www.cyclingconnection.org

From the President’s Pen

August Issue 2010

Changing Gears

IreceivedthisletterlastweekfromaPastPresidentofCyclingConnection.Itlooksliketherehasalwaysbeenafewridersthathavetheirownideaofrideetiquette.ThankyouTerryforyoursupport.Onamorepositivenotewehavecollectedenough

moneytodateforthepurchaseof44bikestobedonatedatChristmastime.Iampositivethatwewillcontinuetogetdonationsfortheremaining6bikesneeded.Soifyouthoughtaboutdonatingandhaven'titisnottoolate.ForthoseofyouthathavedonatedTHANKYOUforhelpingusreachourgoal.IwillbeorderingthebikesatInter‐bikethismonth.Lookformoreinformationinthenextfewmonthsregardingourassemblyparty. Tom

WHYDOWENEEDTOBESUCHJERKS?OnSaturdaymorning,August21,IwasdeeplyembarrassedtobeamemberofCyclingConnection.IwasonthelongrideabouttotaketheshorthillonShinRoadjustafterMountainAvenue,whenIsawtheleadersovertakingandpassingaputteringrecreationalriderwithoutanyperceptiblewarningandsoclosethatitstartledher,causinghertojerkherbikeerraticallytotheright.Therewasnoattempttogototheleftandgiveherroomor,Godforbid,toslowdownabit.Evenworse,thefirstriderspassedherwithoutcallingoutahazardtothosebehind,causinganearcollisionasanotherofourriderswastrappedonherrightandsqueezedpastthenowterrorizedcyclist.Howcanwecomplainaboutcarelessormeanspiriteddriverswhenweterrorizeslowercyclistsourselves,andforwhat?There’snothingthatcanjustifythisbehavior.IenjoythechallengeofthelongrideandfeelespeciallyrewardedwhenIcanjustkeepcontactwiththegroup.ButrightnowIamdisgustedandneedtorevaluatewhomIwanttoassociatewith.Can’twedoitbetter?FredRoth

WordsofWisdomsubmittedbyTomLogsdonHerearesomerelevantwordsofwisdomfromaformerclubmember:Onoccasion,IclickonCyclingConnection'swebsitetoseewhatishappening.Afterreadingthepresident'sletter,thefollowingthoughtsoverwhelmedmeandIfelttheneedtowritethem.IwasVice‐PresidentandPresidentofCyclingConnectionbackinthelate90's.Myconcernbackthenwasthesafetyofourmembers.IreadthecurrentnewsletterbyTomandseethesameconcernsarestillanissue.AsanInsuranceclaimsadjuster,Iseeclaimsalmostdailyinvolvingbicycleridersvsvehicles.Itisneveraprettypicture.Ijustwantedtoletyourmembersknow,thisismywayofsupportingTom'sefforts…heisnotpreachingsafetybecausethereisnothingelsetoreportonorwriteabout.HeisdoingitforYOUandyourFAMILY.Itrulybelieveheisconcernedforthemember'ssafety,justlikeIwasbackinthe90's.Itisanissueforallmemberstobeconcernedwith.Aconsciouseffortmustbemadeforyourownsafetyandthosearoundyou.Ijusthopethatitwon'ttakeatragiceventtowakeeveryoneup.Iffamilymembersknewhowcrazysomeoftheridesget,theywouldagree100%.IreadChangingGearseveryfewmonthsjusttoseewhathasbeenhappeningandthisisnottheonlytimeIhavereadaletterfromthePresidentaboutsafety.Ijustfelttheneedtorespondbecauseitappearsnothinghaschangedovertheyears.EventhoughIamnolongeramember,IamstillconcernedoveroldfriendsintheclubandmembersIhavenevermet.Ihopethishelpsalittle.Thelifeand/orinjuryyousavemaybeyourown!Butyoualsodon'twanttobethecauseofafriendbeinginjuredorworse.PleaselistentoTom,heknowswhatheistalkingabout.YourFriendfromthepast,TerryR.Abbott

JokeTimeSubmittedbyFredRothFredsubmittedthisasajoke,butit’smorethoughtprovokingthanfunny.Checkitoutandyoubethejudge:MikeandEdwenttothebartoshareafewbeers.Theconversationgotalittledarkwhenitdriftedtoadiscussionofthefriendstheyhadlostovertheyears."Iparticularlymissedmybikingbuddy,Albert,whodiedsuddenlylastyear."Mikesaid"Youknow,Ialwayswonderedwhatacyclist'slastwordsmightbe.""Well"saidEd,"Mike'slastwordswereCARBACK!"

What’s Happening?

