Cycling Life

Scarantino's

2008-06-02T01:11:00.000-07:00

I honestly couldn't put it any better than Boone did. It's a sad day for cyclists and beer lovers everywhere.

Santa Ynez wuz hot

2008-05-20T14:51:00.000-07:00

I cracked HARD in the XC race on Saturday but was able to muster up a halfway decent kicking-out of jams on Sunday for the STXC.

It was a fast start and Blake "Holeshot" Harlan was gunning for the front. I wasn't on the front row so there was the usual battle for position which was short lived due to the immediate entry into singletrack.
Boone was just a few seconds behind me. Although obviously tired from his near success in trying to lap me while riding a wheelie for the whole XC race the day before he was still able to look fabulous in his skinsuit and struck a sweet pose for the best pic of the day:

After things "settled down" (yeah right) we were all strung out along the trail in one big line.
I tried to get around the rider in front of me but he was fighting me for it tooth and nail and there wasn't a whole lot of room to pass so I eventually ended up sitting in so as not to waste too much energy.
I got around him after he let a gap open, but I wasn't able to bridge back up to the group and ended up chasing Ben around from about 10 seconds back.

I pretty much rode in the wind for the rest of the race. I had company in the form of Jason Siegel and John Nobil but after another rider crashed, Jason and I lost Nobil and then on the last lap I attacked and passed another racer at just the right moment to leave him directly in Jasons way.
Hehe, sorry buddy but you have to admit, you were matching ALL my accelerations and making it look easy... I was scared.
Anyway, by then we were at the end of the last lap and my HR was at 194.
I thought I was going to melt before I would reach the finish but I ended up behind Ben (8th), rolling across the line in 9th place before any melting took place. Then I melted.
Meanwhile...

Blake had crushed it with a podium ride into 3rd place.

Racers and Chasers grudge match

2008-05-12T21:16:00.000-07:00

After throwing down an epic 6+ hour training day with Blake, 50+ miles and 10,000+ feet of climbing I foolishly decided to join him in racing at Vail Lake's Racers and Chasers XC hurt-a-thon.

We lined up and were given the option of doing a 24 mile race (my first choice) or a 32 mile race... (not my first choice!).

Unfortunately for Blake and I Alex Boone was feeling "frisky" and swung the race in the 32 mile direction.

With that decided, we got a sharp "go!" and we were off.

Blake had decided that whatever else happened he was going to get the freakin' holeshot award, and he fired off the line like he was shot out of a cannon.

I was prepared for the attack, but I WASN'T prepared for how UN-prepared the other riders would be. Eventual winner Chuck Jenkins was trying to figure out if he should chase and what gear he was in.
I literally couldn't keep from laughing.

Sadly, Blake missed the turn for the holeshot... Chuck let him know after he was about 100 ft. past it.

About 5 minutes in we all turned in at a riverbed (i.e. NOT the trail!) and then Alex broke his chain.

The next 2 hours we alternated between riding together while talking sh*t about Boone for "making" us do an extra lap and then having the nerve to break his chain, and trying to out-cheat each other.

Here I am trying to block off a huge line so Blake can't pass.

Unfortunately for me Blake got "creative" and made a new, better line by taking a sharp right and avoiding the line I was cutting off entirely, forcing me to chase to catch up.

After a full contact, WWF style sprint for the finish in which Blake got the best of me for 2nd place we made our way to the podium where we talked trash and I challenged him to an arm-wrestling match. Chuck Jenkins and Robert Herber seem amused.

A roadrace, but still... it's sumthin' ta read.

2008-05-11T23:24:00.000-07:00

When I signed up for the Devil's Punchbowl Road Race I just ASSUMED that I would be the biggest sandbagger there (seemed safe, and in the end I won so I guess I was right?)

Brooke and I got up early and picked up Eric (Team Bearclaw) and C.J. (Team Eric).

We stopped for gas and coffee and then drove to the venue and kitted up.

Due to confusing web misinformation Eric was in the wrong class but the awesome staff at the race got him into the already full field... with about (literally) 5 seconds to go.

As soon as Eric got to the line, and maybe even a little before, we started racing.

I had decided that since this race course was hilly and hard with headwinds I would race it like a mountain bike race... on the gas the whole time!

So as soon as I had elbowed my way to the front, (there was a yellow line rule in effect and due to the full field, no room to pass) the course turned left and steeply uphill.

I just rode as hard as I could without popping and when we crested the climb there were around 15 guys still in the group.

After the 10 minute descent I was still a bit tired so I wasn't exactly itching to pull yet!

There was one rider who was really pushing the pace though, riding for Simple Green and he attacked a little bit before the end of our first lap, getting a gap on everyone but not taking anyone with him to share the work.

It turned out that he was super strong though, because he just kept pulling away!

After "resting" for a few minutes I figured that since he looked pretty confident and nobody else was working I had better try my best to catch him.

I got into a good rhythm and gave it everything I had but I couldn't get anyone to pull through so I sat up a bit, which is apperently cat 5 code for "attack!".

At this point a scattering of riders (about 5?) swarmed around me, so I jumped on the wheel of one of them.

After a few minutes of the "every man for himself" chasing technique I was on the wheel of a racer on a Trek with gold bar-tape, Eric was was the next rider up the road in 2nd place and the Simple Green guy was still off the front.

We had just gone through the start finish area (where I pondered the benefits of stopping/giving up: Shade? Check. Cool refreshing beverage? Check. Not pedalling this stupid bicycle up that damn hill again? Double check!) and turned up the hill so I could see where everyone was in relation to each other.

The group had sort of come together then, with about 8 or 9 of us and I was pushing the pace up the hill again.

We caught up to Eric and he jumped into the group, but the leader was still up the road.

It all hung together on the descent again, but shortly after we turned right into the false flat and headwinds 2 riders, one of them Brian Davidson from the movie "eat!sleep?bikes!", about a group of friends who do the Furnace Creek 508 on fixed gears, really started pulling hard!

I stayed on their wheels and eventually Brian put in a really hard attack and the 3 of us got away.

When I saw that the gap had opened up I told the guys that if we worked we could make it to the finish, and I started pulling as hard as I could.

Brian and I were able to take pulls but the 3rd racer had used up too much energy earlier and could only sit on, eventually falling off the back.

Brian and I agreed that we wouldn't care too much which of us finished in front of the other as long as we weren't caught, and we both took turns pulling.

Eventually we caught the Simple Green rider and he jumped on with us.

I was the first racer into the last corner before the long (1 mile?) straightaway to the finish and I gassed it as hard as I could as soon as I came around.

Both of them stayed with me, and then Brian attacked and I did my best to keep his wheel.

As we neared the line the Simple Green racer came around me and I thought "Sweet! I'll have a 2 man lead-out for the finish." Wrong! As soon as he came between me and Brian he faded and a gap formed.

It wasn't that far to the line then, and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to close the distance before we crossed.

I gave it everything I had and I caught Brian maybe a hundred feet from the finish, passing on his far left and just keeping on going.

Apparently he didn't have a sprint in his legs, which was great for me because I don't think I had one in mine either.

I crossed, he was maybe a second back, and the Simple Green rider finished an impressive 3rd after doing close to a lap off the front.

Eric came through a couple minutes later in 7th, I got a sweet medal and we drove home to BBQ and have a beer.

Not a bad way to spend a Saturday!

Idyllwild Spring Challenge

2008-05-04T21:52:00.000-07:00

AWESOME race and a really good file to show for it too.
This was the Idyllwild Spring Challenge and I really liked the course because it has a little bit of altitude, hard steep, technical climbs, and technical descending.

Registration took longer than I thought it would (1 hr.) and I was worried that I wouldn't get to warm up. Maybe I wouldn't even make it to the start in time?
Luckily the friendly staff at the race took pity on me (and the other people in line) and they pushed the start time back... but that still only left enough time to kit up and use the restroom, with an extremely cursory warmup.
At that point I was pretty happy that it would be a long race (30+ miles).
Since I warmed up as late as possible and they started the Semi Pros with the Pros that meant I was pretty much in the dead-last starting position.
So then they said "go" and 5 sec. later we were in singletrack and I was behind an S-load of racers in a cloud of dust!
I just sat in, passing where I could get by without wasting too much energy until I caught up to Romolo Forcino and Jason Siegle, 2 fast local Semi Pro racers.
There was one other guy there with a CamelBak who I didn't know but who was strong, and he attacked and jumped off the front.
At the time I wasn't able to go with him but after a bit I felt okay so I went hard up a climb and over the top, with Romolo hot on my heels and Robert Herber (a local Pro who had stopped to help a downed racer) right behind us.
Romolo and I rode together, with him setting a fast pace through the tight singletrack, until the REALLY steep climb about an hour and a half into the race.
This section of course actually hit 17% grade at one point! Although it was fireroad it had been paved so that the trucks would have enough traction to get up it and to prevent erosion.
It was about a 16 minute climb but it was really hard and it was pretty much the last long climb in the race so I figured it was going to be where the selection would be made.
I just went as hard up it as I could without popping and I caught the guy with the CamelBak and got a gap on him and and Romolo as I went over the top with Robert Herber leading the way into the fast, loose singletrack.
Robert was going pretty well down the steep descent which suited me fine because I knew that Romolo (a good descender) would be looking to catch us.
I lost some speed in a sandy corner and Robert rode out of sight, but then he must've bobbled too because a minute later I passed him as he was getting up to speed and there was a cloud of dust there.
I was still thinking about Romolo, Jason Siegle and the CamelBak racer though, and I figured now would be my best chance to stay away because if Romolo caught me again I didn't think I'd be able to drop him.
At that point I thought I was in first place so I was pretty motivated and I imagined that Romolo would be working hard to catch me so I went super hard.
In the end it's a good thing that I did because it turned out there was another racer in front of me!
I don't know who he was but I know he was from AZ because he told me when I passed him.
He rode behind me for probably half an hour with both of us passing slower racers who had done a shorter loop every couple minutes.
The singletrack was very twisty and rolling and you had to keep pedalling the whole time.
It seemed like he wasn't quite as comfortable in those sections so I just tried to be smooth and not make any mistakes and after about half an hour the invisible rubber band connecting us stretched and broke.
At that point I really couldn't have been more motivated so I just drilled it all the way to the line, fighting off cramps and passing racers from other classes.
Again I just tried to be smooth and not make mistakes.
There was a long stretch of straigh asphalt after the last main descent (which is one of the funnest, coolest descents EVER) and I kept looking over my shoulder, paranoid that I'd see him and he'd see me and give chase... I didn't have a whole lot of energy left for that kind of battle by then!
I didn't see him, but I wasn't taking any chances so I hammered up the final climb as well as I could without cramping and gave everything I had in the last 2-3 minutes before the line.
When I crossed I asked if I was the first Semi-Pro but the officials didn't know so I had to wait for results.
I THOUGHT I had won though, and it turned out I was right!!!!

I got a really cool trophy made from a large piece of marble that had been engraved AND 500 bucks!!!
Definitely my best race to date!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sea Otter XC part 2

2008-04-26T13:19:00.000-07:00

Previously on Sea Otter part 1:
I had seen Boone chasing me and taken off like a scared bunny.

I passed the two guys I was working with and put as much time into my chasers as possible, catching my wife Brooke in the process.

The last section of the course was rolling single and double-track opening onto fireroad and I knew Alex was back there so I pushed hard, sprinting over all the rollers and passing when I had the chance.
About a minute after I hit the last LONG (after 2.5 hours racing) fireroad climb out of the valley and over the hill onto Laguna Seca I heard Alex yelling "I'm coming for you Lyle!!!!!!!!!!!!" and turned around to see the familiar Fisher blue of Boone, charging up the hill after me.
At that point, for us, there were only two people in the race. Him and me.
It was honestly the most exhausting, drag-race of a finish ever, with us drilling it for the line at warp, no, PAST warp speed. We may have hit PLAID:

Yep, plaid.
So there we were, racing each other for the line and I think it gave us the extra motivation that we needed because I kept seeing friends that had passed me early on (a nearly 3 hour race is pretty long!). Chris Brown, Romolo, Jason Siegle (YESSSS, sorry Jason but after the ass-kicking that you handed me at Fontana I was particularly happy to reel you in), finally it was one last all-out effort to make a last pass before the last singletrack, fast (but not to fast) as I could through the twistiness, a quick "Hi Cheryl!!!!" (and thanks for the pass) as I saw one of my teammates about to podium in her race, up the funky, gravelly, sketchy, loose, steep right hand turn and out onto the track where I semi-coasted for the line.
I kept looking back all the way down the track, completely relieved that I had enough of a gap that I didn't have to ride hard any more.
At the line I had my timing chip cut off and 45 seconds later Boone came in with only one guy separating us.
Then he and I and Cheryl cooled down together and Brooke and I went back to the hotel with the rest of our family to shower and check out.
We considered having lunch at this phoking place, just because the name was so phoking sweet:

We went back to the venue instead though, I had a beer or 2 with Team Bearclaw, we watched the end of the Pro race (nice job Sammy! 1st in ST and 2nd in XC. If they'd had an omnium you'd have crushed it.), said "hi" to friends (including the Bravo Condoms bulldog, the sweetest and possibly only condom spokesdog to ever ride a quad at Sea Otter), took care of some business and got the heck out of Dodge.

The drive back was scenic because we chose to head down along the coast, even though it adds a bit of time.
We stopped at Taco Temple, possibly the best restaurant in the universe.
We arrived home. We did not unpack. We slept.

Sea Otter XC part 1

2008-04-25T23:02:00.000-07:00

There were a lot of guys at Sea Otter (as usual) but I barely had time to look around before we were off!
The race course starts (also as usual) on the Laguna Seca race track.
I occasionally glimpsed Alex, John McKeen or Jason as we made our way around the track to the climb up and onto the dirt.
Unfortunately John and Jason were forced to abandon the race due to John's previous injuries falling out of a plane and Jason's STDs.
Where was I?
Oh yeah, up the hill off the track and onto the dirt: so I elbowed my way (literally) into a decent position during the drag race to the dirt and was close enough to the front to avoid the bottleneck effect of seventy-some racers all trying to be the first person through 2 tight switchbacks.
After that it was all-out up several rolling fireroad climbs and descents where I could see Blake Harlan (having a good race and on his way to a top 10 finish) but could not catch him.

blakeotter.jpg, originally uploaded by blake.harlan.

As we all entered the singletrack it was pretty much 70 racers, wheel to wheel! It was a hell of a train.
The trail was fast and loose and after going into a corner a bit hot and digging in my front wheel I lost about 6 spots in the blink of an eye. After I realized that waiting for an opening was not an option unless I was willing to wait while 50 or more riders passed I just jumped in, remounting 'cross style. Sorry whoever I cut off, LOL. That was my only dab in the race though and from then on I held my own in the singletrack and descents, even making several passes on an extremely sandy (think "beach") descent where a few riders were so confused they were barely moving.
I fell in with other racers here and there but ended up slowly dropping people as I steadily moved up through the race.
Things were sort of kicked into gear about halfway through the second lap when I looked over my shoulder as we dropped into a rolling singletrack section and saw Alex Boone and a group of about 15 others about twenty or thirty seconds behind.
Nothing lights a fire under you like seeing your own teammate catching you!....

Stay tuned next time for the exciting conclusion to my Sea Otter XC race.

Sea Otter ST.

2008-04-24T23:00:00.000-07:00

For once it was actually a DRY Sea Otter, and the Short Track course was dry and fast, although it was rough enough for most of the course that I was wishing I had a full suspension rig between my legs!
Sam Schultz actually WON his ST shortly after I placed 10 in mine.
I had a nice warmup that included stopping to share a bit of John McKeen's beer. This was possibly the highlight of my Sea Otter Short Track experience.
But I digress...

The race started. I went fast up the inside. Jason Lowetz was there, and he went fast too. Note the Team Bearclaw custom paintjob?

Right off the line the course headed uphill and then took a sharp right and went back down.
Jason and I were in pretty ok positions and for the first half of the first lap it looked like we might win the race.

^^^^^This is a picture of me, being chased by a lot of people on bikes.
Unfortunately, as we headed into the second half of the first lap things unraveled.
It started with the guy in front of Jason bobbling on a tiny, off-camber hill section and due to an unforseeable chain of events, ended with Jason suffering from possible multiple STD's and almost getting pulled.

When the hill-bobble occurred I was behind Jason and had time to slow up for a sec, change direction slightly and take a line to the inside left of the clusterf*ck exploding in front of me, but exploding DIRECTLY in front of Jason.
Podium: Matt Googe had a good ride and got to stand on the wood.

