Sam Jurekovic Racing

Off the bike 2010

2010-04-08T06:24:00.004-07:00

This spring has been a little different...for starters I didn't go to California for my annual winter training camp. Experiencing winter here in Colorado Springs was definitely a change of pace. Although the winter wasn't really all that bad as winters go (compared to Jackson Hole) it was a bit gloomy. However, I did have one incredibly bright ray of sunshine...My fiance' Christina moved to town after Christmas. It has been so great to have her around and actually get to spend consistent time with her. We have grown closer and closer all the time and she has made not riding my bike as much completely bearable.

I haven't had a bike to ride a whole lot since Christmas time so I've been running a whole lot to stay in shape. Its been really nice actually, a nice mental break from riding 4-5 hours ever day of the winter. I can go for my 1-2 hour run 4-5 days per week and ride the group rides on the weekends.

Some people might be wondering...where is Sam? He's fallen off the face of the earth...well...not exactly. I'm still here in Colorado Springs, enjoying life very much as a matter of fact. I've been doing a lot of things I couldn't do for a lot of years for fear of being injured or, God forbid, miss a day of training. I've been able to go to Church almost every Sunday and spend time with Christina almost every day. I have been working at the YMCA as a personal trainer and doing some cycling coaching on the side. I have also been doing some big mountain running logging in several 15-25mile mountain run/trudge just getting my head screwed back on the right way and remembering what I do it all for. I have signed a contract with Mafia Racing and am looking forward to a little more Chill year this year and having a whole lot more fun on my bike as apposed to...well...not having fun on my bike.

When I do get back to racing this year I have no idea what is going to happen. I have not followed any structured training program, but I am certainly a much more well rounded athlete in terms of fitness and strength, but I don't have a whole lot of miles in on the bike. I have a much better balance in my life as far as God, Family, and Friends go. I have had to work a lot at the 'Y' to stay afloat. I love my job and my employer and colleagues. Maybe the lack of stress in my life will yield great results, maybe my lack of "bike time" will show big time. Maybe it will be a combination of the two. This year is going to be different.

Look forward to more posts now that I am in a better frame of mind, body, and spirit.

Fall Brings Changes

2009-10-01T10:12:00.004-07:00

This fall has brought many changes to my life...I am all done with the race season and worn out from the long year. Now I am back in school for the fall and may have bitten more off than I can chew. I feel like I never cease in working on homework and reading. Maybe one of these days my brain will explode. Toward the end of the season I was notified I would not be racing for Shoair any longer, so there were some changes that had to happen right away...I moved out of my house up in Monument to a much more training/school friendly location closer to downtown with my good friend and roommate Caleb Fairly. I am also now working at the YMCA on the strength and conditioning floor and will probably be getting my personal trainers Certification soon. I recently got back from Interbike where I went to look for some new sponsors for next year. We shall see, hopefully something works out so I am able to race more on the world cup next year and continue working towards the Olympics.

The biggest news of changes in my life is: I'M GETTING MARRIED!!!! Sorry this news is really late in coming...I proposed to my girlfriend and best friend in the world Christina Stockhouse in June and we have been making preparations to be married next summer in our hometown of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. With the two of us getting married she will soon be moving here, to colorado springs, from Seattle, WA, so we can get ready to start our lives together. Thank you to all who have supported us so much while we have been dating long distance for a while, you encouragement is so valuable to us. I will be flying up to seattle at the end of October to help Christina pack and move down here to the Springs.

So as the leaves change colors and fall, so does an other season of life, only to prepare for new amazing things to come.

Thanks for reading.
Sam J

Trails that were never intended for cycling...

2009-05-01T09:00:00.004-07:00

I must just have some kind of subconscious sense for finding the trails you could die walking down, let alone try riding down on a bicycle.

The other day I spent a brutal day at altitude. I started from my house with map and gps in hand. A backpack packed with all the essentials: water for 3hours, PB&J, water purifier, headlamp, rain jacket, warm gloves, arm and knee warmers, tube, pump, and multi tool. You might ask yourself, "what? Is he going on a weekend trip into the mountains?" Well, I suppose it wouldn't be the first time.

