Racing bikes with friends

Check out that awesome kit and bike! Photo: PB Creative

A few weeks ago I had my first cyclocross race of the season, Udo Cross,  out at Lake Hodges in San Marcos.  It was renamed from Spyclocross to Udo Cross after the passing of a friend, Udo Heinz, who was struck and killed by a bus while out riding at Camp Pendleton recently.  Udo was a great ambassador of the cycling community and the cyclocross race every year at lake hodges was always one of the best thanks to all of his hard work.

It was great to see everyone from the cyclocross scene as well as all the friends and spectators that came out to heckle.  Especially all my friends at the bottom of the fast descent you guys were awesome!

The course was pretty similar to last year, which in my opinion, is on of the better courses on the Socal cross circuit.  The laps are a little longer and it has more straightaways rather than just a bunch of turns on the grass.  After some whining and complaining about water being added into the mud pits the race finally got started, only about 45 minutes late.

I wasn't sure how it was gonna go as I've been logging a lot of miles, while everyone else is 6 or 8 races into the season.  About halfway through the first lap the Gritters brothers, Jason Siegle and myself had a small gap on the rest of the field.  The three of them definitely had more pop, and power than I did, but I was able to stay on wheels through the technical sections and turns.

It was pretty fun sitting in with everyone watching Brandon and Kyle gang up on Siegle, I could tell it was going to be a fun race.  No one really had any concern with me as I don't have any points for the series so I was thinking I could maybe sneak a move in near the end of the race for at least a top three.  But that thought ended early when I went down on the fast corner/descent on the second lap, right in front of all of my friends.

I didn't go down hard, just kinda slid out on some loose sand, but my chain fell off to the outside of the chainrings, and my shoe unbuckled.  By the time I got the chain on and my buckle re-clipped I was probably 45-60 seconds off the lead group of three.  At this point I was pretty much thinking about which part of the course I was gonna leave so I could go drink a beer with all my friends.  Then I thought of Udo and how much he had cheered for me the year before while racing and decided I had to stick it out.

Brent Prenzlow, who suffered from a flat in the first minute of the race, was closing in on me fast.  I thought it would be good if he caught me and that we might be able to work together to try and catch the lead group.  But after riding a lap or so together Brent was obviously way stronger and eventually dropped me in the sand.

I managed to hang in for a 5th place finish which all in all isn't too bad for my first race of the season.  I had a blast riding around in circles on bikes with everyone out there, I forgot how fun CX is.  The Gritters' ended up taking first and second again, while Siegle ended up third with Brent on his heels.

Apparently someone has a video of me biffing it and I will definitely post that up here if I get the clip in the future.

Yeah, about that Blogging thing...

Man to say I slacked on the blog the past few months would be an understatement.  There has been much to share, but not so much time.

Well all is well here on the home front.  Its tough trying to balance working, starting your own business and wanting to do well racing bikes next year.  There is way to much to say so Ill just do some bullet points, thats all anyone wants to read anyway...

• Velo Hangar is an awesome shop down in Solona beach and if you haven't been there yet, well what the heck are you waiting for get in there!
• Sanding surfboards for 5 hours before riding your bike for 5 hours is tiring, then making fins when you get home in your spare time....yeah you get the idea
• Im working on getting my own kits made with all my sponsors for next season, stay tuned!
• If you need help learning to ride a bike let me know (if I can't help you Ill point you in the right direction!)
• I havent raced any CX yet because Im putting in a lot of base miles for the Pro XCT next year (if it happens, thanks USCycling)
• I have my first meeting this Sunday to be a San Dieguito river park Mountain bike patrol ranger
• The Blue Moonies are an awesome local band
• My wife to be Ellen is awesome and beautiful
• Everyone at Focus Bikes is top notch, and luckily they have some of the best bikes around
• I almost always, need more coffee...especially right now
• I miss the Angry Single Speeder
• If you need bamboo or Marine Ply glass-ons for your next surfboard and you are reading this, you have better buy them from me! www.teleostfins.com
• I recently won a mountain bike race on a cross bike
• ...have you gone to the Velo Hangar yet?
• The new Time MTB pedals have been great (and no I didn't get them for free)
• Whats a blog post without pictures, check out my new Focus Izalco team SL
• 
• Stay on the lookout for Jess Cerra's new Harmony Bars (they're freaking tasty)
• Follow me on twitter @eboogie101 or @teleostfins
• I think thats enough for now

Thanks to everyone in and around my life!

