Marc Pro - Strava

Super fun race - hot (almost 100 degrees), and stiff competition with Steve Reaney and six Safeway dudes.

Results:

Jason Walker - first!!

Conrad Snover - 13th

Ramsey Etchison - mixing it up in the pack

Check out Conrad's ride data from Strava, as you can see - no achievements on this ride :-(

Well, this was a complete bust, so I won't ramble on for too long. Result was a big DNF. First of my short racing career, and it feels like sh!%. In hindsight though, I was completely underprepared... something that gives me much more hope than disappointment. Come next year, I am going to come back, right my wrongs, and do some serious damage.

Stage 1 Road Race: This was a very bazaar stage... flat for a solid 65 miles with a gentle finishing Cat 3 climb to finish. Everyone knew this, and so the first 2 hours were mostly coasting. There was a small break of 5 up the road, never more than 1 minute out, and with over 100 in the field, they were never a threat. By the time the finishing climb came, everyone was rested and twitchy, and the attacks started.  I made my run for the line with 2k to go, but was caught at the 500m mark; just too many people in the chase. In the end, I wasn't prepared to win out of a sprint (mental note: sprint practice!) so I have no regrets here, but it wasn't to be and I was caught.  Finished with the lead group.

Stage 2 Time Trial: Let me give you the perfect formula of how NOT to win a Time Trial.  Take Clip-on aerobars, add No TT bike and No disc wheel, then multiply those by a 100+ man field.  By my calculations, that's an automatic loss to begin with.  But on top of that, factor in zero practice in areobars at all (mental note: TT practice!), and my first experience racing at altitude in super dry air.  27th, 2:00 back from the top time, 'nuff said.

Stage 3 Crit: A straightforward course, 4 corners and 2 long straights. I was feeling pretty bad going into it... legs were good thanks to those Marc-Pro units, but my lungs were on fire and I was wheezing whenever I took deeper breaths. Not good. I sat in the pack for the first 30min, and I actually picked the perfect time to go off the front with about 10 laps left... immediately opening a solid 20 seconds or so on the field. I was particularly pleased to see a guy bridging up: reinforcements! But then the lungs literally started to go; it felt like trying to breath through a straw, and my partner dropped me shortly thereafter. And he stayed away to win it. Damn it! Finished in the field.

Stage 4 Circuit: At this point, I knew something was wrong. Still wheezing, I tried for one lap on the tough circuit and failed to hang on. The wheezing was bad enough that I went to see the race doctor: acute bronchitis he said... which basically means that, having zero experience in dry, hot, and thin air, my lungs freaked out when I told them to work super hard, and got inflamed. DNF.

So what's the take from all of this? Lots. The biggest is Number 1: Practice and find time to train at altitude! My body was absolutely shocked by a mere 4,000 ft and a dry, arid climate. If I want to do Gila, or Nevada City, or Cascade in 2012, I can't get bronchitis, I can't go in w/o recent experience, and I need to get accustomed to higher altitudes. Period. Number 2: Buy a TT bike and ride it! The position is completely different, and sucked all my power. And Number 3: More short sprint efforts in my training. These are always useful in a race (go figure), whether its jumping off the front, rebounding in a crit, or going for the win. Lots of room to improve, and that's always a plus.

Crit.  Chit.

Let's just say that I love this race but absolutely hate this crit.  It's so boring and so short.  For the masters it seems almost impossible for a group or individual to get away.  I tried 4 separate times and had good representation once but to no avail.  Found out at the end of the race that my skewer was loose and wheel could very easily touch both brakes.  Total rookie move.  I even thought I heard something during warm-up but never got off my bike to check.

Uh, finished 20th or something.

Stage 4, circuit race - nationals preview.

Top 3 dudes were firmly in place and it was very apparent they, or at least Phipps' team, wasn't going to let ANYTHING get away.  They chased everything down.  Kuddos to Sam Krieg sitting in 3rd - he must have put in 20 attacks but he wasn't getting anywhere.  I put in two hard attacks and got good separation, maybe too good because nobody came with or nobody wanted to make up the gap.  Knowing I wasn't going to stick it by myself I made it look good to keep Phipps' team honest.

But I felt great, much better than for any of the other stages.  I never felt too hurt on the climbs and recovered easily on top.  All I really had to do was mark the 5th and 6th place GC dudes (Bourcier and Carino) since if they go away or time bonuses they could leap me in GC. 

Fun part of the day was the second time going up Archie Briggs - you come into this climb doing about 38mph and it ramps into about a 20% climb for 15 seconds.  About midway up the steep ramp I was standing, tapping out a nice rhythm when some dude starts leaning into me, hard.  Really hard.  I was going down, or so I thought.  I've played a bit of hoops and soccer and just leaned right back into him, unclipped my left pedal, held it up and sent him tumbling off into the sage/gravel.  He wasn't happy with me but it was his fault and he got what he deserved.

Okay, on to the finish.  The last time up Archie was hard but not overly so and across the top Carino put in a big move and I was glued to his wheel.  Phipps being Phipps came with us and we had a good gap - probably 5k to the finish.  We started working but the field was on us in about 30 seconds, so we sat up.  Then on the little puncher before the downhill into the roundabout somebody else jumps and Bourcier (6th, 8 seconds behind me) goes with him, so I jump again.  The 3 of us have a small gap into the roundabout and now have about 1K to the finish. 

