The Big Show, The Circus...The Otter

What ever you want to call it, the Sea Otter is definitely one of the biggest races of the year.  With a huge industry presence, World Cup caliber competition and a wide variety of events ranging from BMX to road racing and even CX its a must do event...at least once.

Monterey - Can't go wrong racing in a place like this...

Last time I did Sea Otter was 2002.  I had a great result, but never the desire to return.  In 2002 we left Tucson and it just never made sense to attempt Sea Otter after spending a winter in WI.  This year with our extended stay in Tucson we had to make a comeback.  The circus was even bigger and more spectacular than I remember.  I'm not quite sure if I really liked it though.....waiting 35 minutes in line just to park 25 minutes away from the venue in a dusty field.  Crossing 3 spectator bridges to span
the Laguna Seca without getting wheelied on by a DH'er, and getting lucky to navigate the maze of the entire thing just to make it to the start line on time....that is if you really knew when your start time was.

Anyway I was there and tried to make the best of it....the circus started with a short track.  At it was definitely a circus when I rolled to the line in about 80th position...nothing like starting the first big race of the year in last place!  This photo tells all about 20 seconds into the race I was already 25 seconds off the back and standing still waiting to go thru corner #2.  Luckily I had great legs and used some cross skills to fight all the way back to 13th place!  Click below pic for video.

http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/250645-Sea-Otter-Classic/video/706497-STXC-1st-Lap-Congestion

Day 2 was the XC on Saturday at high noon.  After being stuck in a traffic jam for way too long I decided I wasn't going to make it in time and had to abandon my car on the side of the road to make it to the start line.  I had a call up after the short track performance, but it didn't matter when the field barged to the line after about 15 guys were called up.  I started great but was boxed in before a pivotal moment and exited the pavement in about 30th position.  There I stayed for the next 15 minutes as the course descended at high speeds with only one line available.  Once the course started pointing up and opening up a bit the gaps were formed, but I slowly started picking my way forward.  I was riding mostly with Alex Grant from Sho-Air-Cannondale and we were working good together picking guys off one by one.  We ended up catching Olympic Champ Kulhavy on the last climb and dropped him!  Alex's teammate Ben Sonntag latched on at the last minute and we had a 3 up tactical sprint on the track!  It was fun, but I was really hoping for better than 19th after the way I felt in the short track...maybe I peaked a day early!

Overall it was a fast trip to Monterrey.  I didn't get to check out 17 mile drive or Pebble Beach, I didn't make it to Cannery Row, but I did get to the Wharf for a bread bowl of Clam Chowder!  Huge thanks to ProGold Lubricants, Trek Bicycles, and of course Andrea for making life just a little easier under the big top!



Andrea made it to 17 mile drive!  Saturday morning...I'm jealous.
 

Post race recovery Clam Chowder on the Wharf!
 



Golden

I am Golden. My bikes are dialed. I am hanging in California in a really nice place. San Luis Obispo to be exact. Thursday we will drive north 3 hours and be ready for the first big race of the year. The Sea Otter Classic. It's been since 2002 since I have raced the Sea Otter and thanks to my good buddy Doug Swanson I have the results that say (at least in my book) I had a pretty good outing at the last go.

 This year I am not sure exactly where I will stack up, but I am confident heading into the race that my equipment is the best and I am well trained. In fact maybe a little too well trained! Last week I finished up the last of the first month of base miles with a huge week on the bike. Most of it was spent on the new MTB's getting familiar with the big wheels and the last two days were amidst traveling to CA.

Last Tuesday I did a killer ride on the new SF100. I road up Reddington Rd, up the AZ Trail, up the Back Side of Mt. Lemmon to Bug Springs and then down all the way home. I was pretty impressed with the 29er's ability to descend...and maybe more impressed with its ability to bulldoze over rocks. I struggled on the steep stuff with step ups as my timing with my pedal stroke and the big wheels was a little off....working on that...