After that, the group splintered until there were about 3 guys off the front, then a chase group, then another small group and then me, towing a teammate from Utah and being chased by a whole bunch of bike racers.

It stayed like that for a bit and then I dropped Utah, tried (unsuccessfully) to catch the group ahead of me, tried (successfully) not to get passed and finished the race in 10th place.
Fin.

Turns out it was 10th.

2008-04-21T23:24:00.000-07:00

Tenth place in Short Track and 15th in XC.
At the race they posted my XC placing as 14th but someone must've protested because the online results say 15th. At least I am still top 15, LOL.
I will post a race report as soon as I get some pics up, but basically I was heckled into the top 15 by Alex Boone who was charging up the last climb about 45 seconds behind me yelling "I'm coming for you Lyle!".
Between him chasing and me running like a scared little bee-yotch I think we passed about 10 people in the last 10 minutes of racing.

Sea Otter Short Track.

2008-04-19T17:09:00.000-07:00

The course was rough but dry. I finished somewhere between 8th and 10th? Tired now and going to take a shower.

Call to arms...er, legs?

2008-04-17T06:24:00.000-07:00

Racers and Chasers. Vail Lake. May 10th. Be there.

This weekend I drove out to Vail Lake for one of the Racers and Chasers series races and I realized what MTB is missing!
Racers and Chasers is a local series that caters to the RACERS. The course was typical So-Cal, dry with some sand, rolling and fast and despite the heat that day and the fact that there was a last minute course re-routing due to high winds it was fun, well marked and challenging, with lots of serpentine singletrack and a several short, steep climbs.

The thing that makes this race so cool though is that it is run more like a local 'cross or road race that is put on by racers, for racers.
The entry fees are rediculously fair at only 20 bucks each on the day of! Maybe less if you register online?

For elite racers there is full payback (don't quote me on that, but there is DEFINITELY prize money paid out...). Try finding THAT at one of So-Cal's typical races, races that are put on for profit by large promoters.
I am still trying to figure out why I'm paying 91 bucks for Sea Otter XC and 75 for Short Track???? WTF. I know for a fact that I won't see a dollar of that money ever again, even if I win both races.
Add to that the gas, parking(?) fees, hotel or campsite fees and you've got yourself a pretty f'ing expensive weekend!
I am now officially looking forward to doing the next Racers and Chasers event on May 10th, where I won't have to drive as far, the racing is just as fun and some of the money makes it's way back to the riders who deserve it.

So to recap: Just as much fun, cheaper, win some gas money(if you have good legs that day), BBQ (I know, I forgot to mention that I am planning on BBQing at the lake after), ANNNNNDDDDDD... May 10th. BE THERE.

Energy Legs. I need them.

2008-04-16T12:08:00.000-07:00

Yes, I want to be uncomfortably energetic.

By request:

2008-04-15T18:08:00.000-07:00

Team stuff is here:

This is some new stuff mixed with some old. The cranks are not team issue though, they are just in my house because they are broken and I'm going to take them to Sea Beaver in the hopes that Crank Bro's will be there.

More stuff:

More stuff:

Of course I recognize that this is possibly the most anti-climactic post in history, a messy bunch of boxes of $#!T in my living room but apparently it was promised to the masses of Cycling Life readers (all six, hi Mom) by my other (better) half, so here it is.

Again, I apologize for the anti-climactic nature of this post. It was not my intention. Rest assured that here at Cycling Life blogging headquarters we always aim to climax.

AZ NORBA... omnium? stage-race?

2008-04-07T23:56:00.000-07:00

We started out to the race on Wednesday by driving to Sedona, where John, Mary, Brooke and I ended up at the Comfort Inn. It was the cheapest place we could find, but it turned out have super comfy beds and included breakfast!

After breakfast the four of us met up with Mike and Alexandra, and we all kitted up.

By the time we started riding though, my tummy was rumbling and the pizza place I'd seen in town was calling me back.

It all worked out though because after just a few minutes of riding we realized 2 things: This was going to be a much harder ride than the easy hour of spinning that my training plan called for, and that this was going to be a much harder ride than would be fun for Mary, who had only done MTB a handful of times (even though she is crazy enough to run, bike and swim for 8 hours or something!)

Needless to say, I was stoked. After a few minutes of bargaining with my wife, it was decided that we would get pizza!
The pizza place was great, and we had soup and salad too. While we ate and drank ginger ale we watched the lizards that were crawling on the patio wall, until it started to rain and we moved inside and sat at the bar.

After lunch Brooke and Mary and I had a great ride and found a really neat trail called the Templeton Trail.

We all met up a couple of hours later and went to the grocery store where we got dinner fixin's, then went back to Mike and Alexandra's cabin where we all cooked, ate, and hung out.

John and Mary stayed in one of the rooms at the cabin that night, but Brooke and I set out on our own adventure!

After we left, we drove down the road looking for a nice place to camp and ended up in a really nice spot next to a river:

...and under a flowering plum (?) tree.
The ground was flat and soft.

The next morning our truck wouldn't start (yikes) no matter what we did. It sounded like the starter motor had a sticky solenoid.
It had hesitated earlier in the trip, but nothing like the complete refusal to start that it was doing now.
We figured that maybe it would turn over once it warmed up, so we left the sun beating on the hood and rode our bikes up the road to the cabin for coffee on the balcony overlooking the river.

Several cups of coffee later we rode back to the car, felt the hood (nice and warm) and it started right up.

We packed and headed to Fountain Hills, but because of traffic on the way we didn't get to check into our hotel OR preride the course as planned.
We had to go straight to the venue, get our numbers and ride to the start, AANNNNNDDDDDDD...... wait. In hindsight, we could've pre-ridden after all, oh well.

And that's how the racing started.

The Super-D was really just a TT. It was all out for 16 minutes if you were Geoff Kabush or 18 and a half minutes if you were me.

That put me in 24th-ish place, about 30 seconds behind the stage winner (I think, if you want precision try cyclingnews.com).

The next day I watched a friend race in the Expert Short Track (Go Wes!!!) and then we pre-rode the XC course, I drank some water and narrowly missed out on a call-up for ST. They called up the top 20.

I started as hard as I could and I think I was around 30th of 50-60 riders. The first turn everything kind of bunched up and I could be wrong (correct me if I am Papo) but I think my teammate Papo kind of got "pinched" on the wrong side of the turn and ended up having to fight his way through the back of the field.

Meanwhile, I was yo-yoing around in the middle. I couldn't quite catch up to a Rock Lobster racer but I trailed behind him until a Content Works rider caught me. I figured I'd suck his wheel but when I looked back I saw that he was pulling 2 other riders!

I figured I had better suck it up and attack then because there was only 1 1/2 laps to go.

It was a long gradual uphill (about 300 meters?) and then a hairpin 180 and around 50 meters to the start/finish. I just drilled it all the way to the top, sprinted around the turn and down past the start/finish line, and when I looked back I had a good sized gap. Yay!

After that there was a slightly winding descent for a minute, through the sand, and then sharp left into a run-up (or if you had a clear line and were feeling brave, a steep hill to impress spectators by riding.)

When I got to the sharp left section I leaned a bit to make the turn and my bike sort of flop-wobbled in a mostly straight but kinda leftish direction, telling my oxygen deprived brain that my front tire was a LOT mushier then it had been earlier in the race. Shit.

I lost about half of my gap to the 3 chasers with my incredibly awkward dismount and redirection of bike (and body) toward the runup and the other half of the gap was lost while I rode gingerly up the hill to the final turn, trying not to put any weight on the front wheel and not to turn unless I REALLY had to. The 3 chasers all passed me.

I made the last turn in slow motion, praying that I had time to get to the line before ANOTHER rider passed me. As soon as I had my bike pointed at the finish line I gave it all I had and nobody else caught me... although I'm pretty sure that if he had seen my flat tire he would've had all the incentive he needed to pass me.

Anyway, I think I got 25th place and since I got so lucky with my tire and was able to finish with only 3 riders passing me I really can't complain.

When I got back to the hotel I looked at my HRM file and figured that I was overtrained: my HR for the race was under 170!

The next day we raced at 8 and since there was only call-up for the top 20, Papo and I had to crawl our way up from the back.

I got lucky with my start because I was all the way over on the right side when someone stepped out of their pedal or something (?) and there was a huge cluster-f--k in the middle of the pack.

Anyway, it slowed down a lot of the group and helped me get up toward the front without my having to work too much for it.

It was a particular advantage on this course because there was NO place to pass for the next 9.5 miles.

My first lap was pretty strong but I started to fade at the end of it, with my back feeling really tight.

Towards the end of the 2nd lap a certain friend of mine from Ohio caught up to me and towed me for a bit until we caught another rider. I started to feel a bit better then, and I decided that it was now or never so I took him up on his offer to pass.

As we went into a turn, he went high and I went low. It got a little exciting then because with the speed of the turn, the centrifical (?) force pushed me up and out on the berm, and with a cloud of sand flying up I narrowly missed taking us both out!

I yelled something to him about getting "RAD" and he yelled something back about "lucky" and "would've punched you in the head".

I figured he was glued to my wheel but I tried to drop him anyway, and I caught a break (I think) when I went to pass the next semi-pro in line and the guy blew straight through a right hand turn, letting me pass but (I think) getting back on the trail in front of my buddy/nemesis.

After that it was just a drag race for the next 5-7 miles, with us both passing at least 5 or 6 semi-pro's and a handful of other racers before him finishing just one rider behind me.

I barely had time to open my Gatorade before Papo came rolling in with a semi-mangled rear derailleur due to some tool rear-ending him out on the course.

I'm guessing he had to put his single-speed skillz to work since he couldn't get onto the big end of his cassette?

I didn't flat though and I don't think Papo did either. After my triple flat last year I carried 3 tubes and a handful of CO2.

There were plenty of things to flat on though, and several of them ended up in my leg. You can see one glinting in the sun. I didn't notice until after the race though.

Then we went for an easy spin up the road with some other racers to cool down our legs and that's all she wrote.

Frogskins:

2008-03-31T00:26:00.000-07:00

I want some. White would be preferable.

Oakley, you have never looked better.

A veritable blogging whirlwind...

2008-03-29T23:07:00.000-07:00

is going on over at Kitty Bait. Pretty much a post every day for the last week, and I don't mind saying that puts me to shame.
Stop it guys. It's not funny and it's making me look lazy.

...meow.
Seriously though, check it out for a good read.

Raced NORBA #1 today at Fontana.
Supposedly there was going to be a call up based on last years results, which meant I would be in the first row.
In reality they decided not to do it, so when I showed up for my call up I pretty much just sat there 'till they rolled everyone to the line and started in the back, hmmmm.
Didn't really matter much since I didn't have the legs to make the most of a first row call up anyhow. They pretty much just saved me the embarrassment of going from first row to DFL in the first 60 seconds of racing, LOL. Thanks guys.
There were about 60 (a guess) riders in the Semi field and I got 14th so I guess I can't complain... HA!
Anyone who knows me knows that I can complain about anything!
Team Big Bear (a great group of guys) made a slight mis-calculation when they started the Expert women 27 minutes after the Semi Pro men.
With laps at around 35 minutes we started wading through the Expert ladies early in our second lap.
Not fun for them (they came to race, paid their money [$65.00] and deserved to have some fun) and not fun for us (we are mostly a bunch of dorks but still deserve to have good race for our 3900 combined dollars.)
Also, the sun was too hot, the air was too cold, the dirt was too dirty, the rocks were too rocky and my back hurt.
Other than that it would've been a great race.............................if I had won.

Just for the record:

2008-03-25T16:55:00.000-07:00

If L.A. is full of Snake Plisskens:

Then Ohio must be full of Drew Careys:

I'd bet dollars (the preferred currency of Snake Plissken) to donuts (the preferred currency of Drew Carey) that Snake would win every time in a bike race.

I'm not riding tomorrow and I can't wait.

2008-03-24T00:07:00.000-07:00

100 miles today to top off a week of more than 20 hours.
The shenanigans of Team Bearclaw kept the ride entertaining.
Met Eric at the Bowl and we rode out to a coffee shop in San Dimas... we just happened to meet up with Dan and Jason Lowetz, Jesse, Aram and rode together to the coffee shop to meet Alejandro, Keith and Mike T.
We had coffee and rode to GMR for a few laps of the TT course, then over to ride the RR course through Bonelli, back to the coffee shop for lunch and then home.
It was hot.

Drink it in ladies...

2008-03-17T17:41:00.000-07:00

More Keyesville fun:

Not Photoshopped, I actually look this good:

I lost track of all the ladies who wanted their picture taken with me. Here's one pic, taken at random:

Another babe:

K-Ville!

2008-03-17T00:53:00.000-07:00

My first time at Keyesville! Thanks for letting me know what a cool race it is Dave and Papo.
Brooke and I had fun camping and Dave, Brooke, Alex and I got to have a blast on a beautiful, fun course.
Alex and I started together on the first of 4 laps and were pacing ourselves pretty well until we got stuck behind 4 or so other racers.
I got around at the end of lap one and Alex got stuck behind for a while.
Once I got around I just kept going until I saw Dave yelling at me to hurry up and catch a guy who was right up the road at the end of my last lap... I gave it everything I had left (thanks Dave!) but I finished just 4 seconds behind him.
Alex was hot on my heels, I think we finished within one or two riders of each other.
Brooke put in a massive effort in her race (her longest ever), but I'll let her tell the details.
To everyone who couldn't make it, it's definitely a race worth going to!
Pics tomorrow and maybe more details if anything comes to mind.

Ohhhhhh SNAP!!!!!!...

2008-03-12T21:17:00.000-07:00

Bonelli was rough on Sunday.
I can't remember the last time I had to actually WALK my bike up a hill for no reason other than the fact that I was too weak to pedal.
The lowest moment in the race was when Alex Boone passed me like I was standing still and I had to get off and walk.
The highest moment was when I saw Alex again at the end and I realized I wasn't the only one having a rough day.

In only marginally related news, Chepe Garcia (Toyota-United) was victorious in the Mexican National TT Championship!!!!!!!!!!
Can't wait to see him race in his new custom jerseys.

Congratulations Chepe! I will be crossing my fingers for you to make it to the Olympics.

I tired.

2008-02-07T21:15:00.000-08:00

Up by 6, riding at 6:30 for 2.5 hours, met the team at 9, rode until 3 (stopped and ate). I tired.

Epic ride tomorrow...

2008-02-06T22:55:00.000-08:00

I'll post how it goes...

In the meantime you might find this hilarious:

Humour: Tips for becoming a roadie
By Elden Nelson, The Fat Cyclist

As a mountain biker, you have no doubt noticed an entirely different kind of rider from time to time: the road cyclist. You have probably heard that many pro mountain bikers train on the road, due to the improved power, stamina, and pedaling technique road cycling yields.
Perhaps you've noticed how elegant and svelte a good road bike looks, and have thought to yourself 'I wouldn't mind riding on the road.'
Well, good for you.
However, my mountain biking friend, there are seven vital things you should know before you hit the road, so to speak.
1. Your bike is different.
As a mountain biker, you are used to putting your back into it when you need to lift the thing onto a bike rack, over a log, or so forth. My own preferred method is to use the 'Clean and Jerk.' If you use similar force when lifting a road bike, there's a good chance you'll accidentally throw it over a building.
Also, you need to pump the tires up harder. Much harder. No, even harder than that. Generally, in fact, it takes the weight of two or three 'roadies' (an endearing term road cyclists like to call themselves) to push down hard enough on a standard floor pump to get the tires to the proper pressure.
How do you know when a road tire is inflated to the proper pressure? The answer is simple: it's hard enough when one single more stroke of the pump will blow it off the rim. The real art is, naturally, in knowing whether you've reached that point...

For the rest of the story go HERE, it's definitely worth it!

Why I train...

2008-01-25T17:54:00.000-08:00

Ass kickings.

I train to avoid them. Some times it goes better than others.

It's been raining a lot lately, but it's still SoCal and I haven't had to ride my trainer... sometimes it just makes the ride that much better!
The past couple of days I've thrown down several rides between 3 and 4.5 hours and although it was wet, I was able to choose sandy trails that drain well (so they don't get damaged by traffic while they're wet) and it wasn't so cold I was miserable.

Although it will leave me with no excuse if I later get an Ass Kicking by someone from a snowy location who's been riding a trainer all winter, Ahhhhmmmmmohioah!, excuse me, I will continue to be consoled by the fact that I get to enjoy fantastic riding all year round.

Last weekend I recieved 3 different levels of Ass Kickings at 3 different races but was fortunate enough to win money in all 3, which took a lot of sting out of the potential humiliation I would've felt. Who says you can't buy happiness?

