Family Victory

It's been a while since the last win, however this one is even better because it's the result of a family effort.
Norma, koko and I headed up the hill on Friday to Flagstaff for the inagural Barn Burner.
The event consisted of 4 laps to a 26 mile course made up of 100% forest roads. The venue was set at a private ranch near Kendrick Mountain. Here is what the venue looked like minutes before the start. The start was LeMans style aka...running to your bike. We had rain shower for most of the morning and cool temperatures. I wasn't too excited about the conditions but slowly kitted up and put on a few layers. The run went well. I guess it helps to take Koko for short evening runs.

I was in the top 10 group on foot then jumped on the bike for a slippery ride out of the venue. The mud was sticky and soon the bike had gained several pounds.

I made my way to the front of the group on the greasy start and soon found myself on Kimo's wheel. Here we are going around Tom with Kendrick Mtn on the background.

I stayed on Kimo's wheel for the first couple of miles while two guys riding for Carmichael Systems joined our group. We each took turns at the front to keep the pace high. Soon we were all by ourselves. The forest roads got drier and faster, however there was one little low spot that was slippery. I was leading the pack through it when suddendly my rear wheel got on a groove and made me got sideways. The few seconds that it took me to right my bike was all those guys needed to gap me. From that point on I rode by myself. I would see them up front from time to time but no one behind me. Here I am rounding the last corner heading back to the barn to complete my laps in 4th overall. You can see how muddy my bike was. Front derraileour was out of order.

Norma did the second lap. By the time she went, the course had dried out pretty good. She had a good lap and said there was only one steep pitch that forced her off the bike. She finished her laps with a smile on her face. I took over from there and completed the next two laps. My legs felt pretty good after the break but at this point we were all about enjoying the ride. I kept the pace moderate on the flats and gradual climbs and just put myself into a little bit of pain on the climbs. On my last lap I grabbed a jacket just in case of rain, which I later had to remove as the sun finally came out. As I was removing the jacket a rider went by me. The first rider to pass me during the whole race, so I got on his wheel and he pulled me for the next several miles. As we approached the first climb he seemed to slow down, so I went around him. I saw him again a few seconds back after the downhill then I put some time on him on the final climb. I caught Tom's partner Kim at the bottom of that climb and unaware of it took over the lead of the coed duo race. We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon while Koko played with Diego, Max and Flor.

Our camera died shortly after I took this picture, so no podium pictures. Art and Wendy finished 5th after Wendy had some tire air pressure issues on the first lap. This was Art's last event before he goes Canadian style for a few days at the BC Bike Race.

As for me, MBAA is done. I got 5th in the series after a lackluster performance at the final a couple of weeks ago. I'll probably do a few more road races now that I got my upgrade to the 3s. I should have a fancy looking sticker with a number 3 in the mail soon, so I can place it on my racing license. AMC got cancelled so I'll have to change plans for August. I may end up heading up to Minnesota to spend time with the family, attend a friends wedding and do a couple of races.

We'll see how things pan out.

Until next time....

Sore Tom's Thumb

Who needs Alp D'Huez when you have Tom's Thumb trail? I just found this trail today while riding the awesome trails at the McDowell Mtn Preserve. I am not sure if they are the result of efforts by the City of Scottsdale, IMBA, volunteers or a combination of them, but a big Thank You to everyone that's put work onto those trails.

About today's ride...I started from the parking lot at Bell and Thompson Peak. Art had prescribed a 3 hour MTB ride, so I figured I could easily do that there. I went up Windgate Pass, which was nice and tacky due to yesterday's rain. It was a little humid too, but I wasn't complaining. From Windgate I descended towards Coachwhip, however on the way there I passed by an intersection to a freshly cut trail, which was the access to Tom's Thumb. The first part consisted of a gradual climb followed by a couple short rollers then I rounded a corner and saw the trail point upwards in the form of switchbacks. Switchback #1 was fine, 2-4 were tight and steep and my 22/34 were no match for them. 5,6 and 7 were hard but I made it up them. I walked up #9 then 10-12 were rideable, but at that point I was so tired I couldn't. The trails levels out after switch back #13 and becomes a gradual climb all the way up to #17, then when you think you are done, there is one last section that looks more like a continuos "S", steep, loose and tight which will give you that one last kick in the butt before you summit. Tom's Thum will be infront of you. The Thumb is big rock protuding above all others and looks like...you guessed, a thumb. After taking in the scenery I decided to reward myself with a long downhill, however there is one last little climb with a few more switchbacks to do before diving into a series of thight switchbacks which I didn't even bother to count, then the trails levels out and brings you back to the start of the Windgate climb.

I did Windgate one more time, over to Bell Pass and down. I still had 20 min to go, so I finished with a lap around the Gateway Saddle loop.

In other news...oh yeah, I raced last weekend up in Flagstaff. Race went OK. Finished 7th. Had a couple of holy cow moments and to this day, I don't know how I kept it up-right. Broke a Ti pedal in one of those, so it was pretty scary.

Norma did better. Got 3rd in her group even though she went the wrong way after a some individuals tried to derail the race by making course changes. Too bad we can't all coexist and be happy!

