Laramie Enduro, July 26

Six Blue Sky Velo riders competed in the Laramie Enduro on July 26. Plus, I provided volunteer support in the form of helping out at Aid Station 4, and riding sweep from Aid 4 to the Finish line.

Although we couldn't get coordinated for dinner on Friday night before the race, we at least did all get to say hi to each other and wish each other luck. Everybody dispersed to their various motels/campgrounds early in the evening, as the start was at 7AM on Saturday morning.

Saturday morning dawned a little foggy and damp (thanks to some showers the night before). But within an hour of the start of the race all the fog had burned off and the sky turned cloud-less.

I rode out to Aid 4 from the campground to meet the Blue Sky Velo riders as they came through. I was there early enough to see the first pro riders come through. They didn't look like super-human freaks of nature, but their times indicated they were!

Ernie Wintergerst was the first Blue Sky rider through Aid 4 with a split time of a little over 5 hours. Over the next 80 minutes or so Jessica Madden, Phil Murray, Sasha Milhous, John Perry, and Cindy Vanover passed through. Phil and Cindy both looked a little worse-for-wear, as they'd both crashed before Aid 4. Unfortunately, Phil's crash/injury took it's toll after Aid 4 and he had to DNF.

Everyone else put in a strong performance and finished with good times, despite various mechanical and/or injury issues: Ernie 7:23; Jessica 7:34; Sasha 8:16; John 8:45; Cindy 9:30. The Enduro is a tough race (111K/72 miles of singletrack, double track, dirt/paved road). Anybody who competes deserves major kudos.

As for me, about 3:30 in the afternoon I left Aid 4 with another rider to sweep to the finish. Except for a 20 minute downpour at one point, the sweep was uneventful. We only rounded up one other rider (who DNF'd at Aid 5).

Below are a few photos of the Blue Sky riders as they came through Aid 4.

Cindy Vanover

John Perry

Sasha Milhous

Phil Murray

Jessica Madden

Ernie Wintergerst

Winter Park Update

With the Winter Park series just past the half-way point (4 out of 7 races completed), the Blue Sky Velo "A" team is in _1st_ place. The Blue Sky Velo "B" team is also racing strong and is currently in the top-half. Notable results on the "A" team have been posted by Grady Huff and Phil Murray, both of whom have made every race so far (consistency counts!). Woo-ho!

The last three races are on August 2, 16, and 30. Don't forget to mark these on your calendar. Go team(s)!

Below are a few pictures from the Super D on 7/20. Sorry for the mediocre quality - turns out I didn't pick a very good spot to shoot from, and my camera really wasn't up to the task.

Marty Caivano dressed for battle

Phil Murray scouts his line

Michael Baraga shows good form with his "attack" position

Chris Madden rides through a cloud of dust

short-trackage

hey kids:

well, the sun has set on yet another Wednesday. From the sounds of things, it seems as if Bill was battling an epic fight to save all humanity and actually make it to the end of the time-trial out in Hurricane Lyons. I feel for him, as I was barely powering life-support systems at Dustbowl Alley, aka the CU Research Park.

While this was actually the second week for the short-track, the first one got flooded out and they are going to start keeping points for the Men's B and A starting with tonight. So, take that as a reminder that sitting home when it's raining and blowing like the apocalypse can actually be beneficial. My folks were in town and it was great to have them out there cheering for me, since it has been a coons age since they have seen me racing on the dirt. Mom was taking some great photo's and Dad was sabotaging other racers. Just kidding. But not really. Also, Marty was there with her camera, so I hope y'all had your hair and make-up done, since I think she'll publish some photo's.

However, I digress. Let's get down to brass tacks here. The racing. I didn't actually see the majority of the Men's C race--just enough to watch Charles cruise in for a solid 4th. Also, huge props to Pete Galt, who had a test&tune mishap before the race, but pulled it together to rock out.

However, I did see a major-league move at the start of the Men's B, when our very own Mike Bernhardt took the holeshot with authority.

Mike B. takin' names.

Conditions were dry, dusty, and fast. Apparently, Mikey likes it. I was in hot pursuit, west bound and down. The usual first lap mayhem ensued, then settled down into a nice fast rhythm. I came around Mike, gave him a breather, and then let him past to head up to the leaders. I could feel my lungs starting to sear as I watched him bridge to a lead group and as I held the backdoor shut on a couple of chumps.