3rd on the road, 15th at a UCI 'cross race the same day and the next day I got 5th in the Open class at the "ABR National Cyclocross Championship" which was also 1st in the 19-29 age range, making me (according to ABR) a National Champion. That's right, you heard correctly.

Now, at this point you may be asking "What the hell is ABR? Didn't they already have a National Championship in Kansas?" you may also be asking, "Where the hell did this supposed National Championship take place"

Well, the answers are: I don't know, yes, and I'm not telling because I'm relying heavily on anonymity to help me defend my title next year.

Never thought I'd see the day...

2008-01-11T18:17:00.000-08:00

Are Heather Irmiger and Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski drinking wine from a box?

My jaw hit the deck faster than you can say "Franzia"
The answer to this and many other questions can be found at Heather's new blog: HERE, or click on the link in the "links" section on the right side of the page.

The Devolution of Alex Boone.

2008-01-10T01:05:00.000-08:00

While riding slowly (enough to have too much time to think) I realized a few facts about Boone and put them together. Correct me if I'm wrong Boone but:

1. Alex is staunchly anti-roadie. By that I don't mean that if you are a roadie he won't like you, just that if I switched to the road and Alex was a violent man he would let the air out of my tires when I wasn't looking.

2. Alex used to primarily race and ride a full suspension bike with 27 gears and 100mm travel on the fork(?).

3. Alex customized his cassete to change it from 9 speed to 8.

4. Alex customized his cranks to change it from 3 to 2, resulting in a 16 speed.

5. Alex got a single-speed, resulting in 1 (one) speed. Like a track bike, except not fixed...yet. It has only 80mm of travel.

6. It is a hard tail. Like a road bike... or a track bike.

7. It is a 29er, or a 700c wheel. Like a track bike.

8. Alex's tire choice went from a Karma (wide-ish deep-ish knobs) to a Nevegal (bigger smoother knobs congregating in the center) to a Small Block 8, (I admit that it is a very good, very functional tire, but...) it is made of so many short smooth tiny knobs, so close together that it looks like it could be a hybrid tire or dare a I say a knobby road tire?

9. Alex's tires went from tubed to tubeless.

10. Alex didn't race, Alex started racing, Alex started training, Alex got faster, and faster, etc.

In short:

Alex's bike went from full suspension to hard-tail: I see stiffer and stiffer hard tails in his future.

Alex's wheels went from 26 (650c) to 700c (29): the same as road wheels. I sense this change is permanent.

Alex's fork went from 100 to 80 to... I see fully rigid in his future.

Alex's tires went from wide-ish, deep-ish, biggish knobs to small-short-close: I see the knobs getting smaller and closer until only an even smooth surface remains.

His tires also went from a wider 26 inch to a narrower 29 inch. This trend towards narrowness will continue, slowing at 25mm wide and topping out at around 22mm wide.

Alex has been training and racing more and getting steadily faster. I see a continuation of this trend towards faster-ness in his future.

He switched from inner tubes to tubeless: I see sew-ups (tubular) in his future.

Alex's gears went from 27 to 24 to 16 to 1: I see fixed gear in his future.

Conclusion: ALEX IS SLOWLY BECOMING A TRACKIE! I PREDICT OLYMPIC TRACK GOLD IN HIS FUTURE.

Choices, choices...

2008-01-03T21:56:00.000-08:00

It's a new year, and that means that it's time to choose a new BIKE for next season... I need help choosing though.
I'll tell you my problem. I am too slow to get the new Superfly... if that was an option I would be posting (boasting) about my next bike instead of agonizing over which frame to pick.
Since choosing the Superfly is out of the question, I have to pick between this:

And this:

Of course, you have to keep in mind that the pictures are only for you to see the FRAME. The bike I get will be painted differently and have completely different parts.
I had the 29er hardtail last year and it served me very well, so I wouldn't mind having another one of those, but the new HiFi XC looks pretty neat too.
The 29er I had last year was built up at 22.5 lbs and the new frame is .5 lbs lighter so that would be pretty sweet to race. The new frame is also stiffer in the BB and is supposed to handle better.
The HiFi XC frame weighs 2350 gr. with shock and hardware, close to a pound more than the 29er HT... but wheels will be lighter, and tires too and it's full suspension.
Anyway, you can check out the HiFi XC here:
http://www.fisherbikes.com/bike/model/procaliber-xc
and you can see the Paragon 29er here:
http://www.fisherbikes.com/bike/model/paragon/tech
Please let me know what you think by leaving a comment or emailing me!!!!

Gone to Mexico...

2007-12-16T22:37:00.000-08:00

See you all next year.
Today Brooke and I each got 3rd place in our cyclocross races.

Tony Cruz (Discovery Channel) won the Pro men's race followed by Brandon Gritters (Rock 'n road) and Lyle Warner (Team Bearclaw).
I led out the first couple laps (more or less anyway, it was all kind of a blur) before pedal planting in a turn and falling to mid-pack.
Clawed my way back to the lead group but by then Tony Cruz and Brandon Gritters had opened up a gap.
I thought we could close down the gap but by that time it was only me, Chris DeMarchi and another racer, we'll call him Mr. X.
DeMarchi wasn't willing to work because Gritters was his team-mate so I ended up doing all the chasing! I felt good today though and was able to stay on the front and keep attacking, trying to drop DeMarchi and Mr. X and trying to close the gap to Gritters and Cruz. Unfortunately I couldn't do it alone, but I kept the gap at the same time for the whole damn race so I really wish I hadn't pedal-planted!!!!!!!!
With the way I felt today, if I could've sat on Cruz' wheel like a little Biatch instead of getting out in the wind and chasing I might have been able to improve on my 3rd place finish.
Still, I was happy with my form and even though I wasn't able to shake DeMarchi (he rode a super solid, smart race) and Mr. X off my tail I was fast over the barriers on the last lap and held a tiny gap to the line! Exciting stuff!
All in all it was a fun time and even though most of my team-mates are in Kansas (look on cyclingnews.com for pics of Chet!!!!!) I made sure that the crowd heard a lot about Team Bearclaw during the race and even had a media guy come over and ask about who we were and what the team was about.
Here's some pics and vids fo' yo' ass:

First lap.

Through the barriers.

Me, DeMarchi and Mr. X.

Tony Cruz and Brandon Gritters

Riding the runup.

Cruz leads the runup and Gritters muscles it over the top!

DeMarchi and me, you can even see some post-pedal-plant blood on my knee.

Sprint for 3rd.

Podium.

Some Storm the Beach sweetness:

2007-12-15T23:06:00.000-08:00

Chet flew the whole team to Hawaii for a fun cyclocross race in the sun.

It was hard racing in the sand. There was a lot of running!

Things were a little hairy at the start and I hung back to avoid any accident.
After a long straight into a headwind it turned sharp to the right and downhill. I was able to move up in the field along the left side.
I was in the lead group and everyone was smooth along the back twisty muddy section until we hit some deep sand at speed!
A few people went down in front of me but I ran around and made my way to the beach where the waves made the sand firm enough to ride on.

Brent Prenzlow had come clear of the tangle in the sand along with Jason Lowetz.
Me and a few others tried to close the gap but only Fritz Bottger got across.
After that it was slow and steady for me and Tony Cruz, moving our way up through the field.

We passed Jason and John Bailey and Mike McMan (one of the best technically! Hammered through the sand) until it was just us behind (30 secs) Fritz, John Beherens and Brent Prenzlow.
Eventually I got a gap through the sand on the 2nd to last lap and held it to the line.
It was a really tough field and definitely my best result yet!

The Elite men.

I was able to make good time on Tony Cruz (Discovery Channel) in the sand and it allowed me to beat him even though he is a stronger rider.

Balls out into the sand at Storm the Beach.

Jason "whoo's!" through the sand.

McKeen smooth over the barriers.

Me and John Bailey over the barrers. It's windy at the beach!

Podium. I finally got to spray beer on all my friends. 4th place and I'll take it! It was a tough field.

Storm the Beach!

2007-12-10T14:46:00.000-08:00

The setting of my latest 'cross race was 2nd to none. It was nice to race in such a pretty place, and the fact that I had good legs and the course was technical and suited me didn't hurt either.

More to come...

A Note on the California State 'Cross Champs

2007-12-08T13:50:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately the best part of this trip will forever remain undocumented... let's just say that Team Bearclaw got their "crunk juice" on at the local cowboy bar, the Crystal Palace.
We will surmise that the band AND the patrons of this fine establishment will never forget the dancing and carousing they witnessed that night.
It will be talked about for many years to come.
Also, this conversation could be overheard amidst the line dancing:
"Where y'all from?"
"L.A."
"L.A.?!?... Ya'll 're such DORKS we though you were from Sweden 'er sumthin'"
"We're bike racers"

California State 'Cross Champs

2007-12-03T12:47:00.000-08:00

The racing was tough, I got 5th both days and I made some $ chedda' $
Here's sort of a photo review, if you were at the races and don't see a photo here just click on one and it'll take you to my Flickr page.

The runup: there was a really steep runup that was ridden by a select few. The mantastic athletes of Team Bearclaw were among them.

Here's video of the runup. Tony Cruz (Discovery Channel) is hot on my heels... I was barely able to beat him despite the fact that A: cyclocross is not his specialty, and B: I'm guessing he rode about 30 hours in the week leading up to this race. Strong.
I believe he'll ride for BMC next year.

Jason rides the runup... The most impressive thing about this video is that AS he's riding over the crest he leans down and picks up a dollar so smoothly that I missed it the first few times I saw the video!

Fruits of my labor...

Back by popular demand: Alex was so endearing at the races that people requested he wear his "cheer gear" to the awards banquet (?).

Podium. Lotsa Bearclaw... check the glasses and the facial hair. Jason's boots were a special treat.

Podium. Brooke won some sweet prizes and took 3rd in her race. I look forward to reading about it on her blog.

Jeff Herring had a good race and came in 2nd.

Alex stepped his game up to race Elite.

Dolla' bill ya'll.

Daniel raced Elite too!

John and I chased each other around the course.

Alex the heckler

Fritz over the barriers while Dorothy Wong films it. Fritz was leading the race for a while and gets huge man points for taking 2nd in a very impressive field.

And the beer flowed like wine.

How many f**kin' teams is Chet sponsoring?

2007-11-21T03:17:00.000-08:00

Battle of the Bearclaws!
When I saw this video, I have to admit: my first thought was "what the f**k is this s**t?!?!?!"
But I guess a little competition can be healthy.
You decide.

RAWR!

Urban 'Cross.

2007-11-20T01:58:00.000-08:00

Ned Overend showed up for one of socal's Urban 'Cross races.
Jason is off the front in this video, and I am the 2nd rider to come by. Ned is right behind me.
Fritz won the race and Jason got 2nd, so Bearclaw topped the podium pretty convincingly. Ned rounded out the top 3.

There should be pictures of the race popping up on SoCalCycling.com and the Back On Track site.
I'll post them if I see 'em!

Eco Cross!

2007-11-12T21:02:00.000-08:00

I normally try to fill this blog with pictures of myself because I'm really, REALLY good looking. Unfortunately I was moving at such incredibly high speed that I was almost impossible to catch on film.
Subsequently, I am substituting a photo of someone equally good looking and almost as fast, who had the incredible good fortune to marry an extremely talented photographer...

My wife Brooke:

A few more shots:

Ben B.
This is one of the better pics I've taken

And the barriers...

And the obligatory "railing a corner" pic:

The "corner pic" came out really good too!

I tried to write a post but I just can't think...

2007-11-01T13:28:00.000-07:00

Cuz She's a Balla'...

2007-10-25T00:28:00.000-07:00

...I had to ride.

Yesterday's was the first workout in a LONG time that I have a file for!
Thanks to Hunter getting on my case and making me get my Power-Tap hub fixed, and thanks to Hector at Velo for doing the work!
Hector is hands down the best mechanic I know.
I didn't ride the day before because the air was so bad, after my jog/walk I was sick of breathing it... yesterday wasn't much better but I decided to brave it. Especially since I couldn't talk Brooke out of riding and I figured I'd look like a sissy bitch if she went and I didn't!
The workout didn't seem like much, but there are massive fires all over our area and if you stand in one spot for a few minutes you will get a light dusting of ash!
It wasn't worth driving because I would have to go several hours away befor the air would improve.
I decided to ride outdoors and play it by ear... my lungs felt okay, probably because I kept the intensity LOW and never had to take deep breaths. I definitely think that the ride did a lot more GOOD than harm.
It was less time and intensity than Hunter had planned, but I think it was about as good as could be expected.
They reported that the fires raised temperatures locally by 10 degrees... that seems like a lot but maybe not impossible.

Words to live by...

2007-10-24T23:16:00.001-07:00

Here's a few quotes to get you pumped up and keep you motivated to train, race and win:

"Pain fades and chicks dig scars. But glory, glory lasts forever."

"Your best? Losers whine about doing their best, winners go home and f**k the prom queen"

"I'm the best there is, plain and simple. I mean, I wake up in the morning and I piss excellence. You know, nobody can hang with my stuff. I'm just a--just a big, hairy, American winning machine."

I don't personally care about the first two, but I strive to live by the 3rd.

The UCI license paid off: I won 80 bucks over the weekend racing 'cross, which is good 'cause I'm broke.

Funniest Ever??

2007-10-19T09:30:00.000-07:00

I laughed out loud:

...then I went riding.

Got UCI license today so I can race Dam 'Cross. It's a gamble, but I'm hoping to win back the money it cost for the license (that expires at the end of the year) and come out ahead.

Podium Sweep, Fight for Kisses.

2007-10-16T14:06:00.000-07:00

Chet this out:

At last weekends P.V. 'Cross race Fritz, Jason and I swept the podium for Team Bearclaw.
Jason hit the gas right of the line and pulled away from the whole group immediately. Fritz and I hung back for about two laps and then Fritz attacked and I stayed. After Fritz had gone clear I hung with the 3 other riders that had stayed together until I felt like I could break away and then attacked. Fritz had caught Jason and they were working together ahead of me. With about 5 or 6 laps to go I did my best to catch them, (they were safely clear and had sat up a bit) but couldn't get to them before the finish.
Thanks to J.L.'s cheering I was super pumped and I knew we could go 1,2,3 on the podium so I kicked out the jams to stay away from the hard chasing John Bailey.
Our 4th teammate John McKeen was steadily moving up from a tough start and after having a pedal/foot coordination issue (every 'crosser's been there) he was JUST edged out on the money spots.
The podium sweep was Mantastic and we all went out for a meal on Chet.
Until next weekend I'll be training harder than the baby in Fight for Kisses. Be inspired:

Nat Ross crucified...

2007-10-12T16:55:00.000-07:00

...for the best moment of 'Cross Vegas:

This is my response regarding the promoters attacks on Nat for his "transgression":

Nat, you are my hero... I've never seen such a smooth beer feed in my life.
The organizers of that event need to recognize that the sheer PROness of that hand off eleveted their race to an HNL ('hole 'nutha level).
At the time of this writing, the race promoters who "scolded" you are dead to me.
There is a slim chance that I will acknowledge their existence in the future.
For instance, if they were to realize the error of their ways, and (after apologizing) create the "Nat Ross Award", given to the rider who creates the singularly "most PRO" moment in the race.
As you did.

-Lyle

Here are some links if you'd like to find out more:

mbword

How to Avoid the Bummer Life #1

How to Avoid the Bummer Life #2

It makes me so proud...

2007-10-10T13:07:00.001-07:00

to be a cyclist. Hahahaha!

the PROest thing I've ever seen...

2007-10-09T12:29:00.000-07:00

I honestly can't believe my eyes. I have new respect for Contador...
This is not a new video but I recently came across it on Youtube.
I think I first saw it on Belgiumkneewarmers (great site!) a while back.

Fritz on the box!

2007-10-08T11:33:00.000-07:00

Team Bearclaw's Fritz B. placed 3rd in yesterday's so-cal cyclocross series Veteran's Park race.
We are all stunned, but proud of Fritz. Especially his mom.
There are rumors circulating that say Fritz was rewarded for his efforts with a high-five from Chet Bearclaw himself, and that hot babes everywhere are taking notice.

There are also rumors that his win was directly related to the awesome power of his "stunna'" shades.

Ah, to be young again...

2007-10-07T23:36:00.000-07:00

And to be the National Individual Pursuit champion and junior World TT Champ.
At 17.

Visit Velonews.com for more.

Adam eats pizza, Decker bunny-hops.

