La Ruta Day 4: Gotta love road spray!

La Ruta Day 3: The "La Ruta Curse"

La Ruta Day 2: The unknown day

La Ruta Day 1: Beginning the insanity

I will have stories to follow these pictures as soon as I can. I'm trying to get bit of work in before I leave to Ontario for a wedding. Needless to say I'm busy but I'd like to have the whole story up by the end of the weekend.

cheers.

Pre Race La Ruta

This year La Ruta was going to be 4 days. That meant it would start on a Wednesday and end on a Saturday. With a schedule like that it made perfect sense to head down on the Saturday before so that I could get some good solid acclimatization in.

My plane ride was good. The first leg of the trip to a 6 hr. layover in Houston, Texas was pretty dull and quiet, though I did get some good reading time in. From Houston to San Jose CR I found a few people to talk to. It was fairly easy to pick out other cyclists heading to La Ruta, the lean physique and shaved legs are usually pretty good indicators as long as they aren't accompanied by tight leather pants and/or purple silk shirts (in which case other options present themselves). I met up with Andreas Hestler and a couple of his friends and I met Dan from San Diego. Dan had raced last year but had not made it past checkpoint 3 on the first day. We chatted about how heinous last year was and what we anticipated this year. He was a great guy and I am happy to report that he finished the whole race and achieved a very respectable time. I should add, though, that at the finish party he tells me in passing that he is done with this race (We'll see, that's what they all say).

As soon as the plane landed in Costa Rica we were informed that the regular "movable hallways that you usually walk out of planes on (I don't know what these are called but that is the best description I can think of at the moment) was not functioning so we'll have to get out via a portable stairway in the rain to be picked up by a shuttle bus. The bus was packed and I was the last person allowed on it. I was standing on the doorsteps as the doors shut behind me pretty much leaving my cheek pressed against the glass. I love Costa Rica. There's very rarely a dull moment.

I got to the hotel promptly after getting through the airport lines and was met almost immediately by Gerry (a friend from Calgary who would be one of the 5 Deadgoats who I got to hang around with during the race) who told me where my room was and provided me with the corresponding room card. Sweet. That is service.

On Sunday all the Deadgoats (Erik, Tori, Jack, Gerry and Trish) and I pooled our resources to get a couple of vans to take us to Jaco, a beach town on the Pacific Coast. We piled our bikes into one van and us in the other. Gerry and I got the misfortune of sitting in the seats that faced backwards. This was good for the social aspect of the trip but not for the stomach aspect. Both of us claimed to have strong stomachs to fend off motion sickness induced by the massively undulating and curvy nature of Costa Rican roads (not to mention the driving habits of the motorists themselves make the difficult to take backwards) but both of us admitted to being a bit queazy by lunch.

Lunch was awesome. An amazing view and some amazing "sopa negra" (black bean soup). I love the open concept (a roof with no walls except around the kitchen) that virtually all Costa Rican restaurants seem to have (except, come to think of it, that "den of prostitution" I inadvertently walked into a couple of days before the race but that is another story).

Finally, we got settled into our rooms at Best Western Jaco. Monday and Tuesday were filled with finding nice local places to dine, sharing an "Imperial" or two, swimming in the ocean, and, of course, chatting about our anxieties and anticipations after being reminded of just how steep that first climb really is after the pre-ride.

On Tuesday night we all went to bed a little nervous. Sleeping, but still half conscious of how long and hard of a day we would have when our 3:00 AM wake up call would sound.

Why I shaved my legs for "La Ruta"

Ok. To be fair, I shave my legs on a fairly regular basis. However, recently, I have generally avoided the practice. I had not shaved my legs since before the Transrockies. And, if memory serves me correctly, my leg hair was quite long when I shaved it then. This evening, however, La Ruta (the stage race in Costa Rica) inspired me to draw a bath and turn my legs from looking like the "evolutionary missing link" to as smooth as the late and great Pantani's head.

At this point, there may be some of you who question why cyclists shave their legs at all. For your benefit I will give you a brief explanation. For roadies, who prefer speeding along smooth tarmac, the leg shaving is for minimizing wind resistance to maximize speed. Does it make a difference??? Well, in a solo effort into the wind, probably a bit but not a whole lot. It helps to remember that road racing has its heart and soul in the Mediterranean area of Europe where men typically resemble a Sasquatch in terms of their hair growth. Maybe that is where leg shaving for men started. As for mountain bikers, wind resistance plays a very small role, due to a slower speed and other variables, like the technical terrain, that are much greater factors than wind resistance. Mountain bikers reason that leg shaving is a good idea, beyond the meager air resistance benefit, due to faster healing of cuts and scrapes plus massages are a better experience.

My reason for shaving my legs tonight for La Ruta has very little to do with any of those reasons.

For La Ruta, I shave my legs for the weight savings! -- Ok. I know were talking a minimal weight savings but let me remind you that I have to carry my sorry carcass almost 15,000 ft of climbing the first day, 12,000 the second, 8,000 the third and over 5,000 the fourth and final day. I think the weight savings will amount to some time savings with that amount of climbing. I should also add, that if I had hairy legs on day one, I would probably accumulate about 5 lbs. of extra mud on my legs. Something I really don't need!

I anticipate one last protest from the cynics in the readership. "Jon, why don't you cut your HEAD hair short if you're so worried about weight!" To you, I have one word to say (or rather a name)-- SAMSON... I can't cut my hair. I'll lose my mojo!


Cheers everyone. If you're interested, keep track of the race on canadiancyclist.com or adventurerace.com.

LOOOOOONG over due TR Update

I have no good excuse as to why I haven't updated my blog in a ridiculous amount of time. My bad excuses include being busy at work, feeling like I have nothing to say, and procrastination. I won't give an exhaustive account as the vast majority of you already know everything.

Craig and I had an awesome time. The group we went with (Erik & Mike, Tori & Cindy, and of course our support, Pete and Amber) was amazing. I don't think we could have asked for a better group to hang out with around the RV after and before the racing.

The racing was very competitive this year which is great. Craig and I had our best finish on day one which was 7th (after starting in about the 5th or 6th to last row of over 600 racers). I think the technical nature of the course and the fact that it was a short stage played to our advantage. For the rest of the week we hovered just outside of the top ten and had some good racing. We worked with and raced hard against out "roomies" Erik and Mike on several occasions. In the end, we ended up 12th.

I can't say enough about Craig's effort and competitiveness over the course of the seven stages. Everyday he gave 100% or more. Well done.

I won't be doing the TR next year but I have at least one other big stage race that I have committed to (which I will blog about soon). However, I recently heard the news that Erik and Craig have formed a team for next year that I'm positive they will be very successful. Good luck guys.

Here we come TRANSROCKIES!

