The Rest of December

...has been amazing! Lots of riding! Including first tracks on a trail here in Omaha that finally got snowed over. Strapped on a Maxxis Minion DHF on the front and a Michelin Grip'R on the rear- tubeless at about 16-17psi- and thats been working pretty good in the 4 inches or so of snow on the ground. More fun than I thought it'd be without a snow bike! At 4" the rail is completely rideable- even without enough other riders to pack it down. Each ride creates a new track in the snow so the luggier tires really help in the powdery stuff.

Other than that, Colorado Christmas vacation included ski days at A-Basin and Breckenridge and were amazing as well. Skiing those mountains just rocks- that Colorado Pass was well worth the investment. Colorado's climate is so sweet too...Christmas week I also spent 3 hours on two separate days riding Heil Ranch on the Mountain bike in 50 degree weather. It is SO hard to leave that place.

I pulled the trigger on a membership to Lifetime Fitness too. Wasn't sure about that one at first. But its been pretty sweet so far. Its helped expand my options for crosstraining when I just really dont feel like going outside at 2 degrees to workout. I'm having a lot of fun with the workouts and TJ's been setting them up great! Consistent hard training more than in full force...

First Night Rides and First Race

Night riding is fun! I've never really done it before- hiked with head lamps to the top of mountains and ridden probably too late into the night on trails sometimes with no lights- but finally riding into the night with a headlamp on the trail. It does take some getting used to!

Saturday evening I went out for a few hours at Tranquility Park so I had the confidence of riding that trail A LOT- I still nearly wiped on a few corners- those pesky ones with the cupped inside edges! Really fun stuff though. Riding in 15-20 degree weather with the winter gear and the headlight a few times reminded me of riding a snowmobile deep through the woods...of course with no snow here yet though...yet...

Consistant training has definitely started in full force again. And I think I found my first "non-sanctioned" race of the season on January 9th at Hillside Park in Elk River, MN- The Cold Bear Challenge- Yeppers! In da snow! First of a three race series- the next on January 30th and then February 20th. I don't have a snow bike but hopefully the Superlight with some meatier tires will do just fine. Should be a killer time regardless!

"Respect the Mountain"

Last week over turkey day break I went to Colorado, and after some regular, consistent workouts finally coming along I was pretty excited! The weather was going to be a mix of cool and warm depending on the day so I loaded up the Jeep with ski's AND the mountain bike- just in case...and I'm glad I did!

Cross trained Wednesday; with some family and friends I stuffed myself to the gills on Thursday; and Friday I got out to A-Basin Ski Area and shredded the mountain for about 5 hours. Snow was falling for most of the day and temps around 20 degrees- it was perfect. (except it made the pics turn out real dark!) I'm finally getting comfortable on the skis again and able to hit some of the sweet parts of the mountain.

Bumps and moguls are coming around and skiing them with more natural movements...I successfully avoided hitting 'most' of the trees I ski'd through. I crashed multiple times pushing myself but nothing that injured. On the way up the lift after about five runs, I sat with a guy that claims 'several' surgeries and says he's finally learning how to respect the mountain. So, like my mantra of "smooth is fast" on the mountain bike during a race..."respect the mountain" comes into my mind just when I start thinking things like "that cliff isn't THAT tall" or "I really need to start thinking about getting more air on those rollers."

Saturday I got a good ride in but was really feeling the skiing of Friday. So kept the ride short as I sort of had a plan for Sunday. I needed to test the fitness level so I parked in Boulder and rode the mountain bike through town and up Flagstaff Road. I was pleasantly surprised that I made it to the top keeping a good and very challenging pace- tough enough that I did have to drop into the small ring for a short section getting close to the end, but finished in the middle ring. This was pretty exciting and really cranked up the motivation to keep on training.

TJ's got some great workouts lined up and for the first time I'm amped up and motivated to keep training hard all through the winter! And on that note I also can't wait to get back to Colorado...with my season pass good for Breckenridge, Vail, Beaver Creek, A-Basin, and Keystone some sweet skiing coming this year!

Cheers!

First day back...

...riding that is. After some much needed time off, I got enough cold weather gear to get out and brave the elements...well actually just 'element' cause the only thing is that its cold. NOT a fan of riding on the open roads with crazy winds at these temps (need even colder weather gear first) but the trails sure were fun! 2 1/2 hours today...probably 2-3 more tomorrow. As of now still shooting for the first race to be one of the two ProXCT races in Southern Cali in March! 4 months!

Leadville 100 entry

So with my Leadville 100 entry sent....my fingers are now crossed that I get past the lottery system for the official entry! It would be a crazy grueling race that will test everything I've got but it sounds awesome!

There has been some off and on excercise over the last few weeks but nothing consistent. Just working out when I feel like it. Keepin it fun! Hope everyone is enjoying the off-season! ...if you have one...

Hmmm...off season?

Well I had bigger plans for the fall with riding but it just hasn't happened. All the stuff I put off over the summer builds up and explodes in the fall. The joys of working a full time job that I'm trying to get ahead in and at the same time training full time for bike racing...that I'm trying to get ahead in! It can get really tough, and its hard to keep going with both sometimes.

Every fall I try to stay on the bike and fill my head with ideas that I'm just going to train year 'round and come out strong enough to start at the next level in whatever the spring opener might be. I do this so much that when the rest of life catches up and I have to take time off to get it caught up I get that "uggghhh, I've been off the bike for two weeks- not planned, I'm sure I've lost everything" feeling...and its discouraging! Year's past I'd get back to some mediocre training...then fall off almost completely December through February or March. This year feels different.

I have been off the bike for almost two weeks...in that time I moved into a nice sized two bedroom townhouse and bought a really nice 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The townhouse really makes me feel like I live in Omaha now...which I sort of have mixed feelings about. But I feel settled at least for now. This is good for the training mindset, AND I have a basement that I can get training equipment into.

I'm looking to get back started again this week with a fresh and different look on the fall with no pressure on myself. This time of year is actually my favorite because I love the three holidays!! But...I need some cold weather riding gear for bike workouts- never really had anything for it. I love all sports so creative cross-training to keep the fitness will be huge coming up. I'll post updates on the 'fun' stuff I find to do...other than riding ;)

I had an amazing season, and that fire is still burning...USA Cycling chose Sun Valley, Idaho for the next two years to host the Nationals...I'm still really excited about that announcement- definitely the biggest "A" race on my calendar for 2011 to peak for.

Race Report: St. Cloud - Singletrack Escape

This race went about as expected. Due to issues with getting my house rented in Coon Rapids, before I went out for the 20 minute pre-race warm up it had been 8 days since I'd been on the bike, should be well rested!!

The start of the race was perfect!! Nobody attacked...and the whole group took off very slow- couldn't have asked for anything better! ...well except fo maybe a pre-ride. I was in 2nd about 100 yards before we dipped into the woods, only I thought it was another half mile up the ski trail. All of a sudden the wave dropped the hammer behind me and they jst had too much momentum and I couldn't accelerate hard enough to hold off....I dropped to about 6th or 7th and as those of you that know my riding...the singeltrack was not the place for me to be that far back. I was held up through most of it and my legs still hadn't come around powerwise to sprint pass in the short ski trail sections.

The second lap came and I felt so rusty and not very smooth- riding was ok but breathing and rhythm was rediculously out of time. Struggling. Towards the end of lap 2 Rebecca Sauber (who had already won the Pro Womens Singlepeed Championship that morning) re-passed me when I mentioned the next girl was about 30 seconds behind nad I was not getting faster.

I was however able to keep on her wheel to the start of the third and final lap. Into the first singletrack I started to feel myself come around and I was able to finally get control of my race. Rebecca kindly let me by a few hundred yards into that section and I took off hard. I found "the zone" and raced smooth and fast- all focus was where its supposed to be...on the course...I know I passed lots of people cheering as I went through rock sections but I don't hardly remember them. The bike was handling so well just bouncing around and sliding and doing its thing perfectly underneath me when all I needed to do was pedal hard and look down the course. Nailed every technical feature (that wasn't cluttered with a fallin rider or two anyways) and the lap felt almost effortless! I went by several riders that had passed me earlier and as I came through the finish I REALLY REALLY wanted another lap!! I wonder who else I could've caught!

