Out to CO to visit Jos in Fort Collins this week. Luckily, my new job allows me to work remotely so, to the extent I can remain productive on the road, I’m able to get some traveling in this fall and eventually work from CO permanently.

I flew in during the freak early season snowstorm.. apparently 2+ ft of snow is just not a big deal for denver airport so I got in just fine. It was great to finally be surrounded by snow again:

Besides working, hanging with Jos and the cats, doing some house-hunting and generally getting familiar with my future home town, I got in a few good runs and slushy hikes, some time in the weight room and got to check out the Blue Sky CX race on Halloween down in Longmont.

Katie Compton handily won the womens race while Tim Johnson simply crushed the field in the pro men’s race:

The course was classic – the snow from earlier in the week had melted so the majority of the course was just a mud pit. But the weather was clear and warm and the Rockies were still covered in snow making for great spectating:

Of course there were some great crashes:

And the big pro men’s field was a blast to watch on the first lap especially (forgive my cell phone camera quality and poor cinematography – i was having too much fun to hold the camera steady!):

I have to admit that it was pretty tough to watch from the sidelines – I wanted to borrow a bike and jump right into the mud. Maybe some CX later this fall but for now I’ve got too much going on with the new job, the move, and a bunch of other crap – bike racing is just not at the top of the priority list right now but I suspect/hope that will change pretty darn soon!

Winterfest Double Bock Lager and the lights of Santa Barbara

Hiking in the Vibram Five Fingers

Even at 9 yrs, Japhy still has far more energy than me

Great hike at Parma Park with the Japhster. The vibrams are a ton of fun for exploring and running. Even on pavement actually. I don’t miss the cushion and find my posture and stride are improved. It feels kind of like wearing racing flats that I used to wear during track races in HS. I’m looking forward to experiencing the world on my own two feet instead of from the saddle for a change. More hikes, climbs and runs to come. In theory, I think it’ll be nice to take a break from cycling… although as soon as was back on a trail hiking I started thinking, “I wonder what line I would take around this corner? Think I could clear this section in my middle ring? This sure is some sweet singletrack….”.

MTB racing is officially over for 2009. And what a better way to end it than 2nd place in the Cat 1 30-34 California state championship race.

Today was my first time at Big Bear. Not so thrilled about the 8 hours round trip drive but absolutely love the course… in the running with Idyllwild and Counting Coup for my favorite of the year. It was mostly fireroad, some fun smooth single track with some gnarly, dusty fall-line descents thrown in (at one point I was literally riding blind due to the dust). The effect of the altitude was noticeable (start was 7000+ ft) but didn’t wipe me out. I came in at around 1:49 for the long course. I felt on top of my game – probably the most fit my legs have felt during a race all season. The fireroads were perfect for just throwing it into the 44-12 and cranking it out TT-style. Most of the climbing was big-ringable save for the one singletrack climb which was steady 32-32 with a couple technical spots.

I hung on with the front group on the first climb and Brandon got away (the last I saw of him). I missed a turn and lost 30 seconds or so but was able to recover from my apparent stupidity. I had to put a foot down on a few occasions and EVERY time my calf muscles would cramp completely and painfully. As I yelled out in pain after dabbing my inside foot around a corner, the look of concern on the spectator’s faces was priceless. Griffith and I rode together for the majority of the race through most of the singletrack section. I was able to put some time on him on the flat fireroad section before the last big climb. It was dusty and brutal on the lungs. But I held on for 2nd, raced well, felt strong and had a good time doing it -a fine way to end the season. I will miss hanging out and racing with the friends I’ve made this year around socal but CO awaits.

Oops. Someone is bad at math.

The US Cup results are posted.

I re-read the scoring rules and it sure looks like Gary was the overall winner to me. Gary … I owe you one plastic trophy when I see you at Big Bear!

borrowed from various folks, here’s the big day in photos

getting psyched up

the first climb

3rd on the day

and 1st place overall in the series

The months of preparing, training, planning… most of this was focused on the US Cup. Now, after a consistent string of 3rd place finishes, I somehow ended up with this.

