UTCX #5

UTCX # 5 dished out more rain and mud racing but this time with costumes.

Here I am making a pass (or maybe getting passed?) by a guy in a full body ski suit and ski helmet. He also had on real ski boots with the bottoms cut out so he could clip in with his cycling shoes.

The race announcers kept calling me an Eagle Scout as I'd come through on my laps. I almost stopped and corrected them. I'm not an Eagle Scout. I'm a Life scout. Let's get that straight.


Gotta love cyclocross.

Hell-O-Ween 2010

It was like this.....

About 30 of us lined up at the start line at the shooting range in Orem last night for the 2010 Hell-O-Ween Night ride/race. There was a Belt at stake and a purse full of cash. First one to the top of the jeep road climb would take the goods. For most of us, this would be the only chance we'd have to get paid to ride. Pressure was thick.

I lined up next to a pink dress, a cock roach, a tutu with wings, a guy with a disturbing thing in a box, and several guys with capes. Most of the costumes were rated PG but Aaron Smith took it one level deeper and went rated R. With big risks come big rewards. Aaron walked away with best in show for the costume. (Aaron, I'll get you a prize).

The Utah County crew brought their top brass including Phast Dan from Racer's Cycle, and Dan Z. (winner of the PCP2P singlespeed div), Brandon Smith, first Night Race Champion, and Rico who was looking strong as usual.


































































































After a few min of nervous chatter, we were off. It was full on sprint pace. Cold turkey start. No warm up. The next 5 min were some of the most brutal 5 min of my life. I could actually taste metal in my mouth. My lungs felt seared. I left my 18t cog on thinking it would give me an advantage but I paid for it. I ended up in 4th about 3 seconds off the podium. The podium spots went to:

1) Phast Dan N.

2) Dan Z.

3) Matt S.

(Note: If I ever had another son, I'd name him Dan out of respect. It's a fast name)

I haven't felt that cooked on the bike in many years. Completely redlined.

We re-grouped and kept the pace as mellow as we could be but we were riding in the UC which means steep, sustained climbs.

We made our way up Betty, over to Belt, to Mouse, to the Altar, then Upper Frank to Dry, down Dry (where several smoked the pipe), down to BST back to the shooting range.

The temps were perfect and the trails were tacky and fast.

Post ride chill was at the Orem Denny's. Good times sitting around telling stories and laughing.
























I got to bed by 2am. At work now suffering from a post night ride hangover.

Thanks to all who made it down to the ride. You guys are all hardcore.

More Video and pics from Miles here.

Hell-O-Ween Night Ride Tonight

We are on for the Hell-O-Ween night ride tonight in Utah County. We are meeting, ready to ride at 9pm from the shooting range in Orem (just above the Orem Cemetery).

To get there from I-15, exit at the Lindon 1600 North exit and head east for several miles until you are at the base of the mountains. The road will curve right and turn into 800 East. Just before the Orem cemetery, turn left up a steep paved road. At the top of the road turn left and you'll see a parking lot (shooting range).

















**Bring $2 for the cash purse. First one to the top of the jeep road wins the cash and the Night Ride Championship Belt. After the initial jeep road climb, we will regroup and ride casual pace for the rest of the ride.















The route will probably include a race course loop or two, Crank to Ireland or Belt to Altar to Ireland (depending on conditions and what the group decides).

Post ride breakfast at the local Denny's.

Found this photo from last year's ride......

Today Was A Good Day

Up at 4:45am. Back at it.

Poker Face

Some guys can hide the pain. I have no poker face. Tongue out. That's how you know I'm suffering.

And here I am after one of my many "power naps" during the race. I rolled around in the mud 3 times.
















(thanks Jdub for taking the pic)

Someday

If this thing comes to Canada or the US again, I'd really like to be there. Someday I'll participate.

Until then check out the anthem for the 2010SSWC.

HLAH - official anthem SSWC10 from Singlespeed Worlds 2010 on Vimeo.

