Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Rocky mountain omnium report
| Mon May 29, 2006 8:57 pm Post subject: |    |
Did you miss me?  Rocky mountain omnium report. TT, Crit, Crit. What, no road race in an omnium? I said the same thing. Plus you didn't have to do the whole omnium, you could pick and choose which stages you wanted to do.... lame. Saturday TT - as most know I hate the TT. I don't know how you TT/Tri people dig sitting on the edge of your saddle and squeezing it like that. I refused to put TT bars on and went stock. My time showed it, but I have 8 bikes and there is no way I'm getting another one for the TT. 9 miles - 4.5 up hill from the start, turnaround 4.5 miles downhill to the finish. Nice way to jack the HR right from the gun. I finished mid-pack and my goal was not to get passed by my 30second guy.. He caught me with 1 mile to go... My 1st and last TT of the year. Sunday Crit: race flyer said a "true little ring climb criterium". "The hardest crit in CO." I talk to a few people prior to the start and they said... 1/3 to 1/2 won't finish... it's that hard. Whatever dudes.. I don't think I have ever not finished a Cat 3 crit. Course description: little ring climb up, false flat to little kicker climb to screaming 53x12 downhill into a round-about, to 25 yards of flat to another round-about, jam it into the little ring and sprint out of the round-about to the little ring climb. With 30+ mph gutter cross/head wind up the little ring climb. Courses here are super sketchy.. Come on, as if 1 round-about isn't enough. I didn't hold high hopes, but wanted to test the new climbing legs. Gun goes off with 100 dudes and every time up the little ringer people are popping off. I close gap after gap left by the poppers. It continues this way for the first 1/3 of the race. I look around and somehow I've made the break of 25-30 guys. My strongest teammate who has been kicking my butt the past few weeks gets dropped on the 3rd lap. The climbing legs are shinning today. I've been racing for 14 years and have never been able to climb worth a crap, but living at 10K and not having any flat routes my body and racing has changed. 5 laps to go and a group goes off the front, but I'm too far back in the pack to make it... we roll a few more laps and I finish 24th. 75 finish and 25 drop out. Monday Crit: race flyer "8 turns in less then .9 miles" Again, super sketchy course. This was the state championship crit with a 125 limit on racers. They hit the limit. 125 dudes in just the Cat 3 race. Insane! It was basically a figure 8 with 2 short straight sections - flat as a pancake and all out fast. The gun goes off and I rock top 10 for 1/3 of the race, when my chain starts to jump a little on the back and ghost shift... I ignore it and just deal with it. People are diving into corners like this is the Indy 500. I hit my brakes mid race and end up mid-pack. I'm sprinting out of every corner, TTing it on the straights and can only move up 2 spots or so each lap... This was one of the fastest crits i've ever done. I see one of my teammates sitting top 10 and work as hard as I can to get up there when they announce 5 laps to go... around one of the corners a guy rolls his tubular and takes out 5-6 guys... damn and he took out my top 10 teammate. I try to rock to the front but too little too late and finish mid-pack. Today was awesome and one of the reasons that keeps me racing. There is just nothing like a flat-out, balls to the wall crit to keep the stoke alive.. I get home and look at the ghost shifter and notice that my wheel is tweaked and is rubbing the rear brake.. Nice! Nothing like adding some extra watts out on the course. Keep the dream alive... 1st mountain bike for the local series starts Sunday, so I'll be playing in the dirt again after a long hiatus. | |
Boulder Training Crit
| Apr 30, 2006 6:32 pm Post subject: | |
| Henk Vogels, Chris Baldwin, Scott Moniger, with Tyler Hamilton on the sidelines, etc.. you get the point. This is a training crit. Good thing I made the decision to down-grade to a 3. The pro 1/2 field is insane. Course: same as previous races with the nice hill grinder. Much to my surprise I have 5 other teammates today. Sorry to be a trader B-Wooders, but Vitamin Cottage is my new CO team. Can't be solo rocker racer in this cruel world. The gun goes out and I go "hollywood" style and rock solo and get a huge gap, my new teammates are blocking perfectly - I rock for 2 laps and get caught and then the fun and games begin. I make or initiate almost every break - I feel like superman today. Wah crit guy is back. thumbright:  Must be the high-altitude sleeping and the "werbs computrainer" super secret training plan. 15 mins to go and I get reeled in from a break and one of my teammates goes and a couple other follow - I'm in total 02 debt and just can't squeeze it one more time with no recovery. The break sticks. Nice! At least I helped get a teammate up the road. 2 laps to go and a prime for the chase group. I hop on the guy who won the last prime and he beats me by a tire ;(. Bell lap and I'm still recovering as the pace heats up. I recover at the top of the hill .... I know ... the top of the hill? But, the climbing legs are rockin today. I rip through the final corner leading out one of my teammates and he barely missed the pack sprint... All in all a good sunny and 65 degree day. My new teammates were all in amazement and crit wah and said "you're that fast and you've been mostly riding the trainer" - listen the wise-werbs - he knows.Oh yea.. Henk Vogels didn't make the break in the 1/2s race.. ridiculous | |
