Squirrelly Racing

Wolf Ridge
Well, it has been a while since I had anything worth posting so I will catch things up quickly. I went to the National at Sugar and had one of the worst performances ever. I went up the week before and practiced and had some great runs. Race day came, I did one practice run and felt terrible. Got to my race run and made it through the top half of the course fine then blew it in lizards lane. For some reason I felt terribly fatigued and got sloppy coming off the trail a few times and finishing 6th....out of 6.

So last weekend the Wolf Ridge Downhill and Slalom races were taking place. A brand new course on a new side of the mountain. Ryan did a great job of putting a great event together. The course was totally different from others in the area being completely loose and dusty...west coast style. Came up to pre-ride Friday and got a few runs in and was feeling good about the course. The racing was starting fairly early Sat. so I just got 2 full runs in before the race.
I ended up having a great run with just one or two slow spots but overall was clean! Had a finishing time that put me in 3rd place for the 30+ Am class with the top three all within a second! Finally! A good run this year!

Also I have posted pictures at: http://picasaweb.google.com/dhsteve/WolfRidgeDH2007

Labels: WolfRidge

Another new bike!
Well, Tammy and I ended up stopping by Trek of Raleigh and could not resist the temptation of a 2007 Madone 5.2 SL! As it turned out I had to order one to get the size and color I wanted but after an anxious week of waiting it finally showed up! I left work early to pick it up and get it built and hopefully ride that night. Of course the new bike curse hit and we had thunderstorms that night. And the next night. Finally last night I was able to take it out on the usual 20 mile loop!

All I can say about this bike is WOW! I understand how the pros go so fast! It seemed nearly effortless to cruse solo at 20-23 mph! I don't know if it is the position, lighter wheels, better bike or all of the above but this bike is fast! I averaged nearly 2 mph faster on this bike than the old Giordano - which btw is up for sale.

The really scary thing is the new 2008 Madone is suppose to be substantially better than the '07... good thing I did not test ride that bike.

So if you want an incredible road bike, head over to Trek Bikes of Raleigh and check one out!

Now for the good part, pictures!

Labels: Madone

Made it up to Massanutten Fri. around 1 ish and we got registered and checked in to the hotel promptly. Did 3 practice runs and was feeling good and starting to really bond with the Socom. It felt like it wanted to go much faster than I was comfortable with yet....

Sat. rolled around and the crew made it up and got another practice run and checked out a new line at the top of the course - it was sweet except for a bit of a hole that could either be gapped or rolled. It was definitely the faster line though. Unfortunately for me, I think I hit it too slow to gap and too fast to roll and managed to flat the rear tire and dent the rim too much for repair. Chalk another one up to the mountain. It is 2 out of 3 for the last 3 years.

At least there is 08 to look forward to!

Big props to the Massanutten crew for putting on a super smooth race with nearly 260 racers.

Results can be downloaded from: http://squirrelly.shacknet.nu/galleries/MasterYeeHa2007.xls

Labels: Massanutten

Just got this from Ryan:

This summer WolfRidge Ski Resort, aka Wolf Laurel, will play host to 3 slalom races and the WNC DH champs!

Slalom 1- June 2nd or 9th, will secure date this week.
Slalom 2- July 21st
DH Champs and slalom final- Aug 11th.

Cash paid to pros, swag to ams. Meals included in entry fees, which will be reasonable. Plenty of lodging at the resort cabins. New courses with a different flavor thrown in for you!

Spread the word, as the attendance to the races will greatly impact the possibility that the resort will open a full-scale bike park in 2008.

There will be more details coming in the meantime, if you would like to be put on the mailing list, send an email to Ryan at mbrp07@yahoo.com.

Labels: WolfRidge

Dark Mountain Super D #2!

Drove up to Wilkesboro Sunday with Will and had a great time at the race. I was planning on running both expert and big bike class but due to circumstances, ended up running big bike only. After a few practice runs I was feeling a little tired - but I guess that should be expected for the first hard work of the season.

First run went pretty well. After the first uphill I was feeling better than I thought! Kept going, ended up with a clean run and finished with a 3:29. Good for second place!
I knew I had my work cut out for me though. Andy was running 2 classes and did expert first saving big bike for last. Knowing he had a 3:11 on his small bike and that he was faster on his socom at the previous race spelled trouble. And to add to the pressure, the guy in 3rd at the time was only 2 seconds off my pace!

Second run I felt it a little more and ran a little bit bigger gear for the lower part of the course. I felt like I was a little faster but not sure if that would hold. As it turn out, I ran a 3:25 but that was no where good enough with Andy pulling a huge result at, as I recall, a 3:06 (good for 3rd overall!) and the 3rd place guy also had a better run to bump me to 4th.

No problem though. I had a great time and will be back for the next race in the series! Thanks to Matt and BMCC for all their hard work and giving us a great spring series!

