Just when I thought the suffering was over.

My buddy Ryan Hamilton called me to see it I could wrench for him and be part of his crew for the 24 hours of Moab race. The event organizers called the race about 8-9 hours in because of bad conditions. WTF? Isn't 24 hour racing about persiverence, toughness, preparedness? No rider or team is required to go out into the storm. Anyone can curl up in their tent or RV and wait for it to pass. Our Rider and Crew had made it through the worst of the storm and were ready to go, but were not allowed to race. Super bummer for the best prepared team out there.

Brake Pads without the "Pads". Functioning disk brakes were hard to come by around 8pm.

The skys opened up at high noon (start of the race) and did not stop until about 9pm that night. Under normal conditions, rain is a good thing in the desert. It makes the course faster and cuts down on the dust. Some of the fastest lap times were recorded the next morning on the hard packed course.
Shit weather, Advantage "Hamiltonians"! With two very experienced mechanics, three bikes, two more crew, a tough as nails rider, and a guard dog, we were ready to go all night.

5th time "Behind the Rocks" in Utah!

Somehow shotgunning beers has become our "rally cap" or moral booster around camp. Seems to be working!!?

My last "call up" of the season. My race was going fine until I flatted in the second lap. Right about that time the skys opened up. The course became slow and dangerous (the leaders had already finished by this time) and I drug my mud cover body to the line.

My Savior

What I thought was a hard rain on the course turned into a flood of biblical proportions. I was soaked and instantly put into the deep freeze by the exhaustion and cold rain. I went into survival mode and hopped inside a port-John to shiver myself warm. Pro mountain bike racing is so glamorous.

Last National

Snowmass national series final pro men start

Brian Head Utah turned out to be a great venue. The mountains meet the desert. We camped close to the start/finish area at 9600 feet elevation. The course went up from there to at least 11000'. One big 27 mile loop. Our preride day was washed out with rain so both Kris and I race day would be our first time around.

The trail was sic. "Dark Hollow" is a one of the longest decents I've done in a race. It was so good we went back the next day to do it all over again. Hooked up with an old buddy from Ubikes that now lives in there. Steve "Bread" Faducia was our tour guide and hotel as we stayed an extra day and shuttled some sweet trail.

The Hotel Sienna just got bigger. Also works as our "factory pits jr." Our camping has become as dialed as our bikes.

Kris's races went predictably well. That's him gapping the feild at his short track.

Got some rest and home cooking, off to the next national in Brianhead, Utah. Temps are cool and the altitude is high there. Goran has been pegged to my side. He knows it's time for another road trip.

Long Road Home.

Really wasn't that bad. Sneaking Goran in and out of hotel rooms has never been so worth it. Kris and I hit the jackpot by scoring a hotel room in Provo that had OLN. We got the watch the Floyd explosion and redemption stages in the Tour de France. It puts our idea of suffering into perspective.

Russian River Rope Swings. Floated all day to beat the heat.

Goran stayed in the water most of the day. He was still paddeling in his slept that night on the hotel floor.
Picnik in the shade with some Fume' Blanc and our Maitre De' Kris w/a K.
Back home. Time for r&r and one of my favorite days on the calinder. I must be a obnoxious euro cycling fan encarnate. There is nothing I enjoy more than screaming at triathletes as they slog up the steep pitches of old stage road.

I should have taken a lesson from Landis and just kept a bottle in my hand. Riding through the California heat wave sucked. Two bottles on the front side feed and one on the back. Nine in total but i'd say I drank about six. Three more than any thing I've done in competition.

The perfect gut. A good three inches over the belt line. The avalanche of flab, seemingly about to fall on my shoulder. Is this what happens when you stop riding?

Super COMo Mom.

Ahh, the suffering didn't stop at the XC. I lasted longer that ever (16:40) at the short track, in slightly warmer weather.

Coast 2 Coast in 06'

The cold pacific waters around Montego Bay. Kris and I's NMBS tour has reached it's Zenith, but not it's conclution. It was a little symbolic touching both coast, and thinking of the lessons I've learned along the way.

All that aside, nothing could kill our buzz we had from wine tastings in the Russian River valley. Sobered up with a walk on the beach.

