---Slovick Racing---

Racing LAST Year

2012-01-27T22:35:00.000-06:00

The last part of 2011 was a blur. A blur with some ups and downs all around - mainly the racing as the ups. AS previously written the Leadville race opened a new perspective of racing to me. I came out of that with a lot of confidence. The rest of the year it didn't reall matter where I raced - I just wanted to race what I wanted to race without any regard to points or finish placing. The whole year I had been dialing into a pace that could get me through a 100+ mile race. After Leadville I felt like I could let loose and just race how I wanted- and I lined up 11 times after that...and each time I put in some more "appropriate efforts" for the length of race I was in (see also leg burning and lung searing).

Couple highlights:

Sawtooth Challenge, Grand Marais: This was a nice, low pressure race but super fun!! This is the first time in awhile (several years...too long!!) that I stayed in a tent while at a race event. And Grand Marais, MN in August??...what a place to do it! I fell asleep and woke up to the sounds of Lake Superior waves, sea gulls, and spinning freewheels?? Didn't know untl then that the family in the campsite next to mine were also there for the race- coming down from Thunder Bay.

The race started with a neutral roll out from Artist's Point- the pier downtown- through the town and up into the Pincushion Mountains where the race officially was under way. We went uphill for a mile or so before the singletrack turned into curvy ski trail and went up some more. It was here that the laps began- 3 for my group. Up the skirail then a screaming fast, and VERY rough long descent to where more singletrack came. This singletrack is why I love riding anything up north- it was RAW. Ungroomed..but fast- depending on how quickly your elbows and knees could react to the gnarly, rocky, log riddled, off-camber into hairpin before steep power climb. I loved this course. Had a great race result too as I pushed my myself much harder than before, knowing that this was going to be a race around 2hrs.

Chequamegon 40, Cable, WI: I didn't quite have my race plan nailed down for this one. I had a similar situation when I was at Leadville...starting in the very back. Of the ~1900 racers there at the start, I was literally lined up in about 1,850th. I heard the word "GO!" but didn't move for at least 5 minutes...and at that point it was verrrrry slllooowwww through the town until I got out on the highway leading to the ski trail. Lots of time lost at the beginning but I was feeling good and was passing riders 10 to 20 at a time for quite awhile...no joke. I have to say it was fun doing that- being as I knew I wouldn't have the result I really wanted I decided to turn it into a "see how many I can pass before the end" race...basically, a 40 mile time trial.

There was one hardpack track through the grass of the ski trail- I got none of it as I never could find a pace group- riding in the grass takes a ton of extra work! TJ and I layed out a plan to keep it

easy until Fire Tower Hill (~half way through) where the rest of the race was much hillier than the first half. I was on a great pace and did all I could but in the end the best I got was past about 1500 of the other riders- still not bad for a 2hr 45min race! The way I felt during and after though has me itching to get another crack at this race...and I will have my bike on the line WAY early. The guys on the front row were there at 5:30am...3 1/2 hours before start.

From here some of the highlights include my first take on cyclocross racing...next post...

Breaks over

2012-01-11T22:06:00.000-06:00

Yeah I've been away from this for awhile...however not due to lack of riding or racing. A lot has gone on this fall at the mountain biking, work, and more personal levels.

There were races in August and September that I wanted to write about...but it's crazy how after each race, all of a sudden it felt like life fast forwarded through two more! Working 50-60hrs per week and still trying to keep up with training...including sleep and FOOD! gets things moving pretty fast! ...and now I just raced my first event of 2012, haha!

I'm reflecting back over 2011 now...and building a preliminary schedule for 2012. This will be a good year ;)

Race Report: Leadville 100 - back online

2011-10-28T15:20:00.001-05:00

Leadville 100 Yes...finally...my take on the Leadville 100 with pictures! Since the day I found out I was in, my thoughts have been a roller coaster about how this race will go. One day thinking nine hours or less is the main goal...others were maybe 10...or 11 hours...just finish?? I've never raced this long (distance or time) so everything was up in the air.

TJ helped calm my nerves a lot by insisting that he knew I was ready for the challenge. Since he's coached several others through preparation for this race, it was easy to believe him and confidence going into a race like this is key. I can't

thank my Mom, Dad, and sister and her boyfriend Jeremy enough for helping out and cheering me on! It by no means was an easy day for them- I'm sure it gets very long out there- but sounds like they had a great time with it all as well. Both stops on the course were well planned in advance and couldn’t have gone smoother thanks to them- again its extremely nice having confidence in all aspects out there!

Putting us in corrals this year was fine with me- my first time racing this so not much to compare but it seemed to work out very smooth! We were off into the neutral rollout with police escort just after Ken Chlouber started this race with the traditional shotgun blast. I was able to work my way up towards the front of my 'corral' by the time I got to the dirt and the race was truly underway. I was surprised at how fast I felt and easy it was to give juuuuuuust enough effort to be in the front of where the bottleneck up St. Kevins was likely to begin...I bet I passed 3-400 other riders or more from the start to that point.

Although I was ahead of the "walkers"- it was still packed. I noticed a few riders had formed a little conga line that was strategically and successfully navigating its way smoothly through this packed field on the climb. I jumped in line here

and passed another 1-200 relatively easy going up this climb- riding eyes up, leaving some room in front was very helpful- I had time to avoid some mistakes by other not-so-smooth riders and crested St. Kevins climb without incident! The screaming fast descent to the bottom of the next climb was super fast and before I knew it I was going up again- up and over Sugarloaf mountain. A good tough climb...rather uneventful though...which was fiiine by me.

After this crest comes the Powerline descent. The movies make a big deal of the technical level of this- but really it was not that bad at all. There was one relatively quick safe line, but I was definitely not descending as fast as I could have being stuck behind other riders. But each time I deviated from the beaten path to pass, the huge 12-24" deep ruts were just too much to risk hopping over, through, and around in a race like this. I stayed in line for the most part and again finished this section without incident...now at mile 20...turning onto the pavement towards Pipeline...wait...was that twitch a cramp in both hammy's??? Already?!?! This could be a very long (or very short race).

I blasted through the Pipeline feed zone at about 2hrs 13mins into this race. After that I jumped into a pace line with some folks wearing green 'Tennessee Pass' jerseys...and there was Roxanne Hall who I recognized from the movies- her story is pretty unbelievable- determination at its best!

50 mins later I arrive at the Twin Lakes feed zone. People EVERYWHERE! Running along side you cheering, cow bells, waving things- felt Tour de France-ish...of course I've only

seen that on TV before though. Eventually reach my crew- Jill ready and holding my musette anticipating a ride by hand-off. I did stop brefely- 10 seconds at most- dropped the three empty bottles and took off again- literally 10 seconds at most- awesome stop and can't thank them enough for being there to do that. Off to climb the BIIIIG hill- Columbine mountain was up next.

With those cramps stuck in my mind from earlier I was a little worried. Through the TL stop I still managed to be riding in the same group of about 10 riders including the Tennessee Pass team. I held a nice steady (not exactly fast) pace up the road part until the "Goat Path" section. I rode up where many were walking at first but then my hamstrings let go completely with 1-2 miles left to the top. I was walking- and baby steps at that. Each time I tried to get on and pedal my hamstrings lit up. Eventually I made it to the top- the group I was with was now looooooong gone.

I started the way down Columbine and again stuck behind several others not so strong descending...but gave me some time to gather my thoughts. The others I was passing that were on their way up made me realize my leg issues are not that bad...some of them were in for still a very long day and THOSE are the people that I admire. The determination you could see in their eyes and is very inspiring. I went down Columbine the whole way riding very safe and very slow compared to my usual kamikaze style- my split times reflect this.

As I passed through the TL feed zone I saw my family had packed up and moved just as planned and knew they'd be waiting at Pipeline for me. Still unsure

of my legs at this point I started up the little road climb out of TL and noticed by keeping a 50-60 rpm cadence my legs were able to handle a lot more gear- and speed ;) I picked my pace up again with this renewed feeling of excitement that while a sub-9 hour finish is gone, maybe at least sub 10hrs is still in the cards!

Pipeline station comes and there they are- my crew just as planned and I was about half a bottle left of the three I grabbed at TL outbound. I unloaded as much as I could in my pockets (rain jacket, arm warmers, gel wrappers, etc) and took off for the last stretch of this tour. The next time I stop is at the finish! For the most part I was right. I had to walk the bottom section of Powerline, as expected, but was able to muscle the rest in my 50-60 cadence without fail...I don't get it...don't know why...even HOW my legs could handle this but not 90 rpm lighter spin but whatever works I guess!

The climb up this was the craziest part of the race for me though...I never stopped- even when walking at the bottom it was always one step in front of the other...KEEP MOVING FORWARD!! Kept repeating this and its important to remember. After that steep section even though I rode the rest- it seemed to go FORRRREVERRRRR. Crested Sugarloaf now for the second time of the day 'cept the opposite direction- back down the mountain for the last big climb up St. Kevins. Keeping the cadence crazy low I again muscled my way up this road climb and seriously started making up some time and passed many others. Clicked down a few more gears and passed the crowd I was with on the Pipeline and up Columbine! I was feeling great and everything was coming together nicely for a strong finish! All the way up and over...then back down.

Done with major climbs and I felt STRONG! Although still preparing for something unexpected I again aborted my kamikaze mountain downhill antics and stayed cautious. Still 12 miles or so to go. Once I got to the bottom and onto the dirt

road through the pasture I looked at my watch and realized 10 hours was still close but coming fast. I decided to ride as hard as I could until I blow up or finish- whichever comes first. I had heard the "Boulevard" referred to as the "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" before as this is a 3.5 mile stretch of dirt road with a slight incline the entire way that can fool some and cause wicked cramps that destroy hopes of close time goals if pushed too hard...this was not the case for me. I was out of the saddle the entire time passing maybe 20-30 more riders here. It was absolutely one of the best feelings ever being able to finish my first 103.5 mile races smiling and sprinting!?!?!

I crossed the line at 9:59:47...yes that's 9hrs 59mins- NOT 10 hours ;-) Other than being out of breath from that final sprint at the end...I felt great! My family and crew were there to congratulate me as I hugged and thanked them all for helping. Hugged Marilee and thanked her for the race! Then my crew bought me a massage from Ella, the hot girl from Sweden. Seriously...how perfect is this! Bike worked flawlessly, feed drops worked perfectly, super strong finish...it was all so awesome. I CANNOT WAIT TO COME BACK...and destroy this time and get that big buckle.

