I Decided

Happy New Year!

I decided that next year this time I want my New Year's Eve view to resemble something closer to this:

Time to start planning. And that's not all I have planned!

Dates With States

Okay, so I really only have one date with States, but the plural sounded better. Regardless, that date is this Saturday. It's on a course I've enjoyed before but from what I understand there will be some fun, new twists to make it interesting. Thinking about States got me realizing I never did a post from last year's race. Last year's race was what I call the 99% factor. In cross I think it's impossible to have a 100% perfect race. I don't care who you are. So the best you can hope for is 99%. From there it comes down to when and where that 1% decides to rear its ugly head that can decide your race. I knew I had a fair chance to win based on how I was riding leading up to the race. I had a good warm-up and had a plan going into the race. You could tell everyone was anxious based on warm-ups and pre-race chatter alone. Once we hit the starting line I planned on taking the hole shot and setting the pace for a lap before giving it up. Instead, I was about 7th into the hole shot but was riding 3rd or 4th wheel halfway through the first lap. That's when Erik came through, which I expected. When he went, I hit the gas and went with him, and Dan hit the gas and went with me. From there it was the three of us off the front. I was riding smart and was comfortable the whole time. With two to go the strategic race was coming down to tactics. I was in the lead and heard Adam yell that Travis was charging hard, which was the understatement of the day. He was killing himself working his way up to us and it wasn't too long before he was right there, and just as quickly he was gone. I found myself thinking my race for first just went to a race for second. And then his 1% hit and he had to pull over with less than one to do a little dry-heaving. Without that, the race was his. Once again, Dan, Erik and I were together and I knew I needed to hit the gas and take control at some point. That point came on a back straight away. Erik later told me he was planning a similar attack but fortunately for me I hit it first. Dan followed and we were able to gap Erik.

I wanted to lead all the way in, but Dan came back around me on a grass section, but I was right on his wheel and was thinking ahead to a final sprint. With 200 meters to go we had to ride on an off camber section before doing a 180 or sorts, and firing back on pavement to the finish line. With Dan riding a little lower on the off camber section, I saw an opening. Having passed him here a couple times previously, I made a split second decision and went for it so I could lead into the final turn and hit the pavement first. As I was going I was feeling good and then...........well, I don't really know what happened. We were both riding aggressively and the bikes were bouncing a little bit. What happened was my 1% hit me at a terrible time. Our bikes bumped enough that his back wheel hit my front wheel and in that battle the front wheel always loses. I went from thinking about sprinting for first place to finding myself on the ground debating if I should put my bike over my shoulder and run or put the chain back on and ride. As I was putting the chain back on, Erik rode through. Travis started coming up too but I was able to hold him off to get 3rd place.

I was definitely happy with 3rd place since I never thought I'd be able to get that in a Colorado cycling race of any kind. But I was equally pissed that I didn't get first. I wanted it and had a fair shot with 200 meters to go. In retrospect, maybe I shouldn't have gone for the pass and let him lead me out instead. I replayed that last 200 meters in my mind about a thousand times after the race, but have taken solace in knowing I was racing aggressively and going for the win. I'd rather race for a chance to win and get third than just play it safe and be content with third.

Lost And Found

It took all season to arrive but finally, in the last few weeks I've been able to find some fitness. Some other small changes have helped me race better too, like getting the tire pressure right for starters. And I also changed my pre-race music from Kanye to Nirvana. I'm sure that was a big one. Regardless, it's been nice to be in the race again, fight for wheels, hold position, make strong passes, and ride with the groups and guys I feel like I should be with. That doesn't mean perfect races and podiums, and it'll be a long time before I see a podium, so being competitive in the race within the race is what makes it fun. The irony is that the race I re-discovered my fitness is one I almost didn't race. It's a tough course with a power section of uphill grass and a ton of steps. I remembered feeling awful on the same course last year and had a bad attitude going in. But when I was going, I caught myself catching people and riding strong which was only fuel to keep going. To be fair, I lost a sprint against a guy I'd been battling with and I had some good dry heaves afterwards because of the effort, but it was a big confidence boost that got me looking forward to the next day.

The next day brought 75 degrees and a fun course that suited me pretty well. Like the day before, I was able to keep moving up in the field and ride strong. I think I finished 8th that day. To be fair there were 16 people that started but that's a minor detail.

In true CO fashion, the weather changed from gorgeous one weekend to snow the next. When we lined up in Louisville it was 23 degrees and still snowing from the night before. The start was chaos and there was limited room to pass on the whole course. Areas we normally ride had to be run, the sidewalks were ice and just for some added fun, all the lines we were riding started to change as the race went on. I went down hard a couple times but I knew everyone else would too, and the key was staying within yourself, knowing where you can hit the gas, and where to just stay upright. In the end it was a lot of fun and I didn't feel the cold at all once the race was on. Apparently my toes and fingers didn't feel the same way since the second we stopped, they were pretty much frozen solid.

This last weekend was another slippery snowfest. With the lessons learned from the last one, I kept reminding myself at the start to stay calm and capitalize on other people's mistakes. Well, once the race began, it was like the entire right side never went. Fortunately I was on the left and was able to sneak up into one of my best positions off the line all year. The run ups on this course were crazy hard with limited traction, and the descents were basically ice luges where you aimed your bike in the right direction and slid down until you caught traction. Looking through the race pics and hearing stores, there were a lot of crashes. I was one of them, but it didn't cost me big. Instead, I was racing with a lot of confidence and feeling good. I had a mid-pack finish, which is a great improvement from where I started the year. Now it's rest up and get ready for the State Championships on Saturday. It's too bad that the season will end once my fitness finally showed up, but my body is barely hanging on at this point and will definitely welcome some rest.

