Night Moves

Friday I can't wait to go out for a ride after work. As I leave my house a creaky bottom bracket caused me to turn around and try to fix the problem. That's what I get for riding in the rain so much. I had to take apart everything and put it back together again. Determined to not be stopped, I turn my after work ride into a night ride.

I love riding at night. It's like I have the Lakefront path all to myself.

If these power meter readings are accurate, I'm getting pretty good at this bike riding thing. I'm not putting out Klug-like numbers yet, but still pretty good. I can see a lot of improvement since the end of cross season. I can cruise along at a pretty decent clip without getting the heart rate up too much.

I notice a new trend lately that kind of pisses me off. People are starting to walk their dogs while they ride along on their bikes. Way to take up the whole bike lane while you cruise along at a brisk 5 miles an hour. And the roller blading dog walker take up even more space. Ass holes all of you.

This trend is not just limited to the lakefront path. I saw one guy in Bucktown sketching off his dog while it pulls him along on his fixed gear. I can see that resulting in a tragic ending. What an ass hole. Then I saw a lady riding with her dog on the wrong side of the street as she approached the intersection of Milwaukee and North. With her horrible bike handling skills she's yanking on the dogs neck and barely avoiding crashing into both cars and pedestrians while fighting to stay upright. What an ass hole.

On my way home as I ride through downtown. A lot of people are out on Friday night. People notice me but generally I'm just an object of mockery. I'll occasionally see the couple and the boyfriend will point at me and they'll share a good laugh. He probably cracks a weak joke like, "look at the fruit in tights." The girl will laugh, but she probably notices my lean body, perfectly shaved legs, ripped muscles working in perfect synchronization with my bike and she secretly thinks, "he could ride me sometime." LOL, at least that's what I say to myself in my mind.

And when people yell, "hey it's Lance Armstrong," that's getting kind of old. It was cool when people would say that to me back when Armstrong was a champ, but now he is just an aging pro past his prime. I think I would prefer to be referred to as an old pro who's time is now. Next time someone sees me I want someone to say, "Hey it's Menchov." That would be cool.

Riding Kettle tomorrow with my peeps. I look forward to it and I should go to sleep now.

I wonder what Popper's doing...

Xterra Midwest Cup

Never have your first race of the season be your A-race.

That’s what I was saying last week. An analysis of my training log seemed to point to an abundance of stress: training, work, and home-life stress. That’s why I was feeling so weak and flat, I determined.

So I did what I could to try to bounce back from it. Took another day off, walked to work instead of my usual run from the train. Even took the bus a couple times when I didn’t trust myself to walk. Compression socks, stretching, 10 minute swims. I even went to bed before the third period of the Blackhawks’ big win over Vancouver. Now that’s about as committed to recovery as this Canadian gets!

My own bid to qualify for the World Off-Road Triathlon Championships was only two days away, and I’d managed to ride my mountain bike for 30 minutes since last season. An unplanned stay in a hotel Friday night confirmed that things still did not seem to be falling into place. But don’t worry, I figured, you’re only going to be spending the night before the race in a small tent with three kids who never sleep under the best conditions.

The morning of the race saw frost on the grass. Apparently, the air temperature was 30-something. But for some reason, I couldn’t wait to go swimming in the lake! I don’t know if I was just excited about kicking off the triathlon season or if I just wanted to get the whole thing over with.

Then I hit the water for the “warm-up.”

I felt so much positive energy. I really didn’t care how I did against the others. I was just happy to be there. Jamie Whitmore, the World Champion who has been fighting cancer for over a year now (we met her in Lake Tahoe last October) was there announcing the race, and it’s ridiculous to worry about race performance where there’s someone there fighting for her life. Every time I see her, I want to give her a hug, but she doesn’t know who I am!

As the Pros made their way to the first buoy, they started the rest of us. Next thing I knew, I’m behind a wide row of age groupers but soon found some space, did a loop, ran across the beach, dove back in the water, and found someone to follow. We passed some green caps indicating pro women, and I returned to the beach in 5th. Wow. Where’d everybody go?

Soon on the bike, I heard the familiar, “When you get a chance…” which is what riders say when they want to pass me on the single-track. I move over, wish her a good race, and forge on. But soon I catch her again and sit back for a bit. She’s a Swiss rider trying to catch the American who we can see up ahead, but we’re not gaining. After my reprieve, I re-pass her and pull up to Shonny, the Luna-Chix rider, with the Swiss rider in tow. Eventually, I pass her too, and I realize I’m really feeling strong today.

Then the first climb. Those chicks drop me like I had asked them for a date.

Gone.

Gone – while I’m running up the sucker wondering what happened. I claw back to them before the next climb, just to have them remind me why they’re pros and I… well, I suck, I guess.

A few guys also pass me including my friend and Get-A-Gripper, Ted, who drops me on the same climb on the second loop. But this time, I know that no amount of clawing is going to bring me back to his wheel. He’s flying. I’m all alone, so I just keep at it and try to stay positive.

Jump off at the transition area looking forward to the run, and I almost fall flat on my face. My feet are like frozen blocks. I had no idea how cold they were. I change into my Sauconys, but have to look down to make sure my feet look like they are in there correctly, because I can’t feel a thing. It takes me a full 3 miles before they warm up, but they did, and I got one of two spots for the World Championships in Maui, won my age group by 8 minutes (second overall amateur) and even managed to give that hug. (see attached)
Dean

How soon is now? or Revenge of the Deaner

This past weekend was the Xterra Midwest Cup at Fort Custer state park in Michigan. As long as I have been doing Xterra's (11 years), it has been my goal to finish on the podium in my age group at an Xterra Cup race and qualify for the Xterra World Championship. This goal has been elusive to say the least.

At first I wasn't very good at this triathlon stuff, so qualifying was just a pipe dream. But as I got better, it seemed like something would always happen at regional championship races that would take me out of contention. In Xterra so much can go wrong whether it is a bike mechanical, a flat tire, a crash, lack of altitude acclimatization, cramping, digestion issues, or dehydration. You name it, it has happened to me. People I race with would always say, "don't worry, you'll qualify this year." But every year the competition would get a little stronger, the game would be elevated a little higher, and the goal of qualifying would always be close but just out of reach. I figured I was cursed and destined to forever be the underdog.

Back to the Michigan race, I studied the start list and formulated my strategy for this race. Given the strengths and weaknesses of the other competitors I figured my best strategy would be to swim as hard as I can to minimize the number of people I have to pass on the single track, push hard early in the bike to get towards the front of the pack, then wait for fast bikers to pass me and get on their wheel and ride with them. Then hopefully I will have enough to get through a relatively flat run.

Everything about this course plays to my strengths and I have confidence that I just might be able to finish top 3 in my age group and possibly within top 20 amateur overall.

At the beach start I look for my friend Dean Hewson. I don't know if I can swim on his feet for very long, but if I can get out to the first buoy in a good position I might be able to find a good draft. Everything goes right and by the end of the 2nd lap I see the green and pink swim caps of a few pros just ahead of me. I am told by a spectator that I am 15th amateur out of the water.

Onto the bike I hammer to the first section of single track and pass a bunch of people. I know I can put out this effort because once I get to the single track, I'll get stuck behind some slower riders who are great swimmers and have plenty of time to recover. So far everything plays out perfectly and I'm moving to the front of the pack. Eventually Jim James catches me and I am able to stay on his wheel. This is a breakthrough moment because in all the years I have been racing Jim, anytime I came out of the swim ahead of him, he would promptly ride me off his wheel. Soon Scott Gall catches us and we are like a train. Jim drops his chain and falls off the pace but then we pick up Jenny Smith and keep on chugging along.

Onto lap 2 Jenny picks up a water bottle and she falls off the pace. Scott and I keep pushing each other and I feel I am near the front of the amateur field because I just passed a bunch of really good pro women. Now my goal is to put as much time on the field as I can before the run. I finally pass Dean and I know he is having a great bike ride. I expected to pass him much sooner. For all I know he could be first amateur.

I take some liquids and Scott promptly rides away from me. Lucky for me Jim catches back up to me and we take turns pulling all the way into transition. The race announcer says we are second and third amateurs into transition. I can't believe it, but now my goal is to hunt down the guy in first place.

The first lap of the run is lonely but I feel pretty good. As I exit the woods I see Dean about an eighth of a mile back. Eventually he passes me at about mile 4. Now self doubt starts to creep into my head. Who else is coming from behind? Turns out, it was no one. I cruise in behind Dean and finish 3rd amateur overall and first in my age group. I punch my ticket for the World Championships with the race of my life.

Never before has a race performance surpassed my expectations but this performance blew my mind. Everything went exactly as I planned and nothing went wrong. I was only 1 minute behind the first amateur Blake Vogues. At all my other Xterra cup races I never finished higher than 6th in my age group and I usually finish about top 50 overall or worse.

