roadcx.net

Been pretty busy since returning from Colorado..  Got in some good rides and some days didn’t have time to ride.  On Wednesday, the Marx-Bensdorf team showed up in force for the Metro Moto training crit in Collierville.  With 3 new Cat 3 members (2 of which were racing), we had 10 (I think) in the field of about 20.  With half the field, I liked the scenario better than the first training crit (2 of us versus 5-6 Memphis Velo).  The format was also different, race 30 minutes then miss-and-out (dropping 2 at-a-time until down to 6, then 1-at-a-time).

We were active on the front with people heading up the road, dropping back to chase pairs, etc.  In the end we took 5 of the top 6 placings.  I was around 10th based on my elimination (survived 5-6 sprints until I “missed” and was “out”).

I have poached some the better shots Dale Sanford (sitting out due to an upcoming Ironman tri…).  These have been through the Facebook photo destroyer, so keep that in mind.

–

With that I am headed for a forced break off the bike.  I am headed to China tomorrow for a week (work trip).  Despite the millions of bicycles, both personal safety and lack of time will keep me off the bike for the duration (maybe ride exercise bike at the hotel?).  When I get back, I will make one more push with Ore to Shore (8/14), Meridian-Cuba (8/21-8/22), and maybe River Gorge (8/28-8/29) on the menu.

This morning Andrea and I went for the long loop of the Edge trail at the Bookcliffs north of Fruita, CO.  We started out from our campsite at the base of the cliffs and headed down the Frontside trail (~5 miles, 500 feet up).  Once clear of that, the Edge loop puts you on a gravel road for a while past numerous natural gas wells.  The road is pretty much up and some times really up.  In all, by mile 18 of the route, we were at 7300′+ from our base camp of 5400′.  Once up there, the trail has a couple ridiculous drops (steep descents).  We rode only the last of the big three because the others ones looked a bit too ridiculous.  Part of the trail follows a dry creekbed (wash) and includes a 30′ waterfall obstical.  There are ropes which were useful in getting ourselves and our bikes down the steep rock formation.

We were doing well on the trail, until I got caught by a trail monster and endo’ed with about 7-8 miles to go.  It was one of those JRA moments with moderate trail, must have caught a rock or something.   I was starting to feel a bit dehydrated despite trying to drink constantly and may have needed to eat again given the length of the ride.   The photos I took with my phone are included in the gallery… Andrea will have the rest on her blog.

We decided to leave the gnats behind (Bookcliffs campground is sick with them) and just head back to Frisco for my last night in Colorado.

We drove down from Frisco to Fruita to get to some warmer temperatures and to try a different style of singletrack.  The forested slopes of the Frisco/Breckenridge area were replaced with wide open desert with occasional Juniper trees.  The terrain is extremely varied in the Bookcliff area.  After stopping by the LBS to get Andrea’s SS wheels trued up and get some advice, we headed up to the camping area and setup.  The campground is pretty basic, but the price is right…free.  Marked spots, picnic tables,  and vault toilets are what that gets you.  You need to bring the rest (including water especially since it is brutal dry).

Fruita is lower in elevation (around 5500 at the campground), so the temperatures reached about 85F-90F in the middle of the day (Breck was only 65-68F).  But we have more air to breathe.  By the time we setup camp, ate, and got geared up it was after 1 pm.

Our ride (after a brief look at the local trail guide) was to link Chutes and Ladders and the Zippety Do Da trails.  Both sound innocuous, don’t be fooled.  The Chutes and Ladders course has some pretty wicked steep climbs straight away with the pay off of a long flowy descent (that is the “chutes” part).  The second part of our ride, the Zippety Do Da loop also had some wicked steep pitches, but with the added fun that some of the course is on the knife edge of a ridge (meaning you have the trail and drop offs on both sides)..  Some of the drops (and that is the right word) are really steep and require a bunch of bike control (and courage if you stop to think about them before dropping down).  Andrea and I navigated all of it successfully.  By the time we finished that, we had enough after only 16 miles of trail.  Her race and my 4th of July adventure meant we were a little tired.

We are going to stay one more day planning to ride up the bluff (Edge trail) before lunch and a shorter loop down in the Kokopelli section.  Wednesday morning, we will strike camp and head back to Denver for my afternoon flight out.

After our 3rd night camping near Frisco, CO, we broke camp and headed west down I-70 to Fruita, CO this morning.  The drive along I-70 is quite impressive.  From impressive valley walls to a deep canyon walls (Colorado River) to the open terraced cliffs (looks like the Grand Canyon) it was an interesting 200 miles.