US Cup Triple Crown Finale

I spent the last weekend up in Santa Ynez (Los Olivos actually) for the season finale of the US Cups triple crown event.  Seemed like it was gonna be a good weekend of racing with Short Track and Super D on Saturday, and XC on Sunday.

I left early Saturday morning and made it up there with plenty of time to spare even after hitting some traffic just before Carpinteria.  I paid the ridiculous registration fee (thanks to Velo Hangar for some help there) for the triple crown series and setoff to warm up pre riding the Super D course.  Then toed the line for the Short Track race.

The Short Track format is 15 minutes plus one lap, seems easy enough right?  There was one short climb that occurred after a long straightaway into a head wind, then another straight away to a quick down then a couple turns, a lap takes about 3-4 minutes.  I had a good start and sat third or so wheel for the first couple of laps.  Because of the headwind the group stayed together for most of the race.

There were a few position changes as the race went on, then when I thought we had two and a half laps left I decided to test the field a little and start mixing it up.  I jumped to the front on the short climb and attacked.  Thanks to the insane power transfer of the Focus' seat stays I had a small gap at the top climb, albeit only a couple seconds but thats all I wanted to know for now.  I knew that doing this would have me pulling the group into the wind the next go around which is why I wanted to do it with two to go then sit in and attack and hopefully hold for the win on the last lap.

As I was pulling the group through the start/finish we got the last lap signal, plan foiled!  No one was coming around to put their nose in the wind either.  So I kept it fairly mellow then started to string it out a little bit before the climb this time to try and prevent anyone using my own plan against me.  I was able to hold off the attack of Ryan and Cody up the climb, but they both snaked by me on the straightaway afterwards.  I was pretty gassed from my effort and they got a few seconds on me which is all they needed.

We had broken away from the main group and I was able to solo in for third.  Thanks to my season of CX racing for sharpening my race tactics!  I spun around for a few more minutes then went back to the car and stuffed my face with as much pasta and food as I could and relaxed a little before the Super D start.

I did a lot of time killin in the sun up there

The Super D course was one of the longer ones this season, and had a good bit of climbing in it.  It wasn't technical in a super rocky sense but in a loose dirt, high speed off camber turns kinda thing.  I managed to put a decent run together with a couple small mistakes and sneaked by with a 4th place, and from what I could tell was the only one competing on my XC hardtail too.

Sunday was finally time for the real fun to begin, with the field twice as big as saturday and a lot of fresh legs, I knew I was in for some pain.  Right away once I started warming up I could tell that I wasn't totally feeling it or into racing that much.  I got to the line with about 4 minutes until start time and was pretty disappointed to find that some racers who never faired too well were hogging the front line since there weren't any call ups today.  Thats fine and all just don't loose the wheel of the person in front of you when it starts to get real and we begin to ascend towards the skyline.

But of course, when we hit the first climb there was an almost immediate split of Siegel and Taberlay.  Well, ok then, there were still a couple strong riders in the lot remaining, I was in about 9th, then 3rd and 4th started pulling away from what could barely be called a group anymore.  It took a lot of effort to get by these guys and finally managed to get away from everyone else in 6th on the wheel of 5th.  Unfortunately neither one of us were feeling spectacular and couldn't gain too much ground on Cody and Ryan in the 3rd and 4th position as they were working pretty good together.

So on the start of the second lap I attacked on the first climb and managed to get a little gap and expand it to a minute for a 5th place finish.  At one point I had almost reeled in the next two riders but just didn't have the legs from all the racing the previous day.

This is right when I started to close the gap a little on 3rd and 4th, see how close they are!

