Catching up...

Sorry these are so late in coming...

Rode the Cool 24 course last night (Monday) and I like it. The changes are nice. The first added single track is a bit flat for my liking being on a SS, but the second bit is a fun downhill. The last addition changes the climb out of Salt Creek. Just when you hit the rocky steep double track you head off on single track. The climb itself I think is steeper, but you ride out to a lake on single track before joining back up with the top part of the old double track climb... Nice changes Jim!

Now all of the new trail junctions do not flow at all, but after 6 hrs or so nothing is flowing anyway!

Rode Auburn last Wednesday, Marja and I had a fast ride on the usual loop up Clementine to the connector, to the Foressthill Divide loop, a little visit with Ruck-a-Chucky and on back. Marja had to head down to school so I rode up Stage Coach, came down Manzanita, up to Upper Stagecoach and down and did it all over again... A good 6 hours I needed in the saddle. We did have an exciting medical emergency issue, but that a later blog...Not us...

A few days later we rode out to Granite Bay to meet up with Jenni and Joel. We did a lap with them (Sabastian too of course) and then started back toward Hazel where we started out day. Somewhere between GB and Beale's Point my rear tire explodes. I look down between my legs and really can't figure out what I see... My rim had separated for about six inches along the arc.
April 20, 2009

Life has been nutty lately, probably my own fault considering how much the kids have going on then add what I am trying to do on the bike...well its almost time to breath for a week or two, after May 2-3 of course.

The past few weeks have been fun. Lots of riding, racing, bonking and just plain good-old suffering in the saddle. Last weeks race out at Prairie City on Wednesday was fast, very fast and my 34x16 was a bit small for the course. As we came through to start our second lap they had just finished starting the sport classes and still had the beginner classes to go through...

The funniest thing happened starting that second lap (well its funny now), there was a short but steep climb, geared rider went down in front of me, I steered left of him and gave a burst of power to pop over the top of the climb and next thing I know my knee is practically smacking me in the chin. I hit the deck, pick the bike up (as 4 or 5 single speeders fly by me), and as I leap to mount my bike CX style, I notice my foot feels nice and airy... I had actually come out of my left shoe, it was spinning around still clipped into my pedal. HMMMM......lucky for me as I put my left foot on the pedal my foot slipped right in. The only problem was I couldn't spin circles in order to keep my cadence up, I could only mash down on the pedals....

I attempted to buckle my shoe several times, but PC is rocky to say the least.... Finally we got to a flatter road crossing and I had to slow and buckle my shoe....3 more SSs fly by....good news is, I felt good so I didn't panic, I caught up to the three pretty quickly and at the bottom of the climb I left them. Topped out and kept spinning my brains out to catch the 4 that passed earlier on my fall.

A few "iffy" choices on the decent later and I was on their wheels, through the parking lot and out on lap 3....passed two, sat on the Victory Velo's wheel out to the flatter part of the course where said SSers I just passed, pass us but off course. They cut the corner, a big sweeping corner we rode, they cut it and ended up in front.... I know its only PC, but I was pissed. Again, bottom of the climb, I took off and topped out in front again, through the parking lot with Victory Velo on my wheel, then he came over and the two of us made our way into a traffic jam that allowed the earlier said SSers to catch back up.... Flat part of the course on lap 4, guess who is off to our right cutting the course again....bummer.

No panic, I get close to them as we near the climb and hit the climb hard, maybe a little too hard as I let my emotions push me past the redline just a wee bit too far. No worries I know I can recover and push hard to the finish.

As we approach the parking lot I take a softer line and the three (victory velo and the other two SSers) take the better line and they sneak in under me...I blew that one, oh well.

As the Victory Velo and the others battle past the line into the chute, Victory Velo starts barking at one of them....I roll by and congratulate Victory Velo and tell him not to sweat it, that the other two cut the course lap 3 and 4. The other 2 got extremely defensive, I just told them "no worries next time just ride the course like everyone else...." The three of them kept arguing. I cruised over to Pete's tent, proceeded to eat my almond butter and jelly sandwich and get ready to ride back to Scott's house from PC. Dave and I rode a lap around the park then I headed out for the ride home. Beautiful night too! Great day of miles on the SS with a 12.5 sprint in the middle of it, total 52 miles.

Rode again on Thursday with Marja on the bike trail, just spun on the road bike for an hour and a half trying to be rested for Sea Otter.