I'd like to give props to Dean for chasing me down and finishing second. He said he was having a great race too. I'd like to think we pushed each other to great performances.

Right now I'm riding high and feeling pretty good about achieving a goal I never thought I'd achieve. Now my ambitions for the 2009 Xterra USA Championship are much greater and I look forward to seeing how far I can take this.

ABD Team Time Trial

Tim convinced me to do the 40 K team time trial out in some far western suburb this past Saturday. Dean was doing it too, so the chance for a little friendly competition drew me in.

We get a nice warm up in and show up to the line when we find out we missed our start. We had to re-sign up and wait around and go last. In Grand Tours it is an honor to go last but in this case it was kind of a hassle since we were all pumped up and ready to go at our original time.

I tell Tim that the wind is at our back on the way out and will be in our face on the way in. I want to start out conservatively so we have something left in the tank for the headwind. After Tim takes his first pull he is probably dropping 400 watts and that strategy flys out the window.

I was able to withstand the thrashing Tim gave me and we came in in 56:33 winning the cat 4 title. Dean was right behind us in 56:46.

Sunday I was really excited to head out to my cousins' house in New Lennox and go bike riding with them. They are way better athletes than I was at their age and I'm not just saying that to be nice to little kids. It's true. They are interested in doing a triathlon so I'm going to help show them the ropes and give them a little training advice.

They told their 500 times from the last swim meet they did and they are faster than me and only 1/3 my age. Dang, I think I'd smoke them on the bike though.

I helped fix up their bikes and then we went out for a ride. They have pretty solid basic skills on the bike. I think I can mold them into champions.

We might try out a relay together as Team Ramos and then they will do the Tri Masters South Shore Kids Triathlon in August.

Xterra Red River

I went to Oklahoma this weekend to get in a practice race before the all important Xterra NC Cup at Fort Custer on May 17th. After a preride I could see this course will be good practice for the courses I will be racing later this year. The bike is very similar to courses like O.N.E. and Last Stand and the run is just as tough as the Torn Shirt trail.

The swim was shortened to just 500 meters due to strong winds creating pretty big waves in the small lake. I didn't like that but it is actually to my advantage since I am not the strongest swimmer. I sat in a draft to conserve energy and I get out of the water in 15th place but I stepped on something that cut my foot open underneath my big toe and my index toe.

Due to my awesome transition skills I get on the trail in 8 or 9th place. My foot really hurts and I can pedal my bike without any problem but I hope it won't affect my run. After saving my energy on the swim, I attack the bike course on my Titus Fireline 29er and get the lead within about 4 miles. From there I try to ride smooth pushing my limits on the climbs but otherwise trying to ride safe and maintain a comfortable lead. 3 miles to go and I notice my tire is folding over under cornering pressure. Either I burped some air or I have a slow leak. Now I am riding even more carefully in the corners and hoping to get to transition without stopping to fix it. I get caught by one rider as I come into transition.

I take the extra time to put on a sock on the cut foot. Just worried about getting a lead on the other guy, I don't even think about if my foot hurts. I go hard to build a lead so he is out of sight, but soon the paranoia of who else may be catching me from behind sets in. I am now the hunted and my biggest enemy is the heat. I am unaccustomed to sunny 85 degree days from training in the midwest. I put out my best TT effort but it doesn't feel that fast. If I see anyone behind me, it's over, I don't have an extra gear to shift into. I'm on the limit. My best strategy is to not blow up so I take it fairly easy on the hill climbs even walking up some of the steep ones.

I finally make it to the open road and I run in to take the tape in 1:49. First victory of 09, 3rd victory in my Xterra career. 15th fastest swim, 2nd fastest bike, 2nd fastest run.

Post race I really paid the price. Dean warned me not to wear racing flats, but I did for their light weight advantage and my feet took a pounding. The balls and heels of my feet feel bruised, blisters are everywhere, not to mention one big gash on my right foot. If you saw me limping around the airport later that day, you would have never guessed that I had just won a race.

This race was a good indicator of what I need to adjust in order to elevate my game for Fort Custer and I think I will be ready.

Sylvan Island Race Report

I've been horribly inconsistent posting my own updates, but I enjoy reading other cyclists blogs. I guess I'll make an attempt to be more timely with my recaps for the 2009 season and hopefully someone enjoys tracking my season too.

Bill and I decided to race the Sylvan Island Stampede in Moline, IL. Early forecasts of rain wasn't what we were hoping for but we were committed. I checked the FORC (event organizer) website at 6:30am and they said that they hadn't received any rain and the race was still on. The entire drive was through spotty, and at times, heavy rain. When we arrived there were plenty of two wheeled MudMen rolling around. Crap. I don't mind racing in mud, but I don't consider it a strength, possibly because I don't own any "Mud" tires.

I line up with ~20 other people and the director allowed us to vote on cutting our race distance. We are a stubborn bunch and agree to keep it at 6 laps - 24 miles. I recognize some rabbits who are faster than me and line up behind them. I opted to go without sunglasses because of how difficult it would be to keep them clear. I had an equally difficult time seeing anything as the mud/water wake of riders ahead of me flew into my eyes and mouth. I hit the single track in the top 10 and just try to follow wheels. I didn't have a chance to pre-ride the course and this is a very twisty trail. My tire selection (Maxxis Crossmark) might as well have been racing slicks. I'm not sure how much more traction I would have gotten with a mud tire, but I had an incredibly tough time through corners (and even on some straight sections) on this tire created for fast dry terrain.

Lap 1 - Just learning the course. Ride into corners way too hot and in the wrong gear. I'm strong enough to hang with the riders around me but give up time in corners not riding efficiently
Lap 2 - The field is spreading out. I'm trying to calm down and stay in contact with the guys ahead of me. I still ride more aggressively around corners than my tires will allow and I pay for it with some wipeouts. I hear my rotors constantly grinding even when I'm not using them. I must have knocked something loose or splashed a bunch of muck between the pads.
Lap 3 - There are only a few people in sight ahead of me and but I'm settling in and have a better idea of where I need to be careful because of slick corners or peanut butter mud. I see a handful of guys pull off the course with mechanicals. I don't consider placing ahead of someone with a mechanical as a victory, but I keep telling myself that as long as my tires are inflated and my pedals turn, I'll keep pressing.
Lap 4 - More of the same. Anything mechanical on my bike is making it's displeasure known with loud grinding and horrible shifting. I'm riding the course with fewer dabs or stall outs, but that might because of fatigue and slowing down
Lap 5 - Only 2 more to go!! There was a rider behind me who seemed to be closing which helped me to keep on the gas. I had a GU packet under my short, but I was too afraid of wiping out trying to open it. A mouth full of mud before I got any gel wasn't too appealing either. I continued on with just a shot of water each lap but nothing to eat.
Lap 6 - I've put time into the chasing rider and I'm just riding to finish. I'm going slower and I'm not making the same mental mistakes from earlier laps, but the thick mud gives me trouble keeping my momentum

I finished ... and not last. I was 9th of 12 finishers but there were probably 10+ other DNFs. Mike Hemme from Killjoy was victim of a torn sidewall. The posted results are not complete and I'm not sure how many people pulled out.

I have some positives to take from the race and build on as I get back into a consistent training schedule. It will take a lot of TLC to get my beloved Alma back into proper working order. Hopefully it will not require too much credit card usage, but I think a new chain and brake pads will be necessary at a minimum. (Groans)

Sylvan Island Stampede

Report to follow from the "Sylvan Island Slop Fest"

Tim during an early lap, riding into one of many puddles

Bill riding through the start finish area

Dirt eater

Palos Meltdown 2009

According to the Cambr website, Sunday August 30th is the date of the 2009 Palos Meltdown. Registration will open on July 1st to non-Cambr members.

As far as I know, this will be the only mountain bike race in the Chicagoland area this year.

Mark your calenders.

6 races in 6 days

Photo by Burnham Racing Support Team

I just completed my spring road racing campaign this weekend with 2 races at the Burnham Spring Super Crit. I am happy with two seventh place finishes on the day. Before the race I was pretty tired from Kevin's crits, but I was able to ride smart and stay in contention.

That is 6 races in 6 days and a total of 9 races this year. I saw a lot of improvement the more I raced and managed to finish top 10 in my last 3 races.

That's it for me. You won't see me out there on the road for the rest of the summer. Although I might do some local road races in August to start preparing for cross season.

Now I am focusing on the Xterra season with my first race April 25th somewhere in Oklahoma. The goal is the same as it is every year... Qualify for the World Championship and win the North Central Point Series Regional title.

Half Acre's Kevin's Crit Series

Photo by Velogrrl

While I generally don't like to put road race reports on the off road blog, since the weather is downright cyclocross-like, this is the one time I'll make an exception.

