Team Trail Monster: Been Facebook'n and stuff.

Opps's sorry blog fans...FB seems to be my Blog of late...but it just doesn't retell the story 6 months or 2 years later. I will try to write more. While you wait for me to write more, take a little trip and click a few of the links in the text below and explore the world of a Trail Monster.

We found this little old bike while exploring near Council Bluff Lake...a mile or so from any trail.

Where to start? Castlwood 8 Hour - Wendy wrote that up. It was Awesome 3rd place 2p Coed victory for Team Trail Monster. Hopefully we stay after this one until we get a 1st! we have a 3rd, 2nd, 4th, 3rd...always flirting around the top...maybe, just maybe 2011 is the year. As Jason said to me following the race after party breakfast..."You know Jim if you trained for these races....". He has a point...so I am....Then Winter hit...

I got a new bike! Oh yeah I already wrote briefly about that! It has changed things for me. I love cruising on it. I hope I am going to love gravel cruising on it...I still have not had a gravel ride on it...and the DK200 is looming 12 weeks away. I have stayed with the bike and run more than usual this winter, so coming into spring I feel good. I could stand to drop another 10-15 but I am sure summer will take care of that.

Racin'> >? Yup Still at it. Adventure Racing that is. I talked Wendy's brother(Jeff) into joining me for the Bonk Hard Chill in February. We trained for it by taking at least one long run a week together...5-8 miles, and we did an orienteering meet at Cliff Cave Park. We had a great race. A couple learning points were logged. ummm Keep your fat Thumb off the MAP! and Do Not Change Your Route 90% through the course!!! Stay the line! Man a couple mistakes I know we dropped and hour +. In the end we managed 4th in the 2P Male division. Lots of strong racers! 12th Overall! Not bad for our first race together. Here is a pre-race shot w/ Stella hanging out in the background.

As for that bad compass..errgghhh, well I got to help it get Lost for once! I might also add....DO NOT MESS WITH YOUR BIKE THE NIGHT BEFORE A RACE! PERIOD! I felt as if I was pedaling up hill all day...well sorta...since I decided to let most of the air out of my rear shock. It sucked! Thanks for letting me ride your bike Jeff. My bike is now dialed. Middlefork and Council Bluff Lake last weekend was the perfect opportunity to reset everything. I even got to bag my first night of the year in the hammock, as seen below.

Before I miss this opportunity to throw a plug to our good friends over at Team Virtus, lets get this on the table! They got hooked up with a reporter and photographer for the Bonk Hard Chill race. If you want an honest insider view? Check this out...Article, Slideshow.

Then like a bunch of Jerks they are, they went rounded up some more jerks and had a little non-race of the Adventure style! Wish I could a been there...see pic above, you understand.

Yup it's 4am and I sitting here catching up the world on the life of a Trail Monster when I should be catching the last hours of darkness behind my eyelids. So what has been happening....? I must send Thanks out to Coach for setting up the most awesome of group road rides ever..."Death By Mostly Flat HILLS". I think that is what the MF was for in his email...I do have a video where riders passed me headed up to Cremini Green....I think at a minimum the F bomb dropped 9 of 10 times as they saw the wall of blacktop. I think it's 25% or better and it's a near standing start. Great race though. Check out this group of Jerks that got caught trying to steal a tomb stone....one of them even had to write an essay about it.

I started tracking my fitness activities over at Daily Mile and I have added a widget to the Blog for the stalkers out there. As you will see the training will pickup. Right now I am about 200 miles a month, either on the bike or running. Jeff and I have entered the LBL 12 Hour Adventure Race April 2 at Land Between the Lakes, Kentucky. We will look at the longer race later in the year...Berryman AR 36???Maybe!

UFD racing series is now underway, get out and getchasum dirt racin! I am trying to decide when I will race the dirt series. I would really like to do a few, ICCP and Broemmelsiek are up there because they are so close to home, maybe Greensfelder. Lost Valley Luau and MFXC I have volunteered to do race support....DIRT CRITS(hope to step up a level before it's over) !!! RIM is on the list, Burning at the Bluff 8, BT Epic 3, hmmm I think there are one or two more. I would like to add some more Adventure Races to the list. However, with the price of gas and race fee's, this hobby/fitness gig can get expensive. In the end I just like to ride my bike and run in the woods. So with that I would like to retire tonight before I see this...

I am half tempted to head out for a little pre-dawn dirt now...except it feels like the sleep timer is about to go off. Not to worry, I will keep training! If you are reading this as a mid pack rider...well keep doin' what your doin'...and this below is all you will see...