July 27, 2009
Well its almost August...yikes where did the summer go?
The kids start school in 3 weeks.
Annika will be in Kindergarten....whoa, its official... she really is growing up. Cameron, he's a 2nd grader. Wow I am getting old...at least I don't feel that old!!
This year is flying! After Boggs 24 we have been doing a lot of playing rather than the usual regiment of "ride everyday for a reason." Marja proclaimed this the summer of "Skillz" so we have ridden Northstar at Tahoe twice...yes on the lifts!! She has been tearing up the technical decents! It has made a huge difference in her confidence when it comes to losing elevation!
We also threw in a great ride on the Rim with Scott. We rode Mt. Rose to Marlett Lake, down the Flume Trail and back along the Rim to Mt. Rose. That night we met Joel and Jenni at the Tahoe SRA in Tahoe City to camp so we could ride Northstar the next day. Beautiful location, right on the lake. However HWY 28 was on the other side of us. Talk about high density camping, wow. And the party goers returning to the site after the bars, lets just say no one slept much after about 11:45/12:00. Ouch. We woke up, then headed out on a 5 minute HIKE to get coffee at the coffee shop! After that, breakfast at McD's...nothing like camping!!!
We rode Northstar, this time on Jenni and Joel's free-ride bikes so it was a bit more enjoyable on the bumps. The one major issue however, we were riding on platform pedals....i.e. NOT clipped in. Hey, I rode my old schwinn bmx everywhere as a kid. I used to huck table tops and other combinations of nutty jumps in what used to be a drainage canal in Pleasanton, now its a strip mall off Hopyard. So off I go on Joel's wheel, we take a few sweeping banked turns and hit the first double jump. I thought I'd take it easy and just get a little air and land on top of the double....even with what little air I got, my feet were floating about 3 inches above the pedals....YIKES!
It took me the better part of the day to get my feet to stick to the pedals...amazing how 15 years of riding clipped into pedals can totally screw you up... I do have to say, for the most part I enjoyed all 6" of travel on that bike...believe me, I was using all 140mm up front throwing that bike through some crazy lines....good practice for the technical skills!!
More recently I have been trying to get back into a regiment preparing for the Tahoe Sierra 100 in September and the Knickerbocker 8hr in October. I took the week off entirely to take the kids camping up in Highlands, south of Ebits Pass. At that point my entire left side of my body from the lower back down was completely trashed. Seems my "i.t. band," my butt, hamstring, and my quads on my left are totally "freaking out" to quote Veloyce. Since that rest, Veloyce up at Monsters of Massage has got my sciatic nerve cooperating with me. For a while now I have had serious sciatic nerve issues: pain in my upper left butt, down my Hamstring, in my quad and most ridiculous in my left groin and hip flexer. Its been miserable, just ask Marja as hard as I try I have been a whiney a$$ and rather annoying I am sure.
So anyway, going 2x per week to see Veloyce, and let me tell you I cry while he is working on me and I feel like I was hit by a bus the next morning....but things are getting under control!! THANK YOU VELOYCE!!! I am heading there today actually!
Where was I....after highlands, which was awesome camping with Marja and the kids...they had an absolute blast! It was fun watching Marja squirm after the first half-day...she always has to be doing something so she was crawling out of her skin! Cute!!
Since then I have been trying to get consistent, but between work/kids schedules/etc its been tough. Road a few CX rides with Scott and Marja (her new CX bike will hopefully be here on Wednesday), I also was able to ride Diablo a while back. Once up from the N. gate, then to the S. gate and back to the summit. Its a nice ride, 50+ miles with about 7k in vertical. The second trip is always better than the first for me.
Last Saturday Scott, Marja, Linda and I headed out on a little climbing-spree. The usual route (well almost) with the N. Fork canyon thrown in: down Ponderosa to the river and back up to Weimar along 80, then down Yankee Jim's to the N. Fork and up Yankee Jim's back to Foresthill and then after 7+ hours and two "Monkey-butts" later we road the road back to the confluence - 57 miles with 7850 of vertical.
Surprisingly my legs felt amazing. Now the trip up Ponderosa toward Weimar hurt...mostly due to the heat: funny thing was the heat on your back was less than the heat radiating up off the fire road... My biggest issue, the Monkey! And it wasn't on my back! Seems Champion Systems shorts do not agree with me anatomically...nor Marja...Get out the Desitin!!!!! I will leave it at that!
Today I am running, short on time, but the reality is my diaper rash still hurts!!!! So now I start prepping for Tahoe Sierra....looking forward to it this year. Life starts to get hectic again with Annika's Gymnastics getting into full swing the next few weeks, Cameron's soccer I will be helping to coach and School too! Time to invest in Monsters again!!
Once Marja's DeSalvo actually arrives, I will post pictures.....it is going to be sweet!!!! I am jealous. She is pulling her hair out, for the real story ask her....or Chris (thats Burrito Mom :)
Cheers!!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Coolest 24hr @ Boggs
Well here it is, my report on Boggs 24hrs. A wee bit different than Cool:
The course was tough, after talking with Dez on a lap Sunday morning he agreed this may have been one of the toughest courses for a 24hr race. It started out with a short fire road stretch to single track that wound through the forest. It had a sweet little rock garden that had a few little drops that dropped you on to more single track. Then came the first climb, a fire road ascent that was steep but not too long followed by some rolling fire road/single track to the first single track climb that was tough. It had a few little descents and topped out at a long section of rolling descent with some switch backs that went on for a while...a nice relief. The course went up and down from here on tight single track and eventually dropped you off on the fire road climb back to the top of the course. Ouch. From the Garmin Marja had on her bike it looks like about 2 miles with a steep pitch at the bottom and a steep pitch at the top. Here, after lap 3 I hiked the bottom and top pitches faster than the geared bikes were riding them...
