I’ll save the lame excuses about not having updated this blog and instead defer to my default excuse these days–”I’m busy training for Leadville!  Can this wait?”

That said, some great videos of Leadville have come out in the past few days.  Have a look here for a good selection.

Rob Lucas, AKA UltraRob has some great photographs of the Leadville course scenery posted at his site. Have a look!

Looking forward to seeing all the racers and support staff and volunteers that make the race such a success next week.

And to those of you that haven’t yet heard, after a long battle against a vicious cancer, Elden’s (of FatCyclist) wife Susan passed yesterday. I’ve followed Elden’s blog since early winter of ‘06. I’ve rarely said much on there, but it’s always been an inspiration to me to read their very public battle with the disease. Not only from the strength it takes to fight physically, but the candor (a rarity these days) and judo he’s done on the disease to make a significant contribution to the fight against cancer. Having watched 2 close friends go through much the same battle (and ultimately lose) I have a remote sense for the pain one endures through this fight and can undoubtably say Elden and Susan will be on my mind as I endure relatively little pain in comparison on the course at Leadville. TwinSix have had a relationship with Elden/FatCyclist for a while and I hope they’ll do something in Susan’s honor. I for one would be first in line for a TwinSix “Fight Like Susan” jersey. And to Elden and his family, fight on.

Fight Like Susan

BD

Been a while since I posted here and  that’s mostly because I’ve been underground riding my rearend off for Leadville.  In any case, I’m a big believer in FRS (I start every morning with a smoothie made of 2-3oz FRS Concentrate, 3-4oz real oj, 1/2 frozen banana, 1/4 cup chopped frozen mango, same amnt. frozen pineapple, blend–that courtesy of Juan Pelota at Mellow Johnny’s in Austin.  They call it the Hella Yella.) and found this new study done at the University of South Carolina on the positive impact of Quercetin on endurance capacity and VO2 Max.  If it’s true, this is pretty big stuff.  I hope it’s not another goji berry or acai hype job (and for the record I believe in both of those berries for their benefits, but not to the extent the marketing departments of most company’s would have us believe).

SHARE Kernville 2009 Trip

I’m getting ready to pack up the house and head east for some altitude acclimation before Leadville.  After last week’s ride in Kernville (where I felt pretty good), I’ll be curious to see what my numbers look like versus sea level.

Back to the salt mines.

It’s 5:30 and it’s quitin’ time at the Salt Mines. I’m taking tomorrow off to get rested and ready for Saturday’s ride across the Santa Ana Mountains.

Big thanks to the wrenches at Revo Cycles in Dana Point for putting my bike back in racing condition after its untimely wreck two weeks ago. (Hey my scabs are almost gone too.) I have a sixth sense for wrenches I can trust and those I should watch while they work (and I’m the worst wrench I know).  Mike and the guys at Revo are the kind you know are going to get it done right and without having to wonder why the hell this bolt or that skewer is loose.  

Tomorrow it’s clean and lube the bike, fill the BD1 (but first decide if I want backpack support on this race), fill the feedbag with a few goodies, throw the kit downstairs, load the bikes, check the equipment twice (Oakley Radar frames snapped in half and they aren’t willing to take them on exchange–guess which sunglasses I used to love that I won’t be buying any longer), double up on FRS and pretend to go to sleep until 4:30 Saturday morning.

Then it’s on!

Well. 3 weeks ago I was planning on being on the beach in Hawaii, but that “fell apart.” So now this week is all about hydrating, resting the legs and getting ready to spend them on a ride across the Santa Ana Mountain range. 40 miles and 8,000 feet of elevation gain. Should make for a fun day of suffering. Temperatures, currently projected to be about the mid-70s, should make for a pretty nice day in the saddle.

A little color from The Warrior’s Society:

The ride will begin from the end of Black Star Canyon Road at 7:00 AM. You will ride up Black Star Canyon Road to the
Main Divide Road and at this point you will traverse the Santa Ana Mountain range via the Main Divide Road hitting all
the peaks (including Modjeska and Santiago Peaks) until you intersect with the Trabuco Canyon Trail. You will then
descend down the Trabuco Canyon Trail to Trabuco Creek Road and out 4 miles to the finish line at Trabuco Canyon
Road. You must reach Aid Station 1 located at the intersection of Maple Springs Road and the Main Divide Road
(4 corners) by 11:00 a.m. to be allowed to finish the course. You must also reach the intersection of the Main Divide
and Lower Holy Jim by 12:30 p.m. to be allowed to finish the course. If you do not make the cutoff times and refuse
to return to the staging area you have violated the terms of your participation and the Warrior’s Society will no longer
responsible for your safety. Your emergency contact will be called and notified that they will be assuming all
responsibility your safety.

