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

Chico Wildflower

This years Wildflower was HOT!!!
So, we prepared for the day with sunscreen and coffee.

I was wishing for a little rain like last year. The organizers had some trouble keeping enough water at the rest stops and anything containing electrolytes was scarce. Consequently, my legs started cramping at around 70 miles.

Jennifer was riding strong, and it was entertaining to see how many people were content to let her pull them along. At times, we were hooked up with a strong group and everyone took turns up front. It's really fun when a group works together well... we were flying along!

There is some great scenery along the way. Here's a shot of an old covered bridge on the climb up Honey Run Rd.

Century rides are more social than other types of riding, and it's fun to see people we know along the way. Here's Monica and Jen's sister Kelly caught red handed in that "other" kit!

This little guy was wondering why his begging wasn't working.

And finally, I'd like to rant for a moment...


So far the food at the Wildflower has been the best of any century we've been to. For the price it should be. Since Jen became intolerant of wheat or gluten, it's been a struggle for her to enjoy the food at these events. This year, the food was sub-par, slow in coming to a mob of hungry riders, and when I asked the chef about the ingredients of some foods I thought Jen might be able to eat - he was very rude, and would barely give me the time of day.

Well... kiss my ass buddy!

There are two people who won't bother next year, and since there are other events on the same weekend we might do something else next year. His attitude was surprising, given the progressive and open culture in Chico.

Bootleg Race Report

This is how things started off...
Went to preride the course, and not 30ft down the trail my derailleur fell apart. Never did find all the parts, so Jen and I made it to a local bike shop just before they closed, where I had to buy a new derailleur.



Half an hour later, we were back on the trail and it was getting dark, so we only rode the first 2 or 3 miles of the course.




Saturday morning, the start went pretty smooth, and since we were both racing in the solo category, we were excited to be on course at the same time, hoping we would see each other at times. Halfway up the first climb, I was feeling pressure from riders behind me to pass some girls that were in front of me. I made a pretty questionable pass on one girl, and since most of the course was on ledges about a foot wide traversing steep ravines, I was uncomfortable with passing. As luck would have it, I blew a turn right after passing this chic, and proceeded to crash! The entire peleton passed before I was able to get under way, and it was time to play catch up.

The rest of the first lap I decided to play it safe since I hadn't seen the course, and follow the chic that I had passed earlier since she was setting a fast pace and was the person that had designed the course.

This course was extremely technical, and the most dangerous I have ridden so far, with little margin for error. There were steep drops on the sides of the trail, tons of sections where falling was NOT an option, lots of lava rock that was more like coral, and plenty of "rollers" on the trail to make sure you were paying attention. The need to stay focused mentally was probably the most tiring.

I quickly realized this course suited my strengths, and as long as I could hold up physically, I was expecting to do well. In fact, the results showed that I was holding in 2nd place and staying nearly dead even with the pro rider who had the lead.

Except for my tires getting shredded on the lava, things went well until about lap 3, when my quads and hamstrings started to cramp. I did my best to spin at a high cadence to keep the cramps at bay, but by lap 5, my legs were seizing and stopping to stretch only made it worse.

I was done... in hindsight, after some downtime, I could have done 1 more lap. Maybe even 2. I expected the other solo racers to do many more laps, and had I known that the winner was only going to get 7 laps, I might have been able to win. As it ended up, I placed 4th. Bittersweet, but still disappointing.

Jennifer had some highs and lows of her own. She was able to ride sections of the course that even some of the guys couldn't, but ended up breaking her bike seat in a crash and couldn't continue. She was able to get in 3 laps, but without a seat, her day was over. Still, I am proud of her for hanging in there and for how far her skills have come. She is a trooper, and has endurance like the energizer bunny.

Here she is showing off some of her souvenirs...


Here we are in our snazzy Victory Velo kits...


It seems to have become a ritual of ours to photo some of the local vegetation on these adventures...



These guys thought they were entertaining us, but they sounded like a herd of elephants trampling a car...


Our next event isn't a race per se, but the Wildflower Century in Chico, CA. The ride is great, the food is even better, and it is close to home. It will be good preperation for our next race - the Coolest 24, May 3-4.

Stay tuned!

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