The End of Another Season

Well, as I sit here, indoors, because it is currently snowing outside, I figured today would be a good time to jump back into the blog.

July 9th - Last blog post. It's been quite awhile since I last wrote here but it's time to get back to business. Looking back on the season, I have truly found a new love for a different type of discipline in racing that suits my natural talents and abilities. For 2011, I had decided to venture into a more endurance distance race format, even though previously my longest race to date was about 32 miles. I had no clue how a season of long races would affect me...

My urge to just get out and ride for hours on end was just what I needed. Last year, I stacked my race season full of 1-2 hour races with some short track ones thrown in for good measure. At the end of the season, I had felt as though I was more concerned with keeping up with faster riders, comparing my times to theirs, and failed to see my own progress. Moving up to the Cat 1 field in the Fall was definitely the right move. As it allowed me to get a taste of where I needed to be, how much I needed to train, and which segments of a race I had to improve upon for the upcoming season. It also allowed me to tap into some longer races in preparation for a season of long courses.

Through the help of Curt Nash and Jake Wells at Dogma Athletica, I was able to develop a much more consistent and stronger fitness level than the previous year leading into my first few races of the season. This was evident during my first race of the season in Prescott, AZ. 50 miles and a lot of climbing for April; just 17 days after throwing the skis into the storage closet for the summer.

The Whiskey Off-Road in Prescott, AZ. A great race, event, and venue which I will head back to again next year. Moving forward through the season I jumped in last minute for the Front Range 60 Half Marathon and then finished May off with the Gunnison Growler. 64 miles of the smoothest, yet still technically demanding singletrack around. Gunnison was really a turning point for me when I started to realize that this longer race format was a solid choice. For me, racing for 7 hours felt no different than a 1 hour race from a fatigue level.

You see, in a long distance format, I find it easier to take in all aspects of the event. I'm not just out there to hold onto the wheel of the guy in front of me for an hour or so. I have time to take in the whole journey, enjoy the course, and finish satisfied because I conquered the course. Yes, others will be faster that day, as others will be slower. But the best part is that when it's all said and done, you walk away completing something amazing. While podium results are great, disappointment from defeat I found was elevated in shorter distance races, working in a counter-productive manner towards my goal.

Another aspect of endurance racing I enjoy is how much more various factors play essential roles in finishing strong including Nutrition, Comfort, and Product Performance. Here are some of our sponsors that continually provide us with the keys to obtaining successful results:

Nutrition - Infinit Nutrition made replenishment during a race simple. You can build your own formula, choose from pre-built formulas, or take a survey to help guide you into creating the perfect blend of essential energy ingredients to get the job done. Their product eliminates the need for bars, gels, chews, or anything else that in essence, just becomes too much to coordinate while racing your bike. Even taste buds are factored into the formula because you can choose between 3 different flavors as well as the intensity of the flavor in your mix. It tastes great cold as well as warm, so you don't have to worry about getting fresh bottles to ease your stomach. Infinit also makes a great pre-race and post-race product called Mud. It is a coffee based drink that can be mixed with water or milk and provides you with a great mix of carbs and protein to get you rolling or refueled. Team Garmin-Cervelo uses them and take a look at their Tour de France results this season... one of the best in the teams history. Fellow teammate of mine Josh Tostado just won his 3rd consecutive 24 Hour Solo National Championship on Infinit. The results speak for themselves.

Comfort - At first, I was skeptical as to how much of a difference a new set of grips could actually make in a race. For me, my grip choice always revolved around which ones offered the stickiest compound so I could attempt to "gain" time on descents. In the grand scheme of things, races are won on the climbs and the flats. I got a set of GX2 Carbon grips from Ergon International this year and this was the first time I was able to see pure results from a grip. It only takes a few rides to find the ideal hand position for descending but the big difference is the other 90% of the ride where the typical numbing of the hands and sore wrists come into play. The GX2 grip (will be the GS2 grip in 2012) allowed me to switch up between 3 distinct hand positions during a ride. For steep climbing, the bar end gave me more leverage on the pedals while applying just enough forward weight to keep the front wheel on the ground. For the flats and gradual climbs, resting my hands at about a 45 degree angle to the sides of the grip while using a couple fingers wrapped around the bar end, relaxed the nerves and blood flow through the hand. Numbing went away and the wrists were always comfortable. A standard grip forces you to maintain a twisted forearm which in the demands of mountain biking, applies a lot of intense pressure on the elbow and wrist joints that are now in a non-natural position. Most of the time, our hands are at our sides almost parallel with our hips. Try walking for a mile with the palm of your hands facing directly forwards or backwards. Uncomfortable, yes? Ergon grips alleviate that incorrect hand posture, including the intense angles at which your wrists are forced to rest against your handlebars. Finally, the grips still offer a traditional style hand position for those times when staying upright matter more than comfort.

