Breck Epic 3-Day Numero Tres

Today wraps up the 3rd and final day of racing for me here at the Breck Epic 3-Day. However, the 6 day folks are still in for some more tough rides over the next two days. So today's stage was called the Keystone/Aqueduct Loop, because we went up by the Keystone skiing area. The totals for the day included 43 miles of riding with more than 8000 feet of climbing.

The stage was a much different than yesterday. Overall a much faster paced race and you had to do a lot more pedaling over the length of the stage. It started out similar to two days ago where we went up Heinous Hill, which is a super steep, granny gear pushing climb. A really good way to warm your legs up when they are pretty tired and would rather not move to begin with. Then we got to descend down Galena Gulch, which was a rocky, steep, fast, and super fun downhill descent.

From there we hit the Colorado trail andstartedthe next climb which was mild and fairly rolling terrain. But our luck would soon run out when we encountered Vomit Hill. The name implies just that, you want to vomit. It was a super steep climb that was mostly hike a bike, but nonetheless it was so steep that it was over as quick as it started.

From there we descended down to meet up with the Aqueduct Trail. Which was a big chain ring grind all the way around the ridge of the mountain before we got to the second aid station on Keystone Gulch Road. It was a lot of fun and a good way to finally get the legs up to speed again. I was lucky enough to have a guy to help set the tempo for us and I just sat on his wheel. I was familiar with the loop so I basically tour guided him through the trails and he just pedaled like an animal. So needless to say it was a win-win situation for the two of us.

Just before the aid station we had a crazy stream crossing on a bridge that was shaking and moving while riding it. Crazy fun.

Once we hit Keystone Gulch Road it began a 7 mile fire road climb to the top of West Ridge where we would once again meet up with the Colorado Trail. This climb was a much needed relief to the racing. You could settle into a good pace and actually pick your gears versus being stuck in granny gear like some of the previous climbs. At the top we peaked out at about 11,100 feet and we were rewarded with a 5 miles of screaming fast downhill. I have said it before and will say it again, the Colorado Trail is amazing!


After all of that fun I had to buckle down and put my game face on. As we still had one more nasty climb left after we hit aid station three. The first mile was a teaser as it was only about 2% grade. Then it kicked up to a leg crushing steepness. It was a good 15+ minutes of granny gear, quad busting goodness. But after that we were basically home free. Only one more shorter 400 foot climb and then it was all downhillto the finish. Coming down the Minnie Mine Trail was awesome as I hit 38 mph coming down the singletrack!

Ended up finishing in around 4 hours and 10minutes which was very solid as I was hoping to ride under 4:15. I was super pleased with my performance as I felt like I was on the gas all day today and really pushed myself. My effort today helped to place me up in GC to a 5th overall in the mens open category. At the finish the super awesome aid station guru fixed me a nutella, peanut butter, banana, and marshmallow puff sandwich. It was delicious. I have to say that the backdrop to the finish was quite impressive in itself as well.

Breck Epic 3-Day Numero Dos

Well today was the start of the 2nd day of racing for me. I could tell I went a little too hard yesterday because my legs were a bit sore. Which is not always the best day to start out a stage that they label as a "big one." Either way though I felt pretty good once we got moving and Adam and I agreed that we would ride the stage together so that we were not lost out there in no mans land like yesterday.

We started out quite similar to yesterday with a neutral rollout heading up French Gulch Road. We then made our way up the first climb to 11,100 feet on Humbug Hill. From there we had an awesome but very crazy descent down French Gulch. With all of the rain they have been having the gulch had many places of erosion where you were either pinballing off rocks or walking your bike through huge washouts. Still a blast though.

From there we began our first super tough climb. The Little French Pass climb which hits just over 12,000 feet in elevation. We climb up and go over the saddle between Mt. Baldy and Mt. Guyout. Hence why today's stage is called the Guyout Loop. This was super tough as we were riding up streams, tons of bumps, oh and it felt like you were breathing through a straw. The toughest part was the last .25 miles or so where we had to hike a bike. Felt very similar to the Columbine climb in Leadville.

Once we crested the top we had an awesome descent over and ice glacier. Conveniently I got a good picture of Adam falling on the snow about 10 feet before it ended. If you look closely you can see him about to hit the deck.


From there we had an awesome descent down to the next aid station which was a blast. Up until the make shift bridge we went across which was made out of pine trees. As I was crossing it some crazy guy tried to pass me and the logs moved so I fell right into the freezing water.

