The Wah Report

CU Research Park Cross Race:
Course Description: start on pavement, hard right to single track to a super sandy loose steep downhill, over 3 barriers, 2 of which were downed Huge trees way higher then UCI limits, up a steep loose run-up, back to single track to crazy sort of whoops, to an off camber double barrier and another steep loose run-up... Back to single track to a single and another run-up, to some crazy twisty turny parking lot 90 degree cornering... repeat.. I don't diss courses much, but this was a little over the top as far as technical sections and run-ups.. But with all of the dismounts and run-ups I thought I would have an advantage. At the start it was in the 80s. I thought I could hang for 45 mins with no water bottle hand-up since my lady is out of town... I line up front row and the whistle blows and it is ON... A full on sprint to the single track.. I take the hole-shot and lead it into the single track. I get passed on the 1st run-up and settle in 2nd... 2nd run-up I take it too tight and my bike runs into a prickly tree/bush and I hear a hiss front my front tire.. I'm hoping the Tufos with the sealent is going to do it's job..I roll for another lap and the front is getting a little soft.. I take another lap thinking that a lot of people roll with 20-30psi in their tubulars but it's too soft for my comfort and I bottom out a couple times and am afraid I'm going to slide out on a high-speed pavement corner.. For some reason the pits were in the high-speed pavement section.. So I have to slow down and grab the B-bike and get passed by 4-5 guys.. The B-bike isn't as fast or as light as the A bike and it has clinchers on it.. Around the pavement corners I almost loose it twice as the clinchers are not gripping.. I yell at a teammate on the sidelines to find me a front wheel for the A bike. I take another lap and we do the hand off... big props for the help bro... but I get passed by 3 more guys...I'm racing to finish at this point. The heat is taking it's toll on me.. I have not seen 85 degrees for months... It doesn't get hotter then 60 up in the Mtns this time of year... 3 laps to go and I'm totally parched I'm so thirsty. I hold my hand out in the feed zone and nobody helps me out... ;( I get passed by another guy and try for another feed with 2 to go and nothing... I roll in 9th. Not bad considering the 2 bike switches, but without the 2 bike switches I think I could have podiumed... Big props to neighbor Tim for rockin the 35+ race.. Way to represent for Breck bro. I watched him take a couple laps and he was smooth as silk on the transitions... Ok.. the BMX part.. there were times on the course that I felt like I was riding on a BMX track.

Is it still PC to say Indian Summer? I heard a morning DJ say it in Denver yesterday. 65 and Blue Bird for the lunch ride. Spin around the lake.. The climbing legs are leaving me.... I will miss them till next year. One of the best parts about the lake loop is that you are rewarded with a 40mph downhill. I get to the top and a garbage truck starts to come by. I hit the gas and try to stay in front of him, but he gets by. Road bikes are a lot faster on this twisty turny downhill so I'm pissed. Not only do I have to ride the brakes, but I have trash flying in my face the whole time.

The shoulder seasons or off-seasons or non-tourists seasons are my favorite time in the mountains. These happen in the Fall after schools have started and in the Spring when the resorts close. The weather is beautiful and the tourists are gone. We love the tourists because they keep 90% of the people up here employed, but come Fall and Spring we need a break from them. The restaurants reward us with 2-4-1s. If you have the chance to visit during the Fall or late Spring I highly recommend it. Don't come for Xmas or Spring Break...the locals don't come out of their houses these times of the year. You'll wait an hour in the lift line, an hour at the restaurant and an hour at the grocery store.

Every once in awhile my lady tells me she feels like a bumpkin sometimes living up in the mountains. It didn't hit home for me until yesterday. The SEO conference that I went to was in downtown Denver. I was on dog duty, so I took them with me because they are not allowed in Peggy's new car and she was going to meet me in Denver that evening because we stayed down there because she had a 6:00am flight today. So I rolled down in my truck with my Thule Box on top, bike and dogs in the back. I hit traffic when I got in town, which it wasn't horrible traffic but I have not seen traffic since I left Minneapolis... I got downtown and the hotel that the conference was at had underground parking. Sweet, I can keep the dogs out of the sun... No dice! The truck with the rack on top doesn't fit in the gargage. So I drive around and find a meter that is in the shade and dig around for some quarters.... It's 2006 and parking meters still take coins. Who carrys coins around with them? I hit the conference and everyone is dressed "city casual"... You know what I'm talking about.. The perfectly "worn" jeans, black fancy shoes and fancy shirt. I think they look rediculous, but I looked the same 9 months ago. So, between sessions I go to the car and feed the meter and walk the dogs. The conference was on the 16th street mall.. It is similar to the Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis. So, I'm walking around with 2 large dogs.. people were staring and me and there was no grass to be found that's when the Bumpkin really hit..What am I turning into? We used to live in one of the hippest parts of Minnesota, in Uptown. We had the "cool" clothes, the "cool" house, the cool jobs and jobs and had way too much disposable income.... Now we live in one of the smallest houses in our neighborhood, we live in a town of less then 3,000 people, I drive a dirt bike on occassion and we both drive trucks.....

"If all goes well and according to plans, he would be able to come back in 2007 to competition," Landis spokesman Michael Henson told VeloNews. "It's unprecedented. None of the medical team can say just how this is going to play out, but they all believe this is his best chance to return to the highest level."

----
that is if he gets out of his Dope Charge.

What a change from 2 ft of snow. It is going to be 80 this weekend for the cross race in Boulder on Saturday and Denver on Sunday... I'm not complaining.... May be time to bust out the B-Wood thong.

I headed to Denver yesterday to attend SES Local Search Edition

Big things happening on the local search front. If you are looking to switch careers or jump on the "next big thing", local search is IT.

IP targeting, click to call, etc.

Some sites to watch or use

www.truelocal.com
http://local.live.com/
http://searchenginewatch.com/
http://www.local.com/

Since Breck is still full of snow, I hit the Frisco Nordic Center for my cross ride. There is going to be a race there in October, so I'll be re-conning it for the next few weeks. There is a section of wood-chips that saps the legs. I took Bode for a couple laps, then did some hotlaps, then took both dogs for a cool down lap.