Then comes Sea Otter. I met Scott and Marja at Laguna Seca on Saturday after Cameron's baseball game. I picked up my number and timing chip and we headed back to the hotel to go eat and relax. Great pizza at Gianni's, then just settled in at the hotel. 5:30 came, Scott made some waffles in his waffle maker! Now these were sweet, but I fear this may have been my first mistake of the day (foreshadowing, notice the word FIRST in front of the word MISTAKE). I always eat oatmeal and blueberries and/or yogurt every morning, especially race morning. I am no nutritionist, I am guessing here.

Flash forward to our arrival at Laguna Seca, 48 degrees in Monterey at 7a.m., 64 degrees at Laguna Seca already. I strip off my knee warmers, arm warmers and vest, get a good luck from Scott and Marja, then I head out to warm up. Feel like I usually do before this race, a little anxious, but relaxed wishing I could warm up more though. We stage.

Pro/Cat 1 SS are off at 8a.m. Strong field as expected at Sea Otter, and the usual fast start. Now this start on the track at Laguna Seca cracks me up on SSs....its something you have to see and listen to in order to understand....all heads bobbing up and down in sync as we spin out, then no bobbing and the sound of knobbies...then heads bobbing, and so on...again, words can't describe it...its funny. I stayed with the front group all the way around the track and on to the dirt. Ouch!

The first climb was no biggy and the crazy roller coaster section afterwards was a blast. Then the single track section that can be mayhem was fast and relatively smooth this year...the first switchback climb. Legs felt a bit heavy as expected but kept plugging away, at the top however I felt lethargic, everywhere.....no worries, just kept cranking knowing I had the "sandpit of joy" to descend with the first relentless climb just afterward....I was very upbeat looking to slap the climb around. Made my way passed two SSers in the decent through the sand (my fat 2.2 Exiwolf was heaven...they had what looked like 1.9s on the front...not good for sand) and hit the bottom of the next climb.

This climb is relentless, it keeps kicking up, false flat, kick and when you think its topped out it starts kicking again.... I went passed Zol (local racer), he didn't look too happy pushing on the lower section, I rounded the next corner, got caught in traffic and had to dismount and jogged the bike for a bit to where you can see the end of the climb up about 50 meters. Topped out and felt absolutely toasted....legs felt okay but my whole body just felt tired...

No worries, kept cranking. The rest of the lap went like this, I jogged the steep little climb near the end of the lap and was okay with it due to all the traffic on it. The long climb in was tough but I was upbeat as I always feel better the longer I race.

Saw Marja and the pooches, she handed me bottles and I could barely get the words "thank you" out of my mouth. Saw a lot of people I knew on that climb in so it lifted me a bit and I dropped into Laguna Seca to do a lap on the track and then head out on Lap #2.

Now when I dropped my bottles, they were both half full....no big deal if it was 60, big deal as it was already approaching 90 degrees.

Ate a fig newton package, took a rolaid and an S cap and felt pretty good. felt good and fast until the relentless climb....topped out and my body felt totally lethargic. Here's the funny part...I went to rest my elbows on my bars and I fell over. I jumped back up, got on and sucked down two GUs and kept pedaling, how fast, I am not really sure....I felt horrible.

As I made my way up the last climb I again saw Adam, Alex and a few others I recognized from Sac when Alex yelled, "You are looking strong Brad!"....I retorted, "You are so full of s&^%!" with a big smile on my face....

My biggest issue was at the bottom of that last climb I was freezing cold with goosebumps....I thought to myself, "uh oh..." You are taught that if its hot, really hot and you get cold, "stop what you are doing" but I realized my best bet was to finish the race. Firstly it will get me whatever it is I need and secondly, I will not get a DNF.

So my streak of mediocre races at Sea Otter continues. That's racing I guess. Looking back I think MAYBE it had something to do with what I ate, MAYBE I should have let the lead pack go at the start and ramped up from there. Then again MAYBE I should have drank more fluids... The sick thing is, I still had fun in the end, and I did not throw in the towel. You need those character building rides from time to time.

Fluid count for the ride home: 24oz water bottle, 20 oz lemonade, 24 oz Cliff recovery, 2 diet cokes, 30+oz powerade, another 20 oz diet coke on the drive to my parents...2.5 hrs later I finally had to pee. Hydration?