Tuesday Ride

It was another good workout today at the Tuesday night group practice race I put together in FT Ord. A bunch of strong riders make this practice race, and you can tell it is fast when half the group gets dropped during the 5 lap practice race. I felt under control for the entire ride and my heart rate was very relaxed at crucial times up the climbs. This surprised me as I was pretty tired from a long weekend of racing and closing out my XC Series for 2009. I will keep doing select MTB races the rest of the year, and also go at more Road race action as well.

CCCX Series Final

I very much tried to stay as focused as possible during the 26 mile race, and work as hard as possible on every section of the course.....
On the hills I really tried to dig extra deep and push the pace as fast as possible without completely blowing up.....

It was a beautiful day for a race with a picture perfect blue sky backdrop for photos. In the end I rolled into the finish area 3rd place in a very strong group of 35+ Expert racers.....

The CCCX Series final top 5 35+ Experts.....

Race day top 4 35+ Expert riders, that is Don Myrah U.S.A. National Champion and U.S.A. Olympic MTB rider in 2nd place on the podium one spot ahead of me.....

I really enjoyed the CCCX XC Series final that went off this past Sunday. I put together a fun course that was only a 4 mile loop, so riders were faced with multiple laps on a very fast and twisting circuit. My legs felt pretty good considering I did a very hard Criterium race the day before in 95 degree weather. I figured my legs would be sluggish, however I noticed right away my legs turned over well. I was in the 3 rider break that formed on the first lap, and finished 3rd from that group. There were some strong racers charging up from behind trying to chase me down, but I kept focused on the trail and never missed a line on my way to 3rd overall in the 35+ Expert group for the day. This finish qualified me for 3rd overall in the CCCX Series as well. I was a little disappointed as I was the 35+ Expert CCCX Series winner the previous year. Yet I felt good because I found some good form for the final races of the year and never stopped trying for the race wins. It seemed everyone had fun at my race series and I work hard to try to put on fun races on fun courses, so in this respect it was mission accomplished for the CCCX Series.

Racing Lance Armstrong (2)

This photo says it all for me. I have worked very hard to improve on the Road bike. All of my hard work led me to being side by side with Armstrong, racing in front of 20,000 people screaming encouragement. This is one of my most favorite photos ever.....
Open up this photo and have a close look at Lance Armstrong doing his thing. Pure animal on a bike.....

Armstrong thrilled the crowd with his riding, and delivered a amazing win! I was honored to be out there racing against this legend of the Road.....

Lance Armstrong has always inspired me. I saw him race when he was 19 years old, before he was famous.....

I was inspired by his riding instantly.

I knew at that moment, long before he was a legend, that Lance Armstrong was going to do something very special on a bicycle.

The rest is now history, except for the fact that he is trying to achieve more in the future, now that he is back racing.

It was amazing to play a small role in his comeback and race with him last Sunday at the Nevada City Classic.

Racing Lance Armstrong

If you click on the photo you can see me just getting dropped by Armstrong and the winning break-away. Armstrong was seriously driving the pace, and I am the 4th rider in the photo in the background wearing my road team kit and white helmet. I was digging as deep as possible to stay with Armstrong and the lead trio, but I was dropped right there at the top of the climb.....
Lance Armstrong showed up for the Nevada City Classic today. This is one of Northern California's most popular and most difficult races, and Armstrong was using it to continue his preparation for the Tour de France. I can tell you from first hand experience Armstrong is looking really lean and super fit. He looks in much better form then earlier this year. I was able to warm up a little with him and Levi and Chris Horner and Armstrong's pedaling style is fantastic. Then in the race he dropped some bombs on the field and was in a breakaway with his team mate Levi and Ben Jacques-Mayne who is a friend of mine. They basically lapped the field. Armstrong went solo with 5 laps to go and really thrilled the crowd with his ride. They said there were about 20,000 spectators on the 1.1 mile circuit, it was standing room only. I have a feeling Armstrong is going to play a strong role in the upcoming race around France- a very strong role. Time will tell...........

Trail Work

Sure my new trail is tricky in some sections, but that is what DH riders want.....
If you don't control your speed it might be time to get dirty and dusty....

A few riders found themselves down the ravine in deep bush, now they know how I felt just trying to cut the trail in the first place....

The new trail I built at Toro Park for the DH races has demanded much more of my time after the 1st time it was used for an event. The riders really enjoyed the challenges I created in the new trail. Yet it became super blown out after the practice session & race. Now I am having to re-build and repair many of the sections, it is as if I am starting from scratch.

I do remember how difficult it was to create the new route in the first place, so doing hours of patch work and repair is not too bad. The first build and cut of the new trail was really quite brutal. There was absolutely nothing there and I basically created the new trail from a vision I came up with utilising the canyon and its surrounding features. There was a tremendous amount of brush cutting and hillside shaping to even begin to create a trail. Now the route is punched through and there has been one race held so the trail work is much more accessible and fun.