2007-10-06T11:30:00.000-07:00

The title of this post pretty much says it all. It's funny to see the leaders killing themselves, while the rest of the field drinks beer, grabs money and just generally fucks around!
Cody Peterson gets some good camera time too.

Tomorrow is 'cross again. Last week I won a few bucks. This week I've been sick but I'll try to win money again because, well... I need it.

A few great things about 'cross...

2007-10-05T10:11:00.000-07:00

And about 'Cross Vegas.

The fans...

'Cross hooligans... none better.

Coverage! More media attention means more money. More money means more job opportunities. More job opportunities means... oh, you get the picture.

BIG BALLA' AWARD GOES TO...

It was a close race...
When you are rollin' on a Vanilla Cycles custom 'cross frame, in full skinsuit glory and you've got dollar bills tucked up in your helmet, you're pretty fuckin' tough to beat...

...Unfortunately...

...When you're the MTB National champion and you've got a small fortune spilling out of BOTH legs of your skinsuit you are pretty B.A.

Throw in a truly epic tan line and you are downright untouchable.

Definition of 'Cross:

2007-10-04T22:03:00.000-07:00

"...you time trial until you feel really sick and hope the finish comes before you die." --Allen Lin

Jason at 'Cross Vegas feeling the full effect of the spongy grass!

gettin' paid

2007-10-03T00:56:00.000-07:00

Decker.

Cody Peterson grabbing bills.

Adam Craig has so much cash in his pants he looks like a man-whore.

Fritz is rockin' it with the big boys. Note the impressive wad of cash already in the leg of his shorts.

My living room.

2007-10-02T00:52:00.000-07:00

It's a lifestyle.

Note the TRP carbon canti's. The beer is on top of my "ti parts" horde.

You know you're jealous.

Doyle Diamond Sucks...

2007-10-01T23:39:00.000-07:00

But thanks for supporting Team Bearclaw.

Visit his craphole of a blog by clicking HERE or on the link at the right of your page. It's the link that says "biggest craphole of a blog in history".

the multiple experiences of interbike.

2007-09-30T16:59:00.000-07:00

Kabush and friends know how to party. That ain't no sissy beer.

Easy on the eyes.

Yikes.

Roll Models

2007-09-05T20:23:00.000-07:00

Dreams really do come true. With perseverance and hard work this could be you:

Congratulations to our new Single Speed World Champions!
More HERE.

Non-Doping Cyclists Finish Tour De France

2007-08-31T13:33:00.000-07:00

For more on this inspiring story visit the Onion. I promise it won't disappoint!

Wonderboy

2007-08-29T02:54:00.001-07:00

I am pumped for 'cross. I have new wheels for this season (and when I say "wheels" I don't just mean wheels, I mean i have a new bike!), I will post pics when I get back from Labor Day weekend camping.
Until then, you too can get pumped for 'cross:

1) Watch this video.

2) Pound a beer.

3) Pound your chest.

4) Repeat until you are pumped for racing 'cross.

Tune in to our next post for an interview with legendary 'cross racer and ladies man Doyle Diamond.

And lastly, in the immortal words of the film "Napoleon Dynamite":

"Ah wahnt that!"

Cyclists are all a bunch of liars...

2007-08-22T13:03:00.000-07:00

...but probably not in the way you might think.

The following is an excerpt. I don't know what it's from, but it might as well be the Bible because it's the fucking gospel truth...

"Cyclists are the biggest sandbaggers and secret trainers around. They'll say anything to soften you up for the kill. Don't let this happen to you. Study this handy rider's phrasebook to find out what they really mean when they say:

"I'm out of shape."
Translation: I ride 400 miles a week and haven't missed a day since the Ford administration. I replace my 11-tooth cog more often than you wash your shorts. My body fat percentage is lower than your mortgage rate.

"I'm not into competition. I'm just riding to stay in shape."
Translation: I will attack until you collapse in the gutter, babbling and whimpering. I will win the sprint if I have to force you into a pine tree. I will crest this hill first if I have to grab your seat post, and spray energy drink in your eyes.

"I'm on my beater bike."
Translation: I had this baby custom-made in Tuscany using Titanium blessed by the Pope. I took it to a wind tunnel and it disappeared. It weighs less than a fart and costs more than a divorce.

"It's not that hilly."
Translation: This climb lasts longer than a presidential campaign. Be careful on the steep sections or you'll fall over -- backward. You have a 39x23 low gear? Here's the name of my knee surgeon.

"This is a no-drop ride."
Translation: I'll need an article of your clothing for the search-and-rescue dogs.

"It's not that far."
Translation: Bring your passport."

Thanks to Scarantino for pointing this gem out to me.

Snowmass...

2007-08-11T10:12:00.000-07:00

Was brutal. Altitude hit me hard, LOL. Will get pics and put up a report. Peace out.

Guest blogger Jason Lowetz.

2007-08-07T01:11:00.000-07:00

I am pretty sure that Jason has reached new heights (lows?) with this race report.

11:07 am

I'm nearing the end of a 4 hour glow stick bathroom ecstasy rave session
which started this morning around. I have been into raves ever since I was a
little kid. I mounted a 60watt stereo speaker system complete with "bass
boost" in the bathroom a few months back. It delivers. I have a pair of
high end glow sticks which I keep in the refrigerator when I'm not
entranced.

11:22 am

My last anal injection of ecstasy nitrate has worn off and it's time to suit
up and head out to todays bike race.

I bring the usual.

1 giant pet falcon
1 hamster
2 plastic spoons
1 used 16gram C02 (threaded)
3 12 pound containers of crisco
and my Frankenstein PAA skinsuit

12:20pm

I have arrived at the bike race. A fella by the name of Fritz walks up to me
and whispers "hey...did you bring the hamster?". I said "yeah...one moment
please". I closed my eyes then punched myself in the stomach. I then handed
the hamster to Fritz and said "here ya go". He said "thanks".

First race of the day was the masters 30+ 1-2-3's. I lined up with Giant pet
Falcon on one shoulder and 2 plastic spoons in my shorts. I had planned on
winning this race for fun, but was reminded by Fritz that Armin was in the
hunt for the coveted golden walrus trophy....so. ...my job would be to look
good and impress people with my good looks. Armin got in a break. Fritz and
I blasted into action and rode side by side at the front of the field. We
gave each other a high five then Fritz tossed the hamster up into the air.
It was On! Falcon had been in an aero tuck on my back until this moment. The
plan was working perfectly. All of the riders were watching the falcon try
to catch the hamster. The pace slowed to 4 mph. Fritz and I gave each other
another high five then unclipped and stood on our top tubes (still side by
side at the front of the field). I performed the "apple cider swan" whilst
fritz pulled off a brilliant "Man Tunnel". 2 very solid moves which you
really had to see to appreciate.

Meanwhile falcon had caught hamster and was back in a full aero tuck
position on my back. By this time the deal was pretty much sealed. Armin and
the break of a dozen or so riders were out of site. It stayed that way. He
finished 2nd. Fritz and I crossed the line doing the "canoe". One in front
of the other, plastic spoons in hand, we rowed across the line. The crowd
went wild.

Now came the Cat 3 race...

Easy.

A break of 8 or 9 riders formed about half way through the race. Of those 8
or 9 riders. Freddie and myself made the cut. The break held strong and with
one lap to go we had about a half a lap on the field. The fun began. I was
3rd wheel with 3 corners to go. I did not want to be here...so... .I decided
to stir things up a bit and move over and take the wheel of the guy who had
just pulled (a weezy pull I might add). I knew this guy had not been working
too hard in the break and he was a decent sprinter. I was on to his
shenanigans. This for surely mixed things up a bit for everyone. The pace
slowed, which is exactly what I wanted, and nobody wanted to pull through.
Out of the 3rd corned I believe I was 2nd or 3rd corner heading up the
slight uphill to the final corner. I was ready to jump......waiting for
someone to make a move. About half way up the hill it was Freddie who took
off at just the right time and in a great spot. I grabbed his wheel. We went
around the final corner 1st and 2nd. He gave it everything he had then I
opened up the sprint. I knew I had went a little early, but if I could just
stay on top of my gear I could take it. 100 meters to go and I had company
on each side of me, but I stayed on thy gas and won by a wheel or 2. Good
stuff.

This may very well have been my last race as a PAA'er. Couldn't have asked
for a better finish. Thanks again Freddie. Awesome work.

Thanks to ALL of my fellow PAA racer/group ride/anal nitrate buddies. Its
been a fantastico 2 years!

See you on the road.

Represent
Jayus

If you have gotten to this point without laughing then you clearly haven't got a sense of humor.

You are probably one of those people who think Napoleon Dynamite isn't funny because "It's not about anything".

The dirt report.

2007-08-07T00:20:00.000-07:00

Interesting if you haven't seen it yet!

"Investing in something with integrity can have it's benefits" -JHK

Hear, hear!

HERE

Now I'm a man! Man, man, man! Man man man manmanmanmanmanmanman I'm a man......

2007-08-05T19:45:00.000-07:00

Won the first annual Altadena Naked Crow Mountain Bike Challenge today. Won $300.00.

The race started at the JPL gate to Brown Mtn. I just sat in for the whole flat section before the fire road climb up to Brown. My team mate Alex was right behind me.
Just as we hit the dirt fire road climb, one of the other cyclists attacked and, although I didn't actually think he was a threat to stay away I figured it was as good a time as any for me to attack.
I think maybe Alex thought I was just chasing him down and would slow down when he cracked, because he let a small gap form.
I figured I'd try and stay away so I rode as hard as I could and SLOWLY widened the gap until I had a little over a minute lead.
When I went over the top I knew he would be hot on my wheels so I headed down towards El Prieto as fast as I knew how.
The course went past El P. and into Millard Cyn., and then we headed up lower Sunset to the Lowe toll road.
I knew that if he was going to catch me it would be here so I was on the rivet for the whole climb, suffering but motivated by the thought of a win.
When I crested Sunset the course went straight across Lowe and down a rutted out horse trail.
It was fast and bermed, short but fun to ride, and I knew that if I rode smooth it would be impossible for anyone to catch me since it was steep downhill the whole way to the line.

Thanks to Martin for the great pic.

There was a long paved straightaway before the line and I was puzzled to see another rider up ahead... it turned out to be one of the "amateur" riders who had done a shorter course. I caught him right before the line but then sat up so that he could get out of my victory photo.
If Chet Bearclaw caught me sharing the spotlight with inferior teams ("inferior"= any team He is not on)I would have my ass kicked.
The other rider is lucky I'm not Chet or he would've been punched off the road while the male officials looked the other way and the females lined up to give Chet backrubs.
Hopefully my six-pack will be visible in the photo but I'm assuming they will airbrush out the throngs of adoring female fans chasing me up towards the finish line and victory. They have to because they can't show nudity.
Look for it on the front page of your local paper. Or the LA or NY Times.
They made a documentary of this historic event. Enjoy.

Home again.

2007-08-03T01:44:00.000-07:00

Brooke and I are home again... she is holding down the blogging "fort" so if you want to see what we have been up to go to her blog.

Enzo Gucci reviews Krieg Cycling bag.

2007-07-24T11:04:00.000-07:00

So far, from what I see, I approve of the bag on your bicycle.

Now, there are some things that could be done to improve this bag.

First of all, the zipper could be made out of gold. Not the color, the metal. This would provide a nice contrast of colors.

The bag also needs some carbon fiber accents. What purpose would this serve, you ask? Weight savings? Nope. Durability? Nope. Improved storage capacity? Wrong again.

Style. 100%. Some may say there is such thing as too much carbon fiber. They are probably Nascar fans who would prefer stainless steel, fiberglass and Coors Light. For us European riders, Carbon fiber is a fashion statement.

Lastly, and most importantly, this bag is missing the true show of style. Look at the most expensive (and best looking) parts, bikes and accessories in cycling. SIDI's $450USD Ergo shoes, Colnago's $10,000+USD Extreme Power Bike, Pinarello's top of the line frames... what do all of these share? The Italian Flag.

Thats right. When you want a product to go from good to incredible (and incredibly expensive) you put an Italian flag somewhere visible.

THAT is the main thing this bag is missing.

Otherwise, it's great. I know you're married, Lyle, but have you been experiencing increased attention from the opposit sex since installing this bag to your bicycle?

I'm out.

-Enzo Gucci

Dear Enzo,

As a matter or fact, I have.

-Lyle

Papa's got a brand new bag!

2007-07-16T19:28:00.000-07:00

Eat your heart out Boone!

Sam Krieg started out making too-cool-for-school chalk bags for climbers. Luckily for all us incredibly stylish cyclists, Krieg is now making saddle bags that you can be proud to put on your bike.
Instead of getting the smallest bag you can, and trying your best to hide it under your saddle, or stuffing your jersey pockets full of tubes, CO2, etc. you can now roll with STYLE.
On a relatively unimportant side note, it also works well. The velcro sections are pretty big and super grippy. It is pretty much the perfect size for tubes, CO2, levers, etc.
Unless you are one of those people who want a purse on their bike (42 cliff bars, cell phone, pager) this should be a good size.
It's not too wide, so you don't have to worry about it rubbing your legs.
The sides on this bag are fuzzy (adds to style), as you can see, so after a long, rainy and muddy ride I cleaned 'em off and they were good as new. The rest of the bag is some sort of ballistic nylon looking stuff that is easy to clean if you don't like dirt on your bike, but plenty durable if you are a "set it and forget it" type of rider.
After the long rainy, muddy ride I mentioned I checked inside and everything was totally dry so I guess it's pretty water resistant too.
The zipper closes in the "down" position so it shouldn't open up while you are riding, but if you are paranoid you can always sandwich it (zipper) between the velcro and it should be bomb-proof.
None of that is important though, style is the primary function of a cyclist.
Jesse, you should be writing this down... if I see you with a bag as cool as this I might just forget that you were riding with a Bento Box when I first met you.
Also, I would like you to check out the Krieg website and then post a review in the comments section, giving your professional opinion as Team Bearclaw Image/Style Manager.
Coming soon to a shop near you. Check out Krieg Cycling for more.

Comedy?

2007-07-12T20:16:00.000-07:00

I don't know what he's saying but that only makes it even funnier.

I am inspired by this video. I no longer think that doping should carry any fine or 2 year ban or any ban or penalty.
I just think that if a rider is convicted of doping they should have to compete dressed as a mariachi. Just like the guy in the video. Forever.

Settling in...

2007-07-11T19:30:00.000-07:00

Today, after spending the last week and a half travelling and attending family events (a wedding and a funeral, 4th of july gathering and all the accompanying "sub-events")Brooke and I are finally in VT.
I have only one plan: ride my bike (finally).
Hopefully, after spending some time getting sick, getting well, and mucho tiempo on the above mentioned family events it will not be a case of "too little, too late"!
I can count the number of good workouts I've gotten lately on one hand so the idea now is to kick-ass on training, have a decent Nat's, train more and be fitter for NC and then come home better than ever.

Guest Blogger: Jason Lowetz

2007-07-09T01:08:00.000-07:00

This may be the best race report from Jason yet... you decide.

Hola.

I stepped outside today wearing nothing but a pair of leather gloves.

I walked over to my neighbors house and said..."do you know who I am?".

The elderly women that answered the door replied "no....."

I said....."WRONG! ""Give me 60 dollars now!"

She said.. "no".

I said "FINE, I guess I'll just go win $60 at a bike race then!"

I then leaped into the air, spread my legs, and landed on the concrete floor doing the splits.

After that I got up and went back into my home. Got my bicycle and my spandex and rode off to Costa Mesa. I picked up brother Dan along the way.

I first raced the masters 30+ 1,2,3's along with world famous Bradley Galindo.

Loads of fun. I was near the front on the last lap until I was attacked by 7 white hornets. 4 of them stung me in the left ankle and the other 3 in the right eyeball. I closed my eyes and pedaled through the last 3 corners and finished 20th er sumthin. I dunno.

I then slammed on the brakes, as did Mr. Bradley Galindo, and headed back to the start line for the 3's race.

I needed $60 so I had to finish in 2nd place. Not 1st....not 3rd.....2nd. With about 5 to go I hopped on Danny's wheel as he was going to lead me to paradise. He done a great job, but I got ass plunged between two crackers on the last lap and lost Danny's wheel. Picture the scene in Titanic where Leo De Crappio vanished into the depths of the ocean. It was sort of like that I guess. BUT this time De Crappio was about 3 feet from the ocean floor when he decided to light the short fuse on a can of $60 woop ass. De Crappio came blasting out of the water with 2 corners to go. With one corner to go he duct taped 2 sparklers to his helmet, lit them, then sailed around the corner in 1st place. Remembering he HAD to get 2nd place he waited for somebody to go by then he got on the gas again and finished 2nd.

