Wishing you health and happiness in 2010, Here's some highlights from the past year

An EPIC Paris-Roubaix Day

Independence Day in Steamboat

Big bikes at Keystone

Mainecation

Cross Nationals in Bend

And for a little reminiscing, here's a shot from (about) the beginning of this decade

THIS!!!...this is cross!!

My sentimental favorite Styby ..( for obvious reasons...I'm a company man to the core ) would LOVE to see him take the stripes on his home turf.

Check out the photography from Zolder WC here...stunning, absolutely stunning work

A Bart Hazen shot of Stybar from the Loenhout race, also check out the insane power output in the video from this race

Downtime

It's been downright wintry here, spare time on weekends has been time well spent watching the World Cups in the morning on Crosstube.net, followed by stuffing my face with holiday leftovers and doing non-cycling type things like visiting our new rock climbing gym downtown. I thought I'd throw out a couple of recommended reads for the dark season.

First up, Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. Let me be perfectly clear. I strongly dislike running...it borders on hate. I can't think of any other mindless, boring activity to partake in,other than perhaps.....jogging, so while reading this book, I must say, it actually makes me want to go out for a run!!! It's an amazing story of the Tarahumara Indians of Copper Canyon, Mexico and their extraordinary abilities to run ultra marathon distances. There's some evolutionary explanations on why the human body is born to run while another interwoven story is told of Tarahumara's being brought up to Colorado to compete in the Leadville 100 ultramarathon race. This tale (which at times seems like fiction), then culminates with the best North American runners traveling down to Copper Canyon to see how they stack up against the locals. Read it, trust me, you will want to head out on the trails by foot.

Second, The Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne. Yes, that David Byrne, former member of the highly eccentric band, Talking Heads. I've been a huge fan of Byrne's musical work for decades and this book didn't disappoint either. While travelling the globe, he brings a folding bicycle in order to explore his surroundings. It's not a "bicycle book" per se, sometimes I was lost in his thoughts on modern art or architecture but it's a fun read and glad to see that someone else feels as though the bicycle can save the world.

Lastly, The Wild Trees, by Richard Preston. For about 3 years, Jen and I lived in the Santa Cruz mountains surrounded by massive redwoods along the California coastline. It was remarkable to be able to see so far through the forest but because the canopy's were so dense that very little light actually made it to the ground. This is a fascinating story of those persons who dedicated their lives and careers to studying and searching out these massive trees, some reaching almost 350ft into the sky. Many had their own very own ecosystems at this height. It's a great read about what brings a number of people who's personalities are polar opposites of each other together to live and seek out these trees.

Plan B...you can't sit still with a book ? Pop in the Road To Roubaix, in my humble view. The BEST cycling documentary ever...yes...ever. A Sunday in Hell is fine but nothing else captures the Queen of the Classics like this movie

Wishes

My best wishes to everyone during this holiday season!! A very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! May your cup be filled with what fulfills you the most.

I was going to use this space as a "best and worst"of the past year but will pass. Suffice to say, it was one of the years I've ever had! Filled with all the "normal"peaks and valleys that come our way.Is normal boring ? Hardly... 2009 was marked by deep satisfaction by many things, a wonderful companion to share my life with, family and friends, constant personal growth and the drive to rise up to challenges, particularly at the workplace, a non-exclusive membership among crazed group of fanatics who like to race their bikes in the worst conditions possible. The past year was also marked by deep sorrow for a friends loss,and those who are suffering in some very tough economic times.

Thanks to all who've stopped by for a read here, there has been more than a few occasions where I've thought that racing uses up enough energy as it is, I don't want to continue to burn precious spare time by writing about it, but it seems as though there are enough of you on the other side of the tape ringing your cowbells and yelling encouragement, so I keep plodding along here and say thanks for that.

Here's to 2010 ! Happy trails and may the wind always be at your back.Have a great holiday season!
Shotty

Commuter Races

Well, apparently the racing fire still burns...on a long slow climb up the bike path to work, a fellow cycle commuter passes me without as much as "Hello or Good Morning". I let it go but I've seen this guy before and he processes no common courtesy towards his fellow riders. The more I think it about and the further he goes up the road the more steamed I get. So down goes the chain and I am firing on all cylinders while using whatever last specs of fitness remain from the season. It takes me awhile but I catch and pass, look over and fire off a cheery "morning !" and man, did that feel good.

Pics from 45+ Race in Bend

Thanks to James Huang for sending these over....also, go here for a beautiful video of the mens 30-34 race

States- redux

My bold, strategic move to slide down that tricky part of the States course backwards and on my back captured on film about 31 seconds in....enjoy!!

Acknowedgements

Feeling a little out of sorts with a open weekend on the horizon. After 12 consecutive weekends of racing it's not a huge surprise. While I'm very much looking forward to some downtime, there's still piece of me that desperately wants to get out and open it up and charge hard, it's difficult to find something else to fill that void. As usual, I'll get over it and embrace the space.

I'd like to take the time to acknowledge of number of persons who make this silly obsession possible every year.First and foremost, my honey for giving me a strings-free hall pass for the entire season. ( I know it wasn't easy ) J Mathis, my co-pilot for the entire season, pretty sure he's hooked. Lortie, for the stunning imagery, Keller and Matty O for the contagious enthusiasm and inspired speed. Matt K, Rich, Brian, and all the FMVC guys who keep racing in perspective. All the 35/4 guys who I've been chasing all season, the Brads (2), Bob P, James H...shouldn't you all move up next season ? New local cycloblogger, Dale Riley, thanks for posting all the videos so I could re-live how badly I was shanking it. So many others, especially those I re-connected with in Bend, from the New England Cross Mafia ( Stu, Timmy,)to the Santa Cruzer guys and girls ( E-Richter, Willie B, Justin and Jenny ) . To all family and friends who have sent encouragement from afar.

This season, unlike any other, our cross family has grown exponentially and it never ceases to amaze. Thanks All !!!

What A Day

What can I say...I've never seen a cross race like the one I witnessed today, crowds were at least five deep in most good viewing spots on the course and the volume was turned ALL the way up. To the point where you could barely hear Dave Towle's announcing......it was that loud. Seems as though the Portland vibe and all it's crossy madness had migrated East for the weekend. Drum Crops, some guy dressed as a pirate playing a saxophone, another dressed only in a Mexican wrestling mask and a speedo, Santa Clause was here....everyone came out for the big show. It was a pleasure witnessing Tim Johnson take his 3rd Stars and Stripes jersey (obviously paying attention to my valuable advice (scroll down) has paid off ). For the ladies, it was the Katie Compton show all over again and she took her 6th National title. Well done to everyone who laid it all out there today. Cyclocross continues to be the greatest show on earth. Bend put on a great race. Mark your calenders for next year and make the trip.