After you topped out it was a ripping single track descent with a few little ups that made all that suffering worth it. Then, "plop" you get to do it all over again.
Scott, Shelly and Max followed Marja and I (with Maddie and Phil of course) for the drive to Boggs Demonstration Forest near Cobb south of Clear Lake. Pete caught us on the road so we all arrived together and set up the pit area. Scott and Shelly made a great dinner for all of us and then around 8 it was time to hit the hay. Pete stayed at Boggs, while the rest of us lesser mortals crashed at the Bates Motel in Cobb. A good night sleep before race day.
We all met back up at the pits around 8, cooked breakfast and got the last details dialed in. With the weather cooperating I was able to mask my nerves....Marja was having a tougher time than me. Leading up to the start of Cool I was a complete basket case, I could tell she really wanted to get the race started. Fast forward to the start...
I rode the first lap with Scott (he and Shelly were doing the 8hr as a team). We had a cattle call at the technical rock garden about 1 mile into the course, but after that the course opened up. I was his tour guide as most of the course was the same as the Boggs 8Hr course that Carlos at Bike Monkey uses in March... It was nice to just ride and talk with Scott the whole time. As we rode the climb on the back side of the course I began wondering about gearing. I had 34x18 on the DeSalvo, and rode that first lap strong....hmmmm, 24hrs though. 1st lap down (Scott passed off to Shelly) and the race started in earnest as I had to get my mind into it. I will be the first to admit I was all over the place mentally. Thinking about way too much.
After lap 2 I swapped bikes with Pete and asked him to put the 19 on the back....a decision that payed off later. I was on my Bianchi that had crooked handle bars and a crooked seat. I am not the best multi-tasker, so early Saturday when tweaking the bike and talking with everyone I failed to pay attention....no biggee....just funny...
To my surprise, Pete was at the mid-way point of the race at an aid station with my DeSalvo. SWEET! I have a lot of history with that Bianchi, by my god is the DeSalvo heaven compared to it... quick cyclocross-like swap and I kept on rolling!
Off I go...
Heading out on lap 4, Pete tells me Mike Harrison is 10 minutes up on me, so take a minute or so off my laps. This started me focusing on racing. My lap times were good, but I was "riding" this race so far, not "racing." I picked it up a notch.
I come through and Pete tells me I knocked 4 minutes off my lap time, great, but back off....
Next lap, "its a 24 hr race Brad, same lap time you can slow down..."
I honestly thought I was. On my lap 7, as I am grinding up toward the halfway aid station I see DeSalvo across some one's butt.....its Marja!
I call out and she cusses me out (in play of course) because she wanted to hold me off for her entire 8 hours. This should have told me how fast I was going. Looking back I should have slowed right here and ridden the lap out with her. We talked for a little and I kept hammering that lap....
Lap 8 I just keep riding with good focus. Top of the last climb I see Mike. I caught him. We finish that lap together and he looks like hell. I head out on a little of a mental high and start lap 9 in the lead. I quickly extend my lead to about 20 minutes over the next few laps... with this a few problems pop up.
Next lap I ride consistently, consistently SLOW as I am on the verge of vomiting most of the lap. Finish and end up in the bathroom for a while.
Mike passes me...
I hit the pit and Marja and Pete are lost as too how. Mike seriously turned it on at night and in combination with my GI issues he caught me and kept riding strong on the high of catching me. I, on the other hand, still nauseous and mentally smacked in the face am having a hard time regaining my focus. The next few laps Mike get almost 20 minutes on me before I regain some focus and start riding more consistent.
One lap in particular I was starving but nauseous at the same time. I was whining HUGE, Marja stepped up and threw my butt out of the pit on my bike...the BEST thing that could have happened, thanks Marja!!!
As the night wears on its freaking COLD...really cold for June in California. As expected, as the light starts to appear on the Eastern Horizon the temp is dropping, BUT the sun is coming.
Once in the daylight I regain a bit of my focus and start riding better. My body is still broken, but my mind is better. I ride a lap with Dez, he passes me on a climb and I ride his butt on the descents. A great carrot for me to follow. He stops to visit nature, and a bit later on the last descent we ride into the pits together. It was great to have someone to talk to.
This race had 40 24hr folks on the course after 8pm Saturday. It made it very desolate at night. So the conversation was a nice change. I had several laps where I saw no one!
As time is passing, I am realizing that I definitely have 2 laps I can get in before 12. Mike has 16 minutes on me, he can definitely get 3 more. I do not want to finish 1 lap down on him for a couple reasons:
Lap 18 Pete and Marja tell me I have to bust it in order to get out on Lap 19 with enough time. I struggle on 18, but role through the start/finish with 1hr 20 minutes to finish Lap 19. That was my average since morning.
I come into the pit and toss my bottles, Marja replaces them, she shoves two Snickers in my mouth...Pete shoves 4 Chomps in my mouth...with a Diet Coke in hand I leave within seconds of arriving at the pit. Riding down pit row I realize I just might be sweeping the course. Turns out Pete and Marja were really worried about me making it, and Jim (race director) came by the pit after I left and expressed his concern that I wouldn't make it.
I can happily say I left that pit knowing I would make it. Somehow I found complete focus from the start of that lap. I just kept mumbling to myself "my legs will clear quickly and easily"...nonstop. I caught a "Davis Bike Club" guy on the single track climb and he was toast. I tried to fire him up but he was broken....he wouldn't make it.
I fly down the descents trying to gain every second I can. I start grinding up to the halfway point and there's Marja Screaming for me with a diet coke in hand....I grab it, slam most of it and keep on pushing. She didn't seem too happy I remember thinking. Afterwards she told me she was concerned I might just miss the cutoff.