We also got our fence fixed. It only needs to be painted. We'll see how long it takes this guy to do that. Funny part about this is that the community newspaper lists the incident on their Sheriff Log and states that the driver left the scene. Huh, they must know something we don't!

I gotta start planning the second part of the season. I have a few races in mind, however right now I just know I am racing the State RR on the 6th and the MBAA finals on the 13th. Everything else is up in the air.

I told "Koko" I would take him to the dog park this afternoon, so I better get going. He's giving me this look of "are we leaving yet?"

Jeff

Where did last month go?

I knew I hadn't posted in a while, but didn't know it was already a month.

The lack of updates is not due to lack of events, in fact it's probably de opposite. I've been quite busy for the last few weeks in all different fronts especially the non-cycling ones.

Cycling has been on the down low mostly due to lack of planning but I was starting to feel burned out a little so I kinda needed a break, so it worked out somewhat OK.

The cycling recession started with the Whiskey Off-Road. My parents were in town and I had been preparing for this race for a long time. Art had created a training plan for me that had me peaking for this event. Things were going as planned for the first hour of racing and I was sitting comfortably in 4th place when it turned bad. First it was a front flat, followed by faulty CO2 trigger, followed by a locked front brake piston, then I got rolling for less than 10 min until I got a second flat. Rear tire this time. No tubes, no CO2, decided to ride as much as I could in hopes of making it to the aid station where Norma and my parents were waiting and they sure would have tubes and CO2. Endo'd at low speed. Landed hard and cut my shorts...time to call it a day.

Koko was a little annoyed that he didn't see me going by among the top 10 at the 25 mile aid station.

No bike the rest of the weekend, and very little to no riding that week. Spent a lot of time working on the yard at home with my dad and ate too many Costa Rican tamales made by my mom and Mexican tamales made by Norma.

Drove to Payson for the next MBAA race. Flat course didn't suit me but under the no-training plan no course would have suited me. Felt OK at the beginning, even drove the pace at the front a couple of times, then the lights went out and I literally had to crawl to the finish.

Ate more tamales and became a year older! Yeayy, viva Cinco de Mayo!!!

Received 13 tons of landscaping rock as birthday present from myself, then invited my house guests (dad and my friend Roberto from Minnesota) to join in the fun.

Got really bad sun burn on my back then took my parents to the airport.

Went to Flagstaff to pre-ride course then dropped my friend at the airport too.

Someone knocked on our door near midnight to inform us he had hit our house. Turns out one of our neighbors was driving too fast and overshot the corner in front of our house. He hit the curb on the other side, lost control of the car, floored the gas pedal, slammed into our wall leaving his car parked in the middle of our backyard. Cops came. No insurance. It's going to be ugly!

Got back on the bike on Tuesday. Legs felt rusty and slow. By Wednesday I was starting to pedal full circles again and today I procrastinated getting on the bike all day. Now it's almost 10 PM...I don't think I'll ride today!

Soaking Wet Copper Valley

Just like the European Spring Classics on TV, this year's edition of the Copper Valley Road Race was wet and cold. Thankfully there were not cobbles on this one but the rain and 42 degrees made it for a tough day of the bike.

Had to get out of bed earlier than usual 3:40 AM, pick Kurt Smith on the way then swing by Art's house. The plan was to drive my car, but once we had the stuff for Kurt and I, there was little room for Art. Plan B was to move all the stuff onto Art's truck.

Made it to Globe by 6:20 AM and the temp was just above 40 degrees and cloudy.

Procon was the organizer so we were in charge of set up and registration. While waiting for tables, the clouds lifted up to reveal snow on the top of the hills nearby.

Worked the registration table then it was time to get ready.

I put on two base layers including one long sleeve, jersey, arm and knee warmer, shoe covers and beanie. Just riding down the the start line made me shiver then Mr. Zagg, one of our team mates who was driving a wheel truck saw me and gave me his jacket. Thanks Ueli! I couldn't have finished without that. It was a little big for me I didn't care. A little wind resistance was better than being soaking wet.

Up until that point it was just cloudy and cold. As soon as we clipped onto our pedals the sky broke loose and we had constant rain for the 3-hour round trip to Lake Roosevelt hence the importance of the jacket.

I spent a lot of time at the front staying out of trouble and avoiding bike spray however less than 10 minutes into the race I was wet and cold.