Near the end of the race, I had gotten used to the course and the speed, but not the dust. Just as I am seeing 1 lap to go, I feel the pachouli-breath of a CU punk on my tail, and I formulate a plan. (actually, the kid was cool, but i gotta get some feud going somehow). I know that I am fast coming up across the top portion of the course, and if I can hold the lead through that section, I can box him out through the pump-track section and into the finish straight. As this plan plays out in my head, pachouli has another idea, and braps me right before the culvert. Crap! His hammer is down, and mine is too. We come out of the culvert, around the corner and into the top section of the course. Now, I must make it by him before the sweeping left-berm, or its curtains. We are out of the saddle charging hard, and rapidly approaching a rider who is wobbling and climbing s-l-o-w. (i did find out later he was trying to finish on a front flat). Pachouli takes the right, forcing me to pass flattie on the left. However, he is swerving left, closing my line into a section of barrier-tape. I tell Chewy to punch it (feel free to let me have it Isaac), and squeak through, rubbing bars with flat-man. However, I did make it past Pachouli, and let off the rev-limiter for a few as we run the pump-track section. One final left and we drag race to the finish, yours truly taking it by half a wheel. Yes! I beat someone for a mid-pack B's race on a wednesday!

Rippin' berms on the new rig

Giving Mike a bit of a shelter from the wind

Alright, now that that is over, I cool down and wait for the A's race... and the chance to get blown out the back by all the local pro's. We line up, and I am nowhere near the holeshot, but I see the front of the race somewhere past the cloud of dust and bikes. I settle in to find that I actually have decent legs and am relatively competitive. Meaning, I'm not running DFL, or getting lapped. Nice. I choke on some dust for awhile and start dreaming about supper.

Mixing it up with the fast guys

All in all, a great night. Leg's felt good, it was great to have so many folks out there cheering, and props to all my friends racing in the bluesky kit.

Until next time, stay classy.

Rob
*all photo's by my Mom, Susan Love. Thanks!

"The Burn" MTB Time Trial

Soaking up the sun (and a quart of Recoverite) after the race.

The weather forecast for the day of the race was just about ideal - 75 degrees and sunny. It did not disappoint. I left Fort Collins in plenty of time, I thought, to make the 9AM pre-race meeting at the Castle Mountain Rec Area (aka Buffalo Creek) 11 miles south of Bailey (which is about 25-30 miles SW of Denver). But, it turns out the last 10 miles into the Rec Area is a washboard dirt road which really slowed me down, so I ended up just missing the meeting. No worries, another racer who'd heard the whole thing said if I'd read the web page (which I had), I had all the info.

Much of the Castle Mountain Area has burned in several forest fires over the last dozen years. It's this fact that required that the race be in the somewhat unusual format (for a mtb race) of a time trial. Riders headed out on the 22 mile (14 for beginners/sport women) course at 30 second intervals. Spacing everybody out like this was intended to minimize passing on the single track (and thereby widening it) in the sensitive burned areas. All racers were also asked to announce passes and yield to those passing them in an effort to minimize impacts. From what I saw, this format worked and the trails were none the worse for wear after the race. _Every_ rider I came across was very considerate of these requirements.

The course itself was a mixture of single track, double track, and dirt road. Much of the single track wound through the burned areas (think Bobcat Ridge outside Loveland, if you've ever ridden there). It's really a pretty unique experience to ride in a place like that. The single track for the most part was relatively smooth, but had a number of fun tight turns. There was only one place where I got off to walk/run around a big boulder and through a rock garden. There was a good amount of climbing over the 22 miles. Somebody said 2500 ft - that sounds about right.

Now to the race. It started out with a _fast_ downhill on a rutted dirt road. I don't know how he did it, but the guy behind me made up almost all of the 30 secs I had on him during this first downhill (which only lasted a few minutes). Guess I need to work a little more on that aspect of my riding. After the first fast downhill, there was a variety of up/down and single/doubletrack over the next 8 or so miles. I lost some more time in this section in the fast singletrack twisties (another skill I need work on). The low point of the course (topographically speaking) came at mile 11. Except for another mile or so downhill section, the final 11 miles of the course was a fairly steady climb to the finish. The last couple of miles finished with a granny gear climb on the rutted dirt road we'd started on (going up this time instead of down). Unfortunately, since climbing is _definately_ a skill I need to work on, I lost some more time in this section of the course.

I ended up finishing 23 out of 25 in my cat, in about 2 hrs 10 mins. This was well off my goal of midpack (and dangerously close to DFL). But on the bright side, I didn't crash, didn't injure myself, didn't cramp, didn't bonk, found a cool new place to explore, and had a _lot_ of fun. I'd say that was a successful day :^)

-Darrin

Battle @ The Bear/Front Range 50 (May 17, 2008)

My first Blue Sky Velo blog post (no pictures, sorry) ...