On the last climb, I pass another solo Single Speed and fire him up. He was silent.... I yelled at him to get on his bike and push his butt to the finish....
The last descent toward the end I was flying... I glance at my watch and realize not only was I going to make noon, but I was going to have over 10 minutes to spare.
I pop out at the start/finish, Marja and Pete yelling! I roll around the final tree and see the clock reads 23:47:15. I just pulled off a 1:07 final lap. I was so stoked. Marja grabs my bike and as I hop off all excited I suddenly feel like I was going to hurl. A few dry heaves here and there and my stomach starts to settle.
I was so happy to have pulled off that lap after losing focus over night. To race that hard and that fast for 24 hrs was a new level for me. My hats off to Mike, he raced his ass off! I can honestly say it was great to be in that close of a race the entire time.
Tinker finished with 23 laps, Dez with 22 and then Mike and I had 19 laps. Next closest was 15 laps I believe. What a race! What a brutal course, especially on a SS...whoa!
Whats up next....riding Downieville, Hole-n-the-Ground, Rim, etc having fun! I plan on riding a lot of miles helping Scott get tuned for his stage race out of Brian Head, Utah in August.
I owe a lot to Marja and Pete for their dedication this past weekend....staying awake - Marja after racing and winning the 8hr race.....Yes she LAPPED 2nd place twice... They kept me fed, moving when I was totally beat down. They froze their butts off and never missed a beat, thanks guys!!!!!
Pics to come!
Garmin: 199.5 miles, 27,702 vertical feet
- weather
- course
- mindset
The course was tough, after talking with Dez on a lap Sunday morning he agreed this may have been one of the toughest courses for a 24hr race. It started out with a short fire road stretch to single track that wound through the forest. It had a sweet little rock garden that had a few little drops that dropped you on to more single track. Then came the first climb, a fire road ascent that was steep but not too long followed by some rolling fire road/single track to the first single track climb that was tough. It had a few little descents and topped out at a long section of rolling descent with some switch backs that went on for a while...a nice relief. The course went up and down from here on tight single track and eventually dropped you off on the fire road climb back to the top of the course. Ouch. From the Garmin Marja had on her bike it looks like about 2 miles with a steep pitch at the bottom and a steep pitch at the top. Here, after lap 3 I hiked the bottom and top pitches faster than the geared bikes were riding them...
After you topped out it was a ripping single track descent with a few little ups that made all that suffering worth it. Then, "plop" you get to do it all over again.
Scott, Shelly and Max followed Marja and I (with Maddie and Phil of course) for the drive to Boggs Demonstration Forest near Cobb south of Clear Lake. Pete caught us on the road so we all arrived together and set up the pit area. Scott and Shelly made a great dinner for all of us and then around 8 it was time to hit the hay. Pete stayed at Boggs, while the rest of us lesser mortals crashed at the Bates Motel in Cobb. A good night sleep before race day.
We all met back up at the pits around 8, cooked breakfast and got the last details dialed in. With the weather cooperating I was able to mask my nerves....Marja was having a tougher time than me. Leading up to the start of Cool I was a complete basket case, I could tell she really wanted to get the race started. Fast forward to the start...
I rode the first lap with Scott (he and Shelly were doing the 8hr as a team). We had a cattle call at the technical rock garden about 1 mile into the course, but after that the course opened up. I was his tour guide as most of the course was the same as the Boggs 8Hr course that Carlos at Bike Monkey uses in March... It was nice to just ride and talk with Scott the whole time. As we rode the climb on the back side of the course I began wondering about gearing. I had 34x18 on the DeSalvo, and rode that first lap strong....hmmmm, 24hrs though. 1st lap down (Scott passed off to Shelly) and the race started in earnest as I had to get my mind into it. I will be the first to admit I was all over the place mentally. Thinking about way too much.
After lap 2 I swapped bikes with Pete and asked him to put the 19 on the back....a decision that payed off later. I was on my Bianchi that had crooked handle bars and a crooked seat. I am not the best multi-tasker, so early Saturday when tweaking the bike and talking with everyone I failed to pay attention....no biggee....just funny...
To my surprise, Pete was at the mid-way point of the race at an aid station with my DeSalvo. SWEET! I have a lot of history with that Bianchi, by my god is the DeSalvo heaven compared to it... quick cyclocross-like swap and I kept on rolling!
Off I go...
Heading out on lap 4, Pete tells me Mike Harrison is 10 minutes up on me, so take a minute or so off my laps. This started me focusing on racing. My lap times were good, but I was "riding" this race so far, not "racing." I picked it up a notch.
I come through and Pete tells me I knocked 4 minutes off my lap time, great, but back off....
Next lap, "its a 24 hr race Brad, same lap time you can slow down..."
I honestly thought I was. On my lap 7, as I am grinding up toward the halfway aid station I see DeSalvo across some one's butt.....its Marja!
I call out and she cusses me out (in play of course) because she wanted to hold me off for her entire 8 hours. This should have told me how fast I was going. Looking back I should have slowed right here and ridden the lap out with her. We talked for a little and I kept hammering that lap....
Lap 8 I just keep riding with good focus. Top of the last climb I see Mike. I caught him. We finish that lap together and he looks like hell. I head out on a little of a mental high and start lap 9 in the lead. I quickly extend my lead to about 20 minutes over the next few laps... with this a few problems pop up.
- Mentally I relax, and I ASSuME Mike is toast.
- Serious GI issues, stomach hurts and plumbing isn't working right.
Next lap I ride consistently, consistently SLOW as I am on the verge of vomiting most of the lap. Finish and end up in the bathroom for a while.
Mike passes me...
I hit the pit and Marja and Pete are lost as too how. Mike seriously turned it on at night and in combination with my GI issues he caught me and kept riding strong on the high of catching me. I, on the other hand, still nauseous and mentally smacked in the face am having a hard time regaining my focus. The next few laps Mike get almost 20 minutes on me before I regain some focus and start riding more consistent.