(I wanted to put these up as a gallery, so due to limitations in WordPress, I will make this a short post… )

Today was the day.  Race day for Andrea.  The Firecracker 50 is a big event for Breckenridge and adding to it is the fact that is the Marathon National Championships (long distance / endurance mountain biking).  Since I didn’t register for the race (it fills up months before), I decided to go off in the other direction (away from the race) after they started.

My ride, started off with heading back to camp to get my helmet (left it in the tent).  It felt weird to ride without a helmet, but I didn’t think driving back to camp was smart (and would lose our parking spot).  That ride is pretty much down 500 feet over 5 miles on the rec-path.  And then up those same 500 feet on the road (5-6% grade) and then drop down 500 feet again to the campsite (Prospector Campground).  I picked up my helmet and filled a bottle and headed back over the hill back to the rec-path.

The single track ride I planned was to ride up Colorado trail (up 1200′ in 2.5 miles) and ride the Peaks Trail back to Breck.  The Colorado trail starts off up at a moderate grade (and fairly non-technical).  After getting up past 10,000′ the trail turns nasty with lots of rocks, roots, and much steeper pitches.  Several times I would charge into a section (3-5″ ledges to pop over) and just run out of gas, stall and have to stop for a moment to catch my breath.  Damn thin air.  Once over this, it bombs down to the Peaks trail (photo first photos of the sign and the trail photo).

The Peaks trail is pretty varied from pretty rocky, some steep stuff, and some fast singletrack.  As I got closer to Breck, there was much more foot traffic (4th of July hikers).  When I got to a cross-roads, I stopped and looked at map and decided to add to my journey going up the right fork of Siberian Trail.  This is pretty much a gravel road that climbs up to 10,600′.  Some great views (some of the other photos are from there).  After out-and-backing that trail, headed down to Breckenridge via various trails (and dodging more and more hikers/dog walkers).

By the time I got back, 4 hours had went by.  Andrea was estimating a time for herself of 7 hours, but there seemed to be a lot of finishers (pro men and women).  I tried to find a lap sheet to see how fast she got her first one done, but I didn’t see that anywhere.  Hung around and drank a beer (Frisco brewery Backcountry Brewery was there with free pints).  Ate a sandwich and decided to get a shower at the Ice Rink.  When I got back, I tried to figure out if she was finishing…  Maybe 10 minutes later, I hear Dave Towle announcing my name.  Andrea had finished, saw me, but in the crowds around the finishing chute, decided to just have Dave call me.  Once I met up with her, she thought she was top 3, but wasn’t sure.

The podium presentation wasn’t until 5, she went to shower and I waited around to see if the results were posted.  Not long after she left, they were put up and indeed she was 3rd in Singlespeed Women.   Podium and apres-podium beer shots are in the gallery below.

Right now, we are headed further west to Fruita, Colorado.   After 3 nights outside at 9500′, with overnight lows in the low 30′s, Andrea wants to get some warmth.  Fruita is around 4000′, so it should be a bit closer to home and is supposed to have some good trails.  It would be nice to explore more of the trails of Summit County (Breckenridge/Frisco), we only covered a small percentage in our 3 days of riding.  I would definitely recommend it to anyone despite the amount of people in town and on the rec-path.  Get off into the single track and it is like your own little world.

As I do laundry at the Frisco, CO laundromat, I downloaded some photos that I took over the course of the day.

We started out at our campsite, climbed over the pass to the blue river rec path (connecting Breck-Frisco).  We rode up the gravel roads of Golden Run (some steep stuff in the 15-16% range at times) and dropped back into Breck.  We hit the pump track again (Andrea loves that place) and then rode back to Frisco for lunch.  We hit an Indian food buffet (dubbed “Himalayan”, but like any other Indian place I have been to).  And then rode back to the campground (climb is much harder going back… much longer).

As we entered the national forest campground, we took a spur trail that headed to parts unknown, but mostly up….  After a little bit of that, we turned around and notices some guys rock climbing.  Of course Andrea had to try one of the easier ones.  After a little time at camp, we are back in Frisco.  I am doing the laundry whilst Andrea gets a pre-race massage.  She is racing marathon nationals tomorrow (50 mile mountain bike race for the national championships).