The debate continues… I raced 95% of my season as a Cat 3 and hopped in a couple 35+ open races… The speed seems to be similar in both categories. I was told that the 35+ open was faster, but after doing both races, I don’t think it is true. I have a friend who recently upgraded to a Cat 3 and he has done both 35+ crits and Cat 3 crits and he finds the 35+ crits easier because of the steady speed of the 35+ instead of the attacking and speed changes in the 3s races. The 35+ racers will tell you that it is faster in the 35+ category and I think they don’t respect the Cat 3 field as being strong… If they hopped in a 3s race, their attitudes would change. The bike handling skills and brains tend to lean on the 35+ open side. The 35+ open races seem to hold a constant fast speed and the Cat 3 races are fast but with more attacking. The 3s field has a number of young guns who will be or should be moving up to 2s soon and the 35+ Open has a number of ex-pros that are “retiring” to the 35+ field and dominating. You have guys like Taylor Phinney in the 3s who has an inspiring pro career ahead of him and you have guys like Michael Carter in the 35+ field who had a successful pro career. So, are they faster on their way up, or on their way out? To me, it is pretty cool to see these young guys coming up through the ranks... So when I'm watching a pro-tour races in a few years I can tell people I used to race against Taylor.... If I mention Michael Carter they won't know who I am talking about and I'll inevitably get the "how old are you"?My riding style in crits is to attack as much as I can to hopefully make or initiate a break. The 3s will let me go, the 35+ field won’t let me go. This is how I like to race…so if I can’t race this way, then I won’t be happy. I have teammates in the 3s races and not as many in the 35+ races… Safety is becoming more of an issue the older I get and I feel safer in the 35+ field. In the 3s crits at times I feel like I’m going to be taken out at any moment…..If I was still in MN, I'd race 35+ open because most of my teammates race that category and there are not any ex-pros in MN racing 35+.

On to cyclocross… Since I raced 3s pretty much all season I’m going to race 3s for cross… I need some redemption for all the spankin I took from these guys on the road all season. Unlike MN, CO cross races are by category and they have separate races for each. In MN they have A, B, C. In MN, the 1/2s, 35+ opens & Cat 3s all race in the A race and all race at the same time. This is great because you can test your skills and see where you stand with the big guns.. In CO it wouldn’t work because the fields are so big. Every category races 45 mins with the exception of the 1/2s, who race 60 mins. They call it OPEN, but it is basically Pro/1/2s. In MN, the A race is 60 mins, B race 45 mins, C race 30 mins…. I’d like to race for 60mins, but I’m not going to race the OPEN race… These guys are pros and have a lot more time on their hands for training then I do and I have no desire to train anymore then I do now.

Next year is up in the air.. I will race whatever category I will have the most teammates in……The reason I prefer race on the road rather then the dirt is because there is nothing better then working as a team and getting someone on the team a good result…. I have had some of my best memories of racing helping a teammate win and burying myself for them, sacrificing my own result.

My wife thinks I'm tiny compared to most riders.. What do you think? 5'9", 140lbs... Seems average to me.... Maybe the camera makes me look small.

This is the first time anyone has ever looped a fullpipe on a skateboard. It is truly amazing.

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This past weekend on our way back from CO Springs we had a very scarry incident. Peggy was driving her new car and she is a little rusty with the 5-speed so we pulled over to switch cars. We were on a busy highway with the speed limit 60mph. Somehow in the process of switching cars, our dog Bode got out. It was pitch black out and he is all black so he is impossible to see at night. Cars were screaming by, he was darting into the highway and all I could think of was that we can't loose him tonight. He darted by me and I dove after him diving into part of the highway and skinning my legs and arms in the process, but I missed him.. Then Laska comes out of the car and starts heading toward the middle of the highway... Peggy and I are screaming at the dogs and traffic to avoid the worst nightmare you can imagine...At the same time I opened a car door and Laska hopped in Peggy caught Bode. It has to be one of the scarriest moments of my life. This is the 2nd time Laska has played Frogger in the highway. I was at Cross Nationals in Kansas City in an ice storm and we were headed to the race....The car that I was in spun out of control and slammed into a huge truck that was parked on the side of the road because the roads were so bad.. We had to be going 65+ at the time... We totaled the car and in the process the windows shattered and Laska had, had enough and jumped out of the car after impact. She was in shock and ran into the ice covered highway... I ran out there slip sliding away and finally got her out of harms way.

We love our dogs and can't imagine life without them. We take them everywhere we go. If you come to a cross race you will see Peggy holding two dogs and feeding me a bottle and also taking pictures. I don't know how she does it, but she is amazing.

So, hug your dog today and give them an extra treat...I can't imagine life without them.

Temps are warming up. 52 and a blue bird day. Not a cloud in the sky. Quick start intervals over lunch. Crust is thick on the legs... hopefully it will fall off by the weekend. This week will be a good biological test. Last week was a rest week with a couple jumps here and there and I felt strong all weekend. This week it is back to intervals. Will I be fresh or tired by the weekend?

With temps promised to be in the 60s today I made the call last night to get back on the work commute. The temp when I left Breck this morning was 22.. Good thing I'm from MN. The cold weather gear comes in handy. We would ride in MN all winter long. Your water bottle would freeze, your face would freeze, you would have to wear those disposable warmers in your shoes and gloves... So, 22 is a walk in the park.. I was even hot when I got to work.

Telling the truth about drug ban helps Lino Lakes racer move forward
On the cusp of a big career, Lino Lakes cyclist Adam Bergman flunked his drug test -- and then took responsibility for it.

Now if only the big-time pros could do the "right thing" we'd be in business.
FULL STORY

His confession on VeloNews

Red Rocks CX action today.. By the size of the fields that started before me, I knew today was going to be tougher then yesterday. 52 dudes on the line. Course description.. More mountain bike then yesterday's dirt crit... Start on pavement then hit a run-up single barrier to twisty turny single/double track to a crazy drop downhill around a corner to a straight up run-up. Back to twisty single/double track to a single barrier off-camber turn, to a loose downhill..to a climb.. repeat.. With 52 on the line and the up-hill with single I knew the start would be critical. It was going to log-jam on the 1st run-up. I line up front row and at the whistle hit the gas hard.. I read in VeloNews tonight that they describe the cyclocross start like the end of a pack sprint.. You start your race with an all out sprint instead of ending your race with a sprint... the whistle blows and I take the hole-shot...rock on... the quick start intervals are working.... I hit the run-up with no traffic and a few pass me here and there.. After a hard start I usually need about 5 mins to get my groove on.... Some Colavita Guy is killing it at the front and opening a huge gap... I see 3-4 in front of me also making time on me....But I focus on my transitions and lap after lap catch people who are blowing-up or are blowing their transitions... For those new to cross.. I can't say it enough "practice, practice, practice your transitions" I pass and gap so many people on the transitions.. Anyone can ride their bike fast, but not everyone can hop on and engage the pedals all in one motion.. I loose track of time and am attacking and putting in huge efforts on the hill and anytime I can find some smooth ground...Colavita blows up somewhere in the race... But TIAA CREF youngster has taken the lead and we can't close the gap.. I'm sitting 3rd and another TIAA CREF guy is on my wheel... I decide I need to go harder and smoother....I hit the run-up with the single and I've been getting back on right after the barrier and continuing the climb instead of running it.. This is where the smooth transitions really come into play. It was just as fast and maybe faster to run it, but already being on my bike and making the transition quickly I could keep hammering while others were getting on their bike... So, TIAA CREF guy runs it, I ride it and open a gap and keep the gap.. 2nd place is in my sights.. I get within 4 bike lengths and he drops his chain.. I roll by.. 1/2 lap later I drop my chain and he catches me and sucks my wheel. 1 lap to go.. I have to drop him. Again I concentrate on my transitions and open a gap and throw down and burn the rest of my matches and roll in 2nd.. 1 min back of 1st place.

