Great new Mountain Biking site for Women

For all the ladies, there is a new site geared towards Women's Mountain Biking, called Women's Mountain Bike. Looks like it could be a great resource. Check it out at www.womensmountainbike.net

Lance Wins Leadville 100!

"The hardest thing I've ever done" Lance said, after crushing the field and the course record with a flat tire for the last 10 miles.

Watch the video...

Fairfax Appetite Seminar

Turkey Day 2008, we headed over to Fairfax in Marin County for the annual "Appetite Seminar" thanksgiving ride. Oliver Bell was playing tour guide, and showed us a fantastic time. This was our first time at this event - what a blast! The weather was perfect although the fog hung out in some places. I never thought I would enjoy fireroad so much, but this ride is a must do. I rode the whole day with only my front brake and managed to keep the rubber side down, but I wish I could have let it all hang out on the "Repack" downhill.

Check out Jennifer with Mt Tam in the background:

Here's the three of us:

The route:

Jen making a splash on her new Orbea Alma carbon hardtail!

The party at the end was fun and free, as in free beer!

Jen got a picture with living legend, Gary Fischer:

Yes, I'm starting to look like Abe Lincoln, and no, it's not for Obama:

All in all, a great ride in a great place with great company!
Thanks Oliver, for showing us around!
We will definitely do this ride next year...

24 hour Galactic Championships!!!

Galactic Championship of 24 Hour Mountain Bike Racing
Set For Moab, Utah, USA, Earth

maybe my alien friends will pit for me this year. I've had an alien for a teammate. They can be either out of this world, or just plain out of their minds.

Granny Gear is really putting on a shin dig this year behind the rocks... TV coverage? It would be cool to watch your buddies out on their laps. I can't wait... but my focus right now, is the 12hrs of Humboldt on 8/16.

read the full press release

And a good time was had by all...

Wednesday night was the first time at the Prairie City races for Jennifer and I, and we had a blast!

12 and 24 hour races are our usual modus operandi, so we usually don't compete in XC events. Our team, Victory Velo, needed another rider for the team competition, so I was basically volunteered.

The pace was fast and furious as expected, the course was fun (even if flat), and I even won some Cytomax in the raffle! The loose rock on course reminded me of the trails in southern Nevada without the cactus.

Jennifer opted to race without anything to drink. Didn't take long to regret that... it wasn't as blazing hot as it usually is at Prairie City this time of year, but it was hot enough... Her bike was giving her fits again. Time for some new parts, me thinks. Overall she had a good race, placing 6th even after having mechanical troubles, and getting taken out in a corner by some dude. Look out next week girls, Jen's gonna drop the hammer on ya!

I had a good race, too. My bike ran great and I had no problems there. Got nauseous on the 2nd lap and had to hang on to a guy's wheel (thanks Scott!) for a little bit until it went away, then I was able to pick up the pace again... 6th place for me and 15 points for the team.

Thanks to www.racemtb.com for the photos...

Here's Jen eyeballin' someones water bottle...



Me thinking I should have NOT gone to the front of the group right off the bat...



Jennifer making her XC debut...



Me dealing with traffic from other classes...


Until next week... get out and ride!

Coolest 24

This years 24 hours of Cool didn't go according to plan...

Jen and I both raced as Solo's and soon ran into some issues that have plagued us at nearly every event this season. For me, I am running into severe muscle cramps in my quads and hamstrings after a few hours, and Jennifer has been dealing with nausea and eventually vomiting. Since becoming wheat intolerant, she has been reluctant to take any supplements while racing, and (I believe) ending up severely depleted of certain nutrients after several hours have elapsed. For me, I have tried varying amounts of electrolytes and hydration without success, and am considering a different brand of electrolyte. Lack of training has certainly played a factor, and also the lack of regular stretching and/or massage.

I ended up stopping after only 7 hours, and Jen threw in the towel a short time later. Aerobically, I felt strong, and rode well.

On lap 2, I hit a pedal on the ground where horse traffic has rutted the trail badly, causing me to get a MUCH closer look at the trail than I wanted... I tore my computer off my handlebars with my forearm as I did my superman impression sans cape.

I HATE LOSING DATA!!!

That computer had been on my bike for over 3,000 miles. No more lap times, no avg. speed or cadence to look at. Since I was coming into the pits in between laps to work out the cramps, I had no idea what my pace or lap times really were.

