Oh the Monday ride...

Comedic ramblings in the presence of Tam.

Chillin Out

The Pacific Ocean.....

The last 2 weeks took it's toll on me (school and racing) and I really needed a to take this last week easy and recharge. Lucky me the weather has been shitty, so it makes it easier to put my feet up and relax. I am having to work alot more on getting my "core" strength/ flexibility back after hurting my knee. My fitness seems to come back fast and that's really whats been keeping me in the game, so to speak....

I made some gearing changes to the SS and am planning to do CCCX #3 next Sat. I might even be nutty enough to do the Merco RR the following day if I'm not to torn up. We'll see...

Get out and ride you bike!

CCCX part 2

Pics by: Rick

Round 2-- 3rd place

I went down to Ft. Ord again this last weekend for the CCCX #2 mtb race. I'll keep it short. It was a hard course, much longer than #1 and with a 1/4 mile + pavement drag which on the SS was a bitch. I got in front of Ceasar and Miles on the first lap but once on the pavement they both passed me rolling away.... I did some gear ratio research later and found out I was a bit short compaired to what they were running but I think with the knee rehab, It's all I can push at the moment on the hills. In the next few weeks I think I'll be able to put a bigger gear on, we'll see.....

This was the hardest race I can remember doing in a long while and I was really glad it was over. we went 4 laps and my time was 1:59? OUCH--Ya that like 2 back to back CX races!! Have to say that the bike is working great and getting better. I'm sure with some more time on it, the bike will get better.

Big thanks to CCCX (Keith and Rod) for a challanging course and the rest of the riders for showing up on what started out like a nice day and then turned into a dark and cold/ blustery afternoon....

Trying not to loose my lunch....

TOC

Went out to watch the TOC today and go for a nice coffe ride.

Got your 411 right here....

CCCX #1 Pro/ Expert Single Speed

--3rd Place--

Last weekend I traveled down to Ft. Ord for the first round of the CCCX mountian bike series. After riding most of the cyclocross races there I knew it would be a blast with some bigger tires and suspention.

New for this year I am getting some support for the single speed racing from Fisher. I recived a nice new Fisher rig 29er on the Wed. before the race and managed to get it set up in time with some help from my buddy Sal. Kit should be along shortly......

23.5 lbs. -- very nice setup....

I have a few things left to do but out of the box this is a fantastic bike. It handles better than the last two 29er SS's I have had (a 2006 Rig and a Bianchi Rita). I guess the geomerty has been changed for 2008, it works.... well! The addation of a switch from a Rock Shox Reba to a Fox F29 fork also was a huge improvement. Not that any of the other bikes were "bad" it's just that this one is really so much improved. I am very impressed.

As for the race it I feel it went well. We started at the back with the Expert 19-34 age group instead of dead last which was good. It was a pavement start and once onto the dirt I was in a good position somewhere in the top 20 in our combined field. Before crossing the finsih line where the 5 lap countdown would start we had to ascend what I would say was the main climb. Once on the climb I drilled it and passed quite a few guys including all the SS. So first time across the finish line I was 1st SS. I stayed ahead for a while but as soon as I need a short break to recover Ceasar and Miles caught me right at worst time. They got a gap on me and I kept them in sight for 2+ laps but could not close. with 1st/ 2nd out of sight and 2 lpas to go I focused on keeping the speed up and peadling everwhere. On the last half of the 4th lap I started to catch Miles but Ceasar was nowhere in to be seen. I finally made it up to Miles and passed him going across the finish line, now on the penutamte lap. I stepped it up and drilled it through the tight singletrack hoping to get a gap I could hold till the fast downhill. It worked for a while but just when it really mattered, on the 2nd to last tough climb, Miles caught me and attacked. I tried to respond but the legs were starting to cramp and there was still one more big climb to go. I dug deep and gambled I might catch him on the final climb and outrun him to the finish.

NOPE....

Miles rode strong and the gap was close... 8 sec close but with only one gear you end up waiting for someone to make a mistake and he did well not to. I was happy with 3rd and my cardo fitness was really good (avg 182) and a max of 196 (haven't seen that in a while). With some time on the bike and more hill repeats I am confindent a win is within my grasp sometime this season.

Sunset driving home after the race up Hwy 1

This Sunday is CCCX #2 again @ Ft. Ord. I have had some good training this week, dispite school kicking my ass, so we'll see how it goes. A strong motivator for me is the fact that if you compare times to the Pro/ Semi-Pro times, I would have been in 6th.

O.F.G.