At the bottom of the descent we immediately started to head back uphill again. This time it was to the top of Georgia Pass which tops out at about 11,800 feet. Luckily though it was about a 4 mile road climb. So Adam and I just hunkered down and clipped it out.

The best part is yet to come. After crossing the Georgia Pass we had 4 miles of Colorado Trail descending. This was by far some of the best riding I have done in Colorado. There were tons of rocks and roots and it was awesome. But my hands were pretty beat up so by the end I was ready to be down to the road.

After that we had one last big climb of about 1500 feet up American Gulch. It was steep, hot, and we were tired. Enough said! At the top though we were treated to some great rolling terrain, fast descents, and awesome singletrack to bring us home to the finish.

Today we ended up doing 39 miles or so of riding with over 8500 feet of climbing...BOOM! Definitely a great race and by far epic! Looking forward to tomorrow as it will be a lot of riding the Colorado Trail the opposite direction from what we did yesterday. Luckily I have ridden most of the loop so I will know what is in store.

Breck Epic 3-day - Day Numero Uno

Well today kicked off the first day of the Breck Epic 3-Day stage race. While it also served as Day two for the full 6 day Stage Race. Last night there were multiple rain showers that passed through Breckenridge leaving the trails today in immaculate condition. Meaning you could go a lot faster without risk of sliding out and crashing, so thumbs up for that! The view in the morning here in Breck is second to none.

We started at around 8:10 am from downtown Breckenridge and the had a neutral rollout down Washington Street, then once we hit the dirt it was game one.

I felt really good starting out the day and was super excited to be riding my bike. We climbed up Gold Run Gulch Road and then descended down to Tiger Road. All was going well until about mile 13 when myself and two other guys missed the turn to hit the Colorado Trail. So we ended up doing about 2 miles and 10 minutes extra of riding. Which if that is the worst that happens I will take that.

After that we got on the Colorado Trail and started to climb up toward the West Ridge. The views up there are amazing. After we climbed for about 5 miles we then got to the fun part 7 miles of awesome descending. It had everything dirt, rocks, trees, prairies, and awesome scenery. Check out the videos below for some of the great terrain we had during the downhill portion.

After that it was back to more climbing of course we worked are way back up a couple of more climbs before making our way back down to Tiger Road. After that we then climbed back up Gold Run Gulch Road and the Upper Flume Trail. That was a butt kicker because it was one root after another and my back was sore by that point. At the top though we were treated to rolling terrain and a little bit of pavement to stretch the legs. From that point it was a downhill, adrenaline pumping ride all the way down Minnie Mine Trail to the finish.

In a nutshell today was awesome. If you have never been on the Colorado Trail it is absolutely amazing whether you bike, run, hike, etc. Today the total was about 42 miles and about 7000 feet of climbing give or take. Can't wait to start tomorrow. The map at the top shows the route we did today. You can also click the link to check it out on google maps.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.trainingpeaks.com%2Fsw%2Fkml%2FYD42RBPUTAG6XE2UQ42XSKOCVM

Xterra South Central Championships - Waco, TX

Round 2 in the Xterra Championship series landed us literally in the middle of Texas. The event was held in Cameron Park which is a beautiful 410 acre park right the middle of downtown Waco. Liz and I drove down from Colorado Springsin the trustyElement and covered just over 800 miles in 12 hours to make the trip to the race. Usually that drive is pretty boring but on the way down we were greeted with 60+ mph winds and driving right through the middle of wild fires that were taking place all over the state. Either way we were excited to get to take a road trip and meet up with my brother Sean, his wife Jenny, and there beautiful baby girl Eve.

We kicked off our fun in Texas in the right style and visited the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame Museum. Although we did see some Chuck Norris memorabilia I was bummed not to see a life size wax statute of him. Either way it was great to learn about some history and see some priceless artifacts from the past.

Next we went to the local Mammoth site. Basically 30 some odd years ago some locals found bones from mammoths that lived tens of thousands of years ago. Back in 2009 the city of Waco and Baylor University had a building built around some of the bones to help preserve them. They have over 24 found mammoths at this site,which iscrazy. The most insane thing is how long their tusks are, they can grow to be 16 feet!

Alright enough with the chit chat. Race day started off beautifully with a nice 55 degree race start. I also must say that I feel spoiled because Xterra saves spots on the bike racks for all pros. Which means I can sleep in longer and show up later and still have a spot for my bike!