Imperial Challenge
| Apr 24, 2006 9:16 am Post subject: | |
| For those in the know.. the double dip is a ripper. I did my inaguarl Imperial Challenge on Saturday. I've always read about it and always have wanted to do it, but have never been in town for it. This was my year. I picked up a pair of snowshoes a couple weeks ago and stashed them in the corner until two days prior to race day. My set-up was cross bike, switch to snowshoes with running shoes and do the 3,000 ft hike carrying my snowboard and boots in a back-pack. Hit the top and head down the double black diamond bowl on the board. I did some pre-game runs in the snowboard boots and in the running shoes and the running shoes felt faster, even though I would loose time in the transition at the top switching gear. Most people switched to nordic/AT/tele gear at the top of the bike and put on skins and skinned up. I didn't have skins so I had to go with the snowshoes. I line up at the start with 250 other crazies and tell my buddy about my set-up with the running shoes and how I felt faster running in them instead of my boots. His is a crusty veteran who has done all of the 15 races in the past and says "no one is running in this race". .... Hmmmmm what does he mean? The gun goes off and wah race mode hits and I go to the front and start leading it out.... I figure the bike section is all that I have to make up time. One Nike Exterra guy and another guy, a two-time U.S. mountain biking world championship team member rip by on road bikes.. The dirt road is super sketch and these dudes are ripping road bikes? Their pace is too hot for me and I settle into the second group. I warm-up after about a mile and the new climbing legs start to kick in and I pick up the pace on the hills and continue to drop people. Bear in mind that this 6.3 mile bike section is all up-hill and I never leave my little ring. I rock into the transition for the ascent to the top of the world around 8th or so overall. Sweet.. 1st race and I'm rockin top 10! Gotta love have the bike legs. I put on the snowshoes and pack and start up and up and up and up.. Instantly "no one is running in this race" comes to mind as my buddy comes past me in his super sweet light AT set-up. I say to him "now I know what you mean by no one is running" - he laughs and says "it only gets steeper". I loose a few positions here and there and there. I see the top of the bowl on Peak 8 with a bunch of people cheering.... I think sweet this is it and now I can go down... I put in a hard effort to the top and to my dismay I see we have another bowl to climb. I'm in "just finish" mode at this point as the pitch turns crazy steep and I'm having to tippy-toe up just to get traction and at one point I lean back a little and almost fall over backwards it is so steep. I fall to my knees and grasp the snow with my hands so I don't slide down the hill. This is insane... my calves are screaming and cramping from the tippy-toe action and it is 65 degrees and my lips and mouth are like those guys you see climbing Everest. Finally I hit the top. Frantically swap out my snowshoes for the snowboard boots and board... but I loose tons of time and spots as those skinnying up just take off the skins and head down. I finally get the board on and the legs are noodles from the climb... but i have a double black mogul bowl to tackle... I pass a few of those on the light nordic gear because you can't rock too fast on that stuff.. I get down the bowl, hit the blue run to the the bottom bombing it with no turns and passing a few other skinny skiers... I hit the bottom and my 1st Imperial Challenge is in the bag. I end up 27th overall out of 250 people and 14th in my age class. Not bad for only having snow-shoed a handful of times in my life. Next year I will rock top 10.. The Imperial Challenge opens with a 6.3-mile uphill bike ride from the Breckenridge Rec Center, then continues with a 2,998-foot ascent from the Peak 8 base area at the Breck Ski Resort to the top of the Imperial Bowl, elevation 12,998 feet. From there, competitors must maneuver a bumped-up bowl before finishing on a slushy groomed run back to the Peak 8 base. As if that was not enough, Sunday was a road race in Boulder. 9 laps with 900 ft of climbing per lap. That's 8100 ft of climbing. My legs were a little sore from the day before. The course was crazy. It was an 4 mile out and back on a closed highway. So down 4 miles 180 turn back 4 miles 180 turn... pretty silly with 80+ guys having to do those 180 turns over and over. I hit the first hill and the legs didn't feel good at all.. I almost shut it down right there and headed back to the car.. But, I gutted it out for 4 more laps.. Then the cross wind gutter-ball action started and I stood up to climb and the legs were done and the group shattered.. I got into small chase group and did 2 more laps and with 3 to go the 180 turn, turned into a straight line to the car... Good times, but I may live up to my crits and cross philosophy and only rock those.. I have not been able to put in the long miles yet this year because of snow and crits going on ever weekend. | |
2 down and 1 crash.