Flats and Gradual Climbs

Steep Climbs

Descending

Ergon now has a full line of gloves that are designed to work seamlessly with their grip models and a much anticipated release of new Ergonomic saddles for the Spring of 2012! I definitely look forward to trying those out.

Product Performance - When you throw down almost 2,000 miles on the dirt in a season, it's expected that you'll have to swap some tires, get a new chain, replace a few spokes, etc. The last thing you want to do is replace larger more expensive components. This was my first year running a Stan's No Tubes wheelset. I opted for their new Crest rim featuring a wider profile to allow for users to run larger volume tires  and benefit from increased tire profile/tread contact. All of this equates to greater efficiency and traction. Coming from years of relying on Easton hubs, the Stan's house brand hubs had a lot to live up to. Despite the common notion of "the lighter you get, the weaker the structure", my Stan's wheel set has lived up to the hype. Besides changing one tire due to tread wear, I have run the same tire all season for 8 months through sand, mud, rock gardens, and streams without ever getting a flat. Even with a small dent in the Crest rim for half the season, the flawless design in their BST technology with Stan's tire sealant has kept me rolling through anything that comes in my way. Last year, a fast flat change on a thru-axle rear hub cost me 6+ minutes. 6 minutes could sometimes contain half the field you're racing in which could make or break your race. The other great aspect of the rim design and sealant is it allows the rider to choose a tougher line because you don't have to worry about pinch flats and sidewall scrapes. Yes, if you literally slice your sidewall open, you're going to get a flat. Stan's can't fix that and neither can you except by replacing the tire. Although the price of their house brand hubs are very economical (not a bad thing), their performance and maintenance are as good as the high end brands. Upon disassembly of my freewheel, I was pleasantly surprised to see very little contaminants within the freewheel mechanism. The seals work well and their 3 pawl system allows for very consistent and reliable engagement under any circumstances. All around these wheels have kept me rolling all season long. Even after a few broken spokes, the rims are still true.

All three of these product sponsors helped improve my season so much and I can't thank you guys enough! Through the support of Bach Builders and our sponsors, the remainder of the season led myself and fellow teammate Eric Rubottom to a 4th place finish in the 12 Hours of Snowmass Mens Duo category. The course was 8 miles in length but provided a daunting 1800 feet of climbing per lap which by the 6th lap had my legs screaming. We sat around 5th all day long just a few minutes behind 4th, but when the 3rd place team fell back to 4th they sat up and did not go out on their 11th lap. We did not find this out until after the finish of the race, but something had told me to go out and finish my 6th lap even though we didn't see any chance of improving placement. This scenario brings me back to the beginning and proves what I love about endurance racing. Upon starting my 6th lap, I was only racing the course itself as well as myself for the pure satisfaction of conquering my goals. Had I been racing only to follow the wheel ahead of me, I probably wouldn't have gone out for lap time that seemed unattainable.

With maybe a few smaller races to finish off the remaining sunny days this season, I look forward to riding with Bach Builders again next season. Let the training begin!

TMP
P.S. - We're going to try and get this blog rolling on a more consistent basis again so please, feel free to come with me on this journey! Thanks

Firecracker 50 - Happy 4th of July

On the 4th of July Danielle and I headed to Breckenridge for the annual Firecracker 50 race. It consists of two 27 mile laps all well above 9,000 feet. Typically right at 50 miles, due to high snowpack levels this year race organizers had to re-route a couple sections stretching the course length to around 54 total miles. Word on the street was the extra 4 miles were definitely felt by the legs.

Danielle rode in the Duo Team category with fellow Team High Maintenance rider Jen Sewell. Eagle County had a whole slew of riders including Jay Henry, Paul Gorbold, Jerry Oliver, Courtney Gregory, Alex Coleman, Cody Downard, and Ciro Zarate to name a few. Last year I rode as a team with Nate Picklo but this year was the first attempt at the solo division.