Anyways...finally after 4 previous attempts I had a great St. Cloud race and it wasn't a win but I did get on the podium with 3rd place and a big push from it to keep training.

Race Report: Psycowpath Series Branched Oak Lake

Realized its been a little while since my last post! Life's been busy and full of surprises lately. Going back to September 11th I raced in Nebraska's Psycowpath Series just north of Lincoln. This is a fun course and one that I took first at during one of the weekly series in August, so I was excited to be back.

Well I definitely scared some singletrack gobblins away in Colorado over Labor Day because I really was thowing the bike into the turns. I gained a lot of time in these sections but lost some of it in the open fields...which unfortunately made up more than half the race.

I was gaining ground at the end on the leaders, but a 'mix up' in the woods with a fallin rider lost me some time and allowed a couple others to pass. Note: if you crash in front of another rider...you no longer have the right of way and should not stand up in the middle of the course causing the other rider (me) to lock handlebars with you sending both into the woods. He insisted it was my fault...I said I was racing and don't care what he thinks...I sprinted off and he finished 3 minutes behind me.

This race was longer too! Finally! Most of the CAT 2 races seem end with leaders around the one hour 15 minute mark- way too short in my opinion. This race added another 20 minutes on to it and I loved it! CAT 2 riders should be able to race for that long...plus you get a way better ride and workout.

In the end it was a solid race, even with the little mishap with Professor Crash. I ended up in 8th overall for CAT 2 ou of about 40 or so; and not far behind the leaders time-wise. I was more stoked than anything about getting my singletrack skills and confidence back.

I'll get caught up to the St. Cloud Jail Trail's Singletrack Escape tomorrow night....and the results my first 'open house' event for finding a renter for my house in Coon Rapids.

Riding Walker Ranch and Four Wheelin!

Over Labor Day weekend I did some other riding. On Sunday, the day after the race I went four wheelin with Dad again up in Central City, Co. Awesome stuff there! Nice trails and a realy fun ~1 mile section of trail that had steep grades and loose rocks the whole way ranging from softball to microwave sized to climb over. This was a challenging ride up on the 2WD I was on but with the right momentum and balance I got up pretty quick without stopping. Standing on the foot pegs, using the handlebars, and not using much brake I felt like I was riding a downhill bike on some trial at a ski area on the way back down again! AWESOME!! I wish I could ride this stuff more often!

That Monday I went back to where my accident happened in June 2009. The accident has been plaguing me mentally in the technical stuff since it happened and I haven't been as fast in the singeltrack sections of the races as I normally am. I ended up riding past that spot three times...twice downhill and once uphill. I gotta say I feel a lot better! It gave me a big boost in confidence in that type of terrain again...some weight has been lifted.

Race Report: Winter Park, CO

Last minute plans to race at 9-10,000 feet are always fun coming from about 800. All I really wanted was a good solid race again - and for the most part I got it. The course was absolutely awesome - long service road climbs, long technical rocky climbs to keep climbing balance skills in check, sweet fast and rough gnarly descents and switchbacks, and fast big ring flowing slingletrack! Awesome stuff! I knew I would have my work cut out for me though because Winter Park has its own summer series and more than half the riders at the line raced in those events, I didn't get to preride...that and I got SICK!

I woke up Saturday morning with nose completely plugged (started on Thursday). Always seems to happen this time of year to some extent! But I did what I could to make the best of it before race start at noon - I was not going to throw in the towel on this one.

Started on a nice steady sevice road climb for about 15 minutes and about halfway through the wave of 15 riders split in two groups- the chase group about a minute behind the lead already...and I was just off the back of the lead group about 15 seconds. With my breathing problems from my cold I knew the gap would grow wider from them...but I also noticed my gap on the chase group was growing also! That felt good and gave me some extra ambition to keep pedaling hard and steady and maybe some of the lead pack will start to drop.

Most of the race I could see some riders from the lead group but just couldn't close the gap that had grown to about 90 seconds. I did what I could and was able to muster one pass a few miles from the end in some soft singletrack and opened that gap on some downhill switchbacks (which are my favorite!).

One lap consisted of 14 miles and ~2,300 feet of climbing. And in the end, I finished right in the middle in 8th place. Was hoping for a top 5 at least, but all things considered, I'm happy with that. It was a solid run- the new Fox fork and Kenda Karma's made this race an absolutely awesome time riding.

Race Report: Maskenthine Classic

Last weekend marked my return to the Psycowpath series with a race at Maskenthine Lake in Stanton, NE. I finished 7th overall in CAT 2 so I felt ok about that. A preride could've helped a lot. I had never seen the course before lap 1, and that cost me quite a bit of time.

From the start up the short hill climb leadout I was in about 5th anticipating a left turn into the woods...nope...right turn sooner than I had figured which made me almost over shoot it on the outside while 3 ro 4 riders went by on the inside. I made some quick passes in a couple open field sections but quick punchy turns and climbs popped up all over the course.After several in the first lap I could no longer see the back of the lead group. I felt good but just couldn't get a rhythm going. By lap 3 I finally started to get the layout of the course and dropped a pack that had been starting to catch me.

Quick ducking and weaving is usually heaven for me on a race course...unless I dont know when its coming!

Change of plans for Labor Day weekend. Originally was going to race up at Maplelag Resort in northern MN (which is of the tight twisty kind) but situations arose and instead am now heading to Colorado so I'll race at Winter Park for a Mountain States Cup event. There will be a heavy race schedule now until the last weekend in September!

Race Report: MNMBS Great Hawk Chase

Last weekend was the Great Hawk Chase at Lester Park in Duluth. This was an excellent venue for a mountain bike race! Nice river to cool/rinse off in, awesome views, close to downtown Duluth, it was an awesome event! The course was no different – perfect mix of ski trail and sweet Duluth singletrack. It did rain the few days leading up to the race so a few 100 yard off camber sections in the woods were fastest by using cyclocross type skills, but 100% rideable with the right tires.

I did not have the right tire combination for these conditions, but still rode a solid race coming in 4th out of 11. I’m very confident I could’ve been on the podium if I had a more aggressive tire. I could catch and work on passing other riders all the way up until the off-camber slick sloppy stuff, then I would lose them again. Couldn’t keep the max efforts long enough as the race went on to keep re-catching them hoping to stay on their wheels for the last ski trail to the finish were final passes could be made. Their pace was smooth, mine was hard pedal/slide out and almost hit trees/pedal hard again…and repeat! I was only 90 seconds behind third. Overall though I had a blast at this race and I can’t wait to ride and race here again! Very happy with the results while overcoming the lack of traction. It was definitely a solid run to build off of as the MN races haven’t been my strong points this year. Things seem to be dialed in though to finish the season strong!

On Duluth, I love that area – that’s definitely a home away from home, spent a good portion of my life there, and I have family in Duluth that I now don’t get to see very often, so it’s always nice to get back. I get some of the best pre and post-race meals when I’m there ;)

This weekend I’m opting NOT to drive 8 hours one way to WI for the WORS race. Instead, I’m gonna see what I can do at the Psycowpath Series race in Stanton, NE - the Maskenthine Classic. 90 miles will be plenty for me to drive on Saturday and get some R&R away from the road.

Update and Pics

Well things have been shaping up nicely after the disaster at the Border Battle. Some time off the bike can help sometimes. I wasn't completely off the bike, got some riding in at the BMX track and some shorter rides in also about every other day. Last night was the first longer ride since before the Border Battle. I'm feeling pretty good about this weekend. Lots of time around preparations this time. Didn't realize how much I was behind on my routines. My whole "smooth is fast" saying works in the prep times as well.

I'm going to toss up a few pics from previous races over the next couple entries.

Race Report: Border Battle - Major bummer...

I am still getting over Sundays feelings. For how I felt at Buck Hill until the flat tire, and winning the race on Thursday, I was looking forward to a really strong race! I guess I know what happened but...its just never happened to me before! I DNF'd due to borderline heat stroke when I pulled off the course. It was mid 90's with heat indexes into the 100's.