The finishing corner is a right-hander through another roundabout that I've been pinched at more than once; I was sitting 3rd wheel but we weren't going very fast so I knew dudes would come up and try to go around.  So I took off, hard.  I was first through the roundabout and probably had about 400m to the finish.  This was going to hurt.  I went all out only to get passed near the finish by Andres Gil (uh, won the field sprint in the crit too - stud) and Borcier, so I finished 3rd on the day.  All in all I felt good about the result and kept my 4th GC.

Hoping to find 20 more watts before Nats in a month.

This was a very well run race put on by the crew at Northstar. It was a fun course considering that it being a Leadville qualifier dictates lots of fire road. The single track sections were fun and the climbing was smooth. The weather was ridiculously nice and the views from the race course of Truckee and the entire Martis valley were absolutely stunning. The competition was tough due to this being the only qualifier on the west coast.

Marc Pro - Strava was well represented and everyone had an awesome time.

Marc Pro - Strava Team at Northstar for the Leadville Qualifier, 100K (L-R: Andy Scott, Matt Chappell, Conrad Snover, Jesse Miller-Smith, Forrest Huisman)

Results:

• Jesse Miller-Smith: 4hr 4min, 2nd overall, 1st in 30-39 age group (local road pro Paul Mach was first overall at 4:02)
• Conrad Snover: 4:22, 7th overall, 5th in 30-39 age group
• Andy Scott: 4:50, 23rd overall, 7th in 40-49 age group (lost 17 minutes due to a major mechanical)
• Matt Chappell: 5:01, 3rd singlespeed
• Forrest Huisman: 5:07, 23rd place in 30-39

Quotes from the fellas:

Forrest: It was great riding with Matt and Andy for awhile, seeing them ride fast and rip it up. The last few climbs toward the finishline proved to be my toughest, but provided inspiration for improving fitness through the upcoming months.  Seeing the crew at Northstar was epic, with great results all around!

Jesse: Racing 10 minutes from the house is hard to beat. The race was really well organized and the course was actually pretty fun considering there was quite a bit of fire road. I was able to try out my brand new Felt 9 Team (hardtail 29er), and give it the ultimate test during a long race. From the first climb Paul Mach of Bissell and I attacked and got a good gap. From there we rolled most of the course together trading pulls until about 12 miles from the finish where I lost some punch on the climb and he dropped me. I soloed in for 2nd place, about 1'30" back. Overall it was a super fun day of racing locally with the team and my new bike was insanely fast, smooth, and climbed like a beast; thanks Felt!

Conrad: My biggest regret is not riding my bike to the race from my house since I had a perfect opportunity since I live less than 10 miles away. However, the reality of leaving the house in the dark when it was 40 degrees outside prompted me to pull the ripcord and ask Andy to pick me up on his way. During our hurried warmup, where I almost caused Jesse, Andy and myself to miss the start, I was wishing I had stuck with my original plan. Oh well, next year.

The race itself was awesome, and I felt great for the first 75% of it and worked myself into 6th place overall by the end of the first lap. My bike was making al sorts of crazy noises, so I stopped at the SRAM mechanic tent for some chain lube before I started the second lap (it turns out I shredded my freehub body). A short ways into my second go, I passed one of the riders who had been in front of me. He was on the side of the trail with a flat tire and asked for a CO2 cartridge. Since I've been in his place a few times before, I stopped and probably spent almost a minute getting a cartridge out of my seat bag for him. I wasn't as strong my second time around, but I was WAY smoother. Then... I ran out of fitness at mile 40. As the wheels fell off, I got passed by two riders, and dug deep to avoid getting passed by another. Strava shows that my second lap was 5'30" slower than my first. Oh well, in fact, I was surprised I felt good for as long as I did! All told, I had an awesome time racing with my teammates, and was happy with my result.

Andy: About a quarter of the way into the second lap I was feeling good and dreaming of an age group podium and belt buckle, when I suffered the most serious mechanical bike issue I've ever had on a mountain bike mid-ride — let alone in a race. My drivetrain siezed and I of course stopped pedaling. Somehow my rear D cable housing had failed or been introduced into the front chainrings, w/ the result a crazy birdsnest of shifter cable wrapped up in my front d and front rings. The force on that cable when it got caught in the front rings ripped the rear d sideways bending the hanger like soft cheese so the rear d was literally laying against/parallel to the rear cassette. I tried to chill out and analyze what to do to get the bike ridable, but really thought my race (and LT 100 bid) were out the window.

After a few minutes I was able to get the cable birds nest disentangled from the front d and rings and tried to bend/pull/manipulate it out of the way so at least the front of the drivetrain could turn over w/out catching in the nest of mangled cable. Then the focus was to the rear d. Well, thank goodness I've seen folks do torturous things to a rear d and rear d hanger — I knew if I could get it somewhat straightened and aligned maybe I could have a single speed and at least try to finish. The reefing and cranking I put on that thing was serious, I expected the whole shebang to blow apart at any moment. But it didn't, and low and behold I had a giganticly geared single speed, like huge track bike gearing or something. But, at least I could ride the flats/downs and grind slight ups, dismounting on almost anything uphill. I made it to the aid station 5 miles later, where a field medic I mean mechanic took over. I asked if he could maybe zip tie the birds nest out of the way so I could get a three speed w/ the front rings/d in effect, and lube/straighten/etc. on the rear. He was awesome. I was able to 3-speed ride almost the rest of the race, albeit grinding and walking some ups, and freespinning many flats/downs, with the chain constantly jumping around between a few of the cogs on the rear d. Sorry to anyone around me on the trail, I was humming the sanford and son theme somewhere between junkyard and singlespeeder!

