JnR

May bee

2008-10-23T10:07:00.002-05:00

Writers Block.

Here Look at a Pretty Picture I took this morning.

jR

Why Me

2008-09-19T21:55:00.004-05:00

I often check in on my buddies blogs and wonder what the hell am I doing in Baton Rouge when I could wake up to this?

I guess I am a little jealous of guys like Jason, Eric and anyone living the life of a pro cyclist. I imagine that it is a good life full of amazing views and plenty of hours shooting the shit in the car with your buds. Hours in the car scheduled just to escape the vehicle and shred some sweet ass single track in the mountains vs waking to humidity so high that even my hair frizzes. Well news from the enlightened guys at USA Cycling is the plan to remove my racing category of Semi-Pro and ask us to upgrade to the ranks of Pro. I am in support of the decision to change the categorization labels that have been ambiguous at best for a numerical system. However, the word PRO has in the past been left to the ranks of those bad enough to prove how fast their kicks were. Jedi mind tricks aside I anticipate that us lowly locals wonder kids that have grown accustom to kick'n a little "A" will wake up next year to an awakening so rude that even Andrew Dice Clay would have a hard time swallowing this bitter pill. You can eat wonder bread till you shit a brick and you still won't be able to keep up with the pro men. So what do we do? We need to train and make the sport and the competition better. We the next batch of neo-pros will all have to log lots of hours or accept the fact that we will be pack fodder at best or DFL.

So this coffee's for you. See yawl on the road and trail.

jR

LSAT

2008-09-14T20:21:00.003-05:00

All to frequently we loose track of time. Like when you walk out of your front door late for school and you forget to toss on your trousers. I have neglected to study sufficiently for my next attempt of the LSAT. I hate to speak in cliches but it is time to burn the midnight oil and force the consumption, digestion and eventual excretion of test taking skills long since forgotten. Since my last days of school years ago I rarely have had opportunities to really work out the ole brain muscle. I guess I have come to a crossroads. One can go through life and be a beach or ski bum, but those that are truly successful at this endeavor worked hard to find out that it was there true calling in life and not the life of an attorney or pH d. I need to work hard for a few weeks both on the bike and in the books. So a temporary leave of absence is necessary from my social life in order to complete my preparations for a date with destiny. Another opportunity to smudge a finger print and totally think I aced this test awaits me. So good by cold beer and hello coffee and aspartame.

Gustav

2008-09-07T02:38:00.006-05:00

Big Buildings
Little Buildings
Trees
And People

Have all succumb to the power of Gustav. I just want a few days of something like normal with a cup of coffee and another day clad in spandex v.s. This

But just as people are malleable and quick to fix things that are broken soon enough my home town shattered by this storm will rebuild. I will be back on my road bike riding in the early mornings cool air whilst daydreaming of past trips to Tahoe, Colorado, or many of the cool places cycling has taken me. I will ride and spend more time managing my thoughts, arranging and rearranging scenarios, situations, analyzing and reanalyzing and double checking the cover page on my TPS reports. Soon enough we people of Baton Rouge will be back to normal and all the great things that people have done for us will be forgotten and the ass holes that have temporarily been hesitant to lash out will show their faces again. But until then, drink up and have a toast, to the good will of mankind.

Ouch!!!

2008-08-30T19:48:00.002-05:00

I have been quite lucky in my life to not be accident prone. That all changed this week. I don't know how I managed to go so long without hitting the deck. Tuesday Morning, I came to heads with a straight section of Highland Road within the boundaries of LSU's campus. I don't know what happened or how it happened. All I can say is that I hit the ground at a rate of speed high enough to get knocked out and to completely destroy the Right Rear side of my helmet. Out Cold!!! I was so lost and confused when it was all said and done that I forgot to tell the LSU Facility Services Guy "Thanks!!!" He informed me that I hit nothing and simply crashed on my own. I would tell you what happened but I can't remember. All I remember is OUCH!!!!!!!!! And Yep That is going to leave a mark!!!

Well hurricane's effen with my racing again. I am going to sit out the Fall TX Season opener near Kerrville. Thanks Gustav!

Wear Your Helmet.

jR

No Training Today...

2008-08-24T12:43:00.003-05:00

One day it started raining, and it didn't quit for four months. We been through every kind of rain there is. Little bitty stingin' rain... and big ol' fat rain. Rain that flew in sideways. And sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath. (Forest Gump)

Shortly, the racing will begin.

2008 Texas Fall Cup

Camp Eagle
August 31, 2008
Rocksprings, TX

Huntsville Classic
September 21, 2008
Huntsville, TX

Palo Duro
September 28, 2008
Palo Duro State Park, TX

BTU Power Pedal
October 12, 2008
Bryan, TX

Piney Hills Classic
October 26 2008
Ruston, LA

Rocky Hills
November 9, 2008
Smithville, TX

Dodging Flashlight Cops and Horse Flies

2008-05-25T17:43:00.003-05:00

I wish that there were some way to get a weather report with respect to life's little nuisances. We had a late start the crew of (Jason B, Red Dude, the Effen insane Cajun Tre and I.) Well after telling war stories of getting pulled over by the cops, doing all manner of things illegal and simply put shooting the shit with the boys we arrived at Clear Springs. We are all competing next weekend in Birmingham and one of the best trails within 4 hours of here is located about and hour and a half drive (if you are going the limit and I'd recommend going the limit trough the wonderful town of NORWOOD, LA) from BTR.

So we get to the trail and end up talking to the park ranger for half and hour or so. I don't mind banter but how much time should you spend talking for the sake of talking. I was the guilty party today so when the boys gave me the cut off sign I stopped as abruptly as is comfortable. So we had initially planned to ride a smooth 40 miles on the trails and something happened that I have not experienced in a long time. I have always had a gradual acclimation to the Southern heat. I am used to it, Right? Wrong!!!!!!! I just about died today. The temps soared to 94 deg and we were rocking about 80 % humidity. I am curious to check the heat index on this one. I want a mosquito/horsefly weather report to tell me when I should just stay at home. I don't know why but mosquitoes love me and horseflies will chow down on anything in site. Those damned bugs I hate them. They have an ability to ruin any and all outdoor gatherings and occasions. No mosquitoes got me today but I was definitely assaulted by the kamikaze aerial maneuvers the horse flies where using to latch onto clothed and bare skin. These were some really aggressive bugs today. Tre was bitten at least 20 X I suffered 5 attacks and the rest of us accounted for at least 10 more. So the motto of this story is beware of the horse flies at Clear Springs they are out in full force. Well when Angry Red (Patrick), through sheer force and power dislodged his non-drive crank arm from his bike. (Impressive) we decided to call it quits. We licked our wounds and packed up to come home to even more heat but @ least no damn horse flies.

Peace out,
j

No More Slacking.

2008-05-23T17:50:00.002-05:00

I have neglected my baby far too long. I have had plenty of great material to post. Dealing with the issue of how much information is too much information has most definitely made me consider to reconsider what data and information I am willing to post. Well the truth be told everyone knows everything so I may as well give the people what they ask for. Expect Bi-Weekly updates from this day forth till I deem my life so boring and mundane that I force myself to reduce the output to a trickle.

Peace Out,

jR

The 9 Horsemen

2007-04-07T15:14:00.000-05:00

Well first off there were no horses. Only two wheeled steeds in our group.

I just made it back from a 2 day excursion into the woods with 9 XC peeps from BTR and H-Town, TX.

We were ripping up the trail today. Lots of great miles of XC heaven. Till the ruler came out. The hammer was dropped and the after effects of a bottle of 25 year old single malt Scotch and countless beers wore off the pace became quite brisk. But not as brisk as the Air. Ambient temps were ~ 40 deg. Which for my skinny arse was cold. The great thing about the peeps I was riding with is they are all really smooth on the trail. I could tell they have all dirtied their MTB shoes more than I this year. It was still a blast though, cruising some of the best single track avail within 6 hours. Except Tre' was ohh soo bragging about his DH skills that he was bombing down everything. That is till he needed to make the most elementary of left turns then. Bammmm!!! Dainbramage, he ate a tree. Luckily for him only I witnessed his folly. The only thing he could say was "That is not professional." I could not agree with him any more than I already did.

Well back to reality.

LAE,

JR

YUmmmmmmy

2007-04-02T09:51:00.000-05:00

So yesterday I ended up doing a great training ride instead of heading off to TX to race again.

I wonder how much road kill I consumed from the roster tails off of other bikes.

I have competed in 3 races in the last month. Now with Easter around the corner and a solid 7 weeks of racing following that it is time to really start to hit the road hard.

April 15
Athens, GA

April 20-22
Mississippi GP

April 28- May 6
South Easter Crits

May 11-13
Joe Martin Stage Race

May 17-20
Tri-Peaks Stage Race

June 3
Bump N Grind

June 16-17
Park City, UT NORBA National

July 17-22
NORBA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Mt Snow, VT

July 28
Banner Elk, NC NORBA National

One Day.

2007-03-25T22:19:00.000-05:00

I witnessed the most amazing act of self sacrifice in a bicycle race I have ever seen. During Saturdays road race at The Rocky Mt stage race one of the guys from Team Compliance Depot, Kolt Bates, showed a lot of moxy. This guy was projectile vomiting about once every 5 miles after I caught up to him and one of his teammates. He was working his ass off for only one reason. That reason was that so he might help one of his teammates in the Crit on Sunday. For ~ 40 miles he could not hold down water, food, Hammer Nutrition's HEED or anything. It all came up in a flu induced act of purging. Gross you might say. What was the most impressive about this feat was that he never, not once stopped pedaling to vomit. He did so while on the bike.

THAT TAKE REALLY BIGGGGGGG BALLSSSSSSS.
Balls that would even make Chuck Norris jealous.

Full report later this week.

LAE,
JR

Time for an Update.

2007-03-23T21:50:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Copland.

I am in Shreveport for a road race at Rocky Mt, LA. There are no Mountains nor Rocks here only false flats a a couple painful uphills.

What I love about LA are the five O. We must have seen 40 citizens on patrol on the way up here to Norte Louisiana.

Update to be posted tomorrow.

LAE,

Seasoning

2007-03-03T00:18:00.000-06:00

So the season is here.

I am going to wipe the dust off the ole MTB for a race this Sunday in Biloxi, MS.