I spent a lot of time thinking about other races and which tire combo to use (because of the heavy rains overnight)...so much time that I didn't not spend concentrating on hydration and nutrition...including the day before.

The warm up ride felt fine, seemed loose and ready. But, as soon as I made the first pedal stroke I could tell something wasn quite right. In the woods especially, I started seeing spots, knicked two trees with the bars, slid out on two corners...saw more spots and felt like I was going to faint. I rolled out of the woods, announced the DNF and barely made it to the tent with water and racer food before I dropped the bike and gear and fell/sat down under the tent. Steve Sturman and others rushed over and helped pour water over me as I drank bottle after bottle and ate some watermelon and cookies. I was very disoriented and questioned whether I needed medics involved - eventually I shrugged that idea off.

First time for everything? Could have done wihout it! But lesson learned I guess. I am very frustrated that this happened.

Race Report: Branched Oak Lake - First 2010 Win!

Got my first win in 2010! ...and placed second overall beating out some CAT 1 guys. They set us off in the same wave with same number of laps. Branched Oak Lake State Rec area is north of Lincoln about 10 miles. The loop is ~5 miles and we did 3 laps. This was a very different race for me.

The race pace started much slower than I’m used to. Sitting in 5th place about a 1/3 way into the first lap, I saw the leader gapping my group pretty hard. The next doubletrack power climb that came up, I dropped the hammer and spun myself up to 2nd place overall. The gap grew to about one minute in front and one minute behind me and that’s where it stayed. I only had to put in a few max efforts to keep the gap the same behind me. Since this race is more for training, I want to be fresh for the MNMBS/WORS Border Battle coming up on Sunday. No need to push it and crash. I won the CAT 2 division by a few minutes and first prize was a sweet set of Eggbeater pedals from Bike Pedalers Bike Shop in Lincoln. Awesome! In fact, seems like half the riders there had the white/blue Bike Pedalers jerseys on.

Earlier this week I moved the one good Racing Ralph to the front and picked up a Bontrager XR0 for the rear. This combo seemed to work pretty well. The XR0 definitely doesn’t have as much traction as the Ralph but is lighter, rolls faster, and grips plenty from what I can tell so far.

...lookin’ forward to a big competitive field on Sunday...Minnesota vs Wisconsin

Race Report: MNMBS Buck Hill

Wednesday (July 28th) I drove to the Black Hills for a wedding. While I was out there I had some time to take out the Superlight. I found the Centennial trail close by; however, was not totally impressed by it. Maybe it’s better in other areas but it was definitely better suited to hiking where I was. I did get in some nice riding on some trails off the roads though – some really good rough rocky gnarly climbs and descents. Fun stuff!

That Saturday I drove from the Black Hills to Burnsville, MN for the Buck Hill race the following day. I’ve raced so many times here – it’s a really fun course! We did five laps on this ski area – I kind of like the races with lots of laps. More fun for spectators too! From the start I was feeling pretty good. Holding position well through the race and just being smooth – smooth is fast! The Schwalbe Racing Ralph’s were hooking up awesome and the legs feeling good.

Each lap started with a climb from the base of the hill weaving and winding its way to the top mostly on service roads/doubletrack which is perfect! There is a small singletrack section that has about a dozen of these little 2” round stumps sticking out where trail crews cut the path. They stick up about 4” and my front tire caught the rough edge of one and sliced the sidewall just enough for it to leak. I didn’t know this til I got into the singletrack past the top of the hill. Just after it happened though, I sat back in the saddle and rev’d up the legs to about 100 rpm and weaved though a small field of my competition and was gonna challenge for first place! I was feeling really fast!

Major bummer when my tire lost enough pressure and went around a turn and ripped it off the bead. I grabbed my pump from my Camelback and pumped up til I heard the bead snap back in then hopped on….about 300 yards further up the trail, same story…more air…had to do this 4 times total on the last lap. I went from challenging for first all the way back to 5th place and ~5 minutes back by the end. Found the slice the next day.

Back to Omaha that night…lots of driving!!

The Rest of Nationals Weekend

Awesome! The demo program was only $10 more which allowed John and I to use several different bikes on the mountain. I tried the Scott Gambler, Kona Stab Supreme, and the Specialized SX. I loved the SX! It was a bit lighter and more nimble – which for my size and riding style seemed to work the best. The others were sweet too but if I were in the market, I would choose the SX.

The trails at Winter Park of course are amazing! Fast flying over huge rocks, ramps, dirt jumps = good times. The bikes with the extra squishy 7-9.5 inches of travel are so fun to ride over that stuff. I only crashed once due to a mechanical problem - however it was another hard crash. Going into a high speed turn the chain somehow rattled up and off the cassette and wrapped itself in the rear wheel…which according to John riding behind me, all of a sudden turned into a cloud of dust mixed with me and the bike tumbling and sailing through the air, with the 40+ pound bike landing on top of me of course.

Didn’t feel too bad until later…and this, combined with the hard crash a day earlier in the nationals race, is what caused me to have to pull the plug on the Super D at nat’s the next day. My right shoulder and forearm were completely hashed and extremely sore and stiff. Thinking about my wreck last year that took me out for the season I decided it would be best to sit this one out and recover. Tough pill to swallow though…I was excited for it and now even hungrier for next year.

Turned the rest of the weekend into a nice vacation. We drove out to Aspen and Snowmass Village. Then of course, had to swing through Woody Creek to drive by the favorite local hang out (Woody Creek Tavern) and home of the late Hunter S Thompson and pay homage to the man who spent his life documenting his adventures in search of the American dream.

I came back with one medal and a great vacation. Can't wait for next year!

I was kind of beat physically and mentally after the nationals, so I trained a little lighter for a bit – including some cross training in the gym. I had such a good time watching the 4X and practicing on the dirt jumps at Winter Park I decided I needed to get into something like that to mess around on. The closest thing to it around here is BMX…soooo, yep I bought a race BMX bike to help hone some sprint/jump/hard cornering skills. Plus there’s a track to practice on about a mile from my apartment. Kind of doubt I’ll actually race it, just something different and fun to train on.

Race Report: USA Cycling Nationals

What a week it’s been! I finally got to race in the National Championships! I’ve been looking forward to this since my accident in 2009. With the help of my coach TJ (Momentum Endurance), I planned carefully and trained hard for this. My finish only six weeks earlier in Vail revealed how much work I had to do to be competitive at Sol Vista. This time back to the mountains it all came together and pulled off a 3rd place finish! It was a great feeling to have the COO of USAC ask me to step up on the podium as he hung the bronze medal around my neck and said “Congratulations!”

The course was absolutely awesome and is everything that mountain bike racing is supposed to be. The course was not groomed. The singletrack was a path cut through the trees with rocky…REALLY rocky climbs with sandy, rooted, rocky fast descents with sweet berms and switchbacks that I was able to make up lots of time on the other riders with. Most of the climbing was done on fire road or double track that worked perfect for good passing areas.

At two laps and about 18 miles total, I figured my time to come in around the 2hour mark. So, from the start I didn’t burn myself up on the ridiculously steep climb which was about ¼ mile long. Once to the top of that section we rode out onto a fire road and flat singletrack for ½ mile before starting up another ½ to ¾ mile climb. This process repeated itself about 4 or 5 more times until the top of the mountain and held strong in 2nd place, catching and passing riders from other classes that started minutes before mine - thats always motivating. The next rider caught me a few miles into the second lap. I kept him in my sights for a while but my back muscles couldn’t keep up with the legs and started to fatigue too much.

Once at the top of the mountain for the second time, I knew he wasn’t too far ahead even though I couldn’t see him, so I was hoping to catch him on the downhill as I was REALLY fast on that – I was taking more chances than others were...the "jumps", berms, and swtichbacks were just so sweet! It's always fun to fly into a turn and stab the brakes so both tires slightly spinning and drifting through to the apex and then jumping on the pedals out of the turn. All was looking good to regain second place...