Anyway, I started from my house and rode about 5min to the Falcon Trail inside the Airforce Academy. I have never ridden the Falcon Trail and I think, now having ridden it, it will be one of my bread and butter rides for the future. It was so fun!! Just pure and simple classic buff single track with lots of "Hero man rollers". I rode the first half of it to the opposite side of the base where it connects with some trails leading up into the mountains. All the maps I had were not actually all that accurate and I was lucky to find my way out of the AFA with the help of tons of signs pointing me in the right direction. The trail out of the AFA started pretty sweet...a little steep, but whatever, I like it steep. It climbed out west around their water purification plant and up a canyon which I thought was called Stanley Canyon (actually it was West Monument Creek Canyon...oops). I proceeded to climb up and up and up, quickly reaching 2000vertical feet from my starting point. The trail turned into a service road which was surprising because the map made it look like it was a trail...eha. There were some little sweet single track offshoots and some loose hike-a-bike sections leading up a "Y". There was a little sign signaling "Trail 713". I was like "SWEET!!! More new trails". I had to walk across some sketchy little rotted out bridge to instantly find a super technical, pretty much unrideable trail (at least at this point because there was still some snow and ice on it). I decided to ditch the bike for a minute and walk up a ways to see where the trail went and if it was even worth taking my bike up it...maybe I am learning a little bit. I made the call to go back to the road and keep going up. Before long I ran into all sorts of stupid water district signs saying "DO NOT ENTER or be PROSECUTED" LAME!!! I popped out my map and kept following the road up to Rampart Reservoir. Kind of dissapointed in the lack of trail I road around threshold to get to the next bit of single track as fast as I could...haha threshold at 9,000+feet for me right now is about 300watts...Oh the burn. I kept going and rode down to the Lake and discovered its pretty nice up there and there are some serious fish in that lake and a sweet little trail all the way around it, 'er it will be sweet when there is less snow on it. I made it to the north east side of the lake after going all the way around it and found a little trail heading to the trail I originally thought I was on to go to the Stanley Cayon Reservoir. By now its been about 3.5hours of lung busting altitude and some really really cold snow/slush/ice water riding and I was nearing total bonk, dizzy, headache, hungry, heart rate through the roof, so I decided to pull over and have a little anti bonk medicine: PB&J and a coke. It was a great opportunity to check out the view. Pikes Peak looks pretty awesome from this aspect behind the lake.

I looked at the clock and it was getting a bit late and the thunder heads were approaching in the distance so I decided to get rolling as fast as I could and go down the trail I originally thought I went up in the first place.

The trail from Stanley Reservoir started out really sweet, but gradually got really technical. In fact, so technical there was no way to ride it. I eventually pretty much got cliffed out on my bike. I ditched the bike again to try to find the trail, which looked more like a boulder field crushed it on the way down the mountain. Lucky me there were some little pink trail marker ribbons to get around this section of trail that looks like it was taken out by a big land slide. I got my bike and scrambled down into Stanley Canyon. As I got further down, there was a lot more water which made some of the granite rather slippery with cycling shoes. After a couple of really close calls, I finally made it to something that looked more like a trail than a pile of rocks. I was very happy to mount back on the bike. I think being a cyclist for so long, I might actually be more comfortable and less clumsy on two wheels, than actually walking around. I took it mellow, since the trail was still really loose and rocky and came up to a sign that said "IT IS UNLAWFUL FOR ANYONE TO ENTER THIS MILITARY INSTALLATION WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF THE COMMANDING OFFICER" Haha, well, I wasn't going to hike back up what I just got down...and they let me in earlier in the day, hopefully that will suffice. Just in case, I bolted as fast as I could to get down and out of there to avoid tangling with any Air Force personnel who might not appreciate my sense of adventure. I got really lucky and the trail spit me out right back on the Falcon Trail...WOOHOO!! From there it was a pretty sweet fun ride with more "Hero Jumps" all the way back to North Gate. Until next time....BAM!BAM!

Back to Colorado...looking forward to training...LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS!!!

2009-04-28T18:27:00.003-07:00

Howdy folks!!
Well I am back in good old Colorado. It was a GOOD long 3months in Southern California. Lots of good weather, training, getting to know new people and make new friends, and race my bike a bit.

After the Sea Otter I was in a bit of a hurry to get home. Packed my things and left at 8PM to be on my way out of the city so I wouldn't hit traffic in the morning. I drove 'til midnight and pulled over on some rancher exit, parked, and took a two and a half hour nap before getting back on the road at 2:30AM. I drove all morning and hit D-Town about noon 30. Immediately my first stop was to visit RGP's, a pretty awesome little sandwich shop I haven't been to in years. It was pretty funny driving back in to D-Town. I forgot how small of a town it really is, maybe even smaller than Jackson Hole. I saw, Ned O, Fabulous Frank Maple, and a couple of old school buddies in a matter of an hour of driving into town. RGP's was amazing, had the buffalo chicken wrap! I called up a friend, COlin Osborn for a quick little ride on Anamas Mountain. The altitude was a little tough after 3months at sea level, no worries though we had a lot of fun. I forgot how technical Animas mountain was and put some pretty nice dings in my carbon cranks. I stayed the night at my old coach and mentor's house, the Geraghty household. Got to play with the kids a bit and catch up. Always good to see the Geraghty's. I hung out fora bit in the morning and left around 10:30a in a hurry to get home and see my roomies and just get back to my routine. Driving through Colorado was so nice. I tried a new "backway" and cut my drive time down about an hour. Got home and was...HOME!! WOOHOO!!! I pretty much spent the rest of the day unpacking and cleaning.

The next day home I went for a super sweet ride, exploring some of the trails i've been looking forward to riding all winter long. Most everything was melted off, but there were still a few sections of snow biking to do, but with temps in the 70's it shouldn't take too long before stuff is buffed out.

THe next morning I was super sick...total cold. I guess I tried to do too much at the sea otter and had a few too many late nights. Three days off the bike and I'm doing quite a bit better. Road for two hours today, super easy, just exploring looking for new trails. I rode to the end of Babtist road looking for trails, and found the Airforce Academy Shooting and granade training range. Decide not to jump that fence. Getting arrested is one thing, getting blown up is an other. Right now i'm kickin it with my buddy Farakh at Pikes Perk. Good to be home.