There is less than a week to go and I'm feeling great. I'm so stoked about this race. 7 days of epic riding on trails that are mostly new to me. This is going to be great!

There's a good field this year and I'm sure that the racing will be exciting! My partner, Craig Stappler, is in good form and we are ready for the pain.

GIVE US YOUR WORST!

Follow the race at www.transrockies.com

Crit madness and misc.

This is a pic of me a the Canada Cup in Canmore. Wicked race! My favourite course of the year. It will definitely rank as one of my fav's ever! Basically it was one big climb followed by one BEEEEAUTIFUL downhill. Stellar. I got 26th which I'm pretty okay with considering I crashed into a tree with my face (among other things). I know this race is old news but I've been behind on my blogging and I couldn't let this one go without a mention.

In the more recent history, Le Tour de Bowness was the big event this weekend. Fabulous Race. Great course, almost as technical as the Canmore Canada Cup! I almost turned full roadie. Nawwwwh. Not even close, but events like this sure make racing skinny tires fun. I bombed the hill climb barely breaking the 4 minute mark (I mean barely). I'm just no good when there's no one to chase. My time was good enough for a distant seventh. The crit was when the fun really started. I am still in Cat. 3 for road so I don't get to race with the big boys like I do at the Tuesday night weekly crits. So I feel that I have the fitness and legs to win a Cat. 3 race at least every once in a while but sprinting is not my thing so a win has eluded me so far. The other factor is that I can't sustain the big Watts required to ride away from the pack solo (without a climb). For this race my biggest asset was a half-decent ability to corner. The race turned out to be quite tame. I tried pushing the pace a bit here and there to thin the group so I'd shed some of the people who can only ride their bikes in a straight line and then use my cornering ability along with someone like Dave Larson who knows how to ride a bike and create a break. I probably should have pushed the pace a bit more but I didn't and eventually slunk back into the group where we would inevitably end in a sprint. Been there, done that in Alberta. I blame no one but myself and a couple others that I know are strong enough to shatter 90% of the Cat. 3 race. As it turned out, I took a prime and on the final lap I wanted to attack on corner #2 into the headwind, over the hill, through the corners and hold on for dear life on the final straightaway. Well, in real life, on corner #2 I got boxed in and on corner #3 and #5 was getting my wheels knocked all over the place so for the last corner I was near parked as I started my sprint. My mediocre sprinting was good enough for 5th and the last spot on the podium. Props to Rob Leeds (who's sprinting is not mediocre) for the win. We should haved shelled him at the half way point! Hee hee. oh well. It was fun.

That wasn't the only crit. Tonight I just finished the Tuesday night crit. It was a relatively windy day with very few people out. Eleven people started and I think only 6 or 7 finished. There was nowhere to hide. Once we dropped some of the riders it was like we were in a breakaway but it was the whole race. I attempted an attack with some help from Dan Wood (ERTC) but it didn't stick and tried again later to be counter attacked but I bridged back up. Eventually, It became evident that it would be a sprint finish. Looking at the field I knew that I wouldn't win it in a short flat race. I needed to gamble. One the tight corner #2 I pinned it as hard as I could and when I checked through my arms I saw I had a really good gap and my legs weren't screaming at me yet. Things looked good until I looked ahead and realized that I'm too far on the inside to make corner #3 at this speed. It was going to be dicey! I tried hard but as I reached the apex of my arc I could see the curb coming fast, very fast. I could try and hold on and risk a very dangerous crash (right before Transrockies) or I could admit defeat and bunny hop the curb. I admitted defeat and hopped the curb and skidded to a stop as I shoulder check a lightpost! Crap. I think I could have taken this one if I had held my head up. Live and learn.
The race was hard and fun. Just the way I like it.

My Birthday Wounds

Today I am starting my 27th year of existence. Of course that means today is my birthday and I turned 26. As I have been reminded several times, that means that I am "over the hump of the twenties and it's all downhill to thirty". I'm okay with that. I feel pretty good about my life and so far I have no major regrets. I think I'll be pretty happy as long as I keep it that way.

As for my birthday wounds, those are from a great day of paintballing. My wonderful wife, Kelley, organized a surprise paintball party for me. It was a great way to celebrate. On a day to remember my entrance into the world, we get to engage in some of the most primal of mankind's activities. In this case, mock warfare. We get to exhibit "fight or flight" and survival insticts in the form of a series of games where team and individual domination are the goal. In some ways the games mirror the quest of life. Not that my goal is to shoot my enemies to oblivion!?!

Thank you to everyone who came on their long weekend. Thanks to Shawn for supper afterwards. And thanks again to Kelley for organizing everything... I love you.

Cheers.

Alberta Provincial Championships

Another Provincial Championships has come and gone. As always United Cycle did a good job of organizing and hosting it. It took place in Terwillegar Park which has a reputation of fast and non-technical courses but in the last couple of years course designers seem to have picked out a few singletrack gems and incorporated them into the provincials course. This year was the same as last years with the exception of they took out a sweet singletrack called "Dave's trail" and took out a short steep climb that preceded the long, gradual climb. Today the course was a touch muddy due to the rain last night but wasn't bad other than the chronically muddy downhill mid lap. It was, however, muddy enough that before the race there was some question as to whether they were going to delete "firemen's hill" (the most technical section) from the course as they did earlier in the morning with the sport race. Much to my pleasent surprise, they left it in.

There was a large field for the Elite category (considering it's Alberta). There were just under 20 riders I believe. With defending champion Tim Heemskirk not present (presumably at the world cup in QB) the title was up for grabs and there were quite a few potential racers.

When the start was signalled Evan Sherman went off like a madman! I wanted to be relatively close to the front so I grabbed his wheel and went for the draft since the starting prologue is so exposed to wind. Cam Mcknight snuck in front of me and in the line change I had to make I lost the draft so as the trail widened after the first turn the top 5 or 6 places began shuffling but not for Evan. He was on a mission. He started in first would go on to finish in first but was never too far ahead to be caught.

After the prologue when the first lap began in earnest positions were still juggling around. At one point I was about in seventh and all positions from second to tenth were sorting themselves out. People in this group were Shawn Bunnin, Marc Bomhoff, Cam Mcknight, Dallas Morris, Chris McNeil, Mike Sarnecki, Brian Bain and Ryan Hopping. As the lap wore on, I worked my way to a group of two chasers, Shawn and Mike, with Evan in sight. Shawn proved to be too strong on the flats and eventually gapped Mike and I. Mike rode fantastically for the first half of the race making me hurt on the straight flats. For a brief moment Chris McNeil made an attack on the gradual climb which put him in third for a second or two before I counter attacked and dropped him on the "fireman's hill" downhill. Dallas made his mark on me when he caught me mid second or third lap and began trash talking me from behind but never passed only to be dropped on the muddy switchback downhill. Ahhhh... sweet satisfaction. From that point on I rode in third until about the 5th lap where from out of nowhere a Bicisport kit blows by me saying "your doing great!" It was none other than Corey Wallace who finishes races faster than most people start them! He made me look parked and I only saw him again at the bottom of the "fireman's downhill" where I made a bit of time on him but he was pretty distant. In the end I could only manage 4th and Corey could never quite catch Shawn.