Well, I only had trouble once the whole race…about 2 miles before the finish on the last 3 miles of downhill I crashed harder than ever before. One larger rock had rolled into the middle of the course on a section where I’m going fast but not real fast (maybe 25 mph?). I couldn’t see it around the corner until it was too late – washed out the front tire and pile-drived my right side into the ground. Already gasping for air before this I now had the wind knocked out of me and cheese-grated my right forearm. It took some time to make sure nothing was “injured”, get up, straighten my handlebars (cranked hard to the left side), and start rolling down the mountain – this little mishap cost me easily 3 minutes off my total time, maybe more. About a mile before the end though, I regained a fast rhythm and speed and finished real strong across the line. Luckily I had gapped the 4th place rider enough! ...even with the crash I still had 2 minutes on him at the end.

The people cheering, and encouraging you to pump harder and ride faster, cowbells…the event was just amazing! I loved it all. I worked hard for this in training and during the race. I’m stoked it all paid off. I’m planning for more great finishes this year now in Minnesota, Colorado, and Nebraska...and plan to compete at Nationals again next year!

I’ll post about the rest of the weekend later – more riding and crashing tales to tell…

Race Report: Road TT???

Yup my first race on the road bike. The "Omaha Cycling Weekend" was yesterday and today featuring a Time Trial and Criterium yesterday with a road race today. I learned about this series of races on Thursday. Since my focus is on the USAC Nationals (coming up this Thursday!) there were some other plans for training this weekend layed out by TJ, that I felt would be better prep so only competed in the TT at 9am.

Some serious TT guys were there - aero everything. I did not have "aero" anything (although I did remove the visor from my mountain bike helmet). I was using my mountain shoes and pedals - had one pin in each corner of the bib to hold it on my back - which, I learned that it takes more than that to make it feel less like a parachute at those speeds. Yeah, the Bianchi worked awesome, but was set up pretty much exactly how I use it for training.

Overall, it was pretty cool. Much different. I got done with the race feeling like I had a little more than I should have left in the tank. I'm used to racing for 1 1/2 to 3hours! It was fun though and I'd like to try one again.

My time was only about 27 minutes for 10 miles and total warm up and cool down was about the same; so, yesterday afternoon I headed out on the Santa Cruz to get 2 1/2 hours of dirt work in ;) Good riding day.

Another note, I took Bandit to the dog park on Friday night...which is also right next to the BMX track where they happened to be racing that night! I watched that for a couple hours...cool stuff! I haven't watched BMX (other than on TV) for a very long time.

Mount Evans – 14,130 feet

I did it! Got up early Monday morning and drove to Echo Lake (the base of the Mount Evans Park at 10,000ft), suited up, rode a mile to the park entrance, paid 3 bucks and off I go to climb one of Colorado’s beloved 14ers on a bike. This is also the highest paved road in North America!

I kept the pedaling efforts light because I wanted to be SURE I made it to the top…but the next time (oh yes there definitely will be a next time) I will kick it into some taller gearsI was surprised at how I adapted to the altitude, even got in a few sprints and went past about 20 other riders…not that anybody was racing…but still…I felt good! The grades aren’t crazy steep so the big factors were wind and little oxygen. Getting to the top was a challenging but very enjoyable ride. The views are amazing! …and some of the baffling looks you get from people in cars are priceless.

The ride down was fun… but the wind seemed the worst for me. Unpredictable crosswind gusts can really get the bike squirrelly underneath you, and can get a little freaky…particularly when going 30-40+ mph with 1,000ft+ drops only 3 or 4 feet to the side of you!!

I can’t wait to do this again! I want to take more pictures…and also ride there from Idaho Springs instead (starting at 7,600ft).

4th of July in CO

What a weekend! Saturday was riding quads up in Rollins Pass with Dad. Its always fun to play in the mud, launch off rocks, slide corners and watch Jeeps bury themselves in 3 – 4 feet mud bogs…and also watch them drive up the rushing mountain rivers.Lots of fun and even did a little prospectin’ on the way back down the mountain as we searched out the remnants of a gold mine. The trail off the road that leads up to it is easily passed unless you’re really looking for it…and we found rocks with lots of quartz – which then led to a little… ;)

Sunday, July 4th I took the Superlight and rode Heil Ranch. Unfortunately I did not get any pics of what I was riding but it was some SWEET rough gnarly singletrack – both climbing and descending about 10 miles out and back. I took the Picture Rock trail that leads towards Hall Ranch (I’ve talked a lot about Hall Ranch in other blog posts). They both have their flavors, but Heil was awesome. Perfect stuff to help hone the skills for Sol Vista! Plus, it has an 1930’s Plymouth sedan shell rusted with bullet holes the rear axle tore out of it…no engine (yes I looked)…and also…no road up there. This must have been sitting there for a LONG time…maybe since the 30’s??

Celebrated America’s independence in Estes Park while enjoying coffee from the Kind Coffee Roastery and a slice of apple pie from a place that had “You Need Pie” written in the window – very persuasive…and they were right, it was perfect. I’ll be back there again!

Race Report: Mankato

This course has been one of my favorites in the past so I was excited to race here again! Unfortunately the storms forced a closing of some of the more fun sections of the course but it was still fun. This time the mud was awesome to race in. I’m excited to see some pictures from this race!

With 45 minutes to race start Sport riders were coming off the trail with fresh mud so I decided to change the rear tire, figured that should be good enough…and it turned out to be a wise move.The deep and widely spaced lugs really propelled me through the mud at the top of Mt. Kato – in hindsight I should’ve swapped the front also, but the rear was most important - 100% rideable course nonetheless.

We ‘Comp’ racers had to do four laps on Mt. Kato. It was hot and steamy out there but not terrible. The terrible thing was the mechanical trouble AGAIN on lap four. Same thing as what happened at Mont Du Lac. About a dozen times on that lap the cranks just stopped moving, but I was absolutely not going to DNF. It happened most on the climbs just after I downshift in the rear. I didn’t know what was going on but on the flats and downhill sections I could go without trouble…and when it did lock I jumped off quickly and ran the bike to the next flat or dh.

Not sure how much time I lost (5 – 6 minutes??) but with all that I ended up missing the podium by only two minutes! I was frustrated for that half of a lap until the finish. When I saw the results, I felt a little better with 4th place given the issues. Upon closer inspection when I got home, the bearings in the rear derailleur pulleys are completely shot. Also, I down shifted with a good amount of force on the pedal…and slightly tweaked a couple gears on the cassette. Oh well, better here than Sol Vista.

This was the last ‘tune up’ race before Nationals coming up on the 15th so I’m glad I came out feeling good about it. Riding this week has been intense and I’m feeling pretty strong. This weekend I’m off to do some more altitude training in Colorado – not sure where exactly yet…

On the Citizen Class battle…one did not show thinking it was going to be another Mont Du Lac type race. Looking like it could be the MNMBS Buck Hill race now before that gets sorted out…which gives lots of time for each to find new ways to trash talk and hinder the others training…and still with me and my gas can standing by – “John…Mat loves McFlurrys…you should be a good friend and get him a gift certificate to McDonalds” ;)

Riding Out the Storms

The battle in the Citizen class has been heating up. Fun texts, emails, and calls. John's buying more carbon stuff and logging some good mileage, Matt's being more secretive about his plots. Matt hasn't raced in a couple years, John's never raced...not counting Mont Du Lac. I'm staying neutral in this...with a gas can next to me in case the track smack fires start to smolder at all ;)

This weekend will be awesome. Heading up to Minneapolis tomorrow night I think. I unfortunately will NOT be racing in the USAC's return to the midwest at Mt. Morris, WI. Too much driving and I need to turn that stress down a little. Mankato will be fun on Sunday. I raced there in 2008 and hopefully it will be similar.

It has been a rediculously stormy summer so far! Finding 2 hour slots of times throughout the day to get in the rides has been tricky. While I've been able to do it, many times its riding half in the rain or wondering if I'm going to get back to my place in time before the monstrous lightning shows get there, but it definintely keeps up my intensity! Nothing like lightning to motivate you to put in some good training efforts!

