Root 66 Race Series - A New Twist to My MTB Obsession

I got in a few races this year with the Root 66 Racing Series. Started the year where I left off last year, mid-pack at Hop Brook, where I lost 9th to this guy I rightly beat, due to someone running across the finish line and causing me to serve out of bounds.

As usual I thought we were first and second place. I usually think I'm doing better than I am. It doesn't really matter though. It's great to gather with equally obsessed people and talk about bike parts and trail lines. Something my wife and kids can't generally tolerate. (When I ramble on about Chris King, they generally think I'm talking about a co-worker).  I handed ninth to a guy named Mike. He would follow me through a later race at Winsted Woods, where I took second and he got third,  then move on to spank me rightly in the Massachussetts Races, (Domnarski's Farm, and Hodges Village Dam).

As a consolation, I did take first place for CAT 3 40 to 49 at the gnarliest race, Wrath of the Boneyard in Meriden. It rained and provided me with horribly muddy and slippery conditions that gave me  the technical edge over the climb-happy roadies.  It was one of those races where you feel like you have unlimited reserves of energy. The first lap, I broke away from everyone with some teenager from a prep school in Mass. He was into DH riding and we stayed clipped-in throughout the nasty gravel pits and root gardens. I passed him on the climb feeling invincible, and started to slack off a little to reserve my energy, until a 50 year old rider came up like a ghost behind me and passed me with another guy from my class at the end of the first lap. But the nasty wet and slimy DH gravel, trap baby-head, roots returned with a blast of downpour. Now the trail was even looser and less predictable. I passed the roadie-types and remembering how they caught me on the climbs, I forced as much distance between us as possible in the techs. As the climbs approached, I latched onto a kid who was killing the climb, with spikes on his hard tail's top tube. I urged him on as he slowed, but when I finally passed him I noticed he was out of gas. I was surprised that for some reason I was not. As we got to the small downhill before the last climb, I noticed the ghost and maybe another rider behind me closing. I clamped down and pedaled with everything I had to even extend my lead for the win, although I didn't know it at the time. Wife and kids were there to cheer. I got the gold and the state champion medal that day. And some grips.

The rest of the summer, I rode casually, went to Colorado, skipped a race or two for no reason. I noticed that I remained the points leader. I was planning on finishing the season in first place. But then the Millstone grind came around, in North Nowhere Vermont, my mom got sick and was in the hospital. I was torn whether or not to ride up with Mike, for 5 hours. He had just beaten me by like 10 minutes in a cramp-filled outing at Hodges Village Dam.

I barely squeaked by in 6th place and was disoriented at the finish. I did some math and figured I could probably skip the Millstone Grind and remain in first place as we went into the Landmine. But I'm bad at math and Mike discovered that he was not listed for a race after the Millstone. He finished first in VT...  So by skipping Millstone, which might have kept me in first or second, I'm waiting for the Landmine insecurley in third place. My mom is fine now. I've been riding harder and hoping I can finish this last race with no cramps or mechs.

My steed is holding up

I've ridden a 2012 Racing Red Santa Cruz Blur LTc all season with 650bs, and it been solid and fun. I think the edge it gives me comes from running a 36 front crank double. ... That and the red which everyone knows is the fastest color. The fork is starting to feel a little clunky, so it might need a rebuild after serving me well for the season. And the frame linkage or rear Sun Ringle wheel is clinking when I bear down on the pedals. The linkage is the most likely culprit, but the rear cassette seems to quiet down when I crank it tight to hub. Anyway only needs to stay put for one more race.


Now I'm rooting for Mike to win it all. Though I'm not even sure what that means in terms of medals and prizes. Usually cat 3 is the bastard step-child of root 66, prize and podiumwize.... But it might be nice to get a water bottle or shirt or something nonetheless.

Mike just gets faster. (Domnarski's farm)

I'm 48 and this could be my last (only) season racing, but it sure added some excitement to the year. I can also say that I'm the state champion for my age and CAT 3 since I won gold at the Boneyard. I have a gold and a silver. No bronze, so if I can finish the season in third place in points, that will round out my podium placement. Ten its back to local rides and adventures with my kids, looking for arrowheads and keeping westwoods tidy. But if that doesnt scratch my itch, maybe ill come back for my last year in 40-50s to race all the youngsters before I age out... But lets not think too far ahead for now... Landmine.

2007 Santa Cruz Heckler Air - AM/FR Bike Project

The Late Mr. White (after my step-dad who died in December)

It's hard as I get older to burn off the winter beer flab, and get motivated for a daily ride. To do this, I buy new crap. This year, I decided it was time to build another bike, (which is often my decision when I don't feel motivated). It always does the trick. I've been riding this bike nearly every day since I finished it. It plays in nicely as contrast to my big black evil Banshee, which I cannot find the power to part with, and was my 2006 build up.


