All Blog Posts (398)

So this year the Pro XC race at Sea Otter dispensed with the 5-7 lap format.  Instead, we did one 20 mile lap.  With the amount of fireroad, I knew it would be fast.  The record high temps forecasted for Saturday made me thankful that I would be out there less than one and a half hours.

I've never really had a great race at Sea Otter.  This year I was coming off of a lot of local wins and in a decent peak period.  I took it easy for a couple of days prior and went down on Friday with…

3:17:24 -- 12th position across the line. Two short of the my objective.

First blood when taken down by a volunteer accidently catching my bars at the aid station while attempting a bottle hand-up at mile 10!

Second blood on the second lap, mile 29, when my front wheel washed out down a loose rutted section. Determined to finish the course this year, I banged the seat into line, re-set the chain and jumped back into the game.

Not an entirely pleasant experience out there…

The stage was set for a good race day: our new kit, a full team photo before the start, perfect sunny weather, tacky trail conditions and a deep field of talented local racers amassed for battle. My fitness was in-line for later season peaks at Boggs and Terrible Two.  This was to be my early season perfromance test.

Expecting the high intensity of a relatively short XC race, I psyched up for the fast start; attempting to explode up the first climb, I charged ahead, pulling a clean…

Wow, what a fun race! Jim's write-up captured a lot my experience too, but I have to say that this is a really well managed event. Having showers after the race, especially one as muddy as yesterday, was great.

My race was another "what could have been," similar to my last race at Cool (where I had a flat that cost me 8 mins due to forgetting my tube and air...appeared I could have won that race without the flat).

I knew that this course could reward my climbing…

The Dirt Classic is always a big Spring race in NorCal.  A great course, great history and good attendance from local racers coincide with a pre-Sea Otter date.  Lots of people out trying to get one (or one more!) race in before Sea Otter.

I have done this race every year since I started racing.  Last year I finished off the podium, but I have placed 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in Pro class.  I usually try to come to this race fit and get the win, which works well as it easily falls into a 2…

I built my new Santa Cruz Highball carbon 29er hardtail and rode it Friday - very nice! - so I had to race the Toro Park CCCX XC race on Saturday to really give it a good break-in.  I was excited to do the Toro Park course, as I had a lot of fun on it the last time I raced there (2006?).  Pretty much a 15 minute 700+ft climb on a gradual fireroad with one steep section and then a ripping 5 minute bermed descent, then repeat.

There were some fast guys there.  Danny Macnaughton, Kevin…

Last year I raced the Pro All Mountain stage race at the Keyesville Classic in Southern California.  The race consisted of an XC race, a short track race, and a downhill race.  All Mountain racers did all three events on the same bike and results were totalled to crown the overall winner.  I raced a carbon hardtail, definitely set up XC style at under 21 lbs, and pulled off the win, despite a rather weak downhill result.

This year, I decided to show up with a bike that would be more…

Well, I am def getting faster (at least uphill, with several  big climb PRs and KOMs-like Big Rock Ridge segments to teh towers from queenstone and burger king, both over 2000'), but have hit a wall in terms of weight at 173lb for the last week. Going to keep at it and hope to start to peak for the Napa Dirt Classic, which is quickly followed by Sea Otter and Boggs 8hr. The new bike is also going to be ~5lbs lighter than my Tallboy too, so that should help, although I might have to revise my…

DISCLAIMER: I am self aware of how neurotic this paleo thing might sound to some, although its not for vanity or narcisim, but, rather, to up my race performance. Yes, I am a 30-something married father with a full time job, and will likely never win a Cat 1 race...but why not try, right?

Well, the paleo for athletes thing is coming along, but still not sure how much is attributable to paleo vs. heightened consciousness of what I eat. Also not sure the no dairy and gluten…

CORRECTION: With an open start time, the official results now show me 9th overall. A hand full of riders appeared to have started after I did and roll across the finish later then myself with shorter times. Still quite respectable.

 At the third aid station at mile 113, my friend Karl insisted that I eat quickly and so that we could ride out with the 'fast group of guys' getting ready to roll back on the course.  