One lap in particular I was starving but nauseous at the same time. I was whining HUGE, Marja stepped up and threw my butt out of the pit on my bike...the BEST thing that could have happened, thanks Marja!!!
As the night wears on its freaking COLD...really cold for June in California. As expected, as the light starts to appear on the Eastern Horizon the temp is dropping, BUT the sun is coming.
Once in the daylight I regain a bit of my focus and start riding better. My body is still broken, but my mind is better. I ride a lap with Dez, he passes me on a climb and I ride his butt on the descents. A great carrot for me to follow. He stops to visit nature, and a bit later on the last descent we ride into the pits together. It was great to have someone to talk to.
This race had 40 24hr folks on the course after 8pm Saturday. It made it very desolate at night. So the conversation was a nice change. I had several laps where I saw no one!
As time is passing, I am realizing that I definitely have 2 laps I can get in before 12. Mike has 16 minutes on me, he can definitely get 3 more. I do not want to finish 1 lap down on him for a couple reasons:
- Pride, he and I have battled it out and to NOT finish on the same lap cause I missed the cutoff wasn't an option I wanted to deal with; and
- The Leave No Trace Series is based on mileage, and I was 12.5 miles ahead of Mike because I beat him in Cool (he raced geared at Cool). Currently I sit #2 behind Tinker.
Lap 18 Pete and Marja tell me I have to bust it in order to get out on Lap 19 with enough time. I struggle on 18, but role through the start/finish with 1hr 20 minutes to finish Lap 19. That was my average since morning.
I come into the pit and toss my bottles, Marja replaces them, she shoves two Snickers in my mouth...Pete shoves 4 Chomps in my mouth...with a Diet Coke in hand I leave within seconds of arriving at the pit. Riding down pit row I realize I just might be sweeping the course. Turns out Pete and Marja were really worried about me making it, and Jim (race director) came by the pit after I left and expressed his concern that I wouldn't make it.
I can happily say I left that pit knowing I would make it. Somehow I found complete focus from the start of that lap. I just kept mumbling to myself "my legs will clear quickly and easily"...nonstop. I caught a "Davis Bike Club" guy on the single track climb and he was toast. I tried to fire him up but he was broken....he wouldn't make it.
I fly down the descents trying to gain every second I can. I start grinding up to the halfway point and there's Marja Screaming for me with a diet coke in hand....I grab it, slam most of it and keep on pushing. She didn't seem too happy I remember thinking. Afterwards she told me she was concerned I might just miss the cutoff.
On the last climb, I pass another solo Single Speed and fire him up. He was silent.... I yelled at him to get on his bike and push his butt to the finish....
The last descent toward the end I was flying... I glance at my watch and realize not only was I going to make noon, but I was going to have over 10 minutes to spare.
I pop out at the start/finish, Marja and Pete yelling! I roll around the final tree and see the clock reads 23:47:15. I just pulled off a 1:07 final lap. I was so stoked. Marja grabs my bike and as I hop off all excited I suddenly feel like I was going to hurl. A few dry heaves here and there and my stomach starts to settle.
I was so happy to have pulled off that lap after losing focus over night. To race that hard and that fast for 24 hrs was a new level for me. My hats off to Mike, he raced his ass off! I can honestly say it was great to be in that close of a race the entire time.
Tinker finished with 23 laps, Dez with 22 and then Mike and I had 19 laps. Next closest was 15 laps I believe. What a race! What a brutal course, especially on a SS...whoa!
Whats up next....riding Downieville, Hole-n-the-Ground, Rim, etc having fun! I plan on riding a lot of miles helping Scott get tuned for his stage race out of Brian Head, Utah in August.
I owe a lot to Marja and Pete for their dedication this past weekend....staying awake - Marja after racing and winning the 8hr race.....Yes she LAPPED 2nd place twice... They kept me fed, moving when I was totally beat down. They froze their butts off and never missed a beat, thanks guys!!!!!
Pics to come!
Garmin: 199.5 miles, 27,702 vertical feet
Monday, June 15, 2009
Lazy days of summer...
(Looks like an error never posted this last week....Boggs report to come...)
Well its about that time again....Coolest 24hrs at Boggs is this weekend. Unlike Cool, it looks like the temps will be somewhere around 80 degrees with NO RAIN...
I am doing the 24 solo, Marja the 8hr solo and Scott and Shelly are pulling off the 8hr as a two person team. Whats pretty cool about that, is while not racing, the other will be attending to Max.
The past few weeks have seen some big rides, I was fortunate enough to partake in one of them. Last Saturday Marja did her first road century with Shelly. She sold her road bike recently so I threw my road wheels on her cyclocross bike. I assured her that it would be easier than changing tires on the wheel sets as they were identical.
Here's where it gets funny...
About 2 years ago I was riding Mt. Diablo and was thinking about my gearing on my road bike. I always enjoyt riding Diablo, but when my leghs are beat I had no choice in gears, 39x23 was the smallest I could go. I decided I would throw and 12-25 on the rear wheel so I could spin a bit more on tired days. Fast forward to the first climb at the Sierra Century last week...
Marja starts climbing with shelly and goes to shift into another gear, one more appropriate for the day and she looks down as her bike won't shift... Seems although I had mentally made the decision to change that 23 to a 25 tooth cog, in reality, it never happened. Marja was flying up all the climbs in her 39x23. Cursing my name the entire time I am certain.
Although she had no problems with it, it was typical "Brad maneuver"....reason #37 why I stay away from gears.
