http://new.sportsbaseonline.com/events/index.xhtml?categoryId=6371&conversationId=174087
should be a rad race. 200+ racers last year. Weather looks stellar. Come out and race on a great course, good roads, stellar climb!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Monday, December 15, 2008
elite nationals cyclocross
What a race!
Started 42nd....... moved to 26th...
I don't really remember the first 2 LAPS. All I remember was being in traffic. So many people and so many wrecks. It was a blur of bikes and jerseys. I just tried to stay up-right. I had a to run a few sections early to avoid a few wrecks. I must have been in the 50's or s0. By the end of the 2nd lap I was flying. Trying to get across to riders that had huge gaps. I felt great. I was leaping by groups of riders on the climb. After another lap I started to look around and notice I was catching some pretty good riders. 1 lap later I saw a ton of good riders coming backwards on the climb. I started to get pretty motivated. I was going hard but felt great. Near the top of the climb I was close to the top 20... and took a nice over the bars wreck. By the time I got up and shook it off I had lost a few spots and a ton of momentum. I re-grouped on the downhill and was ready to start killing it again. I jumped on my bike around 35 minutes into the race and felt my seat crack. Bummer. I wanted to pit, but I love my race bike more than my pit bike. The seat felt OK... and didn't feel to bad and was just sagging a bit. I sucked it up and climbed out of the saddle when I could and jumped on the bike softly. I was riding in the TOP 30 and wanted to stay there. By the final lap I was with Carl D. and Bart G......
Both riders I was happy to be hanging with. I nailed it the final time up the climb to get a bit of a gap before the downhill. It worked. Bart caught me on the final run-up and passed with class. I was happy to follow him to the line. This was one of my better results and I felt great the entire hour. I would have loved another lap 0r 2. It would have made up for the awful first 2 laps.
Started 42nd....... moved to 26th...
I don't really remember the first 2 LAPS. All I remember was being in traffic. So many people and so many wrecks. It was a blur of bikes and jerseys. I just tried to stay up-right. I had a to run a few sections early to avoid a few wrecks. I must have been in the 50's or s0. By the end of the 2nd lap I was flying. Trying to get across to riders that had huge gaps. I felt great. I was leaping by groups of riders on the climb. After another lap I started to look around and notice I was catching some pretty good riders. 1 lap later I saw a ton of good riders coming backwards on the climb. I started to get pretty motivated. I was going hard but felt great. Near the top of the climb I was close to the top 20... and took a nice over the bars wreck. By the time I got up and shook it off I had lost a few spots and a ton of momentum. I re-grouped on the downhill and was ready to start killing it again. I jumped on my bike around 35 minutes into the race and felt my seat crack. Bummer. I wanted to pit, but I love my race bike more than my pit bike. The seat felt OK... and didn't feel to bad and was just sagging a bit. I sucked it up and climbed out of the saddle when I could and jumped on the bike softly. I was riding in the TOP 30 and wanted to stay there. By the final lap I was with Carl D. and Bart G......
Both riders I was happy to be hanging with. I nailed it the final time up the climb to get a bit of a gap before the downhill. It worked. Bart caught me on the final run-up and passed with class. I was happy to follow him to the line. This was one of my better results and I felt great the entire hour. I would have loved another lap 0r 2. It would have made up for the awful first 2 laps. Saturday, December 13, 2008
masters nationals cyclocross 2008
..Master’s Nationals has come and gone. In some ways it is a relief and in others I can't wait for next year. It was killer… everything was perfect. I fell in love again with cross.... tons of cow bell... my dad made the trip from Iowa... my wife was there... Ken Lefler....from Iowa city and tons of other...friends were screaming.... it was rad!
First... I must say if you had to a design a course that screamed my name.... well Kansas did. Tons of climbing. TONS... Not very technical.... the way cross should be.... and DRY....( just my opinion) I love the mud...but race better when it’s tacky. It was super tacky.... you’d could have ridden road tires and been OK. The day before it was so muddy you had to walk most of the course. Today the WIND picked up to 30+ MPH and dried it out fast. IT was perfect. ALMOST like riding SLICK Rock in Moab.
So standing at the start..... I wanted to make some excuses ……but had none. Front row... Perfect course and weather.... Ok I was super sick this week.... but felt great... I took a Z-Pack... and felt like a crisp $100 bill.
The start went well... not great.... I was off the LINE fast, but didn't get on the gas hard enough and went into the first corner in 10th... I needed to PANIC and didn't. I knew there was a ton of climbing coming up and thought I would be OK.... Big mistake. It was the only thing I did wrong. I normally think it is best NOT to PANIC.... BUT when Andy Macaroni & CHEESE.....
is there and the wind is blowing 20+ MPH.... I needed to be in the front group... I was 5 meters back. I felt great... I was in 10th or something.... I jumped on the gas on the climb and moved up a few spots but was on the tail end of 3 0r 4 guys. We were riding hard, but they were riding harder and faster. I topped out solo in our group but just couldn't get across. They hammered the downhill..... and opened it up a bit.... I soloed down and got caught by a group of 3. The next time up the climb I hammered it hard. 100%.... I was able to ride away from the riders that came across….. and catch and drop one of the guys from the front but was in 4th.... over the climb and was 15 seconds back.
Yankee Doodle dandy… was way!!!!!!!!! off the front…….2 guys were in front of me…. And 4 chasing. I did everything I could to get across the gap…. I just couldn’t. I was in limbo for 30 minutes…. I felt great … the problem was that the guys in front of me…..were just as fit as me. Ali Goulet made the split early and wasn’t about to give me an inch….. I literally threw the kitchen sink at it and I couldn’t close it down. The last time up the climb I BROKE myself. Everything.... I brought it down to 12 or so..... Not good enough.... They were gone. I wasn't going to catch them on the down hill... I had a huge gap.... I enjoyed the last 1/2 of lap and gave myself a huge pat on the back.... I had a great ride.... I gave it all I had. Congrats to ALI... he road a great race. Congrats to Weston... He killed it also... See you guys next year.
How do you close a gap to riders that are just as good or better? I sat at 12-18 seconds for the entire race. I was able to open up a nice gap on 5th…. but I really wanted to get across to the Weston and Ali… I sold my SOLE several times ..But I just couldn’t get across.
Overall I felt great and raced great. .........I was certainly in the hunt today and it felt great. If you get rid of the Noodle I was right there. It felt great. Tons of hard work and I could tell it paid off. To be only 15 seconds back most of the race from 2nd…. For me is incredible. A small part of me wishes I would have gotten across on the first lap. But to be honest... if I could have.. I would have..... and I didn't....
First... I must say if you had to a design a course that screamed my name.... well Kansas did. Tons of climbing. TONS... Not very technical.... the way cross should be.... and DRY....( just my opinion) I love the mud...but race better when it’s tacky. It was super tacky.... you’d could have ridden road tires and been OK. The day before it was so muddy you had to walk most of the course. Today the WIND picked up to 30+ MPH and dried it out fast. IT was perfect. ALMOST like riding SLICK Rock in Moab.