If I have to be here instead of HI, I’m up for the sufferfest. OK! Let’s do it! See you there.

So it’s on! If you’re in Texas and have legs of steel ready to take the GT Golden Bike off Vincent Lombardi (Sea Otter Classic winner), then saddle up and get yer race on. GT Bicycle’s Golden Bike series stops at the GHORBA Big Ring Challenge in Cold Spring Texas this May 3rd. Win the race, win the bike–till you lose it. Plus you get the hot Gold Diggers to give you some attention. I got to see this bike in Monterey and it’s pretty damn cool and worth a little extra push for the finish line. Get it!

Get rid of those free radicals, just like Lance Armstrong. For free!

Sea Otter couldn’t have come at a better time for me. A little pick-me-up after what could only be described as a completely horrible week leading up to it (You know, the-wife-left-house-burned-down-to-the-ground-and-the-dog-hates-you country western song personal shit). So a gathering of The Tribe in Monterey was exactly what the Doctor ordered–and who am I to argue?

So the 6 1/2 hour drive north with an iPod full of 80s metal power ballads and a race in a couple of days was great medication. I left for Monterey on Wednesday morning and got in around 3. The wind was a definite problem and one that’d be with us for most of the week. Setting up camp was definitely made much easier by a few carabiners. Without them I think my tent would have been in the Pacific before I even noticed it’d blown away. Wicked wind. Anyway camp set up, I headed into town for some of my favorite childhood memories and Gianni’s Pizza and a cannoli. Delicious! And the last meal I’d have from an oven for a few days.

Thursday morning I woke up and had a can of Ensure and a banana, dropped 2 MotorTabs into my bottle and headed out for a pre-ride of the course. This was my first time on the Sea Otter XC course and it was great. As a kid growing up in the area I always had access to Laguna Seca Raceway, but I think much of the course we got to ride at Sea Otter was part of Fort Ord and off limits to civilians back in the day. Getting into the back country and seeing what I’d never seen as a kid was great. And the course, despite having only about 2,800 feet of climbing was one I knew I’d have a good race on after I finished my pre-ride. (Real good in this case, given the class and attraction of Sea Otter–and a few sandbaggers–was a top 40% place in my mind.) I’d describe the Sea Otter XC course as completely fair to any XC racer. Nothing overly technical. No harsh climbs. A couple of sand pits. A good mix of singletrack and fire road. The wind at the last meadow to crest climb was a real bitch and I thought this might be the only threat to my having a real good race. Plus it’s sort of deceptive but a 6% grade for a couple of miles, so the brain starts its little games with you. Pre-ride over I headed to the expo to see what was up and then back to camp for a couple of beers, resting the legs and watching part of The Italian Job (which I still have yet to finish).

I was racing Cat 3 on Friday, so the race was in the afternoon. We started late for some reason, but a few minutes after 2 we were rolling. I had a front row start and grabbed the “holeshot” and kept a good 10-15 seconds on the field for a ways. Until I got nervous as I heard less pedaling of others and more of mine. I started having visions of being the only idiot that kept going straight having missed a post while the rest of the field made a right a half a mile ago. So I sat up. In retrospect, a look behind would have made more sense, but WTF. Sitting up cost me a lot of places in the end because the field broke up pretty quickly once the singletrack started and I would have been in a lead group that would have given me a higher place at the end. You race, you learn.

Anyway, race went smooth for me except for an impromptu meeting with the dirt in the sand pit after I grabbed a rut that was beneath the sand. No biggie. I felt strong for 90% of the race and ended up with a 39th place out of 115 racers. I don’t think I left it all on the course and between that and some better race strategy/execution I’d have done better. But I went into Sea Otter with limited expectations due to the length of the course (my shortest race of the year) and left pleased with my result. Hopefully someone got a nice shot of a GT Bicycles Zaskar comfortably leading off the front of the pack for a bit.