I rarely get out on the singletrack because of it though. I think the only times I've been on the mountain bike lately have been for the actual race, otherwise its been all Bianchi. Tonight I have a good long dirt ride planned and I'm hoping it wont rain today so I can actually get it in...on dirt!

Race Report: Ponca’s Revenge

I love marathon mountain bike races!!! The last few races have been ok, but I really needed a good solid race again – I got it on Saturday which marked the 3rd event of the Nebraska State Lottery Psycowpath Series held at Ponca State Park, NE. This series gives you an option to race a 3 hour Marathon event along with offering the category XC races. I opted for this over the CAT 2 Open race because I’ve been obsessing about ultra-endurance and marathon racing lately.

I felt like I prepared really well for it. Saturday morning came when the alarm went off at 6am. Google maps showed that I was about 2 hours from the park which gave me plenty of time to get there, relax and get a good warm up in. In the Marathon class there are no age or category breakouts – just run what ya brung – so I wasn’t too surprised when I saw a few CAT 1 riders at the start. I thought it’d be fun to see how I stack up with them. At about 10am we were off. I settled into about mid pack going into the first singletrack…and I pretty much stayed there the whole race. Most of the race I was by myself. During the 6th and 7th lap I passed a few other marathoners, two were on the same lap and a few others I think were a lap or two down. I felt awesome through the whole thing.

My lap times were pretty consistent, only dropping a couple minutes in the last 2 laps vs. the first 2. I set out to do at least 6 laps and I finished with 7 – I was smiling all the way through, hitting the downhills just as hard on the 7th lap as I did on the first lap. I stayed fueled and hydrated perfectly. With all the climbing here (which there was surprisingly a good amount of), one full 70oz. Camelback I emptied just after finishing my last lap.

My pedal strokes have been sort of choppy this year…but I found a rhythm during the last hour of this race. Regardless of speed my pedal cadence got smooth…aha! Smooth is fast ;) I had been repeating this in my head through most of the race regarding the singletrack downhills…but it wasn’t until the last 2 or 3 laps when the fatigue started to settle in that my brain applied it to my pedal strokes. This was key.

I love marathon mountain bike races!!!

Race Report: Mont Du Lac - Mud, Sweat, Gears…

Riding last weekend was pretty amazing. I drove to Golden Valley on Friday night, and packed up the car Saturday morning with a couple good friends and blasted up to Duluth. We stoped at Mont Du on the way hoping the trail would look rideable. Splashing through the puddles in the car on the road leading up to it we quickly realized this was probably a bad plan. We drove into West Duluth and unloaded the car at Haines and Skyline Pkwy. Too bad it was so foggy so the spectacular views were hidden, but awesome riding nonetheless! We made our way up the Skyline a few times going down towards the water and then back up. I wish I had those kinds of hills to ride all the time!

On the way back to the car along the boardwalk, the rocky beach was too tempting, I had to ‘ride the surf’ of Lake Superior.We also had to ride over the lift bridge to Park Point…I mean walk our bikes over the bridge……we definitely did not ride them over the bridge…of the hundreds of times I’ve been to Duluth, I think I’ve only been to Park Point in a car. It was really fun to see it from this perspective!

We loaded up on some carbs at Belisios in Canal Park after the ride…this place was really good but maybe a little too upscale for those just coming off a three hour mountain bike tour of Duluth. The hostess ‘suggested’ we sit in the bar area, haha!
Sunday morning driving to Mont Du for John and Mat to tear up the Citizen class…the ground did not look ‘tacky’ as some had hoped and predicted. This race turned out to be the muddiest event I’ve ever done. John’s first mountain bike race hardly turned out to be that! More of an adventure race is what it was. By the time the Comp/Expert classes lined up at 1, I figured either the Citizen/Sport riders will pack it down (like the first MNMBS race at Salem) or chew it up even more. Unfortunately…it was the latter. Ridiculous amounts of mud stuck to everything. By the time I figured out the best way to go about this race I was halfway through the first lap. I sped up fast running the bike, riding the bike, carrying the bike – momentum, steady, and staying committed was key. I started to pass lots of riders and I was feeling really good. I rode most of the second half of the first lap.

I took the now shredded grassy hill before the road climb to clear off as much mud as possible while staying in a forward motion preparing for lap 2 (final) to really gung ho and figured I could drop at least 15 and maybe 20 minutes from what I did the first lap…yep that’s how unprepared I was for this type of race at the start. I felt strong. Up the road real steady, almost to the top, and ‘clink’ my cranks lock. I get off check the bike, spin them backwards andthey started working. Start going again, then the same thing 100ft further. I tried it two more times, basically I was going to have to run/carry my bike the entire second lap or risk breaking lots of stuff. I decided to call it…along with about 50% or more of the field. I love a challenge and I really got myself amped up for the second lap, so that was a bit frustrating. All in all, I feel it made me a better, more confident, rider technically and I did have a lot of fun.

John and Mat solved nothing in their Giant Anthem vs. NRS battle – so the yapper flappin for the two and half hour drive back to GV was very entertaining. That will be fun to watch at Mankato on the 27th.

TEVA Games - Sunday

After a good 9 hours of sleep, I woke up and met TJ and Chloe Forsman in the parking lot of the hotel. Luckily they had some extra food I could have for breakfast because the breakfast at the hotel was...well...there was no breakfast offered, I was not aware of that. Chloe was gearing up for, and which turned out to be, an awesome race in the road TT event. I'd like to try a TT sometime...actually any road race for that matter. TJ and I had other things planned for the morning. Apparently we didn't get enough of all the climbing in the race on Saturday so we decided we needed to go all the way to the top today.

TJ had a good run in the Pro race on Saturday and my race was good overall so we were both pumped to find some great riding in Vail that was not part of the race course. We followed a route called the Village Trail which was essentially a service road that wound its way to the top of the mountain, higher than racealtitude, and ended at the Eagles Nest where the people that took the gondola up getting off. Our ride up took about an hour and we had a spectacular view of the snow capped mountains above the bright green spring grasses. It was a perfect day for this!

Then from here comes the downhill. The maintenance guys on the way up gave us the advice we wer looking for "the trails are there...the top parts might be somewhat covered in snow and some might have signs that say 'Do Not Ride'...but...just go around the signs." We grabbed a trail map at Eagles Nestand headed back towards the Village - the fun way ;) We had to 'one foot in and one foot out' through parts of the trail with snow to start but after a 1/4 mile in it was clear. We were able to bomb some sweet gnarly decsents with a little air here and there and some near vertical rooted and rocky chutes to blast down and pass the 'Do Not Ride' signs into some tight but flowing berms that were just awesome! I did not know that Vail had mtn bike trails like this! About 2 1/2 hours after we started the ride we get back to the parking ramp in the village.

I met up with Mom and had lunch at Blue Moose Pizza in the Lionshead Village (which is an amzaing area of Vail). After this...I had to drive from Vail back to Omaha. Should've been about a 9 hour drive total which would have put me back by Midnight or 1AM. Well...this was in my way...I took this picture with my phone going down the highway. It touched down almost directly over the highway I needed to be on...approximately 12 hours of driving later I finally roll back to my place at 5AM. Crazy drive!!

TEVA Games - Saturday

A couple stories one for each day about this weekend so I'll make two entries. First, I gotta say my calendar is already marked for next year at these games. This was an awesome event! Vail was packed with so many athletes competing in so many different events, it was really fun.

My mom came with on this little trip, so it was great to have her there to see this. We got to Vail before noon and my race wasn't for another four hours, but with all the excitement, I still forgot to eat enough. I remembered about an hour and a half before that I still hadn't yet, so I hit up a couple different Bear Naked cereal tents for some "samples".

Walking through the village we saw some of the kayak freestyle, some slope style practice, and right near the XC race start they were holding the "Eukanuba Dock Dog" competition which was a real crowd pleaser and super fun to watch!

At the start of my race I was towards the back of the wave when the gun went off...starting on a loose over hard pack slightly downill sprint before the first steep power climb I rocketed past about 30-40 riders into 5th place without much effort.

