Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Peace on Earth...

And all that jazz....




What a fantastic day for a bike ride.....

2008 right around the corner and I wish the best to all....

Sunday, December 23, 2007

"Weekend Update"


OK... I'm a little behind on the posting....

Last weekend was CCCX #6 AKA " Barrier Palooza". I got a slow start but moved up here and there on the opening lap. First time over the double log jump and I ran into trouble. I was a bit sideways going over the first log and my right foot un-clipped and I had no time to do anything other than bite it, on the second log while lying in 10th? or so. I tagged my right knee and it was tender but OK. I got passed by a few riders then ratcheted it back up and passed a few guys back. Once into a decent rhythm, a lap or so later, I stacked on the tricky single uphill barrier (which I was making every time up until then). Up again and I am motivated now to just stay on the lead lap. Then... I stopped to help out a rider who was face down in the dirt. I have to admit after that, I had a hard time focusing on the race and just wanted it to be over. I haven't hopped any barriers all year, so really, I was doing pretty well and feeling good for the most part. I finished 15th.
This Saturday I went to race in Livermore. I was looking forward to a good day and the conditions were fantastic. Tacky, sunny and cool. I met up with Cody and Jesse and rode some laps for warm up. Cody did a fantastic job finishing 3rd in the B race right before our event.


Some nice conversation before the start with Jesse...



Then it all goes horribly wrong..

Yup.. that's me #104 picking myself up from hitting the deck.... hard. At least I managed to fall on my left and have a whole new set of bruises. Ugh......


I not sure why I fell. My foot wasn't stuck and it was if the bike washed the front out from under me as I unweighted while dismounting. when I got up, abit slowly, I noticed that my front wheel was jammed on the brake pad, sudo-tacoed and a broken spoke on the rear...

GAME OVER


I would have stayed to watch Jesse race but I had to be at work right after the race, so I packed up and jetted off to work. Jesse ended up winning the race. Congrats bro! So... bad day for me but a great day for the Scott/ Richey team. This year has not been kind to me at all but I'll keep plugging away at the remanding races in the next few weeks.

Well I had already planned out a big mtb ride for today and I was looking forward to a fun SS ride after my poop race day. I got up this morning and had some pretty sore muscles. Nobody else managed to make it, so I rode a shortened version of the original plan. I went out to Mill Valley, had coffee and then rode up to East Peak Tam coming home the same way.


View from the top looking out at the City....
With the weather so nice, I had to stop and take a few pic's. The ride ended up being 3.5 hrs/ 70km. I wasn't really tired, just banged up from yesterday. I'm glad I rode the shorter ride! Ahh nap time...


Heading home a little tired but feeling good....




Nice to end the last week on this....
A happy holidaze to all!






Monday, December 10, 2007

BASP Finals

and we're off......
Pilarcitos Bay Area Super Prestige Series Final @ CCCP Coyote Pt.

Place: 36th

Well I had a better race than Sat. but I still don't quite have enough fitness to recover quick enough after the start and I fell back until I could recover and settle into a TT pace with sprints thrown in here and there..

I ended up have a good race in the end battling it out with a nice chap (Erik), getting ahead in the sprint to the line....

A somewhat lackluster weekend of racing but I made it through both races not totally destroyed and needing days to recover. I managed to get out Monday afternoon for a 2hr SS ride in the Headlands and thought it might have been to much but I feel pretty good today, so it seems it's coming back, abit slowly....

This coming Sunday is CCCX #6, again @ Fort Ord. I'll keep trying to improve in time for some redemption by the CCCX Final on Jan 6th. If anything it will have me flying into the early road season, which will be good as I am going to be riding on the Lombardi squad for 2008 and would like to start off the season with some results and possibly points and well :)

whatever... one week at a time..



Coming off the sand section with Erik and Lander in tow...






Saturday, December 08, 2007

District Championships 2007


Ya... Good like that!

NCNCA District Championships @ Robertson Park, Livermore

Elite Men

Place: 12th

Great course, roadie friendly for sure. Flat, fast and a gi-normas stair run. Conditions were fantastic. Tacky sand/ mud, grass, sunny but cool.

I was flat even after a decent start. I'm not surprised. I have only ridden 3 hrs going into this weekend. Hopefully I'll have a better time of it for the BASP Final. Good to be out racing tho...

We'll see....

Google Earth- scary and cool at the same time ........
The course 1.8 miles.



Thursday, December 06, 2007

2007 CCCX #5 Fort Ord

Sunday, December 02, 2007

CCCX #5 Ft. Ord

Downhill deep-sand pit .. evey bodys surfing now ...

Place: 18
Time: 1.12'42''

While driving down to Seaside for round #5 in the CCCX Series, I had a lot of emotions bubbling up about my return to racing after my knee injury... Mostly excited, but also a few concerns --is it to soon? --can I even finish on the lead lap?

The course was the same venue as race #3 in Ft Ord. It was fast and fun but this time around the course was run in the opposite direction and seemed even faster. The rain had been absent for the most part, so I knew sand would be the order of the day and decided to run Michelin Jet clinchers at around 3 bar. I also used my double ring bike and the 48T chainring worked out really well on the long pavement sections.
I enjoyed the pre-ride and watched Cam and Jesse hopping the final barrier set. They were pretty do-able but I wasn't wanting to take any chances, so opted to run'em in the race. The deep sand pit was fun without alot of garbage in the sand. It was a surfing safari..Ya
I got a crappy jump but knew with the super long pavement start, It was possible to move up before the first dirt section. I managed to get on Cams wheel and rode all the way up the line and when we hit the dirt, I was in 5th wheel. I did a better job getting into position than I realized. At the time I was pretty waxed and got passed through the first set of barriers and continued to slowly slip down the leader board for the next couple of laps. With 5 to go, I managed to pick up the pace quite a bit and ended up having a good race with Isaias and A SS rider.
Towards the end I lost touch with Isaias and was feeling the loss of race fitness. So I focused on racing for time and finishing on the lead lap, which I managed to do. It was a good race, I liked the course and the team did great. Jesse managed 3rd and Keith 3rd as well, in the Masters A. Nate broke the top 10 and Cody right behind him.
So this weekend it's the District Championships in Livermore on Saturday (fast with a very tough stair run) and the Pilarcitos final is on Sunday at Coyote Pt. (with a usually long sandy beach run), one of my favorites.
Four weeks after my injury can I pull off the double? I feel strong-- just lacking cardio fitness. We are in the heart of the CX season and with guys at or around there peak form, to just finish both races, on the lead lap-- is my goal. We'll see...


Tune in next week !