Last week Cathy and I loaded up and headed out Wednesday right after work for a much needed vacation. Cathy's Aunt was having a 60th b-day party up at there place in Ely, MN...literally 10-12 miles from the Canadian border! Despite the incredibly long drive it was well worth the time to relax. After the party on Saturday we loaded up and headed down to Phillips. We got in kinda late so we couldn't pre-ride what turned out to be a pretty new course. Traditionally Phillips is mostly ski trails with some single track. This year was a lot more single track and made for a better race.
Sunday started with a hint of rain here and there, then cleared up and turned into a perfect day of racing. I was hoping to cherry pick a little at this race, I figured high gas prices, a long drive, and with Super Week it should be a smaller field. I was kinda right, we only had around 40 guys, but of that only 2 of the top 20 were missing, so much for an easy race. We hit the road lead out and I was sitting in a decent spot. I hung out with a group of 5 and each lap we lost 1-2 guys. On my 3rd of 5 laps I started to really hurt I hit a few clif bloks and doubled my water intake, all of the sudden the legs came around and the power was back. I got around a few guys and figured I had to be doing decent because I was lapping a ton of Comp riders. On the lead-in to the finish we were slopping through the only wet spot in the state of Wisconsin when a single speeder just flew past me! I tried to get on his wheel but he was on a mission, on the last hill I threw down an attack, and closed the gap. Once we were on the road he looked at me and said "I think you got me here". He was right, I grabbed a few gears and was gone. Despite having a full field I pulled out a season best 12th place over all and got on the podium again for my age group.
As I mentioned earlier we didn't get to pre-ride which was good because otherwise Cathy probably wouldn't have raced. The course was really rough and she was bouncing around a lot on the hardtail. She wasn't too excited to race but got out there anyhow and even though she didn't feel too good was able to hold a strong pace. She was going back and forth with a couple girls and was ahead of a few girls that normally put the hurt on. On the last lap a girl she was riding with crashed pretty hard, even though she didn't want to, Cathy used that to put a gap on her and was able to hold that for an....8th place finish!! After figuring out the points yesterday that is going to put her in 10th place overall, good enough for a call up at Calumet! This has been a tough season in a harder class but Cathy is really stepping up and throwing down some very solid finishes.
This weekend is 24-9, we are getting everything finalized. Cathy finally got her team plans together, she is doing a Co-ed 5 person 24 hour team. I have a few more night rides this week and then lots of rest. The plan this week is eat and sleep. I know I haven't kept this up todate, but I will get a few post this week leading to the race.
Out for now, Neil
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Friday, July 14, 2006
Boycotting the heat
There is two things that my body absolutely rejects: heat and shoe shopping - neither of which I have any control against. The race at Eau Claire a couple weeks ago was HOT!! After a full week of feeling crummy Cathy got sick, probably from being so wore down and slept for like 18 hours, I didn't get sick but it did take me the entire week to start feeling better. I tried to get my rides in late in the day or early in the morning but was still struggling with the heat wearing me down. Finally I decided to boycott the heat altogether and ride at night. Everyday this week my rides have started at 9-9:30pm. By then things are starting to cool off and I have noticed that I am feeling a ton better too. In addition to avoiding the heat the night riding has been helping prepare for 24-9 later this month.
So what's is store for this weekend? This:
Traditionally the race this weekend is always on the hottest weekend of the summer and this year is forecasted to be exactly that. With 105 degree heat index it is going to be a cooker. It should be interesting to see how everything pans out, will people go out hard like normal and blow up, will the pace be a little slower because of the heat (I know mine will be). All in all this is a pretty fun course so it shouldn't be too bad.
So what's is store for this weekend? This:Traditionally the race this weekend is always on the hottest weekend of the summer and this year is forecasted to be exactly that. With 105 degree heat index it is going to be a cooker. It should be interesting to see how everything pans out, will people go out hard like normal and blow up, will the pace be a little slower because of the heat (I know mine will be). All in all this is a pretty fun course so it shouldn't be too bad.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
WORS #5 - Eau Claire
This is quickly becoming my favorite race of the series. We drove up on Saturday with the new rack. As a side note, anyone that is looking for a bike rack this could possibly be the best thing since sliced bread! The bikes load so easy and quickly even when you are dead tired from the race!
Typically when you head north things get a little cooler, not the case here. When we got into town and got the tent set up it was topping 90+ degrees. We loaded up with water and headed out for preride. There was one rocky downhill that Cathy was really struggling with, after about 5 tries we changed plans and she decided to run down it during the race.