In typical fashion, the race begins right downtown on Main St in Breckenridge with a neutral lead out starting off the 4th of July Parade. It's actually quite a unique and exciting experience for all the riders who don't usually get to ride through a group of 1,000+ spectators cheering them on as they begin the race. We started off at 9:30am and the heat was out already. No clouds in the sky and the sun was shinning.

My forearm about an hour after impact. It took about 4 hours
for feeling and movement to come back.

My division (CAT 1 19-29) took off with the 30-34 and 35-39 groups so as expected, the pace was a bit faster than I am used to. I hung on to the lead group for about the first 2 miles just before the paved road started getting pretty steep. As I fell off the back, I settled into my long distance pace and was pleasantly surprised to see two other guys in my category settle in with me. As we hit the singletrack, those guys were already struggling to hold a pace so I took off a bit once we hit the shaded, contouring one-track over to Sallie Barber Mine. I was a bit excited that part of the course re-route took out a steep section only a few miles in, to the Iowa Mill area. At about 6 miles into the race I started the fast but narrow descent down "Nightmare of Baldy". If you do not pay full attention on this descent the slightest mistakes can be costly. For me... it was. As I shot through the trees I suddenly felt an immediate shock of pain through my right forearm. It didn't take off the bike, luckily, but when I looked down briefly to check out the damage. A lump the size of a half a golf ball formed and then the cramping set in. I smacked the main nerve in my forearm on a tree. I made it to the bottom of the descent and stop for a few minutes to see if the conditions would improve. They did not. At this point, I couldn't hold a tight grip on the handlebars, let alone squeeze the brake lever... and I still had 47 miles to go. I told the medics that I was heading back to the start/finish area. It was a hard decision mainly because my legs were feeling great and I felt I was already in a good position to do really well but it was not worth taking some big risks on injuring myself more with limited handling ability.

Jen Sewell was the first one out on course for lap 1 and by the time 3 hours had passed, we started to worry about her progress. A few minutes later we had heard that a rider was down on course and needed medical attention. Danielle came over and told me they mentioned the riders name was Jen. Our hearts sank as we tried to ask around to find out further what had happened. By the time we had confirmed that the rider was in fact Jen, all he had known is that she was on her way to Frisco Hospital by ambulance. Using a typical "ghost rider" rule, Danielle was able to start her lap and the final result would just be a doubled second lap time. Clouded by thoughts of Jen's condition and a few unknown obstacles out on course, I was a little worried about Danielle and her concentration on course. When she had mentioned last year that she wanted to do the Firecracker course, there was one section that I felt was a little dangerous due to its consistent exposure on the left hand side with added tricks on the right in the form of downed trees and rocks that kept you on your toes. A small mistake here and a rider could be rolling for quite awhile or risk playing dangerously with spiked fallen trees. After just over 3 hours, we saw Danielle coming down the final switchbacks to the finish. Her time was good enough for their team to finish up in 6th out of 12 teams despite Jen's injury.

Danielle came over to us and immediately told us she almost ended up in the emergency room as well. On the exact section of the Flume Trail that I was worried about, she did manage to crash with minimal damage. A rider who was behind her at the time of crash had a helmet cam on and caught the scary moment on video. Below is the video. Notice how lucky she was to fall in somewhat of an open area whereas 5 feet forward or behind would have resulted in absolute carnage.

We later found out that Jen was alright and was already back at the venue by the time Danielle finished. On a steep ascent up Little French, she fell over awkwardly and suffered a deep laceration to her left leg apparently from a rock that required 20 stitches. While at the hospital, Jen had another friend down the hall. Fellow Team High Maintenance rider Kelly Lombardi had sustained what appeared to be a broken ankle on a fall on her lap. Thankfully it turned out to be a bad sprain. 

Overall, Eagle County riders suffered on course this past Monday. We did have a few good rides put in. Jay Henry stayed strong in the second lap to finish only about a minute behind Colin Cares for 2nd place overall in the Pro field. Paul Gorbold managed a top 10 finish in a strong CAT 1 field along with Peter Hinmon and Ciro Zarate finishing strong with impressive times. Jerry Oliver, who was leading the overall CAT 1 divisions at the time broke his rear derailleur ending his race late into lap 1.

