Finally got a Mt. Bike race result! I finished 5th in the Monday night make up race at 4 Eagle Ranch. 5th place = 70 points for me and my team! We placed 1st and 5th in this race, that should help the standings a bit! (Mt. Pedaler of Vail) This is a working ranch, so the course was mostly singletrack cow path. There was one shortish but kinda steep climb immediately at the start, then a bunch of false flat single track, to a wide open grassy flat/slightly downhill, back to a technical and rocky singletrack short descent, followed by about a mile of false flat double track to the finish. We had 3 laps in the sport class which equaled about 12 miles. I got a great jump at the start, and was sitting about 3rd heading up the climb. I chose the right side of the road, and everyone else took the left. Something happened to the others, cause about half way up the hill I was all alone in first place. My legs were absolutely screaming and going numb... (once again no warm-up... not sure what my deal is). As we crested the top 2 guys came around me, one of which was my teammate Eric. There was a short false flat after the top of the hill, and they pulled away from me here just a bit, while I tried to collect myself from the major climbing effort. This is where one of the stream crossings was, the one that you can see if you look at the following pics.
http://www.mcclarrinonphotography.com/gallery/8748655_KuV2D#578842386_4RsPB
http://www.mcclarrinonphotography.com/gallery/8748655_KuV2D#578845835_ugPqd
http://www.mcclarrinonphotography.com/gallery/8748655_KuV2D#578832868_NgGbK
2 other guys came around me shortly after that putting me in a solid 5th place. On the flattish/downhill grassy pasture area I was really able to open it up to about 30 mph each lap, and on the following downhill, I also made up ground, only to lose it again on the next false flat. After the hill on the 2nd lap another kid came around me (also riding a green bike), and he pulled away a bit on the false flat single track, only to lose his place as I went screaming back by him on the grassy area. He caught up to me on the false flat before the finish, and we rode like this, going back and forth for an entire lap. After the climb on the 3rd lap he pulled away from me a bit, but I figured if I could keep him within about 1/4 mile I stood a decent chance of catching him on the grassy pasture area and following technical downhill. Sure enough I caught up to him, and was waiting on him on the downhill, when he hit a rock wrong going through a small ditch, and went over the bars. At this point I ran over him, and also hit the deck, but luckily I was ready for it and caught myself and took off again wasting little time. It was then that I began to see the guy in front of me, and he was almost within range, and I could tell he was fading. I was really pushing it in a big gear doing about 14 to 15 mph on the false flat double track. I was able to pull within about 15 seconds of him, but ran out of real estate to catch him. Ended up in 5th place! Very excited about that! This is my first good result since moving out here! Several factors probably factored into this result. First I am close to being in the best shape of my life. I currently weigh about 178 lbs. I have been really working on my climbing and am able to do short steep climbs relatively well. It's when the climbs are like 3 miles long that I really struggle to maintain power. Still focusing on this weakness. This race was kinda like a time trial to me, really a good power course, and I believe with another lap I would have had a chance to move into the top 3. It was a really good course for the big powerful guys!
The previous race was the Berry Creek Bash, and it had a long steep climb on it, and as we kept going up, I kept going backwards. I was among the fastest descenders, but if I am not able to get to the top with the front guys, it doesn't really matter how fast I am able to descend.... I also had a slight mechanical with my chain falling off that cost me about 2 minutes, but even with that I wouldn't have cracked the top 10. 5 points for finishing was all I got with my 22nd place finish.
Our Journey
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
WOW!
The race report from my road races and encounter with fame. The Glenwood Springs Omnium. I was only doing the TT and the Crit, as doing the 85 mile road race may have been a bit long for me, and would have set me back another 50 bucks putting my total for the weekend around 150.00 with one day licenses included. Friday night was the time trial. I underestimated the amount of time I would need to get there, and as a result just barely was able to get my number, sign a release, and get in line for the start.... exactly how I wanted to start one of my A events for the year.... with no warm-up. I started in second position and my goal was to avg. over 26 mph as my previous best in a TT was 25.98 mph in Decatur. I really had no idea how strong my legs were, as the only group road rides I had done had been with 50+ year old men..... The course was rolling with one short, steep, hill immediately after the turn around. Cross tailwind on the way out, and cross head wind on the way back. I was not using my power meter for this event, as I really wanted a fast time and the power meter is a little heavier. So I just tried to push it as hard as I could without going anaerobic. I never saw the guy that started in front of me until the turnaround, and the guy that started 30 seconds behind me passed me immediately after the turnaround. YIKES! Got passed by my 30 second man after 5 and a half miles. I must have been going SLOW was my thought.... or he was just really fast. Expected the way back in to be fairly slow and to be struggling, but I was still doing 25, 26, 27, mph every time I looked at my computer. At the 1K to go sign, I really punched it and still had a little left for a sprint at the finish. (Which tells me I should have gone harder out on the course....) I finished with a time of 24:01 @ 26.98 mph!! Awesome! I achieved my goal, and exceeded my expectations by almost an entire mile per hour! Ended up finishing 13 of 28 in the cat 3's. I was on a road bike with dish wheels and aero bars with a TT helmet. Maybe a little faster on a full TT bike, but I was extremely pleased with my effort.
