Highlight of Stage 2 at TSE

It's a naked caboose, it's the Michaux Mofo!!!

That was the best! Stay tuned for a full race report in the next day or two...

Carnage

Hey, in the span of the past, oh, roughly 8 days...

I broke the spring in the fork on my SS,


I bent a Salsa Shaft seatpost,


And I cracked the Kona...again...




I think I can build one workable bike by combining parts from both until everything gets fixed and replaced.

On a good note, the wheels I built for my Kona roughly two and a half years ago are still pretty rock solid. Musta done something right.

TSE Pics and Link

Donna finished the whole thing! Here are a few pics from the week from our camera and the nightly slideshow of the day's stage have been posted to youtube so click on THIS to go there.

Dirt Puff Girls!


Day One Time Trial


Crossing the line Trainwreck Style


Day Seven (yeah, no pics in between really)




Jill being silly


Donna relaxing


Thanks to everyone who sent encouragement and well-wishes!

Tussey Mountain "Queen Stage"

yay! a picture!

Donna said yesterday was fun but long and with the temps changing and the wind picking up, everyone was suffering from pollen and dust. She got to chat with Amanda Carey, the current leader of the Women's GC, which she enjoyed. She admitted this morning she's feeling a little rough around the edges--but only two days to go! Temps today are supposed to be in the mid-70s, which should help with some fast riding.

Today's stage is pretty awesome and I wish I was riding it too. Trails and roads I rode in college all in a big epic loop. Donna and Jill have 3.5 hours to go 26 miles to make the cutoff and those 26 miles include a short hike-a-bike, long trail downhill, the fireroad climb the whole way up the backside of Bear Meadows Road (multiple miles), the notoriously rocky John Wert Path (which I tried to ride once in college on a rigid 26"-wheeled bike with toe cages and gave up), another fireroad climb back to Bear Meadows, then down super fun Lonberger Path (which we also called Magic Carpet Ride) and Three Bridges to another road climb back again to Bear Meadows to the CP. Once they get through the cutoff at the CP, they get several miles of great ridgetop riding on the Tussey Mtn Trail, fun singletrack descent and then mostly road to the finish.

The course map:

The elevation profile (eep!):

RB Winter Today

Today is another remote start at RB Winter SP in Bald Eagle. Kind of a cool stage format with multiple timed sections interspersed with regrouping and a "social" pace between the timed parts. With cooler temps forecasted, it should be a fun day.


Donna and Jill both finished yesterday in fine form and were feeling pretty good last night. Jill, however, says she has now ridden Raystown enough for the rest of her life and has no desire to ever go back!

Info for today here: http://www.tsepic.com/generalinfo/stage5

And here's a stage map.


Results at Cyclingdirt.org

Make Hay While the Sun Shines

We have 3 hours to complete one 20 mile loop at Allegrippis trails at Raystown. Then we have to do a second lap... Pray for us!!

Rays-Ville-Town Stage Today

Today is a remote start at the Whoopty-dippy-doos at Raysvilletown. Two laps on the malfunctioning manic rollercoaster ride! Donna is feeling a little better this morning than yesterday--the third day always seems to be the worst when you ride this many in a row--so hope that she's over the hump and wish her well!