After another short week of work, I flew out to Denver on Thursday afternoon where Andrea picked me (she is on a longer road trip this month).  I was pretty tired from meeting out with some friends on Wednesday night and getting up early (as normal).  I also think my racing schedule was catching up with me right at the perfect time since I am not planning on racing anytime soon.  By the time I got to Denver, Andrea was running behind and I had to kill 2 hours at the airport.  Unfortunately, I started feeling worse and worse, probably a combination of tiredness, maybe something I ate, and I am sure the elevation change.

When she picked me up, we headed straight through Denver and out to Frisco, Colorado.  It was getting dark and I was not really in the mood to camp, so we got a room at the Snowshoe Inn there.  Pretty basic, but it worked.  We had a quick dinner and afterwards all I wanted to do is lay down.  I fell out right after we got back.  The good news is that woke up feeling much, much better.

We headed down the street to the Log Cabin for some excellent breakfast.  After reorganizing our gear some, we headed out to find a place to camp.  The national forest campground next to Frisco was fairly full.  The nicer part was absolutely full and the next part looked like a boat launch parking lot.  We ended up going to the next one down the road.  We were settling into one part when I noticed that they had no water.  The sites were $21/night with electricity (which we don’t really need).  The other part of the campground also didn’t have water, but since it was more basic (no electricity), it was $16/night.  So we set up her small one man tent (for storage) and planned to sleep in her Element.   By then, we needed to get going, so we headed to Breckenridge for our ride.

We started off trying to find a good bike shop.  She saw two guys headed down the street looking like they knew what there were talking about and asked for a shop recommendation.  Andrea wanted to top off the Stan’s in a few of her wheels.  We headed down to the shop Elevation for this.  It was going to take him an hour or so, so had some time to kill.

We started to think about how much of a pain it would be to move out all the stuff out of the Element every night, so we decided to buy a larger tent.  We were pretty close to an outdoors store (Mountain Outfitters).  We went there and found what we were looking for right away.  The shop employee was super cool and we setup up the tent in the shop to have a look at it.  We bought it.

After dropping off the tent, we were hungry, so we hit a Japanese restaurant.  By then, her bikes were ready so we went to get them and got ready for our ride.  Our plan was to ride the short cut lap of about 15 miles from town (just like her race would start).  The first part of the ride is asphalt (3 miles or so) and a few more miles of gravel.  Most of the time it was just heading up at various pitches from 2% to 10%+.  The single track picks up after that….  here are two photos that pretty much sum up most of the trail, pine forest and old mines.

After our ride, we came back and set up our new tent…

All in all, it was a good day.  We will tackle some other riding tomorrow, some it on miles of paved bike path since Andrea doesn’t want to ride too hard the day before her race.  I still need to figure out where I will ride when she is racing… Probably will use the bike paths to get to some single track away from the race course.  On Monday, we will head to Fruita (at least that is our plan) and ride out there for 2 days before she has to take me back to Denver for my flight back to Memphis.

On Sunday, I had a long drive back from Wisconsin ahead of me… The drive back to Memphis is something along the lines of 11.5 hours or so with stops… As I was driving back, I was sort of lamenting that I felt good and the lack of racing in my immediate future…so when I stopped for gas in Rockville, I used my iPhone to search out the possibilities….  A  crit in Peoria, but it was at 4 pm and too far from home….  Searched on MOBRA, and found what I was looking for, a criterium in St. Louis at 4pm.  I hammered it in as the new destination on my GPS and saw my ETA was 2:30 pm…  perfect.  I checked the weather and it said rainy, but it is summer and that sort of forecast doesn’t always hold up.  I took the I-55 path and headed on down the road towards StL.

At Bloomington, Illinois, I made my lunch stop.  Had a footlong ham sub built up at Subway… Somewhere along the line the guy behind me and my sub got mixed up and I had one of his.  A meatball sub on white.  Yuk!  I was hungry and about 15 miles down the road, so I ate it….

Over the bridge, I missed the exit to I-44, so I had to take a cutover route from I-64 to get back to where I needed to go… I took the exit off 44, it suggested and followed the signs to the College… and ran into the course.  Success!

After registering, I geared up and started to ride around.  I ran into some local riders and followed them for a warmup.  My crank arm on my SRM was noisy (it was noisy on the ToAD races as well).  I decided it wasn’t getting worse, although it made it obvious when I was coming.  The field lined up with about 40 or so in the Cat 1/2/3 race.  The course had a power climb on one side and a bombing decent on the other.  Fairly non-technical, it was a fun race.  The race was full of local St. Louis teams.