Two days later was the 29th annual Davos Dash hill climb as part of the Vail Rec Series. A 3.5 mile climb with just over 1100 feet of climbing makes for one of the toughest, lung bursting events that finish up in just 20 minutes give or take a few. While I felt good, my time was 20 seconds off last years pace. This seemed to be a trend this year all around as most riders were slower that last year. We collectively attributed this to much higher temperatures for the race than last year when it was run in August. Jay Henry won the pro field, while Jake Wells fell to third behind Josiah Middaugh.

Next up is the Breck 68... back at it in Summit County to conquer the course this time, instead of the other way around. 

TMP

Work, Racing, and Bike Lanes

Hey All,
Let's catch up a bit since the Growler. June has fortunately been one of our busiest months of the season at my job so with limited races on deck I took the opportunity to pick up some much needed banquet shifts. After a long Spring closure and Colorado's unemployment process biting me in the A$$, I pretty much needed to make up some cash somehow to get us through the remainder of June. Our fridge took a crap on us and I also had to grab a new one of those from Lowe's. My advice? Stay the course, brush the stress of your back and good things will come. In this two week period, I was able to make a ton of money working banquets, finally got my unemployment payments squared away, and thanks to Danielle's parents for buying us some condo insurance last year, we were able to get a nice check from them to replace our food and fridge! "Good things come to those who wait?" No, good things come to those who wait patiently.

Now, back to the focus of this blog. Cycling...

I've had two Vail Rec Series races since the Growler. "Hammer in the Hay" at 4 Eagle Ranch and "Berry Creek Blast" in Edwards. The Hammer in the Hay course is infamous for a non-stop "hammerfest" with few climbs but a relentless bumpy course thanks to the horse trails the loop is setup on. It did not disappoint. Hurt as usual and the course was extra bumpy to give your hands a test of endurance. Thank God for the Ergon grips that relieved some of the pain. Gave it a good effort, caught people on the one sustained climb per lap but quickly dropped off the back on the long, windy straights. Tyler Eaton had an awesome ride taking 1st in the Mens Expert group. I finished a decent 10th place.

A couple of days before the Berry Creek race, I had a big crash pre-riding the course. Dumb thing was that I tried "having some fun" and taking a line that I would not ride during the race and the trail took advantage of that mistake. Took a line off of a ledge and the landing was a bit harder than expected. Not exactly sure what happened but all I remember was the massive impact on my back and head, then opening my eyes stomach down in the sage brush. Only took a few minutes to catch the breath, check to see if the body was in one piece and finish the descent back to the trailhead. Surprisingly, nothing was broken. Just a damaged rotator cuff and now a week later, my lower spine still hurts. We'll see how it progresses. Wish I had some video for you from that one!

3 days later, I felt good enough to give it a go in the race. Four freakin' laps of Berry Creek... Gave a little bit too much on the first lap and got dropped pretty bad. Lap 2 was slow, but felt revived a bit for laps 3 and 4 to bring back the pace and pass a few guys before the finish. Finished 9th.

Spent this past week watching every stage of the Tour de Suisse. Despite all the rumors, attacks, and banter in the cycling world right now, that was some of the most exciting cycling to watch on television. The stages in the TdS were incredible, from the views, the course profiles, and the non-stop action the riders gave us. Fabian Chancellara's ability to time trial is simply super-human (no motors required). He handles a time trial bike like it's a mountain bike. Everyone questioned Andy Schleck's form on the stages he was "dropped". Take a look at the stages that he pulled... his form is there, he was running some tests by my book. The guy lost his bike during the time trial in the prologue. There was no reason for him to completely blow himself up in an effort to make that time up. Finally, after a courageous effort by Damiano Cunego defending the yellow jersey for most of the Tour, Levi Leipheimer had an outstanding time trial in the final stage to make up a 1:59 gap and win the overall in the Tour de Suisse by 3 seconds. Of course, the masses came out bashing his ability to ride that fast at that age. But take a look again, it's not like he crushed Fabian's time. He is a very strong time trialist and Cunego's performance was less than stellar in the final defense. Cunego looked worked after 9km. Should be an exciting Tour de France for sure. Not trying to play favorites but Levi and Chris Horner could be a force to reckon with. I'm sure Jonathan Vaughters has some tricks up his sleeve with Garmin-Cervelo. I expect an all-around great performance from those guys whether it be sprints, TT's, or climbing stages.

Next race on the schedule is the Firecracker 50 in Breckenridge. Here is a picture in town this morning... We'll see if the snow is cleared in time, especially up Little French.