2 down and 1 crash.
40-70mph winds today. Insane. I’ve never raced in that kind of wind. The “gutter ball” took on a whole new meaning today. Saturday I did my early morning telemark session, hit the roads for the 1st time this year in Breck and did a 2 hour easy loop… didn’t get enough so strapped on the snowboard for 3 more hours of fun in the sun. Sunday I awoke and drove down to Boulder for the training crit. As I headed up the pass it was a complete blizzard with white-out conditions.. Are you serious? How can I be driving to a crit in a blizzard. As soon as I hit Boulder the snow stopped but the wind was kickin. I could hardly keep the truck on the road. But, I made it this far and it was a race and we all know I love to race. I warmed up on the trainer because riding in the wind was just too crazy. 40-50 dudes on the line and the pace is insane from the gun. SO much for an easy lap or two warm-up. The course was the same as the last one with a nice grinder climb. But the wind was blowing up the hill so it made the hill seem easy. The pack split at the top of the hill on lap 3 or so. I was dangling mid to back of the pack trying to get warmed up. As it was splitting I got gutter-balled into the gravel. I tried to pull it out cyclocross style but crashed on re-entry. Got up chased like crazy, caught a group - dropped them on the hill. Caught another group - dropped them on the hill. Got into a chase group but we couldn't catch the lead pack. I pulled a few Wah moves and attacked on the hill to break up the chase group and got a few gaps, but no one wanted to come with me. I don’t know where the climbing legs are coming from.. but maybe it is sleeping at 10K and racing at 5K. The lungs are really good right now. This weekend I’m heading to Moab and then to Snowbird for some bike and ski action.
40-70mph winds today. Insane. I’ve never raced in that kind of wind. The “gutter ball” took on a whole new meaning today. Saturday I did my early morning telemark session, hit the roads for the 1st time this year in Breck and did a 2 hour easy loop… didn’t get enough so strapped on the snowboard for 3 more hours of fun in the sun. Sunday I awoke and drove down to Boulder for the training crit. As I headed up the pass it was a complete blizzard with white-out conditions.. Are you serious? How can I be driving to a crit in a blizzard. As soon as I hit Boulder the snow stopped but the wind was kickin. I could hardly keep the truck on the road. But, I made it this far and it was a race and we all know I love to race. I warmed up on the trainer because riding in the wind was just too crazy. 40-50 dudes on the line and the pace is insane from the gun. SO much for an easy lap or two warm-up. The course was the same as the last one with a nice grinder climb. But the wind was blowing up the hill so it made the hill seem easy. The pack split at the top of the hill on lap 3 or so. I was dangling mid to back of the pack trying to get warmed up. As it was splitting I got gutter-balled into the gravel. I tried to pull it out cyclocross style but crashed on re-entry. Got up chased like crazy, caught a group - dropped them on the hill. Caught another group - dropped them on the hill. Got into a chase group but we couldn't catch the lead pack. I pulled a few Wah moves and attacked on the hill to break up the chase group and got a few gaps, but no one wanted to come with me. I don’t know where the climbing legs are coming from.. but maybe it is sleeping at 10K and racing at 5K. The lungs are really good right now. This weekend I’m heading to Moab and then to Snowbird for some bike and ski action.
