Active Exploration

Well, I just re-discovered my blog after about a 15 year hiatus. Also I discovered that all the photos are now gone. Interesting. I suspect it is something that google did, but maybe I deleted them from somewhere accidentally?

This evening while I was running, I came across a great horned owl sitting on a log by the side of the path. The owl didn't move as I came by and stopped but just looked at me and blinked. It didn't seem hurt - just chilling out on a log. I have never seen anything like it. This is another reason why people should get outside. It's a unique experience that you can't have if you only go from your house to your car to wherever. It is a side effect to being outside and actively using your body - you might see a once in a lifetime thing.

On Thursday I saw Race Across the Sky , the documentary about the Leadville Trail 100, at my local cinema. It is not the best documentary out there, but some of the scenes are awe-inspiring and the race is clearly an amazing experience for all involved. Lance Armstrong, the winner of the race this year, may have his faults but he is such an extraordinary athlete and probably a cool guy to hang with.

Some people love Stan's tubeless system , some people hate it. If you look at internet review sites, it's either got 5 stars or 1 star. I haven't made up my mind yet. I think it is a killer system because of how it performs, but you must recognize that setting it up is an exercise in frustration.  These are the things I have learned since using it.  Lower tire pressures are really nice for mountain biking, like everyone claims. The sealant works. When you get a puncture, it will seal up right away.  You can waste a whole day trying to set it up before you shallow your pride and go to a bike shop where they can do it in 10 minutes. Don't even bother trying to get your tires to seat with a floor pump. Use a compressor. Take your wheels to a gas station or bike shop if you have to. Tubes are way easier. Except that they get flats. Last spring, I decided to jump belatedly on the tubeless tire bandwagon and find out what the big deal was. I bought the Stan's No Tu...

Mountain biking is a spiritual experience. I find peace in the quiet of the woods, humility in the effort that is required, and beauty in the motion between the rider, the bike, and the ground. After every ride, no matter how demanding or bruising it was, I feel refreshed. I have sweated out any negativity and cleared my mind of chaotic thoughts. There is no time for mental chatter when a moment's inattention in a rock garden means breaking a bone. Riding purifies me. Today I had to attend an event for work. I brought my bike in order to ride afterwards at a nearby park. The event went longer than expected, and then traffic on the drive delayed me further. I was annoyed and tense all the way there; muttering to myself. Then I arrived, unpacked, and rode 15 miles. On the way home there was traffic too, but I didn't care. I was at peace.

I watched 24 Solo last night from Netflix. It is a documentary about 24 hour mountain bike race champion Chris Eatough . While most mountain bike films are about "gravity" events like downhill and freeriding, this movie makes racing cross-country for an entire day interesting. On the surface, you wouldn't think that there would be much drama in a race where the contenders can finish 30 minutes or more apart, but the filmmakers do a good job of condensing the important events into a shorter format. They also have some excellent photography, both with helmet cameras and cable cameras. What is remarkable to me is how the guys that do 24 hour races solo are not really in it for the money or the fame, because there is not much of either. They either really like what they do or are extremely obsessed and driven. The amount of pain and suffering that they experience must be astronomical. I would really be interested to know how it compares to the exertion required for the T...

Yesterday I fulfilled a goal for myself of riding to the top of Mount Evans (14,264 ft) from my sister's house in Evergreen, CO (7400 ft). It was a long ride: 36 miles almost all uphill, then 36 miles down. With a forecast for good weather, and the temperature in the 40s, I started out around 7:30 AM from Evergreen and headed up Evergreen Parkway towards Bergen Park. As I was going up the first hills, I started thinking, "This is not going to happen!" I was not warmed up and my legs were feeling tired already. However, I started to get into a rhythm and by the time I turned up Squaw Pass Road I was feeling better. Up Squaw Pass Road was a long grind. The forest changed from mostly ponderosa pine to spruce and lodgepole pine. I was surprised by the amount of development in the area. There are houses all along the road (although mostly hidden) and even a few subdivisions. I wonder what it is like to live at 10,000 feet in the winter. As I was riding, I was slowly w...

Lots of people love cycling. Lots of people love bikes. That much riders can agree on; but then divisions start to form. Some people love mountain biking but don't "get" road cycling. Some people like to ride on the weekends but wouldn't think of commuting on a bike. I don't feel like I fit into any one category of cyclist. I ride on trails with my 2007 Stumpjumper FSR Expert. I ride on the road with my 2003 Allez Elite. I have commuted in the past on a beater bike. I sometimes race in criteriums , cross-country , and in off-road duathlons . I tour by bike; I climb mountains on the road and on the trail . For me, cycling isn't sliced up into smaller and smaller pieces. It's all one whole; one experience that can be approached in slightly different ways. Cycling is a state of mind, but it requires something physical. A bike is a material object - a thing - but it assumes meaning to people because of what it allows them to do. We can speed over the gro...