I will admit that I have not been riding my MTB at all. I tooled around on the trail last weekend with a bud of mine. I felt ok for a little while and then I felt like crap so that means that this race will be difficult for me. I am not all that fond of the trail as it is really flat. Flat like a pancake, flat like pita bread, flat like a pizza, What the H. is up with all the food references.

So I just figured out that I have worn out my der.s on my MTB both front and Rear. The bike game is wearing on my wallet more than I like. Anyone want to give me some money? Just kidding on that one but if it makes you feel better to give then keep the STD's and mail me a check now that is what I call asking politely.

Well anyway time to sleep.

JR

OG

2007-02-18T12:44:00.000-06:00

This past weekend I did something that I haven’t done in a while. I went home to North Louisiana. The familiar faces and way of life were welcomed till I realized that this place is boring. There is nothing to do. By nothing well I actually mean that there are a couple of things one can participate in. In almost any place on earth one can drink and the other shall remain unnamed.

So after going to my cousins wedding I started driving to Oak Grove. Two lane highways with twist and turns that progressively get tighter as one gets closer to Oak Grove reminded me of where I was heading. It is a place that has remained largely unchanged for my brief 26 years of life.

After I pulled up to my house in el norte I noticed a couple things that is one that is always missing and one that ever present in my daily life. Number one: in the country the only ambient noise is the wind; my house in North Louisiana is well over a mile from the nearest highway. The other is that when I got out of my car I was greeted by a black sky filled with little stars, not just the big ones that you can see from most urban places but the little ones that are drowned out in the ambient illuminations of the city lights. The small ones that are like specks of dust as you stand in front of a window that the sun warms you through, these are the ones that you miss in the city. I remember as a young child my love of the stars on a clear night. My father would take me outside and share all his knowledge of constellation names and folklore that he learned in college, through his traveling and his life. Orion, Little Dipper, Big Dipper, Scorpio and many others flooded my mind as I was reminded of a small fraction of my childhood that still remains innocent, pure and quite vivid in my memory.

There was no cycling this last weekend. I was tied up with the FAM and driving 8.5 hours there and back in two days. But the cycling miles will start to tick over again starting on Monday. Next weekend is my inaugural race of the year. Walberg on Saturday and then on Sunday, Pace Bend will be the ground breaking weekend of racing this year. I am optimistic that I will have descent legs thought I don’t think I will have great legs.

Till next time,

LAE,

JNR

My Stupid Mouth

2007-02-13T19:56:00.000-06:00

It appears that I opened my big mouth a little early.

Welcome Back Winter.

Weight Loss

2007-02-11T22:58:00.000-06:00

A little.

I have to thank whom or what ever is in charge of the weather for giving me and all us little cyclist here in Louisiana an opportunity to ride our bikes uninterrupted for a whole week.

That is amazing. We have had some crap weather for the previous month.5 it was either cold or wet but more likely than not, twas cold and wet. So the previous week I have been logging 2-3+ hours each day and loving it. Too bad I don't have access to all the cool mountain passes or even big hills that guys like j. has or Eric M. Soon though, I shall have my own little race/ride vacation in the mountains.

So I have decided what my first several races shall be this year.

February 24 Walburg, TX
February 25 Pace Bend, TX

March 3 Lago Vista, TX
March 4 Lago Vista, TX

March 11 Rouge Roubaix, LA

March 17 Fayetville, TX
March 17 Fayetville, TX

MARCH 31 ( TOOL the river center in Baton Rouge, LA)
I know this is not a race but it is an event that I will not miss.

April 14 The Warda Race, TX MTB
April 15 The Warda Race, TX MTB

April 21 Waco, TX MTB
April 22 Waco, TX MTB

May 5 Cold Spring, TX
May 6 Cold Spring, TX

So for all the races other than pacebend, walberg and lago vista I am looking for company for the trip.

Hollar at me if you are interested.

JNR

2007-01-24T12:46:00.000-06:00

A man once claimed Chuck Norris kicked his ass twice, but it was promptly dismissed as false - no one could survive it the first time

Chuck Norris doesnt wear a watch, HE decides what time it is.

When Chuck Norris plays Oregon Trail, his family does not die from cholera or dysentery, but rather, roundhouse kicks to the face. He also requires no wagon, since he carries the oxen, axels, and buffalo meat on his back. He always makes it to Oregon before you.

Soon We will have some good updates.

JNR

When will it stop Raining?

2007-01-22T09:32:00.000-06:00

So it appears that we will finally get a break from the bad weather on Wed.

A-Town

2006-12-16T13:18:00.000-06:00

So I did the Austin Tri Cyclist ride this morning. I don't know when the last time I rode that hard was. This ride was as hard as many of the races I have done. These guys don't play here in A-Town. So I ran into the regulars on Robbie and some other THSJ people and even a guy with the discovery crew. This town is made for cyclist.

I will update later tonight.

jnr

Comite MTB Race

2006-12-08T11:31:00.000-06:00

Just a friendly reminder that there is a MTB race at Comite park on Sunday. See you there.

jnr

New Website.

2006-11-22T17:30:00.000-06:00

www.joshuarosby.com
is on the way. I am working on hooking up all the flash and html content as we speak. As you all know I hardly ever update this site anyway. Anyway, LAE.
j

Ruston

2006-10-13T11:26:00.000-05:00

I am writing this as I leave my door heading for Ruston LA the location of my very first MTB race on November 6-7 1998 back when I was the ripe ole age of 17.

I will post an update and try to mention the ins and outs of the MTB race on Sunday as well as the Duathalon National Championships tomorrow.

LAE,
JR

Where it all began.

2006-10-01T21:45:00.000-05:00

So we spent the night in the forest and got good and drunk. We talked a lot about thing of little gravity avoiding politics, religion and anything that can be described without concrete words. All this was done with the attention span of three year olds chattering amongst each other. For hours we all had not a care in the world except that our fire stayed bright and that the dogs (Tusk and Tomba) remained cordial to one another. This morning the sun came up, bright as ever, it pleasantly warmed the surfaces of our tents and evaporated the early morning dew and signaled time to wake up and go riding.

For the first time in several years I revisited the first trail that I ever rode my GT mountain bike on. Actually, I have ridden other trails at Clear Springs and frequently do, but never do I ride Tally’s trail. This is the longest and most technical of all the trails in the Homochitto National Forest. I love the woods, well I love that forest. Riding Tally’s today was like visiting an ole friend. Though its appearance has changed, since a couple of other easier trails have opened, it is still my favorite. It will never get the number of riders it used to. It’s just a little too rough for the faint or the weak. I have raced all over the southeast of the US and in Cali and this is still my favorite trail. The leaves are falling from the trees, foreshadowing the rapid approach of cooler weather this autumn, and the end of another hurricane season. Clear Springs was this year unscathed by another disastrous storm. We lost access to this little jewel in the hills of southwest Mississippi for all of seven months following Katrina. The only part of the trail system that is not fixed is Tally’s. Still in existence are the rustic remnants of bridges and hundreds of hours of hard labor, utterly destroyed by the colossal winds of a storm long gone. Fallen trees still litter the trail and provide a technical break from the hard labor of pedaling on a mattress of dead leaves, aerated soil and exposed tree roots. The roots are the worst part of the trail; it seems as if each one is strategically placed to change your direction to the perilous descent of a hill side. The only things to stop your acceleration towards hell are unfriendly trees. They will stop you but not the way you want to stop.

Yeah I ate it today. I was cruising down a hill side covered by pine straw and my front wheel was completely swallowed by a hole. Then the slow m o t i o n crash began. My friend David said that I just disappeared. Well actually I kind of pseudo chest planted into some soft leaves and sandy soil that had been recently turned by heavy machinery. I barely missed a piece of rebar as we detour a dismantled bridge. That was on Richardson’s Creek Trail. Prior to vaulting the down trees of Richardson’s I rode the Mill Branch. This is probably the fastest trail in the forest. It is also the shortest. Mill Branch lacks the longer climbs indicative of the other trails. It is tight and rocky at times. Richardson’s Creek is the new preferred trail at Clear Springs. This trail is a little too perfect. It is a 15 mile loop (including access via Mill Branch) with big rolling hills and some fast descents but nothing too technical. If you ride slow and watch for obstructions you can ride it however, if you ride too fast it will place you in check. Tally’s is not like that. It is a rough ole mean dog unwilling to heed your command. You don’t ride Tally’s, Tally’s rides you.

Now I remember the first thing to get me hooked on Mountain Biking / Trail Riding. Camping, Friends, Stories by the roaring camp fire, assing around, getting drunk and riding the hangovers away the next day, are all vivid yet distant memories of my past. I relived those many weekends as a freshman at LSU last night. Though the conversations and people have changed the mood and enjoyment has not. I went camping with two of my co-workers (Brennan, Patrick) Jodie, Jessica, David and myself. My only complaint was that the weather was a little warm for the big ass fire that two former boy scouts decided to get roaring.

So today was to have been Jessica’s first time trail riding. She was intimidated by the terrain and the tall tales of inexperienced people but we had a blast. Tomba was grabbing every pinecone in site and declaring his ownership over your pitching arm. We all tossed pinecones till he would realize that we were tired and he would move on to the next fresh arm. Tusk seemed to be the younger, faster opportunistic fetcher of the two. He would wait patiently and when Tomba missed his mark he would dart out and grab the pinecone that Tomba wanted. This several times caused great tension between the two. They both seemed to enjoy each other company.

Little known fact the first mountain bike trail I ever rode was Tally’s at Clear Springs. That is truly where it all began.

JR

Camping VS Racing.

2006-09-29T23:55:00.000-05:00

Hummmmm Seems like a hard choice.

Camping.

Actually that was very easy.

JR

Good Weather Bad Timing.

