The Wah Report

I don't know what it is about the cross bike. It always feels fast. Maybe it is the early season stoke. I did hot laps at the Breckenridge Nordic Center yesterday. Much to my surprise I was not the 1st with the idea of some early season training. Someone had set up a couple barriers..
After a couple laps I flatted the front tire again. I've flatted every ride so far. I don't use the race wheels with the Tufos because I don't want to have to bother fixing a flat with those and the training wheels are heavier so it will even feel faster when the race wheels are on. I flatted about a mile from my pack with tubes and CO2s. So, I ran with the bike to my stuff and fixed it and rocked a couple more laps.

Here is what I'll be racing this year:
* Salsa Las Cruces with Salsa Bel Lap Bars (the widest ones they make)
* Alan full carbon fork
* Ritchey WCS DS wheels & Stem
* Tufo Clincher Tubulars
* Spooky Cross Brakes
* single up front with carbon chainguards and a 12x27 in the rear
* Dura Ace cranks, rear shifter and rear derailleur

This year I started commuting to work 2-3 days a week. It is 15 miles one-way and I ride over lunch, so I get in around 45-50 miles. Without the commute there is no way I could get that many miles in. It is the perfect situation. On the way to work in the morning is an easy spin mostly downhill for 45mins. Over lunch yesterday I did some quick-start intervals and then did cruise intervals on the way home. It ususally takes an hour to get home, but with the intervals it only took 45 mins. I was home by 6:00 and had time in the evening to ride the Dirt Bike and hang with my lady.

I would ride to work every day if I had the chance, but we are still dealing with puppy-hood so we take turns driving my truck to work and leaving the dogs in the back. Hopefully next summer Bode will be over the chewing.

Training for Cyclocross

If you are coming into it with a good road race or mtn bike base then you can do well with only 5-10 hrs of training a week. I turn down the volume and up the intensity.

Recommended work-outs
1) Mount and Dismount training... Practice, practice, practice. When I first started racing I would work on my mount and dismount 3-4 days a week. You will loose or gain so much in a race depending on how fast or slow you can get on and off your bike.
2) Quick Start Intervals: From a complete stop with your foot out of the pedal go as hard as you can for 30-60 seconds. Do 5-20 of these with 1 minute rests in between. Come to a complete stop before each one. The start in cross is very important. You want to go into that 1st barrier or run-up top 5. Crashes and log-jams happen on the 1st lap.
3) Cruise Intervals: at your LT (when you feel the burn in your legs) do 2, 10-30 min intervals with a 3-5 min rest in between. This simulates race pace.
4) 1 Minute On 1 Minute Off Intervals: go as hard as you can for 1 minute, rest 1 minute and repeat. Make sure you are ON for 10-30 mins. Cross races can be like road races with drafting and attacking. To move to the next group up the road or to drop the group you are with, these intervals are key.
5) Run: run at a moderate pace for 20-30 mins. Get the legs ready for the little running that is involved in cross.
6) Hill/Stair Intervals: find a 10-30second set of stairs or hill and do running repeats up these. Do 10-20 of these. Or, if the weather is bad, go to the club and hop on the stair-climber and turn it up as fast as it will go.
7) Yoga and Core Exercises: Cross is hard!

Cyclocross Links
http://www.roadcycling.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/4/435
http://members.aol.com/napavelo/tentips.htm
http://members.aol.com/napavelo/intro.htm
http://bigshark.com/page.cfm?PageID=68
http://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=1146
http://www.readingcyclingclub.com/cross_training.pdf#search=%22cyclocross%20training%22

new nobbies on the way... the stock 50/50s that came on the Thumper are not cutting it. Last week I actually got stuck in some mud from the lack of traction. Next week I'll be roosting mud. Crazy that motorcycle tires are a lot cheaper then bicycle tires.

Remember NOT to pull the front brake in a crisis stop. ScottERob trys to stop with his face.

On the work communte I've seen smoke on the water on Lake Dillon. Pretty cool. This is not the actual shot, but it looks likes this.. Wasn't prepared for the ride in. 40 degrees said the bank temp.... Time to pull out the warmer wear.

