Good couple of Days

Friday was a day off work for me due to Good Friday (it was a VERY good friday).  It started early with a dawn patrol in what turned out to be nearly perfect conditions. Doug and Mark have documented the epic sking, but here's a few more pictures just for confirmation.

Mike and Mark heading up

Face shots were the order of the day

I'm getting the goods

Mike

Is it vain to keep looking at your tracks?

After the skiing, I headed south to meet up with Tanner for a quick lap on the ICUP Hurricane course.  I didn't race Hurricane last year and the course was changed from 2008.  The changes make the course into one of my new favorites. Good, technical desert riding.  I was reminded yet again that there's no where else I'd rather live.  Epic powder in the morning, classic desert riding in the afternoon.

I had no idea what the race would hold for me.  3.5 hours of hking and sking beginning at 6 am the day prior to a race probably isn't on any coach's training plan.  However, it turned out to be a good plan for me.  I ended up with my best MTB result in a couple years.  Go figure.

Today, I'm home for Easter with my all my children.  I'll take more weekends like this. 

Skiing Timpanogos

Skiing my first really big line today inspired a blog post.  When I started backcountry skiing this season, I wasn't really looking to do anything big.  However, my confidence has grown to the point that Kendall was able to convince me to join him and his buddy Ben on a trip to the Timpanogos ridgeline without too much trouble.

We started early from Aspen Grove with the intention of heading up Primrose Cirque, up the year-round snowfield then on to the South Summit of Timp.  We would check out conditions and determine if we could safely ski the west side from either the South Summit or the saddle.

Ben looking up the Primrose Cirque before dawn.

Sunrise over the Unitas.

The Cirque at first light.

We were able to skin most of Primrose but had to boot the last few hundred feet of vert.

Kendall and Ben on the Skins.

Kendall booting the last bit.

The day was spectacular and the views breathtaking throughout.

LCC peaks in the distance.

The South Summit was the objective for the day.

Once on the Timp ridge line we headed up toward the Sought Summit.  I was starting to get a little vertigo and cold while checking out the rock hard snow up top and the visually intimidating line we'd have to ski.  Kendall was coming up to me from behind and saw from the look on my face I was starting to freak out a little.  Fortunately, he quickly suggested that skiing from the top was too sketchy and we headed back to the saddle from a few hundred feet short of the summit.  Kendall and Ben made it easy to streer away from anything I was not ready to tackle.

Here's Kendall checking out the line we skied.

Once we were back to the saddle and I had my skis on, I became much more relaxed and got excited about heading down.  We did a controlled ski off the face on firm but pretty grippy snow.  I was able to relax enough to enjoy the trip down.

Check out the 10 to 20 foot high marking from a recent avalanche flow down the gully.

Once off the main run, we exited out the gully to the Dry Canyon trailhead.  Sometime in the last week, a large slide ripped down the gully leaving marks way up each side.  Eventually, we came to the large and deep depris field.  It would have been impressive to watch and fatal to ride.  We made it down the gully a long way and only had to hike 15 minutes on the snowless trail.

A little bit of dirt skiing was required at times.

So here's our line.  It's dead center of this photo.

Here's the GPS file from the up.

And the down.

The happy camper near the end of the journey.

I'm really happy I made the trip and that conditions allowed skiing the west face.  I had to deal with some fears, but made it out willing to attempt more adventures in the future.  A good friend like Kendall makes the experience that much better.

PS, Kendall will have more pictures on his site soon (see link above).

Defeat Conceded

I have no shortage of things I would like to do or become. From a young age, I have often daydreamed about being something I'm not. Often, these daydreams are about some athletic achievement, but sometimes they they expand into other areas of interest. I have always secretly (well, if you know me, not so secretly) wanted to be a musician. I was blessed, or cursed depending on your perspective, with just enough musical talent to know I really like music, but not enough to be proficient without a great deal of hard work. I just never was quite motivated enough to put in the time to get really good. However, to this day I wish I could play like Dave Weckl, Carter Beauford or Neil Peart for at least a few hours.