Sunday turned out to be even hotter than the day before. I walked around with an umbrella all morning trying to keep from burning up before the race. Even though it wasn't part of the Minnesota Series this year there was still a really good turnout in the Expert field. Before I knew it we were off and the dust was flying! Everyone was really jockeying for position going into the first single track, and despite some people forgetting how to ride we all made it in smoothly. I was feeling pretty good and was pushing a pretty hard pace. I knew the heat was going to take it's toll but I wanted to get moved up as far as I could before that happened. Sure enough on the 3rd of 4 laps I started to feel the heat. I was cold and shivering every time I came out of the woods, and a few times things were getting blurry. I ate a bunch of my clif bloks and drank all my water to try and pull things together. By the end of the lap I came back around and could put the power down again. Good thing because during that time I dropped back to 20-23 place. I just floored it the last lap moving up the 17th. Coming out of the final single track a guy got on my wheel. I tried to push the pace and shake him but he was already in the finish sprint. I stood up and grabbed 3 gears. We sprinted side-by-side for the last 150 yrds. of the race...I got him by 1 bike length at the line!
Meanwhile Cathy was having a really good race herself. She took off with a new strategy to stay on the main packs wheel as long a possible. She was feeling good and as they approached the downhill section she planned on running, everyone else rode it so she sat back and just hung on riding it like a champ!! With that added confidence she upped the pace and for the first time felt like she was really racing. She was hanging on and dropping girls throughout the rest of the race. When she finally made it to the line she was sitting just outside the top 10 in 12th spot!!
We were both pretty burnt from the heat so after a quick cool down we loaded up the truck and headed home. The next couple days were much needed recovery rides. That brings us up to today. I think we are going to stay in town tonight and depending on how we feel do some mt.bike Time Trials around rockport...if it is hot we might end up in the pool by the time it is all said and done.
Typically when you head north things get a little cooler, not the case here. When we got into town and got the tent set up it was topping 90+ degrees. We loaded up with water and headed out for preride. There was one rocky downhill that Cathy was really struggling with, after about 5 tries we changed plans and she decided to run down it during the race.
Sunday turned out to be even hotter than the day before. I walked around with an umbrella all morning trying to keep from burning up before the race. Even though it wasn't part of the Minnesota Series this year there was still a really good turnout in the Expert field. Before I knew it we were off and the dust was flying! Everyone was really jockeying for position going into the first single track, and despite some people forgetting how to ride we all made it in smoothly. I was feeling pretty good and was pushing a pretty hard pace. I knew the heat was going to take it's toll but I wanted to get moved up as far as I could before that happened. Sure enough on the 3rd of 4 laps I started to feel the heat. I was cold and shivering every time I came out of the woods, and a few times things were getting blurry. I ate a bunch of my clif bloks and drank all my water to try and pull things together. By the end of the lap I came back around and could put the power down again. Good thing because during that time I dropped back to 20-23 place. I just floored it the last lap moving up the 17th. Coming out of the final single track a guy got on my wheel. I tried to push the pace and shake him but he was already in the finish sprint. I stood up and grabbed 3 gears. We sprinted side-by-side for the last 150 yrds. of the race...I got him by 1 bike length at the line!
Meanwhile Cathy was having a really good race herself. She took off with a new strategy to stay on the main packs wheel as long a possible. She was feeling good and as they approached the downhill section she planned on running, everyone else rode it so she sat back and just hung on riding it like a champ!! With that added confidence she upped the pace and for the first time felt like she was really racing. She was hanging on and dropping girls throughout the rest of the race. When she finally made it to the line she was sitting just outside the top 10 in 12th spot!!
We were both pretty burnt from the heat so after a quick cool down we loaded up the truck and headed home. The next couple days were much needed recovery rides. That brings us up to today. I think we are going to stay in town tonight and depending on how we feel do some mt.bike Time Trials around rockport...if it is hot we might end up in the pool by the time it is all said and done.
Friday, June 30, 2006
2007 Fox Fork
The past few years I have had problems with my Fox forks. This winter I had enough and was lurred in by the light weight of the SID Team. It didn't take too many rides before I realized that was a mistake, it was very flexy for my 175lbs. and felt like I was riding a flat front tire all the time.
Now that I am back on a Fox I feel more like home. There is a lot of new features for 2007 starting with the look. When I pulled the fork out of the box it looked like a downhill fork compared to my SID.
