[MTI offline]

Cool on the fit! Keep us up to date if you notice a difference.

[mtbgreg1 offline]

Cool on the fit! Keep us up to date if you notice a difference.

Will do! The science behind what he did and why he did it was amazing. Also, got some serious coaching on pedal stroke and body position... going to take some practice to make it second nature, though.

[dgaddis offline]

I see a future blog post....

[mtbgreg1 offline]

I see a future blog post....

Yeah, I want to write one up... I'll need to do a detailed interview with Eddie, though. I don't claim to understand it all yet

[mtbgreg1 offline]

I officially completed my first century on Saturday. It was on a road bike, but 101 miles, 7.5 hours of riding, and over 10,000 feet of climbing still wasn't easy: http://app.strava.com/activities/42002371

[MTI offline]

Gregg,

Awesome job on that ride! There was no way I was going to fit an all day MTB 100 mile ride in. Daylight savings time coming up! I had to take care of one of my cusomers vacation homes yesterday and took a 3.5 hour ride when I got sick of working. It is a road...if you call it that. Actually it is so overgrown it is more like 4 inch singletrack the last 4 miles to the top. Thorns tore up my legs but I was hell bent on getting to the end. Very remote area. I saw a bear and bobcat along with lots of Turkey and deer. Did not tell my wife about the bear she would freak out cause there is no cell phone service and dumb of me I did not tell anyone where I was going. As far as miles and average speed it does not look like much on paper but I tell you there was a 6 mile stretch that was like riding in Pisgah. Rocky and gnarley. I also hiked a bike over a small rock/landslide. Trees down so I got to test out my new ride bunny hopping and man does it hop. Also once again, mud and ice up high on the mountain. It was probably one of the funnest rides I took in a long time. Once again Gregg awesome job on the 100. I am going to shoot for 60 miles at Tsali on Saturday IF the trails are dry and it is not raining or snowing. I don't mind the cold. After yesterday's ride I realized how much I missed the singletrack.

http://app.strava.com/activities/42147504

[mtbgreg1 offline]

Thanks man!

Nice, sounds like you had a great ride as well. It's all about having fun!

[MTI offline]

I only rode 50 miles this past week including a fun 11 miles at Jackrabbit today. I thought the trails would be dry but lots of peanut butter mud so I cut it off at 11 miles out of respect for the trails. Winter weather coming in Tue and Wed but Thur thru Sunday are forcast in the 60's! I will plan on my 60 mile long ride Saturday and can not wait. I bought a book on how to stretch properly as I have never been flexible and thought it would help my neck. Wouldn't you know it I hurt my back stretching. Was not laughing at the time Three days of misery i swear I better never have back problems when I get older. In any case I am at about 90% and realized time is ticking away till April 27. I am looking forward to Daylight Savings Time. It may only be an hour but it will make a huge difference in miles in the saddle.

[mtbgreg1 offline]

I too am looking forward to the warm weather this weekend!

For anyone who hasn't seen it yet, check out my blog post about training for the Cohutta 100: http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-ev ... ning-aids/

[MTI offline]

My long ride for the week was at 47 miles and 5,100 feet elevation gain. My goal today was either 50 miles or 5,000 feet. I was going to go the additional 3 miles to make it look better but just ran out of time . Awesome ride overall. There was still snow and ice over 3,500 feet on the north sides of the mountains which was surprising and a bit frusterating. I had to hike a bike several sections as there was just no way due to 12% grades and the ice. I had 5 miles over 4,000 feet so I had to deal with quite a bit in that stretch. Also the gravel was very soggy which made peddaling difficult but good practice!

I also today for the first time in a long while dealt with my vertigo and balance disorder that unfortunately is a byproduct of my hearing loss but to be honest since it was all gravel road and no singletrack (still to wet up here in WNC) it did not matter too much except on the snow and ice. I am glad it happened in case I have to deal with it on race day!

I stopped a total of 23 minutes to refil my camelbak and gatorage (water bottle) on two passes of my car at miles 27 and 38. I also stopped several times on the trail for a few minutes to stretch. Really bad idea as I think that hurt more than help as the muscles tightened up.

My stem was changed from an 80mm to a 60mm and that took care of the lower back pain and neck pain. I have also been stretching a lot at home so that may have played in part but it was nice not to deal with those pain issues. I think I liked the way I climbed better with the 80mm but I am sure I will get used to it. I can manueuver better with the shorter stem. Overall my legs and lungs were good but I know I still have a long way to go. With this weeks weather coming up and an extra hours I am shooting for lots of miles this week. Hopefully the rain will hold off Monday and the trails will be all dried out. My goal 60 miles next weekend and lots of shorter rides in between!

http://app.strava.com/activities/43791521#742447498

[mtbgreg1 offline]

Awesome ride man, that sounds legit! I logged 63 miles (about 90% of that on singletrack), 5,000 feet of climbing, in about 7 hours and 15 minutes of moving time: http://app.strava.com/activities/43802449

Again, this is officially the longest mountain bike ride of my life! Setting new personal records every week

[MTI offline]

I am jealous of all of your Singletrack. Things are really supposed to dry up after Monday up here so I will be nailing Tsali quite a bit. I am going to shoot for 60 miles on Saturday or Sunday weather permitting. I would rather do Sunday as the Right and Left loops are opened on Sunday but the other two loops will suffice if Sunday does not work out.

Does anybody know of anyone who has the Strava for last years Cohutta. I saw the elevation profile in a PDF format but I would like to do some more interactive stuff with it. And what is the gravel road to singletrack ratio at the Cohutta (ex. 50%/50%). Jeff maybe you can help out with the. Thanks in advance.

[MTI offline]

My goal was 60 miles or 6,000 feet elevation. I hit 6,100+ at mile 49. I wanted to do an additional 10 miles but I used that Gu Gel for the first time. Well I felt an initial energy surge but just sat in my stomach and at mile 40 I just wanted to Yak (but I didn't) and contined on. Is that gel something the body needs to get used to or what? I think I'll stick with my Clif bars for now. Any energy suggestions would be appreciated. I know there is some stuff on the site but what are you guys using now. I hydrate with my Camelbak (small 2 liter) and a water bottle of Gatoraid which works great for me on the hydration front.

I only stopped 19 minutes today and that was due to the Gu cramps and refilling water. Ride felt good overall. I am going to start killing the singletrack now that they should start drying out. These forest roads and long steep climbs are begining to get boring.

http://app.strava.com/activities/44852790

[gar29 online]

Interesting. I switched from Cliff bars to gel for the same reason! Bars have always killed me. Maybe it is personal physiology?

[MTI offline]

This weather sucks. Period. Total was going to be my long ride but I am only about to do 25 miles in the rain. Monday will be below freezing with flurries but I am going to have to do it as my long ride as we are expecting accumulation Tue and Wed. Than vacation off my bike until the day after Easter. My faith in groundhog Phil is lost!