2006-09-27T00:09:00.001-05:00

the weather in baton rouge is great every morning is brisk and breezy and just very pleasurable too bad it came just a little to late this football season great weather here is always related to shortened days whether that is the spring or the fall and all the time between well i will just say sweaty balls the training races are winding down but the good thing is that camping is right around the corner clearsprings here i come and i will come often this winter in search of fresh air and primitive camping the only thing that i really do not like about the clear springs recreational area in the homochitto national forest is that some where near enough to the camp sites to hear is a pumping station it sounds like your grand fathers truck stuck in a ditch with him gasing that ole ford every seven seconds trying to dislodge that beater from a muddy half grave well actually my grand dad drove a chevy but ford sounds seems so much better for a visual the training is finally coming around today for me was a series of long hard pulls in my fifty three eleven at the training race and a couple of extended pulls in the twenty nine plus range up to the mid thirties so maybe just may be i will have a descent race this weekend in monroe louisiana i really like the course that the twin cities cyclist used last year my only problem was that it really did not work well for me anywaythisistheendofmyblogfornowbecausesomethingsarealittletohardtowriteandsomeothersalittletohardtoreadperiodjr
maythewindalwaysbeatyourback
lae
jr

Good Weather Bad Timing.

2006-09-27T00:09:00.000-05:00

Rasing Canes Road Race

2006-09-17T17:02:00.000-05:00

Raising Canes Road Race
So today's raising Canes Road Race consisted of a few key ingredients.

1) Fried Chicken Boy (ME)
2) Two La Sport riders
2) New Orleans Transplant Rialdo and Brooks
and all that diluted into the same quantity of Herring Gas.

That equals Slaughter.

Herring Gas Cycling Team was just too strong today and not of the underarm pit odor type either.

They controlled the race from the start. I like racing against them because they are so strong but heck even if you roll with the punches you will eventually get hit.

I was TKO'd after around 30 miles of racing. Herring sent all of its riders off one at a time till a group of 5 of us were left chasing there group of 6. My group was not playing nice and so I decided to go on a suicide mission. I took to the front of our group fully intending on catching Herring. After cruising between 26-33 for a few miles, I realized that every time we started to reel them in they would go just a little harder. That is frustrating. Really it is.

Needless to say I was successful in completing a suicide mission. I blew up, which is just as I expected. My bud Trent told me of this cool race tactic that will make me much stronger next year. Basically, ride myself into the ground at every race I enter. Either go for the win or go for broke. I broke into the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle today. But I did get in a good workout.

Till Next Time, LAE,
JR

Race Season is Here.

2006-09-16T22:01:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow for the first time since Sonoma I am racing. The course is in St Francisville, LA and will consist of many of the roads around the Oakley House. The course though fast, and beautiful will not suite me. Though, I do look forward to starting this race. Many of the roads have deep tree canopy cover and rolling hills with some of the best asphalt in the state. I am not going to talk tactics. I am just going to have a great time and try to survive with the Aussie Train Troy "The Man" Porter coming back to make us weaker riders eat some Vegemite. Apparently this is some good shit from Australia.

NOT!!!!

So the only thing I have been riding lately is a sofa. Sunday-Wednesday I was floored by something that reminded me of the flu. I am going to need some help tomorrow to do anything.

Well anyway night peps and wish me LUCK.

JNR

Auto Update.

2006-09-12T20:37:00.000-05:00

So I fixed my truck. Well it runs properly. Well what I mean is that my Auto works consistently now.

Well today it is done. I have repaired my auto. It only took a distributor cap, rotor, spark plug wires, fuel filter and a battery. Now I have to change my oil, fill my winshield wiper fluid and replace my U joints and fix my AC and driver side window.
But hey at least it works now. Right.

But at least one of my problems is fixed. Well now I am back on schedule. Many miles tomorrow morning await me. I hope my sinuses clear up before then right now I sound like I am on Nitrous or Helium.

Getting better is my other goal for this week and starting up my core work again before I pay for it at my next race.

yeah I bought a lemon.

Anyway, LAE Peps.

JR

Wow I love American Cars.

The Illest

2006-09-12T15:56:00.000-05:00

Hell yeah I am ill. So ill I am pretty much bedridden. This little spell of bad luck has to be on its way out the door. Hopefully, I will get a chance to stop riding the ole couch tomorrow and go put in some QT on my road bike. Other than being sick, not too much has happened lately. I had a moment of good legs at last week at the training race. I really thought things were starting to get better then in one of lifes sin like curvature things started to point downward. Wait. Am I complaining. Sorry I just had an out of body moment and noticed myself bitch'n about some truly insignificant stuff. Boy I am one whinny bastard. Sorry about that peps. Well I am going to be proactive in turning around my bad luck.

LAE,
JR

P.s. This weekend my fall assult is supposed to start on the local race scene. This shit is going to hurt.

Mountain biking on Pavement.

2006-09-04T20:26:00.000-05:00

So the trails are a little ways from me casa. For all you peps whom live with in 2 miles of great single track. Go to Hell. Well really I am just a little jealous. These emotions reduced to their lowest common denominator is to blame on the fact that I have to ride on horrid and quite treacherous 4 lane busy roads and then on some small but even more dangerous back roads that are not that far back. Each time I ride to the trail I think I am going to die at least, hummm, twice on a good day.

So the past few days I have been logging the big miles on the MTB either commuting to work or riding to the trail. Basically, 3+ hours per day on a MTB with 32 psi in the tires. I long for the days of a quick commute home on the ole road bike.

So the trails here in BTR just as A-Town are Powder. There is little traction and lots of sand pits all over the place. I know where they are but it is still disappointing to not be able to rail some of my favorite corners due to powder. There are also face slappers all over the place. I swear the undergrowth grows so fast here that each lap there is a new face slapper waiting on me to fly through a corner.

I think it is time to start racing again. So this weekend will be me either in Oxford, MS or Chappell Hill, TX. The race in Oxford will not have a good field and the Race in Chappell Hill will never let me see the front for hours unless I do something stupid and irrational. My pro buds are saying do the Road Race and Suffer and ride like a man on a mission but boy if that mission is to get dropped and finish 15 min off the back I can make that happen. Oh Well, I think I will head to TX anyway either to MTBike also.

Till Next Post LAE<>
JR

P.s. Hey at least it has Cooled off to the Upper 80s this past week how cool is that???

Assing Around in A-town

2006-08-28T22:30:00.000-05:00

So I spent last weekend Assing around in A-town. I was really just looking for a reason to kick it in some other town and to get in some good trail riding. Lucky for me it was like an OVEN on Broil. I did not check the weather reports for the previous few days to see what the weather had been like. However, I asked a buddy o mine whom had just returned how hot it was and his description was rather morbid. When I passed through my most favoritsist town in the whole wide world HOUSTON (all caps cause this is one place that could stand to shrink not grow) it was raining and a cool 82 degrees. This was not look'n so bad but ~ 60 miles East of Austin the rain decreased and the temp increased to a mild 104 deg. Wait did I just say 104 that is outrageous. As I was sitting in the A-C cooled vehicle, I thought the thermometer must be broken. Sure enough I lower the window and it took ~ .25 seconds for the interior of my Vehicle to get to well in excess of any house hold temp. It became so hot so fast that I think I started to sweat in anticipation of the heat. This really did throw a monkey wrench into my plans.

So 7:00 pm comes around and I head to The Emma Long Trail just outside the 360 loop. I read the descriptions and they basically said lots of small drops but I was really thinking (Heck how bad can it be?) I mean really how bad could it be right? WRONG. Austin has been experiencing a drought. That means POWDER and not nose candy or the stuff you pray for when Snow Boarding. It was this fine dust that was of the consistency of really chunky baby powder. Fast and The Furious 3 aint got Shit on me. I drifted as much of the trail as I could before the sun started to head into hiding for the night. Not much fun. So I proceeded to participate in my other pastime that night. Drinking.

As unsuccessful as I was at riding the MTB that day, I was more than twice as successful at drinking that night with one of my buds. 6th street was packed on Saturday night. I have to admit it was a blast or at least the bits I can remember.

Sunday heading back to BR and to what, MORE 103 deg weather yeah I chose to pass on Smithville on my way home and then pass on Memorial Park (due to Rain the Previous Day).

So now I am back in BR doin my thing.

Well Till Next Time,
Keep the Rubber Side Down.

JR

More Travel Time.

2006-08-22T00:38:00.000-05:00

So I found out that I get to go back to Cali probably in Dec or whenever I feel like going. This time I am bringing the MTB again. My last trip to the left side which was fun was plagued with this stuff called racing or in my case a very high paced bicycle tour.

One of the coolest things that I forgot to mention was that whilst at Lake Tahoe I rode with Ned Overend. Ned though he is ole enough to be my pops is one of the coolest and fastest Mountain Bikers (period.) I was checking on www.cyclingnews.com my home page and I noticed that Super Ned finished 2nd overall at the Mount Washington Hillclimb. Damn Ned when are you going to let us young bucks have a chance?

Well at lake Tahoe we were tearing up the single at the North Star Ranch and sure enough who does Ned name drop to me, knowing of my southern roots, (?). Jason Sager, of all the people to mention I was a little surprised by that. So we are tearing it up on the descent then the climb back up to the top of the XC trail starts. I felt like I had a parachute on. 6000 feet above sea level and no avocet in site this climbing was starting to suck. Then the altitude headache started and it all just went down the gutter from there. I may not be a Cajun but us bottom dwellers need a little help when we get any higher than the roof of our house. BTW, check out Ned's results in the link earlier. Not bad for a 50 year old man or should I say Mutant.

LAE,

J

80 miles 10 water bottles 2 1 liter bottles.

2006-08-20T18:26:00.000-05:00

Today was Africa HOTTTT.

10 water bottles. (24 oz each)
2 Nalgene bottles (1 Liter each)

80 miles.

It was damn hot. Actually it was too hot for me to be out training but I guess you have to look for God when you are training in this heat. Well actually you look for houses of God. Churches are always going to have a running faucet outside here in the south. So I hit up every Church in site. At every stop I would top off the tank and fill up two bottles. With as much fluid as I lost today and replenished I think I can actually say I am a new person.

Well I a beat and already rambling LAE, JR

So I still don't have a six pack but I am skinny again. Yay.

2006-08-19T14:21:00.000-05:00

Crunches and leg lifts every morning and every night will make you belly go away. I am but a couple weeks away from being really skinny again.

So I am heading back to Cali shortly. Santa Cruz here I come again. I just need to figure out when and for how long I am going to stay pre and post SBCU.

So my truck hates me. I love american cars. If you look to some of my old post you know just how much I LOVE my peice of shit truck. Now the idle is all fucked and there is a short somewhere in the wiring. I think it is time to just throw this fucker in the trash. Good news is that I have been bike commuting and it is awesome. I get to haul ass and do intervals every afternoon while riding the 12+ miles home on my daily route. Also, I am loging an extra 35 miles a day between my afternoon ride and commuting. I think this was one of the missing links from my training before. Constantly being on the bike allows me to get good fitness without stressing and working out hard every time I am on the bike which reduces injuries and ailments.