OK so its a plastic trophy made of the same material as our number plates (plus a nice jersey that is on its way) but I am happy to earn it regardless. I wasn’t the fastest on a given day but I showed up, rode hard, was relatively consistent throughout. I wish the series could’ve been more inclusive of the east coast and rockies riders but the deck was stacked in favor of the so-cal riders. When I re-entered the MTB race circuit last year, I took it for granted that there would be some national points series. Turns out this went away with NORBA. Sho-Air stepped up and put on a great series and all mtbers should give them props for it.

The Bonelli XC race itself went well. The sun was pretty strong but after Sisquoc i knew I could take the heat. I didn’t feel as strong as I hoped but it was good enough for third place. Marco took OFF on the first climb, then James, then me. My rear tire got punctured on lap 1 and dropped me to 15 psi before the stans sealed it up. Thank god for tubeless. I just rode 15 psi the rest of the race and used it as an experiment in tire pressure setups. I just barely hung on to Justin’s wheel during lap 2 then regained my legs and took off after Marco. I saw him on lap 3 but I had put myself too far into the pain cave by that point to really summon up the power to catch him. After the race, the familiar gang of cat 1 cronies hung out to wait for the awards. As always, its just a great group of people and really makes all suffering worth it.

I gave it all I had today and my body is paying for it. I am ready to drink my Stone Pale Ale and go to sleep.

I escaped the coastal fog this a.m. for some dirt racing out in Los Olivos. With about 25 racers, 4 in my open/pro/expert class, it was the low key event I’ve come to expect (so low key it was almost comatose).

I cleaned house by ~ 10 minutes to pull off a victory. I was in the lead the whole race and, with no one around to push or get in the way, I was able to really concentrate on pacing. I have got this XC pacing shit down now … 4 laps at 30:32, 30:58, 31:42, 30:48 (The third lap was a little slow as I had to stop and pull my seat bag out of my spokes … maybe I’ll just start duct taping the essentials to my frame instead?)

It feels good to be back on the MTB exclusively now. I have to admit that I neglected my fat tires for weeks at a time as the lure of the power meter kept me training on the road. After 10 days of nothing but riding the Salsa, I have regained my feel for the dirt and am ready to roll. In fact I feel more at one with my bike than ever due to my recent shoe switchero.

These things are a good 1/2 lb lighter than my old specialized shoes, fit like a glove the moment I put them on, have eliminated the painful toe numbness that has been killing me, are stiffer and more efficient than even road shoes I’ve owned and offer some sort of weird zen-like connection to my drivetrain that I’ve been missing. Best investment ever (aside from the powertap of course).

T-8 days to Bonelli!

When I pre-rode the Sisquoc road race course in early august, I wore arm warmers and tights. Today we stepped out of the car with a temp of 105 degrees! We were late for my race but luckily no warmup was needed.

We went off at 1:00. At the last minute they shortened the course to 4 laps for a total of 42 miles. The first lap was a cakewalk … everyone taking it super easy.

Second lap, four guys got away but i was stuck in the pack and couldn’t do squat. Eventually me and one other rider (named Matt as well) worked our way up front and rolled off the front of the pack. Easiest breakaway ever – we literally were just pushing tempo at the front and found ourselves 100 feet up the road! So we decided to work together and make it stick. We caught two of the breakaways, dropped one but never saw #1 or #2 up the road. It was rather rewarding to work in a small breakaway for 1 1/2 laps and really felt like a better (ie steadier) workout than the typical slow down-sprint crit riding pattern. I bolted up the final hill and left my breakaway companions behind to push the final 3 miles solo. I never caught the leaders but managed to pull off third place. I was feeling super strong and could have easily won if I had been in the right place at the right time. Yet another lesson learned.

Apparently heart rate is very heat-dependent. My previous max heart rate, since I’ve been keeping track of these things 13 months ago, was 181 bpm. Today I spent 15 minutes above 180 bpm! Topped out at 188 which (according to the 220-age forumula) is 1 bpm away from my absolute max. But I held 188 for 2 whole minutes. crazy. Maybe it was a hardware malfunction but I suspect the heart just has to work harder to keep you cool. Probably a sign that I should not have been riding in that heat.

