Banging one of these bad boys each day for the past 2 months and am finally feeling better. See you in the late spring for the Chinaman 100, the summer for Gran Fondo C-Dubs and the revamped Scottish Beer Cross. Happy Holidays to everyone.
Friday, December 21, 2012
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
MRC Starts Doping Program
There's a cold rush and a shiver runs through my
body as the drugs are slowly infused into my bloodstream. Yes we here at the MRC, after reading the USADA instruction manual on running a "medical
program", have embarked on our own doping regime.
The jerks down in St. Louis will recall my bizarre diet of massive
amounts of Chinese food and a ration of 1beer per night due to the medication I
was taking for advanced Lyme's. Well those drugs failed to do in the nasty
virus that has holed up in my body so it was time to bring in the thermonuclear
weaponry - Rocephin. I still can't drink any alcohol - that blows - but finally
after 4 months of crippling pain the daily IV infusions might be making some
headway. Stay tuned for developments and more stories of cycling adventure when
I can get back on a bike.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Burnin' At The Bluff
Hello loyalistas, connoisseurs and rabid fans of the MRC/Team
Seagal movement. With your esteemed author and blog Svengali, Crotch, away in
the land of coconuts, grass skirts and Maui waui enjoying the first sips of marital bliss, the
task of capturing and relaying to one and all, the vivid ugly truths of this
year’s Burnin’ at the Bluff has been passed on to a relative neophyte in the
Seagal movement – Mr. C-Dubbs. I will do
my best to convey all that happened and leave it to you, the readers, to
determine just where that blurry line of reality ended.
Following standard operating procedures, the wheels at Team
Seagal HQ were put into motion long before the race with the plan to deploy an
army of warriors who had been starved of meat and women for the better part of
a month to ensure maximum carnage on the field. Among those signed up for the
operation were defending SS team Nicwad, Leg Titty & Nadly with Sasha she-manning
up once again for the full 12 hours of self inflicted pain, the Lawman shamuing
once around the clock in the Clydesdale class, while Punchor of Cocks, Scooter
and Gino Fellino smartly opted for the opportunity to ride all day and party
all night in the 6 hour class. Winging in from the Eastern front I was in a bit
of a scramble as Taggort and Schlomo Axel bailed and elected to race in the
Sand in My Mangina Classic leaving me hanging like a big booger. Rather then
wipe I did the only thing that made any sense (to me that is) and immediately
signed up for 12 hours of self-abuse. It sure made a lot of sense – no riding
for the past 6 weeks and little in the way of single track riding – maximum
suffering. Thank Energor my moment of stupidity was saved by Mrs Titty and Stove
who were going through a similar crisis as Josh “Mr Waffles” couldn’t decide if
he should shit or get off the pot. A few calls of encouragement from Arm Baby
and Toscani and the deal was sealed, Messy Marla and the Missouri Mountain Men
would be racing for the rock star award.
Thursday - Arriving in St. Louis I was warmly greeted by Senor
Arm Baby who immediately set about having me translate my supply requirements
before setting out to the largest Target I have ever seen where after wandering
around in a daze we procured these politically correct taint wipes.
From there it was off to visit one of our esteemed sponsors,
The Hub, for the usual supplies the airlines won’t let you carry on and of
course one of those lovable little packages of Degree pit stick.
Rolling in the Arm ‘Stro, stops were made at Casa de Titty
to procure the necessary supplies to keep us going for the weekend, pickup the
ex-Toscani/C-Dubbs St Louis based Kona Big Unit then heading to Nico’s digs for
consultation on the impending weather and route to our destination – Mark Twain
National Forest. Excited at the prospect of traversing the most dangerous
highway in Missouri and witnessing the onslaught of Bathtub Mary’s that line
the road providing safe passage I hid my disappointment at the safer Highway 55
passage but was rewarded with the sight of that beautiful blonde pedaling cars
for Sparks (link this blog http://sparkstireandauto.com/blog-2/)
. If it hadn’t been for Jayson’s focus on getting to Council Bluff I might very
well have had a new used car to go with my new used Big Unit.
Finally rolling into Council Bluff young Edward greeted us
with the hammock city having been established (unlike previous years Campground
C had been hijacked and we were stuck in the leper colony know as Campground
D). Making the best of it the all important bike stand was centrally located
and quickly put into action by our top mechanic while C-Dubbs and Nico went in
search of wood in to fuel the eternal flame of Camp Seagal and serve up the
infamous braquito.