RosaritotoEnsenadaSeptember25th–RosaritoBeach,Mexicohttp://www.rosaritoensenada.com/3ClubRideRedlands(RWBTC)HostingOctober9th–RedlandsMoredetailstofollowTourdeFoothillsNovember13th–Uplandhttp://tourdefoothills.com/ElTourdeTusconNovember20thhttp://www.perimeterbicycling.com/!ETT/ETThome.html

DidyouknowthatCyclingConnectionanditsmembersareinseveralplacesontheWeb?Besuretocheckouttheselinksandseeforyourself!Ifyouhaven’tseenitlately,takealookatthenewClubHomePage:www.cyclingconnection.orgCyclingConnectionalsohasaYahooGroup!Youcangettherebyselectingthelinkfromtheclub’shomepageordirectlyhere:http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/cyclingconnectionIE/CyclingConnectionisalsoonFacebook!InadditiontoseveralclubmembersmaintainingactiveFacebookpages,andCyclingConnectionhasit’sownFacebookpage.Youcanjoinforfree,andit’seasytogetstarted.Here’sthelink:http://www.facebook.com/ThiswebsiteistheplacetoseemanyCyclingConnectionridephotos(andafewothers),maintainedbyyourhumbleNewsletterEditor!http://www.pbase.com/salbano/cycling_01Don’tforgettopostyourmileshere,andmakeCyclingConnectionyourmainclub:http://www.bikejournal.com/IfthereareanyCyclingConnectionrelatedsitesI’vemissed,besuretomentionthemtomeandI’llincludetheminthenextnewsletter!Bytheway,checkoutYouTubeforcyclingrelatedvideos!There’severythingfromorganizedridestobikerepair.Thederailleuradjustmentvideoswereespeciallyhelpful!Checkitoutandseeforyourself!CyclingConnectiononYouTube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAyMeLUC6iI

Cycling Connection on the WWW

QuoteoftheMonthThesecrettomountainbikingisprettysimple.Thesloweryougothemorelikelyitisyou'llcrash.~JulieFurtado

Are You Ready to Ride? Newbie,Commuter,orweekendClubRider–everyoneneedstobereadytoride.But,whatexactlydoesthatmean?Herearesomeguidelines:

• Showupontime• Alwayswearyourhelmet• Don’tforgetyourflatfixers:

o Sparetubeo PumporCO2o TireLevers

• IDCard(RoadIDisagoodidea)http://www.roadid.com

• Bikeingoodworkingcondition Ifyougetaflatononeofourrides,butdon’tknowhowtochangeit,don’tworry.Thisisoneofthebenefitsofridingwithabikeclub.Thereisalwayssomeone(usuallyseveralsomeones)thatishappytohelp!

Cycling Etiquette

Forsafetysake(yoursandthoseridingaroundyou),hereareafewsuggestionsforanenjoyable(andsafe)ride:

• Stayinthebikelane(whenthereisone)• Don’tmakeunexpectedmoveswhileriding

withthegroup.Letothersknowyourintentions.

• Don’trunlightsorstopsigns!• Whenpassingslowerriders,callout“OnYour

Left”or“OnYourRight”.• Alwaysexpecttheunexpectedfromcars,and

you’llneverbedisappointed(orcaughtoffguard).

It’sbeensaidbeforethestartofourSaturdayridesthatweareall“ridingwithfriends”.Thatmeanswhileit’sfuntoridestrong,gofastontheflats,climbwell,andscreamdownhill,weneedtobemindfulofotherridersaroundus.Wewanteveryonetoenjoythemselves,andcomebackforanotherride.

The Rides The Grind Saturdays 23, 30, & 33-mile options The Grind Sundays Always something different be sure to see the ride calendar! Women’s Ride Every Sunday at 4:30pm Meeting at Grapeland Elementary School 7171 Etiwanda Ave Etiwanda CA 15 miles

Bikesafety,youhearitallthetimeonourclubrides.Inpastissuesofthenewsletterthereweresomearticlesondifferentcyclingvs.carsituations.Someofustakeallofthisforgranted,thinkingperhapsthatitwon’thappentome,orI’msafesinceI’mridingwiththeclub.Unfortunately,ITcanhappentoanyone,anywhere.Accidentscananddohappen,eventothebestofus.So,doweall“tucktail”andhide?No,that’snofun.Whatwecandoisbeawareofoursurroundingsandrecognizesomeofthesepotentialsituationsbeforetheyoccur.InanefforttoprovideinformationofBikeSafety,Icameacrossawebsitedevotedsolelytothistopic.Thelinkbelowwilltakeyouthere.Pleasetakeafewminutesandlookitover.Someofthismayberepeatinfo,buttheremaystillbesomethingofbenefithere.Besuretosharethissitewithanyofyourothercyclingfriendsorfamily(especiallykidsandnewriders).http://BicycleSafe.com/

Attention Club Members If you don’t already have one, be sure to get yourself a RoadID. And, so the Club gets credit, select the link from the Club’s website. Each RoadID is made to order with your important information. Don’t ride without it!