Tomorrow, hopefully i'll continue to be feeling better and get to some serious training time.

BAM BAM!

The Ocean Gopher...what a bust.

2009-04-24T05:07:00.002-07:00

Hey there Gents and Ladies,
The Sea Otter was a bit hectic as usual this year. It was good to be back since I didn't make it last year and it is one of my favorite races of the year because its in the States and its usually got a bit of a world cup feel to it with all the fans walking around the booths and checking out new products from vendors and trying to get pictures with some of the pro riders. This year seemed much bigger than I had seen it in years, much thanks to the incredibly hard work of Scott Tedro and his Company Shoair.

I had been looking forward to this race especially as a redemption race for my rough bit of luck at the first Pro XTC US CUP in Fontana, CA a few weeks prior where I stripped the head off my rear skewer in the first 4 minutes of the race. This week I was looking to make up for that. All went well in the days leading up to the race. Specialized gave us some new tires they had been working on, the "Renegade". This tire is just what we have been looking for, very low profile knobs and light weight. We received the tire the day before the race and I took it for a quick test lap and was very stoked on their overall performance so I decided to run with them for the cross country.

The team made the call to not race in the Short track race on Sunday. We figured it was wise to save some bullets for the battle the next day in the Cross Country, a decision which would bode well the next day.

The morning of the Cross Country I made breakfast in the team RV, the usual, French Toast made with whole wheat sour dough, eggs, soy milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, strawberries, and honey. Then I always have the standard fresh, hand ground, french pressed coffee to go with my breakfast. While making breakfast I stuck my head out the door around 7:30am and came to the instant realization it would be a scorcher. It was probably already high 60's and the sun had hardly been in the sky for more than an hour.

After breakfast, I gave my girlfriend a call. Sundays we celebrate the sabbath and read our Bibles and pray together, race days are no different.

The rest of the morning was a little busy, we changed a bunch of tires over to the Renegades and made sure our bikes were working on top order for the big day. The temps were continuing to climb and I was getting more and more stoked, since racing in the heat is kind of my forte'. It was going to be a good day. I constantly hydrated all morning to the point where I had to visit the John every ten or twenty minutes. Before I knew it, it was time to suit up. In the midst of all the chaos around the Team RV I remained pretty relaxed and in my happy before the race place. I started my warm up on the rollers and kept it short and sweet because the the Sea Otter is typically a little longer than most races and the mercury was probably inching up towards 90 F. With the start time fast approaching, Scott and Ty both gave me the thumps up and I gave it one more hard effort on the rollers before making one last stop at the John and heading toward the start line for call ups.

I was pretty stoked on my call up considering my DNF at my last race at Fontana, second row. There were over 150 racers in the field so the call up took quite a while. The national anthem was done right by one of the locals and the signal for 2min2go was given. At this point of the day I am usually just numb, all I feel is my heart beating controled and deep and all I hear is my self saying, "Take it easy, stay calm, relax, don't do anything stupid". BANG!! And we were off. As it usually happens at this race, there is a fine line between the really fast guys at the front, controling the pace enough so the not so fast guys in the back, can't KAMAKAZEEE it from the back to the front and cause unneeded carnage for the entire field. However, there are always some spectacular crashes on the start. Comon, we are mountain bikers, forced to start in a giant group on a race car track, half of these guys probably don't know what a groupe ride on skinny tires looks like, let alone, know how to mimic it in perfect harmony with handle bars twice as wide than their skinny tire counterparts. This is a recipe for disaster in most cases. All the way around the track, I heard SLAM CRASH BIFF %*$(#)@!!!! There were still a few close calls at the front, but nothing to serious to write home about. I did my best to stay protected and near my teammates Sid and Max at the front of the race. As far as I remember from years past I have not see the start go off so fast, but on the same token, I've never found it so easy to be at the front hitting the exit off the track. It felt really good to just be there and not have to freek out about getting there like my life depended on it.

Looking around while hitting the first few roller and long white knuckle decent to get to the first single track, it was kind of cool, we had 6 Specialized guys (Saucer, Burry, Todd, Sid, Max, and I) all in the top ten with Sam Schultz, Jeremiah Bishop, and Chris Shepard rounding out the rest of the top ten. The pace really never let up as Jeremiah continuously attacked and Todd and Burry continued to drill it at the front. I just hung on the back of the pack and tried not to stress about it as I knew it was going to be a really long hard day and very very HOT! It was getting really hot, so I kept drinking and tried to relax as much as possible. I got gapped off a little on the first major climb up single track, but hung tuff and kept everyone in sight. I figured, not laying it all on the line so early would pay off later as other people would be melting in the heat. Also it would give the guys in the feed zone a little help because Sid and Max were wheel to wheel.