Team Half Acre put on an excellent week long series of training criteriums for Cat 4/5 riders on the southside this week. These races came at the exact point in my training plan where I increase the intensity of my bike riding, so the timing of this event was perfect.

Since I am a lowly cat 4 scumbag, I figure I could use these races to get some experience and upgrade to cat 3. Even though I don't race road it has been a chip on my shoulder to upgrade to 3. It seems like whenever a roadie asks me what cat I am, I tell them I'm a 4 and then they turn away in disgust before I have a chance to explain that I am actually pretty good off road.

All week long I have had a chance to figure out who are the strong riders, who are the smart riders, and who are the riders with the explosive, bike race winning power. I also had a chance to learn how road racing differs from mountain bike racing. One thing I noticed is that in mtb the race is a steady grind of going as hard as you can for the duration of the race, whereas road racing comes down to decisive moments where huge power outputs decide the winning move or if you get dropped. I also leaned that with experience you can learn which moves are threatening and which moves will come back.

Monday I finish top 10 - 12. The pace was fast and I had to put out a lot of power to make up for my crappy drafting skills. I put out my highest 20 and 30 minute power outputs of the season so far.

Wednesday I finish top 12 again I think. Too many pulls at the front toward the end of the race and I don't have anything in the tank for the finish line sprint. Today I averaged about 30 watts less so my road skills must be improving.

Thursday I figure I would race smart and sit on the wheels of the guys who have been placing top 5 all week. Half way through the race I get bored and start taking pulls at the front. 1/2 a lap to go and I can't hit the accelerator anymore and finish mid pack fodder. It's not like I wasn't trying though. I was seeing stars trying to go with the move. Unfortunately I burned all my matches.

Friday I decide I want to finish top 10 and I tell myself I will not deviate from my strategy. My strategy is to sit on the wheel of Ernesto from Van Wagner. He's been winning races all week so he must know what he is doing.

First lap 2 Half Acre guys sprint off the line. I would not have thought it was dangerous until Adam from Team Beer'd went with them. Then Ernie from Van Wagner moved up as well along with a Pegasus guy. Even though it was only the first lap I sensed danger. 2 other guys and I bridge up through a vicious headwind and before you know it we made the decisive move. The pack nearly caught us on the second lap but I think the strong winds, cumulative fatigue from 5 days of racing and lack of a cohesive team presence foiled their attempt.

After that it was just a group of six out for steady ride around the park for 17 or so laps. Early on I was worried that I wasn't doing enough work, but then as the race wound down I found myself on the front for laps 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1. Damn, I got suckered again. These roadies are a crafty bunch. Two turns to go and I move onto Ernie's wheel. 1 turn to go he accelerates hard and I have no answer. I roll in 5 out of 6 and feel pretty good that I got in my very first breakaway.

Saturday I'm going out to Beloit for the Burnham crit as long as it doesn't snow and see if everything I learned so far works in races with larger fields. I'm not a roadie, but this is actually kind of fun.

Not much to say here

Without much mountain bike racing action I have had time to indulge in other hobbies of mine such as watching youtube. In general I like watching music videos, downloaded movies or anime. However I came across this show from A & E and since it's bike related, and I don't have much else to say, I'll post the link to this. It's about a guy who used to bike race professionally but then became addicted to crack.

It's pretty interesting. This is 1 of 5 parts:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkmpTHvz0bc&feature=PlayList&p=68AD077C279A0F66&index=0&playnext=1

Here is the follow up story to the A & E show:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/interviews.php?id=riders/2009/interviews/chad_gerlach_mar09

Trail Review - Sedona AZ

As I was flying out to PHX I bought a Mountain Bike Action magazine to read on the plane. This magazine contained an article titled the Cyclist's Bucket List: 100 things you must do in your lifetime and these 100 things were all mountain bike related.

Number 26 on the list was to ride in Sedona Arizona. I thought, Sedona isn't too far away from Phoenix. I better ride there while I am on vacation because you never know when I may kick the bucket.

Armed with a road map and directions I weened from mtbr.com reviews (of which, their directions are almost always wrong) I ventured off on a 100 mile road trip from Phoenix to Sedona to ride what will undoubtedly be some of the greatest trails I will have ever ridden.

Driving in, the rock formations are quite scenic. They kind of remind me of Moab. Surprisingly I found the trails relatively easily and I park in Oak Creek near the Red Rock Pass trailhead. I see some some other people gearing up to ride as well and I am dismayed at their equipment choices. I see a few Trek 800's with reflectors and a bike with a kickstand and someone else with a big puffy seat as wide as my ass on their bike.

I did a MTB sport race in AZ a few years ago and I remember getting my ass kicked by guys and girls wearing baggy shorts so I know I can't question the equipment choice of these Arizona riders. They ride year round and they are fast. As a matter of fact, I am sure that guy in the parking lot with the Magma could probably kick my ass all the same.

I head out on the ride and the trails are crowded with hikers. The trails are wide double track with a tacky red dirt. There is a descent amount of elevation change but technical challenges are nowhere to be found. I keep taking offshoots of the main trail but they are mostly more of the same and not too long. Some trails are marked wilderness trails, and from what I understand you are not supposed to ride them. Finally I find an unmarked trail that looks like single track. Whatever trail this was, it was pretty good, a mixture of red clay dirt and slickrock with a few rock drops and other technical challenges. Unfortunately it was only about 2 miles long. I end up riding this section 3 or 4 more times.

I head down the Little Horse trail and it seems to come to an end. That's it, I think. There has to be more than this. I ride around the roads of Sedona and I find a jeep trail. After about a quarter mile I determine it is not fun and I head back to the road. Down the road a bit I find the Cathedral Rock trailhead. Heck yes I think, this must be where all singletrack lovers come to worship.

As I enter the trail I say hi to a few hikers and immediately descend a steep rock staircase and nearly endo and bust my head open. I'm hit with a shot of adrenalin. Finally, this is the technical challenge that I seek. Next up are a few hike a bike sections, that lead to the top of a rock formation with a trail you can ride around. The trail is filled with hikers and leashless dogs. Don't worry, they get out of the way is what most hikers say about their dogs, but as I approach the dogs they usually just stand in the middle of the trail and bark at me. I come to a track stand and nearly topple over and fall off a rock ledge as I wait for the dogs to get out of my way.

The more I ride this trail, the more it seems like a hiking trail rather than a bike trail. I nearly endo again because the trails are not really laid out to accomidate bikes. I come to a picturesque running river and head back.

Overall I would have to say the riding in Sedona isn't all that great. The pros are that yes, it is in the mountains, yes, I am riding a mountain bike in February, and yes it is really scenic, but the cons are that the riding itself isn't all that interesting and definitley not worth the long drive to get here.

Maybe I built it up too much in my mind after reading about it in Mountain Bike Action, but I would have to say if I was on my death bed and only had the strength for one more mountain bike ride, this would not be the trail system I would choose to ride.

If I had read the article more carefully I would have realized the article was a thinly veiled attempt at advertising. For example, other things you must do before you die, 14. ride Specialized's brand of tires, 30. wear a t-shirt from Fox Racing Shox's cool line of clothing, 36. visit Troy Lee Designs' amazing showroom, 51. Ride a Trek featuring ABP suspension.

The advertisement for Sedona Mountain Bike Adventures is on page 30. I guess I was conned into determining my bucket list based on the the advertising dollars of marketers. Oh well. Overall I guess I would give this place a 3 out of 5. It is OK, but nowhere near the level of Asheville or Fruita.

Trail Review - McDowell Mountain Competitive Track

Located southeast of Phoenix, these trails are located near the suburb of Fountain Hills. McDowell Mountain is typical desert riding. These trails are dry, dusty, sandy and rocky. There are many mountain bike races held on the competitive track so these trails were designed for one thing, speed. With the trails running in one direction, you can let it rip and not worry about a head on collision.

Running a Stan's crow in back I didn't get too much braking traction and started to skid every time I needed to slow down quickly. Luckily I ran a Maxxis Crossmark on the front and that helped me maintain traction so I wouldn't crash into the cactuses along the trail.

The competitive track consists of 3 distinct sections of trails, the sport track, the long track, and the technical loop.

The sport track

The sport track is probably the easiest of the 3 loops but a good warm up for the terrain you will encounter on the other two loops. Although it may be the easiest, it still is fun. To make it more challenging, just ride it faster. I would guess this loop is about 3.5 miles long

The long track

This track is probably about 7 - 8 miles long I would guess. If you like to go fast, this is the trail for you. The trail starts with twisty singletrack with bermed corners. Then the next section is a rocky section, where no matter what line you take you can't avoid big rocks. Despite the rocks, you can still carry speed through this section. The final section is a series of small rolling hills where, if you can keep your momentum on the uphills, you are rewarded with a roller coaster-like ride back to the trailhead.

