12 Hours of Temecula #2

Heidi and I headed out to Temecula anxious to try out the mile of new singletrack that Jason added to the 12-hour course. Jason's route changes always make for added fun.

Going into the race we had heard there were going to be several co-ed duo teams, maybe one or two from out of state. The only thing I knew for sure is that we'd be racing Sarah Kaufmann and a guy from Bear Valley Bikes. Sarah, a fellow Wallenfels athlete, is very strong so I knew that we'd have an exciting day.

It was a very close race with the lead changing a few times. I didn't used to like races that were so close, but with all the XC racing I've been doing for training it doesn't really bother me anymore. We alternated laps and as the heat got into triple digits we built a small lead; a lead we were able to keep till the end. We couldn't let up though because Sarah's team was keeping steady lap times.

We had a fairly smooth race: two crashes and a wrong turn for Heidi, while I had one crash and 2 bee stings. =)

At the line checking number plates looking for the other co-ed teams

Waiting to unleash the beast

Riding on the grass felt strange and it was better to ride it fast

Still looking fresh on her penultimate lap

Has she hit the grass yet?

Sarah made the last lap look like nothing but a thing

Heidi had the fastest female lap of the day.

I think eveyone had fun
Thanks to:
Heidi for being such and awesome racing partner
Michael D for the great support
Lynda for the excellent coaching
Jason & Heather for putting on a fun event
The Sho-air/Sonance/Velosport sponsors
Michael Darter, Michael Mcclure & Pookgai for the photos
and
Special thanks to all the co-ed duo teams that made it an exciting day!

Big Bear Shoot Out

I think I might be getting the hang of this XC thing...

Three Sho-air riders on the podium at the Cal State XC #4

Extremes

I've started doing more endurance events since my last post. My last two duo events with Heidi were completely different.


24 Hours of Adrenalin, Hurkey Creek - 4/26/08
- Trail conditions: dry and fast
- Temps: 90s
- What I learned: I can race on watermelon alone
- What I loved: the heat
- Support crew: Micheal D
- Mechanicals: light issues
- Scenic factor: 4
- Fun factor: 6
- Pictures: plenty
- Result: 1st


12 Hours of Weaverville - 5/24/08
- Trail conditions: mud fest
- Temps: 40s
- What I learned: check the weather forecast
- What I loved: mud, rain and more mud
- Support crew: none
- Mechanicals: busted chain
- Scenic factor: 10
- Fun factor: 10
- Pictures: none
- Result: 1st

We repeated this about 24 times

Helping out Manny who was doing the 8-hour as training

Watermelon is the BEST!!!

Rare image of the secret handshake during transitions

Heidi hammering out the last lap in the heat

I'm doing my part....

24 + 2 hours after the start

Thanks to: Micheal Darter, coach Lynda & our sponsors

A little XC

I went out to Bonelli Park on Sunday to try a cross-country race. I think I've done two or three of these events in the past five years. I'll be doing the Cal State XC series this year, in addition to my endurance events, to help the team accumulate points for the state co-ed title.

Heidi, a two time state champion, gave me plenty of tips Saturday on our pre-ride. I felt the course was good for me because it had a couple of climbs with a nice grade so I was really looking forward to it.

Feeling good on the first lap

I had a good first lap and was a bit surprised about the pace. It seemed much slower than I imagined it would be. I rode into the feed zone at the start of the second lap too fast so I missed my bottle and my backup bottle was nowhere in sight. I had planned for the possibility that I might blow through the feed zone so I arranged to have someone stationed a little further up the course. Total miscommunication on my part fouled that up; there was some ambiguity as to whether it was the start or end of the second lap that I needed my insurance. =) So I continued on with the second lap feeling fine, but everything caught up with me halfway through the last lap -- total meltdown! I was spinning in the granny on the hills begging for water from friends that were passing. That'll teach me not to slow down a little for a few seconds. =)

Absolutely drained!!!

My race didn't turn out so well, but the team had an excellent day. Team Sho-air fielded 40 riders, had 21 podium spots with 7 class winners including Heidi -- yeah!