I didn’t get my sub-nine hour finish this time...but after having time to evaluate everything now, if I wouldn't have kept trying to spin so fast and kept a lower easier cadence I could've been at least close if not reached that goal. My fitness is

definitely there! TJ worked with me through my crazy schedule with work, and moving, and several other things that threatened many times to derail my training progress to adjust my workouts and keep things in order. Its been a tumultuous summer that way, but, it all worked out in the end. After the race it was back to the condo in Silverthorne for nice soak in the hot tub and I ate the refridgerator.

Race Report: MNMBS #7 - Hillside Park, Elk River

2011-08-02T14:50:00.000-05:00

Soooo busy lately not able to keep up!! Lots of work, lots of training, and trying to stay relaxed oand focused on both which has cut out some things like writing. I have been using Twitter- check it out: @slovickracing

Now for the race! Again keeping larger goals in mind I kept the burlier tires and heavy (but strong) wheelset on the bike. Maximum traction and some harder efforts on the twisty with lots of acceleration points made for a great day of training while racing. My goal this time was to start even slower than normal and maintain a pace that, by the end of the race, I could have kept going for another lap or two. With temps again in the 90's and mid-70s dew points this could work out well in many ways.

I started off in the main group of riders but towards the back. Keeping a nice sustainable pace through the first singletrack I was able to get a round a couple guys having some trouble navigating the fun but sometimes tricky Hillside course...and...as I've put it to many, that was pretty much it from there! Super fun SOLID race with NO DRAMA. Just awesome riding fast through the rockier and rooty sweet course that Hillside is. I finished with quite a bit left in the tank- definitely enough to do another lap- so this was a huge success...particularly how I felt after this race as opposed to previous ones where I kept overheating myself.

My note taking after each training ride and race recently has gotten better and is proving to be very helpful and should be huge in Leadville- now just 11 days away! The LT+ efforts are not as frequent as they need to be to place well in the MN series- some FAST riders in the Comp class this year. It still is hard to let that go a little- but I'm still loving getting out on the bike with a number plate with hopes to go all day and ride strong the whole time ;) TJ's weekly schedules having been falling in place perfectly with how my body seems to feel regarding off, endurance, and high intensity days. Pretty amazing stuff!

Race Report: MNMBS #6 - Mont Du Lac

2011-07-18T14:18:00.000-05:00

Well...yeah so plans changed last minute...again. In my last post I mentioned feeling slightly sick and waking up early Saturday I wasn't quite ready yet. I had visions of having a so-so race and then being full-blown sick for the next few days because of my impatience to not race! So I skipped it, slept in, then after resting most of the day went out for a relatively easy couple hours on the road. That felt okay so went back and packed things up for what I knew was going to be a tough race near Duluth, MN...Mont Du Lac is also one of my favorite courses!

And tough it was for all...even just standing at the line it was hot and extremely humid. We did four laps with each having one long fire road climb that I made everytime, but not at the speeds I wanted. I tried out a new liquid fuel source (typically used in longer races)- which I think will work- but the rate of consumption needs to be worked on. I finished 3/4 of a bottle in the first 45 mins that I had originally set up for about 2-2 1/2 hrs worth...not good, and I was full...so full that it was hard to drink water! I sipped what I could and backed pace way down to try and stay reasonably hydrated until things settled and by the time it did, I was about mid third lap. Until then I had been in the small front ring for most of the race and lost soooooo much time on the others- but these are learning experiences. No mechanicals, flats, or crashes at least.

I'm still in marathon and ultra-endurance mode. Which can confuse my brain at times during the regular XC races for pacing strategies. While I do like to see better finishing positions in this series, right now I'm more into trying new things during these races to find out where all the limits are- including nutrition. So in that regard, technically Mont Du was a success in that I think I'm gonna like the new fuel source- provided I keep a closer eye on the intake of it, and the fact that in the last climbs of my 4th lap I was able to carry a larger gear and go faster than I had in previous laps.

Hopefully heat and humidity will dial down for this next weekend. On Saturday, there is a 4/8 hour 100% singletrack race at the Murphy-Hanrehan course in Savage, MN that I am currently planning to do the 8 hours solo...IF the heat and humidity dial down by then.

Thanks John Reinan for the bottle hand-ups!

Race on!

Next Race...and Buck Hill MNMBS Race Report

2011-07-15T14:48:00.002-05:00

It was HOT!...and that is about it for the Buck Hill report :)

So anyway...felt a little on the verge of a cold coming on yesterday so skipped the Buck Hill race in lieu of some more recovery. It doesn't seem like things progressed over night so hopefully I was just a little overtired. Shifting daily work schedules to 2 hours earlier does take a little getting used to.

Congrats to John Reinan on back-to-back podium finishes this week...Sport class as part of MN Series on Sunday and Rec class at Thursday night races at Buck Hill last night!

Next race for me...marathon XC or regular XC???? On the fence...MNMBS Mont Du Lac or WEM Series Levis Trow 50 miler ...I've been really having fun (and performing better it seems??) at the longer races so I'm choosing Levis- race start at 1pm Saturday. Looks to be a multi-lap race according to what was done last year and should be a fun race from what I've heard about the trails...only x-factor to mess this plan up is the 50% chance of rain and t-storms in the area...hmmmmm...

Race Report: Firecracker 50 - Breckenridge!!

2011-07-12T08:28:00.003-05:00

I was a little intimidated coming into this race. With 10,400 feet of climbing over 54 miles (all done over 9,500 feet elevation of course) this was sure to be a huge test. I set up the bike the day before with Kenda Karmas which have been my “go to” tire for races with unpredictable terrain.

This race is such an event. I didn’t realize how much the town gets into this! The race started off with several waves lined up on Main St for a neutral procession that kicks off the towns 4th of July parade. Each wave had its own marshal and was paraded through town starting at 9:30am and 2 minute intervals after that. My wave rolled through the town led by Olympic speed skier CJ Mueller (dressed as one of America's fore fathers)- pretty cool!!

There were thousands people lined up on the streets roaring and cheering us on- it ‘almost’ made me forget the butterflys going wild in my stomach for what I was about to do.

At the edge of town, Uncle Sam pulled off to the side, bid us ‘Good Luck!’ and we were off onto a road climb to start the 27 mile lap. After about four miles up and just after the ‘Wild Turkey’ guys with the van, stereo blaring Rocky music, and WT shot hand-offs (…already??), the road turned to gravel and stayed that way until the first neutral feed zone around mile 6 or 7. The full course is made up of 3 climbs and 3 descents with a neutral feed zone close to the top of each climb. This first climb, albeit long, was not real steep and we were even able to form sort of a draft line. I tucked into 2nd place here, and not sure how much I was gonna need in reserve, eventually drifted back to about 8th or 9th but still had the leaders in sight.

After ripping the first descent, I reached the second climb which had the toughest part of the course. Part of the climb was a mile or so section that was steep, rocky, and wet…with snow banks. Picture Red Wing’s Stairway to Heaven climb but two or three times as long and the extra elements. Most people around me were pushing their bikes up this. I was able to pedal the whole way and made up some good time in doing so without wasting the legs…I was going to see this again in 27 miles. The rest of the lap went off without much drama- just sweet mountain race course riding.

The second lap I started off in 8th place and feeling very strong. I was anxious to jump on the pedals and crank hard but knew I’d pay for it still with 27 miles to go. First climb was nice and steady- even hit the ramp that the Wild turkey guys had set up beside the van! …luckily I did NOT crash in front of them! I got passed by another rider in my class that also seemed very strong- I latched on to his wheel and we took off. However, on the descent off the first climb, drama part 1 happens…1/4 inch tear in the tread of the rear tire. After messing with it for 5 minutes I have it fixed…now with a tube.

I reached the bottom of the second more punishing and grueling climb…my strategy worked awesome for keeping the legs strong because I saw a young woman rider riding this with me…we were the only two on this hill still riding- all others were walking. I bet we passed 40 other riders along the way up- not exaggerating. Confidence was flying as high as can be at this point!! Once again the rest of the lap was clicking off well…all the way until I crested the last climb. Jus starting the descent back towards Breckenridge drama part 2 happens…kicked up a rock off the front wheel and left the business end of it standing straight up for the rear tire to pinch flat…I have no more spare. I had to ride very conservatively for a mile or so on a flat tire on a descent that I should have been flying down.

Several riders went by before one has a tube that he hands off. Pull off the trail and attempt to fix…pumping and pumping to get inflated as quick as possible…turns out the tube has a hole in it…drama #3. Looking for the hole or tear I start getting things back together to just start riding again on a flat…many many riders going by at this point and blood is beginning to boil a little…then another rider goes by with a tube that he promised was good. Take the bike back apart reinstall new tube and off I go to regain any spots possible but at least stop the bleeding of losing time and positions.

Drama #4…apparently I didn’t get enough air in the tube…because another mile up the trail- ”hissssssssssssss”…with only a couple miles to go and I can start to hear the crowd and the announcer in Breckenridge I don’t stop- just pin it, and hope for the best. Lots of teeth chattering rock and root sections mixed with a dozen or so banked switchbacks later I finally finish the descent and the race crank as hard as I can on the now destroyed rear tire through the finish line. The crowds around there were awesome and coming up to the finish with the flat got some extra cheers.

That rider I was with in the first part of the second lap finished 5th…I netted a disappointing 15th with all the tire drama. However, there were many positives that came out of this race. I had set this race in mind as a test for my fitness levels and how preparations are going for the Leadville 100 on August 13th and I’m pumped for how well the performance was in that regard.

Special thanks to my Dad for helping out with all the pre-race preparations which really helped me relax and focus on what I needed to do. He likes to get involved on the racing I’m doing and that kind of support makes life doing this so much easier and more fun.

Also, thanks to TJ for working with my crazy schedule to keep adjusting the workouts that prepare me for these long races. I’m training for the longer marathon and ultra-endurance XC type stuff and its showing.

Also, the volunteers there were awesome!! I was able to use bottles the entire time due to the frequency of neutral handoff points. Super fun event, well organized, tons of people, awesome awesome course…and I want to come back next year…with a little better tire selection.

Firecracker 50: Officially In!

