Sea Otter 2011

For all the hype that surrounds the Sea Otter Classic, one might expect it to be the Queen event of the spring MTB races. Perhaps it used to be, but in the last two years, the 'far-from-epic course' keeps it from really feeling like a mountain bike race. Barry and Erik have told me stories of how gnarly the course used to be, compared with today's 8 x 12.5min lap circuit comprised mostly of pavement and gravel roads. Nevertheless, it is still an important event, and with all the people it brings out for a weekend of bike racing, it's great for the industry. Since all of us racers have plenty of other great courses to race on throughout the season, perhaps we could look at it as 'taking one for the team.'

This shot basically sums up my experience in the cross country race on Saturday:

churning out 8 laps on the paved race-track...mustered an 18th place, and despite improving significantly on my performance from last year, I expected more of myself. I was trailing the large lead group going into the second lap and came frustratingly close to bridging, but just couldn't quite make it. Each subsequent lap I was simply in the wrong spot, and the time gap started to grow second by second. In the end I conceded 5.5 minutes to the leader, a deficit that is normally in the top-10 range, but the fast Sea Otter course is a beast of its own. Simply stated, I should have been further up all day. Just not my day.

The SHORT TRACK the day before, on the other hand, went better. It was a tough, bumpy course. Short, yes, but more representative of mountain bike skills. I came in a more respectable 10th. My new 29er King Kahuna w/ the flyweight Stans ZTR Race seemed to swallow up the punchy power climbs, and for being a hardtail, was not bad on the bumpy flat sections either.

lucky 13 for the weekend

Barry and me

realizing I should've probably brought my cross bike...

Demo Dave's cool Kona Fort

Barry

me

time to go back to Seattle...

Variety

If I had to pick one standout quality that makes the Northwest a good place for maintaining a cycling career (amateur or elite), it would be variety. Of course, cycling lends itself to variety in the first place, regardless of the geographic setting. Since the last post I finished up the first road stage race of the season, the Cherry Blossom Classic in The Dalles, OR. Mechanicals kept me from being in the race, but since putting in the hard work, I'm already feeling the fitness benefits. If anything, it was a good chance to hang out with S&M/Kona teammates Sean Babcock and Luke Pennington. Check out Sean's super fast time trial bike:

Sean's Major Jake - a one-of-a-kind TT bike for the weekend. Sean, you are an animal!

The one-and-only Luke Pennington

With the Cherry Blossom miles soaked into the legs, a week of solid training back in Seattle ensued, fit with painful, freezing hail storms...

...some pleasantly sunny early-morning interval sessions before work...

some afternoon freeride sessions with friends...


...it was the weekend again, and Sarah and I headed east to Ephrata, WA for the Beezley Burn XC. Thanks to Jake Maedke for putting on such a terrific event. Not only is Jake my kind of guy making it all happen with a full time job , he also puts on a great race weekend. Sunny and dry, short track on Saturday evening, followed by BBQ and free camping, and a great XC course on Sunday morning, AND a big cash purse! My races were made all the more enjoyable by my new team edition King Kahuna 29er . It was my first time ever on a 29er mountain bike, and by the end of the short track on Saturday I was sold. By the end of the cross country I was wishing I could have had it from the beginning of the season. In so many words, the 29er hard tail is high-speed machine. It rolls faster, climbs like a boss, corners confidently, and consequently, is good for winning races!

Start of short track...first ride on new bike...

on way to 1st place against local legend Russell Stevenson

at the XC start line...4 laps, 32 miles, Time 2hrs 14min

I took the win in the short track and cross country, and the course was excellent training for next weekend's race at Sea Otter. But the best part of the Ephrata weekend was watching Sarah do her first MTB race! After some of the rides we've done together, she could've handled a lot more than the single lap Cat 3 race, but it was a good place to start. She'd never admit her natural talent, so I can't help but talk about it for her. She would also have me admit that she was the only woman in the Cat 3 field, but I'll admit that she had the second fastest time overall.