All in all a good weekend of cross racing.... I'm glad to be getting results early because I think late season results are going to be tough if we keep getting snow up here while the Denver dudes keep hammering in the good weather...

As we left Breck with 2' of snow on the ground and headed to Colorado Springs, the nerves were jittery. The 1st race of the year is always stressful... have I trained enough, do I still have the cross skills of the past? How can I compete with those on the Front Range when I can't train outside right now because of all the snow...

Course description: Start on fast dirt road, to a slight climb to a double, dirt road to a tripple, slight downhill to flat fast dirt road, to uphill road climb to twisty turny muddy single track to a single.. back to fast dirt road. 25+ on the line. They announced a 1st lap prime so when the gun went off the pace was hot.. I settled in around 7th with 2-time National Cyclocross Champion Katie Compton gunning it for the prime and opening a huge gap on the 1st lap. She was killing it. I got into a group of 4 and sat for half a lap... we hit the climb and I dropped the hammer and the group.... I rolled solo for the rest of the lap and caught 2nd and 3rd place. I attacked on the next lap on the road and dropped 3rd place and then traded pulls with 2nd place guy... Katie was still far up the course. 2nd place bobbled on a transition and I took advantage of it and attacked hard... I soloed for 2 laps inching closer to 1st. 3 laps to go... I hop on Katie's wheel and she gives me the arm flick and we take turns pulling for a lap. We instantly open a gap and realize that one of us is taking the W. I get done taking a pull and she attacks... I close the gap and tell her "If you are going to attack me I'm not pulling through. But I do... 1 lap to go.. everyone is cheering for her, but we hit the double and I "clean" it and she takes just an extra second to hop back on her bike and I throw down and open a gap and put the head down..... I look back and see that she can't handle the pace... I keep hammering and roll in 1 min ahead of her... rock on. 1st race of the year and a Win... Good way to start the season..After the race her teammate came up to me and said "way to go.... at least you didn't get girled like the rest of the field"

While we were down there, we traded Peggy's car in for a rocket. Subaru Turbo Baja.. The thing is sick. 270hp and a 5-speed stick...When the turbo kicks in it kicks your ass back in the seat...The mountains now will seem like mole hills...

Another 8-10" last night. We must have 12" on the ground. Looking at the ski area this morning, you'd think it was mid-season... Weather calls for 66 in Denver on Sunday. I don't think the snow will stay. Maybe on the peaks, but not in town yet.

This sucks...but it dumped yesterday and it is totally dumping right now. With 10+ inches more expected. Jeff & his crew puts on great races... I almost skipped the 1st cross race of the season to do this race because it is in my backyard.

The 2006 Fall Classic has been cancelled.
6-8 inches of snow fell on the highest portions of the course and more snow is predicted.
We use a three part equation to determine whether a race should be cancelled. The first is your safety. If we feel the course is just plain dangerous we weigh that very heavily. Traction will be next to impossible with all this snow. Certain sections of the course are rocky and will therefore be very slippery. We would be negligent if we asked you to compete in these conditions.
The second is trail damage. If the course is going to sustain irrevocable damage from a race we take that very seriously. We live and ride here. It's our own backyard. We run a junior program called Mountain Bike Little League. 165 kids signed up this summer and we teach them a lot about sustainable trails. It would be hypocritical of us to preach an environmental message and then conduct a race in conditions that could hurt the trail system. 'Nuff said.
The third part is the Fun Factor. Take my word for it...it's frickin' cold and wet out there. I know that a few sick puppies would love to go out and thrash around in this stuff. Please don't! It will hurt the trail. If you want to play, then strap on your Nordic skis or just go for a hike. You'll enjoy that far more than a bike ride in this weather anyway.
So there you have it. Mother Nature rules the day. Major bummer for us as we were psyched to bring the race back.
Thanks to all of you who registered. You may expect a refund. I'll be in touch.
Sincerely,
Jeff

Good old Mpls... I miss her sometimes.

The best bar in America occupies a corner where the path to righteousness and the road to perdition run parallel, east to west, perpendicular to the muddy river that cuts this country in two, north to south. The best bar in America has occupied this physical and spiritual intersection since 1950. The best bar in America lies across the Mississippi from downtown Minneapolis over a bridge named for Father Louis Hennepin, and it has a sign on its yellow-brick exterior that points the way to Our Lady of Lourdes, cast in the red-neon glow of another that reads LIQUORS. The best bar in America also saw one of its doormen murdered last summer.

The best bar in America is Nye's Polonaise.

FULL STORY

Due to the early winter, I hit the gym over lunch. Hopped on the spinning bike & spun the legs out for 45mins...It's amazing how much it sucks to ride only 45 mins inside. Luckily this snow is coming on a rest week.

Eki is retiring.... but I thought Savoldelli was "The Race to Replace"

Discovery gains two, loses 11, with more signings to come

The Discovery Channel team has undergone a massive turnover of personnel for 2007 with the revelation that 11 of the team's 27 riders will not be riding for the team next year.

Last weekend's Vuelta a Espana may have been the final ride in Disco strip for riders such as Jose Azevedo, Michael Barry, Manuel Beltran, Viatcheslav Ekimov, Roger Hammond, Leif Hoste, Benoit Joachim, Gennady Mikhaylov, Paolo Savoldelli, Jurgen Van Den Broeck and Max Van Heeswijk, because they won't be lining up in 2007.

"After the retirement of Lance in 2005 it was natural for our team to begin making changes," explained Team Sports Director Johan Bruyneel. "The Team was built around Lance for seven years and as we move out of the Lance era we are now looking at new objectives in addition to the Tour de France. With those new objectives it is natural that we will make changes and that some riders will also look to make a change." Ekimov, who is retiring from the sport, will stay on at DCPCT as the outfit's Assistant Sports Director.

Joining Discovery's 2007 Pro Tour team is Slovenia's Uros Murn, who joins the team from Phonak, and Belgian Gianni Meersman, who will make his debut with the team. "Gianni will definitely need time to develop as a rider but we believe he has what it takes to be successful on the Pro Tour," explained Bruyneel.

The pair join Levi Leipheimer, Sergio Paulinho and Tomas Vaitkus who have already been signed to the 2007 squad, with more additions expected to be announced over coming weeks.

"I am very confident that we will continue to win big races in 2007 with our new roster," concluded Bruyneel.

Sky-High Prices for Carbon and Ti

You know those $6,000 carbon or titanium wonderbikes you wish you could afford? Better wish harder because the same models could cost $1,000 more by the end of the year.

That's the sad development reported by Paul Glader in The Wall Street Journal.

The reason for the price hike can be laid to supply and demand. Because high-end bikes are made of the same exotic materials used in high-tech aircraft, prices are rising due to the aerospace industry's soaring demand.

Top models from companies such as Trek, Cannondale and Serotta could rise 5-25%, according to Glader's article. For example, a custom-made titanium Serotta La Corsa with Dura-Ace or Record components could sell for $7,000 by year end, up from $6,000 last January.

