racin' not rousin'

First race of the year is in the books.  The MBAA Hedgehog Hustle...a pretty awesome race venue situated in the mountains just west of Phoenix with the International Raceway as a backdrop.

Andrea raced too and won the Womens Open Category.

The last time I did a race in AZ might have been the Hedgehog Hustle in 2002!  It had been a while but I definitely had some recollection of the course.  It was an overcast day and had rained leaving the course in more than perfect condition.

Luckily for me it was a pretty mellow start and I knew that if I survived the first onslaught of pain I would settle in just fine.  I survived and then moved from 5th wheel to 3rd behind Trav.  It was a long steady climb on the back side of the course and the Fuel EX actually seemed to be climbing pretty good.  I passed Trav and started in pursuit of Macky who had a 15 second gap.

I think the gap stayed the same the rest of the climb until things got a little punchier and the slow accelerations of the EX started to hurt my legs.  I knew I was making time on the descents with the dropper post and the 5 inches of travel, but I also knew I couldn't match Macky on the climbs with my 30lb Fuel.  I fought the entire race hoping he would make a mistake or fade at the end, but he was on a good day.  I finished up 2nd and actually seemed to start going faster as the race progressed!  Always a good feeling.

Macky and I first met at the Gravel Rouser last year.  He was fast then and is still fast now!  I'm looking forward to many more battles with him!

My dad was out to visit and was able to help out Andrea and I with some bottle feeds at the race.  Thanks Dad!  We also got in some pretty good riding down in Tucson thru Saguaro NP, up Mt. Lemmon, around Fantasy Island and ate some good Mexican food.  Unfortunately with dad here last weekend and plans to stay in AZ longer this year and do Sea Otter in April we will not make it to Athens for the 10th annual Gravel Rouser Classic this coming weekend.

Dad & I on Mt. Lemmon

Sympathy Snow

Still having a blast in Tucson!  I hate to say it...probably even more so with all the snow that they are getting back in the Midwest.

We did get some 'epic' snow in the desert though!  I thought it was going to wreak havoc on the Momentum Endurance Training Camp, but then I remembered that we were all Midwest tough!

The Camp was a huge success and all had fun, ate burritos, and got in some good quality miles.  We did do one great road ride w/ amazing scenery the day after the big storm.

Then we finished up camp with an awesome day of riding MTB's in the snow.  Here is a link to the video on cyclingdirt!

http://www.cyclingdirt.org/video/696756-Bugs-in-the-Snow               

 

                   
After camp and a couple days of R&R it hit me a little.  The desire to get out and jam.  Gettin' back on the horse as they say down here in Tucson.  So I did a good mtb ride w/ an old friend at Fantasy Island.  Then another Epic in the Snow.

We attempted the back side of Mt. Lemmon on road bikes....big mistake after the storm, but we all survived and had fun.  Affter about 75 miles of riding we hit the mud & then the snow.  The options were another 75 miles backwards on bikes or hike....so we hiked.  5 miles in the snow up the back side of the mtn.  2 hours later and we made the top.  Hiking in frozen road shoes was a little rough.  The bikes were frozen solid, the pedals and cleats were inoperable, and we were running out of daylight so we had to call for a ride home instead of descending the front side of the mtn and finishing up the ride.

I finished myself off with the infmaous Shootout.  I was sufficiently smashed and happily slipped back into off-season mode!  Until next time - I'll be 'chillin'.