A few words on my experience in the Front Range 50 MTB race follow. But first, a listing of all the Blue Sky Velo racers who took part in the Front Range 50 or Battle at the Bear last weekend:

Rider/Cat/Place/Race(Front Range 50 or Battle at The Bear)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Phil Murray/M40-49/41/FR50
Darrin Sharp/M40-49/42/FR50
Charles Musgrave/M40-49/DNF/FR50
Pamela Dobrowolski/F Exp30-39/DNF/BTB
Rob Love/M Exp30-34/5/BTB
Grady Huff/M Exp40-49/7/BTB
Susan Prieto/W Sport40+/4/BTB
Cindy Vanover/W Sport40+/8/BTB
Dan Farrell/M Sport35-39/12/BTB
Dave Kilmoyer/M Sport40-49/17/BTB

As you can see, Blue Sky Velo had an excellent turnout with 10 racers participating in either the Front Range 50 or Battle at the Bear. I also noted at least one BSV cheerleader/photographer in the form of Marty C. This was certainly a good way to kick off the MTB racing season with a bang!

Now for my take on the FR50 ...

I had originally planned to ride the Battle at the Bear. Last year, the Sport riders (my cat) did a couple of laps of about 12 miles each. This year, however, the course was changed and in addition to the BTB, a new race, the Front Range 50 (miles) was added. The races were structured as a number of 10 mile laps. Beginners in the BTB did 1 lap, all the way up to 5 laps for those riding in the FR50. Since I'm focusing on endurance races this season, the FR50 was the natural choice for me.

Lap 1: The field was huge. All the FR50 male riders took off together. In a way this was good, because the crowd on the single track kept the pace down to something reasonable at the beginning. It was nice not to have a crazy fast start off the line like so many other mtb races. Since I hadn't been able to pre-ride it, this was my first look at much of the course. I have to say I really enjoyed it; it was mostly smooth singletrack with a few rollers, one relatively big hill (maybe a 3-6 minute climb) in the middle, and a couple of short (<2 minute) climbs in the last 3.5 miles. I felt good at the end of the first lap, finishing it in about 51 minutes. The numerous goatheads on the course had begun to take their toll however. I saw many racers fixing flats on this lap (turns out I ran into several racers, including our own Charles Musgrave, who DNF'd because of double flatting or worse). The tubeless setup on my brand new Maverick Durance (which I had taken delivery of 8 days before) worked perfectly, however. No flats for me! Life is good!

Lap 2: I was still feeling good and started to settle into a comfortable pace on this lap. I tried to pick a pace that I thought would put me mid-pack in my cat (my goal). By this time the field had spread out quite a bit. I was never alone on the course, but never really felt crowded either. Life is still good!

Lap 3: I think it was on this lap that some of the BTB racers started to catch me (the FR50 started at 8:30, and BTB cats started between 9:30-11:30 or so). And, some of the fastest FR50 riders started to lap me. Needless to say, it got a little crowded at times on the course. My lower back was also starting to ache on this lap. It got to the point where I got off and pushed up the smaller hills just to give my back a little chance to stretch out. This obviously cost me some time, and it became apparent I was slowly falling off the mid-pack pace I had wanted to keep. Life is OK.

Lap 4: Uh-oh, things are not going well for me. My back is really bothering me and I suffered hamstring cramps for the first time _ever_ in 20+ years of riding (and 3 of racing). I also just feel like I'm generally running out of gas. The BTB Pro/Exp racers caught me just as I got to the bottom of the big hill. I ended up pushing up most of the big hill, otherwise I would've been off/on my bike a dozen times as I let them blow by me. And, I was regularly getting lapped by FR50 riders who were obviously on their last lap (I could tell who was who because everybody had their race and cat marked on their right calf). I pass the start-finish line at 3:48 (and was thinking a 40 mile race would've been just about right for me today). Life is fair.

Lap 5: A suffer-fest. I walked/pushed all the hills due to a combination of hamstring cramps, a sore back, and general fatigue. As I ground past the golf course and watched all the guys riding around in their electric carts drinking cold beer I started to think maybe I was participating in the wrong Saturday afternoon recreational activity. But then I realized anybody can do that, and that I'd really much rather be racing my mtb today, even if it does hurt this much :^) I finally limped across the finish line in 4:54 (1:06 for my last lap, a full 15 minutes and 30% slower than my first lap). Oh, I'm _really_ glad I'm done.

Aftermath: I ended up finishing 42 out of 52 in my cat. Well off my goal of mid-pack, but in no danger of DFL either :^) Although I was pretty cooked at the end of the race, I did recover quickly. Almost a quart of Recoverite/water later I was starting to feel somewhat normal again. Even though I was following all the nutrition/hydration advice I've read to the letter (no more than about 28 oz of water/hr and no more than about 300 cals/hr), I think I would've done better with an increased water and cals consumption. Given that I made no pit stops between 8:30am and 4:30pm, all the while drinking almost 5 qts of water in that time period, I'd say I was at least somewhat dehydrated. Something to experiment with in training and future races I guess. And, I think I need to do some longer training rides at higher intensities. Maybe near race-pace for a couple of hours, then finish up with 3-4 hours in zone 2/aerobic.