"It certainly is problematic," says Ben Serotta, founder of Serotta Competition Bicycles. He builds with both high-end materials.

And get this: The CEO of St. Louis-based carbon fiber maker Zoltek Cos. admits he is trying to keep prices lower for bigger customers (aerospace) by raising prices for smaller ones (bike makers). Cycling companies account for 15% of his company's business

There is a hopeful sign on the Ti side. Three U.S. titanium makers say they plan to expand production, according to Glader. Titanium can cost more than $32,000 per ton, compared with less than $1,000 a ton for carbon steel.

Serotta says his suppliers have raised their prices as much as 25% in the last 12 months. He increased bike prices in April and expects to do it again this month for a total of about 12% this calendar year. Serotta's previous price increases have averaged 4% annually.

4-8" last night and they are calling for more. Check the date - it's September 21 and I have not even done a cyclocross race yet. The dogs love it though.

These are the 10 most dugg YouTube videos of all time. They are listed in ascending order of diggs; the last one having the most at 8750.

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I took the A and B cross bike out for my weekday spin. It was the 1st time ever on the B bike. It rides well and will get me through if something should happen to the A bike. I bought Bode a jingle bell for his collar because when I'm rippin and he can't keep up I like to know he is back there. So we ripped 2 laps around the Breck Nordic Center and that was enough for him. The B bike has Avid Shorty 6 brakes and the A bike has Spooky Cross Brakes and the B bike has a double chain-ring and the A bike a single chain-ring. The B bike was smooth and easy to ride. It does everything OK, but nothing spectacular. The double felt strange and I couldn't ever find the right gear. The big was too big and the small was too small. I then switched to the A bike and it was night & day. You often hear in the ski world about skis that you have to be "on" or they will knock you on your ass. Well the A bike is exactly like that. It is not for the weak or lazy. The geometry is tight, there is toe over-lap so you have to pay attention, the brakes are Spooky and run reverse/motorcycle style with tons of power. I did'nt know how much until I went from the Shorty 6s to the Spookys within 5 mins. I hopped on, hit full speed and brushed off some speed with the Spookys and almost super-manned it. The brakes are crazy powerful. The Avids you can lock up and not worry about it, but if you lock up the Spookys you are on a trip over the bars. The other thing I noticed was that the single chain ring felt way better then the double. I felt in the "right" gear all the ride.

I think I've called in sick to work twice in my life. All day Monday I just didn't "feel right". I thought it was from the weekend of hard racing, and maybe it was. I woke Tuesday feeling super tired and decided that it was time to call in a sick day. I turned off the alarm, invited the dogs on the bed and slept till 9:00. Luckily it was an indian summer day. I woke up went to Daylight Donuts for the Daylight Special (1 huge pancake, eggs and either bacon or sausage) for $2.99. Best deal in town. I decided to give the bikes a tune-up and wait for the sun to warm up. I replaced all the cables and chain on the Merlin and did another dial on the cross bike because the 1st race of the year is this weekend. By that time it was in the 60s, so I jumped on the Merlin and rode around the lake easy. It was good to feel the warmth of the sun. I got home and went for an easy run with Bode.

My mom decided to try some stair diving the other day. Now, I've seen this done in college after a few too many beers, but I don't recommend it when you are in your 60s. She is getting some titanium put in her elbow to replace the shattered one. My prayers and good thoughts go her way today and I hope your's do as well. You couldn't ask for a more thoughtful, caring mom.

Love ya Mom and good luck, we are thinking about you.

So on Monday night I decided to go for a ride on the dirt bike. I started following the signs for this weekend's Fall Classic. 10 miles into it, the trail went to single-track. I didn't want to ride this on the motorcycle, so I turned around. At this point I didn't know where I was. It was getting dark at this point and I got a little nervous. I figured that I could just follow the signs back and be good. On the way back I missed a sign. There are miles and miles of dirt roads behind my house that go every which way. I jumped on one that looked "well travelled" and found my way back... I'm searching for a good map of the area if anyone knows of one.

I put the mountain bike in the attic last week and the crit bike up there last night. I wasn't sad to see the mountain bike go, but the crit bike was a little tough. The A cross bike (Salsa) and the B cross bike (KHS) are ready to rip and the work-horse (Merlin) road bike will be kept out of the attic until the snow starts to stick.

A dry summer created a fast course for the annual Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival in Hayward on Saturday. After setting the pace for much of the race, Doug Swanson flatted in the last five miles making way for Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski to capture the victory uncontested. Horgan-Kobelski just missed breaking Swanson's course record in the process.

Way to rock 29th SuperStar.

I've done this race a few times. Some people live for it. The thing that bothers me about the race is that you have to register a year in advance and you are not guaranteed to get it - they do it on a lottery. I've had a preferred start every year I did it after the 1st time. I like showing up the day of a race and registering.
PICTS

After this weekend's double dip sat/sun action my body isn't feeling too peppy today. Plus the fact that it is 30 degrees right now. I was going to do a lunch run, but luckily I'm in a rest week so I may blow it off. This is the time of year when keeping the stoke going coming into cross season is tough. I've been racing since March and the weather at 10,000ft is only going to get more challenging to train in. Hopefully I'll be able to hold onto the fitness I have now and up some of the intensity to get me through the beginning of December.

This was on the NRC calendar and was supposed to be a big race. After the last couple cat 3 races I wanted to dip into and act my age this weekend. I decided to do the 35+ Open race.

I skipped the TT on Friday because you didn't need to do all of the stages in order to do the Omnium.

Saturday: Road Race
Course description: rolling hills with tons of wind. It reminded me of an early season MN spring race. How hard and how windy was it? "With winds gusting up to 40mph..........At day's end, only 15 out of the 100+ Pro riders would finish." But, we are not pros, we are 35+ers. The gun went out and I didn't no what to expect. The course looked flat, and the wind wasn't blowing in town... We hit the roads in a rolling enclosure. This was amazing. We had a police escort that rolled in front of us and closed the road as we came through. It felt very "Pro". The 35+ field is stacked with a few ex-big time-pros which always ensures a break will go. I don't know these guys, but when they go, people tend not to chase. We hit the course and I instantly feel the wind pick up and then the rollers come. It's pretty much gutter-ball the whole race because the wind is kickin. You have to lean practically side-ways not to be blown over. About 5 miles into it a group goes away as I'm sitting mid-pack trying to catch a draft. There is nothing I can do at this point and watch them roll away. After this I move to the front so nothing else will go.. We hit a hill and the climbing legs feel good so I hop off with 3 others and we roll away into a chase group. We rotate painfulling for a few miles and luckily 1 guy from the pack catches us and we pick up 2 that get popped from the break. We roll the lap and then as we roll through the start/finish line we are caught by what is left of the peleton. All that hard work and we got caught ;( 2nd lap I'm feeling popped. With the cyclocross training I'm fit and ready to rock for only an hour. We hit the rollers again and 6 guys get off the front... I dig deep and latch on. I roll with them for a couple miles and the legs have had enough so I sit up and am caught by another group of 5 guys. I sit in and recover as we roll through the wind. At this point I'm totally bummed that I didn't go with the break on the 2nd lap... but we pick up 3 of the group in front, so I feel a little better. We play some cat and mouse close to the finish and one guy makes an attack and for nobody goes with him... I sprint it in for 18th place out of about 60+ guys. I forgot how hard road races are.. It's been awhile.