2011-06-30T16:18:00.000-05:00

Off to Colorado tomorrow! Big days of altitude training- long Saturday ride planned, a good tune up ride Sunday, and the Firecracker 50 in Breckenridge on Monday the 4th of July!

Looking forward to this race as I've read about for years and finally have the opportunity to do it. My energy and fitness feels like its finally coming back with some much needed long nights of sleep and routine training again setup by TJ. This is all in good timing when I just received the email today that I'm off the waiting list and in the race!

Should be a great fitness test to set the stage for whats to come in the next six weeks of training for and eventually racing the Leadville 100. Plus another reason to visit CO...like I needed one ;)

Race Report: MNMBS #4 - Red Wing

2011-06-30T16:08:00.000-05:00

Last weekend was the fourth stop of the MN series at Red Wing. The events leading up to this race greatly distracted any good race prep, so once again I went into this race...more or less just ride, have fun, and see what happens. I've raced here only twice before with the last time being in 2008 and have to say I was glad to be back!

Once again, I had no power but at least a little more endurance-like efforts to have a fun ride. The 'Stairway to Heaven' climb is a great one- steep, loose, rocky stuff that provides GREAT training. I really liked the course and need to make the drive down to ride there more often.

I didn't finish the greatest, but a solid race to build on overall- all things considered. Some unfortunate race news from the event was cheating (some caught and some rumored to have cut the course in Citizen and Comp classes) and also a bad crash by one of the Sport women- get well soon Sam!

Puppy Problems...

2011-06-29T15:16:00.000-05:00

So after the move...last week I was doing what I could (albeit unsuccessfully) to try and get recovered and well rested and loose. Firday morning brought another major distraction. My 6 1/2 month old puppy Italian Greyhound, Ajax, (very fast runner and is just as clumsy as fast) is running one direction- looking in another- and clips his front leg on a chair.

The vet showed me xrays and how badly he broke his leg. Luckily he's still a puppy, and with the help and extreme generosity of Jenny at Lifeline Italian Greyhound Rescuehe was able to get the surgery he needed on Monday from the best in the region at Inver Grove Animal Hospital on Monday.

My little buddy is confined to a kennel for much of the time because of his ambitions to take flight off anything at anytime...apparently even with a broken leg- although he is a little more hesitant at least. Luckily the pain meds keep him well relaxed and drousy enough to handle it for now. The surgeons expect full recovery since he is so young and they were able to realign everything nicely.

Needless to say though there were some long nights this last weekend with him before his surgery...if he couldn't sleep well...he wasn't gonna let anyone else sleep well! Luckily he wil be okay though...he's on the road to recovery.

Race Report: MNMBS #3 - Afton

2011-06-23T15:47:00.000-05:00

I definitley stretched my limits of sanity last week. When I found out I was moving back to MN, I tried to scramble and get all arrangements in order so I could keep up some training and still keep the double header weekend planned of the Nebraska series on Saturday and MNMBS Afton on Sunday.

Well...as most know this stuff just doesn't always go to plan and they cracked...I tried to remain optimistic damn it but it didn't help!! Almost no training and loooooong days of moving stuff to a storage unit in 90 degree and high humid conditions killed any chance of racing Saturday...just too much...and that didn't include any spinning.

I was literally sore on Saturday night all over from the 4 days of moving. I knew Afton was going to be a bust, but a good jump start into good training again...when I say I knew Afton would be a bust though, I didn't think it would be as bad as it was- literally comical.

I rode really well- great lines through the tougher technical sections and pretty smooth and fast there. However, after about 2/3 through the first lap I was out of any usable max power completely. I could motor along in a high cadence endurance like efforts, but overall I was cooked. Laps 2 and 3 were simply just riding along in endurance mode just out for a cruise as any slightly sustained hard effort made the legs twist and scream, sometimes nearly lock up...my legs were pissed at what I was trying to put them through.

Apparently more than 3,700ft of climbing in less than 17 miles is what someone clocked for the Comp race...that combined with the heat- whew! it was tough out there! I like riding Afton because of the challenge- so the real bummer is that I just couldn't ride it like I normally can but oh well.

Hopefully soon I'll get another strong finish though! I'm thinking that the ProXCT stop in Mt. Morris this weekend is probably out for in lieu of some extra recovery, a nice long training ride (without travel time), and time to get things better organized here. So probably Buck Hill tonight and then for sure Red Wing on Sunday...with hopefully a nice long ride on Saturday somewhere on the dirt?? If the rain stays away??

Moving back to Minnesota!

2011-06-22T15:16:00.000-05:00

Yep! I'm back in MN- working for the same company and in the same position but was able to work in a transfer to our Centennial Lake - Edina office. I still have my house in Coon Rapids and lots of family and friends here so its great to be back!

The move happened very fast- from getting the finalzied email to getting everything packed into a storage unit for now, to driving up with clothes bike stuff and dogs in 6 days!

I'll most likely now be racing almost all of the MNMBS races and some others around the area as well. I'll be changing my race schedule on the site here soon now as well.

Race Report: MNMBS #2 - Mankato

2011-06-13T21:49:00.003-05:00

Pretty happy with pre-race prep for once this year! Good warm-up and felt great at the start. Used only GU and lots of water- hot and humid day- but pretty nice!

Felt great off the start and was in the top 10 by the top of the initial climb! Riding fast and pretty well through the rest of the lap until the very last technical section (~ half mile from the end of the lap when the rider in front of me stopped just going into Quick Release...NOT the place to stop...I went off course to avoid a messy wreck and EVERYBODY went by.

Going into lap 2 I pushed a little harder than I would have otherwise up the climb and passed a bunch of people back...then on a short rough decent into a left hairpin my chain came off "expletive, expletive, expletive"...the riders I passed on the climb re-passed me...wind out of the sails for the second time in less than two miles. Have to say I was less than dscouraged at this point but rode on...eventually got over my pity and although I felt like I was cranking hard, I probably wasn't actually going fast again until the end of the lap. Railed Quick Release hard which really boosted confidence again.

I felt like I was almost out of water in the Camelback starting lap 4 which didn't seem right, but, I ditched it since I had a friend, John Reinan, standing by with emergency water bottle up the climb. Got around a few more riders in the lap and finished feeling really strong...gained two spots in the last half mile!

My fitness definitely feels good! Three minutes would have got me a podium spot and top 13 or 14...and with some smarter racing I know I could have had all of that. I'm happy with salvaging a decent finish overall and that I didn't give up- I was pretty frustrated for a bit after the chain came off- was tougher than it needed to be to get my pace back. I've put a lot of focus on fitness- which is good and definitely shows, but I've let race focus slip a little I think- making stupid mistakes that are costing me good finishes. Feeling good and looking forward to more racing though!

Thanks to Dana Shoppe for taking the awesome photos!

No TEVA...Off to Mankato!

2011-06-03T11:20:00.002-05:00

Reports say that the TEVA games mountain bike race this weekend will be plowed service roads...since much of Golden Peak on Vail mountain is still under 3-6 feet of snow!

Good luck to TJ and whoever else is racing there! Even with the snow filled racing its tough to not go to this...the festival itself is pretty awesome. Hopefully next year!

Mankato has always been one of my favorites in Minnesota so making the trip up there instead tomorrow...and much closer! Forecast calls for 0% chance of rain tomorrow and Sunday with partly cloudy skies at 80 degrees...awesome! I'm excited to race drier conditions in MN again!

Hydration has been a key focus this week while getting in the interval training that TJ has set up. Its been hot (~90 degrees), humid, and WINDY here!!

Leadville 100: I'm in!

2011-06-01T10:40:00.000-05:00

I got the word yesterday from the Lifetime Fitness Racing Team that I will be wearing their jersey and competing at the Leadville 100 on August 13th! 100 miles above 10,000ft and five HUGE climbs...this is sure gonna change up the racing/training mindset this summer- spending more time in Colorado than I originally thought! I'm looking forward to this...huge huge challenge!!

Race Report: MNMBS #1 - Freewheel Frolic and Buck Hill

2011-05-25T14:36:00.002-05:00

Last Wednesday night I packed up the car for a weekend of racing- attempting three races in four days! Thursday night Buck Hill, Saturday the MN series opener at Salem Hills, and possibly a Sunday Duathlon at Hillside Park in Elk River.

Thursday noon comes and I take off to Burnesville hoping to get there around 5:30...I roll in around 6:05 which gave me just enough time to register, change, pedal once around the parking lot and line up. These races are so fun though- and this gives me an opportunity to try out some new strategies that TJ has talked to me about. My start was not great (having to unclip and stop 20 yards off the start line) so I sort of just let the race unfold easy. Most of the field was ahead of me going into the first singletrack, but remained calm, over the four lap race I passed maybe 20-30 others and felt great at the end. Good enough run to have some motivation for Saturday!

Heavy rains arrived on Friday and didnt quit until Saturday afternoon. the mud tires go on and after a decent warm-up I line up with an unusually small wave- I guess the rain kept a lot of people away!

The start was a mad sprint around a grassy off camber prologue to the muddy singletrack. Looking at the tire choices of others I was not worried about having to be at the front as I knew my setup was going to be very predictable once in the mud and could catch others- and I was not wrong. The first lap felt good and the bike was handling great- no sliding through the greasiness or spinning out on the short power climb.

Problems came though at the end of the first lap and into the second. Mud had caked the rear derailleur and cassette and I could not get it to stay in gear! It jumped every other pedal stroke....until about 1/3 way into the 2nd lap I found one gear that would work and hold...unfortunately it was the 28 tooth rear and 32 front- not the best choice for this course! but better than a dnf since I'm already here!

Needless to say I got passed back by a lot of people as I was spinning as fast as possible and definitely as long and fast as I've ever done in a race situation ha! Oh well, finished a little better than mid pack overall which is better than I expected. Good times. Looking forward to seeing the pictures that Dana Shoppe has for this one!

Mechanical trouble (i.e. no brakes) and general bike and equipment cleansing and adjustments kept me from being able to make the duathlon in Elk River. I was a little bummed about missing that but, training-wise...the efforts on Saturday were enough for a stellar workout.

I got to spend some time with great friends as well that I don't get to see very often now that I live in Omaha- always great to see them and take shots at each other about trail riding (or lack thereof for some), our "Acquire" championships (which by the way I'm now in the lead for 2011), and other general topics worth trash talking about ;)

Thanks to John Reinan, and Lisa and Klaus Schneegans for their excellent hospitality! Bandit, Ajax, and I really appreciate it!

