Fall is here!

Well, I think summer is gone. The last couple of days the temperature at night has dropped to the mid 40's with the daytime high only getting up to the mid 60s. Soon, it will be winter again, and I'll be back to riding my bike in the basement. But, until then, if the sun is out, I will be too.

Yesterday was gorgeous- a "textbook" fall day. No humidity, a chill in the air, a bright blue sky and plenty of sun. A perfect day for mountain bike riding. And, as luck would have it, the grand opening of a new Mountain Bike Trail "MoMBA".

This trail is wonderful! About 9 miles of great flowing trails with some good climbs, descents, and technical sections. The trail is extremely well marked and does a great job of letting riders know what difficultly to expect on each trail.







I didn't get to see all of the trail yesterday, but I'm sure we'll be going back there again soon. Can't wait!

John Bryan Fast Lap

The final "Fast Lap" of the Fall Series was last night.

So, for the series my times are:

1st race: 36:29
2nd race: DNF (crashed out)
3rd race: 35:28

I managed to shave 1 minute and 1 second from my previous time-- I'm pretty happy with that!

The "Fast Lap" series has been both challenging and fun. I started doing this series to become a better rider. I think I've met that goal. I've overcome some "mental issues" I had with obstacles and I feel a little more confidant pushing myself to kick my speed up a little.

Next up- The "12 hours of Dauset" on the 22nd. I'm really getting excited about this race. It will really be good to see and ride with the "chit-chat" girls and to hang out with our bike friends again. Can't wait!!!

File this under WTF!

The Sep 10, 2007 issue of Time Magazine is reporting that two "Hash House Harriers" are facing felony charges for creating a bio-terrorism scare and forcing hundreds to evacuate a Connecticut Ikea parking lot for sprinkling flour to mark a trail for their local Hash.

Click here for the Time story.

For those unfamiliar with hashing, Wikipedia describes "Hash House Harriers" as an "international group of social, non-competitive running and drinking clubs. Hashing has frequently been described as 'a drinking club with a running problem', and the social element of hashing is of equal importance to the running. The template for a hash run is for one or more hashers (the "hares") to lay out a running trail, which may include false trails, short cuts and trail breaks. They also prefer the use of bio-degradable materials such as flour or sawdust to mark the trail in order to avoid unnecessary problems."

Also according to Wikipedia, this arrest took place on 25 Aug 2007 in New Haven, Connecticut.

What really amazes me is that it seemed perfectly reasonable to "someone" that a terrorist would be carrying around a 5 lb bag of "Anthrax" and would blazingly sprinkle it in a Shopping Center parking lot. What is even more amazing is that this event resulted in the arrest and subsequent felony charges against two people.

Having done a couple of Mountain Bike Hashes- which I must say was great fun- I guess it's a good thing that this "someone" didn't hear them singing their drinking songs- that would have certainly got someone in trouble.

Update on Colavita TT

The official TT results have been posted.

Comparing the other ladies (in my class) times to their July times, it looks like the headwind slowed us all down:

AM was 0:01:00 slower
SN was 0:02:06 slower
and
JS was 0:01:56 slower

I was 0:00:08 slower

But, the best part is, I managed to reduced the time gaps between me and each of the the other ladies in my category. I'm still not "competitive" - but I've improved. And that is why I'm out there.

I have one more Colavita TT and then I'm planning to wrap up the season where I started. Bellbrook is having another TT on 7 OCT. I'm hoping it will be the same course as the March race. My goal- see a noticeable improvement from my first race.