2 1/2 weeks ago I left the snow covered UP to concentrate on training and throw in a race out west. Leaving a job behind you figure that you will have a lot of time to do the little thingS like relax, vacation, and update social media. Wrong on all 3 accounts. I have been more busy on my trip out West than if I were to stay at home and train. The obvious benefit is the warm weather. With exception to a 3-4 day spand where Ishpeming had heigher temps that Phoenix AZ. Can you believe that? I could not either. Our weather was nice but it made it tough to stomach being 2100 miles away to ride a bike when the Ishpeming weather was more than worthy of bike riding. Anyhow, back to being busy.
It startled with a stop in San Dimas, CA for the 2nd stop of the ProXCT. Race prep and living out of a bike box make racing awful stressful. Once we figured it out we were geared and ready for racing. I had great support in my coach, Danny Kaukola. Saturday was the XC. I pre rode the course Friday and found it tough to get comfortable in the single track. The snow bike does not translate well to the fast dirt. I climbed well but never figured out the fast descents. The course was constantly up and down through a park hill. I started 38th and my goal was to move up a few but mostly to make the cut and finish the race. In the 6 lap race the first 2 went very well. I went over my limit a bit but climbed extremely well and felt fine. On lap 3 the fatigue set in and my descendinworst bad to the point of a crash. At the time I was riding about 28th. By th time I remounted it had dropped me back down into the high 30's. I continued to climb well but I scratched the brakes way to much to continue to put out respectable laps. After the completion of lap 4 I was pulled. I fell outside of the 20%. I was riding solo at the time chasing 3 riders. The 3 riders finished the race. I was 20 sec off from being pulled. Down but not out.
Sunday was the short rack. I got a 3rd row call up and my goal was once again to make up a few spots but mostly finish the race. The track was fast with 2 inclines that did damage. The course stung us out into a long line which made the back yo yo affect unmanageable. I busted off the front group and then the 2nd group until I was solo. 15 min into the 20 min race I was pulled. This time I was so close to the rider that was allowed thru I should of grabbed his pocket. I even yelled at the judge to let me thru in a cry for mercy. He didn't allow. I was the last pulled and 5 sec from the cut. I was so upset at myself I finished the race on the nearby hill and then proceeded to rip out 2 hot laps on the XC course. The bad news, I was pulled. The good new is my legs and comfort level on the MTB were better than the day before. More good news, my 2 hot laps were 1 min faster than my fastest lap from the days before XC race.
My race goals for my first ever ProXCT Pro race were not achieved but I marked that in the book as a good learning experience. I had to get the first race in at some point and I was happy to have it under my belt.
That was the start of my journey.
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| Packed Car for All Night Drive |
After the race I decided to rent a car and drive 6 hours straight through the night to the Grand Canyon. Wow, was I glad I did. I drove through CA and AZ in 6 hours, slept for 2 hours at a truck stop, and made it to the Canyons in time to watch the sunrise. I rode my bike along the rim to Hermits point and back. One of the most gorgeous rides I've been on. The Canyon is so large words don't describe the views. At times the eyes cannot comprehend the lines.
I departed that night and made it to Phoenix for my 3 week solo training camp. Im 2 weeks in now and have had some great riding. I will update more on my training in a later post. For now I'll keep this shorter and label the "Western Style Update - 1st Half"
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| My very 1st view of the Canyon |
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| Furthest point of the Canyon. Accessible by bike and bus only. |
2 1/2 weeks ago I left the snow covered UP to concentrate on training and throw in a race out west. Leaving a job behind you figure that you will have a lot of time to do the little thingS like relax, vacation, and update social media. Wrong on all 3 accounts. I have been more busy on my trip out West than if I were to stay at home and train. The obvious benefit is the warm weather. With exception to a 3-4 day spand where Ishpeming had heigher temps that Phoenix AZ. Can you believe that? I could not either. Our weather was nice but it made it tough to stomach being 2100 miles away to ride a bike when the Ishpeming weather was more than worthy of bike riding. Anyhow, back to being busy.
It startled with a stop in San Dimas, CA for the 2nd stop of the ProXCT. Race prep and living out of a bike box make racing awful stressful. Once we figured it out we were geared and ready for racing. I had great support in my coach, Danny Kaukola. Saturday was the XC. I pre rode the course Friday and found it tough to get comfortable in the single track. The snow bike does not translate well to the fast dirt. I climbed well but never figured out the fast descents. The course was constantly up and down through a park hill. I started 38th and my goal was to move up a few but mostly to make the cut and finish the race. In the 6 lap race the first 2 went very well. I went over my limit a bit but climbed extremely well and felt fine. On lap 3 the fatigue set in and my descendinworst bad to the point of a crash. At the time I was riding about 28th. By th time I remounted it had dropped me back down into the high 30's. I continued to climb well but I scratched the brakes way to much to continue to put out respectable laps. After the completion of lap 4 I was pulled. I fell outside of the 20%. I was riding solo at the time chasing 3 riders. The 3 riders finished the race. I was 20 sec off from being pulled. Down but not out.
Sunday was the short rack. I got a 3rd row call up and my goal was once again to make up a few spots but mostly finish the race. The track was fast with 2 inclines that did damage. The course stung us out into a long line which made the back yo yo affect unmanageable. I busted off the front group and then the 2nd group until I was solo. 15 min into the 20 min race I was pulled. This time I was so close to the rider that was allowed thru I should of grabbed his pocket. I even yelled at the judge to let me thru in a cry for mercy. He didn't allow. I was the last pulled and 5 sec from the cut. I was so upset at myself I finished the race on the nearby hill and then proceeded to rip out 2 hot laps on the XC course. The bad news, I was pulled. The good new is my legs and comfort level on the MTB were better than the day before. More good news, my 2 hot laps were 1 min faster than my fastest lap from the days before XC race.
My race goals for my first ever ProXCT Pro race were not achieved but I marked that in the book as a good learning experience. I had to get the first race in at some point and I was happy to have it under my belt.
That was the start of my journey.
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