The 32mm santions haven't changed but the lower legs have a new look and are even stiffer than before...I know I didn't think it was possible either. I have only rode the fork for a week now but have had some solid rides in there and am happy to report all the problems with leaky seals appear to be gone. There are some internal changes as well but I haven't tore into the fork to notice any of that yet. One really nice feature is an adjustable lockout threshold. This isn't intended to replace or act like the FX series, but if you have the fork locked out and hit a big hole the fork will break loose and absorb the bump before locking out again.
So how does it ride? Well I opted for the 100mm instead of the 80mm. They are with in a few ounces of each other and the 100mm can be de-stroked to 80mm if need be. My first ride with the longer travel the bike did feel a little slower in the corners.
I measured the new head angle the next day and found that it had only changed by like .5 degrees, so I think the feeling was in my head. I really like the extra travel, it is a softer ride and totally soaks up everything on the trail. I raced on it last weekend and the fork handled increadably. The stiffer fork handled sooo much better in the tight single track of Altera and the longer travel really was nice on the down hills.
As much as I would like to say this fork will make you faster, it won't. But it will keep you fresh and in control, which in the end will allow you to go faster, read into that as you like.
Now that I am back on a Fox I feel more like home. There is a lot of new features for 2007 starting with the look. When I pulled the fork out of the box it looked like a downhill fork compared to my SID.
The 32mm santions haven't changed but the lower legs have a new look and are even stiffer than before...I know I didn't think it was possible either. I have only rode the fork for a week now but have had some solid rides in there and am happy to report all the problems with leaky seals appear to be gone. There are some internal changes as well but I haven't tore into the fork to notice any of that yet. One really nice feature is an adjustable lockout threshold. This isn't intended to replace or act like the FX series, but if you have the fork locked out and hit a big hole the fork will break loose and absorb the bump before locking out again.So how does it ride? Well I opted for the 100mm instead of the 80mm. They are with in a few ounces of each other and the 100mm can be de-stroked to 80mm if need be. My first ride with the longer travel the bike did feel a little slower in the corners.
I measured the new head angle the next day and found that it had only changed by like .5 degrees, so I think the feeling was in my head. I really like the extra travel, it is a softer ride and totally soaks up everything on the trail. I raced on it last weekend and the fork handled increadably. The stiffer fork handled sooo much better in the tight single track of Altera and the longer travel really was nice on the down hills.As much as I would like to say this fork will make you faster, it won't. But it will keep you fresh and in control, which in the end will allow you to go faster, read into that as you like.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Busy Summer
That has been the word of this month! So the last thing I posted was the Wisconsin State Road race. The next weekend we skipped Kewannee and headed down to Chicago for a the weekend to celebrate our 2nd year aniversary. It was fun getting away and site seeing. We have been down there a few times but never just to kill time and look around.
Then last weekend my sister came down so Cathy and her dropped me off at Crystal Ridge and then they went off shopping. I entered the 3 hour race to get the legs moving again after a few weeks off. Things started out really well getting the hole shot and leading into the single track. Then I rolled my tire off the rim, instant flat. I started walking hoping someone would have a pump.
ure enough the 5th from last guy had something. I started pumping like crazy and finally got my tire up to pressure. I was feeling really good so I just focused on making up as many spots as I could. I knew it would be hard to caught Jesse, but I didn't see any reason I couldn't at least finish second. At the 4th lap and just over 2 hours in I got around the second man, putting only Jesse ahead of me. I could tell I wasn't caughting him as I would see him in the same spot every lap. I pushed hard just to get a solid 5th lap in and rolled in about 4 minutes after the win.
This weekend we are headed up to Eau Claire for WORS #5. My goal this year was to stay in the top 20, after skipping the last race I dropped to 21st...BUMMER! It is a fast course and I really need to push some big gears to get back to my goals.
Then last weekend my sister came down so Cathy and her dropped me off at Crystal Ridge and then they went off shopping. I entered the 3 hour race to get the legs moving again after a few weeks off. Things started out really well getting the hole shot and leading into the single track. Then I rolled my tire off the rim, instant flat. I started walking hoping someone would have a pump.
ure enough the 5th from last guy had something. I started pumping like crazy and finally got my tire up to pressure. I was feeling really good so I just focused on making up as many spots as I could. I knew it would be hard to caught Jesse, but I didn't see any reason I couldn't at least finish second. At the 4th lap and just over 2 hours in I got around the second man, putting only Jesse ahead of me. I could tell I wasn't caughting him as I would see him in the same spot every lap. I pushed hard just to get a solid 5th lap in and rolled in about 4 minutes after the win.This weekend we are headed up to Eau Claire for WORS #5. My goal this year was to stay in the top 20, after skipping the last race I dropped to 21st...BUMMER! It is a fast course and I really need to push some big gears to get back to my goals.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Am I getting Soft?