July gets busy after Firecracker with Davos Dash, Telluride Full Tilt, Vail Grind, followed by the Breck 68 - All within the same 2 week period.

Until next time, get outside, ride your bike, and be sure to stay in the bike lanes...

bike lanes from Casey Neistat on Vimeo.

64 Miles of Fun in Gunnison... almost

This past Memorial Day weekend, Danielle and I headed down to Gunnison, CO for the 4th Annual Original Growler MTB race. The Growler is an event put on by Gunnison Trails and is a fundraiser for their trail advocacy efforts. Led by Dave Wiens, the event has become quite the contest just to get into. This years event sold out in a whopping 8 minutes! Luckily, Danielle and I got in.

We drove down Saturday afternoon and met up with Paul Gorbold and his girlfriend Kaylee to get a little sneak peak ride in the evening before the race. Temps for the weekend were stellar as it never dropped below 45 degrees, even overnight. Our short 10 mile pre-ride was up the singletrack that led us into Lap 2 of the race. Little did we know what we were in for. To say the climb was steep is an understatement. To add to that, the loose granite texture of the trail made tire grip less than optimal to push a hard gear. With a few power move sections we made it to the top and finished the ride off with Rattlesnake and Sea of Sage trails. To the right, Paul starts ascending the steeper part "Backbone". Only about a mile in length, this trail weaved its way around, to the top of all the rocks you see in the background.

As we woke up at 5:30am on Sunday morning, I immediately opened our hotel room door to see what the temps were going to be like for our start. I was pleasantly surprised to feel a calm 50 degree air flow through the room at 6am. Our start at 7am was about 55 degrees making the wardrobe choice very simple... jersey, sleeveless base layer and shorts.

Promptly at 7am, the sound of a double shotgun blast by the Gunnison town mayor, got us rolling through town with a 2 mile neutral rollout to the Hartman Rocks area. One of the coolest things that Danielle and I got to experience in this race was a mass start and the opportunity to ride side by side for the first 8 minutes or so on the race. Given that is was my birthday, it was a nice treat to begin the day of suffering that was to follow. The neutral rollout was anything but "neutral" as our rolling pace hovered around 23 mph for the first 2 miles. By the time we reached the dirt, the lead group of 40 or so riders were already about 1:30 ahead of me, half way up Kill Hill. As we climbed up Kill Hill it was time for me to get up front as much as possible to avoid the backup as we reached the first singletrack section of the course. I caught up to Pete Lombardi at the top of the climb, chatted a bit, then proceeded forward to gain some time.

The riding pace of everyone around me was very good and there was far less backups then I was expecting. We were cruising at a solid pace and I was able to gain some positions on each of the short fire road climbs each time we ducked out of the singletrack. The first major sustained climb came at what I believe is called "Bambi's", was tough but so much fun. I cannot tell you how much fun the singletrack is at Hartman Rocks. After some tree lined singletrack, we finished the climb on some large rock feature thats had a good mix of "walkers" and those that picked the right lines to keep on rolling. I was able to ride with the latter. One of the sections of trail I had not ridden was the Skull Pass loop, which, luckily I had a good rider from the Epic Endurance squad ahead of me who showed my all the right lines on the steep technical descent. I stopped briefly at the aid station out of Skull Pass to refill some bottles and I must say, I am so happy with the quality and taste of my Infinit Nutrition because the "other" sports drink out there was not too pleasing to the palette.

As I raced through the course, I was careful not to go to hard on any sections in an effort to feel somewhat refreshed as I started lap 2. Not quite sure which is mentally easier yet; knowing exactly what the second half of the course entails, or just racing on one big loop. I guess I'll know after the Park City Point to Point race. I rode into the drop bag section at 3:18:08, 34.5 miles into the race, grabbed a new set of bottles and started the ascent of lap 2. A Honey Stinger rider and I decided that hiking most of that initial ascent was right about the same speed as trying to spin easily up it. By the time I hit Josho's on the second lap, my legs felt only slightly fatigued, knowing that the hardest part of the course was out of the way. As I reached the Bambi's climb again, my legs were revived and ready to start hammering again. At this point, I was only about 10 minutes off-pace from the first lap due largely to the much more technical climb at the start of lap two.