So standing at the start..... I wanted to make some excuses ……but had none. Front row... Perfect course and weather.... Ok I was super sick this week.... but felt great... I took a Z-Pack... and felt like a crisp $100 bill.
The start went well... not great.... I was off the LINE fast, but didn't get on the gas hard enough and went into the first corner in 10th... I needed to PANIC and didn't. I knew there was a ton of climbing coming up and thought I would be OK.... Big mistake. It was the only thing I did wrong. I normally think it is best NOT to PANIC.... BUT when Andy Macaroni & CHEESE.....
is there and the wind is blowing 20+ MPH.... I needed to be in the front group... I was 5 meters back. I felt great... I was in 10th or something.... I jumped on the gas on the climb and moved up a few spots but was on the tail end of 3 0r 4 guys. We were riding hard, but they were riding harder and faster. I topped out solo in our group but just couldn't get across. They hammered the downhill..... and opened it up a bit.... I soloed down and got caught by a group of 3. The next time up the climb I hammered it hard. 100%.... I was able to ride away from the riders that came across….. and catch and drop one of the guys from the front but was in 4th.... over the climb and was 15 seconds back.
Yankee Doodle dandy… was way!!!!!!!!! off the front…….2 guys were in front of me…. And 4 chasing. I did everything I could to get across the gap…. I just couldn’t. I was in limbo for 30 minutes…. I felt great … the problem was that the guys in front of me…..were just as fit as me. Ali Goulet made the split early and wasn’t about to give me an inch….. I literally threw the kitchen sink at it and I couldn’t close it down. The last time up the climb I BROKE myself. Everything.... I brought it down to 12 or so..... Not good enough.... They were gone. I wasn't going to catch them on the down hill... I had a huge gap.... I enjoyed the last 1/2 of lap and gave myself a huge pat on the back.... I had a great ride.... I gave it all I had. Congrats to ALI... he road a great race. Congrats to Weston... He killed it also... See you guys next year.
How do you close a gap to riders that are just as good or better? I sat at 12-18 seconds for the entire race. I was able to open up a nice gap on 5th…. but I really wanted to get across to the Weston and Ali… I sold my SOLE several times ..But I just couldn’t get across.
Overall I felt great and raced great. .........I was certainly in the hunt today and it felt great. If you get rid of the Noodle I was right there. It felt great. Tons of hard work and I could tell it paid off. To be only 15 seconds back most of the race from 2nd…. For me is incredible. A small part of me wishes I would have gotten across on the first lap. But to be honest... if I could have.. I would have..... and I didn't....
BUT damn…. Today was a great day…Oh how I wished I had my A.K…..
Monday, December 08, 2008
Nationals in 5 days
I can hardly believe that cyclocross season is coming to and end.Months of hard work.......... all boil down to a few hours of riding this coming weekend. I ofter feel like the skinny guy in the picture. Standing at the line in Kansas...I will be looking around at the super stars of our sport. The past 365 days have been spent getting ready. I am prepared to throw down 2 of the best rides of my life ......the question is where will that put me. I have to be honest and say that is one of the hardest parts about our sport. Cycling is pretty cruel sometimes. We all have a ton of excuses why we didn't do better. The problem is almost every weekend we have an excuse and rarely a result. That is when our personal expectations might not match our ability. When I was a kid my parents didn't tell me I was the best or the fastest. I appreciate their honesty. If you look through my results you can see I am not the fastest and certainly not the best. For some reason at 32 years old I am still heading to races all over the country to prove this exact point. So if I am not going to win... why do I go? I think the answer is I like take a good beating. Every once in awhile I get a chance to hand one out. The other 99% of the time I have to take it. There is something great about getting your ass kicked. Not during the ass-kicking... that is when it hurts. But sometime shortly after I start to feel great. Not just great... I feel incredible. This is when I start to plan for next year in hopes of getting my ass a little less kicked. I don't think you can appretiate how hard something is until you are out there on the recieving end. We are involved in one of the few sports where you can actually stand on the 50 yard line with some of the greatest riders on the planet and see how bad we actually are.
A few days back someone(non racer) was talking to my wife about a cyclocross world-cup they saw on the internet. They mentioned the riders looked slow and didn't have the best handling. I got tweaked. To judge Sven Nys.... that is insane. If it looked slow .... then I can't imagine what a mortal would have looked like on the course. To critique riders with a VO2 max of almost 100 and say they look SLOW.... that blows me away. If Sven is jogging you would have to CRAWL...
I think I am headed to Kansas so I know "how good..... I am not."
The crazy thing is I am completey OK with that. And I know I will train for 365 more days just to do it again.
Friday, December 05, 2008
UCI points and racing NATZ
So I am headed to kansas next week for masters nationals....... This will be my 4th trip to Masters Cyclocross nationals and I have been lucky enough to make it in the Top 10 each year. The field is insanely strong. Looking through the UCI list I noticed:
JACQUES-MAYNES Andy
USA19790922
USA
216 POINTS.....
ranked as the 7th FASTEST American... good enough for a front ROW in the ELITE race... is racing masters also.....damn.... yeah that pretty much says it all. ...maybe its time to start drinking heavily....
OR
This Looks like a good time to restructure the goals. Top 10 is the goal... Top 5 is the SUPER goal... making the PODIUM will take the best day of my life.
The one thing I have learned racing my bike... you have to show up to have a chance.
So Mr. Jac MAYNES...................I will see you in KANSAS.... and in 2009 again.....2010... again.... 2011... probably....
.................. I noticed that Tim Johnson, Jonathon Page, and Todd Wells all are in there early 30's........looks like they can race masters also... It may be the easiest way for PAGE to get the jersey back.... So here is the invitation... if you see PAGE... tell him I will pay for his registration if he races 30-34.... heck I will pay for all 3 of there registrations.... so WELLS and JOHNSON... If you sponsors are hurting and you need the cash... come race 30-34.. I bet you have a great chance of winning form the back row.
Heck the rule is just 30-34.... So I guess it is game on...
I also nocticed that Sven Nys is 32... I wonder if he races masters nationals in Belgium?
JACQUES-MAYNES Andy
USA19790922
USA
216 POINTS.....
ranked as the 7th FASTEST American... good enough for a front ROW in the ELITE race... is racing masters also.....damn.... yeah that pretty much says it all. ...maybe its time to start drinking heavily....
OR
This Looks like a good time to restructure the goals. Top 10 is the goal... Top 5 is the SUPER goal... making the PODIUM will take the best day of my life.
The one thing I have learned racing my bike... you have to show up to have a chance.
So Mr. Jac MAYNES...................I will see you in KANSAS.... and in 2009 again.....2010... again.... 2011... probably....
.................. I noticed that Tim Johnson, Jonathon Page, and Todd Wells all are in there early 30's........looks like they can race masters also... It may be the easiest way for PAGE to get the jersey back.... So here is the invitation... if you see PAGE... tell him I will pay for his registration if he races 30-34.... heck I will pay for all 3 of there registrations.... so WELLS and JOHNSON... If you sponsors are hurting and you need the cash... come race 30-34.. I bet you have a great chance of winning form the back row.
Heck the rule is just 30-34.... So I guess it is game on...
I also nocticed that Sven Nys is 32... I wonder if he races masters nationals in Belgium?