Here's a link to Conrad's race file on Strava:

And so starts what has always been the race I circle every year; the race I look forward to most; the race in one of my favorite towns, with my favorite brewery.

I want to do well in this race. All training I've done in the past year has been for this race, and also for nationals, which are essentially the same courses except stage 1.

But stage 1, for me, can make or break my overall finish in this race. Basically you do nothing until 10K to go, then go very hard up a climb and sprint for the line. I've missed this selection the past couple years by seconds, which has sucked. So, i've trained smarter and incorporated a sprint workout 1x/week specifically for stage 1 of Cascade - the theory being if I can make it up the climb with the little dudes then I will out sprint them. Easy enough eh?

So with 10k to go it went hard and I went hard. I didn't feel good at all but was able to hang on. Good, now just get ready for the sprint. The sprint into Bachelor has traditionally entered the parking lot and then about a 500 meter swing through to the finish line. With 1k to go things started going hard; Phipps was off the front and we weren't going to catch him, so I'm sprinting for podium and time bonus. A couple guys go hard but I'm exactly where I need to be, ready for the sprint. We are about to enter the parking lot area and I see 200m to go sign - can't be right, we still have to do the weave through the parking lot. A couple guys start really winding it up but I'm still in a great spot and wondering why they are starting so early. The course starts a slight turn to the right and all of a sudden we are 10m from the finish line. WTF Jason. I never even sprinted. I rolled through for 9th place completely dumbfounded by what just happened. Huge bummer for many reasons but mostly because I could have not done 1 sprint workout for the past year and gotten the same result. Serenity now! So I went to the brewery and had myself a beer.

Stage 2, Skyliner TT

I've done this race many times and really like it. Power climby on the way out and as fast as you can go on the way back, with some marginal pavement.

The other part of my training plan for the past year has been to do 1 TT workout a week. Again, to hopefully make up some GC time in this race. My field is pretty staked with the likes of Lyman, Phipps, Sam Kreig (I was 2nd to him by 8 seconds at Hood TT this year) and a couple of guys who have good equipment and spend time on their TT.

They shortened the course a bit this year which is too bad but I was ready.

I had Sam right in front of me and knew he'd be a good rabbit (think he's won a national TT championship). About 5 minutes in I had gained a little time on him but looked down at my avg power and it said something like 360 (JMS area, not Jwalker area). Not good. I'd gone out a bit too hard and started praying for the turnaround. As I approached it I was having a hard time holding 300w. Out with an avg of 339 watts - time to go down.

I've done this TT previously with a 55 and with a 53 and hadn't seen much difference, so I decided to just keep my 53 on. Big mistake. My position has gotten better but is much harder to maintain safely at 45mph and 120 cadence. I soft-pedaled a couple sections today and actually stopped pedaling once. Not good but lesson learned for nats in a month.

I ended up averaging 325 watts, which is a best for me on my TT and finished 5th overall and moved up to 4th on GC. Results here.

Crit in 3 hours - looking for a decent result or at least a preme or 2.

Not sure how Spencer did in his TT yet but he looked ready.  He's going to a have a little time penalty w/o TT bike but he'll probably move up GC.

Riding bikes is one of my favorite pastimes, and in years past, like-minded friends and I would ride endless adventures, making unforgettable memories on some of the best roadways and singletrack in the Western U.S.

During those years, and until just recently, bike computers were prevalent but provided minimal information, such as elapsed time, speed and distance we had traveled, relying primarily on calibration and tire rotation.

Fortunately, with today's technology and brilliant social applications, tracking and measuring our ride progress has improved tenfold. Free apps for Android and iPhone now allow us to not only record our time, speed and distance, but track altitude, ascent rates and our said path, which integrates crisply into Google Maps.

In addition, Garmin GPS devices can gather ANT+ enabled power output, calories burned, cadence, ambient temperature and heart rate for an ultimate data overload of your workout activities.

Clearly displayed within interactive maps and graphs, we can now record rides, miles logged and total vertical feet climbed.

Keeping it fun and challenging, Strava automatically categorizes climbs along the way, determining "King of the Mountain" on any given "segment" and awarding position and championship titles accordingly.

So now, if we can't all coordinate for a group ride, strava.com serves as a powerful social network, allowing us to upload, store, share and research this diverse database.