Into the first climbs things were going well and I'm on the wheel of 4th place when "snap" HE busts his chain on a second steep power climb just about 5 minutes into the race...I was too close to him, he lost balance and rolled back into me while about 15-20 riders go by and I'm trying not to flip over backwards on this mountain. I got going again but, my rhythm was busted. I forgot the elevation factor and tried going hard to get back up where I was. It took too much effort and I had only gone past maybe six or seven racers in 20 minutes before I realized how much extra effort I was putting in...and we were still climbing up and up and up.

It was too late, I blew myself up bad and drifted back. The second lap I stayed more consistent and got a few guys but I didn't place where I think I could have. I forgot how much the elevation can affect performance when at that altitude and level of effort. Oh well though, no big deal.

Regardless of my finish it was an awesome course and an awesome race. It's been awhile since I raced on a mountain course like this...2008 Angel Fire maybe? The Santa Cruz Superlight worked great and the rough downhills were a blast - I was ear to ear smiles on that!!

This was going on Saturday night during the concert and festival throughout Vail Village...night time freestyle kayaking is pretty cool ;)

Dialed in!

I used Betasso Preserve today in Boulder as kind of a "test course" to dial in the new setup. After about 90 minutes, several different combinations of handlebars/stems and shock/fork air pressure adjustments, I think I got it. Race tomorrow at 3:45pm. Excited for the first race back on a full suspension 26er! Not much time to feel the bike since it was just finished yesterday (thank you Bike Way!), but it will be a fun race no doubt regardless!

Betasso Preserve is actually the course I cut my teeth on for mountain biking during the summer of 2004...ahhh memories of riding the granny ring here. I dusted off the Iguana that I'd put maybe 50 miles on since 2001 and brought it with me when I spent the summer in Longmont working for Transwest at a trailer shop.

Now mostly in the big ring here...reminds me of how much has changed! Not just changed in biking, but how life has changed period.

TEVA Games in Vail it is!

I decided on Vail for the TEVA Games MTB race this weekend. With all the other outdoor sports competitions going on during this festival, it should be a great time! I've always wanted to race here, so no better time than now.

Last Saturday afternoon I picked up a Stans ZTR Race 7000 wheelset and these things are LIGHT! 1,208 grams for the set! Of course, these are 26" wheels ;) Coupled with the Santa Cruz Superlight frame and the rest of the parts I'm getting (hopefully today!) the bike should actually be within one pound of the weight of my Orbea...except now with full suspension.

So yep I have a bike build this week before I pack up the car again.

5hrs 18 mins, 80+ miles, 7000ft of climbing...

...on the road bike in the mountains of Colorado between Boulder, Longs Peak, and Lyons. Longest ride to date! It was pretty spectacular though. I've always wanted to ride from Boulder to the Longs Peak trailhead and this past Sunday I finally could check that one off.

Starting in Boulder I headed up 36 to Lefthand Canyon Dr. then off through Jamestown. It was pretty mild grades climbing until then. It was here that I was glad I kept my own pace with the bigger picture of the ride in mind, cause this was tough! A few riders that passed me earlier stalled out only a few miles past Jamestown. One lady that stopped was still catching her breath when I went back by her and she was able to muster the words to me “This is one helluva hill!” I was in 2nd gear for most of it.

Once I crested the climb I kept going to reach the Peak-to-Peak. This meant a few miles on dirt roads…on the road bike. “Whoa! This is new!” There were several shorter power climbs and descents which can be a little sketchy with tires at 100psi and about a 1/8th inch contact patch! I finally made it to the highway and that was rolling ups and downs until Hwy 7. Left is Longs Peak…right is Lyons and a different way back to Boulder. I go left and start climbing again. I passed by the awesome old church and grabbed a couple pics. Eight miles and lots of lower gear climbs later I finally reached Longs Peak Road. This was toughest because the grades get very large again and I’m above 9,000 feet. Keeping a smooth steady cadence I was able to power up it and reach the parking lot and ranger station. YES! …I had a strange urge to want to start hiking…as exhausted as I was I really wanted to and if I had some hiking boots I probably would have.

After a short conversation with the ranger about climbing LP, I headed back. Mostly downhill, I headed back going through Lyons this time. Highway 7 was mostly wide open big ring 25 – 45 mph, awesome awesome stuff ;) I also got into a draft with a couple other riders that kept us going very high speeds for a long time. Once I got back to the car…I was spent, feeling really good about the ride but being in the saddle that long takes its toll. Nothing but smiles on my face after that though, it was absolutely amazing.

Off to Colorado Again!

Got the car packed up and I'm heading out to CO to ride up some mountains and passes or whatever is available (meaning no snow...not sure what thats lookin like out there now). I will probably try Lefthand Canyon tomorrow morning. I've never ridden there but heard its a nice way to get in a 20+ mile climb on the road bike. It's kind of sad how I get excited at the thought of this much punishment huh? Haha!

After riding Tranquility Park last week, I discovered that in about one months time I've knocked off roughly 3 1/2 minutes off average lap times (over 3 laps distance). That is some huge motivation!

Race Report?

I didn't expect to have one this week, but yesterday around noon I got an email from Nebraska Cycling News about a race at Branched Oak Lake Park by Lincoln at 6:30! and only $5 entry! I left work at 5 and blasted down there with Bandit riding shotgun. I signed the entry form at 6:23...cutting it kinda close (had to drive slower than usual, there were way more county mounties out on the highway than I would like to have seen). Ran back to the car zipped the number plate to the bike and sprinted a 1/4 mile to the start line...not what I would call a spectacular warm up...but whatever it was a fun race and only 5 bucks! I rode towards the other riders waiting for me, and as soon as I turned my bike around (on the front row of course) I hear "Go!". Damn!

Now I expected this to be similar in length to a Buck Hill race...it was about 20 minutes longer. CAT 2 racers did three laps in this park area which was very beautiful...but absolutley the most horrible terrain for a full rigid bike, haha! It was insane! On some of the downhills I told myself to stop wimpering and just hold on and pin it! I tried but my arms were jackhammering hard for about 50% of the race (mainly the grassy double track like fields - it felt like they planted soft balls every 6 inches). Everytime I would try to swtich out of the big ring to the middle, my thumb would rattle fast enough to double click me to the small...every time!

Other than the wrong choice of bike, the course was actually kinda neat - different from what I'm used to, and some parts of the course through the woods would come out with some cool views of the lake. If I had a 3 or 4 inch full suspension bike I would have had a lot more fun. I'll come back...on a different setup ;)

Race Report: Buck Hill and MNMBS - Tree vs Shoulder

Before I get to the title of the post, I will start with Buck Hill.

I arrived at Buck Hill at 5:40 after a 5 1/2 hour road trip from Omaha. I did NOT have the fork on the bike yet so there was a bit of scrambling before the start (Thanks John for pickin up the fork and getting me registered while I assembled my bike in the parking lot, haha!). 6pm: 30 minutes before the race start I get the bike together, number plate on, and head out for a quick warm-up. The first time on a full rigid bike was interesting...and not too bad! I entered the Advanced class (4 laps) and got off to a great start.

My legs needed a good lap and a half to loosen up but I was feeling good. I kept a steady pace throughout with a few hard efforts to test out some climbing power - which turns out I'm still lacking. I did hold back efforts slightly in laps 3 and 4 to keep some in reserve for Saturdays MNMBS race, but it was hard because I really love these Thursday night races! ...and I was really excited to finally do well at the first MNMBS race...finally!

Just kidding. The race was horrible as usual. Don't get me wrong, the event itself is awesome! Always a great turnout and the MN series volunteers do a spectacular job! I just never get along with this trail and there are always excuses every year, one day I'll learn..rgiht? ...the 4 lap race at Buck a day earlier was not the best idea - or I should've held back more...nutrition was not my usual...the thunderstorms that broke up start times...I've had some trouble in the heat lately and 80 degrees and sunny after a few hours worth of HEAVY downpour did not help. Then I also hit a tree just after completing a pass and nearly went down - although, I did hit it hard enough to warrant a quick stop on the trail to make sure there were no dislocations.