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Jingle cross rock 2009 cyclocross
Day 1
JINGLE CROSS ROCK
A kick ass day…..
Heading to the start I had a plan for top 15… There were tons of fast regional guys looking for UCI points and I wasn’t 100% sure who was who. Tons of individuals decked out in different kits. I guess if you put a UCI race in IOWA….just like field of dreams….They will come.
Everyone looked fast… I wanted to PUKE.. I was Nervous as a virgin on prom night.
I hade a solid start. 2nd row behind WELLS, TILFORD, Jac MAYNES. And tons of other guys that are faster than me. I wasn’t quite as aggressive as I needed to be off the line. I don’t think I gave any spots up, but I didn’t really move up. I hesitated a bit… WE were going so fast into the first turn moving up just looked like a bad idea. I was in 12th or 15th??????? Not really sure. After the first few turns it got super strung out. We were flying down a long straight into a slight head wind. The path was smooth and the grass was SLOW. So trying to move up was pretty hard. Going into the barriers I had a pretty clean line and moved up 3-4 spots. After the barriers I was about 6 meters behind the leaders. We went uphill into this off camber section. Someone went down. DAMN…. Slammed on the brakes… jumped off the bike…. My mind was just screaming… I could barely see…..5 maybe 10… but it felt like 50 riders went by … I jumped on the bike only to jump back off and run a bit more then JUMP back on….. I felt pretty silly. There was a HUGE run-up coming so I knew I had to put down the hammer and try to get back in the game. I dismounted early so I could avoid and chaos at the first LOG… It worked… Several riders were grabbing there bikes and I already had mine on my shoulder. I moved to the right and had a clean line on the hill. I think I took back most of the spots I had lost, but the leaders were GONE…… completely gone…. Now……. I don’t think I could have HUNG with the WELLS brothers………. but I was amped to try my hand in the 2nd group… They had 10 seconds easy and I wasn’t strong enough to jump across a gap to riders that are stronger. I topped out the hill and was in a group of 5-6 riders. So there were 5 guys up ahead and were going to battle it out for the scraps. I felt great. I don’t know why but I felt calm and super relaxed today nothing felt that hard. It was an incredible feeling. After a few laps it was down to ME, TILFORD, and a CLIFF Bar U-23 rider… I tried a few times to get away but they were to strong to just let me ride away.. I felt faster on the flats and the runs… but the technical spots they would just close the gap….
.
Long story short…. I wanted TOP 15…. I was dreaming of a top 10… I ended up 8th… If I hadn’t gotten shoved into the tape on the last corner ………..I would have had a great shot at 6th… a killer ride for me regardless. Normally, Tilford beats me by a few minutes, I felt strong the entire hour. It felt great… The course kicks ass for me. Lots of grass and a huge run.
I love cross…damn I really loved it today… I hurt a ton on the hill and smiled the whole way… It sucked… but damn I really love it………… Today was one of those days that you realize how lucky we are that a few weird EURO’s invented cyclocross.
DAY 2
EPIC… SNOW yeah… snow….. winter weather watch was in FULL force. It was 33 degrees so the snow made just the right type of SLOP…. The good thing was,,, it wasn’t sticking to the bike or tires……… so at least it didn’t jack up the bike.
Today I had a better start. I gave it just the right gas before going into the corner……. …………but DAMN I took myself down coming out of it……… Bummer ……… I went from 4th or so to 15th pretty quick…Definitely my fault. It was so slick I just needed to slow a bit more than I did. The corners were just awful all day…. It was snowing hard and the mud was a few inches deep. You couldn’t hook up because the ground was hard underneath. At least I couldn’t. The great thing today was the long “RIDE up” turned into a “RUN up”… I felt great running again today. The hill felt easy… The problem wasn’t the climb…. The decent was epic. It was so slick and fast………. I was gripped. I could survive it but couldn’t let it fly…..I moved up to 6th after the first big RUN….. I felt great. But the rest of the day was about survival for me….. the guys that were riding fast in the slop would kill me on the technical sections.
I could close the gap on the RUN…. Then it would open up again… I only drifted back 3 spots so that was pretty good. I couldn’t even hang with the guys that came around me. I tried but they were INCREDIBLE…. I have incredible respect for the riders that can just hammer on that crap… The second I try to ride that fast I end up on my ass…… so survival was the key… by the time I got to the finish line I was so damn cold I couldn’t feel any parts on my body… I dropped the bike and ran to the shower… The hot water was more painful than the cold…. For the first 5 minutes it hurt worse than the race. It was like an extra lap of PAIN… I wasn’t even moving and I hurt more than I had the entire hour. I curled in the corner of the shower till my hands stopped throbbing…. I felt like hammers slamming into them….I invited another rider in as I sat shaking… he had to think I was freak…. Here is a guy in full kit… sitting in the corner covered in MUD curled into a ball…. It was all I could do to not stay conscience.
So the weekend pretty much kicked ass……. 8th and 9th are just great rides for me... I can imagine a few spots higher....but I also can see where I could have gone back a few spots had things not worked out also. So I am amped at 2 top 10 rides.... It is hard to put 2 good days together under totally different conditions. Just being consistent makes me realize I am fit and riding the bike well.
I had a blast…the course is incredible and the IOWA crowd is just rad. I can’t wait for 2009….. I will be back….
Thanks to the guy who lent me the pit wheel and thanks to the entire staff who made this race incredible. It is the highlight of my year…..
JINGLE CROSS ROCK
A kick ass day…..
Heading to the start I had a plan for top 15… There were tons of fast regional guys looking for UCI points and I wasn’t 100% sure who was who. Tons of individuals decked out in different kits. I guess if you put a UCI race in IOWA….just like field of dreams….They will come.
Everyone looked fast… I wanted to PUKE.. I was Nervous as a virgin on prom night.
I hade a solid start. 2nd row behind WELLS, TILFORD, Jac MAYNES. And tons of other guys that are faster than me. I wasn’t quite as aggressive as I needed to be off the line. I don’t think I gave any spots up, but I didn’t really move up. I hesitated a bit… WE were going so fast into the first turn moving up just looked like a bad idea. I was in 12th or 15th??????? Not really sure. After the first few turns it got super strung out. We were flying down a long straight into a slight head wind. The path was smooth and the grass was SLOW. So trying to move up was pretty hard. Going into the barriers I had a pretty clean line and moved up 3-4 spots. After the barriers I was about 6 meters behind the leaders. We went uphill into this off camber section. Someone went down. DAMN…. Slammed on the brakes… jumped off the bike…. My mind was just screaming… I could barely see…..5 maybe 10… but it felt like 50 riders went by … I jumped on the bike only to jump back off and run a bit more then JUMP back on….. I felt pretty silly. There was a HUGE run-up coming so I knew I had to put down the hammer and try to get back in the game. I dismounted early so I could avoid and chaos at the first LOG… It worked… Several riders were grabbing there bikes and I already had mine on my shoulder. I moved to the right and had a clean line on the hill. I think I took back most of the spots I had lost, but the leaders were GONE…… completely gone…. Now……. I don’t think I could have HUNG with the WELLS brothers………. but I was amped to try my hand in the 2nd group… They had 10 seconds easy and I wasn’t strong enough to jump across a gap to riders that are stronger. I topped out the hill and was in a group of 5-6 riders. So there were 5 guys up ahead and were going to battle it out for the scraps. I felt great. I don’t know why but I felt calm and super relaxed today nothing felt that hard. It was an incredible feeling. After a few laps it was down to ME, TILFORD, and a CLIFF Bar U-23 rider… I tried a few times to get away but they were to strong to just let me ride away.. I felt faster on the flats and the runs… but the technical spots they would just close the gap….