This years Championship podium had Evan on top the the two Bici boys Shawn and Corey on the sides. Great work boys. Especially Shawn, he really had a fantastic race.

As a tangent story, I'll mention that I had really bad brake problems. I've had problems with my front brake lately so I bled it earlier this week and it seemed to be fine but last night on my pre-ride I lost 100% of my braking on the front. This morning, before the race I rushed to United Cycle where I was given quick help and they immediately bled my brake and and checked it for leaks because there was some fluid residue on the caliper and lever. Nothin seemed to leak even when you reefed on the lever. So, I thought it was fine but sure enough as I finish my warm up I start feeling the break lose pressure. I started the race thinking I might have to DNF if I lose all my braking. By the time I started my second lap I had about 10% of the breaking power you'd expect from XTR's and by the last lap the lever was to the grip at about5%. I thought about DNF'ing but thought as long as I'm still doing well and making time on the downhills (amazingly enough!) there is no good reason to quit. I'm going to have to do something about this soon.

Congrats to all the racers. Great job.

The Deadgoat Suffer Springs Summer Solstice

What a beautiful day for racing... Too bad I spent most of the previous day under blankets trying to shed a cold enough to race today. Yes, I sound bitter because I hate DNF'ing. But that is what I did as I started the climb on lap 2. I knew my legs weren't the way they normally would be and this was all I was going to get out of them today. I also knew that if I trudge on (like I know I could have) I would be sick for most, if not all, next week as well. I've had it happen before where I was just about over a sickness and then I raced and it came back at me with a vengence while I was weak. Seeing as next weekend is the AB Provincials, I decided to call it a day early in hopes of being in good form for the AB Provincials... It was worth a try to start this morning, but in the end, I should have just slept in. I don't regret my decision to DNF but it still sucks.

Enough negativity, It wasn't a bad day for all. There was a good turnout of racers and the weather was pretty close to perfect racing temperature. The Deadgoats did an outstanding job of organizing and pulling off a fantastic race. I really liked the minor lap changes and addition of prologue. One thing I would like to be considered, though, is running the course the opposite direction next time. After I finished (kind of), I sat down and enjoyed awesome racing as the sport then expert categories finished their races. There were a lot of sprint finishes and tight racing which I think this course lends itself to.

I didn't catch the end of all the racing but I saw Steve Gaffney won my race and some good results were achived by Shawn Bunnin, Anthony Steenbergen and Erik Bakke.

See ya at the Prov's.

Cause: Race for Human Rights

If you need a little incentive to support a good "cause" then this is a great way to do it. I certainly make an attempt to support Christian organizations that are providing relief and God's message to people who need it but when I get to contribute by racing, well, that's just sweet! In this case 100% of the profits from this race went to support children in Africa.

There were about 200 riders that came out to race at the Canmore Nordic Centre on a super muddy course. The organizers described the course as "easy-expert". Before pre-riding, I wondered what they meant by this but afterwards it all made sense. You were either riding on wide ski trail (probably 80% of the course) or descending down an expert level downhill. It was a course that I assume was designed to accommodate a wide range of rider abilities which I think it accomplished well. With all the mud, however, the course became very difficult. The downhills were treacherous and were the cause of many endo's and cartwheeling bikes. The climbs and flats on the ski trails, though not dangerous, were very frustrating because the mud stole traction and zapped 70% of your Watts due to tire slippage/stickage (I believe that is the technical term).

I usually have pretty good races in the mud and this race didn't disappoint me. I had a good start and after about 3/4 of the first climb we started sorting ourselves out. Apparently I wasn't being very observant because I thought it was Ryan Hopping, Brian Cooke then me. But, in actuality it was Steve Gaphne, Brian Cooke then me. Ryan was actually behind somewhere (not far, no doubt) I say this because half-way through the first lap I pass Brian and I figure that I am riding in second behind Ryan, not Steve. At some point on the second lap Ryan has a chain break and is forced to DNF. So as I start my third lap I see him off the course and think that sucks for Ryan but at least I'm riding in the lead now. For the next couple of laps I think I am riding in the lead only to head out for my 5th and final lap when I hear Ryan shout out (sarcastically, I might add) "Keep goin' he's only 6 minutes ahead of you!" I reply, "who?!?" "Steve Gaphne." Man, I feel like a knob! Oh well, it certainly wouldn't have made a difference to the race, only to my pride. Steve rode superbly demonstrating incredible fitness so the race was for second. I tried to ride defensively knowing that I was starting to fatigue and that Brian Cooke was around a minute behind me at the start of the last lap. Sure enough, about 3 kms. to go Brian is right on my tale. All that is left to the finish line is 2 sections of downhill singletrack and a 500 m. gradual climb. I thought about using my forte (the singletrack) to drop him but decided that the risk/reward ratio was not in my favour. If I risked too much on that (especially with the mud) it could cost me a crash and likely a second place finish and the amount I would gain on Brian would probably be minimal considering these trails are in his "backyard". I decided I would ride the singletrack conservatively and as soon as we got to the last gradual climb I would attack and pray that it wouldn't end up a sprint. Without looking behind me, I hammered as hard as I could, in and out of the saddle. I didn't glance behind me until the last corner with about 100 m. to go and Brian wasn't there so I just cruised in for second.

This was a very fun race and I recommend it to anyone with any mtb'ing ability. Cheers to everyone who braved the mud and finished.

Midweek Mayhem

I just did my first Midweek Mayhem race, the Tuesday night crits at the U of C Research Park. Wow! It was sweet. We had 20-some racers for a short, fast, fun race. I will definitely be back for more. You can get a whole season of racing in for 40 bucks (if you have a racing license). Wicked deal!

Today I just wanted to ride my bike and see how these unfold. I didn't have any goals for placement. At first I just went for the ride mid-pack hanging on to the yo-yo around every corner. At the mid-point of the race I decided to pull the group for a bit (not attack, pull)... not an intelligent move but I wouldn't be able to call myself a mountain biker if I didn't! Also, I wasn't feeling very challenged physically so why not? I did this for a couple of laps but (of course) it was just a waste of energy. So I dropped back and tried to stay in the top third of the peloton as the attacks began increasing in the waining laps of the race. I managed this until the last lap where I ended up getting boxed a bit before set up for the the last turn before the sprint. In the end I sprinted in for sixth or seventh I think. I was happy with that. Congrats to Cyrus K who won.