That following Monday (a week ago) I headed out solo on the usual loop in Auburn as Scott had to work and decided to head up McKeon/Ponderosa to Foresthill. Once there, tired beyond belief, I decided to drop down the other side of the ridge to the North Fork of the American on Ponderosa (dirt road). Gorgeous day, a nice 6.4 mile detour with a 1000' and change extra in climbing added on to the normal loop. Once back to the divide loop I was pooped but kept the pace relatively high. See I was parked at the confluence instead of Russel so I told myself I would just call it a day at the confluence...well that didn't happen and I busted up stage coach as fast as I have in a very long time...hopefully good foreshadowing for this weekend at Boggs.
The next big ride was Scott and Linda, all I did last Monday, plus a trip up to Weimar, back down Yankee Jims to the N. Fork and on up to Foresthill to complete to loop. A BIT more mileage and FEW more feet of vertical. 73+ miles with 11,590+ vertical feet. A mere 9.5 hours later they were done. Marja was not sad she passed on that ride. :)
That happened on Saturday, on Sunday Marja and I dropped down Ruck-a-Chucky and in conversatiopn with a ranger he poked fun of us riding down there and he mentioned he "actually" saw two others the day before...what a shock 2 of the maybe 4 other people in the world weird enough to ride down there on a regular basis....and Marja and I know them all....it was Scott and Linda.
Marja and I made our way up passed the 10 vehicles driving down, a record for me. Marja was riding super strong... and her descending on the culvert trail later on was awesome. Now if she actually has time to train, she will clean up (not that she doesn't already, its just gonna get uglier for her competitors!!!).
Now the rest of my week will be spent prepping my bikes and organizing my food, clothes, lights, etc. for Boggs 24hr. Its a weird feeling, definitely a more anxious/excited feeling than Cool. Cool I was a nightmare thanks to the weather.
The kids will be racing Prairie City this week, looking forward to that!
Well its about that time again....Coolest 24hrs at Boggs is this weekend. Unlike Cool, it looks like the temps will be somewhere around 80 degrees with NO RAIN...
I am doing the 24 solo, Marja the 8hr solo and Scott and Shelly are pulling off the 8hr as a two person team. Whats pretty cool about that, is while not racing, the other will be attending to Max.
The past few weeks have seen some big rides, I was fortunate enough to partake in one of them. Last Saturday Marja did her first road century with Shelly. She sold her road bike recently so I threw my road wheels on her cyclocross bike. I assured her that it would be easier than changing tires on the wheel sets as they were identical.
Here's where it gets funny...
About 2 years ago I was riding Mt. Diablo and was thinking about my gearing on my road bike. I always enjoyt riding Diablo, but when my leghs are beat I had no choice in gears, 39x23 was the smallest I could go. I decided I would throw and 12-25 on the rear wheel so I could spin a bit more on tired days. Fast forward to the first climb at the Sierra Century last week...
Marja starts climbing with shelly and goes to shift into another gear, one more appropriate for the day and she looks down as her bike won't shift... Seems although I had mentally made the decision to change that 23 to a 25 tooth cog, in reality, it never happened. Marja was flying up all the climbs in her 39x23. Cursing my name the entire time I am certain.
Although she had no problems with it, it was typical "Brad maneuver"....reason #37 why I stay away from gears.
That following Monday (a week ago) I headed out solo on the usual loop in Auburn as Scott had to work and decided to head up McKeon/Ponderosa to Foresthill. Once there, tired beyond belief, I decided to drop down the other side of the ridge to the North Fork of the American on Ponderosa (dirt road). Gorgeous day, a nice 6.4 mile detour with a 1000' and change extra in climbing added on to the normal loop. Once back to the divide loop I was pooped but kept the pace relatively high. See I was parked at the confluence instead of Russel so I told myself I would just call it a day at the confluence...well that didn't happen and I busted up stage coach as fast as I have in a very long time...hopefully good foreshadowing for this weekend at Boggs.
The next big ride was Scott and Linda, all I did last Monday, plus a trip up to Weimar, back down Yankee Jims to the N. Fork and on up to Foresthill to complete to loop. A BIT more mileage and FEW more feet of vertical. 73+ miles with 11,590+ vertical feet. A mere 9.5 hours later they were done. Marja was not sad she passed on that ride. :)
That happened on Saturday, on Sunday Marja and I dropped down Ruck-a-Chucky and in conversatiopn with a ranger he poked fun of us riding down there and he mentioned he "actually" saw two others the day before...what a shock 2 of the maybe 4 other people in the world weird enough to ride down there on a regular basis....and Marja and I know them all....it was Scott and Linda.
Marja and I made our way up passed the 10 vehicles driving down, a record for me. Marja was riding super strong... and her descending on the culvert trail later on was awesome. Now if she actually has time to train, she will clean up (not that she doesn't already, its just gonna get uglier for her competitors!!!).
Now the rest of my week will be spent prepping my bikes and organizing my food, clothes, lights, etc. for Boggs 24hr. Its a weird feeling, definitely a more anxious/excited feeling than Cool. Cool I was a nightmare thanks to the weather.
The kids will be racing Prairie City this week, looking forward to that!
Monday, June 8, 2009
Time flies...
...well I am WAY over due. Vacation, kids schedules, etc. got the better of me. In short:
- Washington was great, Chris rocked his 24 hr race. A much needed break from work and school for Marja...
- Cameron raced a Biathlon (run/bike) and lead from the gun to the tape!! WOW!
- Marja fell victim to my inattention to detail, 23 is not the same as 25 when going up hill (details to follow)
- Crushed myself today exploring the canyons..40 miles with 7500' vertical on a balding rear tire...why not make it even harder right....see "inattention to detail" note above...
"...maybe its the fact you are too dumb to know any better..." I realized climbing out of the N. Fork of the American today that my father pretty much has me pegged.
Details to come, I SWEAR!!!!
