Everyone Should Know What It's Like...

Want to see what it's like to hurl yourself down a ski resort mountain with the best in the biz?

The helmet cam is back - and good or bad, you'll see it after this weekend's Crankworx Super-D...

Securities And Exchange...

I'm thinking of making myself into a public company. You know, having an initial public offering and all....







NYMex symbol: TWW (NYMex cause I'm a commodity, of course.) I figure if I issue, like, 11 million units of common stock at a bargain basement $1.75 per share, I could raise well over $19 million in cash...

..............should be enough...

Fund managers would be all over it without me even showing up on their radar. TWW would be just another sliver of the multi-national, multi-billion dollar mutual fund pie...

People don't even know what their 401k's are investing in anyway, so who would know?

What would I promise? Market-share and "growth-prospects"; doesn't have to get any more specific....

Then after 6 months or a year I'd inject some "earnings growth" verbage and release memos like, "management intends to increase dividend distribution by 1/4 of 1% in first quarter 2010." and use words like "fiscally responsible," "per diluted share," and the ultimate acronym: "EBITDA." And all of this just under the radar. Invest in the future......yup, sounds solid...................

...............................I wonder what the Stunt Double is doing?

Now that's funny...

Be Right Back...

Fighting The Good Fight...

U.S. National Mountain Bike Championships
Granby, CO

5 laps / 21 miles

2:30:21

Well folks, this is it - here they are. The nation's best mountain bike racers all lined up at the start. Wells, Overend, JHK, Craig, Trebon; they're all there...

My view at the start was smack dab in the middle of this star-studded field. And as I heard the "1-minute-to-start" announcement, the field nerviously hushed. I looked up, acknowledging the larger-than-life banner above me...

So many times over the years have I been on the sidelines watching this very event; as a fan - dreaming of racing with the big dogs one day. And here I was, going up against the biggest names in mountain bike racing today.

The ensuing 5 laps of this utterly crippling course would leave racer after depleted racer dragging across the finish line covered in dust; spent, legs twisted and cramped. And I was no exception...

It is rare that a course's descents are as demanding as it's climbs, but exceedingly steep and rough terrain meant no rest following each climb...

The face of exhaustion........... Look no further...... Utterly deflated.....

And as realistic as my mid-pack-finish expectations were at a National event, nothing is more humbling than finishing 20-25 minutes behind the leaders. And I went into this race recovered and ready. A professional athlete, I am................

........................A National champion, I am not.

But despite a 37th place finish, this event was truly one of my proudest races.

Because as a 16-year-old beginner racer long ago, I watched 1990 World Mountain Bike Champion Ned Overend line up to contest his National Championship.

And today, I lined up next to him.

It's not always about how you finish - it's about arriving at your own personal milestones that make you proud...

Ride on...................

The Yearn To Burn...Preview...

I thought if it was ever fitting to preview an upcoming race, this weekend's U.S. National Mountain Bike Championships would be the one.

I just came across a few interesting stats on the XC course itself:

Course lap: 4.2 miles/lap

Steepest climb: 19% grade

Number of times I will suffer up this climb: 6

Steepest descent: -48% grade
Number of times I will try to avoid crashing down this elevator shaft: 6

Total vertical gain: 5400'

Number of Pros expected at the start line: 90

Number of amatuers expected at the start line: 1400

If ever there were a course fitting enough to crown a national champion, this would be the one...

Number of hours I expect to be out there suffering: 2.5

Number of calories I expect to burn during the race: 2700

Number of calories I expect to intake during the race: 620

Number of National Titles I expect the Stunt Double to claim in his class: 1

Number of National Titles I expect to claim in my class: 0

Number of beers I expect the Mrs. and the Stunt Double to consume while cheering for my sorry ass: 7.5

Predicted weather: either cloudless and 85 degrees, or apocalyptic lightening and rain

My expected 'working-class Pro' view at the start line:

Stay tuned...

Winter Park Series #3 and #4...

A dogs' instrument of precision. A tool tailored to deliver a unique, technical flavor. Designed to deliver a heightened sense of each luxurious difference...

