The post Cranky recovery ride on Monday at PSP brought a lot of stiffness to the stems hanging off my waist. Decided to take it easy for the rest of the week and stay off the bike until the weekend. Friday was not only my 4th straight day off the bike but also a day full of rain showers. Was looking questionable whether the pre-ride at the Scout Camp would take place or not. CED said it was a go!

Met two of the other 3 members or Yoda Lama's Juicy Sin. This was the first time riding with Chris (Lama) and Gonyo (Yoda). Knew they were fast and quite frankly was afraid I would not be able to keep up coming off of the Cranky Monkey and subsequent week off the bike.

John Gonyo aka 'Yoda'

Chris Dauley 'Lama' (right) Rick (left)

Headed out for the first lap around the ~9 mile course which had me chasing Yoda and Lama. The initial pace had me searching for my legs. At one point I almost started yelling out "Marco" in hopes they would reply with a "Polo", but to no avail. The singletrack is a bit overgrown in areas next to the lake. Be careful around those parts. Handlebar creatures live in those parts. Seems I was not fast enough through that section to avoid their grasps. Down I went when I hear Yoda say, "Andy's down". Replying with an embarrassed "I'm OK" I hurry back to the bike and try to catch up. Lucky for me they eased up a bit. Rest of the lap went alright considering the amount of work it was to climb the slick hills and it was unbelievably hard to breath in the thick humid air.

After all the rain on Friday the course was a little more than tacky in most places and down right sloppy in others. Having fun playing in the mud, we stopped by the lot after the first lap so the Lama could adjust air pressures when I saw a familiar face ready-ing himself for a lap.

JB

We jumped back onto the trail and was delighted to find the ridden tracks packing fairly well which made riding seem a little less than work and a bit more fun. My legs finally replied with a faint "Polo" and I was beginning to feel a bit more comfortable in the saddle. Made it through the overgrowth where the handlebar creatures lurk without a hitch. So now the legs are responding somewhat when my lungs decide they need more O2 than I could take in. Finished the lap out sounding like an asthmatic moose. Made it out alive and with every passing lap around that place I look forward to the 18 hr race that much more.

Before heading out for a ride at the Scout Camp last night I had to get rid of the awful creaks that were coming from somewhere under my arse on the BUSS. Knowing it could be a couple of things such as the bottom bracket and or an ungreased seatpost I decided to pull both re-grease and make sure everything was tight once again. The good news, the creaks are gone. The weird news is I think that is the first time since I took ownership of the bike that I have removed the seatpost entirely. Now not removing it is not the weird part. It is what I found when I did remove it.

Probably the longest seatpost I have ever seen in my life. Seriously who needs a seatpost this long? If you needed it to be raised that much, wouldn't you need a tad larger frame?

Arrived out at the Scout Camp for the first episode of what is going to become a regular pre-ride event for the 18 Hours on the Farm. Cycles Ed has once again delivered with a fantastically fun fast course. Running in the opposite direction of last year with much of the fireroad removed and replaced with singletrack this event is going to be amazing! Cannot wait for August to come around!

Not overlooking this weekend's adventure through the woods on the Quantico Marine Base however. Planning another two-a-day today (road with Travis and then PSP with Chris) but both will be at a pretty relaxed pace, I hope. Going to take Friday off from riding and then heading up to Quantico Saturday afternoon for a pre-ride of the course before the fun begins on Sunday morning.