Lesson Learned

You can't fake fitness. We're at the point in the cross season with one month (8 races) to go where people are starting to go in opposite directions. Guys that started the season strong are starting to fall off their fitness, and others that had a more managed build are coming into form at just the right time. I wish I could say I fit into either one of those categories, but the fact is I didn't do the right things in the off season. I have enough base to ride a strong tempo, but not enough top end power to push through the explosive efforts, recover, and go again. At the same time, I thought I could make up my fitness by racing into shape. That works to an extent, but it results in a very narrow window to peak and you can miss it without knowing you hit it.

With a week off the bike I was hoping to find out which way my fitness was going on Sunday. When I got up and let the dogs out it was cold and windy. I was already tired and the thought of racing didn't sound too appealing. Of course, doing anything didn't sound appealing so I figured I'd snap out of it. It took until I was in the registration line and one of my racing friends reminded me that it's a perfect course for me with a lot of wind and hills. That was when I started thinking I could do well and started to get pumped up to race.

A good warm-up with JJ and it was go time. I lined up behind Travis who's been crushing it all year. Watching him race this year, I have no idea how I was in the same conversation with him last year, much less getting an occasional win. Anyway, he missed his pedal at first but it was such a loooonnnnggg uphill drag that it didn't matter. The bigger issue was the first section of tight turns. Lots of people coming in hot only to grab a fistful of brakes and have to get off their bike. It was annoying at first but I also knew the hills would eat people up later in the race so it wasn't a big deal. After the first set of hills I found myself mid-pack, which was where I expected to ride most of the race and find small opportunities to move up where/if I could. Since I have a cross-clash with my friend JJ (he was up 3-2), I locked on to his wheel and let him pull me around a bit. Knowing he'd do the same when I went by, I waited, maybe a little longer than I should have. There's a tricky, off camber corner that I debated being first (of our group) into but decided against it, sticking with my original plan. I don't know if the result would've been different, but I rode it too aggressively, trying not to let a small gap form. Good news is a small gap didn't form. Bad news was a huge gap formed because I crashed. I was up quickly but my brake got jammed into my wheel and I had to reset the wheel which was made more difficult because the skewer got jammed during the crash. Once I was going again I found myself on the back and after gaining back a few positions, I rode the rest of the race solo.

Part of crashing is being stupid, but I think there's also a part that's related to fitness. Everyone is going all out in a cross race, but the better you can manage that, the better you can make the right decisions when you have a split second to do so and can barely see, much less think. If you have the right fitness you'll make the right choices more often. Even though I'd like a mulligan on that course and the signs are pointing to having passed a peak I didn't realize I hit, there are still a couple good races left to be had if I do the right things.

Back At It

I'm not back at it quite yet, but will be again this weekend. On Sunday only. It's the course where I got my first podium last year but unfortunately, I'm pretty certain there won't be a repeat. Racing this year has been different in a lot of ways, but the most noticeable has been the weather. The grass/dirt crits we usually get have been replaced by sloppy mudfests. Everyone used to complain because the races were too fast and dusty. Now it's because it's too muddy. To be fair, they're both fun but they both also suck in their own, special way. And neither benefits me more than the other so as long as there are races, I'll just be happy to be on the line.

I raced a couple weeks ago on two pretty different courses. The first was in Brighton. I've never raced in Belgium, but I had a picture in my head that this is what it would look like. Basically a pasture that's bumpy as hell and thick with mud. I had a good start and then, after running over the first set of barriers in mid-pack, some guy ran into me. I'm still confused as to how he hit me, but he did and we both went down. Back on the bike I struggled to get going and after it didn't get better after half a lap, I realized it was because my brakes were rubbing since they got jacked up when I went down. Now securely bringing up the back of the pack, I pushed my way through the race while riding in no man's land and chalked it up to gaining some fitness. When I woke up the next morning I realized that I needed to also chalk it up to getting beat up by the course with all the bumps. My entire body was tired and fatigued, and when Whiskey and Tacoma wanted to go out at 7 in the morning, I debated going back to bed for the rest of the day. Instead, I went and raced.

Race day 2 was much better for me. It was a boring course on the pre-ride, but one that I liked at race pace. Good, long straight sections where you could recover and get some speed, but were broken up by good technical sections that were loosened up with some mud. My race was solid where I went out a bit too fast and paid for it on the second lap before pulling back some ground later on. It was another bumpy course and I knew afterwards that I needed a little break. Perfect timing since I was going to get it in the way of New Orleans the following week!

Warming up on the trainer.

On the start line. Still clean.

Carrying a muddy, heavy bike.