So this weekend we were scheduled to race the 12 hours at Muir. The park rangers have no problem closing the trails if there is so much as a forecast of rain. Well about 2am the rain started. It was still, raining when we got up to get everything loaded, I called Chris who was at the parking lot already and he said the race was on rain or shine! We called around and everyone kinda decided they didn't want to slop it out all day. So we threw in the towel before we even got started. Cathy and I were only about 5 minutes out of town so we turned around and went home. I really wanted to race so we decided to hit the Wisconsin State Road Championships later that afternoon. We went home and crashed for about 1.5 hours then got up and loaded the road bike. 
The coarse was tough but still fast, which made for an all around hard race. The start/finish line was about 100 yrds. from the top of a substantial hill. From the start line was a few rollers, then we turned into a few more rollers. Then just around the 3rd corner there were another set of rollers all leading to a FAST down hill, I was gliding at about 45mph!
Cory, Jason, Bill, and I all talked strategy, as much as a bunch of mt.bikers know, and the general consensus was to just hammer and see what happens...sounds like mt.bikers!! I wanted to keep things together so that I could attack on the 4th climb. I took a few pulls longer than I wanted too and chased a few breaks down more than I wanted also.
I still attacked on the 4th climb and got a good gap with one other guy. We stayed off for about 1/2 a lap before he sat up and we got pulled in. I knew at this point it was going to be a pack sprint, which I am not good at, so I decided to get a good hard workout leading to that. 
I got out front a few more times and took a few hard pulls. I came into the final corner in a good spot. The last hill felt really hurt but I maintained a decent spot over the top and rolled in 15th of 70 guys.
The race didn't seem that hard or that long but on the way home we were all just toasted! I think the medium short laps took my mind off the pace and the effort...good for a training ride, but not good strategy. Oh well it turned out to be a beautiful day so I am glad we did the race.
The coarse was tough but still fast, which made for an all around hard race. The start/finish line was about 100 yrds. from the top of a substantial hill. From the start line was a few rollers, then we turned into a few more rollers. Then just around the 3rd corner there were another set of rollers all leading to a FAST down hill, I was gliding at about 45mph!
Cory, Jason, Bill, and I all talked strategy, as much as a bunch of mt.bikers know, and the general consensus was to just hammer and see what happens...sounds like mt.bikers!! I wanted to keep things together so that I could attack on the 4th climb. I took a few pulls longer than I wanted too and chased a few breaks down more than I wanted also.
I still attacked on the 4th climb and got a good gap with one other guy. We stayed off for about 1/2 a lap before he sat up and we got pulled in. I knew at this point it was going to be a pack sprint, which I am not good at, so I decided to get a good hard workout leading to that. 
I got out front a few more times and took a few hard pulls. I came into the final corner in a good spot. The last hill felt really hurt but I maintained a decent spot over the top and rolled in 15th of 70 guys.The race didn't seem that hard or that long but on the way home we were all just toasted! I think the medium short laps took my mind off the pace and the effort...good for a training ride, but not good strategy. Oh well it turned out to be a beautiful day so I am glad we did the race.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Hard Recovery
To my surprise the rain yesterday wasn't enough to pursued the park rangers to close Kettle. Cory and Holly picked me up from work and we met up with Chris in the parking lot. Cory wanted to go hard because he didn't get to race this weekend, Chris wanted to go hard to show he had been riding this spring, and I wanted to just hang on for dear life with my legs still a little sore from this weekend.
We took off and the trails were surprisingly not muddy. Because of all the humidity though the rocks had a nice layer of wetness on them. This didn't seem to affect Cory however, he got out front and was just flying! His Tubeless CrossMarks were just hooking up like crazy! I was doing everything I could to keep him in site. My legs responded better than I expected to the hard efforts. I even got out front and was able to open a small gap a time or two.
Overall it was a really good ride I think my legs are recovered from this weekend and today will feel good to let them just sit. Everyone is riding strong and it should be a fun race this weekend.
We took off and the trails were surprisingly not muddy. Because of all the humidity though the rocks had a nice layer of wetness on them. This didn't seem to affect Cory however, he got out front and was just flying! His Tubeless CrossMarks were just hooking up like crazy! I was doing everything I could to keep him in site. My legs responded better than I expected to the hard efforts. I even got out front and was able to open a small gap a time or two.
Overall it was a really good ride I think my legs are recovered from this weekend and today will feel good to let them just sit. Everyone is riding strong and it should be a fun race this weekend.
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