Can it be done? So many options this time of year

Keystone Climax

USCF Crit Champs

Saturday:
I awoke to rain… It never rains in the morning. It is usually sunny until around 4:00 or 5:00 and then it rains. I hopped on the cross bike and was going to meet my lady and her sister at the Health Quest 5k run. They rode from Breck to Frisco to do the race and I was going to meet them there and then ride back and pick them up… I got a late start and rolled Peaks Trail on the cross bike. Midway through I front flatted from hitting a big rock. I need to get a fatter tire for the cross bike if I’m going to keep riding mtn bike trails. The skinnys can’t handle it. I made it to Frisco, but by the time I was down there they were done and it was raining again…. so I rolled home on the path in the rain and went and picked them up.. There was a big health fair going on and I stopped by the chiropractor booth to have my whacked back looked at. He poked and prodded and when he was done he said “I don’t want to scare you”… what a way to start the evaluation. Anyway he said my hip was twisted and pointed out a bunch of other things that were “not quite right”.. My right leg is shorter and my left quad is a lot bigger so I tended to believe him about the twisted hip.. Maybe I’ll go and see him

I hit the trails in the afternoon on the Suzuki and it was super muddy. The 50/50 knobs on the tires were no match for the loose mud.. I felt super sketch and at one point fell over going through a deep puddle… Time for some fatties it looks like..


Sunday:
Another day at the office. It seemed like forever since I raced a crit. It has been two weeks and with last week being a rest week it was a shock to the system initially. Sunday was the Longmont Crit. The course was an “L” shaped fast and flat with plenty of turns. Due to a super late start time for the 3’s race I decided to do the 9:30 35+ open race. 5 mins to start time the Jrs were finishing and into the last corner a touch of wheels and two dudes down. I have not heard screaming in agony like that in quite awhile. The kid whaled for about 5 mins.. then got up and walked away looking un-injured. Not a good thing to see prior to your start but that’s racing. I lined up front row and the gun went off and we were off. 46 dudes on the line. We rolled out and the pace heated up instantly. All the corners and the fast pace was a shock to the system. I’ve been doing a lot of mtn bike racing this year so getting speed in the legs for crits has been a little tough. 10mins into the race I finally got the crit legs back and made a couple breaks, but didn’t take any flyers. The 35+ guys roll so fast that taking flyers is not really an option. After coming back from a break….. of course the next one stuck and most of the teams were represented. I was solo VC guy and made a couple jumps but nobody was going to let me go…. They announced a chase prime and I lined up behind two teammates from another team and we rolled the entire lap and into the final corner I was sitting 3rd wheel and thought I was in perfect position… for some reason they slowed down and some big old sprinter guy ripped around us… 5 laps to go and I’m mid pack and know I need to get to the front. I’m waiting for the pace to pick up but it is manageable. 4,3,2,1 to go I get up there and sprint it out for 14th overall…. Big props to Richard (summit county local) for hanging in there the whole race. He just moved up for 35+ Cat 4.

Monday:
We awoke today with ice on the windshield. and snow on the tops of the mtns on Sunday morning… Ski season is around the corner.

Ok.. this week was supposed to be a rest week and I was even thinking of taking the entire week off the bike. I tried.... I really did... Hours on the bike from Monday to Friday at noon = 8.25. No intensity though.. just easy mellow miles. I still need to ride home from work today for 1 hour and I may pull out the cross bike tomorrow for an easy spin and then it is back to racin on Sunday for the Longmont Crit.

Back in MN the infamous River Rat rides River Road on the Mpls and St. Paul sides of the Mississippi River. SuperStarturned me on the appropriate term for them. You generally run into them when you are on a rest day or after you have just done a set of intervals. Sometimes they sport cut off jeans and the wife beater T-shirt other times they are in the old school neon kit from the late 80s.