Cheers!!!
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Cameron's Turn...
We headed out to Davis this a.m. for Cameron's second triathlon. He had a 25 meter swim, 1.2 mile bike, and a 0.5 mile run.
Right before Cameron's heat started, he said he was nervous, but never showed it. In the pool, two kids per lane, Cam took a foot in the nose from the lane next to him and got a bloodied nose, he climbed out of the pool and started running to the transition when the EMT stopped him to look at his nose....the whole time Cam kept trying to get away to run to his bike....finally about what seemed like 2 minutes later (probably 45 seconds), Cam was off sprinting to his bike. He found his bike, put on his shoes, shirt and helmet and took off. Once out of the transition area he stood up and started cranking....got love that!!!
The course returned to the transition by coming through an under pass under the neighborhood street (Davis bike paths rock!!) and making a hard right, up a short hill to the park. Cam came ripping through the underpass, making a hard right with the race volunteer screaming at Cam to slow down...nothing doing.... I will admit I was a bit nervous but he made the turn and cranked up to the transition w/o any expression on his face...his race face!!
He racked his bike, dropped his helmet and took off sprinting out of the transition. He grabs a cup of water w/o missing a step, drinks it and tosses it like he has been racing for years! I have a hard time (1) not spilling the cup all over myself, and (2) not choking in a lame attempt to drink whats left after I wear most of it. He tore off FAST.... I hoped he'd have something left in the tank come the finish...
Just to make me look silly for worrying, Cam came flying into the finishing chute, obviously hurting a little, but running just as fast as he started the run... Wow!!
He certainly runs better than his old man!! The best part was the huge smile at the finish, he loved it! The MOST IMPORTANT part!!!
Right before Cameron's heat started, he said he was nervous, but never showed it. In the pool, two kids per lane, Cam took a foot in the nose from the lane next to him and got a bloodied nose, he climbed out of the pool and started running to the transition when the EMT stopped him to look at his nose....the whole time Cam kept trying to get away to run to his bike....finally about what seemed like 2 minutes later (probably 45 seconds), Cam was off sprinting to his bike. He found his bike, put on his shoes, shirt and helmet and took off. Once out of the transition area he stood up and started cranking....got love that!!!
The course returned to the transition by coming through an under pass under the neighborhood street (Davis bike paths rock!!) and making a hard right, up a short hill to the park. Cam came ripping through the underpass, making a hard right with the race volunteer screaming at Cam to slow down...nothing doing.... I will admit I was a bit nervous but he made the turn and cranked up to the transition w/o any expression on his face...his race face!!
He racked his bike, dropped his helmet and took off sprinting out of the transition. He grabs a cup of water w/o missing a step, drinks it and tosses it like he has been racing for years! I have a hard time (1) not spilling the cup all over myself, and (2) not choking in a lame attempt to drink whats left after I wear most of it. He tore off FAST.... I hoped he'd have something left in the tank come the finish...
Just to make me look silly for worrying, Cam came flying into the finishing chute, obviously hurting a little, but running just as fast as he started the run... Wow!!
He certainly runs better than his old man!! The best part was the huge smile at the finish, he loved it! The MOST IMPORTANT part!!!
Monday, May 11, 2009
...recovering...
The aftermath.....
I have ridden my bike twice since Cool, partially planned, partially consumed with the kids schedule. Between gymnastics and baseball they are busy busy! I plan on keeping them that way along with school for the next 11 to 13 years!!!!! One of the neatest things this week was how excited both Cameron and Annika were that I won the race, made the old man feel good that's for sure!
Now its about maintaining fitness and recovering adequately before the Coolest 24hrs of Boggs on June 20-21. Pete will again be pitting for Marja and I. What a guy...
Hung out with Pete at the shop for a while on Friday, ordering all the parts I need to make my bikes (and Marja's) rideable again. I will post a video soon that shows the "conversation" everyone in the pit had with me informing me I was done. I look like I am drunk, because despite what they tell me all I can think about is changing and riding.....brain just wasn't processing. Hopefully I will have that soon, its on Pete's camera.
Heading out on the road bike, no that's not a typo you read correctly, for several hours after work. Just get the legs back to working everyday. After 40 today and 50 tomorrow on the road bike I will be riding out to Prairie City Wednesday, racing, then riding back to Scott's house.... Usually about a 50 mile day on the SS. Anyone want to join?? The ride back is fun as the trails that are not advisable during the day are a blast at night heading back! Plus you get to spin out your legs after a 45-60 minute anaerobic spas session!
Next stop, Spokane, Washington for Chris' 24hr race. Marja and I will be crewing and spending the week between there and Seattle relaxing and riding A LOT...you better be ready to ride after your race Chris!!!!
Monday, May 4, 2009
Coolest 24 Mudfest
The past few days have been a roller coaster for me. This weekend was 24hrs of Cool, and if your are in N. California you know what the weather was like. Friday it dumped. Period. We picked up Chris at the airport, he flew in from Seattle, where, ironically, it was sunny and 70 degrees, after we met Pete out in Cool where he was establishing the Dirt City compound for the race.Let me just stop right there and say a few thank yous, cause frankly however many I do say, won't give these people enough props for sticking it out in the miserable weather those 24+ hours:
Marja, Pete, Chris, Sharon, Lou, Scott, Linda!!!! THANKS!!!
Friday may have been the worst feeling I have had before a race. I am usually a little anxious, but I literally felt like I had a 1000lb weight on my shoulders....Marja is usually the one who is freaking out pre-race, but not this weekend. The weather just had me totally in a panic.
I love riding around in the slop for an hour at a CX race, but 24hrs...how in the hell will my body react to this?? As I prepped my clothes and Marja and I prepped the food I had the WORST feeling in my gut.... Now the fact Chris brought everything he had clothes-wise made me feel a ton better, and the fenders....a life saver!