I was just rattled and all over the place. That was at the beginning of lap 2...for the rest of the race I had to just ride around. My shoulder was not immobile, but hurt enough to let me know that carbon rigid forks are not the hot ticket after a tree altercation. My legs felt weak throughout the race - not like the previous couple races where I felt better and faster as the race went on. Oh well, I guess...it is what it is.

Sunday I picked up some new..."parts" ;) ...more on that later. Then helped John complete his badass NRS and we went out for a lap around Murphy. This was an excellent recovery ride. I'm feeling this weekend today though. I need to get some more task specific workouts in...and longer endurance times. Hope everyone else had a good weekend of riding or racing!!

Big Days Coming!

Tomorrow making the drive to Minneapolis...again...to race at Buck Hill tomorrow night and hit Salem Hills in Inver Grove Heights, MN for the first 2010 MNMBS race!

Going full rigid on the Orbea for this round of racing. Picking up the carbon fork tomorrow afternoon! I just gotta try it...save weight save weight!

Last Weekend - Hillside

Last weekend I packed up the car and drove to Minneapolis. I love passing by the Ritchey Bros auction lots! Theres is one south of the twin cities about 100 miles or so. The lots are so gigantic to hold all those huge tractors and construction equipment! I don't know, that stuff is just so COOL!

I hadn't been back in a while so it was nice to see some friends, one of which I haven't seen since 2005! Always fun to catch up! I rode Murphy - Hanrehan Saturday evening. Its been over a year since I've ridden that course and its really fun - so fast! After that I arrived at a friends house in Lakeville to a healthy slab of ribs from the bbq. I missed it, but I guess it was fun to watch the amount of ingredients going into the whole thing. Good times.

Sunday I raced Hillside Park in Elk River. I, like many others, opted for the Advanced class over the Rec class...which means 2+ laps at race pace! I've never done that before at Hillside. Well...apparently...4 1/2 - 5 hours of sleep is NOT enough and when talking about hydrating up to the race...that doesn't mean drink as much coffee as possible. I struggled. I jumped out to a great start down the road and into the single track, but I hit a wall only about 30 minutes into the race and started thinking about cutting back to only a one lap Rec race. Luckily, I filled my Camelback to the top, because I just started taking in the fluids like crazy and stepped back my effort level for a bit. I was coming to the finish of lap one and had to make a choice. I kept the hammer down and went into lap two thinking this was stupid - but it was a non-points preseason race, so what the heck right??

I'm glad I did. I nearly emptied my Camelback by mid lap two but I had started to come back alive. I ended up passing a couple riders towards the end and I was feeling alright...beat, but not passing out. In the end I was happy with two laps plus the prologue in 1hr 38mins. Great great training race! I'm still feeling it today. Probably some easy riding on the road for today and tomorrow.

First Minnesota series race on Saturday!

Rain rain go away...come again some...no just go away!!

This is crap! Its so cold and rainy! I was sick all last week so I was really looking forward to getting in some healthy rides! I even had to pull out the trainer on monday to et some time in. One hour 'recovery' ride with some core work after since I hadn't ridden since Wednesday. Thursday through Sunday was MISERABLE inside on the couch with a cold...only awake long enough for work basically.

Yesterday I took the Orbea out on the road since it was not quite raining. Went up and down a lot of hills...I had to get some good efforts in because it was COLD!! Not exactly the way I want to work out coming off a cold illness thing, but I had to get out and ride. An hour and a half riding, but it took a good 25 to 30 minutes before I felt like the ride was even worth it!

Today...its even colder AND raining. I'm gonna have to retire to the gym and get some work in there tonight. I don't want to push it outdoors...maybe some time on the trainer but now I'm spoiled and one hour on that feels like five!

I'm undecided about this weekend...yeah its in 3 days...well 2 days I guess...I'd love to race Nathrop but I'm not sure about the weather. Colorado has been getting slammed with bad white stuff. On the other hand, a good 3 hour ride at some trail in Minneapolis Saturday morning, betting the Preakness Stakes, live racing at Canterbury Park, and a pre season race Sunday at Hillside Park sounds appealing too ;)

Platte River Race Cancelled

Got word this evening that the race at Platte River State Park tomorrow is cancelled. I got lucky...this whole week I've been battling a bad cold. Now I can nurse myself back to health and prepare for the race next weekend...most likely in Nathrop.

I need better sleeping habits when training...something I've always had some trouble with.

Race Report: Psycowpath #2 Swanson River City Shootout

First race in Nebraska and it was a blast! Right away I gotta say that Roxzanne and Ryan Feagan and all the volunteers did an awesome job putting this together. It was really fun and easy going. Plus FREE series t-shirts and FREE burgers after for the racers!

They sent us around through a grassy field before getting into the singletrack which was just long enough for the group to spread out a little. Sitting at the start I noticed a huge mass of CAT 2 riders. At last minute upon request Roxy split us into two groups Cat 2 Open and Cat 2 35+....that was really nice because we didn't have to battle with others on the course that we were not racing against.

At the start I settled into about mid pack trying not to kill my legs...I wish I would have pushed a bit harder...two riders in front of me was one that couldnt keep the pace he started at and held three of us up long enough for the lead group to disappear. It was very hard to pass. Finally after the guy behind me got pretty antsy, and vocal, the guy gave us just enough room to smoke past him and try to catch that pack.

This course really played into my current strengths...fairly tight and twisty with some good sprinting into hard braking/drifting turns...smooth is fast ;) Being able to apply some skills from auto racing, I was able to keep a lot of momentum through the course. I caught a few guys as the race went on, but I never could quite get to the lead group. In hindsight I woulda/coulda/shoulda used more effort through out the race, I laid back a little too mcuch thinking I would need to save my legs. The timing system they used showed the lap splits which was really cool. Out of 3 laps, my third was fastest...one full minute faster than my second lap and really couldve been even faster. I just didn't want to blow up like I did in Fruita. Its OK, lotsa racin left this year.

This was such a solid race though. No mistakes, no acrobatics...this is the kind of race I really needed now. This kind of momentum will work great for training motivation - 10th out of 26 in CAT 2 Open and 15th overall out of 59 I think.

Next weekend is another Psycowpath series race at Platte River State Park. They've got a pretty sweet loop out there...with one sandy climb thats sorta like quicksand. Much more climbing per lap overall too...although that currently is NOT my strong suit...it should be fun!

Preriding Swanson

Rode Swanson Park for the first time last night. Staying smooth with quick acceleration will be key for the race on Saturday...this course is tight, pretty flat and 90-95% in the trees. I'm curious as to how much of a prelude there will be for things to iron out a bit before the mass gets to the singletrack.

Race Report: Fruita - Spectacular Riding

Colorado is just awesome. I get to Denver Friday evening, and Saturday morning Dad and I jump in the car and take off towards Fruita. About an hour down I-70 we get to the Eisenhower Tunnel and there is still a ton of snow! The lifts are still going strong...made me a little confused...am I going skiing or biking?? Haha! Vail pass had about 15-20 trucks parked off one of the exits with unloaded snowmobile trailers. Still plenty of snow for these guys to take off up the mountain right from the road.

On the way out there we stopped at a bike shop in Glenwood Springs to pick up some GU for the preride later and the race. I spied a decent selection of Maxxis tires on display and found one 29" Crossmark to match my front. However, I still planned to run the Crow on the rear. Adam Leiferman called after he pre rode the course and told me that the course was dry, kinda sandy but not bad...and fast. Lots of guys mounting up Kenda Small Blocks instead of the sand tires. I figured the Crows would be perfect ;)

We get to Fruita, passing the spectacular mesas and canyons, and then another 15 miles to Rabbit Valley - the site of the race. Never really paid much attention to this scenery here before. Pull out the bike, check in at registration, and head down the trail to preride. First I have to say that riding in Fruita had some of the most amzing canyons and terrain I've ever ridden or seen! I could spend lots of time riding around out here...a multi-day camping trip through here would be awesome. Feeling pretty good afterward, I felt ready for the race. However, the Crow was not going to cut it, too much loose over hard pack. I mounted up the Crossmark - which by chance I just happened to find on the way out there...weird!