I think I may rent a car and head down to Orange County and maybe Huntington Beach to do some surfing (learning to surf);-) hell how hard can it be right? I know I am going to eat those words. Hey if anyone has any experience racing in Europe and want to give me any pointers for Italy please help me. I am planning a 3 week long trip to Italy to race bicycles and ass around in someone else's hood. I really need to get some pointers so if you can offer any advice other than train a lot please help me. LAE, JR

So I think I am Fat.

2006-08-14T22:02:00.000-05:00

So I have been on this minor weight loss kick lately. I am basically trying to salvage what is left of this race season. That said, I have been doing crunches and a lot of them every morning and every night. I learned one important lesson today do not do crunches immediately following a hard effort or workout.

So I cruise home drenched in sweat (yeah sexxxy right? NOT!!!!) grab a towel and hop on the floor to do my afternoon 300 crunches and sure enough I cramp. I was a gymnast for 7.5 years I used to do this all the time but today was different. I started to cramp in my abs and I wish I had a camera but I would not torture you all with my fat pics. I looked down and it appeared like a scene from Alien when the alien is about to break out of someone's torso. The right side was all clenched and the left loose when I released so it just looked all fuck'd up. Damn it looked funny but it hurt to much to laugh. Also, if I had laughed I am willing to bet that something else would have cramped up also. What a quagmire. So I have given myself 2.5 weeks to get skinny again. Lets see if it happens.

JR
(Cause Jr implies Junior)

Relocate?

2006-08-01T21:13:00.000-05:00

So I was checking out Craig's List looking for a place to stay in the Bay Area. Well not really in the Bay Area but in San Fran. Check out this listing that I cut and paste:

WARNINGS OF "BELLAROSA" Before I address the so-called features there Realtors try use to distract you from it's flaws: It has electrical problems and poor storage and cabinet space!
1. dining and living room combo: "tiny, very small"

2. breakfast bar and granite countertops: "Pain in the ass to clean" people who built it, to cheap to put a sealer!

3. stainless steel appliances: Same problem even more so! Was told they had soft water, not true, must be the hardest in this area!

4. refrigerator: Works avg, same problem with cleaning being black and stainless!

5. garbage disposal: is on the wrong side of the sink, the sink is in 2 sections,"different sizes" the disposal is on the smaller side which you can't place large dishes on up to rinse off or soak. so typically your big dishes and pans go in the bigger side, which does not have the disposal on, leaving you to wipe out your sink to dispose of left over food scraps.

6. gas range with single oven: avg, Bad vent system for the stove area, it sucks the air out behind the microwave, and blows it out over the top of it, "RIGHT OVER YOUR HEAD" , NICE GREASE BUILD UP! but it's black, you know what that means.

7. dishwasher: hAS GOT TO BE THE WORST i HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED!
8. built in microwave: good, just make sure you read the book!

9. washer and dryer (closet): Funny, kinda like the the hidden surprises after they get you to move in! Oh, below avg. and if you get the unit with the stack able kind, What a JOKE, takes forever, and these adjitater's will twist your clothes up even with a small load and filling the water level high, "GO FIGURE"

10. dual pane windows: they do there job, "BETTER THAN THE WALLS DO", but the sliding ones are very hard to push, and have a very small handle to do it with, GIRLS, watch your nails!"

11. beige carpet: let see here, lets say all look and NO ACTION, has got to be one of the CHEAPEST, ok looking carpet, again, to CHEAP to Scotch guard it!

12. 2-space Carport: WHAT???? ONLY ONE SPACE!!!! Not covered, you cant' use it for any storage purposes

13. forced air gas heater central A/C: Louder than HELL, and when you close the vents, it's a louder hissing sound!

14. patio and fenced yard: which all the other units can look into, so don't run in and out with the chance of being seen in something you normally wouldn't take a chance in!

15. water and garbage paid: That's the least that they can do, considering all the COCKROACHES roaming the evening,
Now I can see why they have built these units up like they did, you see the area in back of the units located behind the units on the LENZEN side have an elevated veranda patio like terrace, so they are not on the ground floor like there parking garage area, but the LENZEN side has there backyard on the ground floor, of course, with a bunch of lil' or should say med- to large critters to keep you company, be careful of were you walk, including the side walk area where you would place your garbage container, in fact that whole side of lenzen including the STREET, to the SCHOOL DISTRICT BUILDING!!!! it is really terrible, i can't believe that the school district has not even done something about it, because it is that obvious!

The Main thing is, you have a VERY LAZY LANDLORD, whoever you can pin that too! With a combination of a very pretentious HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, who is obviously new at this cause they figure out things as they happen, leaving them to have an attitude and communicate things in an improper way...It's Kinda like the difference between, "OLD MONEY vs. new money" you know OLD MONEY HAS MORE EXPERIENCE SO THEY USUALLY MANAGE THINGS BETTER BECAUSE OF THAT, and new money usually has that uptight, stick up there ass, well usually because it's new, and they have not had this experience yet, or enough to know how to manage, usually they are easy to spot, no class, or lack of it, and no culture!!!

808 Lenzen Ave. Alameda at Alameda

This is near where I crashed in Santa Clara. I love California.

Jr

Leftside part Uno.

2006-07-30T23:34:00.000-05:00

Numero Uno. I landed in Reno Nevada. This town has lots of potential for fun assuming that you enjoy gambling but if you don't it really sucks. My plane landed and as soon as I exited the plan I go to get my rental car and sure enough. My auto rental reservation and confirmation number were of little importance to the guy on the other side of the counter at advantage rent a car. Needless to say after dropping $760 and hours of debate and other issues I left with a jeep liberty my self proclaimed fag car (please don't take offense anyone). If you drive a liberty it is o.k. if you are assumed to be a fag. Hell I did it for 4 days.) However, fag car really just means that I was driving an incapable chick car that daddy gets for his princess when she graduates from high school. Oh that is the other thing, 760USD for 4 days. Was that a rip or what? They never have the car you reserved and everything cost an extra $30 per day. So after getting raped by this company I decided to hell with it gives me full coverage insurance because I had all intentions to drive it like I stole it.

Driving in Cali is awesome. They have moxy. By that they all cruise at 85 mph and everyone looks 6 cars ahead. What that means is that grandma is roll'n to. Here in BR they drive 45 in a 60 and pay attention to the road that is 5 feet ahead of them nothing else. We may use signals but we only do it to tell everyone else that we are too busy fidgeting with the radio to check out our mirrors. This is the reason that there are so many car accidents here in BR.

San Fran is amazing. I am all about moving to a town where I don't need AC or a Heater. The temp is always a little cooler than perfect which I won't complain about cause a little cooler is better for training. Too bad a little cooler comes at a cost that would make most people in the top 5% tax bracket cringe. It is a town perfect for a Mountain Bike. Golden Gate Park which is supposed to be illegal for MTBs has some bitch'n trails with great views of the pacific and the GGB. Haight street and Fisherman's Warf and all the other places including the alternative lifestyle dist are all better than you could ever imagine and busting with interesting looking people. People that may only have on Chaps and a smile or some type of trendy leftside garb are easy to find.

However, I was staying with my friend Jason and he lives in Santa Clara. So every trip to San Fran was preceded by a long drive ~ 45 min in heavy traffic. I went to the city everyday. Needless to say, I did put my fair share of hard miles on the rental, heck I owed it to myself to at least try and wear out the tires or something, Right?

Back From Vacation.

2006-07-24T00:51:00.000-05:00

Hey I will start to post stories about all of my crazy adventures in Cali and Nevada. First thing, I want to go back. I had a hard time getting on my flight out of Reno to come home. Number TOO, Reno Sucks (I don't gamble and walking girls scare me.) Nevada can have Reno. Number TREE, Ned Overend is way better than you. He has this auora about himself that reminds me of Chuck Norris. Numero Quatro, San Fransisco is way better than you could ever imagine. Cinco Di Mayo, If you can go.

Post will start to flow tomorrow.

LAE, Jr

Sonoma and other Mundane Stuff

2006-07-14T01:54:00.000-05:00

San Francisco is the Shit.

Sonoma is HOTTTTTTTTT

San Fransisco is The SHIT.

San Jose is pretty Cool.

San Fran is The SHIT.

Baton Rouge, well it kind of sucks when compared to the obvious location in which I am currently staying.

LAE,

JR

I will post con photos as soon as I understand flicker again.

Long time no post.

2006-07-04T20:06:00.000-05:00

Here goes. I have been up to a lot of small things lately that all combine into a large bowl of nothing. You know busy for no reason and accomplishing anything. So I am heading to the USA National Mountain Bike Championships in Sonoma, CA next week. I am hella stoked about it. However, I do have one problem. My fitness is here but I have had to take a few days off the bike due to either my Grandmother's birthday party back home or Rain. So I am putting in long easy rides between now and my departure date of next Wednesday. I have also been playing webmaster also for a couple of sites. BTW, I suck at this really bad. You will see soon enough when we unviel the new www.bicycleshop.com when that hits the net you all have the right to tell me how much I suck. Also, feel free to catch all of my gramatical errors and misspelled words etc. So to anyone heading to Cali for the Race see ya there. I will be in the short track and XC events.

The best part about the trip is that the following week will be spent in Reno, NV riding the latest and greatest MTB and Road bikes from the boys at Specialized. I can't wait to try out the New Carbon Epic and HT as well as a proplerly fit Tarmac SL. I figure I can borrow the epic for the entire trip and go hit the trails every morning. Do I smell a photo blog on the horizion? I think I do. Don't worry guys and gals I will post only the phatest pics of my trip. Anywho, LAE crew. Next time post a comment telling me to Blog more and I will update this. Out. Jr

Rock Crusher Classic.

2006-05-22T14:20:00.000-05:00

We Kick Ass. My co-workers and I swept the MTB race just outside of Starkville, MS.

Brennan kicked off the day by winning the 20-25 Beginner race with a 9 minute margin.

Patrick followed Brennan with a solid win in the Sport 19-29 Category.

I then out sprint my closest competitor for a win in the Expert 19-29 Category.