Believe it or not, I actually do some things other than race my bike. Trips tend to interfere with my budding career as an amateur, mid to back of the pack bike racer, but I take them anyway. And knowing that the trip to New Orleans was for a friend's bachelor party, I knew it would be a long but fun weekend. The weirdness started early when the guy next to me on the plane pulled out his tarot cards. Of course,he did a reading and I'll say that it was surprisingly accurate. Once landed I began my personal assault on chocolate filled beignets. Unlike my bike racing, I won this battle with no competition. Once some other friends arrived we began the assault on Bourbon St and well, there are no winners there. I'm not sure how to explain the place but it's like a New Year's Eve party all day long. I get the 20 and 30-somethings partying, but the surprising parts were the 40, 50, 60, etc year olds that were partying full throttle. And it wasn't just at the later hours of the day. It was All. Day. Long. At 10:00 in the morning people were stumbling around like they'd been boozin for the last 6 hours. Maybe they were. At any rate, we were able to find some good bars and have some fun falling back into the same routine even though it's been a while since we've all been together. The weekend went by quickly but to be honest, one weekend is about all you really need to spend there. While I managed to make it out of town without downing a hurricane or a hand grenade, I was able to find my way to plenty of oysters (raw and grilled) and a catfish po' boy. Healthy? Uh, no. Tastey? Definitely. I went with tastey and so did the three guys that went through something like $60 worth of sliders for a little late night snack. Glad I wasn't sleeping in that room!

It wasn't all  debauchery though. We had a really good dinner at August, which is one of John Best's restaurant, John Best being a James Beard award winning chef. Despite the inverse relationship between portion size and price, the food was delicious and we still left completely full and satisfied.

Where To Start

I suppose I could start with something new....like cyclocross. It's officially a few weeks into the season and finally, my legs are starting to come around. You'd never know it by looking at the results but my legs feel a little better each week, and just as important, so do my lungs. Unfortunately my bike handling skills could still use a little tweaking. Every time I put myself in contention to move up a little more, I'll do something stupid and go down. Although it's only once a race, it usually happens in the late laps when I'm exhausted and can barely see straight so as the fitness keeps on comin, the mistakes should disappear. Good timing too since moving up to Cat 3 requires as fast and clean of racing as I can manage. And that's just for middle of the pack for me on a good day. Still, the lines are getting easier to ride, the pedals are getting easier to turn, and it's getting easier to fight to catch packs.

One of the things that always helps the most is just racing. This year Routine Leg Works hosted a Wednesday night series for the first 5 weeks. The races were a little shorter on time which was great for a mid-week race. Great chance to see a lot of guys I only see in the Fall, go head to head, and work on fitness and skills without blowing out your legs for the weekend races.

Not sure if the link will work for me, but on Saturday I was starting to move up in the race (to mid-pack) and went down just before a barrier. I re-bloodied up my knee and dropped back to end up battling it out with Neal who's a strong rider that also happened to have a bad lap in there somewhere. Here's a shot of the two of us right after I passed him on the last lap.

http://www.sportifimages.com/Cyclocross2011/Blue-Sky-Velo-Cup-CX/SM-35/19555419_ZT9LWs#1534101400_GGdrtn6-A-LB

Unfortunately, my lead was short-lived since Neal got me back and held on. At that point we were literally battlling it out for something like 3rd and 4th from last place but still racing like it was for first and that's what makes it fun.

Has It Been A Year?

The answer is no. But it has been about 9 months or so since this blog has been updated. And the reason it's being re-visited is none other than cyclocross season started again today. It was hot, dusty, painful, and my first race as a Cat 3. Not surprisingly, I got my butt kicked. I went from the front of the pack as a Cat 4 to the back of the pack as a 3. Literally, the back of the pack. I wasn't last but I wasn't far from it. While it will probably be that way for most of the season, I'm hoping to find some form, re-learn how to ride some of the lines, and move my way into the middle of the pack. Either way, it should be another fun season.

I realize I should still provide some kind of race report about States, so maybe I'll do that in the next day or two. After that race I hung up my 'cross bike and my blog with it. Who knows, maybe I'll actually have an occasional post about things other than racing......like going to Hawaii in October and watching Rick rip it up at Kona!

They Gave Me 1st & 2nd

Technically, this is a long overdue post and it's only going to consist of pictures really. And the pics are from the race in Golden where I did so well they gave me first and second......together. I suppose that really means I got 12th but who's counting?

L to R is I don't know, Frank, Samer, Me, Brad, Adam, Eric, I Don't Know.

Adam over the lone-standing speedkiller.

Samer charging to 3rd.

Praying to be done after 3 crashes.

One of these things is not like the other. Tim (blue) - 1st, Adam - 2d, Samer - 3d. Me...

Lenora Grace (Adam & Yvonne's daughter). We like to start 'em early!

Lookout Mountain in the back (Buffalo Bill's grave at the top). Also home of the Lookout Mountain Hill Climb every May. It hurts.

I got the wheels, now I need (another) bike to put them on.

That DID Hurt. A Little.

After a mixed but mostly good return from my one-week cycling hiatus last week, I was anxious to see what kind of legs I'd have at Green Mountain Cross and Boulder CycleSport Series #4. I think we're on 4. After last Sunday I feel like I have pretty good form and am hopeful I can hang on to it for just a little longer. With that in mind, it was off to the races.

