Bloomer Video

This is the teaser video from Bloomer that will be part of the USAC Series DVD. Video is done by Mike at Masher's Media. Check them out at Mashersmedia.com, or go to the link on the right.

I got some nice switchback coverage in the first minute.

Bloomer XC

Weather turned out to be nice, and the course was fun. I had a great time tooling around the course five times. Twisty, with lots of cool switchbacks, a lot of accelerations, some hills, and some long flat 2-track.

Race started off in a non-typical fashion for me. I *actually* had a good start. The goal was to go fast and try to get in the lead group. Yeah, it worked. Kuhncappi took off like crazy and left me going 2nd into the woods. Good thing I did a lap before the race. I let Niel by, and we were off. It was Dylan and I until the Flyin' Frenchman bridged and Lummis caught up. Dylan drilled it on the 2-track then Lummis added some more pain on the gravely climb. We caught Kuhncappi, and Christian decided he wanted to race. Dylan went with him and left three of us chasing. Lap 2 was hard. Sitting 3rd in tight 1-track left me closing gaps after every corner. It hurt. I fell off coming into the finish of lap 2. Tried to keep riding hard and not fall into cruise control doing and JRA. Clikeman caught me on mid-lap 4, but I didn't have the gas to keep with him. Lap 5 came and went as I rolled over the line 7th. Not bad. A different type of race for me. Usually I am slow to start and have consistant lap times. This was fast in the begining and slower lap times later on. Lap 2, I was worked over and took a bit out of me.

Fun race. I really enjoyed the course. Next up on the docket is Waterford Hills Thursday night and Fort Custer on Sunday. Let's see if I can get a good start again. Hopefully we get another good strong turnout like Bloomer.

More picture here. Thanks to my uncle, Glen Moore

Yankee Springs TT

Good Weather. 70's, a few drops of rain about dinner time on Saturday, but mostly sunshine. Course was in reverse. Sweet. People complained, c'mon, how often can we ride a trail backwards? Niel still won, and he should be the one most upset since it was his home course. So that point is now null. Course flowed well and was fast. Went off 9th, passed 5 people on course and ended up 3rd overall. Times were similar to years past, and I cut a minute off last year. Improvements.

Built up the SS on Friday night. Chain kept skipping on the rear cog. So I ended up with the only option that would work: 44x18. I thought it would hurt, but I should have gone with a 16T on the rear. It was fast. Felt easy. 4.5min slower, but lots of passig of sport men. Didn't even try the steep, loose part on the middle climb. Accelerated, cyclocross dismount and ran by some granny-ringers before remounting. Then caught people on the 1-track ridge with no passing. It was still fun. The bike worked and I was happy. Ended up 4th.

Bloomer this weekend? Maybe. 10 day forcast shows a bit of rain. If it's muddy, I'll stay home, but if it's dry, I'll go race for 2nd. That guy who double-flatted and beat Eatough last weekend can cruise around by himself on his home course off the front. Maybe he should race the Tour, I hear the French really need someone to finally win their own race!

Coming up...Bloomer, planned on Cone Azalia, but it's still a myth that it might be cancelled. No entry form out yet. I want to race some paved and dirt road on the skinny tires. Cat 5, baby! If its a scratch, maybe Fort Custer. Once my Thursday classes are done, Waterford Thursday nights I come. $10 crit, schweet.

Back From the Dead

Okay, I am alive. Quick note here and a full report later. Did a Mountain States Cup race outside of Fruita last weekend and got 3rd. Raced Yankee today and got 3rd again. Niel Scharphorn threw down for the win and Bill Clikeman nabbed his 2nd, 2nd place in 2 weeks. Wow, thats a lot of 2's. Raced SS after and got 4th. It felt easy with a 44x18. Maybe since it was 4.5 min slower and lots or sport racers to pass. I feel left out. I think 3 of us had 26 inch bikes out of like 20 in Elite. But Bill and I got 2 and 3 on 26ers. Yeah!

Fat Tire Time