Palm Springs

Here's a video I've been sitting on for most of the year. It's from the Tour de Palm Springs where I completed the 100 mile gran fondo with the fastest time. I'm heading down there tomorrow for a little vacation with my friends and family. No riding for me, as I need to get some recovery after Leadville and from getting sick again.

Sick Again

I came down with whatever I had pre Leadville again. No fun feeling like crap before the weekend. At least I'll be able to rest up properly. My season is almost over, and I deserve a bit of recovery after my stellar season.

CTS Coach

20130814-190948.jpg My Carmichael Training Systems coach over the past couple of years raced the Leadville 100, too. He put in an incredible time of 7:16. Clayton's been an incredible source of inspiration and knowledge during my training. I highly recommend looking into some sort of training program if you plan on doing the Leadville 100. I've learned so much about myself, limiters and strengths, how to train and how to keep improving.

Make it Two

two-buckles I've got two of these now. I brought my shiny new Leadville buckle to work for some well deserved bragging rights. It was cool to have people congratulate me, especially since I work at a bike company. It felt good. So good, in fact, I even went on the lunch ride, which turned out to be a skills/recovery ride.

Another 8:21 Leadville!

20130810-171554.jpg What an incredible day! Finished a sub 9 hour Leadville with a finishing time of 8:21 (exact same time as last year!), however I came into this years race with a cold and no acclimating. My team support got me through it without any problems. We lucked out with the weather, too, as the forecast all week called for 40% chance of thunderstorms. Quite the contrary, sunny and beautiful all day. My actual moving time was way faster than last years, I just had to stop and pee like 8 times as well as refuel. PR's on Strava! Thanks to everyone's continued support. It means a lot. #goteamabero Full race report to follow.

The Calm Before the Storm

20130809-175312.jpg I'm here in Leadville, breathing deeply, and definitely feeling the altitude. Hopefully it won't affect me too much. I'm still feeling a little ill from yesterday, but I feel so much better today. My bike is all dialed in, race plate and timing chip in place. Time to carbo-load and get some shut eye before my 3:30am wake up call.

Feeling Like…

I'm making my last-minute preparations before I head out to Leadville tomorrow morning. Currently I'm feeling ok, very low energy, and on the verge of catching a cold that's been circulating around the office. Come to think of it I haven't been sick in well over a year. Hopefully by the time I leave work this afternoon a wave of calm will wash over me as I don't have to worry about work. Tomorrow's going to be one crazy day of flying, driving, prepping, more driving, bike assembling, eating and hopefully a lot of sleeping before my 4am wake up call come Saturday morning. I'm not too psyched about the weather forecast. It's going to be really cold and dreary all day with a 40% chance of thunderstorms. I've got all of my wet weather riding gear all packed, and hopefully it'll stay packed come race day.

Roubaix

roubaix After last weekend's debacle with both wheels going flat on my road bike I decided to try out a more substantial set up. So far so good. The casing feels great and sturdy, while not as supple as the S-Works Turbo tires. Only time will tell to see if they can hold up. #nomoreflats

Success

My parts arrived on time. I had to pay a premium price to have everything delivered in a day, but it was worth it. Tapping out the old bottom bracket was nerve-racking, as I was afraid I'd damage my frame. I banged away with a hammer and the proper tool in place. They eventually popped out. The problem I overlooked was that I didn't have a bearing press! What am I going to do? I tried using a quick release skewer as a makeshift press, but knew that wasn't going to work. Then I had the brilliant idea of using my crank set as the press. I carefully set the cups into the frame. The large diameter spindle of the Rotor cranks provided a great way to align the cups properly. I continued to torque down the cranks, an 1/4" at a time until both sides were completely flush to the frame.

I spent most of the evening getting my drivetrain back in order as well as setting up my wheels with new tires and sealant. I need to buy an air compressor because there's nothing more frustrating than trying to set up tubeless tires.

Worn Out

headlands-repeat-2 I tore apart my drivetrain and found that I had fried the drive side of my bottom bracket. Bearings came spilling out. Luckily the Rotor 3D+ crankset, which run a BBright configuration, uses a regular press-fit 30 shell. Cool. Now all I need is a new bottom bracket, and a tool to knock it out. Ordered. I also went with a fresh set of Racing Ralph tires. It's really cutting it close, but I'm confident I can fix the bottom bracket, install new tires, do a proper tune up and pack it all up before I leave for Leadville on Friday. Wish me luck.

Headlands Hill Repeats

headlands-repeat-1 I rode the Headlands one more time this weekend to make sure I got in enough saddle time, doing sustained climbing efforts before Leadville. I did three loops and climbed over 6,000' in 50 miles in under four hours. At this rate I'll have done the equivalent of the Leadville 100 course, minus the start elevation, which is a staggering 10,200' above sea level.