Recap

Mens Cat 3

2nd place

$60.

Thanks to Brother Dan, Danny, Freddie, Brad, Larry, and thy 2 or 3 or 4 other PAA manchines involved for looking so damn sexy and for keeping the race together.

Jaysus

out.

New Favorite!

2007-07-07T14:59:00.000-07:00

Maybe you've noticed the new link at the top of the "Links" section on the right side of the page, and maybe you haven't.
Well, whether you noticed it or not, I am here to tell you that it's my new favorite blog!
There is a good chance that I'm biased, being that I recieve... *ahem*...being that I recieve... from the blogs author.
But I don't think so... It's just that good.
So check out my wife Brooke's new BLOG.

PS: Scarantino's in Pasadena will be showing the Tour nightly in their bar (with various drink specials) for the whole Tour! Let's support a local eatery that has the AUDACITY to turn off baseball in favor of cycling!

TDF partay extraordinaire

2007-07-07T02:11:00.000-07:00

Some of you may be familiar with the bunny hopping style-meister Jesse Scarantino.
Many of you may also be planning to watch the Tour de France.
I am here to alert you to the FACT (not my opinion, universally agreed upon by the scientific community!) that Jesse will be hosting the most kick-ass party ever at his "venue", Scarantino's restaurant in pasadena.
Check out the website here:
http://scarantinospasadena.com/tour.htm
It is a cyclist friendly place with tasty food and an incredible beer selection to accompany your barstool view of the tour on the flat panel tv's.
If this was a more popular blog I'd be making millions for a plug like this...
If you checked out the website though, you'd see that your second beer is free if you are in your kit.
I figure the free beer will be payment enough.
Anyway, the party will be awesome so if you are planning on watching the tour be sure and check it out!
Then come back and let me know what you thought in the comments section.

How to waste $800.00

2007-06-29T14:18:00.000-07:00

Step 1. This is one of the funniest bicycle ads to ever grace (disgrace) the pages of ebay:

"I was a former bike courier and a former track racer so I'm very picky about what I ride. To say that this bike is the perfect street cruiser is a gross understatement. The greatest thing about single speed bikes is that they are simple, slick, and beautiful, but never in my wildest dreams did I think they had them in full-suspension. This bike is as durable as it is beautiful. You can ride it, you can jump it, and you can even swim with it. There are hardly any moving parts or wires, so there's nothing to maintain or take care of. All you need to do is use it, abuse it, and park it. This model is not new, but not available in the US or Europe either.The one shown in the picture is fully assembled, but the one you are bidding on will arrive at your door steps brand new still in it's original packaging. This item is also available in Red and Yellow with matching tires. Some "very minor" assembly is required, but nothing you need mechanics for. The bike has a universal one size that will fits all frame. Adjustments with the seat and seat pole will allow it to fit just about anyone. If you are tall like me (6 foot 2 inches), you will need to get an extended seat pole, but the frame will fit and you will have a very comfortable ride. The bike comes with a 39 x 16 gear ratio. The rear silver pegs on the bike pictured are not standard, and will cost $10.00 extra and available upon request after purchase. This is the first time I'm actually selling on Ebay, so I hope I have been through enough, but please feel free to ask me any questions. Thanks you."

You can even swim with it? I think we've all been through enough... thanks you.

Go HERE if you want to see the actual page... but come back.

Step 2. Let me know what you think of this bike in the "comments" section.

Step 3. Once you have stopped laughing it will be time to get down to business... that's right: Business Time...

I might just have to dust off the ol' guitar and learn that one... to serenade my wife with.

Oh yeah, riding: I am back to training and in the past two days I've been doing back, to back, to back, to back hard interval rides... my bike wants more... but I'm quite sleepy.

Guest Blogger: Jason Lowetz

2007-06-26T14:31:00.000-07:00

15 minutes till race start:

Deciding whether I was going to use both legs or just one leg in todays race quickly became the least of my worries.

There is a sound that is made by the air exiting your tubular tire which is filled with tufo sealant. That sound is accompanied by a magnificent pinwheel spray effect of tufo sealant....if you are moving.

14 minutes till race start:

2 blocks away a pair of rolf wheels sat quietly at home wishing that they could be in the bicycle race going on across the way. One of them was about to get there wish. It would be the front.

I made the phone call. Brother Dan, owner of the rolf wheels, and we made our way to his home. 2 blocks away. Home of the rolf wheels. We replaced the front wheel. I was off. I could have swore I heard the rolf rear wheel mutter something like " see ya in a few minutes..... bitch"... ....but naaaa. Wheels dont talk.

10 minutes till race start:

There is a sound that is made by the air exiting your tubular tire which is filled with tufo sealant. That sound is accompanied by a magnificent pinwheel spray effect of tufo sealant....if you are moving.

Yup.....the rear just went.

Back to the house to get the rear wheel. When I got to the house the wheel was waiting by the door and it was wearing a g-string. The weirdest thing I had seen today for sure. Anyway.....Brother Dan and I raced to swap the cassette and put the wheel on.

5 minutes until race start:

Ready to go.

0 minutes to go until race start:

Race starts.

PAA riders everywhere.

The plan. Victory.

Grayson was to be my leadout man. Others were to be busy bees. I sat in and watched the bees work there bee asses off for 53 minutes. Chasing breaks, keeping the pace up, and what not.

With 3 or 4 laps to go I found Graysons wheel and watched the race play out. I briefly lost his wheel with just over 1 to go. No worries though. I simply punched a few opponents in the face and regained my position.

Just under 1 lap to go. Trouble. Grayson is out front and I am second wheel. Mucho too soon for this. Just as we are about to be swarmed by the bad guys on the backside straightaway, Claudio goes zipping by on the left. I'm pretty sure his jersey had ripped off from the acceleration. This ends up working out well as Grayson hit the gas and kept us near the front. We were top 10 coming out of corner 4. I was glued to Graysons wheel ready to hit the turbo blaster button. With about 100 yards to the finish I hit the turbo blaster button. A few seconds late. I finished 3rd. I was gaining on the 2 fellas in front of me, but not much. If I would have used both legs and If Grayson would have taken 1 more flinstone vitamin this morning we would have taken it for sure.

Nice work yall.Sorry I missed the podium. I was busy doing one armed push-ups on top of the black pearl.

-Jaysus

B. Harlan

2007-06-25T00:26:00.000-07:00

P6230044.jpg, originally uploaded by jasonsager.

This is an excerp from Blake Harlans blog. It is definately a gem of the blogging world (in my book, anyway), and I couldn't agree more. It was one of those times when you read something and think "Holy Shit... I'm not the only one!".

Anyway, Blake's blog is pretty interesting right now so check it out. Now here is a preview:

"Yesterdays effort left me with mixed emotions. Out of the 50 or 60 guys that lined up on the start line, 28 of them finished in front of me. The race was long, dusty, hot and needless to say really really hard. I paced myself almost to perfection for the 4 lap 2 hours and 45 minute ordeal but that just wasn't really good enough, or was it? I was great that i ran my body to the max, felt good about my effort, raced smart and better yet didn't crack. However, with all that said, thinking i couldn't have gone any faster, i still finished 29th. Maybe everyone else was just having a killer day but i highly doubt it. I think this is just a wake up call that even though i wake up and train everyday, pretty much without much thought to the weather, its still going to take some time to be up there with the big boys. Weather its just more time i need, or maybe I'm just waiting for something between my bike and my body to click. While it might seem like a bad thing to feel, I have found it unusually hard to watch those around me continue to excel. Almost like I'm getting left behind. Its not that I'm really that jealous of them but more frustrated as to why i can't be doing the same. But if its one thing i have learned during this whole bike racing lifestyle, its that everyone excels at their own speed. One day I'll be in the pro ranks bump'n elbows, but I'll just have to wait a little longer."

Damn... cycling is so bittersweet sometimes.

Me, Brooke, Jesse and Bear Divide... Lazy Days.

2007-06-24T11:38:00.000-07:00

On Fri Brooke, Jesse Scarantino (who will be hosting some incredible Tour de France parties in July. I will post the link for those who live in the LA area.) and I rode up to Bear Divide.

It was hotter than camel piss.

I can definitely say that is the hardest I've ridden since getting sick... I was worked on sat and took it easy.

Sun (today) I will see how my legs feel and maybe do a pretty hard ride again.

Alex stopped by this morning and gave a little demo on the correct posture for riding a single-speed.

On a completely unrelated note: Brooke's single-speed is almost fully operational.

B-Day!

2007-06-21T23:42:00.000-07:00

Today was Brooke's birthday! We went for a ride and even though it was easy I got tired, ha, ha! I am going to try a harder ride tomorrow... I think.
I am also going to get some pictures up on the blog soon, I am having "technical difficulties"
Got this one up though, so this one's for you Alex:

Since I haven't been riding as much I have had time for a few other things and I can honestly say that my road bike hasn't been this clean since I first built it.
Look for a race report from guest blogger Jason Lowetz soon too.
Peace out.

A 1 month absence...

2007-06-19T12:53:00.000-07:00

After taking a month off from pretty much the whole human race, I am now officially back (strange since I was never officially gone...).
My absence kicked off with pneumonia, and I will kick off this return to blogging with the story of my 3rd time back on the bike since I fell down under the weather.
After not having ridden for what seemed like an eternity of coughing, antibiotics and sleeping in, I was forced into action by the Park City, Utah (Deer Valley) leg of the NORBA national tour.
Brooke and I had planned a trip that included camping on Gooseberry mesa and partaking in what may be the best riding ever!
We packed our bags and our bikes and set out for UT!
When we arrived at Gooseberry we found a nice spot to camp and made a fire, roasted hot-dogs and laid our bags down under the stars to sleep.
The next day (day #1 back on the bike) we cris-crossed all over the mesa, riding: Hidden Canyon, the South Rim, the White Trail, the Yellow Trail (in both directions) the North rim and the Practice loop.
After several hours in the 100+ degree heat we were running out of time and we were wilting so we packed up the car and headed up to Park city to stay with our friend Megan and her dog Annie.
We got in later that expected because A: we underestimated the time it would take to finish the drive from Gooseberry and B: we forgot about the time change. Ooops, sorry Megan!
The next morning (day #2) we drove the 15 min. to Deer Valley and pre-rode the course, stopping in at the Fisher tent afterwards to say our hello's to the team.
After that it was back to Megan's for some grub. We had a great time grilling up salmon and making pasta and salad, watched a movie, had a bit of ice cream and went to bed.
Day #3 back on the bike was race day and after examining my performance on days 1 and 2 I was determined to at least finish all 4 laps!
The race started with about 60 riders and I went as fast as I could, mingling somewhere near the mid-back of the group.
Lap one was my best lap... I faded a lot on lap 2 and had to stop and take a break. Only one or two riders passed me while I was resting.
Lap 3 I was starting to get light headed and I was having trouble holding my lines... I was thinking about quitting... a bee flew into my jersey and started biting me multiple times...
When I entered the feed zone at the beginning of lap 4 I took a nice long break, and started feeling better. I decided that I wasn't going to quit with 1 lap to go.
Oh yeah, I had gotten a flat on lap 1 that had mostly sealed with Stan's but there was still a slow leak and it had gone flat 2 times. I had just been re-filling it with C02.
While on the last climb of the last lap of the race it REALLY went flat... the C02 and Stan's were just spittin' out and midway through the last descent I emptied a can of Seal-Flate into the tire, hoping it would gum up enough to last me the 2 min I needed to finish.
No dice though, and 2 riders passed me while I was running my bike to the finish line for 46th place.
Anyway, 4 dizzy laps, 34 miles, 3 flat tires, multiple rest breaks and bee stings later, I felt like I had accomplished something just finishing!
Since I triple flatted in AZ for NORBA #1 and had no drops I pretty much had to race in UT this week. Unfortunately for me I only got 34 points for my miserable 46th place finish so that will definately put a dent in my overall standings.
Oh well, it's better than a zero I guess, and I got to have a fun trip with my wife and ride Gooseberry Mesa.
The next day was Brookes race, she did awesome and got 3rd place in a big, competitive field.
Alex, also feeling a little under the weather, hung onto 6th place in his race. Dave Roth got a 6th place in Super D and Cheryl Roth got on the podium with a 5th place finish despite a tough battle against local high-altitude junkies!
The day after that was my Short Track race. My cousin Ann was visiting a friend in SLC and came out to the race even though I warned her that if the XC was any indication I would be getting pulled pretty damn quickly!
I warmed up and went to the line, waited, and got a nice call up in 3rd place.
The race started... I went fast (felt fast, actually slow)... I got passed by everyone... I passed a few people back...
I was saved by the bell on lap 3 when Frosty pulled me. I have never been so relieved to be done with a race in my life!
After that it was just a fun time cheering on Willow and Heather in the Pro race, more grilling with my cousin Anne, Megan, her friend Wade and a cornucopia of dogs, and then a long drive home!

Don't let it go to my head...

2007-05-19T02:47:00.001-07:00

This is Colt.

I am a star. My blog has been "featured" on Colt's blog. Check it out HERE.

Alley Cat Relay

2007-05-15T00:09:00.001-07:00

No pics yet... working on it.
I had a lot of fun last friday... first I set out to do my workout.
I needed to get some stuff at the bike shop so after I ran a short errand I rode over there and got some new tires and a couple other things.
While I was at the shop some friends of mine convinced me to come with them to an "outlaw" race in downtown L.A. I was told it would be some sort of relay but I had no idea what to expect and I didn't commit to actually racing but I said I would go and check it out with them.
When we got there it took quite a bit of time to navigate all the one way streets and dead ends of downtown L.A., but we finally found the "registration" area... someone just wrote "registration here" with chalk on the sidewalk!
We registered our team: Dick "Danimal" Neptune, Chegemelion(?), Doyle Diamond, Chet Bearclaw...It turns out that this was kind of a bike messanger race. You had to ride through downtown on open streets, navigate cars and stoplights (I was very conservative and safe, other riders not so much), pick up an envelope, race back (any route was OK!) to the Start/Finish area and hand off the package to your teamate who raced back to the pick up area and got a 2nd package, handed off both to the 3rd rider who got 3rd package raced back and gave all 3 to the 4th rider, who raced down, got 4th package, raced back and traded all 4 in to complete the race!
I realized that this race required lights, so I borrowed some from a friend who I met up with at the race (thanks Scott).
Our first rider, Dick "Danimal" Neptune hustled back to us in 3rd place. Our second rider, Chegemelion moved us into 1st. On my leg I dropped the guy who was right behind me in 2nd and came in with (reportedly) a minute and a half lead.
Chet Bearclaw rode a conservative leg to take us in for the win!
We won 260 bucks, which came out to be 65 each. Not bad for a night of fun, and I would even do it again but I would have to ride safely again too, which means that if someone is crazy enough to blow all the lights and they are also fast riders they would probably beat us... or get a ticket... or road rash/bruise/other.
I have been searching the web for pics but so far I haven't found any. As soon as I do I will add them to this post.
The next couple of days I'll be prepping for the race at Castaic this weekend, pre-riding, etc.
Ciao

Fontucky

2007-05-14T00:48:00.000-07:00

I like this picture because it looks like I am a BA. You can't tell that I'm in 9th place.

The Fontana NORBA was... well, anyway, it was.
The XC on friday was tough. It was a very physical course and I had trouble keeping up the pace for the 1st two laps, I sort of yo-yoed out behind Papo for the first two laps. Near the beginning of the second lap I caught onto a train of Papo and a rider in a Bianchi kit. I'm pretty sure that Denton Bowers was right behind me in the train too. At the time I was barely hanging on, I was willing to pull but the others would've had to slow their pace for me to get in front of them!
Papo pulled away on the first climb and Denton got dropped so it was just me riding behind the Bianchi guy until the descent and a loose, sandy section that was tough to ride.
The Bianchi guy got bogged and I went around by riding in a concrete drainage ditch (you heard me), and opened up a gap on him.
For a while I thought he would catch up. He seemed pretty strong.
My goal was to catch Papo on the second climbing section, stay together 'till the flats and then work together to open up the gap to Bianchi.
When I reached Papo he said he had gone to hard at the start and was fading so I just rode ahead, trying to hold my gap on the Bianchi rider.
That's when things started to click for me.
I started feeling good on that 2nd or 3rd lap (can't remember exactly) and I just tried to pace out my "mojo" for the remaining lap and a half or two.
I didn't actually know how good I was riding until I caught Eric Salstrand and Romolo Forcino, two fast semi's.
Oh yeah, I either "burped" my tire (lost air at the bead, or where the tire meets the rim) or got a puncture that sealed up with Stan's Solution on the first lap.
I had decided to ride it as long as I could, figuring that the longer I waited the more the racers would be spread out and the less riders would pass me while I fixed it!
Anyway, as I passed Romolo towards the end of the last lap I hoped he wouldn't notice my tire, which was now bumping the rim and fishtailing a bit.
I thought that might give him the incentive he needed to suck my wheel and then outsprint me but he said later that he had nothing left by that time.
It seems like he raced well though, it certainly seems like he had a good result.
In my hurry to outrun my leaking tire I almost caught the rider in front of me.
He was last years winner at the Sonoma Nat's so it's a good improvement for me to have caught him this year.
I think I might have caught him if it weren't for my tire, but the end of the course had some twisty sections and some short descents with hard right turns at the end, and I was sliding all over the place from my tire rolling on the rim!
I tried to sprint to the line but I just fishtailed everywhere.
Of course, for all I know he had a flat too... still I had passed a lot of fast riders in the last two laps and I was very happy with my race.