Local mountain bike rides by Truckee Trails Foundation can be found at http://truckeetrails.org/trails-bikeways/dirt-trails/

Team Radio Shack doctor, former Olympic cyclist and Marc Pro user, Jeff Spencer is offering free daily audio/video updates direct from the Tour covering the Inner Game that you can master to succeed at your race to success, in bike racing and/or life.  Known as Dr. Magic in the cycling community, his wealth of knowledge is worth a listen.  Check it out at championsblueprint.com

LAKE TAHOE TRAIL 100K - JULY 24, 2011

http://www.leadvillequalifiers.com/

The Lake Tahoe Trail 100k is the 2nd race of the Leadville Qualifying Series. The challenging and picturesque course at the Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort will feature two 30 mile loops on mixed terrain consisting of 77% fire road, 3% paved and 20% singletrack. Map

Racers have the opportunity to gain entry to the famed Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike Race by top age group placing or by lottery. 50 positions will be distributed by age group and 50 positions will be distributed by random lottery of all finishers who complete the Lake Tahoe Trail 100k. Qualifiers must be present to accept their LT100 entry and pay on site.

The Leadville Qualifying Series was designed to promote the Leadville style of mountain bike racing, and to do it in some of the most beautiful locations around the country. They are similar to the classic course at Leadville in that they avoid technically demanding singletrack trails and consist mainly of rugged jeep roads and gravel and dirt roads so they do not require demanding bike handling skills.

Mountain Biking has come alive in the region we hold close to heart. As soon as the snow melts you can count on connecting with your wilderness trail friends - not on Facebook or the cell phone. This time, you might run into them while standing atop "Watson Peak" preparing to take flight, or while carving a perfect line through the jagged corners of "Sawtooth" trail which flows like water through the undefined, jarring, riddled-with-granite path.

A path most familiar to those who see it, and to those who don't - keep your head up, improvise, let your instincts have a voice, your eyes will take charge and the rest will follow the flow - the bike will connect with the dirt and you will roll through cycles of single track. A place where there are no tickets to be issued, no season pass closeouts, no lines, up charges or add-on packs and no help, unless you plan accordingly. There are great views and expansive backcountry seen from bespoke, and largely unknown single track that's best kept, just that way.

Last weekend marked the All Mountain World Championships at Downieville. Read the complete story published in the Sierra Sun. See pictures on Flickr.

Results

Saturday, XC:

Jesse: 3rd overall to the top (behind Carl Decker and Sid Taberly), 7th overall(!) at the finish, handily winning the expert XC

Keith: 3rd in expert XC

Conrad: 3rd in masters XC

Andy: 7th(?) in masters XC

Jamie: DNF in masters XC - broken handlebar. Amazing that he didn't crash and loose all his teeth!!

Matt: 4th singlespeed (got passed by 2 dudes during his nasty crash on the waterfall)

Katie: 7th expert women

Sunday: All Mountain

Conrad: 5th in expert DH (43 minute run, missed 4th place by 4 tenths of a second). The All-Mountain race is now an omnium, so my finish placed me in a tie for 2nd with a dude who finished 4th both days. The rules state that a tie is broken by the DH time, so I ended up 3rd in AM.

Conrad Snover says...

Not a bad list of results for a team of guys who had all ridden their mountain bikes just twice this season due to all the snow in Truckee. One ride was a local ride in Truckee, where the snow only allowed us to ride the bottom half. The other was a pre-ride of the Downieville course the week before the event, and involved 6 miles of hiking over snow.

The course is spectacular; the venue in the gold-rush era town of Downieville is quirky, unique, and fun. The race organization is a little spotty, where final results can take up to 6 hours to post and are often incorrect, but it's all worth it for a truly epic event.

Both days started off badly before ending well:

• On Saturday, I struggled for the first 20 minutes and was passed by what seemed like half the field before I found my rhythm halfway up the climb and started picking off other riders. The descent was smooth and fast with everyone politely moving out of my way except for a rider from Content Works, who thought he was going too fast to be passed. It's frustrating when these slower riders aren't considerate of others, but I eventually found an opportunity to pass using an alternate line.
• On Sunday, I also struggled for the beginning of the race. The first half of the descent down the Butcher Creek Trail was nothing short of ugly. By the time I finally found my groove, it was too late. I ended up 5th by 4/10ths of a second, over the 42 minute run.

Marc Pro (the company) is now on Facebook. Make sure to like them to keep abreast on the latest recovery and performance enhancing news.

Crits naturally bring out much larger fields in NorCal. Add to that decent prize money and put it in the heart of one of the most populated cycling regions in the world, and you will have a full field. The San Rafael Twilight Crit brought out some big names from across the country, and some big teams from all over the west coast. Oh, and the Umbrella Girls were there...

Since many of the Marc Pro - Strava guys raced Downieville on the same day, our roster was a little slim: Justin Rossi, Kris Lunning, Art Rand, and Nate Freed. We still felt confident that we would be able to mix it up with the big boys. The race started out fast and furious as they usually do, with the top pros trying to assert themselves on the front right away. By the second lap there was a HUGE crash. I was near mid-pack and everyone behind me either went down or was caught behind the crash. The field literally split from 120 to 60 or less. Just as I scrambled up with the leaders, the race was neutralized. I thought this was a bad idea, and commented to Justin that as soon as they restarted the race, it would get crazy all over again. We spent a good four or five laps just riding around while neutralized before the riders who crashed were able to reinsert themselves into the field.

As soon as they finally restarted the race, there was another crash. Then another. Then another. And these weren't just small ones where guys tipped over and got a little road rash. There were guys flying over curbs, hitting metal barriers, and piling up at crazy high speeds. Each time there was a crash, another 10 or 20 guys got taken out. I was a little concerned that I didn't see Lunner or Art through the course of the entire race. Justin and I managed to keep ourselves out of trouble and tucked up near the front 20 or 30 guys. We each gave a little dig to bridge up into breakaways, but nothing was sticking at all.