Our grop of around 30 guys split on the first climb. 15 or so of us went off the front and keep the pace moderate. The long donwhill made everyone shiver. At one point we were doing 46 MPH into the rain. There were a few attacks before the turn around point but we were able to control them. Bicycle Haus and Procon pretty much controlled 90% of the race with either Bryce, Judah, myself of the other BH rider leading the pack. We made it to the base of the long 6 mile climb with a group of about 20. I drove the pace for the first couple of miles then Bryce attacked. I chased him down and 7 other guys came with me. Unfortunately Judah didn't make this cut, so without teammates I decided to attack. I tried 3 or 4 tame attacks up the hill but my legs were too cold to accelarate quickly so I got caught everytime. The 9 of us made it to the top as a group and it seemed we were all settling for a sprint finish. Focus had to guys in the group so they tried to get away a couple of times without sucess. About a mile before the finish a cheap attacked went on while most of us were taking off our vests and jackets so our numbers could be recorded. We quickly caught up to the group before the sprint. I got on Daniel DeMos wheel on the left side. He launch his sprint then I came around him, a little too soon as I ended up spinning out of the gear and getting pipped to the line by Daniel, Bryce and one other rider for fourth. It didn't help that there was no marked finish line. The rain made it impossible for the tape to stick to the road, so we had to sprint for an imaginary line. In fact, even after crossing the line we were wondering it we had sprinted a the wrong location. A photo reviewed was required to convince me I had finished 4th, however it's hard to tell because you can't see my wheel only my body crossing the line. Unfortunately I was seated while the rest of the guys were off the saddle so my body is further back. Oh well, at that point I was glad to get out of those clothes and get into Art's warm truck. Here's what my hands looked like. By the end I could barely operate the brakes or shifters.

My feet were even colder. I couldn't feel anything except for my heels.
I won't be racing next weekend, however I am planning to be at the Nova race at McDowell to support and watch the younger riders have fun. Then it's up to Prescott on the 25th for the Whiskey Off-Road.

I hope I can get rid of this cold soon. Coughing, sneezing and aching body is not the way I want to start my prep for the Whiskey.

Flying Solo

Stop number 5 in the MBAA series was this weekend up in Prescott. Temperatures were a little chillier than expected. Some overnight campers were caught off guard by snow the night before the race.

I drove to the race by myself, which was a first for a MTB race and it helped me realize how much Norma helps me, especially on race day.

I made it to the Alto Pit at around 9:30 AM and it was 42 degrees. I put all the layers I had on and went to check-in. Our friends James and Katia were taking care of hungry riders and families by bringing Pony Espresso to the venue. Great wraps and even better coffee. Thank you guys for coming over. I am sure I wasn't the only satisfied customer.

After a little chat with just about everyone, I figured it was time to jump on the trainer. Unfortunately, that's when I realized I hadn't prepared my bottles. Getting bottles ready took a while and then I had to label them so someone could hand them off to me. That someone had to be determined too.

I made to the start line after cutting the warm-up a little short. I had the cooler with me and the first person I saw was James. I knew he was busy with the Pony Espresso, but I asked him to find someone to feed me then grabbed a bottle. As it turns out I grabbed the bottle with Coca-Cola that I usually take on the last lap. 60 seconds to start and I can't find my cooler so I am about to start a race with a bottle of diluted Coke. 15 seconds to go and James walks by. I grabbed a new bottle just on time for gooooo!. I was in my small ring, so I punished my drive gear to move to the front. I made it into the bottle neck in 3rd wheel behind Tim Allen and Scott Keller. Keller got around Tim and so did I. We stayed like that for a few minutes then I attacked before the steepest section of the climb. I managed to move to the front and led the race for good 'ol 30 seconds before Keller and Tim went around me. We cruised on the downhill and Eric Salstrand went around me. I am feeling tired and spent and we are not even half way into first lap. I backed off a little then Lance and Tim Bolton go by. I finished the first lap in 6th. On the next climb Kam Reedy comes by too and not to long after Jason Sager passed my too. I am getting concerned then my legs finally start to cooperate and I stay with Kam and we pass Sager.

We get to the bottom of the hill and pass Salstrand on the side fixing a flat. Bummer!

Now I am back on 6th then my handlebars come loose again. I rode the rest of the lap like that but I am loosing ground on Kam on the downhills. We head into the 3rd lap together but he gaps me on the downhill. There is no other option. I stopped, got my tools out and retighten the bars. Sager goes by. 60 to 90 seconds -that felt like 10 min- go by and I am back in business. I passed Sager but Kam is nowhere near. I rode the whole 4th lap by myself and I am starting to feel a lot better, however I am ready to settle for 6th. I head out for my 5th lap and Darrin tells me someone is not too far. I get some motivation and make it to the top but can't see anyone. Near the last long climb of the lap I get a glimpse of a rider. Is Tim Bolton and he seems to be hurting. I get on his wheel on the steep climb then pass him at the top. To avoid giving him a free ride I push the pace even though I am at the limit. I looked back and he's no longer there then I look up ahead to find Tim Allen struggling. I snuck up to him by no using my rear break (as it makes noise) and we both hit the last short steep climb to the finish. He goes left I went right and I moved into 4th. There is no response from Tim but he comes in on 5th to round up the podium.

The real story is that he was sick as a dog and his body shut down on the last lap. Hope he gets better soon. Keller held on for the win from Lance while Kam came in a few seconds later.

Here is a podium picture, sans Tim Allen who wasn't feeling good and left early.

Now it comes a little break from the fat tires to give time for some skinny tire action this weekend at the Copper Valley Road Race that Procon is promoting. I'll be volunteering first then jumping on the bike to do some work for the team. I re-taped my handlebars on Sunday because my palms were really hurting after long road rides. I got double tape on the most used areas and went for a ride. It feels soooo much better.
Until next time....