-Darrin

Short-trackers UNITE!

Aloha, and good day:

This just in; short-track is going to happen again this year. i know that most of you out there are sitting in your cubicles just waiting to get the skinny on the boulder short-track series, and this is what we know so far:

1. it will happen wednesdays, starting June 4th
2. it will happen at the CU research park
3. it will be sporadically MC'd by none other than Dave Towle.
4. it will be a great opportunity to get your new kit dirty
5. it will be a great opportunity to get schooled by all the resident pro's.
6. it will be better than watching Law and Order repeats on cable.

Billy Teas. gettin' it done righteous

Other news about the shorttrack includes the fact that it will be put on by CU cycling as opposed to BoulderRacing. So, there will not be any info on BoulderRacing's site. details are fuzzy as to whether or not CU Cycling will host a site for the series, but they damn well better. how else will the world know how much Blue Sky Velo dominates short-track?

Also, the series looks to go for 10 weeks. This means that you will be choking on dust every wednesday until early August. Now check out the boyz rockin it. Bon Apetit.

Mike Bernhardt rockin' vintage-cycling-flair. Lookout for him this year on the future of bikes

Your's truly about to box out a 'crosser like it's my job

This is a small sampling of the non-bluesky fools that will get tore up this summer.

All these photo's were taken by this chick. Y'all better show up with the gameface, because she'll be there again this year. Recognize.

I fought the bear and the bear won

hey kids:

sunday night has arrived... finally. it feels like i have been riding my bike constantly since clocking outta work on Friday night. and that's a good thing. but now it's time to give the hands a workout (by typing this blog...)

Saturday midday: Time to battle the bear. For those of you uninitiated with this non-technical, flat, fast mountain bike race... it's non-technical, flat, and fast. Saturday was the first warm day of spring, but i just couldn't believe it as i packed my race-bag on friday night. I packed arm warmers, wool socks, and knee-warmers. Then i threw in the felpe, just in case some freak snowstorm happened.

Marty and I got to the venue, and sure enough, it was 80 and sunny. nice. I pull on the chip timer and Marty does the final fitting on my new hardtail short-tracker. Soon enough, it's time to toe the line, and all my rowdy friends are there. Meaning, Dan Farrel is hollering at the top of his lungs from across a field at me as i get clipped in.

An oddly softspoken official counts us down and we're off in a cloud of dust. take that, lungs. i settle into a fast pace on the wheels of Tom and Tony Torrance, the crime fighting duo from pearl izumi. We quickly put the kenworths in overdrive and we are gone. A couple miles into the lap there was an option to roost through a ditch--down into a gully and wheelie through a mud-puddle and eject out the other side. The ride-around line was a sweeping left and across a wooden bridge. 1st, and 2nd take the left hander, Tom and Tony shoot off into the ditch. Did I mention that i have no idea this is coming, as i didn't pre-ride? Anyway, i shoot into the ditch 3rd wheel and get the first taste of mud for the season. sick. We take the first 3 wheels outta the ditch, and feel like rockstars.

Rob Love attempting low-earth orbit

Soon enough, like 6 minutes later, i feel the pain of riding 20 miles an hour on singletrack, and let a gap open. That's all it takes for some punx to fill it, and i slip back a couple minutes. Work, legs, work! I reach onto my top tube, stuff my lung back in my chest, and put the hammer down again. I am holding my own for a lap... and at the feed zone i am only 30 seconds back. The hardtail feels good as i flog it like a rented mule (thanks Dave Towle). lap two is a mental struggle, as my rear brake starts dragging and sounding like some sort of deranged canary. I stop a couple of times to fix it, and a couple of my friends ride by and ask me if i am ok. I tell them yeah, no worries, just gonna go home and fire my mechanic.

Lap 3 arrives and the canary is out of my brake, because i have it so loose it doesn't work at all. Conditions are perfect. I take a bottle from the best looking soigneur in the business, and put the the head back down. Glancing at my watch, i realize that i am on a 2 hour pace, which i calculate as being pretty damn fast... how are those punks still up the trail?

I turn the dial to 11 and it's go time. I am picking off those buddies that passed me earlier and i know that my 3rd lap will be the fastest. Maybe not having a rear brake is a good thing? I cross the line at 2h5min, a little off the 2 hour mark, but still fast enough to take 5th. Turns out i was only 45 seconds behind the Torrance automaton, so i feel pretty good about that.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! The time is 5:35am. i wake up. dammit. Scott Kornfeld and his Coalminers decide that the cat4's draw a short straw and get a 7:30AM start time. Marty and i load all the belongings that matter into the lancer and we are ripping through the sleeping backroads of boulder county. We get to the race course as it is being set up--Chris Grealish, Joe Depalmaere and Dave Towle don't dissapoint. They are erecting a start/finish scaffold above the road with a digital race-clock. pro.