I was in Denver for a trade show Tuesday and Wednesday and went to Wash Park in Denver, I've heard so many good things about how wonderful it is and my expectations were high. I put on the Vitamin Cottagekit and headed out for a lap around the park. The next thing I know I'm around it and it is only a little over 2 miles long. All this hipe for 2 miles? It was basically like riding around Lake Calhoun. Since I hit it in the AM on a Wednesday it was basically moms pushing strollers all around. Anyway back to the River Rat. I rolled for a couple laps and then all of a sudden coming from behind me the ultimate Rat. He rolled by me in TT mode with super up-right TT bars and a nasty old kit. I hopped on his wheel and instantly noticed that he had two saddles???? Somehow he had mounted a saddle on top of his other saddle. After further inspection I noticed that he had the original saddle all the way forward on the rails and it must not have gone forward enough so he mounted another saddle on top of it. It was the dumbest thing that I have ever saw. Anyway we took turns pulling laps around the park without a word said. The River Rat doesn't speak, he just trys to put the hurt to you. I decided that enough was enough and put the hammer down up a slight incline and dropped him and never saw him again.... After the ride I strapped on the running shoes and put in 30 mins with preparation for the up-coming cross season.

I've always wanted one... now that I live in a place that I can actually use it - now is the time. I can roll right out my back door to some crazy trails. Do I need one? No, but I casually brought it up with my lady and said that I was thinking of buying a dirt bike. I already have a 2003 Harley Davidson Softail and a Triumph Tiger so the need is really not there. I mentioned to my lady that I should probably get rid of one if I go with the dirt bike because along with the two mentioned above we also have a Yamaha Zuma that I bought for her last year. She loves it.. But she loves the Harley and especially the Tiger so she is reluctant for me to sell either of them. I picked up a 2003 Suzuki DR-Z400S today from an older dude who only rode it for 100 miles. I think it scared him and he never rode it. It has not been registered since 2005 either so it has seen little or no use. Remember the old school OP cord shorts from back in the day. They were hip in my early teens. I've seen 3 pair in the past week. Are they back in style? When I looked at the bike last week not only was the owner wearing them (he has to be around 55 or so) but his son was there (he had to be around 40 or so) and he had some on as well in the same color as his dad... Anyway, I'll be ripping up the dirt tonight and it may help my mountain bike skills.

After the race my lady and I rolled through Rocky Mtn National Park.. I’ve never been through there so it was good to get a 1^st with her. We then rolled to Fort Collins to meet her Aunt for dinner. I had not eaten since 7:00 so the Crown Pub was good enough and went down fast.

Tipperary Creek Race Report Winter Park

26 mile point to point with 4,000 ft of climbing. I did this race about 10 years ago and thought it was Epic, Super Hard, Brutal… I lined up in the 35-39 class and was amazed at how many people had showed up just for this age group. I would guess 40+ dudes. The gun went off and we rolled out on a 3 mile dirt road. You could tell by the early tactics that a lot of roadies were present today because of Carter Lake being cancelled. I sat 2-3 wheels back and made a few unsuccessful attacks but they were not letting me go, so I sucked wheel until we hit the 1st climb. I went to the front and me and another roadie immediately opened a gap. Then we hit the single track and it was a matter of who could get by the most people. It was so thick with people who started in front of us that passing was a nightmare. Somewhere along the line the guy who I was battling with got around me and was able to get around more people then me. Pretty lame way to get ahead though… the more guys you could pass on the single track the better your chances at the “W”. I continued to pass as many people as I could get by - I would say about 40 people on the single track climb. I wish we really could have gone head 2 head though to see who was stronger…. We get to the top of the climb and are welcomed by some sweet smooth single track downhill – I let a few people by on the downhill and hit a dirt road section and pass a few more. I still see 1st place in front of me and know that I can get him on the next climb… back to some more downhill and we hit a flat section and I get ready to start pedaling when the chain is stuck… I’ve had some chain suck with the Sugar before, so I fear the worst. I get off and some how my front derailleur has moved out causing it to hit the crank-arm. I examine it and give it a push here and shift it there and it is whacked… I pull out the multi-tool from my seat bag (if you don’t carry one, your race would be over at this point)….. I loosen the derailleur and push it back to where I think it needs to be and shift it through and it is still not “right”… I loosen it again and get it working.. All this is probably taking me about 10 mins… tons of people roll by… I feel my race is over at this point and think about going back to the next corner marshal and find the quickest way back to the finish… But I decide to keep rolling the course and just have a fun ride and good workout…I continue to roll and make my moves on the climbs and I actually am not getting passed or pressured on the downhills because of the group I’m with and the lost time from the mechanical.. I actually pass one guy on one downhill… I keep rolling and wait for the memories of the Epic course to come through… but it never comes. I hit the final climb and roll into the finish…. My fitness must be a lot better then 10yrs ago because the course was just another day in the dirt and nothing that ever put me under pressure… I end up 9th, 12 minutes from the leader.. Ok the 1/8”. If my front derailleur had not moved out of place by 1/8” I would have podiumed… Oh well there is always another race…