 Wed I went really really big with my first ride on the Superfly hard tail. Up Mt. Lemmon then down the back side dirt road to the Circle K in Oracle...then a 'U' turn and back up the dirt road to the top of Lemmon again. 13,000+ feet of climbibng in 8.5 hours and 125 miles.

Thursday was the last day in Tucson and I did Bug Springs one last time...its the best trail in Tucson! The desert was beautiful with all the cactus in full bloom!

 Friday we drove to Indian Wells to see Andrea's sister Carrie. Saturday morning I studied up some Strava segments and put together a pretty good route with over 5,000 ft of climbing. I was pretty impressed with the area....but the place is a little pricey for my wallet! After Saturdays ride we finished up the drive to our destination of San Luis Obispo...en route we found some of the best Mexican food I have ever eaten in Santa Barbara...Taqueria Cuernavaca! So Authentic and So Good!  

 

Sunday I was pretty tired, but the life of the Pacific Ocean gave me enough energy to finish up one last 4.5 hour ride up the PCH to Cambria and then up Santa Rosa Creek Rd....I think they were or did use this road in the Tour of California one year....pretty sweet climb that just got steeper and steeper.

 All in all it was a pretty awesome week! 36,250 feet of climbing, 400 miles, and 26 hours. I was pretty good until I took a day off the bike yesterday and now today I'm finally smashed! Time to rest up for Sea Otter!  Oscor is a great travel partner and is adapting to all his new surroundings like a champ! 

Rippin' Crashin' Wrenchin' & Racin'

It's been a while since the last update! Here goes.....less than a week left in Tucson, which means sometime last week the countdown was on. Usually that means time to hit every mtb trail in town one last time. This year however it meant get an even bigger bike and really let it rip! So I borrowed a Slash with a full 6 inches of suspension and took it out for a few final downhill runs! Man that was fun until....I just clipped my bar on a rock outcrop and took a big time crash....oops no more downhill runs for this guy! Check out this video from the day before the crash when I went for an awesome ride with Josey Weik.  My bar looks like it was millimeters from the Rock that caused the crash.

Even though I wanted to do more DH runs it was time to make the transition thanks to the UPS man and all my sponsors! On Thursday all my goods for the season arrived including some new Oakley Racing Jackets, a full slew of Shimano XTR components, a new Superfly PRO SL hard tail frame, and a couple of Rock Shox! That's right...a new sponsor for the season. Rock Shox is on board w/ full support! Good thing too w/ new 29er bikes its nice to have the lightest suspension forks out there...

I spent all day Thursday waiting for the UPS man and once he arrived the wrenches started turning! By evening a had a Superfly 100 built and a Superfly Po SL half built.

Friday I had time to get in a shakedown ride on the SF100 w/ Momentum Endurance athlete Mike Carney who is down in Tucson getting in a solid week of sunshine and good miles. Everything felt great...after an awesome dinner it was up to Phoenix to stay the night w/ Brad Palumbo and family.

Saturday morning it was off to the races in Prescott! The Punisher....and yes the course lent itself to a punishment. It was a very open fast race course w/ lots of false flat climbs, big headwinds, and then ripping fast descents. There was just a few technical singletrack sections per lap.  You could pedal as hard as you wanted and really 'punish' yourself.  The race was almost like the start of Ore To Shore....a big group of guys battling for the 2 lines on the 4 ft wide section of trail. After the first climb TJ Woodruff opened it up and it was a mano y mano battle! Even though we are great friends we battled until the end. Trav made one mistake with about 5 miles of lightning fast racing to go and I got the slightest gap on the following climb and pushed hard to extend that gap every chance possible.

I took my first win on the SF100 and was pleasantly surprised with how it rode....especially in the tight singletrack. It was fast...it felt smooth...it definitely got the job done!  Andrea scored another podium in the Womens Open race finished 2nd and 5th overall.  A few more days and then off to California!

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'.

Gettin' my drop on

Skills 101 - that's what it has been all about down here in Tucson!  So I thought it would be time for a little more in depth review of one my favorite bikes I've ever ridden....my new Trek Fuel EX 9.