Board Members • Tom Tisler, President • Greg Armstrong, Vice President • Laura Armstrong, Social Director • Paula Gutierrez, Secretary • Bill Day, Equipment • Cyndi Brown, Membership • Steve Albano, Newsletter • Billy Corn, Webmaster • Mike Basica, Ride Coordinator • Debbie Zwerner, Treasurer • Pete Figueredo, Communications

NewMembersJoshuaDraisJanKaspar

LawrenceFungDougMullin

JohnandErikHallbackLaVonneKoesterHalWoodruff

Albert,Hope,TaylorandNickChilleBryanDavisMarkFiedler

SusanandDavidGallardoMichelleLegaresSteveWoolery

RenewalsTomHallback

TomandMaryLouLogsdonGregandLauraArmstrongBryceandKatherineTish

DahnNguyenDanWorkmanPhilHoward

FredandSylviaSantiago

BirthdaysGregGoodwineSept1DarrinKirkelieSept1SteveGuntherSept2YancyRamosSept2SylviaSantiagoSept3AlbertChilleSept3AmandaSalterSept7MichaelSalterSept9EarlLopezSept10RafaelBaezSept10AlanMitchellSept12

RichardWhitmerSept23RobertHsiehSept25

OtonielGonzalezJrSept26BeverlyMathesonSept27BrockEmbletonSept29MarileeGuzmanSept30

Bike Journal – Club’s Top 10 (As of August 31st, 2010) 1. Socalspeedsk8r – 6725 2. CKC2008 – 5964 3. Superfly – 5503 4. Gregjg5 – 5237 5. Rantingdave – 5000 6. Sambill – 4746 7. Fredwina – 4687 8. Fastguy72 – 4443 9. RCLESMAN – 4290 10. PThammer - 4251

CyclingConnectionisstillTHENumber1Californiabikeclubintotalmilestraveledin2010.Herearethenumbers–CyclingConnectionmiles141,414andtheSacramentoBikeHikersmiles93,296. If you haven’t heard, logging your miles on Bike Journal is free! Here’s the link: www.bikejournal.com

MydayattheVelodromebySamDayFirstofall,youallneedtoknowthatIdidnotvolunteerforthisouting.Youguessedit;Billistheonewho“volunteered”me.IwentalongknowingfullwellIwasnotsureifIwouldfollowthroughwiththeexperience.Iwasfilledwithanxiousnessfromthetimewearrived.Twenty‐sixclubmembersandfriendsmeetattheHomeDepotCenter,(LAVelodrome)whichisanawesomefacility.Firstofallyouenterthebuildingatstreetlevel.WewalkedtothestandswhichsurroundedtheVelodrome.Theviewwasfromthetopofthetracklookingdown,alongwaydown.Welearnedthetrackitselfisoneofnineworld‐widebuilttothisexactspecification.Thetrackis32ft.fromtoptobottom,orbottomtotop.Itlookedlikealongwaytofallifyouaskme.Theturnsarebankedatagenerous47degrees.Wow,I’llbettheydothatsothatwhenyoufall,youwillbeoutofthewayoftheguybehindyouinamostexpeditiousmanner.Seemslikeitmakessense.Roadaccidentsusuallyendupinapileup,nothere.Onceinsidemynervousnessbegantoaccelerate.IjustknewIwasgoingtofallandembarrassmyself.Andworseyet,itlookedlikeifIdidfall…itwasgoingtohurt.Thegroupgatheredandwasinstructedtosignawaiver…anothersignthatthingscouldgetworse.Thereisarealpotentialtogethurt.Dopeoplegethurtoften?Whatkindofinjuriesarewetalkingabout?AtthispointourinstructorusheredusacrossthetrackandintothemiddleoftheVelodromewherewewerefittedforandreceivedourbikes.AtfirstglanceIthought,“Hey,thisisaprettycoolbike”.Atrackbiketheytellmeisassimpleabikeasthereis.Simpleisright.Ifyouaskmeitisabittoosimple.Thereseemstobeafewmissingcomponents..veryimportantcomponentsatthat.Likebrakesandadditionalgears.Whyweretherenobrakes?Andsomeonepleaseexplaintomewhyonewouldnotwanttocoastwhenonewantedtotakearest.Ourinstructortoldusthatwewouldalldowell.Heassuredusthatwewouldnotfallandthatwewouldenjoytheexperience.Iwasnottoocomforted.IjustkeptremindingmyselfthatIwasnottheonlyonefeelingthiswayandwasnottheonlyonewhohadneverriddenonaVelodrome,letalonerodeafixed‐gearbikebefore.Timeforafewhelpfulpointersfromourinstructor.IknewIwouldneedalltheadviceIcouldgetifIhopedtogetthroughthis.First,keeppedaling.Nocoastingandnobackpedaling.Second,ifwemaintainedaspeedof18mphormoretherewouldbenoproblemwithslidingdownthetrack.AtthispointIlookoveratmybikeandofcoursethere’snolittlecomputertotellmewhatspeedIgoing.Mmm..Thirdpointerwastokeepabikelengthsdistantfromtherideinfrontofyou.Fourthlittlebitofadvicewastolookleftandthroughthecorners.Thenheexplainedthecoloredlinesthatwentaroundthetrackatdifferentheights.Itwastimetoride.WegotonourbikesandnowIwassicktomystomachandmyarmswouldn’tstopshaking.“JustkeeppedalingSam”Itoldmyself.Thefirstexercisewedidwastogoaroundthetrackinapacelinekeepingabikelengthsdistantapartfromtheriderinfrontandgettingafeelforthebikeandthewoodentrack.Westayedonthelowerflatpartofthetrackwhichwasjustfinewithme.WedidseverallapsandIwasstartingtoenjoyit.Thentherealityofhavingtostopthisbikewithnobrakeandnocoastinghitme.I’mafraidIneverquitefigureditout.Luckilytherewasawonderfulpaddedrailingaroundtheinsideofthetrackthatworkedjustfineasastoppingdevise.Thesecondexercisewassimilartothefirstbutnowhewantedustostartgettingcomfortablewithgoingupthetrack.Thisiswherethosecoloredlinesstartedtocomeintoplay.

