ramping it up

yeah, I made a little name change. after losing a bunch of weight (but still feeling fat sometimes), and trying to broaden my horizons, I think it's time to drop the old title. done.


the Morrisville (Al's) series is underway. given the cool temps and rain, we still had about 30 riders on board the last saturday of march. Ian was pedaling strong on the new moulton Gilbert put together for him. myself, the florians, mike and tim were all that was left at the turnaround. the six of us spent the return trip together for a very nice ride. the last 50 mi were dry, and the sun shined on us for the last hour or so! a good day done in 7.5 hrs with tacos and salsa for recovery. I went out the next day for 100k with Bryan whose perm fell thru. 


Bryan tried again on monday and I joined him for a nice roll on the Triple L. this is a great route for hill work and quiet roads. I'll probly do it once a month til June :) 7000ft of climbing is a good thing, but I must remember my knee bands!!


yesterday was the NCBC spring rally. the course was interesting for a fast 100k. the first hour or so was the usual nerves and sorting out before things "mellowed" a bit. there were still a couple dozen for the second half, cruising along at good speeds to finish in just over 3hrs at 20.7 avg..I felt OK on the hills and took the polka dots to the podium. of course, I took my plastic bike and that helped a little ;)
for recovery today I headed out on the MTB. just a 20miler to relax and run the trails since I hadn't been on them in a few weeks and well, if I'm gonna ride 'em all day next weekend..


this weekend is going to be big IF-1. I feel good. and 2. the weather cooperates.
my plan is to shoot for a (barely) sub 12hr 300K. basically short-stop to seagrove, eat, and short-stop back. if all goes well and I feel good at the end; I head home, recover, SLEEP, and get up at 5:30 to be on the trailhead to start a 7AM ride:100 miles on singletrack and doubletrack.. the ride is nearby. if I blow up, I'll be able to ride home. slooowly..
I just saw the weather and after many sweet days it looks like the classic return of 'screw up the weekend and be pretty on monday' :( if the trails are soaked late in the week, they will be closed. not sure if there is a plan B for this one. we need the singletrack loops to keep us from going crazy going around Umstead all day. stay tuned! I think it would be a great back-to-back well ahead of the next long ride. saddle time, baby...


have a great week. I'll be at the benelux ride downtown tuesday eve., and keeping it simple after that 'til the weekend..