After a failed attempt at piano lessons in elementary school (my parents gave into my constant whining about practicing) I moved to the drums in junior high. I joined the junior high band and took some lessons at school. In an act of pure parental love, my parents used some of their scarce cash to buy me a used drum kit. Then in an even bigger act of parental love, they let me play them in the house. (In case you're wondering, I am in fact the youngest child and I was spoiled. I have no problem with this fact.) Over time, the sad little kit became a sad big kit as I brought home some drums the junior high was going to toss. I dreamed of a big-hair, 70's rock band kit with more drums and cymbals than you could use.

Once I moved from home, the drum kit was passed onto one of my nephews never to be seen again by me. My desire to be a drummer lay dormant, just under the surface, for many years. It was awakened about 8 years ago when a new family moved into our neighborhood. This neighbor turned out to be a legitimate professional drummer. He had played in Vegas for years and toured with several big names. He converted his 3 car garage into the drummer's Disneyland. It contained at least 10 drum kits and every piece of percussion you can image. I quickly worked my way into his good graces and was taking lessons not long after.

In addition to teaching drum lessons, my neighbor was also a Tama drum dealer. Since I'm a hopeless gear guy and I'm incapable of passing up a deal, I acquired an electronic drum set. The plan was to play the electronic set with headphones to keep the noise down in the house. This lasted about a year. At the time, we were finishing our basement so I convinced the family that an insulated, sound dampened room in the basement would make a full acoustic drum kit tolerable. Somehow they bought the idea and the electronic kit was sold and replaced by the real thing.

Of course the kit couldn't remain small, so it grew to this over time:

Predictably, my zeal for practice began the wane and in a few years I was hardly playing the drums at all. As our bike collection grew, I decided most of the bikes would be better kept in the house than in the garage. So, the drum room became the bike storage room and the "Pit of Despair" as The Resource User likes to call the indoor trainer set up. I needed more space in the room, but since I still harbored illusions of becoming a drummer the drum kit was downsized rather than eliminated. The result was this:

With the addition of backcountry and XC ski gear the last two years, the drum room was completely transformed into the bike/ski room and the drums were just in the way. Given that I had played the drums a total of about an hour during the last year, I listed them for sale on KSL last week. In my final concession that I would not become a drummer, I sold the kit Friday and it's gone. So after 30+ years, the dream is officially dead. A rational decision, but a sad one none the less.

Office Jokesters

I've never been much of an office pratical joker.  I think it's because of my general aversion to getting into trouble.  However, I work with some real Pros.  Our head Sales and Marketing guy at the Mothership has been out of town so much the last month that the Pros decided he no longer needed office space.  They took it upon themselves get rid of the space for him.

The before picture:

In process:

The finished product:

I missed the discovery when Sales Guy made it back to the office today.  However, there was hidden camera footage I'm sure I'll get to see sometime.

Now That's Customer Service

In October, I sent a note to USA Cycling's event coordinator regarding team parking at Cross Nationals in Bend.  I didn't hear anything until I received this Friday:

From: Tom Vinson [mailto:tvinson@usacycling.org]


Sent: Friday, January 15, 2010 9:09 PM

To: Daren G. Cottle

Subject: Re: Cross Nationals Team Parking

USA Cycling will be closed on Monday 18 Jan in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr Day. Will be back in the office on Tuesday. Will be checking email thru the weekend.

Have a great weekend!

Tom

On Oct 25, 2009, at 2:08 PM, Daren G. Cottle wrote:

Hi,

I can’t seem to find any information on reserving a team parking spot for cross nationals in Bend. I’ve looked through the websites and Sportsbase on line and don’t see anything. Can you point me in the right direction?

Thanks,

Daren Cottle

Porcupine / Specialized Racing

Glad see my e-mail is still in the hopper and that Tom will be checking e-mail though the weekend.  Maybe I'll get a reply by 2010 Nationals.
 
The sad part is I've never been a USA Cycling basher.  However, it the last week they've become an easy target.  Is improvement coming anytime soon?  I hope so but think not.

Doing What I Should

I picked up a good old fashioned head cold a few days ago. (I'm sure the fine air quality has had nothing to do with that.) Head colds always present a dilemma for me. I feel tired and have a ton of congestion, but I'm not completely wiped out. Accordingly, I have a constant battle with myself over how much or how little I should be doing.