There’sathickbluebandatthebottomofthetrack,ablacklineaboutsixinchesupfromit,aredlineaboutafootandahalfupfromitandabluelineaboutfivefeetaboveit.Weneededtogetuptospeedandgofromthebluebandtotheblackline.Afteracoupleoflapsofthatthenwewentuptotheredline.Iwasamazedonhowmucheffortitactuallytook.Ridingonthose47degreebanks,tryingtomaintainmyspeedandkeeppedalingwasalotofhardwork.Timetocomeinandstopagain.Thankgoodnessforthatrailing.Ourlastexercisewasgoingtobeabitmoreofachallenge.Werodeinapacelineagainandwithinacoupleoflapswereallthewayuptotheblueline.Westayedthereforalaportwothenthepersonatthefrontofthelinedropdowntotheblacklinewhiletherestofusstayatthebluelinekeepingthesamespeed.Theriderthatwasnowattheblacklinewasabletogoatafasterpaceandwouldcatchuptothegroupagainandtakehisplacebackatthefrontoftheline.Nowitwastheturnofsecondpersontodropdownandrideashardasheorshecouldtocatchontotheendofthegroup.Thiscontinueduntileveryonehadtakenaturn.Itwasexhausting,butablast.Ithinkeveryonehadagreattimeandwerehappytheyhadtriedthisdifferentkindofriding.There’sacrazyfewofthemthathadsuchagoodtimewanttogoback.Iwanttothankeveryonethatwentforbeingsoencouraging,kindandmakingitafantastictime.IwouldalsolikethankourinstructorAndy.Hedidanincrediblejob.

CCConnectswithL.A.Velodrome!!!!!!OnawarmSundaymorningacoupleofweeksago,26ofusdrovetotheL.A.VelodromeinCarson...abouta50minutedriveat7:30A.M.AndrewMirzaoff,acertifiedtrackcoachmetusinsidethe$8milliondollarenclosedwoodtrack....abeautifulsightwithflagsfrommannationshangingfromtheceilingandanintimidatingovaltrackwith,ifIrecallcorrectly,a45degreebankingattheapexofeachcorner!Thefirsthourwasspent:(a)fillingoutwaivers....realcomfortingandreassuring,(b)gettinginourcyclingclothes,(c)pickingourbikes,(d)fittingthepedals,(e)adjustingtheseatheight(thanksforthemeasuringtipKevinUnck!)and(f)learningsomeofthebasicprotocolofthetrack..Itwasinterestingtohearhowquieteveryonewas.ProbablyacombinationofwantingtobeattentivetoAndrewMirzaoff'scoachingandoursomberresolvetokeepfromdoingourselvesseriousbodilyinjuryonthiscrazylookingthingcalledaVelodrome.About9:30wewerecautiouslygettingusedtoridingonawoodtrackonafixedgearbikewithnobrakes.......lasttimeIfeltthiswobblyandskittishonabikewaswhenmybrotherfirsttookofmytrainingwheels.Wewereridingdownontheinsideflatportionofthetrackwhichisequivalenttothepitareaofacarrace...niceandwideandreallyslow.Aftergainingsomeconfidenceinspeedingandslowingthebikeandkeepingasafedistancetothebikesinfrontofyou,wecautiouslyrodewideronthetrackupintoanareaonthestraightswerethetrackstartedtoturnup;ridinginfourgroupsof6‐7cyclists.Theexhilarationfromgoingfasteroverwhelmedoutapprehensionandaswegainedmorecourageandconfidencewithinthesecondhourwewereridingatleasthalfwayupthe45degreecurvesinthecornersatspeedsof15‐20MPH!THISISCOOL!Bynowwewerefeelingexhilaratedandalittlecocky.BrentFellerandIwereyellingjokesandinsultsateachother,atwhichtimeAndrewMirzaoffadmonishedustokeepitdown(onceafourthgrader‐alwaysafourthgrader!).