As i warm up, all the fellas show up--Dave, Ross, and Ryan from FtC, Dancel from the Springs, and Lee, R.Volk, and Jason from BoCo. We discuss tactics as Lewandowski chugs a red bull for breakfast. Dancel looks smashing in the long-sleeve skinsuit. We head up to the line, and as the gun goes off, Mike takes that LS-skinsuit and puts it off the front. First lap heroics at dawn, nice! The race settles in, and all the big guns are there. i don't really know what that means, but there sure are some sketchy mooks amongst us.

Mike Dancel showing us how it's done, 1st lap style

I take a flyer after not being able to handle the come-to-a-complete-stop cornering antics of my fellow racers. However, those fellow racers do have some legs bolted to their straight-line-only bicycles, so my glory is short lived--about 47 seconds to be exact. So, i sit in the pack, enjoy the morning sunshine, and heckle some fools. Lee is looking strong, and 35 minutes in, Jason is sitting in the front where he needs to be. In fact, all the boys were rocking and getting a glimpse of the front.

Time to do work

Looking for a corner, any corner will do

The second-to-last corner on the course is a faster right hander...totally do-able at full tilt. However, due to a paving job performed by Beirut Construction, the asphalt is shredded right on the racing line. We make it through without incident for the first 40 minutes of the 45 minute race, and one would think we all have it figured out.

Someone didn't get the memo, though, and stacks it hard with 2 to go. The crash takes out my friend Roger, and another ColoBikeLaw dude. It all goes down right behind me, which is good, but right in front of all the other BlueSky'ers, which is bad. I think Lee is up with me, and we punch it up the finish straight with one-to-go. Dave Towle is on the mic, shouting out something about a runway model. The group gets around the crash and we are mostly back together for the last half of the last lap. Lee heads to the front and pulls like a John Deere, and i come around him into that 2nd to last corner. I stand up and call on the legs to sprint. The phone rings, but the legs have the call forwarded straight to voicemail. I watch about 16 people fly up toward the finish and start thinking about breakfast. Official call is Rob Love, 17th. Ryan finished strong in 19th, and we covered 20th, 21st, and 22nd.

Lee Gerakos. The man, the machine.

Hello?? Anybody home?? Bueller??

All in all, a good showing for the team--we were all there forming up at the end... now we just have to bring a sprint out of the bag of tricks.

So, the time is now 8:45am, the race is over, and i am heading with the girl to breakfast. We chow on some moderately overpriced grub in Louisville and rally down to Buffalo Creek to preview the Burn MTB TT course. For those of you not familiar with Buffalo Creek, it is the best riding you have not done yet. Go there. Now. Quit reading this. Get your bike out of the garage and put it on your car. Skip work tomorrow. It's that cool.

Bikes are cool

Girls that ride bikes are cool

Marty and I pull off a few hours in the dirt, and it feels great to have her back with me on the trail. The dirt is perfect, and we brap some things and get brapped by others. Overall, we are left with the need to ride more, but also the need to eat copious amounts of junk-food. The buzz is stoked, though, and don't be suprised if we hit the road with nothing but mtn bikes and suntan lotion and don't come back until our credit cards don't work anymore.

All photos by the illustrious Marty Caivano. Except the photo of Marty Caivano, taken by Chupacabra

Rob & Marty, over&out.

8/11/07 Leadville 100

"I am rocking and rolling the end of the pipeline and it feels like I am bouncing on a trampoline. After some internal mind chatter"... - Report by Ernie Wintergerst.

The morning started with the usual breakfast at 4:30 a.m. Then it is off to the start at 5 for check in and getting a good starting spot. I seed myself at the end of the projected 9 to 10 hour finishers. My goal is a sub 10 hour race. This is big for me; my previous finish was 10:45.

The start draws near I chat it up with a guy from British Columbia. He is super cool and we talk about the mtn. bike stage race that was up in his neck of the woods. I ask my crew to keep an eye out for Floyd and snap a photo if possible.

The gun goes off and here we go a mass start of 850 mtn. bikers that normally ride in small groups. Needless to say as we rolled along the first few miles 10 to 15 riders side to side there was a good speed of 20+ miles per hour and fair amount of disc brakes squealing and guys yelling woooooo woooooo when there were turns in the road. Things get going more smoothly as we ascend the first climb. I am amazed with the skill and fitness of a single speeder in front of me as he chooses amazing lines and stands up on the pedals for what seems like 10
minutes.