Sunday Downtown Crit:
I love crits that are in downtown areas. People everywhere screaming. The course was short and in the shape of a "D" and pretty wide open. It was only 45mins so I knew it would be 100mph from the start... The gun went off and it was full-on action. The 35+ guys can roll. It was good to have two other teammates in the race. We were in every break, so I wasn't left to do all the work. I tried a few patented attacks but they were wise to my game and would not let me go. I stayed up front for most of the race waiting for the winning break. "Prime on this lap... prime on this lap" yelled the announcer. I was sitting about 20th and started moving up. A group of about 5 got a little gap and the pack was content to let them go for the prime. As we were about to round the final corner to the finish the group of 5 were jockying for position... it was now or never and I cam screaming out of the pack and rocked around the group and snagged the $20. Sweet! I was pretty blown at this point and had to sit for a couple laps... 5 laps to go scraaaaaaaape behind me... Someone went down in the 1st corner.. 4,3,2,1 lap to go I'm sitting 5th wheel... This is going to be good. The 4 in front of me sit up at the wrong time and we get swarmed... This happened to me last week I should have known better and hit the gas when the speed slowed... I roll in 19th... Average speed was 26mph. That's frickin fast! 20 miles in 45 mins.

Someone just handed this to me at work.

To All Non-Pet Owners Who Visit & Like to Complain About Our Dogs
1) They live here. You don't
2) If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. (That's why they call it "fur"niture.)
3) I like my dogs a lot better then I like most people.
4) To you, it's an animal. To us, they are an adopted son & daughter who are short, hairy, walk on all fours and dont speak clearly.

So I headed out for my lunch ride and was planning to ride around the lake.. I started heading that way and the rain started... so I headed North where it wasn't raining. The crazy thing about living in the mountains is that you can avoid the rain by heading toward sunny skys. It can be raining a mile away and be totally sunny where you are. I headed North and turned into this fancy neighborhood because it had a nice climb. I've been doing a lot of exploring lately, especially since I got the dirt bike. One thing that I've noticed is how big Summit County really is. If you drive a car you would never know it. There are paved and dirt roads that go for miles and miles. They take you past endless abandoned mines and shacks.... so as I was riding in the neighborhood I noticed all these multi-million dollar houses. There are tons of these in Summit County. The crazy thing is about 5% of them are owner-occupied. The rest are people's vacation homes. I would love to see their full-time homes because the vacations homes are rediculous. I'm going to start posting some pics of some of them. I noticed one of them today with copper gutters and down-spouts, then I rounded the corner and it had a copper garage door.

It was a pleasant ride with a couple short efforts thrown in to open the legs for this weekend of racing. I'm headed back into town on the shoulder of the road when I hear this diesel truck behind me honking. I can tell he is pissed because I am riding on "his" road. Out of instinct I throw up the wave. He screams a few vulgarities at me and I motion for him to pull over. I've done this a number of times in the past and have not gotten any takers. They usually return the wave and drive off. He pulls over and we exchange pleasantries.
He tells me that I am supposed to ride on the sidewalk. I try to convince him that, that is rediculous and it is not a bike path and tell him that he wouldn't know what a bike path looked like because I can tell you don't ride a bike... we don't get anywhere with the conversation............more pleasantries and he drives off with a final "blow me"..... which I say "you'd like that"... he is too flustered from the comment and throws a final "F#%k You" out for good measure. Now the sidewalk was clearly not a bike path and was super twisty with curbs everywhere.

Some day I'll get beat-up, but until then the bird will fly.

For those with Crank Brothers Candy Pedals. Here is some advice. Make sure that the rubber on the sole of your shoe is almost on the same plane as your cleat. For some reason the pedals will not engage or disengage properly if they there is too much rubber sole above the cleat. When I first got the pedals, I hated them because I couldn't get out when I needed to, which in cross is critical. Hitting a barrier at full-speed with your shoe stuck in the pedal sucks. I take a razor blade/utility knife and shave the area shown in red. You can almost hear my cleats on the pavement when I walk. But, my pedals engage and disengage smooth as silk. Don't worry about shaving the entire sole, just the area around the cleat. You will not notice it when you are walking on them...

Attached is a picture showing you where you need to shave. There isn't a cleat in this picture, but imagine if there was one.

Here is some info from Crank bros
I'm having difficulty clipping into the pedals.
Many mountain bike shoes have thick, variable tread. This can make it difficult to clip into some pedals. If you are having difficulty clipping into Crank Brothers pedals, try using the shims provided with the pedals and cleats. The shim is a thin plastic wafer that goes under the cleat. It pushes the cleat out from the shoe sole to allow easier engagement with the pedal. If this does not work, try slightly trimming the shoe tread (in the contact area only). Use a sharp blade or sanding wheel, and please go a little at a time. The tread should make contact with the pedal, but not so much that the tread compresses (which causes difficulty clipping in).

German authorities secured samples of former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich's DNA when they raided his Swiss residence Wednesday, according to a report released Thursday.

Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung said in an advance release of its Friday edition that authorities plan to compare the German rider's DNA with frozen blood seized at a Madrid clinic as part of a doping investigation that forced Ullrich and eight other riders to withdraw from this year's Tour.

FULL STORY

Can you imagine living like this? Your house getting raided anytime they want to... getting tested anytime they want to test you...getting your DNA tested without your consent.

I can't believe my eyes. For so many years I was solo B-Wood rocker on the CX scene. I remember many cold & wet nights "racing" myself at the local park. Last year, a few others joined me and SuperStar, the most un-selfish rider I've ever known, helped me win cyclcross rider of the year & the state championships in the 35+ Open. The guy will absolutely destroy himself to support you, even it it means having to drop out of the race to do it.

I move away and the B-Wood CX team blows up. Take a look at this group shot of a week night training race.

"I would have preferred to win the Tour de France, but if I can win this Vuelta, it will be very important," said Vinokourov, who raced like an icy assassin in his first day in the leader's jersey. "I told the team this morning, the best defense is to attack. I had good legs and I could see Valverde wasn't on his best day."

FULL STORY

I was doing hot-laps at the Breck Nordic Center on the cross bike, when I came screaming down this hill and right about waist height was this burly metal cable right accross the path.. I locked up the wheels and laid it down within inches of it. They are working on putting in a gondola at Breck. I guess that was what was going on. This was the 2nd time that I almost died this week. Saturday I was ripping around on my dirt bike and around this corner comes screaming 2 other dirt bikes. I went into the ditch to avoid them...Then on my way back home the same thing happened when I passed them again. The crazy ski bum dudes were on these mini bikes ripping around with no helmets.

