Ashcroft - S. Hayden Road Race

Last night's Road Race went well. I felt sluggish at the start of the race, but as time went on I started to get my legs back. 7 of us got away off of the front and we all continued to push the pace. We settled in for a while and then the attacks started flying. There were 3 Hub riders, 3 Basalt Bike & Ski riders, and one poor chap sporting a 7-Eleven jersey. I think the lone rider must have known his fate because he was launching attack after attack trying to get away from the rest of us. His attempts were fruitless.
The finish came down to the seven of us lining up for the sprint. I put myself in good position and was able to come around a few riders at the line to take 3rd place.
On a side note, while I was warming up a bear cub crossed the road about 30 yards in front of me. It was pretty cool. The little guy was pretty curious as to why there were so many bikes out and about. We just had to keep an eye out for momma bear who must have crossed the road in front of the cub because we never did see her...which is a good thing!

PS. Jane Fonda Sucks!!

3 in 8

Yesterday and today are rest days. I was originally planning on keeping with the one rest day per week routine, but I was really dragging this morning. Normally I would just fight through it, but today I gave in. I have another race tomorrow and I want to be somewhat rested going in to it. It's not a high priority race, but it will be my 3rd race in 8 days and I'm feeling a little sluggish. So that's how I'm justifying taking today off from the bike.

I wonder what Sysco is doing right now. Sysco's my dog and my little homie. We've been through a lot together. He's been there for all of my 24 Hours of Moab races! I may have him as a guest blogger sometime so keep your eyes peeled for that one.

Mom, if you're reading this, congratulations on your retirement! You deserve all good things and then some! YOU KICK ASS!

The weekend...

was good. The race on Saturday went well. It took a while for things to develop, but once they did, things heated up. After a couple of silly, non-threatening breakaways early in the race, two riders went out hard about half way through the race. The chase group consisted of about 5 riders. Myself and another teammate were in that group. One of the two out front was also a teammate, so we were not working to catch up but the other 3 were. Regardless, the chase group caught the two lead riders with about 10-12 miles to go in the race. Shortly after we caught them, I decided to give it a go. I dropped the hammer and buried myself up a climb. Only one other rider was able to stay on my wheel. We had a sizable gap over the other riders, so we began working together to open it up. The gap continued to grow and the two of us knew we were away for good. As we got closer to the finish, we started jockeying for position for the sprint. I got myself in good position, but was unable to pass Max, aka Johnny McHuge Legs, at the finish. The kid has a wicked sprint! All in all, I was happy with the race. It was another beautiful day in the mountains.
I was pretty beat Sunday and not real motivated to ride. Sharon had agreed to ride with me for awhile though, so that helped get me going.
I'm feeling strong and motivated. The training is going well. 7 weeks until the race.

Stinger

The title of this post serves two purposes.
1. To plug one of my sponsors, Honey Stinger. Try it! It's great stuff!
2. Because I had one sticking out of my neck last night! Seriously, how many times can one guy get stung by a bee or wasp while riding his bike? I'm up to 4 this summer. This one got me good...right in the neck. After the innitial pain from the sting, I had to laugh. Last weekend it was my upper thigh. A few weeks before that, my shoulder. Before that, my arm. This really is getting comical. You hear that bees and wasps, I laugh at your venomous stings. HAHAHAHA! Just kidding, please stop stinging me. It really does hurt.

Big road race tomorrow (Missouri Heights RR). Looking forward to it. I'll try to keep the rubber side down tomorrow.

Man Down

A friend of mine once told me that when cowboy gets bucked off of a bull really hard it's called getting chili-whopped. Well, last night I got chili-whopped. I was riding my bike though, not a bull. Nonetheless, I got chili-whopped.
Last night was the Rim Trail Race (part of Aspen Cycling Club's Town Series Races). It's a fairly quick mountain bike race with some wicked single track. I was riding well and had finished the last climb. I'm bombing down some single track and take a right hand switch back when my front wheel washed out on me...BOOYAKASHA! Next thing I know I'm head first in to the dirt. Yep, chili-whopped! I got up looked to my right and saw stars, looked to my left and saw my bike with the handles bars completely cock-eyed. I tried to bend them back, but no luck. I rode the rest of the way down with both my head and my handle bars a little off. Oh well, such is racing sometimes.
The drive home was interesting. I was still pretty foggy from the wreck. It was almost like being drunk and just wanting to sober up...not a great feeling. I almost pulled my car over and called my boy Red to see if he would pick me up on his way home from the race. I was contemplating this for a while I guess, because the next thing I knew, I was pulling into my driveway.
I got up early this morning and got back on that bull. The ride this morning was tough, but I love being out in the early morning on my bike so it was nice. Everything is so quiet and peaceful. I truly am blessed to live in such a beautiful place and to be able to do the things that I love doing. Even if it means a few minor concussions along the way!

In It...

The purpose of this blog is for me to have a place to come to write down my thoughts while training for another solo attempt at the 24 Hours of Moab. I raced it solo in 2004 and logged 11 laps (each lap is 15 miles). 16 laps won the solo division...that's a lot of miles in 24 hours. This year I suspect that it will take a really fast 17 laps (maybe even 18 laps) to win it. Chris Eatough, 6x 24 Hour Solo World Champion is supposed to show up this year to dish out some pain. All that being said, I may have just given you the impression that I'm going to win. Not the case. I'm a realist, sort of, and I know I'm not at the same level as the professional riders who are fortunate enough do this for a living. I am also a competitor though and it is mountain biking. So you never know what might happen over the course of a race, especially a 24 hour race. For me, this is a race to test myself, to come face to face with my soul, to push myself (physically and mentally) to what I think might be the limit...and then keep going.
8 weeks until race day (Oct.13-14, 2007).
On a side note, I have to thank my wife Sharon for helping me pull the trigger on the race. You Rock!