We finish the first climb; I blow by the first aid station with out giving it a thought. We enter a fast decent on pavement everyone drinking and grabbing food for the next climb. We get into
the next climb and I recognize Eleanor, a woman I went back and forth with during the firecracker 50. Off the bike she looks like a librarian, on the bike she comes across as a barbarian in her Christian Cycling kit. She finished first in her age group Firecracker 50; I am in good company for sure. We talk about how nice it is that things have spread out and how the start and the first climb can be a bit wacky.

I take in the beautiful mountain views as the climb progresses up to the power line decent. This decent can be tricky notable by having areas where there is just one good line as well as deep ruts. I am talking ruts that suck you in and climbing gear is needed to get out. This section goes smooth in part due to the fact that I have 10 feet of space between me and the
rider in front. It is never pleasant when riders are stacked up one in front of the other rear wheels skidding on ball bearing type sand. That is how it was in 04.

I roll onto the road and see a train of riders 10 long up the road a spell. Some juice to the big ring for a a few minutes and I latch on for some efficiency and speed. As we motor through that section I hear a random "go Blue Sky" and I feel like a rock star. I dig into the pipeline section of the course making good time. My time check as I roll through the Pipeline Aid Station is right on. As I descend the second steep short section of Pipeline I see a rider being attended to by a medical person, I shout out a "take care brother" to help ease his pain. I later learned this guy went over the bars and broke his femur. By the way that is the largest bone in the body, the one between the knee and hip. OUCH!!! I am rocking and rolling the end of the pipeline and it feels like I am bouncing on a trampoline. After some internal mind chatter I hop off the bike to test a feel and sure enough a slow leak in the real tire. A quick shot with CO2 and I motor to Twin Lakes aid station to change it there. I find my crew easily, change the flat fairly quickly, swap out some bottles; grab a down a power bar and I am off.

Up and up I go to the Columbine Mine aid station. As I am about half way up the climb when
Floyd and four time previous winner Dave Wiens roar by in full race face mode. Wiens seems to be marking Floyd's wheel about 10 yards back. I reach the upper section of the climb stay on the bike more than riders around me who are walking up some of the steep tricky sections. This is good in keeping my rhythm and passing people at a snails pace is still passing people.

As I am riding one of the trickier sections I see Chris Carmichael going down. I must have
looked pretty bad because Chris gave me a look like I was some big timber that was going to come down on him. I give him a greeting of "hey Chris" like were friends since way back in the day. I get to the mine aid station at a stout 12,600 feet of elevation. The time projections on a small sheet of paper taped to my bars tell me, I am running a bit behind. I smoothly and efficiently navigate the upper sections of the decent. I shout out some greetings to my preride
pals as I see them on my way down. Scott, Gale, Dave and Steve all looking strong.

Descending skills are pushed to the limit as I rocket down on my 50 psi rear tire to the Twin Lakes aid station again. That high air pressure pays major dividends with speed during
the decent. A quick stop with the crew and I'm off and pedaling towards Pipeline. I am still feeling good but the tank has been emptied a bit during the Columbine Climb. I rock out Pipeline and soon enough I am on the road section again. I start to recognize a
somewhat familiar trampoline feeling again. Can it be true or is it just the fatigue and altitude messing with my head. I reluctantly hop off the bike to check the rear tire and sure enough a slow leak again!!! A quick shot of CO2 and I am off with the thought to change it at the fish hatchery in the comfort of a chair with my crew.

I motor along in the big ring. Another stop to air up with CO2 and buy me some more air pressure time to get to the hatchery. Thoughts of air loss help me push the pace to maximize time during this slow leak. I get to the fish hatchery and as I am changing the flat I
struggle a bit. Getting the last six inches of tire over the rim is very difficult after 75 miles of racing on the mountain bike. I stay persistent and finally get it over the rim with some deep focus and effort.

Time check. I am on track but it is going to be tight breaking my sub 10 hour goal. Now it is over to my nemesis the Power Line climb. This section really put the hurt on me in 04. I am
bound and determined to better my time on this section. As I get into it I stay steady during the hike a bike lower portion. My mind replays some of race director Ken's words during the pre ride race talk. "I am stronger than I think I am, dig deep" this race is going to sting for 365 days or more if I don't give it my all. It seems to go on for ever as there are some false summits that tease me into thinking I am there.

My gut starts to hurt with that stitch in the side, cramp type of feeling. I have not experienced this kind of feeling since I was a little kid. I press on telling myself that things change and during the next decent. I finally get to the top and shoot down the decent and grind up the next climb. This climb goes on for forever too. I top out this climb, stop at the last aid station for a final top off of the bottles and off I go. At this point I am fearing dehydration and bonking. I do not want to bonk or have the muscles lock up in the final stretch of the race. I force myself to drink to get the calories and liquid down. I roll into the final climb which is a dirt road that leads to town. I get out of the saddle every couple of minutes to wring out every last ounce of
power from my body. I see pavement, yea I am close!!!