So I made it to the feed zone and things started to go south. There was some miscomunication and who I thought had my bottle didn't. I was lucky and got at least water instead of mix instead of nothing. I tried to get a gel at the end of the nutral feed, but the person holding it pulled up at the last second and I missed. Next my front derrailer threw me for a loop and decided to not shift down to the little ring and I had to climb one of the more substantial climbs and a bunch of the really steep rollers in my big ring. At this point I was still maintaining about a 15-20 second gap between me and the riders ahead. Finally I got my derrailer to shift down and got a little more comfortable again, just in time for the straw that broke the camels back. I dropped my chain. I've dropped it before and instantly knew this might be the end of the day for me. The chain got so wedged between my little ring and the bottom bracket I could not get it out. I messed around for 15min on the side of the trail as my redemption race quickly faded. Finally I gave up. It just so happened I was almost at the furthest point on course and had probably an hour and a half walk back to the start/finish. It was like the walk of shame. Everyone riding past me knowing I DNFed in Fontana too. They were all nice and asked if I needed anything to get back, but it just sucks, knowing I should be near the front in the lead group going for the podium. My fitness is there, but I need a turn of luck. So Sea Otter was a bit depressing for me, but no worries, I'll get through. As of today I am starting the season over, fresh start. I am finally back home in Colorado Springs, after 3 good months of training in southern california. I'll see you all in Alabama.

Until next time...

This is BAM BAM SAM signing off.

Check out a little video

2009-04-09T17:39:00.003-07:00

A little video one of my longtime supporters from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Cloudveil Mountain Apparel put together this past fall. Check out www.cloudveil.com for all your outerwear needs.

The New Year...Good Things Good Things Good Things

2009-01-24T10:18:00.003-07:00

Dear Family, Friends, Sponsors, Followers, random readers...

Sorry it has been so long since I have posted. You probably all think I disappeared from the face of the earth. To catch up from the Cactus Cup:

After the Cactus Cup I had a great time at the Interbike Trade show and had one meeting with a Team...Team Shoair. The owner/director/sponsor of the team Scott Tedro, sat down with me and one of his other athletes, Sid Taberlay, and kind of got to know me real quick, asked me a few questions and ultimately invited me to join his team (this is an incredibly short short short version of the story and for that i'm sorry). Since then a lot has happened in transition from being on the U23 National Team for the past 4 years. The Scott Tedro and team Shoair have been taking incredibly good care of me...so much so I feel like I am dreaming. Where do I begin? (I don't want to brag or anything, but I want to say thank you to Scott and to God for blessing me so incredibly I can't even begin to show my gratitude in any appropriate measure). Shoair has made it possible for me to move out of the Olympic Training Center and into a very nice house in Colorado Springs. They have made it possible for me to buy a car (I know you all are thinking, "You know how to drive? you haven't owned a car in like 5 years"). They have provided me with health insurance, a salary, a way to get to all the races the team is doing and many more, they have provided me with all the equipment (and much much more) I need to be a very competitive successful mountain bike racer....I could probably write all day about how they have blessed me. Thank you so much Scott and Team Shoair!!!!

So this fall I finished up an other semester of school and spent some good time in Seattle with my girlfriend Christina Stockhouse. We spent thanksgiving together in Jackson Hole with our families. I drove up to Seattle, in my new car to go to the wedding of Josh and Sarah Dill (sarah is one of Christinas long time roomates). The wedding just happened to be the weekend of the craziest storm Seattle had seen in decades and we spent the whole weekend playing, driving, shoveling, avoiding, and otherwise dealing with the snow in a city that does not do snow well. It was a tremendous weekend, one I will never forget. Then Christina and I drove back to Jackson Hole, for the rest of the Christmas vacation. My family, the Wolfs also came up to Jackson for Christmas and we all avoided any super dangerous avalanche conditions by building a bobsled course in the back yard and rock climbing pretty much every single day we could physically lift our arms above our heads. After Christmas I drove back to Colorado Springs to spend a little time training with my new roommate Guy East and our mutual friend Caleb Fairly. A lot of these rides turned into Sammy J Death Marches in the snow and ice on road or mountain bikes. (I wonder how much longer those guys will hold out?) Then I just recently made the drive back down here to southern California for my annual winter training camp. This winter I am spending most of the time at my New Bosses house with him and his family. While I'm looking forward to the warm weather, long hours on the bike, and crazy rides with "Team WTF".

Team Shoair has been named the "US Specialized Factory Team" and will be competing on the newly formed US Cup, and West Coast cup, in addition to some other races such as the BC bike race, the transrockies, the Canadian world cups, and some other odds and ends races in Colorado and California. I am looking forward to a great year with a new team and making more steps towards the Olympics in 2012. Thank you all for all your support and generosity over the years. I couldn't do it without you. Be looking for more blog updates, much much more frequently. Until then thanks for reading.

Catching up Briand Head and VIVA Las VEGAS!!!

2008-10-01T12:58:00.003-07:00

Well, for you all who still check my blog even though I haven't posted in some time, thank you for being more consistant than me. I last left you in Mount Snow, VT after my devistating crash at the national championships.

The rest of the season has been a bit interresting, as much as I wanted to get right back on the bike after MT snow and have a redemption race right away, I was physically unable to. The verdict was I had a cracked elbow, a very badly sprained right shoulder and enough road rash to stick to the sheets for a month. I spent about 6 weeks for the most part off the bike. Right after the Vermont race I accompanied the rest of the team up to Canada for the two world cups in hopes my shoulder would come around enough to race, but it just didn't happen. It was pretty cool being up there an not racing in a sense. I was able to help out in the pit and feed the rest of the team and my good friends Mary Mcconoloug and Michael Broderic. It was really nice to be able to help out for a change instead of everyone working for me, I actually got to be more of a team player.

