New title....new blog

To my 4 faithful followers:

I have decided to change my blog name and URL. It will be called SINGLETRACK CHRONICLES and just clicky click to go to it. I would appreciate it if you guys would become followers there too.....it will make me feel better!

For anyone else.....this blog will end is a while. haha.

New name?

There are many catchy blog names out there. A few that I read are:

Fat Cyclist
Accidental Athelete
Dirty Picasso Ride
Moronocity
Singletrack Mind

....and so on. I am bored with mine. I just want to try to change it to something new and different that will maybe catch the eye of more people. I am open to ideas. One of my friends already suggested:

Pedal til you're purple

I like it as it is bike related. Help me please to find a new name that is catchy and mountain bike related.


THANKS!

Heart Rates.....

Can someone explain what the numbers mean? I have what appears to me to be a low heart rate...even at maximum effort. I have used my HR monitor in a few different situations and I cannot make sense of it...because of other's heart rates.

Scenario: Riding at Fort Custer with a few friends. My average heart rate on the red was a measly 129 bpm. My friend has an average of 170 bpm. My max was barely over his average.

So my question is this.....which is better.

1. Is it better to have a low average heart rate or a high average heart rate?

The right people make the difference.....

When I was in Wisconsin a few weeks ago I was talking to a few guys about different things. One of the guys got a phone call about some tires for his drag car. The people on the other end of the line were offering the tires for a small chore around their house. We got talking about our hobbies and how much they cost. Looking at the cost he has into his car I could say that he is very very dedicated to racing. His car, engine, tires, transmission and entry fees come to large totals. Then we talked about my mountain bike. His eyes opened very wide when I told him my new bike was more than a thousand dollars.....and that is was on sale. He thought I was nuts for spending that much money on a bike. I was talking to another guy about golfing. He has a very expensive set of clubs. The difference was he never told me I was nuts. He put things into perspective. He told me that he would not flinch to spend $300 on a golf club while I might spend $400 on a certain part for my bike. It was put in a way that made me think differently about people and their hobbies.

People spend money on the things they love.

A worker in a bike shop in Ann Arbor smiled as Chris and I walked in on a Friday afternoon. He asked who was riding the Epic. I acknowledged and asked why. He said that it really stood out because it was a nice bike. Then he asked Chris about his Stumpy. The guy had seen our bikes from inside the shop and took the time to see what they were. It made me think that I hang around with people that like bikes because I like bikes. I have never been called crazy for a purchase I have made. We all look at each others equipment and ask obvious questions that we already know the answers to. We ask to ride your bikes. How are those tires? Does it feel right?

There is an understanding among us. I just think that the right people make the difference.....

Trail Day

I drug Zack out of bed on this drizzly and chilly morning. We headed to Allegan SGA for a Western chapter trail day. The plan was to work on a re-route around an area where the water table changed. It made a lake right in the middle of the trail. Ron, the TC, had already cut and marked the trail so all we needed to do was clear it out. Everyone grabbed a rake and we cleared what amounts to nearly a mile long section. It went very well because there were quite a few people helping, including Greg. He drove all the way over from Pickney!!! I also got to meet Rick Plite and Nate Phelps from MMBA. It was a good day. The rain quit and we raked like crazy. I am super excited because this trail has lots of potential to do some good. The DNR is flexible enough to let us in to do the work and we are generating some activity to actually get the work done. I really hope we can continue to work and make this a good trail that is only 10 minutes from my house!

Not much to report

This past week started off okay and ended okay.....it was the in between which was not the best. Basically I was not in the mood to do more workouts. I did manage to ride with Chris and Tom on Sunday at Fort Custer. The problem was simple. Lazy. So.....there is nothing to report this week. No weight loss. I have been rather motivated this morning after cruising on the elliptical last night. I am gonna try to keep that going through the day!

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Fort Custer and friends....

Chris and I met up with Tom down at Custer today. We had a good loop combo of Red and Green. There were a few horse trailers in the lot but we never ran into them on the trail. It is always a nervous few seconds when we do because we don't want to spook them. The parking lot was full....more full than I have seen in a while. Everyone must be getting out on last nice day forecasted for a while. We hit the red first. The trail was in good shape. The leaves are starting to fall and the trail will be very slick in the corners in a few days. I felt pretty good on this loop. We were on a decent pace for the whole ride. When we got back we checked the score of the Detroit Lions game and ended up listening to the end. LIONS WIN. Sweet....now lets hit our second loop. We went down the green. There is a long and difficult switchback a few miles into the green. It is not real steep but it is kinda technical with some roots you need to climb over. At the top there is a rock with "ERIN" and note written on it. I stopped there and waited for Tom and Chris. I was still feeling decent....but I didn't finish decent. I started feeling bad with about 3 miles to go. I pushed to keep up with Chris and he pulled away on the flat towards the end. It was a good ride with some good friends. I love riding at Custer. Surely my favorite trail system!!!!!