With 4 laps to go, I was in decent position (top 20) and still feeling really good, when a kid from Specialized went down right in front of me. He must have either crossed wheels with someone or gotten pushed into the barriers. There was no chance that I was going to stop or avoid him, so I slowed as much as possible and pretty much dove on top of him and his bike. Then about 4 or 5 guys plowed into me. My derailleur hanger snapped and rear skewer broke, and a few other minor things. The other guys involved in the crash were much worse off than I was.

Shortly after, I watched Justin cruise in for around 20th place, and Art followed him. It turns out that Lunner was taken out in the crash on the second lap. He went to the hospital the next day for X Rays, and has a broken collarbone. Heal up buddy!

Big thanks to Dustin for meeting us and letting me borrow his bike to race in Lodi the following day!

In conclusion, next year I will be racing Downieville. It is probably just as dangerous, but at least there I control my own destiny.

My favorite thing so far about Strava is getting compare my efforts on segments with others, especially the freaks we have on our team.  I remember when Jessie went out and did a workout on Geiger about a week before he set the new TT record there, and just because of seeing that workout on Strava I went out the next day, all 4.5 watts/kg of me, to see what I could do.  Saw Justin coming down as I was going up, maybe for the same reason.

Well, Justin created the Verdi TT segment and we have had a friendly rivalry on this segment, though he's always been the "KOM".  I've been w/in 4 seconds of him, I think.  The day I thought I finally became the KOM Justin had ridden the segment that morning, only to reset the record (side note:  I later found out he used his disc on that ride.  Hmmm).

So I'm building up for Cascade and Nats and circled this morning as a "big" workout for me, trying to bump up my threshold while on my TT bike.

This would be my first ride with my Adamo saddle - necessary unfortunately because of my tiny bike and tiny body.  I decided to pull out a couple other tricks to see if I could also break Justin's record; I didn't go as far as a rear disc but I did mount my new profile water bottle and cage (good for at least .5 watt reduction???) and also used my Giro sweat-maching aero helmet.  I decided on the helmet ultimately because it helps me hold my position, or know when I'm not holding it.  And perfect practice makes perfect.  Thought about the skin suit but decided against because how would I carry the real water bottle?

The morning was about perfect - sunny and calm.  You kind of get the feeling that the day was bigger than both Justin and I.  The record, my new record, was destiny.

I spun out easy and set my other water bottle and glasses behind the gawdy Sommerset "gate".  Time to see what I gots today.  The first effort felt good, and my power was up a bit from my previous best of 308 or so.  I sort of know some of the checkpoints and all signs pointed to a new record, so I settled in knowing I would be doing at least one more of these.   Again, not really knowing where the segment ends exactly it seems like I must have the record.  Won't really know until I go home and download.

Six minute rest and then off for the second effort.  I told myself I wanted to over-gear a bit on this one, i.e. slow my cadence some, to see if there was any difference.  Well, I think the only real difference is that my position may have been better on the second attempt - probably able to keep my head lower because my neck/shoulders were warmed-up.  The 2nd effort was 20watts lower but only 7 seconds slower.  Tail wind?  Who knows.

Okay, why this stupid blog?  Well, because the one thing I thought would have the least impact on me this season - Strava - is probably having the biggest.  It's helping me train and improve and that's cool. 

So yes, I now have the record - strava file here if you care.  I'm guessing I'll have it until exactly tomorrow when Justin decides to go a bit harder out there.

Happy riding,

Jason

After surviving the carnage of San Rafael Twilight the night before, Nate, Tasha and I headed to Lodi for the finale of a Crit riders dream weekend. Nate had wrecked the night before and Dustin was nice enough to meet us on the way to Lodi for a bike swap so Nate could race. As we strolled into Lodi and checked out the course, the race atmosphere was a little more low key than the night before. After signing in, I did have a chance to notice that Full Circle, Sklz P/B Pista Palace and all the other Norcal talent had made the trip from San Rafael as well. Just before the start Nate and I ran into Keith who made it to the race, but was still feeling the aftermath of a Downieville Podium Celebration.

To the start line with a stacked field and ice in my pockets. From the start it was full gas as typical. Luckily I was towards the front and didn't have to stop and start out of every corner. The course was great, pretty much a figure 8 through downtown lodi... I actually felt safe. After about 20 minutes there was a small break of six getting away, I was in a good position and drilled for the two long straight sections. I bridged up to the group and brought about 2-3 others with me. I looked back to the main field and we had a good 10-15 second gap. Knowing our teams chances for a good finish in a stacked Crit with Mongo's 1-10 from SoCal's Venice beach, I went directly to the front to share the pace making. The break had most strong teams represented and quickly put a large gap on the field.