Race Report: Platte River Park - Psycowpath Series #3

2011-05-12T10:31:00.000-05:00

Lack of pre-race prep = mediocre performance. Arrived at Platte River State Park later than I wanted and wasnt really able to get any pedaling in before the race. This was a problem when everyone sprinted from the start (which was also lemans style). A lot of people were in front of me when I got to the initial climb...I passed a bunch but had to put in lots of effort, and without a warm-up I also paid for about 10-15 mins later and had to back off...way off.

After backing off for 20 mins I finally got my rhythm and could pick up the pace, but many had passed me again and I realized I was already halfway through the race!! Going into lap 2 I felt decent and caught a few people particularly around the technical rock section- where I made up A LOT of time as I didn't need to dismount on either lap.

Came through the finish at 1hr 6mins...fun course and fun to be racing...but really? ...mediocre CAT 2 finishes with that time? We need to be racing for 90+ minutes at least. Looks like for the remainder of the season its going to be the marathon class for me! The 3 hour races will be just the ticket with how I like my races to progress.

Race Report: Kansas Fat Tire Festival...Top 3!

2011-05-03T22:40:00.002-05:00

Wow what a weekend. Friday night after all packed and ready for a trip to Oklahoma I just happened to notice on USAC's website that the race is CANCELLED! Thought about Iola for WORS, but thats quite a jaunt for overnight. Then found the Kansas Fat Tire Festival...and it was only about 4 1/2 hours away! They claimed that this course at Lake Wilson, KS reminds people of riding in Colorado...seemed a bit of a stretch for Kansas?! However...the area of the state park we rode in was called the "Hell Creek" area.

They were not kidding. I did not get a pre-ride in so I found out as I went. For anybody thats ridden the loose sandy rocky stuff along the foothills in Colorado...this was identical...and played in my favor. Decided to drive down Sunday morning- arrived 10:45am with 1hr 15 mins to race time. Register, change, check the bike, organize the fuel, short warm-up and lined up. I was running my XR1/XR0 setup...I was the only one like that- everyone else was running XR2s or 3s, Rocket Rons, and other luggy stuff because of all the sand and rocks. They've ridden here, I hadn't so I was a little nervous but whatever.

About 40-45 line up for Cat 2 mass start and we were off. Good start around 7th going into the singletrack when those ahead of me really checked up on the pace. All CAT 1, 2, and SS were doing one full lap of 21 miles and I guess they were saving, but maybe a little too much?? Not really used to this, but I picked them all off within the first few miles and found myself leading the pack...which was good, because it was about that time when we hit the technical sections...and they were serious gnarly rocky uphill and downhill switchback loose and sandy stuff- I was in heaven because typically I can ride this stuff a little better than others in my class.

I heard lots of "RIDERS DOWN!"s yelled out behind me and could only imagine the bikes stacking up behind. I was AMAZED at the performance of my tire setup. These tires worked awesome, and hooked way better than I thought in this terrain. My legs felt great and was waiting to feel them start to fade from the pace I was trying to keep but it never really happened! The workouts from TJ really showed up here!!

However, one point I was one of the guys that somebody yelled rider down for...over the bars on a steep rock sort-of-drop that I was surprised with around a blind corner haha! Some good trail-cred on the left shin and right wris but nothing really worth bragging about. One other "incident" was me showing off a bit for some cameras and a crowd at a road crossing that had a nice high speed ramp built up to it...that went well...however, I had so much speed off the landing that I didn't see the next ramp about 100 yards further down the trail...this was definitely the longest air I've gotten on a mountain bike...I had enough time to think "This isn't gonna go well" before the landing...but somehow I landed it, not gracefully and hoping nobody saw it haha!

Around halfway I hit some more rocks that either made a pinhole leak or burped some air out of the rear tire. Either way the off camber hill climbs and turns had to be taken very slow and the chase group started to catch me. I held them for awhile, and realized the tire was not going all the way flat so around mile 15-16, hopped off and stuck some air in the tire. Five riders went by but I had only lost about a minute or so to the leaders.

I was able to catch and pass three of them but just couldn't ride that much faster than the other two to catch before the end. Came in third overall in CAT 2 with a great time at 2hrs 4mins. Turns out my tire did have a leak because the last mile the rear tire was a little squishy in the turns...finished on 12psi.

Awesome time racing though- super cool group of racers and the course was amazing. If you happen to be driving across Kansas and have your bikes stop off here (~40 miles west of Salina on I-70) - the whole trail is really sweet. I'd love to race there again!

2011 Ride

2011-04-30T21:59:00.002-05:00

Finally getting up to speed on the machine for 2011! I found a great deal on a Yeti AS-R that fits perfect. It came with XTR M970 drivetrain (M960 cranks) and decided to stay with that for now...changing from SRAM XO. Using my 2010 Fox fork, SDG saddle, Stan's ZTR 7000 wheelset.

This year I've been running Bontrager XR1 front tire & XR0 rear and on deck for some looser stuff are Kenda Karma's and for mud Michelin Grip'R 2.0 front and Kenda KOT 1.8 rear...one lesson learned from last year to be sure to have a mud setup. No weight on it yet...but its light ;)

The race at Swanson Park on April 3rd marked the last of the Superlight which I have to say worked awesome for what I used it for...it just wasn't quite the right size and that extra long stem positioned me too far out over the front wheel- kind of unstable on high speed downhill turns and braking...which is definitely not where I want to be at all unstable!!

More Preseason Racing

2011-04-28T15:58:00.002-05:00

After much debate...I'm going to check out the race scene down in Oklahoma this weekend. Fruita is a beautiful place and one of my favorites I will get back to again, but the iffy weather and time available are just not in favor of that trip this year.

The race this sunday is in Osage Hills Park outside of Bartlesville, OK and is currently considered a "state" level USAC race. The state level designation says a lot about what USAC thinks of this particular event. In comparison all MN, WI, and Mountain States Cup series races are at this level- which all are very well organized and attract many racers making the field usually very competitive. Plus when the promoter sends results to the USAC office, its a chance to really boost a racers national ranking...which I think is fun to watch how I progress and fuels good competition.

TJ's still has the great preseason workouts setup for me and has been able to get these schedules to fit in to my ever-changing "other" schedules without me feeling guilty...and thats huge- just keeping it fun- what it should be ;) I got the most recent edition of Momentum Endurance newsletter today...always full of GREAT information, racing success stories, and links to websites that I never knew about with great race videos and post-race interviews and other really good stuff to fuel the passion.

Life's been busy so this has been a little neglected- no pictures or fun stories really...I just realized also that I have no info about my new ride yet even! The core season of racing is right around the corner- should have some good racing this year- yesterday the Powertap gave me some encouraging numbers!

Colorado Training

2011-04-12T14:55:00.000-05:00

Driving to Colorado so often has made the drive feel almost like a regular commute...not joking...kinda sad ha! The weekend went well for a 2am arrival Friday night. On Saturday, I had already nixed the MSC race for Sunday (for several reasons), so I got in one of my favorite rides: the Super Walker.

Sweet 30-40 minute mountain climb before descending to the trailhead, and then getting some sweet technical skills riding- both ascending and descending- on some awesome singletrack. The lap at Walker can really test the skills in all areas.

I did take advantage of this technical stuff by passing through, stopping and going back, then riding a different lines...so fun to get out and play while in between these sessions getting some great interval/climbing work. The new bike works so awesome.

Saturday night was a good night out in Old Town Fort Collins wih friends. It still amazes me just how many people commute there on bikes at all hours! Awesome! Except I'm still a car guy...hopefully things will settle down soon so I can get buildin my next project. Some talk about that over the weekend as well...

Sunday was as usual...mostly depressing cause I had to leave...

What to do this weekend...

2011-04-07T16:30:00.001-05:00

I am heading to Colorado tomorrow. Can't wait to get my dogs that my parents have been watching for me through this rediculous month of traveling!

Race on Sunday...maybe...it's the season opener of the Mountain States Cup in Colorado Springs. Should be fun but I have to say the entry fees are a bit crazy. I was planning on the TT Saturday and the XC on Sunday but that would cost $100. I understand its not cheap to run these things but geeeeeeeez- $45 for a TT?

If anything, I guess $55 for the XC I might do...mainly because I have just assembled my latest weapon for the 2011 season and I REALLY want to get out there! More to come on the new ride ;)

Race Report: Psycowpath Series Opener!

2011-04-06T16:46:00.001-05:00

Busy days leading up to this...I was in Miami Beach for the four days leading up to this...and it turns out that is NOT the best way to preapre for a full weekend of racing...weird huh?

Well started off on Saturday with a Time Trial at 1:34pm and short track later at 5:30. The TT course had lots of power climbs and tons of surprise switchbacks. Going all out for ~20mins was really tough- couldn't get any rhythm with the steep quick climbs and turns. I finished 8th out of about 23 in the CAT 2 Open class- but only 3 seconds out of 5th...meh...whatever...not the greatest but could've been worse.

The short track course was at a different venue and really flat and really fast- 50% singletrack. I was able to stay loose and felt my legs coming back a little...finally realizing what they're supposed to be doing.

At the start line they combined our class with three others which made it roughly 35 riders. Off the start I got the third spot and held it for the first four of 8 laps. About six of us broke away- the leader put 10 seconds on us. I slid to fourth on lap 4, fifth on lap 5, but then those that passed blew up and I got back up to 3rd again on lap 6. Off the last turn into the last sprint to the finish, I drag raced the 2nd place rider to the line but just couldn't get past him. We were still about 10 seconds back from the leader but there was at least a big gap behins us! I felt awesome during and after with this finish! Short track racing is awesome!

I finished 4th overall on the day...those 3 seconds in the TT would have put me in third (on the podium) and riding the TT course at least just once or twice to get the layout could have put me in 2nd or maybe 1st. But it was a great day of racing!

Sundays XC Race...I woke up SORE!!...the prior weeks lack of riding or training is really showing up now. After getting some warm-up riding in I knew I was way down on power.

I couldn't get a good start- I couldn't sprint my way to the top 5 off the line going into the singletrack like the day before and wound up around 15th going in...and there were several crashes involving riders around 7th through 12th within the first 100 yards of singletrack leaving the rest of us stopped and weaving off course four different times.

