Cyclocross race number 1 is one week away. Yeehaw, I love this dumb sport! Here is what this dumb sport can look like mid season. This was a race at Wheeler Farm.
Archive for September, 2009
Lotoja vs. Leadville
Posted in Races with tags leadville, lotoja on September 18, 2009 by VH1In the past month I have competed in both the Leadville 100 (mtn. bike) and LOTOJA (road) races. Both races are an awesome experience and completely miserable, but for different reasons. Which is the harder race?
I raced Leadville on a singlespeed, which means no gears and no room for error. The altitude alone is enough to make you sick. This year the weather (for the most part) was wet, and cold. I could literally feel the strength evaporating from my legs. The Columbine climb was the most painful 90 min of my life. There were countless times during the 103 miles when I was dropping every A, B, C, D, E, and yes F bomb I could think of. Oh the physical pain and agony! I rate Leadville 2009 a 9 out of 10 for physical difficulty (Columbine and Powerline get a 10+ rating). As far as the mental rating I would give it 6 out of 10. If it weren’t for struggling to keep the emotions in check all day (cry baby) I would give it a lower mental score. As Dug points out the crying doesn’t even end at the finishline. There is just enough technicality, and downhill fun to keep things interesting mentally.
Side note: Finishing prize was a hoodie sweatshirt, and belt buckle.
LEADVILLE DATA
Time: 09:47
Distance: 103.52 miles
Avg Speed: 10.4 mph
Max Speed: 39 mph
Avg HR: 141 bpm
Max HR: 173 bpm
Min Elevation: 9265 ft
Max Elevation: 12540 ft
Elevation Gain: 11897 ft
Dark Moments: 4 (St. Kevins, Columbine, Powerline)
Place Overall: 270 of 971 finishers
Lotoja was raced with the Cat 4 group, with near perfect temps and a slight headwind (Salt River was hot and Afton-Alpine had a moderate headwind). The Cat 4 group was 85 riders strong. The only “Dark” moment of the entire 09:55 was the 10 miles before the Salt River climb (I was an idiot and kept getting yo-yoed) and then the Salt River climb (I got dropped hard)! The only time when I felt physical pain and agony was when I racked my nuts after hitting some surprise rumble strips outside of Thayne, Wyoming! I realized the LOTOJA isn’t that hard physically, it is just a mental beast. I found myself becoming really annoyed at EVERYTHING, and the Lin’s Performance Team Jersey didn’t help cool my fire. Really have you ever seen an uglier kit (actually I think Jamie had the ugliest kit)? It would have been nice to just zone out and ride, but you couldn’t lose focus for a second. If you did you were at risk of the “bandit” or “fun rider” that made their way into the paceline, locking up their new Zipp wheels and wreaking havoc. I deem Lotoja as the “NO FUN” race. Physical rating 6 of 10 (would be lower but 206 miles is tough on the body), Mental rating 8 of 10 for sheer mind numbing boredom.
Side note: Finishing prize was a hanger. That’s right a hanger!
LOTOJA DATA
Time: 09:55
Distance: 204.43 miles
Avg Speed: 20.6 mph
Max Speed: 51.6 mph
Avg HR: 137 bpm
Max HR: 169 bpm
Min Elevation 4435 ft
Max Elevation: 7623 ft
Elevation Gain: 8224 ft
Dark Moments: 1 (Salt River)
Place Overall: 145 of 929 finishers
So which race is harder? The data would indicate a virtual tie, but I would say that Leadville gets the award by a nose (On a different day, and with different conditions I am sure Lotoja could pull ahead). Words can’t describe how 103 miles on dirt, the massive vertical gain, and the thin air can beat you down! Lotoja finishers don’t be haters, just put your name in the Leadville lottery and decide for yourself.
Lotoja 2009
Posted in Races on September 16, 2009 by VH1I rode 206 miles and all I got was this hanger.
Beaver shirt not included
Actually this is not all true, I also got a numb hand and sore bum. Here is my 2009 Lotoja race report:
Like a ninja with a leg tattoo, I rolled on to the starting line seconds before the start. The weather was perfect and no vest was needed. I figured after High Uinta and Leadville we would get snow before Preston, Idaho. The pace was slow for the first 30 miles, so slow in fact that we were caught by 3 cat 5 groups, and some of the “fun riders”. The group swelled to hundreds! After a pee break and getting splattered by cow poo from the road, we rolled into Preston. Holly was awesome with the musette hand off. I am so glad I went with the musette. Adam, and Tony did the stop and stock strategy and had a tough time getting back on the train. Strawberry was quite pleasant as Mark, Steve and I shot the breeze waiting for the real action to begin. The group had a good pace up the climb and then bombed the downhill. We caught up to Joe at the bottom of the descent and ended up riding with him until Geneva. It started getting a little warm temperature wise and as advertised the CarboRocket kept the cramps away. Holly was waiting at Montpellier and once again had the musette ready. She gets big props because not only was she taking care of me, but she also had the kids (one of which was potty-training)!