Granny Gear

During our UC lunch ride the other day, we got to talking about granny gears and what people name them. Out of respect, many of the riders name their granny gear after their grandma.

I guess that means my granny gear would be called "Juanita".

What is yours called?

Hell-O-Ween 2010

The FLY jersey makes its way onto the top step yet again. Thanks Daren for flying the colors and congrats on another win. That makes 3 in a row if my math is right.


















Also, time to start thinking about your costume for the 2010 Hell-0-Ween ride.























I'm thinking we should do this Friday the 29th at 9pm. Does that work for most of you? (**Update, we are thinking Thur the 28th would be a better night**)

As much as I like keeping it close to home and riding Corner Canyon, I think Glenwild, Flying Dog, 24-7 would be a cool venue.

Thoughts?

The Fire Jump

The fire jump (pic ripped off from Rich).

Just another reason why the 24 Hours of Moab is such a cool race.

24 Hours of Moab 2010

The stats.....

• 2nd place Singlespeed/Open

• 14th overall (out of 318 teams/solo riders)

• 20 laps completed

• 1 broken pedal

Our team at the 24 Hours of Moab this year was solid. Rico, Kenny, Corey, and me (or is it "I"?).

Nick Rico- gets the award for turning in the fastest overall lap times for our team with an average of 1:13:50 over 5 laps. Solid. He also kicked it off with a top 10 run during the Le Mans start. Turns out, he wasn't lying about being a football star back in 88. The dude can run (and can pedal a bike.)

Kenny- gets the award for turning in the fastest lap time of the group with a 1:08 (and did it twice). And I've never in my life seen someone change out a pedal in the dark as fast as he did. During one of his night laps, after climbing all of the 1st technical rocky section, Kenny shattered his pedal and had to turn around and ride back to camp with one leg, find his replacement pedal, swap it out, and start his lap over. After all that, he still managed to keep us in contention for the lead. If we had to pick one guy to have a mechanical, I'm glad it was kenny.

Corey- Was hand selected for his superior night riding skills and being an all around nice guy. I've never seen Corey on a bike during the day. He rides early morning or late at night. The perfect guy to have on your team for a 24 hours race. Even with 2 flats, he posted a 1:15 night lap. Crazy fast. Oh, and he did this all on a borrowed bike since he cracked his frame the week before the race. Imagine what he could have done on his ultra light race bike.

Me- I was just happy to not be kicked off the team coming off of hip surgery 3 months prior. I didn't have the race of my life but was happy be racing again and to post a 1:10 lap time and 3 sub 1:20 night laps.

For our efforts, we walked away with a box of Hammer Nutrition bars and a womens Hammer Nutrition cycling jacket....yeah, that's right. They gave us energy bars and a womens jacket for our prize. Cuz the first thing I crave after a 24 hour endurance race is another energy bar. But I can promise you that womens jacket will make an appearance or two before the season is over.

It's still my favorite race and I will go back again and again.

Thanks Rico, Kenny, and Corey for a great race. Good times all around.

P.S. Special thanks to the Mad Dog crew for letting us poach their camping area and for the support. Those guys have the 24 hour race system down. Impressive.

Cool pics of the race here.

The Bike Race Mobile

For the next 3 days, this will be my home. Pretty sweet set up but it could make getting out of bed for the night laps that much harder.

24 Hours of Moab- Here we come. We'll be racing as Team Adobe in the single speed open division.

Much Needed Rain

Good lunch ride with Miles. We got hit with some rain but the trails are in prime shape. Tacky and fast.

Remind me to always keep a towel in the truck. I had to use a carborocket t-shirt to get the mud off my legs so I could go back to work.

I Hope It's A Fast Number

Tomorrow is the first cross race of the UTCX series. I've ridden my cross bike once in the past 6 months. I could be in trouble. I hope to see some of you out there. Something tells me I should leave my HR monitor at home. It's going to get ugly right from the start.