A quick visit to drop off my own brats at Mt Kohler and it
was off for the assault on Council Bluff summit, thankfully Nico had made sure
I was properly set up with the right hydration system to get me there.
Eddie showed his potential to become the next Ansel Adams
with this beautiful shot of the view and this equally compelling portrait of
C-Dubbs and Mr Titty. Soon after arriving back at base there was a scramble for
shelter as thunderstorms swept the campground.
Having survived the night Friday the house of Mt Kohler was
pushed to it’s limit Saturday morning after a round of braquitos before we
headed out to mark the course. The course offered up some spectacular views,
and excellent social log at the top of the second climb and an offering from
Energor in honor of Coach’s absence.
Having been so overwhelmed with view from last night we made
the trip up the elevator to the bluff where Nico served up Coach summit style.
A four hour social course marking/ride later we rolled into
Camp to find most of the troops, PBR Dave and most importantly Mrs Titty.
Unfortunately for Stove, arriving late has it’s drawbacks as Mrs T and I agreed
he would get the first lap on race day. As should be expected when the sun went
down the IPAs went down as well and the bonfire roared.
Race day weather was akin to the turd in the punchbowl,
rather then sunny and 70 it was cool and cloudy, staying warm in camp while
Stove, Jayson and the crew were out working up a sweat on the trails was going
to be hard work.
With smoke grenades and Sex Pistols screaming the battle was
under way. Immediately I rolled up my sleeves, set about translating
the day’s strategy, eating, generally fucking off and having a good time with
Mrs T. Leg Titty rolled into camp with the Jerks holding onto a 20 second lead,
Gino was manhandling the 6 hour race with Punchor, Scooter and the rest of the
crew snapping a few wrists. Nico’s departure into battle meant Stove’s arrival at
the camp and yet another jerk to party with until my first lap. Nico was in
with close to a minute lead, Punchor was out after hitting the deck,
registering a 7.2 on the Richter scale Lawman was crushing laps fueled goji
berry brownies and Sasha was deep in the pain cave and not really liking life.
Well, as the hands on the clock closed in on 9:00 Nadly, Nicwad and Arm Baby
had snapped the wrists of all competition winning with almost a 5 minute lead.
Gino was firmly ensconced in the PBR throne of champions with a 6 hour victory
and Lawman bagged 2nd in the Clydesdale division.
Such domination of the podium had the troops in full party
mode with Scooter using moves only seen in the dojo as he danced up a storm.
Perhaps it should have been referred to as a tornado and apparently the owner
of the amazing boots was unimpressed with his dancing skills taking our beloved
Scooter to the grass in a full naked choke hold.
The podium showers of PBR were soon replaced by the mother
of a storms driving the troops back to base. Somehow Scooter managed to make it
into the hammock only to find a swimming pool, showing superior attitude and
super state of mind it was right to the Subaru Inn for a solid night of rest
before the Sunday Cx race.
As for your author, well it was one tremendous time and I
want to say thanks to the team for showing me yet another tremendous time. See
you at Cxmas (one more time Gino)!
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Something's Burnin'
I can assure you that it is neither this
nor this
But it will include this
Sure just like Brett Favre, I have claimed to be retired only to come back to the starting line with a number plate on the bike. But unlike Brett, I have not been unleashing my paws on a busty ESPN correspondent
that trolls the locker rooms of the NFL looking for journalistic action. No my paws will be all over the icy cold PBR tallboys that will be in plentiful supply at Bunrin’ At The Bluff, the 12 hour classic at the infamous Council Bluff.
Once again I am off to the sordid lands of St Louis, home to a number of interesting tidbits of information and of course Team Seagal where I will be looking to inflict maximum wrist snapping carnage, consume copious amounts of PBR, stuff my pie hole with the infamous braquito and translate as many of the ancient scriptures as one Nico Toscani can throw my direction. Stay tuned for more as C-Dubbs excellent adventure approaches.
nor this
But it will include this
Sure just like Brett Favre, I have claimed to be retired only to come back to the starting line with a number plate on the bike. But unlike Brett, I have not been unleashing my paws on a busty ESPN correspondent
that trolls the locker rooms of the NFL looking for journalistic action. No my paws will be all over the icy cold PBR tallboys that will be in plentiful supply at Bunrin’ At The Bluff, the 12 hour classic at the infamous Council Bluff.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
W 101 (aka Wildman 101)
Well enthusiasts of the MRC it is that time of the year
when the trails of Coburn, PA run fast and furious with riders that truly like
to inflict pain on themselves pulling out all the stops and buying the first class ticket
on the pain train.