Heidi powering up a climb

Thanks to:
- Team Sho-air/Sonance/Velosport and all our sponsors
- Heidi for the post race smoothie and fruit that brought me back to life.
- Michael Darter for the pics

Team Sho-air at the 12 Hours of Temecula

I learned my lesson from last year's experiment of trying to do this race solo without sufficient miles in my legs so I opted to ride duo like I did two years ago. My partner for this one was former Backbone racer Heidi Volpe. This was her first endurance race and my introduction to a more holistic approach to racing. =)

It rained all week leading up to the race, but unlike most courses in SoCal that turn into mud holes the Temecula course actually gets better with moisture. It turned out to be a fun day in the sun.

The Heidi pre-race aromatherapy routine. There's nothing like a couple of essential oils in the morning to give my brain a jumpstart. Smelled flowery with a soupcon of tea tree.

Shooting the breeze with Tinker; talking about race schedules for this year. Sounds like he's going to be at some new events in '08.

John and Lisa brought their sportsmobile in case conditions got bad. Lisa did an awesome job of keeping track of our lap times and those of the other co-ed teams. When John wasn't busying giving tours of the sportsmobile he kept the secret no-name tea brewing.

The sportsmobile made our pit a very popular place. I think John was giving a tour to a different group every time I got back to the pit after a lap.

Getting the vital energy from the veggies. =) Heidi left some cut cucumbers out for me after one of my laps. What was I supposed to do? Eat 'em?

Lisa and James taking a much deserved break. James kept the bikes in perfect working order.

There was enough time for me to go out and do a 13th lap, but with the strong winds and rain I didn't feel like it was worth the risk, especially since it's so early in the year.

All the cheers at the award ceremony were for Heidi, I was just along for the ride.


There are plenty of folks to thank for this one:

-Thanks to Heidi for agreeing to race with me and for putting a different twist on endurance. I had a blast!! I think I heard talk of a full on mobile spa setup for our next race. =)
-John, Lisa and James for giving up part of their weekend to come out and take care of us.
-Lynda as always for helping me get back into shape. It was my second week back on the bike due to a series of colds & bad weather but she had just the ticket to get me going again.
-Tim & Sherry from Switchback Cyclery for going over the bike and getting it race ready.
-All the Sho-air/Rock N Road Cyclery & Sho-air/Sonance (formerly Team Velosport) sponsors.

12 Hours of Temecula

Heidi and I had a great time Saturday at the 12 Hours of Temecula. The conditions couldn't have been better; the sun was out for most of the day and the course was the fastest I've ridden in years. We missed Dave & Lynda as well as Bern & Josh, but there were plenty of friends out for a good time.

Race report and pictures to follow but here's how the laps went down:

12 laps was enough for first

Happiness

               Happiness is

         1ne -- A style of riding.

         2wo -- A general disposition.

         3hree -- A 16 point scrabble word?

I've been somewhat preoccupied with word values lately so
I'll have to revisit the idea sometime.
(6 pts, 6, 16, 20, 10, 8, 9, 9, 9, 9, 2, 3, 10, 2, 10, 6, 5, 12)

I wonder how these 4our variants of happiness are scored in Chinese?

TransRockies 2008 -- Entry for Sale

Friend and two time TransRockies winner, Marg Fedyna, has a TR entry for sale.

Cost for an '08 entry: $1943 (1850*1.05 gst)
She'd be willing to sell her entry for $1750.

Introducing...

HHHH hhhh hh hh hhh.

E eee eeeeeee eeee E eeee eeeeee eeeeeee Eee eeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeeee eeeee. Eee, eeee E eeeeeee eeeeeee Eeeeeeeeee eee Eeeeee eee eeeeee'e ee eeeeeeee eeee.

Iiii ii iiiii iiiii iiiiiii ii iiiiiii iiiiiiiii ii iiiiiii iiiiiiiii iii iiiii iiiiiiii ii iiii iiiii. Iii Iiii iii iii ii iii iiii ii iiii iiii.

Dd dddd dd ddddddd dd dddd ddd ddddddd ddddddddd dd dddd ddddddd (ddd dddd ddddd ddddd dddd ddd ddd Ddddddddd-dddd dddd dd dddd dddd ddd’d dd dddddddd).

Iii'i iiii ii iiiii iiiiiii Iiiiii Iiiiiiiiii!!!

The new Sho-air XC acquisition and I will be riding as a team at the 12 Hours of Temecula

Carbon Relief

For multi-symptom burnout

For instant relief use:

• Before work
• On weekends
• When you need relief

Directions: Use everyday while symptoms persist. If pregnant

ask a health professional before use.

Overdose Warning: May cause prolonged euphoria, exhilaration and general well-being.

The new ride for '08