Pro XC Tour Kick Off

We are finally home after a busy weekend of driving and racing. We were planning to leave early on Saturday, however Koko broke a canine tooth Friday night when he got snagged on the seam of my cargo shorts. We had to wait until the vet's office opened to call. Vet told us we should bring him in soon but not necessarily that day, so we continued with the plan. Made it to Fontana just before 4 PM after having the worst dining experience at a Mexican restaurant outside of Indio.

After taking care of registration I went to pre-ride the course. I knew the course was different but I was really surprised with how steep and difficult the initial climb was. I loved it, because I knew I could do better than many people on that section. The technical descend was also fun. After two laps we went back to the hotel and got changed, met Norma's cousing Eddy and his wife for dinner then it was time to bed.

With a 2:15 PM start I had plenty of time for breakfast. Denny's was just around the corner, so we had some "serious" meal and went back to the hotel to chill.

We made it to the venue around 12:30 so I could start my warm-up. The vibe in the venue was really cool. Scott Tedro and everyone else helping to put this series together have done a great job. The stunt motorcycle show was going in while I was sitting on the trainer which made it difficult to ignore but at the same time it got my mind away from the race ahead.

Not sure what my call-up would be I headed to the staging area as soon as they called up the first rider. Quickly the starting line got fuller and fuller with riders lined up 9-wide.

Still waiting to be called up

Ten full rows had been filled and my name hadn't been called, eventually there was a little over a handful of us left in the staging area when I heard my name. I only had to move forward a few yard to take my spot, then the annuncer says there was 1-minute to the start. I looked back and there was only one row of guys behind me and about 11 in front.

I got a little nervous thinking about the upcoming chaos of funneling 114 riders into the course while navigating around three tight turns.

Then at 2:15 PM, off we went. How was the start? This video should give you a good idea. Watch for my red and black Adrenaline jersey going by on the inside about 9 seconds into it.

I made it through the first two turns without a hitch and moved a few spots then I got boxed in on the third one and had to get off my bike just to keep moving forward. I quickly remounted and moved up a few more spots before having to dismount again on the first short, steep, loose climb. Passed a few more people while running and remounted. I settled behind the next group of guys in hopes of recovering before the really steep climb then 6 guys went by us. I then realized how hard you have to race at this level.

The rest of the first lap continued like that. I rode as hard as I could, yet anytime I let off the gas, even for just a moment, one or two riders went by. I went down twice on this lap trying not to run over other guys that had crashed in front of me. Lap two went about the same, however riders were spread out a little more and I kept moving forward. Todd Wells passed me after his mechanical. We both were running with our bikes at the top of the climb. I tried staying with him but lost him on the downhill.

Marty was out on the course as usual, providing some needed encouragement.

I started to enjoy the race on lap three and felt a lot stronger. I also got more comfortable on the descends. As I started my 4th lap I must have crossed into what I called the "mediocrety threshold." All the big names were ahead yet I couldn't see anyone behind me. On this lap I only passed three guys. On the last lap, I was just focusing on keeping a steady pace and make it to the finish without any incidents. I managed to pass one other rider, but aside from him I rode mostly by myself the whole lap, which I thought was unusual. For a second I thought I was the last rider not getting pulled, but a few seconds after crossing the line I saw a few more riders come in.

After a quick spin to cool off, I went back to the car to change and pack. On the way out we discovered the car had a flat tire. Thankfully there was an Auto Zone across the street. We bought a can of Fix-a-Flat and a Large Pizza at the restaurant next door and went back to the hotel.
We drove back to Phoenix on Monday. Except for some strong winds, the drive was uneventfull. Then in the afternoon I took Koko to the vet. I looks like he'll need to have the rest of the broken tooth removed as well as two others. Who would have thought! What's next...braces!!!

We may also do put him through "another" procedure at the same time but don't tell him. I don't think he'll like the idea.

Thanks to all for your e-mails and text messages. It was nice to know that I had people rooting for me.

Jeff

Quick update. Finished 43rd. Not bad considering my 10th to last call up to the start line out of 120+

Going to the Big Show

This is it. This coming weekend we are heading to Fontana, California for the kick-off of the USA Cycling Professional Cross-Country Tour (ProXCT).
This will be my first pro race at the national level, which means I'll be hanging at the start line with National Champions, Olympic Athletes, Panamerican Medalists, upcoming starts of the sport and at least 92 other pro mountain bikers hoping to do well at this event.
This is my first top prority event of the year and one of the few races that I'll be doing this year with this talented pool of riders.
This is what I've been preparing for since October when Coach sent me my first training plan. Now several months later and just days away, all I have to do is wait 'til Sunday afternoon when I toed the line. Because I am ready! Titus set me up with a very competitive bike which has been turned into a race machine thanks to HammerHead Bike Shop and the guys at Showcase made sure everything is in working order. I hope all the support from Baja Coaching Systems and the long hours spent Training Like a Pro pay off. On Sunday I'll just hang onto my ESI Grips and keep the Kendas on the ground and rolling really fast!

Thanks to everyone for the support to get here.
I'll update you on the race after we come back.