.Long story short…. I wanted TOP 15…. I was dreaming of a top 10… I ended up 8th… If I hadn’t gotten shoved into the tape on the last corner ………..I would have had a great shot at 6th… a killer ride for me regardless. Normally, Tilford beats me by a few minutes, I felt strong the entire hour. It felt great… The course kicks ass for me. Lots of grass and a huge run.
I love cross…damn I really loved it today… I hurt a ton on the hill and smiled the whole way… It sucked… but damn I really love it………… Today was one of those days that you realize how lucky we are that a few weird EURO’s invented cyclocross.
DAY 2
EPIC… SNOW yeah… snow….. winter weather watch was in FULL force. It was 33 degrees so the snow made just the right type of SLOP…. The good thing was,,, it wasn’t sticking to the bike or tires……… so at least it didn’t jack up the bike.
Today I had a better start. I gave it just the right gas before going into the corner……. …………but DAMN I took myself down coming out of it……… Bummer ……… I went from 4th or so to 15th pretty quick…Definitely my fault. It was so slick I just needed to slow a bit more than I did. The corners were just awful all day…. It was snowing hard and the mud was a few inches deep. You couldn’t hook up because the ground was hard underneath. At least I couldn’t. The great thing today was the long “RIDE up” turned into a “RUN up”… I felt great running again today. The hill felt easy… The problem wasn’t the climb…. The decent was epic. It was so slick and fast………. I was gripped. I could survive it but couldn’t let it fly…..I moved up to 6th after the first big RUN….. I felt great. But the rest of the day was about survival for me….. the guys that were riding fast in the slop would kill me on the technical sections.
I could close the gap on the RUN…. Then it would open up again… I only drifted back 3 spots so that was pretty good. I couldn’t even hang with the guys that came around me. I tried but they were INCREDIBLE…. I have incredible respect for the riders that can just hammer on that crap… The second I try to ride that fast I end up on my ass…… so survival was the key… by the time I got to the finish line I was so damn cold I couldn’t feel any parts on my body… I dropped the bike and ran to the shower… The hot water was more painful than the cold…. For the first 5 minutes it hurt worse than the race. It was like an extra lap of PAIN… I wasn’t even moving and I hurt more than I had the entire hour. I curled in the corner of the shower till my hands stopped throbbing…. I felt like hammers slamming into them….I invited another rider in as I sat shaking… he had to think I was freak…. Here is a guy in full kit… sitting in the corner covered in MUD curled into a ball…. It was all I could do to not stay conscience.
So the weekend pretty much kicked ass……. 8th and 9th are just great rides for me... I can imagine a few spots higher....but I also can see where I could have gone back a few spots had things not worked out also. So I am amped at 2 top 10 rides.... It is hard to put 2 good days together under totally different conditions. Just being consistent makes me realize I am fit and riding the bike well.
I had a blast…the course is incredible and the IOWA crowd is just rad. I can’t wait for 2009….. I will be back….
Thanks to the guy who lent me the pit wheel and thanks to the entire staff who made this race incredible. It is the highlight of my year…..
HERE IS some video I took while running the course and watching the first LAP of the womans UCI race. This gives you an idea how SLICK it was. First lap and people could barely stand up or ride. These girls are bad asses and most of them KILLED the downhill.... It was impressive. I only wish I could have ridden the downhill like the first girl in the video.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
One more lap
ONE MORE LAP…
As the CX season unfolds I realize how short the CX season really is. Months of hard work and it is almost time to start thinking about racing on the road again. With only 4 weeks left in my cyclocross season I must remind myself to race every moment of every race before the season ends. It is so easy to back down… damn every race I want to quit at some point. I always think of what I heard Kent Bostick said to my friend John Hart… "little buddy..Your pain is not special." I live by these words during the hardest part of the race. Sometimes as I am gasping for air or my legs hurt so bad I want to cut them off… I just remember that “my pain is not special.” As I spit on my top tube unable to see straight…. I remind myself again… “your pain is not special”
I hurt… damn do I hurt. Every day I train… I hurt. This past year at master’s nationals I was standing on the curb yelling at my wife with 1k to go in her time trial. She was 3 seconds back on my time sheet. I noticed she was crying when she rode by…these were not tears of sadness… dude these were tears of insane pain… pain I don’t know if I have ever felt. I go hard… damn sometimes I go so hard I can’t feel my hands or feet…but have I ever gone so hard I cried! Never…not yet.. And I guess that is why she as a stars and stripes jersey and I don’t……….. So this year that is my new goal… To race so hard that I either pass out or cry..
Pain and failure is 99% of this sport. So why every time I am suffering do I feel pain and usually fail? You would think I could ignore the pain and grab success by the nads….. It is at the moment when it hurts the MOST….I start to think “my pain is special”…. But I know it isn’t.. We all feel it… we all want to quit. Every minute of every interval I think about it for at least a few seconds… It is like beating you head against a concrete wall. Each time you slam your forehead into the wall it hurts and the wall doesn’t move. The funny thing is I have been repeating this for 6 years now. So the truth is…it is not a failure. I didn’t LOOSE.. I raced my brains out and went as hard as I could.. the guy in front of me is just stronger…should I just quit and not chase him? No way…. The struggle is what I love the most. I think to love this sport, and survive racing you have to enjoy getting beat down as much as you enjoy giving the beat down. I just want to be out there suffering… it always feels so much better when I am making others suffer…but I learn more and grow more from being on the receiving end of a good beating. Motivation comes from failure for me.
I think about the NIKE commercial….my better is better than your better…. If you haven’t seen it go to youtube… and check it out. But really… is my BETTER …better than your BETTER…. Damn if that was the case I would win a ton of races. I don’t win very often so I think there are a ton of guys out there whose BETTER is BETTER than my better. So if Kent is correct that my pain isn’t special… and others are better… why do I race? 99% of the time I know I can’t win. There are always several riders who are a bit stronger. In some cases a TON stronger. So why do I spend thousands of dollars racing and 100’s of hour suffering each year? That's a really good question. I think there are a ton of answers. I have my identity so wrapped around cycling what would I do if I stopped? I would probably have a terrible drug problem or gamble my life savings away. So suffering for hours on end might just be a bargin .