Green Mountain was apparently opposite day since we rode the course in reverse from last year. It was also opposite day since I spent more time riding the ground with my bike on top of me. Turns out you don't go as fast that way. From the start I was at the front with Adam and after the second turn, was in the lead. And then? Crash #1. Front wheel slipped out right before the stair run-up and a few guys went by me. I was fortunate in that I was able to get back on quickly and keep fighting. Somehow I got into second position and the guy that I was following forgot to turn. Anyone know what happened to him? He was last seen heading for Lookout Mtn. Maybe he's hangin with Buffalo Bill. Anyway, the rest of the lap was uneventful except Eric passed me and in what I'm sure was an effort to help me feel better about myself, he slid out of the first corner after the start/finish. Back near the front I wanted to show everyone who didn't see it the first time exactly how to fall while going through a corner and dumped it into a right hand turn. This time a bunch of guys got by me and I was a little slower to get back on my bike. I tried fighting for a lap or two to see if I could make up any ground but it quickly became clear that the good legs I had were only going to be wasted. I hung out somewhere around 14th for a little bit and was able to move up to 12th but not before seeing what the dirt felt like one more time. Three times down, all three on my right side. Once I got home and cleaned up my leg looked like I got into a fight with a cat and the cat won. Lots of scratches that drew blood and a couple cherries on the knee. Same with my right elbow. The problem, though, is that there's a lot of bruising underneath that and the combination was pretty sore for the rest of the night. I literally spent the rest of the night on the couch since any movement hurt my leg, even if it was just my pants brushing against it when I walked. Oh yeah, I finished in 12th which I was happy with considering I forgot how to ride a bike.

Race day 2. As painful as it can be, I really love racing both days of the weekend. Even though I was sore when I got out of bed, I got to the race with enough time to chat with a lot of the guys I end up racing shoulder to shoulder with. And even if I curse their names as they're passing me, it's still a good bunch of guys that makes the racing fun. After a few warm-up laps I knew this wasn't a great course for me and I'd end up hurting from the effort. Uphill start to a grass section that led to a staircase with about 30 steps (seriously) to more grass that slowly goes uphill to, yes, another staircase with 30 more steps. Fortunately there was a huge downhill from there and the lower part of the course was fast and a little more technical. I got the hole shot I wanted, only because I didn't want to be caught up with anyone going through the first two 180s before the steps. It wasn't too long after that that people started going by me. Eric first, then Tony. The passes were happening in the same place - the grass section. I just didn't have the power to keep up despite the encouragement as they passed. With a couple more laps to go, Frank came by me, again with encouragement. I hung on to his wheel until the final sprint and then watched as the black and red blur that was Brad sped by me and I hung on for 7th. An improvement from the day before with the added bonus of not crashing.

One more week and I'll probably hang up the bikes (literally - they hang in my garage) for the season. If I do race after that it will be purely for fun. First, though, we have to get through States this weekend. No idea what the course will be like but I'm already looking forward to it!

Needing A Break

My plan for the season was to not race the Ft. Collins New Belgium Cup races despite the fanfare and fun atmosphere that accompanied it. Lucky for me, I stayed true to form and was able to see what normal people do on weekends. That obviously assumes that racing your bike almost every Saturday and Sunday throughout the Fall isn't normal. Personally, I still think that's up for debate. Anyway, that was the plan going in and I knew it had to happen since I was starting to feel a bit crispy and annoyed. During both days of warm-ups the week before I seriously considered dropping out of the race before it started. I didn't, but it was contemplated and feeling like that was all the confirmation I needed. So what did I do instead? I stayed away from my bike for all but one evening, went to a Broncos game, and slept in. It was nice.

My little hiatus may have been too nice since Saturday came and I was having a hard time getting going at AlphaCross during warm-ups. The course wasn't overly tricky with the exception of a few off camber sections, but it was almost all grass and required a lot of power. Let's just say that if this were a two, maybe three lap race, I would have been great! I was near the front and feeling........empty. I was pushing hard but couldn't do anything to sustain the effort and sure enough, nobody felt sorry for me (other than me) and I watched guys go right by unable to hang on to them. When the race mercifully ended I got 7th and Adam had a great race with a duel for 1st that he won in a sprint. We celebrated at Park Burger with one of the tastiest damn burgers I've had in a while - beef, ham, and fried egg (over easy to the snottiness gets on everything).

Fast forward to Sunday and everything felt better. Except the weather. The weather sucked. It was 45* in Denver when I was at Einstein's at 7:30 and 28* and windy in Longmont when we got there. Everything about the warm-up (and related rituals) was planned around staying in the car as long as possible. Registration, back to the car. Bathrooms, back to the car. Change....in the car. If I could have set up a trainer in the car and pre-rode the course from my front seat, you can bet I would have done that too. The warm-up was a quick 2 laps of what was a relatively shorter and fast course. The tricks were the loooong starting sprint to the hole shot, a looooong sandy section that we were running since it wasn't packed down enough to ride yet, and the bmx bike section. Once the whistle blew I somehow managed to come into the hole shot in second and held the wheel of first place. That lasted until the down/up section when first place......well, I have no idea what happened, but the guy in first didn't make it up the hill and I think he crashed. It pushed me to the side and into the course tape. I rode through and was lucky enough to not have it wrap around any part of my bike. Crisis averted, I went from 2d to 5th, and from 5th to 4th/3d. There were three of us in 2d - 4th and we worked to pull back the lead that 1st had. And then took the lead ourselves. Adam and I rode together and opened up a small gap. I was riding the back side better, he was riding the front better. As we got down to the last two laps, we were side by side when it was Adam's turn to pull and when he went, I didn't have the legs to go with. It was a small enough gap that I lost the draft and had to re-assess. Realizing that two guys were right behind me, and knowing who they were, I also knew that if I wanted 2d I had to keep pushing. Hard. While that worked, it didn't work well enough and I got passed in the last section but was able to roll in for 3d. It was a great feeling after how terrible I felt the day before. And even if I would have been passed by more people, it was as much fun as I can remember having in a race in a long time. Good tactics and charging hard the whole time changing roles from being the hunter to the hunted. There are definitely no gifts out there which made 3d all the better for me.