After the race I stopped by GT’s pit and grabbed a beer and photo with the Gold Diggers (Double Yum!),

The Prize for the GT Golden Bike Winner

All in all, I had a great time and it’s an event I’ll finally declare worthy of an annual pilgrimage. There’s something very exciting about knowing thousands of like-minded friends are heading to a single spot to do only that thing you like. It’s truly a gather of The Tribe and I dig it more than anything in life. Those of us the rest of the world thinks are freaks gather comfortably and just get on with it.

Garmin Edge 705 data from the race.

Half way to Sea Otter at the 5 & 46 and it’s a windy, cool (cold) halfway point. Hope the winds are calm and the weather a little warmer in Monterey.

Road food has included one Carl’s Jr side salad, crisscut fries and an orange cream shake. I disgust myself, but it’s the road. I get a pass.

Hey check it out! Yours truly is the key frame for this compilation of Counting Coup and Vision Question finisher photos. Ha! How random is that?

I missed registration for Vision Quest last year because, wait for it, I overslept. DOH! So I made the 44 mile, 8,400′ climb on the Counting Coup course. It was an absolutely perfect day. Weather was just slightly overcast to cool the entire day and I thoroughly enjoyed the event (it’s not a race ). Big thanks to The Warrior’s Society and everyone that came out and supported the day. That’s pit support, food, water/drinks, moral support, photographers, course marshals and everyone else that made it a great event.

I ran my Pedal Force hardtail for what will likely be one of the last times for a few months. My new GT Zaskar is getting dialed in at Ladera Cyclery with some Ergon grips, Easton EC90 carbon bar, Thomson post and stem and some new wheels. After that it’s all GT for the rest of the season.

By the way, that Zaskar is one cushy hardtail. I think the rims were a little squishy, but I swear I was sitting on a suspended frame. Anyway, it should come out the other end of the sausage factory in a couple of days ready to roll.

Final note, buy some of this FRS please. They are threatening to give me the boot. It’s a free FRS trial. I highly recommend the energy chews. They taste excellent.

I know what I’ll be doing after my training ride on the 29th.

Join Chris Eatough on March 29

INFINIT Nutrition, the worldwide leader in customized sports nutrition, is proud to present an exclusive video webinar featuring Chris Eatough, six time 24-hour solo MTB World Champion on March 29th @ 2:00 PM EST. Chris will be going over the training and nutrition that it takes to race 24 hours non stop. Chris has been the most dominant professional Mountain Biker for over a decade racing for Team Trek and brings a unique perspective to endurance racing and nutrition. This is a must see for anyone interested in the world of ultra-endurance racing and training. Click here to register for this FREE web-seminar.

Little in the way of details just yet, but I wanted to announce that I’ve officially been named to the GT Bicycles Dirt Coalition for the 2009 racing season. I’m totally stoked as the GT lineup is really solid and I can’t wait to hop aboard my Marathon Carbon and hammer on it.

I’m also happy to announce sponsorship from Bejum Budder (which I unfortunately forgot to grab on my way out the door to last week’s Counting Coup–and paid dearly for it). I use BB because it works (most importantly) and it’s not a messy grease ball on your chamois. Oh yeah, and they don’t f’ with the animals when they test the products.

Finally, Motor Tabs has stepped up and agreed to sponsorship. I love (LOVE) Motor Tabs for a couple of reasons. I ride with a few different drinks depending on what I’m up to. This includes FRS, Infinit Nutrition and plain old H2O. Motor Tabs has the best flavor and convenience of them all. (Arguably each serves a different purpose and that’s why all 3 are in my cabinet.) You can’t beat the fruit punch flavored Motor Tabs. Just drop it in the bottle, wait a few seconds and it’s ready to drink. No messy powder all over the place. No big packaging. No inhaling maltodextrin dust.

So a big (BIG) thanks to everyone for making my 2009 a season where I can concentrate on being a good representative of the companies that have sponsored me and ride. I look forward to seeing them and anyone interested in hearing more on the trails.

Looking for 20% off at registration at the Sea Otter Classic? Use coupon code PACCYDIS through March 31st and race a little cheaper.