Vacation is almost in sight!

Berryman Trail Epic is this Saturday. Thats the last of my endurance mtb races. The season closer if you will. What that means is vacation! Vacation to me is CYCLOCROSS!!!!!!!! B'cuz for me its touch as nails, but way shorter so I can recover from it week to week. Plus!, there is minimal windshield time getting to the races.  Er'body 'round the STL area was shittin' bricks of excitement a month n a half ago for CX to start. Now its already old hat and the peeps be coming up with excuses as to why they doin all suckie and or not showing to the races. Funny! Also, its when I get to poke my little hiney into the mix. I raced last weekend and did ok considering Burnin' the weekend before kinda smashed my legs up. Just this last push at BTE and vacay is mine. Here is a sequence that Evil Mike got of me last year hoppin' the barriers.

And thats how its done bitches!

Have a blast this weekend if I don't see ya, and party hard.

-peat

Super crazy late Lumberjack 100 photo post

Back in June was Lumberjack 100 in Wellston, MI. EK and drove up together in the lil' subbie. We got to stay in the lap of luxury at Kim and Chris' compound and go swimming in the lake Sunday morn. Thanks guys! I did pretty good at the race. I got 5th in SS. Going up there I figured thats where I'd land. I did bump my time down from last year. Considering I wasn't feeling 100%  I was overall stoked on the race and the weekend.

Here is a drone video of the start.

Now to the pics!

Early morn annoying Peat Henry

Our pretty 1 speed steeds

Mari "Pro Ass Adventure Racer" winning the Womens overall!

Her pup Obi-Wan

EK's finish photo

"Rad"Jan Roubal from Ontario

Teachin this dude how to shotgun right!

Ek one out of the two ladies to finish Ladies SS

Igor Danko who claimed I was trying to MURDER him on the trail with my attacks on him! I wouldn't do that :)

Pete Henry Ontario meets Peat Henry St Louis

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Just keep screaming out...I'm still not dead yet!

Hey so I'm not dead. Over the last few months I've been well I can't even really say busy. Just burnt out, bummed out, and trashed out. In short, ever since Gravel Worlds I have not been myself. I dug myself into a pit as deep as the Mariana Trench and have now been crawling my way back out of it. Toss in some family stuff, and a trailer full of life annoyances and you got yourself preoccupodo.

I'm not gonna get into that. Here are some of the pics I took while I was walking around Queeny Park today trying to clear my head.

I will be honest, not to throw up any red flags,but I have been crazy bummed on a whole array of things last handful of weeks. Going to the park and getting goofy tho tots gets me over the hump. Oh and what is that buckle glimmering in the sunshine you ask? Well my friends that is a Burnin at the Bluff 2015 buckle. I and 2 others braved the only none pussy category and I took the W. The win tho was not what was important to me, but the reason why I feel like I truly earned that shit is because I went out and did 9 laps, 117miles of brutal rocky single track around a lake for 11hrs and 24min which is now course record for time. Last year Dwayne and I killed ourselves to finish 9laps in 11:52. Our eventual goal is the mythical 10 laps, but in 12 hours. 130 miles of this soul destructing course. I've raced this 12hr 5 years now, and the last 2yrs I have learned the most. So whats 13? A very interesting number... and it will be a very special and interesting day when Dwayne and I achieve 10 times 13!  


-peat

Motorhead concert recap

Just this past Tues night I went to go see Motorhead with a friend. I had previously seen them 3(4?) times before. The first time was back in '99 I think. It was over at the infamous East St Louis institution that is POP's in Sauget/ IL. In the pit I got knocked into this old big gnarly biker dude, and when I turned around to look at him he grabbed my throat and straight choke slammed me to the floor. A life moment I will never forget!

The second time was a few years later also at POP's. Rumor has it that I may or have may not been wandering around out back by the bus's and was able to pound some Jack Daniels with Lemmy himself. It was this time also that I'm not absolutely sure if I was confusing seeing Motorhead for a 3rd time or not, but what ev's.

