JB's Adventure Blog: August 2005

Steve Austin would be proud. As you may or may not know I had a good crash at mt. Snow VT. I have a few small broken bones in my low left back and a rib. It doesn't hurt and I am damn thankfull that it wasn't worse. My visit for X rays and diagnosis was 1020.00 OUCH.

Today I went to Advantage physical Therapy and Sports Performance were I met with Dr. Bill Johson my body guru. He has helped me go really fast and now I hope he can just help me get going again. I don't anticipate needing bionics but I could help but think of how they built him stronger and faster! That's the goal!

For some physical activity and to promote circulation Bill had me in this pool. It was pretty cool it had video cameras a tredmill, and swim jets. Then I got some streching and massage on my still sore neck. I feel pretty good for having had a bad encounter with a tree. The wreck was a doosie, I sustained a few broken bones and had some pretty good wiplash. I didn't get checked out untill two days after the incident and actually did 2 laps of the cross country on Saturday. I did't have much power but I could go something was wrong though.

After checking with the doctor I found out all I need is some time.

This afternoon I walked about a mile and spun back to my house. So I am in good spirits and I am having a good time checking out the cross schedule for this fall. It never fails I am allways looking for the next challenge. I am optimistic that I will be riding soon.

The excitment for the week will be the Shenandoah 100 and of course the 6 pac downhill. So I will have a few beers and see what it is like to spectate for this weekend.

Good luck to all my freinds and teamates in Livigno Italy at the World Championships.

Tomorrow you and I should make a donation to the American Red cross they need all the help they can get! Most of the victims of the disaster zone stayed because they didn't have the means to leave. It is tragic that those who have the least must sometimes pay the most! Trust me I know.

Go ride your bike it doesn't need any gas. Pretty cool eh?

Thanks for reading:

Jeremiah

posted by Jeremiah Bishop # 6:45 PM 1 comments

The Latest... From Erin

It's a busy time of year for Jeremiah. Unfortunately for web-junkies, when the most excitement is going on, there seems to be the least amount of time for him to blog about it. So, I am going to take some editorial privileges to keep this blog rolling.

The latest racing action took JB to Mt Snow, Vermont for the NORBA National Mountain Bike Series finals where he was favored by many of the pro cross country racers to take the win in the main event. Even though we are within a day's drive from Mt Snow, on Thursday JB caught a plane from Dulles to Albany so he could get ahead on next week's trip to World Championships in Italy by flying directly out of Albany after the NORBA. On Friday JB was pre-riding the course with our buddy Nick Waite when things took a turn for the not-so-good.

The short version of the story is that Jeremiah was bombing down a descent and wound up flying over the bars and smack into a tree, taking the blow directly to his back while in mid-air. He had to be walked off the mountain - thanks David! - and was worried that he may have bruised a kidney or his spleen (isn't that in the front?). He was pretty sore and unsure of his participation in the cross country race the next afternoon.

On Saturday, he must have felt up to it because he started... and finished the cross country race, "just for fun".

On Sunday, JB's rational side got the better of him and he went to a physician's office and had some x-rays taken. After his visit he told me he had in fact broken "some ribs" and that explains the pain he was having. But the story, even though it added up, just didn't seem right and my women's intuition kicked in. "I'm not getting the whole story am I?" I questioned and I wondered if by some chance the infamous crit could have had something to do with his trip to the doc. "You didn't get crazy and hurt yourself again last night did you?" But, he convinced me that there was little craziness, the team dinner actually lasted until after the naked crit was over and that he was genuinely concerned with his back. "Zap might even write in his column about how I raced the cross country with a broken back!" he exclaimed.

AH HA! Right I was. The truth revealed. Those "ribs" he broke are actually part of his vertebrae and his run in with the tree was worse than he initially told me. JB is going to be alright, thankfully we can treat it very much like a broken rib. He is going to skip World's and head back to home for some rest and recovery. Nationals will be up to the doctor, not the happiest way to wrap up the summer, but alive and relatively-well is pretty good if you ask me!

Thanks for reading!
Erin

posted by Jeremiah Bishop # 8:17 PM 1 comments

The last Snowshoe.

I had my best race yet here but came up just short of the XC win I really wanted due to a flat tire. I was graced with an early lead and figured I would just run with it. I was feeling pretty good but not pushing too hard. The race was a long and grilling one with a lot of running and the sickest deep mud descents you could possibly ride. JHK tanked it hard and I was like, man this is sketchy and dangerous.

So I made it to the last lap with a slight lead and figured it was time to hit the after burners. I was riding as fast as I could on the decent and made a good time buffer for myself by the end of the lake trail. I then felt my tire going low. Very slowly I felt it sinking along with my heart to a soft mush.. I rode the climb on a flat tire and had no other option because my Co2 had fallen off a mile ahead of me on my first lap. The only redeeming fact about the horrid conditions was the fact that riding wasn't a whole lot faster than running. So a mile on foot thru ankle deep mud slime and tripping on roots. I emerged still in the lead but I still had a bit of ground to cover on the road to get to my Co2. Kabush past me at full throttle as I ran up the paved climb not so fast on foot.

The guy on the moto thinks I may have been close to a min clear of Kabush with about 15 mins of racing left when I had the puncture. Who knows... I was a little disappointed but hey 2nd is pretty good. I remember when my goal for this race was a top 20 result.

I am going for blood at Mt. Snow! With no marathon and a good week of rest at home I like my chances in VT.