As a professional racer I am accustomed to the lightest and the best of the best.  The new Fuel EX 9 is neither the lightest nor the best of the best and I think that's why I am having a blast riding it....downhill!



The bike is weighing in at 29 lbs w/ pedals, bottle cage, and GO Pro!  The new FOX CTD suspension does provide a good platform for climbing, but what goes up must come down.  With 130mm's of plush bottomless travel, high volume 2.2 Bontrager XR3 Team Issue Tubeless Ready tires, and a Rock Shox Reverb dropper seatpost this bikes gives me confidence on descent like I've never had before.

The frame is aluminum, the Rhythm wheels are solid, and the Shimano XT is durable and reliable.  I'm loving the new clutch rear der, that locks the cage into place and keeps tension on the chain at all times eliminating chain slap and virtually stopping all chances of a dropped chain.

The biggest confidence booster however has to be the Reverb.  A quick push of the hydraulic lever and the seat drops 125mm's.  This allows you to quickly adjust your weight back on the bike and take a drop that you would never even consider on a XC bike with your seat at full height. 

Trek's suspension gurus have the linkage and the suspension dialed for small bumps, rocks, and the big drops.   Overall this bike rules, its fun, its fast, and you don't have to be afraid to get it scratched with a really reasonable price tag.  Time to go shred...

Dropping the Waterfall on the Milagrosa Trail

                           

It's for fun!

The Desert

We made it to Tucson in one piece!

It was an adventure and our first trip across the country with Oscor.  Somehow in a two day time frame I cleaned up from a muddy CX Nationals, packed up my life, loaded the car, and headed to the Southwest.  This year due to weather we took a different route than normal.  I-80 west to Denver - south on 25 - west on I-10.  The first night we made it to Walnut, IA and found a Super 8.  Not bad....

The next night we made it to Las Vegas, NM.  I decided Super 8 was pretty good on night number one so we might as well try it again.  We scored the best hotel I have ever stayed at...  no joke, not really expecting that at a Super 8.  So if you ever find yourself in Las Vegas, NM and need a place to stay I highly recommend the Super 8!

Oscor soaking in some rays and getting some Z's at the same time!

We arrived, Oscor was a champ for the entire 30 hours and is adapting to the sunshine quite nicely.  A day later we were loading up again to Fountain Hills for the first MBAA race.  Andrea was excited to rip some trails and she finished 3rd in the Womens Open race.  On the way home I had finally had enough and succumbed to getting sick. 

AZ Trail w/ Trav, Chloe, John Beck, & Krista Park

It took about a week of laying low before I was feeling back to normal.  Luckily  just in time for an ass kicking 6 hour ride on the AZ Trail on my new Fuel EX 9.  The new bike is so awesome.  Fat tires, big suspension, and the new coolest feature in my opinion is the dropper seat post!  I'm so glad I picked up this bike to rip up some trails out here and save a little wear on tear on the race bike.

Trek Fuel EX 9 - nothing fancy, but a really sweet ride!

The 6 hour ride put me out of commission for a few days.  It took a lot of birthday pizza & ice cream cake a few days later to finally recover! 

El Champion

Why I really love coming down to AZ, besides the man size burritos:  a quick recap of the last five days.

THURSDAY:  Bug Springs 4 hour mtb day with Andrea
FRIDAY:  Rest day...nope how about a jam session on Mt. Lemmon w/ Tommy D and Phil Gaimon.
SATURDAY:  OK now a rest day and 4 CX races on the internet!
SUNDAY:  New friends, big bikes, and the Milagrosa trail followed by pizza & Superbowl
MONDAY:  Peariso's arrived for some Arizona Trail Action & more burritos.