The first hundred or so mile was a blast, carried along…

Cool was fun this year!  Not easy for me but that can be expected.  Perhaps similar to our buddy Mike, but even more so, I am not prepared for this season.  Time eludes me and my priorities are still not aligned with racing but I'm going to keep working on weaving it in and maybe next year this report will be different.  After taking 2011 off from racing (and most of 2010 - my last race was the Tamarancho Race June '10), I felt better at the end of this race than I felt last time &…

Well, getting in mental therapy and training miles this past week/weekend has been tough, with all the rain and my son's 3rd birthday party...but I got out Saturday afternoon for what I thought would be a nice 40ish miler road ride with a friend. It was the windiest conditions I have ever walked, run, hiked, biked, driven, etc etc in-ever. Decided to go out and over the Marshall Wall from Novato, then down to Pt. Reyes and back in through Nicasio Res. WOW, felt like 40+mph gusts straight on…

  Thanks for the great posts from team members. I recently decided to start biking/racing after spending the last year trying to be a rock/ice climber. Both require significant dedication to do well. I haven't told my climbing/skiing partners yet so they think I am cross training with the mountain biking. However I do intend to ride with greater purpose as Jim described it and be competitive in my age group. Actually it is fairly easy to be competitive in my age group as long as you have a…

This might be worthy of a quote in one of those "sh*t cyclist say" videos on youtube, but it is a fact that the more power to weight (bike and rider), the faster you will go (bikehandling skills removed). I am not ashamed, haters hate, but I want to get faster and I am going to do an experiment over the next 60 days involving paleo eating.

The backstory: I am 6'1" and currently 178lbs; fit and conditioned. At times in my life I have been a bulky 215lbs, and as light as…

This is a first of firsts...my first Call Up blog post, first time riding at the Cool, CA Olmstead Loop, and first race with Summit Bicycles out of San Rafael. It was a blast. I moved to Norcal from Indianapolis a little over a year ago, and have steadily increased my fitness, bike handling and overall ability on the bikes...and have had a blast doing it and exploring California at the same time. What a difference having such beauty to keep you motivated and year round outdoor training…

Opening day for the XC race season. Cool usually delivers a fast and often muddy course. 

Light rain in the forecast. Three months of putting in the volume and month of starting to work the high end. A good place to gauge my fitness. 

Out of the gate, I got bunched up with a group of bumbling riders. Immediately, I was back 20 plus places. My typical less-than-stellar start.

As expected, the legs had the go but the heart rate lagged and my breathing was labored. Just…

Cool often represents the first "real" race of the year for our team.  Usually muddy, often cold, always a lot of fun, and a cash payout for pro class.  Almost the whole team made the trip this year:  Carl, Shiloh, Mike, Paul, Mandy, and new team member Ryan all joined me for the trip in the Summit Bicycles van.  The time change forced an early start, but we made our way to Cool as the sun rose and the clouds gathered.

The course conditions were actually very good, despite the light…

Training has been moving along steadily in preparation for my first priority race grouping in April.  Today, I travelled to Roseville to race on the Granite Bay course for the first time.  It was another miserable winter day in Northern California - 75 degrees and sunny.

I arrived early to ride the course a little and familiarize myself with the terrain.  It was fast and flowy, a lot like the Ft Ord CCCX courses.  I could tell from past results that we would be doing about 32 miles in…

The Grasshopper Adventure Series is a great Sonoma county grassroots event that draws lots of riders to the dirt roads and pavement of West Sonoma County.  I've always tried to do the Old Cazadero ride, as it provides enough dirt descending and climbing to allow me to be competitive on a mountain bike.  They moved the race to January from February last year and I was unable to do it due to a work conflict.  This year my work schedule, if not my training schedule, allowed me to make…

Second week in a row racing at Golden Gate Park.  This one was a little more serious and less sloppy than last weeks SSCXWC race.  The weather was cool and sunny for our afternoon start and the Elite men's field was loaded with talent.  I recognized the usual podium finishers, as well as Justin Robinson, Ned Overend, and a Jelly Belly pro I had seen at a DFL race.  As there were only 60 feet of climbing per lap, I knew this would be a fast race.  I'm reaching the end of a fitness peak and…