Climbing up Skyline on Lap 1 - MountainMoonPhotography

At mile 48 I was steadily rolling as I crossed the 5 hour mark. The confidence from the possibility of an impressive finish time gave the legs the extra energy needed to finish the final 16 miles. Suddenly, something wasn't feeling right in my stomach. With little solid food eaten, it was not an upset stomach, but more like the feeling I used to get running cross-country in High School when you pushed to hard of a pace. I had never felt this on a mountain bike though. By the time I reached the in-bound aid station I stopped to get some water, thinking that maybe a mix of sugar and carbs were cramping the stomach. I was kind of bummed because as I was about to roll out through Skull Pass, fellow Bach Builder Ken Boyer was just coming out of the loop which meant at that time, I was only about 15 minutes behind him. As I started to descend, that is when the pain started to get intense. I got through Skull Pass and back to the aid station in a bit of pain and had to stop and sit for a little while to try and shake it off. Every bump and jolt on the bike send a searing pain through my abdomen. After about 8 minutes of so I got back on the bike and tried riding. It hurt... bad. And there was still 13 miles to go of less flowy, much more technical singletrack.

The next hour or so hurt a lot. Climbs were not too bad but any chance to gain some time on descents I had to crawl along being careful not to hit any bumps to hard. About half way through I almost threw in the towel. The mental game was getting the best of me knowing there was still 8 miles left and I had to pull over to regroup. I can't remember the last time I have cried, but this almost broke me. Not the pain as much, but knowing that the relentless pain was not going to leave me as I chugged along. I cleared my head, ate some solid food and pushed forward.

Turns out the sugar was just what I needed. As I approached the Fenceline (about 5 miles to the finish) the cramps smoothed out and went away. Started hammering again and with no pain my fitness was great leading into the last 2.5 mile section of the course which is typically brutal if your legs are in any way on the verge of cramping. Stopped real quick to be a good fellow racer and gave my CO2 to a walking racer with a flat and proceeded to the finish. Rode through the line at 7 hours, 21 minutes, and 12 seconds good enough for 86th overall in the mens field.

You never know how things will play out in a race with the what if's, and could've done's. After reviewing my Garmin data, the cramping issue resulted in an additional 32 minutes from lap one over the same 9.5 mile section. Granted you will naturally be slower on the second lap, to put my leg fitness into perspective, the last 5 mile section of the course was just over 2 minutes slower than the first lap. I guess my goal of 6:45:00 was right on par in a perfect race... but who ever has a perfect race! What I am able to take out of that race (my longest race to date) was how well my training has paid off to perform in long-distance events. My legs never cramped once and almost always felt refreshed. Even at the finish of the race, they were ready to keep riding. Recovery has also improved dramatically. No sore muscles or fatigued body the day after.

You know who did have the perfect race? Brian Smith (Alpine Orthopedics) took off hot from the start and never looked back. He won with a blistering time of 5:08:55. Paul Gorbold (Street Swell) represented really well with a 15th overall finish time of 5:52:33. Way to go Paul! Jake Wells pulled out early after lap 1 with some tough luck. He mentioned that everything just didn't feel right from the start. Some technical sections were interestingly tough to maneuver and his pace just didn't flow well. Smart decision on his part, it's not worth taking unnecessary risks just to finish with a chance of making some costly mistakes. Ken Boyer finished right around the same time as last year just over 6:30 and when I met up with him, I saw what his hold up (technically not a "hold up" I guess) was... NO front brake what-so-ever! Crazy! Only a few miles into the race and he lost all pressure in his brake line.

64 mile finishers gift!! Mmm, beer!

Danielle (Team High Maintenance) finished up 16th overall out of 33 finishers in the Half Growler with a time of 4:26:07. She was very pleased because her goal was a sub-4:30 finish. She battled with some cramping issues in her legs but rode most of the technical sections with determination. Most important thing she found, is that she can excel in the longer distance races while managing her blood-glucose level with ease.

Thanks again to Bach Builders and our team sponsors: Ergon International, Infinit Nutrition, and Stan's NoTubes for keeping me rolling fast, fueled, and comfortable throughout the race! Also, thanks to my personal sponsor Venture Sports in Avon for getting me on the fastest bike I have ever ridden!

Up next... Teva Mountain Games in Vail, CO!! Saturday, June 4th.