Thanks to the shouts of encouragement from many friends and supporters and of course Erin. I pulled a respectable 7th in the short track. I went SSSSSOOOO hard I almost had a asthma attack at the end and collapsed thanks guys. So I guess 3rd times a charm. I will have to wait until next year for the triple endurance trophy.

Oh yeah! I am the new owner of some sweet cross country skis! Sweet...I won them at the Wild 100 Endurace race last weekend at the Elk River Touring Center in Slayty Fork W.V. It is really close to Snowshoe so I had a chance to drop by at pick them up today. Thanks Gill.

So I guess I was wrong on my prediction about Marathon Worlds I didn't know Frishi was going to race though. He is always a
good bet, my hero. Don't worry Nick your my hero too. ;)

Good night y'all and thanks for reading.

Jeremiah

posted by Jeremiah Bishop # 7:01 PM 0 comments

The Mountain always wins.

Sometimes you handle the beating better than others.

I had a brutal race today at the Massenutten Hoo Ha.
No crashes but I was sooo tired I could barely hold on to the bars. I got second and Nick Wait (US National Under 23) won.

The Wild 100 more than mett up to it's name serve'n me up on a platter. I won the solo class but it came at a cost. I think if I where to do it again I would have just picked one. Maybe really can't have your cake and eat it too!

R&R on tap for the next few days.

Later JB

posted by Jeremiah Bishop # 4:14 PM 1 comments

Wild 100 Yowi Zowi!

As if I didn't have enough adventure material to write about already. Today I raced, and some how won, the solo division of the Wild 100 backcountry orienteering race in West Virginia. I got lost right at the very end of this beast and did bushwhack the wrong way through private property, barbed wire, a dried slimy river bed and through every imaginable sharp and tangled vegetation you could conjure up.

I was lucky enough to follow the leading duo teams into the last 20 miles.
Did I mention I crashed? Yeah, I splayed out on some muddy rocks and should have gotten a lot worse off than I did. I just have a few bumps and scrapes. The mud allowed me to slide over the terrain a little more smoothly dare I use that adverb.

Tomorrow I will do my best to defend the home turf at my local race, the 18th annual Massanutten Hoo-Ha. It's cool riding to the race as a warm up.

Later JB

posted by Jeremiah Bishop # 7:13 PM 1 comments

The Hat Trick! Brian Head, Utah

So, in hockey it's what you call it when you score 3 goals in a game. My hat trick was to get on the podium 3 times in 24 hrs!

I was so close to pulling it off, I thought getting the top five in the short track would be near impossible but there I was and even jumped to close the gap, riding in 2nd in the middle of the race. Wow, I had an amazing weekend. You should have seen the looks I got when I passed the lazy lead pack at mach 5! Needless to say, I'm not superman so the move didn't stick. In fact, Kabush and then JHK attacked me the next lap like a swarm of pissed off hornets.

I managed to snag an amazing 2nd place in the 26-mile xc and won the toughest race of the weekend, the Marathon, that was 55 miles of high country and Alpine vistas like I have never seen before.

Many thanks to Poz, Chris "the Furry" and of course Zach Vestal and Dave "the Kid" Meadows for their part in making it all come together.

I need a nap bad, Erin will write the rest. Peace....

posted by Jeremiah Bishop # 8:53 AM 1 comments

Base Camp at Brian Head

I am reporting from our 5800 ft base camp here in Parowan Ut. It was Sue's Idea to stay down here. Avoid spending our sleep hours restlessly tossing and turning is working so far. This is the highest ever Norba National or any race I have ever done.

The XC is a one lapper, old school style with awesome high alpine scenery. This place lookes like the moon at the top and the course hovers at 10,000 to 11,000 ft. THAT OVER TWO MILES HIGH! I was a little dizzy at the top but I was lovin the back county style course and the wicked rockey decent off the top of the world.

I got in alot of tempo and a 10 min ramp to my artifically reduced threashold. Oh well. I guess it is good training.

I am going for the tripple! I told Poz if I am top. In the XC and Top 5 in the Marathon I will go for the short track too.

Though I am feeling kinda rough and I am not expecting miracles, I am fired up to pull off a top 5.

Stay tuned for the lowdown on the high altitude showdown. Chris and I have our bets on Kabush with JHK in a close second.

Allso of note is Walker Feugeson is back in action at his first National in several years.

Choi

Jeremiah

posted by Jeremiah Bishop # 9:20 PM 2 comments

Mt. Mitchell Double

Yes..Mahn!
Another great single track adventure.

Yesterday Erin and I raced the Off Road Assault on Mt Mitchell and man it was tough.
Erin is brave, She hasn't been riding much but went for it any way. Her race ended when her back started hurting badly. I had a solid ride and managed to hold of the ever charging Charlie Storm for the first ever Mt. Mitchell double.

For the record having done both amazing events the Off Road Assault on Mt. Mitchell is definitly tougher than the road Assault. Both events climb 11,000ft but the mountain bike version does it in only 65 bone jarring miles. The surface made the climbing seem longer and slick root lined single track was hair raising. The biggest down hill was over 20 minutes long! It was riddled with switchbacks and in several spot was like riding a speeder bike in Return of the Jedi. The rhododendrons was so thick and tight on the trail it was like a dark tunnel as I heard one rider describe it. Spectacular trails..

So. Next weeked I am back to the high altitude grind up at 10,000ft at Brian Head Ut. I really hope there are some good trails on the course, at Aspen the XC was rather bland. I guess I am fortunate to have world class trails near by to compare the race coursed to :)

See ya.

Jeremiah

posted by Jeremiah Bishop # 7:26 AM 1 comments

The Road to Recovery