I know the smart thing to do is to just rest and get fully recovered before attempting anything physical. However, 47 years of living with myself has taught me I'm completely incapable of doing nothing. It's a fundamental part of my makeup and usually serves me well. As The Resource User likes to say, "You're always ridiculously productive, knock it off". However, when it get sick, this personality trait is a huge problem.

So here's the options I have before me this morning:

• Two offers for ski touring.
• Two different Canyon team group rides.
• The Bash winter Tri at Soldier Hollow.
• A nice XC skate session at Mt. Dell out of the bad air.
• Knocking off some of the projects around the house The Lifegiver has for me. (As an aside, my daughter made T-shirts a year ago with the following names on them: mine - "Fun Enabler", JoAnn's - "Life Giver", and Tanner's - "Resource User".)
• Go to Snowbasin with my brother and watch the Dew Tour.
• Begin working on the 8 bikes in my basement the Resource User and I ride that are crying for some love.
• Prepare tomorrow's Sunday School lesson I was asked to teach late last night when the regular teacher had an emergency come up.
• Organize my workbench/bike shop in the garage.
• And finally, lie around all day reading, watching TV, wringing my hands over not doing anything productive and resting.

At this point, I've convinced myself the last option is my choice for the day. We'll see how long it lasts. At least the crappy valley weather makes the choice a bit easier. If the weather were nice in the valley, I'm sure failure to rest would be certain.

Validated by Steve Johnson

In case you think I made up the whole Cyclocross Nationals trip, check out what I received in the mail a couple of days ago.

That's right, a genuine certificate of participation signed by Steve Johnson, CEO of USA Cycling and local race hero.

It's gratifying to know that USA Cycling sent this suitable for framing certification to all 2,000 participants. It was mailed in a full sized envelope with a cardboard backing to ensure it received no damage. What a great use of entry and licence fee revenue.

I'm sure Trebon's disappointment of a 2nd place finish was tempered by his certificate of participation. Page will likely display his next to his World Championship silver medal.

What a great day to be a member of USA Cycling and a cyclocross racer!

Ski Touring

For both of you that read this blog, I decided to post something. I may even post more than a couple times a month, but I'll make no promises.

For many months, backcountry ski touring has been on my mind. I now have 5 tours under my belt including a dawn patrol up Day's Fork and a long tour from Big Cottonwood to Millcreek. Here's some observations from a newbie:

• I had pretty high expectations for BC Skiing and those expectations have been more than met. Combining a solid workout with skiing, touring and solitude is hard to beat.
• I heard many describe BC Skiing as mountain biking on skis. That's a pretty good description. If you're only into going downhill, you can go to a resort and ride lifts with skis and an MTB. If you like going up and traveling in the mountains, XC MTB and BC Skiing are the ticket.
• You better like hiking because it's about 90% hiking and 10% skiing.
• I have learned what "survival skiing" is on a couple of the exits out to the road.
• You can still have lots of fun skiing slopes of 30 degrees or less.
• I'm taking a level 1 avy course in March. Since I'm a bit of a control freak, completely relying on others to judge the safety of a slope is way out of my comfort zone.
• With experience and knowledge, you can accurately judge the danger on steeper slopes. Bart and Alex lead Tanner and me down a couple 35 - 40 degree slopes yesterday that were very solid and fun.
• Without an incline-o-meter and some experience, we tend to over-estimate the steepness of slopes. Many resort slopes that people described as 40+, are more like mid to lower 30's.
• Like MTB and Cross, the best thing about BC Skiing is the people. I've been out with old friends and already made many new friends. I've enjoyed them all.
• Like bike racers, BC skiers like to blog. I've been lucky enough to ski with Bart, Alex, Mark, Dug and Rick already.
• As you would expect, climbing ability on a bike carries over to skis. Bart, Alex, Rick and Tanner are way faster going up than me.
• The Wasatch is amazing. In a crappy snow year, I've skied in good snow each time I've been out. In addition, yesterday we didn't see another person from the time we hit the trail in Big Cottonwood to when we reached the cabins in Porter Fork in Millcreek almost 7 hours later. On a Saturday. Amazing.
• My desire to ski in a resort is fading more with each outing. I can only see myself standing in line on epic powder days with high avalanche danger.