Jen was having major shifting issues and had to stop to get her cables and housings replaced, resulting in marginal improvement. Still, she's a trooper, and was very consistent.

Here's me raking a path to our pits...


Jen admiring the scene...


Here's the race start...


The mob heads out on the first lap...


Me feeling defeated and grubby...


Many Thanks to Jim Northey for another great year and for putting this event on for a great cause. You can check him out on his website, Global BioRhythm Events

Off to Bootleg

No pit crew for this race. Just didn't work out, but we are going to do our best to minimize lost time in the pits mixing bottles and refilling water. Hopefully our tires will hold up on the sharp rock in Southern Nevada.

My hand is still not 100% but is manageable and really only an issue at odd angles...

12 hours of round and round. Bring it on! Parts of the course are pretty technical, so I can usually take some time out of the other guys when it's rough.

Race report and pictures to follow after the race. I wish I was able to bring one of those sweet GoPro cameras to this event, as there will be some great shots to be had, for sure. High speed descents, questionable passing, maybe even some crashes.

That's all for now, gotta hit the road...

I like Divide Loop again

I don't think i've ever done a lap on Divide loop at a race pace until today. With all the extra options, too. Popped a new cassette on and headed out. Didn't see a soul until almost done with the return on Connector. Really help the avg speed.

The plan was Manzanita to Tinkers, up Clementine, out Connector, do the loop counter-clockwise, Connector to Culvert, and back up Stagecoach.
30.98 miles, 10.8 avg, 2:50 door to door. Could have shaved another 10-15 minutes off that by not taking it easy over to the trail and not having to mess with my earpieces frequently. I'm very happy with todays effort, though.

I didn't really realize the North fork canyon side, with all those garland - style turns could be so much fun. I used the terrain to my advantage better today and could use those to accelerate, though I was climbing.

I was also pleasantly surprised how many of the descents on both sides, could be rolled with zero brakes all the way through. I was hitting the same speeds in places, as going down Stagecoach.

The Rattlers are out in full force. Nearly ran over 2. Need to get a snake bite kit soon! The life you save may be your own

Chains don't like me

Today, I went out for a 4 hour training ride on the Divide Loop, and POP! Again? After breaking my chain at the last race, I was pissed. First ride on a brand new chain and I tore one of the links apart. Good thing I was carrying tools.

Now, I wish I could say that I'm just so strong, my chains can't handle me. But even when I spent 6 days a week in the gym, weighed almost 200lbs and was MUCH stronger, this didn't happen. In the last year, between the road and mountain bikes, I think I've broken 5 chains.

I've seen the belt drive systems coming out, but they are only for single speeds at this point... what's a dude to do?

GoPro onboard for 2008!!!

I want to thank my newest sponsor GoPro helmet cameras! Small, waterproof, helmet mount, COOL! Can't wait to give the cameras a try. Thanks GoPro!

24 hrs Old Pueblo Recap

What a roller coaster this trip was. It was raining when we got there, and Jen and I were thinking it was going to be a mud fest. Unbelievably, it began snowing at the venue upon arrival, and by morning, we had about an inch and a half of snow on the tent.

Doing our best to stay dry...

Jen trying to avoid cabin fever while it rains outside...

This is the last thing you want to do at Old Pueblo. Somebody told me these were called "Teddy Bears."

Once the race started, the clouds parted, sun came out, and the course got nice and tacky. Not very muddy at all. We stayed right around 3rd for a while, but by nightfall, we started having some challenges. First Jennifer had 3 flats in 2 laps, (a flat at OP? imagine that...) then the cold temps began to play a factor for both of us. We have learned a couple of good lessons about how critical it is to maintain our core temperature.

After being sidelined for around 4 hours, we were back at it, and ended up 6th. Or so we thought. To our surprise, we were called to the podium for 5th place. Something about the team ahead of us being DQ'd (never got the details why).

I made it through OP without any mishaps or flats, and then, while taking photos for the shop, I crashed on the "option." At first I thought I was just a little banged up, but later realized that I probably broke at least one bone in my left hand.

All things considered, it was a great time. OP is one of the events I think about all year. Hats off to Todd for another Epic Event, and for having a coed Duo class. Not many promoters offer a coed class, and I know a few couples who might come out to these races if they did.

Most of '08 Jennifer and I will be racing Solo, but hopefully pairing up again for TransRockies (if we get in!).

See You at the races!