So we now have an idea of the consequences if I stop suffering and quit riding. The new question becomes: how can I suffer in bliss? This is a trick I am getting better at each year. I love to watch Chris Horner suffer… the guy is always smiling… Try it… for me it works…. For the first time I have started to invite the pain in… I don’t run form it like I used to… I don’t start to question why I hurt or think “I must be having a bad day.” What I have learned is when you go HARD… it hurts. It always will. I always here riders talking about “bad legs” most of the time it makes me chuckle. Bad legs usually just mean the race was hard. If you ride with power I want you to try to ride around 600 watts for 40-45 seconds… that is the start of a cross race. DO it every day… If you ever have a day where that feels easy and your legs don’t burn…Go buy some lottery tickets.
If you are in shape…and have trained a decent amount… and your legs hurt and burn…it is a pretty good sign you are going hard…not that you have bad legs, but that you have fit enough legs to suffer. Somewhere along the way on the delusion train we have decided that going hard should feel good. That is crazy talk. The only time racing and training feels good…is when you are not going hard enough to make any gains or to win.
If you feel good = You are not going very hard (at least not hard enough to get benefits from training or to be successful in a race)
If you feel bad = you are probably pegged and on the rivet
-this is actually a good thing
Bad legs = peoples in your race are Better than your better
Good legs = you need to upgrade
99.9% of the time I think the above is correct. We all have bad days every once in a while. But if ½ of your races are bad… then you are not being realistic. Your training either doesn’t match your goals…. Or your goals don’t match your pedigree.
Now that we have solved a pretty serious math problem lets get back to the fact that most of us are not very good. What do I mean? Most of us suck. Yes we suck. Hard to stomach but the sooner we all figure it out the more credit we can give to the riders who don’t…….. Now this isn’t very nice, but what I mean is that the guy who beat me last weekend sucks a little less than I suck. The guy who finished behind me isn’t Better than my Better. Every week the goal is to suck a bit less and try to bring the best effort I can manage to the race. Each week I have new excuses as to why I am going to suck. I try to hide them under the bed in a shoe box, but I always let a few slip. Usually I talk about how hard I trained or didn’t train. That is my favorite. But the bottom line is when we walk up to the starting line we are very vulnerable. It is how you learn to deal with the insecurity of sucking that makes you a great warrior. Dude…. win or lose if you bring a great fight you should be able to pat yourself on the back and be amped about how you raced. Most of the time we just beat ourselves to a pulp during the race and then continue to do so for the following week. The key is to ask yourself several times during the race “can I go harder?” If the answer is yes… then get on the gas. If the answer is “no” then stay the course. So next time your are out racing at Defcon 4..try to smile… you should be amped that you are killing it. If you are crying then you know you are pegged. Pegged is pegged. The guy in 10th is just as pegged as the guy who won. Neither effort has more value. Like Kent said “your pain isn’t special.” So don’t run from it… invite it in…and next time you are racing and the race is finished.. I challenge you to race one more lap… why not… it is what we do and who we are. Cross season will be over in a blink of an eye. Enjoy every painful minute of each lap…. Soon there will be no more laps to ride and no more cross races till next year. You will spend the next 9 months getting ready to do it again.
As the CX season unfolds I realize how short the CX season really is. Months of hard work and it is almost time to start thinking about racing on the road again. With only 4 weeks left in my cyclocross season I must remind myself to race every moment of every race before the season ends. It is so easy to back down… damn every race I want to quit at some point. I always think of what I heard Kent Bostick said to my friend John Hart… "little buddy..Your pain is not special." I live by these words during the hardest part of the race. Sometimes as I am gasping for air or my legs hurt so bad I want to cut them off… I just remember that “my pain is not special.” As I spit on my top tube unable to see straight…. I remind myself again… “your pain is not special”
I hurt… damn do I hurt. Every day I train… I hurt. This past year at master’s nationals I was standing on the curb yelling at my wife with 1k to go in her time trial. She was 3 seconds back on my time sheet. I noticed she was crying when she rode by…these were not tears of sadness… dude these were tears of insane pain… pain I don’t know if I have ever felt. I go hard… damn sometimes I go so hard I can’t feel my hands or feet…but have I ever gone so hard I cried! Never…not yet.. And I guess that is why she as a stars and stripes jersey and I don’t……….. So this year that is my new goal… To race so hard that I either pass out or cry..
Pain and failure is 99% of this sport. So why every time I am suffering do I feel pain and usually fail? You would think I could ignore the pain and grab success by the nads….. It is at the moment when it hurts the MOST….I start to think “my pain is special”…. But I know it isn’t.. We all feel it… we all want to quit. Every minute of every interval I think about it for at least a few seconds… It is like beating you head against a concrete wall. Each time you slam your forehead into the wall it hurts and the wall doesn’t move. The funny thing is I have been repeating this for 6 years now. So the truth is…it is not a failure. I didn’t LOOSE.. I raced my brains out and went as hard as I could.. the guy in front of me is just stronger…should I just quit and not chase him? No way…. The struggle is what I love the most. I think to love this sport, and survive racing you have to enjoy getting beat down as much as you enjoy giving the beat down. I just want to be out there suffering… it always feels so much better when I am making others suffer…but I learn more and grow more from being on the receiving end of a good beating. Motivation comes from failure for me.
I think about the NIKE commercial….my better is better than your better…. If you haven’t seen it go to youtube… and check it out. But really… is my BETTER …better than your BETTER…. Damn if that was the case I would win a ton of races. I don’t win very often so I think there are a ton of guys out there whose BETTER is BETTER than my better. So if Kent is correct that my pain isn’t special… and others are better… why do I race? 99% of the time I know I can’t win. There are always several riders who are a bit stronger. In some cases a TON stronger. So why do I spend thousands of dollars racing and 100’s of hour suffering each year? That's a really good question. I think there are a ton of answers. I have my identity so wrapped around cycling what would I do if I stopped? I would probably have a terrible drug problem or gamble my life savings away. So suffering for hours on end might just be a bargin .
So we now have an idea of the consequences if I stop suffering and quit riding. The new question becomes: how can I suffer in bliss? This is a trick I am getting better at each year. I love to watch Chris Horner suffer… the guy is always smiling… Try it… for me it works…. For the first time I have started to invite the pain in… I don’t run form it like I used to… I don’t start to question why I hurt or think “I must be having a bad day.” What I have learned is when you go HARD… it hurts. It always will. I always here riders talking about “bad legs” most of the time it makes me chuckle. Bad legs usually just mean the race was hard. If you ride with power I want you to try to ride around 600 watts for 40-45 seconds… that is the start of a cross race. DO it every day… If you ever have a day where that feels easy and your legs don’t burn…Go buy some lottery tickets.
If you are in shape…and have trained a decent amount… and your legs hurt and burn…it is a pretty good sign you are going hard…not that you have bad legs, but that you have fit enough legs to suffer. Somewhere along the way on the delusion train we have decided that going hard should feel good. That is crazy talk. The only time racing and training feels good…is when you are not going hard enough to make any gains or to win.
If you feel good = You are not going very hard (at least not hard enough to get benefits from training or to be successful in a race)
If you feel bad = you are probably pegged and on the rivet
-this is actually a good thing
Bad legs = peoples in your race are Better than your better
Good legs = you need to upgrade
99.9% of the time I think the above is correct. We all have bad days every once in a while. But if ½ of your races are bad… then you are not being realistic. Your training either doesn’t match your goals…. Or your goals don’t match your pedigree.