Tanner and I made it out with Bart and Alex yesterday for a long day of fun and challenge. Even though I was worked last night and I'm a little sore today, it was worth it. We started at the Spruces in Big Cottonwood, went up Mill D and over to Reynolds for a couple laps. Then down Watson and back up to Gobblers Knob. From there, 3,000 vertical down to Millcreek road.

Some pictures:






Alex and Bart make it look easy.


Over-look into Alexander Basin.

A little scrambling was required.

Got to lay some nice tracks.

Bart took pictures.

Alex took pictures.

It was cloudy all day, but we did get a break to enjoy the view off Reynolds.

Yes, skinning up is hard work.

Thanks to all who have held me and Tanner enter this enticing new world.

Ski Tour #1

Well, after months of anticipation and buying lots of gear, Tanner and I made it out for our first back country tour. It was all I'd hoped for and I'm hooked. We sent some quality time in Bear Trap in BCC. We found some nice, creamy snow on some fun, low angle slopes. Can't wait to get back at it.

Big thanks to Kendall for being our tour guide and answering all our stupid questions. We learned to get skins off without taking skis off from the start. Now there's only about a hundred more tricks to learn.



Kendall and Tanner heading up for lap #2.

I'll take the view.

Kendall and Tanner with Raymond and Gobbler's Knob in the background.

Christmas has been great with the family all together. Too bad it ends too soon.

Bend Pictures

Here's some pictures from Cross Nationals. Unlike my wife, you don't have to look at all we took.

More people than I've ever seen at a bike race.

Eric ripping it in the Elite race about ready to pass the She/Man.

Even the top dogs suffer in cross.

Tanner getting dirty.

John Burton and Tanner on the icy stairs.

Must be a cross race if the Fox is in uniform.

The Doctor made the ice look easy.

I actually managed to pass someone on the 23 steps of pain.

I managed to not fall in a tricky section for a change.

Depending on the temp, this hill was easily ridable or icy with no chance in traffic.

The Utah Compound.

Big Brother on the podium.

Tanner on the stairs yet again.

Days Inn in Burns OR. minus 12 outside, 45 inside.

Art, Trisha, Doug and Kelly taking it all in as Eric warms up to race the with the big boys.

Bend #4

Day 4 of Cross Nationals had the best racing so far. The Utah crew came away with 3 more podiums with Ali, Eric and John Burton and some other solid results.

Tanner raced hard but had some bad luck. Three riders got off the front and Tanner was in the next group of 5 or 6 for the first few laps. He was feeling good but crashed pretty hard in a slick section. He crashed yet again and lost a bunch of positions but hung on to finish 14th. After the race, we discovered one of his rear brake pads was fully engaged on the rim after the 2nd crash. So he basically rode the 2nd half of the race with his brakes on. It was muddy enough that he just thought it was some mud making noise so he didn't get a bike change. Another learning experience for us. John Burton,, who won a number of UTCX single speed races this year, had a great ride to finish 5th. It's a bummer Tanner didn't have some better luck or we could have had two Utah Juniors high up. I was proud of Tanner's effort and was a nervous wreck during the race. It's much worse watching your kid than doing your own race. I'm not sure I could take it all the time. Even with bad luck he had two top 15 finishes in National Championship races this year.

Ali put on a great show in the best race of the day. He was off the front for a few laps then with a group of 3 and then 4. The group included 2 former National Champs and a top Elite racer. In the end, Jonathan Baker and Justin Robinson got by Ali who held off Brandon Dwight for 3rd. A great race and a great effort. Bo Pitkin was equally impressive turning his 108 call up spot into a 17th place finish.

Eric had a super race as well. He was solidly in the top 5 for the first half of the race then flatted coming down a steep off-camber hill. He rode the falt for about a minute to the pits and lost a number of places. After a bike change, he chased back to 5th and held off former National Champ Ryan Leech to make the podium.

Dr. Cross, got things rolling with a 22nd in the 50 - 54 this morning followed by Art and Jon G breaking the top 20 in the 40 - 45 with Art having bad luck as well. Matt Ohran finished in the top half as did Mike Kracht after starting near the back of 150+ guys. Kelly Glen was just ahead of Mike when he flatted and had to run about half a lap.