On sundays short track I was caught up in the traffic at the start, rode a hard first lap and got into a better position... just in time for a huge bottleneck on the course!
Riders were actually getting off their bikes and either WAITING or running around the course through the rocks and scrub brush... I moved from mid-pack to about 25th place.
After that I just rode as hard as I figured I could without blowing up dropping back to 25th!
I never got to draft because as soon as I caught up to someone I would pass and try to catch the next person... until I got to Colt.

Here my brother Travis and Teamate Alex watch me trying to bridge up to Colt.

Colt was having an awesome race, and was way up in the pack. When I caught him he was motoring pretty good so I drafted for a sec and "caught my breath" (yeah right!).
I passed Colt where the short track went up the 4-cross course, and then... he passed me right back!
I rode behind him for a bit and then tried to pass again. This time Colt jumped on behind me we rode together for a bit until he said something like "don't wait for me to pull, I'm going as fast as I can already!"
I was going as fast as I could too, and just before the last lap I was able to pull away.
Check out Colt's blog for another race perspective.
The last lap was interesting... just after the section where we rode up the 4-cross course, we turned left onto a fire road straight before dropping down a short descent and making our way back to the finish.
I caught a group of 3 or 4 right as we turned onto that fireroad straight, and decided to use up my sprint right there since it would be virtually impossible to pass after the descent.
I accelerated down the straight and passed a few riders... suddenly the last rider ahead of me (the Bianchi rider actually!) was coming up fast and I had to chose between slamming on the brakes and getting behind him or getting in front and then braking to make the left turn into the descent.
It was a split second decision, but I thought that if I braked and took the outside line, it would leave room (barely) for him to take the inside line and I would end up in the lead.
I actually have no idea how that turned out because I didn't have time to stop and look around!
After the race I waved to him but he just frowned... don't know if he was frustrated with his race in general or with me in particular though.
I did ask another rider who I had passed on that last straight if I had messed up the Bianchi guy and he said he didn't think so but that the guy had messed up a little on the descent and lost ground.
He still finished right behind me though, and after watching video of the race and seeing him in the very front group I am guessing that he "popped" and was a little pissed at the race in general and at me too...
Anyway, I try my best to find the balance between racing respectfully and giving everything I have to get the best result I can.

Oh, and the coolest thing to happen all weekend... I stayed and watched the pro short-track (great race by the way!) and as the race was ending I cut diagonally across the course when there was a (BIG) gap between the last rider to not get pulled and the 2nd to last rider not to get pulled. As I did this one of the NMBS staff (Team Big Bear?, Southridge?), not realizing I had seen the rider (way) down the course called out this warning: "Off the course... YOU DUMB KID!". Nice. Way to grow the sport. I can only imagine what my non-riding friends would think if they were invited to watch a race and were treated like that.
Or better still, a Newbie, just starting to get excited about racing... he has finished his first race and is thinking "this is pretty cool, maybe it WAS worth SEVENTY DOLLARS!"
Getting put down like that could turn someone who loves riding but is on the fence about racing away from the sport.
Anyway, thinking that MTB needs all the racers and spectators we can get I told the "official" (politely) that I understood the warning but calling me a "dumb kid" was pretty un-cool.
Another nearby "official" wearing a red shirt, with a radio in a harness on his chest (not too tall, maybe 5' 6"; black goatee) jumps in to "defend" his colleague and tells me that "You WERE running down the course, I SAW you!"
When I told him that I understood that, and I didn't fault anyone for warning me, because they would have no way of knowing whether I had seen the last racer or not, BUT... it was not okay for him (an employee of the race, and an official who should be setting a good example) to call me a "dumb kid", he seemed to disagree and told me that I was lucky the man hadn't used profanity!?!?!?!
Needless to say, I didn't feel lucky.
I felt like I would rather spend my money on a different series.
I really respect Don Jackson, Frosty, and Tom Spiegel. Hoss is always super nice and when I was just being introduced to the sport of racing he made a big impression on me just by being friendly and hospitable.
I don't know the other staff by name but I see how hard people work to put on these events. And I see that the job of organizing sweaty, tired, masses of high strung racers is a rediculously difficult job.
I hear (a very few) people say "Well, they are making plenty of money, not doing any favors, blah, blah, blah"
Good! They deserve to make money, and I hope they all get rich (although I doubt that is their primary motivation).
I don't know what So-Cal mountain bike racing would be like without all these guys, and I think the NORBA series would be worse off without them.
BUT... a lot of people aren't immersed in the racing scene enough to know all of that so it is important that EVERYONE, but especially the representatives (staff) of the series be friendly (not "bubbly", LOL, but at least polite) to any well meaning racers or spectators at the events.
Anyway, that's my two cents.

Tons of race pics on flickr ! Colt, you are in a lot of them so check 'em out.

Scott and Marie

Thanks to my friends Max and Brian for coming, cheering and taking pics, it definately made the race much better.
Thanks also to Scott, Marie, Alex, my Mom, Dad, brother Travis, and wife Brooke, it was FUN!

NORBA #2 Firestone!

2007-05-07T01:14:00.000-07:00

It was a pretty nice venue but it was super hot out...

Dusty too...

Here's Jason demonstrating the impossibility of keeping dirt out of your grill while on the course...

Brooke had a super solid ride to finish 2nd in her field!

Here's an "action shot" of me tossing a bottle...

The short track split into two main groups, with one rider soloing off the front to win and a bunch of stragglers falling off the back. I couldn't make it to the front group, but even the second group was so fast that by the last lap there were only four of us left.
Everyone had been attacking and counterattacking for the last 3-4 laps but the group of 4 always came back together.
There was one climb, about 1/4 of the way into the mile long course and I attacked at the base, coming around the leader to open a gap by the time I hit the flat straghtaway at the top. I was worried about being out in the wind by myself, but I guess I had opened up enough of a gap that nobody behind wanted to sacrifice their own position to chase me, and they never got organized. I rode really conservative on the loose corners and descent, "spending" my time gap just right so that they couldn't quite catch me before the line and I didn't have to sprint. I was very happy with my 7th place finish!
It was over 100 degrees while we were racing, and so dry and dusty that I could feel the dirt accumulating on the roof of my mouth during the race.
As soon as we finished I made a bee-line for water and shade, and when I worked up enough saliva to spit there was so much dirt in it that it was like thick mud!
The sun and the heat made me a little dizzy and nautious, but I ate and I drank more water than I thought would be possible... It seems like I must've drank several gallons before I finally had to pee.
I also had a ton of electrolytes and a nap, but I was still exhausted when I went to sleep that night.
It definately took something away from me the next day, but I also felt like I had made an amazing recovery and I still raced at 90-something percent and was super happy with how I did in the heat again the next day!

So that's my race report!

The XC was interesting... LOL. They had to change the length of our course right before our start because of concerns with the heat... it was over 100 degrees again.
There was some confusion among the riders over which way to go and about half went the wrong way.
I guess I just don't really care about the results because it got so messed up, I am just happy I got to ride my bike today!

A little something to tide you over...

2007-04-30T22:35:00.000-07:00

Cyclists are just dorky enough that I could actually believe this happening. Maybe they are all on their way to have a machinist make custom titanium replacements for every bolt on their bikes.
Maybe they are in a hurry to get to a low speed wind tunnel.
Maybe there is a sale on gram scales... Maybe you can think of a funny cyclist quirk for the "comments" page.

The "Mystery Cyclist" picture in my previous post is better known for his road cycling career than his MTB roots. He is a successful racer on a Pro Tour level team.

I will get pictures and video together for a NORBA #2 race report ASAP...

Anybody.... Bueller....?

2007-04-26T13:24:00.000-07:00

Can anyone name this rider?
Just a little useless trivia on a thursday...
Today I am just riding around and stretching my legs. This has been a funky week because I felt a little cruddy after I got back from Sea Slaughter, and I abandoned the training I had planned.
Tomorrow morning I will caravan up the coast with Alex and the rest of the Boone family for the Firestone NORBA.
Although I hadn't planned to be resting so much between my last race and now it could work in my favor. My legs should either be fresh and bursting with energy or stale and leaden, LOL!
Anyway, I should learn something either way.
Got the new team kits this week and I have to say, they are pretty awesome! Now if I could just get that new bike... (it's being painted).
Hopefully my trusty Ziggurat HT will get me through Firestone, although I have to mention that it would be a perfect course for a 29er.
The Zig definitely sustained some damage from all the muddy, short-track chainsuck. It lost the chainstay guard and a couple layers of carbon... I will have the Fisher guys take a look and report back with pictures to let you know the future of my favorite bike. Ever.

PS: If you haven't guessed who the rider is and you want a hint you can ask me in the "comments" section.

Part 3: Sea Otter ...P.S.

2007-04-24T14:22:00.000-07:00

P.S.

John poses for his boyband album cover. He brought you flowers...

Biting Brooke on the ride home...

Just kidding...

So round and beautiful... wish I could get my hands on a pair!
Lew Racing's Pro VT-1 Wheelset. -850 grams!! The carbon/boron/aluminum honeycomb braking surface can be used with any pads. Comes with ceramic bearings, and you can upgrade to ceramic races for an extra 1000 dollars and save... 10 grams!

Yikes! Check out Nick Martins blog for more...

Willow...

Heather...

Sue...

Carolyn!!!!!!!...

Sammy...

Jeremy. Those wheels are SA-Weeeeeet!...

JHK...

Alex tops the Expert podium!...

This guy was not a sore loser and even held Alex's hand on the podium. Style points to Alex for the shirt poking out of his jersey... can you read it?

Still funny...

The SPIDERMAN!

Double yikes! Thanks Nick. I think Heather and Willow are at the CharityMix booth... you can download your favorite athletes music and the proceeds go to charity...
And that was my Sea Otter.

Part 2: XC ...the details

2007-04-22T16:02:00.000-07:00

continued: ...I put my head down and sprinted!
Several hundred yards down the track, just past the Start/Finish area I caught on to the back and sat in. There was a rider, I think his name was Shane, who was trying to get us to work together but I didn't have much in me at the time. He was strong though, and he pulled a lot on the racetrack.
By the time we got around the racetrack and back to the dirt I had been relieved to find that my new bottle was filled with FRS and had a moment to get recovered.
Local Semi-Pro Romolo Forcino and another rider jumped!
I wasn't THAT recovered.
At one point I passed Papo on the side of the trail, I wondered if I should go back and see what he needed but I knew he had air and tools, and even if he needed a tube, mine wouldn't fit his 29er wheel. I found out later that he had eaten something questionable at Denny's and gotted a little ill.
After sitting in for a while though I started feeling better, and just a minute before the singletrack another rider jumped.
He wasn't too far off the front when the singletrack came into sight and I was feeling better by then so I jumped too and was next in line going into the singletrack, with him just out of sight.
I am glad I went when I did because when I came back out onto the fireroad there wasn't anyone behind me.
I chased him for a long time. Every once in a while I would see him disappear around a corner just as I was coming around a corner myself.
I think it was during this time that I passed Romolo. I am guessing that he and the rider he had broken away with had worn each other out because when I passed them at the top of a hill (I sprinted the bottom and carried more speed over the top) neither one tried to follow and both looked tired.
I still hadn't caught the rider in front when I came into the first feed zone.
It was at this point that Subaru/Gary Fisher team manager Jon Rourke made a critical contribution to one of my best races ever.
As I came through the feed zone he cheered me on and handed me a bottle of flat Coke.
Once I had the calories of the Coke in me I started to get a second wind... then I looked down and saw the initials on the bottle: JHK
I got so pumped right then that I surged up to the rider I had been chasing!
When I pulled up, he said: "Where'd you come from?"
I told him I had been chasing him ever since he jumped off the front before the singletrack.
He noticed that I had some "snap" in my legs and asked if I wanted to work together against the wind. I said OK but privately thought we might be separated before we got to the open part of the course, where wind was more of an issue.
While we were in the singletrack he said I rode it like a local and asked where I was from. I was pretty stoked on that because he was one of the fastest guys I had seen, so coming from him it was a nice compliment.
He started to say where he was from, and I think it was somewhere relatively close to Altadena from his tone of voice, but that's where we sort of started to separate and I couldn't quite hear him.
I rode alone from that point on, passing as many people as I could. I made the most time on a rolling singletrack/fireroad section that had a lot of short, steep climbs. They were like long rollers that I could sprint the bottom of and grind out the top.
I rode out in the wind the last couple of miles, trying to pass the guy in 23rd place, who was a couple hundred yards ahead of me, and trying not to let the guy in 25th place catch me. Together the three of us passed a lot of riders. Those were the most exhausting miles of the race.
When I got onto the racetrack for the last time I looked back and saw that I had dropped the rider chasing me. I knew the finish was up ahead so I put my head down and sprinted the last hundred meters!

I vaguely remember Larry Longo saying something encouraging.
After I crossed the line someone cut off my timing chip and I was met by my mom, dad, cousin Mary, Brooke and Alex.

I told Alex about the race...

Mom had food and a Sierra Nevada IPA...

Alex and I got to talk with Cody Peterson, one of the nicest pros on the circuit...

Mom and Mary took pictures (my dad is standing behind in a yellow hat, doing something with a video camera)...

Photo op with Fred Drier of Velo News fame ("Fred's Eye View"), yet another cool person on the MTB circuit...

Heather had a strong finish, her time was a little faster than mine! (Okay, so I am drinking STILL, in another picture... but I am really thirsty, and it's still the same beer!!)

Alex, with Jason Siegle rolling in...

Super Sue Haywood coming across...

Barry Wicks...

Barry having fun with bikes...

Lyle and Alex having fun with bikes...

Lyle and Brooke having fun with bikes...

The scenery in Monterey was fantastic and made a beautiful backdrop for a week of racing...

This was tricky. There was no place to put my food (in hindsight I should've given it to the cameraman/woman) so I ended up taking in with me, being unwilling to set it down anywhere inside and, um.... multitasking.

More miscellaneous bits of the Otter tomorrow!

Part 1: XC... the details.

2007-04-20T22:22:00.000-07:00

The beginning.