Cycling Insight is a Podcast covering the world of professional cycling. Hosts Barry "Bazzman" Evans-Turner and Maxwell "Hutch" Hutch apply their hard hitting and controversial commentary style to weekly wrap-ups of races, in depth reviews of major events, interviews with big name professional cyclists, and reviews of the latest cycling gadgets and gear.

This has to be one of the greatest podcasts I've ever heard. Download at their site. Or search for "Cycling Insight" on iTunes.

---The U.S. teams for the road races and time trials at the cycling world championships have been announced. The races are scheduled for Salzburg, Austria, on Sept. 19-24.

Elite men time trial: Chris Baldwin, Dave Zabriskie
Elite men road race: Chris Baldwin, Chris Horner, Tyler Farrar, Patrick McCarty, Danny Pate, Fred Rodriguez, Jackson Stewart, Guido Trenti, Christian Vande Velde.
Elite women road race: Kim Anderson, Kristin Armstrong, Kimberly Baldwin, Amber Neben, Tina Pic, Christine Thorburn.
Elite women time trial: Kristin Armstrong, Amber Neben, Christine Thorburn.

"I've never experienced anything like that before. It was perhaps even more special because the beginning of the race was such a disaster," said Danielson, who's jumped from 12th to sixth overall in two days. "So many people lost faith in me and so many people said ‘Tom can't do it, Tom can't handle the pressure,' so many people doubted me."

FULL STORY

Brent and I have hit most of the races this year. I can always count on him to show up.... Now where did all my other teammates go?

Yep... another reason to move to the mountains. Summit County ranks #7 for life expectancy. I'm living smack dab in the middle of Summit County.

The 25 counties with the highest and lowest life expectancy, according to a study in the online science journal PLoS Medicine:

Highest life expectancy by County (CO rocks the top 7 spots)
Clear Creek, Colo. 81.3
Eagle, Colo. 81.3
Gilpin, Colo. 81.3
Grand, Colo. 81.3
Jackson, Colo. 81.3
Park, Colo. 81.3
Summit, Colo. 81.3

Stay Away from SD
Lowest life expectancy
Washabaugh, S.D. 66.6
Todd, S.D. 66.6
Shannon, S.D. 66.6

According to Skibby, " those places in SD are on the Indian Rez, also ranked as the poorest counties in the US..."
FULL STORY
FULL STORY 2

Yep.. you heard it first here. Big bro is engaged. It only took 39 years, but it's going down.

The family is super stoked. I've always looked up to my big bro. When I was little I always wanted to tag along and for the most part he let me. I'll never forget when I was in HS, and he was as well. My parents left us for 2 weeks as they went to Europe. Jeff decided to have a 2 week party at the house of Wah. He had a huge one that will go down in the legends at Mound Westonka. He was crazy in HS. If you met him now, you would never know it. I don't think he has drank a beer in over 10 years and he goes to bed at 9:00. In college I even was him for a year... I "found" his birth certificate and brought it over the border into WI and conveniently got a WI state ID with it. Instantly at 19, I was 21. Thanks bro. Sorry mom and dad, but a college kid has to do what a college kid has to do. After college and up to a couple years ago he ruled the bike world either winning or podiuming every race he did. One year we were both living in Breckenridge in a studio apt with bunk beds and a hot plate and microwave. I would party and roll home and he would wake up and win bike races. A couple summers we traveled all over Colorado doing the Colorado Off-Road Point Series. This was when mountain bike racing was HUGE. He dominated the series and won the over-all and also won the summit and vail series. It was awesome to watch him on the climbs. He would just drop everyone. He then moved back to MN and ruled the dirt there with a few podiums at that little race known as Chequamegon. He is the main reason I switched to road racing. I knew that I could never compete on the dirt with him around. He never got into the road or cross racing. Thankfully for me, so I still had a chance. I've only beat him twice at anything. Once was a crit, which he did on his mountain bike and the other time was a cyclocross race.

Keep the dream alive Jeffrey. Rock it bro. We're all stoked for ya.

o get a greater sense of motorist-bicyclist interactions, a researcher named Dr. Ian Walker put his body on the line and went out on his bicycle, armed with a ultrasound distance meter. Now, having been passed by motorists over 2,500 times and hit twice, he reached the conclusion: drivers passed closer to a cyclist that was wearing a helmet.

read more | digg story

I bet you don't know how important is water for your health, figure and well-being. But sipping water from fancy bottles is not just a trend, it's essential! Everything your body does it does better with a healthy supply of water, every system in your body depends on water. So here are 10 reasons why drinking water is good for you.

read more | digg story

I just got done doing quick start intervals over lunch... the temp is up to 60 and it's a blue bird day, not a cloud in the sky. Being ready to GO from the gun in cross is critical. My body does not like that kind of abuse. I like to roll for 5-10mins and gradually get the HR up, then I can rock. I'm trying to train my body to do something it does not like - to be ready to GO from the gun through quick start intervals. From a complete stop hammer as hard as you can for the 1st 15 seconds, then sit for 30 seconds. Rest a minute and repeat. My HR was going down to 110 prior to the intervals and going up to 180 after 45 seconds..This is a good sign. If your HR is not going down rapidly after the interval, you are over-trained or you've done too many intervals in this session.

The temp when I left my house today was 29. The thing I love about Summit County summers is that it warms up to the 70s during the day and cools down at night to around 40 or so, so sleeping is awesome. No need for AC up here. But, as fall rolls around high 20s/low 30s are common at night which makes the morning commute a little chilly. From Breck to Farmer's Corner it is in the shade and cold, but from Farmer's Corner to Silverthorne you are treated by the warm sun. It will warm up to 60+ today, so the lunch ride and ride home will be toasty.

I ran into local celebrity/neighbor & fellow crossniac Tim Faia. He does the mountain bike trail report on the local radio station. Yep, they actually have a trail report on the radio up here. Listening to the local radio is pretty funny. They cover last night's softball games, local mountain bike series, river reports for fishing and rafting and the trail report. Can you imagine Tommy B starting the morning show with the mountain bike trail report? "I was riding the river trails last night and they are in rippin shape." Anyway, Tim communtes every day from Breck to Frisco for work. Today he was taking Peaks Trail to work. Peaks Trail is a mountain bike trail that runs from Breck to Frisco. How many of you can say that you can ride singletrack to work?

Two of Lance Armstrong’s eight teammates from the 1999 Tour de France have admitted for the first time that they used the banned endurance-boosting drug EPO in preparing for the race that year, when they helped Armstrong capture the first of his record seven titles.

“There are two levels of guys,” Andreu said. “You got the guys that cheat and guys that are just trying to survive.”

The other rider who said he used EPO spoke on condition of anonymity because he said he did not want to jeopardize his job in cycling.

“The environment was certainly one of, to be accepted, you had to use doping products,” he said. “There was very high pressure to be one of the cool kids.”