I really recommend doing these races. They are short and fun. I know I don't do enough road races to get really good at the strategy aspect of them but this will help me invaluably.

Cheers.

Giant Anthem Advanced is th Best Bike in the World!

I haven't posted something about my new Giant Anthem Advanced yet and I thought it was about time I wrote a short post about it.

Lately, I've been riding it with Schwalbe Nobby Nics (tubeless, of course) on it and it rides amazingly. I feel like I'm cheating, the bike is so fast. I've been scaring myself on downhills when I see corners coming at me so fast. It climbs wickedly too. Extremely light and pedals very efficiently yet still is small-bump compliant... This bike does everything the marketing says that it does...

Now if only I can get the legs and lungs to match it?!?

Cheers everyone. Happy trails.

Devon Dust-up Recap...ABA #3

(This is a pic of me holding on for dear life on one of the technical downhills. The picture doesn't capture the panic that I was feeling but I pulled it off.)

This was a sweet race. Thank you to the Hardcore guys and gals that put on the event!

I wasn't going into this race with a whole lot of expectation. I had been having abnormally large levels of stress at work and my relatively small 2 bedroom apartment was being occupied by anywhere from 6 to 8 guests due to a visit from my in-laws (I love them visiting but it takes it's toll on the energy levels). I didn't have a vehicle to get up to Devon but fortunately I hooked up with Erik, Mike and Geoff to carpool there. We left bright and early at 6:30 Sunday morning after a coffee and muffin from Second Cup (not exactly the breakfast of champions but I'll take what I can get).

We arrived at the racecourse with just a few minutes to get changed and jump on our bikes for a brisk pre-ride before the first wave of racers were going to be on the course at 10:00. The four of us got ready and started the course. My first impression was that it was very fast but then when I found the quasi-Transrockies style hike-a-bike section I thought I had gone the wrong direction. As it turns out, I hadn't. It was true, we were going to have to carry our bikes up a hill that must have come close to spanning the entire elevation of the course. Once done the hike-a-bike the next half of the course continued with its super-fast characteristics of flat and slight turns but that was to end after the feed-zone. Then the course gets much slower and starts some of the climbs that it boasts (not long but steep). The singletrack gets tighter and twistier and there is one downhill that I'm sure took out more than one or two racers... Overall this course had something for everyone. Nice job organizers!

There weren't a huge amount of Elites there since there were still some guys out east for the Canada Cups but the field was still very good especially with guys like Tim Heemskerk and Corey Wallace. Its good to race with a top notch field.

I got an awesome start. It was a perfect clip in where my shoes instinctively found my XTR pedals and not a Watt of energy was wasted. So I holeshotted. It doesn't make or break your race at an ABA but it sure is sweet. I held to the lead until the aforementioned hike-a-bike but Tim and Andre passed me at the top. I pedalled as hard as I could manage while the sting of my muscles seemed to be handicapping my quads on the flats. Sure enough a few guys passed my at the feedzone. I realized if I'm going to do well I'm going to have to control myself on the fast flat section (it always seems like everyone can ride faster than me on those sections...). I stayed steady and throughout the next couple laps I worked my way back to fourth place. I was right behind Jeff Neilson in third (who has been flying lately... Cape Epic definitely paid off in fitness gains). Every lap I would get within 5 to 10 seconds of him on the singletrack and every lap I was just short of being able to get in his draft for the flats so he would pull away. The last lap he put the hammer down and gouged about a minute out of me. Nice work Jeff! I'm stoked that you got your first Elite podium!

The results for Elite men were from 1st to 5th: Tim Heemskerk, Corey Wallace, Jeff Neilson, Jon Nutbrown and Andre Sutton.

Congrats to everyone who competed. See ya next race.

Late report for Sunridge Ski ABA #2

What an awesome race! Props to Pedalhead for creating a fantastic racecourse and great race atmosphere. The course was a bit lacking in hills (for a ski area) but it made up for it with sharply undulating terrain and tight and twisty singletrack... Wicked!!! They also did a great job of rewarding the novice and sport categories with great prizes including a top notch cruiser bike. Good work guys.

As for me, 3 of 4 laps were great. Evan Sherman was in first, Marc Bomhof was second (nice to see him racing again) and I was riding in third. I made a novice mistake and didn't eat any gels or calories of substance. By the beginning of the third lap I hit the wall and started going backwards. In fact, about 3/4 of a kilometre from the finish line I considered DNF'ing which is ridiculous (of course!). So I followed the smell of the BBQ to the finish line where I was the last of the finishers. CRAP! Oh well. I won't make that mistake again any time soon.

Cheers everyone.

Moose Mountain Road TT

Today I went for a ride at Moose Mountain where I like riding on the sweet technical trails snaking down the hill. This area is one of my favourites and I ride it a lot. That is why I like using the Moose Mountain road as a bit of a marker of my fitness. I have all kinds of great loops that I string together but sometimes when I want to see how I'm feeling I time myself from the bottom parking lot to the top parking lot and then go on with my ride. Today, I did my first time test and I finished the climb with a time of 31 min 50 sec. I'm pretty happy with that. It's less than a minute slower than last year's fastest time of 31 min flat. but it was colder and muddier conditions... Feel free to race me. E-mail me your times and maybe I can post them on the side-bar (exact times only please, honor system). I've posted mine there to keep track throughout the year. The start is the gate at the bottom parking lot and the finish line is the sign just before the top parking lot... This climb is great for hill reps for training for Transrockies or La Ruta or something similar.

Also, FYI, Jean-guy is a little muddy but rideable and rhubarb is perfect condition (but just as steep as ever).

ABA Cup #1 Lethbridge Coulee Cruiser

Well, it was a close race. Too close for comfort... Unbeknownst to many who just showed up to watch or race a mtb race, there was another race going on. The race for the longest hair in the men's Elite category! With the absence of Andre Sutton, I thought I would be a shoe in but, in true competitive fashion, Roddi Leg brought his "A" game. It was too close to call so a rematch will occur on May 13th in Edmonton at the ABA #2.

Now, in the mountain bike racing I didn't get a tie for 1st. I got 6th actually which is a little bit worse than what I was hoping for but all in all I am extremely happy with how I raced. I stayed strong and raced my race. I was just lacking a bit in my high-end anaerobic fitness (plus, maybe a bit tired from 26 hours of riding in Moab that week and the 15 hour drive). Not that I am trying to make excuses. This week has been good for causing me to overreach in my volume and intensity. Hopefully I recover strong and quickly.

Thank you to the Headwinds Cycling Club for organizing and putting on the event. As always, they did a superb job of putting on a race. The course was the typical coulee style riding that Lethbridge has some of the best of but was extremely difficult (I always find this course difficult but this year was borderline masochistic) . Only 2 riders (to my knowledge) rode the whole course every lap. There were extremely steep hills that were causing everyone to get very friendly with their granny gear (except the few that chose to race a single speed). Good job to everyone that raced!

