bc

So right now I am chillin out in a bungalow on Vancouver Island about 20k from where the race starts tomorrow morning.

Ohran is out back getting a rub from Jamin....


Keating is building up Tinker's bike....


and I am just enjoying the view!


Action starts tomorrow! I will try to post some updates but you can find action and stories at Monaviecannondale.com.

Happy anniversary Rosie!
To the moon and back!

clarks tt

this is a lot of words without pictures:

So I figured I needed to get in a little dirt riding at speed on my scalpel before I dropped it off with Ohran for the trip to BC. I replaced the cables with GORE, swapped out the chain, and tires and wanted to make sure everything was working well under stress, what better way than a uphill dirt tt. I also wanted to get in a short effort sandwiched between some spinning on the road, Draper was perfect destination.

After packing all morning, waiting at the downtown post office to get the kids passports, and attending a checkup with Rosie and the girls it was 2 pm before I made it down there. Rosie dropped me off in Sandy and I had a stiff head wind down to the trails but was happy to have a tailwind for the way home.

So the tt went pretty good, if you call hurt'in good. Clarks is a freeway and does not offer much in technical challenge to keep your mind off the pedaling but I guess it is good for a tt as it is not as exposed to wind and less variable from day to day. The scalpel worked good as I locked out the rear and kept the fork active for the first half and then locked for the upper part. I rolled with 40ish lbs in the tires as a good chunk of my ride was on pavement. My 19lb hard tail with carbon tubulars would be ideal but is not quite together yet, even better would be my 17lb cross bike or 16lb road bike with 25's on but the idea was to test out the scalpel. In hindsight I should have at least left my water bottle, tube, wrench, air can, etc at the bottom.

Anyway, I got into a pretty good rythmn right away and pretty much stayed seated with a high cadence the whole time. Because I have only ridden down clarks (in the race) I did not know the landmarks and the finish sign snuck up on my pretty quick which I guess was good because I was feeling it, although it is always more dramatic to sprint to the sign and collapse.

Using my cell phone stop watch always a fun surprise because you can't see your time until you you pull it out of your pocket and stop it.

Today it stopped at 8:58:18.

Good thing I just cracked 9 min or I would be mad I did not know the time and punch it a little extra at the top.

A 95 degree weekday is ideal for tting as very few people are out riding and you don't have to worry about the dreaded BK head on but I was drenched in sweat from the heat, and I guess humidity, judging from the thunder buster I got caught in on the way home.

So because this was my first run I don't have anything to compare it to but because it was as fast as I could go today I am happy with it. Surely I can take some time off it in the future. Maybe a few weeks into cross season after some intense racing, I will give it a go.

Afterward I ate a 6inch turkey/marinara subway and spun to Ohran's where I got a good rub by Jamin, that's the life!

stuff

I got a cool new waterproof/shockproof camera for fathers day so I have no excuse now, I think Rosie just wanted my other one, you know for a diaper bag camera.

Ohran and Sager thought it would funny to play off last winters Velonews article for my Monavie name stickers, I feel like a dork!



Now for a quick review off a few items I have been using lately:

Shimano M300 Custom Fit Shoes:
"Compromise anything but the shoes"
I have used Shimano's for years but have at one time or another ridden about everything. I think these are the best so far.

Positives--> stiff sole, light, supple velcros straps that don't come loose, very secure heel cup. The custom fit is also a great feature and if you have narrow feet the heat/suction custom fit will help take up some volume, in my case they fit well right out of the box but the custom fit did improve the heel cup which will be nice for cross.

Negatives--> Thin heat moldable insole which Shimano tells me will be improved from next year, I use my own heat moldable insole that I modify with a grinder in an orthotics lab so no big deal for me.
If you don't use shimano pedals the Rubber cleat blocks maybe a little short causing egg beaters to rattle a little, I use duct tape on my egg beaters anyway for a more secure feel so again no biggie for me.
The hard carbon mid sole is slick if unclipped on a pedal. Since this picture I have been using 3 layers of duct tape over the carbon for better grip, I have also heard skate board grip tape works well but have not tried it yet.

I just got another pair today that have a few minor variations like a softer rubber toe cap and a clear coat on the carbon sole but functionally they should be the same. Big thanks to Shimano and Contendor for the custom fit.

USE SUMO ti Post:

I have had this baby on about 3 weeks and am very impressed. If you have ever ridden with me you know I am futzing with my seat constantly, this baby has really helped due to it's infinite saddle angle adjustment. The head is very secure and simple to adjust.
It has 10mm set back but because the head is so small it allows for more forward adjustment than a straight Thompson.
At 350mm it weighs only 206g on my scale which is 6 grams heavier than a 300mm Thompson masterpiece.
I have only used it on my scalpel but with the vibration dampening and slight flex I am excited to try it on my rigid hardtail.

The only negative I have noticed is the laser etched adjustment lines on the back of the head are not fine enough for an OCD bike racer to make gauge angle adjustment, I made my own etched lines with a razor blade.
Again big thanks to USE (ultimate sports engineering) and look for review of more cool goodies from the brits in the future


More to come, I am getting tired.

dry creek for lunch

After work I had Stella's Doctor appointment and a birthday party with Eva so I went out for a quick lunch ride on the MTB. I have had a couple days off after a bunch of long rides and needed to shake out the cob webs. With all the TTing going on along the Wasatch front I was inspired to ride Dry Creek. I rode from the VA up to the mouth but reliezed I did not have a timer until I found a stopwatch on my cell phone, I guess I need to be a little more tech to be a TT'er. The cell worked great but is kind of high risk trying to pull it out of your pocket after a hard effort.