The couse was fluid and and there were plenty of places to advance (and therefore to fall back if you weren’t careful).  There was a break of several that got off, but I wasn’t in position to get to up to it clear.  I tried a few moves, but they were either covered right away or I saw jammed up trying to attack the side around the corner.  With 2 laps to go, I heard the race announcer say something about the break lapping the field (or about to).  On a lark, I attacked hoping that the 2-to-go would turn into 1-to-go for the field with me clear…  I stayed clear, but there was still a lap to go when I came around.  I was caught up the hill and could barely hang onto the back of the field (nearly puking up that stupid meatball sub)… 32nd.  Oh well, it was worth a shot.

And then I drove the 4.5 hours to Memphis.  The race got the blood pumping so I was in good shape until the last hour or so, when I needed a little truck stop coffee to finish it out.

Tonight I took a closer look at my SRM..  The FSA non-drive side crank arm is failing.  Another one!  It took it off and dashed off an email to SRM.  Hopefully they have more NDS arms.  I put Andrea’s SRAM Quarq powermeter on my bike.  It is acting up (that is why she took it off her bike), I hope I can get it to work.

The second of the two race that I planned on racing up here in Wisconsin this trip was the Fond du Lac crit installment of Tour of America’s Dairyland.  The course is a nearly flat rectangle.  The wind was a brisk southern wind so the back stretch was a power alley and the finishing stretch was fast.  The strong wind made a pretty good place for reorganizing and even attacking as the field slowed into that wind every short lap.

My brother, sister-in-law, their daughter, and my mom were in attendance lined up on the finishing straight and the crowds were generally good for a Friday afternoon in downtown FdL.  I did a few laps of the course between the races, one too many as I was forced to line up nearly back row.

The first couple laps were about moving up and jumping across gaps that would form as surges and the head wind on the back stretch would split the field.  About 15 minutes in a rider had a small lead over the field and the field slowed up, so I attacked.  Jumping laterly into the headwind (wide road), I was clear in no time… (that headwind did hurt)

I ended up chasing him for 3 laps or so, before we both were coming back to the field.  Slid to the back, recovered, and moved back up.

There were a few short attempts at getting clear, but a good one went at about 30 minutes in.  A few minutes later, I jumped just after turn 2 (into the wind again) and caught the two riders a half-lap later.

two turns before I jumped again to the break

break, first iteration

The group added a few more (up to 7) and lost one.  We worked well together and gained big time over the field.  There were some primes thrown in, one of which was $50/$40 two-placer… I jumped after a guy going for it, and took the 2nd place on that one.  We soon folded back and knocked out the final 10 laps to the end.

separation after a prime.

On the last back stretch, I wasn’t sure how we were doing (never look back) and did a hard pull finishing the backstretch.  This and the other stuff before cost me and I ended up at the back of the group to finish 6th.   My brother and my mom took a bunch of photos which I will put up later, for now I just put a few good ones in this post.

On Wednesday, I made the 11+ hour drive up from Memphis to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.  The idea was to get up and visit my brother and race two stages of the Tour of America’s Dairyland…two stages of which are within 20 miles of his house.

The first up was the Greenbush road race stage.   The course was a rolling course with a few longish hills and a some long twisty descents.  Other than a few (well-marked) bad pavement section it was a perfect course.

The race started out up a hill and there was an attack straight away.  Another rider bridged up and they had a quite a gap heading down the descent.  The course turned up and I pushed a bit harder than the field and found myself between the field and the break…. I motored for a while but it looked like I was coming back to the field faster than I was going up to the leaders, so I pretty much sat up and dropped into the field.  One of the two came back and there were numerous other attacks.  I covered some and initiated some, but ended up that there was a break of 5 (?) that stayed away.  I tried some things to move up and attacked some later in the race, but ended up with the field leading to the end of the race.  I was a bit further back that I would have liked as we headed into Greenbush the last time and was moving up.   I had to let up when a rider crashed (hooked bars?) in the final stretch.  I was moving up on the uphill finish, but was really out of the places anyway.  I swerved around him and finished it out.  The field had thinned a little bit, so I probably ended up in the upper 20′s -th place in an original field of nearly 40?   Not a great result, but I did try to get into the move and it ended up that I couldn’t get into the right one.

Tomorrow is the Fond du Lac crit.  Should a fairly fast, flat crit.