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Mountain Biking Blogs
Not that my life is a secret, but if you want to know what is up...how I got my start...day to day with Ergon, check out the interview below I did on Wednesday AM with Ben Welnak of Mountain Bike Radio.
Listen to internet radio with Mountain Bike Radio on Blog Talk Radio
Not even sure where to start with this. Hence the reason now some 4 weeks after returning I still haven't put anything down in writing on the digital paper. As much as the Yak-Attack was a race, it quickly became clear that this was an 'adventure ride' more than a race. Was everyone racing? Sure they were. But, all the riders realized where they were.....what they were doing....and they needed to take the time to look around and soak in the culture and environment.
By now, you know I didn't finish this "race". Am I bummed? Hell yes I am! But, when the event Dr. says to you at 15,500 ft around midnight as you suck down your 2nd bag of IV fluid "Jeff, you need to stop or you will likely die going over 18,000ft"....that raises the red flag to the highest level. So after some 5 days of trying to ride with a 102F fever, I had to suck it up and realize it wasn't happening this year. Life goes on. It's just riding a bicycle. It will happen again.
The Yak-Attack ranks up there as one of the most amazing bicycle experiences I have ever had. There are so many things that make this event stand out. Not sure I can hold your attention long enough to type what needs to be said. I basically need to 'bullet point' this whole recap/report.
So here I go! Time to put the thoughts on the Yak-Attack down on digital paper.......
I went into the Yak-Attack with the mindset I could win the overall, be the first non-Nepali to do so. Could I have? I had a really good shot. I had late-June fitness at the end of February. But, It would not have been easy at all. The first 4 stages I hit the top-4 every day, and actually won some prize money.....which I gave back to the race organizer to use to keep growing this event and supporting the Nepali riders. Ajay, the eventual race winner, was the man! A 5 ft, 100lb, 23 year old man.....he was built to go uphill. Fast! Pretty much every stage started uphill. He was out of sight in the first 15 minutes. When I say uphill, I don't mean gradual uphill. Everything in Nepal is steep. Stupid steep! I basically had to run my effort at 75% every day to stay steady and to have enough in the tank to make it to the finish line after 11-days of racing. Well, getting sick on Stage 6 ended the race plan and gave me the experience I didn't plan for.....and will never forget.
A generic view from the Yak-Attack. Not sure I should use the word "generic", but this sight was around just about every corner.
You know how they say the Honey Badger doesn't give a shit. Well, in Nepal goats and donkeys are the "Honey Badger"
At the start of Stage 6 I was off the front with Ajay. I followed his every move....even the short cut he tried to take. This was a rumor I overheard after Stage 3.....some of the Nepali riders were cutting course. I shrugged it off. But, now I was a witness to it as his decision caused us to have to back-track when said short cut put us about 500 ft below a suspension bridge we needed to cross. Was a I mad? Yeah, because it made me wonder how often it was happening in the earlier stages of the race. Whatever. Nothing I can do, and karma is a bitch. Well, it wouldn't matter any way. One hour into Stage 5 is when my fallout began. It was about 70f outside....a sunny warm amazing day. I started to get chills....goosebumps. I was freezing....sweating....needing lots more clothes. I wish I had my down jacket. My quest to go forward fast now became a quest in damage control, ie: don't loose time or places. That didn't happen. Riders soon started passing. Some were concerned. Don't remember who, but one Nepali rider passed me slowly and in broken English said, "You look white ghost." Really, did I look THAT bad? Must have. Sure felt like it.
The suspension bridge. Something that Nepal as perfected. Yes they bounce up and down when there is a lot of people and/or animals on them. Yes, they do sway in the wind.
The next few stages would be the best and worst days I have ever had on a bicycle. After that first stage of feeling ill, I immediately did what I never wanted to do at this event, and that was lay in bed in favor of rest instead of seeing the sights around our overnight towns and hang'n with the other amazing athletes. I laid in bed hoping what invaded my body would leave as quickly as it came. It did not. The next stage, Stage 7, was a 20 mile day with 3500ft of climbing. At the end of this day was our rest day town. The plan was to ride conservative.....get to town without loosing too much time....then get in a good chunk of rest over night and during the rest day. Well, I felt good at the beginning...then slowly faded to a walking pace. I was zapped! Walking was hard....even on the relatively flat ground. I was shuffling my feet at 12,000 ft while I stared eyes glazed over at the 22,000 ft peaks to my left.
Photo © Nepal Sutra, www.nepalsutra.com
I arrived in Manang, a small village which sits at like 13,000 ft and is surrounded by massive 22,000 ft peaks. I got to our tea house and immediately hit the bed. Shortly I was joined by Sonya and 1 of our 2 event doctors, Keith from the UK. He wasn't sure what was wrong with me. My symptoms were pretty generic and it could have been anything. He took my temperature....it was 102F. I felt the same at this point as I did riding the last 2 days. So, yep, I was riding with a 102F fever. So he started me on some random medicines. Symptoms included: cough, fever, chills, elevated HR, nausea, some diarrhea, lack of appetite, etc.
The rest day came and went. I laid in bed staring out the window all day...listening to the wind howl....dogs barking....loud talking and coughing Nepal locals. I would randomly feel a bit better....then be back to feeling bad. I kept popping pills and drinking tons of liquids. The next day was a tough stage. We would go from roughly 13,000 feet up to 15,500 ft. I had been looking forward to this day since I signed up to race.
Pushing my bike and staring at this all day. The views helped to ease the pain of not being able to 'race'
That morning of what be the last day on the bike....or I should say walking along my bike....was slow going. Everything was in slo-mo. Surreal. Typing this don't even remember eating breakfast that AM. The race stage started with a hike-a-bike out of town on some man-made rock stairs. It went on for ever! I was super slow. Within 20 minutes of starting the stage I found myself out the back pushing my bike on anything that was slightly uphill. The visual distractions of the mountains helped to pass the time. I was along my bike at 14,000+ ft while surrounded by 22,000+ ft mountains in all directions. I remember coming up to the German journalist working for BIKE Magazine. He spent his day documenting my 'dragging ass.' He couldn't believe that I was still out there. Now as I type this, I have had many many people say they can't believe I went multiple days on the bike with the 102f fever. Really, I had no option. One foot in front of the other. Just don't collapse and black out. I was the last one to finish that day. Dead last.
While sick, this is how my days went.
I immediately went into bed then was surrounded by the doctors. More pills and more rest. Ghandi, one of the doctors, had and idea what I might have. He called it "walking pneumonia". Basically it's everything pneumonia is minus the elevated level of having fluid in the lungs. With that in mind he started me on a 3+ day supply of antibiotics. He said later he would come back to give me 2 bags of IV fluid.
Later the evening Ghandi came back with Keith, the UK doctor. Keith tried to get a good vein from me, but failed. After 3 failed attempts, the IV needle was into my arm. I hate needles. Normally this would bother me, but I was so out of it that they could have stuck that needle in me a million times and I wouldn't have cared. I sucked down 2 bags of IV fluid. That is when Ghandi broke the news to me I was done. No more racing. No more riding. "You must stop or you will die on that mountain." Crazy thing is inside I actually thought about what to say back to him to try to convince him otherwise. Jesus! I thought too long. Due to our location, I had basically 2 options: call in for helicopter evac or charter a yak over the pass to the next town. Yes, a yak. As in the 4-legged hairy horned animal. Considering the yak was $200 and helicopter evac was roughly $5000....the decision was easy. The decision was made and the yak was hired. Off to bed I went.