CCCX XC #9

It was a perfect day for a MTB race....
I did not feel excellent during the race, but I kept on fighting and trying, and in the end I finished 3rd in my division. I really suffered on laps 1&2 of the 5 lap race. My legs felt much better on the final 2 laps, so I am glad to have not got too frustrated in the beginning....

Having fun.....

The start of the Pro/Expert group.....

I put together a really sweet XC course for this weekends CCCX event. The route had a very good flow to hit and the hills were not overly steep, but there was ample climbing to really separate the fields. There was also some open section of trail where wind was a factor. The head wind on some of the trails kept the racing tight and there was lots of action played out among small groups. This made for some really good epic battles among some of the divisions, and many of the races came down to a sprint finish for placing. There was also lots of flowing single track I used for the course. I have spent much time maintaining these trails, and doing hours and hours of tree and bush cutting to keep the over-growth back and the trails fast and rider friendly. It is my pleasure to do a bunch of work so all the riders can race hard and have fun!

CCCX DH WIN

Sunday was the CCCX DH #6 race. I built a new trail for this race and it turned out to be really rad!

It was super technical, and became extra hard as the day went on. The trail became completely blown out in some sections. A few of the bad sections were right along a cliff edge, and a rider either had to break check and crawl along the cliff edge, or go too fast and slide down the ravine into thick bush.

The riders really liked my trail creation! I built multiple jumps, tricky switchbacks, and gnarly drop-in's to test riders skill.

I was very stoked to win the Single Speed division! The trail was very tricky to race on and that is how I like it, and this made my win extra sweet....

Now I have to go back to the new trail and do a few hours of maintenance to re-build the sections that became ruined from hundreds of racers~

Dash For Cash

Saturday was the Dash for Cash Criterium in the Bay Area. It was another stacked Crit. race with all the local heavy hitters present and ready to have at it. There were over 80 starters in the Master 1/2/3 race.

It was a tactical race, as a early break went clear and this made for some interesting moments in the 50 minute Dash For Cash.

The last lap was incredibly fast and I was on the very front leaving nothing to chance trying to make my own destiny.

In the end I was 4th place. This was amazing as only 3 riders finished ahead of me and there were many, many super strong riders in the race.

I am so thankful to have a chance to race, and so thankful to finish so high among such a stellar field of Nor-Cal Road racers.

Pacific Grove Criterium

The Master 1/2/3 podium, I was very stoked to claim 2nd overall on the day.....
The Master 1/2/3 finish, I pushed as hard as possible for the win but had to settle for 2nd place. This was a amazing finish as there were many incredibly strong riders who finished behind me in the race.....

Toward the front of the field with just a few laps left in the Master 1/2/3 race.....

At the front of the Pro 1/2 race.....

Last Sunday was the Pacific Grove Criterium, which is our big local race of the year. The course is downtown, & there were big crowds watching the event. The race route features some high speed technical turns on a very fast circuit. I have been riding very strong, so I was hoping to pump out a good finish......

In the Master 1/2/3 race I worked very hard during the entire race. In the end I claimed 2nd place! This was a exceptional result, as the field was full of super strong riders. To get 2nd place was amazing and I am very thankful to achieve this placing. I had a chance to win, and pushed hard all the way to the line, but had to settle for 2nd.

In the Pro 1/2 race later in the day, I raced very aggressively and tried my best to perform well. I was in 2 different breaks that had a chance to go the distance, but nothing stayed clear. It was a very exciting Pro 1/2 race and there were many attacks and re-attacks during the entire event. In the end I did not have much power on the last lap and when it came to the final sprint I could not muster much energy. I was pretty tapped from doing two races, and just did my best to sprint for a placing. I ended up 11th place. I feel very satisfied since I raced extra hard during the Pro 1/2 race and really tried to push myself during that race. I did not save anything for the finish, I left it all out on the course trying to get in a break-away.

Most of all I am so thankful that all my hard work payed off and I claimed 2nd place in the big race for me the Master 1/2/3 event. This was the big race for me and to get 2nd place was awesome because the field was loaded with super strong riders~!!

Creating A New Trail

Today I worked all day at creating a new DH trail for my CCCX DH race coming up this Sunday. I have been planning this new trail and working on this new trail for a long time. It is very close to completion.

I have been working on a trail that ventures down a steep canyon and pops out in the upper parts of the finish/parking area of my staging at Toro Park. The new trail has been formed from absolute scratch. The area I have put the trail was inaccessible to even hikers as the area was so full of brush and dense tree and grass growth. I had to crawl on my hands and knees to just begin to plan on the trail route and decide on the exact direction of the trail in the beginning because the foliage growth was so extreme.

It is also placed on the edge of a steep hill side. Some of the sections were 100% blocked by years and years of growth and erosion situations on the terrain. But I dug deep into the hill side, and cut bush for hours and hours, and did selected pruning on the tree limbs in the way. Now it is shaping up to be a legendary trail that is like a non stop roller coaster of single track. It is hard work for sure, and to get it just right has taken lots of creativity and trail building knowledge.

But in the end it will be worth the time and effort. Riding the new route will be super fun, and racing it full gas will be rad!