Actually,thefinalhour'sexerciseleftlittleenergyfortalking,jokingormessingaround.Stayinginfourseparatepacelines,onegroupatatime,wedidanexercisewherethesecondriderinthepacelinedroppedoffthegrouplikeastoneandspentmultiplelapscirclingloweronthetrack(travelingashorterdistance)tocatchbackonthepaceline.IthinkittookKevinandHectorabout3lapstocatchon.Ithinkittookmeatleast8laps!Weweredonebynoon,andpersonallyalthoughwewerethere31/2hours,itseemedlikehalfthetime.Ihighlyrecommendridingonthetrack;somethingnew,different,reallyfunandgoodexercise!PleasecheckoutabunchofcoolphotosofCyclingConnnectionattheVelodromeunderthePhotossectionoftheclubwebsite:wwww.cyclingconnection.orgGreg Armstrong

Race Report submitted by Vanessa Browne

August Race Report It has been a busy month at the races for the cyclingconnectionmembers.Kevin Unck started things off at the Masters Nationals inKentucky, takinghome theSilvermedal in theMensTandemTTandintheMensTandemRoadRace,andplacing6thintheMensCrit.At theBrentwoodGrandprix,DavidRobertson,PaulVacarri,andTaylorVacarriallracedtheCAT3raceandtook2nd,20th,and34th!Alex Suchey followed this race with an amazingaccomplishment,completingtheLeadville100milemountainbikeraceinColorado.Toroundthingsoff,wehadanoverwhelmingshowingat thelastOntarioCritof theseasonwithat least13clubmembersracing.KevinUnckplaced6thintheMasters45+and10thintheMasters 40+ Cat 1‐4. Dereck Butterfield placed 13th in theMasters 40+ 1‐4. David Robertson took 38th in the CAT 1‐3.PaulVacarri took8thplace in theMasters30+cat1‐4.TaylorVacarriplaced7th inCat3and6th in the Juniors17‐18.DanaPierceplaced49th intheCat4/5raceand22nd intheCat4/5Masters30+race.GregGoodwineplaced23rdintheCat3race.We also had some fresh new faces at the races! Chris Ayerstook 46th in the Cat 4/5 race, Jeremy Ayers took 17th in theJuniors17‐18,JohnRoestplaced20thintheMasters55+race,James Schofer placed 24th in theMasters 4/530+ race, ScottWeinzapfel took 34th in the Masters 4/5 30+ race, and TimPickett (ON HIS MOUNTAIN BIKE!) took 28th place in theMasters4/530+race.

Race Photos – Kevin Unck, submitted by Liesel Lemay

For Sa le For Sale: Track wheelset. 700c, 30mm Velocity Deep V's in electric blue, 32-hole. The front wheel has a machined brake surface. Laced radial in front and 3 Cross in the rear to Origin 8 high flange track hubs. Sealed bearings, hollow axles. Includes a Dura Ace lock ring and Bontrager 25mm Select tires. $200. You can see how they look on my Cinelli Vigorelli in one of the photos, but the bike is getting some new Dura Ace high flange hubs laced to black H-Plus-Son 42mm rims. Call Mike at 909-635-7525 or email at mikebasica@yahoo.com

3 Speed Tricycle $ 350.00

Contact: Tom (909) 463-0075

I bike PRO Cycling Computer/Power

Meter New and never used!

$ 200.00 Contact: Tom (909) 463-0075

Shimano XT Shifter Brake Lever pods.

Brake Calipers & Rotors/Front and Rear

Derailleur’s. All New

in the boxes. $ 300.00

Contact: Tom (909) 463-0075

ZIPP Wheelset 404/808 $1,500 Only ridden 3 times. 404 front and 808 rear Team Felt ZIPPS - can be run on any bike. 700cc. Shimano/SRAM. Clinchers. For a phone number, you could list my cell number - 909-229-3119 or my email address. Sharon

Some observations from a seasoned cyclist submitted by Fred Roth

IkeeptryingtobecomefasterthanIhaveeverbeen,butjustgetolderthanIhaveeverbeen!Youmightnotgetitifyouareunder40.Ihavejustmasteredoneofthemostimportantcyclingskills:Ihavelearnedtospeakincompletesentenceswhileapproachingmyaerobicthreshold.Nevertrytokeeppacewithsomeoneheadingtotheirfirstcupofcoffee!Ifsomeonetellsyoutheyhaven'tbeenridingmuchlately,itmayjustmeanthey'rewellrested!

