Arsbars.com

All photos from Wonderful Billy Fehr.

There is no hiding the fact that I’ve been trying to “rip it up” at the local BMX track.  Our 8 year old has really gotten into it, and the fact that I’ve been helping everyone out there with mechanical help too.

The shop has allowed me to pull in a small order of Redline bikes to see if we can get some kids out in a new sport.  So let’s take a look at what we’ll have in this coming Thursday.

MX Expert $324

MX-24 $339

Proline Expert $399

Proline Mini $369

Proline Micro $399

Rival 18 $219

Romp III $249

Raid Freewheel $199

Roam $209

Officially by the dates we are half way through the Wednesday Night MTB Series.  There was two rain outs, so by the numbers we aren’t half way done yet.

Last race I DNF’d.  Moving up to Sport was a crappy move on my part, twice as long of a track at the hardest course in the series - US National Whitewater Center. Okay, it’s really not a hard trail.. but on a singlespeed, out of shape, dehydrated and on a pretty damn hot day.. the course sucks. Especially when you have to go around the whole thing twice.  So I quit, I rode slowly through the last half of the course after bonking with a co-worker.  Thankfully he was there to get me through the woods.

That was two weeks ago, since I have actually ridden my bike, rode a mountain bike off road a couple times and done a little bit of unorganized/thought out training.  This week I had a mission to complete.  That is goal #1 this season, complete the Sport races.  Thankfully Stephanie stuck with me and got me through the course.

Last, but not a quitter.  9 more races to figure out what Goal #2 is.

At about 2-3pm today we will be driving south to Charlotte, NC from our travels in Annapolis, MD.  The trip was well rounded, good down time and many photos taken.  The goal for me right now is to return a tent at Hudson Trail Outfitters, eat sushi at Yin Yankee (before I decide not to and regret it for the month) and maybe, if time allows, visit Velo Orange to say hi to Tom and buy something I don’t need! I got sweet new shoes, ate good food, and hate the fact that vacation is over for now but ready to get back to Charlotte to start “training” (not eating like crap) for my tri!  Tomorrow I race my mountain bike, even after not having looked at a bike in over a week.  Should be thrilling, grueling and maybe even a little bit of fun.

But before I ramble on I need to go pack and all those good things.

It’s grey and rainy outside as a pick me up I pulled some flower photos from my archives.   This weekend I’ll be off, I have a high hope of finding a garden somewhere to take tons of photos. Anyone in Charlotte know of a good one that is in bloom right now?

This past Wednesday kicked off the Charlotte area mountain bike series.  This 16 race series runs on Wednesday nights from April through September with races in 5 different parks in the area with every 5th Wednesday off.

The first race of the series was a test of memory.  Here’s my list of idiot moves :

1. Hadn’t ridden a mountain bike in a month
2. Rebuilt my singlespeed 29er 2 days prior
3. Only rode this bike once before the race
4. Hadn’t ridden this particular trail in a year
5. Was sandbagging thanks to riding a single speed.  I didn’t renew my yearly USA Cycling license so I was able to race beginner. I don’t feel so bad due to the lack of riding and gears.

The Trek Bicycle Store had a great showing of folks to the line.  1 guy in super sport, 3 guys in sport, and me in singlespeed beginner women.  Also, one girl manning the grill at the tent and another guy in an arm sling manning the camera.  We milled around the start line for a few minutes, talking to various classes and trying to get a grasp of what this season would be bringing.  Talked to the two girls I would be racing against, Crystal and Bobby.  Bobby is a local Dirt Diva so I know her and know she’s a strong rider.  She also was refusing to move up to Sport based on her age and that girls don’t have a masters category.  Crystal seemed to know her stuff, mentioned she is coming from a bmx background and started downhilling lately.