Jeff

Hilly Road Race

I had to find my road climbing legs today at the Superior Road Race. I had heard that the course was hilly, however that wasn't the hard part. This race was particularly hard because I and three other guys broke off the front less than 12 miles into a 64 mile race. My adventure companions were Bryce from Bicycle House and Mark from BC Canada. We got away on the second climb after the first KOM which I won, eventhough there was not prize for it. The rest of the way until the turn around point was either downhill or flat with a strong head wind. I had to work really hard everytime I pulled through. The three of us worked really well. We even passed the Cat 3s and didn't stop cooperating until we made it to the last big climb where we went every man for himself. Mark was the first one to drop back. Bryce and I kept going but I was already hurting. I tried to look confortable but I was out of water from the bottom of the hill. 1/4 mile from the KOM, Bryce just up'd the pace enough for me to loose contact. He didn't attack, he just slowly rode away and I couldn't do anything. My quads and hip flexors were cramping up as I summited but I still had about 6 miles of rolling hills before the finish. I managed to hold on to second place thanks to all the work done by teammates Mark Bunz and Judah Cain back in the pack blocking and disrupting any attemps to organize a chase. Thanks for the help guys!

After the race I did a short stop to check some historic markers and learn a bit more about Superior. Did you know the Jennifer Lopez movie; U Turn was filmed there. This is a mining town, so there is a lot of history and this outdoor museum has a lot of it.

I guess they had mules to pulled these things. I hope mules would be smarter than me and know not to push from the brake handle...

4th Place in USA Cycling National Ranking

I better take a picture of this as it won’t last for long. I guess this is one advantage of racing in Arizona where we start the season early, especially when USA Cycling recently updated their ranking criteria.

Racing on the road this weekend at the Superior RR. It’s supposed to be a hilly course, so I am hoping it suits me better than the flats at North End. Then next week is preparation for the big show at Fontana. There are 60 riders already registered. It’s going to be crazy.

Gotta go do some work, the kind that pays the bills not the one on two wheels.

Pura Vida!

From DFL to 8th

Today we raced the Foray at the Fort, the fourth race on MBAA calendar. The venue was inside the Forth Huachuca Army Base near Sierra Vista.
We drove the night before and camped out. The night was a little chilly but not bad.
Norma got on the podium by finishing in 5th. This was her first race on the Trek. I finally put it together on Wednesday, then I spent most of Thursday night hanging all the goodies I got for my Fireline. Thanks to Jay Robinson and the folks at HammerHead Bicycles for helping me getting the bike looking like a fine piece of racing machinery. Unfortunately, my wrenching skills were not up to par for this race. I was really looking forward to doing well, but my handlebars came loose less than a mile from the start when I was sitting on second. I stopped to tighten them and got passed by everyone. I worked really hard to catch the tail end of the group by the end of the 25 min lap. Then on the second lap both tires starting to loose air (probably I didn't seat them well), so I reached for my CO2 just to realize I didn't have a nozzle with me. I stopped and got help from a Marathon rider to get my tires inflated enought to finish the race. I went on to pass a bunch of guys and finish in 8th. The course was awesome and really suited me but it just didn't happen.
We had lunch in Sierra Vista with Art and Wendy then drove back home.
Hungry Dog Crit is tomorrow. Not sure if I'll do the Cat 4 and the 30+ race or just the latter.
I'll decide based on how I feel in the morning.
Pura Vida!

Road Rage

I could almost predict what would happen next as the beaten up jolloppy turned the corner and pulled over on the opposite side of the road where I had stopped to turn on my blinker tail light. Driver in the upper teens or perhaps in his twentys, a girl sitting shotgun and a pose in the back seat. He couldn't even rolled down his window, he opened the door ajar and proceeded to regurgitate his best repertoire of profanaty. Once the vocal diarrea had stoped he closed the door and sped up on the road I had just come from.
I stood there for a couple of seconds trying to figure out what could have prompted someone to do that. The episode was long enough for me to take the time to memorize the license plate, just in case. I even considered taking my phone out and taking a picture, but there was no need to provoke him even more. I guess the fact that he saw a cyclist in spandex and a helmet on his afternoon workout generated enough anger. So Mr. AZ plates ac00156, I hope someday you mature and get a hold of your anger and your mouth, get a life!!!

I Enjoy Long Walks...

…at night on lonely roads while wearing cycling shoes and pushing my non-rideable bike…NOT!

Tuesday evening I went out for what was supposed to be a 2 hour ride. I rode South for about an hour then turned around. Soon I discovered my rear tire was going flat. I had a spare tube and TWO non-Genuine Innovations non-threaded cartridges of CO2. Turns out these things are worthless. They both lost all the pressure as soon as I tried to connect them to the nozzle. Long story short, I was stranded 19 miles from home and it was near dark. The road I took was a straight shot from the house, so there is not even a way to cut across anything. I called everyone whose number I had and lived within a 50 mile radius, that means my wife, but she was a work, so I had to choices: walk or ride on the rim. I did the latter for a while then the pavement got really rough so I walk for a while, then rode a little again. I made it home around 8:00 PM, hungry frustrated and tired.

Good Times!

