tied to gravity and adrenaline. I don't think my brain can function without getting pumped like some gorilla from the movie Point Break! I rode shuttles last night with some great riding buddies and all is now well. I had to earn it though.

I pulled up for the ride with a leaking radiator and a flat rear tire. The borrowed bike in question has presta valve DH tubes and tubeless rims. It was almost impossible to get the tire off. Once off, I couldn't even patch it because the leak was directly where the metal valve stem goes into the tube. I dumped a boat load of Parks rubber cement on it, dropped it in the wheel. Then got Matt to finesse the tire back on. I then proceeded to squeeze more rubber cement down in the valve hole as a back up.

We get to the top and the tire is flat in less than 5 minutes. We pump it up to try to get a run in or something and it just hisses at us. I bailed and take up driver duties. At the bottom, a strange thing happens. The tire never lost all it's air????

SERIOUSLY...it hissed air like it was drilled and I never looked twice and neither did anybody else...but there it was holding air. Maybe my magic glue job wound up sealing off??? Rubber cement and the good graces of God above gave me my sanity and we banged out run after run til it was pitch black in the woods...Whoooo Hoooooo!!!!


Next news....my frame ships out today!

Just a crummy week

Tried to have fun on Fathers Day weekend but it refused to work out. All was well that my parents kept the girls, which is fun for the girls and a blessing for me and Ryane, so no complaints there.

We were even lucky enough to stay in a B&B for the night to unwind and get fed the next day, comped no less. But bills, car problems and stress just have me buried in a pile of anxiety and anger. I'm doing my best to snap out of the funk, but the bottom line is that money issues are trying to crush me under their weight.

I don't need money to be happy. I'm blessed with a fantastic family and church, but being in debt and struggling to survive is just taking a tremendous toll on me. I'll be so glad when we can work our way out of this debt and get back to just enjoying our girls.

God bless

I am not an NFL safety

I learned this Friday morning. We stayed in a hotel on Thursday and I met the manager, a former semi-pro linebacker. Get this, his last name was Blocker! Great guy and in sick shape. I got antsy and football made me think of running stairs.

So I did what any other 36 year old former "athlete" would do....put in my time. I did all 7 flights in combos of single stair speed drills to the top, then back down, every other stair for power. Then I went for my final set of 3 step explosive stairs. I made it 6 of the 7 flights and was cooked. I kept at it doing a few plyometric jumps with both legs, 3 steps at a time.

I felt wobbly, but so excited to kick my own butt. The next morning is when reality stepped in and my legs refused to work. It's Tuesday and they're still sore to the touch, but I'd love to do it again. To loosen my legs up, SundayI did a quick climb up to Pinners Cove and down Merrells Cove on the road bike. Man, I wish I could find a DH trail down one of those two ridges to shuttle!!!

Later,
Butch

Crack the seal on the season

Probably should have written this earlier, but I find no joy in telling the world (all 1 of you reading this) that I sucked bad at the first real DH of the season. In the past, I've always had more natural ability on burlier courses, but this time was way different.

Massanutten is all about the first straight pull. I lolly gagged off the start, then threw down the power on the gravel road that is this race's defining element. Crank it and then flow your run and you post a good time, plain and simple.

But was I in for it! I cranked it out and laid down the power, popped up the little bank and then from there on it was a nightmare. My arms were rigid like after a 30 minute moto on a KX125. Legs were fine but I could not hold a line in any of the straight forward turns or keep it tracking straight on the bumpy straight aways. I'd turn a few cranks of the pedals and then plow like a 2.5" wide bulldozer, kill my speed and use a good 2 different lines in a turn....just awful.

My body didn't loosen up until I hit the speed trap and I was able to blast the last section. It was almost anti-climatic to see Mueller. I knew it meant he'd thrown it all on the line and either blown off course bad or flatted. You just never want to see a racer put it all out there and not be able to finish strong.

I had a fun time though and met lots of riders new to the sport. My retinas got burned a few times by guys who suddenly are OK wearing full moto kits again (thank you World Cuppers for that trend). Bleach is the order of the day. I just don't get how guys can dig pedaling around in 80 degree heat and a jumpsuit. In BMX, long pants are required. In moto, they're necessary. In DH, it's just silly.

Anyway, I'm headed to the Turner demo this weekend and a date with the new DHR I've got reserved. More on that later!

God Bless!