S&M Young Guns teammate Patrick Means shredding

thanks for reading...next up...Sea Otter, Monterey, CA, April 15-17

Consistency

No good April Fools jokes, other than my twisted chain in the first 7 minutes of today's 1st Stage of the Cherry Blossom Classic road race in The Dalles, OR. First road race of the season, and turns out the joke was on me about the whole "racing" part. Had to pull over and remove the broken links and un-bend the rear derailleur. It all took long enough so that I spent the rest of the day doing good solo training effort and enjoying the sun. TT and crit on Saturday, big circuit race on Sunday. Still getting the mechanicals out of the system it seems...

As for LAST weeekend...on the way to Pro XCT #2 in Fontana, CA last weekend, I was actually feeling bummed that the forecast was looking rainy and cold (cold for SoCal, so 50s). Turns out, it actually made for the best condition I've ever experienced at the race. I've only been to Fontana twice before, but each was dusty and hot - a big leap from the cold & wet in Seattle. This year the tacky dirt was awesome, making for good traction and fast riding overall...except for the infamously steep Fontana climb, at the beginning of each lap. For 2011 they nearly doubled the length up the double-track, which the promoters claimed to hit grades of +30%. Either way, it was sufficiently steep for 5 times around.

I was eager to test my early season form without any mechanical setbacks (in the Bonelli Season opener I flatted in the both the XC and STXC). In 2010 at this same race I struggled to maintain a top 15 position and faded to 21st. This year I sat sturdily in 12th/13th, eventually finishing 13th. Here's a pic from the race on Cyclingnews . After taking some time to recover after the XC, I trudged up the steep hill one more time for the start of the Super D. The Fontana Super D course actually warranted a lowering of the seat on the XC bike, at least by my observation. All of us XC guys got smoked by superstar 4-Crosser Brian Lopes. The course definitely favored a more enduro-oriented bike (and a full pre-ride or two!). My XC rig and no pre-ride made for a good challenge, and I could only muster a 14th.

With the test of early March races past, and still maintaining the balance with a full-time job at Ridgeline, I'm feeling good about where my form is heading for the season to come. Consistency is honest and a good platform for improvement, so with Bonelli and Fontana as my starting point, it's already a big step up from last year. One of the biggest motivators has been all of the congratulation and support from all my friends, family, co-workers and fellow riders. From my own perspective there are always improvements to be made, self-criticisms, goals to focus on, hard work to do...all motivating in itself. But it is even more special to have so many people take the time to notice. Thank you for the motivation. Looking forward to the big show at Sea Otter in a couple weeks.

Thanks for reading.

Bonelli Park, Season Opener - Great despite the flats

The 2011 race campaign about to start

For the last three years I had been meeting up with the Kona crew down in SoCal in March, so in that respect there was nothing too novel about showing up in San Dimas, CA for the 2011 season opener at Bonelli Park. But in lots of other ways the weekend felt very fresh. Biggest of all, it was the first weekend 'on the job' with Kona. Demo Dave (new Kona mechanic) met me at the airport on Friday afternoon in the shiny new Kona truck and we drove out to the race venue for a dusk patrol lap on the course before it shut down.

I enjoy relishing in specific experiences before they become commonplace. For example...really, really noticing that I was pulling on the Kona Factory kit for a big race, rolling out the door on the same team as Barry Wicks and Kris Sneddon. Lining up for the first race of the season is always exciting. As the fresh meat on the team, I wanted to make a statement during the weekend, but didn't let that distract from being calm, collected, and confident that I could ride a strong race. And that is approximately how Saturday's cross country event was for me, save for a flat front tire with two laps to go during the seven lap race. I had been sitting in 11th with 10th place in my crosshairs when I noticed the squishy front end. After an attempt to re-inflate, the tire mysteriously continued to leak. I was close enough to the tech zone that I resolved to ride it in. It was a gamble, and I ended up dropping back to 16th or 17th, passed by Barry and Kris's group. After getting a new wheel from Dave, I chased back to Barry and Kris's group of 5. We rode as the Kona train of pain for the rest of the lap, until Barry launched a major effort going into the last lap to try and shoot me back into contention for 10th. It was a major compliment to have Barry put in that effort on my behalf. By that time, unfortunately, 10th was out of reach (nice race Stephen Ettinger!), and I bridged to within a few seconds of Troy Wells to finish 12th on the day. That night Barry edged me out by a second in the Super D, me 10th, him 9th.