North End Classic

Quick Update...I am tired and need to go to bed, but this weekend we went south to take part in the North End Classic Omnium. Saturday was the Crit in Old Town Yuma. A rolling course with quite a few turns. I bridged up to a break that stayed out for the whole race and got second at the crit and bonus sprint. After the race, we hung out and watched the other races then went back to my brother-in-law's place for some carne asada. Sunday was the road race. Two laps of a mostly flat 28 mile course. Jarrod and Patrick did an awesome job keeping me safe in front of the peloton, protected from the wind, however we misstimed when to go to the front and pick up the pace to try and get the bonus points. I ended up going with another guy with about a mile to go and ended up getting caught 200 meters from the line. Being over 8 points down, I figure I would let Jarrod and Patrick do their own race and defend my second place on my own. We had just started the second lap when Jarrod almost got taken out on the first corner. Shortly before the feedzone, Patrick went on a break with two other guys and they ended up staying out. I wasted a lot of energy chasing the leader when I knew I was going to beat him. Eventually I let him go, but later I had to work hard to chase the multiple attacks from the guys sitting on 3rd and 4th. We became the chase group along with 6 other guys, unfortunately I let off the gas a little too early coming into the line and got 13th which pushed me back to 4th overall just 2 point away from 2nd. Oh well...it was a good race.
Thanks to Jarrod and Patrick for all the support! Results got all screwed up so we waited for ever then went back to Yuma for food Burgers-n-Beers and a little drive around then a quick stop to see the family, then drove home.
Quite a busy weekend. I am glad tomorrow is Monday and I just have to go to work. Finally time to rest.
On other news, coach had a great race down in Mexico winning the Masters category at the 2nd edition of the Transmexicana. He even finished 3rd overall and rode the last couple of stages with the leader. Here is a link to a race report from a Canadian guy that finished second overall.
Way to go Art!
Now I am really going to bed. This didn't turn out to be such a short update after all. I'll add some pictures later.
Jeff

Sun Devil Criterium

The second event of the weekend double-header was the Sun Devil Crit put together by ASU Cycling. Coach had told me to do only one race, so I chose the 30+ because I figure it would be safer and less intense. Boy was I wrong! I knew they were combining the 30+ and 40+ categories and score them separately but by Friday there were less than 14 riders registered for both. Norma, Koko and I showed up at around 11 am after having some delicious chocolate chip pancakes that Norma made from scratch. I got registered and warmed up for a few minutes, just to find out that the races were running late. Sometime before 1 PM as I was hovering near the start line I saw this massive amount of riders around me. It turned out that they were all racing with me. My guess is that we had over 40 riders. Now this is a "D" shaped course with two sharp corners. I am just getting confortable riding in small groups but this was a little overwhelming. I lined up at the back and hoped for the best. The race pace picked up immediately and I was working a bit at the back trying to stayed with the group. At one point I though I had moved a few spots and felt like I was in the middle of the pack, then I almost panicked and for a second though about letting people by and moved to the back. As I let off the gas a bit, I realized that I was already at the back and now I was gapped. I picked it up a bit and regaing my lantern rouge position. 10 min into the race I had moved up about 10 spots and decided to grab some water and dropped the bottle as I was putting back in the cage. Total rookie move! I could see the bottle every time we went by. Unfortunately it was a Procon bottle so, everyone knew that one of us had dropped it and I had no bottles, so it was a simple process elimination answer.
Suj dropped out of the race, picked up my bottle, handed it back to me and got yelled at by the officials. I guess there are no hand ups at crits, who knew!
At one point the pace eased off and I saw a Ride Clean rider going hard on the right, I tagged on his wheel and soon we were off the front. The rider happened to be Brian Forbes and for a second he thought he had Craig or Matt, two of the most accomplished riders in Procon on his wheel, but he was quite disappointed when he found out it was only me. I pulled through and pedaled at the front for a few seconds before pulling to the side and letting the experienced guys do their thing. I moved up a little on the last two laps, mostly trying to avoid the big groups and found a safe line to sprint at the finish. Overall I must have finished in the top 20 but that was good enough to put me in 7th in the 30+ group.
Not bad for a really stressful ride. Fortunately my legs felt good and didn't even get a chance to test them, however my heart rate was pretty high mostly from the tension.
We are heading down south to Yuma this weekend for another road double at the North End Classic. It should be fun not to mention, we'll spend some time with my brother in-law and family.

3rd Time is a Charm...Not really!