Apparently that's what the podium looks like. I can't say for sure since I'm not all that familiar with it, but it's nice up there. And the prizes were good too. Aside from being warm, the two things you generally need after a cross race are beer and a massage and we received a 6-pack of beer, gift certificates for massage, granola and a coffee mug. Nice way to wrap up another weekend!

It's Alive!

The blog that is. It enjoyed taking a nice nap for the last 4 months or so, but that doesn't mean nothing has happened. I think the last one I did was 'My First Second.' Well, the week after that I got my first first in the mountain bike short track series. And then I quit. Yep, got my first place and hung up the bike. Or at least kind of. We headed up to Aspen for a few days over the 4th of July, then to Driggs, ID for a few days, and then I took a week long trip to Brazil to go to my friend Jamie's wedding where I had a blast. Meanwhile, the temps outside were getting ridiculous and even though mountain biking in the trees helps, there were a lot of days where it was simply too hot to ride. So I didn't and it resulted in a bit of a hiatus from consistent riding, and I'm sure a loss of some of the power I had accumulated. That's not that big of a deal but going into cyclocross season, aka, the best time of the year, it had me a little bit concerned. Last year was my second year (first full season) racing 'cross and was a consistent middle of the pack guy in the Cat 4s. This year I was bumping up to the 35+4s and was mentally prepared to be a good, solid, middle of the pack guy.

In my first race I finished 29th and followed it up with a 28th the next day. Knowing I'd made a few dumb mistakes that were correctable with a little more experience and a few more races, I thought that if I could sneak out a top 20 finish somewhere in the season it would be a success. My best case scenario was a top 15 finish. After a few races I was starting to think that I couldn't finish in a place that wasn't a multiple of 7. The 29th notwithstanding, I was 28, 28, 7, 21, 14. And no, the 7 isn't a typo. I was really happy with that finish despite a lot of the other riders not being there. But since I can't control who shows up to race, it was my 7th and the start of a little bit of confidence. The next day where I finished 21 at AspenLodge was another confidence builder. Prior to then I'd been worried about how everyone around me was riding. Not at this course. It was so bumpy, technical, and just flat out hard that I could only concern myself with my ride and focus on riding clean lines. People would come around me, and just as quickly they'd go backwards. I did have a little trip over the top of my handlebars on one section, but hey, it's all part of the game. Knowing that I could ride well helped push my confidence for the few weeks.

I've gotta say that the rest of my results were a combination of some guys catting up to 3s and clearing out some space on the top of the 4s, but if they're that good then they probably belong there. Either way I was getting stronger and have since gone 14, 9, 10, 13, 6, 3. I was ecstatic with the 14 since it was a solid and legitimate field. Again with the 9. And the 3, well, it was unexpected for sure, but every bit as good as I could have expected and I was able to go by some guys that had been beating me all year.

So what do you when the legs start coming around? Take a break of course. Or at least that's what I did this summer. This time, though, I'm not planning on 2 months of inconsistent riding. Rather, my legs were getting heavy, it was taking longer to recover, and my attitude toward racing was starting to get a bit pissy. With the US Grand Prix of Cyclocross in Ft. Collins this weekend, it would have been easy to race. I love the big events and from what I heard, they did it right and it was a great weekend of racing. However, they helped make my decision by putting the 4s at 8:30 on both Saturday and Sunday, and shortening the race from 45 minutes to 30. Tack on an hour and a half drive to get there and it meant about a 5 a.m. wake up call. If you know anything about me, it's that I don't mix well with mornings. Never have and don't expect that I ever will. Growing up grandma would have to come in to my room a few times to wake me up and after that failed, she'd resort to either a cold, wet washcloth on my face or banging pots and pans together. That's just mean! Anyway, I took a pass on this week, got a massage, and started feeling like a normal human again on Thursday. Of course, the Taco Bell I had last night may have set me back a few days but I digress.

With a bit of life back in my legs the plan is to get a few trainer rides in this week, race twice this weekend, twice next weekend, and then see what I can do at States on the first weekend in December. Hoping for good results at all of the races but nothing's ever guaranteed. With the temps finally starting to drop, the courses are starting to change from grass/dirt crits to sloppy, technical battlegrounds. I don't have as much experience in the latter but there's only one way to get it, and everybody has to race in the same conditions.

Race Day #5 - My First Second

Race Day #5 was another CU Short Track Mountain Bike Race. But before we get there, maybe the Tuesday ride before is worth telling. I rode Bergen Peak/Elk Meadows with Adam, Brant, and Nate. Good ride on the way up, and descending is always a blast. Trying to move trees with your face, however, is not. Yep. Man meets tree, man loses to tree, man bleeds from ear with scratches on face, neck, shoulder, elbows and legs. It was a slow motion crash but my last thought before impact was, "I'm going to wake up in the hospital." Brant's thought was that I had broken my collar bone. Fortunately, neither of these was true and I walked away (actually rode) with only some blood. Even though I ultimately lost, I'll still take it as a win!