The tech loop

This trail is the shortest, but the 1st mile of this trail may be the best on the whole track. You start off with 2 consecutive drop offs that go straight down over the edge. The run out isn't too dangerous so the probability of going end over and busting your head are minimal. After that you face the longest climb on the course. It was a full body workout to pedal my singlespeed to the top of this climb. After that you are rewarded with a long, steep downhill and after that, more riding similar to the other two trails. The only downside of this loop is that it is only about 2 to 2.5 miles long.

The bottom line, if you want to ride lots of fast twisty single track in the Phoenix area, you should check this place out. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Trail Review - Arizona 100 Trail

This trail is located in the North Mountain Preserve on the north side of Phoenix. This trail runs right through town and is easily accesible. I brought my single speed to Phoenix and having not yet ridden a single speed on any single track I thought this would be a good trail to try it out.

This trail isn't too technically challenging, but it can kick the crap out of any trail in Illinois. Terrain is dry and rocky, and there are a few short climbs/descents. I could climb almost everything in my 34 - 18 gear and had a blast railing my bike through rock gardens and rocky drop offs.

If you are in Phoenix and looking for a quick ride without traveling very far, check out this trail. Out of five stars I would give it a 3.

Arizona Training Camp

I took a week off work and went down to Phoenix to stay with my Uncle and focus on getting a jump start to my 2009 season.

With weather in the 60's I have been getting 3 - 4 hour rides everyday. I also found a Y with an outdoor pool and some nearby trails to run on. Life is good. When I am not training, I'm just hanging out with my Uncle and relaxing.

Last Cyclocross Post of the Season

Universal Sports Network posted the videos of the 2009 Cyclocross World Championship online. No play by play or color commentary, just bike racing.

Men's race:

http://www.universalsports.com/mediaPlayer/media.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=23000&_MODE_=ONDEMAND&CLIP_ID=367116&CLIP_FILE_ID=373213

Women's race:

http://www.universalsports.com/mediaPlayer/media.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=23000&_MODE_=ONDEMAND&CLIP_ID=367213&CLIP_FILE_ID=373021

Vision Quest, Week 3

Now it's time to get to work. After about 40 minutes of warming up, it was time to ride. Once everyone had their Computrainers set up and recalibrated, we had a countdown to 40 minutes of hurt.

I think I started a little slow, because at about minute 20 I was feeling a little too good. It wasn't easy, but it didn't feel as bad as it should. I was holding about 220W, which is 10W ahead of where I was mid-December during the Indoor TT.

I decided to pick it up and at that point was sitting in 4th place of 16. Some new guy named Patrick (I think) took off like a bat out of hell right out of the gates, so no one was catching him, but 2nd and 3rd place weren't far ahead at all.

At that point I decided 240W-25W was a good goal and went to work. By minute 33 I had caught everyone but Patrick who still had nearly .5 mi on me and gaining.

Once minute 40 rolled around I had averaged 231W (Patrick was at 249W I believe) and was in 2nd place. I certainly can't complain with going from 210W for 30 minutes to 231W for 40 min in only 6 weeks, but it's still pretty depressing compared to mid- to late-summer last year when I would hold 270W-280W for my full 7 mile commute to work and it didn't seem as hard.

This just gives me something to shoot for. I told Nisha tonight: I want to be at 250W for 40 minute power by the end of the Taste of VQ, and 270W for 40 min by the time my first XTERRA rolls around. From there the goal is 300W 30 minute power by XTERRA Nationals. In the mean time while the wattage is rising, I still have about 10 lbs to peal off. If I can accomplish all of these goals I had better have my best season yet!

Here's to a bunch of hard work right around the corner....

Vision Quest, Week 2

Two down, 8 to go. This week was based mostly on cadence work. Which, come to find out, was a great idea. I thought I'd just coast through the session, get a workout in, and leave happy. To the contrary, it opened my eyes to how much time I spend at a cadence that very well may be too low for me.

Normally during a trainer session I find myself between 80-85 RPM. In this session we did 3 min intervals of 80, 90, 100, 110, and max cadence. I found that my HR and RPE went down while maintaining the same power when I went from 80 to 90, and maybe even to 100 rpm. Good to know!

Next week is the big week, our first threshold test. I can't remember if they said we'd be doing a 30 min or 40 min test, but it's going to be a sufferfest to push myself to the limits I experience when trying my best to keep up with Ted and Tim during our little group rides. It ain't gonna feel good, but I have no desire to sandbag this test!

UCI Cyclocross World Championship

This Sunday is the greatest day in sports... The Super Bowl? Heck no, I'm talking about the Cyclocross World Championships.

According to Chicagobikeracing.com the event will be on Universal Sports. I checked the schedule and they haven't posted the time it will be aired yet.

In the meantime, here is a video from the women's championship two years ago:

http://www.universalsports.com/mediaPlayer/media.dbml?&_MODE_=ONDEMAND&DB_MENU_ID=&SPSID=105625&SPID=13044&DB_OEM_ID=23000&CLIP_ID=130182&CLIP_FILE_ID=134809

The video quality is pretty good. The announcers aren't the greatest, but at least it is in English.

Vision Quest, Week 1

Well, it's actually week -2. I got a chance to start a couple weeks early, so I get 10 weeks for the price of 8.

Today was nothing more than a coaching class to teach everyone what power can do for us. Many of the people in the class had not only never used power, but didn't necessarily know what watts were.

Dave (the coach) had us do some 1 min intervals with 1 min rest first. Then we hit up some 3 min intervals, followed by 5 min intervals. Each one used to show us all how to use watts and give us a glimpse of our baselines. Luckily I have been using watts for some time, so it wasn't all new to me, but I got an idea of how I stacked up against the class and what riders I can use to push myself. There were 2 guys in particular that are roughly the same size as me, one slightly stronger, one only slightly weaker. This will allow me to judge my progress against the other participants to get an idea of how well I am progressing throughout the class.

We'll see how it all plays out, but worst case scenario VQ has a cool spot on Elston to ride on Sunday's and I get to have a good time riding with a group!

Time to get back to it....

After some time (I won't say how long) of lack-luster training, it's time to get back moving. I was surprised, though I shouldn't have been, at how out of shape I had become. An extra chunk of weight, paired with much lower power numbers than last year, has me realizing I have a long way to go before the XTERRA season starts this year.

I picked up a used Computrainer, an nice LCD and desktop PC off of Craigslist, and I now have a killer training room set up!

Monday started the training, 20 weeks based on the PIG workouts Tim sent out. With the first week down, I am thinking the numbers were a little low that I have been using, but I'm sure I'll be making up for that in the near future.

Day 1 was a 30 min effort to set up what the PIG program calls CP30 (Critical Power, 30 min). Entering that into the spreadsheet gives me all of the wattages for the weeks workouts.

Day 2 was an interval ride, Day 3 was a tempo ride, Day 4 was endurance, and Day 5 was another tempo ride.

My first week back also included a little sample session at Vision Quest, which I'll do another post of. All said I completed a hair over 7 hours on the bike which I am happy with. I'll do another 1-2 weeks like this before introducing more running into my program to get my weight down. My knees tend to be sensitive to the extra weight and the last thing I want to do is pound them into the ground in January!

The season is approaching quickly!

Tour de Groundhog

Cyclocross season is not quite over. There is one more race in Illinois:

Sunday February 15th, 2009
21st Annual Bill Jensen Memorial Tour de Groundhog
New Salem State Park

For more information go to:

http://www.teammackracing.org/

Green Team

There is not much to write about these days. The cold spell in Chicago has me thinking about moving down south. It is so friggin' cold I can't even go out there and snow shoe.

I'm looking at the 2009 race schedules and trying to put together a plan for the 09 season. Other than that I've been swimming endless laps in the pool and trying to stay sane while riding the rollers and running on the treadmill.

During the off season, instead of writing about races I'll periodically post pictures of my bikes (I have a lot) and write reviews of products I have tried this past season. My product reviews won't be biased by advertisers like they are in Bicycling magazine, so I'll give you the no B.S. report on what I really think about products.

In the meantime, team member Saj, has undertaken the Green initiative at Get a Grip. Read about the program below:

Green Statement

After seeing the documentary The 11th Hour, Get a Grip Cycles decided to step up our efforts with making the shop more green. We are in an industry where it only makes sense to care about the Earth. We are striving to make as little of an impact on the Earth as possible and plan to use our shop as an outlet to create awareness. It's great to see and hear the responses that we get from customers when this topic is discussed. More and more people are caring about the condition of the Earth these days.


How we are making a difference:

We now recycle everything we can, including paper, plastic, glass, metals and electronics. As a bike shop, recycling tires and tubes is probably how we will make the biggest difference in offsetting our footprint. We are currently taking in a large load of tires and tubes every few of weeks.