A special congrats to Mical (super woman) who won the elite women's race and the top 3 elite men, Roddi Lega (flying this year), Dallas Morris (always strong and bringing his "A" game to races), and Brian Bain (first elite podium, AWESOME JOB!).

Cheers to everyone!

Pictures will hopefully be up soon.

Calgary loves riding bikes

I believe it was H.G. Wells that said "I have new hope for humanity every time I see an adult on a bicycle" or something along those lines at least. Well, today, driving back from a ride of my own I must have seen close to a couple hundred adults on bicycles and, like H.G. Wells, it makes me feel good. I saw loads of mountain bikers in the Station Flats parking lot in Kananaskis, I saw groups riding up an down hwy. 66, there were groups of 20 to 30 roadies around Bragg Creek, and lots of people riding on hwy. 22. I saw people I knew and tons that I didn't. There wasn't a 30 second stretch from K-country to Hwy. 8 that I didn't see someone on a bike... Awesome!

Yes... the promised posts from Moab and Lethbridge are coming.

back home.

Today, is my first day back from wandering in desert like moses, only instead of a staff and sandals, I had a bike and helmet. It was a sweet trip. Stay tuned for reports and pics of the rides and the first ABA Race in Lethbridge.

Oh... for those that were wondering, I didn't get my bike in time. That's okay. These things happen. I'm keeping my fingers crossed to get it before ABA MTB Cup #2 on May 13th.

If found please return to me ASAP.

Well, okay, maybe it's not lost. It just feels that way because its not clipped in to its owners shoes.

As a lot of you know, I'm going down to Moab, the land flowing with milk and honey (a little joke for all those Old Testament Students) this Thursday. Right now i'm still waiting for my 2007 Giant Anthem Advanced. This ride is going to be sweet! I'm praying it comes in before Thursday so I can introduce it to the Porcupine Rim Trail.

Keep your fingers crossed...

Snow, Cowboys and Coca-Cola

Snow, Cowboys and Coca-Cola, the makings of an interesting ride... Yes, this Saturday's ride was good and had it's fair share of adventure in it to boot.

Bright and early I leave my house to meet Erik and Craig at Edworthy Park so we can commute together to the official meeting place at the Westhills Starbucks (Geez, I hate supporting Starbucks by starting our rides there). The last two Saturdays have had great rides starting here. There have been 20 to 30 people at the start and people with all different fitness levels. It's fun to start a ride like this even if the big group is short lived because I like the community feeling that occurs with numbers like that. Anyway, (I digress) I didn't expect to see as many people for this ride since the last ones had temperatures in the high teens and the current forecast was for 3-5 degrees and maybe a bit of snow. Still, I think there were about 10 to 12 guys there.

We start the ride promptly after Craig, Erik and myself get there since we arrived a tad bit late due to my inability to keep things organized. The weather is getting worse and my motivation to go fast is not there in part due to the cold temperature and in part because I am reading a great book on base-building. About 30 minutes into the ride Erik and I allow ourselves to slide off the back of the group as it races up one of the mini-hills on Lower Springbank Rd. I've noticed this scenario to be a trend on these rides. I'm guessing the initiator was Mike (Good on you, Mike, but not for me right now). Erik and I ride together and in a few minutes Craig drops back to ride with us.

At this point the weather is causing a lot of people to question how good of an idea it was to throw on the lycra this morning rather than pull out the skis. The snow is coming down fairly hard but not really accumulating. Our small group meets up with the greater group as they debate their options from the intersection of hwy. 22. The weather is coming from the north so I figure we just ride toward it and pop out the other side (hopefully). If not, at least we'll have a perfect tail-wind riding home from Cochrane. Not everyone agrees and the greater group divides into a plethora of sub-groups each going their own way.

Going North seems to pay off as the skies clear and the temperature climbs. Sweet! Ed, Tom, Craig, Erik and I get to the watering hole in Cochrane (the Coffee Traders) and notice about 10 bikes outside. As fate would have it, we ran into some of Calgary's finest riders. Everyone grabs a warm beverage of choice and enjoys the good company. Some of the discussion leads to extending the ride a bit further by heading west and eventually we settle on riding the Forestry Trunk Rd to where it turns to gravel north of Waiporous (One of my favourites... too bad it is an out n' back for a road bike and not a loop).

The group is now Dallas, Anthony, the Prof., Erik Craig and myself. I like riding with people who are on a similar agenda and know how to co-operate with each other to make the ride more efficient. I thought, overall, this was a great group. It made for a fun ride up through the foothills. Unfortunately, Erik had to let us go as we headed north. He was feeling the effects of a very difficult week at work (I don't know if I would have even made it to the start if I were in his shoes).

So, as we head north on the Forestry Trunk Rd. we run into a bunch of rancher/cowboys who are herding a huge group of semi-wild horses along the road. They take up the entire road and I think all of us are a bit confused as to what to do. Do we just ride through the herd or will that accidentally scare them into stampeding us, leaving us flat and lifeless to be scraped up by our loved ones after the fact. The cowboys (and girls) are giving us mixed signals. Some are saying slow down, others are saying stop and still others are saying get out of the way. Dallas, Craig and I stop pretty much immediately and Anthony proceeds slowly but eventually stops and the Prof tries to ride right through. This startles some of the horses and causes everyone involved a bunch of unneeded stress. I have never seen cowboys that mad before except for on old episodes of "Bonanza". Apparently, one of them clocked the Prof. right in the head. In all the commotion one of the horses makes a turn down one of the driveways to a ranch and the whole bunch starts galloping that way. This clears the way for us but makes a whole lot more work for the ranchers (I doubt your reading this, but sorry). We continue on as the ranchers yell at us to "go back to the City!" I'm not sure that all the ranchers handled the situation with grace but I still think it is our obligation to be as accommodating as possible. The last post is about cyclists being hated and after this I can understand why the next big diesel 4x4 lays on the horn and throws a Tim Horton's cup at us... I know no one from our group was trying to be hostile but I think it is our duty to represent our clubs and sponsors appropriately and our sport with excellence. I have to admit I was a bit embarrassed... No need to dwell on the issue.