After my cooldown, I came back to the starting line just in time to see a guy in full Astana kit take off. I asked someone who just took off and they were all excited and said it was Levi Leipheimer! HOLY COW!!! Lance was at the starting gate taking off next!!! How awesome was this! They were here because the course was only a short drive from Lance's Aspen home, and Levi has been there training with him for the Tour. After they took off, I went back to the car to get Natalie and we went up the the finish line to wait for them and take some pics.
Lance after his cooldown, signing autographs and posing for pics! He is so freaking skinny!
Lance was in full TT kit, helmet and all. Levi only had the bike, no TT helmet. Lance beat Levi by about 25 seconds or so, but Levi thought his brakes were rubbing the entire way. It was their first Time Trial on these new TT bikes.
Levi was kind enough to let me take a picture with him. I think I am a little bigger and taller than he is..... It was a pretty awesome experience! They were both there with their families. It makes them seem so normal when they are around their kids and wives. Like, hey look, they are not super human after all, they are actually really normal people!
On sunday I had the Glenwood springs Crit. It was a figure 8 type course that suited a punchy powerful type of rider. Bottom line is that I got dropped 20 minutes in. I do not do enough rides on the road with people that are faster than I to be in the shape I need to be in to do well in a 50 minute max effort crit. I believe the reason I was so much stronger in the TT is because I do most of my road training on my own. No draft. Kind of like riding a time trial. Never thought I would be doing a Time trial with Levi and Lance, but it was a really cool opportunity to see them and meet them in person!
After my cooldown, I came back to the starting line just in time to see a guy in full Astana kit take off. I asked someone who just took off and they were all excited and said it was Levi Leipheimer! HOLY COW!!! Lance was at the starting gate taking off next!!! How awesome was this! They were here because the course was only a short drive from Lance's Aspen home, and Levi has been there training with him for the Tour. After they took off, I went back to the car to get Natalie and we went up the the finish line to wait for them and take some pics.
Lance after his cooldown, signing autographs and posing for pics! He is so freaking skinny!
Lance was in full TT kit, helmet and all. Levi only had the bike, no TT helmet. Lance beat Levi by about 25 seconds or so, but Levi thought his brakes were rubbing the entire way. It was their first Time Trial on these new TT bikes.
Levi was kind enough to let me take a picture with him. I think I am a little bigger and taller than he is..... It was a pretty awesome experience! They were both there with their families. It makes them seem so normal when they are around their kids and wives. Like, hey look, they are not super human after all, they are actually really normal people!
On sunday I had the Glenwood springs Crit. It was a figure 8 type course that suited a punchy powerful type of rider. Bottom line is that I got dropped 20 minutes in. I do not do enough rides on the road with people that are faster than I to be in the shape I need to be in to do well in a 50 minute max effort crit. I believe the reason I was so much stronger in the TT is because I do most of my road training on my own. No draft. Kind of like riding a time trial. Never thought I would be doing a Time trial with Levi and Lance, but it was a really cool opportunity to see them and meet them in person!
Eagle Classic
The Vail/Beaver Creek Mountain Bike race series officially kicked off tonight with the Eagle Classic. Now I have lived in Eagle for almost a year, and this is one of the courses that I haven't yet ridden..... I am feeling pretty good and expecting a top ten finish. I had a slight crisis situation yesterday that may have prevented me from partaking in this event. A friend from school was going to help me put my bike together, but something came up and I went into Mt. Pedaler at about 5:30 yesterday and asked Charlie if he would be able to put it together and have it ready by the time of the race. He said sure. They closed at 4:00 on Wednesday, and finished my bike at 3:30.... Going into a race with never having ridden the bike before.....
not sure how I felt about that, but not sure that I had much choice. Got to the race and my chain got stuck between my bottom chainring and my bike, and I couldn't get it out. Because of this I only had 2 minutes of warm-up. Race started out going uphill, I started out a little further back than I wanted, and started passing people left and right as we went up this dirt road hill. A little bit from the top I fell off the pace of the lead 7-8 riders, but once I went over the top I was able to put it in the big ring and scream down the descent at about 33 mph. I missed the next turn and skidded past it, and then decided to shortcut through some sage...... BAD IDEA!!!! There was a large boulder in front of me that I couldn't avoid, and it sling shot me over the handlebars, down into this ravine on the other side of the trail.... I landed on my forehead and face (the reason for the skin missing on my upper lip and chin). I cracked my helmet in the front and had 2 bruises on my head from the impact of the dirt hitting my helmet.... Thank God for helmets!!! I sat up and collected myself for about 5-10 minutes, and then I continued on and finished the race. I even beat a few people and got 5 points for my team. Hope to not crash next time. I think I would have finished somewhere in the 5-10 range had I not crashed. Sweet bike though, huh? This thing is awesome! Thanks Matt and Wheelfast! I will get a review up on it as soon as possible.
not sure how I felt about that, but not sure that I had much choice. Got to the race and my chain got stuck between my bottom chainring and my bike, and I couldn't get it out. Because of this I only had 2 minutes of warm-up. Race started out going uphill, I started out a little further back than I wanted, and started passing people left and right as we went up this dirt road hill. A little bit from the top I fell off the pace of the lead 7-8 riders, but once I went over the top I was able to put it in the big ring and scream down the descent at about 33 mph. I missed the next turn and skidded past it, and then decided to shortcut through some sage...... BAD IDEA!!!! There was a large boulder in front of me that I couldn't avoid, and it sling shot me over the handlebars, down into this ravine on the other side of the trail.... I landed on my forehead and face (the reason for the skin missing on my upper lip and chin). I cracked my helmet in the front and had 2 bruises on my head from the impact of the dirt hitting my helmet.... Thank God for helmets!!! I sat up and collected myself for about 5-10 minutes, and then I continued on and finished the race. I even beat a few people and got 5 points for my team. Hope to not crash next time. I think I would have finished somewhere in the 5-10 range had I not crashed. Sweet bike though, huh? This thing is awesome! Thanks Matt and Wheelfast! I will get a review up on it as soon as possible.
34. 501 Chris Woods Ski And Snowboard Club Vail 44:36 5
35. 401 Brandon Bancker East West 44:53 5
36. 441 Bern Krueger 45:28 5
37. 570 Antonio Ascencio 45:55 5
38. 1094 John Krueger 46:50 5
39. 594 Paul Amicucci Cordillera Treadheads 47:02 5
40. 448 Nicholas Brummer Mountain Pedaler Of Vail 47:27 5
41. 683 Aaron Adams 50:05 5
42. 1101 Eric Benson 56:44 5
43. 1106 Matt Lydens 1:43:18 5
44. 562 Ben Dale Pedal Power - Streetswell 1:44:08 5
35. 401 Brandon Bancker East West 44:53 5
36. 441 Bern Krueger 45:28 5
37. 570 Antonio Ascencio 45:55 5
38. 1094 John Krueger 46:50 5
39. 594 Paul Amicucci Cordillera Treadheads 47:02 5
40. 448 Nicholas Brummer Mountain Pedaler Of Vail 47:27 5
41. 683 Aaron Adams 50:05 5
42. 1101 Eric Benson 56:44 5
43. 1106 Matt Lydens 1:43:18 5
44. 562 Ben Dale Pedal Power - Streetswell 1:44:08 5
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Tri-ing it out...
I had signed up for a triathlon in Denver for mid-April...actually the same weekend we moved. No clue what I was thinking when I thought the timing on that would work out. It ended up that there was a crazy blizzard in the front range that weekend and we decided not to head out for the tri. So the next tri on my calendar was June 6 down in Highlands Ranch, which is also basically in Denver. I convinced Tiffany to do this tri, and she convinced Jesslyn to do the tri with her. So the three of us have been training for the tri and then discussing our progress each day at school. My progress took a major hit when I had that silly bulging disc in my back. So I didn't train for about the last 2-3 weeks leading up to the tri. I was finally able to swim the week of the tri, so I decided I could handle the event itself.
The day of the event was awesome...about 50 degrees by my starting time (7 am) and sunny. I got started a bit late on my swim heat and was placed with three guys. They decided I was the fastest swimmer (based on our practice times), so I swam first. Turns out the guys weren't as consistent of swimmers as I was (not that I was fast, just consistently slow) and we had a bit of back and forth and swimming on top of one another until we settled into a groove.