Gunnison Growler Pre-Ride

Yesterday, Danielle and I packed up the bikes and took a little day trip down to Gunnison, CO to give her a little taste of what to expect on May 29th when we race in The Original Growler. While I will be throwing down for the Full 64 mile version, Danielle will be getting out for the half version, a one lap 32 mile course of fast, swooping singletrack that was built through the efforts of Gunnison Trails, the local trail advocacy group founded by Dave Wiens in 2006. The amount of work this group has put into their local trails over the past 5 years is unbelievable and their hard work truly shows. If you haven't been out to the Hartman Rocks Recreation Area, you NEED to get out there now! As stated by Jake Wells after last years race, "Don't ever ride the Original Growler singletrack, because nothing else will ever compare."

Driving over Monarch Pass, just 50 miles East if Gunnison, we were al little worried because it was snowing. The forecast in Gunnison was iffy with chances of rain and thunderstorms in the area. But when we arrived in town, the clouds seemed to part just over the Hartman Rocks area. With the clouds looking menacing to the North over Crested Butte and rain/snow showers clearly hammering Monarch and Wolf Creek, we weren't sure how long the ride would actually last. Geared up for anything, we started our initial ascent up the infamous "Kill Hill", which will hit all riders hard as we start the Growler course. Pictured below, it consists of a steep 10-15% grade for about 3/4 of a mile climbing just under 300 feet.

Trying to find our way around via a printed course map was interesting at first, but thanks to the simple and clear trail signage, we quickly found our way. Gunnison Trails uses a name and number system to mark its trails, and with a simple placard at the start and finish of each trail, navigating by trail map was flawless.

We decided to skip the lap 1 fire road section of the course and climb the lap 2 designated "Rattlesnake" trail. I quickly realized that cleaning this trail would be key to sustaining a consistent pace. It featured some large granite rock formations that all the other riders who were coming "down" the trail seemed to be grinning from ear to ear every time they passed us. We however, were climbing "up" the trail and by climbing, I mean "climbing" by foot. Some steeps were at a pitch that even the shoes were having trouble holding steady. There is going to be some bloody scraped up knees on this trail. Here is one formation which has two options to ride: the center line to descend a steep 12 foot drop and the left-side route to navigate around the rock which Danielle opted for (watch those pedals for the narrow tracking through the rock or you will be walking).

The next section named Josho's, which for lap 1 will be the first taste of singletrack, was oh-so-fun! Fast, smooth singletrack descending into a small valley with minimal technical sections. The thing about the Growler course which is so unique is that it does not lack climbing (about 4,000 feet per lap), rather the course is rolling all throughout with every climb being no more than a few hundred feet at a time. The Whiskey course for example, had a 13 mile 3,000+ foot climb in one shot. These small rises in the Growler course allow riders to enjoy every bit of singletrack thrown at you weather climbing, descending, or playing on the technical rock formations. Pictured above left is an example of some of the small technical features that keep riders attentive to the trail.

We rode the majority of the course, ditching a few fire road sections meant to spread out the field and keep the 32 mile distance factor in the race. After a sweet, short descent into a trail named "Enchanted Forest" due to its random mix of trees and lush green, a welcome change to the sage brush infesting the rest of the course, we jumped into some rolling technical singletrack with names like Dave Moe's, Dirty Sock, Top of the World, and The Ridge.

Here's a pic of me about to clean one of the many "Ups" on the course. Our Bach Builders light-weight wind vests from Sugoi provided the perfect balance of warmth and protection from the consistent 15+mph winds all day. The chamois in our RS Bib Short provides us with enough cushion to ride for hours on end without making you feel like "the new guy" at the local prison after a long day in the saddle.

Danielle taking a break sporting the newly designed kits for Team High Maintenance.

All in all, it was a fantastic day down in Gunnison with no foul weather ever descending upon the Hartman Rocks area. It's going to be a big ole' fashioned throw down on the 29th with all sorts of friends heading down to race including Jake Wells (3rd last year), Tyler Eaton, Ken Boyer, Sara Delano, Ryan Cantrell, Mark Beresniewicz and more. Look for Jake to be gunning for a 1st place finish this year. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Ken and Sara will take podiums their respective age groups, and if Tyler can ward off the cramps on "The Ridge", expect to see some impressive results from him as well.

For me?? Well, my plan is to rise up the rankings as races get longer, so let's shoot for a top 10 finish in my age group. I'm calling it a 6:45:00 finish time. Throw some times for me in the comment section below and I'll get a little prize out to the closest person without going over. (US residents only)

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Time to catch up a bit...

You would think that with all this time off I have right now due to my job taking a seasonal hiatus for the Spring season, I would be blogging it up like crazy...