A volunteer tells me I am sub 10 and that the finish is in sight at the top final little climb. I get out of the saddle some more. I see the finish and put it into the big ring for the last little down hill. The road turns up hill one last time as I stay in the big ring, get out of the saddle and give it everything I can muster to launch a viciously ugly sprint to the line. I am running out of juice… sit down, head down and power across the line.

Look up at the clock and see 9:59 and a lot of seconds. I straddle the bike slumped over the bars. Crew members and a volunteer come over to check on me. They ask questions, but I cannot speak. I am in a very strange place then out of nowhere I recycle my stomach contents onto 6th ave. Everyone jumps back to avoid the splash of pure liquid streaming out of mouth
and nose. I recycle 3 more times. Feeling better now I walk over to a less crowded area to collect myself.

Fast forward to bed time. I am lying in bed slow to fade off into sleep. In my head I hear the
slapping of the chain on the chain stay. In my body I experience subtle shifts in my core and twitching in my legs as if I am still pedaling and going down one of the many descents of the course. Wow, what a Leadville experience.

A big thanks to everyone! Thanks to the directors and ride leaders for all the work they put into the team and club. The Blue Sky shop for getting my bike in tip top shape, she ran like a dream. All the people I rode and raced with throughout the year helped keep me motivated. I really appreciate the support.

STXC # 7 Race Report - Rob Love Wins C Race

The big question for tonight's Boulder STXC series race #7 as we hunkered down in our cars while the rain poured down was would we be racing tonight? After a short delay, the rain clouds gave way to humidity and overcast skys and the game was on! First off was the juniors and women's B race with Drake Madigan and Sasha Milhous. Not sure how they ended up, but as I warming up for the B race they both looked strong. Next up was the men's B race and fellow Blue Skyers Rob Love, Mike Bernhardt, Kevin Van Pelt, Mike Madigan, and I lined up. Rob L. had great showing coming in third.

Here's Mike B. getting the whole shot...

...and me suffering off the back

After a short recovery, I lined up for the men's C race with Rob Love, Drake Madigan, Bryan Grace and Sasha Milhous lined up with the women's A group. Bryan was shot out of a cannon at the start of the race and got the hole shot by at least six bike lengths. Rob and I came through a half dozen or so behind. As we made our way around the back side of the course, a couple of guys went down hard in front of me. I was able to avoid the mess, but they looked like the were hurt pretty bad, so I stopped to make sure they were OK. After spotting the field about 3/4 of a lap lead, I got back on and was able to real in a dozen or so riders. Rob Love ended up taking the victory with Bryan in about 4th. Time for Rob to take a shot at the A's.

Last but not least was the men's A race with Dave Harber representing. Looked like he a good race coming in around mid-pack.

Next week is the last race in the series, so come on out and take a spin into the pain cave of short track.

W.P.P.2.P.R.R.

Here is my W.P.P.2.P.R.R. (winter park point to point race report):

The day started much like any other, groggy from the night before and running behind schedule. A friend and I jump in the car, pray we have everything, and we bagel-up and head for the hills. Luckily, I have a brand new punk-rock album on board and it aids in wiping the haze from my head. In fact, I am going to go ahead and dedicate this race report to Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, just because they are a cool band and their album provided me with a sick race-day playlist.

At any rate, I warm up and line up, only to realize that the top collar of my SpeedBall seatpost has completely come undone and the parts are all exposed. Hmm, that can’t be a good way to start a race. I get everything hand-tight, but decide it’s best not to use the adjustability today—just leave the post fully extended and pray that it doesn’t break mid-race. That announcer dude screams GO for like 30 seconds and we’re off. We head up the main drag out of the ski resort, and I settle into about 10^th place, wheezing and tasting a little too much bacon and egg bagel. Into the singletrack and I throttle it and take a few guys. The maverick is doin’ it’s thing as we scream down a descent, but somehow this Titus-Chipotle guy caught me on the downhill. What the h is this, I wonder as he passes me and we swing out into a meadow. We head up a tighter singletrack descent, and the holmes pulls granny ring instantly. I leave the middle ring engaged, and burn a couple matches to get past him. As we roll over hill and dale, I slowly catch a few people at a time, focusing on pushing the biggest gear I can.