The massive group started to ramp things up on Geneva and a good chunk of the pack was dropped. At the top of the climb I looked at Mark and said” one to go”. We only had 15 miles of rollers then the Salt River climb. Piece of cake I thought. I thought wrong. Like an idiot I rode at the back 2/3 of the pack and was constantly getting yo-yoed. I was suffering like a pig! At the KOM start line I knew I couldn’t hold wheel any longer and fell back. I knew if I kept redlining ,the remaining 100 miles would be sheer misery. I limped over the KOM and tried to recover over the rolling stretch to Afton. 
Trust me I was suffering here
It is amazing in a long race how you ebb and flow. You go from no worries, to bonk, to elation, to emotional, back to no worries.
In Afton I was so excited to eat some “real food”. I left detailed instructions with Holly to put a bottle of coke, 2 turkey and avocado wraps, and a Paradise coconut chocolate chip cookie in the musette. I got to feed zone 7 and there was no sign of Holly. I started to panic, but within seconds she came running up. Come to find out this is what she was dealing with in the parking lot.
She had the menu just like I ordered it.
Afton-Alpine was a blur except for 2 seconds of agony. The rumble strips are legendary along this strip of road and I hit a patch of them. After 120 miles even DZ Nuts cant make the “taint” feel good. Not only did the rumble strips destroy that region, it also gave me the “hit in the nuts” stomach ache!
The Snake River Canyon was awesome. It really is beautiful, even more so with Jackson being only an hour away! I ended up riding with a couple Spin Cycle guys and 2 SkullCandy teammates. The time flew by. Going into today my goal was a sub 10 hour ride. I was constantly doing the math and knew that I would be really close to the 10 hour mark. When I crossed the line my Garmin showed 9:55. I did it! Not a great time but mission accomplished!
Following the race I told Holly the ONLY way I would ever do Lotoja again was if she did it with me on a tandem. I think she wants to try the relay in 2010 and the tandem in 2011? Oh yeah the left hand is still numb. I think I may have some Ulnar nerve damage, what do you think?
206 miles is a long way!
Reading material
Posted in News of the Week on September 11, 2009 by VH1Today was the first library day for Lunchbox(2nd grade). Looks like he picked a winner. I had no idea he has a fascination with Mesoamerican Myths! 
I am wondering what the skeleton guys have to do with the book. Maybe I will have to read it for myself
Future Olympian
Posted in ski with tags Lunchbox on September 9, 2009 by VH1On Labor Day, we decided to put away the bikes and break out the skis. Lunchbox has been taking tumbling for the past year and wanted to try his hand on the water ramps at the Olympic Park in Park City.
The Lunchbox is just a little guy and is already an adrenaline junkie. I can honestly say just seeing these jumps freaked my out, but he suited up and went out with a smile! We showed up for his “session” (with a real coach) for 1 on 1 training. This session had a series of checkpoints that he had to complete before going to the next step. Here is step 1, the mini-tramp into the pool.
Step 2: The ramp with no jump. They would go down the ramp and run into a big pad
Step 3:The mini ramp-Launch #1
Step 4: Big air, with tricks
He actually was doing a “Spread Eagle” on this one, which is still is my go to move off jumps!
This was a great experience for our family and I would like to thank his coach Austin at the Olympic Park for his patience and encouragement. It was amazing how natural, and comfortable Lunch looked, especially in comparison to the 50-year old Asian guy belly flopping off the medium ramp. Lunchbox I am proud of you and can’t wait to see you do it again! Olympics 2018 here we come.
Boss Rule?
Posted in News of the Week on September 4, 2009 by VH1As mentioned in a previous post my boss and his boss spent the week with me. Both of these gentlemen are really cool and are great to work for. In fact at lunch on Thursday my boss’s boss said “F$@^ work lets go golfing”. I didn’t know if he was serious or not, but got the impression that he was willing to drop everything, rent some clubs and hit the links(both are huge golf fans). Sure enough an hour later we are warming up on the first tee, hitting our mandatory mulligan.
As the game began they started talking some crazy golf lingo about 9points, pressing holes, sand snakes, etc.., I still have no idea what they were talking about other than these were different bets. After the first 9 holes I was actually winning the round(I shot a legit 41). My boss’s boss kept saying “you know the boss is supposed to win right?”(the boss rule) My response was “I don’t know, I am not a golfer”. The back 9 was a little tougher and my boss actually tied me going into the last hole. I ended up sealing the victory with a laser 6 iron that stopped less than 2 feet from the cup.
This poses the question are you supposed to let the boss or the customer win just for the sake of being nice? I think not.
It also turns out that the game 9points pays $1 per point. I ended up taking 42 points on the round and I still don’t know how the points are won.
Out of Balance
Posted in News of the Week on September 3, 2009 by VH1This week my life has been way out of balance. My boss and his boss have been with me for the past 4 days and it has completely consumed me. I am so mentally tired that i am considering a nap this evening instead of a ride. The silver lining is that as of 5pm tonight it is over. This form of “tapering” doesn’t bode well for LOTOJA!