Getting "sideways" at some wineries.

"Generous pours, mineral finish, bitey, smokey start, summer in a bottle, bouqet, toasty, nutty, lively, floral." Words not to familiar in the Mt. Bike lexicon, except "generous pours."

06 SS National Start

Big field for the Single Speed nats.

Yeah! That's right....

Kris had a break out day in the SS Nationals. Sharing the stage with 3 time nat champ Carl Decker, 06 XC champ Ryan Trebon, Travis Brown, Mike Something SS cross champ. Good day for COMotion Sports and Lathrop.

technical nationals

Tough course, not real technical though.

On to Sonoma and the MountianBike Nationals. Met up with my folks in Santa Rosa. Buddy and Judy wanted to watch my "biggest race" this year and spend some time in Cali wine area.

The reviews of the course were a mixed bag. It was tough. My race was like a bake oven.... drank 6 bottles and four goo's and still had the "tinglies" most of the race. Not a lot of sustained climbing which made it a power course. Not much techincal. Nothing went great, but then again nothing really went wrong. I got 32nd of 66 starters. Pro pack fill.

From Park City, Ut, to Truckee, Ca. Stayed with Greg and Eli, some friends of Kris. We replenished with home brew, fly fishing, chicken tacos and some cool trails around Lake Tahoe. Check the video.

Tahoe trail riding

R&R at Tahoe. Stayed with some buddies in Trukee on our way to Sonoma.

short track Park City Pro Start

Park City, UT. Start of the Pro mens short track race. I only lasted 9:38, but of 90 I think less than 10 even finished without getting lapped.

Luggage by Target' and Rubbermaid.

Looking down the valley over Park City at the "Horizon"

For those who aren't 80's car buffs, that's a Plymoth Horizon... with the sweet flames

Da Pits

Got killed. The first lap "flat to wipe out" didn't get me off to a good start.

If you fall off the bike and burn through kits as much as I do, I've got a good tip from the road. Duct tape the inside lining of your rip. In this case, mine turned out to look like a sweet shark tooth graphic, or snowey mt. top. Your pic.

Kris continues his podium run

Next national is Park City, Ut. So starts road trip no. 2. No camping planned on this leg.

I better change the name of my weblog. I just took 5 days off the bike.
This weekend my Mtn. Bike team showed up in force at Eldora Escape regional. Handing off feeds, working on bikes, and testing different LeftHand Beers was a welcome change of pace. No racing for me this weekend, and my first rest week since late March.
Here are some of my teammates racing on home territory.

Costello showed his short track skilz

Kris had another good weekend, taking second in single speed state championship.

Meagan riding away from the other fast chics.

Home Sweet Home

My lips are dry and chapped from the lack of humidity, my breathes short and strained. Driving behind a long line of subaru's; and there they are on the roadside...... those damd wooden bears.

It feels good to be home in Colorado.
These are pics from Cottonwood pass. It's a shortcut to Crested Butte and one of the better scenic drives around. The 4 1/2 hour dirve was a milk run compared to what we did last week.
Soggy snowballs in June. I laid a big egg this weekend for the "Wild Flower Rush" regional mountain bike race. A victim of the laws of gravity. What goes up must come down. I probably could have used a rest week but raced anyway. Time to swallow my pride and take the lumps that the pro class has been dishing me. Besides finishing dead last (I did finish) a took my worst digger of the year.
Some of our COMotion Crew. We stayed an extra day to ride some trail.

Traveling across middle America.

Things do get boring on 30 hour one way trips. Some things strike me as funny, so the camera comes out.

The classic "bait and switch".... or is that what an asian salad looks like in Ohio?

I don't remember Kris asking for mayo.

We drove thirty minutes off the freeway in search of anything healthy. I thought going to a caffeteria might be a place to find a balanced meal. My Cod, broccoli and beans were cooked to a mush, devoid of any nutritional value. "Do you want cheese sauce on your broccoli?" I wish I would have taken her up on the offer. Goran thumbed his nose at his shot at the food.... so into the dumpster it went.... along with Kris's miracle whip sandwich.
I may be doomed. But I did have a good day.

Heading Home

we will have done over 5000 miles, 14 states, four races. Can't wait to get home.