Now that we have solved a pretty serious math problem lets get back to the fact that most of us are not very good. What do I mean? Most of us suck. Yes we suck. Hard to stomach but the sooner we all figure it out the more credit we can give to the riders who don’t…….. Now this isn’t very nice, but what I mean is that the guy who beat me last weekend sucks a little less than I suck. The guy who finished behind me isn’t Better than my Better. Every week the goal is to suck a bit less and try to bring the best effort I can manage to the race. Each week I have new excuses as to why I am going to suck. I try to hide them under the bed in a shoe box, but I always let a few slip. Usually I talk about how hard I trained or didn’t train. That is my favorite. But the bottom line is when we walk up to the starting line we are very vulnerable. It is how you learn to deal with the insecurity of sucking that makes you a great warrior. Dude…. win or lose if you bring a great fight you should be able to pat yourself on the back and be amped about how you raced. Most of the time we just beat ourselves to a pulp during the race and then continue to do so for the following week. The key is to ask yourself several times during the race “can I go harder?” If the answer is yes… then get on the gas. If the answer is “no” then stay the course. So next time your are out racing at Defcon 4..try to smile… you should be amped that you are killing it. If you are crying then you know you are pegged. Pegged is pegged. The guy in 10th is just as pegged as the guy who won. Neither effort has more value. Like Kent said “your pain isn’t special.” So don’t run from it… invite it in…and next time you are racing and the race is finished.. I challenge you to race one more lap… why not… it is what we do and who we are. Cross season will be over in a blink of an eye. Enjoy every painful minute of each lap…. Soon there will be no more laps to ride and no more cross races till next year. You will spend the next 9 months getting ready to do it again.
Sunday, November 09, 2008
KIng and Queen of cros results
Working on results NOW...
Great race!!
Thanks for coming....
Photos also by Monday.
Great race!!
Thanks for coming....
Photos also by Monday.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
King and Queen of cross in 3 days COME RACE
http://www.pocatellocyclocross.blogspot.com/
REGISTER HERE
http://kingandqueenofcross.athlete360.com/
I have been out working on the course. Can't wait to see who makes the trip to race.
FELDMAN? BART? RICO? CURRY? BOISE RIDERS? Montanna CXr's? TONS of JACKSON and VICTOR riders!!! 2 years ago BART showed up and killed it. Last year ALI GOULET smoked it. 2009.. I expect a great race... and have HOPES of building this race into the WESTERN STATES CHAMPIONSHIPS! This is your chance as a racer to race guys and gals from all 4 states. Don't run and hide..... Get in the car and drive.
I am personally inviting anyone that loves cross to make the drive. There is a race at NOON in Rexburg SATURDAY... called the CUBE.....so you can make it a double.
Sunday in POKI will be a great race. NOON start so you have plenty of time to DRIVE up! 1 oclock for the A and B race.
REGISTER HERE
http://kingandqueenofcross.athlete360.com/
I have been out working on the course. Can't wait to see who makes the trip to race.
FELDMAN? BART? RICO? CURRY? BOISE RIDERS? Montanna CXr's? TONS of JACKSON and VICTOR riders!!! 2 years ago BART showed up and killed it. Last year ALI GOULET smoked it. 2009.. I expect a great race... and have HOPES of building this race into the WESTERN STATES CHAMPIONSHIPS! This is your chance as a racer to race guys and gals from all 4 states. Don't run and hide..... Get in the car and drive.
I am personally inviting anyone that loves cross to make the drive. There is a race at NOON in Rexburg SATURDAY... called the CUBE.....so you can make it a double.
Sunday in POKI will be a great race. NOON start so you have plenty of time to DRIVE up! 1 oclock for the A and B race.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Racing at ROLLING thunder cyclocross 2009
PHOTO by Tom ROBERTSONThe family(K, and our 2 pups) and I are making the trip to race Rolling Thunder. This should be a great race. The enthusiasm of the MT racers is incredible. I am sure some super strong guys and gals will make the trip. Looks like a ton of local power and the national mountain bike star Sam Shultz will be racing. The course looks pretty cool on google maps... some sort of a BMX track!!!
ROLLING THUNDER ROCKED!
OK I have to be honest... I was nervous driving 5 hours for a 60 minute race...But we loaded up the car and make the trip on pure faith that the MT' crew were going to put on a killer event...I have to say.......... as we rolled into the parking lot... I wasn't sure if I was in MT OR Vegas....
They had brought in LIGHTS....BEER TENTS.... and tons of spectators... Some in costume and tons of cow bell!
After a few pre-laps I was a bit nervous about the technical parts of the course ...which included 10 FULL sized WOOPS on the BMX track and a HUGE Banked turn that you could just ride like you were on rails...
The race went great... I pulled out of me pedal at the start... and ended up going through the first turn in 5th or something... I sat back for the first lap trying not to wreck to early... Everything about the course felt different at FULL speed. Some of the easy corners were super hard when you double the speed. About 4 laps in I was pegged and could feel the elastic stretching a bit... So I pinned it and opened up a small gap. The MT' riders were not easy to shake.... they were tight on me for several laps. I noticed that once the gap opened... Sam Shultz was getting SICK air on the WOOPS... I could see the flashes out of the corner of my eye. It is odd to be racing FULL out and see the guy chasing riding the BMX track like he on HELL track... I spent the next 30 minutes trying not to wreck and riding as hard as I possibly could. When the dust settled I had a small gap at the finish and WON my first race in almost a year...I have to say it felt great. I have to say thanks to the ROLLING THUNDER crew for making this a destination event. From the shots of Yeager to the Bottle of Champagne I got to spray....It was just rad.... OH yeah... A huge thanks to GREAT NORTHERN CYCLES and FELT for coming through with the raddest prize I have ever won... A new FELT F1!!!
To see a shop and company support cross this strongly makes me want to support them. So if you live in MT... go buy a bike from Great Northern Cycles.... if you are thinking of getting a CX bike, Road bike, or a great cruiser... take a look at FELT... I checked them out at Interbike last month and all of there new bikes look great. Karen and I were thinking of picking up some cervelos for next road season...but were on the fence about the new FELTS.... so Great Northern and Felt made the decision super easy... We will be rocking a NEW FELT TT bike for Karen and I am going to get one of the new FELT aero road bike... I will be sure to give you a report in the spring.
ROLLING THUNDER ROCKED!
OK I have to be honest... I was nervous driving 5 hours for a 60 minute race...But we loaded up the car and make the trip on pure faith that the MT' crew were going to put on a killer event...I have to say.......... as we rolled into the parking lot... I wasn't sure if I was in MT OR Vegas....
They had brought in LIGHTS....BEER TENTS.... and tons of spectators... Some in costume and tons of cow bell!
After a few pre-laps I was a bit nervous about the technical parts of the course ...which included 10 FULL sized WOOPS on the BMX track and a HUGE Banked turn that you could just ride like you were on rails...