That night I slept like a rock, the best sleep all race. I didn't even hear Looney get up to leave to start the early morning ascent of Thorong La Pass. As I slept, Ghandi came charging into the room around 5 AM, I think. He said we needed to get going. The yak was coming and I needed to packed, get dressed, and eat. Only one small issue, I couldn't move. Seriously. I was numb from head to toe. Had no strength or energy. Ghandi said it was all the medicine, and he knew that this might happen. That morning he had to dress me and pack my bag. He then basically carried me to breakfast where I two-hand fed myself as the spoon I was using felt like it weighed 200 lbs.
Thorong La Pass, just under 18,000 ft. This is looking west.
Same location looking east. Temperature? Not sure. I wasn't cold. But some racers not so lucky getting frostbitten fingers and toes.
After a quick breakfast I was literally shoved up and onto a yak dressed with every item of clothing I brought to Nepal as not to freeze at 18,000 ft. The yak was led by a Nepali man who yelled, whistled, and threw rocks at it to keep it moving. The yak set a steady pace up the mountain, about human walking speed. The yak was a pretty amazing creature....basically a 4-wheel drive horse with the speed of a turtle if you want to compare it to anything. As for me, I had one hand grasping the front of the saddle and another wrapped 3 times around a dreadlock on the back of its neck. The trail steep enough that I nearly kept sliding off the back of the yak. To add even more misery to this whole situation, I developed diarrhea. From the altitude? From the food? From the medicine? Don't know. Great. I shit myself once before I realized what happened. Was able to make it off the yak another 6 times to deface 6 poor rocks between 16,000 and 18,000 ft. As nasty as this was I didn't care....neither did anyone else around, like the trekkers or porters. The environment was so inhospitable that anything went when up there. As excited as people were to get to Thorong La Pass.....they were just as excited to get the hell off that Pass. There is a reason things don't live up there.
Sitting in poopy pants at 13,200 ft. Yes, I just said that. Deal with it. I did.
I got to the pass on the back of the yak. Once there, the yak driver told me I had to get off, as they would go back down the way we came. Ghandi didn't realize this, and was worried I wouldn't make it the remaining 10 or so miles to the over night town. For the next many hours I stumbled from 18,000 ft down to nearly 10,000 ft. The trail which was normally dry for the most part was covered in snow and ice this year. More than once I fell down....tripped over a rock, my own feet, slipped on ice. I look back at it now, it was unreal.....like a dream. The hike down from the pass to Muktinath was long, but visually one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. Once in Muktinath, we hired a jeep to get us to the over night town where the other racers rode to. The jeep ride sounds great, but was just as rough and dangerous as the hiking/riding was since the day we left Kathmandu.
Nepali bus ride. 40+ people inside bus rated for 20. Unlimited number of people on the roof. People ride on the inside and outside. Outside ends to be safer because when the buses roll off cliffs, which they do, those on top can jump off. Those inside are pretty much screwed. Why am I smiling in this photo again? To my right is John from BC, Canada. Check out his story.
There was also transportation via the hired jeeps. Jeeps, good. Roads, not good. This jeep driver is straight out of Rambo III. Trust me. Google it or go watch it.
The remaining days would be filled with rest and transportation via bus and jeep. Sounds glorious on paper, but in reality the bike is quicker and safer due to the conditions of the roads....think backcountry jeep roads like we have here in Colorado. While only 2 more riding stages left, I would view the race from the sidelines. I was now one of a handful of people would would not finish the 2012 Yak-Attack. All non-finishers were stopped dead in their tracks due to things out of their control: chest pains, severe GI issues, illness, etc. No one just gave up. Everyone was forced from the event beyond their control. Says a lot about those who did finish.
Flight back to Kathmandu from finish line in Pohkara. A plane full of bike racers and monks. Odd.
I owe a lot to this man, Ghandi, my Dr and caretaker while I was sick, Sonya as well. One of the most amazing people I have ever met and hope to see soon again!
Over the next few days we made our way to Pohkara, the finish line of the 11-stage event. By the time we got here I was starting to feel a lot better, antibiotics were doing their job. The next day we flew back to Kathmandu. By the time we were back in Kathmandu and all packed up to fly back to the USA the antibiotics had done their job. I was pretty much running at 90%. The Dr told me no physical exercise for 7-10 days, so the bike was out of the question, even though I wanted to ride. Our remaining time in Nepal was spent seeing Kathmandu, visiting a Tibetan refugee camp where rugs were made, and visiting a knife factory.
Knife factory fun! Sonya and others went home with new 'toys'
Overall, it was one of the best bike experiences I have ever had....sick or not. I got to go with my best friend. I got to make new friends. Wouldn't trade that for anything. Going to Nepal opened my eyes to how good we have it. Simple things like water and electricity cannot be relied on there. Also made me take a close look at work ethic in general and the fact we can always take things to the next level. Looking at the race now, don't think I could have won. Race winner, Ajay, was at a whole other level. I was not at that level...either was anyone else. The best won. The best made the rest of us that much better.
There is so mush to say about this trip. Going to try to break it down in further post, but above gives you a general summarizing of how the 2012 Yak-Attack went for me. I will have video coming. That too will take awhile. There is nearly 90 GB of video footage to look through. All the photos I took are posted here. I am already trying to figure out how to go back to Nepal, bike or no-bike. Simply an amazing place that everyone should get to at some point in their life!
By now, you know I didn't finish this "race". Am I bummed? Hell yes I am! But, when the event Dr. says to you at 15,500 ft around midnight as you suck down your 2nd bag of IV fluid "Jeff, you need to stop or you will likely die going over 18,000ft"....that raises the red flag to the highest level. So after some 5 days of trying to ride with a 102F fever, I had to suck it up and realize it wasn't happening this year. Life goes on. It's just riding a bicycle. It will happen again.
The Yak-Attack ranks up there as one of the most amazing bicycle experiences I have ever had. There are so many things that make this event stand out. Not sure I can hold your attention long enough to type what needs to be said. I basically need to 'bullet point' this whole recap/report.
So here I go! Time to put the thoughts on the Yak-Attack down on digital paper.......
I went into the Yak-Attack with the mindset I could win the overall, be the first non-Nepali to do so. Could I have? I had a really good shot. I had late-June fitness at the end of February. But, It would not have been easy at all. The first 4 stages I hit the top-4 every day, and actually won some prize money.....which I gave back to the race organizer to use to keep growing this event and supporting the Nepali riders. Ajay, the eventual race winner, was the man! A 5 ft, 100lb, 23 year old man.....he was built to go uphill. Fast! Pretty much every stage started uphill. He was out of sight in the first 15 minutes. When I say uphill, I don't mean gradual uphill. Everything in Nepal is steep. Stupid steep! I basically had to run my effort at 75% every day to stay steady and to have enough in the tank to make it to the finish line after 11-days of racing. Well, getting sick on Stage 6 ended the race plan and gave me the experience I didn't plan for.....and will never forget.
A generic view from the Yak-Attack. Not sure I should use the word "generic", but this sight was around just about every corner.
You know how they say the Honey Badger doesn't give a shit. Well, in Nepal goats and donkeys are the "Honey Badger"
At the start of Stage 6 I was off the front with Ajay. I followed his every move....even the short cut he tried to take. This was a rumor I overheard after Stage 3.....some of the Nepali riders were cutting course. I shrugged it off. But, now I was a witness to it as his decision caused us to have to back-track when said short cut put us about 500 ft below a suspension bridge we needed to cross. Was a I mad? Yeah, because it made me wonder how often it was happening in the earlier stages of the race. Whatever. Nothing I can do, and karma is a bitch. Well, it wouldn't matter any way. One hour into Stage 5 is when my fallout began. It was about 70f outside....a sunny warm amazing day. I started to get chills....goosebumps. I was freezing....sweating....needing lots more clothes. I wish I had my down jacket. My quest to go forward fast now became a quest in damage control, ie: don't loose time or places. That didn't happen. Riders soon started passing. Some were concerned. Don't remember who, but one Nepali rider passed me slowly and in broken English said, "You look white ghost." Really, did I look THAT bad? Must have. Sure felt like it.