Third race of the MBAA series went on yesterday. I wasn't sure what to expect since I had done only two rides, both of under 90 minutes during the week, not to mention my legs still felt heavy from the Old Pueblo effort.
Norma didn't race, so we got to the venue and where Darrin had the Team bus conveniently set up right next to the finish corner. We watched the Marathon and Female races going on then it was time to get ready.
11:30 AM came by really quick. I lined up at the start behind Scott Keller and Tim Allen. The three of us came hot off the start line and stayed up front. Tim was setting such a fast pace that we had gapped the group within the first mile. Soon Eric bridge up to us as we got to the sandy spots and I started to fade. I couldn't keep the same pace on the sand so, Lance and Kam came by. I stayed in 6th for the rest of the lap but I could see Kam. I tried bridging up to him but my effort had me crashing in front of everyone at the corner for the start of the second lap. I struggled to get off the bike and a few seconds later was in pursuit. I rode most of the lap by myself just to find Tim working on his crank near the end. Kam was fading and I was able to catching before the downhill. With two tech loops to go, I started to hear someone behind me. First I thought that Kam had recovered and was closing in really fast. All the sudden I saw the blur of green and red go by me like a was standing still. It was Tim and he was on a mission. I couldn't even try to get on his wheel, in addition I was starting to cramp. Half way into the Tech loop I looked back and was very surprised to see Mike Montalbano from New Jersey closing in on his singlespeed. The guy is a stud. He scapes the Northeastern winter for a few weeks and comes down to AZ to make us look bad. I held him off for the rest of this lap during which I also caught Scott Keller who had flatted. On the last Tech loop, Mike came by me but I was in damage control mode already. My legs were cramping up badly, so I just wanted to secure a spot on the podium. And I did, Chris Suter was a couple of minutes back so I held on to fifth. Not bad for a week of swollen feet and head colds. Now I am off to the Sun Devil Crit for 45 minutes of racing with the "old guys."
Jeff

Recovery Week...Kinda!

Riding has been on the down low this week. It seems like the 24-Hour took more out of me than what I expected. I took Monday completely off and by completely I mean that I barely got up to eat and pee. This was mostly because my left foot was really swollen from my encounter with the barrel cactus before the start of the race, but my legs, especially my calves were really sore…probably from the LeMans start. I am definitely not a runner! So, unable to walk and very sore, I laid down most of the day with Koko. I ate when he ate and peed when he did, just not outside like him.

My foot was still to swollen on Tuesday to even get my cycling shoes on, so I didn’t ride either but I went to work. I rode on Wednesday once the swelling was gone and the legs felt good, however my throat was scratchy and I’ve had a constant cough since Monday.

Cough worsen on Thursday, so I went home early and sleep for 4 hours instead of riding for 1 hour  as coach had planned.

Today I feel better, so I’ll probably ride a little to open up the legs for the 3^rd race of the MBAA series tomorrow and if time allows, I’ll clean my bike, which is as filthy as it got after Old Pueblo. Lastly, if I have something left on the legs after the Saturday race, then I’ll do the Sun Devil Crit on Sunday.

By the way, Velonews had a little write up about our race on their MTB News and recap. It’s the third article on this page, titled “1600 flock to Old Pueblo”

http://www.velonews.com/article/88179/mtb-news-and-notes

 

Thanks to all for the support!

 

Pura Vida!

With a little help from my Friends

This past weekend WE won the 4-Male Open category at the 10th Annual 24 Hours of Old Pueblo, detroning the Kona Racing team. Adrenaline Team was completed by Chris Sutter, Sam Schultz, Andy Schultz and myself. The Schultz bros were additions to the team for this event and they didn't let us down. It was really cool to race and hang out with two top pros who are easy going and friendly guys.
Norma, Koko and I drove there Friday morning. Darrin had arrived a day earlier and had our team area set up and ready to go. I was really cool to be right on the expo area and having the RV is always a bonus too.
However, there is always drama. This time Koko was the main character. We had just arrived at the location when he decided to attack the little cholla cactus seen in the picture above, just in front of the TLP sign. I was a few yards away and when I heard him crying I thought another dog had attacked him. Norma quickly grabbed him regarless that he was covered in jumping cholla which ensured that she got a lot of needles on herself too. Within seconds friends and complete strangers came to our rescue armed with plastic hair combs and twizers. It was amazing to see the quick and caring reaction. It took several minutes to get most of the needles off his nose, face,ears, paws, mouth and even on his tongue. Someone else brought some medication to give him and soon he was back to his old self

Here is Norma with Koko in front of the Old Pueblo Saguaro. By the end of the weekend this tree would be covered with tubes and tires claimed by the course.

This is what Old Pueblo looks like. More than 1000 RVs, plus as many or more tents and you have a big town in the middle of the desert.

The LeMans style start is a most for this race as it would be impossible to get all the starters onto the bike at the same time. I got to do the start since I am a veteran at this. Done it 3 times over as many years.

I had a good run and made it to the bikes within the top 20, unfortunately my transition to the bike wasn't the smoothest and I ended up crashing right in front of all the starters.Fortunately, I was able to make up for the crash at the start and finished the lap just a couple of minutes back. There was lead group of 15-20 riders that formed right after the start. I had to dig deep to get on it but by the time I got onto the back the attacks started, so I would get dropped and get back on a couple of times. After the third I couldn't connect anymore so I jumped on a chase group of 3 riders and stayed together form 3/4 of the lap picking up riders blown up by the intense pace set at the front by Tinker, Kimo and all those guys. Ryan Trebon had a huge gap on this lead group, however half way into the lap we passed him while he was getting attention from the course marshalls who were trying to remove copious amonts of jumping cholla covering his whole right side. Eventually they cut his jersey off and he finished the lap about 14 minutes behind me.

Sam was our second relay and he really set the course on fire with a 55 minutes lap. Andy did the third one turning a really fast lap considering all the traffic and finally Chris kept things under control with a lap just over 1 hour.The transition onto the night wasn't too bad but it wasn't perfect either. Sam had a leaky tire while I lost my handlebar light early on the lap then with a couple of miles to go my head light went dead. I rode home with a little LED light and the reflections from other rider's ligths.