FULL STORY

Saturday my plan was to do the Gore Pass road race on Saturday. I awoke and looked out the window and it had snowed above tree line and it was raining... I went back to bed. Race reports from the day included rain, snow & sleet. Good thing I stayed in bed. If it was early season I probably would have gone... but after a long hard season the road motivation is lacking... Cyclcross on the other hand is made for rain, snow & sleet.

Our beloved Laska had a close call this weekend. We were headed to Target on Saturday to pick up some Glucosamine tablets for Laska. The doctor had her on some chewable ones, but they had beef in them and she is alergic to beef. We made a brief stop at my work and left Bode and Laska in the car. The thing about Bode is that he is only 1 and if you leave anything remotely interesting in the car he will chew it up...Apparently the 1/2 bottle of chewable glocosamine tablets was too much for them to resist. When we came out of my office the bottle top was chewed off and most of the tablets were gone...We sort of laughed it off and didn't think that the over-dose of tablets would hurt them.. We went to Target and got some more tablets and headed home. On the way home Laska decided to throw-up in the car. When we got home she drank about 2 gallons of water and threw-up again.. about 1/2 hour later she started shaking and foaming at the mouth. It was pretty scarry. I've had her for about 11yrs and was not ready to let her go. We rushed her to the vet and he gave her the $200 after hours weekend special once over and said she would be fine... The next day she was race ready again...

I'm sure there will be a lot of coverage and blogging the events that happened on this day. For most, this is a day not to remember. But for me and my lady, it is a day to celebrate. Today marks 2 years of married bliss. We decided on this day for a couple of reasons: 1) my parents own Mantrap Lodge and are booked pretty much all summer and we wanted to have our wedding there... 2) we wanted to make 911 into something more then just a bad memory. You should have seen all of the crazy looks we got when we told people that we were getting married on 911.

So, I'm the luckiest guy around to have found my soul-mate. I hear so many stories and comments from people about "I need to check with my wife", oh "my wife would never let me do that", etc.... My wife supports me 110% in all of my crazy endeavors. She left her support system and family to move 1,000 miles away to the mountains of Breckenridge. There are days when that city girl says to me "I feel like a bumpkin. She went from a loft in downtown minneapolis to living in Breckenridge with a population of around 2,700 people. She's a city girl and needs her Starbucks and an occassional mall now and then. But, she is adapting slowing but surely to the mountain lifestyle. What I love most about her is that she supports my bike racing. She goes to 90% of my races and will stand out in the snow, sleet and hail to give me a hand-up in a cyclocross race and will do hand-outs for my teammates as their wifes "have better things to do" then stand in the cold and wet of a cross race...

K2 Hippy Stinx..Greatest name for a tele ski. Just picked up a pair and I'm mounting some Bishop Bombers on them and pushing them with some T1s... Should be a rippin in-resort set-up.

Sunday was the last ACA race of the year the Swanky's Classic not too swanky or classic. Basically an office park crit. It is put on by HART though.. Hauling Ass Racing Team. They even have the mud-flap girl on their kits. I have not done too many crits lately and have only been focusing on cyclocross training the past 3 weeks so I didn't know what to expect. I lined up and they announced tons of primes and they even did a "hot lap" prime. $20 and some beer for the 1st lap.. I didn't go for it as the legs were not warm yet. I went for a 2 place prime and got nipped on the line by Wonder Boy Phinney, who subsequently won the race. I only had one teammate, Brent who has been rockin the results lately. He rocked 3rd today. My race wasn't very exciting. I was sitting pretty with 1 lap to go, 4th wheel. Then we got swarmed and I didn't have the desire or ambition to squeeze it and elbow my way through. After having raced 3's and 35+ races this year I'm torn on what I should be racing. I like racing with the 3s because there is a lot of attacking and the fields are huge and sometimes Brent and I actually have a full team of guys... But, the biggest negative is 1/2 the time people are corner diving or swerving or doing something stupid so I'm on edge the whole race. Now the 35+ races I've done, I've felt comfortable the whole time. The old guys are smooth and fast and keep the pace up and just don't take the risks or stupid moves that some of the 3's do. Maybe I'm loosing my edge. I used to love the risks and danger of crits and my adrenaline rocked. In Minnesota it was different because I knew everyone in the races and had ridden with them for years so I knew who to ride with and to stay away from. In CO, I have only ridden with these guys this year and don't know their skills or lack of skills. Next year I'm not sure what I will do. It will depend on how many teammates we recruit.

Latest VeloNews reports Colorado #2 for number of registered amateur racers and #2 for percentage of amateur riders vs. state population. Minnesota is not in the top 10. California ranks as #1.

Above is a pict of me sprinting it out with Boy Wonder Phinney. It may be a good shot to show my kid when Phinney makes it to the Tour.

What's your problem? It's my favorite cycling disipline.... and it's been around for over 100 years. What's your excuse?

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Stolen from Smither's website.

Smithers is a big honcho with Time and was at the US Pro Championships last week.

Erik Saunders made a great point during dinner last night.

Cycling, like any sport at the professional level, is not necessarily a healthy activity. A case can be made that it is actually unhealthy. Pro athletes are training their body to be able to do something that it does not want to do. It's not natural. Hormone levels go up and down, riders are constantly at risk for sickness and injury.

It could be argued that a drug program to keep pro athlete hormone and blood levels on a more even keel might actually allow them to live a healthier life.

Drug use in sport has such a stigma about it. People who really don't know what they are talking about say that pro cyclists should only ride clean when some support might be healthier for these guys.

It's not a black and white issue.

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I do believe that we as cyclists are training our body to do something that it does not want to do. I think there is a point in your cycling career where you push your body over that fine line. My line was crossed about 8-10 years ago. At that point I decided to put together a structured traning program and not just ride hard when I felt like it. I began to race 2-3 times a week, train 10-20hrs a week and take maybe 10-20 days off the bike all year. I became obsessed with the sport and training and moving up categories and winning races only deepens that "fine line". Without supplements I don't think I would have had the success that I have had and I don't think my body would have held up as well as it has. I don't think I have the physiological make up of a true cyclist, so I have to train harder then most and trick my body into thinking it has the "right stuff".....My list of "preferred" supplements: hammer gel, heed, recoverite, & various e-caps, Cytosport Muscle Milk in the morning and prior to bed, Compex to help recovery, and Lunesta because I have sleeping issues when the training intensity goes up. Luckily I've been able to secure a sponsorship from E-Caps. And, Compex used to be a client of an ad agency that I used to work for, so I got a really good deal on it. The Lunesta I'm working with my insurance to try to get them to cover it.

My list may seem long for an amature bike racer, so you can only imagine what the pros are taking.

Last night I counted 4 bike racers living on my street. Our street is about the same length as a city block. Now if you counted both sides of the street in your tally of bike racers, 4 would be a pretty good number... but I'm only counting those on my side of the street, not accross the street. How many bike racers live on your block? As far as the neighborhood goes, I have not met everyone yet, but the number of racers in the hood has to be a record as far as neighborhoods go.

Rated R Magic... But worth a look.