(blue cap in the pic)
After that, it was on to the bike, which should have been a strong point for me, had I been training. It actually went pretty good and I found myself enjoying the climbing that was part of the 13-mile challenging course.
Then came the dreaded run. Admittedly, it was more of a walk than a run. It was brutally hilly, so combine the hills with the fact that I hate running in the first place, and...blah. I did pick a point about 3/4 of a mile out from the finish and made myself run(wog?? which is walk/jog - word made up by Tammi) to the FINISH line. Torrey and Alana were there waiting for me and cheering me on, so I think I may have actually smiled one time while running:-)
It was great to say I did the race and gave it my best, especially after losing so muich training time to injury. Next tri is up on July 19 in Leadville, which is about 4,000 ft higher in elevation than Gypsum.
Jesslyn, Tiffany and I celebrating our finishes!
The day of the event was awesome...about 50 degrees by my starting time (7 am) and sunny. I got started a bit late on my swim heat and was placed with three guys. They decided I was the fastest swimmer (based on our practice times), so I swam first. Turns out the guys weren't as consistent of swimmers as I was (not that I was fast, just consistently slow) and we had a bit of back and forth and swimming on top of one another until we settled into a groove.(blue cap in the pic)
After that, it was on to the bike, which should have been a strong point for me, had I been training. It actually went pretty good and I found myself enjoying the climbing that was part of the 13-mile challenging course.
Then came the dreaded run. Admittedly, it was more of a walk than a run. It was brutally hilly, so combine the hills with the fact that I hate running in the first place, and...blah. I did pick a point about 3/4 of a mile out from the finish and made myself run(wog?? which is walk/jog - word made up by Tammi) to the FINISH line. Torrey and Alana were there waiting for me and cheering me on, so I think I may have actually smiled one time while running:-)
It was great to say I did the race and gave it my best, especially after losing so muich training time to injury. Next tri is up on July 19 in Leadville, which is about 4,000 ft higher in elevation than Gypsum.
Jesslyn, Tiffany and I celebrating our finishes!Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Race Schedule and New Kit
Finally hoping to get the race schedule underway tonight with the Eagle Classic MTB race in Eagle Ranch. I did one road race back in March in Grand Junction, but wasn't strong enough to hang with the big boys, finishing about 15th of 31. I have only done one mtb race since moving here and was way too out of shape and big to compete in the Sport Class. Hopefully this year will be different as I am down around the racing weight I was hoping for (about 179lbs currently) and have been doing lots of good training. Here is the tentative race schedule and new kit (racing for Mountain Pedaler)
Also have a new bike, pics of that will soon follow!!!!
06/10/09
Eagle Classic mtb
Eagle Ranch - Eagle
6/12/09
Glenwood Springs Leg Breaker Time Trial 10 miles road bike
6/14/09
Glenwood Springs Criterium road bike
06/17/09
Berry Creek Bash mtb
Berry Creek Forest Service Road in Edwards
06/29/09
Hammer in the Hay mtb
4 Eagle Ranch- Wolcott
07/08/09
Vail Grind mtb
Lionshead Base Area, Vail
07/22/09
Davos Dash/Mike Janelle Memorial Race mtb
West Vail Holiday Inn Parking Lot
08/05/09
Beaver Creek Blast mtb
Base of Centennial Chair lift
9/12/09
12 Hours of Snowmass solo Mt. Bike
10/10/09-10/11/09
24 Hours of MOAB solo Mt. Bike
Also have a new bike, pics of that will soon follow!!!!