Saturday:
Valley Point-to-Point cross country

24 miles

Time: 1:42:02

Saturday's cross country would bring a Pro field of 60 racers to the start line; and almost 700 racers overall. Pretty sizeable competition. Seems more than a few pros were looking for one more chance to tune things up before next weekend's U.S. National Championships.

My instruments of precision; designed to deliver a heightened sense of each luxurious difference...

This course seemed to have everything; hard climbs, fast descents, technical singletrack, and the perfect tree root for me to flip over the handlebars on.

But a hard-fought 11th place would be the result of my suffering for the day; after crashing midway through the battlefield and fighting my way back to pick up precious lost placings.

Sunday:

Super-D

5.3 miles

1620 ft vertical drop

Time: 18:49

For those who don't know what a Super-D is, it's what some might call "downhill-lite." It's a downhill race by all accounts, but enough climbing to keep the true downhillers honest and still enough speed and danger to make your loved ones cringe. That's a lie - enough speed and danger to make ME cringe.

At the start line my legs were waving the white flag loud and clear. I'd dug plenty deep the day before and when it came time to sprint up the courses' initial 200 yards prior to the first singletrack, I just couldn't hang.

I did hang on the descents well enough for 10th place, though, with all my skin and bones in-tact. Talk about funny - after almost 2 hours battling for 11th place the day before, I actually rose one placing in a less-than-20-minute race on Sunday.

....I thought I'd better show this to you now, while it lasts. It's gonna take a lot more than consistency to be in this position at the end of August...

Up next: the U.S. National Championships....

'Cause I Eats My Spinach...

Honestly, I don't know how they do it. I've had 1-2 races per week for about the past 3 weeks and I can't recover fast enough in between.

But I can't understand how they do it day after day at the Tour De F. Granted, they don't work in an office 40 hours a week like me, but I guess that's what seperates the men from the boys.

You know you're burning some serious calories when you finish dinner and 30 minutes later you're already eyeing your breakfast options. These days it's a constant cycle of racing, caloric intake, washing bikes, replacing worn parts, and getting things dialed in for the next onslaught.

Thanks to AboutTheShot photography for letting me use this photo below, and without their permission. AboutTheShot.com: Capturing seriously ego-inflating photography.......

The Right Place At The Right Time...

The weekly lessons continue... Last Wednesday's Sand Creek Series #3 left me limping and bloodied to a 2nd place finish....

Following the surge of pain, me and the Mrs. bolted up to Mountain Command faster then a tank-top to a Slayer concert....

........I was out minding my own bidness, preriding next weekend's race course when I turned up a dirt road I'd not yet traveled...

Not long after, up rides what could only be described as the "Over The Hill Gang" - a gaggle of denture-wearing 60-somethings decked out in some of the best mountain bikes money can buy.

One of them, we'll call him "Bill"was particularly eager to divulge himself of his "locals-only" trail knowledge and proceded to spout off a half-dozen locations of his personally hand-cut trails. You see, local trail knowledge, much like the ski season's local's-only powder stashes are often well-kept secrets. A kind of "wink-wink, nudge-nudge" attitude takes over...

I stood, bug eyed and jaw gaping. Wishing I had a tape recorder I tried desperately to let the local trail tips seep into my spongy brain.

His directions were vague - something like, "down this dirt road look for a big tree stump next to a rock off to the right." Well, that key was enough and would soon unlock a secret door to a twisty, flowy trail no wider than a ruler............

It flowed through seemingly forgotten forests carpeted with knee-deep wildflowers. I was smitten....

I followed his vague instructions to another trail, then another. These trails weren't built for mountain bikers, they were built for mountain biker - singular - to be experienced in the pristineness and solitude of being alone - held gently by this emerald forest and guided through each gentle arc of a turn.....

Prior to departing "Bill" I told him his tips would be "our little secret."

No no, he urged, saying he didn't care if word gets out. Again I was shaken by his stance. Some people are just too generous, I guess.

I was just lucky enough to be riding up a dirt road and came across some guy who knew some stuff. So thanks, "Bill," but still, I'll consider this our little secret...