We have switched to Earth friendly lubes, bike cleaners and de-greasers from Pedro's and Phil Wood for use in our shop. We sell these products as well.

We use the Omega Ultrasonic parts cleaner for our drive train cleans. It works with an environmentally friendly solution and electronic charges dislodge unwanted grime.


We make a concentrated effort to encourage people to support Chicago's bicycle co-op Working Bikes. They are a non-profit shop that fixes junk bikes that are donated to them. They sell them for cheap or donate them locally and globally. Any time we have a customer wondering if their junk bike is worth fixing, we either give them a drop off location, or even take their bike to Working Bikes for them.

We have changed our shopping bags. No more poly bags! We now use 100% recycled paper bags with soy based ink.


From now on, all Get a Grip Cycles t-shirts will be made out of organic cotton and not manufactured in a sweat shop. Our latest run of shop tees is from American Apparel, made in California.

Conservation of our off-road trails. We plan to attend more trail work days.


Our future decisions will always be made will the Earth in mind.

We will choose companies to support that are eco-conscious. Some of our current brands that support are goals are: Independent Fabrications, Seven Cycles, Shimano, Quality Bicycle Products, Pedro's, Chris King, Nite Rider, Light & Motion, Keen, Reynolds, Schwalbe, Michelin, Continental, Nokian, Pro Bar, Steaz, Clif, Sharkies, Jittery Joes, Phil Wood, WTB, Finish Line and Resource Revival. These are the companies that we know of currently.

RECYCLE - REUSE - REDUCE

FACT: It takes approximately 1000 miles on a new bike to offset the carbon footprint that it took to make it.

CONTACTS: Chicago Recycling.org - Everything recycling Chicago.
Liberty Tire Recycling: 1323 W. Cortland St. Weekdays 7 - 3:30
Working Bikes.org - Bike Donation.
Resource Revival.com - Bike parts donation.
Electronicsrecycling.org - Solid waste doesn't degrade.

Get a Grip Off Road seeks new members

If you are interested in racing with us next season in Mountain Biking, Off Road Triathlon or Cyclocross send your race resume with recent results and plans for 2009 to:

offroadcoach@gmail.com

Illinois State Championship - Montrose

Thank goodness the season is finally over. I've been going all out since I started the season in March and I am beat.

I didn't really want to do this race because I had a pretty good feeling where I would finish, I've lost the motivation to push through the pain in an hour race and it's friggin' cold outside. On the way home from Jingle Cross Tim convinced me to not punk out and finish what I started. So instead of taking a much needed break I pushed on for one more week.

I signed up hoping my form would magically turn around and my legs would feel less tight and fatigued. Unfortunately there were no Rocky Balboa-like finishes and I finished at the back of the pack in an uneventful finish to the season.

Oh well, at least the course had a lot of fun and challenging elements. I even had some fans out there encouraging me during the race. Brandon and Derrick didn't race but they braved the cold weather to come out and cheer. Derrick even brought a set of drums so he could bring the noise every time I rode by.

Tim had a great race in the 3's and he looks to have good form. He signed up for Nationals but unfortunately he's not taking his own advice and he's skipping it.

He earned an upgrade to 2 and it will be nice racing with a teammate in the 1/2 races next year. Given all the good guys in the 3's upgrade next year, the field for the 1/2's should be fairly large and really competitive. It will be fun next year.

I'm kind of down about my season right now just because I feel like crap but I had some success.

- competed in 20 races
- Victory at the Ithaca (MI) Grand Prix
- 13th in the 1/2/3 Chicago Cyclocross Cup Series
- 7th in the 2/3 Tailwind (MI) Series
- Upgrade to Cat. 1

Now I look forward to some time off and then some unstructured training before I ramp it up for the 2009 Xterra season.

Jingle Cross Video

Ted has been sending these all day, the only appropriate thing is to post them! Enjoy the laughter that others' pain can bring you during the holidays:



Ted, I didn't see the other guy wearing any red, is there a reason you turned into a bull and decided to ram him? Was it something personal?

So, did you like that little clip? How about seeing it from another angle:



When watching this, I can't help but to hear John Madden in my head shouting "BOOM" as Ted lowers his head....

Jingle Cross Rock 2

Day 2

I woke up Sunday morning and looked outside. The ground was covered in wet snow and snow was falling at a 60 degree angle. Normally I would be excited about racing in these conditions but I was actually scared to do the race because the course is so difficult that when you add in the element of zero traction some parts could be downright treacherous such as the descent down Mt Krumpit.

When I got to the race it seemed like there were half as many cars in the parking lot as the day before. A lot of people must have wimped out when they heard the weather report. I must admit, they were a lot smarter than me.

Tim and I preride the course and I was able to ease my fears when I was able to navigate the treacherous descent down Mt. Krumpit. I dial in my tire selection and air pressure and I'm ready to race.

My start puts me top 10 and I figure this could be a good day. Unfortunately my race unraveled on the first run up and the decent down the off camber side of the hill. I'm trying to run up the hill yet sliding backward. Once I got to the top people were falling down all around me trying to navigate down the side hill. I couldn't do any better and I fell about three or four time while trying to run/walk down the hill.

I ride around the course and make it to the base of the backside of the Mt Krumpit climb. I slide out at the base of the hill. Traction is terrible and I can't remount, forced to run up I lose a bunch more spots and am really doing a bad job of conserving any energy.

At the top I have confidence I can ride the down hill and start to make up some time on the leaders. All the fans are at the bottom cheering and taking pictures. I find a good line and let go of the brakes and let gravity take me down. Someone in front of me crashes and I'm able to steer around his carbon fiber bike. So far, so good.

However the rider gets up right in my line and we collide at full speed. I haven't hit anyone that hard since my days of playing linebacker back at the Academy. The fans were camped out there to see crashes and they got a good one. As I was laying in the mud I heard one spectator say "ewww, that was bad." I hope someone got that on video because I think that crash could make me a youtube star.

I'm dazed and confused and slightly bloody but my bike is OK and I keep going. I can't remember much else from the race except that I crashed and fell a lot.

Another back of the pack finish for me on day 2 but I still won some swag. At the end of the race Team Skin awarded me a pair of Oakly Flak Jackets for having the best crash of the 2/3 race. It almost makes the throbbing pain in my head and neck worth it.

The last race of the year is next week at Montrose Harbor. I hope I recover enough to toe the line. Hopefully we'll get a pretty good turnout from the rest of the team for one last race before the cold and dreary off season begins.

Jingle Cross Rock 1

Jingle Cross is the best race in the Midwest with a course that features tough climbs and scary descents, lots of fans, and a nice payout in all categories.

Day 1
I show up to the line and 1 minute before the start and notice the pressure in my tire has gone down to about 2 psi even though I filled it about an hour ago. I hate Michelin latex tubes. Every one I used this year has failed me. They are very expensive yet they are poorly constructed and they fail at the valve stem where the tube is connected together. I'll never use Michelin latex tubes again.

My goal was to focus on going hard off the line, making it to the pit, switching bikes and getting back in the race. With such low pressure in the tires, I nearly crashed through every turn and was in last by the time I switched bikes. Unfortunately I didn't have it in the legs to make up much ground on anyone, was over geared on my backup bike and had difficulty on the steep run up Mt Krumpit.

Oh well, I usually do much better on the second day.

That night the host hotel had a screening of a movie called Zero Traction. It was a documentary about the 2007 KC Nationals and how racers had to not only battle their fellow competitors, but also the harsh Midwest winter. It was pretty good and I liked how it focused on more than just the pro race and gave the amateur racers plenty of camera time as well.

I had heard on TV that there were winter storm warnings but little did I know that Zero Traction would foreshadow the conditions we would face the next day.

Lansing Cross

I was the only Get a Gripper to make the trek to the south side for the Lansing cross race this weekend. It was a pretty basic course with sweeping turns and 0 feet of elevation change per lap.

The best part of the course was the sandpit. The cuttin crew, half acre crew, and xxx crew were hanging out there acting loud and rowdy offering encouragement and mockery every time someone came through. Their mockery motivated me to ride the sand pit the second half of the race rather than run it. Once I found the line and the technique, it was the only part of the course where I felt like I did fairly well.

The 1/2 field would have been small but they added a collegiate field to the race. I also noticed a lot of the guys who did the masters race were lining up for this race to pull off a double.

I tried out a new strategy of going all out at the beginning of the race rather than my traditional way of racing by putting out even splits. The first lap turned out pretty good and the leaders were actually still in sight. On the second lap gaps were starting to grow but I was still going pretty fast but wondering if how long it would be before I blow. Third lap I crash and once I gathered myself I found out I had nothing left in the tank. I wish I had brought some Gu's and Gatorade with me. I shifted down to my small ring and did lap after lap wondering when I would finally recover. 3 or 4 laps to go and I am able to put in a few hard efforts but still not feeling great and finish mid pack.