I'm trying to get the bike stoke back... I may take a week off the bike next week, but I know this will be nearly impossible for me. I've only taken a day off here and there for the past few years.

Rode to work today and over lunch. The legs are crusty and I have Tipperary Creek tomorrow.
This is an epic course and I have fond memories of it. My brother and I raced it a few times back when we were living here in the 90's. One year we camped in my VW van at the start line.

The Summit Mtn Challenge awards ceremony was last night. Good times and it was a good feeling to wrap up the series.

The motivation factor has been at an all-time low for the past couple weeks – matched with the burn-out factor as well. 27 bike races and counting this year so far. More then most will get in their entire career. My average is around 50 and with the schedule ahead, I will go over my average. I’m thinking of taking a full week off the bike next week to try and re-engage all of my matches. This is hard in CO as there are 2-3 races a week somewhere and I don’t like to miss a race.

OK… on to the Breck Brawl. This was the final race of the Summit Mountain Challenge series. I was leading the series by 14 points. This would mean that I could not loose 2 spots to the 2nd place overall guy in this race. This week I decided to take this final race seriously and pre-rode the course Monday and Tuesday with Bode (my portuguese water dog ). He seems to never be out of energy and my goal was to crack him on this course. The course was not marked on Monday so I followed a map so I had to take it slow to not miss any turns. Bode barked and nipped at my shoes for the 1st half of the course and I couldn’t drop him… we hit the final down-hill and he found some horse crap and decided that would be a good snack…. Tuesday the course was marked so I took it a little faster… we hit a high-speed rocky downhill ½ way through the course and I finally cracked Bode…. He limped in the final ½ of the course. Race day… I took a lunch spin to loosen the legs and again the crust was thick. I read somewhere that if you pushed on your legs and they hurt that you should not ride that day or go easy. The slightest amount of pressure on my quads was instant pain. Not a good sign for race day and no time to take the day off. The thing I love about living in Breckenridge is that 3 of the races I could ride to the start from my house…. Now, that is what I’m talking about. I got to the race an hour early because my shifting wasn’t quite right and hit the neutral support for a quick tune… Course description: start on a dirt road to a super loose super steep rocky uphill, to a short flat road section to a granny and a half single track technical climb, to a long dirt road climb (pre-riding I knew the dirt road climb is where I needed to put in the BIG effort), to a twisty single track section, to a short dirt road downhill, back to a twisty technical single track section, to a technical single track downhill…. And repeat but the finish they re-routed us on a dirt road climb half-way up the mtn (again good for me).

