SSWC08 Quickie

We are back in the Seattle rain after spending a quality weekend with a bunch of SSers down in Napa. Plenty of stories and photos to come including the tighty whitey category, many hilarious costumes, some nasty wrecks by fellow competitors, and a really hard 30 mile race.

My race involved a bunch of this...


And plenty of this...


But I got my official finisher's black bottle opener. Mission accomplished.

Blue Star

SS

Sans Shifters. Silly Speeder. Single Speed. With the SS World Championships coming up soon in Napa, I've been riding my SS bike lately to get the legs ready for ultra-low and ultra-high cadence work the race will require. A few weekends ago SLR and I went down to Greenwater, WA to race the White River Revival in the shadows of Mount Rainier. The course is one of my local favorites, so I was excited for some proper NW mountain bike riding. I had some good legs and took the W in the singlespeed category and my time would have had me at the top of most of the expert categories. Here's a few photos from the weekend.

We went down a day early and camped at the race venue. We had such a good time camping it makes me want one of these.


Yep, it's speed de uno.


SLR even gave the trails a go for her best effort on the MTB yet. Here's her little rig waiting to get dirty. She even railed the tech descent. Fun times and a solid confidence booster. I see more trail riding in her future.


Podi shot with the victory brews. Sunshine wheat = Yummy!


We leave in a few days for SS Worlds. It promises to be the wildest race of my long racing career. Year's past have been decided by go carting, pugel stick battles, the whiskey shot course short cut, etc. Definitely some good stories to tell in my next post.

Thanks for reading,
Blue Star

Mt. Snow Video

A sweet video of the pro XC race at Mt. Snow can be found at this link. It provides a good perspective of what the course entailed, but for some reason the climbs don't look nearly as steep on screen.

Blue Star

Soulville

To celebrate three years of mariage, SLR and I have these coming to the stable soon.

His...


Hers...


A little less lycra, a bit more soul. Bring on the coffee and beer runs.

Blue Star

Cycology

Now that I'm over a week removed from the trip back to Vermont, I've reflected enough on the race to pull a post together. I wasn't nearly as fast as I hoped I would be. My goal was to pull a solid race out of the bag (i.e., top-20) and put on a good show for the large Blue Star support team that was strewn about the course. It didn't happen. I was back of the pack fodder. The course, although dumbed down a bit over year's past, was still a blast to ride and I had fun. But I left the beautiful Green Mountains feeling a bit down, like I suck and questioning my presence in the semi-pro ranks.

The best way to describe my racing is mercurial. Some days I have it, some days I don't. Coach Thomas and I pour over the variables and we just can't seem to figure it out. Maybe it's all about what is between my ears. The "cycology" of bike racing is one of the most misunderstood aspects of sport performance. After returning to Seattle, I took some time to relax and avoided any serious training. I feel recharged and had a great ride on the road bike yesterday. I guess the bottom line is a I love to ride my bike in the woods more than just about anything and I'll keep on doing it (whether I'm fast or not) for as long as I am able.

The Western Wanderer was on the east coast taking stellar pics of the event. Here's a teaser until I post a full lot sometime soon.



Thanks a million to the huge Blue Star cheering section. I couldn't help but crack a smile when I rounded the corner in the woods and the trail erupted with cheer and noise makers. Also, a race can't go by without expressing gratitude to the super-soigneur, SLR. She could support a Tour de France team without skipping a beat. The legs were stale, but I clearly won the best supported racer award.

Thanks for reading,
Blue Star

BC Bike Race Recap

Following the finish of the BC Bike Race, SLR, AV, and I spent the weekend in Whistler chilling and otherwise catching up on some R&R before returning to real life. I promptly got a bit of a cold and so did the majority of other racers that took part in the event. Walking around Whistler village over the weekend, it was easy to spot racers because they were all sniffly, carrying lots of tissue, and were not walking very fast. Whistler is an amazing place in the summer. Bikes dominate and there are free riders, DHers, trail riders, and even some XC racers everywhere. I had the itch to stay until the snow flies, but all good things have to come to and end and on Sunday afternoon we drove back to our real lives in our fair city of Seattle.

Now that I'm back pushing paper instead of the pedals, I've had some time to reflect on the "ultimate singletrack experience." It, indeed, lived up to its billing. I enjoyed just about every km we covered (somewhere around 540km) even the full day of fire road of Stage 2. Some of the 1track was the best I have ever ridden in North America. The descent on Stage 5 from Seschelt to Langdale was particularly enjoyable and I know I will go back again in the future.

Next year? Yep, I'm already registered to do battle with my friend Robbin. He owns Arrowsmith Bikes in Nanaimo and is a fast dude on a bike. I think we can crack the top 20.

With that, here are some photographic highlights and a video taken by SLR during the week.

The start on Day 1. A few bikes and that was only the first half of the field.


Cooling down after Stage 1's 90+ degree temps.


Massage was critical for recovery. So were ice baths later in the week.


Mafia opted to utilize local hotels in lieu of tent city.


Lining up for Day 2.


Mafia on the prowl.


Ladies ride.


Parade lap around the track.



SLR and Amecita take in the trees.


And the coast.


The Mafia boys stoked with our best finish on the week. 23rd overall.


Boat 1 at sunrise of Day 4.


Catching some zzz's on the ferry.


The support rig loaded up.


Views from Boat 2 on Day 4.


The start of Day 4 right out of the ferry landing.


All smiles for now.


Chopper getting video footage.


Knuckles at the finish of a tough Day 4.


Seschelt coast.



RCMP escort to start day 5.


Riders following close behind.


SLR taking the support rig from Langdale to Horseshoe Bay.


The Reservoir Dogs walked on the next ferry after finishing a fun Stage 5. Note AV walks to the beat of a different drum.


Surrounded by some good company on Day 6. National CX Champ Katie Compton. Endurance Freak Nat Ross. Etc.


Race marshal's car ready to lead to way.


All smiles after finishing and a near DNF.


See that hose wrapped around the bar, it is supposed to go to AV's front brake.


"It was epic!"


Recounting war stories post-stage.


Happy July 4th!


Grande Americanos and the Mafia Boys.


Descending off Whistler Mountain into Creekside.


Heading out to wrap up the last 20km.


The finish.


It's medal time.


The coveted finisher's T-shirt.


Happy to have a new belt buckle.



On the gondola up to the top of Whistler for the awards gala.


Quite the adventure to say the least. I expect the photographers that were all over the course each day will have some riding shots that I can post in the near future.

Thanks to SLR for the pro support job. She could work for a professional cycling team no problem.

Now it's time to train and get ready for Mount Snow.

Thanks for reading,
Blue Star.