The crowds were larger and louder today and the weather warmer. The slick ice softened up to a thin layer of mud making the course much faster. Another good day to be at the races.

We're on the road tomorrow as soon as the Elite men's race is over. I'm looking forward to getting home but not looking forward to the ride.

Bend #3

Today didn't go as well as yesterday for the Cottle crew. The only race on tap was my 45 - 49 National Championship race. After killing time all day waiting for my 3:30 start time, I was called up 37th and started on the 5th row. Exactly the same spot as yesterday. There was "only" about 115 starters today. As expected, the big hitters were all present and accounted for today and the pace was wicked fast. I was hoping for a top 25 finish but it would be a challenge since everyone ahead of me was a Cat 1 fast guy.

The first few laps went fairly well and I was in the mid to high 20's. Just like yesterday, the course was fast in some sections and super icy in others. With some cloud cover, it was basically dark most of my race and the temperature dropped the whole race making it icier each lap.

I actually liked the slippery conditions and kept it upright through all the difficult sections. Ironically, I managed to hit the deck on the pavement. Coming into the finish with 3 laps to go, there was gaps between all of us so you could relax a little on the pavement. As I crossed the finish line I was on the right side of the road up against the fencing. For some reason, the only guy near me tried to pass in between me and fence when he had the whole road open on the other side. There wasn't room for the pass and we both ended up in the fence and on the ground in the fastest section of the course. I wasn't hurt too bad and got going again but had to change bikes. By then I dropped back to the mid 40's and didn't get really going again until the last lap. I did finish strong to get back some places.

All in all, I'm happy with the effort and how I rode. Without the crash, I could have challenged for a top 25 and I felt good both days. I probably had the best form of the season, so I can't complain about that. Even though the Nationals races are harder than anything I do all year, I love the atmosphere and the large fields full of the best competition. Just a little slip and you lose 2 or 3 positions. If you make a solid move through a difficult section, you pass 2 or 3 guys. Having large crowds yelling for you and giving a big cheer if you ride a difficult section is a blast.

On a more positive note, Kris Walker repeated as the 45 - 49 women's National Champion in a photo finish. Very cool and another podium for the Utah related crew. Tomorrow, Tanner races the 17-18 Juniors in the morning and Eric has the 30 - 34 in the late afternoon darkness. Just about all the other Utah crew including Ali, Art, Dr. X, Kelly, Krafty and Bo race as well. I'm looking forward to sending 8 hours just watching. The forecast is calling for snow and/or freezing rain so it should be interesting.

I've got a bunch of pictures I'll post at some point when I'm not as tired.

Bend #2

Pretty good day for the Cottle's at Cross Nationals today. Doug had the National Championship race in the 60 - 64 and made the podium with a hard fought 5th! He was a stud and it was cool to watch. He made a pass late in the final lap to make the podium. He made his little brother proud with a huge effort. He rode well in tricky conditions and gave Utah it's first but hopefully not last podium.

Tanner was 6th in the under 30 "B" race. He didn't really push it hard because he was just practicing for Saturday's Junior race. He got a good feel for the course, road all the slick, icy stuff well and had a good time.

I raced the 40+ "B" race and it was crazy. They did a random number call up based on the last digit of your bib number. With 141 starters, the luck of the draw played into the results. I was the 3rd group called up and was on the 5 row of 8 riders. Kelly Glen was not so lucky and was the next to last group called up so he started back about 12 rows. However, he rode very well and passed about a 100 guys to finish 37th.

The race went well for me and I managed to move up to finish 10th. I had a good battle with the guy who lined up next to me the entire race. It was really fun and a pretty hard effort. The conditions were very difficult for my group. We started at 3:30 and the sun went below the horizon with about 15 minutes to go. The temps dropped and the course turned into an ice rink in many sections. At the same time it turned more icy, we started working through lappers. It was more than a little scary in some sections. I heard there were 4 ambulances called in to cart off those unfortunate to hit the deck hard. I managed to keep it upright but had many close calls.

