This past weekend I was in Laramie, WY for the Dead Dog Classic stage race. I did this race last year in the 4's and did pretty well, so I was pretty excited to go back. I drove up Friday night and stayed with a few guys from my team in the classy Ramada. Saturday was the road race, and the day started out with an early wake up time. Fortunately, the forecast was for sunny skies, calm breezes, and a high of only 75- basically perfect weather for a race. The road race was 87 miles, with close to 7,000 feet of climbing. It was definitely a daunting stage. The race started out pretty calm, but about 25 miles in we hit the first of two big climbs, and the race immediately splintered. I was caught almost immediately in between the lead group that was quickly pulling away on the climb and the stragglers behind that couldn't hold the pace. I got into a good rhythm, though, and climbed pretty well. Two of my teammates caught up to me close to the top of the climb, and we worked together the rest of the race. The second climb was just as long and hard as the first, and my legs were really starting to hurt. It was a welcome sight to see the summit, and long descent helped me to recover slightly. The flat road back towards the finish was plagued by a strong crosswind, so we had to roll a sweet ecehlon which actually worked pretty well. The last 11 miles were rolling climbs, and that is where I really hit the wall. I was so spent from the climbs and the crosswind stretch that I could barely turn the pedals over. The last K was absolutely brutal, and my body was screaming at me to stop. I finished, but it wasn't pretty. I crossed the line in 18th out of about 50 riders in my category, so overall I did pretty well. It was probably one of the hardest road races I've ever done, and I was glad when it was finally over. The rest of the day on Saturday was spent sleeping, eating, and just recovering. I had to get ready for the crit and time trial on Sunday.
The crit was the first stage on Sunday. My legs were still brutally sore from the race the day before, but after a good warm-up session they felt a lot better. Early in the race, a break got away and nobody seemed willing to chase. So I went to the front and put in two really long efforts to try to close down the gap. But both times people weren't willing to continue the chase, so my effort was all for naught. Oh well. The rest of the race I just kind of sat in and tried to stay near the front. It came down to a bunch sprint for 3rd place, and I ended up coming in 12th. I was still happy with my race because of the amount of work I did and how I was still able to be in the mix at the end, which I hadn't been able to do in the last few crits I've done.
Immediately after the crit was the time trial. It was a little over 10 miles and started out downhill, then turned around and came back uphill. It's a hard course for sure, and my sore legs made it even harder. During it I just felt like I had zero power left in my legs. Oh well... I guess that's to be expected for not having done many really long rides this year and then trying to go out and do a brutal road race followed by a crit and a time trial. I finished pretty far down in the time trial, but ended up taking 22nd overall, which I felt wasn't too shabby. Overall, I was pretty happy with how the weekend went.
Now I'm back in Boulder and starting my last week of summer school! I can't wait until that's done. I don't have any races planned for this weekend, so hopefully I can get in some good long rides. I'm also really pumped for the 4th of July. I think a few of Jacob's friends might be coming up from New Mexico, so maybe we'll have a small party or something. Anyway, that's all for now. Thanks for reading.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Short Track Blog
The CU Short Track Series has a blog! Check it out:
http://www.cushorttrack.com/
That is all.
http://www.cushorttrack.com/
That is all.
Crested Butte
This past weekend the whole Boulder gang went down to Crested Butte for the fourth stop in the Mountain States Cup mountain bike series. I had never been to CB before, so I was pretty stoked. Plus, it was my first real mountain bike race ever. The drive down was scenic, and pretty entertaining. John, Bryan, Sarah, Wayne and I headed down first, and Katie, Kate, Caitlin and Phil came down later in the evening. When we got into Crested Butte, the scenery was breathtaking. After registering, we went on an adventure to find a campsite for the weekend. After a couple no-go's, we finally found an amazing campsite about 8 miles up a dirt road, near the aptly-named Paradise Divide. The pictures say it all.
Our race was at 9 the next morning so we went to bed early on Friday night, but not before going back into town and eating at the Brick Oven, and amazing pizza place on the main strip. On the way back to camp, we took Bryan's car off-roading through a river that was much deeper than we thought, but it all turned out alright. It was pretty cool.