Fast forward to the next day and I was a little sketchy on if I wanted to race but decided I would. After heading up to Boulder with Brant I didn't know what to expect. It was a tight and technical course given all the hard turns. I was able to line up in the front and was in 5th out of the hole shot. Some guy crashed in front of me and I thought I was going down too but was able to move, which meant I was in fourth. Around the first lap I bounced up to second and since the leader wasn't going that fast, and I was afraid of others catching back on, made my pass and didn't look back. That's only because I could see people after doing switchbacks so I didn't need to look back. I led the race for a couple laps but knew there was one guy gaining on me, and sure enough, he caught and passed me. Two laps later he crossed the line in first and despite my best efforts, I was about 10 seconds behind him.......in second! I realized that I really don't know how to race from the front, mainly since this is the first time I've ever had to, but I'm willing to learn and figure it out! I was also pretty pumped that I was on the (virtual) podium for the first time in 6 years of racing. Not bad considering I tried chopping down a tree with my face the day before!

Race Day #4 - CU Short Track Mountain Bike

Short race, short post. Pretty easy formula. Every Wednesday there's a short track mountain bike race in Boulder. And by short, I mean it only lasts 20 minutes. What it lacks in time it makes up for in pain. Brant talked me into going up so we left, got registered, and pre-rode the course a handful of times, which proved to be invaluable.

We raced Class C and for 5:40 on a Wednesday night, there were 30 guys that showed up and made it a good crowd. My hole shots typically suck. Or at least they did during cyclocross season and I'm working on improving that (and my handling abilities). Something worked. I wasn't in the lead, but I was in about 10th from the start. Not too many places to pass made it frustrating at times so you had to make each chance count. After two laps I got in a good rhythm and had picked off a few people. Coming into the last lap I wasn't sure what position I was in and tried to pass a guy but was denied. So instead of going harder, I went smarter. It's an odd occurrence, yes, but I do have my moments. I slowed on an upcoming corner that swung us out wide, and it allowed me to cut through closer and get in front. I bridged to the group of three I saw ahead and rode with them. Once I looked around I realized..........holy shit, this was the lead group! I tried everything I could to pass but have to give credit to the guys that were riding since they were simply stronger. With the finish line in sight I rolled through in fourth place and was very happy with that result. Hopefully it's a good indicator for things to come for CX season. And since I got something like 75 points for the series, it also means I should probably go try and get some more on the next few Wednesdays if I can.

Okay, so I lied. Maybe it wasn't that short of a post.

Race Day #3 - Battle of the Bear

So technically race day #3 happened about a month ago on 5.8.10. And my very good reason for not having posted about it since then is, well......, I'm lazy. Makes sense, right? Good.

Pdoo decided to come down and play official race photographer for the YOA crew which was being represented by Brant, Adam, Matt, and me. Since Brant had a cold he was all pepped up on goofballs and couldn't see straight, which led to him crashing a few times and not having the race he wanted. And in true, tell the ending before the story type fashion, Matty rode well (until he came unclipped from his pedals and racked his boys on the top tube) and got 2nd. Adam was strong as usual for a 9th place finish and I was 2'27" behind him for 12th. All of this in the M30-39 AG of the Sport division (20 miles).

Aside from the morning being pretty crisp and not knowing how to dress, the race unfolded as expected. I rode pretty clean and had a good start. In fact, I actually led the race for a bit. Too bad that 'bit' was only for a quarter mile out of the hole shot and then people passed me as we crested the hill. There weren't any tricks to this course other than not getting stuck behind people, and that's exactly what happened. First through some winding singletrack, and then catching up to some of the groups in front of us. The latter happened as we were doing a big climb and instead of being able to use this area as a strength and work my way up, I was stuck soft-pedaling and actually recovering. On a climb. It sucked. In fact, it happened both times, but both times I found the same spot to get around a handful of people that had been staying with me.

The race was really about timing when and where you could make a jump on people so they'd get stuck behind someone slower. Sometimes it worked, other times notsomuch. Regardless, when I came around the last turn to the straight away there were 4 of us together and I was able to power down and beat them to the line. A top 10 would have been nice but I can't complain about 12th either. It was only the second mountain bike race I've done and still early in the season.

Next up is some short track races and then we'll see what else makes its way on to my schedule.
Making my way through the first lap:

Getting ready for the final sprint:

Guess which of the four wasn't happy with his performance (hint: it's not a trick question):

Waiting for someone to bring me a beer:

Race Day #2 - Lookout Mountain

Second race in two weeks and it was time to get off the dirt and on to the road for the Lookout Mountain Hill Climb. It's held annually and is basically about as much as you can suffer on a bike. I say that often, and I'm sure it will be repeated again, but it's an all out effort up Lookout Mountain which is 4.25 miles and gains 1200 feet of elevation. If it makes any difference, Buffalo Bill's grave is at the top. I can tell you that it makes no difference at all because it doesn't help you take in any more oxygen which is the only thing you're thinking about!