Overall, I could maintain a steady and decently quick pace throughout, but any time I got out of the saddle to make up some time I felt like my tires were full of lead. Finished 13th- 5 minutes behind the race winner. Each of my 3 laps were within one second of each other at 25mins each- and I felt like I could've held that pace for 2-3 hours...but just NO power.

Not what I was hoping for...but I'm still excited and moving on and looking forward to the training and preparing for the next race!

Race Report: Spa City 6-Hour ProUET

2011-03-17T15:43:00.001-05:00

Edit: Just after I posted this, I remembered that I had the flu last week as well...I was already happy with performance and had forgotten that little detail! anyway...read away...

Wow! So...I made it! First attempt a any mountain bike racing longer than three hours so I was a little nervous going in. I'll get into the race recap in a minute but first I just have to say that this whole experience was great. I've never been that far into Arkansas and realizing that I was still in the Ozarks was a pleasant surprise. Hot Springs was definitely a cool (albeit very busy) town- population signs said ~35,000 people but with all the tourists it seemed 2 or 3 times that!

The USAC ProUET event was very well organized and everything clicked off smoothly from what I could tell. The course was fast...faster in the first couple hours than in the last couple hours...but definitely fast and fun- no smaller ring stuff here! It wasn't very technical but rough with lots of loose rocks, some nice places to catch high speed air, half a dozen or so water crossings, very fast flats and downhills, switchbacks, and 'fun' climbs. Aside from those flat sections it really reminded me of riding around Duluth, MN- and I love that place as well.

About 150-175 riders lined up for the Le mans start. I'd love to see a video of this- running in these shoes is not always the most stable! Jumping on the bike I was not in a very good position, but made up a lot of time and positions on the road section of the prelude before settling into the singeltrack of lap 1.

Each lap was somewhere between 10-11 miles and at a 6-hour long kind of pace I wanted to avg about an hour each. Laps 1 and 2 were easily done in that and I was holding a good pace and surprisingly good position until about 1/3 of the way into lap 3...front tire became very soft and where ever was leaking was too much for the stan's to fill- I tried pumping up 3 times hoping I could last until the end of the lap and make one stop as I needed to refuel anyway. The last time I pumped it up I rode out as long as possible before I realized other riders were suddenly closing hard and eventually passing. No choice now but to stop and throw a tube in it...I wasted way too much time on this deal and easily lost 20 minutes on the race. After the first time I pumped the tire up again I should've pulled off and went with the tube right away. Lesson learned!

Overall still feeling great about the race, refueled on lap 4 and caught major hamstring cramps 2/3 into the lap on a short climb that luckily I was able to spin out of by dumping the gears and reving the cranks up to about 100 rpm for the rest of the race- kept eating and drinking and didn't stop- thought that might make it worse! Starting lap 5 I looked at the time and knew I wasn't going to make my goal of 6 laps. But still happy with how things are going overall I kept spinning the lighter gears and again had to spin through another spell of major hamstring cramping in the exact same part of the course- but again not stopping, they were not as bad as the lap before so kept on truckin'!

That finish line was a joy to see...I rolled through the traps at 5hrs 50 mins with only 40 mins left to fully complete another lap- obviously that wasn't happening so I was done...and happy with it all.

Upon the finish I realized I should've started the lighter gears earlier because my last lap felt really good. It was about 8 minutes slower than my first and second lap, but for not ever racing this long- I was good with that. Fueling-wise...I could've done a little better- that combined with better handling of the flat tire situation and I could've gotten the 6th lap for sure- my fitness is obviously in good order so I am super pumped to build off this! I wasn't sure how I was gonna feel about this Ultra-Endurance stuff in the end but so far I love it.

The Flu will do that...

2011-03-09T15:32:00.000-06:00

Well...Sundays lackluster ride was due to the beginnings of the flu (doctor confirmed) as Monday felt progressively worse and continued into Tuesday. It's Wednesday...and I feel 'okay' at best ...will get the bike on the trainer tonight to see how I feel. Haven't pulled the plug on this weekend yet but...we'll see.

I've been really looking forward to this race though...I'll have to be feeling pretty miserable still to not go. 6-hour race though...that alone will take a lot...hmmmm...

Nice Weather Racin' Comin'!

2011-03-07T09:39:00.001-06:00

Lookin forward to the race this weekend! It will be fun to ride in 60-70 degrees again. Last weekend was kind of a bust- after that last race I feel ultra sensitive to cold and just dont want to ride in it at all. A little frustrated about that but it will pass.

After thinking about it- never before have I raced this early- usually this time of year I'm just starting to think about training after several months off. Perspective is important for motivation. With a competitive nature, it's easy to get wrapped up in the days leading into a big race thinking about the workouts that were either missed or didn't go according to plan for whatever reason. I just love the racing and sometimes need a little thought or reminder to move on looking forward saying I did the best I could, so who cares...lets race!!

No Leadville!!! ...yet...

2011-02-28T22:53:00.000-06:00

The announcements were sent tonight and I did not get in. However...this year they're having three qualifiers to allow people to race into the start list- One in CA, CO, and NH...guess I'll have to try one of those. It's also very likely that my schedule will be changing dramatically in the next couple weeks. Lookin to add some more Ultra Endurance/Marathon type events.

Lots of outside stress lately...stress outside of training and riding and that sort of fun stuff- Lots of waiting...patiently...it's starting to affect my motivation. Need to get back into somewhat of a routine again! Need to release some tension!

Race Report: CIRREM

2011-02-28T22:38:00.000-06:00

Terrible race. The weather did not come even close to what it was supposed to be- hovered around 13-14 degrees and was supposed to warm up to 30. Plus it snowed 3 inches the night before.

LOTS of 'cross bikes! Got to the starting line just as they said "go!" There were ~110 racers and I was in about 111th, but quickly (within the first couple miles) and without too much effort drafted my way up to about 25th and at the back of the lead group of about 35 at a harder but sustainable pace to start.

By mile 20, about 20 of that group had put a ~2 minute gap on the rest of us as we strung out into a few groups of 2 or 3, but I was getting pushed into a pace that I would not be able to hold til the end. From there I sat in the draft of others and held a good high paced tempo effort...until around mile 29 the lead guy slows up hard and stops to say "I think we missed a turn" ...uggghhh!!

I had 2 riders in front of me (drafting them) and ~4 behind me, plus my goggles were icing over from the SLEET so I was assuming the 2 in front of me either saw the lead group or saw the tracks. I guess they lost the lead group through a series of about 5 intersection turns in one mile (~40 in the race) so we ended up about a mile half out of the way - so 2 miles extra total. That sucked.

So the "race" was pretty much over for us then, but just kept going to use it as a great training ride. At the start of the race, I had prepared some food to eat while riding but had to take off my gloves after the halfway point not realizing how cold it was at speed and how much sweat was in my gloves...they froze...almost completely. From then on it was terrible- I had to slow so my gloves would warm up- then my feet got cold and never recovered- they got SO cold and numb and for real fear of frostbite at some points I had to get off the bike and walk/run just to get circulation going again. It was terrible.

Including our 2-3 mile "diversion" I reached the halfway point at about 2hrs 20 mins. The leaders were there at about 1 hr 54 mins. I finished around 5 1/12 hours- didn't look at the place or the time- didn't really care- couldn't feel my toes or fingers and just wanted heat.

So...positives? I felt good through about 3 hours- good pace- and in that time I think my fueling was sufficient. I cut up the cliff bars and that seemed to work well- could eat relatively easily when I wanted. 90% gatorade in the Camelback and one bottle filled with water worked well.

Colorado

2011-02-25T12:26:00.002-06:00

No snow in the foothills as I hoped!! Such sweet riding there! One day I took the usual route from just east of Boulder up Baseline to the top of Flagstaff and back...feeling really good about how that felt.

My mantra of smooth is fast is working in many ways even off the singletrack- I didn't "sprint" to the top...but made it to the top faster than ever before. The tactics TJ's been having me practice are really shining right now.

Didn't get into the mountains to do any skiing this time though. That turns out to be an all-day event and I wanted to spend some time with the family.

Race tomorrow in Cumming, IA! 100K over mostly gravel road I think. Probabbly lots of "cross" bikes...not sure how I'll hold up against them but should be a fun test of endurance and keeping on top of nutrition for Spa City 6-Hour in two weeks!!

50+ degrees!!

2011-02-14T13:19:00.001-06:00

Finally! I got to get out on the road yesterday without suiting up with all the heavy cold weather gear. I was so amped up and could not wait to release this energy into the bike! I didn't even think much about the route- just headed north on Hwy 133 up to Blair then over to Arlington and back which turned out to be about 3hrs 45mins and roughly 62 miles.

This is a pretty flat route but had a good head wind most of the way to Arlington before turning back...that tailwind felt really good from there ;)

On Saturday, for the first time ever, I took a yoga class...yeah it was weird at first- haha! But, I gotta say that it was pretty sweet in the end. A little different and felt a little out of place...but I can definitely see the benefits of it. And it is one of those things where how much you get out of it greatly depends on how much you put into it. There's more strength/muscular endurance involved in some of the poses than I would have thought.

Heading to Colorado this coming weekend. Not sure how open from the snow the foothills are for some good hill climbs but hoping to find something! Plus...have to hit those slopes at some point!

Funny Stuff for Athletes

2011-02-11T13:42:00.001-06:00

When training a lot of the time on your own, its always nice to see, hear, or do something that reminds you that you are not the only one with this level of crazy/commitment to go faster. This email was forwarded to me this week ha! (Thanks Sandy!):

Message: Triathlete online dating profile:

"I am an outdoors type of person." Really means: I train in any type of weather. If its raining, snowing, 90 degrees w/100% humidity, or winds gusting at 30 mph. I don't want to hear any complaints because I will still train in it and you're just a big wuss for complaining about it.

"I enjoy riding my bike." Really means: with or w/o aero bars, alone or in a peleton, I don't care. If you can't do a spur of the moment 30 miler then youre not my type. I will let you draft, but if you can't hang and I drop you - I will see you later. I am a capable mechanic, but don't expect me to change your flats or tune your bike. You need to learn that on your own.

"I enjoy jogging." Really means: Lets run hills until we puke. I have just as many shoes as you only mine are better because they are functional and all look the same.