Yesterday was the 24th Philadelphia International Championship . It was HOT! I mean, 96 degrees out there. The sun was intense. I was sweating like crazy, and I was just standing around watching the race. I can't imagine what it would have been like to race 156 miles yesterday. However, despite the heat, it was a world-class event as usual. The crowds were less than usual, most likely because of the weather, but they were still huge. Philadelphia loves bike racing and I think everyone in the area who has even a slight interest in cycling comes out to watch. Since it was so hot, I was expecting the race to unfold like it did a few years ago in similar conditions. In 2005 , a 3-man breakaway with Chris Wherry, Danny Pate, and Chris Horner got away on the last climb of the Manayunk Wall and held it to the finish. Yesterday, breaks kept going and then getting caught all day long, and it finally came down to a field sprint with Matti Breschel winning. I was happy to see Fred Rodriguez g...

My wife and I went to watch the Tour of Somerville on Monday. The organizers claim that it is the oldest bicycle race in the country, and that it is "regarded as the most prestigious cycling event in America." The last statement is definitely a stretch (think Tour of California, Tour de Georgia, Philly) but it was still a fun race to watch. Basically it is a criterium with lots of fast pro riders. The weather was great and there were a lot of fans lining the course. Slipstream, Colavita, Time, and others were there. Sebastian Haedo won the men's race; he probably has a good career ahead of him if he follows his brother J.J. The women's race was won by Tina Pic, which is amazing because she is in her 40s.

I raced in the King of the Hill Duathlon today. If you live in the New York/Philadelphia area, it is a challenging race that is worth checking out. The race takes place at Round Valley recreation area , one of the best parks for mountain biking in the area. There are big climbs, fast descents, singletrack, doubletrack, rocks, and roots. They also have an X-Terra triathlon that takes place at the same time. Some of those triathlon dudes are pretty fast. The race started out with great sunny, cool weather, but clouds moved in and it started to rain lightly after I finished. The course was a little wet from the rain last night, but it has hardly any mud because the trail is rocky and drains well. The race started on the beach with a 1.7 mile run up some small hills, on roads and gravel. The pace of the group was quick with a couple of guys taking off right from the start. After the transition I hit it pretty hard on the bike leg; my plan was to stay consistent and not burn out on the lo...

I have a lot of respect for pro bike racers. Besides the enormous discomfort and pain they endure in the course of racing, they put up with a lot of other indignities. The doping scandals of the last few years have forced them to be monitored much more than any ordinary person would tolerate. They have to travel around the world frequently, dealing with jet lag, photo shoots, interviews, and other aspects of being celebrities. Still, I had to laugh when I saw this quote in Velonews from Alberto Contador on the conditions at the Giro d'Italia : We’ve been stuck in traffic here for hours. We didn’t get to our hotels until 11 p.m. and hardly had time to eat and get a massage. I know I would be miserable if I didn't get my daily massage.

Being the late adopter that I am, I just recently bought a mountain bike with hydraulic disc brakes. My previous mountain bike had linear-pull brakes, which perform great and are easy to adjust. No self-respecting new bike has this antiquated technology though, so now I have a Stumpjumper FSR with Avid Juicy brakes. From the day I bought it, the rear brake would rub more than it should - if I spun the wheel it would slow down and stop quickly. I fiddled around with it a little by following the information in the manual. I realigned the caliper, adjusted the pad engagement, and so on. It still rubbed. So then over the weekend I messed around with it more, took the brake pads out and pulled the lever. The pistons went out to the point that I could barely get the pads back in, and I had no luck pushing on the pistons directly. I was convinced that I would have to bleed them since it seemed like air had gotten in the system. Then I read somewhere on the internet about using a screwdriver t...

Back in the day when I was just getting into mountain biking, Tinker Juarez was one of those guys that was always in the mountain bike magazine articles and ads. He stuck out to me because of his unusual name and crazy hair. He's still got both of those and he is still winning races . Image by Ken Conley How can a guy in his late 40s still be winning competitive mountain bike races? Ned Overend, the mountain bike racing legend in his 50s, is the same way. He does pretty well in hill climbs, winning at the Teva Mountain Games last year and usually doing well in the Mount Washington hill climb. However, you don't see any road racers that age still racing, much less winning races. Why is that? Maybe road races are much more competitive and demanding, or maybe a mountain bike racer will years of experience and skill development has an extra edge over younger riders. Whatever it is, these guys give us something to aspire to.

I'm starting up a group ride on Thursday evenings, starting from Firehouse Cycles in Yardley, PA. For more information click here .

It's spring, and the weather has finally turned nice and warm. My wife needs the car this afternoon to go to a meeting, so I brought my bike for the afternoon commute. I think it's going to be about 20 miles via the back roads home. It should be a nice ride as long as the angry aggressive east coast drivers aren't out in full force. You know the kind... they look like all the veins in their head are ready to burst, just because the driver or bike in front of them has audacity to be in front of them. Anyway, commuting by bike is a great way to do it. I had a few jobs that were close enough to home that I could bike every day, year round. Environmental groups argue that it's less polluting, healthier, and takes cars off the road, which is true, but the real reason I liked it was because I got to work and I wasn't stressed already . Long commutes by car or train are soul-crushing. I guess most people in this country have crushed souls (98.4%). Here are some statistics ...