US Cup Unification Race, a Kitty and Interbike

Thursday Sept 17th: Todd tried to catch a lost 6-week old kitty in the woods at Bonelli (San Dimas, CA). The kitty loved Todd's Power Bar balls and drank a good bit of water but would not be caught and found a great hiding spot in the cactus. Friday Sept 18th: Todd spent another 3 hours and finally caught the little guy who wouldn't have lasted long in the extreme heat. We took him to Citrus Veterinary Clinic in San Dimas, CA. If anyone wants a new cat please give them a call.

Sunday Sept 20th: US Cup Unification Race at Bonelli Park in San Dimas, CA. It was way too hot for a race. Luckily I had enough points to win the Unification title by just showing up. Only three pro girls started and I think half the guys DNF'd. I had goosebumps the entire race, we basically rode around just under the overheating threshold and it became a road race, waiting to see what the other person would do. It ended up coming down to a sprint in the last 5 minutes, but as I changed gears getting ready to go I dropped my chain and the race was over. Congratulations goes to Allison for winning the one day race. After the race we packed up and headed to Vegas.

Monday Sept 21st: Finished the drive to Vegas, ~ 2 miles from the RV park the slide-out awning broke and fell down. We took it off, checked in at the RV park then hit Dirt Demo day 1. . Tuesday Sept 22nd: Dirt Demo day 2, 8:00am Dirt Demo (HUGE) road group ride. We thought it would be a chill early morning spin, I had only eaten one hardboiled egg and drank a 25 calorie FRS before the ride. I started mid-pack which was a mistake, my legs felt great and I started bridging from group to group, it was a great power day. The rest of the day was spent riding every Specialized bike I could get my hands on (Era, Epic, 29'r, Tarmac SL2). The Era actually rode the best. Most of the bikes had the new SRAM XX drivetrain, wow! I need that drivetrain... I wish I could have tried the 16.6lb Cannondale Flash! Once Todd figures out how expensive Interbike is in the long run, I think he'll try to keep me from going.

Specialized 29'r Carbon HT

Specialized Carbon Epic

Wed-Fri Sept 23rd-25th: Interbike all day, dinner industry parties, Cross Vegas and Gold Sprints at night. I was on my feet for almost 18 hours a day!! Pink recovery socks saved my legs and had style!

FRS kept me going. I had never tried the FRS drinks, but I scored a give-a-way case and got hooked on it... .

Here are a couple cool items:

Ergon Cork and Grass Grips

I am going to try this new ZeroGoo product on my next ride, it mixes gel with water for a constant flow of pure gel, pure water, or any mix in-between. It was super light and easy to adjust.

.

Saturday Sept 26th: We put in a new fuel line, luckily that was the ticket! Hit the road to NM with A/C!

Sunday Sept 27th: Todd stopped off at the Albuquerque, NM airport and flew to MD. I continued on to Santa Fe, set up the "house", got a fix of NM chile and visited with Todd's family.

New Kit, SS, Racers and Bears - not related

New Kit:

Thanks Incycle.com and Pro Mfg!

My SS:

The weekly SS rides have been a blast, now if only the frame was a S-Works carbon w/horizontal dropouts and it had King Cages...

PT hub to keep Lynda happy.

Bears, our new neighbors:

Mama Bear nicely opened the motorhome compartment, see paw prints:

.

She removed the stuff in the way (no damage) and took my dog food bins down the hill to Grandma's house. .

They obviously worked for a while but were able to spin open the lids and have dinner. I watched them return the next night and try the latch again, but this time I had locked it. I yelled at them to go away, they did and haven't tried to get in again. We have seen them cut through the yard though.

.

CO Trail Racers:

Ethan

.

Scott and Max

Dave Harris finished in the dark with a hub that wasn't really working. The CO Trail racers were finishing in Durango (they started in Denver). Checking their gps locations and trying to figure out if they were sleeping, eating, or riding was entertaining. I was able to go to the trail and meet a few of them, I ran across Ethan changing a flat ~ 3 miles from the finish. The next evening I met Max in the parking lot waiting on Scott Morris. I rode ~ 5 miles then ran into Scott, I followed him out and he was riding like he had just jumped on his bike, crazy. MTBCast also had updates on the riders as they called in and left messages along the way.

