One for the ride

I spent the first weekend of the new year backpacking in Arkansas, Devil's Den to be exact.

I love winter camping. It's the only time I really get to use all the cool gear I've accumulated over the years — cold weather means I can sleep in my mummy bag, rather than spend the night sweating on top of it!

Jaime, my partner in crime, was up for exploring each and every cave and crevasse we came across. She's also one heck of a camp cook.

I'm planning a return trip soon. This time with my brothers and our bikes.

Any takers?

Cross season was long, painful and mostly dry — nationals and today's race were the exceptions. Boss Cross #3 was a fast course turned painful slog thanks to risings temps and melting snow.

A third of the course was faster on foot than on the bike.
Still a fun race, and a good way to end the season.

There are three more local 'cross races, but I'm burnt out. I'm ready to ride my bike in the woods, with friends, for fun.

Here are some shots of today's mudder, compliments of Roger Harrison.

Power washing is overrated.
Real men use the Missouri River to clean their bike, then jump in to clean themselves.

I've been absent from the interwebs for a few weeks, school is back with a vengeance. I've still managed to have fun on the bike though.
I headed to Manhattan last weekend and joined their monthly Critical Mass. They had a fairly good sized group. Those kids are much more civil than the rable-rousers here in Lawrence.



Saturday was Cruise the Blues, if you're not familiar with the race, it's a uniquely Kansas cycling event. Nestled in the middle of central Kansas is Doug and Tracey Palen's farm. In addition to being a farmer Doug is also a passionate mountain biker. He has created a network of fast flowy singletrack which meander through his fields and pastures. Dodging cornstalks and cow patties is part of the experience.

The race loop is approximately 13 miles of hardpacked goodness. The trail was not as buff as it has been in years past, thanks to a downpour the week before the race. Nothing five hours of racing can't remedy!

My teammate, Cycle City's very own John Waller, and I launched our assault on the men's five-hour "glory" field. I had a good first lap and John had an even better second. Unfortunately for me, the previous night's overindulgence in cheap beer and pulled-pork sandwiches would not be silenced — a counter-attack on my stomach was launched. I hurriedly exorcised the demons in the nearest johnny and just missed my teammate riding in. We lost some time but still managed to hold off third place. We went home with money in our pockets. Not a bad weekend. Congrats to the dynamic Chambers duo for taking home the big win!

I've raced and ridden at Landhal many times, I don't think conditions have ever been as good as they were for last weekend's Rapture in Misery. Mild temps and tacky hardpack made for ideal race conditions.

There's a bit of wisdom that says one should never race on untested equipment. Excellent advice, but I always seem to mix things up before race day. Many things have been mixed up this season and I've done what I can to make the best of it.

It did take some getting used to. Halfway through my fourth lap I crashed hard. There's a sharp left turn over exposed rocks and roots where, instead of braking, I lift the rear end and pivot on the front wheel to conserve momentum through the turn.

I did a poor job of executing this maneuver on my fourth lap. I leaned too far over the front and, as the fork rebounded, shot off the front, landing hard on my right side and twisting my right knee. I stood around for a few minutes, catching my breath and making sure my knee was still in working order. One racer, Kyle Shour, passed me while I getting myself back together. I struggled to catch Kyle, but he was hauling and my knee wasn't having it. I decided to try and make up time slowly over the next few laps—bad choice.

Of all the pit crews at Landahl mine was far and away the most spirited, thanks in no small measure to the free beer provided by the fine
folks at Heartland Sports.















Every time I rolled thru the pit raucous cowbells and empty beer cans greeted me. Unfortuntely, in their exuberance they mistakenly thought the racer who passed me was a lap down and relayed this golden nugget to me. I figured I was still in first and rode conservatively the rest of the day.

I ended up taking second, and had I known Kyle was not a lap down, I would probably have still finished second.

New Bike.

I'm not one to rant and rave about bikes until I get some time on them, but I'm enjoying the fit and handling of the Spot. It served me well this weekend—the belt-drive was certainly a conversation starter. More on the new bike in a future post.

More to come.

In my search to create what friends have dubbed "The Josh Patterson Fantasy Bike Shop," I've found a great way to build a wheeled cart for my Park TS-2 truing stand.

I love building wheels—I find it very relaxing. Something about taking many disparate parts and creating a single strong, functional structure is very rewarding. One thing I've always wanted to build was a cart to hold boxes of spokes, spoke prep / linseed oil and my tensiometer. Well, I came across a ready-made solution.

I picked up a microwave cart, for free, and drilled holes in the top to mount my truing stand. It holds everything I need. I can wheel it around the shop, I could even roll it into the house and build wheels while watching Desperate Housewives.

I could.

I've been back in the U.S. for three weeks. Europe was great, Croatia was gorgeous, but I was off the bike for six weeks...and I hadn't been riding much before I left. Getting back in the saddle was a rude awakening.

I don't think I've been off a bike for a solid six weeks in many, many years. Since getting back, I've been spending my mornings logging in base miles on the road bike. Prior to this weekend, I hadn't ridden my mountain bike since April.

No better way to get back into the swing of things then a six-hour singlespeed escapade!

I mounted some fresh rubber, filled my water bottles and off I went. This was the first Heartland race at Shawnee Mission Park and the trails delivered. Very fast and flowy, with enough rocky sections to make things interesting.

Saturday was hot and sticky. I was looking forward to it. I knew I was not in shape for this kind of event but was counting on my secret weapon to give me an advantage, provided I could turn over consistent laps. The hotter it is the better I seem to perform, relative to others. The reason: I don't cramp. In 26 my years of existence I have never had a cramp.

I had a good start, there was a long grass section leading into the singletrack. By the time we hit the trail everyone had figured out where they needed to be. I traded laps with several singlespeeders of ill repute, Skip from Lincoln and Team Seagal from Saint Louis. The STL crew rolled in deep, nice guys too.

My first five laps felt good. After that, my lack of fitness began to show—I could maintain a consistent pace, but couldn't attack or power up the short climbs. I took a long pit stop to relax after my sixth lap and felt haggard for the last two laps. My hands took a beating from my rigid setup; towards the end I had to brake thru the rough stuff.

I came in from my eighth lap and called it a day. Considering my current level of fitness, I was more than content with a 3rd place finish in Men's 20-29 .

After the race I was looking forward to hanging out with my singlespeed compatriots around the beer cooler, but it was not to be.

"There can't be good living where there is not good drinking."
-Benjamin Franklin

One thing that makes a Heartland race a Heartland race was absent this weekend.
Apparently you can have alcohol in parks in Johnson County.
Boo Hiss.


Things I learned this weekend:

• Maybe a suspension fork is not such a bad idea.
• Hutchinson 29er Pythons are great race tires.
• The key to comfort on a hardtail during a six-hour race is a Ti seatpost combined with a women's saddle—WTB DEVA—my ass has never known such decadence.