The race went great... I pulled out of me pedal at the start... and ended up going through the first turn in 5th or something... I sat back for the first lap trying not to wreck to early... Everything about the course felt different at FULL speed. Some of the easy corners were super hard when you double the speed. About 4 laps in I was pegged and could feel the elastic stretching a bit... So I pinned it and opened up a small gap. The MT' riders were not easy to shake.... they were tight on me for several laps. I noticed that once the gap opened... Sam Shultz was getting SICK air on the WOOPS... I could see the flashes out of the corner of my eye. It is odd to be racing FULL out and see the guy chasing riding the BMX track like he on HELL track... I spent the next 30 minutes trying not to wreck and riding as hard as I possibly could. When the dust settled I had a small gap at the finish and WON my first race in almost a year...I have to say it felt great. I have to say thanks to the ROLLING THUNDER crew for making this a destination event. From the shots of Yeager to the Bottle of Champagne I got to spray....It was just rad.... OH yeah... A huge thanks to GREAT NORTHERN CYCLES and FELT for coming through with the raddest prize I have ever won... A new FELT F1!!!
To see a shop and company support cross this strongly makes me want to support them. So if you live in MT... go buy a bike from Great Northern Cycles.... if you are thinking of getting a CX bike, Road bike, or a great cruiser... take a look at FELT... I checked them out at Interbike last month and all of there new bikes look great. Karen and I were thinking of picking up some cervelos for next road season...but were on the fence about the new FELTS.... so Great Northern and Felt made the decision super easy... We will be rocking a NEW FELT TT bike for Karen and I am going to get one of the new FELT aero road bike... I will be sure to give you a report in the spring.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
CROSS 2008 Cross Vegas Lance
WELL it is ON. Moose cross has come and gone, and the 2008 cyclocross season is off.
Moose cross pretty much ROCKED..Victor just might be the next BOULDER. First off they built a COURSE that had Woopie DO's.... No clue how to spell that... KEG tossing after the race!
A great event! SEE you next year.
yeah cross in victor rocked!
Then it was off to VEGAS for interbike....
After some afternoon beer drinking I was informed that LANCE was racing Cross Vegas!!
So I had 3 hours to get hydrated and figure out how to get a BIKE, Skin SUIT, SHOES, Licence, and a ride to the race. I was operating on 4 hours of sleep and had just spent about 12 hours standing up..... This was a great PRE-RACE strategy....
So I made a few phone calls, and put all my friends to work so I could get in the race... This was no easy task... I didn't have shoes! My licence! And wasn't officially registered because a glitch in the website... (Long complicated story)... BOTTOM line is the race director deserves a medal of Honor for getting me in the race! I LOVE HIM... Thanks to Dr. Walker for taking care of that... just bill my insurance... ALI GOULET downloaded and printed my LICENCE about 1 hour before the race( I LOVE YOU TO).... Shimano sold me a pair of shoes at the show ( thanks) And John Scarfiotti lent me his MOIST & DIRTY skin suit to race in... Thanks JOHN...
I made it to the race and tracked down all the needed pieces to the PUZZLE... As I was warming up... I was also sobering up..................... and realized this might not be the best idea... Every rider I saw was a "NAME" Trebon, Wicks, kabush, Craig, Cruz, johnson, Schriver, PAGE!!!!
(PIC OF LANCE AND ME! IN THE BACKGROUND)
Moose cross pretty much ROCKED..Victor just might be the next BOULDER. First off they built a COURSE that had Woopie DO's.... No clue how to spell that... KEG tossing after the race!
A great event! SEE you next year.
yeah cross in victor rocked!
Then it was off to VEGAS for interbike....
After some afternoon beer drinking I was informed that LANCE was racing Cross Vegas!!
So I had 3 hours to get hydrated and figure out how to get a BIKE, Skin SUIT, SHOES, Licence, and a ride to the race. I was operating on 4 hours of sleep and had just spent about 12 hours standing up..... This was a great PRE-RACE strategy....
So I made a few phone calls, and put all my friends to work so I could get in the race... This was no easy task... I didn't have shoes! My licence! And wasn't officially registered because a glitch in the website... (Long complicated story)... BOTTOM line is the race director deserves a medal of Honor for getting me in the race! I LOVE HIM... Thanks to Dr. Walker for taking care of that... just bill my insurance... ALI GOULET downloaded and printed my LICENCE about 1 hour before the race( I LOVE YOU TO).... Shimano sold me a pair of shoes at the show ( thanks) And John Scarfiotti lent me his MOIST & DIRTY skin suit to race in... Thanks JOHN...
I made it to the race and tracked down all the needed pieces to the PUZZLE... As I was warming up... I was also sobering up..................... and realized this might not be the best idea... Every rider I saw was a "NAME" Trebon, Wicks, kabush, Craig, Cruz, johnson, Schriver, PAGE!!!!
(PIC OF LANCE AND ME! IN THE BACKGROUND)DUDE I had no buisness in this race.... but I was pinned up and given a 4th row start from some UCI points I had from last year.... This was my only chance to race with LANCE ..... SO I TOOK the LINE with the best cross racers in the country....
The start was NUTZ.... it was so fast.... I don't even remember the first lap. 15,000 screaming cyclists lined the course. Coming up the run-up is was so loud.... Then right as I hit the TOP...Lance must have hit the bottom and the VOLUME went through the roof.. It was like a wave of screaming girls at a Beatles concert... He was right behind me.. I could feel him catching me with every pedal stroke. After another 1/2 lap he came around me... I jumped on his wheel.. For 1 -1/2 laps I rode with the Legend. It was incredible. Coming on to the finishing straight a rider from behind me.....hit my rear wheel and knocked me sideways... I rolled my rear tubular... BUMMER I lost Lance. I jumped off the bike and rolled it back on... I didn't have a pit bike and only 1/4 of the tire had rolled off so I just kept riding.. I was super cautious on the corners and just drilled the straights. I held on to 3oth which is one of the best rides I have ever had in a field this stacked. The course was perfect for me... Tons of grass...LOTS of pedaling.
With 10 weeks to nationals I don't have much planned as far as racing... I will train...and pray for a super MUDDY... SLOW day... IN KANSAS...
The start was NUTZ.... it was so fast.... I don't even remember the first lap. 15,000 screaming cyclists lined the course. Coming up the run-up is was so loud.... Then right as I hit the TOP...Lance must have hit the bottom and the VOLUME went through the roof.. It was like a wave of screaming girls at a Beatles concert... He was right behind me.. I could feel him catching me with every pedal stroke. After another 1/2 lap he came around me... I jumped on his wheel.. For 1 -1/2 laps I rode with the Legend. It was incredible. Coming on to the finishing straight a rider from behind me.....hit my rear wheel and knocked me sideways... I rolled my rear tubular... BUMMER I lost Lance. I jumped off the bike and rolled it back on... I didn't have a pit bike and only 1/4 of the tire had rolled off so I just kept riding.. I was super cautious on the corners and just drilled the straights. I held on to 3oth which is one of the best rides I have ever had in a field this stacked. The course was perfect for me... Tons of grass...LOTS of pedaling.
With 10 weeks to nationals I don't have much planned as far as racing... I will train...and pray for a super MUDDY... SLOW day... IN KANSAS...
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Thursday, April 03, 2008
I can't take a punch..
you should see the other guy !