We come to the Vasquez creek ford, and I see my friend Tom and Rob struggling in the icy water. I dive in, run through, and come out on the borderline of hypothermia… that mtn water is COLD. No wonder Old Milwaukee tastes so good when you pull it out of a mountain stream. So we blaze Vasquez creek road, me seated on the maverick pedaling away and hard-tail fools getting bucked around like they are at Gilleys. (name that movie-bar). As I am descending, though, I notice something rather odd—I have no cornering ability. My tires are just bouncing off of everything in sight. I would find out later at the finish that I was running about 60 psi, and the floor pump I used at the start must have had a bad guage. So I had that going for me, which was nice. I am settling into a rhythm when Rob Batey catches up with me. He gives me a quick greeting and something along the lines of “wow, never caught you on a downhill before Rob”. Hmm, that makes me a little uneasy, and he blazes me in the singletrack. It’s go time, and I fight hard to hold his wheel. We drop a sick fire-road and I have no traction AT ALL, so I know something is up. I keep the hammer down, and now I can see a guy in some sassy red lycra who I could swear was number one into the singletrack. Maybe, just maybe, I think I might be in the ballgame. I hammer down now, following a red swatch of lycra through the forest. I sneak up on him noisily as the Maverick rattles through a rock garden about 2 miles from the finish. As it opens up I turn it on make my move and keep my head down, only to then see this guy TURN IT ON, and completely unhitch me from the train. He must be rockin over 20 miles an hour as we make the final approach to the finish. Red-man takes me handily, but I figure I finished pretty close to the front.

The finish was in Fraser, and we ride back to the resort, I have a nervous excitement… I am thinking I did pretty good. A look at the results board and I am in 3^rd, less than 2 minutes off the pace. That’s good enough for my best Winter Park finish, and I get rewarded with a sweet pint glass and a fleeting moment on the podium.

STXC #6 Race Report

Tonight was STXC #6 in Boulder. The clouds were gray, there was lightning in the distance, and fireworks on the track. Blue Sky Velo was well represented tonight with Drake Madigan in the Jr.'s, Sasha Milhous doubling up and racing in the Women's B's and A's. Dan, I used to be Mr. Hole Shot and am now Mr. Crash (more on this later), Mike Bernhardt, Mike Madigan, and I lined up for the Men's B race. The course was not as technical as in the past few weeks which made for some fast laps. I rode one of my better races of the series coming in 15th place. Mike Bernhardt took it to the man and finished in 6th. Next up was the C race. Dan and I doubled up and lined up with the C's along with Abram Burkholder, and Bryan Grace. I was caught behind two crashes on the first lap and pulled the plug early and didn't finish. Dan got chopped late in the race after hanging out in the top 5 and crashed hard. See below for some pics. Dave Harber rounded out the night and raced the Men's A race. Good times for all!!

Wow! That's a cut!

Tough man in lycra fighting back the tears...

Update - After spending over 3 hours at the ER, Dan has 13 brand new stitches in his leg. Now that's bad luck...

Firecracker50 RaceReport

Heyya kids:

Well, July 4th has come and gone, and I am back at work… still sporting a mean buzz from a sick race in Breck. The skinny: 4:49, 17th place in open men 30-34.

The fat:

The race starts off with the national anthem—fitting for a July 4th race, but I may petition that all races start off that way. Then it’s a sweet parade through downtown, slapping hi-fives with kids and feeling like some sort of Olympian. Follow that up with a never-ending road climb turning to dirt. That Olympic feeling was just a sweet memory as I hung on to a dusty paceline. At the top of the climb it was time for some rolly singletrack—punch the big ring and go. After a short climb there was an absolutely sick chumbly downhill; the maverick was ready to do work. I blazed half a dozen xc-weenies on 1.9 tires and silly hardtails. At the bottom, we head back uphill and those punx are right there, spinning away from me. Crap.

So I settle in and keep my head down, drinking in the high-country goodness. A couple of steep, shale climbs get in my way, but there are enough warp-speed decents to keep things rockin. I descend into the start/finish with a crew and head out onto lap dos. A few friends are there hollerin, definitely keeping the spirits up. Shonny Vanlandingham is on my wheel as we head out of town, and I try to maintain the pro level pace, but she spins away from me after about 5 minutes. I am rewarded for the effort with an all-to-familiar tightening of the quads. I back off and try to recover before the singletrack to no avail.

As I spin along in a daze, Katie catches up to me, rockin a huge gear. It is nice to have someone to talk to as we hit the mid-section of lap two, and for awhile I feel the pain subside. Up and down we go, blazing fools hurting even more than myself. I give it everything I have on the downhills, pingin’ hard on the rev limiter. I put the wood to a few people, but more wood is being put to me. I try to keep my head in the game, all by my lonesome now. For some reason, Waylon Jennings is telling me how much of a Rambling Man he is, and I soldier on. On the long slog up the final climb, I settle into a snail pace and hold on, draining gels, clifbloks, and everything else I can chow on. The course has a kind heart, though, as the finish is at the bottom of a sweet woodsy singletrack that flows oh so good. I roll across the line blown, but there is no other way to be.

Rob