By the morning our lead was just over 14 minutes, so we had to make sure to continue turning fast laps, so I decided to rock the pink for extra motivation. I wore Norma's jersey, helmet and socks. Here I am posing by the Saguaro before my last lap.

Sam had some tendonitis on his right wrist, so Andy volunteered to do the last lap. He set out knowing that we had an almost comfortable lead, so the plan was to ride hard but conservatively to avoid a crash or a mechanical and he did, which secured our spot on top of the podium.

After the race, Dean from Bicycle World TV came by to get the recap of the race from our perspective. He had stopped by half way into the race and talked to Sam, however our lead wasn't as comfortable at that time.

The rest of our Adrenaline Team riders did well too in there respective races. Adrenaline Masters came even close to cracking the podium with a 6th place.

Congrats to all of you racing this event and thanks to all of you that e-mail me to show your support.

Now it's time for some serius recovery in order to be ready for Estrella next weekend.

Back to Old Pueblo

To prove I am a racing fool. I’ve got my biked dialed up. My shoes velcroed tight and I really hope I don’t get into a fight. Especially not with a Cholla Cactus! That’s right, this weekend is the big show at the Old Pueblo. I’ll try to post updates as the race progresses but don’t count on it. It sounds like I’ll be doing the first lap because no one else wants to do the running.

You can get live updates here too.

Later,

Jeff

 

Four Races in Two Weeks

It's barely February but the racing calendar is pretty busy. I had started the MTB racing season a few weeks ago but the road racing season got started on Super Bowl Sunday with the Avondale Criterium, put together by Procon. My last road race was the Summit Center Stage race back in June 2008, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I toed to the line with about a dozen or so "old" guys in the 30+ category. I mainly hung in the back trying to get comfortable and stay out of trouble. After 20 some minutes of racing I decided to make a big effort but was quickly brought back by the bunch and we stayed together until the end. With half a lap to go, Swiss American and Bicycle Haus formed their trains and picked up the pace. I was planning to just watch from afar and stay out of trouble but when both teams hesitated waiting for the other one to launch the sprint, they left the whole right side of the road open. I saw the opportunity and gave it a go! I even attempted to throw my bike forward at the line and it seemed to have paid off as it required a camera review to confirm that I had won the race. Yeay for me! Later in the day I also did the 3/4 race. Procon had a huge showing on this race, so we knew it was a race that we could easily control. After a few timid attacks, I chased a few of them but tried not to work to much then on one of the primes I chased two guys and beat them for the prime. We had also opened up a pretty good gap on the group, so I put my head down and gave it all I had. With all my teammates blocking and marking in the back I was able to get up to a half a lap gap on the field then we started to count down the laps. With 4 to go the gap was shrinking but I felt I could hold them off then with 3 to go I hit one of the road reflectors with my rear wheel and pinch flatted. I tried riding it in but I had too many laps to go on a rim and was quickly picked up. Unfortunately for my team, they all had done a lot of work so our highest placed rider was 5th.
Sorry no pictures of that weekend.
We did take Koko out to McDowell for our MTB pre-ride and he loved all the attention.

Then this Saturday was the real thing. I had Koko for a warming up partner at the Team Adrenaline set up then it was time to head to the start of the 2nd race in the MBAA series.

Norma race too. Although she was dissappointed with her finish, she was able to shave 10 minutes off her best time on this very same course, so kudos to her. Her she is with Wendy and Lisa from Adrenaline who did the 1 and 2 in the Cat 2 Women.

I had a great start and managed not to blow up in the first part of the race. All position chances took place during the first lap. I started the second lap in 5th place and that's how I finish, not before having to push really hard to keep Eric Neat from catching me. Here I am coming into the finish and you could see Eric getting to the corner a few yards behind.

Lance Runyan, Tim Allen, Scott Keller and Kam Reedy (not pictured) rounded up the top five.

Then on Sunday it was time to head back to McDowell again but this time for a road crit. RPM team put together a race up there and eventhough it rained a lot earlier the skies held up at least for the majority my race (30+ again). The field was a little bigger and with the wet and cold conditions I wasn't too concerned about attacking, however I gave it a try once and got a little gap but couldn't hold it.In the end Jeff Kluve, Jarrod Barnes and I ended up policing the front while teammate Ryan O'Connor was up ahead with another rider. Unfortunately for him his gears weren't working so he lost the final sprint. I completely lost track of the laps and when the rang the bell for the last lap I thought it was a prime and tried to go for it, but decided to sit up at the end just to find out that I could have gone a little longer and get 3rd. Three other guys went by me within yards of the finish so I came in in 6th.
Overall it's been two great weeks of racing. Now it's time to start looking forward to this weekend's mega event at the 24 Hours of Old Pueblo. Chris Sutter and I are teaming up with the Schultz brothers (Andy and Sam), so it would be interesting to battle it out against the always strong Kona Team. It sounds like both Barry Wicks and Ryan Trebon will be in attendance, so that makes things more exciting.

Stayed tuned for updates!

Pura Vida!