Yep I'm tired, but thats what its all about.  Time for bed so I can do it again tomorrow!  Yee-hah

Another amazing Tucson sunset

                                                                                                                          

Last Hurrah

CX Nationals.  The last race of the year.  After a pretty solid race on day 2 in Chicago I was confident I had the form and fitness for a good result at Nationals.  I didn't have much pressure on myself for the race because I wasn't about to let an entire season of hard work and good results hinge on one race.  So I think I was in a good mindset all week.

On Friday I went to the race course to watch Elicia race, but I chose to leave my bikes at home.  I knew the conditions were going to be ever changing and didn't see much point in thrashing the bikes before Sundays race.  I made the right decision.  I had a blast watching Elicia race.  She finished 5th in some pretty nasty conditions.  Not bad for a California Girl!!  After the race I went over to Machinery Row for a pre-race meet and greet w/ a bunch of the other pro racers and lots of WI superfans.  It was a pretty cool atmosphere!

Saturday I opted to stay at home, get in a good quality ride, and watch the Packers play...too bad they got crushed by the Niners.

Race day.  The frigid temps arrived.  The drive over started w/ about 2" of solid ice all over everything on the Lakeshore.  It was about 20 degrees.  We made the 2 hour drive over to Madison and pulled in the parking lot like rockstars.  It helps to be local and to have the support of Trek!

I went out and got in a few laps on the course and even though it was 20 degrees the course was thawing out with the sun shining.  The frozen ruts were getting softer which was awesome because it was really bumpy, the bikes were caking w/ mud then freeezing which was not awesome.  Bikes quickly were pushing 35-40lbs w/ half of the weight being frozen mud.  Nothing you can do in conditions like that though except laugh and perservere.

By the time we raced the sun had gone down and in my opinion the conditions were about as ideal as one could hope for with the temps still in the 20's and wind chill in the single digits.  I dressed perfectly for the race which I was happy about.  My bikes worked pretty darn good  considering the elements.  I had times that the shifting and brake lines were frozen, my pedals/shoes froze up everytime you had to dismount to get over the barriers, and the worst was probably my freewheels freezing up which would cause my chain to slack and then fall off...that happened twice...luckily pretty close to the pits. 

Everyone was having some issues and the people who did the best worked out those issues and kept charging.  Congrats to JP on the win.  Much deserved.  I had a good start, but a few early crashes and issues had me pretty far back after 2 laps.  I started to find a rhythm 20 minutes into the race.  Towards the end I was picking off groups of 2 and 3 per lap.  I finished 12th.  I was charging on the top 10 when I dropped my chain one last time and lost site of Wicks, who ended up sprinting Isaac for 10th.  My pit crew was awesome, Karl, Jake, and Tim.  It was pretty sweet having 3 guys who were really pumped to be in trenches fighting every inch of the way with me.

In the end not the result I wanted or was capable of, but it was the best I could do right at that given time.  The season itself was a success with better and more consistent results than ever.  Thanks everyone for all the support.  Already looking forward to 2013!

Relaxed New Year & CCC

Welcome to 2013!  We rang in the New Year like most with Dick Clark in Times Square.  It was pretty sweet this time around watching it on the 13" tv up at the Cabin in Eagle River!  I remember many many year watching Dick Clark over at Andy's house in the old neighborhood!  I think I'm getting old now though....I was watching Justin Beiber and The Wanted and I thought they were aweful.  I laughed a little when Pitbull came on, but it was definitely the best when they showed highlights of Madonna, Donna Summer and M.J. rockin' old school w/ Dick Clark.

first ski in 3 years

We spent the weekend pretty low key up in the River.  I left the bikes at home and brought the XC ski's and the winter boots for some skating and a rocky style run through some deep snow...I think it did the trick because I raced alright this past weekend at the NYR in Chicago.

I had the best CX Superfans of the weekend!

Day 1 I wasn't sure what to expect...it had been a while since I last raced.  I had been training in a 2 square mile radius area and was getting over a head cold for most of the 2 weeks after North Carolina.  I did a short warm up with no real effort to save all my energy for the race itself.  Unfortunately I didn't have the legs I had the year before, but I wasn't really expecting to either.  I had some issues in the first 2 laps and fell as far back as 15th place, but once I got things square I was ready to start moving forward and finished 8th.