Nate and Keith attempted to create a second break in the main field trying to secure a couple more spots in the top 20, but the fresh legged main field wouldn't let it happen. With about 10 laps remaining the break began to play games, attacking, sitting up, allowing gaps to open etc... I followed moves and intitiated a few myself. With about 6 to go, Steve Reany (Cal Giant) and I were off the front after a strong pull. I don't know how it happened, but it did. Reany and I traded pulls and were soon joined by Eric Marcotte (Sklz P/B Pista Palace). With a half lap to go Marcotte jumped and I could not follow. I tried to bring him back until Reany blew by me trying to bridge. It was a photo finish between the two crit mongers with myself just behind, safely on the podium.

While most of the MPS boys were in CA for the weekend, splitting time between the dirt of Downieville and the pavement of Norcal, I stayed local to participate in the 3rd race of the Sierra Nevada Hill Climb Series.

I've always considered myself a P-R-O rester when it comes to bike racing/riding and hadn't touched a bike since the Aircenter crit last Tuesday.  My previous longest stint off the bike this year (uh, my year, so since April) is 2 days and I knew with big races coming up I needed a couple more days.  So, 4 days off.  I was very interested to see how the body would perform.

Like any good/geeky racer with a power meter I logged on to Strava to check my previous TT up Geiger from early May to see what I needed to do if "improvement" was my goal.  And improvement was my goal.  So I had to do better than 294 avg watts.  Time to see how the body would fire.

Like any good bike-racing husband and father Kerri and I worked out a plan to include everyone in the days festivities.  I was going to ride from home to Geiger for my warm-up; Kerri and boys would show up at 9am with my race wheels - and Louden's big wheel - I'd do the race, then tag in with Kerri so she could ride and warm up loop and then up to the lookout.  Kerri's never been up Geiger before.

I rolled out from home at 7:45am and my legs felt like lead.  Oh boy.  Eventually things started to loosen up a bit and by the time I got to the reg desk I felt okay.  I hadn't attempted a hard effort yet but I had some time before the start.  I went out and did a few 3min efforts up Toll road at just above LT effort and felt good.

Kerri and boys were in the parking lot and I strapped on my sub 1000gram Gray wheels that I"m really beginning to like - very light, responsive and great acceleration.  Hit a Clif gu and then to the start line.

My plan was to go a bit easier up to the lookout than the May effort.  In May I held 302 watts to the Lookout and then watched in horror as my avg power steadily ticked down.  I want that thing ticking up w/o leaving something behind.  I felt good at the start, and the number was a bit high, so I backed off a bit.  Or so I thought.  I managed 309 watts to the Lookout and 8 seconds faster than May (didn't really know any of this at the time because I'm not exactly sure where these segments end...).  Whatevs, I felt good.  Now I just need to sustain.

In May I remember having a difficult time after the lookout consistently seeing a 300 number; it wasn't as much of a problem yesterday.  I did a lot of standing as this Horner-esque technique seems to treat me well even if it does jack my HR up a bit.  My biggest problem spot was the stretch from the county line, where the incline decreases and remains pretty gentle until the saddle.  So I stood up, for even longer, and it helped.  But my time didn't seem great.  My Garmin was a bit sweat-riddled at this point and thought my time said about 28 something and I still wasn't at the saddle.  Not good.  Oh well, just worry about your avg watts Jason.

I got to the saddle and took a re-look at the time - 25:andsomechange.  Hmmm, guess I misread the number earlier.  That's not too shabby and I know that the final segment is roughly a 7min or under stretch, so I just might improve my time today as well.

This next section is a bit of a beotch.  There always seems to be 1 extra turn up there somewhere you forget about?   But I had some good rabbits in front of me (Robert Braun for one) and was motivated to keep the avg wts above 300.  So I pressed on, harder.  Got to the top, stopped my Garmin and it showed 307 avg watts.  Sweet.  And my time - 32:45.  Pretty good and on track for Cascade/Nationals.

I finished 1st in the Masters category and second overall to Mr. Mach who put up a respectable 29:50something (Paul did the Death Ride the day before in true hard man fashion). 

Thanks to Rich and Lance for putting on the show yesterday.

See you out there,

Jason

This article was originally published in the Friday July 8th 2011 edition of the Lake Tahoe paper, the Sierra Sun.

Summer has finally (officially) arrived in the Sierras. These cloudless days of endless warmth bring cyclists of all types onto Truckee's roads. Automobiles, bicycles and pedestrians are all trying to go somewhere in Tahoe. How can we all get along and stay safe?

Understand your place on the roads

Cars are restricted to roads; bicycles are restricted to roads, bike lanes and bike paths; pedestrians have no restrictions but are safest on sidewalks and walkways. When you are on your bicycle, your are bound to the same traffic laws as when you are driving your car. The only difference is that you have access to bike lanes. Stop signs, stop lights, turn lanes and turn signaling laws apply to every cyclist on the street. Unless you are walking with your bike, avoid riding on sidewalks. Not only is it dangerous to yourself and those around you, but it's illegal in California. So first and foremost, ride on the road when no bike path is available.

Assume no one can see you when riding

When riding your bike on the roads, position yourself to be as visible as possible. This often means riding further into the middle of the lane. If the road is too narrow to offer a shoulder to safety ride in, take the whole lane. It's yours by California law. If you are approaching a stop sign or signal, take the whole lane, either directly in front or behind other stopped vehicles. Don't put yourself in a position where a vehicle could make a right or left turn into your bike. If you are approaching a cross-street with traffic waiting to turn, take the whole lane. Cars at intersections ahead of you can see you better if you're squarely in the road, rather than on the extreme edge where you're easily overlooked. In all situations, brightly colored or neon clothing greatly improves your visibility. It may or may not improve your fashion style.