On Saturday morning, I got to the race feeling pretty nervous. I didn't really know what to expect in the race, and not being able to pre-ride the course didn't really help much. I raced the sport category, so there really wasn't too much to be worried about, but I still wanted to do well. The race was 20 miles, and started out on a long climb. Without a very good warm-up, my legs and lungs were really feeling it on that climb. But about halfway through the first lap, I started to feel good. I held my position in my category and only had to deal with catching and being caught by riders in other categories. The course was awesome, with some sweet single track through aspen groves and a pretty fun descent, which all made for a great first mountain bike race. When it was all said and done, I took fourth in the sport category and got to stand on the podium! Not too bad for my first race! The rest of Saturday was spent playing some cornhole (its' the beanbag tossing game) with Dave from Mafia Racing and a bunch of other people. We also got to watch Wayne own the clunker crit... a three lap race that involves chugging a beer both before and after the three laps (I don't think I've ever seen anyone chug a beer as fast as Wayne). Then we went back to the campsite and hung out around the campfire. It was a pretty awesome day.
Sunday we woke up and packed up the campsite. Then we went and got coffee at a really cool coffee shop in town. After the coffee, we were all wired and ready to go for a mountain bike ride on one of the many trails around CB. The trail we rode was probably the coolest trail I've ever ridden, with awesome flowing single track and amazing views. Plus, there was a really cool creek crossing that was as deep as my tires and I was surprisingly able to ride it. It was a perfect way to end our time in CB.
The beginning of this week was spent with class and studying for a test. Pretty lame. But tonight was the Wednesday night short track, and it was a lot of fun as usual. I helped set up, then raced in the B race, then got to watch a battle of the big guns in the men's A race, with Bryan Alders and Brian Fuentes going up against JHK of the Gary Fisher team. It was pretty cool to see some of the best riders in the country at our local short track race. After the race, I went to Katie, Kate, and Caitlin's house for the traditional post-race dinner and now I'm headed to bed. Another good day.
Our race was at 9 the next morning so we went to bed early on Friday night, but not before going back into town and eating at the Brick Oven, and amazing pizza place on the main strip. On the way back to camp, we took Bryan's car off-roading through a river that was much deeper than we thought, but it all turned out alright. It was pretty cool.
On Saturday morning, I got to the race feeling pretty nervous. I didn't really know what to expect in the race, and not being able to pre-ride the course didn't really help much. I raced the sport category, so there really wasn't too much to be worried about, but I still wanted to do well. The race was 20 miles, and started out on a long climb. Without a very good warm-up, my legs and lungs were really feeling it on that climb. But about halfway through the first lap, I started to feel good. I held my position in my category and only had to deal with catching and being caught by riders in other categories. The course was awesome, with some sweet single track through aspen groves and a pretty fun descent, which all made for a great first mountain bike race. When it was all said and done, I took fourth in the sport category and got to stand on the podium! Not too bad for my first race! The rest of Saturday was spent playing some cornhole (its' the beanbag tossing game) with Dave from Mafia Racing and a bunch of other people. We also got to watch Wayne own the clunker crit... a three lap race that involves chugging a beer both before and after the three laps (I don't think I've ever seen anyone chug a beer as fast as Wayne). Then we went back to the campsite and hung out around the campfire. It was a pretty awesome day.
Sunday we woke up and packed up the campsite. Then we went and got coffee at a really cool coffee shop in town. After the coffee, we were all wired and ready to go for a mountain bike ride on one of the many trails around CB. The trail we rode was probably the coolest trail I've ever ridden, with awesome flowing single track and amazing views. Plus, there was a really cool creek crossing that was as deep as my tires and I was surprisingly able to ride it. It was a perfect way to end our time in CB.
The beginning of this week was spent with class and studying for a test. Pretty lame. But tonight was the Wednesday night short track, and it was a lot of fun as usual. I helped set up, then raced in the B race, then got to watch a battle of the big guns in the men's A race, with Bryan Alders and Brian Fuentes going up against JHK of the Gary Fisher team. It was pretty cool to see some of the best riders in the country at our local short track race. After the race, I went to Katie, Kate, and Caitlin's house for the traditional post-race dinner and now I'm headed to bed. Another good day.