I have to offer Mad props to my co-workers/camping buddies because they really put out large efforts and attained great gains.

So I will say that we had a successful weekend. The terrain at the rock crusher challenge was very reminiscent of Clear Springs or Ruston. The course was kind of sandy at times with very fast open descents and two long 1 mile gradual uphill sections. This trail was great and really fast. My only complaint was that more people did not show up and support this excellent event. To all those that made it possible, Thank You. This was by far the best marked MTB race course I have EVER raced.

Well I guess this is a good result leading up to a few big events on my horizon. Bump-N-Grind is in a couple of weeks which is followed the following week by the Sugar Mtn NORBA NATIONAL.

Once again,
Congrats Brennan and Patrick.

LAE,
Jr

Training Sucks

2006-05-18T19:57:00.000-05:00

Today I managed to repeat my little 5 hour jaunt from Tuesday. I can officially say, "I HURT." Even though I am hurting I am starting to get stronger on the bike. I just have to remember to sleep and stay hydrated. Once again I cruise through and I had no cheering squad. Only freshly trimmed grass and a headwind for the first 57 miles of my journey.

I purchased some new music last night yet I still have to find time to put it onto my MPH player. I am so bored of the roughly 4,000 songs I have on it already.

So this weekend I have a MTB race in Mississippi I am thinking the legs will be a little lethargic but they will come around. And if my legs don't come around, I am FUKT.

So Keep The Rubber Side Down...
JR

Logging Big Miles Again

2006-05-17T10:11:00.000-05:00

Well I have been slacking in my training. However, now that I have a some extra time I am back on the bike logging the big miles. Yesterday was a long day on the bike.

I was out burning off a little steam and ended up cramping pretty bad. I sk8ed out of work at 2:00 pm and took off to explore the country side of EBR parish, Ascension Parish, and Ibberville Parish. Well, the prision loop is great if you are a guy. You have never seen so many chicks in orange as you do at the Elyan Hunt Women's Correctional Facility in St. Gabriel, LA. Yeah these are chicks you would never want to run into at a bar. I was a little dissapointed. I usually catch a crowd and you have never heard the cat calls or construction site behavior as a large group of women that are in prision. This loop was just under 53 miles from work. Then I promptly followed it with the training race which is a 32 mile jaunt on RR which traverses many of the same decrepit pavement. All in all I logged 100 miles or so with a really hard training race in the latter half.

It is looking like I am going to the trail this afternoon followed by a quick trip by my buds home, then sleep.

Noxubee Crest (Tombigbee National Forest) Rock Crusher Classic.
This will be a quick little 28.5 mile race with a fair amount of climbing. They are saying that there is a 4 minute climb per lap and with 5 laps that will be a solid 20 min of climbing. With Bump-N-Grind right around the corner climbing proficency comes at a premium. Bump has in store a 4 mile climb that I will have to pick my way up twice. While chasing the Cajun Rocket Jason Sager up Oak Mountain. Why do I do this again???

Well LAE crew,
Jr

I take most of it back.

2006-05-16T11:20:00.000-05:00

G.O.D. must be a woman. This explains everything.

Jr

Furtune Cookies do not suck

2006-05-16T11:17:00.000-05:00

You are the center of every groups attention.
Lucky # 8, 64, 51, 42, 7, 19
Learn Chinese: Want. Yao

This

I love my Chevy Pick Up Truck.

2006-05-01T17:53:00.000-05:00

So on my way back to BR from Shreveport, LA I was happy as hell. I had just won a race and I am getting back to BR in time to go rent a movie to watch with a friend and sure enough, all Hell breaks loose.

Cruising down I-49 I make it seriously ~40 miles from the race when my speedometer starts to eff up on me. I could not quite figure out what was happening but I knew it was not good. Shortly there after I start to smell burning rubber or something of that sort. Now those of you that know me know that if I can smell it, it must be strong. So I am trying to make it to the next large town, Natchitoches, LA home of NWSU. I make it to the first exit ramp in that town and before I can even get the car off the exit ramp it dies on me. The smell of burning stuff made me pop my hood prematurely while on the interstate. Sure enough when I got under the hood my alternator was spewing fire all over the place. My only thought was FUCK my shit is about to catch on fire and blow the FUCK up. So I sprayed water out of one of my water bottles all into the alternator and put the fire out. Good I can work with this is what I was thinking. FUCK no I can’t, I didn’t have any tools not even an Allen wrench for my bike. So I knew I was in for hell. So I assemble my trusty mountain bike and use my ever-versatile timbuk2 bag and go off in-search of an auto parts store. The first one I come to is AZ. Now I am not a fan of Auto Zone and I had just replaced my alternator with one from there four months earlier. So I kept on to next door to O' Riley auto parts.

So I cruise over to O’ Riley and pick up $ 185 for tools and a new alternator. Damn, I was not expecting this to hit me for that much. $134.99 for the new alternator and $50 for tools. Now I am the biggest tool that I know but I am incapable of removing an alternator just by acting like an ass. So I toss all this stuff into my bag and ride back to my truck. So here I am on the side of the interstate fixing my truck. Sure nough, I get back to my ride remove the old alternator and go to install the new one and the battery cord stud is missing. Basically, I am screwed. So I hop onto my bike with the old alternator and the new alternator in the Timbuk2 ride back to O’ Riley and they credit me for the purchase. I kept the tools in anticipation of getting a new alternator next door at AZ. So I cruise over and they check their database and promptly hand over a new alternator for FREE. Follow that with 10 miles back to the car, 30 min of mechanic work and I am rolling back to BR covered from head to toe in Grease and dying of heat cause my AC still doesn’t work. I love LA.

So what is the moral of this story?
Fuck Cars. When they break down just go for the bike you are doing the environment a favor and it will keep you in shape also. If you do drive don't drive domestic they break too much. Riding 40 miles on pavement after racing 20 miles on dirt will trash a new pairof Knobby tires faster than any thing else known to man. Don't ever take advice from someone that knows less than you do, because if you alternator catches on fire your battery is not the problem. Ehh (that for you troll)

Keep the Rubber Side Down Crew,

Jr

So I had a Good Race.

2006-05-01T15:18:00.000-05:00

Place Bib Number Name Time
1 11 Joshua Rosby 1:56:22
2 7 Eric Simolke 2:15:24
3 16 Leonard Service 2:17:27
4 8 Ronald Leazer 2:19:33
5 5 David Hollowell 2:22:13
6 12 Cary Beene 2:22:47
7 1 Andrew Neilson 2:25:27
8 15 Paul Eveleigh 2:25:31
9 47 Scott Hargrove 2:35:16
10 27 John Stout DNF
11 37 Brian Frise… DNF
12 49 Jason Ham DNF
13 69 Vaughn Cavanaugh DNF

1 48 Adrieane Anthony 3:17:25

The results say it all. What is not told is all the pain that was involved in this race. I know it was not a sanctioned event I also know that the really big Whigs did not come out. However, it has been a while since I have had a really convincing win. This race was not as hard as I would have hoped off the line. It was slow in-fact. Vaughn C launched off the line and quickly opened up a gap on the field that I was stuck in. These guys had no idea whom I was so they were not very friendly. I must admit that I did not really go out of my way to be extroverted in their presence.

Well Vaughn is their local or should I say formerly local bad ass. He is on the TREK VW regional team and I have to hand it to him he is tough. So to me I felt like everyone off the line just knew they could not keep up with him so they effectively were blocking for him (i.e. stopping me from advancing my position.) Well after powering around a few racers Vaughn was out front followed by Jason Ham. I have to had it to Jason this guy is a great all-around cyclist. He is fast on the dirt and also fast on the road. He wanted to close the gap to Vaughn but he was not on his own machine and also had not had the opportunity to touch his MTB this year. I think I supprised him when I went around him. He did not hear me behind him on the course. So I was in second place around 1/4 into the race.

I was having a few technical difficulties in that I realized that I had too much air in my tires. So at that point I had a couple choices 1) I could continue to race on over-inflated tires, 2) I could stop and let some air out of my tires, which would allow me to traverse the trail faster and deal with the time loss by putting out a large effort. I chose the latter. When I had just finished letting air out of my tires Jason was bearing down on me hard so I had to attack every corner and every straight and the entirety of the trail to drop him and catch Vaughn. I managed to catch up to V ~ 2 miles from the finish of the first lap.

So heading into lap #2 I knew I was running low on fuel. I missed breakfast and dinner was nothing to speak of. I forgot my bag with my jersey and energy gels at home along with my salt capsules. So I had one shot to win. I had to attack hard because I would not have the energy to fight off counter attacks later in the race. I attacked the first 6 miles of lap 2 as strong as I was capable of. I was railing the corners and attacking the straight. I needed a good time buffer to second place so that I might mentally weaken who ever it might be. Heading into the last 3-mile techy section I was starting to feel the effects of a hard effort early that lap. I some how managed to get through that section just fine. I slowed down cause when you are in the lead with a good buffer it is stupid to take unnecessary risk railing sketchy corners for nothing. So I rode very conservative and crossed the line in first.

Unknown to me Jason flatted on the second lap I think I had a 10 min gap on him when that happened; Vaughn dropped out after the first lap, he crashed and shook himself really hard. So there I was winner of my first race of the year. Damn it felt good.

JR

Off to the Races

2006-04-29T10:59:00.000-05:00

I love supporting the local (within state) cycling scene. However, there is one small problem that I have with the very few mountain bike races here. The promoters of these races for the most part here in Louisiana refuse to make thier events norba sanctioned. This means that if I go race I don't get any points. Hummm my only reasons for going is that it will pay-out and I will get to cruise on a trail I have never ridden before. Should things work out I might even go fishing at Lake Bistineaux with the fam.

Shreveprt Here I come.

Jr

billiards and bands.

2006-04-26T18:33:00.000-05:00

So last week me and some buddies head out to the caterie a local dive of a restaurant/bar/live music venue. This place is in dire need of some serious renovations or a good fire. I will admit that back in the day The Bayou was the local shit hole of a bar. It was one of those places where the stench of the bar greeted you 200 feet before the entrance. That title of BR shittiest bar has now unequivocally been claimed by the caterie. This place has great food if you like a heart attack in a box and great drink specials but you don't go there for the atmosphere as the atmosphere is toxic.