I am somewhere near the back of this group. You can see me go by in the video on my last post.
One of the riders (on the left?) kept clipping in both feet and hanging on to the barriers but eventually they got everyone in line and started us!
Me and Papo sort of hung together and laughed at the initial craziness.
One of the riders charged off the front (fluorescent yellow jacket, camelback) and started swerving back and forth like he was dueling for a sprint... 3 hours to go...
Eventually the pace picked up and I had to stop laughing.
Papo drifted ahead.
I rode "conservatively" for at least an hour while things settled down and opened up.
That doesn't mean I wasn't riding as hard as I possibly could, just that I wasn't fighting anyone to be first into that off camber gravel on hardpack corner, if you know what I mean!
After that first hour the race had opened up and it was uneventful. Riders were tired enough to be friendly and with a couple exceptions weren't making stupid passes.
I would pass when necessary and let others pass me even if I just passed them back a couple minutes later.
At one point a rider decided to squeeze by at the last second, heading into some singletrack. With no warning. And no room. While I was replacing my water bottle...
after I dropped my bottle, I conserved what I had left until the end of my lap where my feed was.
The sections of the course from the 1st feed zone to the second and from there to the racetrack where you started out onto the course again were wide open and WINDY!
Heading past the first feed, I was between two groups of ten or more riders, riding by myself in the wind.
I decided to try and catch the lead group, rather than drop back.
It took me a lonely 15+ minutes of dangling off the back before I caught up, during which time I had the pleasure of passing a rider who had earlier in the race made a bad pass and railroaded me off the trail.
I saw him get shelled from the group and caught him a minute later...
As I passed by on the other side of the wide open fire road he yelled "take it now!", like it was a limited passing opportunity on tight singletrack. Hmmm?
(Okay, I was a little annoyed, but he DID ride me off the trail without warning in a POINTLESS pass. We were 15 seconds from the end of the singletrack and the only space in front of me was about a wheel length and then another rider... and another... and another.)
Anyway, I caught onto the group at the second feed zone and hung onto the back trying to recover. In order to stay with them I had to come around several riders who were getting shelled off the back but eventually I had sort of caught my breath.
Right about then we got to a short singletrack piece that put us back on the racetrack...
My wife was there with a bottle but I didn't plan the feed well enough because at racepace the ground was rough enough to make it difficult to put my bottle in my cage.
I was falling off the back of the group at this point and decided that I had better make catching them my main priority, since I probably wouldn't be able to fight the wind to get back on.
I clenched my new bottle in my teeth until I got back on the track, where the group was starting to pull away!
I had just gotten my bottle secured as I was turning left onto the racetrack when a series of events unfolded that sent me into a mini panic attack. Here's what happened:
I didn't know that my mom was going to be there with another bottle. As I came onto the track she asked me if I wanted a bottle, and I realized that maybe I had a choice of water or sports drink. Hmmmm. Then I realized that maybe the bottle I had worked so hard to hang onto was full of calorie deficient WATER.
Then I realized that the group was getting way ahead of me and that there was a strong headwind coming up the track.
THEN.... I panicked.
I asked my mom "what is it?" (real intense-like)
I probably should have been calmer, panic being contagious, she replied, "ummmm...?"
"What is it!!!!!!!!!?"
"Ummmmmm..., FRS!"
"Too late!"
I had reached the point of no return with regards to the group and it was now or never if I was going to catch back on.
I put my head down and sprinted!

XC

2007-04-15T22:26:00.000-07:00

Not sure how many of us there were, but I passed enough riders to get 24th in the XC.
Not quite the top 20 spot I was shooting for but not bad considering the level of competition and the number of starters.

Mud Otter?

2007-04-14T22:46:00.000-07:00

Sea Otter was muddy again this year...

According to the Sea Otter website, the race was supposed to start at 11:40 a.m.
According to the printed schedule at Sea Otter it started at... 11:00.
As I parked and got changed it started to rain a little.
I started my warm up at 10:40, thinking I would have an hour warm up. After 5-10 min of warming up a friend came over and told me the race started at 11:00. He and I went to find out what the real starting time was.
As we approached the timing tent (10:53), we heard the sounds of mayhem. Right outside the tent were a couple of officials and a couple racers arguing over when they should start the race. At about 10:56 the official who seemed to be in charge decided that the race would start at 11:00. I ran to use the restroom!
As I was exiting the restroom I heard the announcer (the legendary Larry Longo) say over the PA that the Semi Pro mens ST race would start at (drumroll......) 11:45.
Right then the skies REALLY opened up and it started to pour rain, with the wind whipping it almost horizontally across the ground.
I took refuge at the Subaru-Gary Fisher team trailer, where Jon and Matt helped me set up a trainer like I was one of the "real" pros on the team. It wasn't the first or last time they would help me at Sea Otter this year.
I warmed up out of the rain for as long as possible and then headed over to the Starting line for the race... only to find that it had been pushed back until 12:15.
I went back to the Subaru/Fisher trailer to get out of the rain, and while I was there Jon talked to one of the race organizers and found out that the race had been moved to 2:45 p.m.

I went to go eat at the hospitality tent...

and had something they called a "Cappucino" to warm up. If you've never tried one before, you gotta do it. It's fantastic.

After my "Cappucino" it was back to the hotel room to warm up with a hot shower and dry clothes, and then STRAIGHT back to the race venue to start warming up (again).

After my warm up I pre-rode the incredibly muddy (although not as bad as last year) course, and went to the line with my now filthy bike. And my now filthy white shoes.

And the race actually started!

If you could look closely at my chain you would see something happening, in the very first seconds of the race, called "chain-suck", where the chain gets stuck between the chainrings and the frame.
After the first bad chain-suck my chain was bent, which led to... more chain suck!
Eventually, after I was far, far, behind the last rider in the group, it became clear that if I was in my middle or small rings I would DEFINITELY get chain-suck.
I blame the mud!

Oh, here I am big ringing it...

Hmm... big ringing it some more.

And here you can see Jason Lowetz trying in vain to clean my drivetrain, while I am... big ringing it.

I managed to (slowly) ride most of the course in my my big ring, only getting off and running up 2 of the steep sections that I couldn't ride up in that hard of a gear.
I (slowly) moved through the field until I was in 11th place, only to be pulled for no apparent reason, while in no danger of getting lapped ?!?!?!?!?!.

I didn't mind though, I was just happy to be done racing. Tired too.

JB's race went pretty much exactly the same way mine did...

only probably faster, and I don't think he had to get off his bike just because he was stuck in the big ring.

Tomorrow: XC!!!!!!!!!

Love is in the air....

2007-04-12T23:47:00.000-07:00

Motivation for me to be faster:

Proto Carbon Fisher 29er!!!!!! (Well, THIS one is not carbon, so I guess it's a proto of a proto?) Maybe, if I am a fast little boy I will get one next year.

Read more about 'em at Velo News.

Daily Grind

2007-04-11T21:56:00.000-07:00

Hill intervals today... BOOOORIIIIING. Tomorrow I pack for the Sea Beaver, make sure bikes are running smoothly and RIDE.
For your viewing pleasure:

This is one of the coolest pics I've taken. There was a super muddy, steep section last year at Mount Snow and Jeremiah got through it super fast and back on his bike cyclocross style smoothly. I just got lucky and caught him mid-air.

Food Life?

2007-04-09T21:00:00.000-07:00

Although this blog usually has cycling as a central theme, it is starting to seem more and more like a tour of the food I eat...

On one of my recovery rides Jesse Scarantino and I stopped by the best gelato maker on the planet (not my opinion, scientific fact) for some gelato. If you are a gelato fan, or you like GOOD italian coffee and you live in the Altadena/Pasadena area, then A: you are lucky, and B: go to Bulgarini Gelato

Jesse and Leo on the patio... Although they just moved into a new location on the North-West corner of Lake and Altadena Dr they are already proving to be very cyclist friendly.
The "Official Grand Opening" will be on the 14th of this month, but the owner (Leo) was happy to serve me and Jesse and the patio was a nice place to relax after riding.
This will inevitably become a regular spot to start/end a ride. If I can muster up enough self-discipline to not eat the (best) gelato (in the world) then at least I can treat myself to a grade A espresso!

Breaking down barriers... normally roadies and BMXers do not co-exist, but here Jesse is re-inventing the Euro Roadie Rules by wearing a matching kit (Italian Team) and exhibiting extreme image and style while simultaneously riding a bike costing less than 4,000 USD
I followed the E.R.R. and ignored him, but after seeing this picture I have been forced to re-evaluate my decision... I believe his strict adherence to rule #2, and the extreme image and style reflected in this photo warrant me overlooking his flagrant violation of exceptable bicycles.

Once again, although I took exception to his "fred"-like black shorts and his cheap POS frame I was compelled to overlook them on account of the extreme style and image.
Jesse is a reasonable person and when I explained the rules to him he agreed to buy a more expensive, european frame. It should be here tomorrow.

In other news a ladybug landed on my wife's leg.
Calm down...

A few years ago a pet shop burned down and the parrots escaped. They have been living in Altadena and the surrounding area ever since and have grown in number. Here they are making an extremely loud racket in some (poor) persons front yard.
I am pretty sure they are complaining about the hack job that some butcher did to their tree.
I was offended just riding by, and if I had seen the person responsible he would've recieved a slap across the face with my team issue gloves (which are white)

Rainy day riding... met up at a local coffee shop for a long ride to Baldy. It was miserably cold and raining so we went to my place and watched Off Road to Athens (must see for any MTBer) and rode the rollers and trainer.

My week ended with an Easter MTB ride. We had about 20 people show up and if I can get some pics I will devote a post to just that ride, otherwise you should know that guest blogger Jason Lowetz is showing impressive form and skill. He did not give up on even the steepest of hills.

Crazy, Beautiful... Crazy.

2007-04-04T02:41:00.000-07:00

I am speechless...

Another week gone by

2007-04-03T15:29:00.000-07:00

WINDY DAY

It was super windy the first couple days of last week. On one miserable training day I counted 11 trash cans blown out in the street. It was like an obstacle course for cars because the trash cans were blowing out from both sides and then rolling back to the curb so that the cars had to slolom around them.

It was strangely windy, even in the restroom.

Still, it's pretty hard to complain about the weather in So-Cal... I guess it was just kite weather that day.
I met up with Banner and we did hill repeats until my legs were jelly.

THE KITCHEN

It never gets old... after the miserable wind of the day before (I spent most of my ride picking grit out of my eyes) I rewarded myself with a mid ride lunch at the Kitchen.

Veggie and avocado with pesto, and turkey with veggies and a smokey cheese and mayo (chipotle mayo?) Whatever... tasty.

SUPER SPRINT

The next day I ran into Pat at the Bowl and led him out while he practiced sprints... here he is demostrating perfect form for a low speed sprint.

NIGHT HIKE

The night before I left for AZ and NORBA #1 I went on a night hike up Echo Mtn with friends.

It was Troy's first time hiking at night, and he was a little intimidated at first.

NOVA!!!! (NORBA #1)
The Helen's/Subaru/Fisher team was rolling strong in AZ!

Here is Alex B. on his way to winning the Expert TT.

John D.

Although I heckled John for taking the "girly" line (no offense ladies, I know many of you rode it) he threw down a rediculously fast TT time for 2nd in his Expert cat. which put him hot on Alex's wheels for the overall.
I can tell he's been training and it should really pay off this season!

That night I let Brooke trim my hair. I have to say, she did a pretty good job for her first time ever cutting hair.

The next day Brooke raced in the morning and got 3rd! It looked like a pretty exciting race, and 2nd place was within reach but a small tactical error made it tough to claim. It was obvious from Brookes description that she is learning how to race smarter. A lot of the time that is more of an advantage than fitness!
I will see if I can get her to write up an account of her race.

After she finished she still had the legs to pre-ride the course with me, Alex and John.

It was so hot out that we all cut the elastic off the sleeves of our jerseys!

After we rode Alex and John raced the Super D stage of their race.

Looks painful.

After the race we went downtown for lunch so I could fuel up before racing Short Track.

Rollin' on Dubs

A Flossy Whip in Downtown Fountain Hizzles for Shizzle.

SATURDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

It was weird racing at night. Parts of the course were pretty dark and it was a little unnerving to be going that hard and not really be able to see the ground.

Semi Pro is a lot different. There were over 50 starters in the race, and they were all fast, and they all fought tooth and nail for every spot on the course.

GO!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't have enough races to get called up to the front of the pack, but I got an okay start and I passed some riders to get into the top 10.
Although I wanted to finish in the top 10, I got elbowed to the ground and had to settle for 13th. I was pretty happy with that, considering how many racers there were and the fact that they were ALL fast!

The next days XC race was great for Alex and John. Alex won and John got 3rd after putting in plenty of face time at the front of the race. Not sure exactly how long he pulled for, but he definitely set pace for good chunk of the race.

My race was not so hot... after not getting a call up again, I started around mid pack in a group of over 70 riders. I gradually worked my way up to the top 10 (again) before the course got super narrow and it was almost impossible to pass anyone.
I sat behind a group of about 5 guys and rode about 25 watts under threshold while the lead group dissapeared!
After about 26 minutes of this me and another rider were FRUSTRATED! At first we snapped at each other but then we patched things up and he got pissed at the riders who were slowing things down and blocking the course. It's tough to say what's right and wrong, afterall everyone is racing, but that doesn't make it any easier on you when you are watching your chances of a good race go down the drain because another rider is going too fast/all over the trail and you don't have Adam Craig like passing skills.
Eventually I snapped and tried a tough pass on a rough line... I double flatted.
I lost around 7 min changing the tire and moved to the way back of the pack with some of the Junior Ex. riders.
When I came through the start/finish area I wanted to change wheels (for a tubeless wheel with sealant in it) and was told that the Tech Zone was for Pro and Junior Ex riders only (?) and I couldn't even take a spare tube. I have to say, the Pit officials were pretty UN-cool. They DQed on kid for using a 3-way wrench to adjust his seat hight and wouldn't let another rider exchange a FAULTY CO2 for a good one. I'm all for following the rules but a friendly attitude goes a long way too. This is MOUNTAIN biking after all... no offence Roadies.
With 3 laps to go on a course that was eating tires and tubes I was already 9 min and 70-some riders behind... I was pretty pissed, and for the first time ever I DNFed.

I got over my frustration pretty quickly though, when we all went out to eat! I guess a little food and drink was a nice compensation for a too-short race.

Me, Alex, Jason, John.
Jason double flatted in the XC too and finished right behind me in the Short Track.

Mad Prop's to Ohio

In the end found that there is a steep learining curve in the Semi's, which was good because I learned a lot!
Next race: Sea Beaver!

We're not worthy...

2007-03-26T13:40:00.000-07:00

(Thanks to Alex B. for alerting me to the existence of the rules. I am not sure who to credit for writing these pearls of wisdom, but I am proud to spread the gospel of...)

THE OFFICIAL EURO CYCLIST CODE OF CONDUCT: 1.Image and style shall be your primary concern. Winning races is an added bonus, and only counts if said euro cyclist wins with appropriate style.

2. You shall NEVER, under any circumstances, wear plain black spandex shorts or any team kit containing non-prominent Logo's.

3. The Socks must extend no less than 1cm below the main bulge of your calf muscle, and shall never extend further than 2cm past the primary calf muscle bulge . All socks shall be white in colour with prominent logo placement.

4. Cycling shoes must be of white colour only!-in certain circumstances, other colours, such as World Champion stripes are perfectly acceptable and encouraged.

5. If white cycling shoes are not available where you reside, white booties with prominent logo's shall always be worn.

6. You're bike frame must contain more than 3 colours, and must always fit tastefully with your wheel selection.

7. Zipp's are to be used as training wheels ONLY. You shall race only on Lightweights and occasionally Bora's if no lightweights are accessible.

8. Ridiculously stylish eye wear is to be worn at all time without exception.

9. In most circumstances, hair shall be kept neatly short, and matching helmet shall be worn (again with prominent logo placement). Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES shall a clashing helmet colour be worn with your euro kit.

10. In several cases, it is deemed acceptable to have long hair. In this event, hair shall be neatly slicked back in maximum euro-styling, and helmet shall not be worn. Stylish sport eyewear shall be worn at all times while exercising this option.

11. A prominent line where your kit ends and where your tan begins is essential to your image. Artificial tanning is banned, the tan shall reflect the level of training commitment.

12. All podium shots (pictures) shall be taken with the euro-rider wearing team kit and appropriately matching casual euro shoes (such as puma's). Socks shall remain within the guidelines above.

13. The seat shall ALWAYS be white along with the handlebar tape, and must be made in Italy or France. - Exception to this rule are seats or handlebar tape containing the following colours: World Champion Stripes,Olympic Gold, Italian flag colour combo (green redwhite).

14. You shall not, under any circumstances, acknowledge the presence of a cyclist riding a bike costing less than $4000 USD in a public place. This could be severely detrimental to your image.

15. Legs will be shaved year-round. ABSOLUTELY NO EXCEPTIONS.

16. Nothing short of All Carbon Water bottle cages shall be used. The only exception is gold (the metal) bottle cages which can be preferable in some situations where colour coordination is key (this is always).

17. Facial hair will be restricted to a goatee, and even this is discouraged. Mustaches are EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED.

18. Ceramic bearings shall be used at all time on both training and race bikes.

19. Campagnolo shall be the only acceptable componentry and is hereby deemed superior to ANY Shimano product in ALL circumstances. You are expected to have nothing less than an ENTIRE campy grouppo. Crank substitutions are NOT permitted.

20. ALL wheels shall be equiped with tubulars, regardless of your ability in gluing them.

21.You shall NEVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE, associate with triathletes. It is FORBIDDEN to have any number inked onto your body before a race.

22. Any physical activity, other than cycling, is STRONGLY DISCOURAGED. This includes any form of running or swimming and their derivatives (this includes walking).

23. You shall never rearrange your package while riding. Adjustments regarding seating/hanging comfort are to be done in private in order to preserve image.

