Pork Chop Challenge CX

Headed up to St. Cloud on Sunday for my first-ever cyclocross race. I had no idea what to expect, other than 30-minutes of all-out suffering. I was not disappointed in that regard.

Ref called everyone up to the line and I got stuck 2nd row. Race starts and I'm about 10-15 guys back going into the first turn. I passed as many as I could before the first uphill and barrier section. When I went to dismount for the first barrier my legs were so jacked from the start effort that I almost couldn't stand up, let alone clear the barriers. The course then zig-zagged up and down some steep, punchy hills. The mountain bike handling skills definitely helped here, as I passed several people who were having to ride their brakes. It was the uphill barrier sections that killed me. Definitely need to start running some hills and steps (while carrying the bike).

Bell lap, and I really had no idea where I was sitting. I towed a Birchwood guy halfway around the course and he passed me on the first set of barriers. I got on his wheel but ran out of gas on the final uphill barrier. He got me on the line by about 2 seconds for 4th place, but I'll take 5th out of 55 for my first cx race. I was only a minute and some change off the leader. I'm pretty happy with how things went.

I definitely have some areas to work on as far as technique and cx-specific interval training. I also need to figure out who is who in the Cat 4 field so I know who to mark. I hope to get things sorted and dialed in the next few races and then upgrade to Cat 3 before the end of the season for an extra 15-20 minutes of suffering per race. We'll see how it goes.

Photos from www.skinnyski.com

Salsa 24 Race Report

The Team: "Peace Coffee Racing", 4-Man Open (Alan Eastlund, Joe Kjeer, Bryan Rhody, Chris Van Ert)
The Mission: Survive 24-hours of racing at Afton Alps and finish in top-three.

All four of us race in the Minnesota Mountain Bike Series and are teammates on Peace Coffee Racing. Joe was originally signed up to race solo. Bryan and Alan approached him about doing it as a team if they could find a fourth. That's where I entered the story. Bryan shot me an email asking if I'd consider it. Truth is, I had already been considering either doing the 8-hour solo or finding a team to join. Decided to do a solo 100-mile ride to gauge my fitness and mindset. The ride went well, so I was in.

I arrived at Afton Alps to find a sweet base camp setup: 3 EZ-Up's (one with a full-screen), tables, electric hook up with power strips to charge lights, food & bevy, and all the spare bike parts you could need. And, Joe's legendary MacGuyver shower, which deserves it's own separate write up. All of this was set up under a nice shady tree that was a stone's throw from the chalet and the start/finish/transition area. Perfect.

Alan "volunteered" to ride first and do the LeMans start (a 100-yard run up a hill, around a maintenance building then 100-yards back down to your bike to begin Lap #1). For no particular reason we settled on a rotation of: Alan, Joe, me, then Bryan. We were still undecided about how to handle the night shift, but we had plenty of time to figure it out.

Afton is a pretty brutal course. It is physically, technically, and mentally demanding. You don't get much chance to recover from all of the climbing and you can't afford to let your guard down on the steep, twisting, tree-lined rocky descents. It is either uphill or downhill, with only a couple of very short connecting segments that are "flat". The climbs vary from short and punchy to long and steep. There are three main climbs: Bridge Loop, Shady Lane and Manhandler/Whistler. These three sections are connected by a series of steep switchback climbs and rocky descents. Each 7-mile lap presents a leg-burning 1,150 feet of climbing. Painful to ride, really painful at race-pace. Punishing for 24-hours straight.

We had the racer's meeting and it was time to start. Alan was off for Lap #1 and the rest of us went back to base camp to get ready for our turn on the pain train. Expert racer extraordinaire, Sam Oftedahl, was the first racer through the transition area with a blistering 34-minute lap. Insanity. When Sam's teammate and top Minnesota pro racer, Brendan Moore, rolled across next with another 34-minute lap, the race for second place was officially on. Well, it was a race for second place the minute they registered. This is, afterall, the team (Team TrekVeloLag: Sam Oftedahl, Brendan Moore, Chris Fisher, Ben Moore) that won the 24-Hour National Championship in 2008.

The four of us got those first laps out of the way and we were all in the low to mid 40-minute range, which was great. I wasn't sure what to expect for lap times since the MnMBS race in May was a slightly different course, but I was hoping we could average 45-minute laps for the entire race. So far, so good.

We kept plugging away during the very hot and humid afternoon, trying hard to stay hydrated, get electrolytes in, and keep our fuel tanks topped off. We found ourselves in second place, a few laps down on the All-World team and a couple of laps up on third. The heat and humidity was taking it's toll and we were all looking forward to dark.

I had the first night lap and headed out as the sun was setting. I was only running a helmet light, which I won't do again. It's nice to be able to have the light shine where your eyes are pointing so you can look ahead of the bike. But, not having lights on the bars as well meant no depth-perception, which made it difficult to see little details on the trail like: rocks, roots, washouts, drop-offs. You know, the little things. There were several times where I took a descent way too hot and got bounced by something I couldn't see or where I tried to rail a corner only to discover it was loose, sugary sand. Fortunately, I kept it together and stayed upright. I decided to dial it down a bit, thinking it was better to lose a little bit of time in favor of keeping the rubber-side down. Gotta be in it to win it.

Joe had a minor crash his first time out after dark, but it was his next lap that will become the stuff of legend. Somewhere shortly after the Shady Lane summit he caught a rock on his front sidewall, went over the bars and ripped a hole in his tire (tubeless). He threw in a tube and got back on, only to have the tire blow off the bead a short time later. Joe tossed the tube removed what was left of the tire and proceeded to ride/run about a half-lap on nothing but rim. The large, "socially-lubricated" crowd at the top of Whistler was heckling Joe as they saw him pushing his bike up the hill. "He's walking! Get on and ride!", they yelled. When they got a closer look the heckling changed to, "Holy shit!, he doesn't have a front tire!!", followed by pandemonium. Fellow PCR teammate Clayton McLagan was Johnny-on-the-spot with a replacement wheel, and Joe rolled in to the transition area with a time of 1-hour. If you can have all of that happen to you and still turn in a 60-minute lap (at night, no less) you are a rockstar.

We had opted to continue doing one lap in a row for the entire race. For my previous three 24-hour races we had always done two laps in a row at night. This gives the other guys more time to rest and maybe even catch some sleep. I think one lap at a time was the right call. I didn't sleep at all for the entire 24-hours, but trying to drag your ass out of your sleeping bag after a fitful hour of "sleep" is much worse than not sleeping at all. Don't get me wrong, we were all tired, but once you get on the bike the race switch gets flipped and it's just kind of automatic. You can sleep when it's over.

The crowd on Whistler was great. As previously mentioned, they had been partying up there for some time. Riding through a group of 20 or so screaming lunatics (I mean that as a term of endearment) at the top of a tough climb gave us a taste of what it's like on Alpe d'Huez during the Tour de France. Two guys were out there the entire race, cracking us up as we'd slog up the hill. "This is nothing but a pile of dirt! You are getting your ass kicked by a pile of dirt!", was one of my favorites. They'd always follow up a good-natured jab with a water hand-up. Definitely gave us all a much-needed boost.

I had the last rotation on the night shift, heading out just before sunrise. My legs were pretty heavy at this point and motivation was pretty low. Once I got to about Shady Lane, the sun was out enough to see without lights, and my mood improved. Now that I could see again, I was able to attack the course a bit more. I was able to enjoy the sunrise over the St. Croix valley for a few seconds on the switchbacks out of "The Plunge", then it was time to put my head down and push upward.

One lap to go for all of us, and we were in pretty firm control of second place. All we had to do was finish our laps without incident and we were good to go. I rolled out for my 8th and final lap at 9:00. I was really tired, but gave it full-gas since this was it. I passed quite a few people before Bridge Loop and felt pretty good until halfway up Shady, when I starting getting the telltale twinges of impending cramps in my quads. I ate some gel, forced down some more HEED and switched from power mode to spin mode. I did not want to risk having my legs seize up on me, and just made sure I got through the tough climbs before I opened it up to the finish.

I got to the transition area, tagged Bryan and sent him out for our last team lap. My appetite suddenly made it's first appearance in about 12 hours and I began eating everything in sight: pancakes, tuna pasta salad, Pringles, spaghetti, cookies and who knows what else. After 24 hours of Gu, HEED, and ShotBlocks, real food tasted fantastic. A quick look at the standings showed the one team we were worried about had fallen way back overnight. We were up 4 laps on the closest team behind us in the 4-Man Open and were 2 laps up on the closest team behind us in the Overall. Bryan came through the finish (yes, it was no longer the transition area, it was now the finish line) at about 9:30 and our 2010 Salsa 24 was over. Well, not quite...

We still had a trip to the podium at the awards ceremony. We rode steady, consistent laps, survived a potentially disastrous mechanical/crash, and finished 2nd in the 4-Man Open and 2nd Overall. Definitely felt as good as 1st place, considering the only team we lost to was the former National Champions, who finished 4 laps up on us. Not bad for a bunch of old guys. We would have won the Masters category as well (all racers on team older than 35), but Bryan doesn't turn 35 until November.

After a long, painful and often times demoralizing rookie season racing as a Cat 1/Expert, this race made my entire season. 24-hour mountain bike races are every bit as difficult as you might imagine. Most mtb races are individual efforts, so the team dynamic of a 24 adds a lot of pressure. Especially when you have the expectations of a high-finish. You don't want to let your teammates down. We handled the pressure well, kept things fun and kicked a little ass along the way. I've done a lot of racing in the past 10-15 years, and this one will definitely earn a top-ranking.

Thanks to Alan, Joe and Bryan for asking me to climb aboard the pain train. You guys rocked! Props to all the other PCR crew out there on teams or doing the solo thing. We had 14 guys representing, which was way cool. And props to everyone else who raced or came out to cheer us on. Once I stop feeling like I got hit by a truck, I'll start thinking about the next epic adventure. Switching to CX mode for the next few months, and heading to Austin, TX in October for the LIVESTRONG Challenge 90-mile.

Thanks for reading.
Later


Salsa 24, by the numbers.

Lap Distance: ~7 miles
Lap Elevation: ~1,150 feet
Total Team Laps: 32 (8 laps each)
Total Team Mileage: ~224 (56 miles each)
Total Team Elevation: ~36,800 feet (9,200 feet each)
Average Team Lap Time: 46 minutes
Average Team Day Lap Time: 43:42
Average Team Night Lap Time: 49:25 (including Joe's little "adventure")
Total Time on Course: 24:32:03
Total Team Calories Burned: ~32,000 (8,000 each)
Saturday Hi Temp: 87°, Dew Point 60°, Overnight Temp 66
Sunday Hi Temp: 91°, Dew Point 62°
2nd out of 17 4-Man Open Teams
2nd out of 89 Overall Teams/Solo Racers

Livestrong Challenge, Austin, TX

Most of you who know me know that I lost my mother to metastatic breast cancer in 1999. I also lost both of my grandfathers, aunts and uncles on my wife's side of the family, and a few friends to this disease in its various, insidious forms. I have other friends and family who are either cancer survivors or who are currently fighting battles of their own. To say the least, cancer sucks.

The more cancer kicked my mom, the harder she kicked back. She never gave up and never hesitated to offer whatever encouragement she could to others facing a similar struggle.

It is with that same fighting spirit and desire to help others that I will be taking part in the 90-mile LIVESTRONG Challenge ride in Austin, TX on October 24, as part of Team Cancer Sucks. My goal is not just to participate, but to raise $800 to help further the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s mission of inspiring and empowering people affected by cancer. To reach this goal, I need your help.

If you have been affected by cancer, or you care about this cause, please consider donating toward my fundraising goal. You can donate online at http://austin2010.livestrong.org/vert2223. Thank you in advance for your support. Together, we can make a difference in the fight against cancer.

Thanks!

Chris

Spring Training

Training for the 2010 race season is in full-swing — well half-swing, anyway. Racing in the Expert class this year is going to be interesting, to say the least. I haven't increased my hours on the bike at all over last year, which probably doesn't bode well considering I'll be racing an extra lap this year at an even higher pace. But, after two years of racing Comp and doing well, it's time to avoid the sandbagger label and go suffer with the big boys. Lots of guys I've raced with the past few years are moving up this year too, so it will be just like old times in some ways.

Did an impromptu threshold wattage time trial test the other day, and my numbers were about where I expected them to be. Got a 50-mile mtb race in a couple of weeks which should either whip me into shape or destroy me. Possibly the Cable Off-Road Classic the week after, then the MMBS season starts the following Saturday. Pretty sure I want to do 24 Hours of Moab again this year, so I'm looking at the race season as training for that. We'll see. No matter what, this year will be a learning process and an adventure. Looking forward to it. I think...

New 100-mile Mountain Bike Race!!!

Press release: February 11, 2010
Exciting new ultra-marathon mountain bike race to take place at super-awesome trail.
The "WTF 100" promises excitement, suffering and a test of endurance, and that's just the registration process. We will promote the hell out of the WTF 100 and then cap the number of racers at a generous .001% of entrants. The lucky .001% of racers who get in will be determined by a lottery system. By lottery, we mean you will have a better chance of winning the Powerball than ever lining up on race day. Registration opened one hour ago (to the general public), and will be closed before you finish reading this press release. Be sure to tell your friends, as they will not want to miss out! All racers accepted for this year get automatic entry next year, meaning you will never get in, but we do have a waiting list to make you feel better about trying. See you there, and be sure to tell all your friends, "WTF!!"

Why you should brew your coffee at home.

I waited for you to park your car (3 attempts). I waited for you to order, after you asked about EVERY drink on the menu. I waited for you as you ordered, changed your order, then changed it again. I waited as the 8 cars in the drive-thru that prompted me to go inside to place my order in the first place all got served. Then you just had to go and do it, didn't you? You said, "I'll have an expresso". It's called espresso. The key to getting it right is to look at the letter s that's right there between the e and the p. I know it's difficult — just like parking, apparently. If you're going to make me use a year's worth of patience all at once, don't top it off by going nuclear stupid on me. Sorry, nuke-u-ler. You took so long to order that representatives from Fox approached you with an offer to do a spin-off of "24", where viewers can tune in for 24 episodes and watch you make up your mind in real-time.

All this time gave me a chance to answer the trivia question. Upon giving my answer, you tried arguing with me, telling me I was wrong. Question: "Outside of Alaska, what is the northernmost state in the US?" Easy. "The answer", I said, [SPOILER ALERT] "is Minnesota". You were all, "No, it's Maine". At first I was impressed that you knew that Maine was a state and that it might be a northern state at that. Then, I went all Nat Geo on your ass and said, "Northwest Angle". To which you of course said, "What?". I wanted to say, "Oh sorry, you probably pronounce it, Northwext Angle", but it would have been wasted on you. Anyway, I proceeded to explain how Maine is below the 49th parallel, while the Northwest Angle of Minnesota sits above it. "What?", you said again. "Look it up", I said.

You can Google it. I'm guessing you're still in line, and they've got free wi-fi.

Fundraiser for Jay Guthrie

Jay is a fellow cyclist and an all-around good guy. He's been fighting cancer for a while now and there will be a fundraiser for him on Thursday, December 3rd at Now Bikes and Fitness in Arden Hills (map). See message below from Steve Thatcher, head of Ride & Glide Cycling & XC Ski Club for more details. See you there.

I'm sure most of you have heard about long time R&G club member Jay Guthrie and his battle with cancer. Now Bikes, County Cycles, HED and R&G are joining together in a fund raiser to help Jay and Anne with medical bills. To that end we will be having a "Get Together" at Now Bikes in Arden Hills on Thursday Dec 3rd at 7pm. We will be showing the video of Greg Lemond's 1989 TDF victory over Laurent Fignon and will have a "Guest Speaker". Steve Hed will be talking about aerodynamics and what's happening in bicycle racing. The video has special significance as it could be claimed that Greg's victory over Laurent was instrumental in the beginning of the aerodynamic era in bicycle racing. Steve will also talk about what's new at HED and I'm sure have many fascinating stories and will take your questions as well.

We'll have pizza from Davannis, which is right next door to Now, and beverages and some door prizes generously donated by HED, Now, County Cycles and R&G. Tickets will be $20 at the door and get you one ticket in the door prize drawing and free pizza and good times. Extra tickets for the drawings can be purchased as well.

So please come on over to Now and socialize with your cycling buddies, swap stories about Jay, and take some time off your trainer. You may even win one!

Please RSVP to Steve Thatcher at sdthatcher@q.com so we know how much food to get.

By all means please forward this to your cycling friends that may not be on this list.

How I spent my two-week off-season.

End of the racing season and I took a break from the bike. Time to catch up on the house.

That lovely blue sink is about to turn 46 next month. It's going on Ebay, because apparently there is a market for vintage sinks. Who'd of thought. Anyway, the original plan was for one sink cabinet and two drawer units from Ikea. According to the measurements listed in their catalog there would be just enough room. Well, apparently the Swedes haven't quite mastered their metric to English conversions, because after assembling everything and measuring they were off by over an inch. Just enough to kill Plan A. After lots of brainstorming, I came up with Plan B: one sink cabinet, a drawer cabinet and an end shelf unit on each side. It would just fit into the 47.5" space (I know, it's a luxurious spa of a bathroom and you are jealous). But, I would have to ditch the metal legs and make a custom wooden base to support everything.

Finally got the cabinet shells installed last night. I just need to find a workable solution to hook up the drain (Swedish setup not compatible with Vietnam War-era plumbing). I tested the supply lines last night and they fit (after learning that the Ikea coupling is not a standard size and finding an adaptor, surprise, surprise). So, I'm off to the hardware store today to hopefully find a workaround and with any luck I can get it hooked up tonight. All that remains is to add a piece of melamine to the top of one end unit to make it flush with the drawer cabinet, then install some corner bracing and install the stainless countertop. Then, rip out the old medicine cabinet and install the new one. Got new lights to install and I think I have an electrician lined up to install a GFCI outlet. Retrim the windows, door and baseboards. Done. Then it's time to begin training for the 2010 bike season...

Cue the Jefferson's Theme Song...

"Well I'm a moving on up -- moving on up -- to the Expert class -- moving on up -- to a deluxe beatdown on the bi-i-ike..."

Peer pressure and the fear of being labeled a sandbagger are horrible things. So it looks like I'll be racing Expert class in 2010. Most of the guys who upgraded to Comp with me 2 years ago are making the jump, so I guess it's time.

Saturday was the last race of the year, and it couldn't have come soon enough for me. Motivation is gone and I need a break. I gave it a go anyway, came in 3rd in my age group and 9th overall. Locked up 2nd place in my age group for the season and possibly a spot in the overall Top Ten for the season as well.

This was definitely my best season ever on the mountain bike. I had only made the podium 3 times in the last 10 years or so of racing. This year I climbed the steps 5 times: 1 first, 1 second and 3 third place finishes in a row to end the year. I started and finished all 11 races, which is a feat in itself. It was a very tight, competitive race for the overall all year. Clayton thoroughly deserves the top spot after an outstanding string of victories. Ben and Brandt made sure it was a battle all year. Owen "raced" twice this year and had a blast. It was great having him and Jen cheer me on and hand up water bottles all year. Looking forward to a couple of weeks "off" then maybe some cyclocross, then back to Base 1 training phase for 2010. Or as it will be known, "the year of the Lanterne Rouge"...

Spirit Mountain

Top: looking down the mountain towards Lake Superior
Second: the new Peace Coffee Racing tent
Third: Owen and his buddy Gary.
Last: Owen, zonked out, holding dad's coffee (from my 3rd place at Maplelag — so nice to race on a team sponsored by a coffee company!)

Second to last race of the season on the hardest course around. Rocks, boulders, granite slabs, roots, gravel, scree, streams, mud, trees, and some serious elevation puts the mountain in mountain bike racing. Had a decent start and got to the singletrack ahead of the pack. Was doing great until I got crashed into a rock face, knocking my rear derailleur out of whack. Chain was jumping everywhere, leaving me with about 2-3 gears in the back. Frustrating, because the legs felt great. Did what I could to keep the bike moving and managed to come in third in my age group, 7th overall.

Knocked me out of first into second for the overall. I'll need a win and some help at St. Cloud to take back first, but it's looking like second overall for the second year in a row. I'll take it. It's been a great year overall, with two thirds, a second and my first win. Before this year I'd only made the podium twice in 10+ years of racing. To hit it 4 times in one year has been great. And, it's pretty awesome to hear Owen scream, "Go Dad! Dad Fast!" when I come by.

Maplelag

I knew it was going to be a long day when I woke up to, shall we say, "an armed rebellion south of the border". First time my pre-race routine involved Immodium instead of PowerGel. Warmed up a bit and headed to the start line not sure if I was going to make it. It seemed like the entire field got a call up, so I ended up 3 rows back and we headed out.

The usual logjam at the singletrack backed everything up and there were plenty of sketchy riders making it slow going. Managed to pass a few on the xc-trail sections, but starting the first lap after the prologue there was a collegiate racer from a certain corn belt state who could not ride the singletrack to save his life. To make matters worse he wouldn't get out of the way. Before long he had a train of about 10 guys behind him, with minutes ticking away. A few of us finally got past him on the climb up Suicide Hill and could actually start racing.

Last lap I was suffering but had worked my way up into top 5. Then it was: chainsuck, stop to fix, get back on, hammer to pass 5 guys again. This happened a total of 3 times. Then I managed to clip my bars on a tree twice, hitting the deck hard both times. So, again, it was get back up and hammer to pass the same guys I was ahead of. All of these extra efforts were killing me, and the only thing keeping me going was the 1km to go sign. I put it in the big ring, put my head down and prayed for the finish line.

Somehow ended up in third, about 25 seconds out of second place. That was a hard-fought podium spot. I damn near passed out in the dining hall during the awards ceremony. Nice to have two Peace Coffee guys on the podium (nice job on first Clayton!). Hoping Duluth goes much smoother next Sunday.

Photos by Skinnyski.com

Buck Hill Photos (Dana Schoppe)

For once in my life there's nobody else in the photos because I'm out in front! Usually it's because I'm in no-mans-land. Thanks to Dana for the great shots at all of the races.

MNSCS#7 Buck Hill

I came down Thursday to do the Penn Cycle race at Buck to check out the course. It was super dry and dusty with loose, sandy corners. There were also 230 people on the course at once, which was pure insanity, especially considering this is a 2.7 mile loop with a 12-13 minute per lap average. It's pretty much a dirt crit and the direction they ran the course meant no real sustained climbing to speak of.

Sunday's course was similar, but run in the opposite direction. So, we started at the bottom of the south end and climbed around the base up to the top. We got some serious rain on Saturday which really helped pack down all the loose stuff. Trail was nice and fast. And for maybe the first time all year, it felt like summer. Hot and steamy.

Clayton and I got our call ups to the line and waited for the countdown. As usual, Clayton was 100 meters up the trail before I even got clipped in. Brandt was on his wheel and I slowly clawed my way up to him. We were 1,2,3 out of the first section of singletrack at the top of the hill. Clayton and Brandt eased up a bit before the next little kick up the gravel road and for whatever reason I decided to surge. After two laps of sitting in traffic on Thursday night I had decided I would rather be first into the singletrack and blow up than to get stuck behind people. Well, I got the holeshot and stayed in front the rest of the lap.

With all of the switchbacks in the singletrack it was hard to gauge how close behind people were, so I kept pushing the pace as much as possible. Came through for laps 2 and 3 feeling pretty good, grabbing a drink through the start/finish area and trying to hit the climb as fast as possible. I got passed by 2 guys along the way, but wasn't too worried. By the end of lap 3 and start of lap 4 I started catching the Expert women and lapping some of the Comp guys. Lap 4 I was feeling a bit tired but knew if I could hammer the climb I could recover a bit in the singletrack. Was able to hold my position but I could see and hear people not too far behind me. I was able to make a couple of passes before the downhill, and I think this helped me open a little gap.

Final lap and I gave it everything I had up the climb. I could see Andrew, Ben and a couple of others not too far back. I got that adrenaline boost that comes on the last lap and rode pretty well the rest of the way. Dropped it in the big ring before the downhill and hammered the rest of the way home. I thought I did ok, probably at least third in my group. Turns out I got first in my group and eighth overall in Comp. First win ever. Gotta say, felt pretty good, especially after a disappointing result at Hillside. Close race, too. First through fourth place were only separated by about 30 seconds. Hopefully I can recover and have good legs for Sunday's Border Battle in River Falls.

Hillside Photos

Some photos by Dana Schoppe from last Sunday's race.

MNSCS#6 Hillside Attack

Got a call up as the series leader in my age group, which will probably be the one and only time that ever happens. Clayton got a call up as well, and we rolled to the line and got ready to drop the hammer.

Clayton tore ass down the road and up the first climb. I was sitting 3rd going into the singletrack, and was really hoping my heart rate would come down a bit. Started Lap 1 huffing and puffing but hanging on. Played leapfrog a bit with another guy in my group and we started passing a few of the Expert women. I was blowing up big time, so I let a handful of people around on my next lap. Grabbed my gel flask only to notice that the top had opened and everything had leaked out. No fuel for me and I was struggling.

I don't know if it's because I was that tired and on the verge of bonking or if it's because I'm so used to starting my laps there in the front lot but I thought I still had one more lap to do. So, as I'm coming out of Section 3, I eased off the gas a bit to save something for one and a half more laps. Made it through 4, recovered a bit in 1 and when I got towards the end of 2 I could hear Zilla announcing something about Comp leaders coming to the finish. Huh? Got passed by Scott and asked him if we had another lap and he said, "I sure hope not!". Grabbed his wheel and followed him to the finish.

Had I known that was my last lap I would have pushed it a little bit, but I was pretty much in no-mans-land so I'm not sure I could have caught anyone or if I had the legs to go much faster than I did. Gel flask is going in the recycling bin and I'm going back to gel packs. Pretty disappointing race for me, 5th place when I had realistic hopes of reaching the podium. I guess it cancels out my Spring Cup result.

Memorial Classic

This is one of my favorite courses because it's got a little bit of everything: tight twisty singletrack, screaming downhills, and steep technical climbs. This year the course got longer which meant much less congestion. The prologue was almost twice as long, so there were no waiting lines heading into the singletrack. A new downhill and climb kept us on our toes and the switchback climb at the end added some extra pain.

I wasn't feeling the greatest at the start, so I did what I could to keep towards the front going into the singletrack. I think I went into the woods sitting in 9th. Tried keeping a high tempo first lap but just couldn't get the snap I needed on the climbs. I dialed it back a bit to keep from blowing up. Made it up Stairway and the Quarry and around for Lap 2.

Ben Rogowski and were playing leapfrog for most of the race. If I managed to pass him he'd come around before too long. He spent most of the race in front of me. I started to recover a bit halfway through Lap 2, and when we started Lap 3 I tried to throw down a little attack on Ben. Didnt' work, and he grabbed my wheel then passed me before the singletrack. He managed to get by one other rider before I could, so I figured he'd gap me. I hammered all of the double-track sections and took some chances on the downhill. I felt ok at this point and decided to try to attack one more time. I was finally able to pass Ben and make it stick on the long climb up to the Stairway entrance. I passed a handful of guys before the downhill, and caught up to a big group at the base of Stairway. This is a long, steep climb over a bunch of loose rock (see last two photos above). I went hard and passed a few people but then got swerved into twice, forcing me off. I managed to get back on and pedal the rest of the way up. Made it up the Quarry climb for the 3rd time (first time I've ever done that) and went as hard as I could to the finish.

Ended up 4th in my age group, 12th overall. Clayton beat me by 19 seconds. It was like Groundhog Day -- last year I got 4th and missed 3rd to Zilla by about the same margin. If I could have had a stronger first lap I may have done better, but I made up about 5 places on the last lap and a half and was happy with how I rode towards the end. Feeling it today -- very, very sore. Good race, all in all.

Photos from skinnyski.com

More from Mt. Kato

Some race pics from superstar photographer Dana Schoppe. Bottom two show Mad Squirrel, which is a really tight, 180-degree switchback that drops away fast. I came within about a tire-width of ending up like the dude in the last photo. Ouch. Full crash sequence here. I'm not picking on you dude, those are just some wicked photos. Think cycling isn't a tough sport? Think again.

MNSCS#4, Mt. Kato

I'll try to keep this one short since I wrote a recap for the MNSCS site, which should be up sometime this week.
It breaks down like this: 2 weeks ago I went into Mont du Lac sick. Came out worse, with a 8-9 day cold/stomach bug. So between Mont du Lac and Mankato I got in 3 rides on the bike. I had no idea what kind of legs or lungs I'd have going into Mankato. So, I made a point to focus on three things I've let slip so far this season: hyrdation, nutrition and warm up. No beer the night before, no coffee the morning of. Good meal Saturday night, good breakfast and snacks Sunday, with lots of water. I warmed up for about 45 minutes and drank an entire bottle of sports drink. At the start line I took in a little gel and off we went.

I was 3rd up the first climb and held on all day to take second in my age group, 11th overall. That was the best I have felt all year, and the best I've felt during a race in a long time. I think the mild weather helped. I think locking out my rear suspension for the entire race helped (very smooth course and the few sections with some roots weren't bad). I absolutely believe being properly hydrated, fueled and warmed-up made the biggest difference. I got tired on a few of the punchy climbs, but I never blew up. Most of all, I had fun. It was tough, to be sure, but it wasn't a death march like Mont du Lac or Afton. I hope I can build on this for Red Wing and beyond.

Photos from skinnyski.com

PJ Harvey

To say the camera on my phone sucks would be an understatement, but at least from the blurriness above you can get an idea of our kick-ass seats for PJ Harvey and John Parish on Saturday night at of all places, the Minnesota Zoo ampitheater (cool venue). Holy F can that woman sing. She could sing my grocery list and it would sound awesome. How does someone that tiny have such an enormous voice? Band was great as well. The whole set was comprised of songs from her two albums with John Parish, none of her other work. Second time we've seen her and we will definitely go again next time she's in town. Pop Parker opened up. He was kind of like a one-man Flight of the Conchords, only more subtle and not quite as funny. Entertaining though.

Dirt Spanker

Well, after doing everything I could all week in an attempt to not catch the cold making it's way through my family, it hit me Saturday night. Got about 4 hours of sleep and felt like crap Sunday morning, but it was race day so what else was I going to do? Sleep? Nah.

Picked up Clayton and headed up to Mont du Lac for the Dirt Spanker. This is a fun course. Well, fun if you like a race that starts you at the bottom of a 230' climb with no warm-up. Normally I love it, but just didn't have the energy yesterday. Had no illusions of greatness going into it, just wanted to ride and see what happened. For the first two laps the answer was, "not much". I was suffering like a dog on the climb to start lap two, to the point where I briefly considered calling it a day. But, I figured 4+ hours in the car and a $35 race fee, I may as well keep riding. Towards the end of lap two I started feeling a little better and was still mid-pack in a pretty long train of riders. I passed a few here and there, but mostly I just sat on, knowing this was a throw-away race.

Ended up 7th and my time was only about 2-minutes slower than last year. Not bad for being sick, but probably not worth the toll it's taking on me today in the grand scheme of things. At least it's a rest week. Congrats to Clayton for killing it and just missing out on the hardware. Props to Kevin for another win and to Matt for finding the podium in the Expert field. Cool to see father and son McBurney medal. Jamison continues his statewide podium tour. Peace Coffee rocks.