refining

I think Nys once said that when he is in top form he is 100% recovered the evening after a race, I don't know if I buy that but his point is well taken. The human body is amazing at adapting to stressfull stimuli. With a couple weeks until cross nationals I hope I can do a little more adapting.

After a fairly high volume week, at least for me I felt pretty solid at the wheeler race. I never felt real fast but the gear turned over fairly nice and I tried to ride smooth focusing on energy ultilization, technique, and balance.

If you watch the world cups you will notice the top guys don't even look fast. Every physical movement has been refined to propel the bike forward over the given terrain. The result is what looks like an easy ride around the park. Being so refined that your maximum looks effortless is the goal, to me this is the beauty of cyclocross.

For a hack like me a good result at a big one day race like the national championships requires everything to come together at the right time, including luck. I guess it's all the variables that make it fun.

Hopefully I don't look very fast in a couple weeks!

thanks

turkey trot


family and food


trail

climbs


views

sorry updates in NC

No computer on my travels to Alabama for work and NC for racing.
Just a quick update:

Racing yesterday was fast and fun, like a road race on grass. I thought I had 3rd when Baker bobbled 3 turns from the line but then I bobbled getting around him. We sprinted for the finish but with only 100 meters out of the last turn I had no hope. It was a good battle with Bishop, Stevenson, Baker, and I on the last lap. Like Fox always tells me "you just need more watts", I agree! Some reason cyclingnews has me 50 seconds down, more like 5.

More action today and then some driving and flying to get home to the girls.

dam rough

On our 24hr trip to LA Rico and I rolled around in this 94' Volvo wagon that was Tinkers bonus for going to the Olympics.



You know you have made it when you have marble tile floors in your garage, Tinkers a baller!

Although the accommodations were great the racing was marginal at best. Possibly the bumpiest, roughest chunk of earth ever set up as a bike race. The Hansen Dam course layout was great and from a far it looked fun but after riding 3" on the course it was apparent this was going to be a test of backs, hands, and equipment. I feel bad for talking rico into a quick cross trip and then having to race this course, sorry man at least you got to experience Tinker's trophy room.

I had a good start but was not aggressive enough in the first few laps and a couple guys got away. So I drug a group around for an hour and then suffered a front flat on the last lap and went from 4th to 8th while running it in. That's racing!

My local money snatching skills did me good as I scored a 10 spot out of a beer can at the top of the steepest hill, the crowd went nuts as they were getting little money action.

This best part of the trip was I established 2 new standards for comparison. One for bumpy crappy cyclocross courses and the other for garage flooring. It will be tough to top either!

ergon bd2

So I just wrote up an elaborate ergon bd2 pack review and then somehow lost it. Here is the cliff notes.

As a lifetime bike commuter and one that performs 90% of their weekday training on the commute I consider myself an authority on cycling packs.

After 3 weeks of daily commuting with the BD2 I am convinced it is the most well engineered and constructed bike pack available.

Why?

-Adjustable fit: you can place the load where it needs to be, on the hips. Adjusts to your torso size.

-Comfort: no hot spots even with a pack full of rocks, Tinker style.

-Freedom of movement: even under load the upper extremities are never strangled.

-Secure: While sprinting out of the saddle this pack does not sway from side to side and will not slide up your back during steep descents.

-Quality construction: waterproof zippers, quality buckles, well executed materials.

-Unique features: lumbar lordosis stash pocket for allen keys, gels, maps or anything you need to get at while riding. Water proof rain fly for rallying through a blizzard and having dry undies at work.

I have yet to use it with a bladder for an epic MTB ride but after my commuting experience am positive this baby is perfect for all day adventures. The one draw back I see is the size. As a 15L pack it fits my lunch and clothes perfectly but leaves little room for extras like a laptop, more lunch, small animals, large bike parts, more lunch, toys, power tools, 2L bottles of fresca, or many layers of winter clothes after an afternoon heat wave.

cool green, blinker not included

Mine pivot ball is adjusted to the middle setting to place the load perfectly at the hips and suspended off the back, genius!

I can't wait to try the BA3 which is a larger outdoor pack with the same suspension system and classic ergon quality. May even double as ski pack.

Hope to do some more gear reviews without the frustrating computer failures.

FedEx just dropped off a 174cm long box, what could that be???

the smell of winter

The snow brings about excitement and despite being in the middle of cross season we could not contain the draw to the high country today. Skinned to the top of Clayton peak for some great early season turns, followed by warm soup at the Samurai's.

Eva and I have been killin it in the back yard!

Alex and Jared ready for the first turns of the year at the top of Clayton Peak (10,750)

sun setting over the Wasatch


smiles and timp

not yet acclimated to the cold air, but loving the smell of winter!

no baja epic

Had to pass on my 9am flight to San Diego this morning for the Baja Epic stage race. As much as I would love to be racing 4 days through the mountains of Baja, it was just not worth the risk and our crew pulled the plug at the last minute.


In the last 10 days 11 people have been shot and killed in Rosarito where the race starts and ends. The police force have been resigning on a daily basis as they are sitting ducks for the cartels that rule the area. It seems Baja has changed since Ohran, Fox, and I rode to Cabo. Like I told Tinker on the phone this morning, "it's just a bike race, we have mouths to feed and it's not worth the risk".


I am not into drugs myself but I say legalize it in the US and tax it like crazy, is it really any different than tobacco and ETOH.
Let people make there own decissions and live with the consequences, at least our demand for drugs won't be destroying nations and economies. I bet the number of stoners actually goes down with legalization not to mention the crime and prison crowding. I could be wrong but it seems worth considering.



On a positive note I got to enjoy the first bike commute in the snow and the first sled rides of the season today. About 4" on the back yard hill. Eva's enthusiasm for catapulting herself down a snowy slope on a piece of plastic really excites me.


This is going to be a fun winter.

Wheeler

Rosie was excited for today's cross race for 2 reasons:
1-She rode to the race and arrived about 30 minutes before the cold front and rain.
2-She got to test out her cute new Belgium cross boots.



I new Ali would be on it today, a champ always bounces back strong and he is a true "mudder".

Now for a night of goopey eyes trying to work the grit out!

saved by the bottle

All the damage was done before the gun even fired. I wasn't the only one! Felt like an old man dragging out of bed. Dressing sprung a leak and I stuck to the sheets. Never panic on the first lap. "Prime"time in rare form. Gravel and doubles the order of the day.

It took an entire bottle of Monavie for me to whip the fever hand-me-down from the girls on Thursday and Friday. Maybe it's just placebo. Halloween was nearly a bust but I got clowned up to watch Cinderella and a stinky skunk enjoy the hay ride and begging.

More today in a little weather.