.

NY: I leave for New York on Wednesday, hope my social Durango training pays off...

Durango July 2009, Ned's Specialized SS

Lots going on in Durango this last week.

Sunday 7/26 Durango Century It was a tour "not a race" and I did not race. I did work in the lead paceline a bit, I chased a guy or two even though they were not going anywhere, basically I just had fun. In order to keep out of trouble with my coach, I dropped off the lead pack at ~ 65 miles and rode a more steady pace. Luckily another girl Mel dropped off as well and we pedaled, talked, stopped at an aid station then rode together a little more. My time was still 4:25 which seems really fast for 100 miles. I think it helped that there were no other girls in front of us (except the ones on tandems), otherwise "not racing" may have been too hard to handle.

Wednesday After my normal workout I headed into town to do the local weekly Durango Devo ST race. The A men and women race together which was great since there were only three women. With 3+ minute laps I didn't get lapped by any guys and finished 1st in the women. The cost is $10 and the proceeds go to the Devo kids, so I am all over that.

Thursday I hooked up with the local singlespeed ride and got to ride with Ned Overend! Ned was riding his new 2010 S-Works, 29'r, Carbon SS. I had actually met Ned earlier in the week at a local shop where he was building up his bike, see pic - notice the horizontal dropouts. I was too enamored by his bike to even realize who I was talking too. I did consider that it was Ned himself, but he just didn't act like it, he was too down-to-earth and friendly. No one else said anything either. I know, I am an idiot. I have wanted to meet Ned for a long time, I still want to get him to sign my copy of Mountain Bike Like A Champion since I use that book in my skills clinics.

Saturday I raced the Hermosa Creek Classic. 38-miles point-to-point. There were 4 pro women, I finished 1st and took home $175. Nice! I had my newly installed Carbon S-Works cranks on the race bike and although they took a beating on the rocks, they still look good and saved me 70 grams over the XTR with adapters (no cups needed on the S-Works).

Sunday I played with my cousin's daughter Logan (my second cousin?) and taught her how to siphon water. My ride today was a 2.5 hour scenic road ride. My legs felt good and I pushed it for a while, ran out of water and kept going just because I felt like it. I finished the ride by spinning easy with another cyclist, a girl who had stopped to take a picture along the route.

Singlespeeds, a Treatment for Cancer?

The best part of racing and traveling full-time is meeting new people. Sometimes we meet cyclists who have overcome a lot, for them riding and racing is a true accomplishment (Grace for example).

Last September I met Jay at a Santa Fe, NM trailhead, he was friendly and gave me local riding info. As I got to know Jay a little more I learned his inspirational story. I ran into Jay again last week, he is as happy and positive as anyone I know.

.

4/26/09

Here is part of Jay's story (5/03/09): "Almost exactly one year ago to the day my wife, Sarah, admitted me into the local hospital in Santa Fe. I was 80 pounds lighter and cancer had taken all but my determination. The docs had pretty much given up on me - but I had other ideas. Frankly, I don't remember much about the three week hospital stay but I prevailed and have stymied my doctors even though I was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer - mets in the liver, lungs, and lymphs. I had three major surgeries last year including a colon resection and a small intestinal bypass (tumors had totally blocked both my small and large intestines). Today I have regained over 50 pounds and though my chemo treatments will likely continue for a long time, I am extremely active... and in need of a cure. . I rode 17 miles of high-country singletrack including 18 cold, hub-deep stream crossings along with 2,800 feet of gain (the Winsor Trail) [see picture above]. I now ride a singlespeed which my wife bought me this year for Valentine's Day. Every other week I ride with a chemo pump in my rear jersey pocket, ignoring the pleas of the nurses who treat me. I ride 4 - 5 times a week. BTW, I am now 50 years young... Lance might be impressed. . I tell you this because miracles really do happen. The last year of my life was, in an ironic way, the best year of my life. I was granted a reprieve and I grabbed it and held on. Cancer changed me in a very positive way and riding has been an integral part of my recovery." Jay also has an online site GeoManGear which sells GPS Units, Lights, Helmet Cams, First Aid Kits, etc.