India in Pictures

I've never worked so hard...

Race Report: The Fall Classic

I had big plans for this race, but was thwarted at every turn.

The circuit race on Saturday was super fun, but asthma kept me at bay at the end of each lap. I was able to hold on for 10th, but there was an abundance of wheezing.

I was excited for the hill climb 1 hour later, hoping to improve my placing for the GC. However, my bike pooped all over me with drive train issues. No gear was a good gear, and the chain was popping with every turn on the pedal. I finished 11th, and 12th overall.

After the hill climb I dropped my bike off at a shop and asked them to fix it. They did. So I was ready to go for the XC race on Sunday. However, I was still plagued with heavy wheezing on the seemingly endless climbs. My power output was severely limited by my capacity to breathe. Then I flatted. Then I fixed it. Then the other tire flatted. I was not looking forward to the 5 mile walk to the finish, when someone stopped and tossed me a tube!! I was so happy. I rolled in last place for the race.

All in all, I have had a great season. Met lots of new riding buddies, and am already thinking about next season. But I am happy to be done racing this year. I competed it 16 races this year! (with 3 DNF's due to flats, boo)

10/25 is the last hurrah at Golden Bike shop for 2 underground races. Your choice of White Rance to Golden Gate Canyon, or just White Rance. Party at Golden Bike Shop afterward. Sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Racing Team.

If I'm not in India, I'll be there!

Race Report: WinterPark King of the Rockies

I have come up with a new method for basing the success of my races. Better than mid pack is pass, and behind is fail. King of the Rockies was a pass for me.

At the top of the first climb I was comfortably in the top 10 of the 40 pro men field. I felt great and the pedals were clicking along nicely. I would ride with Brady, Yuki, and Brian M for quite some time until mile 15 . Then we hit the WTB climb. I always forget about this short climb, and it sucked me dry. For 80% of the course the hardtail 26" bike is a perfect weapon, but on this climb you are at a disadvantage. The crossing roots and rocks forced me out of the saddle for most of the climb. And I had to run/walk the very tippy top. I saw my race buddies pull away, and was caught by several other riders, as my lungs were red lined, gasping for air.

When we hit the next road I was able to recover, but the damage was done. I could see the next 5 places ahead of me until the finish, but was unable to reel anyone in.

I finished 18th at 1:46 minutes. It was still a good race for me, but I thought for sure I had a top 10 in the bag.

Race Report: Mary Jane Circuit

Well, it could of gone much worse. Last year I finished 2nd to last, so I had tons of room for improvement.

The course was devoured by a cloud before the start of the race. The very cool chairlift ride to the beginning of the race took us from a comfortable 50ish degrees to cold, and the sun gave way to rain. This is the most technical race of the WinterPark series with lots of evil roots, and heckling rocks.

We only had .75 miles of road climb before dumping us into the first descent of our 3 lap race. Teammate Joel led us into the single track, which was a good strategy, as no one was even near him by the time we hit the climb. I took a little digger and gave up 3-4 places, but hopped on Tony and Derek's line. (good lines to follow!)

At the top of the first climb, it sounded like the front of my bike was going to fall off. A quick inspection revealed my skewer was completely loose. Stop tighten, and repeat. Repeat? Yup, I would stop twice to do this.

I took a digger on the second lap descent, and gave up some more time. (got my left leg this time for symmetry, very important) And at the top of the climb stopped to reconnect my front wheel (again very important)

The third lap was uneventful, other than I was sure I was in last place. But I slogged on for the final descent, back to the base of winter park. Of course it is a bit of a lie to say final descent, there is lots of slow, fast, slow, fast again single track on the way down. And one final technical climb before the finish, just to suck every ounce of energy out of your legs.

Surprisingly, I finished 12th out of the 18th pro riders. But that does not sound so good when you see that I finished 27th overall.

Joel rocked a solid 4th place finish, on a race built for the Bionicon Golden Willow.

Race Report: Crankworx CO XC

Every race from now to the end of the season is gravy for me. I thought I would be on a prolonged business trip to India this month, but it has been pushed back to September. I usually try to get in 10 mountain bike races in during a season, and this was 11.

The race started out really fast and I found my self 3rd to last in the 40 man group at the start. But no worries for me, I was here to have fun today, and that I did. By the top of the first and biggest climb of the day I had somehow worked my way to the top 10, and was feeling great. This lasted until mile 13 or so when I started to slow down a bit. I got caught by myself for a bit, and I am my own worst enemy when it comes to pushing myself.

Micah Joseph came around me, and said lets go, so I did. Next thing I know we have 4 guys in our sights. I took a hard pull and get into the next group, and got back into a good rhythm. Unfortunately I dropped my chain, so the effort was in vain.

In the end I finished 21. And I am always content with a midpack pro finish. It was a beautiful day, and I had a super fun race. I also managed to scrape 2 minutes off of last years time.

Breck 100: Race Report

Great ride, bad race.

Super fun ride Saturday, but two flat tires and a 12 mile detour prompted me to bail at the end of my second lap.

Lap 1: Ascent to Wheeler Pass.
It was so cool to be riding over and between peaks 8 and 9. The men's field was a huge yo yo of efforts and recoveries. I was able to keep my heart rate in check, and felt good going up the climb. I got gapped of the main group just before the peak, but I knew there was much more riding to do, and did not think about it too hard. On the descent I was just in front of my racing buddy Doug. We were having the most excellent time on the technical descent. (It wasn't that technical but we were absolutely hauling!) And then I got my first flat, a tear on my front tire from an evil rock I will call Roy. I had plenty of Stans, but it would not quite seal up. So I threw in a tube and I was on my way in no time. Picking up lots of people on the descent, who were all super nice letting me pass.

Lap 2: Where did who go?
I forgot to grab a fresh camel back as I headed out to the unknown, but remembered there were at least two aid stations, so I was not too concerned. Unfortunately I missed a left turn to the Colorado trail with 4 other guys. We climbed up a dirt road for 6 miles until it we hit a dead end, and knew we screwed the pooch big time. After descending the entire climb we saw the trail marker (which was totally facing the wrong way) and made our way back up the CT. I was pretty mentally defeated at this point, but kept climbing and catching people for motivation. On the descent there was no way you could not of had a smile on your face. Just absolutely ripping down the mountain, and sliding through each switch back. I was back in it and ready for more, when I got my second flat tire. Again it was the front, but I was descending so fast it caused me to eject from the bike. I thew in my second, tube and pushed on.

By the end of the second lap I was feeling pretty good, and trading pulls with B68 racers on the roads. But at this time I knew I wanted to be done. At the end of the lap I had 75 miles, and another 36 just sounded silly. So I called it a day.

I am pretty happy with my effort despite not finishing. I had in no way trained or really prepared for this event. In fact it was not until Wed. night that I decided to do it. I really should of just signed up for the B68.

And for those keeping count, that is 5 flat tires in the last 3 races. I think some sort of naked dance with a blood offering to the mtb race gods is in order.

Race Report: Winter Park Valley Point to Point

The flat tire black cloud is still following me around. Two flats last race, two flats riding friday, and tore a knob off at Winter Park. In an insane effort hoping that the flat would seal I used two CO2 cartridges, which left me with nothing to inflate a tube. And to add insult to injury I lost my quick release nut for about ten minutes. I nursed the 10psi tire to the next aid station where my parents and Susan picked me up.

The rest of the day was awesome as I finished up a great vacation with my family. Headed up to Rocky Mountain National Forest, toured the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, and finished up with dinner in Boulder. Good Times were had by all.