St. Cloud. I don't know what it is. I love the course! It should really be one of my stronger races- especially with the sweet new singletrack for the Comp/Expert class. Its very tight, twisty, gnarly, rocky, and kinda slow in that section so balance and smooth was key. I really could've used the shorter travel (80mm) fork to steepen the head tube angle for quicker, more precise steering. Its amazing what 20mm can do to handling characteristics in these situations. Also, a preride, that I didn't get in, was definitely in order. It took me about half a lap to figure that out. On Saturday, I showed up later than I wanted, so I was little flustered in getting ready. I found out during my warm-up that my rear tire had a small tear (not a pinhole) leak so the Stan's would not seal it- had to convert the rear back to a tube just before the race. Ended up starting in the back. My head was just not in it, but figured I'd give it a go and just race and see what happens.
I was about mid pack or so through the prologue lap, not feeling a lot of power in the legs but started to at least find a groove once I got into the singletrack. Three or four of us got held up by a rider that was not so comfortable through the trees and the riders ahead gapped us pretty good. Finally made the comment that I'm going to pass no matter what coming up, and he pulled to the side and let us by. I was flying through the singletrack pushing hard to catch the next group, but, then caught another slower rider just before we entered the new technical stuff. Patience started growing thin. I spotted a wide left hand switchback coming up with about a foot and half tall rock the across the track to ride over- he went inside and I went to the outside to at least show him I wanted to pass. Well, the outside landing off that rock had a hole that my front tire landed in and I crashed pretty hard over the bars very awkwardly. Luckily I didn't take anyone else out. But that hurt. And that was it. I didn't break any bones, but, I took that as my warning that today was not my day and limped off the course before I did. I felt a badly twisted ankle, I still have three black and blue bruises the size of softballs or baseballs on my left foot, shin and quad, and just this morning (4 days later) can finally almost make a fist with all fingers in my left hand.
Sat at the team tent with ice on my leg and hand for the rest of the race and cheered when I could for my teamates and others as they raced by. I was dissapointed. Second DNF this year.
Needless to say I did not feel up to trying my first Cyclocross race on Sunday. Which, for those of you that don't know about Cyclocross, requires lots of jumping off your bike in motion, throwing it over your shoulder, and running over obstacles/up staircases/etc. Yeah, wasn't gonna work for me that day!
Right now, it looks like my next and last mountain bike race in '08 will be in Sheboygan, WI for the last WORS race on Oct 12th.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
I Love Northern MN
Last week ended not so good for me- TOO BUSY with work so I was excited to get away a little for the weekend to do some riding- mountain bike and four-wheelin. Saturday morning I got up early- 7:30 to me is early- and drove to Duluth to ride a full loop at Spirit Mountain with Barry Buhr. I've only ridden the Sport course on race weekends so I was pretty excited to do the full course that Comp/Expert ride- plus this course reminds me of riding out west- not so well groomed like the trails around the cities. We started at the bottom of the hill and rode up the Comp/Expert course trail to the top and started back down. That portion of the trail, including the climb, has some real gnarly rock sections with plenty of exposed roots on some steeper climbs- so so so fun! Really appreciated the full suspension and tubeless tires there. Well, then not too far down the trail from the top, still not sure what I hit but it burped a lot of air out of my rear tire. Usually when trail riding I carry my Camelback with a pump and a tube just-in-case. Of course not this time and the tire had lost too much pressure to finish the rest of the trail. I was in sort of a time crunch so we ended up riding down the ski runs to the car and had to leave from there.
Saturday afternoon and evening, I had an awesome time riding four wheelers in Wahkon, MN. It was cold and raining, but with the rain gear on, the bigger, deeper puddles were that much more fun to blast through just fast enough to get a good tidal wave and huge splashes all over! Polished off the weekend today with a nice order of 'Tacklebox Hashbrowns' and two of the biggest thickest pancakes I think I've ever had at a local 'Wahkon' Cafe overlooking Mille Lacs Lake- I loooooove flapjacks :)
Congratulations to TJ Woodruff on his top three finish at the Chequamegon 40 this weekend! Fellow Summit Racer Luke Baker also got a top three overall finish in the 16 mile race! I would have loved to be racing there, but I missed the entry deadline in the spring. Each year there are so many entry's that they use a lottery system to choose the entry list. This year 1,665 riders overall finished the 40-mile race. Next year I will enter and hope to be racing the 40.
Looking forward to some good training this week before the final MNSCS race this Saturday in St. Cloud at the Jail Trail called the Singletrack Escape. I really want to finish strong there as the previous two years one thing or another beyond my control plagued the race (bent derailleur hanger during the rain/mud soaked '06 race and in '07 the race was my first competition after completely breaking my fibula only 2 1/2 months earlier). Anyways, also thinking about maybe hitting up the cyclocross race on Sunday.