Got everything all set up and ready to go and things were feeling good. It is always fun to have family and friends around to help cheer and route you on. Just about ready to head down to the water with my trusty Aqua Sphere goggles ready to help me sight those buoys better than everyone else.

But wait there is more just as we were getting ready to head to the swim start Dave the race director announced that the water temperature was 68 degrees making it wetsuit legal. Luckily I keep my wetsuit in the bottom of my transition bag, but some of the other pros were scrambling to go back to hotels, or borrow some from other people. So I got my awesome Aqua Sphere Phantom wetsuit on, okay, now I was ready to do this race.

Headed down to the water and snapped a quick shot before jumping in with fellow Colorado Spring racers, CTS athlete Tracy Thelen and bike fit guru Branden Rakita.

Now time to tread some water before the start.

Oh yeah I forgot to mention. They start the race by shooting off a canon! How cool is that?

Alright so once we were up and going I settled into a good rhythym and just tried to stay relaxed during the entirety of the swim. Worked out well as Christine Jeffrey, Seth Wealing, Branden Rakita, Craig Evans, and myself all came out of the water together as a group.

Off to the bike course, which was awesome! The course was 15 miles long and twisted, turned, and threw you around all over the place. If you didn't stay 100% sharp the entire time you would miss a turn and hit a tree for sure. Overall I had a great bike. Was riding together with the lead group for the first couple of miles before I crashed,the first of may...haha! All of my crashes were basically from washing my tire out through a turn so silly mistakes but definitely added up over the race. Either way had a great split and came out into T2 in 7th place right behind Nico Lebrun. Below is a good little video of Josiah Middaugh (CTS Athlete) and myself flying down the trail know as the vortex.

The run course started out with Jacob's Ladder, a 140 stepping stone to get the legs nice and warmed up.

Below is my niece cheering me on hard for the race. Actually looks like she if pretty bored at this point. Heck I would be to if I was watching people ride their mountain bikes without me!

After the ladder I settled into a good run form and reminded myself that I needed to run much faster than last week in Vegas. So I was on a mission to hold my form together and have a great race. All in all the course was a blast as you winded around twisty trails and up and down constantly. I was looking and feeling good with a couple of miles to go. Unfortunately the last couple of miles was on the River Trail which was a moderately straight section where a couple of my opponents could see me in the distance. They were able to bride up to me and caught me around a quarter mile to go. We all surged as hard as we could and I had nothing left in the tank. So just like that I went form top 7 in the prize money to ninth place. That was a bummer but I left it all out on the course and I can't complain about that. Not to mention a top 10 finish in my second pro race is a huge accomplishment and step in the right direction. Afterwards caught up with Josiah Middaugh a little bit and he filled me in on his similar situation only he got out sprinted for the win.

Well next stop is Pelham, AL for round 3 of the Xterra Championship tour. Until then....

2011 Team Honey Stinger / Trek Training Camp

The 2011 race season is finally here and what a better way than to kick it off with a team training camp, on my birthday, in Fruita, Colorado! Needless to say I was super excited to get to meet some new teammates and ride the mountain bike all weekend on some fun trails. Myself and another coach from CTS drove out Friday to the west side of Colorado which is about a 5 hour drive to get there from Colorado Springs. We got to Highline Lake State Park and we were kindly greeted by the team director Len Zanni as well as all of the other Honey Stinger crew. We then got camp site all set up with all of the fine Big Agnes tents, sleeping bags, etc. before hitting the first ride.

Probably one of the greatest things to see though was the fact that their was a corn field next to the camp site which reminded my of back home in Indiana.

After the campsite was ready to rock we headed off to Loma for a little riding through some great local mountain bike loops and got introduced to some of the other teammates. We had a great couple hours of riding before dark and then went to Fruita for some excellent pizza at the Hot Tomato Cafe.

That night I got my day early birthday present with some excellent goodies from all of the awesome sponsors including: Bontrager, SmartWool, Boa, Smith Optics, Nuun, Honey Stinger, Chamois Buttr, and Voler. Good way to end the night and get ready for another great day of riding.

Saturday brought a new day and I could not complain getting to ride the MTB all day long on my birthday celebration. We headed off after breakfast to Rabbit Valley to pre-ride the Mountain States Cup TT and XC Course as well as hit the Western Ridge Trail. All of us are getting setup and ready to rock.