Hoping to battle with this crew again next weekend.

Day 2 was much better.  I was still pretty relaxed about things.  No structured warm up, just out testing tires and tire pressure.  I fought my way to the lead group and then was pretty much there the rest of the race.  Marion and Driscoll rolled off as we were playing cat and mouse and we never saw them again.  With 2 to go Tim J blasted an attack and I responded, but it was 1% more than I could handle.  I ended up riding w/ Yannick as Page and Johnson took 6 seconds out of us per lap in the last 2 ronde's.  I had just enough left in the tank to hold a 2-3 seconds gap over Yannick to the finish line for a top 5.

Final recap of 2012.  WORS Champ & Podium at all 3 Triple Crowns.  Solid CX results all season long.  10,350 miles on the bikes 645 hours.  Lots of travel and lots of fun!  Can't wait to have another great season in 2013...things started good in Chicago...hopefully the trend continues in Madison next weekend!

NCCX, ATHENS, & ESSEN

Last week was the NCCX in Hendersonville.  The last race of 2012.  I finished up with a Win on saturday and second spot on the podium on Sunday.  The results were good, the feelings honestly were not.  Saturday early in the race I got a good gap.  On a normal or good weekend I feel I should have been able to hold that gap until the end of the race, but it came down to a last lap attack...a little close for comfort.

Sunday same thing.  An early gap, the group of three caught me a lap later and then I made 2 mistakes in the mud and Kerry Werner from BMC was gone.  Again on a good weekend I feel I should have been able to close the gap and race for the win, but not this Sunday.  A little disspointed with the form, but happy with the points and the results.





After the race I spent a few days at mom and dads house to try to recoup.  It was pretty darn relaxing.  By Wednesday I was feeling better and headed out for an amazing gravel road ride w/ the crew from Athens Bicycle.  Unfortunately I woke up Thursday morning with a bit of a head cold and it has only gotten worse.  During the drive home I went through a box of Kleenex and a bottle of hand sanitizer.  I think my body was fighting this beast off before I even left for Portland...I finally lost.  Time to rest up.  3 weeks and 2 races to go.

This morning I am feeling a little better, but probably only because I just watched one of the best CX races of my life.  Its the start of the Christmas period in Belgium.  Tomorrow is a World Cup in Namur.  The 26th is the World Cup in Zolder and somewhere else they'll squeuze in Diegem, Baal, and Loenhout along with some others.  Check out www.cyclingfans.com for the daily listings and links to watch the races live.  I think they are usually on around 8:00am central time.  If you missed today you should at least check out the last lap and the sprint finish.

http://www.sporza.be/permalink/1.1510258


Merry Christmas!

2,700 miles

2,700 miles.  That's the distance from Portland, OR to Hendersonville, NC.  Part of me thinks I did it the easy way by flying half of that distance back to WI, but the other part of me that just spent 2 full days in the car driving from Sheboygan to Hendersonville via Athens, OH doesn't quite agree!  Travel is travel though and you've got to get to the races somehow.

Last year the trip out to Bend was miserable.  This year things were about as smooth as can be.  We arrived in Bend after a 15 hour travel day on Planes(obvious), Trains(Denver Airport) and Automobiles(rental car form Portland to Bend).

Thanks to my friends at Clif Bar we were set up with some host housing.  I'm never sure about host housing and usually prefer just to be on my own in a hotel, but this time around we hit the jackpot.  Many of you probably don't remember the name Kirt Voreis, but I do.  Kirt was the man on the downhill circuit back in the day racing for teams like Santa Cruz, Yeti, and Specialized Mountain Dew.  He now lives in Bend and was gracious enough to let me crash at his house for 3 days.