Saturday afternoon and evening, I had an awesome time riding four wheelers in Wahkon, MN. It was cold and raining, but with the rain gear on, the bigger, deeper puddles were that much more fun to blast through just fast enough to get a good tidal wave and huge splashes all over! Polished off the weekend today with a nice order of 'Tacklebox Hashbrowns' and two of the biggest thickest pancakes I think I've ever had at a local 'Wahkon' Cafe overlooking Mille Lacs Lake- I loooooove flapjacks :)
Congratulations to TJ Woodruff on his top three finish at the Chequamegon 40 this weekend! Fellow Summit Racer Luke Baker also got a top three overall finish in the 16 mile race! I would have loved to be racing there, but I missed the entry deadline in the spring. Each year there are so many entry's that they use a lottery system to choose the entry list. This year 1,665 riders overall finished the 40-mile race. Next year I will enter and hope to be racing the 40.
Looking forward to some good training this week before the final MNSCS race this Saturday in St. Cloud at the Jail Trail called the Singletrack Escape. I really want to finish strong there as the previous two years one thing or another beyond my control plagued the race (bent derailleur hanger during the rain/mud soaked '06 race and in '07 the race was my first competition after completely breaking my fibula only 2 1/2 months earlier). Anyways, also thinking about maybe hitting up the cyclocross race on Sunday.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Fun Rides
Last night went to Lebanon Hills for a good training ride. Met Ben there and the first lap we went fairly hard and for the second lap decided to switch bikes. Tried out his Chequamegon set up- carbon fork, full rigid, 22lb, 29'er. Forearms got quite the workout on that! I was surprised though- I felt good on it. I could tell that all the power was going directly to the ground. While the Turner has a spectacular pedaling platform, there is always going to be a little power soaked up in the front and rear suspension. The 29'er also felt near impossible in comparison to break the tires loose and could really rail through the turns more than my bike- especially if the turns were flat or a little off camber...the front tire really stuck to the ground. Pedaling the bigger, heavier 29 inch wheels also was not as tough as I thought. Coming out of tight turns and random acceleration points I could feel a little, but, could carry a lot more momentum throught the rest to make up for it. Getting back on my back afterward, as Ben said, felt like riding a chopper, haha. The suspension feels nice- especially on the rough stuff. I don't know. Right now though I need to find a cyclocross bike.
Also, yesterday I found an online document that Rick Ochs had told me about. It's an interesting read comparing tire pressuress, widths, etc. using some good scientific data. Check it out here.
Also, yesterday I found an online document that Rick Ochs had told me about. It's an interesting read comparing tire pressuress, widths, etc. using some good scientific data. Check it out here.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
What a Weekend
I arrived at Maplelag Saturday afternoon. Registered, and went out for a preride of the course with Ben Rogowski and Amy Sportel of Freewheel. Crazy course- I loved it! Some of the drops were kinda sketchy, but really fun! The lap worked out to be a good long warm-up for my first 
ever Short Track race at 5:00. Fast, fast race- much different than what I'm used to. ~1min 40sec laps for 18 minutes. I started well, but mechanical trouble came early. My big ring could not hold the torque because of some teeth that are too wore out. Each lap the chain would skip in some rough stuff and the short but steep power climb- where eventually in the 4th lap, the chain completely jumped off the ring and ended that. Got a taste of ST and it was cool- I'll definitely try it again.
Sunday, TJ and I went out for a warm-up before the race where I got some great coaching. With this, I was ready to rock at the line! This was good because from the word "go" it was a FAST ~1/4 mile dash on ski trail to the first singletrack section- I got there in about 13th and avoided the bottleneck going in. It was very hot (~85) and while the tree's shade was nice, they also cut out any breeze, which in the slow twisty singletrack would have helped- it was HOT! A few riders got by me in the first lap as I was just consentrating on being smooth and not overheating. Towards the end of the first lap, some very sketchy drops got the best of a few riders ahead of me. I stayed on the pedals, kept consistent and never saw them again. Coming through to start the second lap Amy Ochs gave me a perfect hand off of the bottle and came at the perfect time- I was completely out by that point! Thanks Amy!
Then going off towards the first singletrack section of the lap again, none other than Bryan Rhody of Peace Coffee comes up beside me- he decided to move up to Comp this week also since, like me, he is trying to qualify for the 2009 USAC Nationals in Sol Vista, CO. After getting taken out at the finish line the week before at the Border Battle he seemed to be recovering pretty well, he went by and held a pretty good pace. About halfway through the second lap Jim Jaglo of LCR, wwho also moved up to Comp this week goes by but at a pace I could hold onto. Jimmy is very good through the woods so I knew we were on a fast pace, but I was at about 90% effort and able to save some energy for the wide, 1/2 mile, ski trail dash to the finish. As soon as we ducked out of the woods, learing from last week, I stayed in the gear I was in instead of upshifting and realized Jimmy had been going 100% in the singletrack and couldn't counter the attack- I went by pretty fast and held it. I glanced back and saw that Jimmy let me go so I eased up just slightly, I was now 14th overall. Well, I glanced back again, just-in-case, and apparently a train of three racers were not too far behind in the trees- still not sure where they came from! They hooked up in a draft- yeah we were going that fast- went by Jim and I had a target on my back. I dropped the hammer, HARD- everything I had, legs burning like a nitro funny car engine and top speed, top gear drag raced it all the way to the line. They couldn't catch me...finished in 14th overall which is about where I was finishing overall in Sport! They finished 15, 16, and 17th all less than a second behind me, Jimmy was 4 seconds back in 18th. It was a great showing for my first Comp race! I'll be staying in this class. TJ took third in the Time Trial, second in the Short Track, and won the XC race on Sunday by a healthy margin- enough to vault over Doug Swanson and won the overall for all three stages in the Expert category, nice work TJ!