The race: This course did not have the long climbs. CAT 2 racers had to do one 18 mile loop. It started with about 8 miles of very rough service road/double track. It was a sprint...power guys ruled this roost. The field of 33 riders quickly divided into two main groups of about 10 each with the rest following behind. I was at the front of the second group with the lead group about 60 seconds ahead. Just trying to stay smooth and pedal in perfect cicles, this was how it went for about 30 minutes - then my legs started to reveal the seven months of no riding after my little leg incident. I started to blow up bad and about 75% through the race I hit a wall. It felt like everyone was going by me...just need to build up my fitness again though, so results will come. Everything else worked great. Mounting up that Crossmark was exactly the right thing to do. I could really smoke through the sweeping turms with the perfect amount of grip and drift. I obviously would have liked to place better but I did pretty well overall - better than expected. And definitely enough to get me motivated to train train train. Racing along the cliffs of these canyons was so fun.

Interesting racing out in the open range...I'm focusing on the course and my breathing and just over the crest of a short power climb we see within about 5 feet of the course 15-20 cows. They weren't on the course...yet. Towards the end I came around a corner flat out around 30 mph and there's Ol'Bessie standing there in the middle of the course. Got on the binders pretty hard...to avoid hitting a cow!

This weekend is a race right here in Omaha at Swanson Park. I'm excited for that! New venue, new series, new competition - should be fun! Goin to preride the course tonight!

Off to Fruita!

Packed up the car...headin out in a couple hours. Stopping at Denver for the night to see my parents, then the rest of the trip tomorrow morning/afternoon. My Dad will be coming with for support so that will be nice...always good company. Skipping the TT's tomorrow and just gonna get well prepared for the race on Sunday. I don't want any excuses - I need a good baseline to start with this year. The first Mountain States Cup race should be good for that!

Last night I spent a few hours checking over the Orbea. I cleaned and then greased everything, adjusted the brakes...and I switched the rear tire back to Stan's "Crow" tire. The tire I've been using has great traction but is half a pound heavier than the Crow. Plus the bigger knobs create significantly more drag on the flats. We'll see if this was a good decision or not, but I want to be fast!

Riding the roads and Platte River State Park

I remembered this for the road ride this last weekend and on the Bianchi this stuff was awesome! For the first time I took my iPod with me...Static X can be dangerous to listen to on some of those descents! Top gear and 100+ rpm's tryin to push harder in a racing crouch....I probably pushed my legs a little harder than I should've on a training ride like this, but it was so fun! Stumbled upon the old Sunset Speedway that is only a few miles from my apartment. Always get that nostalgic feeling seeing something like this.



The mountain biking this weekend was a great (but somewhat painfull) surprise! I went to Platte River State Park. This course reminded me a lot of the Mont Du Lac course up by Duluth, MN. Some nice technical sections, leg burning climbs, the trees and the general atmosphere was so much like it. It had some steep descents but they were shorter - funstuff thought.

The Ride: The plan was to ride for 4 hours...that turned into about 3hrs 32 mins. Average bpm of 147...and thats with the last 30 minutes 'idling' around the area checking things out and cooling down. This park definitely has some of the steepest (and sandiest) climbs I've been on in the midwest...man that sand really zaps you! I pushed WAY too hard in the first 2 hours. I could feel my muscle turning and twisting into a giant mess that I knew I was going to pay for the next day...or two.

Climbing to the top of this service road (aka. more like xc ski size) to reach the singletrack was a bear. Middle ring all the way but it was sandy...like racing at Buck Hill...but having climb up it in sand. This is where I think the 29er excels - with the longer contact patch the bike doesn't want to plant itself as easily. Also, getting to this point there is a steep and technical descent/drop from the parking lot. There is a road that winds its way around to get back to the top...but...thats boring. Also 4 times...I decided to climb back up it. This required the lowest gear I had, leaning back in the saddle and making ultra smooth pedal strokes...and ignoring the raging fires burning inside the quads and hammy's.





No bike issues...no injuries...it was a great weekend!

Race Prep Rides...Races coming!

The riding two weekends ago in Minneapolis was awesome. The Saturday was only the second day that some of the trails were opem for 2010 dirt season...and it was packed! Running late as usual I met up with John, Mat and my cousin Brian. We were out riding Lebanon for ~3 hours that day. Two of the three had never ridden there before so it was fun to show them around, including the X and XX sections ;)

Last week I hit Tranquility again and also spent a couple hours on Thursday on the road on the Orbea - it was wet and I figured I might get rained on and I did. Definitely not road bike weather, but a great workout nontheless. Also, I found some great roads to ride on! Some not-so-steep, but long climbs...and vice versa, just awesome for training!

Off to Minneapolis!

Gonna check out the trails up there this weekend. According to MORC, all trails in the Metro as of 9am have officially opened and are ready to ride!

This will be great to gauge fitness level...AND smoke the group I'm riding with there ;)

Three laps going pretty hard at Tranquility last night...feeling pretty good! Fruita on April 24th and 25th. Also, starting to make plans for a bike switch...

Buildin' up the lungs

Saturday I was riding in Colorado. Stiff winds (ie. 30 mph blasts) out of the west..which of course is the direction I'm heading. I drove from Thornton to a hiking trailhead just west of Lafayette on Baseline and unloaded the Bianchi there.

It was a little chilly but I knew the cool "breeze" would be much appreciated once I started riding into it down the road. I saw a couple other roadies in a draft go by the lot so I figured if they can do it I can do it. I looked west and had my sights set on Flagstaff Mountain...somewhere on the backside of which is where I had my "accident" last year in the trees.

The climb really starts about 5 miles into the ride just after crossing the busy Broadway intersection in Boulder. The wind took a little more out of me than I would have liked at this point but whatever, I need to climb that mountain! As I got to the top of Baseline and it turns into Flagstaff road the grades become much more more significant and much longer. Having a lowest gear setting of 34x25 was barely enough for this ride...actually it wasnt enough...a few riders passed me on their way to the top (grrrrrrr....) and they definitely had some steeper gears to spin in. Getting towards the top, I had to stop twice. I started thinking about it, and I've never actually ridin to the top on the road bike. Today was not going to be it either.

It started to get real cold. There was still a good amount of snow everywhere around the road and I wasn't spinning fast enough to keep myself warmed up. I stopped briefly, walked to the edge of the road to see the amazing view overlooking Boulder and straight east over the plains leading up to the foothills. I love the Colorado!!!

I knew I wasn't too far from the top but I knew I needed to make it back down...without hypothermia. I turned and started back down, only to realize later that I was only about 1/2 mile from the top but oh well. the ride down was fun and scary...too much sand! It got better about halfway down...the I could start passing cars :D Thats always fun! I did get passed by two Subaru STi's that were having some fun on this twisting winding mountain road. I tried to keep up, and without sand I think I could've held my own ;)

Total round trip: about 22 miles, 2hrs, and 2,600ft of climbing (~2,100 ft of which is in the 5 miles constant climb up Flagstaff). Good stuff for spring training! I have to say I'm surprised with my leg strength so far.

29er or not?

Staying active (tennis and running) and awesome riding lately! With more riders on the trails, its more fun to push a little harder to catch and pass people (or keep from getting passed). Definitely keeps my pace a little higher than I would when riding alone. I need it though...still feeling a little uneasy practicing some race-pace turns. The last lap of the ride at Tranquility Park on Wednesday though I was pushing pretty hard and I really feel for the first time since I broke my leg that my fitness is coming back.

Off to Denver tonight finally! Bringing the road bike to go hammer on some long ascents. Hopefully the roads will be clear enough. Yeah...that means I'm skipping the TT at Jewell Park tomorrow which I'm not totally happy about, but its a long season with lots of racing ahead and I realy need the long fitness rides right now.

Also...thinking a lot lately about the pros and cons to racing a 29er...for someone my size, it really seems like I should be more concerned with wheel/tire weight. I really notice it when I'm rolling slow and need to jump on the pedals. this guy on an Anthem really pulled on me until we got up to speed.