This year started the same as the past 9 years with packing
and loading of the car taking place the weekend before so it would be up and out first
thing Friday morning. The big difference this year was Mr. & Mrs. Top Chef
were joining in on the fray with Top Chef going for his second dirty century
despite declaring at the finish of the Shenandoah 100 “I finished and there is
no reason to ever do this again” wanted to be there for the party that C-Dubbs
had planned for the race. Mrs. Top Chef was tossing her hat in the ring for the
uber secret Wilderness 40, an exclusive women’s only event.
Just as the roosters finished the morning wake up call the
Top Chef clan rolled into Casa de C-Dubbs with the FJ assault vehicle fully
loaded and it’s driver looking to replicate this with a hardy breakfast of egg
rolls and my famous Mt Kohler shattering Costa Rican coffee. And not to
disappoint the breakfast of champions was consumed with a vengeance, the double
deuce was completed and we were off on TC & C-Dubbs great adventure.
Waking from her motion induced coma, Mrs. TC made use of the modern era’s version of Morse code and shot a text to Mrs.
C that a visit to Mt Kohler was in the cards for her man. It was off at the
next exit where we managed to find the most disgusting bathrooms East of the
Mississippi. Only the “egg” sandwiches we procured to stuff down our pie holes
topped this. Turns out the egg was some
trademarked synthetic patty, akin to the 100% pure beef stuffed between a bun
by the King. Back on the road motion took over and Mrs. TC was out like a light
until we hit Lewisburg where she put the incredible thing to work locating the
finest coffee in the area. Driving down the back alleys I wasn’t sure if the
jolt we were looking for was coffee or ice.
Nerves were fraying as the local delivery truck blocked our
route down the back alleys and the quest for caffeine was slowed to a crawl. With java onboard, we plunged deeper into the bowels of Amish
country where we kept on the lookout for Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis. We had no luck with our star search but we did catch a couple of
future Floyd’s drafting off the back of the horse buggies.
In Coburn it was time
for a Chinese fire drill/episode of spouse swap as TC joined me in the Audi
assault vehicle to establish base camp and the ladies headed off in search of
ice to cool down the massive supply of booze (2 cases, a few bottles of wine,
magnum of champagne, rum punch and of course the flask of del Maguay. With tent
city established and space for our dear
friend from the Midwest, Garth Prosser reserved, TC and I set out for the recon ride up the first
climb.
Conditions were so humid that half way up we had to pull out our
trail towels to dry off before attacking the summit. Once there it sank in,
this was the 19th time I had been to the top of the climb and
tomorrow would be the last. Shed a tear, fuck no, I was glad it would be all
over tomorrow. Pulling into the campground we grabbed our better halves and
headed out for the traditional ride of the final rail trail.
Being a civic minded individual, Mrs. C-Dubbs was doing
volunteer work at the registration table while the rest of us were doing our
best to make room for more ice in the cooler. That is until the thunderstorm
rolled in and we had to batten down the hatches to prevent the base camp from
blowing or floating away. Now that Toto was safe from the storm it was off to
see the Mrs. and get my number. Stepping
up to the table I requested my number, “69 please” and was greeted by a chorus
of “hello Chris” kind of like everyone at Cheers calling out Norm’s name when
he sits in his usual spot. It has been a
tradition to ride with number 69 since getting it in my third race (yeah get
your mind out of the gutter on the connotations behind the number, I am a fan
of the Kentucky Kid – Nicky Hayden).
At all of the Mountain Touring events tradition is for Chris Scot to ride around before sunrise,
gently ring the gong to awaken us and then get right into the soundtrack from
Pulp Fiction. That initial ring has the
same effect on me as a box of laxatives on a constipated old timer and I did my
best impersonation of a penguin as I waddled over to the Port-O-Johns to
release the first round of destruction. And me being me I knew it was time to
ride when I completed the triple lindy and arrived back at the campsite from my
third sortie. Now it was time to slather on a hand full of Bag Balm pull on the kit and get ready to rumble.
Start – 20 Miles
The decision was made to ride the neutral section with the
ladies and all of us were in a casual state of mind and found ourselves in DFL
at the base of the first climb. TC and I bid farewell and rode off to the
summit and on towards aide station 1 at 20 miles. The first 20 were rather
uneventful although we did spend a bit of time chatting with fellow NECS rider
Jocelyn “Straight Arm” Linscott who would eventually cross the line first in
women’s singlespeed. As we neared the aide station the previous night’s party
and consumption of extra salty pretzels by TC came back to haunt him with the
first of many, and I mean many, piss breaks taking place.