I got to the race and it was perfect weather. About 50 degrees and sunny with only a small wind. I hopped on the trainer for a 30-minute warm-up and then Brant and I went to the start line. We were at the back and when the gun went off it was a mess of people trying to get clipped in. Once that cleared out, I was able to move up and ride with the lead group for about the first mile. My legs felt good and I was surprised I was able to hang on. Of course, this race is notorious for sandbaggers and it was just a matter of time before the group split. That time happened about a mile in and when the leaders laid it down, it separated the contenders from the pretenders. I have to say that a lot of the contenders don't belong racing in Cat 4 but that's a different post.



I got spit out the back but wasn't alone. Different packs came and went and I did a decent amount of pulling along the way, grabbing drafts for the brief amount of time (and benefit) as I passed people. Close to the top there's a series of switchbacks and I was in a group of four that I needed to split from. I geared down, hopped out of the saddle and surged through, blowing open the group, and almost blowing the contents of my stomach over the front of my handlebars. I didn't have much capacity at that point to go even more hypoxic than I was! One of the guys caught me and he was clearly a stronger rider so no problem with that. I was able to follow him to another group though, and it was near the top. Knowing the course was helpful since as I was passing another guy, I was concerned he'd sit in and then swing around me at the finish after taking advantage of my draft. So when I knew a false flat was coming up, I shifted to the big ring and was ready to take advantage of it before him which paid off. I lowered my head and sprinted as hard as I could to the finish, only to follow it up with barely having enough energy left to get off my bike and cough violently from the effort. It was well worth it though since when I looked at my time it was 23:09 with average watts of 277. I was super stoked since last year when I did it my time was 25:39 and average watts of 261. Chopping off 2:30 was HUGE and it made my day. Brant did great too and came in at 26:47 (a personal best) despite having a head cold.



After the race we had a beer, lunch, and then off to a party for a friend's birthday/housewarming/Kentucky Derby. A beer or two, a couple red bull/vodkas, and of course mint julep were taken down. I was much smarter about my consumption this year though, since last year left me as a puddle that wrapped around the toilet courtesy of Maker's Mark's mint julep flavored bourbon. One or two? Good. Ten? Uhhh, not so good. I only had one this time. And since it was the Derby, the seersucker got to come out for a showing:



My strategy of drinking less paid off since I felt pretty good when I woke up today so I called Brant and we tried to beat the weather by heading out to Lair of the Bear for a mountain bike ride. Crisp air, fun and flowey singletrack, and minimal crowds made the ride a huge success. It's about as much fun as you can have on the bike and we stopped a few times to enjoy it. No pics, but lots of fun. Now, though, after basically being gone for two days I have two dogs (one with her head on my arm right now) with lots of energy that need to be walked so it's out the door for us!

Race Day #1 - Lake Pueblo

Racing in April? Already? I'd like to think it was a warm-up race but I don't think such a thing exists since the effort never feels like a warm-up effort. If anything, it feels worse when it's early season! Knowing that that would be the case, Brant and I woke up bright and early on Sunday to head down to Pueblo for the Lake Pueblo Arkansas Point Challenge. Since we were making the two-hour drive it only made sense to race in the Sport category, which was 20 miles rather than 11 for the Beginner or 30 for the Expert. Rolling into the parking lot, it was evident it was a pretty relaxed vibe which was perfect. People were friendly and the typical chatter than masks pre-race nerves was abundant. Unfortunately, small races don't mean the nerves are any less. While roaming around the parking lot Brant came back and had asked if I saw the girl on the Stevens bike with quads bigger than my waist. I hadn't but was certainly curious and asked if it was Katie Compton, or KfC as she's otherwise referred to and the "f" isn't conveniently placed to tie her to Colonel Sanders. It's also not for her middle name unless her middle name is f'in (and that's being kid-friendly of course!). She's enough of a badass on a bike that she's definitely earned it. Arguably the best female cyclocross racer in the world right now and her palmares on a mountain bike and/or cyclocross bike are too long to list. My keen eye for attractive women on bikes (2 of my favorite things) had also spotted Kelli Emmett who's no slouch on a bike herself. She's an excellent mountain bike and cyclocross racer, and member of Team Giant. While she has her own remarkable palmares, one of my favorite things is her tattoo from winning the singlespeed championships in 2007. Have a look - I think you'll like it too! So here we are at an otherwise relaxed, early season race in the middle of nowhere with two of the best women that ride mountain bikes in the United States lining up with us. Pretty awesome!

Given the small overall field everyone lined up together. Expert/Pros first, then Sport, then Beginner, rightly assuming that the categories would get sorted out on the ride based on rider strength. The first 1-1.5 miles was on the road going uphill. The peloton pulled out hurriedly then slowed a touch. As it did the Expert field made it's way up the road. I was able to latch on to a guy and let him pull me up to that field and Brant followed my lead as we weaved through riders. Unfortunately for us, once we got to the back of that group they decided it was time to go and dropped the hammer. I was apparently part of the hammer since I, too, was dropped. Once at the top though, it switched to a sidewalk and the pace quickened since the hole shot to singletrack was quickly approaching and it's imperative to get in the right position. I was able to make my way by a handful of riders but got stuck trying to make my last move. This ended up costing me a little bit since I was faster than this guy early on but couldn't get by. There were little cacti on the outside the path making passing there an unattractive option. I had bumped tires with him a couple times to let him know I was there, and also verbally asked to be let by a few times. This lasted maybe 2 miles. At one point we were going uphill and he stalled. I bumped his tire again and lost all momentum so I got off my bike, pushed it uphill and hopped back on. I still didn't get by and the group I wanted to make contact with went farther up the trail. Finally he pulled over and I went off to the races pushing pretty hard trying to make contact. I figured that if I could bridge the gap, I'd be in good position to sit in and take advantage of the draft for a lot of the remaining miles. Part of the downside of early season racing is that I just didn't have the legs to fly up there on my own. A headwind didn't help. And that's not to take anything away from the guys in that group being strong riders. After all, that's why I wanted to be up there with them!

