Sunday = Bike and Bears

Katy and I met "Bike" Tom and Dominik from Masters out at Palos this morning for some Bears Pre Game riding.  Even Tom's primary concern was the Bears game, so you know how important the Bears game was today!  We road some of the regular routes today while Katy did some cross country skiing.  There were a TON of riders out there today and the temp was below 20 degrees for sure.  I had more technical problems today, FRONT FLAT, but we got it dealt with relatively quickly.  Side note, 3 CO2's per Fat tire, but we didn't have enough CO2 so I did some pumping.



I got Dominik to ride the Pugsley today and I heard him laughing a few times while riding it.  It really is that fun.  Great to have him out riding today.  Probably the craziest part of the day was at the end of the out and back trail we were chatting with about 10-12 other riders when someone found a cell phone laying in the snow.  It was Katy's!  Evidentally it fell out of her pocket while skiing.  What are the odds of actually recovering a lost phone at Palos in the snow??  I guess there goes all our luck for winning the lottery.  Damn it!

DA BEARS WIN!  DA BEARS WIN!

NFC Championship game next week! against the Packers........Its going to be a battle!

Fresh Snow @ Palos

On Tuesday I "clocked out" around 2:30 due to the weather.  6-8" of fresh snow!  How can I be expected to work!? Tom came and grabbed me and we headed to Palos and rode about 12.5 miles of fresh snow.  Tom likes to ride fast and I am pretty sure he said that exact phrase at one point in the day.



I just tried to hang on his back wheel as much as possible.  We rode the main trail from Bullfrog lake to Turf 1 and then checked out the new XX trail.



We continued on past Saganaski Slough, past the "Throne Room" and then I was in completely uncharted territory for me.  It was a great to check out these new trails, which I guess see quite a bit of ATV and dirt bike traffic.

It gets dark pretty early and the sun had definitely set by the time I got back to Tom's truck.  He was already there since my legs by this point were barely working.  I learned a lot about what the Pugsley can do and how to ride it properly.  Thanks Tom.  Great day out at Palos!  I have never had this much fun on a bike.  I love my Pugsley.

Recap

200+ people participating
38 degree start temp

3 courses to choose from after a 1/2 mile run(4 corners)
We went left and did the Hard but short course, as it seems most chose to do.



In my previous post I said I was hoping that the race would be less than 5 miles long as there was no way I could run any further.  It ended up being 4.7 miles long and all 3 of us ran the whole thing, which in case you were wondering was a total miracle.  The info I found on CAMBr last night regarding the course was spot on.




We finished together, as Doug said "Never leave your wingman"
I could not have run a step further......

All three of us loved the event and agreed that we should really train for it next year.  It would have been even more fun if we were actually in shape.

Red Bull Trail Daze is tomorrow AM

There still is not much info on what we(Doug, JR & I) have gotten ourselves into tomorrow.  I found this on the CAMBR Forum this afternoon, from the race director:

"All participants will start together and there will be section in the course where runners will have to decide which course to take. (There will not be a winner for "each" course, there will only be one winner...so choose wisely!!) In addition, participants will run no more than 7 miles. Red Bull is all about creating an experience that challenges individuals mentally and physically. Hope to see you out there!"

well hopefully the the short course is short, cause there is NO WAY I can run over 5 miles right now!



***Update***
I found this online:

All three courses head out on pipeline. At four corners they split, easy to the right, medium straight ahead, and the hard goes left down Ho Chi Min. It continues on One Day and up Gravity Cavity to Stone House (no bikes allowed) When you get up by the little shelter it turns left and back to GC. Then up and right on the multi-track to Out'n'Back, then left back on the multi to Pulaski Woods.

palos map

Saturday Morning Trail Running - SMTR?

My brother, Doug and I have gone to Palos to trail run the last 2 Saturdays to get prepared for the Red Bull Trail Daze.

Our first SMTR, we ran down "Gravity Cavity" and through "3 Ravines" returning via the "Pipeline".  It was about a 5K.

Our 2nd SMTR, we started at the MTB staging area and ran up the singletrack to the main trail and ran the "out and back", well actually just the "out" part of it. We jogged back on the main trail to our single track decent to the parking lot.

This weekend should be fun.  We are not ready.


Oh Yeah, AN ADVENTURE RACE @ PALOS?!

THIS WAS GOING ON THERE THIS MORNING:

Fat Otter Fall Sprint

I can't believe I missed this! Its on the radar for next year for sure!

Palos

Palos is my favorite place to trail run and mountain bike.  It has a great trail system in a terrain that seems unique for Chicago.   I have been MTBing in Palos for nearly 20 years!  Trail Running is new for me there and its a FUN place to run. 

On Nov 20th,
I will be competing in the Red Bull Trail Daze.

I'm In

Doug's In

Are You In?