PostyourcyclingpicturesontheCyclingConnectionphotosite.SendmeanemailifyouareinterestedandIwillsetupausernameandpasswordsoyoucanstartuploadingyourpictures.BillyCorn‐billyc@cyclingconnection.orgHere'salinktothesite:http://cyclingconnection.myphotoalbum.com/albums.php

Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike Race 2010 Submitted by Alex Suchey

Well, Last year in November I sat in a theater with many friends and cycling cohorts as I waited to see what this "Race Across the Sky" was all about. Literally within 5 minutes of the start of the movie, I turned both to my wife on my right and to Michael Cuthbertson and Stan Lim on my left and stated "I'm doing this race!". It only took 5 minutes of the intro into the movie to know this was an event I wanted to go after. Cutoff's, a long day in the saddle and elevation. All things to try and overcome and to hopefully get a great sense of accomplishment from when the day and the months leading up to it, would be over! I was 316th out of 1350ish starters. And I have to say that this was THE hardest thing I've ever done, and the feeling at the end when it was all over? Was well worth it. In my case, I didn't get in through the standard lottery, so I had to sit on a phone trying to signup through a limited group that would be allowed to enter the event through the Carmichael Training Systems Camp. It was a camp held actually IN Leadville, and was to preview 80 miles of the 100 mile course over two days. It gave me a great sense of the scope of the course, what to expect in the changes in the weather throughout the day and how my body would react to the elevation. I didn't want to come home from the training camp when it was over (sorry Jen!) after being so lucky to ride in such a beautiful part of the country. Leading up to this and still today, I am so happy to have taken the approach of using a personal coach, Mike McKovich, who's spoken at our meetings several times. He's given me a schedule to allow me to race nearly 20 different events, rest, and recover between May and August leading up to Leadville. He develop a planned approach to keep me strong through the entire schedule and a plan to stick to for the day of the event to be sure I finished strong. I can't imagine getting through the event as successfully as I did without both the preview camp and Mike's guidance. It was a priceless combination. Jen and I went up for the race leaving our kids out of the mix. Good thing too. We had crazy travels covering everything from a missed flight, broken engine stopping a take-off, unplanned change of airports to correct issues (twice), a mad hatter style cab driver (or was that frogger he was from...), lack of proper directions to find our resort's management people to check in (third office was a charm) and just to top things off, a traffic jam leaving us stuck in the middle of the Rockies that turned a relaxed pace early airport departure for home into a hair raising frustrating experience resulting in a missed flight and friends driving to OC to pick us up instead of Ontario! Oh yeah, somewhere in there I raced 103 miles at elevation...all above 9400'... The day before the event we got to see the inside of the "old gym" in the middle of town for the first time. The registration process was super organized, but 1300+ athletes with families in such a small facility was really a bit comical. Once through the line of picking up numbers, verifying identity and getting a bunch of stuff shoved at me to take home, they closed down shop for the pre-race meeting.

The pre-race meeting is what you see in the movie. Everyone huddled in this very small gym that probably seats 200 spectators for a basketball game. With the court, It probably held 1000 people give or take. Well... 1300+ racers, many with family or support crews trying to cram in there. The words "standing room only" doesn't really begin to describe it. We're in Colorado in the mountains. So that generally means buildings don't use air conditioning. That was true here too! It was miserable, but it was cool to see some of the pro racers, Ken and Marylee, the founders of the race. All of them had great words to help inspire those needing the extra kick. The room just about blew the walls out with the crowd's roar when David Wiens came up front to speak. Race morning started at 3:15am. Well, it was supposed to anyhow. I woke up at 2am with a cramping stomach. I disregarded it as nerves, but I couldn't get back to sleep. So I started getting things ready to go and had some breakfast. We got to the race at about 4:45. Did a quick tire pressure adjustment with a borrowed pump and raced over to the start to see where I was going to end up in the mass of people. To my surprise I was able to roll right up to the front. I thought that was a bit strange, and I didn't want to take Levi's place (LOL!) so I slipped back a few rows and laid my bike against the side fence of the corral. Things looked tame and I was cold, so I jogged back to the car and kept warm while Jen and I waited for race time to come. It was an amazing starting line experience when I returned. What was a few hundred riders initially very quickly grew to the full attendance wrapping around a corner and filling the town with bikes. I've never seen so many bikes together in one mass start for a mountain bike race. The site was really something. My bike was still there, but I learned why the front was so easy to get to. The "faster" riders who had completed the course in under 9 hours for any prior year had a reserved spot at the front of the race. So to my surprise there was a good 300+ riders lined up in front of me, and the pros in front of them across the front. It was a great system and helped alleviate some of the mystery of who should be where in the starting order. Ever ride in the middle of a pack of thousand or so mountain bikes racing as fast as they can down a paved road? My computer was reading between 30-35 mph in this "pack" as I struggled to maintain pace with this MTB peloton. It was completely nuts. As we approached the first really short road climb, the hill helped decide really quick who should be out front and who should just sit back and let some of the others go by. As the next downhill came and the speed got near the 30's again, the first hard right turn was approaching - I can't tell you how nervous I was wondering who around me were experienced group riders or racers and who were solo MTB riders that would not be really comfortable in this turn and possibly wreck 50 other riders around them. It seemed though that everyone had their skills up and I was amazed how smooth, yet aggressive everyone was through a couple of these type of turns. This was my biggest fear of the day, believe it or not, because I'd heard of people ending up in the hospital from crashes near the start because people got too aggressive and the less experienced riders were caught off guard. It didn't seem to be the case at all.