Collegiates from Lindsey Wilson College came out to the race in full force today and took the overall in the men's race and the woman's race. It's a small college but they have a stacked cycling team.

Next week I'm considering racing Woodstock, or a double race weekend in eastern IA or a 2/3 race in Michigan. The season is getting short so I might as well take advantage of any opportunities left to race and start chasing upgrade points.

Save Farris

The last few weeks I have been really burned out on training. I can hardly muster the strength to do any hard intervals durring the week. On top of that the temperture has noticibly dropped to near freezing levels making training rides more painful than they should be. After Saturday's ride in driving wind, drizzle, and temps in the 30 - 35 degree range, I was ready to call it a season. Training is not fun anymore.

Then on Sunday I showed up to the Save Ferris cross race in Northbrook. After walking around the course and watching Tim's 3 race, I was excited about cyclocross again. The course had 2 difficult stair run ups, a fast and slippery ride down the sledding hill and plenty of off camber sections, muddy sections, roadie fast sections and tricky turns to keep it interesting throughout.

Once I got out there and raced, the course was as fun as it looked. I might hate training right now but I still love to suit up and race on the weekends. I might as well enjoy the last few weeks of the season, because once the races stop I know I will miss it.

Tired of getting my butt kicked at Chicross races and in search of a victory, I drove up to Ann Arbor for a weekend of cat 2/3 races.

Saturday I felt flat. The pace off the start line felt slow, but I just couldn’t dig deep enough to find the motivation to move up. A mediocre start and someone crashing in front of me just as he makes a pass puts me mid-pack halfway through the first lap. The rest of the race I watch the 2 leaders work together fairly well to put time on the field every lap. I eventually work my way up to fifth, and then with 2 laps to go move into 3^rd and that’s where I finished.

I usually feel much better on the second day of back to back races. Now that I knew who the contenders were, I knew who to watch and where I wanted to be positioned. Unfortunately I’m not that smart of a racer once the race starts. After the start I am way back in 7^th or 8^th and I watch the guy I wanted to draft roll off the front and immediately get a 10 second gap. After the first lap I move from 8^th to second and try to chase down the leader. Unfortunately only one guy jumps on my wheel, and he made me pull in all the hard sections. So while the leader was not building a huge gap on us, we were not working too well together to cut into his lead. The guy I was riding with was the Wisconsin state criterium champion, so I knew if I didn’t drop him before the last lap he would use all his roadie tricks on me and out-sprint me for second place. With one lap to go I started to push hard in sections I didn’t push hard in before. The plan worked and he started to fade back. Then I noticed that a lead I thought was once insurmountable now seemed possible to overcome. The lead riders lead shrank from 300 meters to 60 meters on the last lap. Unfortunately, I ran out of real estate and had to settle for second. One more lap and I think I could have taken him.

Thanks to the wonders of chip timing I was able to see that I was able to catch him not because he faded, but because I really stepped it up in that last lap. My last lap was the fastest lap of all the racers laps in the race. This is a good sign my training is paying off and that I have the ability to be more aggressive than I am right now, especially at the start.

Photo by Zach Maino

SpookyCross weekend in Iowa

First I would like to thank and commend ZoomPerformance and Elder Corp in Des Moines, IA for putting on a fun race at a great venue. I pre-reg'd for 4 races this last weekend, 2 Saturday and 2 Sunday. A 45min Cat3 race, a 1hr 15min break, and then head back out for another hour of racing against Cat1,2,3 racers. I thought this was a good idea at the time.

There is already a write up about the course and weather/wind. Here: http://cyclingupdate.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=403&Itemid=29

It wasn't long before we left the grass and took a hard right onto the edge of a real Iowa beanfield... and this was after about 3 days of rain! You can only imagine the type of mud the course quickly became...and it didn't get any better as the day wore on!

We had the same 40-50mph gusts in Iowa that you experienced in Chicago which made racing interesting.

I felt less than stellar during the first race and came in disappointed at 6th place for the Cat3 race on Saturday. 6th isn't bad, but I had higher expecations. I had no legs for some reason and people were just dropping me on any uphill sections. I would fight back to make contact and then I'd get dropped again. I knew that the Cat1,2,3 race an hour later was going to be brutal ... and I was right. I started in the 2nd row and was quickly dropped to DFL in the first 1/4 mile. I fought my way back up to 15th/18 and only got lapped once!!! :-) At :30 minutes when I was riding towards Nicole I was making the finger across the throat gesture signaling that I'm done and planned on pulling out after finishing the lap, but as I rolled through I just couldn't allow myself to quit in front of a group of people, so I continued out for one more. 8 minutes later I was back and fighting the same battle, finally convincing myself that I only have 2 more laps, I've already raced 50 minutes, might as well finish. I was worked over and discouraged about my prospects for tomorrow.

Sunday arrived to cooler temps and 50mph winds blowing us all over the place. I'm not sure what changed from Saturday, but somehow I found better legs and was able to snag 2nd place in the Cat3 race. I now have most of the points needed to upgrade to Cat 2. I decided that I had enough racing for the weekend and skipped the Cat 1,2,3 race, instead opting for a burger and beer instead.

Chicross race in St Charles on Sunday up next.

Tim

Regional Champions

I just received my XTERRA Regional Champion jersey. Pretty cool!!

Tim Yuska - M25-29 Regional Champion

Ted Ramos - M30-34 Regional Champion (His 5th regional championship)

Cheryl Stine - F40-44 Regional Champion (Her 2nd regional championship)

Now that's what I call a weekend!!!

With all the Chicago Marathon hoopla going on, I decided to create a Cyclocross marathon for myself. There was a 3 day UCI CX event (Fri, Sat, Sun) going on in the Cincinatti area that I decided to do. There was also a ChiCross race on Sunday, so I decided to come back early and do both the Cat3 and Cat1,2,3 races in Chicago on Sunday.

Results Recap:
KY Cat3 Day 1 45min - 18th (flat tire, switched to mountain bike)
OH Cat3 Day 2 45min - 7th
Chicross Cat 3 45 min - 5th
Chicross Cat 1,2,3 60 min - 10th

KY cross race 1
40ish line up for the 45 minutes Cat3 race in 80+ degree heat.
I'm second row and work to top 5 in the leadout before hitting the dirt. Not picking good lines, I slip to top 10 and holding. Super rutted and bumpy course and a couple nosedive ditch crossings (imagine riding down one side of a V and then up the other, impossible not to slam your wheel into the dirt) Blow my front tire half way through the race and need to run a 1/4 lap to the pit to grab my Orbea (thanks for fixing the brakes Jeff!! They work 100% better!) I'm able to catch about 5 guys who passed me during my mechanical issues and finish 18th on the day.

KY cross race 2
Another sunny, dry, 80+ degree day in OH
I'm second row again but have a worse start and fall to mid to low teens. This course was much more interesting, fun and looooong at almost 8 minutes per lap. I'm riding steady, reeling in riders ahead of me and shedding them. I finally settle into a group with two others who are also riding strong. I'm able to drop one rider in an offcamber Z turn section, but now fighting for position with the remaining rider. One the last lap we are even heading into and exiting the sand pit but I smoke the run and get a gap. Turning down the final straightaway I'm hammering a big gear to try to put it away but I couldn't raise my cadence and saw him closing the gap. I threw it at the line and held my spot for 7th on the day and another 45 minutes in the books.

Nicole and I pack up, say goodbye to her friends late in the day and start back for Chicago, not hitting the pillow until 1:00am

Chicross Cat3
Jeez, can we get some relief from the sun?!?! Another annoyingly beautiful day (I'll regret these words in February). This is probably one of the toughest courses I've seen created for the ChiCrossCup. There is a toboggan hill that we had to ride up and then shoot down into a 180 right turn just to suffer up the hill again. The course is pretty straight forward with some long power sections. The RDs do a call up for the Cat3 top ten men and then everyone else falls in behind. I'm second row but get another bad start and drop to the low teens heading into our first attempt at the hill. I find a good rythym and start reeling people in. I was able to apply a few lessons that I learned while watching the pros yesterday and rode a fairly clean race. I was able to work my way up to 5th and kept cutting the time gap to the leaders, but my start seriously handicapped me. I coast into the finish at 5th place and get ready for one last race.