The suspension bridge. Something that Nepal as perfected. Yes they bounce up and down when there is a lot of people and/or animals on them. Yes, they do sway in the wind.
The next few stages would be the best and worst days I have ever had on a bicycle. After that first stage of feeling ill, I immediately did what I never wanted to do at this event, and that was lay in bed in favor of rest instead of seeing the sights around our overnight towns and hang'n with the other amazing athletes. I laid in bed hoping what invaded my body would leave as quickly as it came. It did not. The next stage, Stage 7, was a 20 mile day with 3500ft of climbing. At the end of this day was our rest day town. The plan was to ride conservative.....get to town without loosing too much time....then get in a good chunk of rest over night and during the rest day. Well, I felt good at the beginning...then slowly faded to a walking pace. I was zapped! Walking was hard....even on the relatively flat ground. I was shuffling my feet at 12,000 ft while I stared eyes glazed over at the 22,000 ft peaks to my left.
Photo © Nepal Sutra, www.nepalsutra.com
I arrived in Manang, a small village which sits at like 13,000 ft and is surrounded by massive 22,000 ft peaks. I got to our tea house and immediately hit the bed. Shortly I was joined by Sonya and 1 of our 2 event doctors, Keith from the UK. He wasn't sure what was wrong with me. My symptoms were pretty generic and it could have been anything. He took my temperature....it was 102F. I felt the same at this point as I did riding the last 2 days. So, yep, I was riding with a 102F fever. So he started me on some random medicines. Symptoms included: cough, fever, chills, elevated HR, nausea, some diarrhea, lack of appetite, etc.
The rest day came and went. I laid in bed staring out the window all day...listening to the wind howl....dogs barking....loud talking and coughing Nepal locals. I would randomly feel a bit better....then be back to feeling bad. I kept popping pills and drinking tons of liquids. The next day was a tough stage. We would go from roughly 13,000 feet up to 15,500 ft. I had been looking forward to this day since I signed up to race.
Pushing my bike and staring at this all day. The views helped to ease the pain of not being able to 'race'
That morning of what be the last day on the bike....or I should say walking along my bike....was slow going. Everything was in slo-mo. Surreal. Typing this don't even remember eating breakfast that AM. The race stage started with a hike-a-bike out of town on some man-made rock stairs. It went on for ever! I was super slow. Within 20 minutes of starting the stage I found myself out the back pushing my bike on anything that was slightly uphill. The visual distractions of the mountains helped to pass the time. I was along my bike at 14,000+ ft while surrounded by 22,000+ ft mountains in all directions. I remember coming up to the German journalist working for BIKE Magazine. He spent his day documenting my 'dragging ass.' He couldn't believe that I was still out there. Now as I type this, I have had many many people say they can't believe I went multiple days on the bike with the 102f fever. Really, I had no option. One foot in front of the other. Just don't collapse and black out. I was the last one to finish that day. Dead last.
While sick, this is how my days went.
I immediately went into bed then was surrounded by the doctors. More pills and more rest. Ghandi, one of the doctors, had and idea what I might have. He called it "walking pneumonia". Basically it's everything pneumonia is minus the elevated level of having fluid in the lungs. With that in mind he started me on a 3+ day supply of antibiotics. He said later he would come back to give me 2 bags of IV fluid.
Later the evening Ghandi came back with Keith, the UK doctor. Keith tried to get a good vein from me, but failed. After 3 failed attempts, the IV needle was into my arm. I hate needles. Normally this would bother me, but I was so out of it that they could have stuck that needle in me a million times and I wouldn't have cared. I sucked down 2 bags of IV fluid. That is when Ghandi broke the news to me I was done. No more racing. No more riding. "You must stop or you will die on that mountain." Crazy thing is inside I actually thought about what to say back to him to try to convince him otherwise. Jesus! I thought too long. Due to our location, I had basically 2 options: call in for helicopter evac or charter a yak over the pass to the next town. Yes, a yak. As in the 4-legged hairy horned animal. Considering the yak was $200 and helicopter evac was roughly $5000....the decision was easy. The decision was made and the yak was hired. Off to bed I went.
That night I slept like a rock, the best sleep all race. I didn't even hear Looney get up to leave to start the early morning ascent of Thorong La Pass. As I slept, Ghandi came charging into the room around 5 AM, I think. He said we needed to get going. The yak was coming and I needed to packed, get dressed, and eat. Only one small issue, I couldn't move. Seriously. I was numb from head to toe. Had no strength or energy. Ghandi said it was all the medicine, and he knew that this might happen. That morning he had to dress me and pack my bag. He then basically carried me to breakfast where I two-hand fed myself as the spoon I was using felt like it weighed 200 lbs.
Thorong La Pass, just under 18,000 ft. This is looking west.
Same location looking east. Temperature? Not sure. I wasn't cold. But some racers not so lucky getting frostbitten fingers and toes.
After a quick breakfast I was literally shoved up and onto a yak dressed with every item of clothing I brought to Nepal as not to freeze at 18,000 ft. The yak was led by a Nepali man who yelled, whistled, and threw rocks at it to keep it moving. The yak set a steady pace up the mountain, about human walking speed. The yak was a pretty amazing creature....basically a 4-wheel drive horse with the speed of a turtle if you want to compare it to anything. As for me, I had one hand grasping the front of the saddle and another wrapped 3 times around a dreadlock on the back of its neck. The trail steep enough that I nearly kept sliding off the back of the yak. To add even more misery to this whole situation, I developed diarrhea. From the altitude? From the food? From the medicine? Don't know. Great. I shit myself once before I realized what happened. Was able to make it off the yak another 6 times to deface 6 poor rocks between 16,000 and 18,000 ft. As nasty as this was I didn't care....neither did anyone else around, like the trekkers or porters. The environment was so inhospitable that anything went when up there. As excited as people were to get to Thorong La Pass.....they were just as excited to get the hell off that Pass. There is a reason things don't live up there.
Sitting in poopy pants at 13,200 ft. Yes, I just said that. Deal with it. I did.
I got to the pass on the back of the yak. Once there, the yak driver told me I had to get off, as they would go back down the way we came. Ghandi didn't realize this, and was worried I wouldn't make it the remaining 10 or so miles to the over night town. For the next many hours I stumbled from 18,000 ft down to nearly 10,000 ft. The trail which was normally dry for the most part was covered in snow and ice this year. More than once I fell down....tripped over a rock, my own feet, slipped on ice. I look back at it now, it was unreal.....like a dream. The hike down from the pass to Muktinath was long, but visually one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. Once in Muktinath, we hired a jeep to get us to the over night town where the other racers rode to. The jeep ride sounds great, but was just as rough and dangerous as the hiking/riding was since the day we left Kathmandu.
Nepali bus ride. 40+ people inside bus rated for 20. Unlimited number of people on the roof. People ride on the inside and outside. Outside ends to be safer because when the buses roll off cliffs, which they do, those on top can jump off. Those inside are pretty much screwed. Why am I smiling in this photo again? To my right is John from BC, Canada. Check out his story.