Most of the locals are now here and our base camps are close to each other. Bob Walker was doing well in the 55 - 59 until a guy put him hard enough into the fence to break the post. He toughed it out a finish, but it was really unfortunate.

More fun on tap for tomorrow. I'm the only one of our crew with a race with my 45 - 49 group starting at 3:30 again. Should be another ice rink at the end only with a lot faster guys. If I go as good as I did today, I have a chance to move up a little from my 5th row start position.

Bend #1

We made it to Bend for Cross Nationals without any trouble. It was almost like cheating after our drive to Kansas the last two years. No stress and or near death experiences.

We've got a pretty sweet set up here in Bend. We're sharing a condo with some of the Utah crew that's about a mile from the race venue. We were also able to stake out a prime spot for our warmup compound. We only had 9 bikes this year in the trailer. Again, much less stress.

The course is interesting and not what I expected from watching the video posted on line. It's in a pretty small area and the lap is relatively short, probably in the 7 minute range for em in today's conditions. There's lots of turns and twists and tricky sections. There's a staircase with about 20 steps build out of wood that is pretty sketchy with the snow and ice. There's about 2 - 3 inches of snow on most of the course and with temperatures below freezing, it's not going anywhere for a few days. They did clear the snow from the grass section so it's pretty open.

With no super fast, power sections the course is all I could hope for. However, with the snow, ice and tight turns, passing will be difficult. With my start positions 4 or 5 rows back, it will be next to impossible to to make a big move up. Things will come to a complete stop in many spots on the first lap. With the Cat 4's at the back of a 150+ Masters fields and a fairly short lap, guys will be getting lapped quickly. That sucks. The organizers should be required to make a long lap so racers at the back that made the effort to get here can actually make it most of the race.

Tanner, Kelly and I have the "B" race tomorrow and Doug has the 60 - 64 National Championship race. Lots to report on then.

Coming to an End

The cross season's just about over. A week from now, I'll be done. The season hasn't turned out like I wanted, but it's still been good to hang out with the best group of people in cycling. About this time of the season, I'm reminded that cross races are just plain hard. With my injuries and sickness this year, an hour at full gas has been a challenge. Even though I haven't been going as fast as I should, the suffering is on track.

The highlight of the season has been the growth of the Utah cross scene. It's great to see significant increases in the number of racers and the level of competition. It's not just one or two categories, the increases have been across the board. The Cottle family (other than me) has had a good year with Doug and Tanner making big improvements. Ali, Eric and Alex have stepped up their game so that Bart has to have a good day to win. It's good for everyone.

Bend should be a good time. Looks like we'll be racing in mud or snow. The Utah contingent should be strong with Ali, Eric, Art, Tanner, Doug and others having solid shots at the podium or the Jersey. I love the atmosphere of the Cross Nationals and like watching the racing as much as actually racing. I can't wait.

Hopefully, there will be snow when we get back. I've got lots of new backcountry ski gear screaming to be used.

Doug's a Champ

I'd pretty much sworn off blog posts. It's not that I don't like blogs or posting. I just don't seem to make the time. With all that goes on in normal life, writing a blog post seems to fall to the bottom of the list. Maybe I'll get inspired to write more often, maybe I won't. I compose many posts in my mind, but the execution is lacking.

The Utah Cyclocross State Championships were yesterday. We had plans of Cottle domination. Doug got it rolling and help off Dirk for the 55+ win. Not bad for his first season in the pain cave. He's gotten faster each week and could make some noise at Nationals.




The smiling Champion post race.


I got off to a good start in the 45+ and held a good gap for a couple laps. Steve Briley bridged to me and we worked together for a lap of so. Then I followed my '09 pattern of race mistakes and hit the ground in a low speed corner. I got tangled in the bike and Steve was gone. The funny part is I actually thought I had won for a minute. Steve's brother was racing the 35+ B in the same kit, on the same bike and is about the same size (kind of like me and Doug). When I got going after the fall, I could see who I thought was Steve ahead of me. I caught and passed him in a couple of laps and thought it was all good. Too bad it was Steve's brother. However, no excuses. Steve was going really well and I'm not sure I could have beaten him. I gave it my best effort and I'm happy with that.