Awesome ride the rest of the way with the temperatures just getting warmer and warmer (much higher than the weather man had predicted). As we spin into Cochrane again, the group decides to purchase some calories at the gas station to fuel the last 35 km. I decide I'm all right with nothing but, when everyone gets a caffeinated beverage with no less than 250 calories including Anthony's Rockstar Energy drink, I should have re-evaluated. I make it quite respectably to the city limits where our group splits to head to our respective dwellings but I do notice that my fuel system is running fumes. As I ride through Bowness with Anthony, I find it increasingly difficult to stay beside him and, for that matter, concentrating on keeping the bike rolling in a straight line began to be a difficult task. The dreaded bonk had got it's grasp on me. I tried to remain coherent as I explained to Anthony that I was going to buy a Coca-Cola from the Safeway. He understands my mumbling and we part ways. It took me about 5 minutes to get the proper coinage out of my jersey pockets because my dexterity seemed to leave me just as my balanced blood glucose level had. Finally, I consume the precious calories and regain the ability to ride my bike in a straight line.

What a great ride. These are the ones you remember for a while. Bad weather, good company, good weather, great scenery, random horse stampedes, bonk-induced tunnel vision--perfect!

Demons of Lower Sprinbank Rd.

The demons of Lower Springbank Rd. are the bain of the existence of those who reside and frequent the affluent quasi-suburban district in southwest Calgary. They wear armour on their heads, they float on steel steeds and they wield spinning weapons as they wreak havoc on all who are unfortunate enough to cross their path.

In case you haven't guessed, road cyclists are the "demons" of Lower Springbank Rd. Obviously, I don't think that cyclists are demons but, lately, I feel like one especially on Lower Springbank. It has always eluded me why perfectly normal people (outside of a scenario that involves a motor vehicle, a road and a cyclist) become irrationally motivated to yell some form of vulgarity and/or act in a way to endanger the life of a person riding a bicycle. This behaviour is not exclusive to Lower Springbank but I'm pretty sure that I have been harassed more on this stretch of road than any other road in the area.

This Wednesday I was doing hill repeats on "The Slopes", an estate community on a hill (thus the name) just off Lower Springbank. My recovery section of the interval occurs on Lower Springbank and on one of the intervals a young adult in a "sporty" Civic gives me the finger even though he's going the opposite way and I in no way impede him. Another recent example is when I happened to hook up with the Deadgoat Hammer ride on last Tuesday and on this ride someone thought that it would be a good idea to throw something (not sure what) out of the vehicle at 8 cyclist riding single-file inches from each other's wheel. What a moron! Fortunately, the person lacked the required skill to hit a human target from 4 ft away. Seriously, though, if that person would have caused a pile-up and there was traffic from behind someone could have been killed. God forbid that should ever happen but if it did I hope a manslaughter charge would ensue... Oh well, that motorist must have been late for home and we were holding him up. Wait, the vehicle didn't even slow down, we couldn't have slowed him then. Maybe the power steering gave out and it required a little bit of work to veer the car. I don't know. Maybe he would have been happier to see 8 other vehicles in front of him?!?

So, I'm not sure why Lower Springbank Rd. motorists are filled with this hatred for cyclists. The road has hardly any traffic by Calgary standards and it's not tight and twisty making it difficult to pass. What could the reason be? Maybe it is because half the people living there have no life outside of work because they have to work 13 hours a day to keep up the mortgage payment on a house that has already been leveraged to the max to pay for their Hummer, Porsche and there teenager's pimped Civic... I know, I know. I'm painting with a broad brush. I'm sure that there are a lot of wonderful people who live there but someone please tell me why every other time I'm there people curse me, throw things at me, or swerve at me?

apology

My deepest apologies to any eager blog-readers who existed out there that have endured the long drought of posts. I don't know if my mom ever read my blog but I'm quite certain that if she had even she would have stopped checking to see if Jonny has written a new blog post. No doubt my readership has dropped from a solid high single digit number to probably nil. This grieves me to no end but maybe, just maybe, there is one, perhaps two, people still out there that will click on their "favourites" and, in a moment of boredom, double click on "jon's blog". If that happens and they don't see "Ode to the Single-speed" they may think that they are experiencing a boredom induced hallucination but they will be mistaken because, in fact, I am back at the keyboard giving it a run again.

It is not as if I had nothing to write about. Actually, I had quite a few riding and other stories to recount. I've gone snow-shoeing in chest deep powder (only because I saw Andreas Hestler doing the cross-training thing on the cover of Impact magazine and I can't let him have an edge on me in the Transrockies this year). I've gone on several epic bike pathway single speed rides with Erik and others who have braved slush, salty roads and temperatures that cause you to have 3 inch icicles hanging from your goatee. I've rode to the top of Powderface Pass in February with Anthony Steamroller who had me at his mercy after 6 hours of pedalling even though he was riding a cross-bike and I was on a road bike... The point is that I have been experiencing all kinds of blog-worthy things but, whether the excuse be lethargy or sloth, they have not made it to cyberspace.

Hopefully I can regain some readership and we can start our relationship all over again... Hi my name is Jon...

Ode to the Singlespeed

First, I confess that for many years I have underrated the fringe niche of singlespeeding. I didn't really see the point. I mean, why ride an inferior bike when you have a bike in the garage that is faster, easier to ride, and can handle a greater range of terrain?!? It is illogical. Why would you purposely use antiquated technology. It would be as if I were using a typewriter to write this! Don't misunderstand me, I had no problem with people who rode them. Quite the opposite, in fact. I think people like Pat D. are amazing. That guy has passed me with one gear on more than a few occasions. Why do it on a single speed though!...However, all that has changed.

About a month and a half ago I bought my first single speed mountain bike (fully rigid). I thought I would give it a try because I saw some training benefits from it. It forces you to work on your pedaling by making you either grind up hills with quad searing strength or roll downhills at rpm's that make your legs look like a blur. The training benefit, however functional, is still the boring part of singlespeeding.

After doing the majority of my rides in the last while on a singlespeed I've discovered other great things about riding a single speed. For one thing, the off-season in Calgary means that training is often done in snow, slush and cold tempuratures. All of which wreak havoc on a drivetrain. It is a great feeling to pull the bike out of the garage and not worry about it at all. No mis-shifts or skipping cassette. If you slip out on the ice there is no derailluer to bend out of shape... That is good but not the best part.

The part that has pleasantly surprised me the most is that riding with one gear and a rigid fork has turned the singletrack at Edworthy Park into a new technical challenge and the hills at Nosehill into giant mountains. In other words, it is no less fun to ride but I experience the challenge of riding a bike at my limit of skill right outside my door. A hill that was inconsequential is now a test of power and cleaning a few roots and a little drop off is now a demonstration of technical prowess... Simple is sweet!

You won't see me at any races this year on a single speed (I'll leave that to team WUSS). I'm not going all Luddite on everyone (not that there is anything wrong with that). Afterall, if I follow the line of logic that riding inferior technology equals more challenge equals more fun then I might as well ride a cyclocross bike! In fact, I'm anticipating a super trick Giant Anthem Advanced... Technology is sweet!

Have fun on the roads and trails whatever bike you are riding.

