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.