Author: Bill

Just a quickie post before my laptop dies. Some photos of this weekends 8 Hour of Labor Mountain Bike Race. Some other great posts can be found at GMan

My friend and training partner Zephanie is moving to Pocatello Idaho and last night was the good bye party. it was all good and it started out with pizza from The Bridge Pizza. [lost the rest of this post somehow]

My good friend Paul Bardis wrote up a great piece about my journey to the Worlds last month and it got published in Vermont Sports. I used to grace their pages back in the day (check it) and it is nice to see the love and support from my North Country peeps. Click the image above to visit (or here).

I just woke up from a weird dream about a wounded elephant. What was that about? And then moments later I sit here at work with a tweaked back. How did I tweak it? Don’t know, only that I was late for work and thrashing about the apartment gathering what I would need while I was incarcerated in prison. I am also feeling like I have fallen from being in shape and am putting on weight.  HEY! That’s the wounded elephant.

Now that I have that figured out.

Last night I went for a

So yea got off work and biked down Orange Street to the trailhead at the I90 exit. I usually go straight up to a ridge top and come back down for a recovery hike. Takes about 40 minutes and only 400 feet elevation gain. Perfect for recovery.

On this hike I decided to do a longer loop that took me around and up the Waterworks Hill trail and back around. A great little hike.

Along the way I called my friend Paul from Plattsburgh NY to say hi. he used to call me from on top of a Plattsburgh mountain to say hi so this time I thought I would call him.

He was out biking with Richard and it was getting dark there. in addition it was

Yesterday I finally got out and attempted an assault on the RMVQ route. By the time I arrived at Blue Mountain Rec Area it was evident that I would encounter bad weather and all I had was a long sleeve jersey.

I arrived at CP 1 Blue Mtn Fire Tower soaked and cold. By the time I got to CP2 at the end of the Grave Range Growler I had been rained on three more times and almost crashed because of all the muddy conditions.

I gave up the effort at the bottom of Dry Gulch and headed home. At least I tried for around 6 hours, a pretty decent effort.

— Post From My iPhone

So yesterday I did the usual early escape from prison (work) and went home to do some TieBo. And as usual I passed out for a nap to wake up just an hour before my planned meet up with friends ant the new Kettle House Brewery location in Ronnie

Who ever sent me this print, thanks so much! Got a photo in the mail from an anonymous source. I was moved when I pulled it out of its container. Somehow I forgot how much pain was involved in the worlds … its all on my face.

Crushed it on the Treasure Trail yesterday! Felt like a freakin’ gazelle – even during the aerobic threshold run (which, let’s be honest, usually feels more like dragging an anvil uphill). Now, some folks might point the finger at the Carbo Rocket (you know, that “miracle fuel” everyone’s raving about), but here’s the kicker: my numbers were supposed to be chilling in the low 130 bpm range. Turns out, after I dug into the data, 145 is my new threshold. Mind. Blown. That’s, like, 13 beats higher than WORLDS! Talk about peaking at the wrong time… (cue dramatic music).

But hey, gotta roll with the punches, right? So, today’s all about embracing the “Skill Day” in my training plan. Think of it as my personal playground – and my trusty Turner Flux is the swing set. We’re talking smooth flats, epic climbs, twisty descents, the whole shebang. Smooth surfaces? Done. Rough terrain? You betcha. Even testing out this standin’ thing – gotta master every skill, ya know? SportTracks better be ready for the data avalanche I’m unleashing. Seriously, I geek out on this stuff more than a kid in a candy store.

Speaking of geeking out, remember that iPhone I’ve been obsessing over? Well, thanks to the legend at Mum’s Wireless, I’m officially on the waiting list! He even hooked me up with a sweet plan – 25 bucks a month, with plenty of Wi-Fi and Skype to fill in the gaps. Big ups to Mum’s, yo! They get it.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a date with my bike, a trail, and a whole lot of data to conquer. Wish me luck (and maybe send some virtual energy drinks my way – this “peaking” thing might need a little boost ).

So I have no photos to post and today was a bad day for me, mostly my fault, but nurtured by my …. hmm, what was I saying?

Didn’t get much done today but I did try. One thing I did get done was to rebuild my Turner. All the bearings and pivots were froze up. I went to pedal it on the stand and it required tremendous force because of the derailleur pulleys and bearings in the wheel all gummed up. It was from squirting lube on the chain for a 24 hour race and then the Butte 100

Paul Bardis and me, we hit the road to Glen Pond, tucked away in the Bitterroot Mountains near Saint Mary’s. Me and Paul? We go way back, sharing a thick book of adventures.