I ended up 3rd in the triple crown for that weekend, and second for the overall series triple crown.  I was stoked there was actually a payout for once at a US Cup, and that was for the overalls!  Or so thats what I thought, unfortunately we were told they would not be cutting us checks as some criteria wasnt met or something, I get it I guess.  But warn us of that criteria ahead of time otherwise I probably wouldn't have wasted my time and money to drive up there for some more generic medals and tin trophies.  But all in all it was a fun weekend of racing with good people and some fun trails.

The highlight of my trip would probably actually be running into Kurt, who was riding his bike from San Diego to Monterey, just outside of Los Olivos on the side of the 154.  How random, I was stoked to see him and offered him a nutella and jelly french toast sandwich which he somehow managed to choke down as we talked about our plans for Sea Otter.  Good shit.

Kurt chowin' down

Pro XC tour #2 in the books

No excuses this time, I was off of the antibiotics and had my first 'real' pro race under my belt, having another crappy showing was unacceptable.  I pre-rode the course the weekend before and knew what to expect.  It was a very technical course with some longer descents which suited me well.  I should have done some warming up on the course though, especially after being warned by Gareth and B. Gritters beforehand that the course was getting super chewed up from the Cat 1's racing it.  Turns out the course rode completely different than the previous weekend.  

At the start I was lined up behind Miguel Valdez, which I thought was gonna be a nice wheel to follow through the crowd. For some reason at the whistle he hesitated and rolled out at a 'not very fast' pace and I was swarmed by riders from the rows behind me.  The course went from a pretty narrow fire road to some single track not too long after the start, and positioning was of the utmost importance.  I was pretty far back and had to put in some solid efforts when the trail would open up on the climbs before going back into single track.  There was so much traffic caused by the 50+ riders that we were all strung out within inches of the wheel in front of you in your easiest gear just soft pedaling, there was nothing else you could do.  

Excuse me I'd like to get by now

Near the end of the first lap (of 4), on the last descent, after moving up some spots and in a good place I ran out of talent and slid into a patch of some kinda small nettle plant thing to break my fall.  All was good but the line that I rode on the course three times the weekend before that I really liked was all of a sudden gone and replaced with loose sand.  So I lost a bunch of spots there and was pretty content to throw in the towel now with a valid excuse.  The tip of my saddle was also now pointed up to about the 11 o'clock position which was no bueno, so about a mile from the start I had to pull over and hit it down with my hand to make it level again, ohh yeah and losing more hard earned spots.  

Post crash, I had leaves in my ear after the race

Still wanting to quit, again, I just kept riding hoping I would change my mind.  Which I did, again.  Thanks to Tom Obrien and the nationwide team for the support and handing me bottles every lap, I kept pushing on.  I just rode the climbs as steady as I could, and would start to reel in riders on the descents and would pick em off one by one as the race went on.  Ended up in 20th, which is a lot better than Bonelli, but considering where I was before I slid out and everything I went through again to get going I could have done better.  But at this level you don't really get a second chance, you barely ever get a chance at all, which is why it is so intriguing to keep racing at this level.

After almost falling asleep at the top waiting for the super D start, needless to say I had a pitiful performance.  I basically forgot how to ride a bike after laying on a rock in the sun for 45 minutes!  I was unable to clip in immediately at the start, then made some bad line choices and braking decisions.  Bummed because I feel its a course I could have done good on, ohh well, ended up 13th in that.

Time to start thinking about Sea Otter and what I may do the rest of this season.  In the meantime I'm taking in my Focus to clean it up at the Velo Hangar and drink some coffee, ohh I guess my employer will want me to come to work too.

every accomplishment starts with the decision to try

Well I accomplisd something I never thgouht would happen in my life this past weekend, competing in a Pro XCT mountain bike race.  Due to a sinus/ear infection the week prior and being on antibiotics for the race I was hardly in top form, and at this caliber of racing it definitely shows.  Surprisingly at only around 20 miles, this was the hardest race I have completed to date, worse than Vision Quest on a single speed, and more painful than the Julian Death March on a fixed gear mountain bike (props still to my buddy Chas for talking me into that one)

Due to being under the weather I had trouble even keeping wheels on the parade lap, and about half way through the first lap I was starting to think of the point at which I will drop out and watch the rest of the race; would it be near a good technical section, or over with my friend Len who was nice enough to hand me water bottles during the race.  Then I started thinking of everyone who had helped me get to this point and decided theres no way I could tell them that I didn't finish, without having a valid excuse that is (fingers were crossed for broken chain)  not to mention all of the trash talking that would have ensued for a DNF.