Funny thing was, I slept great Friday night. Greatest thing about his race is its location, 20 minutes from my own bed!!! We woke at 7a.m. I made breakfast for Marja and I, Chris made his own fake sausage with fake eggs (okay they were egg whites, but I have to give him a little grief) and he made the coffee - my coffee maker broke, HUGE emergency. Then we sat. Chris made the call that arriving at 9a.m. like I planned was foolish, we'd stand around in the cold and the rain for 3 hrs before the start. The phone rang and Linda asked if we could pick up hay for the pit area, it was a mess....
Now I was really bummed.....finally on site and with all the gear in the pit:
Pete's setup used 3 EZ ups, one was completely walled in with a generator to run lights, music, a microwave (yes Pete runs one!!) and a charging station for lights. The other key was the propane heater.... Pete had everything he could want for the bikes, food, etc... Pete rocked the pit!!
Now all I had to lament was what the hell to wear. Temps in the mid 50's, raining, riding for 24 hrs... WTF??!?!
The staging for the race was nuts, I stayed in the pit until the last moment, Marja staged before me so I never got a chance to wish her luck. In the middle of the Chaos, me not even on my bike, the race starts. Hey, no dust this year!
After the first few miles of single track things spread out enough. Despite the rain, the course is in decent shape. The first major water crossing is DEEP, hubs...in hind sight, that was shallow!
The first decent down to Knickerbocker Creek was fast, and when we hit the bottom, an over zealous 8hr rider flys over the bars and starts his race soaked. Yes, he completely submerged. Unfortunately, this meant I had to dismount before entering the creek and run through it to avoid he and his bike and his water bottle tumbling along the bottom of the creek. Now I am soaked from the knees down....not like I was going to stay dry very much longer. ("Dry" is a used loosely here...it is a relative term)
I started the day scared as hell, once at the race I was comfortable, once it started I was in to it. I finished lap 1 with no clue where anyone was on single speeds. From the past few years Sean Sullivan (races for Independent Fabrications) has finished just behind me. This year, he was racing well. 2nd at the Old Pueblo. My goal for the start was ride with him for the first lap just for piece of mind. Thanks to the chaos I had no clue where he was on the course....for all I knew he was off the front with Tinker...
No pit, roll out on lap 2. I cross the mud bog and start the climb up toward the school and notice a SS in front. The first thing I notice on the bike (no clue what the bike was as all of our bikes were a reddish-brown thanks to the snot, I mean mud everywhere) was a super skinny tire on the rear, likely a 1.95. Then I see the Independent Fabrication jersey through his rain cape. Instantly my mood jumped up 10 fold. I could ride with Sean on lap 2 just to see how he riding.
Once up to our right hand turn just before the school I realize I am riding comfortably and I am catching him quickly....no reason to change what I am doing. I pass Sean, I asked him how it was going and he sounded upbeat. I topped out a short climb a few minutes later and as I double back at the top he was no where to be seen. Hmmmm.
So the course at Cool isn't easy, but when its dry its a fast course. 12.5 mile laps early would have been about an hour for me (I rode a 1:05 the Monday prior just goofing off). With the mud, each lap was getting more and more difficult as more people rode. Some of the new sections of the course had small climbs that became quite tough the more it rained.
So I drop down to Knickerbocker, soaking wet, rip through the creek crossing and start my hike out. On a SS, I hike this climb every lap...with the weather, very few were riding it on geared bikes. The next crazy little downhill I notice the front brakes are gone. So a few Freddy Flintstone corners later I make it to the climb out of Salt Creek. In good weather this is the 2nd of two real extended climbs on the course (Knickerbocker and Salt Creek). The new single track added made the climb a lot more interesting albeit more difficult....now with the rain, after this lap I was hiking/riding/hiking/riding due to the depth of the mud.
Come in the pit for lap 3, tell Pete the front brakes are gone, I change my top layers and head out on the Bianchi... Really should have paid more attention to details on my back up bike: rear tire was not good for mud; front tire was not good for mud; running tubes in both wheels, 55psi horrible compared to my tubeless at 35psi; bar ends didn't match my DeSalvo; I could go on.
No worries though....just kept on riding.
Rain keeps coming down for lap 4. At this point, lap 4 that is, I have no clue what time it was, etc. The one great thing Pete and Chris did in the pit was keep my focused on riding. I let them worry about where I was (not that they knew) how many laps I was on, etc. I rode, and when my timer went off every 20 minutes I ate. That was it. Pedal and eat and drink, repeat.
Approaching 7pm, Lou told me Marja was out in front by a few and she looked really good charging out to grab one more lap before her 8hr race ended. I left hoping to not catch her cause I wanted her to get that extra lap...despite Chris meeting me at the top of Knickerbocker telling me Marja was in front of me I never caught her... I was so stoked to hear each lap how good she was doing because the conditions were pathetic looking back on it.
I pitted, changed clothes, ate, got to see Marja in her muddy glory (She took 2nd place!!! Phil was happy she was done too!!!!) and headed back out. This lap the sun had set and it was dark. I had my moab on the bars and a newt on my head. Great lighting setup!The next great thing happened....it stopped raining! How perfect was this going to be!!?? I'd regret thinking that...
Within one lap of the rain stopping, the course got even more difficult in the trees. The slippery wet mud (though rideable) turned to super clingy-snot-like slime.... Two relatively fast climbs became death marches. Luckily I figured out quickly to climb on the grass just off the trail and was able to climb them still, but the amount of energy I was expending was ridiculous. Now a few sections of the trail without this freakish clay in just the right mixture that made it like wet cement, did get better. The single track climb out of salt creek was not one of them. BRUTAL.