Monday, June 16, 2008
A Good Day
Today wasn't anything special. In fact, it was actually pretty routine. But for some reason, it just felt like a really good day. I got up early and went to class, then came back and grabbed some lunch at Half Fast with John. We watched the playoff in the US Open between Tiger and Rocco. Pretty sweet that Tiger pulled it out. Then John and I went up to Walker to go mountain biking. It was a gorgeous day for it, and I didn't crash like I did yesterday, so that was a plus. I hate crashing, and hopefully it's out of my system now for a while with 2 hard crashes in just as many weeks. After the race, I took a wonderful nap. Now I'm refreshed and ready to take on the world tomorrow. It's tough, but somebody's got to do it...
Also, congrats to Kiel for getting 10th overall at the Nature Valley Grand Prix and winning the Best Amateur Rider Jersey in the process! Way to go Kiel!
Also, congrats to Kiel for getting 10th overall at the Nature Valley Grand Prix and winning the Best Amateur Rider Jersey in the process! Way to go Kiel!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Catch-Up
So it's been a while since my last post. I didn't get to post anything while I was in Italy, and I've been really busy since I got back in Boulder. I guess that's a good thing, though. Here's the abridged version of what's taken place the past few weeks.
Italy was an awesome time. We went to Venice, Cinque Terre on the coast, Montepulciano in Tuscany, and finally Rome. Each place was unique, but the common thread was wine- really good wine. It was great to be able to take another trip as a family, and I think we all really enjoyed our time together. But all good things have to end, and I had to come back from vacation so that I could make it back in time for summer school, which started on June 2. I'm taking a stats class, and so far it's going ok. My professor is cool, and the class is only an hour and a half each day. My first test was this morning, so we'll see how that turns out.
Other things that have happened since I got back in Boulder: rock climbing a few times, cycling, and stitches. Yes, stitches. I had a pretty routine crash mountain biking at Walker Ranch- nothing fancy or cool, but somehow I managed to gash open my calf and I had to make a prompt trip to the ER for 4 stitches. It wasn't too bad except for the 5 shots they had to give me to numb up the wound so that they could clean it. I'm not too fond of needles, so I wasn't really stoked about that part. The good news is, my injury has not hindered my ability to be mobile and do my normal activities. I'm still able to ride, and I've played volleyball and gone climbing since my stitches have been in. I even did the first Boulder Short Track race last Wednesday, and I raced the Mike Horgan Hill Climb up Sugarloaf Road this past weekend. Both races were fun in their own way. The short track got cut short by torrential downpours and hail, which made it quite wet and muddy. The hill climb was good because I came in 17th in the 3's after 2 1/2 weeks of not riding, so it was a better result than I expected and my legs actually felt pretty good.
So that's about all I have for now. Enjoy the pictures.
Italy was an awesome time. We went to Venice, Cinque Terre on the coast, Montepulciano in Tuscany, and finally Rome. Each place was unique, but the common thread was wine- really good wine. It was great to be able to take another trip as a family, and I think we all really enjoyed our time together. But all good things have to end, and I had to come back from vacation so that I could make it back in time for summer school, which started on June 2. I'm taking a stats class, and so far it's going ok. My professor is cool, and the class is only an hour and a half each day. My first test was this morning, so we'll see how that turns out.
Other things that have happened since I got back in Boulder: rock climbing a few times, cycling, and stitches. Yes, stitches. I had a pretty routine crash mountain biking at Walker Ranch- nothing fancy or cool, but somehow I managed to gash open my calf and I had to make a prompt trip to the ER for 4 stitches. It wasn't too bad except for the 5 shots they had to give me to numb up the wound so that they could clean it. I'm not too fond of needles, so I wasn't really stoked about that part. The good news is, my injury has not hindered my ability to be mobile and do my normal activities. I'm still able to ride, and I've played volleyball and gone climbing since my stitches have been in. I even did the first Boulder Short Track race last Wednesday, and I raced the Mike Horgan Hill Climb up Sugarloaf Road this past weekend. Both races were fun in their own way. The short track got cut short by torrential downpours and hail, which made it quite wet and muddy. The hill climb was good because I came in 17th in the 3's after 2 1/2 weeks of not riding, so it was a better result than I expected and my legs actually felt pretty good.
So that's about all I have for now. Enjoy the pictures.
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