After the two Canadian world cups I headed home to Jackson Hole, Wyoming where I spent time rehabing and riding lightly. I was really stoked to see some of my family who I don't get to see all that often. We went white water rafting and got to catch up. I think I may have spent almost every single day on the river either whitewater rafting or fishing with my buddies Joel and Jonathan Alum. I can't say enough good things about those guys.

Then worked my way back down to C-springs Via a weekend with my pal Dave Mess. We did some fun rides in Ft Collins and caught up a bit.

I finally got back on my bike with two weeks to go before the Brian Head National Series Finals. Dave Mess and his Fiance' Kim and I all drove over to Brian head together. It was a great trip. Got to camp out a few days and do some really fun riding. I didn't really expect too much out of this trip performance wise since I haven't hardly been on my bike but acouple of weeeks in two months. But God has a way of making things work out.

In the short track, I held my own ok, stayed near or at the front the whole race and before really fading in the last lap, I gave my teammate Colin a big pull and blocked for him on the DH, the guy freakin got 2nd!!! It was really cool to see. I still managed to get 4th, my best short track race of the year...hahaha who knew??

In the cross country, I was really glad the race started pretty slow all the way up the paved climb and I was able to stay in the lead group up most of the dirt toward the top of the main climb before cracking a little bit. On the DH, my shoulder was still a bit unstable and I had to kind of take it easy as to not crash royally again. So I lost a few places on the DH where normally I would probably be passing guys, but no worries, I was happy just to be back on my bike and not crash again. All in all I finished up in 15th, not a great result, but considering, I was very happy with it.

Since Brian Head I decided to go to one more race this year in an effort to sign a contract with a new team since my time with the national team is ending. The weekend going into Interbike was the Cactus cup, a 4 stage mountain bike race in las vegas, nevada. My cousin Wendy and her husband Jim who live in Vegas were gracious enough to let me stay with them for the week...thank you guys soo much!!!

STAGE 1: The first stage was a super short time trial up a little mound of dirt on the south side of Las Vegas. It was steep and very loose. I was near the beginning of the line up behind Tim Allen. My plan was to go out really slow and not change my speed at all, hopefully making it up to the top in a respectable time...I was thinking, all I could loose to the current world champion, Christoph Saucer, would be like a minute. no big deal. I followed my plan and crossed the finish line at the top in the lead. I sat at the top watching the times of everyone else and some how managed a second place to Sid Taberlay by only a hundreth of a second and put a few seconds on Saucer.

Stage 2: The second stage was a long super-D race a little further west of town. My buddy Cody "bobby" Peterson and Eric ransom and I rode the course the night before right after the time trial. A classic Lemon start (running start) got the group rolling. I am an ok runner, so I was maybe 5th to my bike, but got my pedal hung up on Christoph Saucers saddle and spent enough time fiddling with it to be almost last getting to the single track. A little frustrating, but whatever. The first climb I was stuck behind some dude who would not let me go around for anything by blocking me multiple times...kind of lame because he was letting Saucer gap him off and I couldn't let him get away, that would be the end. I finally managed to get around him before the tunnel. When we got to the tunnel, I hit the gas really hard and passed 6-7 guys before the next section of single track. On the single track climb I worked as hard as I could to pass as many people as I could, because once we really got rolling on the Down hill it was going ot be much harder to pass people. I manuvered safely through about 5 more guys and bumped elbows with one other guy just before the beginning of the decent to get there first. Up ahead there was still Ben Sontagg, Tim Allen, Sid Taberlay, and Carl Decker, a pretty all star super d field. I had on my awesomely fast and now vintage Specialized ROCKSTER tires (Ned if you are reading, this is a formal request to bring those tires back to production...THEY ARE AWESOME!!!) and was flying down the course. I caught Sontagg and asked him to let me by so we could try to catch the next couple of guys. He complied and tried to go with me, but couldn't. Next I caught Tim Allen, who also let me go by and held on for a good while before I began to pull away again. Finally I had Decker and Taberlay in sight and kept chipping away at their lead getting closer and closer all the time. Decker was leading the charge and Sid was enjoying letting him chose the best lines. All until Decker flatted his front wheel and Sid was on his own. Decker let me by no problem, and I kept after Sid. I finally caught him with a little less than a K to go and attacked him right away to try to get to the last little DH first. He covered my attack and go there first. We flew down the last descent towards the finish. I let him get a little gap, so I could make a run on him at the bottom (learning from the track guys). I timed it perfect and hit the little gully at the bottom with more speed and momentum than Sid. While passing him, we bumped shoulders bit, nothing too serious, but I had the legs to get up the last little 10ft climb first to take the win. I was super stoked with a win at my first Super D...maybe I'll have to do them at the national series next year.