I'll post results or a link when they are available.

Labels: dark mtn super d 2

The following is direct from Todd Seplavy of Iron Horse:

"**Gravity East Series Schedule**

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -
----------

Below is the proposed Gravity East Series Schedule for the 2007
season. This will be a series encompassing many of the different
downhill & slalom/mtn cross events up and down the East Coast, from
New England to the Carolinas!

This series has been a long while in the making and comes from loads
of discussions over the past couple years between racers, promoters,
and the folks at USAC. This series is designed to showcase the
amazing variety of riding and elite level of racing on the East Coast
to the global cycling world! East Coast Unity!

1. May 5/6 - Duryea Downhill, PA
2. May 12 - Massanutten Yee-Ha!, VA
3. May 20 - Diablo Freeride Park, NJ
4. June 2/3 - Plattekill, NY
5. June 15-17 - Whitetail/Capital Cup, PA
6. July 14/15 - (location to be confirmed)
7. August 11/12 - Wolf Laurel, NC
8. September 2 - Whiteface Mountain, NY
9. September 22/23 - Mount Snow, VT
10. September 29/30 - Whisp, MD
11. October 13/14 - Series Finals Plattekill, NY

All of these dates are tentative at the moment and are subject to
change. A series website and ranking system is in process. Keep your
eyes peeled for more detailed info in the coming weeks.

The plan is to have overall series cash purses for Pro & Expert
categories and good prizes for the Beg/Sports. Best 7 of 11 races
will count toward the overall. Promoters of these events will surely
be stepping their courses and events up a couple notches for this
series!

-ska todd"

East Coast Race Scheudule!

Event Date	Event Name	State	Disciplines	Website
Apr	Duryea Downhill	PA	DH	www.readingracing.com
12-13/May	Plattekill DS & DH #1	NY	DS, DH	www.plattekill.com
12-May	Massanutten Yee-Ha!	VA	DH	www.massresort.com
20-May	Diablo Domination Series	NJ	DH	www.diablofreeridepark.com
25-27/May	US Open of Mountain Biking	NJ	DH	www.diablofreeridepark.com
26-27/May	Wisp Resort	MD	DH, Dual	www.wispresort.com
2-3/Jun	Plattekill DS & DH #2	NY	DS, DH	www.plattekill.com
9-10/Jun	Mount Snow DH #1	VT	DH	www.mountsnow.com
15-17/Jun	Whitetail/Capital Cup	PA	DH	www.racersedgeonline.com
23-24/Jun	UCI World Cup DH/4X #4	CAN	DH, 4X	www.uci.ch
1-Jul	Diablo Domination Series	NJ	DH	www.diablofreeridepark.com
7-Jul	Mount Snow Night DS #1	VT	DS	www.mountsnow.com
7-8/Jul	Mount Snow DH #2	VT	DH	www.mountsnow.com
14-15/Jul	Plattekill DS & DH #3	NY	DS, DH	www.plattekill.com
14-15/Jul	Wisp Resort	MD	DH, Dual	www.wispresort.com
17-22/Jul	USAC-MTB Nat. Championships	VT	DH,DS,SD	www.mountsnow.com
28-29/Jul	NMBS #5	NC	DH,DS,SD	www.skisugar.com
5-Aug	Diablo Domination Series	NJ	DH	www.diablofreeridepark.com
11-12/Aug	TBD	TBD	DH	www.racersedgeonline.com
18-Aug	Mount Snow Night DS #2	VT	DS	www.mountsnow.com
18-19/Aug	Mount Snow DH #3	VT	DH	www.mountsnow.com
25-26/Aug	Plattekill DS & DH #4	NY	DS	www.plattekill.com
2-Sep	Whiteface Mountain	NY	DH	www.whiteface.com
15-16/Sep	Plattekill DS & DH #5/AMBC	NY	DS, DH	www.plattekill.com
22-Sep	Mount Snow Night DS #3	VT	DS	www.mountsnow.com
22-23/Sep	Mount Snow DH #4	VT	DH	www.mountsnow.com
29-30/Sep	Wisp Resort/MAC Finals	MD	DH, Dual	www.wispresort.com
30-Sep	Diablo Domination Series	NJ	DH	www.diablofreeridepark.com
7-Oct	Whiteface Mountain	NY	DH	www.whiteface.com
13-14/Oct	Plattekill DS & DH #6	NY	DS, DH	www.plattekill.com
20-21/Oct	Biketoberjam/Hereford Fall Fest		DH	www.racersedgeonline.com
21-Oct	Diablo Domination Series	NJ	DH	www.diablofreeridepark.com
10-11/Nov	Plattekill DS & DH #7	NY	DS, DH	www.plattekill.com

The organizers will work together to agree upon the events to be included in the east coast gravity series.