06/10/09
Eagle Classic mtb
Eagle Ranch - Eagle
6/12/09
Glenwood Springs Leg Breaker Time Trial 10 miles road bike
6/14/09
Glenwood Springs Criterium road bike
06/17/09
Berry Creek Bash mtb
Berry Creek Forest Service Road in Edwards
06/29/09
Hammer in the Hay mtb
4 Eagle Ranch- Wolcott
07/08/09
Vail Grind mtb
Lionshead Base Area, Vail
07/22/09
Davos Dash/Mike Janelle Memorial Race mtb
West Vail Holiday Inn Parking Lot
08/05/09
Beaver Creek Blast mtb
Base of Centennial Chair lift
9/12/09
12 Hours of Snowmass solo Mt. Bike
10/10/09-10/11/09
24 Hours of MOAB solo Mt. Bike
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Anniversary.... A day of Fish
1 year anniversary on Sunday May 31st 2009. I was having a hard time figuring out what to plan for our first anniversary, then the night before (saturday) I had a light bulb moment and was like, "oh, I'll take her to the aquarium in Denver. The only other aquarium we had been to together was SHEDD in Chicago. Natalie loves the fish and other sights of the ocean so this was an awesome idea I had!!! ....... :) On the way to Denver, we had to stop in Edwards to pick something up. She would not tell me what we were picking up, but just that we had to stop. There is one bike shop in Edwards that we have visited before, so I just thought she must have gotten me something to do with cycling. I asked her if it had anything to do with cycling and she said nope, and when we pulled up to the shop of Alpine River Outfitters I figured she must have gotten my a gift cert. to the fly shop or something. But in reality, it was oh so much better than that. She had gotten me a gift card to the fly shop, but it was not for merchandise. Nope, it was for a day long guided float trip for two!!!! AWESOME! Floating on the Colorado or the Eagle most likely. Natalie's manager at the Dusty Boot is a guide at this place. I think I will request him to take Natalie and I out on the river one day soon. How awesome! Natalie is going fly fishing with me!#$& :) I can't wait to see her catch a fish! The trout are really tearing up the salmon flies right now on the Colorado, so we can try to catch that hatch, or wait till the river slows a bit and fish a later hatch. There will be a blog about the trip coming soon.
When Natalie gave me this gift, all I said (of course after expressing to her how excited I was) is that it was IRONIC that she gave me a fishing trip..... She asked, "what do you mean", and I said, "you'll see when we get to where we are going." When we got to the aquarium she turned to me and said, "oh, I see, we both got each other something fishy......."
Denver aquarium in downtown Dever. Not as big as SHEDD in Chicago, but still really nice, and many exciting exibits!
This was a freshwater turtle with his head sucked into his shell. Looks kinda odd....
Don't remember what kind of fish this was, but I was able to get an extreme close-up of his face through the glass.
They had a large pool filled with stingrays of all different sized. You could pet them and feed them. So we both touched them as they floated by, Natalie was extremely grossed out as they felt very slimy and icky. I thought i felt kinda cool.... Go figure!.... I spend 2 bucks and bought 4 of these little fishies to feed them. You had to hold them like this and tuck your thumb behind your other fingers so they didn't bite off your thumb..... The first couple that I fed were smaller and kind of gently latched on to my hand and used their tounge to remove the fish from my fingers. But it wasn't long before they started to get worked up into a feeding frenzy and the big dogs started moving in for the kill. One of the biggest ones in the tank came up and clamped down on my fingers and sucked the fish out. It was all fine and dandy, and I think it just surprised me more than anything, cause when he clamped down on my fingers, I ripped my fishless hand out of his mouth!!! Some pretty strong jaws on the bigger ones.
This was a ray in a different tank, we just felt like he was smiling at us..... Super cool to be able to see the entire belly side of the ray!
When Natalie gave me this gift, all I said (of course after expressing to her how excited I was) is that it was IRONIC that she gave me a fishing trip..... She asked, "what do you mean", and I said, "you'll see when we get to where we are going." When we got to the aquarium she turned to me and said, "oh, I see, we both got each other something fishy......."
Denver aquarium in downtown Dever. Not as big as SHEDD in Chicago, but still really nice, and many exciting exibits!
This was a freshwater turtle with his head sucked into his shell. Looks kinda odd....Don't remember what kind of fish this was, but I was able to get an extreme close-up of his face through the glass.
They had a large pool filled with stingrays of all different sized. You could pet them and feed them. So we both touched them as they floated by, Natalie was extremely grossed out as they felt very slimy and icky. I thought i felt kinda cool.... Go figure!.... I spend 2 bucks and bought 4 of these little fishies to feed them. You had to hold them like this and tuck your thumb behind your other fingers so they didn't bite off your thumb..... The first couple that I fed were smaller and kind of gently latched on to my hand and used their tounge to remove the fish from my fingers. But it wasn't long before they started to get worked up into a feeding frenzy and the big dogs started moving in for the kill. One of the biggest ones in the tank came up and clamped down on my fingers and sucked the fish out. It was all fine and dandy, and I think it just surprised me more than anything, cause when he clamped down on my fingers, I ripped my fishless hand out of his mouth!!! Some pretty strong jaws on the bigger ones.
This was a ray in a different tank, we just felt like he was smiling at us..... Super cool to be able to see the entire belly side of the ray!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)