Stage 3: The third stage was the fat tire crit. Fat tire meaning we had to run at least 1.25in wide tires. Most guys brought 1.25 slicks, I brought 1.0s which weren't going to make the cut, so I stuck with my AWESOME ROCKSTERS (Again to you folks at specialized, the ROCKSTERS ARE AWESOME!!!). My plan was to more or less hang in and not do any work, but that wasn't really going to happen because I was in the lead for the General Classification. Sid kept attacking and caught an intermediate sprint to take over the GC lead. Then he and Manny Prado took turns attacking. Saucer put in a couple of attacks as well as a couple other people and myself. Nothing really stuck though. I played it well and found myself hitting the last corner in second place, right behind Sid. I know I have a great sprint finish so I was confident I could take it. Sid took the corner a little harder than the rest of the race and I tried to follow, but folded over a Knob on my knobbies, slid out, and took Ben Sontagg with me. I was stoked I crashed in the last bit of the race, so I got the Same time as everyone who was in the lead group, but I didn't get a time bonus, so Sid maintained his leaders positition going into the last stage, the cross country. Luckily no one was seriously hurt in the crash.

Stage 4: The cross country started really early so to avoid the heat...but I like it when its rediculously hot out. From the Gun some little Israly dude attacked and got to the single track first (that guy had some crazy pop for someone so small). We all just followed in behind him, first Saucer, then me, then Sid, and Tim Allen...It was kind of nice, he was workin super hard, but we were just relaxed behind him. A little sketchy following be hind him and saucer and not being able to see what was coming up, but no crashes and nothing stupid happened. Finally a little ways into the lap he had burn too many matches and Saucer went around him and I followed. We went up some pretty technical climb called the "hurl", for the most part I stayed with Saucer, but made a couple of silly technical errors and had to get off my bike momentarily letting Saucer get a small gap. Probably a good thing, because it let me race my own race and not let him dictate the pace for me. I looked back and it was just me, I couldn't believe it. I just kept focusing on riding smooth and keeping Saucer in sight and he never opened it up. We came through the start finish and I think he had 2-3 min on me. The second lap was a bit different than the first, much mor technical. I had finally found my rythm and closed the gap to 15seconds until a flat road section where Saucer hit the gas and dropped me. I kept chasing as hard as I could, while still being smooth and in control and closed the gap a bit more. Finally the finish, I could see him finish, and held the gap to only 1min 30 sec. I don't know how I had such great legs, other than a gift from God. And as it would appear I really needed a big rest after all the training I did last fall and this spring.

I put enough time into Sid that I maintained my 2nd place in the GC, but Saucer took over the lead, Sid finished 3rd. After four stages, I was only 45seconds down on Saucer. I am very stoked with that result. It was a total bonus for the end of the season. I went there not really expecting anything, and just wanted to enjoy myself and have fun with it and it turned out so much better than I had hoped for.

Big thanks to USA Cycling for buying my plane ticket out to Vegas for the cactus cup and interbike, to Wendy and Jim for putting me up for the week, to Cody BOBBY for keeping me company all summer and sharing good times and bad, and to all of you who read my blog even though I haven't posted in a long time...(ill try to be better at that). Cheers!!!!!!!!

Mountain Bike National Championships...HAHAHAHA WIPE OUT!!!!