I line up front row and the gun goes off. I’m not quite sure if I should be in the middle or the granny because of the super steep uphill only 20 yards ahead. I opt for the middle and drop to the granny 20 yards later. Team ZL guy, who I’ve been battling with for the past few weeks is a jack-rabbit starter and can climb….. and today is no exception. He rocks the start and opens a gap. I get passed by 2 guys on the super steep loose uphill grind and we hit the technical climb… There is a guy on my wheel rubbing it as we inch along… one mis-pedal and you will fall over it is so steep and technical… finally we hit the dirt road climb. I instantly pass 2nd and 3rd place and put my sights on ZL guy. I drill it and catch him 200 yards up the climb. I ride his wheel for awhile and catch my breath… The thing I’ve discovered about ZL is that he can climb as fast as me at a constant speed, but he can’t pick up the pace and put in hard efforts on climbs. So, I throw down an attack and drop him. I keep looking back and he is holding the gap, so I continue to get out of the saddle and put in hard efforts to increase my margin. We hit the single track sections and my roadie skills are again holding me back….. I let a couple people by and roll trying to keep the pace high. We hit the final single track downhill and ZL is on my wheel. I offer it up for him to pass, but he sticks to my wheel and doesn’t want to go by… we roll through the start/finish and hit the super loose rocky uphill and he opens a gap. I think he was climbing it in his middle ring as he kept the momentum going and I was dropping it in the granny… His gap widens and we hit the single-track climb and he rolls past two guys that started before us…. I think that I will have to settle for 2nd place at this point as I can’t go any faster and my back is screaming in pain and almost making me sick… I don’t need to beat him to take the series title. Finally we hit the dirt road climb and I know what I have to do…. I go into climbing mode and stand up and give it some gas… finally I catch him and again throw down some attacks to open more of a gap…. We hit the single track section and a single-speeder is rocking faster then me so I let him by. I stay with him to keep my pace high… we hit the final single track downhill and I look back and ZL is closing. He is within 15 yards of me. I make a couple passes on the flatter sections and don’t see him. I hit the climb to the finish line and look back and he is right there…. He gives it all he has and hops on my back wheel… I’m totally anaerobic and cooked at this point and don’t know if I have anything left for the sprint to the line. .. I can hear him breathing super hard and I know he is in more pain and is suffering more then me……...Luckily the road went up for another 100yards and the sprint effort he put in to catch me popped him.. I drop a couple gears and stand up and put in a huge effort to the line and take the win and the overall series title…. I ended up passing all the 19-29 dudes who started a minute ahead of me… score one for the old guys.. My goal for the series was just to get in a good hard day of training, but I got caught up in it and started to schedule my training around it the past few weeks… My road training has suffered a little because racing on the road on the weekends and then trying to recover for Wednesday night mtn bike races and then recover and train for the next weekend is a fine line. I’m glad the series is over and that cross season is approaching.

Gypsum Crit

My plan for the day was to double dip if possible depending on how hard the 1st race was. On the way down to the race I was joking with my lady about how I was going to go from the gun… She laughed and said if you do, you will lose. I had no intentions of going from the gun, but it is always fun to joke about it. My sprinting skills are not there this year.. Without the infamous GW ride to kep the sprint alive, the only chance I have in a crit is to get into a break. Basic office park crit with a slight climb, roller back section and downhill to a flat sprint. A small field of 20-25 guys. I rolled to the 35+ start line and was happy to see about 4 summit county guys on the line. We made an informal pact not to chase each-other down if anyone got into a break. The announcer says there will be 2 primes, but not until 20 mins into the race. The gun goes off and we hit the 1st climb on the 1st lap and I just stand up and give it a little gas to loosen the legs and all of a sudden I have a gap… what do I do? All of a sudden I’m in “go from the gun” mode. I put it in TT mode and roll solo for 5-6 laps. Finally a guy comes across and we roll for a lap and they announce a prime for the chase field…. There goes my break. I get caught at the final corner. I keep attacking and get into a couple breaks. 2nd prime and a guy goes off the front. I chase him down and catch him at the final corner as my neighbor comes around for the prime. The matches are pretty much gone with 5 laps to go. Someone takes a flyer and rolls until 2 to go. We catch him and roll until the bell lap when a Subway guy goes off the front. I can chase him and blow anything I have left and pull the group to him or sit in and hope some of the teams actually chase him down… I should have chased as nobody wants to work. The pace finally picks up about ½ way through the lap and I line up for the sprint. We get within a bike length of the guy who took a flyer and I roll in 6th. One place out of the money ;( Who knows what would happen if I didn’t attack like 10 times, but oh well. I just can’t sit in and not attack or work – that’s would not be my style and would bore me to tears. Oh yea… the double dip. I lined up for the 1,2,3 race and the gun goes off and two dudess light it up like I’ve never seen it lit before. I pop on the 1st lap, take a right instead of a left on the final corner and roll to the car. That’s the fastest I’ve ever been popped.