2 laps into the dry weather all I could think is "it better start raining again!!!" I kept that to myself out on the course for fear I might get punched in the mouth!
All the while I saw no SS solo riders on the course. I was really lost. I felt as if I was merely surviving. I felt neither good nor bad about my race at that time. Looking back that was perfect, I wasn't thinking whatsoever. Pete, Chris and now Marja (after her shower at my house, lucky girl) just told me to keep riding because everyone was suffering horribly. I listened, and just kept moving.
Middle of the night. I am cold. Hungry. I pit, take my top layers off and change. I am eating something when Marja asks if I was cold? I look at my right hand and it is shivering pretty badly, oddly I don't remember feeling cold at that point. I finish changing, I get a little of the heater and finish my food. Out again.Somewhere around 3a.m. the indigestion got really bad, to the point where it was hard to suck down GUs every 20 minutes. Then, on the short paved climb we had, I noticed the moon was shining....whoa, this is gonna end dry at least, how cool is that?!
Looking back I think I see how ready I was for this race, whatever the weather. I never really mentally felt miserable. I would comment on trail conditions or how cold I felt, or heartburn, whatever....but as soon a I said it, it left my mind. I was successful at focusing on that lap, that climb, that moment. Sounds silly, and I guess if you haven't been there you just won't get it. I was there to try my hardest to win and whatever I needed to go through to get there was just part of it. Its a pretty cool feeling to look back on it and realize that now...
Fast forward, sun comes up, lights off, spirits rise!! Okay, you couldn't see the sun, but no more living by HID and LED lights! As I head out on the lap with the sun coming up, just enough light to leave the lights in the pit.....it starts to rain again. NOW, the sections that were improving turned to sh^%, and the horrible sections actually got a small bit better. "Whatever" at this point!
I had been nursing my brakes, taking a lot of chances, trying to make the brake pads last. They were holding up well (rewind, somewhere in the night I lost my rear brake on the DeSalvo and headed out on the Bianchi again....metal on metal). Once the rain returned though, I QUICKLY burned through the pads in a lap. I pitted, soaking wet, needing food so I waited for the DeSalvo to be fixed as I ate and changed from head to toe. Out I go.
Still raining, nothing too bad, but consistent. Nursing the brakes all I can, i.e. not using them, as the entire racing community in Cool, including all the Auburn bike shops, are out of any type of disc brake pads. No worries I just keep on ticking the pedals over. This lap was good, I felt very positive to get 3 more in.
Change my clothes, AGAIN, head out in the rain. Its cold, looking back, the temp probably dropped 6-10 degrees and it was still raining. I had windproof tights on, arm warmers, two base layers and gore waterproof/windproof gloves along with my Mountain Hardwear rain jacket. I can't afford to get cold, not this close to the finish.
I am having a good consistent lap, once out of Knickerbocker it starts to dump. I am laughing at this point. Every decent, every climb is a river of water. As I hike-a-bike to the lake above Salt Creek I am jazzed I will be doing this 2 more times... subtle, but I never thought, "...only," or, "...just two more times." It was oddly emotionless. Again mission accomplished, no thinking allowed!!
I popped out along 49, again laughing at the rain pouring down, and make my way back to the start/finish area and the pits. Fired up for one more change of clothes and busting 2 more laps out. I run down the finishing chute (you are required to dismount and run/walk here), passed the timing tent to our pit.
As I try and hand my bike off to Chris or Marja everyone is standing there (Marja, Chris, Pete, Sharon, Lou)....Chris says his infamous, "Here's the deal Brad..." At this point I am bordering on serious anger because all I want to do is change and get out there. Last year we "tried" to make a tactical decision about when to stop based on data on the rider behind me. Mentally it killed me. After that we decided to race until the clock stopped....period. Now this is all I can think about.
"Here's the deal Brad. The race is ending at 10 (due to the insane weather), and second place is 3 laps behind you"
I look at my watch, probably smiling I think, but can't remember, and see its 8:15.... I look up and say, "...alright I just need to change and I will hit it."
Chris and Marja, "BRAD, you're done. The race ends at 10, you do not need to go out again."
I am still trying to process this. All my brain is going over and over is:
- "12p.m. = stop riding"
I hear a lot of conversation, probably directed at me, but I am attempting to understand. Finally, it sinks in.
Chris: "You can go out if you want...."
Me, immediately: "No, I'm good...."
And for the 2nd time I cried at one of these 24hr races, except this time it wasn't because of the pain I was in, letting myself be consumed by it. It sank in immediately that I had just won... and to do it in these conditions made it all the sweeter.
It didn't hurt that the only person to do more laps than me was a pro on a geared bike named David Juarez, most people know him as "Tinker" Juarez. Tinker had 14, I had 12.
As Pete said afterwards, "That doesn't suck Brad!"
As it turns out, I was 5 laps ahead of 2nd place.
Back to my support....having Pete, Chris, Marja, Sharon and Lou, and Scott and Linda racing out of the pit too, was awesome. They were always positive, always helping me stay focused. I don't think I could have come close to achieving what I did without each of them. To have that many people all focused on helping me, Marja, Scott and Linda succeed is pretty emotional to think about. I thank each one from the bottom of my heart.
Dirt City cleaned up:
- Marja 2nd 8hr Solo women;
- Scott/Linda 2nd 24hr 2person team;
- Me, 1st 24hr Solo Single Speed, 2nd overall male.
I wonder what Bowen might have to say now?
Its now Tuesday, the legs feel pretty good.... the stomach and GI issues are starting to pile up (no pun intended, its actually 180 degrees from that). Doctor doesn't think its Giardia, but he said in a few days I will know for sure so he sent me home with some antibiotics, no need to go on the Scott Clark diet!! Sorry to those I have yet to call, I will catch up tonight! I Promise.
Now get out there and ride!
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