On another note, Jay Richards, his family and all the crew that put this show on did a TREMENDOUS job!! Everything was top notch here: the food, the course, the lodging, everything. An amazing event.
After this, I went up to visit some good friends in Solway, MN for the 24th annual "Pig Hill". Yep, a pig roast! I love goin up there! Camping, nice big bonfire, guitars and a fiddle; it was great to catch up with some people I don't get to see very often. Funny thing, it seems like everytime I go up there I leave with another nickname- and this time was no different- "Paco (and sometimes Milt) the Bartender". Basically it had something to do with about 12 or so Sombrero's, limes, a bottle of Tequila....and a conga line.
Made the long drive back today and finished the weekend off with a good two hour road ride this afternoon to keep things loose and ready to go. Still unsure about making the drive to Rhinelander this weekend for the WORS race. I need a big ring.
ever Short Track race at 5:00. Fast, fast race- much different than what I'm used to. ~1min 40sec laps for 18 minutes. I started well, but mechanical trouble came early. My big ring could not hold the torque because of some teeth that are too wore out. Each lap the chain would skip in some rough stuff and the short but steep power climb- where eventually in the 4th lap, the chain completely jumped off the ring and ended that. Got a taste of ST and it was cool- I'll definitely try it again.Sunday, TJ and I went out for a warm-up before the race where I got some great coaching. With this, I was ready to rock at the line! This was good because from the word "go" it was a FAST ~1/4 mile dash on ski trail to the first singletrack section- I got there in about 13th and avoided the bottleneck going in. It was very hot (~85) and while the tree's shade was nice, they also cut out any breeze, which in the slow twisty singletrack would have helped- it was HOT! A few riders got by me in the first lap as I was just consentrating on being smooth and not overheating. Towards the end of the first lap, some very sketchy drops got the best of a few riders ahead of me. I stayed on the pedals, kept consistent and never saw them again. Coming through to start the second lap Amy Ochs gave me a perfect hand off of the bottle and came at the perfect time- I was completely out by that point! Thanks Amy!
Then going off towards the first singletrack section of the lap again, none other than Bryan Rhody of Peace Coffee comes up beside me- he decided to move up to Comp this week also since, like me, he is trying to qualify for the 2009 USAC Nationals in Sol Vista, CO. After getting taken out at the finish line the week before at the Border Battle he seemed to be recovering pretty well, he went by and held a pretty good pace. About halfway through the second lap Jim Jaglo of LCR, wwho also moved up to Comp this week goes by but at a pace I could hold onto. Jimmy is very good through the woods so I knew we were on a fast pace, but I was at about 90% effort and able to save some energy for the wide, 1/2 mile, ski trail dash to the finish. As soon as we ducked out of the woods, learing from last week, I stayed in the gear I was in instead of upshifting and realized Jimmy had been going 100% in the singletrack and couldn't counter the attack- I went by pretty fast and held it. I glanced back and saw that Jimmy let me go so I eased up just slightly, I was now 14th overall. Well, I glanced back again, just-in-case, and apparently a train of three racers were not too far behind in the trees- still not sure where they came from! They hooked up in a draft- yeah we were going that fast- went by Jim and I had a target on my back. I dropped the hammer, HARD- everything I had, legs burning like a nitro funny car engine and top speed, top gear drag raced it all the way to the line. They couldn't catch me...finished in 14th overall which is about where I was finishing overall in Sport! They finished 15, 16, and 17th all less than a second behind me, Jimmy was 4 seconds back in 18th. It was a great showing for my first Comp race! I'll be staying in this class. TJ took third in the Time Trial, second in the Short Track, and won the XC race on Sunday by a healthy margin- enough to vault over Doug Swanson and won the overall for all three stages in the Expert category, nice work TJ!
On another note, Jay Richards, his family and all the crew that put this show on did a TREMENDOUS job!! Everything was top notch here: the food, the course, the lodging, everything. An amazing event.
After this, I went up to visit some good friends in Solway, MN for the 24th annual "Pig Hill". Yep, a pig roast! I love goin up there! Camping, nice big bonfire, guitars and a fiddle; it was great to catch up with some people I don't get to see very often. Funny thing, it seems like everytime I go up there I leave with another nickname- and this time was no different- "Paco (and sometimes Milt) the Bartender". Basically it had something to do with about 12 or so Sombrero's, limes, a bottle of Tequila....and a conga line.
Made the long drive back today and finished the weekend off with a good two hour road ride this afternoon to keep things loose and ready to go. Still unsure about making the drive to Rhinelander this weekend for the WORS race. I need a big ring.
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