The day was made that much better by a surprise visit from some former Mainiacs now residing in Oregon ( seen here enjoying the best frites..ever..there's some kind of additive properties to the spicy mayo that are slathered all over these things )

As for now, there's still plenty of season left ahead for the Euro's.... check out Stybars new brakes!! (photo courtesy of Bart Hazen)

Thanks for reading

Shotty

The Finale

Friday afternoon marked my last race for the 09 season, and I couldn't have been happier with the race, so much so that it almost got over on me after crossing the line. I ran a super clean race, avoided the inevitable pile-ups and just tried to lay down some nice smooth power for the entirety. I wasn't lapped or asked to leave the course. The track thankfully had thawed slightly during the day and while temps and sunshine were simultaneously plummeting during our race, the traction was far better than Thursdays "B' race. My effort netted me 50th place out of 139 starters in the 45-49 group, I'm calling it good since it's further up the line than last years Nats and I started about 3 rows from the back. This sport always gives back more than I put into it and I'm super thankful for that.

Colorado riders are continuing to take home the stars and stripes jerseys. I'm not sure if Danny Summerhill took the Espoirs race today but Jon Baker took the win in the 35-39. Pete Webber crushed everyone by 45 seconds on the 40-44 ( YEAH PETE!!!!!) and when I left at 4PM Paco from Velonews was leading the 30-34.

Noon was open course so I spent that time critiquing riders techniques then following up with them post-practice to point out their obvious flaws

TJ could use a little help with his shouldering technique

Jamie Driscoll finally understands how to set up for bunny-hopping a barrier, ( check out his sweet frame pump!...what a dork ). I was trying to give Jeremy Powers a little help but his bike was literally run over by a Lincoln Navigator while we stood beside watching it happen. (He wasn't on the bike at the time)

Tomorrow should be a barn burner. There's a lot of unknowns, namely what course conditions will be ( they seem to be changing by the minute ) Todd Wells seems to be in fine form. Trebon looks confident, no one has seen Jon Page yet. The Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com Mafia guys are on a tear and work very well together. For the ladies, it will most likely be the Katie Compton show

That is all from Bend for now, Thanks for Tim and Jamie for putting up with shenanigans and thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed this seasons ramblings

Shotty

Backwards and Forwards

I'm not going to bore you with the blow by blow on how our State Championships went down but suffice to say it was HARD. I prerode during the 35 Opens with Griffos on and thought traction was decent, the course was still mostly frozen and the extra volume provided some floatation on the snow. Big mistake, I brought my Michelin Muds and left them on the spare bike thinking they wouldn't be needed so when temps rose and a skim layer of grease formed over the frozen ground it was mighty difficult charging the lines that I wanted. All in all, a great race, the ICCC guys did a great job with the cards they were dealt. I bested last years placing by one position (15th) and thus ended the Colorado season ( sniff...sniff..dang...I'll miss you guys)

Here's a summary of sorts of the Colorado Season
12: Starts
1: DNF
1,679: Appox number of miles driven to races
15: packets of Gu used
0: flats!
7: highest placing
38:deepest placing
3: crashes
2: trips to Taiwan during the season
0: illness' caught
Best New Race on the Calender: Castle Cross

Bend Update: Arrived yesterday and barely got to my start on time for the killer B race. Scrambled to the hotel and built my bike, pinned on numbers and arrived at the venue 30 minutes prior to start! The course at this time of the day is treacherous, a layer of dry snow on top of rock hard frozen icy ground. You can spot these frozen ruts sticking out above the snow and must avoid them like the plague. I only had 1 minor incident when I lost my rear end around a hair pin and managed to stay moslty upright but drove my knee into a fencing post. My co-worker Scott MacLaughlin, a Srammie from Chicago came by me for the win ( on Shorty Ultimates! ) with 1 to go and that ended my race but still was super fun derbying around.

3 things that have made an impression on me
1) the tech area looks like a mid-90's Norba National. I've never seen such a presence like this at a cross nationals. The lot is filled with team trucks...very PRO
2) The amount of carnage on the course yesterday, 170 something guys on a tight slippery course, a recipe for disaster. self preservation kicked and and I rode probably too cautiously
3) Rabid fans, our race was at 3:30 pm, it's getting COLD..fast and the sun is setting, there were still ton's of people out cheering and heckling

Stay tuned for more soon
Shotty

Bikes are prepped and waiting for what will most likely be my last race on the Colorado calender, our State Championships are being held up in Arvada tomorrow. Here's all I know...there's a "death spiral" and winter has set in here...hard! This morning temps were hovering around the zero mark, there's snow on the ground and while tomorrow is supposed to be hinting at 40's, course conditions will most likely be perfect..again!! Frozen, rutted, slippery icy mud ! This season reminds of the Surf City Series in Santa Cruz during an El Nino year, just non-stop epic conditions!!

As soon as my race is over, my Jamis gets a thorough wash and tune and goes in a box bound for Bend. Sunday, we leave with some friends for Francie's Hut for a few days of sliding on snow in the high country...sweet! Then it's back in the germ tube on Thursday for Nats...at this point..a little downtime is all I need for the holiday. I'll be posting as often as possible from Nationals so while I won't have much new news for a while, stay tuned for more to come about mid week

Thanks for reading
Shotty

Rehab

Apparently I have a disconnect between brain and stomach. I mean..I love Thanksgiving..."gravy? why, yes please", "gee, I don't think I've tried all 32 dessert options!" "are there larger plates available or just overflow ones available ?" "race bikes ?me ?...I think you are mistaken"


As in past years, Jen and I made the trip East to Kansas to visit with my side of the family for the long weekend. Thankfully, the consumption is slightly balanced by the fact that everyone leads an active life, so we all went on a few walks/hikes and stick with tradition when we turn our backs on the approaching rampant consumerism that is Black Friday. Instead ,we spend a day doing a few odd jobs around my sisters farm . Last year, I balanced the meal with a nice 56 mile road ride between their homes, that ride didn't quite pan out this year so while I wasn't keen on jumping in the car again after a 7 hour drive the day before, I felt as though it was in my best interest to go race my bike at Sunday's RRV #2. Besides, I had a bone to pick with this course.
loading up for a hike ( or swim, for the dog )


Jen's new ride...a hayburner to replace the 29er

eliminating emergency exits for goats

a break...supplemented with more cookies

Last weeks Pike Peak race netted me a second row slot on the start line. A couple of pre-lap warm up laps showed that the course had been modified slightly, still stupid hard and techy in spots. There were a few sections that would send out mental suggestions, saying "go ahead, sit up here and take a breather...this is a hard sport and you deserve a break" best to avoid those voices and keep your head down and keep the power on, otherwise you'd get dropped like a rock. I got off to a decent enough of a start but was immediately flustered by traffic and not being able to approach barriers, sand pits, run-ups etc, at the speed I wanted. Subsequently, I found myself trying to play catch up without much of a top end. ( and carrying an extra bunch of pounds around ) With 2 laps to go, the afterburners finally kicked in ( late!) and I started moving forward and finished through in 16th position. Thankfully, the course didn't get the best of me this time and was super pleased just to have finished without any drama. Modest goal of keeping just enough points to earn me a semi-decent callup at States was met.

Huge congrats go out to the Boob , who took a win in the 4's on what would be his last race for the season. I'm not sure where the time has gone and we are already looking at the end of our season...or are we ? I booked a flight to Bend and I also keep reading rumors of a few January races for the front range.

Looking forward to seeing you all at States this weekend, best of luck to all out there who are wrapping up their seasons. Thanks for reading

Shotty

Photos

Many, many thanks go out to Shawn Lortie for the images added to yesterdays post below

more images can be found at UltraRobs site and more links in 303Cycling

I failed to mention one other great side story yesterday. It was Danny Summerhill, super honch, pro for Garmin Slipstream sitting on the trainer in the pit area after his win...cheering on his Mom who was racing in the Masters Women group....yep..it's a family sport!

Pikes Peak Supercross #2

Local racing is the finest kind of racing, Saturday was a nice change of pace, no packing the car the night before, no alpine start to Boulder County and then having to deal with football traffic on the drive south, not having to sit alone in a darkened kitchen with my bowl of oats. Our dog won't even hang out with me on these early cold mornings. But Saturday was nice, a good leisure start to the day.

Course conditions were once again, primo. By our start, the frozen ruts had just become to transform themselves into a slippery skim layer of mud on top of frozen ground. I walked the course on Friday and immediately decided then that the Michelin Muds were going to replace the Griffo's again and I wasn't disappointed, tires were hooking up like velcro and if I didn't have any control over a line choice, it didn't matter, these tires are just amazing in slippery conditions. Thanks to a smaller field size ( 41 starters ) and a overly-caffeinated cheering section, I pulled off one of the best races I've had in ages, a 7th place which will hopefully enable me a semi-decent start spot at States in 2 weeks. Bob Prieto from BSV and I shared leads for a about 4 laps where I would pass in the barriers and running sections and then he would crush me on the paved climb. Fellow finishers from our little Avid family was Jim Mathis in the 18th spot and Matt Hunt in 36th. Obviously super pleased with my top ten, but even more so by how the remainder of the day unfolded. I wanted to stick around for the rest of the afternoon to cheer on some co-workers and friends who would be racing in the Cat 4's and 3's.

Chris Wilkerson was one of the guys. He's made 2 prior attempts at racing cross. The first being the Pikes Peak race 2 years prior. That race ended within the first half lap with an exploded rear derailleur and no spare bike. The second attempt was at Chatfield Res last year, I won't go into the ugly....ugly details(again) but it's worth taking a look here. Well, with perhaps a little cajoling and some trepidation, C-Dub decided to throw his hat in the ring again and nailed it finally. It was a ride inspired ! He sat at the back for the start ( to smartly avoid any calamities )and steadily wound his way up to 18th spot with a massive grin most of the way.

Also racing in this group was longtime friend/co-worker Jeremiah Boobar, fresh off back surgery from about 8 months ago followed by more months of rehab and a super focused effort to whip himself back into shape. He's dropped a heap of beer gut and was also on the tail end of some kind of sinus infection. Perhaps it was the antibiotics, but he sat near the finish line at his start time wondering where the rest of the field was until realizing that the whistle had just blown on the other side of the river and he was placed on the exact opposite side of the start line and just missed his start. Thus began a massive TT/chase. He was well over a minute back on the last guy after the last lap. In chase mode, he was going way...way faster than the leaders of this field. By the time the 45 minutes were up, he had moved into 11th place ! With a proper start. it would have been a podium day.

Next up, the 3's. Matt Klick had driven down with his sweetie to do his best to lay waste to his speedy compadres. I haven't stuck around a race for the entire day in a long time and let me tell you these guys have it tough. By their start time, the sun is already sinking below the mountains and the temperatures are dropping quickly. Volunteer officials and race organizers are literally breaking down the course as the races progresses. I think I counted 5 spectators, all significant others helping with encouragement and hand-ups.... "go babe!!!..you're doing great !" The venue is mostly quiet, no bells, horns, kids running around...nothing. Matt had a phenomenal couple of laps but was victim to some coordinated attacks that came from behind and wound up 6th.

I'm not ready for the end of the season that's rapidly approaching. I'll be extending by a week and heading up to Bend for Nationals where my primary responsibility will be work related in regard to the Shorty Ultimates but will try to grab a spot for a "B" race prior to the championships races.

Till RRV, here's wishing everyone a Happy Thankgiving, I hope you're all able to share the day with those you cherish. Cheers !
Digging for photo's from Saturday, if you find some please post a comment with links, Thanks

Shotty

Not so pro-file

Head on over to The Road Diaries to get the skinny on where were at with Shorty Ultimates, if you see me or my fellow Srammie, Jim Mathis at any of the remaining front range races and want to take a squeeze, give us a yell, (be forewarned though, I run mine moto style )

Thanks to Zellman who got it mostly right, except for the fact that I race in the slow Masters category. if anything it's worth taking a look at the New England Cyclocross Mafia Mob Boss, Stu Thorne cleaning my filthy bike

Saturday!!!.....Saturday!!! Pikes Peak Velo Cross....see you there
Shotty

Community

Woke up feeling pretty darn good after flying in from Taiwan the day before. I look outside, it's spitting rain and snow, low grey clouds and temps hovering around freezing. Perfect. Might as well race off the lag and besides, getting to Sundays race in Boulder sounds like a dodgy affair with a bunch of snow on the menu. I was running around the house in super panic spaz mode trying to gather all bits and pieces of bike stuff that I needed for the day. The bike wasn't really prepped. I was pulling clothing off the line that had been left there from the last race. Everything is chucked into the car and off I go, almost an hour late.

I arrive at the venue with about 50 minutes to spare. Jim rolls over looking for a pump, " you look like hell " he states, since I hadn't yet looked at myself in the mirror yet, I can't disagree and no , I managed to forget my pump at home, along with chamois lube and embrocation. After paying for my number, I huddle in the back of the Element and change as quickly as possible, apparently too quick as I zip up the skinsuit and realize that I forgot to attach the number. Off comes the suit again, pin on the number, suit up again and then I think I've lost a glove. By the time I dial in tire pressure and use the facilities one last time, any opportunity for a warm-up or course re-con has evaporated. I just pull up to the line, pass on a call-up and think I'll figure out the course as we go.

Oh to be 18 again...no seriously, This is the 3rd time this year that I've slotted into this position. I am pretty darned pleased with this race despite my body not really knowing what time zone it's in. The course had a nice mix of wide open power sections, a Return of the Jedi type singletrack and of course some sand.

Thanks for the folks at the ICCC and the FMVC who put an emphasis on a family/community day of cross racing. There was a newbie race which I think is badly needed in our area. Starting out, even in a Cat 4 race could be WAY more intimidating for a first foray into cross racing. Nestled into the newbie race was also a tandem category with some pretty impressive coordinated dismounts and remounts. Hot Dogs on the grill, huge pots of hot cocoa, a nice fire pit to keep spectators happy and also a very well attended memorial service for a club member who was tragically struck by a motorist a week prior.

It was a nice low key day at the races, and the atmosphere was quite unlike any other event that we've had this season. well done.

Thanks for reading and Jim at Six Degees to Slush for the photo's

shotty

Life on the ROC

the Republic of China, Taiwan or "backwards land" as I like to call it because as I'm turning in for the night, everyone back in my original time zone is just beginning to start their day. I haven't done a tally as of late totalling the number of trips here but believe it's somewhere in the high teens. Their culture never ceases to disappoint though, they are the most outgoing persons who will make sure that every single one of these visits is enjoyable.

Their work ethic is bordering on obsessive and it shows with the recent success' in building up and modernizing their infrastructure, and the ability to build things like very cool, lightweight carbon fiber bicycle bits, although at a severe cost to the environment. Thankfully there have been many improvements in that arena as well. Perhaps it's their independent nature, while technically they are under the thumb of the nearby behemoth of China, there's a very visible streak of individuality, the language is slightly off from traditional Mandarin, the politics are polar opposite of China and the food is wayyyy better. When China requires that they they fly a "Chinese Taipei" flag at the Olympics instead of their national flag, I think that just adds fuel to their motivation.

Go to Taichung and hurl a rock in any direction and you'll hit a supplier making some widget for a bicycle, it's all here. If it's not here than a Taiwanese based company has opened a plant in China to supply factories building and shipping bikes from the mainland. There's some quality road biking once you leave the urban areas but mountain biking is just about non-existent. That's slowly changing as there are many DH specific gravity trails popping up in the steep,

densely forested hills above Taipei city. Shuttling is accomplished by attaching a tow-rope behind a scooter.....they are resourceful and you can fault them for that.

Cross "racing" plans will be dictated by quality of sleep tonight and road conditions. Hope to see you out there.

Power Trip

It's currently 1:15 am in Colorado, I'm sitting in the United lounge in Tokyo/Narita airport, filled to the brim with Sushi and missing my girls already!

Also still feeling the effects of Saturday's Schoolyard Cross which despite the warm , dry conditions might go down as one of the most enjoyable races I've had this season. I didn't experience my typical "2 to go fade" in fact it felt as though I ran out of real estate and time. The course was predominately flat and non-technical..read: FAST, stupid fast and requiring a massive wattage output. This is typically not my style of course or conditions ( warm, sunny ). Despite having a pathetic points standing, I still received a call up and slotted into the 2nd row. Whistle blows and the rider in front of me slips a pedal and does a couple of swaps/tripod moves in before regaining control. By now, a good third of the field was up the road, I got pimped in a couple of turns as the course narrowed and I was immediately relegated to the middle of a 80 rider field. Time to chase and pick off as many spots as possible.

Super thankful for a few things that worked to my favor: 1 ) the double rings up front as I spent a considerable amount of time in the 46T. 2) a mud pit, while we had a hefty dose of summer on the front range this past week, the race organizers took it upon themselves to break out the hose and water down a long straightaway, I was able to pick off a few spots every lap through here. By 2 to go, a Crossniacs rider and I were sharing an epic battle for who knows what placing but you'd think it was the last chance for the green points jersey at the TDF. A few gentlemanly passes on both our parts. With 1 to go he was clinging to my wheel as we headed up what was easily the toughest long uphill bumpy grinder of a climb with 2 barriers at the top. We both exited the section cleanly, jumped back on the pavement for the finishing straight. I've never possessed any type of sprinting skills whatsoever but I was fired up for this one and besides, Dave Towle was announcing and whipping the 5 spectators into a frenzy, I barely kept my spot on the line, good enough for 19th spot. Past the line,we both congratulated each other on a job well done and then Mr Crossniacs went over to a nice shady, patch of grass to puke.

Love this sport.

Flight Plan

One more derby for me this weekend at Schoolyard Cross in Louisville on Saturday and then on Sunday, it's off to Taiwan for the next iteration-pilot build of our cross brake. 13 times zones away, 3 flights for a total amount of flying time of 15-17 hours, which makes a door to door excursion of about 26 hours ( give or take a few minutes ). To get an idea, don't sleep for about 3 days and then spend a full day inside a carnival fun house. That's the closest analogy to describing how I feel when I get home again. The Cross Crusade race is out, and the Boulder series wrap-up is a definite maybe. I'm going to do my best to race off jet lag...for sure, steer clear of me if you pass mid-race and my eyes are closed...it's just a quick nap.

Here's to an early arrival of the cold front on Saturday as this weeks weather on the front range has been positively un-crossy....can't really complain, we've had a really nice balance of perfect ( snow, cold , mud ) and not so-perfect ( sunny, warm )

Line Choice

Although I haven't found it yet, I'm pretty sure I'm labeled with the following statement " For best results, best to operate in temperatures between 25° -55° F" .

Saturdays race was a blur and seemed to end mere moments after it started, which was a shame. Pure joy, playing in the mud, the filthier the better. It feels as though the body is pulling energy from each new glob that flicks off the tire tread into your teeth. For many of us, the individual reasons that we gather every weekend are as varied as the lines we choose across a mess of goop, although I think that at the core, all our reasons are exactly the same. Camaraderie. If I raced with you or encouraged you from the other side of the tape it's because we can all relate to the ability to push ourselves to the best our abilities and leave nothing on the table. To suffer like hell for 45 minutes and hope to come out of it smiling, to share our battles on the field.

Shawn Lortie, super fast dad, who shared his secret to speed, don't ride during the week and partake in Margs at the Rio whenever possible

At the end of my day, I filled up the 18th position on what is consistently, one of the best courses and well run event on the calender ( there was even a high school marching band in attendance )The fact that it was an NACT race, made it that much sweeter. It was great to spend some face time with some long time New England Cyclocross Mafia members, and witness Tim Johnson putting on a clinic on how to race cross by besting his teammates by a solid minute and a half !

Jesse Anthony, consummate pro and gracious enough to lend his hand to the product development process

A few factors figured into my decision to pass on Sundays race. First was that my start time was 8am ( too early ), The venue was changed to the Res ( once a year is enough ), a Halloween party the night before ( cheeks sore from laughing at absurdly creative costumes) and it was just a perfect Fall day to spend with my honey. I did get out on a dusk ride on the Indy Fab down the Sante Fe trail as the moon rose over downtown....perfect weekend

Check out Rob O Dea's pictures from Saturday on Kellers site....amazing.

Thanks for reading

shotty

Saturdays Pics

Thanks to Lortie for the photo's

The Perfect Storm ?

Here's what the weather service has to say about the next couple of days:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO416 PM MDT TUE OCT 27 2009...
MAJOR WINTER STORM FOR NORTHERN COLORADO TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY....

A STRONG STORM SYSTEM WILL DEVELOP NEAR THE FOUR CORNERS LATE TONIGHT AND THEN MOVE SLOWLY ONTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS THROUGH THURSDAY.THIS STORM WILL BRING HEAVY SNOW TO THE NORTHERN COLORADO MOUNTAINS TONIGHT AND SPREAD ONTO THE NORTHEAST PLAINS WEDNESDAY MORNING. IN ADDITION TO THE SNOW...GUSTY NORTH TO NORTHEAST WINDS WILL DEVELOP PRODUCING AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW.TRAVEL WILL BECOME DIFFICULT OR IMPOSSIBLE BY WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON.RESIDENTS SHOULD PREPARE FOR A LONG DURATION OF WINTER STORM CONDITIONS FROM WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY.

Sweeeeeeeet. I'm hearing a total accumulation of at least 8 inches or so which will turn most of Saturdays course at Xylinx into a cold, frozen, quagmire of muck. Michelin Mud 2's are mounted and clean, all I need to do now is avoid my workplace which resembles an infirmary right now. There might be 3 of us that haven't yet caught the crud sweeping through our building.

A Tale of Two Venues

Let me first say that the planets aligned in perfect formation to bring the Front Range the best cyclocross conditions we've seen in awhile. Temps were cool and sunny on Saturday and Sunday brought a blanket of low grey menacing ceiling of clouds, and rounds of light snow showers all day.

Saturday: Castle Cross
On the drive up from PPTP (Pikes Peak Trailer Park) I started spotting big remnants of a snowstorm that blew through mid-week. While we didn't receive any accumulation of snow in the Springs, by Monument pass and all the way to Castle Rock there was still a decent coating of the white stuff left on the ground. Me thinks there could be mud today !!! By the time I pulled in the lot, my hopes were confirmed, super dirty riders pulling off the track onto pavement and leaving long strips of mud down the road as their tires cleared. A warm-up lap confirmed that 1. This was going to be HARD, lots of elevation gain and loss, super muddy, 3 run-ups, and lots of off-camber jogs. 2) I had the wrong tires on, the Griffo's were not cutting it (pun intended) so it was back to the ever-reliable Michelin Mud 2's which were absolutely perfect for the greasy conditions.

Not sure if everybody was scoping bargains on a Coors Light Team Jersey from 1989 at Velo-Swap or saving their legs and lungs for the sand trap that is Boulder Reservoir but the field size was low, perhaps 50 guys in our group. Because of this I actually managed a front row slot and managed to pull off a very decent start. I was sitting top five for most of the first lap. Then everyone got serious and realized they had numbers pinned on so this must be a race and should get down to business. There was a particular mud hole that I was wary off, since the least goopy line felt as though there was a rock hidden underneath the soup. I felt a rim strike and made a mental note not to hit it again for fear of pinch flatting. So I return to said mud hole on lap 2 and decide to pick a line to the left, I drop in and literally "drop in", over the bars (again) and I land on the backside and now completely covered in mud. I grab my bike and there is so much viscous fluid trapped between my gloves and bar tape, I can barely control my bike, the chain is off so I just slam the chain into the big ring just to get the chain onto the rings again. Despite the lack of control and a few choice words, I'm back on the program and actually having a seriously good time trying to maintain control and not slip too far backwards.

Clydesdale extraordinaire Brian Graves from FMVC caught me after my swim, gave me a very polite "on your right" then promptly rode away from me. I put my head down and started to slowly bridge back when I saw him duck around some bushes on an off-camber sharp left then I hear a string of very vocal expletives and I round the corner to see an impressive bike toss (mind you, not quite as impressive as this guy, but pretty good). Turns out, his sidewall was sliced open on a rock and that was the end, too bad too, because he was really on a tear (pun intended) yesterday.

The remainder of the race is just taking care of damage control as the soggy ground is sapping any kind of power clean out of my legs. Riders a strung out in huge gaps and I seem to be in no-mans land. No one close to bridge a gap and no one behind for a ways. I roll through in 12th happy as a clam, deep in...mud.

Thanks to the crew at Green Mtn Sports, the course, organization, and volunteers were phenomenal.

Sunday Boulder # 3
After spending a good part of Saturday afternoon cleaning mud out of socks, ear canals, shoes, nostrils, gloves, etc. ( I am certain that cleanup lasted longer than the race ). I prepped for sand-fest 2009. I have serious love-hate relationship with the course at the Boulder Reservoir. I think there's something fundamentally wrong with riding/running/struggling through an inordinate amount of waist deep sand. I know that there are specific World Cup courses held in Belgium on courses similar but much, much harder than this, but that's why the punters sit by the sidelines, drink copious amounts of alcohol and hurl verbal abuse at their favorite riders. The pro's should race courses like this, that is why they are pro's and they get paid good money to ride thier bikes in ridiculous conditions. For the rest of us, it's just not that pretty to watch the fumbling, stumbling, tri-poding and wallowing in the sand. (the exception was Matt Pachocha from Velo-News who while warming up, was making everyone look like idiots as he easily rode through a slight uphill, long section of sand that every other mortal was shuffling through)

So why race this ? When I put together a solid race, I have OK results here and actually have decent time ( but I still detest so much sand )The past 2 years, I've been plagued with flats, first time with no spare wheels or a bike, the second year, I was sitting easily in the top 20 and flatted in the front and shanked my wheel change, losing heaps of spots. Today, I ran a super durable fast, fat tire, the Michelin Jet. I have been a huge fan of this tire for a long time. It provides decent flotation, good traction in most conditions and has some hefty casings. I can run these at very low pressures without worrying about finding some sharp object lurking underneath the sand waiting. With some light snow showers overnight, the sand pulled in a nice amount of moisture so some sections were fairly fast and starting to pack down. Despite one of my worst starts in a long time, I was able to put together a pretty solid race with no issues (except for pimping another rider in one of the sandy switchback turns and causing him to topple over--sorry! but I was stuck on a line). I finished up in 20th and got my single BCR point....whooo hooo !

For Halloween, the NACT circus arrives in the Peoples Republic and we are in for a treat(pun intended) as we get to watch how cyclocross is done by this countries best.

Thanks for reading!
Shotty

Movie Fans

This Thursday the 22nd, Race Across the Sky is playing at theaters all over the country. a documentary about the 2009 Leadville 100 Mountain Bike Race and the epic battle between all-around super nice guy,mountain bike honch, Dave Weins ( 6 time winner ) and some roadie named Lance Armstrong. Check out the details and the move trailer here

Shankapotomus

Race # 5 today at the Tony Grampsas Park in lovely Golden, CO. ( basically across the street from the Coors brewery, based on the smell that was a cross between burning tires and hops, I'm going to guess it's not brewed from the fresh, clean waters of the Colorado rockies ). A beautiful Indian Summer day here on the front range with temps pushing 80. I should have taken this as an omen and stayed home. I pre-rode the course which presented more than it's fair share of challenges, but also a super sweet piece of very fast, shady singletrack, a nice place to gather your thoughts and recover. A clever use of a sand volleyball court and which we went through twice, one short route, one long. There was also a very short, but steep set of stairs that dumped us out onto a bumpy flat before a sharp left, steep drop-in back to the track. While I was watching the 35 opens tackle this section, the treads on the wooden stairs were coming loose and there were a few riders botching the remount and having to run down the drop-in.

After missing Valmont, my call-up was on the bottom of list but still enabled a pretty good spot on the 3rd row. Attendance was down but still a sizable field ( 80 maybe ?). Start was ridiculously hard, a gravely loose, uphill onto freshly mowed dead dried out grass ( so dry, it's slippery!). Brian from FMVC was shouting out encouragements behind as I swept across his line about three times almost sending him into the weeds. The first lap was producing carnage everywhere, it's been a long time since I've seen this many riders hit the deck. One endoed right in front of me heading into the sand pit which sent me off course and over the tape to avoid running him over. By laps 2 and 3, the mayhem seemed to be settling down, I was picking off a few riders and saw my rabbits in front of me to start chasing down. And that's when everything came unglued in one lap. I came up to the stairs and had a clean dismount and run-up, as I went to remount, the back wheel hit a rut and bounced high and to the outside, I had to quickly abort the remount and when I came down, I lost my footing and fell down the drop-in, leaving the bike at the top. I scrambled back up and pulled my bike out of the way and got back to making forward progress. This little episode has spiked my heart rate so high, it was all I could do to spin nice easy circles and any bike handling skills previously available were absent now. I was shanking all the good lines in a desperate attempt to move up again. That's when I came up with the brilliant idea to come warping into the sand pit at full speed and keep my momentum as high as possible. I went in and misjudged the depth of the sand in my line and promptly buried my front wheel and did a super high speed superman over the bars.

Thankfully the sand was soft and loose, I was up quickly and unharmed but I was completely spun and slogged through the remainder of the sand pit. I rolled back into the grass and started up through the start-finish area and noticed that my right shifter had suffered some sort of life changing event and wouldn't release cable. I was stuck in my 27, and there are much worse gears to be stuck in but after everything that had already happened, I wasn't in the mood to "2-speed" it through the remainder of the race. I was finished getting in the way of competent riders and pulled off course.

That's when I ran into honchy racer/photog/artist friend Lortie, who offered up his sweet full carbon Scott so I could jump back in, but at that point, I was finished. Pretty frustrating but it's been awhile since a course has gotten one over on me so I offer my congratulations to the designers/builders/hard working volunteers of the course today. I thought one lap through was sufficient and they proved me wrong. Lesson learned. I nice little shaded "picnic" with the FMVC boys post-race brightened my mood considerably. I now have 6 days to re-focus and try to get my game back. Let's hope for better weather.

Thanks for reading
Shotty

Really.

Sundays forecast, that's a bummer. I can't rally for an 8am start up at Valmont on Saturday so RRV # 1 in Golden will be my pick for the weekend. Whomever has been responsible for laying out the Red Rocks courses over the years, they deserve heaps of credit in my humble view. The races at the Morrison Elementary School were phenomenal, for not that large an area, they used every foot with a purpose in mind, it was super fun, especially when when nasty weather was involved. The track at Bear Creek flowed like water and a single race up in Evergreen was pretty epic, so I looking forward to yet another new venue in Golden. Best of luck to everyone pining on a number this weekend.

Shotty

The Real Deal

That's me (#567) scoping out my competitor from Blue Sky Velo and their nifty knee warmers, one is white ( left ) the other, maroon (right ). OK, now that's smart because it never, ever fails. I arrive at a race confident that I have not overlooked any details as far as what I need for the day. So, is it a cruel joke, some sort of sick collaboration between those who make gear bags and those whom manufacture cold weather cycling accessories that they all must come in the "color" black ? I mean really, I open up the cavernous black fabric-lined hole of a gear bag peering at more black headbands, black gloves, black knee warmers, black arm warmers, base layers, caps and I'm completely spazzing out because for sure I can't find the one piece I need. It's inevitable that I end up hauling everything out, it's strewn randomly around the interior of the car until I sort out my mini-crisis. It's like a kid losing their favorite blankey, all is well again once favorite and treasured Sugoi headband is found, like the day would be ruined without it! We all know that black is slimming on our svelte figures and as far as an accessory goes, it matches everything but I'm thinking it's time I start a color-coded accessory plan and put an end to the madness.

Sunday was # 2 in the 4 part Boulder Series Races. This was my 5th year in a row attending one of my all-time favorite venues. Nothing but deep green, lush grass, a sandpit to contend with and lots and lots of turns, thankfully off camber ones. I was extremely tentative about how the day would play out and if we would even be able to reach Boulder, thanks to a very foggy, raw, cold,very un-Colorado-like weekend. Everything was coated with a layer of heavy frost and the side streets resembled an ice skating rink. I reached Jims place without incident and he greeted me with a " Good Morning ! This is stupid!" By the time we rolled up on I-25 headed North the roads were clear and actually dry as soon as we departed the Springs. This eased my mood considerably and I started looking forward to some REAL cyclocross conditions and that was exactly what was delivered.

Thanks to a couple semi-decent finishes at Frisco I was treated to a call up ( albeit a 3rd row callup but I'll take it, especially with our group filling out at close to 100 riders, so much for weather conditions hampering field sizes ) I had a great start after a very short warmup and not even checking out the course. By lap 2 I couldn't feel anything past my wrists, complete solid blocks of ice, so shifting and braking was interesting. I was seeing riders ahead of me that I had passed the previous weekend but the course and cold were working slightly against me as I couldn't manage to bridge the gap. I would catch them through the barriers and sand pits, they would ride away from me on the switchback climbs back through the trees. I did a fairly decent job of damage control and managed to never really slide back during the race but never gained any ground either. I finished in 23 place and am very pleased with that. It was pure joy riding across a blanket of downed leaves and frozen wet, icy grass in such cold conditions, it felt very much like New England conditions in the heart of the season.

Due to an 8am start time, I think I will pass at the Valmont event next weekend, although I'd love to see the progress on this park. For sure I will be attending the RRV race at a new venue in Golden, has anyone ridden this yet ? Any feedback would be welcome

Thanks to Six Degrees to Slush for the pics

Thanks
Shotty

Happy 1st Blogday

Veldrijden Colorado turned one this week ! A massive thanks goes out to those who have tuned in a regular basis, offered up words of encouragement, left a comment, sent readers my way. I had no expectations or even a direction to take when I started throwing down my drivel onto the inter-web a year ago but I've thoroughly enjoyed sharing my cycling-centric life with all of you.

Today is a rest day before heading up to Broomfield tomorrow for Boulder Series #2. This is under the assumption that I'll actually be able to get there, currently there are heaps of traffic accident reports all over the front range due to the fact that's it's below freezing and drizzling here in the Pikes Peak Trailer Park. Looks like a decent amount of snow in Boulder but the forecast calls for temps in the 50's and some sun. If travel goes smoothly this race will be EPIC

Thanks for reading
Shotty

East Coast Bloggah

Wheel over to Jesse Anthony's new site...It's pure coincidence that we run the same bikes, I swear I'm not a stalker !! Makin' me proud as he rocks the Shorty Ultimates at New England Worlds

Weekend Plans

I'm going bonkers watching the weather scenario unfold for this weekend !!! Mid 40's , good chance of snow flurries Sat and grey and raw on Sunday. Could it be any better!! Because of my all encompassing general resistance to change ( my wife will attest to my "stick in the mud" nature ) I think I'm going to pass on Saturdays Cross Crusade race. I like the new format and get that they are trying to emulate the UK's 3 Peaks race, but I'm a traditionalist and like the short laps of 45 minutes and racing in the fall. So when I see everyone on Sunday and they blah, blah, blah, about how awesome Saturdays race was and how epic and rad, etc , etc I'll just have to stand there and take it and live with my decision, so be it. I've got a domestic day planned and need to pay attention to buttoning up the house a bit before things really get nice. So I'll see you Sunday on the grass at Interlocken which hopefully will be super wet and slippery as a smelt.

Welcome to another crossblogger: Crossin Colorado, he's posted some vids from last weekends event up in Frisco

Frisco Double

Here are my tips for ensuring a "successful" weekend of back to back racing:

1) Despite the fact that it's your anniversary weekend, convince your significant other that what you really have in mind for her is standing outside on 2 very brisk Autumn days while said husband drags his carcass around in circles whilst simultaneously drooling on himself ( from nose and mouth! )

2) Bring hyper-vigilant dog with to ensure that you lack a proper amount of sleep both nights prior to racing. I recommend a terrier mix with bat-like hearing that will alert you to the fact that someone is walking past your room at who know what hour of the night.

3) Make sure you have some minor-crisis during the race to raise the excitement level, because we all know how boring cyclocross can be at times.

4) Drain the battery on the camera and leave the charger at home so no photographic documentation will ever exist

By following the above tips to the letter we had, for sure had an excellent weekend in the high country. Huge props to the fine folks who put on Frisco Cross. The courses were AMAZING and it was nice to participate in an extremely well run event. Registration people were super friendly and thankful to to take my money (vs. some others who view us racers and our cash as a major inconvenience on their weekend morning..no names ) Results were posted immediately following the race. Brats and beers were readily available.

Saturdays course was techy, favoring bike handling skills slightly over fitness. The start was a long straight dragstrip paved incline that dumped us onto a very fast, very loose, woodchippy descent. Without sufficient points status from a late start this season I tried to get up as close as I could to those with a call-up. I had a decent start and was immediately and pleasantly surprised by how good I felt for so little racing and the fact that we were at about 10,000 feet of elevation. The course came off the woodchips and segued into some very sharp, very loose turns, some in dusty loose, dirt, some on pea gravel. I witnessed heaps of crashes and front-end washouts due to the conditions. This race was super fun for me due to some battles with fellow riders, I would gap a group in the technical sections, they would come back strong on the road climb, we were going back and forth like this for about 3 laps, at the 3 to go marker my rear derailleur ingested a stick, I heard that sickening sound of the rear derailleur about to wind itself into the cogset so I immediately back-pedaled which thankfully spat out the stick however my hanger and derailleur were twisted enough to make me think twice about putting out large amounts of power. The cogs were sitting at 15-20 degrees off center, I still could shift but had to be super careful about not sending the cage into the spokes of the wheel. I managed to roll through in 18th place out of about 60 riders. Thanks to the guys at Mafia racing who loaned me a stand and tools to fix my bike post race.

Although Day 2 had a chance of precip, it was not to be for us morning racers. The day was bright and sunny although clouds were moving in fast and the wind had picked up something wicked. Sundays course favored the fit. There was a long, steep,very loose run-up on the backside and still maintained a few of the woodchip descents from Saturday. I had a horrible start. We charged up the pavement again but this time, dove off to the right into a huge pile of woodchips with one or two good lines. Immediately a massive plume of fine dust went up and all lines were obliterated. As soon as we were strung out I felt way too spent to start picking off riders. I was just sitting in trying to compose myself. A few laps in, I started feeling better and would pick my spots to start passing fellow riders. On lap 3 I came around a corner and witnessed what looked to be a handful of riders gathering themselves and leaving the scene of what I assumed was a crash. There was a long piece of tape across the course and I managed to ride myself right into it, It wrapped itself into my front brake, but I was able to easily reach down and give it a good yank. I freed most of it and continued on until I looked down to see the majority of the tape wrapped around my front hub and fork blade. Didn't seem to be impeding progress and I didn't feel like losing time and places so I left it. At one to go, I bridged a gap up to 2 other riders with the clever intention of having them pull me through the long flat section directly into a fierce headwind. I was so smitten with myself and my plan and as soon as we hit the section they both just rode me off their wheel...bummer. I did manage to improve upon the previous day and finished in the 15th spot. Turned out that the piece of course tape that I pulled from my wheel was about 5 feet long!

Great weekend, spectacular scenery, a nice night out with my lovely wife (if you're looking for a fine dining experience in Summit County, go here), good times hanging with my cross family, always good to see to see Matty O, Keller, Pete Webber ( caught up on Maine getaways ), Rich and Brian from Frites and Mayo who said they would return for Sundays race but a no show (Roller Derby get the best of you guys ?)

Thanks for reading, next on the horizon is Boulder #2 at Interlocken
Shotty

School Bells

The beginning of the season, to me feels a little bit like the first day of school, a little exciting , a little awkward...we're out on the playground and there's some "sizing up" going on, wondering about who's prepared for this, who's clearly not, showing off our new Trapper Keepers. If I had to use one word to describe yesterdays race, I would pick ,HOT! Too hot for my liking, I welt under conditions like that and yesterday was no exception. This did not come as a surprise, it felt super good to be racing, I felt like I cleaned all the barriers, sand pits and techy sections nicely but it felt as though my head was going to explode from the heat. I think I finished mid-pack somewhere, I wasn't putting any pressure on myself for results, after a solid week off the bike and a trip to Taiwan, I will be racing myself into shape this season. Curiously, the ACA officials decided to not post results for our group if we weren't in the top 25 ! I'm really not sure if they started getting confused with lapped riders in a large field( 92 riders! ) or someones hand cramped up, perhaps they were short on volunteers but we had the same size fields last year and ALL results were posted ( sometimes they were incorrect but nevertheless, they were up ) so, kind of disappointing to not know exactly who's race I was obstructing.

My fellow Srammies, Jim joined me as well as Andy who showed his appreciation to us for introducing him to this fine sport by coughing up a nice bit of bile with blood mixed in after he crossed the finish line...yep , he's hooked. It was great to see the usual suspects out and about yesterday. Keller from Boulder Cycle Sport/Mud and Cowbells, Big Tom was out as always, I was particularly stoked to re-connect with Matt, a riding partner friend of mine from back in Maine. Despite a huge chasm in levels of fitness between us, Matt always humored me by dragging me out on some beautifully loopy, hilly road rides and I'd show him our local trail rides. After we'd come back to town, I would collapse on the couch while Matt would change out his gear and go for a 3 hour trail run. After we left Maine for Colorado almost 5 years ago, Matt headed East, way East to one of the "stan" countries to climb, then picked up a Masters at UAF in Alaska and his pursuit of a PhD landed he and his wife to be in Denver recently. My cycling family never ceases to amaze me, despite years that may go by without a word,that time or distance doesn't diminish the strength of our friendships, thankfully cycling is still the tie that binds us all and I am forever grateful.

Jen and I are spending a pre-wedding anniversary weekend in the high country next weekend so hope to see you at Frisco Cross

Shotty

Jesse Anthony on the goods

thanks to Rob O'Dea for the great photo

30 seconds to start

It's coming down to the wire, my cross season is about to officially get underway at the Boulder series # 1 in.....Louisville ( insert Debbie Downer sounds here ). I've had semi-decent results here but it's a brutal course..super rough, I hoping that this weeks snow and rain will linger long enough to dampen the dust. Tonight's practice session was held under perfect cross conditions, temps hovering barely above 40 degrees with a light rain, the leaves are turning, I felt super good and was pushing nicely,trying to keep it smooth and blow the Taiwan funk out of my system. Then a shooting pain up my right shoulder while portaging the bike...feels like some sort of tendon/ligament issue that will go away in 6 months time if I don't do anything so I'll nurse it along and hope that it improves. I highly recommend not getting old.

As of today, the Interbike show in Vegas is underway, as well as Cross Vegas, you may have seen this, which is something that has been consuming probably far too much of my time at work since about mid-March. It's the reason I spent the past 12 days in Taiwan and might be run by Jesse Anthony of Jamis tonight. It's out there and it's up to you to decide if we've done our homework.

Hope to see you Saturday
Shotty

After a brief respite, it's off to the island again, on a mission to do our best to enhance the lives of cyclists everywhere ( with specific focus to those who take joy in riding around in compact, tight courses with obstacles in miserable weather ). Today, I'd rather be reuniting with those whom I haven't seen since last December, but I'm not terribly heartbroken about missing the Bear Creek season opener. Duty calls, I have a greater purpose, I'll see you all at Boulder #1 (I hope Interlocken!! love this course ). Best of luck to all those who will pin on a number today and go home this evening with a raspy-phlegm filled cough, reeking of embrocation!! See you soon, please don't knock me off course when passing

shotty

exactly

great tweet from Trebon:

@ryantrebon For sure moto riding counts as 'cross training. Cornering skills, speed adaptation, it's all part of the program...

Vacationland !

Jen and I are bound for the coast of Maine to meet up with family and friends. With jobs/careers that we both love, we pour all our energy into each day so when when it comes time to look up and take a breath, that it some cool sweet air and a fantastic view.....ah,downtime! I shipped my mountain bike prior to our arrival as the surrounding trails where we used to reside are absurdly difficult to ride and an absolute hoot when the A-game is on board. A dark green loamy tunnel just filled with rocks crisscrossed with roots mud pits, oh and steep, there are no patches of flat terrain. It's the polar opposite of Colorado and that's what needed to flip the mental reset button.

The Peanut Gallery- Take 2

This past Wednesdays practice session brings out another great interaction. A few moms taking their toddlers for a stroll around the park stop us at the top of the long run-up and ask " excuse us, but are you guys professional cyclists ?"

the reply in my head went something like "fraid not, we're the hacks who when swinging the bike up onto the shoulder let the saddle hit themselves in the head and knock our helmets into our eyes"

still flattering and funny though !

Couple O' Links

Riding a Felt Cross Bike ? Read This !!!

Keller's 15 minutes of Fame! Read

The Fat Tire Revolution - Redux

Here is my prize piece of nostalgia from the early days. The Specialized Stumpjumper Team , a limited edition bike and only available in an outlandish version of Barbie pink. I acquired this bike by literally flagging the owner down during his ride in the Santa Cruz mountains some 10 years ago
It needs a new saddle, a Deore XT thumb shifter and some proper Ground Control tires, but otherwise, it's all there and in amazing shape. Check out the Tommaselli moto brake levers, Biopace chainrings, and a Shimano Shark Fin. Most everything else is Specialized house brand parts, the Crankset, hubs, rims, headset. I need to go take this thing for a ride