Miles 20 – 40
Despite the extreme humidity it was clear that TC and his
over salted pretzels were staying hydrated as a few more stops were made to wash
the dust off the plants. Having counted on the same dry conditions from the
past 9 races, and a favorable forecast from the MRC’s crack meteorologist Amy Freeze, TC and C-Dubbs had opted for the fast rolling set up with TC
running Specialized Fast Trak up front and a Renegade on the rear. C-Dubbs had
went with the well tested by somewhat sketchy handling Specialized Renegade up
front and a WTB Vulpine on the rear (both 1.9 of course). While in the past
this has proved to be a quick rolling combination this year it proved to be a
handful on the greasy single track and I went to the mat within 100 yards
starting the first section. Having survived
the slick riding and now tentative on the bike-handling front I finally caught
TC at the base of the next climb where I needed to towel off from the effort.
Jocelyn caught us while we socialized road side and having felt the effort of
the last section considered joining us until she realized that climbing and
momentum on a singlespeed are critical and stopping was not good for either.
Mile 40 – 60
Making sure to give my thanks and farewells to the aide
station workers I caught up with TC as he finished up another nature break and
we headed off to the base of Beidlehmeimer Rd and the site of the
unsanctioned Beer Station. For 9 years I have ridden past the station of
pleasure and never once stopped to sample the sweetness of those icy cold Keystone
Lights the boys were serving up. This year I was into breaking tradition and
stopped for a social beer with the gang.
Of course there is one down side to the consumption of such
fine yeasty malted beverages at this location, the steepest and longest part of
the mind fuck, I mean climb, came right after the last icy cold sip. Once at
the summit I waved TC by so he could put his superior technical and descending
skills to work. Being in the Penn State area I was almost as drooling like
Jerry Sandusky in a locker room shower as TC’s Specialized Carbon Epic soaked
up the rocks and roots while my IF dished out a bit of a rear end beating (and
not a Criss Angel type of rear end beating). By the bottom our hands were so
numb from being on the brakes for most of the 2 mile decent that we were
begging for some climbing to relieve the pain. Seegaer road was just ahead so
were going to get our wish fulfilled but thanks to the keen observational
powers of TC a bandit aid station was serving up eggrolls and we were
hungry.
While our fellow racers passed
and showed looks of surprise at our dietary selection before such a big climb
they showed looks of shock and awe as we passed and then dropped them like a cheap
date on the ensuing climb. The summit of Seeger Rd provided
the welcome sight of aide station 3 and knowing we were more then halfway.
Miles 60-72
Up to this point things had been going smoothly but now is
was time for a long rocky singletrack section that took about 30 minutes to
clear. The views off the ridge were
fantastic and almost made the effort worth it, and I say almost because it was
wet and greasy and not a lot of fun. Finally at the end of the section we were
then routed onto the Sasspig descent where TC rocketed into the distance and
then into the woods as he missed a tricky 130-degree downhill turn., meanwhile
yours truly was doing a bit of hike-a-bike down the climb. Finally we were onto
Sassafras trail where TC was his element. Also at the same time the consumption
of soooo many gu’s meant that TC’s insides were a brewin’ up a storm and
suddenly there was a swarm of chamois geese that attacked and followed us for
the remainder of the race. As we rolled into aide station 4 at 72 miles there
was a lot of rumbling, and not from TC’s chamois geese but from the impending
thunderstorm.
Miles 72-88
We expected to see our ladies at the aide station being the top-flight
bottle bitches but they were nowhere to be seen. Right as we rolled out the
heavens opened up and we were blessed with some cooling rain for the entire
length of the Stillhouse Hollow climb which takes the better part of an hour.
Shockingly the sun came out right at the top so we both decided to break out
the trail towels and dry off at yet another of the bandit eggroll aide
stations.
After a series of descending/climbing/descending/climbing we passed
Little Poe Trail entrance, once a great reward at 83 miles in but now a hiking
only trail. Instead we were treated to another climb where we passed a rider
walking and I let him know is was about 30 minutes to the summit (turns out it
was about 10-15 minutes). Here I made one of my last passes of the day only it
was an Amish horse drawn wagon and not a racer. In addition to losing the sweet
singletrack of Little Poe and gaining more climbing pain you also got an extra
long dose of Panther Ridge Road, a washed out jeep track littered with baby
heads that requires membership in Jackhammer Operators Local 16– oh joy just
what everyone wants at 85 miles in. At the aide station we learned that the
ladies had encountered mechanical difficulties early on but were safe at the
base camp – more on this in another post.