I never unzip my shirt, thats how much I was suffering.  Photo: PB Creative

This racing is completely different, racers battle for a top 40 position just as hard as if they were racing for a top 10.  You can not make one little mistake, or that is a position, decide to gear down a little for a climb to save some for the end, thats probably three spots.  There is no leeway what-so-ever, its awesome.  Since I didn't have any pop I just rode as hard as I could the whole time, and if I was feeling OK pass a few people, and when I was feeling crappy let some people pass me.  The course was very brutal, with the only recovery point at the start/finsih area, if you werent going up you were briefly descending a bumpy and technical section that lasted no longer than 3 seconds before you had to go up the next steep pitch.

Still hurting going down, Photo: Jim Wolf

In the end I managed to not get pulled from the race and out of around 60 or so starters I got a 32nd, ended up 16th in the super D and skipped the short track which led to an 18th overall for the triple crown.  Not too bad for my first real race but I know I can do better and am anxiously looking forward to the next one.

Thanks go out to the same awesome people, Ellen the lovely wifey, Gordon and Laurel at the Velo Hangar, my coach T Glavin, and strength and rehab guru Bryan Hill from rehab united.

...and mountain bike season begins!

I've been busy having so much fun racing/riding/watching cyclocross for the past few months that I kinda forgot what it was like to ride and race mountain bikes, pretty glad that its as fun as I remember!  I hadn't been on the mountain bike much over the past few months and was starting to forget how the thing work.  Luckily my buddy Kurt G. and Victor S. decided to put together a local roots mountain bike race series.

The name of the series was the 'quick 'n dirty' and it lived up to its name.  This is the kind of thing that has been missing in bike racing, especially mountain biking which is supposed to have more of a support community and core feel to it.  The races were only $30, the competition was fierce, and the prizes were legit.  It was a great season opener that got everyone used to racing on their mountain bikes again.  Not only were the races successful in attracting a great crowd , but the 'quick 'n dirty' has contributed back to the park system via trail maintenance and good 'ol cash money.  I managed a 2nd to Phil Tintsman, 3rd to Johnny O'mara and Phil, and a 1st in the three race mini series.

This last sunday was the first race of the US Cup, and I was a bit anxious as this was my first pro race of the season and I had no idea what to expect.  On top of the stress of my first race Ellen came out with her parents Jack and Libby who were in town visiting us, so I couldn't disappoint them with a crappy result after having flown all the way out here from MD (not to see the race though of course)

Jack, Libby & Jacki

The field was rather small with only 9 or so guys.  I had no problem jumping out in front and letting someone else take the lead, wanting to make sure to stay in the top 3 or 5 as long as I could.  Pedroza soon tired out before the first initial hill, so I went ahead and took charge bringing Pedroza and Jenkins along with me, and forming a gap on the rest of the group.  

It was pretty apparent that Jenkins had pre-ridden the course as he too the lead on the last part of the first lap riding the route very well.  He and Pedroza opened up a small gap on me about a mile from the start/finish.  I didn't really want to let them go, but I had no idea what was coming next on the course and wanted to save some energy.  

On the second lap Jenkins had a solid lead on me, and was slowly dropping Pedroza, who I managed to catch right near the start/finish.  I could tell he had turned himself inside out trying to ride with Jenkins, and knew I too could drop him if I ride smart.  I let him lead me halfway up the first climb then put in a solid attack and immediately opened up a decent gap.  I kept on the gas for another minute or so and was able to hold him off the rest of the lap for a solid second place.  

