  All about NB (sorta)
I used to ride BMX bikes as a kid... though I reckon most people my age did when they were young as well. Then I discovered cars and girls... bikes sorta fell out of the picture for a while.
After four years in the military, I purchased my first mountain bike about 20 years ago to get from class to class a little more quickly while attending college.
After four years of terrorizing fellow students, many miles of "urban off-roading", several flights of stairs per day, all sorts of riding conditions, trips to the local mountain biking trails around campus, etc. my skills seemed to be better than most. I also seemed to be able to ride faster than most on the trails... though maybe being a little dood with less weight to haul around was an advantage?
I've always been interested in "Adventure Racing" since I first heard of it, but I never really gave it the attention I wanted to... there seemed to be other distractions... grad school, work, and so on. Don't get me wrong, I rode my mountain bike all the time. And in addition to spending time in the gym and running, I rode my road bike during the MS150s and associated training rides for 10 years, but I simply never put multiple sports together.
So while Dr. Josh was away at school in California, I did a lot of research and started training for an upcoming adventure race... the 2007 Terra Firma Adventure Race at
Rocky Hill Ranch in Smithville, TX.
On the 6th of October 2007, Dr. Josh and I ran and rode our bikes for 2 hours 20 minutes 52 seconds. We came in 11th out of 21 teams in our division and
13th out of 43 teams overall (all divisions).
The race was more than I hoped it would be, and it definitely was a good outlet for my competitive nature. And it's not a bad reason to stay in shape either... besides, Dr. Josh is 7 years younger than me... I have to stay on top of my game so he doesn't stomp me into the ground!
As a two-man team, we've been competing in the sprint races,
but we've got my buddy
brewer and Josh's brother Chad on the team for
the 2008 season. This should add a little versatility to the team allowing us to do 3- and 4- man events... or we can have two 2-man teams for the sprint challenges... or if someone is traveling or not feeling well, the team can still compete, and so on...
Anyway, I'm hooked!
NB's Races:
* USARA -
shaggy broke a
chain, I had the flu
* Eco -
brewer flatted
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| NB's Gear:
Bike: 2000 Cannondale Jekyll 900 SL
(sorta)
Originally fitted with a HeadShok Ultra DL, I upgraded to a Lefty Speed Bonded DLR2 fork after the Terra Firma race. The 110mm of travel the Lefty delivers is a significant improvement over the 80mm of travel the Super Fatty HeadShok
provided. And the Lefty is a fine companion
to the Fox Float RC rear shock in my
opinion. Aside from the change to the front
suspension, a couple of chains, a new rear
cassette, and several sets of tubes and
tires (obviously), the bike is as it was
when I purchased it in 2000...
when new it weighed
27.56 lbs...
Well, the reality is... I cannot justify
spending $5,000 on a new bike, so I'm making
minor tweaks and upgrades to my bike when I
can...
Update: (Jan 2008) I put a set of super strong Mavic 817
rims on the Jekyll... and also changed the
handlebars from the flat variety to ones with
some rise...
Update: (8 Jun 2008)
The latest tweaks: I removed the bar ends,
replaced the CODA pedals with some Egg
Beaters, and replaced the seat and seat post.
Not only are these better components, I shaved
nearly 300 grams off the bike... and hey,
every little bit helps. The bike's at
26.4 pounds right now. Not too shabby
for an eight-year old full-suspension mountain
bike...
Update: (29 Jun 2008)
I bought a set of beautifully crafted and
unbelievably strong Mavic Crossmax SLR wheels
(... and there's no way I would have got
these had I not found a fantastic deal on
them... way too pricey). I can sum
them up in one word: AWESOME. The bike's
at 25.8 pounds right now...
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Mountain Bike Shoes: Sidi Mountain Bike Shoes
They're old and are starting to show their age. They've actually been to the shoe doctor a few times to have this and that fixed, but they still fit perfectly and perform well. When it does come time to replace them, I may have a look at the Sidi Dominator 5.
Hydration System: CamelBak Octane 8+ Hydration Pack - 70 oz.
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