88-101
With requests for EPO going unanswered be bid a farewell to
the crew and for the headed out for miles of rail trail, a final climb and the
ride to the finish. Taking a casual ride up the climb TC got this shot of me a
the final summit for the final time.
We coasted the descent before be treated
to a bouldering session at the 97 mile point – WTF!
Well we hardened the fuck up,
hauled our bikes over the boulders and set out on the final section of rail
trail where wouldn’t you know it I got a flat. Adding insult to injury another
thunderstorm came rolling in and made the final stretch of rail trail into a
sea of mud. Just as the rains were ending Mrs. C-Dubbs caught this shot of us
rolling past the finish line.
Final time 11:06, a bit slower then our target but then
again those bandit aide stations are a distraction. Crossing the line it
finally hit that I had just finished my 10th W 101 and hard as I
tried to visualize all those finishes all I could see was this –
Post race
With a typical calorie burn rate exceeding 7000 for the race
I was like a bear coming out of hibernation, anything in sight was fair game.
Heading straight for the grill the hot dog disappeared faster then Harry Reems
did when he was with Linda Lovelace. Having to wait another 10 minutes for the
burgers when I got mine I had crazy eyes going and headed right to the trash
can, tossed the plate and ate the whole thing in 4 bites while leaning over the
trash, it provided great amusement to the gang. Next up was the traditional get
naked and bath in the river wash down.
Then it was back to the campground to
eat/party/eat/party/eat party until a new member showed up to join
the Shanghai gallery.
The clear winner of the Rock Star award was Mrs. C-Dubbs who
despite stumbling over to the cooler (tripping on tent lines) rocked the wine
bottle right up to the midnight hour and then nursed the next morning hangover
like a true champion.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
The Gran Fondo 2012
Welcome all literary critics, connoisseurs of Pulitzer prize winning
journalism and trouble making cyclists. I do have to apologize for the rather
lengthy delay in reporting on our latest non race/cycling escapade - Gran Fondo
but it has taken that long for my brain and body to rehydrate enough to be able
to put a thoughts to keyboard.
In what is fast becoming the marquee event of the summer we had our
largest turnout to date for an MRC non race with 14 non racers looking to man
train around Ulster and Sullivan counties.
While the MRC is devoted to the worshipping of carbon fibre and mastery
of the Italian dialect is a must we, of all things, do not exclusive club as
was evidenced by the participation of Murp was aiming to dominate the time
trial bike division.
Displaying the focus and technique to fast transitions Murp arrived at
the casa in a spray of gravel in dust, hopping out to sign in, then departing
in another hail of gravel as he raced home for the proverbial “forgotten
cleats”. Those astute enough to realize this meant a delay in the start headed
for the man cave and a final translation of the course and a pre non race beer.
Once agin displaying his mastery of the
transition, Murp once again arrived in the “transition area” at full speed
sending some non racers running for cover.
.
Taking count at the summit we were down one with the Murp no where to be
seen. After a 5 minute wait we canned the no drop policy, agreed – f*#k him and
off we went for the next summit. Turns out our triathlete had broken a spoke,
ran a couple miles with his bike to get a new wheel and then set off to
rendezvous with the troops at the Ashokan – true MRC harden the fuck up
attitude. The summit of 44/55 results were the same only this time Top Chef
slotted in for 5th. The descent down the back side had us hitting
the high 40’s at which point we discovered that the most excellent spoke cards
suddenly became weapons of death as they dislodged from wheels and came at
anyone behind like ninja death stars.
Rolling along the pain train, or in these conditions the sweat train,
was derailed when Flying Frank (not to be mistaken for summit conquering Frank)
flatted and we all stopped for the repair and Tibetian goji berries that Sherpa
Braveheart had in the massive supply pack he was carrying.
Next up was the 12 mile climb up Peekamoose with the usual crowd going
at it for the points only this time the heat and humidity was starting to take
their toll with non racers getting shelled off the back. Waiting on the summit,
where Frank had secured not only his second growler but the 50 Kroner prize for
the Cima Coppi and a lock on the coveted KOM jersery, we were caught in a
downpour that brought back memories of last years rainfest.
Then through the mist arrived the seasons first summit guppy, 3 Beer
Rossi followed by Sherpa Braveheart who was being to strain under the load he
was carrying.
Still shaking from the double espressos we headed across the Ashokan
resevouir and a rendezvous with Braveheart and the MRC sag wagon.
Check out the rest of the pictures at Braveheart's gallery.
F
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