As we hit the bottom of the first real climb of the day I noticed I was having trouble keeping up with a couple guys I had trained with. Then I was having trouble just keeping up with what my own normal training efforts usually are. Something was off. I took a quick drink and then realized I had more of a stomach problem than I had realized earlier. With the cold and nervousness at the start, I didn't even realize my stomach was still cramping, and it was pretty bad. I've heard of people having issues like these, I've been fortunate to escape them for the most part. So I had to figure out real quick what my plan was going to be. I took it at a moderate pace until we got up and over Sugarloaf and down the Power-Line descent. Once that was all out of the way, it was a road ride and hard packed fire road for about 20 miles through Pipeline and to Twin Lakes aide station where Jen would be waiting for me with the Carmichael support crew. My entire goal was to make it to that aide station hopefully on time for my 9hr mark goal and work out my problem from that point if it was better or worse. The cool thing about the Carmichael camp was that it gave me a support crew for the entire event. 4 stops (out and back through Pipeline and Twin Lakes) I had spotters looking for me to radio ahead and tell the crew to get my stuff ready for me. I was able to keep spare tires, misc. small needs, food, etc in a bag they brought to me at each stop. I simply grabbed what I wanted dropped my empty bottles and left. Seeing Jen twice at the twin Lakes station though - that was super cool. (Sorry I didn't stick around long honey!) I did actually hit Twin Lakes just in time for the 9 hour mark. But I was ahead of schedule at Pipeline. So I knew I was drifting back in my time. I started up the 12-13 mile climb from Twin Lakes to the top of Columbine knowing the next almost 2 hours (yeah - 2 hours to go 12-13 miles... do the math. Ouch) would either wreck me or inspire me. I was still not eating, but barely a nibble every so often off a bar and only drinking half of what I needed to survive. I was cramping at the base of Columbine with 7 miles left to the top on a climb that becomes in the 20 percent range in places, rocky, loose and can be ridden - but hike-a-bike is what it was to be today. It's a humbling beast of a climb when you ride it fresh like I did in camp, this was after riding 44 miles or so... It tops out at 12,500' which didn't help matters. At the top I decided to forgo my drink and loaded up on plain water, guzzling down probably a liter or more in hopes of flushing out whatever was making me want to puke all morning. It seemed to work and while I descended the mountain I was gaining confidence that maybe something inside me would let me ride strong the rest of the day. I'd have to eat though, and I hadn't really tried that yet. Not much anyhow. Backing up a bit, I saw the leaders flying down Columbine when I was roughly half way up. That put me what...an hour and maybe 10 minutes behind them, but I was on my ascent and they were flying what seemed 35mph on dirt turns that physically seemed glued to these guys' tires. How in the world??? First down was Jeremiah Bishop, followed closely by Levi (winner this year and new course record - sorry Lance), then Jeremy Horgan and Todd Wells and the David Wiens. 7th coming off the mountain was Don's Bikes Gerry Cody (he was 25th last year and is an amazingly fast rider and finished 9th this year). Tinker was around 15th (He finished 16th on the day).