2008-07-20T12:45:00.002-07:00

Well, I seem to either be on top or on the ground, because this week at the mountain bike nationals I was hoping for a repeat of last years win in the U23 national championship race. I seemed to be on very good form, coming off of a podium at the National Series race the weekend before in Windham. They changed the course a little bit, removing most of the technical climb sections, so I didn't think the race would be as hard as last year. National Championships in the U23 division is a little nerve racking if you are favored to be in the top 3 or so riders because there are a ton of new faces we don't see at every race. There are a ton of races who come up from the Expert 19-29 and Semi Pro divisions. All the new faces are a little scary because you don't know who is who and if they could surprise you or not. I felt pretty confident coming off my podium in the elite race the week before, but there is always that little thing in the back of your mind, "WHAT IF" "That Guys looks fast!" "Maybe he can tare one off." On the Start one of the up and coming U23 racers Mitch Peterson showed he wanted the title as bad as anyone by attacking from the gun and stringing out the field immediately. He didn't last too long at the front and relinquished it to me and my teammate Colin Cares to set the tempo up the first climb. On the first descent, I was leading the charge, prejumping water bars and going fast, but nothing dangerous or out of control as it goes. There is a spot on course going down the first descent on a fire road where the Downhill and Cross Country courses converge and are separated by a piece of tape. At the same time I was flying down the descent, so was a downhiller. He made a sweeping turn towards me and I just barely caught him in my peripheral vision, enough to make me jump just a little bit. That little jump was all it took to make me jerk my handle bars and hit an awkward rock causing my front wheel to wash out underneath me. I probably looked something like a rag doll as I crumpled on the ground. I was very luck to not land on my face or head and I was coherent enough to have the frame of mind to not move a muscle because the entire U23 XC field was baring down on top of me. I was very impressed to the response time of my friend Cody Peterson and the rest of the medical crew. They were on me in a matter of seconds after the rest of the racers had passed. This whole incident was within about 4min of the start. As they helped me to my feet it was apparent to me how serious it was. My forearm, elbow, chest, and thigh were all shredded. It was pretty much just like Jonathan Vaughters comment about crashing in a professional bike race. "Take off all your clothes and jump out of a moving car." My shorts had essentially been ripped from my body and my jersey was shredded. I actually didn't feel a whole lot because of all the adrenaline I had surging from the start and from the crash. As I got up I asked the medics to wrap up my leg so I could still be somewhat modest for the rest of the race. Yes, I wasn't going to pull out yet. I had only lost a few minutes. My good friend Cody, strongly urged me to not continue, but I wouldn't have it and raced off in agony to defend my jersey. I was full on angry and felt like I had been dipped in gasoline and lit of fire and hammered my way back up to the middle of the field by the top of the course. A little ways down the descent from the top of the course my adrenaline finally wore off and revealed even more pain. I couldn't lift my right arm above my handle bars and could hardly hold on or brake, so I spent the rest of the descent screaming in pain over every bump and drop. I made it safely down to the bottom of the descent and to the feed zone/pit where I told my team director and mechanic I thought I had broke my collar bone and would pull out at the lap. I pulled out of the race not to defend my title. I was very foolish for continuing in the first place, but I am thankful God was watching out for me and I didn't get hurt worse in the initial crash or by crashing again later on in my lap. I am very thankful to say I did not break my collar bone or tare anything I know of yet, I just sprained my shoulder very bad and shredded up my right side severely. For the last couple of days I have been going a little nutty, not being able to do a whole lot. Just some painful showers, lots of ice and ibuprofen trying to reduce the swelling. Today I made some very good steps towards recovery and am feeling much better. I did not race the short track, but I should be ready to go again this coming Sunday for the next round of world cup racing where I am looking for a little redemption. I want to throw out a huge Congratulations to my teammate, Tad Elliot for coming up with the win. He rode a very smart and mature race coming on in the last lap to pass Mitchel Peterson for the win. And also my other teammate Colin Cares for his third consecutive third place at the National championships. Also I want to say thank you so much to all the folks who helped me this past weekend. I have been very flattered with all the phone calls, emails, and concerns regarding my incident. And a very very big thanks to Cody Peterson who was like a brother to me and helped me through the whole mess from peeling me off the ground to sitting with me in the ER.

Windham, NY NMBS

2008-07-13T07:06:00.003-07:00

Today, I resumed racing after about a two week break. I was feeling a little fried after about 10weeks in Europe racing almost every weekend and having a very bad time at the world championships due to some bad luck so I decided to hopefully have a few more consistently good races towards the end of the season instead of maybe one good one at park city. Today confirms I made a good choice in skipping the Park City race.

Today, was very hot here in NY, hot and humid, which immediately plays into one of my strengths. For some reason, I am very good at racing well in the heat. I had a bit of a rough call up, mid thirties, since I have only been to one other National Series race this year at the beginning of the year in Fontana. I wasn't too worried about it since pretty much all of the racing in Europe is a heck of a lot harder than the race and they start a heck of a lot faster than the US/Canadians do. My plan was to go pretty conservative in the start and the first lap to not waste too much energy in the heat and to focus on hydrating as much as possible. I felt like I started pretty easy, but still came out of the first corner in probably the top15 or 20. I just kept it relaxed and chill for the first lap and I think came through the start finish in around 10th. 2nd lap I started to go a bit harder and caught quite a few people working my way up to the top6 starting the 3rd lap. On the third lap I caught JHK and hung behind him a bit to recovery, then launched an attack to make it look like I was riding a lot hard than I actually was. I dropped JHK and had Matt Talouse chasing hard. I tried to put some more distance on him in before the descent, but ended up letting him catch me on the descent and trying to recover so I might be able to put in an attack later in the fourth lap. Talouse passed me in the feed zone and I tagged onto his wheel and tried to hang with him as best as possible, but I was having some difficulty seeing because I had so much dust and sweat in my eyes. So he got a bit of a gap on me. I kept chasing hard and came very close to catching Matt, Jeremiah Bishop, and Adam Craig by the top of the climb, but not quite there. On the last descent I first tried to close down the gap, but I was pretty spent from the long effort I put in to bridge the gap and was dizzy and hitting almost everything there was to hit, so I backed it off and just tried not to get a flat or kill myself on the rough descent. So I finished up in 4th place once again. So two national series races, two 4th places. Not Bad... Also Congrats to Matt Tallouse for his first NMBS win ever and Sam Schultz for his first NMBS cross country podium.

Today is the Short Track...

Gooooo Team!!!

2008-07-10T20:06:00.003-07:00

Today we (the U23 National Team) traveled to the east coast for the next big serious block of racing. Tad and I flew into Albany where we were met by our other teammate Ethan Gilmore who was accompanied by his Girl friend Alison. When I asked Ethan to pick us up I thought he had a truck.

Haha Ya we managed. It was pretty fun. Windham, NY here we come!!!! More to come.

Gettin my head together...