There was also transportation via the hired jeeps. Jeeps, good. Roads, not good. This jeep driver is straight out of Rambo III. Trust me. Google it or go watch it.
The remaining days would be filled with rest and transportation via bus and jeep. Sounds glorious on paper, but in reality the bike is quicker and safer due to the conditions of the roads....think backcountry jeep roads like we have here in Colorado. While only 2 more riding stages left, I would view the race from the sidelines. I was now one of a handful of people would would not finish the 2012 Yak-Attack. All non-finishers were stopped dead in their tracks due to things out of their control: chest pains, severe GI issues, illness, etc. No one just gave up. Everyone was forced from the event beyond their control. Says a lot about those who did finish.
Flight back to Kathmandu from finish line in Pohkara. A plane full of bike racers and monks. Odd.
I owe a lot to this man, Ghandi, my Dr and caretaker while I was sick, Sonya as well. One of the most amazing people I have ever met and hope to see soon again!
Over the next few days we made our way to Pohkara, the finish line of the 11-stage event. By the time we got here I was starting to feel a lot better, antibiotics were doing their job. The next day we flew back to Kathmandu. By the time we were back in Kathmandu and all packed up to fly back to the USA the antibiotics had done their job. I was pretty much running at 90%. The Dr told me no physical exercise for 7-10 days, so the bike was out of the question, even though I wanted to ride. Our remaining time in Nepal was spent seeing Kathmandu, visiting a Tibetan refugee camp where rugs were made, and visiting a knife factory.
Knife factory fun! Sonya and others went home with new 'toys'
Overall, it was one of the best bike experiences I have ever had....sick or not. I got to go with my best friend. I got to make new friends. Wouldn't trade that for anything. Going to Nepal opened my eyes to how good we have it. Simple things like water and electricity cannot be relied on there. Also made me take a close look at work ethic in general and the fact we can always take things to the next level. Looking at the race now, don't think I could have won. Race winner, Ajay, was at a whole other level. I was not at that level...either was anyone else. The best won. The best made the rest of us that much better.
There is so mush to say about this trip. Going to try to break it down in further post, but above gives you a general summarizing of how the 2012 Yak-Attack went for me. I will have video coming. That too will take awhile. There is nearly 90 GB of video footage to look through. All the photos I took are posted here. I am already trying to figure out how to go back to Nepal, bike or no-bike. Simply an amazing place that everyone should get to at some point in their life!
One picture to sum up the Yak-Attack? Here ya go!
There are some days with the trail flow is perfect.
The effort is effortless.
The soundtrack comes naturally.
In one perfect moment it all comes together.
On a side note, I need to get a post-Yak-Attack recap written. Just been super crazy with work and life in general. Can tell you the report will be less blow-by-blow race reporting and more focused on the actually experience.
Still trying to decompress from the Yak-Attack. What a whirlwind trip! For now, have all my still photos posted on Flickr.
Going to come up with some form of race/trip report here in the weeks ahead, but first just need to get caught up on life.
Training complete.
I am typing this the day before a mega 30+ hour flight from Denver to Kathmandu for the Yak-Attack. I feel ready physically and mentally. This race has affected everything in my life for the past 5 months. Everything. Some for the better....some for the worse....things you wouldn't think an event/training could alter. I think about it non-stop, to the point my sleep cycle is not 100% solid. Yeah, call me sick....obsessed.....crazy. I do. I have to admit, it does feel odd having good fitness this early in the year....something I shouldn't see until June or July. I am for sure taking a break once I get back so I can focus on the racing here in the USA in the coming months. I have a sense of nervous excitement. I am ready to get this show underway! I am ready to race, but also not to bury my head to the stem in suffering and not taking the time to look around and enjoy the reasons Sonya and I are going here; culture, racing, BIG mountains, the people, the food, the adventure.
A lot of people are curious about the Yak-Attack, as it is a relatively unknown event. Here are some facts....
- The race is solo. No teams.
- 11 stages total with 1 acclimation/rest day at 12,000 ft. This comes after Stage 7. Final stage is a celebratory group ride to the finish.
- Only 15 international athletes are allowed to compete. Remaining are Nepali. Expect no more than 50 racers total. The services along the route can handle no more than 50 people, hence the limit on the field.
- No tent camping. We stay in tea houses along the route, which are very similar to hostels here in the USA.
- We are allowed 44 lbs of gear for transport for first few stages, which is transported by trucks to the overnight villages. This is then cut to 22 lbs as our gear is carried by sherpas to the overnight villages and tea houses at the higher terrains. Any gear that does not fit in these weight allowances must be carried on the bike by the riders.
- Stages are relatively short compared to most stages races, covering 15-30 miles a day. But, the elevation, terrain, hike-a-bike, etc, make for roughly 2-4 hour days on the bike. Some days shorter...some days longer. Terrain and health will dictate.
- The purpose of the Yak-Attack is to give the Nepali riders an international field to race against, to finance local businesses along the route, raise awareness of the diversity of activities available in the area, and to create and concrete bonds between international communities, individuals, and Nepali athletes.
- Lowest elevation we compete at is 4,200 ft. Highest elevation we will get to is 17,775 ft! Highest I have ever been is 14,400; Mt. Elbert west of Leadville, CO
- Mountain Bike UK magazine lists the Yak-Attack as one of the Top-5 hardest mountain bike events in the World!
As far as equipment goes, the 26" hardtail with 2.4 tires gets the nod. Loads of climbing and hike-a-bike makes this the logical decision. Also installed a new Ergon SM3 saddle for 'testing'. Gear will be carried in a Ergon BX3 pack, as well as a new 2012 Topeak Fuel Tank, size medium. Navigation, which is required of all competitors, is a Garmin eTrex 30.
Event website
http://yak-attack.co.uk/
Daily updates
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Yak-Attack/146067758739132
http://www.facebook.com/teamtopeakergon
http://www.facebook.com/jeffkerkove
http://www.facebook.com/looneysonya
http://twitter.com/jeffkerkove
http://twitter.com/looneysonya
For the twitter links, Sonya and I will use #yakattack during the trip.
Expect updates during the first 4 stages. After that, updates will become sparse as we start to get remote. Very remote.
When this trip is all said and done, Sonya and I plan to come back with a great story/adventure. We are loaded up with Epic Cams, spare batteries, and SD cards. You will get to experience everything we do!
I leave you with an image from what might be the highest hotel in the World (15,500 ft), which we get to stay at!
Video from the 2010 event.
Stay tuned!
Just wanted to update everybody...
my blog has moved and this page will no longer be updated - you can now check me out here:
ErnestoMarenchin.com
please update you links and check it out.
Ernesto
It was a momentous year for the athletes who ride Giant. They stepped onto podiums and won world championships. They pushed themselves, and their bikes, to new heights. In the dirt and on the road. Against the competition, the clock and the terrain.
We're proud to work with all of the road, triathlon, mountain bike and cyclocross athletes that make up our global family of competitive cyclists. Enjoy this look back at some of the moments that made 2011 a year to remember.
Thanks!
As of this post, I am 3-days into a 4-day Yak-Attack mini training camp. I have one more day, today. Sunday. When it is said and done, it will have been a hard race-like 4-day block. These big blocks are always interesting. First few days are always easy and fun. As the days and hours mount, it becomes more and more difficult to wake up in the AM....and get out on the bike to ride hard. The food disappears from the house at an alarming rate as well. Basically, it's a mini stage race with the comforts of home.