We headed out in a couple of groups to ride some of the best trails I have seen in Colorado to date. Of course it was not always the easiest to enjoy the views when I was getting hammered keeping up with this fast team of guys and gals. Although nonetheless still had a smile on my face after stopping to eat a good Honey Stinger Waffle to fuel me for the next portion of the ride. After all I was better off than Kelley who was back there changing the flat tire in the background!

Overall we did about 38 miles, 4000 feet of climbing, and 4 hours of total ride time and it was awesome the entire time. The best was being on top of one of the plateaus overlooking the valley and seeing the Colorado River flowing throughout the state.

The only downside about the ride was that we got a bit muddy so we had to do some bike cleaning upon returning to the camp. I must say the fleet of bikes looks pretty cool in this picture.

That night at camp the team had Qdoba catered in which was delicious! Must say best burrito I have ever had while on a camping trip! Of course the night would not be complete without a little camp fire and s'more making. To tell you how awesome my teammates were they even surprised me with a birthday cake with candles and all. If that does not say something about the camaraderie I do not know what does.

Thanks bunch to Zach and Caitlyn Vestal, who are pictured below, who drove into town to surprise with a cake and the s'mores. You guys rock!

The next day we had another fun filled day as always. Started off the camp with some team photos to get a shot of all of us looking sharp in our new team kits. Watch out off-road racers out there this team looks fierce.

After the Zoolander posing and giving everyone the Blue Steel we hit the road to the Colorado National Monument in Fruita, CO to hit the Lunch Loop Trail System. While there we did a couple more team photos and some warming up on the pump track before hitting another great day of 3 hours of MTB riding on some awesome trails! It is amazing that we never hit the same trail twice and we barely scratched the surface on how many trails there are in that park. I do believe Adam and I will have to go back and do some more exploring that is for sure.

Even though the day of riding was a blast, all great things must come to and end. So we packed up the car and hit the road back to Colorado Springs, CO.

All I have to say is that I had an awesome weekend riding in Fruita, CO and meeting some great new teammates and friends. Thanks to Len Zanni, Colin Osborn, Honey Stinger, and all of the other great sponsors that not only did all the work to make this camp and team happen but for also setting us set up for a great year of racing. Should be one heck of year racing in 2011 and I can not wait now until the first race coming up April 10 in Las Vegas, NV!

Great week to kick off an awesome 2011 season!

Well lets just say this has been one heck of a week. It is hard to believe that 2011 is already here but with the new year comes more great opportunities. Monday I officially signed my first contract for my first official racing sponsor. Happy to announce it was with the great company Aqua Sphere!

I have know the folks at Aqua Sphere for a few months now as they are also a partner with Carmichael Training Systems. Through that time we have established a great relationship and friendship, naturally it was an easy decision to want to represent such a great company and group of people for 2011. In fact this week they even sent me a package containing all kinds of great training gear such as pull buoy, paddles, fins, kickboard, you name it. Now I can not wait to go swim like a fish at my next swim practice. Thanks to everyone at Aqua Sphere for giving me the privalege to work with you and your great products in the upcoming year! Check out their site and great products at: http://www.aquasphereswim.com/us/ and follow them on Facebook and Twitter: @aquasphereswim

With that news alone I would be happy enough this week but it does not end there. Today more exciting news and opportunities were sent my way and I am so thankful to be so blessed. As of today I am officially going to be representing the Team Honey Stinger Off-Road team in 2011.

Honey Stinger is a company based in Steamboat Springs, CO specialized in pure natural energy products made from honey! As anyone that knows me well enough I love sugar so a honey based product while swimming, riding, or running is right up my alley. Plus with the recent addition of the yummy Honey Stinger Waffles you can not go wrong with any of their products . Honey Stinger is the titled sponsor of this Off-Road racing team and includes some of the best pro mountain bikers and off-road athletes you can find. If you look at just about any big mountain bike race results from last year you will see a Honey Stinger athlete’s name up there on the podium. So I will get the opportunity to not only train and race with a great company but also some fun and fast athletes that are a part of the team as well. You can check out and buy their awesome products at http://www.honeystinger.com/ , follow them on Facebook or Twitter @HoneyStinger, or follow all the athletes and their racing at http://www.stingerbuzz.com/. Needless to say I am very pumped to be a part of this great team in 2011. However it doesn’t stop there along with being fueled by Honey Stinger products in 2011 I will also get to the finish line using some of the great products made by the team’s other sponsors. More on them once the team is finalized for 2011.

Here is to a great year and an awesome race season. Thanks to all the awesome sponsors for helping me to Live the Dream!