Anyway, my plan was to stay seated and ride a high cadence with good form at a pace that was as fast as I could go but sustainable and steady like you would do on a similar climb during a longer race. I had a pretty good run and only had to slow down a 4-5 times to pass other bikers, My legs got a little balled up early on likely do to the lack of warm up and I was tempted to stand and power through sections but resisted and just kept spinning away for a time of 7:48.

I continued over to City Creek but did not have time to drop in so I did the old slyfox connector trail and looped around the same way and back down dry creek.

The conditions were dry but not as bad as it gets mid summer, it was hot and the winds were fairly calm, dry creek can have a strong tail wind later in the afternoon that makes you feel like superman but I was to early to enjoy it.

I can't remember what a fast time is but I think I can lower this one a fair bit, I hope to test different cadence strategies in the future. I like the Dry Creek TT because it has some slope change and techy sections that require you to monitor your gears and pick a line.

I am not a big fan of TTing because I like to save the focus for race situations but this was a good way to open things up and get a feel for how the legs are turning over.

timp enduro

I don't think you can call it an enduro unless someone in your party comes away with stitches. Alex made the sacrifice today and after witnessing it first hand we are lucky it was not worse, it's never when you expect it!

the loop
rogers-provo canyon-sundance-aspen grove-ag 1 track-timponooke-gone with the wind meadows-little baldy via great western-4000ft great western DH-franks-matts track-path to rogers.

Crew today included Ohran, AG, Bryan, Rog, Adam and Engen from Turkey. Great weather, friends, trails, wild life (mtn goats, deer, rattle snake, hawks, etc.), and big views. Also got a chance to eye some good ski lines on the north side of timp including the cold fusion. Maybe need to get the boards out again.

About at the end of a heavy week of MTB volume and ready for some rest, seem to be handling it pretty well and am excited to get freshened up for BC.

yesterday's loop

freeze creek-emigration-kilyons-aflec park-big mountain-old mormom-east canyon-24/7-flying dog-connector-jeremy store-north side I-80-parleys-little mountain-emigration-freeze creek

to nice of a day to be at work, although ohran brought the office with him

Judging by the inch of snow on my deck this morning the trails should be tacky and perfect again this weekend, maybe a tour of the onetrack around timp?
any takers?

mueller grueller

4ish hrs of perfect dirt with Ohran and T-bird polished off the weekend. With a stiff headwind riding down emigration I had a hard time getting the legs going after the beating in the ice bath at Deer Valley. But once we hit the dirt things got better. From the Zoo we rode shoreline- millcreek-radio towers-up Mueller-down north canyon- and back to the zoo. Lots of good wild flowers although Burke reports they were better last week. DH down North Canyon was as good as I have seen and with no traffic, don't go down Mueller on a weekend.

Saturday at Deer Valley was nothing to brag about and I am embarrassed to say I took a mid race siesta. Even after all that rain and snow we can't get any real mud that makes things slick and technical. The DV race is not my favorite due to a DH dominated by boring switch backs and little technical challenge. I find my mind wandering on the DH between switchbacks.

Despite little technical challenge, I fell over at the end of the first lap and bent my rear shifter around requiring my allen keys to make it functional again. Mitch got away from me here and my frozen legs did not have what it takes to bring him back so I sat up and rode with young Robbie for a most of the next lap. I put in a little spurt on the last lap so I could make a little diaper money and not have to sprint on the pavement but don't know if I really deserved it. I guess sometimes you have to pick your battles.

Side note: Robbie Squire from Sandy is a huge talent and at only 18 has huge potential. 1st year racing Junior on the national level and he is going to worlds next week. Him and Mitch both have more raw talent than I ever thought of having. Fun to watch those 2 improve!

Feeling better all the time and only one more day of antibiotics, looking good for some longer summer rides.

gray ghost #2

Until today I hadn't felt the rush of writing a big check since building our home.

When I was 16 my grandfather gave me a 1976 gray Cutlass Supreme. Being the the bicentennial year it had 2 bald eagles on the owners manual. It was a 2 door but should have been 4. If you opened the doors in a parking lot without at least 1 free space on each side you would likely leave a mark in somebodies rig. The shocks were blown so when you got up to speed it felt like you were floating. It had an old BMX trophy as a hood ornament and tons of cool stickers in the rear window. That baby rolled to a few of my first bike races with Wyatt and Adam in the back seat and the bikes in the trunk, they don't make trunks like that anymore. All the neighbour kids paid me gas money to give them a ride to school, we packed them in and I had a waiting list.

When it finally wouldn't pass inspection I sold it to a scrap yard for $50. About 6 months later I got a letter in the mail from the state asking if my Cutlass had been stolen because it had been recovered from a high speed chase and armed robbery.

the legend continues.....

homecourt

So the Icup is looking for a new venue to replace Solitude as it is still snowed in. Here are the most recent additions of one track to the gillespie compound, maybe I could host the race. I know it's a short loop but after the last couple races everyone should have no problem with all the passing and lap traffic. We could have the podium on the deck afterwards and I have a special prize for everyone who posts a lap time faster than me on the KLX 110.

Once again the Sundance trails did not disappoint. The DH was the only thing keeping on my bike as I felt like I was crawling up the climb.

So this is my first time with strep throat and I must say it's ruthless. I just can't seem to kick it which I realize is probably my own fault for continuing to saddle up on the weekend. Anyway, I guess my 1st course of abx killed most of the colony but some have been resistant and I had to start another 10 day course of a different one. On the bright side I think once I get healthy and able to train I feel like I could ride faster than ever.

For now I just need to rest.