The Yak-Attack stages are short in comparison to other stage races I have raced in. While hard and very demanding, the Yak-Attack stages last from 2-3.5 hours versus the 4+ hours for events like the Breck-Epic. Pace will be high....or at least as high as it can be pushed at the higher altitudes. My training rides in this block have been hitting the 3 hour mark. Short for me, but the pace much harder. Basically all training efforts have been at sub-threshold for the duration.....right near the limit of red line...but without actually hitting it.
Week looked a little something like this....
Steep and slow climbing work on 'Rattlesnake' west of Loveland, CO
Followed by rallying the corners coming down 'Rattlesnake'. Lean right!
Night hiking behind the house in 8F temps. Good evening to test clothing and lighting for the Thorong La pass hike-a-bike
The next day....shots! Like 4 of them. Which cost me $370. Some shots I needed the update on, but most are needed to survive/enjoy my time in Nepal. Damn, I think she hit the bone with that needle!
Back to the riding, a 3 hr zone-3 road bike tempo up the Poudre Canyon. Yes, it was as cold as it looks. Good views distract from the freezing 'bits'
Arrived home to the new GPS, which is needed for some of the early stages at the Yak-Attack. The Garmin eTrex 30 is the latest and greatest from Garmin for navigational riding. Not a cycling specific GPS, but ideal when doing multi-day rides and not have access to life's necessities, like electricity.
Seems we are getting all our winter this month. Few weeks ago we got nearly 1 foot of snow. Then, overnight another 5" inches. This time, it was super light and fluffy. Not a huge fan of snow, but this was a pretty amazing snowfall!
Good timing for the snow, as I focused on hike-a-bike training for day-3 of the 4-day training block. Temps were cold....by Ft. Collins standards...while a high around 23F. Was able to get my footwear and clothing dialed for what could be a very chilly Thorong La pass.
One more day, then rest!
See the training GPS files on Strava.
It was really warm early in the week. Temps near 65F! Not sure if this is ideal for the Yak-Attack in general, but I will take it!
Mid week, the vest unzipped doing intervals up to Estes Park and dodging the local wildlife.
An easy ride on the 'dams' on Friday after we got about 1/2 inch of snow in the AM....then it all melted away by 2 PM.
Tom Danielson showed up for the Oval Ride on Saturday. Us non-climbing types paid dearly! Ouch! I popped on Carter Lake. BOOM!
Sunday was a 4 hr tempo climbing day with recent IA to CO transplant, Carson Christen.
Quick bottle refill at the natural spring just below Ward, CO....en route to putting in a 7k climbing day.
Finished up the day in proper Boulder style: dirt roads, switchbacks, and steep.
If you stop by here often or follow on Facebook or Twitter then you know that all focus and prep right now is towards the Yak-Attack race in Nepal. Mountain Bike UK claimed it as one of the 5 toughest races in the World. I can agree with that....but I/you can also disagree. There are a lot of tough events out there and everyone has their own idea of what is tough. For example: CTR, Great Divide, Breck 100, etc, etc. This week the race roster was posted for Yak-Attack. Going to be a good melting pot of culture...new friends and bonds to make over the weeks we are in Nepal!
So, the training continues! Here is snap shot of how the week went down. Monday-Wednesday I laid low fighting off a head cold. Things started back up on Thursday with a ride with local pro mtber, Georgia Gould.
Funny thing is we have both lived in Ft Collins for about 5 yrs now, and this is the first time we have ridden/trained together. She is driven this year. Eye on the prize, the Olympics in London. Little video posted here from the ride that day as well.
Friday was a solo day pounding out a 1.5 hour tempo at sub-threshold. Legs felt good! Had me excited for the Oval Ride on Saturday!
The Oval Ride was stacked! CSU kids back from Tucson and Winter Break.....flexing their early season form! This is why I love it here! 70+ riders strong for this near 90 mile group ride hammerfest!
Before the fireworks, the simple things in life, like that of a well oiled paceline at nearly 30 mph :)
Of course, the Oval soon went into full-on race mode as expected! My legs, not snappy at all. I was deep into the 'pain cave' just to sit in! Quite the difference from 2 weeks ago when the legs were spot-on while pedaling the mtb on this training ride.
The fitness tow-rope eventually gave way. Snap! I solo tempo'd the rest of the way home.
Sunday was to be a climbing day in Boulder. I did get to Boulder and I did get to climb, but legs were super tired to ride within the group ride planned. I peeled back and spent the day riding with Sonya and focusing on big gear low RPM climbing. West of the Boulder the temps were well below freezing and the wind was blowing at 40-100 mph! I usually don't get cold on rides, but this ride had me second guessing my glove choice for the day.
Layering up at 8700 ft....wind howling!
Steep climbs = warmth! Sonya and I hit up as much of these punchy climbs as we could in the 4-5 hour training block scheduled.
I finished my ride up with a climb up Flagstaff west of Boulder, and Sonya did Sunshine Canyon for the second time that day. The training a success...and tough. Now, a few days of rest, then back on the horse!
Oh, and in reference to the blog title and 'book ends'....the season is starting with the very tough Yak-Attack. Sonya and I just found out we will end the season with another super tough event: La Ruta in Costa Rica in early November! The catch/funny thing is we have to use our American Airline voucher for the flight down....this voucher is from the lost bikes ball-up in Brazil last October. Crossing my fingers...and toes :)
The first-ever round of the Patrick UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup raced on the muddy slopes of the citadel in Namur (BEL) offered a great spectacle.
Belgian veteran Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet) captured a hard-fought win over Belgian Champion Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) in the Elite Men category. The 35 year-old is the new leader in the World Cup rankings. Dutch star Marianne Vos (Nederland Bloeit) dominated in the women's race, which was raced in snowy conditions. Her compatriot Daphny van den Brand (AA Drink -- Nederland Bloeit) remains overall leader in the World Cup standings.
French Champion Francis Mourey (FDJ), Aurélien Duval (France), Tom Meeusen (Telenet-Fidea) and Klaas Vantornout (Sunweb-Revor) led a large group through the first laps on the muddy course in chilly Namur. During the fourth of eight laps, Albert accelerated. Nys followed his example with an attack on the fifth lap. Only Vantornout remained on Nys' wheel. A little later Nys flatted and was caught by an unleashed Stybar. The Czech soon steamed through to neutralize Vantornout's advantage. For a brief moment there were six riders in the group, but Pauwels punctured and lost time. Nys seized his moment to take the lead and set the pace up front. Pauwels didn't bridge back up and in the last lap it seemed like Albert was heading for the win. Nevertheless Nys closed the small gap on the Belgian Champion and with a last effort he reached the finish area solo. Albert was runner-up at 5s ahead of Vantornout, Pauwels, Stybar and Meeusen. The fourth place for Pauwels was just not enough to keep his World Cup leader's jersey, which is now in Nys' possession.
At age 19, Danny Hart started his second pro season with the Giant Factory Off-Road Team hoping to maybe crack the top 5. He did more than that. At Round 2 of the World Cup, in front of a capacity crowd at his "home" venue in Scotland, Danny shocked the world with one of the most exciting DH runs ever seen—and he didn't stop there. Danny scored two more podium finishes on the World Cup and finished the season fourth overall. And he followed that with a jaw-dropping win at the World Championships in Champery, Switzerland. That run has been viewed more than 1 million times and, well, that's still not enough.
Silvia Films of Kamloops B.C. put together this great video of Freeride-phenom Ian Killick. Check out Silvia Films on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Silvia/149128011826656
Another weekly recap! Visa application is in the mail for Nepal and the Yak-Attack. Had to send off my passport and some $$ to New York to get approved. Now, only thing to do is get in the training. This past weekend, Sonya and I headed up to the mountains to get in some hike-a-bike training and breathe in the thin air. With snow still very low in the high country it's pretty easy to get to the high terrain without any skis or snowshoes.
Road trip Leadville!
It may look cold, but it wasn't. Temps were about 40F, plus take in the intense Colorado sun. Made it feel like 50F at 11,000ft. The plan was to ride and hike as far up Mosquito Pass east of Leadville as far as we could within the 3 hour training window we had.
Hiking soon set in. Snow wasn't too deep, but deep enough to where our tires would break through and break traction. So, Yak-Attack oriented hike-a-bike training went into full force!
Going up! This was a fantastic time to test carrying techniques as well as footwear.
This is as far as we would go. Sonya pushed a little bit further to break the 12,000 ft mark for the day. The pass proper is still 1,100 ft above us!
Here is a quick video of our time on Mosquito Pass, filmed with the Epic Cam HD 1080
2 thumbs up for a post-training ride espresso in Leadville!
The reason we only had a 3 hour training window in Leadville is because we were both signed up for the snow mountain bike race at Copper Mountain Ski Resort. The race was a 2 lap format on groomed snow trails around the resort...at night. Cold you ask? Yep. Race temp of about 20F.
Guess you could call this the first race of the year :)
162 people would race! Some on regular mountain bikes, like myself. Others on proper snow bikes with big old fat tires! The fat tires would reign supreme at this race.
Sonya and Leslie ready to do battle! Rawrrrr!
I got everything out of the Copper Race I wanted. The training and the social aspect of it. The snow was so soft for a lot of the further reaches of the course that myself and others on normal mtbs were forced to run. Hey, it's all training, right? Yep. Even managed to go off course. Yeah, don't ask. There was a course marking mishap. Few of us got in some good extra climbing :) Overall, the snow bike race was a riot! So fun....so hard! GPS file here on Strava.
Worst part of the Copper Race? Changing out of sweaty wet cycling clothes in a tin van where the air temp sits at about 15 F. Brrrrrr!
Great Saturday!
As I type this, I am 2 days into a nice little cold. Head cold....tired. Always happens at least once over the winter. Now is the time for out with the bad...in with the good.
All the weekend photos are posted here.
Ahhh.... Busy, busy, busy.
Update from the Ernesto casa is that I have been super busy with work, riding, bike and computer repair. Wish I could sleep some more.
Up first on the plate this year will be a trip out west to warmer temps to the 24 Hours of Old Pueblo where I will be teaming up again with fellow Pivot backed rider Brian Bennet and racing duo.
Course is off the path from town a bit where on course you will have to dodge slow moving free range cows, faster moving (and sometimes unpredictable) riders, and the non-moving cacti which hurt like hell if you have an encounter with them.
Overall terrain is mostly single track'ish with a few spots to pass - but be careful as the single track pass areas are short in length and painful if you screw up.
Throw in the bitches section which is a wide open jeep trail road with a 3 or 4 little rises that seem to really hurt after about 8 hours of riding them. And through in a typical headwind on that section and hence the name.
Fast rolling section after that, another short jeep road section, more fast single track past the tree where riders like to have free and open to the public stash of hard liquor.
Over the road, single/double track section moderate climb where you can pass a lot of riders if you got good legs.
Then, down towards the venue. Fast twisty turns and that big rock section right before the start/finish where everybody likes to take pictures and see if you fall.
Overall, great early season rolling course with no big sustained pain efforts, very minimal rocks and nothing sketchy -- which makes it great for this time of the year for the geared riders and would also be a great one to ride either full rigid or single speed style.
With that coming up and with 20 degree temps, time for a long roller session to ensue.
Ernesto out
Andrew Taylor and some of the Marin crew load up some new Mount Vision XM's and head to California's gold country to ride the trails of Downieville.
T-minus 2 months until Sonya and I leave for Nepal. Plane tickets are in hand, so this is as real as it gets now! It feels weird trying to 'peak' for a 10-day race in March....especially when those you train with are just getting on the bike to start preparing for 2012. The past week or so, I have been without a road bike. Why you ask? Well I had the brilliant idea to go train in a High Wind Warning. Why not. I race in the wind, so why not train in it. Well, that day while rolling north, a huge tumbleweed flew out of the ditch and straight into my rear wheel. This sheered off the rear derailleur hanger and shattered the SRAM Force derailleur. So, now I wait for a new hanger to arrive from Germany. While not a huge deal, I am relegated to the mtb for training.....on and off road.
Earlier in the week did a lot of Zone 3 tempos up the canyons with the warm weather. Can't beat riding to 8,000 ft in shorts in January with temps pushing 65F!
A majority of the snow is gone, but trails are still wet for the most part. What is dry I got out on later in the week. Trails behind the house are rolling good now. A few days of dry weather and everything should be good!
Saturday was the Oval Ride. With no road bike, I was unsure how productive the ride would be. I just wanted to merely survive 2 hours if possible. To my surprise I was feeling good. Legs snappy. Was able to get the whole ride in and not loose contact with the group until after Carter Lake. The downhills and tailwinds were the worse. Being under-geared requires some stupid leg speed. I took the new Epic Cam HD 1080 out for the ride. Check it....
Today's ride (Sunday) was a flop. It's amazing how a hard 4 hr effort the day prior can leave one virtually functionless at their favorite hobby/sport. A 4 hour ride was basically a 2 hour slog through the foothills. Still can't complain! A bad day on the bike is still better than not being able to ride at all. All you need to do is open your eyes and look around!
Can't complain one bit about ringing in the New Year this year! With lower than average snowfall across most of the mountain states....as well as a warming weather trend....the decision to head west to Moab was made! A majority of the trails in Moab are riding very well right now. Only exception is Porcupine Rim, which sits higher in elevation and is mostly north facing. Snow covers the trail.
On Friday riding friend KJ and I packed up the van and headed west. Plan was to spend 2 days spinning Moab trails....4-5 hours each day....pretty chill pace. Was a good little vacation on the bike to ride some dirt with no focus on super structured training.
Day 1 was spent on Amasa Back and Pipe Dream. We, virtually had both trails to ourselves only bumping into a few other riders. For KJ, this would be her first trip to ride in Moab! Can't complain when the trails are perfect and there is not a cloud in the sky. Temps also ran in the low 50Fs.
KJ, on a borrowed HT Niner, riding the upper parts of Amasa Back.
One of the best views in Moab, the Amasa Back overlook! Wow!
I think we both could have sat here all day!
After Amasa Back it was a quick spin around a big chunk of Moab rock to Pipe Dream. Here is a quick raw clip from the cliff side trail.
Day 2 was spent on the MOAB Brand Trails and Sovereign Trail. A lot of chunk. A lot. Rough for sure on a HT.
Quick video to show what Sovereign Trail is like...
Overall, it was a good 2 days on the bike. Moab, was a ghost town for sure. Most places closed down for the season. Did find a gem of a sushi place in Moab. Yes, a sushi place. In the Utah desert. If you're ever in town, check out Sabaku Sushi
OK, back from an extended leave of absence from blog posting and updates. Bike and non-bike work has kept me busy since after Turkey day and I am now somewhat getting caught up with life in general, but somehow I do wish I had another 2 weeks off after this.
2012 will see somethings changing for me on the road side, as I switch over to the dark side that I stepped away from years ago.
In the past, I typically used early road racing to supplement my huge mileage base that I need for endurance racing. I would train, train, train and race here and there. Road racing just gave me endurance base and the fields were not too stacked. In a typical year, I was racing 3-5 24 hour events and a handful of 100 miler'ish type of events.
Speed up to the past few years. 100 milers (6/8/12 hours too) now dominate the endurance scene and the economy has change quite dramatically making the shorter endurance events more popular and making the fields quite stacked with competition. Instead of just rolling up the first climb, I am sprinting for dear life to hold on.
Hence my game plan change last year which was to hit up more the Cleveland Tuesday night crit worlds in Westlake to help with my fitness and speed and it payed off. Enough to have me up my efforts on the road side with Carbon Racing and to concentrate mostly on criterium and long road races.
On the mountain side, my schedule will mostly remain the same as it has in years and I will be concentrating on the 100 miler type of endurance events. On the 24 hour side, I will be racing Old Pueblo again as a duo and I am contemplating a few other duo and solo events as well.
On the cross side of the world, I will be making a full out effort in 2012 as I have promised myself a full season of racing for the past few years and the 24 Hours of Moab usually threw a monkey wrench in all of it. Rough plans is to start my season off with the Nittany cross race in September if it doesn't coincide with either Shenandoah or Fools Gold. If so, see you at Cross Vegas.
For those sponsors who helped me during the 2011 season - thanks for your support.
And for those continuing on for 2012, thanks in advance.
See you on the Ernesto Pain Train 2012 Tour soon.
Ernesto out
Finished up a big block of training prior to the 4-day Christmas break. Break equals no training. Basically 4 days of chilling out with Family. It was a good 2 weeks with some longer rides focusing on climbing as well as occasionally running the engine hot on the local group rides. Needless to say, by the end of the block I was ready for some rest. It will be an on-going process until leaving for Nepal: training then rest, training then rest. It's all about building and layering on fitness. Here are a few highlights....
The regularly scheduled Saturday Oval Ride. The week before was the 'lite' version. This week, it was taken up a notch. Started with a good healthy group of about 50. By mid-ride it was down to like 10. Still early in the year for most. Beauty of the ride/route is everyone can go as fast or slow as they like.
8k climbing day outside Boulder, CO. Good weather window with temps near 50F around 7,000-10,000 ft. These kind of days are few and far between in Dec-Jan. You take them when you can get them. Could have spent all day out there, but sunlight dictates temp. range.
Searching for dry trails behind the house. Few and far between this time of year. 2 days after this picture was taken, we got 7 inches. Think it is time to head to Moab! :)
The day before the Winter Storm Warning went into effect. Climbing to the top of Towers Rd. west of Fort Collins. Climbing = Yak-Attack focus.
Scope out the Strava gps files here.
Yes, it has been 11 days since last blog post. Just a lot of the same 'ole stuff going on here in Fort Collins: work, ride, repeat. Plus, Facebook and Twitter are slowly taking the place of blogging.....especially when people want to-the-second updates on life, riding, training, gear, etc. Blogging is becoming the diary.....archive of life.
Work is busy. Yes, I work. For those blog followers that may need a refresher and for those new readers, I basically run the show for marketing and customer service for Ergon in North America. The bike riding is a highly addictive passion of mine. So, yes, I constantly mix work and pleasure. I am lucky. Very lucky!
Anywho, enough with the boring stuff. Yak-Attack. It's one of a few things currently on my mind all day....every day. The challenge consumes me.....the terrain....the culture.....the environment.....the training.....and relationship building. Is this healthy? Feels like it. This week it became 100% real. The biggest hurdle was the funding for the $1500 airline tickets. That was finalized, and tickets will be booked in early January. So now, training keep moving forward. Discussing with team partners as well trying to get the new Canyon 29er hardtails here in time. The course favors them. Not going to lie, it would also be a great marketing opp for Canyon.
Winter is not here officially, but seems this winter is going to be 'hard' as the locals refer to it. Temps in the low 40Fs and snow on the ground for more than a few days is not the norm. But it is Colorado, so we deal with it. The last few weeks have been a mix of indoor and outdoor training. Pictures tell the story the best.
Pedaling the road that sits right behind the house on a 35F degree day. The sun....so warm. Makes it super easy to get out the door earlier in the day.
The 'indoor cycling studio'.....also known as the laundry room. It is a neccesary evil. Trainer doesn't bother me.....when there is a plan. So, I plug into the iPod and put the MacBook in front of me with World Cup XC replys and put in the work.
Non-cycling activities. Most notably stomping around the snow at 9,000-11,000 ft. with a like minded other with similar goals.
Oval Ride is starting up. This past weekend was the 'lite' version. Basically meaning the full 90 mile loop minus the speeds that make a grown man or woman bleed out their eye sockets onto their stem. It will all change soon. Surviving to the end will be the goal for each and every rider.
High mountain roads. Perfect for Yak-Attack! Temps in the 40Fs, low wind, groups of 5-10 riders makes these rides a freak'n blast!
Gas station lattes. Calories and warmth wrapped into one package. 'Nuff said.
Yeah, I know. This photo is wrong. Very wrong. But, when you are training for an event that will require each rider to hike for 4 hours up to nearly 18,000 ft often carrying the bike....this photo now becomes correct. We finally got some cold temps and snow here in Fort Collins...both of which will be seen at the Yak-Attack in March. Hopefully at the event there is less snow than more. It was good to get out and test some gear and ways to carry the bike. One thing for sure, I learned a lot in this 2.5 hour ride and hike. For example....
- Salomon Gore-Tex trail running shoes were good, even in the 25F temps
- REI Gore-Tex gaiters were money! Kept everything warm and dry.
- Dressing for riding in the cold is not ideal for hiking in the cold. read: overheating
- How to best carry the bike? To be determined.
- Deep snow (6+ inches) requires carrying the bike full time. See above.
- SRAM XX pulleys decide to stop spinning at about 25F ;)
Overall, it might look miserable, but it fact it was a blast!
2 weeks down. Many more to go. Bagging miles for the system to build the aerobic engine. With fantastic weather still sitting over Colorado (temps in 50F-60F) it is easy to get the 2-4 hr days in. The 'stoke' is high....as always. Counting the days until the Yak-Attack adventure begins. As before, it is best to show the past week via photos, as I have a lot of time to get some shots out there while pedaling away. A lot of group mtb rides while the trails still rock!
All the gps files and data can be seen on Strava.
Last battle in Cleveland for the cross season would be a classic battle again with Paul, John and Steve. Course was the typical layout for the venue, with a few new twists added by incorporating a jungle gym and a different set of stairs. Classic.
Gun goes off and I somehow manage the lead position going into the first corner. Through a few more twists and turns, I was still at the front but I wanted to get out of the front as I could see things had immediately got strung out.
On the straight, up the stairs and up to the sketchy section of stairs I was making the majority of time up in practice and I run into the tape trying to see who was still on my wheel. Dah. I loose three spots and I am immediately go from leading to chasing.
Steve would take the lead. Paul and John would sit in front of me for a bit, and I chased.
4 to go and I was closing after we had gapped off most of the field. Seeing me coming, John and Paul up the pace a bit.
Going onto the sketchy steps, Paul dabs and John takes off. We are now 4 riders alone.
The gap to Paul shortens, but going up the stairs with 2 laps to go, I make a pretty serious dab and have to dismount after nearly whipping out falling backwards.
I would hold on for 4th for the day, about a minute separating the top 4 again.
Would end up 6th in the series despite having only race 6 races. Bummed out I could not have raced more, but pretty happy with how things went this year and was glad to see some good hard racing go late into the year.
For now, I'll take a bit of a break and then plan out the rest of the cross year. Will be hitting up Nationals and possibly Masters Worlds, but I also have to think about a duo 24 hour race in February.
Ernesto out
Past Sunday was the next to last race of the NEO CX series - here's how it went down.
Got there early to pre-ride = aweosome.
Got there early to take a spill on the first warm up lap and break my brand new Sram Red front shifter = Not awesome.
Course was a tough one, the wind was bad and the run up was going to be hellish. Other then that, a few turns and a dismount and a lot of wind.
Gun goes off. I get punched in the gut and elbowed in the face to in the fight to win the first sprint up the climb to take the Oakley sunglass prize at the top to the first one to round the corner.
John takes the shades at the top. (It was a clean battle all the way to the top - but there may have been some elbows in there somewhere)
Things spread out fast as Steve and Paul put the hammer down. I get pinched a bit as I try to make my way back up to John as I battle the wind.
I push on, and soon I am by myself about 50 feet'ish behind John when I start to see we are pulling back Steve.
Just as I near John and Steve, John speeds off and I catch Steve. Steve is immediately on my wheel as John continues to sit just in front of me. I figure Steve is not going to chase so I try to bridge the gap.
John is holding the gap as I am battling back and fourth with Steve. I sit back a bit and let a gap get in between Steve and myself, hoping that he would try to get to John - with a plan that I would a big jump on the last climb of the day.
I would close the gap back down with 2 to go and Steve would take himself out in the same corner I bashed my lever up on in warmup.
I would take home 3rd on the day - Paul took a hard fought win in the wind and John would take 2nd. Guessing maybe a max of 30-40 seconds separating the 3 of us at the end.
1 more NEO race to go, bummed I am not going to be in the overall as I missed too many races. Will be the first time in a long while where I haven't done enough Cleveland cross races to get in the overall.
Ernesto out
Things spread out fast as Steve and Paul put the hammer down. I get pinched a bit as I try to make my way back up to John as I battle the wind.
I push on, and soon I am by myself about 50 feet'ish behind John when I start to see we are pulling back Steve.
Just as I near John and Steve, John speeds off and I catch Steve. Steve is immediately on my wheel as John continues to sit just in front of me. I figure Steve is not going to chase so I try to bridge the gap.
John is holding the gap as I am battling back and fourth with Steve. I sit back a bit and let a gap get in between Steve and myself, hoping that he would try to get to John - with a plan that I would a big jump on the last climb of the day.
I would close the gap back down with 2 to go and Steve would take himself out in the same corner I bashed my lever up on in warmup.
I would take home 3rd on the day - Paul took a hard fought win in the wind and John would take 2nd. Guessing maybe a max of 30-40 seconds separating the 3 of us at the end.
1 more NEO race to go, bummed I am not going to be in the overall as I missed too many races. Will be the first time in a long while where I haven't done enough Cleveland cross races to get in the overall.
Ernesto out
Here it is - better late then never, still trying to finish up some bike work and figure out if I want to glue up some tubulars or not.
Day 1
As usual, I was running late getting over to Shawn's place. Running an hour late, we made our way south towards Cincinnati. Soon we would run into traffic several times, putting us even later the expected.
The course was soft and muddy, lots of climbing and throw in a couple sets of barriers. One lap of warmup, some hill sprints to warm up and to the start line.
First muddy corner, everybody going for the win right there, and a huge crash. One guys gets up to see a frame broken in half. I get around it, but loose time in the process.
Immediately, the burn starts coming into my lungs and it is pretty obvious I did not warm up enough. Soon, the leaders would catch up to me and I would get yanked.
Very disappointing day for both Shawn and I which was a bummer as it was mostly caused because of me running late - but I would wind up with some cash for the day, so it was not a total loss.
Day 2
Day 2 brought the Java Johnny's course, a course which I did decently on a few years back so I was looking forward to racing the mostly flat and fast course.
Gun goes off and I have a decent start, sitting mid pack.
Soon, we are going by the pit. Another rider in front of me suddenly slows and swings far right and looks right and starts waving and yelling "hi" to his buddy in the pits - totally looking away from the upcoming left corner.
I continue on with the gas, pass him and go into the corner and then wham - the idiot looking the other way hits into my rear derailleur super hard as he didn't see me. Nice. He says something to me, I pedal away not noticing he bent the rear hanger.
3 corners later, I take a corner wide and sweep in tight - just like i did every time in practice as it was the fastest and safest way to get around it. but - the same idiot that hit me before, hit me again. this time, intentionally. it sent me flying, i tried to counter steer and partially rolled the tubular. Great, 2 minutes into a race and this jack ass takes me out.
I climb back on, try to catch on after pulling the tubular on and pedal on.
20'ish minutes later, I am nearly catching the back of Shawn's group and my front tire washes out and the tubular completely rolls off. it also snaps the shifter clamp band.
Game over.
Great. So much of these races are the first 4-5 minutes and needless to say it is very frustrating to get behind an idiot. And when you finally get around them, they intentionally take you out. I don't understand that logic at all.
But - hats off to Sram Neutral support. Free upgrade from a Sram Apex front shifter to a Sram Red so I could use the bike the next day.
Gun goes off and I have a decent start, sitting mid pack.
Soon, we are going by the pit. Another rider in front of me suddenly slows and swings far right and looks right and starts waving and yelling "hi" to his buddy in the pits - totally looking away from the upcoming left corner.
I continue on with the gas, pass him and go into the corner and then wham - the idiot looking the other way hits into my rear derailleur super hard as he didn't see me. Nice. He says something to me, I pedal away not noticing he bent the rear hanger.
3 corners later, I take a corner wide and sweep in tight - just like i did every time in practice as it was the fastest and safest way to get around it. but - the same idiot that hit me before, hit me again. this time, intentionally. it sent me flying, i tried to counter steer and partially rolled the tubular. Great, 2 minutes into a race and this jack ass takes me out.
I climb back on, try to catch on after pulling the tubular on and pedal on.
20'ish minutes later, I am nearly catching the back of Shawn's group and my front tire washes out and the tubular completely rolls off. it also snaps the shifter clamp band.
Game over.
Great. So much of these races are the first 4-5 minutes and needless to say it is very frustrating to get behind an idiot. And when you finally get around them, they intentionally take you out. I don't understand that logic at all.
But - hats off to Sram Neutral support. Free upgrade from a Sram Apex front shifter to a Sram Red so I could use the bike the next day.
Day 3
The last day of racing would be a tough one, the course was all soft and muddy and had a decent little climb in it. Lot's of power would be required.
We get to the venue about 3 1/2 hours early. The organizer was running late on time, so he cut ALL pre-riding of the course. I was NEVER able to ride a full complete lap during warm up as the officials would start yelling and blowing there whistles. Was a total FAIL in all of the riders minds to not let us ride all of it - especially considering they were cutting us off from riding the last 1/2 mile'ish of the course when the next race had not even started - even with lap times running over 7-8 minutes. Unreal.
Gun would go off, and I took off from the last row. Super awesome. Not.
The first few corners I get pinched, pinched again, and then I am at the back with the majority of the guys faltering on the twisty section by the road that I had cleared every time in warmup.
I play catch up, picking off a few riders here and there. I feel like I am riding the best of the 3 days so far, but soon the leaders are catching up.
I get yanked again, but end up with some cash for the day.
All in all, good eye opener for me to get my attitude adjusted before nationals, but I wish things had turned out a bit better.
Time to glue up some tubulars.
Ernesto out
I play catch up, picking off a few riders here and there. I feel like I am riding the best of the 3 days so far, but soon the leaders are catching up.
I get yanked again, but end up with some cash for the day.
All in all, good eye opener for me to get my attitude adjusted before nationals, but I wish things had turned out a bit better.
Time to glue up some tubulars.
Ernesto out
Photo credit - Julie Lewis