Winter Park Series #2...

As I finished my prerace warmup ritual of calisthenics Saturday morning I rolled to the start line of Winter Park's Series #2 cross country race.





Glancing around the percolating start line would reveal a Pro field of almost 50 racers; including a 4-time National cross-country champion, a collegiate National cyclocross champion, and a 2-time Olympian, all lined up for the morning's stampede...







In no time the field would string out along the race course's mix of singletrack trail and service road. And within minutes of ducking into the dark forests the brightly colored jerseys would be splattered with black mud. Recent rains had turned sections of trail into bogs of spoke-deep pudding.




After nearly an hour and a half on the frickin' rivets I'd take a hard-fought 7th place in the Pro field; just 2 minutes shy of the top 3. Striking distance, I'd say. Granted, JHK unleashed a mighty fury on us all and put no less than 10 minutes into yours truly, but I guess that's why he's a 4-time National champion, isn't it?










Racing is tough on the body and tough on the equipment. Following the weekend's muddy escapades I've got a total overhaul to do on the bike before the next onslaught.





Tip Of The Day: Make memories, people. Some parcels of time you just want to bottle up and take with you. Cheers to the moments we remember............

Fast Times...

Meet Mr. Berg (pronounced, Burjjj). The toughest dude in mountian biking.

I first met Mr. Berg out at the mountain bike races in about 1992. His presence at the start line of each race made me nervous.

Mr. Berg is the type of guy who's a mountain biker - not a racer - despite having won more races in the past 20 years than most will ever win. Yet he's never "trained" a day in his life.

I make excuses when the weather turns bad - Mr Berg makes excuses to stay out longer in it.

I race in a skinsuit - Mr. Berg races in a sleeveless flannel, on a bike with one gear.

Everyone wants to know Mr. Berg; all the hottest "Johnny-come-lately's" want to go riding with "this old, like, 43 year old dude who frickin tears it up!"

He is still a man of local legend. This guy's passionate, and he has a message...

And summer rolls along...

Wednesday night's Sand Creek Series #4 was a familiar scene, but that never makes it any less painful...

The fact that these short courses change from week to week keeps you on your toes. Quick, punchy climbs and twisty, off-camber descents require not only concentration, but a fresh set of legs...

And after an hour inside the veeeeeeery back of the pain cave while chasing some of my veeeeeery fast ProCycling teammates, I pulled off a 4th place finish.

I think I should start racing in a sleeveless flannel. Screw all this blue spandex crap. If it works for Mr. Berg, then why not for everyone...

Hors Catégorie...

It's rather uncommon to face total gridlock in the middle of a national forest up at 10,000ft.

But it has been known to happen...

You know, I'm really really glad that I found a sport where the training is more fun than the racing..

Cause I just couldn't deal with the countless hours in da' studio...

Besides, with views like this, it's easy to keep coming back...

......To yet another one of those totally obvious trails in the repertoire...

In European road racing (a la' the Tour) a climb that's difficult enough to be rated beyond the 1-5 category scale is deemed HC, or, "beyond category."

Their version...

Our version...

I've got no less than 7 races in the next 3 and-a-half-weeks. So I really need to do a better job of keeping it up..right. Cause, according to some, there's nothing worse than a gremmie out of control...

The Q-Factor...

Just another day-in-the-life...

The boys share war stories about the recent digital cable switch-over. Finally the Stunt Double found a reason to get rid of his tin-foil covered rabbit ears...

My, how times have changed. For those who'll recognize, on the left is my 1993 Marzocchi XC300 suspension fork. 16 years later, today's versions...

I don't mean to get all techy on ya, but I'm demo'ing a 2 x 9 Rotor Q-Rings setup. If it's good enough for Ned Overend and Christoph Sauser, I guess it's good enough for me...

Meanwhile, my quest to infiltrate the local print media continues...

One publication at a time...

Peak Region Cyclist Magazine: Page 18 here: http://content.yudu.com/Library/A18crf/PeakRegionCyclistJun/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yudu.com%2Fitem%2Fdetails%2F59663%2FPeak-Region-Cyclist-June-2009

Fools Rush In...

If only we could all be this happy, all the time...if only the world were one big dog park...

At the top of Saturday's Winter Park Series opener, gasping at 11,250' I rested alongside a friend and competitor. "What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger." I said, between wheezes. To which he replied,

"That's what they keep telling me........But it seems like the better part of our adult lives we've done nothing but put ourselves through serious physical suffering..."

What a true statement. So one would think such efforts would always yield truly Herculean results. Yet the mediocrity of of some race performance leaves me wondering....

.............I had supremely high hopes of a top 3 finish Saturday, and foolishly, I tried to win it within the first mile. But intermitant glances at my heart rate monitor during this short race displayed disconcerting numbers: at first, 94% max heart rate........then 92% max......90%......88%...........86% max....

Nothing is more revealing about ones physiology; ones training prowess than a hillclimb. It's not a race of skill, it's not about aerodynamic advantages or unlucky flat tires - it is a bare, unpolished ratio: raw power versus weight. It's go till you blo.........

And it has been gravely displayed for many moons that if I go out too hard, I'll unravel quicker'n you can say, "Snap it to a Slim-Jim!" Yet as easy of a concept as "keeping pace" is and letting others do the work early, in practice, for me it is all but impossible.

At the finish I was a respectable, but tormentable, 9th place out of a Pro field of 35.

What are ya gonna do? Some days you have it some days you don't.... And that's the funny thing: it should come as no shock by now that I lack not in self-confidence but the very nature of this blog opens a portal to my very thoughts; the inner threads of my pride, my bragging, as well as my big ol' pieces of humble pie...

Weight Matters...

Just another crappy day here in Colorado. Man does it suck here...

Perched high atop the 11,200ft summit of Mary Jane I gaze as though I'm seeing the views for the first time. This weekend's Winter Park Series kickoff attracts a special breed of people - a 5 mile climb, from the base of the ski area to the summit, in (hopefully) just over 30 minutes.

Thankfuly it's over quick cause it's blow-your-mind painful. I'm trying to secure a SuperMan cape for my rocket-ship-inspired ascent. I'll let you know ...

Sand Creek Series #2...

Nothing makes you howl at the moon more than being at over 90% of your maximum heart rate for over an hour. And Andy's Sand Creek Series race courses have never favored recovery sections. You let up even for a second and you fall behind.





The immenseness of suffering on these short courses is uncanny. But we've no one to blame but ourselves as our pain is truly self-chosen...

So why am I so happy? It's not because I finally got to rock the skinsuit again - I just found out that free-range chickens yield stronger yolks. It could take up to 100 whips to get scrambled eggs. A hundred whips!

So after a 60 minute all-out sprint with the Pro's that left the legs cramping like an engine with no motor oil, I took third place.......saweeeeeet...