BC Bike Race Stage 1

Holy ......... That is all I can say! I used to think that Mt Snow would be the narliest downhill that I would ever encounter in a race situation, until today!! There were section that I wish they would of put a ladder on so that I could get off the ride mid way through!! I was also struggling with line selection, have no clue why?

This is the first trail that we hit, called severed dick. I hate to say it but this was the easy part. There was some big drops and in the end I ended up having to walk down some of them after crashing half a dozen times. My highlite of the day though was when Georgia just came flying down through this section and Trebon came running down the trail yelling for her to wait up!! In the end I think I ended up loosing almost 10 minutes to a couple of the locals. Hopefully with tomorrows stage of 70 K I can hook up with one of the duo teams and make back some of the time. Tomorrow we also have our first ferry transfer that takes us over to the island with our start in Nanaimo and finish at the beach in Parksville. I will post again tomorrow if I can pouch the race organizations WiFI again!

BC Stage 0 point 5!

Wow, that was an experience! I will never complain about registration again! It took 3 hrs today! All while standing in a small room that snaked around the room like 4 times!! After having the release form filled out we had to have a witness watch us sign it. Sweet, step 1! After 45 minutes it was onto step 2, medical! Then from medical, it was onto the most important step, FOOD! Pick your seating, then your restaurant for stage 3, then the time for your restaurant on stage 3, oh my good is the room spinning! After food, it was onto getting our bag that is supposed to follow us from stage to stage and then the repacking of the clothes! Then to top it all off, we went in for the hour long debrief that left my head spinning for sure!! All I can say by the end is I am in for an adventure!! Day 1 sounds like it is packed with some of the most tech riding that the North Shore has to offer! Good thing I have spent the last couple years chasing Mikey P down places like Mt Snow and Snowmass to hone the skills after years of racing on the vertically challenged terrain of Wisco!!

I am excited and nervous for the first stage tomorrow! It is a good thing though, it has been a while since I have been nervous to toe the line. It brings back that thrill that has been missing from the same ole same ole that I have felt for most of this year. For the rest of the trip we will be tenting it with the moving circus so I am guessing that they will not have WiFI installed even though I checked that box during registration today... I think.....? What time do I eat tomorrow, race time, any ferry trips? Good thing Michelle came along to take care of all the odds and ends! It is very helpful! She is also going to try and keep the blog updated and for those on Facebook she has been updating that as well.

Till the next time I see civilization!

BC Bike Race Stage 0

We have made it to Vancouver with everything! Bikes... check.... Helmet... check... shoes... check... legs.... Where did I put the fast legs, I am gonna need them with this field! Oh there they are..... check! Sweet, ready to go! All that is left is the race registration procudure which looks like it could be as long as the race. There are 3 pages of instruction on Day 0, what you need to know!! Good thing Michelle is along, she can keep track of some of the logistics for me since on page one my A.D.D. kicks in and I am off to something else.

I am pretty excited for the start tomorrow. Michelle and I were out spinning the plane legs out and ran across Eatough and Schalk. They seem ready after talking to them. Should be a pretty good battle amongst them, Wicks/Sneddon, and Sheppard/McGrath!

For me, in the solo division I will get to battle with Andreas Hestler and then a couple people from other countries that I do not know?? Either way the trails look awesome, the weather is supposed to be sunny and in the lower 70s, and the Specialized is ready to go!!

On another note, the coffee out her rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Team Picture, not this week!

I promised Specialized a team picture back in March and the team has still not all been in one spot yet! This past weekend was close, but we were still missing Scott at the lumberjack, which he represented well with a 13th place finish. On the home front the colors were looking good on the podium and we have some extra help with the addition of Darrin Braun to the team. I will not dwell on the WORS cup since by now everyone has heard about results.

Next up, the entire team, excluding myself this time, will be at the Eau Claire Fire Cracker race. As for me I am off to British Columbia for the BC Bike Race. So till next time.....

These guys rock......

If you are in need of anything bike related look no further! The bikes are awesome and the customer service is phenominal!!

www.specialized.com

Also if you are in the Point area and need anything at all great customer service and knowledge can be found here!

www.hostelshoppe.com

Thanks a bunch guys for helping the team and myself out with all the support!!

Away from everything.... Almost!

Good luck this weekend to TJ, he will be flying the colors out in CO Springs with all the best in the US.

As for me, off. I am not racing this weekend. I am also not working today. I have been so busy the last couple weeks trying to finish up this home automation project and have been ingnoring most things associated with training. Therefore today I have some VO2's to do and I have chossen to focus on the bike. About time I get priorities in line, I have less than 2 weeks before I leave to BC for the BC Bike Race. I am completely pumped to do this race though!!! 7 days straight doing nothing and focusing on nothing but racing bikes on what Barry Wicks told me some of the best single track ever! My goals are to finish in the top 5 overall for the solo division. I really hope that I can keep the rubber side down, which is something that has plagued me this year. So far one was my fault and the other, it is probably best that I do not know who caused it?

Anyway, see everyone at the WORS cup.

What is that....

Where to start? Back at Iola, the RASTA Ralley, the Rhinelander WORS race? No I will skip all those except for giving a shout out to Benders good form and pulling the team along. Also our younger, youngster Chris Denny has been having some great success in the sport SS class.


This past weekend was the Wassau WORS race and of course the team is spread all over the US. TJ has been chasing the National scene and has been ripping it up with a 25th placing in Alabama and a 20th place at the Teva Games!! For this past weekend Scott opted out of the muddy dirt road race that has become known as Wassau due to some illness and needing some recovery time from his 24th placing at the Mohican 100. Chris Denny had his graduation celebration and was not able to make it. Therefore, toeing the line for the team was Le Hoover , Mikey, and myself.





Those who know me I have been buried with this home automation system that I am working on and actually skipped a couple rides last week and have been working some crazy hours. Needless to say I was ready for some kind of WORS result after my start to the season. I lined up behind Marko and ended up with a good clean start. I made the lead group and settled in. The legs were a bit flat though so nothing there for top end, just a nice tempo that I just stayed at. After some attacks early on in the race I settled in with Le Hoover. For the next 3 laps I saw nothing but this view:

Good thing for teammates, cause the Le Hoover moover pulled me around the course to a 6th place finish! Mikey also made his comeback to racing after a hard bout with tendonitis. It was great to see him again in the superman kit and now he is super motivated for the the later part of the season!!

Next up for the team, TJ is in CO Springs this weekend for the US Pro XCT, the rest of us are off till the weekend after where all of us will be at the WORS Cup, minus Scott, who will be at the Lumberjack 100.