La Ruta de los Conquistadores '06

Well, it's actually New Year's Day today (Happy New Year!) so this story is a bit old but since this blog will be predominantly cycling oriented I thought I'd include the story of my last race. If you know a little about mountain bike ultra-endurance events then you've likely heard of the 3 day stage race in Costa Rica called La Ruta de los Conquistadores. It is the self proclaimed "hardest mtb race ever". Not many racers who have done it would disagree... Here is my experience at La Ruta.

LA RUTA: The hardest mtb race ever??? Well, I certainly don't think that I am qualified to answer that considering I've only done a handful of marathon endurance one-day races and the Transrockies Challenge, but I do have some opinions. For one thing, the competition is way higher than in many marathon races which makes it harder... But lets just consider the terrain in the first stage. Racers climb almost 14 500 ft. in basically 2 climbs over 97 km. on steep grades that are only in a Western Albertan mtb'er's nightmares! If that weren't enough, the first climb/descent has enough clay mud on it for the entire population of Canada to take pottery classes and create there own giant vase! Need more convincing... Racers dealt with a mid to high thirties temperature in 100% humidity where you sweat profusely (I mean PROFUSELY, I've been dryer in some pools in Calgary!). Still not impressed! Well, remember you rode through a rain forest with stream crossings as deep as your handlebar. That coupled with the clay mud have rendered your high-end drivetrain into a primitive chain-sucking 3 speed if you're lucky enough not to have run out of lube... Oh yes. I forgot. That mud makes your 22 pound hardtail a 44 pound "not-so-freeride" bike!

Here is a stat to consider... My time for the Bow-80 (an 80 km mountain endurance race) this year was 4:24 and my time for stage one La Ruta was 7:25. One and three quarter times longer and I believe I was about 5% faster on the climbs than I was in September based on local times... Consider that 510 fit and tough people started (I might add shelling out a decent amount of $$$ to get there) and less than half made the cut-offs. If you were unfortunate enough to make the last cutoff but not get to the finish in the allotted 12 hours then you finished in pitch black Costa Rican darkness since they get almost exactly 12 hrs of light. Many of the finishers and non finishers went straight to the hospital. I don't want to take Erik's (my friend that I travelled and raced with) thunder but he finished in the top 30 % of starters and described the second climb "like a war zone" loaded with casualties on the side of the trail. If you think it was just the non-elite categories that suffered you'd be wrong. First off, I ran out of fuel and water between feed zone 3 and 4, but it wasn't just me. Top NORBA guys like Adam Craig and Jeremiah Bishop did too. Jeremiah took a shower in one of the water falls. Adam Craig, Hestler and even Paez (race winner) admitted feeling like they weren't going to be able to finish it... I can definitely say that stage 1 was the hardest single stage that I have ever raced. Anyone who finished it at all is a hero!

Enough about the course. I'll fill you in on the details of my race. My general classification goal was a top 15 coming in but when I saw the competition I knew that would be very difficult. I felt good, however, so I wanted to get top 20 on the 1st stage, make up some positions on the long downhill on day 2 and then hold my position with all the drafting on day 3.

The first stage went well. Those Ticos (Costa Ricans) like to start fast! Not like the Transrockies where it is a nice rolling start, this was as fast or faster than any xc race I've been in. I didn't get call up so I sprinted a few minutes on the pavement and gravel to work my way up to the top 30 which were starting to separate from the masses. It didn't take long to reach the foot of the first monstrous climb! I quickly figured out I was going to have to pace myself and due to losing rear wheel traction a few times I realized I needed to let a little air out of my rear tire. I let some are out because even though it was just a gravel road it was so steep that i was spinning out while sitting (in fact, I bumped Frischy when i started wandering a bit after losing climbing traction.) After changing the pressure, I tried to settle into a rhythm but was a little concerned because I wasn't in the position I wanted to be in. A little bit of riding later, I realized that I can still see Thomas and Dre H. up the hill so I figure that if they are just inside the top twenty and I'm just out then a few of the less celebrated athletes at front must be going to fade. So I just stay steady. Every mini downhill on the UPHILL I gain time and positions (one competitor asks if I race downhill). My patience is paying off and I've finished the first main section of the climb and descent. I feel good and I'm slowly but surely passing people. Every Tico that I pass urges me to slow down warning me of what is to come. I generally ignore the warnings because I figure what do they know. They wouldn't be getting passed if they didn't start crazy fast.

I feel good coming into the third feedzone right as Dre leaves it. I stomp on the pedals and on the next steep pitch I catch him, offer him some support and encouragement and move on thinking "Man! He looks like he's hurting!" This climb is about 35 km long and a couple of hours into it I pass a Costa Rican born American. In my broken Spanish I ask him how many more km to the feedzone. He answers "MUCHO! Do you speak English?" I answer "yes". He then proceeds to "encourage" me by saying "there's lots left and we haven't hit the hard part yet!" So I re-evaluated my pacing plan and was passed by said racer and couple more as I ran out of water and granny geared/pushed up the mountain. At one point I ask some of the tico support vehicles how far to the feedzone and they say 2 km... About 2 km further than that I ask again and am told 4 km! I almost break down and cry. I seriously doubt my ability to finish this stage. Attributed to nothing else other than the grace of God, I made it to the feed zone and spent a few minutes replenishing my depleted muscles but I feel psychologically refreshed knowing that I have about 3-4 km of false flat on pavement to reach the descent. This descent is like nothing I've ever experienced before. It would NEVER be allowed in North America. It would have "Fatal Accident Liability" written all over it. It isn't at all what you would describe as technical, in fact, a lot of it was on pavement. I probably maxed out at around 80- 90 kph on roads that still had traffic and pedestrians on them and no marshalls! It was chalk full of blind corners and switchbacks. One particular section was insanely steep, loaded with blood-thirsty locals watching racers negotiate a switchback which was shaded enough to have moss grown all over it. It was super slick! The bottom half was mostly gravel and it was wicked fun to two-wheel drift through all the corners. In retrospect, I literally gambled with my life on the corners of the descent. I don't think I have ever done anything more dangerous on a bike! Finally, a "tiny" little climb to the finish line (about the same elevation as Sulphur Springs or 300M in elevation gain)... Final corner, finish line in sight, "I'm going to finish this thing!"