Before Sunday's short track event, I told myself I would spend time racing at the front of before returning to the office in Seattle. It's amazing how a simple mental resolution can affect a race performance. Simply be confident in a strategy or goal, and it is much more likely to come to pass. And that it did. I had my first taste of leading the big race, off the front early after Sid Taberlay's unfortunate wipe out. I may not have held the pace for the whole race, but while I was up there I felt good and in control. Apparently it was also my opportunity to get ALL the flat tires out of my system before summer hits, as a leaking rear tire made sure that I certainly did NOT maintain my position at the front. Thanks to my friends Liz and Erik who came out to cheer me on despite flatting myself out of the action. Overall, I finished 11th in the Triple Crown, and felt satisfied with a strong start to the season . Sea Otter is still 5 weeks away. The Europe World Cups still 10 weeks away. I've never started this strong, and I'm looking forward to moving up as the season goes on. There was a big sense of camaraderie with our Kona crew, and I'm already itching for Fontana in two weeks. For now, it's back to work at Ridgeline and training in the rain.

Thanks to my supporters at Veolia - here's looking to a good season

#8 to start out 2011

Sunday morning spin with Barry and Kris

Barry

Kris

Dave keeping the bikes running smooth

work clothes back on, 4:45AM commute back to the office

Black Diamond MTB, Dusting Off the Race Bike

cobwebs, gone!

This last Sunday I drove down to Black Diamond, WA to check out the West Side MTB Series cross country race put on by SingleTrack Cycles and BuDu Racing . With the Pro XCT opener coming up this Saturday at Bonelli Park, CA, it was a good chance to wheel-up to the line at a fat tire race. The morning routine was familiar like any other early training day this year except there was sun poking through, always a welcome change. The drive took 20 minutes less than expected, so as I sat in the warm truck cab, looking around at the cold foggy morning and throngs of riders on their shiny new bikes, I thought to myself...back to the start of the rollercoaster. And I mean it in the literal sense of excitement, not to imply the figurative sense of anxiety. The end of the last rollercoaster ride was back in Mt. St. Anne at the World Championships last August, and I was eager to get back on...though the end of last year seemed a long ways away from West Side MTB #2 XC at Black Diamond, WA on Sunday morning.

It was refreshing to be back at a small, local off road event. There were some 40 or 50 riders all together in the expert/open class, and everybody started in waves. Singlespeeders first wave, 30-39 second, 40-49 third, 19-29 fourth. Since the course was 99% narrow, intestinous (awesome) singletrack, as illustrated by this MAP , there was some heavy traffic on the first of three laps. It was good practice in balancing (no pun intended) patience, polite etiquette and swift passing maneuvers. After the first lap I was in the clear and well in first place, so my goal was to ride each lap faster than the last, which was a good challenge due to the relentless turns, dips and slippery roots. I rolled to the finish after 90 minutes of racing feeling much more spry on the mountain bike than when I'd started, grabbed a banana, thanked the race promoter for a good event, and saw that a group of friends back in Seattle were gearing up for a ride at Duthie Hill , so I promptly jumped in the truck and spent the rest of the afternoon playing in the sun and tacky dirt. I'm glad this rollercoaster is off and rolling again.

Enter 2011

With the momentum of two years on the S&M Young Guns program, 2011 is off to a strong start - no races yet, but no shortage of big plans and big news. This is my first post as an official member of the Kona Factory Team Cycling News Article.

The concept of racing for a professional cycling team has been a dream of mine for a long time. I’m excited to pull on the Kona jersey for the first big race of the year on March 12th at Bonelli Park, CA. I won’t be wearing the S&M colors in 2011, but I’ll be going about things with the same S&M attitude. As such, I’m still balancing a full-time position at Ridgeline Energy as GIS and Permitting Specialist.