The true 3rd time(maybe 4th?) was at the Pagent 2012. Some 10 years later I think? It was truly "Everything Louder Than Everything Else". The "new" Misfits were supposed to open and flaked out. Good for us! Bad for the silly little Hot Topic punk kids sitting on the ledge during Motorhead bellyaching about how the "new" Misfits cancelled. I tried to explain that Motorhead were the true heroes of the night, but my words were lost to both ignorance and earsplitting volume of MOTORHEAD! I still remember at that show how in my older age I had gained a deeper appreciation for the bands music. It was no longer "Oh yeah, Motorhead is cool. Ace of Spades, man!" from my teenage years, but "MOTORHEAD is bad mutha' fuckin' ass! The triple ending of "OVERKILL" sends shivers up my spine!" to my elder years.

So weeks ago when my friend said she would spot me a ticket I couldn't say no. As time grew near, I began checking out and reading stuff about Lemmy Kilmister himself. I found to no surprise that his health is diminishing witha quickness. The man has been drinking Jack Daniels everyday for years and living the rock n roll dream or what some people call it.

At that show at the Pagent. I remembered how the music was still spot on, but Lemmy's stage presence was a little sluggish. At the time I thought nuthin' of it, until later that night I saw him through a open backstage door being escorted by some lady. It was the way he was walking that surprised me. He had the slow hobble of a dude who had been wrecked out from a life of rock n roll, and needed this lady for stability.

It was these memories that gave me the push to go see Motorhead play one more time. I say "one more time" because it very well could be that. Lemmy is 69 years old and can barely walk. He could die soon!

 So at the show on Tues, it all started off with some slower tempo songs. The volume was loud, but not as I had remembered it. For some reason I didn't recognize the first couple songs for what reason I don't know. They then went into "Western Movies" and the tingles trickled down my spine. Its one of my fav's and was ichin' to hear it live, again. Well, it was quickly apparent that Lemmy's health was indeed a major concern. He just couldn't keep time and was always singing slightly delayed. The rest of the show then pretty much followed this path, with even a few slip ups here and there. It made me sad and reminded me of my grandpa and how he was slipping after his stroke.

Even though it wasn't the best concert I'd seen, I was still super stoked I made my appearance. If anything, I kinda feel like it was a "I support Lemmy Kilmister!" show. Even though he'd probably say "F that shit!".  Lemmy's in rough shape and I had heard he has been cancelling shows this tour. So that being said,  I'm glad he was able to push through this show, and that I made it. I feel super fortunate that I have had the opportunity multiple times in my life to see such a rock n roll god like he through both good and bad. So if you have the chance to go see Motorhead, I recommend it even if it sounds like it was lack luster. You may never have the opportunity again.

This show also further cemented in my brain that mortality is eminent! Lemmy has been super fortunate to have made it to the age that he is and live the fantastic life that he has.  And Lemmy I know your not dead yet, so I'm sorry that I'm speaking as if you are. Its just this experience has givin' me all the more drive to not give up on what I'm doing with my life, what ever that might be, and to always live like tomorrow may not come.

Lemmy Kilmister, your freakin bad ass, and will "Always be INDESTRUCTIBLE!"

    
                           Motorhead  "Overkill"

And one of the best tv cameos ever! Motorhead playin' Ace of Spades on the '80s British sitcom The Young Ones.

-peat

SBR Dirt Crit 7/8/9

Um so yeah, same ol' same ol'. Wonder where I've been. I've been smashed out, and just slumpin' around St. Louis. I've been warkin, and just tryin' to recover. Yes, I'm still kinda destroyed from Gravel Worlds, which I still a owe a race report on. It was bad ass! Lets just say I was very very very physically prepared, but minor oversights turned into big misfortune.

Its not all bad though. I learned a bit about my strength and how to be ready to overtake GWs for next year. Moving on though, heres a short recap on the last 3 DCs!

Week 7 I rode the cx bike. I managed to snag the hole shot and held the lead till the end. Bobelak kept me against the ropes for the first handful of laps. I eventually pulled away, but not far enough to be able to chill. It was good for me to have to stay focused on the turns and to not eat shit with the skinny tired bike.

smoke 'em if ya got 'em

 

Week 8 I got my baby back with a new bb(thanks Eric at Enduro).  Two weeks of racing the cx bike and then back to true ORB tires made the turns effortless! As it has so frequently crossed my mind before, 29er tubeless whether its with a rigid fork or shock is straight cheating! Thinking about how to take a turn was totally thrown out the window. However, the handling was there, but the power was low. From a outsiders perspective, everybody would call "Bullshit" to that, but this was the Thurs after GWs. I still took the win, but it was one hell of a struggle. 

nice form

ditto

Bobelak just before eating a taco. JK.

Week 9 was a dismal turn out, compared to previous weeks. We still had a allstar cast pushing the pace of the A race. If my legs felt blowed out the week before, the feeling was tenfold week 9. I snagged second into the woods, and then 2nd lap just past the finish line I washed out in the dust falling back 5 or so places. Our lead group had put a hurt on the rest of the field so by the time I was up and on the bike no chase group had caught up yet! I layed  out a couple efforts and bridged back up to my buddies. Within a couple laps I was back up in 1st and held it. I think everybody was feeling the accumulation of racing all summer because the whole race felt in slow motion. Even though I won, I still can't believe it. With as drained and uncertain I felt taking some of the tight turns, week 9 was won 100% on luck.

Last nights DC was CANCELED CANCELED CANCELED! We got a crazy storm that flooded out the course. 

Now I'm 1 week out from the last DC and Fools Gold 100 down in Georgia. I'm praying for a miracle to help me recover, push, and prevail through bofadoes races.

Also, next Thurs Sept 17th is the last SBR Dirt Crit! Don't be a fool and miss it.

And since I've dug up my Misfits cd's, heres "Last Caress" blended with some '50s rock n roll dancers. Enjoy!

-Peat

The Raleigh Technium 26er SS aka "Deth March"

Here is a pic of my new bike.

It was a donation bike to the Trek Store. A repair bike that the customer didn't want to spend the kinda money on that it needed and was too lazy to bring it home. I saw it and immediately saw its growing potential.

I stripped it down cut the chain. Left the 46t chainring on. Tossed on some spacers and a old 17t Surly cog plus donation Bontrager Hardcase 26x2.0 hybrid tires, and was G2G! I didn't even adjust the brakes and its honk is just as good as its looks. Deth March or Lil DM is my new training machine. Its painful, but does exactly what is asked of it. As of now it already has about 300 miles on it. Most of those were Gravel Worlds training day miles.

F the trainer! F a geared bike! I'm going for a Deth March!

-Peat

Dirt Crits Week 6. Another Weenier.

Last Thursday was Week 6 of the Dirt Crits. After testing the water the week before I decided, or was forced rather, to race my All City Purple Nature Boy CX bike. The back story is short. After less than 5 months I already blew out my Enduro bottom bracket. Enduro wouldn't send me a new one without inspection of the blowed out one first. And since I'm racing myself broke right now, I sent it to them in hopes of it getting warrantied. So, my BOCOMO O.R.B. has now become a strider bike.

 

I love the Dirt Crits and figured it would be nothing but a learning experience to ride the CX bike for them. I kinda got the feeling that peeps thought I was out flexing my muscles by riding the Nature Boy, but I wasn't. I really had no clue how things would pan out. It also was really hard to take turns on that thing at speed with the dusty turns. It was fun however! I love doing things that sharpen my skillaz, and doin what I did last Thursday was much of that.

 After a bad start of not getting clipped in, and getting into the rabbit hole 6 spots back made for a tough and mentally draining race. Everything that the fat tires could disrespect, would straight make my rear end pucker.  Not to mention the matches burned in the first 3.5 laps before I was able to make a pass on the top four dudes. Even then Bobelak was still able to ride my ass to the finish.

In the end I still got the WIN. Will I ride the CX bike again for week 7? Yup. I have to, I don't have my bb back yet. So race Thursday night, clean the bike and then off to Gravel Worlds I go.

-peat