Snowbird Report
| Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 5:57 pm Post subject: Moab to Snowbird Report | |
| If you have the chance to chase the dream.. I highly recommend it. I'm on a mini-road trip for work. I left Breckenridge on Thursday and needed to be in Snowbird UT on Friday. Lucky me that I had to pass right by Moab on my way. Now most people would bring their mountain bikes to Moab... but I'm not like most people. I brought the road and wanted a good long ride for Friday. I did the La Sal route.. Take a look at the PDF. http://www.poisonspiderbicycles.com/lasal_mtn.pdf I'm thinking 60 miles.. no problem.. good base with a little climbing. I threw the 12x25 on prior to leaving because the 23 isn't cutting it out here. I awoke at 6:00am because I couldn't sleep with the anticipation of a good long road ride.. I hit the nearby Denny's and fueled up, but it was too cold that early so rolled back to bed and left at 9:00 with promises of 70 degrees and sun. I head out of town into a 20mph headwind and just got ready for a long day. If you notice on the PDF it starts with a 20 mile climb... Are you kidding me?? 20 miles. 15 of it was in the 39x25 and I could of used something bigger as I had to stand for about 30 mins of the climb because it was too steep. Finally 2 hours later I'm at the top of the 20 mile climb.. 2 hours - I didn't think I was in for this kind of an epic..Werbs, watch out dude. I'm going to turn into a climber whether I like it or not. Luckily the next 10 was rolling and the next 10 was all downhill with 10 miles of flat back to town. All in all 4 hours of good times. Friday night I arrived to Snowbird in the dark and didn't get a chance to see the mountain. When I arrive the bell-dudes take all of my stuff to my room (it is a fancy place).. I get into my room and it is a suite.. Because we spend so much biz here they pimped me out.. Rock it! Saturday it snowed all day about 12" and I "saw" the mountain. It is unreal - In CO they keep everything "crazy" roped off and not accessible. Here it is free game, 20-40 ft cliffs everywhere. When they say "warning double black" they mean it. It snowed most of Saturday night and I took the 1st tram up the mountain on Sunday and was treated to my best day in many years.. A foot of fresh, no crowds and sick, sick terrain plus a blue-bird day (sunny for those not in the know...) | |
2 down and 1 crash.
2 down and 1 crash.
40-70mph winds today. Insane. I’ve never raced in that kind of wind. The “gutter ball” took on a whole new meaning today. Saturday I did my early morning telemark session, hit the roads for the 1st time this year in Breck and did a 2 hour easy loop… didn’t get enough so strapped on the snowboard for 3 more hours of fun in the sun. Sunday I awoke and drove down to Boulder for the training crit. As I headed up the pass it was a complete blizzard with white-out conditions.. Are you serious? How can I be driving to a crit in a blizzard. As soon as I hit Boulder the snow stopped but the wind was kickin. I could hardly keep the truck on the road. But, I made it this far and it was a race and we all know I love to race. I warmed up on the trainer because riding in the wind was just too crazy. 40-50 dudes on the line and the pace is insane from the gun. SO much for an easy lap or two warm-up. The course was the same as the last one with a nice grinder climb. But the wind was blowing up the hill so it made the hill seem easy. The pack split at the top of the hill on lap 3 or so. I was dangling mid to back of the pack trying to get warmed up. As it was splitting I got gutter-balled into the gravel. I tried to pull it out cyclocross style but crashed on re-entry. Got up chased like crazy, caught a group - dropped them on the hill. Caught another group - dropped them on the hill. Got into a chase group but we couldn't catch the lead pack. I pulled a few Wah moves and attacked on the hill to break up the chase group and got a few gaps, but no one wanted to come with me. I don’t know where the climbing legs are coming from.. but maybe it is sleeping at 10K and racing at 5K. The lungs are really good right now. This weekend I’m heading to Moab and then to Snowbird for some bike and ski action.
40-70mph winds today. Insane. I’ve never raced in that kind of wind. The “gutter ball” took on a whole new meaning today. Saturday I did my early morning telemark session, hit the roads for the 1st time this year in Breck and did a 2 hour easy loop… didn’t get enough so strapped on the snowboard for 3 more hours of fun in the sun. Sunday I awoke and drove down to Boulder for the training crit. As I headed up the pass it was a complete blizzard with white-out conditions.. Are you serious? How can I be driving to a crit in a blizzard. As soon as I hit Boulder the snow stopped but the wind was kickin. I could hardly keep the truck on the road. But, I made it this far and it was a race and we all know I love to race. I warmed up on the trainer because riding in the wind was just too crazy. 40-50 dudes on the line and the pace is insane from the gun. SO much for an easy lap or two warm-up. The course was the same as the last one with a nice grinder climb. But the wind was blowing up the hill so it made the hill seem easy. The pack split at the top of the hill on lap 3 or so. I was dangling mid to back of the pack trying to get warmed up. As it was splitting I got gutter-balled into the gravel. I tried to pull it out cyclocross style but crashed on re-entry. Got up chased like crazy, caught a group - dropped them on the hill. Caught another group - dropped them on the hill. Got into a chase group but we couldn't catch the lead pack. I pulled a few Wah moves and attacked on the hill to break up the chase group and got a few gaps, but no one wanted to come with me. I don’t know where the climbing legs are coming from.. but maybe it is sleeping at 10K and racing at 5K. The lungs are really good right now. This weekend I’m heading to Moab and then to Snowbird for some bike and ski action.