On my last loop up to the top my scratchy, squeaky drivetrain turned into a nasty metal on metal grinding sound. I just rode the crap out of my bottom bracket today, seized bearings and all. Better to replace it now than 50 miles into Leadville. While I'm at it a new rear tire, rim tape and tubeless valves. Cutting it close.

Cazadero Pinch Flats

cazadero-3 I spent the afternoon riding up in Cazadero, exploring the back roads and big climbs of the mountains of the beautiful Russian River. The last time I was up in this area was early in the season, racing the first Grasshopper in Old Cazadero. A few of the roads and intersections looked very familiar. My day started out with two big climbs before dropping down the backside of Fort Ross, where I flatted both tires with just enough wit and patches to get me home.

cazadero-1

Skull and crossbones, a good or bad sign of my ride to come? The descents were fast and rough. I wish I had a Specialized Roubaix with some wider tires for most of the ride. I've grown accustomed to smooth paved roads and forgot that race specific tires aren't great at everything.

cazadero-2

It was nice and hot along the climbs, but as I reached the backside the temperature dropped 20º before bombing down into the cold fog hugging the coastline. The roads got rougher and steeper the further I rode down Fort Ross Road. There were hairpin turns, uneven surfaces and plenty of sharp edges to avoid.

cazadero-4

Towards the bottom of the descent I blew out my front tire, fixed it, and was about to put my wheel back on when I heard the tire hissing. One patch gone for the initial snake bite, and now another one for a puncture. Fixed it again and put my front wheel on, jumped on my bike only to find my rear tire had a pinch flat, too. Oh no. Last patch used. Had to turn back up and over a monstrous series of climbs back. Front tire was leaking still and had to stop every 15 minutes to pump it up. So lucky to not get stranded. Lesson learned. Bring a tube and a shit ton of patches, and don't ride racing tires out in the back country.

cazadero-5

Despite the tire fail I had a great time riding up in Sonoma county. Lots of challenging and beautiful roads. I hope to be back up here with a better set up.

Downieville

downieville Good luck to all of my friends racing at Downieville this weekend. I'll be rooting for you from somewhere in Sonoma this weekend, as I'll be out getting in some last minute miles before Leadville next weekend.

I Gave it My All

I found myself attacking the group for the first half of our Wednesday Bailey loop. Normally I sit in the bunch and wait it out till the second and last big climb(s) before we drop down the fast descent. I broke free of the bunch on the first climb and just kept going along with another rider. I didn't look back, but got caught on the second climb. I kept digging deep and held on with the main group all the way up to the top. The fast long stretch to the final climb was hard, but I kept pushing. I got the jump on the final climb and found myself at the front going into the final descent. It was too much speed for me so I backed off, but not so much that I'd be off the back. On the long straight away to Santa Teresa before turning back to the office I found it really difficult to stay with the lead group. I hopped on the back and hoped they'd slow down. They didn't. As soon as we turned onto the long stretch back the group decided to turn it up another notch, and I quickly found myself off the back and on my own. It felt good to attack the bunch and see how long I could hold the series of intense intervals. Good race training, and I got some props from the guys afterwards. With every Wednesday lunch ride I'm learning when to attack, and who's wheel to follow. I've got the first half down, just need to learn the second half, which is a long 10 mile time trial stretch.

Ramping Up

Monday's lunch ride started out pretty fast, and with Leadville just around the corner it's important for me to get in the right amount of intensity and recovery at the same time. I went into the ride fast, but dialed it back once we hit the climb on Willow. My legs have been feeling pretty good the last couple of weeks, and I'm hoping it's a sign that I'm peaking just in time for Leadville. I'll need any advantage I can get since I'll be going up the day before rather than acclimating to the staggering 10,200' elevation start.

Losing Steam

Losing Steam-2 What a dreary day for trail riding. I battled some annoying headlands as well as tourists around the Embarcadero only to lose my motivation by the time I hit the bridge. After dropping into the Headlands I decided to do the usual Sunday Tam Epic in reverse. Along Miwok I spied two fast-moving riders going up, so I gave chase with what I had left from yesterday's race. I caught and passed them halfway up, but they definitely gave me a run for my money. I crested the climb and bombed down to the stables. I started my long climb up again, but this time I tried to keep in a tempo spin/zone. By the time I reached the top of Coyote Ridge I had nothing left. No Tam Epic for me. I cut my ride short in hopes of getting a bit of recovery.

Losing Steam-1

I wore my CamelBak today, which I never wear. It was nice to not have to pack everything, including my water into a saggy jersey pocket. By the time I got home I noticed a big chunk of pedal missing from my new S-Tracks. The piece missing is of the aluminum deflector. I guess it did its job. I remember hitting a rock really hard in the race yesterday. It would have been interesting to see what would have happened had I bought the carbon/ti version.