First off..... I am fresh off watching the "UFC"
fight night so I have to say I am a bit more jacked up than normal. I love to watch the fights even though I have never...never...never...thrown a punch before. My future as a fighter looks pretty bleak...now that I know I have a glass chin.So I headed off to the dog park
to get the pups a little exercise when "WHAM"... I got slugged...My knees buckled and I fell to the grass. I am not kidding. I just collapsed.I couldn't see for a few seconds. It was crazy... At first I didn't even know what hit me.
I have never been punched in the face before. For those of you who haven't either, take it from me...DAMN it hurts. I had water running out of my eyes and nose, and blood running down my chin.
As I was picking myself off the ground a car stopped to ask if I was OK. I had a hard time just speaking to the driver.
At this point you have to be asking yourself "who hit sam"
I know I was!
What is funny was that I had no idea. I had some Rocky flashbacks...of when Mr. T just leveled him...
I solved the mystery pretty quick.
THE "CHUCK IT" I had it loaded with a SOLID rubber tennis ball that my dogs can't destroy.
When my big arms let it rip....The ChuckIT pivoted in my palm...the solid ball didn't release.... so with my arm fully extended, and at full power this seemingly safe toy....pivoted in my hand and hit me square in the jaw..... like a 5 Pound RUBBER mallet....at full speed.
The ball was frozen into the ChuckIT. I had left it in the car overnight and the slobber must have frozen it to the plastic.
The leverage of the Chuckit and the ball...just slugged me!
I have to say I have never felt anything like that before. The taste of the dog slobber and blood is still embedded in my taste buds.
Just when you feel you are safe in Pocatello, ID "The Smile Capital of the World"
You end up getting assaulted by a dog toy.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Vegas CX and Intebike
What an epic week. Interbike was 7 days of travel...little sleep... and a small little bike race call Vegas Cross. Now that Cyclocross season is in full gear it was pretty cool to KICK it off in vegas. Elvis was at the race turning the LAP cards and giving podium kisses. The field of riders looked more like the red carpet of celebrity bike racing. The TOP 20 riders were a solid mix of D-3 Pro's and a few riders ranked Top 10 in the world. My chances to get a Kiss from Elvis were slim to none. I did manage to grab some cash during the race from the crazy race fans. When the dust settled I was SOAKED in beer from head to toe. 
Every lap they were tossing it on us on the Run-up. After the race I headed to the craps table and by 3 am I had won more money than Trebon for his win of the race. I guess I have to take it when I can get it.
Notice the K seat bag.
Every lap they were tossing it on us on the Run-up. After the race I headed to the craps table and by 3 am I had won more money than Trebon for his win of the race. I guess I have to take it when I can get it.
Notice the K seat bag. Thursday, September 06, 2007
NEW KRIEG SKINSUIT
SUPER HERO or CX Racer???
Well I am still not fast but the KIT looks FAST. It will debut in VEGAS at Interbike. I have heard the Ryan Trebon trembles at the sight of this KIT. When he laps me in VEGAS, Lousiville, Iowa and Kansas...... I will be sure flex a BICEP and give him a scare.
Hey we have 20-30 new bags at www.kriegcycling.com check them out. REI has picked them up for 2008 and we just added Posion Spider in MOAB as a dealer.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Sunday, August 05, 2007
"ALL ABOARD"Gas Prices coming down and still out of Gas
With gas prices falling.... I find that my tank is still empty.
Huntsville 100 and Chalk Creek have beaten me down. So hard..... I find myself wanting to list all of my cycling STUFF on Ebay again. Watch for the ad!!! I have to take my hat off to "NORM" for just riding a stellar performance at Chalk Creek. He was the only guy really driving the break away for 50+ miles, and then just dropped us who were sitting in to solo the last 40-50 miles. In ended with a puke fest on the side of the road(BUT that took a huge set of balls)
Now on to Huntsville. With Gardie on the SUPER "Jacky D" solo effort early, and IRA in the early move. "All" we had to do was SURVIVE the LOUDER ATTACK, and all would be OK. I found myself unable to hold on and was quickly popped out the rear. Sorry for opening that gap.
I (was/am) truly bummned. I felt I had dropped the ball. I was pegged.. No excuses here .....that is all I had. I wish I had more, but I just couldn't ride any harder.
The rest of the climb Alex Rock and I were able to pick up and pass some of the carnage from the train wreck ahead on the climb. As the steam engine rolled on we were able to see the puffing smoke and small explosions ahead as riders jumped from the train. It looked like Jeff put on the brakes a bit to slow down as he approached the summit. We got within 30 seconds...... It might as well have been 30 minutes...we didn't have tickets to the Louder Express....
The rest of the race was spent in LIMBO. We had 2 guys up the road. .............it was silly to chase since we obviously couldn't hang with the Engines up the road. Some guys wanted to chase... and others of us just wanted to get back to the car. To me the race was up the road. No real way to get across...Because if that was possible I/WE would have hung on the climb. Now the race was for best of the rest. It made sence to me to just do some work and get Bryson and Turbo to the line. THE MONEY was only 3 deep and that was already decided. It was a pretty FUN last 10 K. Lots of attacks. Ryan ended up taking the sprint...I was impressed I could hardly turn the pedals at the finish line.
Overall it was a great ride...I definitely have some training to do before CX.
Huntsville 100 and Chalk Creek have beaten me down. So hard..... I find myself wanting to list all of my cycling STUFF on Ebay again. Watch for the ad!!! I have to take my hat off to "NORM" for just riding a stellar performance at Chalk Creek. He was the only guy really driving the break away for 50+ miles, and then just dropped us who were sitting in to solo the last 40-50 miles. In ended with a puke fest on the side of the road(BUT that took a huge set of balls)
Now on to Huntsville. With Gardie on the SUPER "Jacky D" solo effort early, and IRA in the early move. "All" we had to do was SURVIVE the LOUDER ATTACK, and all would be OK. I found myself unable to hold on and was quickly popped out the rear. Sorry for opening that gap.
I (was/am) truly bummned. I felt I had dropped the ball. I was pegged.. No excuses here .....that is all I had. I wish I had more, but I just couldn't ride any harder.
The rest of the climb Alex Rock and I were able to pick up and pass some of the carnage from the train wreck ahead on the climb. As the steam engine rolled on we were able to see the puffing smoke and small explosions ahead as riders jumped from the train. It looked like Jeff put on the brakes a bit to slow down as he approached the summit. We got within 30 seconds...... It might as well have been 30 minutes...we didn't have tickets to the Louder Express....
The rest of the race was spent in LIMBO. We had 2 guys up the road. .............it was silly to chase since we obviously couldn't hang with the Engines up the road. Some guys wanted to chase... and others of us just wanted to get back to the car. To me the race was up the road. No real way to get across...Because if that was possible I/WE would have hung on the climb. Now the race was for best of the rest. It made sence to me to just do some work and get Bryson and Turbo to the line. THE MONEY was only 3 deep and that was already decided. It was a pretty FUN last 10 K. Lots of attacks. Ryan ended up taking the sprint...I was impressed I could hardly turn the pedals at the finish line.
Overall it was a great ride...I definitely have some training to do before CX.
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