Look first, and signal all of your moves

Automobiles have rear-view mirrors, turn signals and brake lights for a reason, it's safer for everyone on the road to know what you plan on doing. You need to replicate all three of these features while on your bike.

1. There are a wide variety of bicycle rear-view mirrors on the market that will aid in checking the traffic behind you. However, the technique of turning your head to look behind while riding works just as well if you can do it safely (practice this one first). Always look or check your mirror before you turn.
2. Extend and point your left arm out to the left to move or turn left. Extend and point your right arm out the right to move or turn right. While you could use the traditional hand signals as taught by the DMV, I would not wager my life on every motorist understanding them. Again, always look before signaling, or you could get your arm taken out by a passing car.
3. If you plan on stopping or slowing down, extend your left arm at a 45 degree angle with the palm of your hand facing rearward.

By adhering to the rules-of-the-road, automobile drivers will be more aware of your presence. As more cyclists as a whole adopt these practices, the bicycle versus car incidents will decline. Truckee is trending towards being a bicycle friendly community and the best way to get there is if we all stay safe.

What the heck is going on in the tour this year? 

 I don't ever remember seeing so many riders, let alone contenders, getting knocked out of the race.  Horner is out (nose, concussed), Zabriske is out (wrist), Vino (pelvis and femur, huh?), Van den Brueke (sp?), Boonen, Wiggins (collarbone) and the list goes on and on.  To make things even more "interesting" though this happened today.  OMG.  I think both guys were fine, some ow, and finished the stage.

How will or should that change things in racing?

Keep it as safe as you can out there,

Jason

There are three beautiful bridges on the Donner Lake Rim Trail climbing out of Negro Canyon towards Summit Lake.  Every time I would pass over I always thought wow, these bridges are nice...maybe more than is necessary (overbuilt?) but I'm not complaining, these are really nice.  Well, shows you what I know.  Which is nothing.  Maybe this was some kinda Black Swan winter but this thing is munched!  Should be an awesome Good Dirty Fun or other trail work project... fwiw the bridge appears totally stable, even in its compromised state.  But keep in mind what I said above (about not knowing anything 

In other news, the trail is like disappearing with the mad foliage bursting forth.  Gonna have to bring my machete next time, Danger Island style.  Its gorgeous out there, and the trail is clear from the I-80 interchange trailhead to Summit Lake and the Tahoe Donner (Glacier Way) trailhead too...couple of minor snow field and fallen tree crossings, but friendly to all comers.  Summer is here, could be short, go get some.

For more information on weekly trail crews heading out, check out http://www.truckeetrails.org -- the Good Dirty Fun program features crews heading out every wedn eve, followed by all evening happy hour at Cottonwood.  Join the Truckee Trails mailing list to get the latest on trail conditions and trailhead meet-ups.  All at the website link above . . .

First off I want thank Kevin J. and the Reno Wheelmen for putting on a spectacular and very well supported event.  Even though I have hairy legs I only do 1 or 2 mtn bike races per year and don't remember a race put on as well as this one.  Reg was pretty efficient, porta-potties were "nice", the race started on time (much to my dismay, more on this later) and they had a great neutral water station that we passed by 4 times.

Okay, on to the races.  Since Conrad has been riding his geared mtn bike a lot lately I really wanted to try his singlespeed for the race to see how it compared to my Vulture 29'er.  Alas, we never made a connection so I was going to be riding old faithful for the race.   Kind of bummed that Conrad wouldn't be in the race because he has been some of my stiffest competition in these thingys and leads our head-to-head 2 to 1. 

I had plenty of time to warm-up and was feeling pretty good and then my bike started making funny noises.  WTF?  No flat and I don't have derailuers so what could be the problem?

Don't really have anything in my toolkit to fix that problem, so I call my buddy Mark McDaniel (lives 7 minutes away):  "Dude, I need Amanda's (wife) singlespeed, and I need it in 10 minutes, the race is about to start."

Mark is there in 10 minutes with the bike - we swap out seat posts, tighten pedals, pump up tires and xfer my number.  All is good and I even asked Kevin to hold the start for me a bit.  No sweat.  I roll up to the line and don't see any of the fast dudes I'm supposed to be racing with and the Pro ladies are all queued up.  Kevin didn't hold the start for me.  But really, why should he?  Things just got a bit harder.  I slip by the ladies just as he's sending them off, which means my field has a 1 minute head start.  Oh well.

I start plugging away and I'm feeling good.  I come to the first person I need to pass and say "coming by on your left!"  I swerve off piste hit a rock that kicks up into my left shin and then gets wedged between my crank and the frame.  WTF?  Off the bike I go and start struggling to dislodge said rock.  I finally get it out and start pumping again.  That was basically the last of the interesting parts of the day.  I eventually made it up to the lead singlespeeder, Anthony Anderson, just about the top of the first lap only to have Anthony put another 30-45 seconds into me on the descent.  I finally passed him a short, steep fireroad climb and we descending the remainder of the lap together. 