Chicross Cat1,2,3
This is a horrible idea. I just tell myself it's training, but another hour climbing that Tobaggon hill is going to be miserable. I've accepted that my starts suck but no clue how my legs will react. I enter the first climb near the back of a pack of 30 riders. Many of them doing their first race of the day. I know the course well by now and I'm taking fast lines. That doesn't help the fact that I'm nearly cracked trying to stay on Brad Zoller's wheel (The Cat3 race winner). We try to help each other and work on reeling in a group of four about 15 seconds ahead of us. I lost Brad after the toboggan hill about 20minutes in and now I have to catch the group by solo. I shocked myself by catching them about 2 laps later and was encouraged by their comfortable pace. I sat in to recover for about half a lap and then attacked on a pavement section. I looked back and found no one, I've created a 10 second cushion. I hang on for the next 20 minutes and happily complete my final lap. I couldn't believe that I had worked my way into 10th place. Out of the money, but very encouraging for my 2nd race of the day and 4th on the weekend.

No one will mistake me for Barry Wicks or Ryan Trebon (and not just because I'm under 6'6"), but I feel good about my form at this point of the season.

Xterra Nationals - at beautiful Lake Tahoe

I've had a hamstring/glute/adductor issue, and had not trained for 8 days leading up to this race. I have no expectations for this race, as I just wanted to experience it and finish and see how I handled the altitude (in the past I've gotten altitude sickness on several occasions).

Friday I woke up at 4:30am, was at the airport by 7, paid $210 to take my bike and bag - uh $215! what! I thought about not paying and staying home, but plunked down the credit card and went through the gate (turns out United airlines overcharged me according to their website, so now I have to fight with them for a refund). My first flight was delayed 2 hours, and I missed my connection from Chicago to Reno, and had to get a 2 stop flight through Denver to Reno. My luggage didn't make it and I arrived in Reno to rain and 40 degree weather. We drove to Tahoe, it was snowing when we went over the Mt Rose mountain pass! Day 1 was not so great.

It rained all night Friday night, woke Saturday morning to much of the same. And my luggage arrived! My bike box (only used 3 times so far) was damaged, and they had taken apart my box and not reassembled the packing correctly so I feared for damaged or bent components - damn airlines/TSA! Fortunately, upon re-assembly, the bike worked normally.

Saturday's expected high 40, rain and wind advisory. The xterra Nevada swim was cancelled and turned into a duathlon. That evening was the pre-race dinner, where I received my regional points winner jersey - yeah!

I awoke Sunday morning to stars! yeah! Clear skies in the forecast. It was 35 degrees as I set up transition. Wetsuit on and headed down to the 59 degree crystal clear water. The race started, and the water temp didn't feel that bad. Sun was bright and directly to the left, so I just breathed right so I could see. For not swimming for 9 days, I didn't feel too bad. Getting out after the first lap and running across the beach I felt a bit woozy and a bunch of guys passed me as I stumbled back into the water. Another uneventful lap (for me at least - I still can't figure out why people get so worked up on a swim and try to bash all over other people fighting for space instead of just relaxing and letting things spread out for a few seconds). Anyways, out of the water and I fumbled with cold hands and feet to put on shoes for the 1/4 mile run to t1. I'm always amazed how fast many people run to t1, I just manage to get there without passing out, and spend what seems like 10 minutes trying to get my wetsuit off, then camelback on, socks on, shoes on, gloves on, glasses on. The hands just don't work so well when they are cold! As I was sitting there in the sun I felt so warm, I opted for no additional clothes for the ride. Maybe a mistake?

Out onto the bike, the climb starts right away, in a half mile it turns into a sand road, and it goes on for 3 miles. And its steeper than the mile long climb at my local trail - the whole 3 miles. I was in the granniest of granny gears I had - for the entire climb! I gasped for air, and stopped twice just to breathe. I thought I was the only person who got off my bike in the race (come to find out there were others!) . Had to push bike a long way to spots where I could get on again and resume riding each time. I was soooo happy to reach the top. I really did not manage the climb or the altitude well. It was difficult to eat and drink, I tried to get some down, but it was cool and the stomach was not entirely happy. The flume trail section was next and as beautiful as any trail can be. You ride along the edge of the mountain overlooking the lake - 2000 feet up! You can't really look down, or you'll ride right off the edge and down for a thousand feet or so - I think - I never looked over long enough to find out. After you round Marlot lake, another climb which forced me to dismount again to breathe, then some more rollers and climbing - ARGH! One last dismount to breathe - this was really killing me! But then a very cool section of downhill singletrack with rocks everywhere, switchbacks for a few miles. I actually rode this pretty well considering I was in oxygen debt, and my legs and arms were screaming with fatigue. A few dabs, no crashes, and I may have gotten off the bike once in this stretch for some rocks I couldn't navigate. The descent down Tunnel Rd (which took 45 minutes to climb), took just a few minutes to descend. It was a chilly downhill, and my quads were burning so whenever I could sit for a couple seconds on a smooth section, I'd sit for a second,and then get back up off the saddle. Into t1 2.5 hours later! sooooooooo glad that was over.


Fortunately the run is flat, just snaking around the woods near the transition area. Again I had no idea what to expect, since I had not tried to run in the past 8 days. Not the best way to prepare for a race! The leg actually held up well, I think the lack of O2 slowed me down more than the legs or any small loss of fitness I might have had from the training hiatus. I managed a slow run the whole 10k, and was just happy to be finished. 7th out of 12 in my age group.ugh.


I felt sick after the race - very bad headache and a bit of nausea. 8 advil and 6 hours later and I felt more human again. I'm not sure I'll ever go back to this race since I just seem to get sick every time I go to altitude. Its not really a very plesant way to spend time, or money... but sometimes you change your mind. I've learned to never say never... and it really sucks to be defeated by a course.

Now its time for a break and hopefully the injuries can heal up!

Happy October! my favorite month of the year.

Ithaca Grand Prix

This weekend there were a couple big UCI cyclocross races up in Madison. Disappointed that there wasn't a Cat 2 race, I sought out somewhere else to race. I found the Ithaca Grand Prix in MI as an alternative to the Madcross presents Jonathan Page's Planet Bike Cup in Madison.

I attended this race last year and it was a well organized race with a fun and challenging course and a generous post race raffle.

After another night of sleeping in my car, I got to the course early and scouted it out. I made a last minute decision to change my tires and as a result I got a second row start spot. There was a 200 meter hilltop prime right after the start and I figured I would rather start conservatively and ride steady. I missed the hilltop sprint and before I knew it I was at the back of the pack. It took one lap to pass the fast starters and catch the leaders.

I rode behind them for two laps studying their strengths and weaknesses. I didn't want to be a wheel sucker so I attacked after 3 laps. I had a decent gap until I had a mishap remounting my bike after a run up and crashed. Slightly dazed I got up and was passed by two riders. Luckily, neither the bike nor I were damaged in the crash. It took a while for me to get back in a rhythm and catch up to one of the 2 leaders while the other guy was starting to build a bigger lead.

I noticed that they were learning to take corners better and it would be harder to catch the leader. I also knew that attacking in the same place as last time would not have the same effect so I needed a new strategy. Three laps to go and I bridge the gap to the leader with power moves in the open sections. Unfortunately the third place guy was able to sit on my wheel so we were back to a group of three battling for the win.

I sit in and bid my time looking for an opportunity. 1 1/4 laps to go and I attack in the spot that I crashed. I figured they wouldn't expect it there. The remount is followed by a climb and an open section and I pour on the power. I create a nice gap and now I need to ride smart and smooth for one more lap.

1/2 a lap to go and I see one guy hasn't given up yet. I accelerate in all the open sections and go as fast as I can in all the running sections. I've done this in training and know I can hold on until the end. Everything goes perfectly and I come across the line for the win.

This win has been a long time coming. My last victory in a bike race came in '01 in the citizen class MTB race at Kickapoo.

Post race I got a cool 1 X 9 t-shirt that happens to match my Salsa Chili con Crosso.

Chicross - Jackson Park

The first local race of the year was a lot of fun. There was a good representation from the team in all race categories. Dean, Ken and I raced the Masters race, Tim raced the 3, potential new team member Jennifer raced the woman 4, I did the Elite race, and Brandon, Bill and Geoff from the shop raced the 4A.

For Brandon, Bill and Jennifer, this was their first race.

The teams top finisher on the day was Tim in 9th place.

The overall turnout for the race was great and Greg from triple xxx put together a fun and challenging course that was wide enough to handle the large fields.

Everyone is looking forward to the next race in DeKalb.

First cross race of the season

I wanted to get a jump start on the season and get a race in before the first Chicross race in Jackson park. So I left Friday, slept in my car and arrived in Davisburg MI on Saturday. Arriving early allowed for plenty of practice loops on the course to develop a race strategy. With many off camber 180 degree turns I wanted to make sure I had plenty of traction so I set my tire pressure low.

I line up for the start and get into the top five off the line. Then as we hit the first gravel section about 15 seconds into the race I hear a pop and the air burst from my tires. Dang, something similar happened to me at Jingle Cross last year. DNF? nah, I drove to far to get here, make it to the pit and swap bikes.