"I enjoy dining out." Really means: I enjoy eating out, in or any where else I can find food. Don't be shy because with the amount of food I eat, you can have that main entree instead of a salad and you will still look as though you eat like a rabbit in comparison. Don't get your limbs too close though as I may take a bite out of you. Most importantly don't expect any taste off my plate unless you can bring something to the party like more food. Eventually though if you're not burning 4,000+ calories a day your going to plump up and have a terrible complex due to watching me eat deserts and not gain any weight. Friends and family will eventually decide not to dine with us anymore due to my horrid table manners. Oh, and don't ask me any questions during breakfast, MidMorning Lunch, Lunch, Afternoon lunch, Dinner or Recovery Dinner as it does not lend to efficient food intake.

"I enjoy quiet walks on the beach." Really means: Walks on the beach warming up into an 8 mile run and then plunging myself in the ocean for a 2 miler. If you get in my way you're going to find out what mass start is and let me assure you that you don't want to find out.

"I find fulfillment in charitable work." Really means: If I am not racing, I am volunteering for a race and I expect you to be there along side me as I stand out in 90 degree weather or rain for 8 hours handing out sports drinkto cyclists going 20 mph. Just stickthe ol' arm out there and hope it doesn't get taken off.

"I enjoy sharing quiet moments together." Really means: It's tapertime. Just back off because I am strategizing and in a pissy mood because I am worried about my "A" race and can't workout.

"I am an active person." Really means: Aside from my 40 hour job, and the 8 mandatory hours of sleep a night. 10 hours a week are devoted to me during the off-season and 20 during race season leaving us 4 hours. 2 of which are spent inhaling food and you not talking to me, so let's make the best of the 2 hours we will spend together on average each day. If you are a licensed message therapist or doctor this would make the most optimal use of our time together. Nutritionist is also acceptable, but I probably already know just as much as you.

"I enjoy road trips and leisurely drives." Really means: You have your choice of Wisconsin, Idaho, Florida, California, Arizona, and NewYork, but don't expect to do much site seeing. If I get enough support from you we might be able to include Hawaii in there.

"I enjoy site seeing." Really means: Lets grab a mountain bike and get our HR's up to 90%. There's plenty of time to look around on the descent as trees and bushes whiz by you at 40 mph.

"I like stimulating conversation." Really means: while we are running,we can talk about food. Then we can talk about how we decided what to wear on this run based on the temperature at start time versus the temperature at the time we expect to finish, how horribly out of shape we are, how many miles we did last week, and how many we will do this week and next week. Then we can talk about food.

"I enjoy relaxing soaks in the tub." Really Means: I'm going to stop on the way home and buy two bags of ice, throw them in the tub with somewater, and sit in this torture chamber for 30 minutes.

"I'm interested in photography" Really Means: My camera is permanently perched a tripod in front of my trainer. I obsess over taking photos of my bike position and analyzing them to get the perfect setup.

"I'm into in technology" Really Means: My HRM and bike computer are my best friends. Until you can give me some hard data that can improve my training, don't bother trying to buddy up to me. You could one day break into the top three if I find you as entertaining on long runs and rides as my Ipod.

I love this stuff...

2011-02-06T22:57:00.001-06:00

Saturday afternoon I swapped back over to the lighter Kenda Karmas (best all-around tire I've EVER been on) and headed out for a good long ride. At ~37 degrees, it was raining, which greatly increased the efforts. After about 6 miles on the road I veered off onto a dirt road that was a bit peanut buttery and very soft from the current rain. I was out for a few hours- not sure on mileage. When I was done, I was sloppy muddy and wet head to toe...it took more than two hours to clean the bike and get the drivetrain to quit making the harsh sandy grinding noises. Good effort though. Good ride.

Sunday- it's just crazy that the more I feel the previous days workout, the more I want to get out and ride?! Today I opted to stay IN-side and hit up Lifetime's Sunday afternoon movie ride. Brought the freshly cleaned Santa Cruz to the studio with the trainer and rode for about two and a half hours there. These are proving to be very helpful when getting outside is just not the best for training with the weather...and with the first big race (a 6-hour national calendar race!) in 5 weeks...I need all the training capacity of spinning those cranks as I can get. Another 60 minutes of some core work in the gym after the ride and it was a good solid day of...playing :) I love this stuff!!

Did I or didn't I...

2011-02-04T15:39:00.004-06:00

...get in? Well...I sent my entry to the race in November...cutoff for registration for the Leadville 100 'lottery entry' was Monday. Guess I'm supposed to get an email on or before February 28th if my number's drawn? I have to say I'm really hoping I get in to this thing. I hadn't seen either of the Race Across the Sky movies...until this week. I knew watching this would be a real boost in motivation to keep training hard- even in this weather. Now I want to get out and ride for hours! Of course I've only been able to see the first one because the 2010 race isn't out until March 8th, but as everyone who's seen it knows, this very well done...and really gets my hopes up to get in to this race. It's suposed to be nice this weekend- hopefully thats right. I printed off a few 50-60 mile routes posted by other riders in the area...would love to get out there!

Other than that, I added most of the dates up to the USAC Nationals on my calendar. I'm excited for the longer "road" race on dirt coming up here on February 26th- registration done. I'm not so excited to announce that I might not make the journey out to southern Cali in March- too much going on here to plan plane tickets, bike shipping, car rentals, hotels, dealing with socal traffic and whatever, and still try to relax and prepare for a big race; however...I think I found a fun alternative; the Spa City 6-Hour Ultra Endurance MTB Race in Hot Springs, AR on March 12th. This is also a USAC National Calendar race and some big ultra-endurance names competed last year- looks like a great event!

Training has been great- more than just putting the time in. I'm learning a lot more about efficient workouts- concentrating on position and more focus around the purpose of each ride/task/excercise/stretch. Perfect timing for what is now the 'pre-season' for me. TJ's been setting up killer workouts- sometimes literally- and they've been great! Working with someone this knowledgeable has helped me train so much more efficiently and it really shows.

Really hoping I get into Leadville the more I think about it...mid-August is perfect timing for it too!

So this is January...

2011-01-31T01:18:00.005-06:00

2011 has blasted out of the gate! Two races already in the bag with heavy weeks of training- on and off the bike...indoors and outdoors.

The 5th annual Cold Bear Challenge Series put on by Rich Omdahl and the Dirtwerks Crew has been a blast. Competitive but low pressure and just fun! The CBC series consists of three races at one of my favorite courses to ride- Hillside Park in Elk River, MN...racing at or around 0 degrees in snow...in MN...ahhh the fun factor of these events. There's a certain amount of pride that comes with rolling up to the starting line at these races.

Race #1 - January 9, 2011: first ever race in snow. Initial strategy was to simply stay on the packed stuff, keep an even pace, and just have fun. This worked really really well. Went into the singletrack after the 1/3 mile road sprint in about 7th- no worries though as was feeling strong with a lot in the tank still. Stayed smooth got the 'focus'

and quickly found myself in 2nd place after the prologue and 1/2 way into the first lap! I held this until I realized my Camelback spout froze...and it was inside my final layer! (testament to how cold it was that day) The pace I was on...there was no way I'd be able to keep it without hydration so while fiddling with that (including two corner slideouts) three racers went by that I never could catch again. Had a fun final push in the last two sections of the course with Angry Catfish Bikes and Coffee rider Ben Rogowski- great 100 yard sprint to the finish. Finished 5th- first top 5 of 2011 though and fitness levels feel strong!

Race #2 of CBC was today...happy to report the fitness level feels even stronger...however, the course was not nearly as fast as before and I (and many others) was

pushing the bike through mushy snow more than riding in some sections. One of my booties kept sliding up over the toe of my shoe exposing the mesh to the snow and foot was beginning to turn into a popsicle. I wasn't feeling like two laps of this so called it after one- I had fun still- and got a GREAT high intensity workout in...heart rate was definitely bouncing off the rev limiter for most of it!

Pictures!

2011-01-23T21:29:00.003-06:00

More posts to come later for updates...but here are some photos to show a little of whats been going on- yeah don't have too many, I'm usually riding (bike or ski's) hard and forget picture breaks....

Skiing Arapahoe Ski Basin

Can't wait to ski these trees!

Loveland Ski Area

First Tracks at Tranquility in first December snow

Skiing Breckenridge

Not sure what the F this is yet...

T-Bucket project progress...

Bandit needs a buddy while I'm away...so...coming February 1st!
My Italian Greyhound Ajax! (Named after the ski mountain in Aspen, Colorado)

Best of 2010...

2011-01-23T21:09:00.002-06:00

Lifes been busy- busy enough to where things like trying to keep up a blog has been sort of challenging. I typed up a few entries throughout January in Word, but just never transferred them...anyway, the next few posts were written sometime in the last few weeks.

“Best … of 2010”

Its fun to reflect back on the previous year- I’m very competitive and driven in several areas so I like to see and remember what I’ve done. 2010 was a wacky year and brought lots of changes…and definitely has its own chapter in my life. Starting the year I was almost sure I was done racing competitively after losing so much fitness in the seven months off the bike after my accident in 2009! Not only the fitness loss but I had some weird “things” going on with my ankle- thankfully I just started the training anyway and when it went away I realized it was only because of the lack of use and physical therapy during recovery. There were some major peaks and some valleys last year – but here are some of the “best” of 2010:

Best Race: USA Cycling Nationals…this one is obvious- a bronze medal at this caliber of event?! Big thanks to TJ at Momentum Endurance for helping me boost my fitness as much as possible in such a short amount of time. Huge accomplishment- I still have lingering battle scars six months later to prove the effort I put into the preparation and participation in this race.

Best Event: TEVA Games in Vail. I don’t care what other events fall on this weekend- I’ll be back for this in 2011. The events, food, people, music, the whole festival was everything I love- even better being a participant in something this big..

Best Day Dream Topic: The Olympic Skeleton

Best Race Course: Kind of tough as there’s about five…but can probably narrow it down to a toss up between Sol Vista and Rabbit Valley (Fruita). Sol Vista was an awesome course for a mountain bike race- the long climbs varied from dirt road to technical and the descents varying from rocky/sandy loose singletrack to high speed banked turns. Rabbit Valley was quite simply the most scenic place I’ve ever ridden…ever- racing over flat rock, red dirt, sand, along the edge of cliffs and bluffs with amazing colors and views- racing on this terrain was seriously sweet.

Best Training Workout: LT Intervals (thanks TJ!)