So Vance, Richey, Naomi (the glue of this random situation) and I are all out par-taying. I have played pool plenty many times but you haven't played pool till you have played at the caterie. There are no billiards sharks that go to this place. The tables are covered with stains of every sort, from long stains to short round stains to I can only guess what caused that stain. I insert my 3 three quarters into the table and out comes our 4X (1 balls) and a hodgepodge of random balls that make it possible to play but not by any stretch of your imagination a conventional game. The tables with one exception were all missing a cue ball as if some sorry teenager on a drunken rampage stole them all. The change machine was out of order. The shotty craftsmanship of the rail upstairs instilled a meager amount of faith in me only when I was too tanked to care anymore. Finally, the shear number of smoke stacks in this place definitely reminded me that living in Baton Rouge can get worse, as if the air is not polluted enough already. If you can't tell I was really impressed by this SHIT HOLE...

Screw playing pool I gave up and started to check out The Anteeks. These guys though a cover band have a guitarist, whose name escapes, me that has mad chops. His ability to technically play his instrument of choice was quite impressive. I was really impressed and that is rare. They chose a string of songs that were familiar soundscapes of my past, a reminder of many great distant memories from my years as a teenager here in BR. Good thing those days are gone they were more like night terrors than fond memories.

These guys were followed by Anisette. Go Micha. I have known Micha the guitarist from this band for over half of my life. They rocked the house and finished the night off. Then home I went. The next morning I rode the hell out of my bike trying to burn off the high octane liquid diet from the night before. BTW, the training is comming along great. My intervals are faster harder and longer than before. I know that sounds horrible but I am talking about bicycle intervals for all you dirty minded people out there.

LAE,
Jr

Nothing.

2006-04-18T09:26:00.000-05:00

I've nothing worth sharing today.

Jr

My Back Hurts

2006-04-15T15:26:00.000-05:00

So I have been off the bike since Thursday. MY back has been killing me. I am a young man and this should not be a problem. So I have taken a few days off the bike and everything seems to be coming back just fine. However, not riding sucks. When you get used to exercising and then you temporarily go into a slough state it is difficult. Sort of like eating lunch everyday at 12:30 and then stopping that daily routine.

But like I said everything should be back on track shortly for a full recovery with big gains on the far end so I am putting up with it. Well tomorrow has 5.5 hours in store for me. Felicianas here I come. Hopefully I won't run into too many good ole boys while cruising on Easter Sunday. They just might take offense to me riding my bike on that day.

LAE,
Jr

Training Coming along just fine.

2006-04-13T12:59:00.000-05:00

Last week my training regiment was increased to ~ 19 hours a week. Though due to bizarre circumstances that has been drastically reduced this week. Long rides that finish in 40 mile training races and even longer rides in the Feliciana's on Sundays are what my diet has consisted of lately. Basically, I have been up to more big gear efforts and cruise efforts. However, as I am trying to peak late in the season for several NORBA National Events in particular Snow Mass (Aspen, CO) and Park City, UT NORBA National Events it is now time for the really hard intervals to begin. Criss Cross Efforts are by far the worst feeling efforts that I perform. They basically consist of efforts that start at cruising at your LT (lactate threshold) then slowly ramping the effort to the point that you are Super LT then once again slowly lowering the effort to LT effort. These intervals hurt but they whip you into shape very fast. The only problem is that over doing it is easy. Then you gain nothing out of this hard work but lost fitness.

Anyway, I am still looking to head to the MTNs. Though I have races coming up that will send me there anyway.

I really need to start doing more intervals that are anaerobic. The reason behind this is that anaerobic efforts increase the size and concentration of mitochondria within our cells. Mitochondria are the power factories of our cells. As you get to higher altitudes and the oxygen becomes scarce having more mitochondria will make one more efficient. Sure there is more to it than doing anaerobic efforts but they are one of the building blocks and major components of competitive fitness. It is no secret that bicycle racing is a competition of who is the most effiecient. So I need to start making myself more efficient now in anticipation of events with a base altitude of 6000 feet above sealevel such as Snow Mass.

So keep on ridin' and smilin',

Jr

R.I.P. Kerry Stamey and Emerson Bell.

Mississippi on my mind.

2006-04-10T16:08:00.000-05:00

So I have been found guilty of neglecting my blog. I have basically been up to the same ole same ole. I have finally found some descent racing legs. They refused to come out of hiding in Saturdays Crit in the Fondren District of Jackson, MS. However, on Sunday during the Tour Le Fluer Road Race I felt pretty damn good.

The Road Race started off abnormally with us catching the lead motorcycle in the first Kilometer. He was a little busy chatting it up with the other official and was not paying attention. When we ran up on him and started yelling this guy floored his bike. Some how his rear wheel jumped up shot off to the right of the pavement onto the gravel kicked up dust and burned rubber to avoid an accident.

That was the first 1 Kilo. Shortly there after myself and one guy from Memphis Motorwerks attacked the group and gapped them pretty righteous. I wanted to keep on rolling but I knew that Herring Gas did not have any teammates with us so it was a Suicide Mission that I cared to not take part of. After 5-8 miles I sat up and reintegrated the group.

The Second lap and the legs started to feel good. There was a group off the front that appeared to have a herring gas rider, one Memphis Motorwerks and one NOBC guy up the road putting in a serious effort. However, my team Raising Canes had none. So I launched off the front of the group into what I refer to as nomans land. I was trying to cruise across the gap at well over 30 and just as I was about to make contact with them they increased there effort and I did not have a wheel to latch on to. So back to the groups. Back to Troy verbally ass ulting me for giving up. Well there were a few reasons that I choose that route. One: Herring was not in the breakaway. Two: My Legs were Dead. Three: I may have made it to the group but then I would have completely imploded and destroyed all my chances.

The third lap was preceded by a nasty attack by Rialdo from NOBC. The prior day I think he won the Crit. His attack was in the feed zone and I had no one to feed me anyway. My legs were shot I was dehydrated and really tired from trying to keep up with these guys. Some how I stole a bottle from my team mates Tracy Martin that held me over for a sec. The as we passed through the start finish line Memphis launched another attack. I wasn't to hip to this one but his teammate decided to bridge right in front of me. So I grabbed his wheel and went to work. I already had a teammate in Jerry Simon up the road and so in our little break were Two Memphis guys, Jerry and Myself from Canes, Sam Rieden from Pro Bike and Sebastian Alvereze from Tiger Cycling. We put in a serious effort. My legs hurt so badly but I pulled through as much as possible. The guys in this break were really working hard together to try and catch a small group of 3 guys up from us that we had all forgotten about. So I am completely out of H2O and Energy Gel. 13 miles later and a small group of breakaway artist catch up to us. However, they bring with them some extra baggage. So to get rid of the extra refuse we pull hard to drop any guys from that group that were not having a good day. We shell ~ 1/2 of the group that had just bridged up to us. However, the main peleton had organized and were chasing us hard. At about this moment I cracked. My legs had given more than they ever had in any road race. I was out of gel and out of water. So the group I had worked so hard to establish gently cruised away from me on a hill. Shortly there after the main group came dashing by. Or should I say the fractured remnants of that once large group. The guys had chased us so hard that they dropped over half of the group. I tried to latch on. I really did but I did not have enough. Somehow, I stole a bottle full O H2O from a Memphis guy and kept ticking the pedals over. This was followed by a pseudo hard chase in which a group of ~12 of us worked together.

We cruised to the finish and in the final straight Jason Hamm of La Sport launched a sprint from HELL. This guy and his teammate gapped our group really fast. I some how latched onto his wheel but with 100 M to go I found some legs and started to go around him. I am sure I caught him off guard. That said, I kept pushing the gear and was ticking over my 53-12 very efficiently and had a few bike length gap on him over the line.

So what did I learn from this weekend of racing? Ride Hard Ride Fast and it might be painful but it will be over in a couple hours.

LAE.
And Keep the Rubber Side Down,

Jr

Looking for Cheap Lodging

2006-03-29T09:41:00.000-06:00

I am really feeling a trip to the MTNS is in order. An opportunity to cruise up some long drags before Joe Martin and Tri Peaks kick me in d-arse. So are there any takers in los mountains that can house a delinquient MTB racer for a few days????

Just figured I would throw that out there.

Your Bayou Mountain Biker Buddy,
JR
cyberpimp30@yahoo.com is my e-mail.

Ten Ass Eeh.

2006-03-28T17:06:00.000-06:00

I have to say that I had a blast in Tenn this weekend. It all started at the bicycle shop when C-Dawg showed up. BTW, Looks like we are heading to Waco, TX for a MTB adventure. So we head out East bound for a MTB Excursion.

Friday ~ 10:45 pm we arrive to weather that is soo cold that you can only think of hopping into bed fully clothed and with the covers up to your neck. Basically, it was pushing all of 40 Deg with a wind chill of 35 or so. Luckily for us we had a nice room reserved at the Holiday Inn. I was looking forward to hitting up the trail the next morning but you know Shit happens.

Saturday morning and hell I was feeling thirsty so we roll over to the Lynchberg, TN Welcoming Committee Center

So on Saturday afternoon we went out to the Chickasaw Trace and cruised the trail before hand. I have to say that this trail was bad ass. Small berms in strategic locals made haul'n ass simple but the rocks and roots acted as speed bumps. I was really feeling the course it was surely one of the fastest trails that I have ever been on. It consisted of a nine mile loop with around 600 feet of elevation gain in miles 6 n 7. Basically you cruised balls to the walls for 6 miles then suffered for a while up a series of short leg breaking climbs a few long climbs and another up hill towards the finish line. This course was made for me.

So Sunday morning rolls on in I go out and snap a few great shots of the course and then it was 12:30 time to roll out. We start the race which was fast. The suffering began early with a 1 mile open road effort to the woods. Guys were all over the place jockeying for position like it was the Kentucky Derby or NASCAR. We immediately started to shell guys and other guys kept pushing the pace. We cruised down this hill which was promptly followed by a short series of surges of the pace by the strong arms of Tenn and mainly GA. Just as soon as we hit single track I realized that I was too far down in the group and the strong guys had just gaped a person several spots up in our little MTB paceline. So someone from behind me see this happening and decides that he is going to chase them down or al least hop onto the back of that group. He is the person that messed up on this section here:

This was followed by a pursuit mode chase back to the lead group. Sure enough just as we catch back up to those guys the same fart high tails it around me and is sitting in front of me going slower and then the guys start to gap the group again. Well shortly there after he is cruising on the right side of the trail when the trails width decreases from 2 feet to 4 inches. He slams his breaks and shoots the gap just in time to clip my front wheel and cause me to shake my existence to the core. I was so dazed and confused that I could not think well enough to get back into the race for at least 15 min. Then it was too late to fight back to this group of guys. I was out of it. After finishing my first lap I realized that my hip was feeling really tender, and not like love me tender, but rather like don't touch me tender. I ended pulling out half way through lap 2 and never looked back. Hey at least I have good legs again. That is all I have to say about that. Till Next Time: Keep The Rubber Side Down, Jr

Not So Funny.