Last night on my ride home from work in the middle of a cruise interval, I was minding my own business riding on the shoulder of Dillon Dam Road. Bear in mind that I was not riding the bike path, because doing intervals on this section of the path just does not work because it is too twisty and turny and around every corner is a tourist waiting to take you out. From behind comes a blue truck honking like an idiot. He had tons of room to pass and didn't even need to move out of the lane to get around me.. I threw up the cyclist wave and continued with the interval...A minute later he slams on his brakes and comes to a screaching stop...Now, I'm not a big guy but I keep going with the interval and I'm about to go around his truck when he speeds off and he returns the wave.

Back in Mpls the wave was given out more frequently because there are more people driving the roads that I used to ride and riding the bike paths for any long distance wasn't an option. But here I'm down to about 1 wave a week.

Check out the new poll and let me know with what frequency you are waving at people.

Hardly..... Except for the Keystone Climax, my lady and I enjoyed being home for a change. After traveling most of the Spring and Summer to bike races and with the up-coming cross season, it was nice to stay in town.... Saturday I got the fatties put on the Suzuki and they also pulled out the baffle in the muffler, so now it looks and sounds like a "real" dirt bike. It was pretty funny.. the guy noticed that I had on a mountain bike T-shirt, so he went into this long explanation of how dirt bikes, carburetors, and sprokets relate to lack of O2 with mountain bike racing...Anywhere else, and bike racing would be so far off the typical motor-head repair place's radar that they would think you were a freak for actually wanting to pedal anything when you had a perfectly good motorcycle.

Saturday afternoon we hit Copper Country. My work gave me 2 tixs to it. We do some business with Copper Mountain so they threw some swag our way. We rolled there on the Tiger.
It was a typical blue bird Colorado day. 75 and sunny. We got there just as Big & Rich was playing. They were actually pretty entertaining live and the venue was pretty small so you cold get pretty close...The best part about the show was seeing Cowboy Troy and Two Foot Fred The guy is actually 2-feet tall and super funny. If you have the chance to see them free, I recommend it.

Mountain States Cup Keystone Climax

There has been some talk locally about me moving up to Expert after winning the local series title. I’ve had some success locally on the mountain bike, but not at the Mountain States Cup series, which is THE mountain bike series for Colorado. It is one thing to be fast locally in Summit County, but to be fast when the whole state of CO is involved is another story. This year I decided to do the local series, so I could get a good mid-week workout and hopefully bring some technical skills into cyclocross season. I have not raced mountain bikes consistently for over 10 years. And at that time I was in the sport class. I did a couple races in MN a few years ago and got lapped, quit a couple races and all in all hated it. I was terrible and I sold my mountain bike and did not miss it. When I moved back to Summit County I picked up a bike at a swap this winter. My first Mountain States Cup I few over the bars so hard that I lost most of the skin on both knees, both elbows and left hip.. The second Mountain States Cup race I got passed by so many people on the downhills it was ridiculous…. On the local series, I was consistently top 10 and won 2 out of 7 races… Hardly dominating the field to justify moving up. The courses that I did well at were those that involved climbing and not too much technical stuff…. If I would have started the season as an Expert I would have been “in the way” on the downhills and probably would have quit mountain bike racing all together. If you think racing on the road or cyclcross translates to racing mountain bikes, I encourage you do try it…. It does not translate at all… Just because you win a couple races does not mean that you should instantly move up. Another sport rider in town said “I can downhill like a pro, but climb like a beginner” – does that mean he should move up? I think I can climb with the experts, but I downhill and get passed by beginners and women… Does that mean I should move up? I’ve lost skin on both knees and elbows, gotten stitches in my face and my left hip has 2 nasty scars on it… All from crashes….. My plan is to race expert next year… So quit your whinning and ride your bike more… Or as Skibby says, SHUT UP AND RIDE!

The Report

I have not touched the mountain bike for over 2 weeks. I’ve been focusing on cyclocross training, so I didn’t know what to expect….Race time was 8:00 am. I got up at 4:30 and downed my protein drink, oatmeal and bagel and then went back to bed until 6:30… I am a huge believer in eating 3 hours prior to a race. The temp when I awoke was 30 degrees. I knew that if I went to the race and tried to warm up there it just wasn’t going to work…..so I hopped on my trainer at home and warmed up… I got to the race 20 mins before it started and my plan was to just go to the line and GO…. Course description: neutral roll-out, to a long dirt road climb, to a single track climb, back to dirt road climb, to a flat-ish singltrack section, to downhill road section, to super technical downhill singletrack… Repeat. They brought us down the downhill course.. I don’t know how beginners can roll down that stuff. I’d like to get my lady into racing, but she would never go down some of the stuff we have to ride…OK, I line up front-row behind the 4-wheeler and we roll out on the road and hit the dirt road climb. The bike feels strange because I have not ridden it for such a long time. We hit the climb and it is a shock this early in the morning… I settle in around 6th or so and inside feel like I don’t have a chance at the W. Gradually the legs warm-up and I get into a rhythm and pass a couple people. The leader is killing it and opening a large gap. The first section is very steep and I find that I can’t really go any faster then anyone and can’t stand up to hammer because my back wheel will spin out… Finally it flattens a bit and I stand and make some efforts and get to 3rd.. We hit the single track climb and I just stick to #2’s wheel… We hit the road again and I know what I have to do. My LT is 175 and I’m climbing at 165ish. I stand up and hammer every 2-3 minutes and close the gap to 1st. I suck wheel for a minute and again stand up and hammer every chance I can… It seems like most of the people that I’ve been racing with this year can’t pick up the pace like I can.. We climb about the same speed, but when I get up and put the hammer down they can’t respond.. Are they not doing intervals? I’m passing other cats that started before me and we hit the flat-ish singletrack and I let a couple people by, then we hit the super technical downhill and I let a couple more people by… The downhill is insane, I’m white-knuckled the whole time with anticipation of the over the bars Wah move… but it never happens and I’m rewarded again with a long climb… I repeat what I did on the first lap and stand up every 2-3 minutes and pass the dudes that passed me on the downhills and pass more cats who started before me. I feel bad about passing the beginners on the singletrack climbs, but I don’t have a choice.. I need to continue to put in time before the singltrack sections.. I hit the flat-ish singletrack and let one guy by, hit the nasty final downhill and actually pass two people and roll in for the W.. I got to stand on the top spot on an atual podium, so that was pretty cool...My mountain bike season is complete. I’ve won the local series title and finally won a Mountain States Cup… Now, I will upgrade and get spanked….

How do you miss a turn and crash in the USPRO time trial? And how do you lose to big Z when he is not wearing a radio, has no team support and is sporting the aero beard? "I didn't have a radio, so I told the guys to honk the horn if it was close," Zabriskie said. "They started honking on one of the climbs, so I started digging as deep as I could go, but I didn't want to explode. When I started going up the hills they began honking a lot, but it went okay."

Zabriskie is my new favorite bike racer after listening to his audio blog.

EuroBike