Fortunately, due to some fantastic weather in the High Country, I have been able to get a whole bunch of miles out on the dirt and even threw down for an unexpected race. So, I guess we will start with that one. Just a week after the Whiskey 50, tons of local friends were getting ready to line it up both East and West of Eagle at the Front Range 60 in Denver as well as the 18 Hours of Fruita in, well, you guessed it Fruita. Jealous of all the suffering these friends were about to experience I decided Friday night to pack up the gear and head down to Denver for the Front Range 60 "half-marathon" race which was just over 30 miles in length. I would have really liked to get down there for the full marathon race, but due to financial constraints of not working and the 8am start time, racing in said event just wasn't feasible. With a 2pm start for the halfsies, it made for a perfect out and back day trip to Denver to race, grab some goods at Whole Foods, and indulge at Tokyo Joes post race.

We got there just in time to catch the first group of finishers from the full marathon coming through the line. Fellow Bach Builders racer Ken Boyer finished in a blistering time just over 4 hours to take 6th place in his group. Way to go Ken!! This threw his average race speed at just below 15mph. Crazy! At that point I knew this course was going to be a fast paced hammer-fest. Edwards local Tyler Eaton came in just over 4 and a half hours despite having some cramping issues on lap 4 of 6. At this point the heat was settling in. The temperature in Denver was 60 degrees at 8am for the start of the full. By the time we lined up for the half, the standing air temp was already breaking 80 degrees. Eric Rubottom and I lined it up in our respective age groups, and at that time realized that our competition included licensed Pro riders. The thing about ultra-endurance races is that you rarely see a structured ability level designation. Ages are commonly split up but if you can race for 50+ miles, event organizers don't really consider you a beginner or intermediate racer. That being said, the start of our race was HOT! I was able to hang for all of a half mile with riders such as Kevin Kane and Mitch Hoke in my field.

The course sure was fast and fun. At 10 miles a lap, there were only 4 legitimate "climbs", 3 of which were less than 2-3 minutes in length. The only sustained climb was a gradual 10 minute haul which finally dropped down into a shaded, sandy section of the course. The toughest part of this race for me was the amount of sun exposure each lap which hit you about 90% of the time. Factoring the sun into the equation, race temps sat around 95 degrees for over 2 hours. Not knowing anything about the course I was shooting for a time of 2:17:00. I ended up finishing in a time of 2:12:22 good enough for a 14th place finish. For a last minute decision to race on an absolute 2 hour max interval format, I was pretty happy with the results. Not to mention, after being hit with some big cramping issues late in the race in Arizona, I was able to adjust my Infinit Nutrition blend to include some additional electrolytes and focus more attention to a steady intake through the duration of the race. The plan worked and not once did I feel even the slightest hint of a muscle twitch.


Eric Rubottom had a great race, throwing down a time of 2:05:58 good enough for 13th in a large field of 25 in his age group. 


Next race - The Original Growler, 64 miles of some of the sickest singletrack I have ridden to date! Also, becoming my longest race to date...


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A Gentlemen's Farewell...

"Whenever I see an adult on a bicycle, I have hope for the human race." ~ H.G. Wells

Today, I saw the true meaning behind this quote. At the 4th stage of the 2011 Giro d'Italia, we were all witness to what I find to be one of the most heartwarming and respectful actions in professional sports. There are very few sports, if any, in which the entire competition could come together as one to remember and celebrate the life of a fellow athlete.


Wouter Weylandt (LEOPARD-Trek) lost his life from a crash during Stage 3 of the Giro d'Italia. Only 26 years old, he was young, ambitious, and a phenomenal racer. Just a year ago, he had won Stage 3 with his former team Quick-Step. Further investigations would prove that Weylandt had died on impact, that he had felt little if any pain, adding just the slightest level of resolve for family and friends who feared his final moments on the road.


Throughout the 4th stage on May 10th, all 23 teams took turns leading the peloton in a rolling procession honoring their fallen brother. In the final 4km to the finish, Team LEOPARD-Trek lined up 9 abreast (with Garmin-Cervelo rider and best friend of Wouter, Tyler Farrar) to ride in unison, silently across the finish line. The other 22 teams drifted back allowing the leading nine to roll through the crowds that filled the air with a calm applause.


I have so much respect for each and every one of these cyclists, and am very proud to be a part of our common love of cycling. Thank you, for proving that Mr. Wells was right, there is hope for the human race.


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