2006-03-27T19:45:00.000-06:00

I have long wondered what the purpose of Blogs was. Is it to rant on my daily musings or should it serve a larger purpose. Maybe, they are an online form of a trophy wall or maybe they are just a place to complain to anyone who cares to read it.

That all said here is my complaint. Mi Amigo senor Kerry Stamey esta Mui malisimo. He has cancer. Melanoma that has matasticized and not responded to two rounds of ChemoTherapy. At the very young age of 52 he has been guesstimated at 2 months to live according to his doctors.

This is not a Eulogy nor is it a going away note that Kerry will never read. It is merely a statement for my own personal benefit to help maintain my sanity during a time when a very good friend of mine, someone that I deeply Admire and have Boundless Respect for is counting down every second of every moment, as this breath may be the last.

Kerry's influence on me began long before I knew who he was. Long before I ever raced a bike or even owned a descent machine, there was a guy promoting the sport of mountain biking here in the swamps of South Louisiana. Kerry was one of the founding members of the club that has become known as BRAMBA. He is the primary reason that countless Baton Rouge residents have picked up bicycles and one of the driving forces behind the sales of Millions of dollars in bicycles in this parish and beyond. With Out Kerry there would be no trails. No trails, No mountain biking. No Mountain Biking, No Racing for me, no national team, no state championships, no cycling = Husky Boy: Joshua Nkomo Rosby. The influence of just one person has dramatically changed my life as well as the lives of many others. All of this is due to a buddy of mine that is old enough to be my father. So before you decide to check out I will send you a link to this and I am just letting you know that you are truly appreciated and I will try to get you some Good Beer When I go to TX this weekend. Keep on fighting and remain optimistic. Finally, Always Remember that You Have Accomplished Great Things and Helped the Masses. Many people start out trying to help the world their community their city. Never Ever Under Estimate Your Contributions To Us (Baton Rouge).

Heck Even Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails has ridden bikes on trails created by Kerry and Crew. Brett Scalions of Fuel purchased a Mountain Bike from me because we expected that some local that would go to the local trail would buy it. The six degrees that stem from your hard work has provided for everyone a place to play and ride their MTBs and has truly spread a lot further that you know.

Jr

P.s. Hey at least you lost all that weight you were trying to ride off. Hell that wasn't even funny.

So I go to apply for a job as an accountant with this firm. When I arrive the lady interviewing me ask me where do you see yourself in five years???

I see my self-celebrating the Fifth Year Anniversary of you asking me this question.
Mitch Hedberg
Now That was Funny.

I had and Ant Farm and they didn't Grow Shit.

MH

elephant poop

2006-03-24T10:29:00.000-06:00

elephant poop
Originally uploaded by cyberpimp30.

I just thought you all might like this one.

Jr

Road Trip tomorrow.

2006-03-23T18:41:00.000-06:00

Hell Yeah. I have been looking forward to this for a while. Heading to TN for some real Tennessee Sour Mash whiskey. NOT!!! I don't have the time in the plan to include self indulgence like that. So I will keep you posted after I return and somehow get a photo album going. Work but a different kind that is what it is.

Y-Fi-Hi to all my peeps in the Islands Kick'n A and Tak'n Names.

I Am Oh So Semi-Pro. No more playing around.

Jr

P.s. Guys and Gals I can tell you that after this trip I am going to start my next post off with "I could Have Won, But......." I am quite notorious for pulling that one out of they bag.

More QT

2006-03-22T13:19:00.000-06:00

I am already getting bored with the River Road. Second day third loop and it has always looked exactly the same. My only reason that I am still willing to ride these roads is that the weather is awesome right now. So another 2.5 hours of QT are possibly in store for this afternoon that will beer followed by ritas and be.

Got Wind? Today was one of the most horrible rides in my recent history. The wind was so strong that I beleive that I was going backwards at times. I was about pushed off the road twice by divine intervention via a strong cross wind. I never found that tailwind that I was looking for, only headwinds and crosswinds.

The only problem with getting into shape is that I never see the results till I take some time off. So even though I am getting stronger I don't know it till I take a little vacation. Then after a little time off I will fly once again. So I will add more 20 on / 5 off efforts into my daily ride diet. Next week crisscross efforts and No I will not have my pants on bassackwards and my shirts also. I always wondered why they never found a way to put there shoes on backwards. I guess it would hurt too much to JumP or should I say PmuJ.

Till our next BcBS Post
Over-N-Out
Jr

WTFIFFENUW8TASECMIJUMPOFFGONECUMDENIWILLPEARUDILL.

www.urbandictionary.com

Dill
1.(n) Someone who consistently performs unbelievable acts of stupidity.

2.(n) A friend, dude, or buddy1. "You just lit the wrong end of your cigarette, dill!"
"Dominic Wild is a total dill!"
2. "What's up, dill?"

jumpoff
a girl who is just someone a boy could call when he wants some

Yo im bout to call my jumpoff, she do me right

QT

2006-03-21T19:26:00.000-06:00

Hell yeah this is the first real day that I have had the opportunity to really get in some great miles in a while. Today started off brisk but soon warmed up to the ideal temp for cruising 63 deg.

So I managed to slip in a solid 2.5 hour ride on "The River Road" this morning starting at 7:30 till take a wild guess. Then this afternoon I SK8ED out on work and posted another 2.5 hour gaunt. Hell Yeah. Now the question is how long till I get bored with "The River Road" again. As a cyclist in BR your choices are limited till the weekend comes but this weekend it is off to the races. TN here I come packing gumbo and etouffee. Hell, I might even bring some BoudinErgy. BoudinErgy from the creator of Rock Rats and the Pot Box and many other never produced revolutionary products. What is BodinErgy? It is Boudin a great product of South Louisiana that consist of Pork, Rice, Spices and other good stuff with a MILDLY STIMULATING secret ingredient that is not a secret. Trey that one is for you. If the world only knew of the thing that Trey H. comes up with they would stop fighting wars and look for him as a solution to all the worlds problems.

Anyway LAE Crew and holla back.

Jr

I Stayed.

2006-03-20T12:27:00.000-06:00

The Real Racing starts this weekend in Columbia, TN. Chad and I will be heading out on Friday to start our 9-hour drive to the Mountains South of Nashville. After helping very unsuccessfully Naomi with some BioChem HW, I decided that a 4-hour drive to race in the rain was not in my best interest. So instead I cruised over to Mandeville, LA and put in a solid 60 miles with my friend and teammate Kyle Boudreax. We cruised the countryside and found some awesome rolling terrain.

Needless to say, I found that my climbing legs are here but my cruising legs are some where lost in South America and they are not answering my calls nor will they return my emails. I hate it when my racing legs fight with me. I think a few more weeks of cruise intervals and some switch efforts are in order for my training diet. These will be intertwined with some big ring riding to get my legs used to high resistance efforts. I feel stronger and lighter than ever but I need to bring this fitness out of hiding.

Plans for this week are to finalize a date on my next VO2 Max Testing and some other physiological testing to gauge where my fitness is at this moment so that I have have Jason hook it up for me.

Till Next Time,
Jr

Should I Stay Or Should I Go???

2006-03-16T18:02:00.000-06:00

So this weekend is the first mountain bike race I have scheduled for this year. I have been looking forward to The Bonita Xtreme Challenge however a 60% chance of rain for Saturday and a 70% chance of rain for Sunday are looming on the horizon. I feel the need to redeem myself for the poor road race performances so far and the dirt is my preferred terrain. So the chances of me going are high but guarded b/c the last thing I want to do is eat %!it and knock myself out of commission this early in the year.

After next weekend I guarantee the first photo blog of the year. I am spending 8 hours in a car going to Columbia, TN for an AMBC race. The Chickasaw Trace Mountain Bike Classic will be the first real test of my MTB skills in the Mountains of the year no less. Rocks, Roots and Fast Ass Tenn Boys here I come. This race is to be held just south of Nashville, TN in the foot hills of the mountains. I have been killing the mtb and my handling skills are coming out of hiding after a winter without dirt in my diet. My main worry are the Climbs. For LA I am a good at climbing however, this is a different beast than I am use to. I can hold on but will I excel??? That is the question. It will be the first real race at my new classification of Semi-Pro so the big Dawgs will rear their ugly heads and put me in my place.

As far as dirt riding has been going I have been hitting the dirt very consistently for the past two weeks or so. Many morning road rides are followed by dirt in the afternoon. For those of you that do not ride MTBs just believe that there is trust between the rider and the equipment. A bond like driving a car very fast through a blind and unfamiliar corner at excessive speed. You just have to know how to point and shoot and manipulate braking, acceleration and weight ratios between the front and rear tires to accomplish a goal, which at that time is to not crash and exit the corner retaining as much momentum as possible. This is also followed by a rapid or gradual acceleration back up to cruising speed to traverse the terrain as efficiently as possible. XC MTB racing is not a game of force or a show of sheer power it is rather a game of finesse and a lot of trust, skill and a lot of LUCK. Flat tires or mechanical malfunctions are the most common ways to ruin an otherwise great day of racing.

I have not had the pleasure of racing in TN nor do I know what tires to pack for the trip but I am sure I can find something that will work.

Till Next Time LAE,
Jr

So I have a Real Problem I love Rubber.

2006-03-10T16:26:00.000-06:00

Here we go. I have a tire or tyre fetish. I have amassed a rather large collection of tires for my mountain bike. Lets Start.

Pair No 1.
Hutchinson Pythons:

Pair No 2
Hutchinson Scorpions:

Pair No 3
Maxxis Larsen TT

Pair No 4
Maxxis Ranchero

Pair No 5
Maxxis Crossmarks
Hell Yeah my newest addition to the tire arsenal.