Day one is done and I have a shower and check the results and I'm totally stoked to see 17th and relatively close to big time pros! Day two is supposed to be much easier. Whewwww!! Wait a second, much easier than day one doesn't mean easy! Over 8000 ft of climbing up a volcano this time in one climb! However, I'm looking forward to improving on yesterdays position since this stage has a relatively technical descent. I would describe it like the rocky sections of Little Elbow Downhill in Kananaskis for about 25 km but remember you are topping out at almost 3000 metres high so you are in clouds at the top! The stage starts in the San Jose, the capitol city, and heads straight up. The climb is a mix of pavement and gravel but predominately pavement. It reminds me of the pictures that I've seen of the Alpe d'huez. You might think that the start was casual after the pain of yesterday but in a 3 day stage race, apparently, there's no time for slow starts. In a matter of a 2 km or less I was in the lead group of 20 or so. To my left is Adam Craig and Dre and to my right is Tinker Juarez. Dre turns to me and says "Jon, look back." I look back to see that already there is a huge gap to a large peloton. About 30 seconds later I see Leonardo Paez attack and gain about 75 meters in a matter of seconds...No one responds! I keep my pace steady as the group starts to stretch out to a long line with gaps in it. My legs are still very sore from yesterday and breakfast is sitting heavy still so I decide to let myself slide back and ease into my pace.

As we reach the switchbacking pavement, I take notice that there is a relatively strong headwind from the east that hits us every other switchback. My legs are coming around and I'm catching and gathering groups of racers, mostly Ticos. I'm organizing pacelines but I'm doing at least 75% of the work. The good thing about this is that the Tican support vehicles are feeding me left, right and centre! Eventually, I notice a gap as I start a switchback into the headwind. I yell "Vamos! (let's go)" but no response other than a pained look so I decide to solo it. I didn't have to solo long to catch another small group but the same scenario happens, So as the grade eased near the top I attack hard and am minutes behind a strung out group that contains Dre and a Portuguese pro Joao and some others.

I chug a Boost at the top of the volcano and start descending like a mad man. A couple of km in I swallow my Canadian pride and put on a windproof vest as I realize my extremities are getting very cold. The vest hit the spot but it meant I had to gamble even more to catch the guys. I didn't catch Dre or Joao but I had caught some Ticos that they had passed. I believe I was in the top 15 possibly a 13th but that might be a bit optimistic.

I was running UST tubeless tires with Stan's (like using the pill AND a condom) so I wasn't worried about flatting and I was riding with my typical reckless abandon style when I heard the air blow out of my rear tire suddenly! "Oh Crap!" I quickly take off my tire and see the valve is bent and not sealed so i bend it back and tighten it. I was hoping I would be able to just top it with air and go. I attempt to fill it with my co2 cartridge and it just blows through a large slash that I hadn't noticed. I then take it all apart and put a tube in it and go to start riding again only to realize that my front has flatted too! I only brought one tube and used both co2 cartridges on trying to fix the rear flat twice. I resort to begging and trying to take apart my front wheel but the tubeless valve is seized. I'm stuck. I borrow a co2 cartridge from a friendly racer and top it up with the Stan's sealant pooled right on the hole. It kinda works but I can tell it's losing air quickly. In a matter of minutes I'm descending on a flat front tire again but I know there is nothing i can do so I just keep given'er. All of the sudden Psssssseeeeewwwwwww. My rear tire has flatted again. I go to the side but no one wants to stop to hand me anything since they are going so fast. I decide to ride the rest on my rims. Riding as smooth as I can on the rims, I cringe every time I hear metal on rock. After a few km of this I pass a Tican support vehicle and beg for support. Thankfully, they oblige me. All they have is a mini pump so I pump up my front tire as hard as I can (this is when Erik passes me in a blur). I replace the rear tube again and pump up to some ridiculously high pressure. Then I hammer as hard as I can. On one paved corner I two wheel drifted past Tom Ritchey! I get to the finish very disappointed and frustrated in 45th I believe... My GC position was 22nd.

I don't think I'll change my tire set-up next year. It was just a sharp rock and bad luck that started a string of flats. I asked the race mechanics for 2 new tubeless tires since the original ones were undoubtedly wrecked after riding with no air.

The next morning before stage 3 I look at my wheels and the front is tubeless but the rear isn't. Assumeably, they didn't have a tubeless valve to put in since my rear one was damaged. It is only about 6-7 minutes before start so I just have to deal with it. This stage is relatively flat but it still has a pretty painful climb off the start and an even more painful one about a third of the way through. I climb like I have been which is good enough for the top twenty but I'm feeling a lot of drag. We start down some rough gravel road downhills and the first one I lose a water bottle and further down my rear tire blows. It takes forever to fix since they are brand new tubeless tires with a tight bead!! Frustrating!!! I finally fix it ride again like a mad man. A Tico yells at me "ES LOCO!" And I think "sweet." Not two minutes later "bang", another flat tire. I'm out of tubes because this stage was supposed to be unlikely to flat at all. I check my tire thoroughly but nothing. I have quite a bit of luck getting tubes from the back-end-of-the-pack crowd. The wheel is fixed, though I break my mavic crossmax quick release using it as a tire lever. Luckily, it still works. I start riding again...and flat again! Of course the same people that I just passed see me again and are generous to me. This process happens 7 times in a matter of an hour and a half. By this time I am just a tourist since drafting plays such a huge role in this stage and i have no chance of catching the fast boys. However, I really don't want to DNF (Did Not Finish) and the cutoff time is approaching. On my last flat I'm examining everything and I realized that my rim has burrs in it from riding yesterdays downhill with no air. I theorized that the burrs are causing small leaks in my tubes until I get too low pressure and pinch flat! I figure if I can pump up my tire high enough to seat the tubeless bead with my mini pump then the tire bead should cover most of the burrs. It takes a while but I do it and it seems to work although it was a very slow leak to the end of the race.

I go as fast as I can and manage to make the cutoffs and pass more than a hundred riders left in La Ruta. There was really no point in drafting on the long flat sections since I was so far back that the speed of most surrounding riders was considerably slower than what I could muster myself. There was a small climb on this stage that was about 6 km long but it was so hot that I rolled up all my spandex so as to not overheat on it. I looked like a triathlete with ridiculous tan lines and massive plumbers crack which at times turned into the full moon. Oh well, it gave some of the hurting riders that I passed a chuckle or two. Honestly, though, I think that is the hottest I have ever been!

I worked my way to 61st place at the end of the stage. I passed tons of people on the train tracks and bridges. Incidentally, these train tracks are fully functional with trains using them that you have to get off for. Also, this area of Cost Rica is quite dangerous. One new racer friend that I met was hoping to buy some sustenance in one of the villages was told by a Tico support car to "keep moving, too dangerous... Gringos can't stop here". Another guy had a gun pulled on him at one of the bridges and was mugged! Sketchy!!!

I've never seen a better sight than the Caribbean beach where the finish line was. I peeled down to my shorts and dove into the water where I floated around buffeted by the waves until Erik came and got me. He likely thought he was going to have to give me mouth to mouth!

I recommend this race to anyone serious enough to take it on. It is brutal and awesome at the same time. As Roddi put it, "an eleven on the pain scale!" And Roddi's pain scale is pretty intense. Search for it if you want an entertaining read about last year's La Ruta.

Cheers everyone.