To say this bike has everything would be an understatement.
Here's the bottle opener.

This build was designed with the goal of being as pure all mountain as I could get, but with the ability to take any impulsive drop that stood in my way. So I built it light, with the exception being the wheelset (Transition Revolutions), because the DT EX 1750s were just too expensive to bend... I could buy 3 pairs of the revolutions for the same price... So I put up with the heft. The TBRs have 32 spokes, and a 150 thru-axle on the back. The hoops are very similar to the Vuelta Xcalibers I bought off ebay a couple of years ago. In fact I'd guess that was the OEM.
The brakes are Magura Julies, the drive train x9. The cranks and king headset came with the frame off of ebay for $850 new!


White Peaty Grips, and the Spank Lounge Bar Complete the Monochromatic look.
This shot also shows my jealous Banshee muscling in like Sen. Lieberman to a photo-op in the shot,
reducing the photo confusing a jumble of bike parts.

The Marzocchi All Mountain 1 SL, (www.wheelworld.com) fork is actually the third fork in three weeks I tried on the bike, blowing through the Maverick DUC of my last frame, which felt to XC, a Fox Float 36 that I picked up off of craigslist, which surprisingly didn't play nice with the rear DHX AIR, and could not be tamed/tuned. It would have been nice with a coil rear shock, I could have put it on my Banshee... but It was just too Freeride for the bike that I was imagining here. Once I found the white Transition wheels and the white Marzocchi SL, I got hooked on finding more white for the bike. I got the Spank Lounge bar from Pricepoint.com and the white peaty grips. Logically, Mr. White became the name.

The ride
A few things stood out from the start.
1. I had the sensation of being propelled along with more than my own pedal power at times. Sounds wierd, but after riding the Banshee, which is not very light, my guess is that this bike felt slightly self-propelled as it would roll nicely, and was so much less effort to ramp up to speed.

2. It has a short rear chainstay, which means that you get air with the slightest effort, which is a good thing. It's easy to change up which end of the bike you want to land on mid air, depending on your jump... Not like the Banshee which crashes abuptly to the ground, only to be saved from its inertia by its Incredibly plush suspension. This air suspension takes a lot longer to dial in, but needs to do less work with 10lbs less weight. The disadvantage to the short rear end is that it seems to "stink bug" more easily when you are hoping for rapid slow down, (I don't skid - it's a sign of weakness), but on this bike, I had a few embarrasing moments of lock up when my speed could not be checked in a controllable manner as on my Banshee... ( I swear that Banshee(horst really) 4-bar has not been improved upon yet). For gearhead that may argue this, I heard good things about floating suspension from magazines etc. But I've ridden VPs that seemed loose and flabby in back, and know of many that failed in back. That made me go Heckler for simplicity sake. Though you cannot deny VPPs ability to hit sonic speeds on the DHs... Maybe next frame.

3. The SRAM x9s are shit compared to Shimano precision. I could not afford all this and XT, so I settled for X9s, which shops like cause they are easier to setup, but they are sloppy compared to XT precision in shifting, especially on the high gear. Maybe its my lack of adjusting ability, or just a matter of preference, but I'd take XT if I could afford it any day.

4. The Marzocchi All Mountain SL is at Wheelworld.com for 399. I was suspicious at first, but Marzocchi lives up to the hype and doesn't disappoint me again! It's my favorite fork brand fer sure. I've had them all.

5. The DHX Air is boring. Fox is boring. Not worth talking about because everything they say about their product, is totally true. It works flawlessly. It is totally predictable. Any Fox Rear Shock I've had is the same. It lives forever and just, well, works. What else can you say? It's like reviewing a ball bearing. It's just what we've come to expect. Totally dependable and everything you think it would be. No complaints. Air vs. Coil is another argument, and one I won't get in to here, having a DHX 5 and an Air and loving them the same.

2000 Giant XTC NRS 1 Mountain Biking at Killington

This was my first bike that cost over 2 grand. It was also my first bike that had to be sent back for another warranty bike. It was also my fastest mountain bike that got me down to 185 lbs. and into racing. It was unbelievably fast, but it also rattled apart, since at full speed, it didn't like to rattle over rocks roots and debris. 24 pound bike but its suspension was too snappy for New England crud.

Here we are skittering down the fireroad at Killington...No pads, just mountain biking.

Trails have not changed much... Here's some more circa 2001 helmet cam...
Ya might recognize some of it.