2011 Ride

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

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

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...

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!

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

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...

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'!

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...

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

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.