The trip has come and gone, and I am glad I decided to go. What a great few days it was. 5 of us packed into a pick-up truck and set off for Monetery, CA around (;30 Wednesday night. After snowy/icy conditions in Utah(the storm that dumped feet in Colorado), a cruise down the Vegas strip, and 15 hours later, we arrived in one sleep-deprived state. A nice little pre-ride and a tour of the expo, and it was off to In-N-Out for some food, then sleep.
PICTURES OF THE TRIP-BETTER THAN WORDS
TECH/EXPO PICS
Did another loop of the course on Friday and checked out some other races and went through the expo in deep. What a great venue and scene. Weather was the best ever at Sea Otter and everyone there was in a great mood. Went to the beach later for some sunset action and touch my toes in the Pacific for the first time ever.
Saturday started off playing in the waves and having a blast in the ocean. It was a little cool, but we didn't care. Off to the venue to pre-ride then watch some racing. I opted out of the short track and was glad I did. Not much passing, and most people were done in 10 minutes. It was a great race to watch. The womens was animated then Emily Batty blew them all away with an attack on the last lap. The men's race was full on Specialized domination. They made everyone look like they were creeping. After a flat tire from Susi, it was down to Todd and Burry, but they killed everyone.
Sunday was race day. I went off with 140 of my closest friends at 1:30. It was really hot at 10am, and hit record high temps in the afternoon. They shortened the race a little due to the extreme heat. It was up in the 90's and most people are not acclimated to it yet. The first lap was so hot and miserable. The course was fun and cool riding with that many people, but the heat radiating in the woods was unbearable. You couldn't pin it or you would totally blow up. Just ride a good tempo and look forward to passing others and seeing the finish line. I finished 78th of 140 pro starters. Not bad for the first mountain bike race of the year. Legs felt good, but the heat just zapped everything. You could tell everyone was suffering and that was what kept me going.
Hopped in the car, ate In-N-Out, and drove straight back to GJ. Got back at 9am with 1hr of off and on sleep in Utah. Did a few things, then went for a sweet MTB ride with friends. Finally went to bed at 6:30, and got up at 9:30 this morning. Now it is off for a few good rides this week, then conference championships this weekend and off to Tour of the Gila on Tuesday for 6 days. Sea Otter and MTB racing was a great little refresher.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
The Start of Craziness
Well, here it is. The heart of the spring races. Last weekend was a trip down to Durango for the Fort Lewis races.
Saturday's TTT was canceled as we woke up to pouring rain, then lots of snow. The crit was still on a few hours later. It was a really cool course. Once everyone got used to the soaked roads, it was smooth and really fun. It started raining again before our race, then it started snowing a bit, and even sleeted on us in the race. Needless to say, it was chilly and wet, but I had a great time. I just kinda chilled on the back of the main group, and when people would pop, which was like 1/2 the field, I would come around them and get back on the group. Needless to say, after 20 minutes the glasses were so covered in grime that you couldn't see. Even better was it was the worst conditions of the year, but the first race with no crashes!
Sunday was a circuit race of 9, 6 mile loops. It finished with a killer climb that was a mile+ in length. The first part has a few switchbacks and is ridiculously steep. Since I suck at accelerating and power climbs, my goal was to try to stay with the group for a couple laps. Each lap, people would come off, then try to bridge back. Even after a hard week of training, my legs had some good power in them. I used my flatlander skills to bridge back and bring others back to the group every lap. After 7 laps, I finally was gone. I was able to keep riding strong the last two laps and passed a few more stragglers. I finished 20th out of 49, so not bad for another training race.
Next up is Sea Otter. I can't wait to race my MTB. I am registered for the XC, but I am not sure about the short track yet. I am going to look at the course and decide. Being 100 guys back on a short course could mean guys like Treefarm will be about to lap me before I get to the start line. And I usually get faster as the race goes on, which is horrible for ST. Oh, and its like 95 bucks. Yeah...
Saturday's TTT was canceled as we woke up to pouring rain, then lots of snow. The crit was still on a few hours later. It was a really cool course. Once everyone got used to the soaked roads, it was smooth and really fun. It started raining again before our race, then it started snowing a bit, and even sleeted on us in the race. Needless to say, it was chilly and wet, but I had a great time. I just kinda chilled on the back of the main group, and when people would pop, which was like 1/2 the field, I would come around them and get back on the group. Needless to say, after 20 minutes the glasses were so covered in grime that you couldn't see. Even better was it was the worst conditions of the year, but the first race with no crashes!
Sunday was a circuit race of 9, 6 mile loops. It finished with a killer climb that was a mile+ in length. The first part has a few switchbacks and is ridiculously steep. Since I suck at accelerating and power climbs, my goal was to try to stay with the group for a couple laps. Each lap, people would come off, then try to bridge back. Even after a hard week of training, my legs had some good power in them. I used my flatlander skills to bridge back and bring others back to the group every lap. After 7 laps, I finally was gone. I was able to keep riding strong the last two laps and passed a few more stragglers. I finished 20th out of 49, so not bad for another training race.
Next up is Sea Otter. I can't wait to race my MTB. I am registered for the XC, but I am not sure about the short track yet. I am going to look at the course and decide. Being 100 guys back on a short course could mean guys like Treefarm will be about to lap me before I get to the start line. And I usually get faster as the race goes on, which is horrible for ST. Oh, and its like 95 bucks. Yeah...
Friday, April 03, 2009
Wowza
I just looked at my schedule for the next month and a half or so. Let's just say it is going to go by FAST. Here is what it is looking like...
This weekend-Golden, CO----CANCELED DUE TO LOTS OF SNOW--I can stay here
April 10-12 Durango, CO
April 15-19 SEA OTTER CLASSIC-MTB!!!
April 24-26 Salt Lake City, UT-Conference Championships(if we have to go)
April 28-May 3 Tour of the Gila-Silver City, New Mexico
May 8-10 Collegiate Road Nationals-Ft. Collins, CO
May 11-17 Exams, and family is in town to ride some sweet trails and roads
May 17/18? Leave for Michigan.
That's a lot of traveling and bike racing. As they say, "You only live once, and do it while you're young!"
Once I get back to the mitten, I will hit up the Brighton Stage Race, then an assualt on the Lumberjack 100. I think I will take a week or two break from the bike after that for a mid-season refresher. Need to be able to throw down for collegiate MTB Nationals in October and cross nationals in December.
This weekend-Golden, CO----CANCELED DUE TO LOTS OF SNOW--I can stay here
April 10-12 Durango, CO
April 15-19 SEA OTTER CLASSIC-MTB!!!
April 24-26 Salt Lake City, UT-Conference Championships(if we have to go)
April 28-May 3 Tour of the Gila-Silver City, New Mexico
May 8-10 Collegiate Road Nationals-Ft. Collins, CO
May 11-17 Exams, and family is in town to ride some sweet trails and roads
May 17/18? Leave for Michigan.
That's a lot of traveling and bike racing. As they say, "You only live once, and do it while you're young!"
Once I get back to the mitten, I will hit up the Brighton Stage Race, then an assualt on the Lumberjack 100. I think I will take a week or two break from the bike after that for a mid-season refresher. Need to be able to throw down for collegiate MTB Nationals in October and cross nationals in December.
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