After spotting everyone a minute and a half lead I get on the gas and ride a steady TT attempting to catch as many riders as possible. At the end of the race I passed over 20 riders and ended up in 12th.

Disappointed, I'm going back to Chicago.

24 Hours of Seven Oaks

Derrick, Brian, Tim and I (Ted) drove out to Iowa for the 24 Hours of Seven Oaks race in Boone Iowa. This is probably the fastest growing segment of mountain bike racing but I have never tried one before so I figured I would try one out and see if it is as hard as it sounds.

The course was damaged in the recent Midwest floods so much of the trail system had to be re cut. On the preride lap this made the course really slow without much flow. It didn't seem like a fun course. Luckily, as the day went on, all the bikes broke in the course and made the course roll a little easier while still maintaining technical elements such as steep switchbacks both uphill and downhill, roots, and narrow bridges. Once I learned the nuances of the course after the second or third lap, I started to like the course and appreciate the challenges it presented. Each lap was 7.5 mile and had about 980 feet of climbing.

Derrick started the race with a LeMan's style run and got the hole shot just like we expected. He was able to ride strong and come in for the 1st lap in 5th place. On the next lap mechanicals set the team back a lap and put us in last place. With the bad luck out of the way, each racer focused on riding hard and staying within their limits as we chipped away at the deficit. Our consistency was our strength and we were able to move up nearly a place per lap by the time the night laps started.

By morning we were in second place. The first place team was nearly untouchable but the third place team was right behind us. Tim and Derrick rode some of their best laps in the final hours and we maintained second place by a comfortable margin.

Overall we rode a total of 27 laps. That is 204.5 miles (the first lap had an extra 2 miles) and 26,460 feet of climbing. Doing a 24 hour as a team was an incredible challenge and we all pushed ourselves to the limits.

Universal Sole Mizuno XC race #4

Last XC race of the year, nice weather. I figured I would try to break the PR I set on this course 2 weeks ago of 19:16. Started fast, faded in the middle and finished strong. 4 seconds off the PR.

Ted 19:20
Ken 23:38

Photo by Jason Knauff

Ted's Cross Practices

They are classic. From going to the park and just trying to knock each other off of the bike, to this new gem:


JapanProbe.com: Sand Biking - The funniest bloopers are right here

Saris PowerTap 2.4 MTB Disc Hub

Saj asked us to do some reviews, so why not review the most expensive single item I have outside of frames?

I'd been looking at getting a PowerTap for a while, but just wasn't pulling the trigger. It's a lot of money, and I wasn't sure I would use it enough to justify it.

Then again, I'd need to build a rear wheel anyway for my new Salsa Mamasita, so why not? Well, about 7 weeks ago or so I pulled the trigger. Built into a Stans ZTR 355 29er rim with DT Swiss Revolution spokes and green nipples, I now I have a rear wheel.



In case you are wondering, that's a Stans "The Crow" tire. I've been running them front and rear ever since Ted let me borrow his wheels for Torn Shirt. The tires are surprisingly grippy (I run them between 19psi and 26 psi depending on the course) even with such a small tread. Add to that their VERY light weight, and they have worked very well for me this year.

There was something I was very nervous about: reliability. I had heard a number of issues with signal dropout and water getting into the hub of road wheels, how would this do off-road?

The answer seems very clear to me: it works great! I haven't had a single drop or problem with the hub in the whole time I've had it. Now, I do have one complaint with it: weight. This thing is heavy. It easily adds a half-pound to my bike. But, I have decided the training value more than off-sets this minor weight gain (and let's be honest, I've got a lot more than a half-pound to lose on my body to make up for the hub weight!).

So far I've logged about 300 miles off-road on the hub in the 6 weeks I've had it built and on my bike. I am very impressed with the data tracking and I love playing with the files and analyzing rides. I've also been able to really set solid goals for training, especially in interval sessions, which has been interesting and made me work much harder.

I've noticed an increase in power, but haven't done direct comparisons yet to see exactly how much....that data will follow. I have been logging data from the PT head unit as well as my Garmin, and distance seems to be right on between the two, usually within 1-2%.



I'll follow-up with what I find, but for now this seems like a great training tool! It's utility WHILE riding is limited when on the trail. But it works well for training on fire roads and really anywhere other than single track. The data is most useful from this hub after the ride. Next up may be one for a road/TT/cross application....

Derrick Fluegge, Athlete of the Month

Congratulations to Derrick.

Derrick "Gunz" Fluegge, the elder statesman of Team Get a Grip Off Road Racing has been nominated Windy City Sports September Athlete of the Month.

Derrick attracted the attention of the publication with his dominating performance as the anchor leg at the Muddy Buddy Chicago, pacing his team to the top time overall. His win there marked his second Muddy Buddy victory in the last 3 years.

"I have recognized my own awesomeness for years now. It's about time someone else actually noticed," remarked Fluegge.*

"The guys a natural runner," remarked his teammate Ted Ramos. "I think it's about time he applied for his Muddy Buddy pro card and stopped sandbagging the age group ranks."

With a desire to go out on top, Fluegge announced his retirement from Muddy Buddy racing immediately after the awards ceremony.

Next up for Derrick is the final race of his multisport schedule the Accenture triathlon and then after that he plans to try out cyclocross racing in the Chicago Cyclocross Cup.

What's next for Derrick in 2009? "Next year I think I am going to do really well in Xterra racing."

As Wiindy City Sports Athlete of the Month, Derrick will receive a Subaru prize pack and will be entered in the sweepstakes for Windy City Athlete of the Year.




*not an actual quote, but it sounds like something he'd say.

Xterra Mountain Championship

Ogden, Utah. I felt like I did pretty well, just like at Tahoe last year. But when I looked at my result I didn't do too well overall. I guess altitude also affects your perception of reality.

I think my swim went really well, I saw some pro swim caps around me. On the bike I deviated from my stragtegy and went too hard too early on the climb when one of the top female pros (Shonny Vanlandinham) came by me. I stayed on her wheel for a while before I blew up so that was encouraging. Last year she passed me like I was standing still.

Despite that irrational exhuberance at the beginning of the bike, I never felt like I was in over my head. Every time I hit a wall I was able to recover and keep pushing. The bike was nearly all climbing, but on the downhills I could have descended more aggresively. However I felt I was in contention so I wanted to be conservative and not crash or flat on the rocks hidden under the dust.

The run could have been better if I had fueled more intelligently durring the bike, but I had my moments like running up the steepest part of the ski hill where everyone else I saw was reduced to walking.

I think the last 1/3 (last hour) of my race (at the highest altitude) is where my performance started to fall off. Probably both dehydration and altitude were the cause. I had a few problems on the run like falling and scraping up my knee and a really bad side stitch for the last 2 miles, but I kept going and missed my time goal by only 1:45. I was making up ground quickly on 6th and 5th in my AG before the cramping became debilitating. Oh well, my overall time was about 15 minutes better than last year.

Overall I finished 7th AG. I finished 7th at Richmond and sixth at Alabama. A pretty consistent season overall. I know where I need to improve to do better next year. I'm am encouarged because in the past any race at altitude and I would perform far below my capability, but now I think I am learning how to train and prepare for it.

Overall it was a good race and a good season. The regional point series title is now a sure thing. That's 5 time champ if you're counting.

I'm skipping Nationals this year so I can get some rest and start building a base for cyclocross.

I can't wait for the Temecula West Championship next year.

Muddy Buddy

Derrick and I headed out to a horse farm in Gilbert IL for the Muddy Buddy. For those who don't know what a Muddy Buddy is, it is kind of like a team duathlon where one person runs and the other person bikes to various checkpoints where they do an obstacle then switch sports. They leap frog each other like this for about a total of 10K.

Derrick won this event back in 06 so I knew we had a good chance. When we got to the event and I saw my Titus Fireline 29 was about 10 times more expensive than any other bike there, I knew we had a really good chance. Most of the people were wearing costumes and had reflectors and bike racks on their hybrids, so perhaps we came into this event a little too seriously. Still there were 2798 other competitors there and the key to this race is running, not biking, so you never know who the competition would be.

Waiting in really long lines for smelly outhouses with no toilet paper, I lost track of time. When I got out, we walked toward the starting line. When we got near then front we noticed a wave of riders had just left the start corral. "What wave is this?", I ask. A couple guys shout back, "your wave."

I run back to Derrick who's talking to the ladies, I grab my bike and make a bee line to the starting area. I stomp on the pedals with anger and chase down as many people as I can in the first mile.

The course had some hills and swampy grass to ride through but overall was nontechnical.
Our bike exchanges went off without a hitch and we kept making up time on the field throughout the course. All of our practice and planning paid off.

When it was all said and done we had come from behind to put down the best overall time (39:03) and win the title 2008 Muddy Buddy Chicago champions.