24. In a circumstance where any cyclist ever displays aggression or disrespect towards you, you shall ride up uncomfortably close to them and slap them in the face with your team issue gloves. (which must be white)

25. MTB gloves are FORBIDDEN. Cycling gloves will be slick, white, and have minimal padding. Padding will be beige or white in colour.

26. In the event a motorist disturbs your ride, you shall proceed to ride up beside the car, form a clenched fist and bang the trunk of the car while doing your best attempt to sound irritated in Italian. Wild arm/head gestures are strongly encouraged to enhance the apparent rage.

27. When riding, sans helmet, a team issue cycling cap, preferably white, should be worn (depending on the hairstyle). The bill shall remain in the downward position at all times. Cycling cap can be worn forwards or backwards to coincide with current hairstyle.

MORE TO COME.... keep sending them in or post in the "comments" section.

For now if you have any questions refer to Mario Cipollini for advice on how to look euro pro.

Bonelli

2007-03-25T22:59:00.000-07:00

Glamour shot: hittin' the ol' dusty trail

Alex and I both had good races at Bonelli, along with the rest of the Helen's/Subie/Fisher team.
Alex won his race and I came in 5th.
Podium shots on Flickr
It was fun to get back to racing and also cool because I am not alone in the Semi's.
Another Subie rider, Papo, is in the same cat. and we are about the same speed so we were able to stick together for a while.
Details? Ummm... it was hard, it went on for a while. I passed a few people near the finish and got on, well not ON technically, but... next to, the podium.
Stay tuned for next blog: Euro Roadie Rules of Engagement. Sweeeet.

Baby Hauler Baller.

2007-03-24T20:32:00.000-07:00

Now this is how to train!
I ran into Colleen on my ride today... as you can see, she is pulling a little something extra. It didn't keep her from opening up a gap. On a hill.
I actually caught up (I had to ride a little above my comfort level) a little later and we got to ride for a few blocks while I headed over to Montrose for coffee.
I predict that when she has only 2 wheels to turn again she will be, what is known in the cycling world (and every other world as well) as "quick".
Before that though, I visited Ben at The Kitchen for some of the best damn food in LA. The Kitchen is a super cool place in Pasadena that does catering and take out. They have tables right outside where you can eat if you go mid ride (which I recommend).
It's also nice if you want to eat picnic style... there's a park right down the street and a coffee shop on the corner so It's a cool spot for an afternoon date!
Anyway, lunch at the Kitchen, coffee in Montrose (also hung out at the bike shop with guest bloggers/racer-types the Lowetz bro's) and running into Colleen made this a pretty entertaining recovery day.

Pink is the new White

2007-03-23T11:07:00.000-07:00

Because I can...

Before I rode today, I changed my bar tape. I went with pink. Now I'm like, 10 times as faster-er as I use to be. If I could only find a pink saddle...

Spring is here, and group rides are on like Donkey Kong...

This ain't no Ohio group ride. If you think your ride wouldn't be crushed by ours, feel free to drop by the 'Bowl any tuesday or thursday. Come by, introduce yourself, and be crushed.
I'm just kidding Ohio, I'm sure your group rides are really... cute.

That skinny bastard with the messenger bag made the winning break on stage 3 of the San Dimas Stage Race. I really don't know how he stays so thin... he's one of the best chefs,... the BEST chef I know. If I could cook like that I would eat WAY too much.
Good job in San Dimas, Ben, see you for lunch.

After my workout, I stopped off for a few refreshments.

Nuthin' says "recovery" like Cheerios, juice and Pokemon.
Whut up Tuck' and Mickey!

P.S. John, it's going to suck when you kick my ass now.

Rainy Daze

2007-03-21T23:11:00.000-07:00

It's hard to feel motivated when it's freezing cold and raining outside. I waited until the rain stopped and then headed to the Rose Bowl to ride, figuring that if I stayed close to home I could head in if it started to rain again.
It just misted on me a bit when I started out but even that stopped... still cold though.
I never felt loose, warmed up and ready. Probably because of the cold. I kept stretching but in the end I just cracked out the best intervals I could do until it seemed like I would be doing more harm than good to continue. Ahhhhh, the mundane days of training seem so long.

My side of the story

2007-03-18T23:53:00.000-07:00

The last three days are kind of a blur, but here is a race report from my perspective, as well as I can remember.
I would definitely encourage anyone to add to it and just keep on passing it around until we get the full story!

Day 1: Well... actually, the whole shebang kicked off prior to day one of racing so...

Day 0.5: We all got together for a team meeting at Jerry's house. Everyone was cool, there was a lot of good planning for the race and the season in general.
Eddie sort of gave us all the "low-down" on how the team worked and how to work as a team.
We were all extremely well fed. I am picky eater, but I'll eat a lot if it's good, and I'm pretty sure I made at least 3 trips to the table to refill my plate! Jerry downplayed his cooking skill when he said all he did was "go to Costco, boil water, wait." (or something to that effect)... I say that if 99.999999% of all restaurants can screw up pasta, you gotta be pretty handy in the kitchen to get it right.
Everyone left happy, and that set us up for...

Day 1: I had the pleasure of showing up for the TT and finding a PAA tent all set up and ready to go! It was conveniently located about as close as you could get to the starting area and it was very relaxing to find a calm place to retreat to before and after the race.
Whoever got up early to create that space should know that it really helped to make the whole race a lot more enjoyable/less stressfull and I couldn't have done it better myself. Hell, I couldn't have done it as good myself. Ahhh, who am I kidding, I couldn't have done it. Period.
After warming up with my teammates (I was anti-social and listened to Jurassic 5 on my I-Pod most of the time) I went to the timing tent for a 9:05 start. I think I was the first PAA rider off.
I rode as hard as I could for 3.8 miles, and picked off as many riders as possible on my way to the top... in my mind I kept thinking of Scott Powell's hwy 2 climb time!
OK, that's a lie. I thought of that before the TT but the TT itself was mostly an oxygen deprived haze. All I remember (vaguely) is fighting the urge to stop pedalling.
I forgot to stop my timer at the top, so I didn't know exactly how long it took me. I was pretty sure I'd gone fast though! I was almost... confident.
My confidence turned out to be misplaced though, because unlike the Pro TT times where #1 and #2 were 0.6 seconds apart, Scott beat his closest competitors (myself included) by 15 seconds. He beat his, ummm... not-closest competitors by a lot more. I think his time was about 15:30.
So that was how the day ended, with PAA in the yellow jersey.

Day 2: Once again I showed up to a stable space to warm up in. I set up my trainer and started to warm up, this time without my I-Pod, as Eddie was there to provide valuable stat's from the day before, and help us all create a plan of action for the day. In addition to breaking down the GC contenders and possible threats to the yellow jersey verbally, Eddie also wrote their numbers on masking tape and put them on our stems. That came in handy later, because once the race started I could barely remember my own name. Not because the pace was fast (that came later) but because I was nervous.
We all arrived at the staging area right on time and proceeded to wait in the freezing (I'm a California boy so for me the cold was life threatening) cold and fog for at least 20 min. Apparently someone had not opened one of the gates on the stage route, opening the door to a potentially huge cluster%@#!!.
Eventually, after everyones legs were cold and our warm-ups rendered useless, the race got underway.
The whole team worked together incredibly and I never once took a pull! It was a lot different from other group rides (where I would pull) and from the SDSR last year (where I worked for John McKeen). Last year I sprinted to take time bonuses away from anyone threatening John. This year Scott and I were close enough in GC that when you factored in the sprint bonuses I actually pulled ahead. Ironically, one of the main people who helped me get in position to sprint on day 1 was... Scott!
Anyone who saw that first sprint knows that there was no one behind me... the reason no one was there though, is because Scott pulled all the way down the finishing straight, stringing out the field until, when I got close enough to sprint for the bonus and looked back... no one was there.

I hope I have the opportunity to reciprocate.
All the PAA guys were very aggressive at times, and we really controlled the stage. Everyone rode within themselves and no one pushed so hard that they got dropped... even if it took teamwork to stay with the peloton (or claw your way back to it) until we could recover. (I am pretty sure there is more to that story/s so if this sounds familiar, just post your account of it in the "comments" section)
With everyone (but me) working I conserved enough energy to sprint for it at the end of the stage and PAA went 2 for 2 in the San Dimas Stage Race.
Later, after looking at my power files, I estimated that including all the sprints I did, I still averaged about 10 watts less than everone else. Probably more that 10 watts less than some of riders *ahhhhhhmmscottpowellhmmm* who rode super strong that day.
I went home and took a nap.

Day 3: We all set up our trainers at the tent (which magically appeared without any work on my part again) and warmed up. I started asking for team support early and borrowed Jerry's pump, and embrocation (well... "borrowed" implies that he got it back so... he gave it to me). After taking Jerry's stuff I asked if anyone had seen the second jacked I had lost. I guess someone realized that I leave my shit behind after I left jacket number one, because someone had grabbed it for me and handed it to me now.
Then I got on my trainer and started warming up with the rest of the guys. After we were all warmed up and we had been briefed by Eddie we headed to the staging area and waited.
There was some grumbling about how strong PAA was as we were called to the line, and then the race started.
We all rode as a team and that was the coolest part of all three days to me. Everyone stuck together (the pic at the top shows how near to each other we were all riding) until a rider would take a planned break and we would all let it go. Scott Powell got in a break with one of the top GC riders (533) and we got a pic so you can see him off the front below.

It was cool because his working in the break let all his teammates rest! None of us had to take any pulls while he was off the front.

At one point, I remember hearing Jim "explain" to another rider that we weren't going to chase down our own teammates, so if they wanted to bridge the gap they'd just have to do all the pulling themselves.
It was funny to just sit up and make other people do all the work to catch someone... on a group ride I would get yelled at for that!
For the most part, anytime I needed or wanted help from a teammate they were there doing what I would've asked before I could get the words out.
On the 2 occasions where no one read my mind and I actually asked for help (I think once was to chase a break and once was because I was lazy and didn't want to pull, LOL!) I got what I needed/wanted/wastolazytodomyself with no hesitation or reservation. It was cool.
The pace picked up quite a bit throughout the race and by the the mid-race time bonus sprint we were going pretty hard.
Number 506 (Braun Lutz,3rd in GC) attacked and Scott and another teammate (all I saw was a butt and I didn't have time to look more closely) pulled me close enough as we came through the last turn of the loop that I was (barely) able to nip him for the bonus. That helped secure the yellow jersey and Scott's 2nd in GC. After that I just sat in, protected by teammates who weren't busy pushing the pace or attacking, until the last two laps.
With two laps to go I wormed my way to the front and waited with a couple other PAA riders to see what would happen.
Braun Lutz attacked out of turn three and Jim went after him, pulling me with him.
Braun is in front in the climbers jersey, Jim is in the middle and I am about to latch onto his wheel. Braun accelerated hard right after this pic but Jim closed the gap by about halfway up the climb.
Either some of our PAA riders sat up out of the turn, or the pack just slowed down to fit everyone around the corner, because just as Jim caught Braun I looked back and saw that a gap had opened.
Braun had aready been out in the wind for bit and seemed a little tired, and since Jim had pulled me up to him I was (in comparison) rested so I attacked.
Jim sat up right on cue, and as I got to the top of the climb I looked back to see Braun gesturing at Jim and trying to move to one side so that Jim could pull through. Jim moved when Braun moved, and stayed in the draft.
I drilled it as hard as I could along the top and down most of the hill. I looked back before I turned the corner onto the finishing straight to see Braun cracking and Jim starting to pull through with the pack closing fast a few seconds behind him.
I had enough of a gap that I didn't have to sprint, so I had front row seats for the last 5-10 seconds of the race.
Jim put his head down and buried it all the way to the line... the pack didn't quite catch him in time and only one sprinter was able to get by, giving PAA 994/1491sts (roughly two thirds) of the podium spots for the stage.
Scott stayed glued to Brauns wheel. I'm pretty sure they finished right next to each other, meaning there was no way Braun could endanger Scott's podium spot.
After that I looked forward again, but everyone finished in the pack and I could hear some of my teammates yelling "Whoooo-Hooooooo". The feeling was mutual!!!!!!!!!!
We gathered around for a post race celebration, Eddie said a few choice words and pictures were taken, before we all headed off to cool down...

That's the way I saw it go down, but I would love to hear other peoples accounts of what happened, so if you have anything to add... post it!!!!!!!!!!

-Lyle
Winning a road race for the first time was a good feeling... I will look for more cool stage races to do!

What happened to all the dirt?

2007-03-17T21:44:00.000-07:00

I am racing my road bike in the San Dimas Stage Race! It will be over tomorrow and I will (maybe) be able to muster up the energy to provide a more detailed report...

Idle Afternoons

2007-03-15T11:43:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the TT stage of the San Dimas Stage Race! I have been sort of taking it easy the last few days to give myself a break... so not a whole lot to write about!

Will report back tomorrow with the TT stage inside scoop.

Weekend update.

2007-03-11T23:38:00.000-07:00

RACING IN FONTUCKY! This picture is priceless! Don't know why they have the windshield wipers up, but that is a 50 pound dumbell behind the rear wheel, to keep it from rolling off the jack. Safety first I guess.
I will definitely give the down-low (the "D.L." as the kids say) on all the race action but right now I have urgent news to tell you:

GUEST BLOGGER JASON LOWETZ ON THE NEWS:
This is a picture of Jason and his brother Dan in the middle of some heated MTB race action...
on thursday they were in a middle of a car chase!
Here's what Dan had to say:

"Today at around noon, I was riding up the first half mile of the crest and rocking out to a euphonious track by the band "Tool" on my iPod, when a car flew by at about 70-80mph. At first I thought maybe the car was going normal speed and I was perhaps traveling backwards at 60mph, but my computer did infact indicate i was going +11mph. The car was followed by about 500 police cars and police motorcycles with loud sirens and flashy lights - I guess they just happened to also be in hurry to get to where the fast car was in a hurry to get to. There were two helicopters in the air. The sites and sounds surrounding me almost made me feel like I was riding in the tour, and I was on a mega breakaway. Then, back to reality, I just happened to see my brother descending down the oposite side of the road - what a small world. He tried to turn around and chase me down but I was going way to fast for legs as weak as his, so he resorted to calling my cell phone. He suggested that the crest would not be the best place to be riding on a bicycle during a police chase, since it's already pretty sketchy under normal conditions. I agreed and turned around, turning my 80 mile day in to a 60 mile day, which was plenty enough anyways.

I'm not sure if it was televised, but if it was and you saw two fellas wearing PAA duds (one in last year's colors and one in the new), them there were's us.

Have a great day!
Daniel"

For those who don't know, PAA colors are mostly red. See if you can spot Jason going opposite the car exactly 15 seconds into this news report: http://www.cbs2.com/video/?id=35257@kcbs.dayport.com (HINT: He just looks like a black, fuzzy speck.)

Here Jason brings you the inside story of a man... well, more than a man actually... anyway, he brings you the story:

"Yes.
Reguarding the police chase up the crest today.
The red and blue blur you see in the chase footage( aprox. 2.3 seconds after the cbs2 commentator says "this is crazy") was me.
What you didn't know is that he was talking about me.
You can't see it in the footage...but I was traveling at over 270 mph and actually bunny hopped the suspects car.
While in the air I turned, looked at the camera and said.... "yer momma" "how you like me now" "bizzatch" "whooop there it is"
A 2nd chase began.
They were chasing me. Big wooopie. I cranked it up to 40,000 watts. The chase lasted 4 seconds.
Endurance miles are sooo borrrrring.
Jaysus"

AND NOW... BACK TO FONTUCKY.

I hitched a ride to the race with (new Subie rider) Alex Boone and Lee Bird. I was really just going to cheer them on and pass out water bottles, I even brought a Rubik's cube to confound me while they were out on laps.
I DID bring my bike though. Y'know... just in case. After a couple hours of putting off any kind of decision (why put off 'till tomorrow what you can put off 'till the day AFTER tomorrow?) I found myself writing a check to Southridge for a little pre-season fun. I wasn't quite commited to the whole "race" experience though, so I brought my digital camera with me.
We went to the line. It was hot. I had no expectations.
I chased Alex around the course for almost 2 hours, racing as fast as I knew how!
He beat me by almost a minute. I considered that a good race.
Heavy hitters^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Lee on the left, Alex, Eddie, Matt.

The next day Alex and I rode super easy for coffee and enjoyed a well deserved rest day!

Bear Divide

2007-03-09T23:43:00.000-08:00

Coffee at Swork and a new route! Banner took me up "Bear Divide" today. Great climb and very scenic, not much traffic. Maybe a new favorite? It's a little far from home, but time will tell.
Banner is the tiny red dot in the picture above.