By the time I finally cracked open my eyes at
As I’m entering the Open race on Saturday I thought I should get a practice lap in. The course runs past the front door of our campsite so I have no real excuses. More »
Here is my attempt at posting some pictures from Houffalize.
What is a road trip? By it’s very name it has to involve a trip with some road thrown in for good measure. This road trip to
Sea Otter, well technically it’s day 2 as I was at the venue yesterday, but just to see where our tent is. Weather is beautiful, and I’ve got a nice sunburn on the arms to prove it.
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This should probably really be titled Reimer’s Ranch but what ever.
This weekend was round # 5 of the TMBRA race series on a new course (new to TMBRA). The course is a fun pretty rocky, ledge-y 10 mile loop. It’s funny to hear the word fun come out of my mouth after determining that I SUCK at riding that stuff, but it was fun. Reimer’s was really fun to pre-ride, not so fun to race. Racing has a way of showing you how much you really suck and throwing your bike over 3 and 4 foot ledges. Anyways, my race story is going to be pretty breif.
On the Top Ten call-up I didn’t go up. There wasn’t enough room and I felt like if I was up there I would just be getting in peoples way (this was a big mistake). 3/4 of the first lap was spent behind guys that really couldn’t get their MOJO going. Once I past those guys and started making some time back on the top five, well ZUES, the cycling god, threw his pitch fork in my rear tire.
So, I casually change a flat and get back on course right after Bryan Fawley, arguably the strongest guy in TX right now, IN DEAD LAST PLACE. He had a front flat within a mile into the race. He then proceeded to have another flat shortly after I joined him at the back. I spent most of the second lap trying to get my rhythm back and passing a few of the back of the pack guys. On the third lap I just gunned it. Passed about 3 guys and was about the pass the guy right in front of me but I didn’t feel the need to be sprinting him to the line for umpteenth. Anyways, come to find out the place in front of me was the last paying position… should have sprinted. SOUR race but it happens. I finished just slightly behind where I was when I flatted. Actually had I passed the 2 guys right in front of me, like within 10 seconds in front of me, I would have been where I was when I flatted. So I figure I must have made up about 3-4 minutes back up. I guess that tells me I rode good and that is the little nugget I am going to have to pull away from this race.
Last night the Park Ave Wednesday night crew made it down to Prattsburgh to pre-ride the Rambler course, I think we had about 18 people riding around P-burgh. Mark led out the 30 miler and I took the 15 milers out for a great ride on by far the best day we’ve had in a while. It was almost 70 and the sun was shining, no tights or layers here.
Hi kids,
This is my first blog EVER! Took me long enough, aye? Well a little background first. I’m Travis’s little brother TJ from the Pittsburgh area. We’re like the Lelonde boys, but from PA. (We ride suspension forks as well) I am the manager of Trek of Pittsburgh, (a 29er mountain bike only store) I’m a full-time dad raising my little boy Alex. (I’ll try not to blog about him too much, this is a bike site) Racing, I am targeting longer races such as the 50 and 100 mile marathons. I train by commuting. When I ride off-road it is usually on a single speed. I don’t own a road bike, nor do I plan on getting one anytime soon. My primary training bike, a hybrid, has a kickstand on it. For racing I’ll ride a Full Suspension HiFI 29′r, set yo with all my “freak-stuff” on it as Travis says.
The Bike is the way to fly for the races I’ll be doing.. I hope. I pride myself in being the freak bike- fitter of T.O.P (Trek of P-Burgh) so my own bike is no exception. Everything just works, fit numbers that is. So, as I preach to all clients, the bike needs to fit perfect to the rider. All measurement are saved and haven’t been changed for about 2 years. Except this year a change to the big-sweep handlebars, uncut. Photos show everything else. Cranks, seat, stem, and the rear drive stuff. I’m tall with really long arms as well as a long torso, so yes, that is a 130mm 17 degree, upside down, all the way down. Each of my bikes has the exact set up (bars, seat, cranks, B.B., and their relationship to one another)
This weekend will be the first race of the season for me. A little behind everyone else as most of the peoples on the team have some race miles in. It is mid-April already! This weekend will be at Big Bear Lake West Virginia. Rock Heaven. A great place to try out the abilities of the HiFi. Tire choice will be more than likely the front and rear ACX combination. Although, after riding with Travis last night on the dry trails of North Park, I may end up going with the Dry-X in the rear. We’ll see. Weather will determine the tire selection.
The bike was tested on dry conditions last night with Travis at North Park and met my approval on the dry, smooth stuff. (www.motionbased.com seach: tjplatt for details) Travis was on his extremely light Superfly with Dry X’s and I was on a 29 lbs, 4″ travel full-suspension with ACX knobbies on. The bikes both performed as expected. Travis could pull away in quick acceleration situations, but as soon as we came to something rough, whether up, level, or down, the HiFi helped me close the gap down extremely fast.
Both Bikes worked extremely well and were very different. Travis and I were both pleased with the results. Every middle of the week, we’ll have a training ride of some sorts.
Thanks to T.O.P for the bike, I won’t ride it too hard as it is a Demo Machine. Thanks to Fisher, Bontrager, and all the others that help out so much into the team. It is going to be a wonderful season……. More to come.
Wow, that wasn’t hard at all!
I had three appointments at Sloan Kettering Memorial, NYC yesterday, most important was follow up mri to show how radiation treatment worked on the brain.
My Nuerologist and Radiation Oncologist were pleased with the MRI results after the recent radiation therapy, nothing left of the tumor and they both seemed very pleased with results.
Want to say that it’s in full remission but only time will tell, bit nervous even writing positive about this, don’t want to hex the situation. 
Tumor is/was anaplastic oligodendroglioma, not popular, with a strange habit of making a comeback.
There, those are the facts to cover bases but here is where I stand: hate to ruin a tumors day, but I am moving on with life, can’t waste anymore time with ana oli.
Race season is here and now it can be focused on with my 29er, still a bit out of shape as I work the last of treatment out and make up for the time lost this winter.
Regardless of my race results this season all I can say is that it’s pretty darn cool to be here and riding.
I received my new Ferrous yesterday and took it out on its virgin ride today. I had never ridden a 29er for an extended period of time until today, I was blown away. I have not had that much joy riding a bike in a long time. Think of times that you see children playing and you envy how much fun they are having and you cant remember the last time you played. Thats what riding my Ferrous was ; playing. As I rode through the woods with as smile on my face and joy in my heart I began to think about the nature of joy. I used to wonder if there would be mountain biking in heaven and the thought that there might not be depressed me a little. But as I was thinking it occurred to me that anything good that brings us real joy must be a reflection of an even greater joy that we will experience in the afterlife. So though we may not know what that joy is now, we certainly can experience the small shadow of it on this earth, for me, today that joy was mountain biking!
Mid-Atlantic Super Series season opener 4/13/08
Carpool-$15 each in gas, $38 “day-of” race- entry fee, $10 post-race meal
This past Sunday a few of us Jersey boys rolled down to Maryland to get a jump on the season by racing in the Mid-Atlantic Super Series opener. The H2H series I normally contest doesn’t start until May and I’ve been itching to strap on a number!! More »
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Fisher 29ers |