Best Ride: Riding to the top of Mount Evans; ~14,260 feet above sea level

Best Lessons Learned: Pre-race hydration/preparation!! Several times in 2010 I bonked (including one DNF) or didn’t get warm-ups in due to lack of hydration, sleep, and/or not getting to the venue early enough before race start times.

Best Road Trip: Omaha to the Black Hills in SD to see two great friends get married; then two days later to Burnsville, MN for the MNMBS race at Buck Hill.

Best Addition to Traveling Entertainment: My dog Bandit

Best Equipment Purchase: PowerTap

Best Cross Training: Downhill skiing at A-Basin in Colorado

Best Motivation to Train Movies that are not Bike Movies: Rocky- all of 'em, The Cutting Edge

Best Training Tunes (well...some of 'em): Paradise City (GNR), Scream (Avenged Sevenfold), Awake and Alive (Skillet), Hell of a Time (Hell Yeah)

Best Thanks: To all of you who put up with my "I care about racing and thats it" way of thinking and living throughout the summer months in particular. AND also to anybody that at one time or another has let me take up refuge for a night or four in your basement, guest room, closet, garage, where ever...Bandit and I sincerely appreciate it.

The Rest of December

2010-12-31T23:58:00.002-06:00

...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

2010-12-06T22:15:00.000-06:00

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"

2010-11-29T16:58:00.001-06:00

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...

2010-11-21T01:26:00.000-06:00

...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

2010-11-17T23:26:00.000-06:00

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?

2010-10-25T22:34:00.000-05:00

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

2010-10-06T23:44:00.000-05:00

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

2010-09-29T23:03:00.001-05:00

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!

2010-09-13T16:04:00.004-05:00

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

2010-09-08T10:06:00.002-05:00

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

2010-09-01T14:06:00.005-05:00

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

2010-08-25T11:52:00.000-05:00

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

2010-08-19T11:52:00.004-05:00

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...

2010-08-10T09:44:00.003-05:00

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!

2010-08-06T15:21:00.002-05:00

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

2010-08-06T15:02:00.001-05:00

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

2010-08-03T11:27:00.003-05:00

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

2010-07-20T15:53:00.012-05:00

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???

2010-07-11T17:51:00.002-05:00

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

2010-07-08T13:34:00.004-05:00

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

2010-07-08T13:28:00.003-05:00

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

2010-07-01T12:41:00.001-05:00

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

2010-06-24T08:16:00.003-05:00

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

2010-06-21T15:34:00.001-05:00

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…

2010-06-17T12:24:00.012-05:00

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

2010-06-10T13:54:00.008-05:00

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

2010-06-09T09:08:00.005-05:00

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!

2010-06-05T00:45:00.004-05:00

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!

2010-06-02T10:54:00.002-05:00

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...

2010-06-02T10:48:00.006-05:00

...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!

2010-05-28T16:51:00.002-05:00

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?

2010-05-28T16:35:00.002-05:00

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

2010-05-24T22:36:00.004-05:00

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!

2010-05-19T16:00:00.003-05:00

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

2010-05-18T11:39:00.003-05:00

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!!

2010-05-12T16:22:00.004-05:00

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

2010-05-07T23:23:00.002-05:00

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

2010-05-02T23:29:00.005-05:00

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

2010-04-29T14:01:00.002-05:00

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

2010-04-27T23:14:00.022-05:00

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!

2010-04-23T11:45:00.003-05:00

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

2010-04-19T09:57:00.007-05:00

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!

2010-04-19T09:38:00.004-05:00

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!

2010-04-09T15:06:00.003-05:00

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

2010-04-05T09:30:00.002-05:00

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?

2010-04-02T10:13:00.003-05:00

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.

First 2010 Singletrack...

2010-03-24T11:48:00.003-05:00

...at Tranquility Park last night. Pretty sweet to be on dirt again! This course is also a lot like Salem Hills in MN but with more climbing. Really nice because its only 2 miles from my apt so I can just ride from there. I was definitely breathing heavier than I should have been on the trail though on some of the climbs - lots of work to do. But, it felt good and I'm excited to get back out there.

Reading over some of the goals I set last year, I'd like to put some back on the schedule. Things like riding up Mt. Evans on the road bike and a 24hr mountain bike race.

Great training day!

2010-03-21T19:36:00.003-05:00

There was supposed to be a training race out at Branched Oak Lake State Park today. The snow we got on Friday...and melted yesterday...dampened the trails a lot! Yes the race was cancelled. I walked some of it before I headed back and this course is sooooo reminiscent of Salem Hills in Inver Grove Heights, MN (the course for the MNMBS series opener) I talked to one guy out there volunteering his efforts with others to build more singletrack onto the 4+ miles already there. He said there should be about 6.5 miles by end of summer - sweet!

So back to the apartment to grab the road bike...yeah nevermind...the streets are somewhat like northern Arizona...sand everywhere and potholes the size of the Grand Canyon. Out comes the Orbea with its new, hopefully non-skidding/non-legbreaking rear tire and away I go.

I decided the first thing I needed to do is hit that hill that Sarah found nearby...very, very nice...that got the heart pumping real quick. Omaha is hilly. When you reach the bottom of one, up comes another! and they cover some decent distance taking 2 to 5 minutes to get up. After you reach the top, the descents go by so quick that you dont recover from the previous climb before you get into the next! Awesome! Legs were burning pretty good keeping the gears at 14 or higher (out of 27). I must say my first ride on the streets of O'town was excellent! Can't wait to get out again!

The last few weeks have been a little off and on. Work has taken up a little more time. I was in Chicago (Schaumberg actually) last week for work...soooo no riding or training then. But the career track is going well here and thats been really nice.

No race for muah tomorrow

2010-03-13T18:28:00.003-06:00

Was hoping to get out there but something else came up that happens to be close enough to the same time as the race so I have to miss it. Kind of a bummer...could've been a great jumpstart to push myself like that - particularly when I haven't done it in quite awhile. Hopefully get out on the bike at some point tomorrow anyway...on the roads that is.

Probly going to Denver next weekend. Probly have to bring the bikes out there - both just in case but for sure will be out on the road.

"Spring warm-up" 30 mile race this Sunday

2010-03-08T11:05:00.003-06:00

Panama MTB Enduro out on by Angry Cow Adventures is coming up this Sunday! It sounds like 30 miles of mostly gravel roads, which would be perfect for testing out my legs. The technical skills training will come later but right now I need to start loggin' some miles! ...30 of 'em in a mountain bike race on gravel should fit nicely into that category. A race...on March 14th! Sweet!

Then on Nebraska Cycling News I found two MTB singletrack training races put on by Flatwater Cycling the following two weekends! Awesome awesome!

Come on leg, stay together!!

March?? Already??

2010-03-04T09:26:00.003-06:00

Yes! While it has been a pretty mild winter, I've been itching for March to come along...cause that means that snow should be gone soon! Especially around here! The roads are not bad now except for lots of water and sand/salt...but should be able to get the mountain bike out on the road soon at least!

Training is becoming 'almost' a daily routine now which feels really good.

Racing is right around the corner....strange to say that as in years past my first race was never until the MNSCS series Spring Cup in mid/late May. Six weeks til the Monterey, CA race - Sea Otter...still not sure if I'll be ready for that yet. The weekend after that is a race in Fruita, CO (MSC Series race). If I miss Sea Otter, then I'll probably do that instead.

2010 will bring some changes to my realm of competition. Along with mountain bike racing, I will be trying out some other forms...except not ready to say specifically yet. Why am I posting this on a public blog then?? I don't know...need to say a little bit of something to somebody somewhere I guess!

In the Gym

2010-02-26T10:30:00.002-06:00

Spending a lot of time in the gym lately. Mainly because thats where I can train and watch the Olympics at the same time. Lots of weights. But fun for a change since I don't lift weights that often.

Exploring new towns is always fun and there's been a lot of that! There are some really good restaurants here in Omaha. I'm really excited for the snow to melt away here as is everybody I guess. I don't mind snow if I can do something on it. But its in that in-between stage now where its mostly icy dirty stuff, and just enough to make riding pretty sketchy. Off to Mpls tonight to get my house ready to rent out. Maybe some snowmobiling this weekend if I get the house done by Saturday night!

BTW...while it is not Lindseys fault...I think Mancuso had a shot at another gold.

Winter Olympics

2010-02-16T12:09:00.002-06:00

Ahhhhh yes...the 2010 Winter Olympics are in full effect now. I love it! Being able to understand what the athletes, trainers, coaches, volunteers, etc go through to preppare themselves for the games is mind boggling. I can easily watch every sport in the Olympics. Its so fun to cheer for Team USA, even if its just from my own living room with no one around. I especially look forward to the Skeleton and Speed Skating because thats what I would love to compete in. I'd love to try them both.

Watching the Olympics makes me want to train harder and longer than ever. I've put in some good training already (more than other years at this time) but now feel like I should do more. I am very close to solidifying plans for Sea Otter and making a strong start into the 2010 season.

Sarah has been in town since Friday and yesterday while I was at work she found some nice steep hills that will work great for some tough efforts...when the snow melts. For now its still the trainer and the gym. I'm putting a lot of focus into evening out the legs and building core strength, particularly in my back - top to bottom.

Speaking of legs...I'm going to try a new set of pedals this year. Switching from Time to Shimano. Also...new tires. Haven't bought any yet but thats on my shopping list at the next LBS.

Cross-training

2010-02-11T12:12:00.002-06:00

I've been running, lifting, biking...some very random type excercises for core and other workout types. 60-90 miuntes a day ~4-5 days per week though and I can definitely tell. Anything to keep my mind off the fact that there is still snow...everywhere!!

I'm really hoping I can make it to Sea Otter this year. I'll go if I feel ready - two months away! I can do it! I think...may have to make a phone call for some help to get ready. Anybody else going?

Regular Excercise

2010-02-03T12:33:00.003-06:00

It sure feels like the groove is coming back. I've been training regularly and keeping up with the better nutrition...I've been cooking a lot lately. Other life stress is relatively low, all things considered. I'm only 10 minutes or less from work now which helps tremendously. I feel like I can go through an entire workout and stay concentrated. Rocky movies help ;-)

I got back from Denver late Sunday night and last night I scouted the area around my apartment and found some decent climbs within a mile that will for sure help with the workouts. More hills than around my house back in Coon Rapids! Excited to get out on the road! I love snow in the mountains or if there's enough to go snowmobiling, but neither really works here so...NO MORE SNOW!