Having John C. handing off bottles in the feed zone was a lifesaver. The bottle of ice on the last lap was heaven sent. I started with a wad of ice stuffed into a tube sock which i put under my jersey on my upper back. Sweet icy cold water dripped down my spine for the first 2 laps. That combined with 3 bottles of fluids, gallons of pre-race water and 2 bottles of water dumped on my head kept me relatively cool. I was popping endurolytes as well which seem to prevent the cramping issues I struggled with earlier this year. Hydration was definitely the largest challenge in this race (the hill, while somewhat decisive, was not that steep or long).

Overall a great race. I have definitely found my form for this year. With all the life changes recently and work craziness there are lots of decisions to be made so my mental focus is far from bike racing but god damn my legs feel good.

Now its official – after sharing 5+ years of my life with each other, Jos and I got engaged this weekend!!

I flew out to CO for an extended weekend. We got in some great hiking at Grey Rock

hung out in the Poudre river (god I love rivers that actually contain water in the summer!):

did a 5 mile trail run at pineridge right on the outskirts of southern fort collins:

and hit up some mountain biking (while Jos went to work) along the Blue Sky (via Jeff Kerkove), Coyote Ridge and Devils Backbone areas with a stellar well worn 29er hardtail rented from New World Sports .. actually it is the exact rig that Joe Bagely rode to a 6th place in the recent Colorado Trail Race so it had a heart and soul:

… but it all pales in comparison to our big engagement news!! Lots of life decisions to make and details to hash out but it looks like my days in socal are probably numbered as Jos and I are both smitten with the CO front range and want to start our lives together in a place where we could actually afford a home without working 80 hours a week until death.

Some random life and cycling updates for those who are interested.

• Moved into my new place with my new roommates. We got a pretty sweet pad with a great view overlooking the city and my bike ride into work takes about 4 minutes!

  

  The bike ride home takes 10 due to the monster hill that is the “Riviera” … on my singlespeed townie bike this equates to 40 rpm high-force hillclimbing every day. By the time I get home I am real warm and ready to chamois up and hit the road full steam! I effectively live right at the base of gibraltar road so I get a 3600 ft, 8 mile climb to train on multiple times a week. I will become a mountain goat.

• Been doing lots of crits lately. My fear and distaste for crits probably stems from my horrible performance in them so I have been forcing myself to suck it and use them as good training rides. I’ve been going on Wed nights with the UCSB folks and went down to Domiguez Hills for a few races last weekend. I feel like my top end acceleration is improving a bit.
• Raced Rim Nordic XC this weekend. James and Griffith tore it up for another one-two. I got third. It was my 1st MTB race in a while and I took advantage of the low turnout to work on my pacing – 3 laps at 33:45, 33:30, 34:15. Not bad .. unfortunately most races are more crowded and that sort of pacing strategy only works if you don’t get bogged down behind a train of slower riders. Still I do SO much better if I can pace myself this way and luckily Bonelli is a wide-open course with plenty of passing opportunities.
• Speaking of Bonelli, the schedule is all f-ed up this year. First the US Cup race gets pushed up a week and moved from vegas to bonelli. Now the State Championships are moved up to 9/27. WTF is with the late notice? What about people who actually need to plan their trips? Such bullshit.
• My fitness seems to be cranking along. Last week I set new personal bests for Mean Maximal Power at 5 seconds and 30 seconds (Yeah Crits) and at 20 minutes and 60 minutes (thanks to many recent 3000 ft grinds up the santa ynez range)
• I’m going out to Fort Collins to visit Jos in a few weeks!!! She’s loving it out there and I can’t wait to go check out some of the trails and restaurants she’s found.
• Cross season is starting! Tomorrow starts the infamous santa barbara cross skillz and drillz practice series lead by Gary Douville (so you know its gonna be painful). I’m getting psyched to show off all my top end speed, those fancy dismounts and running skills I’ve been working on … or face plant, endo and puke on the side of the trail. Either one.