I also have a few other tires and many duplicates. I think I have a problem. But for other issues Thanks Hutchinson for looking out for my health.

Leave it up to a tire company to get your Back even in the most sensitive situations. I could not believe that this was a subsidiary of Hutchinson

Billy Boy: That Character Says it All.

Like a Metric Ton of Bricks

2006-03-10T10:10:00.000-06:00

Like a Metric Ton of Bricks the race season is upon us. After looking at my schedule and realizing that it requires a little to much time in the car or on the plane I must say that this season is going to be like lifting this <--.

Here is the tentative schedule:

February:
25 Walberg (Austin)
26 Pace Bend (Austin)

March:
5 Rouge Roubaix (Baton Rouge)
11-12 Off Weekend or Lagos Vista (Austin)
18-19 Fayetteville Stage Race (Fayetteville TX / A-town)
OR Bonita Xtreme (Meridian, MS) MTB
25-26 Chickasaw Trace Classic (Colombia, TN) AMBC MTB

April:
1-2 Highland Outback Blowout (Waco, TX) MTB
8-9 Tour Le Fleur (Jackson, MS)
15 Spring Hill Classic (Barling, AR) MTB
22-23 Mississippi Grad Prix (Brookhaven, MS)
29 Athens Twilight Crit (Athens, GA) NRC
30 Nalley Roswell Crit (Roswell, GA) NRC

May:
6-7 Sunny King Crit (Anniston, AL) NRC
13-14 Joe Martin (Fayetteville, AR) NRC Kick Some Ass Mountains.
20-21 Tri Peaks (Russellville, AR) NRC Get My Ass Kicked Mountains.
27-28 Old Post Challenge (Russellville, AR) AMBC MTB
OR Monroe RR + TT (Monroe, LA)

June:
3-4 BUMP N GRIND (Birmingham, AL) AMBC
10-11 Sugar Mountain NORBA National Series (Sugar Mtn, NC) NORBA MTB
17-18 Mississippi State Games (Meridian, MS) MTB
24-25 District Road Race Championships (Natchez, MS)
OR Super Week which actually last for 16 Days in Wisconsin

July:

1-2 Tour De Louisiane (Covington, LA)
8-9 Park City NORBA National (Park City, UT) NORBA MTB
15-16 Tanasi Challenge (Duck town, TN) AMBC MTB
OR Meridian Omnium (Meridian, MS)
22 District Crit Championships (Denham Springs, LA)
29-30 Anniston Alabama, AL MTB Race

August:
4-6 Brian Head, UT NORBA National MTB Race (Brian Head, UT) NORBA MTB
11-13 Snowmass NORBA National MTB Race (Snow Mass, CO) NORBA MTB
19-20 USCF National Championships (Downers Grove, IL) National Championships

September:
9-10 Clear Creek MTB Challenge (Oxford, MS) MTB
16-17 Rasing Canes Road Race (St Francisville, LA)

October:
7-9 Ride Around Butts (Jackson, MS) MTB
14-15 Piney Hills Fall Classic (Ruston, LA) AMBC Louisiana State MTB Championships Knock One More Down for the Ole Boy. We will make this one Number 3

I QUIT!!!!

Shit this Schedule is sending me all over the place. Also, I will have to make at least one trip to the Left Side to Mammoth, Cali. California Here We Come.

Pace Bend

2006-03-05T19:11:00.000-06:00

Hey this was one of the best race courses that I have encountered. Pace Bend Park is a jewel located just west of A-town on Lake Travis. The hills are rolling and the pavement is amazing. Austin if you don't watch out you might get another resident. This is the first course that I have raced that is built for me with one exception. I love extremely steep short hills that rip your legs off. I should recant that statement. I don't love them I just manage them better that most of the guys I race against.

That said it was my first race of the year and not just that my first race since October 05. I have pics that eventually will be added to a photo section but bear with me for the time being. My form(for all my non-cycling buddies = race fitness) seems pretty good but I have not worked the grinding rides where one powers the flats in a really hard gear for hours to work your muscles under a high stress low cadence. These for me are essential for racing because I spin an extremely high cadence (pedal revolutions). Mistake number one don't do that. I am doing grinding rides starting tomorrow.

So the race starts and it was quite fast. We were averaging ~ 26-28 on the second lap with hills. That is rolling for a large Cat 3 field (~ 100). On lap 4/10 I could not tell whether I had picked up a piece of tape or possibly slashed the casing of my tire. So I stopped and found that it was a bandage. This f)(&ing bandage was the most tenacious bit of sticky stuff that I have ever come across. It lasted through two power descents at 43 MPH with my hand rubbing the tire to dislodge the object. So I stopped and found that this band aid had ruined my day. It was time to chase back to the peleton (main group of riders).

NOT OVER MY DEAD BODY!!!! Just as I stopped I slowed down before the hills on each of the 6.2 mile laps. I restarted to see the one person that the group was marking a rider from A&M launch an attack. SHIT!!! The group responded and started to chase him down. This left me chasing, which was fine with me because I was catching them on the hills. However, soon enough they made it back to the power descents and I had not made it back into the group. As a complete UNIT they can descend far faster than one person. I could not get above 32 by myself and they were going 43+. Guess whose race had just been blown out of the water? MEEEEEE. I rode Tempo for the rest of the race and ended up getting lapped. Which was fine by me because the peleton caught me just before the bell lap (final lap)? I hop back into the mix and do so just in time to see one guy ride clear off the road and catch his front wheel on a chain fence about knee high and catapult him over the bars. Shortly there after in the sprint some poor schmutz (the foamy brown crust found in septic tanks when the top is removed) crashed and here I am behind him my front wheel cruising at his neck at 30+. I had to lock the brakes up to not do serious damage to him.

GAME OVER.

Walberg

2006-03-05T19:04:00.000-06:00

I could not race because I forgot my licence number and I ran into a boy scout. It rained all day and I was not looking forward to racing in that hell storm anyway. The radar image says it all.

Michael Foster Project

2006-03-02T09:53:00.000-06:00

Went to Sogo last night to see the Mike Foster Project. They are a local brass band that includes a lot of my buds from my yesteryears. Mike Foster on Sousaphone; we have John Grey on Trumpet; Jeremy Boinkins on Trumpet; Christopher Lee on drums and a few other guy whose' names I can not recall at this moment.

I remember playing at M's Cafe with Simon Lott and many of these guys back when I was in High School, many years ago when I wanted to be a musician. I finally realized that I grew up in great company. Hanging out with WarmDaddy Wes Anderson, taking lessons from Rex Richardson and any other traveling musical monster, playing with Gram Breedlove. Hell I even played with Daniel Lee Hotard when my brother was pissing around with his band Janus. I am not sure how it happened but cycling took over my life and put my music on the back burner. That said I now have time to start to re-explore my music and I think it is time to pick my axe back up again. I remember playing at M's Cafe and Wes walked in, I choked like you would not believe. Here in small Baton Rouge one of the most accomplisehed alto sax player in the world walks in on one of my Solos and I CHOKED, no sound no audible attempt just silence followed by 30 second of out of tune CRAP. I am more musical in the bathroom than I was for those 30 seconds. Do I really miss being a musician? I started to play the trumpet at the age of 9 years old and have played on and off primarily ON for 16 years. I have played with some great musicians and some cool guys.

I miss Tabby's Hoodoo music on Thursdays but I think a nice alternative is Mike Foster on Wednesdays. Sogo has a nasty little drink special known as 3 for 1 on Wednesdays. One drink and I am done.

LAE, Jr

Be sure to check in same bat time same bat channel.

Rouge Roubaix

2006-02-27T18:37:00.000-06:00

Rouge Roubaix is the HARDEST Race in South Louisiana. It is advertised as 100 miles which is a locally know lie. It is 106 miles of the toughest terrain that South LA has to offer. This race is of Premier importance to me because it is also a memorial race to a couple of my fallen fellow Cyclist whom were also great friends and an inspiration to me.

20 Miles of Dirt Roads in the West Feliciana and a Couple of hellatious hills and a nack for horrid weather have given this race a bad reputation. I was in attendance of this race in 2003. That day the weather was dry and cold. Temps ~ 42deg and ~ 5 mph winds. Within 2 hours of the start the temp had dropped to 20 deg with 20 mph head winds. Imaging riding a bike in your freezer with a fan blasting you in the face. Many like I had expected the temp to warm up, contrary to popular belief it dropped to a temp that made survival your only thought. My water bottles FROZE SOLID. I lost all sensation in my fingers, toes, nose and all other extremities. To top off this as I am riding up Pond Store Rd which is about 70 miles into the race and the most notorious of the climbs in the race, around a mile in length and ~ 8-12% gradient, a truck full of guys pull up next to me armed with shotguns, rifles, pistols and blood hounds inform me that several prisoners had escaped from Angola. THey told me that I might not want to ride my bike for the duration of the race. This reminded me of Deliverance and is permanently embedded in my memory. I did not finish the race that year I hopped in my friends car and it took 3 days to regain sensation in my fingers. This weekend I get yet another shot at a race that I hold above all others. I am hopeful for good weather this year. However, with my luck I am not going to get my wish because I may have lots of good days but I never get what I wish for.

LAE, Jr

Coming Soon More Shite.

2006-02-27T16:18:00.000-06:00

Hey I know I have neglected this blog to the point of it loosing its reason for existance. Well here it goes I will post a long drawn out update on all of my b.s. of recent and fairly distant past.

Jr

Just Getting Started in more ways than one

2005-10-28T09:45:00.000-05:00

Today, starting to turn over another page in the book of death.

Training and racing in Louisiana is difficult but not impossible. Sure we barely have any hills much less mountains. Sure we don't have that many cyclists. Sure we don't have many races. Sure we have very low turn out at the events we have. Sure we have people driving bullets known as SUVs all over the place. Finally I know that some idiot in a picker up truck is going to run me off the road but hey I love it. We in Louisiana have something that he rests of the world wishes it had. That is ...... Wait let me get back to you on that one.

Base miles are calling my name. Time to start shredding up the roads in my 39-19 for a couple hours each morning. That said if you are interested in going on plenty of long rides in the Baton Rouge area holla.

Plans are to get ready for my final season spent racing my MTB and Road bikes. I think that Law School is my new calling.