We then started the second climb and I slowly started creeping away from Anthony.  This felt good but I was concerned because I knew he may be able to catch me on the descent.  Well, he didn't.  I held him off and finished first with Anthony about 2 minutes behind.

Cool medal actually.

Best ride of the day has to go to Gregg Stone (sorry Gilbert) of Mighty Mobile Bike Repair.  I've only been in one other race with Gregg - last year's Sky Tavern race - where he duked it out with Pro rider Chris Jones.  I can't remember how badly he beat me in that race but it was significant.  Gregg put in a time of 1:53:55 on Peavine.  Next fastest was 3 minutes behind him.  My time was 2:09:47.  My third WTF?? of the post.  He beat me by 16 min?!?  Yikesers.  Oh wait,  he had a 1 minute head start.  That guy is a stud.

Full results here.

I think I qualified for nationals.  Ketchum anyone??

Two years ago this was one of my first bike races.  I couldn't believe we were racing on dirt, gravel and blown apart roads (chip sealed to death, plenty of fresh potholes, "California Pave"!)  Then I did Challenge, Copperopolis, etc. and stopped freaking out about breaking bikes, wheels or flatting, and really started to enjoy these tough courses in their own way.

Anyway, I knew I'd be racing w/out teammates, and half the field would be iron data dudes (all strong, and good dudes, just a lot of them relative to small-ish fields of 25/30 guys), and I just didn't want to deal w/ any tactics or road racing hooh hah at the expense of a steady and hard 3 hour workout.  So I decided a couple days before the race I was going to attack from the gun and very likely ride by myself until, who knows.  A new experience for me, just go ride off the front and see what happens.  I saw it was gonna be 100 degrees, hmm.  Whatever.  I guess that will tell me something too.

So, attacked (well, just kind of tempo'd) off the front after the neutral roll out.  Rode steady and alone for 50 minutes or so off the front and through much of the crappy road section.  Boy it was getting hot.  Or I was sweating a lot.  HR was starting to get up there and power was flaggin a bit.  HEAT?  Got caught just before the climb, of course, and was subsequently tailed off the selection half way up.  Kept riding alone, at 30 seconds gap, for 15 miles.  Couldn't close it. Power and HR were all out of whack now . . . so I can review:  Overheat and redline, there is not going back to efficient power.  Must lock this in for endurance mt biking events to come.  Digression.    Brain was melting at 90 minutes.  Rode alone through the finish.  Raced alone for 95% of this race, got 6th.  Good experience.

Incidentally, "Ticks and Leaches" by Tool  reverberated through my heat induced hallucinations during the last 30 minutes of the race.  I love that song.  Add it to your interval mix, for reals.  "Is this what you wanted?  Is this what you had in mind?  Well this is what you're getting." Trust me. Two times straight through and complete if you are new.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RelR85j09XY

Finally, I caught this unique bike transport on the drive home.  Burning Man is not for two months man!  I enjoyed thinking about which Marc Pro - Strava dude was most and least likely to ever be rocking this set-up.   Votes?

With a diverse background and advanced degrees in molecular biology, Marla Streb found her true passion in adrenaline sports. As an accomplished cross-country athlete with experience in BMX, cyclocross, singlespeed, road and motorcycle racing, Streb's pioneering spirit for women in gravity sports quickly brought international recognition to her downhill racing talent in the late '90s and early 2000s.

Streb was the X Games mountain bike champion in 1999, a nine-time NORBA national downhill winner, a World Cup winner and a two-time single-speed world champion - with the winner's tattoo to prove it.

Having retired from racing a few years ago and now a mother of two, Streb continues to be one of the most influential women in biking as she balances public relations for the LUNA Pro team, builds trail networks in Costa Rica and leads skill clinics that empower women in their sport.

After reading her book, "The Life Story of a Gravity Goddess," I couldn't help but ask her a few questions:

Q - What attributes of your background inspired you to reach your highest racing performances?

A - As a child, I was painfully shy to speak to people, so I learned to enjoy attention by showing off with physical, daring stunts. My best results were on muddy or icy courses. Slippery conditions in downhill racing require endurance and fearlessness with less precision. The endurance came from my obsessive training to compensate for lack of talent. The fearlessness must have come from growing up with four brothers. Lack of precision from lack of talent.

Q - If you were granted a pile of money, what would you do?

A - Sponsor developing underprivileged athletes and move back to California - not in that order.

Q - Balancing motherhood, training, travel and racing, what advice do you have for new mothers who are committed to staying fit and active?

A - Purchase a Chariot (jogger, bike trailer, etc.) with all the attachments. Take the baby on all your workouts. Also, breast-feed if possible. That will help shed any extra pounds.

Q - Building on your current momentum, how do you want to proceed in the next five years?

A - I'm trying to open a bike-cafe and start a nonprofit bike advocacy group.

Q - What are the top three places you feel most grounded and able to be you?

A - Marin County, Montezuma (in Costa Rica) and Lake Tahoe.

Transforming challenges into empowerment, Streb also loves spreading valuable knowledge and skills, helping fellow women achieve their athletic goals.

Streb will be at Northstar-at-Tahoe instructing a downhill mountain bike clinic with the Tahoe LUNA Chix and a cross-country mountain bike clinic with Lake Tahoe's All-Women Sports Camp the weekend of Aug. 19-21. For more information, go to www.teamlunachix.com.