Also...on another racing front...I've been doing a litte research on the auto racing scene around here. I forgot that Mid-America Motorplex is only 30 minutes form here! Hmmm...pondering some SCCA road racing for the future.

A bit rusty eh?

2010-01-29T13:03:00.003-06:00

The last few days I've been training again and I gotta say it feels amazing! I'm sleeping better, eating better and just feeling better in general without even much effort. Everything falls in line easy when I start to ride.

That first click of the cleat snapping into the pedal a few days ago was a great sound. First the right then the left. It actually felt a little strange sitting on the bike at first. Its been way too long. The first 10 minutes revealed a lot about the balance of power (or lack thereof) between the right and left legs. The heart rate seemed to respond a little quicker than what I'm used to.

Most of my excercises this week have been on the bike, on the trainer and some long stretch sessions and core excercises. I'm getting excited about 2010! However, my abs kinda feel like Lars Ulrich played through the entire Black album on them. Oh well, here we go!

Gonna go pick up a car in Denver this weekend. Then next week I'll drive around and start scouting for some hills to ride around here. I must say Omaha has more hills then what I expected. Kinda reminds me of St. Paul a little.

Welcome to Omaha!

2010-01-27T10:53:00.004-06:00

So I'm in O'town now as my friends call it and things are going well here! Everybody's been great to work with and nice people wherever I go. Thanks to the comments on my last post, I've found some good info on where to ride when the trails are ready. Hopefully able to line up some group rides on the road too.

I've got my apartment situated now to have my CycleOps set up in front of the TV with the Bianchi...long "shake the rust off" ride tonight on that. I'm eager to get started again.

Gonna ease into it. Honestly my leg feels good...but there are times when I know that it was broken 6 months ago. Not worried about riding on the trainer, but I have to say I'm a little nervous about getting back out on the trails. Still kinda bummed about the whole thing when I think back. I was really pounding those trails in Colorado harder and faster than I've ever been before.

Oh well...I'll get it back right? ...right? ;-)

2010? Lets see how it goes...

2010-01-06T00:09:00.002-06:00

So...after an obvious long absence from regular biking...or anything really that resembled life before my last post...uncertainty has passed and I'm moving in a similar but new direction. I start a new job on January 19th...in Omaha, Nebraska. Yep...Omaha.

This is an excellent move career-wise and with training, this will afford me to get out earlier as the winters not near as long. Now that I'm only 7 hours or so from Denver, I will probably race most of the Mountain States Cup this season in Colorado! I'm REALLY excited for that! I will also make it back to Minnesota to race some MNSCS events.

I'll write more later, but major decisions like these have been whats kept me from regular training and blog updates. Obviously thoughts about possible decisions like these can't really be discussed in public forums.

More to come...but for now, I'm off to Nebraska! Supposedly there is some racing there - the Psycowpath series or something like that?

Getting Better

2009-08-24T22:39:00.003-05:00

Ok so things are...getting better. My other issue has been taken care for now at least. So, I have been able to get some more training in with the lower stress levels. Today was a great ride - over an hour and pretty heavy on the effort. I clicked down a few gears on the Orbea (on the road) and cranked up the hr. I can finally stand and pedal with little to no forgiveness on the left leg - only for about 5 minutes though before some soreness starts up (tonight was a good dose of ibuprofen). I'm curious about how things will feel tomorrow.

Last weekend was Sarahs golden birthday and Saturday night many from her running club came, so it was great to be around a group of athletes - all talking running for the most part. BUT I did get some good tips for hill training on the bike in St. Paul - something about Ramsey St or Ave or something off Sunnit Ave...and then the "High Bridge" (Smith Road?) I've seen that before as I drive up Shephard Road. It looks like it could be a nice longer steady 5-6% grade climb - will have to check that out...hopefully soon! Then some other road - Ohio Street I think. Full reports to come later as the leg heals.

I'm Riding!

2009-08-19T01:20:00.002-05:00

The transition back to hard training and riding after the ankle break has been slower than I anticipated due to...wellllllllll...say life's curve balls?? The last two weeks have been extremely full - some really good...but a lot of stuff that I wish would smooth out or go away so I can just relax and enjoy life. Its interesting to me how some people are like robots. And honestly, I don't think they'll ever realize what they're missing by living life the way they do. Its also interesting though, to watch how easy it is to get sucked into that same lifestyle by them...and those are the people I feel sorry for the most. The ones that wake up 10 years from now or more and say, "wait...what just happened?" Nope it didn't just happen it took 10 years for you to realize it did. That's as far as I will go on that one.

Good news though! I went out for my first ride on the road today! Ohhhh now that really felt great. I met Sarah after work and we went out for a little over an hour around Eagan - which has some nice hills by the way. My left leg definitely is NOT back to even with the right leg yet however. Last Thursday night I attempted a few lunges. Lunges 1-5 were good...so I thought. I went down for number 6 and didn't come back up! CRAZY charley horse in the hamstring and I could feel it twisting around my leg to make sure that the quad was gonna get in on that action as well. Yowza that hurt! That leg was sore until Sunday, even after massive massage work and active rest.

Yesterday and today though, I've been doing some more "weighted" excercises on it and I felt like the intial shock of work to the leg was over - I was right. Definitely still down on power but its working fine and now I can really start logging some miles and getting that leg back up again - still on flat pedals of course.

I'm Walking!!

2009-08-04T02:59:00.004-05:00

The cast came off Friday and by Friday afternoon I was able to walk around!...albeit slowly...but I was walking! Ditched the crutches that night and really put my leg to the test Saturday morning by walking around Ritchfield to different spots to watch and cheer on Sarah in her first ever half marathon (The Urban Wildlands)- which she totally knocked out of the park by the way.

This was really REALLY inspiring, she looked so strong through the whole race. Talk about stepping it up, she improved by leaps and bounds dropping 15 minutes off her time from the training run the week before and beat 2/3rds of the women and half the men! Nice work first time out! Nice work period!!

Anyway, the whole time my leg felt great! Still getting the muscles and tendons used to moving again, and some soreness because of that but feels like it gets better by the hour. I wrapped it up on Sunday evening and was actually able to spin lightly on the trainer for about 45-50 minutes! Wow that felt good! I'm gonna work hard through rehab...no predictions on when I'll officially be strapping on a number plate this fall. I'm taking it day by day and gonna do it right...but I'm anxious.

Cast coming off...?

2009-07-31T00:15:00.003-05:00

I'm hoping in less than 12 hours...it will be off. Leg is feeling good, but its up to the Doc and what he sees in the xrays. I haven't written for a couple weeks. For not being very mobile, I sure have stayed busy. Workout-wise this week I've started some more organized training again with guidance from TJ. Thats boosted some confidence in my recovery abilities. I'm still in this 'all in' mood...not sure I can be more motivated going into this fall and the upcoming 'off-season'!

I have stories over the last few weeks that have helped that. I'll write more later on that. Some star struck days out west, watching the Tour, going to mountain bike races even though I'm not racing, having awesome (and extremely motivating) conversations about marathon training and running; the commitment we all put into pushing ourselves and the feeling of accomplishment following a big race or training day...I'm in it, I love it, I'll be back soon. Small daily and weekly goals can go a long way.

Last Sunday at the MNSCS event while watching the Expert/Pro riders TJ, Brenden, Jeff Hall, Sam, Jenna, Kyia, many others...fast fast fast riders, I told the story a few dozen times. After one rendition, this guy said to me in front of a small group listening in "Well, ya know it's not gonna be the same...it's gonna heal stronger or weaker."

...it's gonna be stronger...I've already made that decision ;-)

Ok, maybe a little longer than expected

2009-07-09T21:41:00.004-05:00

Met with Dr. Hsin on Monday. I apparently did do a good enough job of breaking my leg two years ago. This time around, I broke it much closer to the joint and the fibula started to split from the bottom. Soooo...I'm in a cast - a real cast for 4 weeks. Real bummer. It'll be about 2 weeks longer than the year before overall. Anyway, still need to go shopping somehow:

Haha...his could be fun...needs a little more power though....needs a little tweekin'

The Story

2009-07-02T16:25:00.005-05:00

Well, on Tuesday afternoon, I was training and crashed hard going through a fast rocky downhill section. Braking for a left turn towards the bottom of a valley the rear tire slid out for awhile and as my right foot unclipped, the rear tire hit a rock solid in the ground and all lateral force of the speed and sliding went into the left fibula and SNAP!

After almost an hour by myself - which felt like forever (especially knowing it was getting later in the day and this IS mountain lion and rattlesnake country), a few bikers and hikers passed by and left water and trail mix while they went to get help and after 2 1/2 hours one person came by and stayed with me until help arrived. She told me her life stories in San Diego of surfing and swimming with sharks and Manta Rays to keep my mind off the accident which helped a lot...and was really cool! She couldn't believe I was so calm laying there with a broken leg in the middle of the forest...I couldn't believe she was so calm about swimming with sharks, but you know they were only the 6 to 8 footers she said...haha!

Anyway, unfortunately, at best, people were one hour and 30 minutes from any cell phone service to get help. I layed at the bottom of a rocky valley next to a rough mountain river for almost 4 hours before I was finally hauled out strapped into the caged stretcher that I've seen other people hauled out with on extreme sports TV shows by the Rocky Mountain Rescue team. I was initially treated by RM Fire Dept ambulance before being taken to the hospital. Xrays from ER revealed the broken left fibula.

The Rocky Mountain Rescue team is a super cool operation by the way. There were about 14 people involved in getting me out including the RM Fire dept medic's and Boulder County Sheriff. Huge thanks and appreciation to them for how they handled this. If I lived out here...no question I would train and at least be a volunteer for them.

The xray looks like an exact mirror image of the the one taken two years ago of my right leg. Again, I didn't get up and try to walk around on it to 'see' if it was really broken which helped keep things in line. Comparing notes to 2007, I was walking in the boot after about 4 weeks and back pedaling on the bike after about 7 weeks. I did race the MNSCS event in St. cloud that year on flat pedals. I'm hoping my prognosis from the ortho doc on Monday will be the same. And with proper training and guidance from TJ I should hopefully be back training and try some races maybe later this year.

I gained so much and had so much momentum going into the Nationals and a strong second half of the season, this is very hard to swallow. But it is what it is...I guess.