Putting in work on Pedroza Photo: PB Creative

The race couldn't have gone much better considering I just finished building up my new Focus Raven 29er the night before the race.  Big thanks to Velo Hangar for having all the random parts in stock that I needed (as always).  Ive since gotten a few more rides on the bike and gotta say it is one of the best handling, snappiest and quickest accelerating mountain bikes I have ridden, couldn't be happier with it!  It was also super heart warming to see Jack, Libby and Ellen at the end of my race congratulating me, truly memorable thanks guys!

Phil Beckman was out there and got some awesome shots as always...

Look at that bike! Photo: PB Creative

Tight weedy section Photo: PB Creative

Gonna try to make it to the Keyesville Classic this weekend if life co-operates, hope to see all my riding buddies out there should be a good time.

Wrapping up the cross season

I didn't go out the way I had wanted with my first season of Cyclocross, but I am super stoked with how the season went as a whole.  I progressed pretty solidly throughout the season learning and building on my mistakes from racing every weekend, and had hoped for some good results, and a possible win, during the last two races.  Unfortunately, I learned I still have a lot more to learn.  I wasn't in the best riding form from a crash just a week before the second to last race at Irvine lake.  I fell on my left side and ended up shifting my sacrum and freezing up my right leg pretty good.  Quick accelerations or getting on and off the bike were no bueno, which thats pretty much what Cross is all about!

Enough excuses, the Irvine Lake race course was super fun, it had a nice little climb, and a few straightaways.  Adding in a rainstorm literally 5 minutes before our race started, made for some 'true' cross conditions in Socal.  Multi-time National CX champ Ryan Trebon was down training in the area and decided to race with everyone, and it quickly became a race for second.  I was leading the chase group after a lap or two when the course all of a sudden switched to a drivers course.  I got unexpectedly dropped on my side in a super slick left hand turn.  Unfortunately my shoe came unbuckled when this happened and I lost the chase group and rode the rest of the race by myself.  After experiencing some shifting problems, a flat, and having file tread tires on my 'B" bike I rolled through in 6th.

Just starting to get muddy...

The last race of the season was up in Nortwest LA at Pierce College.  I went into this race sitting in third overall for the series.  This season finale race offered 1.5x the points which meant I had the ability to drop all the way down to fifth or sixth depending on the outcome of this one race.

The course really suited me well with three solid climbs and some longer straightaways.  But for some reason when the whistle blew I just didn't have any pop in my step, and after having multiple people make errors ahead of me costing valuable time and positions, I was pretty stoked to roll through within the allotted distance from the riders that were breathing down my neck for third overall in the series.

I had no plans or goals racing cross this year and was mostly just using it for training, at first.  But I have 'applied the embro' and fully have the CX bug.  Every time Im out riding and I see a little park, or field or some trails I quickly put together a cross course in my mind.  I now want to use mountain bike racing as training for next cross season.  I want to go race in the freezing cold and sloppy mud, and barely be able to finish then lie to everyone and tell them I had fun doing it.

I ended up third overall in the Elite 'A' division for SoCal prestiges' cross series.  Overalls are scored on your best 9 races out of 17, and I barely squeaked in with 9 races total!  Couldn't be more happy about my result considering its next to cross master Brent Prenzlow (2nd) and Hammerhead Brandon Gritters (1st)  I had a lot of fun racing with everyone this season, and a big thanks to Dorothy and everyone that helped organize the series.  Most importantly thanks to Ellen for having the patience with me and allowing me to go race as mush as I did.  I couldn't have completed half the races if it wasn't for Gordon and Laurel's support over at Velo Hangar, the coolest most original shop ever!  And my coach Trevor Glavin of skinfit for allowing me to find the ability to ride at this level, heres to continual success!  Bryan Hill at Rehab United for helping me walk...and struggle to walk.  John Bailey for being an awesome guy, I did my first 4 races or so on his old bike from two years ago, thanks again for helping to give me the cross bug!

Time to start getting in more hours on the mountain bike and prepare for my ass kicking this next season, its gonna be interesting, so much more to still learn!

Photo Dump from the season...