After pedaling in no-man's land I knew I had two options. Option 1 was to put out more energy than necessary working by myself and seeing if I could hold off the chase group. Option 2 was to ease up and get in that group and have people to work together. We still had more than half the race to go so I chose option 2. I led the group for a bit, then got passed by the same guy that wouldn't let me by earlier. He ended up being a strong rider at this point but we were out of tune with our abilities. I'd go up faster than him and stall, he'd descend faster than me. It made me expend more energy in/out of turns that necessary but that's part of racing. It's also solved by me having better descending abilities! Another few miles passed and one guy came through and went away, then the guy leading our pack pulled away just enough to make bridging difficult alone. We got to doubletrack and Brant pulled by me determined to get up to the other guys. Since he's 6'4", 195lbs, it's like drafting a bulldozer which worked well for me! Or so I thought it would. I went to take a drink and in the time I relaxed to do that, I fell out of his draft and didn't have the legs to get back on. No-man's land again.

I knew the race was getting close to the finish and another guy came by me. That was frustrating since I didn't want to give up any more positions. I don't know what his strategy was but since I knew we only had about 3-4 miles left, I wasn't letting him get away. I bridged the gap and hung on for 2 miles. Then it was back to the sidewalk and when I looked back there was another group working well together that was gaining ground. I told the guy I was with we needed to work together but he looked disinterested. I assumed he was playing games since he slowed down so much he was forcing me to take the lead while he would sit in for 1.5 miles and then outsprint me at the end. That kind of pissed me off so with 1.5 miles to go I did my own individual time trial. I started with a little surge and looked back to see if he was hanging in my draft. He was a little bit, but there was a bigger gap than I expected to see and that was all I needed. I shifted up to the big ring, put my head down and hammered the pedals. The effort was enough that every position caused me discomfort with each pedal stroke, but when I peaked back, my strateg was working and the gap was growing. I finally got to the bottom and knew I was safe. I was able to let up on the pedals a little bit but was still draped over the handlebars with my tongue hanging out. For 20 miles on a mountain bike, I covered it in 1hr 26min 20sec. That was good enough for 13th place out of 51 riders in the Sport category. Brant had a great race as well and finished 12th, exactly one minute ahead of me.

The normal post-race deconstruction/analyzing went on as normal, and that's part of the fun. As we were talking, I heard Brant yell and looked over my shoulder just in time to see Katie and Kelli duel it out in a sprint finish. After 30 miles (for the Pros), it came down to less than a second for these two. Goes to show that everything race counts no matter how big or small. Kelli had the inside line which propelled her to victory as she was able to keep Katie on the outside.

Since I've only been on my mountain bike about 7 times this year and have never really ridden a mountain bike seriously, I'm really happy with how this unfolded. My technical abilities need to be developed but that will come with more t.i.t.s. (time in the saddle). I said after the race that I felt like I had 45 minute legs for a race that was 1:30 and as my strength bumps up, I'll hope my results do too. Oh, and I won a sweet backpack from Specialized at the raffle which was worth about $100! Considering it only cost $25 to race, it added to the day being a success.

Fruita/Moab

Last Thursday, as part of YearOfAwesome (aka, YOA), I headed down to Fruita and Moab with Brant, Matt, Adam, and Nate. It's amazing that I've somehow lived here for 10 years and have never been there. What the hell have I been doing?! Fortunately I made up for lost time with this trip.

On Thursday we drove about 4 hours to Fruita where we stopped and warmed up with some loops at 18 Mile Road. The "warm-up" laps were much needed since I've only been on my mountain bike once this year and there's very little to be desired with my technical abilities. The trails were good, open, flowy singletrack which was exactly what I needed. What I didn't need, or could have done without is some of the ridges we were riding along and steep, tight descents. Brant and Matt made them look easy. Adam almost fell off the Earth on one of them but made it down safely. I made walking down a couple of them look as graceful as could be. It was still a blast though and after about 2.5 hours of riding we got some food and went the rest of the way into Moab.

We took a backroad into Moab which proved to be the better choice since we were in no real hurry. While driving through the canyon we took a quick pit stop so the boys could have a beer and just stretch out the legs (I was driving and didn't drink).

The next day we went to ride Slickrock and I can honestly say I don't think I've ever had more pre-ride anxiety in my life. It's basically like riding on sandpaper which is great because your tires hook up and get incredible traction. It's also terrible because if you fall, you're leaving a good chunk of skin right there. Fortunately, I made it through without any really bad crashes. Uhh, or at least until I got to the parking lot. I was so excited that I started riding a wheelie and took it a bit too far. The result? Me flipping my bike and ending up on my ass with a bloodied up elbow and bruised butt. Very smooth, I know.

After Slickrock my confidence got a lot better and the rest of the week was a blast. We rode Sovereign Trail, Porcupine Rim (which has a bit of riding that's a few feet from a 400 foot ledge), and Amasa Back Trail. Here's some of the pics from those rides: