April 2010 Blog Posts (16)

Two minutes slower than last year. Simple math: 98% effort in = 98% performance out. Felt somewhat tentative on the loose descents, unwilling to charge ahead on the flats. Held back, even though I felt fit. Could have been the couple of weeks of stomach distress or the cumulative effect of multiple back-to-back races. Something had infested my gut and my head to boot. Although, I did Climb strong, passing through the ranks of intermediate course riders. I just let too many riders, get away from… Continue

The Lemurian was to be the last race in my first grouping of priority races. Napa was an okay finish, but Sea Otter was a mechanical DNF. This was my last chance in this peak fitness period to get a good result. Last year I finished 4th overall and 3rd in pro class with a 2:12:38 finish time. This year I wanted to do it in 2:10, hopefully moving up a couple of spots.

I figured Tim Olsen would be a good bet to win this one. He has often placed well at this race and made a conscious effort to… Continue

This year’s Sea Otter turned out to be my most satisfying race to date. The Twentieth Anniversary of the event marked my third try at getting a “decent Cat 2 result” (oxymoron). Based on the racing so far this year, I knew a podium finish was a legitimate goal. The strategy was to get my most underused muscle into the act, the one on top of my shoulders. The tactic at the start was not to lead out the entire field (59 riders), as I had in the past. The idea was to get to the front and slot-in a… Continue

Sea Otter has never been very good to me, but it's the biggest pro race in the country and only two and a half hours from home. It is one of the first races I ever raced, way way back in 2004. A few years racing singlespeed, a year in semi-pro and year in pro, all with less than stellar finishes. This year the pro course made a break from the classic 2 lap 38 mile format. The pro-only 5k course was almost completely in the immediate Laguna Seca Raceway area. I think the idea was to make the… Continue

I rolled past Jim who was struggling to fix his flat front tire midway through lap 2... and I begged him to take my wheel. I knew the race was pretty much over for me, and it was a time of pain and despair... For 2010, the pro men did not have to do the 2 twenty mile loops as in previous years. Instead, the format was 5 laps of approx 4 kilometers. This sounds easier, but it made for wicked fast laps, and unfortunately, I could only hang for one of those laps. As we rolled around the Laguna… Continue

My recent nerve injury healed which allowed me to start riding again. I strained some nerves in my Continue

The thursday before sea otter I came down with a bit of a cold. It seems I've been sick more times this year than I've been in the last three years. Anyways, I loaded up on vitamin c and some EAS super caffeine pre race fuel (tastes terrible) and gave it all I had. I watched a group of about ten guys ride away form me as we went down the first fire road section. I didn't have the power to bridge the gap so I decided to sit tight In a group of four guys. We traded places a few times, some guys… Continue

My first DNF. Five minutes into the race at the top of the first climb, my egg-beater pedal fell apart, leaving only a dangerously sharp spindle to stand on. Realizing the cage was still attached to my cleat, I slipped the broken assembly back onto the spindle and I dropped into the first single track. That didn't last long, when I lost the cage while pushing through a sharp corner. Another 36 miles like this would have been sketchy. No way around this one. Continue

Well, conditions were pretty bad, but I have experienced worse in a few cyclocross races this past season. And I've come to realize that the most uncomfortable part is just getting out on the bike. Once the warmup process begins, it almost goes into automatic mode. However, for this race, I was all distracted in the minutes before the start, and rolled up to the line as 30 sec was called. Honestly, I think this was better than standing around for a couple minutes cooling down as the nerves… Continue

I was feeling good before this race so was determined not to let the cold, rain, and mud dampen my spirit. A group of about 5 or 6 guys got off the front before the single track but i was going at the best pace I could hold. Carl and traded places a few times before the final climb back to the airport when i had to walk up a steep slick section. He turned on the power and I didn't see him again until we were enjoying the warmth of Mike's super van. I have never done so much drifting in one ride… Continue

I was so excited for this race that I almost didn't show up and then I fell down some concrete stairs! Not being in shape made this race difficult already and on top of it my drivetrain went from working great to barely working about half-way through the race. Not that I would have done a whole lot better but it didn't help. Glad I came though! Great to be out in the elements on a bicycle with a fun group of people. In fact, my favorite part of the race was when a random racer informed me I had… Continue

Well, here we are race two for me this year. Luckily I’m still green enough that apocalyptically bad conditions have little impact on the general suffering a typical mountain bike race offers. Not to belabor the point, but the weather was crazy bad. For me, a front fender and helmet muffin cap (HMC) were on the menu. The dry set-up of Racing Ralphs front and back was going to be tested.



As a Cat 2 racer I came into this event knowing that it promised a higher level of competition, even… Continue

All forecasts pointed toward a cold and wet race day. Stuffed into the Summit Van, the rain came steadily down, as the team drove north. Rain or shine, the race would go on. The strongest winds and heaviest rains were expected near 11 AM with a high of 47 degrees. The race started at 10:30 AM. Suiting up, I attempted to wrap my mind around the misery ahead. This would be a special kind of suffering. Into the driving rain, bitter cold and… Continue

This is my 5th year racing the Napa Valley Dirt Classic. I put in some good base and build training in the winter and come into the spring with decent fitness for the first grouping of priority races. This year I am trying to come to a fitness peak for Napa, Sea Otter, and Shasta Lemurian. Though full-time work and spending time with my son Simon have made training conditions less than ideal, I felt pretty good for this race and excited to mix it up at the front. Last year I came in second…

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The weather could have been a determining factor. Snow levels expected down to 2,500', daytime highs in the 40s expected the entire week before. Arrived Friday afternoon. Rain tapering off. Patchy snow on the ground. Cold. Very cold. Storm clearing. Sized up the terrain and walked out part of the course. Continue

Met Jim @ Fontana for the ProXCT and was certain I would get punished and lapped and I didn't get lapped but got a real good beatdown by the real deal. 49th(and I think there were 90 total,1-2 DNS and DNF's included). I highly recommend to anyone who wants to push their MTB racing, to go to the "national level" races cuz they will certainly do that. Especially if you don't give up and go to more than a few (even a few will help you improve at the local level). Yeah, I had alotta fun and it…

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