Biggest race in August? Leadville?? How about the Eiger Bike Challenge...
August 14th... wish me luck!
- live, work and race to your full potential
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Back to Busy
Wow time flies! 2 really busy weeks in the books since racing in Idaho and now only a week before we take off for Europe! Work has been crazy and I initially rested for a week after Idaho, then jumped into some crazy endurance rides.
Last weekend I was good for 4 hrs and 6hrs with about 13,000ft of climbing between the two. Somehow I followed that up with a good ride at the Over the Hump race on Tuesday, but I think I've been a little fried since. Today's training on baldy was good in the sense that I got a lot of climbing in and my legs felt good. But I blew up pretty good in the heat and my heart rate went sky high for the whole second half of the ride (like 175 at endurance level power...)
Anyway, another long day tomorrow (on the mountain bike) and then some rest to let the body adapt to the big rides... life is good!
Last weekend I was good for 4 hrs and 6hrs with about 13,000ft of climbing between the two. Somehow I followed that up with a good ride at the Over the Hump race on Tuesday, but I think I've been a little fried since. Today's training on baldy was good in the sense that I got a lot of climbing in and my legs felt good. But I blew up pretty good in the heat and my heart rate went sky high for the whole second half of the ride (like 175 at endurance level power...)
Anyway, another long day tomorrow (on the mountain bike) and then some rest to let the body adapt to the big rides... life is good!
Monday, July 18, 2011
A little more from Idaho
Sun Valley was beautiful and the town did a great job in hosting Nationals this year!
The cross country race went well for me and I pulled off a solid top 30 on a pretty tough course. All the talk about the pro race focused on the steepness of the climb, and that really is where the race took shape. It was steep enough that everyone was riding their smallest gear and the race was more about riding my own pace then racing the guys that were around me. I was able to ride steady 6 lap times all within 1 minute of each other and slowly work my way up through a field of about 75 guys. Not once in the race did I know what place I was in and that was actually nice for a change. I just rode the best I could in the moment and when I rolled across the finish line I was happy with the effort I left out on the course.
In the end I decided not to ride the super d or short track. The late registration fees were ridiculous, I was happy with my xc, and also wanted to do a fun ride with friends on Sunday. We found a beautiful loop north of town and had a great ride to wrap up the weekend. Now it's back to business for me with what will surely be a crazy week at work. Thanks for reading!
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The cross country race went well for me and I pulled off a solid top 30 on a pretty tough course. All the talk about the pro race focused on the steepness of the climb, and that really is where the race took shape. It was steep enough that everyone was riding their smallest gear and the race was more about riding my own pace then racing the guys that were around me. I was able to ride steady 6 lap times all within 1 minute of each other and slowly work my way up through a field of about 75 guys. Not once in the race did I know what place I was in and that was actually nice for a change. I just rode the best I could in the moment and when I rolled across the finish line I was happy with the effort I left out on the course.
In the end I decided not to ride the super d or short track. The late registration fees were ridiculous, I was happy with my xc, and also wanted to do a fun ride with friends on Sunday. We found a beautiful loop north of town and had a great ride to wrap up the weekend. Now it's back to business for me with what will surely be a crazy week at work. Thanks for reading!
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
Idaho
What a crazy few days since Downieville. Things are busy at my office right now with some pretty big transitions going on and there is a lot of work waiting for me after any vacation day I take. Mon, tue, and wed were kind of a blur trying to get caught up, while also trying to get some sort of rest in the evenings. Wed I finally got things as caught up as possible at work around 5:30 and headed out for my only decent ride for the week. Thur morning it was off to the airport and when I finally made it to Boise and hit the open road for Sun Valley it was a pretty big sigh if relief. Now I have 3 full days hanging out in a cool mountain town with only a little bike ride to focus on!
http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/us-cross-country-national-championships-cn
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Downieville Classic
Downieville was once again one of the funnest races of the year. It's a tough 10 hour drive from SoCal but spending the weekend in a cabin on the river and riding some amazing trails makes it more than worthwhile. The races are tough though! The courses are serious mountain bike trails and there's a lot of fast guys. After not doing any racing for about 2 months I got off to a good start on the 3,000 ft climb in the cross country. Nearing the top I was in about 7th with the top 3-6 still in sight when my shifter just stopped working. The next half of the race was a pretty tough go with only 2 gears to work with but I still finished 16th. I put in a good run in the downhill but didn't quite get the result I was hoping for and ended up 17th... One of my goals in racing this year is to seek satisfaction from how I perform regardless of the results that play out. But it's easier said then done and even though I rode well and enjoyed the moment during my run - it turned to disappointment when I saw the result. Even without the races I was hoping for, Downieville was a great weekend spent with my awesome wife and good friends.
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Thursday, July 7, 2011
Here we go - race time!
Well I'm blessed to have an amzing 2 months of racing ahead of me. I'm back to feeling healthy & strong, and so far have been able to keep things moving in the right direction at work. July and August will be crazy, but I can't wait!
July 9-10 Downieville Classic all mountain world championship! Several thousand mountain bikers will take over the small mountain town of Downieville for some serious racing and serious fun. DVILLE
July 16-17 National Championships the nations best will contest cross country, super d, and short track titles in Sun Valley Idaho NATS
Aug 14 Eiger Bike Challenge one of Europe’s top marathon’s at the foot of the famous Eiger in Switzerland. UCI cat 2 for elite racers and over 1,000 amateur racers EIGER BIKE
Aug 20 Grand Raid Verbier one of the toughest marathon races in the world - 77 miles with 15,000ft of vertical climbing!! UCI Cat 1 for elite racers and upwards of 3,000 amteur racers! GRAND RAID
Aug 25 Swiss Bike Trohpy one of a kind 8pm UCI1 cross country race in a downtown park in the Capitol of Switzerland! Featuring many of the top World Cup racers from throughout Europe. SWISS BIKE
Aug 28 Racers Bike Cup Muttenz final race of the Swiss National series and final tune up cross country race (UCI1) for all of the top World Cup racers including before the following weekend’s World Championships RACERS CUP
Sept 17 Marathon National Championships Bend Oregon - the nations top racers will take on 50 plus miles of amazing mountain single track with a National Champion jersey waiting for the winner. Amateur turnout will be huge! NATS
Oct 2 – California State Championships Vail Lake - bragging rights are on the line for all Socal racers at this race which also serves as the final US Cup Series race of the year US CUP
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July 9-10 Downieville Classic all mountain world championship! Several thousand mountain bikers will take over the small mountain town of Downieville for some serious racing and serious fun. DVILLE
July 16-17 National Championships the nations best will contest cross country, super d, and short track titles in Sun Valley Idaho NATS
Aug 14 Eiger Bike Challenge one of Europe’s top marathon’s at the foot of the famous Eiger in Switzerland. UCI cat 2 for elite racers and over 1,000 amateur racers EIGER BIKE
Aug 20 Grand Raid Verbier one of the toughest marathon races in the world - 77 miles with 15,000ft of vertical climbing!! UCI Cat 1 for elite racers and upwards of 3,000 amteur racers! GRAND RAID
Aug 25 Swiss Bike Trohpy one of a kind 8pm UCI1 cross country race in a downtown park in the Capitol of Switzerland! Featuring many of the top World Cup racers from throughout Europe. SWISS BIKE
Aug 28 Racers Bike Cup Muttenz final race of the Swiss National series and final tune up cross country race (UCI1) for all of the top World Cup racers including before the following weekend’s World Championships RACERS CUP
Sept 17 Marathon National Championships Bend Oregon - the nations top racers will take on 50 plus miles of amazing mountain single track with a National Champion jersey waiting for the winner. Amateur turnout will be huge! NATS
Oct 2 – California State Championships Vail Lake - bragging rights are on the line for all Socal racers at this race which also serves as the final US Cup Series race of the year US CUP
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Nice rides
Well the cold I started to come down with a week and a half ago drug out into a pretty good sinus infection. That meant no hard riding last weekend, but I did get in a decent mountain ride and 2 good road rides during the week. I'm back to feeling good again and put in these solid rides as my last big workouts before Downieville and Nationals...
Intensity - climbing repeats on Pelican Hill - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/96326792
Long threshold climb up Harding with Joplin - Luge descent - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/96615446
Intensity - climbing repeats on Pelican Hill - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/96326792
Long threshold climb up Harding with Joplin - Luge descent - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/96615446
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