Sunday I dusted off the love of my life, besides my lady… my cross bike. I rode peaks trail from Breck to Frisco. You should have seen the looks I was getting and the comments… “that guy is is on a road bike…. better not tweak a wheel….. how does that thing work on this trail”. It is a total tourist mellow trail.. that’s is why I rode it because it is not too technical. When it was technical I just hopped off and rocked it cross style. It was a little rough and I got a front flat, but fixed it and rolled to Frisco and took the bike path back to Breck. There is just something about that orange Salsa. Even with only 50psi in the tires rolling on the bike path it feels fast…. Good times and good to be back on a “real’ bike. Cross is king.

I did a lunch ride to warm up the legs and the crust was thick. I have not been sleeping well and I think all of the racing I've been doing is taking its toll on me. It is usally about this time of year where I start to feel a little burnt out knowing that my season won't end till December and then starts again in March. But, since I'm battling for the lead in the local Summit Mtn Series I didn't have a choice. I left work early and took a 5 min nap at home before heading out... Anything to try to freshen up for tonight's battle.

Course description: Dirt road start for 3 miles, to a single track climb, to single track, back to dirt road for about 2 miles, back to single track, to a killer little ring/little gear climb, to a nasty downhill, to single track rollers to the finish.

I knew I would need to put time in on the dirt road sections because I wasn’t going to in the single track and especially not on the nasty downhills. The gun goes off and Team ZL guy, who I battled with at Copper Mtn and who won the Peaks Trail TT takes off like a rocket. It is too fast too early for me so I suck wheel on a guy for about 10mins until I’m ready to rock. I launch an attack on the dirt road and instantly open a gap and go into TT mtn mode. I almost close the gap to Team ZL guy. We hit the first climb and I make my way around a few of the earlier starters and catch ZL. I stand up on a few sections and put in some big efforts and drop him…. I roll through the single track and it is not too sketchy so I try to keep pace with the guys from other cats who have started before me. I make sure to put in big efforts on the flat sections instead of coast through them. We hit the 2nd section of dirt road and this is where my roadie skills shine. I rest the forearms on the bars and TT it. I pass about 10 people and nobody can even suck my wheel. I’m killing it with anticipation of what is ahead. I need a big gap before we hit the technical sections. I hit the killer climb and it is almost as nasty as heinous hill. There are a few sections where I’m in the smallest gear I have and am wrestling with my bike to keep it in control. The climb had to be 15-20mins. I pick off a few riders. Hit the nasty downhill and try to keep the guy ahead of me in site to gauge how fast I need to go. I stay on his wheel for half of it and then loose him when the conditions get too much for me. I continue to roll as fast as I can. I seem to be able to rock the decents when I know I’m leading and feel the pressure of the pack behind me. I hit the rollers to the finish and give it full gas every opportunity I can. I roll in 1:19:16:36 about 1.5 mins ahead of 2nd place. This win puts me in 1st overall for the series… but there is one race left next week and the standings are close.

Saturday: I did the 35+ open crit. People warned me that the old guys are super fast and the announcer rattled off about 5 pros that were in the race. I would say they are of similar speed as the Colorado 3s, but racing style is different. They keep the pace super fast so you can't attack like you can in the 3s and there are some big teams that control the race. In the 3s there seems to be more attacking and crazy corner divers. I got into a couple breaks, initiated a couple breaks but missed the winning move as I didn't have any help chasing down breaks. 174 ave HR.

Sunday: I did this race a few years ago. I flew into town for the weekend and got my doors blown off. The pace was hot from the gun as was the weather. I don't know how many were in the field, but it was huge. Maybe 100. The beginning of the race I was sitting mid-pack unable to move up because of the pace. Finally the legs opened up and I was able to move around. There was a crash about 1/3 of the way through the race and my teammate tweaked his wheel and I avoided the carnage but was caught behind it so went to the pits for a free lap. We hopped back on and a lap later I worked my way up to the front and decided to take a " Wah flyer". Instantly I had a big gap. I rolled solo for 2 laps hoping someone would come across but got swarmed when they rang a $50 prime. I made a couple more match burning wah attacks and when they announced 5 to go I looked into the match book and they were all gone..... rolled in with the pack. Phenom Taylor Phinney won again and his proud dad Davis slapped us all on the back as we left the course say "good race". I found out that he is 15 and is upgrading to a 2. 15? That's 22 years younger then me. Crazy
177 ave HR. Hit 193.