We line up on the end of a gravel road, the idea of the road is to separate folks before the entrance of singletrack.  Well it worked, Crystal left Bobby and I in her dust.  I did my best to keep up but spinning 32×20 I must of looked like a wind up toy with my legs spinning so fast. I would keep seeing glimpses of Crystal for the next 15 minutes until we hit the “double black diamond.”

This is where I had fail#1 on the bike.  I told Bobby to go around me as she was on a geared bike and that I would sit on her wheel until we got out of the “black diamond section.”  She agreed and said she was happy to sit on my wheel the rest of the race.  We get through most of the section and come upon a kid on his side in a rock garden.  Bobby stops to help the kid up, he is working on clipping in and she passes him.  He gets in and sits on her wheel.  Now there is a kid between Bobby and I, fail#2.  I’m asking to pass the kid and he runs right into a tree.  As he starts to scream I jump off my bike running to his aid.  Manually having to clip him out of the pedals and trying to calm him down.  Well… the kid jumps back on his bike and takes off.  Now I’m off my bike, Bobby is done with the section and gone and the kid is now again between me and 2nd place.  I get on and do my best for damage control.  The kid won’t let me pass him when I catch up with him.  His father hands him a bottle on a small road section and helps block my pass as well.

Finally we get to where there is some climbing.  I figure at the top switch back there’s a clearing and I’ll pass the kid.  He doesn’t exactly have standing/climbing/clip in down and went down again.  Again, screaming.. I hop off once more to unclip him and see if he’s okay.  He took a chainring into the calf and is pretty upset but again..he hops on his bike before I can get my bike and takes off.  Frustrated I call out my pass at the top of the climb and leave him.  Feeling guilty that I’m frustrated with an 8 year old and more frustrated with the 8 year olds parents who put him on clipless when he doesn’t have the handling or mindset to deal with those things.

I do my best for damage control but by now I’ve been off the bike twice trying to help which added up to at least 5-8 minutes.  I figured to ride it out and finish the race as strong as I could. Ending up in 3rd out of 3, 3 minutes back from 2nd and 6 minutes back from 1st I was very very disappointed but knew I did the right thing stopping to help.   I learned from this week that unless there’s blood or someone knocked out, I’m not stopping.

The best part of the race was hanging out, eating burgers and enjoying a lot of good people.  Check out our custom burger flippers (yes I forgot the flipper.) Thanks to Melissa for being a great trooper and cooking!

Our team ended well.  Mike Sciame winning Super Sport, Darcy Letourneau coming in 3rd in Sport 19-34, Bruce Stauffer at 5th in Sport 35-44 and Jamie Haessley flatted within 3 miles of his first lap.

Tonight is the Renaissance race, it’s been pouring here for two days straight so the chances are high that the race will be canceled.

Thankfully, the part of the country I live in is the lovely south.  Our “City” of Charlotte, you can lock up your bike with a cable lock on the main streets of the city.  I have seen decent bikes left overnight outside bars when their owners take the long (often stumbly) walk home to be able to retrieve their lovely bikes in the morning.  UNTOUCHED.

In DC we didn’t carry locks under $50.  The normal price of a lock was around $100 and came with a warranty, stern instructions of use and a “good luck.”  Messengers carried around huge chains around their waist during the day as the wrong lock might cost them their bike during their next drop off.

While blog hopping this morning I came across a story about a bicycle shop owner, in Toronto, that had in his multiple warehouses over 2,300 stolen bikes.  Now what the hell would you think he is going to do with that? He claims he was keeping them for when gas went over $10 a gallon.   Would he sell the cheap Walmart bikes for $600 a pop? And the bike shop quality bikes for twice the MSRP?

I am interested to see what happens as the dollar gets tighter and gas prices go up.  Will the theft of bikes incline or will locks be included with each bike purchase?  “You can upgrade this cable lock for a Krptonite U-lock for $39.99.”   Personally I have enough bikes, tires and parts to keep me running for awhile.  IF that time ever comes.

What is that famous quote that critical mass cyclist love…. “The revolution will NOT be motorized.”