Watching riders move this fast down the hill in the dirt gave me a bit of inspiration to get moving! When I got into Twin Lakes, I was hot and ditched my base layer I started with. Jen was concerned I had crashed since I took so long to return. After assuring her I was fine and feeling better now I took off hoping I had some energy left somewhere and started in on eating some food. The next couple hours were rough. I was feeling better, but my legs were rubber. I'd taken so long to eat it was going to be rough until I could get something digested I guessed. Even then, I was concerned I wouldn't ever come into any energy. What's that Bob Roll says? Once you go to the moon, there's no coming back! (Referring to bonking and forgetting to eat in a tour.) I got up and over some single track and fire-road sections and got dumped out onto the pavement for a few miles that I thought would give me a great boost, since I can move really fast on my MTB on the road. Well... that didn't work. It was after 12:00 and at this time in the area there's pretty good winds. Each day at camp I experienced these. Like clockwork - yep... there's the winds. At an angle and in my face with one rider to work with and attempt to hide from it. It was something like the high wind days we experience occasionally on the Tues/Thurs Neeley's rides. It was brutal and tore me to pieces. It would have been easier if they just made me climb back up columbine again - seriously. A few miles of this and we get on a 2-3 mile road climb up to the next trail head. We're tucked in against the hills now so the wind is no longer an issue luckily and now I'm finding some rhythm! Put my head down and got my cadence up and just drove straight up the climb happy to somehow have legs now. I approached the entrance of Power-Line. a 1/2 mile up the road at the foot of the steep section they show on film is a banjo player. A really really really GOOD banjo player. He was so upbeat and happy and played so well I instantly got a smile on my face and just in time to make the turn to see the steep Power-Line ascent. What shocked me, well, somewhat anyhow, was that every single rider was pushing their bike up the hill. When I rode with the clinic, the group I went out with rode this climb. I walked the last 1/3 of it on my 29er with my gearing too big on my front rings. I since fixed that and had this blissful picture of me spinning up this climb like it was no big deal. So since I still had my banjo-induced smile, I took a shot at it. Rode straight up the line I came down and was cheered on by the pushing riders and spectators all yelling for people to get out of my way - a rider's coming through! It was funny. I was trying not to laugh, but they inspired me all the way up the climb and just near the end slipped on a bit of sandstone that was off-camber and had to put a foot down to catch me. At 24% it was a bit tough to get going, so I ran to the top to finish conquering the section. Now, Power-Line goes up for another 3 and a half miles. So it's not just that short section. It's just that this section has a terribly steep pitch that gets worse and worse. You have to dodge ruts, pick the right line to have a path at all and avoid the sandstone. The combination coupled with the fatigue of 80 miles of racing - it's a chore, and it's understandable why even many of the pros simply jogged up this hill instead of riding it.

Eventually I made it to the top of powerline. I bonked horribly in the middle of finishing it, but when I was handed a coke after the climb, it gave me enough kick to get my effort back up. On a descent, I approach now a 5 mile road climb that's basically a look-a-like GMR ride. So I'm comfortable here and with my coke powered legs, am feeling great actually. I get to the top here and it's a dirt climb for a couple miles up over St. Keiven's. I'm now sensing that there may be trouble beating 10 hours (which was my new adjusted goal after my late arrival to Twin Lakes after Columbine). I was not about to say I had a 10 hour time. I wanted a 9 in my results and that was all there was to it. I hammered out this climb, pretty much in terrible pain, but my energy was up at the moment. I crested the climb then started the descent - which I forgot how crazy rocky it was from camp. It's funny how much worse a rocky descent is on your hands and neck and elbows, etc compared to climbing it. In fear of not breaking 10 hours the next 12 miles were basically me doing everything I could do drain anything from anywhere in my body and use it to get power to my pedals. I should've probably crashed on the descent - I was actually hammering in places going downhill that I really should've been just cruising and being cautious. I'm fairly certain this is where Lance's flat probably originated. People off the sides fixing tires were pretty common. The Next sections to the finish were all fire roads and pavement (just a little pavement actually). They have a different finishing route than the start. So you avoid a lot of the street race that was in the start. I hooked up with a few people along the way, each of them fell back though as I was not going to let up enough to risk my sub 10 target. Coming into the last couple miles I came upon a Carmichael guy, Steve, if I remember right, who was just kind of in the same pace as me. We were not really helping each other. One would be faster, then the other, we were never really riding at the same intensity at any time. Finally coming into the finish the time was just getting too close. I took the last 1/2 mile at a somehow killer pace. I really don't know where this is coming from after riding all day... but somehow "Steve", thinks I'm trying to beat "him" out to the finish. So he attacks me sprinting by me. Well... yeah, this has no bearing on either of us in the race results, but heck - I don't want anyone coming into the finish in front of me, so a sprint finish to a road race in-sues... back and forth all the way to the line and, yes, I somehow got him by just a few inches at the line. It was the best finish to the day that I could've asked for given how the start was so rough. Everyone yelling and screaming and the announcer yelling even "they making a race out of it!" As I lay almost passed out over my bike and trying not to hurl, I wonder what the heck we were doing! Jen finagled getting into the race shoot at the finish, it was really great seeing her there. It was really great coming in to the finish strong and in one piece. While I had heard several people over the next day or so say "never again" will they do this event. I can't wait for the opportunity to allow me to go back and give it a better shot.

Personally called out awards, buckles in a very personal ceremony the next morning put the icing on the weekend. I've never been in an event that did anything like this. It's always hurried at the end or has finished long before many people finish the race. It gave a different "family" attitude to include everyone who participated at all in the event. When they called my name and handed me my sub 12 hour buckle, they also gave me a personalized hoodie with my name and time printed on the sleeve. Too cool! Thank you so much for those in the club that encouraged me all year, some of you have sent me notes on FaceBook and email and gave me encouragement during my training and racing in Colorado. You guys are great to have as encouragers and it helped me make sure I didn't let you down! Now where's that registration form for Leadville 2011...I know I've got it here somewhere...

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