Moving Forward in 2011...

Welcome back everyone, it has been awhile. I hope everyone's holiday season was good, mine was well, busy to say the least. During the 3 weeks surrounding Christmas and the New Year I went and worked 22 out of 23 days. Not necessarily long days but enough to feel like the work never stopped. New Year's Eve this year was brutally cold at a whopping -10 degrees outside. Danielle and I went to the new Yeti's Grind location in the Solaris building at Vail for a little while and we finished the night at Pazzo's to watch the ball drop a second time. If you haven't been to the new Yeti's location check it out! Amesome layout and design with some great woodwork done by Jake Wells and Courtney Gregory.

Winter training is in full swing now with a steady mix of home trainer sessions, weight training at Dogma and a weekly computrainer session at Dogma with Jake Wells and crew. The legs definitely feel like they are getting stronger, as last Saturday I took a full day out in Vail on the skis and the tree runs never got the best of me. What a beautiful day it was with sunny blue skies and mild temps with no wind. Here is a picture of the conditions just before we dropped into the Minturn Mile to finish the day.

Everything has been coming together nicely for the 2011 MTB race season. Just got our new kits designs a couple weeks ago and while I cannot show them yet since they are in "proof" form, off to Sugoi to get made, I will say as soon as I get my finished product I will post pics right away. I am sure glad to be going back into the good ole' Black, Red, and White color scheme again. My new S-Works shoes came in along with the new tires I ordered through Specialized. What a difference going to a carbon sole, no more wasted power on the pedals. Plus, the BOA Lacing System fits like a glove.

I only have a few more things to order for the race season and I will be fully stocked. Two of those items I am super excited to try are the new 2011 Ergon GS Series grips (pictured left), and my new Stan's Crest Wheelset. The new GS Series grips by Ergon with add to their already  proven race line-up, as a marathon friendly grip. These new grips will feature 3 distinct rubber compounds to give the rider differing densities to work with on those ultra-endurance races and rides. All this while keeping weight to a minimum. The GS series offers the standard no bar end design as well as 3 types of bar end models ranging from Carbon to a composite setup with rubber inserts for added grip. Another new product being added to the Ergon lineup is a full set of gloves designed to work seamlessly with their grips. HUGE Thank You to Ergon International for making Bach Builders one of their Ergon Factory Racing Team's for the 2011 season!

From Stan's No Tubes, another Bach Builders sponsor company, I ordered a new Crest rim based wheelset to lighten things up a bit and strengthen my tubeless tire setup. I have been using Stan's tubeless conversion rim strips for the past season and they have worked fantastic. Just be sure you buy tires with some stronger sidewalls and beads. The new Crest rim is built at a fly weight while giving the rider a 21mm rim width to improve tire traction with wider tires. Throwing in this wheelset with my new S-Works tires and the race rig should be down below 23 lbs, which to me is pretty light for a strong full suspension ride. Using the Stan's ZTR hubs I am able to keep the 15mm front thru axle and 12mm rear thru axle setups on my Yeti ASR Carbon.

It sounds like several people from Eagle County are heading to Tuscon, AZ to race in the 24 Hours of Old Pueblo in February. Good luck to all you racers, I am jealous of some good mid-February riding.

For some racers looking for sponsorship this season, check out Honey Stinger's new grassroots program called "The Hive". It is good to see companies that support racing and the growth of mountain biking promote programs such as this. With the program, you will be entitled to product and merchandise discounts. Just another great way to take your racing to the next level.

Another shout out has to go to Primal Wear as they have just signed on as a gold sponsor of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association. They have just committed to providing $300K worth of custom cycling apparel to the program over the next 3 years. Read more about it here: 300K to NICA