It would have been nice to win though. Doug's son Brady did his first cross race of the year in Eugene and won the 30+ Masters. 3 Cottle wins would have been cool.

The State Cross swan song for Porcupine / Specialized turned out OK. A win from Doug, 2nd from Eric and me, top ten for Zane and just out of top ten for Tanner isn't a bad last championships. We need to send the team out in style at Nationals. Podiums for Eric, Doug and Tanner are not out of the question.





Here's my good start, not so good finish.


Tanner's plan was to work on a strong start to practice for Nationals. He got off the line well and hung in with the first chase group for a while. A flat, non-technical, fast, power course is not well suited to the boy but he managed a solid 12th.

I decided to give the 35+ race a go as well. I soon learned that my body doesn't respond well to a 2nd race, particularly with 3 hours in between. I was off the back early and eating lots of humble pie. Darrell and I had an epic battle of guys who raced the 45+ race earlier in the day and were hoping to not get lapped by Art. I did get lapped by 5 A's. Disappointing, I wanted to make it the entire season without getting lapped. However, I took the view that the race was a nice 60 minute threshold interval and gave it all I had.

Overall, the quality and quantity of racers has gone way up this year. Last year, in the 45's I just rolled off the front and rode alone for 45 minutes. This year, 5 guys were all pretty close and a guy I've never met, Briley, won. I talked with him after and he's a fireman with my neighbor and a good guy. He's doing OK for his first year of cross.

I'm also a big fan of the race venues Matt and Jon have been able to line up the last two years. They each their strengths and weaknesses, but I'd have to say Heber is my least favorite. Bumpy grass isn't that much fun and I'm not a fan of 180's right into closely spaced barriers. I think barriers should have some speed to them so that some skill pays a dividend. When everyone basically has to stop before the barriers, everyone pretty much goes the same slow speed through them.

Finally, it's official, I'm going to join the Revolution MTB crew next season (I know my decision on a team for next year has been keeping you up at night). I'm pretty excited actually. I'm buddies with many of the riders and the shop is a 5 minute ride from my house. Thanks Bob.

Tanner and Eric will be racing with Kuhl next year and Doug's weighing a couple invites from teams. Other than the 1/2's that went to Canyon, the other guys are undecided on next year. However it turns out, it will be strange to have all of us in different colors. Porculized has been a good gig.

One more thing. JoAnn has found a new hobby. Her friend has some horses in Dimple Dell that need to be ridden frequently. She's ridden the one below a few times now and loves it. Her friend says she's a natural. Must be all the country music she listens to.

Just Call me Crash

It's been quite a year for me. I was pretty much sick all summer and now I can't keep from crashing in cross. Saturday, I was in good position in the first chase group when I decided to see how far I could slide across the gravel. Turns out I made it about 30 feet. The good news is my injured wrist made it out OK. The bad news is my knee was bruised and sprained. I've been hobbling around all week and not doing much riding. Just when I was able to stop icing my wrist, I'm now icing my knee. After six weeks, I'm getting immune to cold.

I do think I'll be able to race Saturday. If my knee improves, I might even race the 45+ as well as the 35+. I've been planning to do a race with my big bro all year, but it just hasn't worked out.

I finally got my skins cut for my backcountry skis. I'm getting very excited to give it a go. I've been reading about avalanches all summer and realize I don't know jack. Thinking about the risk is a bit overwhelming, but I'm eager to learn. Fortunately, a number of knowledgeable backcountry skier have offered to teach me the ropes.

I finally signed up for Facebook this week. I generally avoid texting and social networking but so many of the cycling community are on Facebook, I decided to join in. Now if I just need to figure out how to use it. Looks like it could be a colossal time waster if you let it.

A highlight of this last weekend was an explosion in our pantry. A friend of JoAnn's gave her a jar with homemade apple pie filling in it. The idea is you just add the filling to a pie crust and you have a pie. A few days ago, Tanner and I heard this strange sound coming from the pantry but didn't investigate. Saturday night JoAnn heard a bang in the pantry and opened the door to discover the apple filling had been fermenting and the pressure blew the lid off the jar and the filling all over the pantry. A nice trick or treat surprise.