It was pretty sweet to hang out there and share war stories of the olden days of Norba and the traveling circus.  Kirt and his wife Lindsey are still involved in the industry and are still living the dream.  Check out his website and if you get a chance to hit up a stop on his ALLRIDE Tour you should take advantage.  I think he could teach you a thing or two in the skills department!

The racing itself was not so hot.  I had a horrible start on day 1 and fought back for a few UCI points and finished 14th.  Not what I was hoping for after all the hard training after Jingle Cross.  The next day I was determined to get a better start and I did...only to fade away after 3 laps of racing.  I finished 18th after a flat tire on the last lap.  Really dissaapointing way to end the USGP for me.

Looking back I think I trained too hard too close to the race.  I was mentally focused on completing a training block that was similar to the block I did before the Iceman and Cincy weekend, but this time around it was too much.  Hopefully the hard work pays dividends later in the year.

Now I am sitting at the Red Rood Inn in Hendersonville, NC.  I still feel overextended, but it is what it is and its time to go and race!  Andrea and I made the drive to Athens, OH on Thursday.  She stayed to ride with the gang and hang out with Dad, while my Mom and I drove down to NC.  Race time in 4 hours...wish me luck!

3 down - 3 to go

Jingle Cross is always a tough tough weekend.  This year was no different, but it did help that we had amazing weather.  Hopefully its never like that again....

After Iceman/Cincinnati & Louisville weekends I wasn't exactly sure where I would be.  You can't get in a ton of training with all the time spent driving in the car and recovery has to become more important.  So I showed up Friday night feeling pretty good.

The race started and I could tell maybe I was a little too fresh...in fact maybe I was a little stale.  I watched as the lead group rode away during the first 1/4 of a lap and there was nothing I could do.  Before the finish of Lap 1 Tim Johnson had crashed out.  Half way through Lap 2 I found myself riding Mt. Krumpet and riding through the group of 6th - 10th who were off their bikes and running.  I descended Mt. Krumpet at mock speed to find myself in no mans land.  The lead group was long gone and nobody was behind me.  I made the decision that chasing hard would not be in my best interest for energy reserves that needed to be saved for Sundays C1 race.  I rode conservatively the rest of the lap and then Cody Kaiser latched on to my wheel.  Same thing though next time up the climb...he was running and I was riding and putting 10 second into him per lap.  We continued this pattern until the end of the race when Alan Krughoff started catching back and we had to push the pace a little more...I finished 5th

Saturday was a little bit of a deeper field with a few guys who couldn't make the Friday night race in attendance.  I had a great jump off the line, but again the first 1/4 lap saw me getting gapped off the lead group and riding in a spot where I was not really happy.  I did most of the race in 10th position and towards the end was able to catch and drop Candelario, Shriver, and Krughoff.  I finished 7th

Sunday was the big race, with the big points, and the big money.  I did a much better warm up on my new Saris trainer, but was feeling the fatigue of the previous 2 days.  With a little Shot of caffeine I was on the start line for the 7th time in just over a 2 week time frame.  This time I had the mental strength I needed to fight.  My Trek Cronus was rocking...its amazing how much better a bike can feel when you are confident.  I was crushing the hard climb up Mt. Krumpit and bombing the downhills.  After a Lap I was with the lead group and the sat up into the wind...so I took my chances and went to the front.  Maybe not the smartest move to pull into the wind, but hey - you gotta give it a go if you get the opportunity.  Timmy J attacked me in the muddy section before the fly-over and Mt. Krumpit.  I was hurting a little from pulling into the wind.  I drifted from 2nd position to 7th up the climb so I could stay within myself.  The gaps opened on the descent on the chase was on.  Tristan did the majority of the hard work with Driscoll sitting on his wheel.  Next time up the climb I just latched onto the lead group again.  I pretty much did the same multiple laps and was just dangling off the group.  I suffered but was rewarded with another top 5 finish and some valueable UCI points.

Now its break time.  A little rest a little recovery and then Portalnd, North Carolina, and Chicago.  Thanks for reading and a huge thanks to all who kicked off the holiday season in style at Jingle Cross!