Over the winter I shared with Ridgeline my intention to pursue a campaign for the 2012 Olympic Long Team (yes, the big goal for 2011!!). In order to chase the UCI points necessary to achieve such a goal, the company is allowing me to reduce to a flexible part-time schedule for the summer months. It's an incredible offer, and motivates me to continue working as hard as I can to perform my best at cycling and work alike.

I’ve got the full schedule lined out through September. Like 2010, I’ll be following the entire Pro XCT circuit. In May I’ll head to Europe for the Dalby Forest, GBR and Offenburg, GER World Cups. The World Cup makes two stop-overs in North America (Mt. St. Anne and Windham), and Nationals is in Sun Valley, ID in July. In general I’ll be chasing UCI points and focusing on strong performances in order to make the list of 10 riders named to the Olympic Long Team. In 2012, only three will progress to the Olympic Games in London.

In the meantime, stay tuned for much more to come this year. Below are some shots from the Santa Barbara trip and off season.



Zing Supreme - trusty training steed - fit with new PowerTap hub

Last weekend I spend a long weekend in Santa Barbara, CA with Seattle's Keller Rhorback cycling team to get in some big miles [in the sun]. Despite the fair-weather beach photos, we managed to find the only weekend where the climate matched Seattle (50s and rainy). Despite a few spells of rain, 40mph winds, hail, and snow (in the mountains), we packed in 5 days of amazing rides and quality training. I was on my Zing Supreme the whole time, but I paid a quick visit to local Kona dealer Velo Pro Cyclery Velo Pro Bike Shop, Santa Barbara, CA and confirmed that the local off-road riding is just as stupendous as the hard-top riding. Next time I’ll be sure to bring the fat tires along.


Quick stop at Refugio State Beach


Open road...

The best loop of the trip was just above Santa Barbara - the Gibraltar Road climb - around 4800' in 7 miles. So good we had to do it twice, once in the bad weather, once in the sun. We still managed to find snow on top both times.

View Larger Map

Hanglider launching off the top of the Gibraltar climb


Ice cream prevents bonking


Straight from SB to American Falls, Idaho for Ridgeline's Rockland Wind Farm pre-construction kickoff meeting with project landowners

Off-Season Amusements -


Crystal Mountain Silver Basin, so good Sarah and I hiked it 6 times in a row.




Sleeping Beauty Tour w/ Dad on New Year's Eve day

Young Guns finish 'cross

Photo by Young Guns Teammate Patrick Means - See Gallery: http://patrickmeans.blogspot.com/

The 2011 came to a close in Bend, OR this last weekend accompanied by raucous crowds three rows deep and a rad 'cross course through the Old Mill District. Sean, Alice and I(and Erik, too) gave it one more go...actually, that does not apply to Sean, who is currently on his way to Europe 'Cross Camp after a strong 14th place finish at Nationals, and several top 15 finishes throughout the 2010 season (Cyclingnews Article: http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/meet-the-euro-cross-campers-for-2010-2011). Be sure to check out his results on Cyclingnews through the Holiday season. Way to go Boobs for a breakout season on the National Cyclocross tour and on being selected to the 'cross camp crew. He is one of four elite men and several other U-23 and Junior riders selected to compete against the world's best.

Alice and I, on the other hand, are done racing until next year. I'm hoping to do lots of skiing. Alice...is probably going to try to fix her car, Ol' Red, who gave us an entertaining spell of coolant leakage, black smoke and steaming on the drive back to Portland. Alice had a solid race in Bend, nearly finishing 11th before a crash set her back to 14th (still great). There was an inappropriate dearth of blogging these last several weeks, inappropriate on account of not exclaiming Alice's amazing 6th place finish at the USGP in Fort Collins this November.

Alice owning it...



I totally surprised myself with a 12th place finish on Sunday. I've never done that well in a 'cross race, much less at Nationals. I think I finished in the 50s last year and got lapped...same with the year before that. It was all thanks to learning from Sean and Erik how to race my 'cross bike. A good way to cap off the 2010 season.

Talking with Erik after coming across the line...


Mom & little brother Michael post race:


running the barriers at the USGP Finals in Portland, OR the weekend prior: