35+ Races

The first race of the year was hot, somewhere between 85-90, bumpy, and had alot of tough uphill. Like years past they had a tough double barrier long uphill to the start/finish, but this year they added another one on the back side with a slightly shorter and steeper uphill. It was sick! The whistle blows and both Andy and I get great starts somewhere in the top 5. The race started spreading out pretty quickly and A-town and I were both staying in the top 5 and starting to pull away. At some point 4 of us opened up a gap and started settling in and getting gone. Halfway through the race I set my bike down (I should say slammed my bike down) way to hard and the chain fell off in the front. I put it on and jumped on my bike and the crank wouldn’t budge. Hop off and check it out and the chain was wedged between the largest cog and the spokes on the rear wheel. Rip it out of there, throw it on, and start rolling again. If I had to guess I went from 3rd to 12th or 13th because I just set the bike down to flippin hard. The rest of the race was spent just red-lining it in pure anger and frustration. I was passing some people like they were standing still. In the end I wound up 3rd, but I definately let one get away today.

FPA was out there doing his thing and cheering us on hard core in our race. If you have never had FPA in your corner when your racing you don’t know what your missing. He rocks. Overall good day fo sho.

cj

Am I the only guy on this team that races or writes about their races?????? Come on dudes. Speak up!

After pimping out the bike last night with the Ritchey Tubulars, new cables and Tufo Flexus tubulars, today was going to be good or a nightmare. You don’t swap out that much stuff the night before a race.

The course was super bumpy with some really loose sand/gravel corners, so tire pressure and keeping the rubber side down were important today. The field was the biggest yet this year in the 35+ open race. It was the 1st race close to Denver, so for those who wear the home-arrest ankle bike racing bracelets, they all showed up. It’s pretty funny because a lot of guys won’t drive an hour out of Denver or Boulder for a race. An hour plus for me is the norm. The start was full-on sprint as always and position into the 1st singletrack technical section was key. I rolled into it top 5 so I was happy with my start. The pace was super hot and the loose corners and off-camber dismounts were taking their toll on the field. A few guys rolled past and I settled in top 10. I wasn’t going to see the lead group today - the knee and a fog in the head from yesterday’s race didn’t have me at 100%, but being in the top 10 with 50+ guys was good. The carbon wheels and tubulars were flawless. They stuck like glue and I never feared washing out. The wind was kickin, but it seemed like I was rolling solo most of the race. I did take advantage a couple laps and sit in and then attacked the guys that I was with. 2 laps to go I caught a Mitch Westall (before the race he said do you remember me and I didn’t and he said we used to race mountain bikes together and you would always win and I would get second… I said you must mean my brother Jeff.. he said Oh yea) and we started to work together and then he threw his chain and I hit the gas and opened up a gap, but not a very big one. Every time I looked back he was closing. The last 2 laps were the hardest laps of the race for me as I didn’t want to get caught and I was fighting the wind solo. I rolled in 8th.

Not a bad weekend: 6th on Saturday with 2 mechanicals and 8th today.

Jared

I woke up and the knee didn’t hurt as bad as it has all week. I think the 2400mg of ibuprofen and some icing may be doing the trip. I also had a PT tape it for me.

Peggy and I rolled down to Colorado Springs for the Bear Creek race. I’ve won this race in the past so I was looking forward to it as the course suits me. But, when we got there the course was totally changed and super technical with a bunch of off-camber dismounts and loose sand. Doing a warm-up lap the knee was pissed. While warming up I noticed the new tubular and carbon Ritchey were sticking like glue. Sweet! At least something felt good.

The gun went off and Greg and I went for the holeshot and he waved me by. But I started going backwards - we rolled in late for the race and I didn’t get a good warmup in. I was sitting somewhere top 10. 15 mins into it the legs warmed up and I was moving up and got into 4th then the bumpy course made my chain jump off the front. I got it back on and 4 guys went past. The next lap I made it back to 4th and then the with 2 laps to go the chain bounced off again and it was too late to move up and I was cooked. After the race someone told me to shorten my chain. I’ve been rocking that length for 4 years with no issues, but when I put it up to my B bike, it was clear that the chain was too long.
Without the mechanicals I think I could have been 3rd or 4th.

I didn’t feel the knee when I was racing. When you are fighting you lungs from coming out of your mouth, focuses change.

Tonight I broke the #1 rule of bike racing. Don’t change anything major on your bike the night before a race.

I got my 10spd stuff and my rear carbon tubular and went to town. I’ve got new cables and brake pads and new rear wheel… Hopefully it will hold up for tomorrow’s race. Stupid I know, but when that sweet stuff is staring at you, it’s hard to resist. At least the B bike will be in the pit in case I need to do a switch.

If anyone wants to buy a brand new 2008 Ultegra Right/Left shifter let me know. I run a single ring up front, so I have no use for the Right one.

Jared

One carbon tubular is ready to go. I went to mount the rear and found out that the hub is 10-speed only, so it looks like I’m going to have to upgrade to 10 on the cross bike.

The front squeals like a pig and is leaving a yellow coating on the rim. I got the carbon-specific pads and there isn’t much adjustment with the froggleggs. Any recommendations on the squeal?

Buy them from Mark

Getting by until the “real” kits come out. Nice work Guy

Jared

Here is the aftermath when I tried to take out the leaders

I fell into a routine for the past few rides: warm up on the ride to Minnehaha, set up the barriers, and do a barriers, hill, and stairs loop. It hurts like hell but its more fun than I’ve had on a bike in years. The staircase, the small one, is 102 steps, and one of these times up it I’ll jump back on my bike at the top, not crawl. CJ and Pmax barely notice it.