2008-06-09T05:24:00.003-07:00

This weekend we (Colin and I) had our last race here in Switzerland before heading to the World Championships in Val di Sole, Italy. It had been raining all week, so we kind of expected a muddy race course. Colin wanted to do the longer 60km race, I, not knowing what the course profile looked like, wanted to do the shorter 30km race (thinking the 60 would be too long in the mud, going into the week before the world chamionships) either way, we got signed up for the 30km mini marathon. Well, we got to the race, and we were like, "where the heck are the mountians? Heck, where are the hills?" There wasn't a whole lot in the way of any sort of elevation gain or loss anywhere to be seen. Sure enough the course profile revealed less than 1000m of climbing in the entire course. The course was a one lapper, around little agricultural roads and forest roads surrounding the historical village of Estavayer. We both cut the start time a little close because we thought the start was at 12:30, when it was actually at 12:20, but we made it in line just in the knick of time to get an ok start position. Not that the immediate start position mattered all that much because for some reason they really like doing moto controlled nutral starts here in switzerland. So as soon as the gun went off it was like hurry up and run into the back of a 4wheeler, then try not to crash into anyone else or get crashed into for about a kilometer, before the 4wheelers hit the gas and dropped the field who, tried their darnedest, but still couldn't catch them, but still didn't ever slow down for a second....EVER!!!! We sped off down a little farm road with a nasty cross wind. People trying to sprint off the front but really only succeeding in stringing out the field even more. I didn't really feel like taking part in all the fun and games so I found a nice big guy to just cruz behind in the draft for a little while, near the front as to avoid several crashes in the middle of the...oh ya 415!!!!!FREAKIN MEN AND 200+FREAKIN WOMEN!!!!! WHO ALL STARTED AT THE SAME TIME!!!!!! Thats right over 600people started at the same time...sorry, where was I? Oh ya avoiding crashes...pretty much the whole field stayed to gether for the first 5km or so, then we made a couple of very sketchy left and right hand turns before taking a hard left to look up at a freekin wall of a climb. Right as I turned the corner, I heard a big pile up behind me and me and about 6 other guys hit the gas up the climb. I was pretty much about to pop a lung or something trying to keep up with these guys and kept thinking to myself, "Gosh this hurts a lot. Why am I doing this again? It would be so much easier to just cruz on my own for a while." For some reason, unbeknownst to me, I stuck it out, gaining a little more confidence each time the group punched it a little harder. Then we would come to a little descent, an other short hard steep climb, and an other short descent (huh...kind of felt like the workout I have been doing for the past couple of weeks). We finally got so something that resembled a mountain bike course when the break all hit a 4inch deep slog of mud. It was flat at first and managable, then turned into a climb. After seeing the course profile and I opted for my faster, non-mud tires and was imidiately wishing I had chosen the mud tires as I had to hop off my bike and run like hell to keep the other guys in the break (who had mud tires) in sight. At the top of the hill I hopped back on the bike and shoved it into my big ring and got the diesel rolling. It took me a couple of minutes to catch back on the back, but as soon as I did, I didn't stop, I attacked them and got a small gap, only about 15 seconds or so. The next section was some little trickey muddy descent that I just let 'er rip down floating both wheels and laying off the breaks extending my gap a little more. This was pretty much the story for the remaining 15km. Powinging in my aero mountain bike tuck into a head wind, hammering scared out of the saddle on the short power climbs in my big ring, and riding the short muddy descents wrecklessly (we didn't preride the course so Colin and I were riding the whole race blind). Every so often people on the side of the course cheering would say, "only 4k to go, you got it." and I would put it down a little harder, then I'd think ok, its been a couple K where is the finish? Then someone else would say only 4more K to go and I'd be like, "@#$% ahhh it hurts!!! But ok, only 4 to go!" After that happened a couple of times I was getting a bit tired, but hung in there, still riding scared of being caught and finished my last race here in Switzerland in first.

There were a lot of people in the race, a few fast guys, and it felt good to win a race here, its no world cup podium, but it was still a win and I raced hard for it and it was a pretty good confidence booster going into the world championships. At least I am going into it feeling good about myself, my fitness, and all the hard work I have put in here. It feels good to leave on a high note.

So, for the last couple weeks here in Switzerland I have been on some crazy mental rollercoaster, from feeling great after the SwissPower Cup to training myself into the ground trying to get as much fitness as possible before the world championships. Then continuing to second guess myself and my plan of how I should taper into the world championships, and getting all stressed over that. Then being overly depressed because the weather sucked. Then this weekend, taking myself kind of by surprise and winning a pretty good sized swiss mini-marathon mountain bike race. So, we'll see what happens this coming week at the world championships. I'll be competing in the Team Relay on Tuesday the 17th and in the U23 World Cross Country Championships on Friday the 20th. Wish me luck!!!

Then I will return to the States on monday the 23rd. JACKSON HOLE I'm COMING HOME!!!!

HOLY SWISSPOWER CUP BATMAN!!!!!

2008-05-26T04:32:00.004-07:00

So, the swisspower cup is really hard for those of you who don't know...we (Colin cares, Ethan Gilmor, myself, and a couple of racers from South America) drove the 2hours from Aigle to whereever the race was being held in the German part of switzerland. It was pouring rain the entire drive and we thought it was going to be a mudfest. Fortunately enough, it was just enough rain to make the course super tacky and fast (especially after the rain stopped, the sun came out, the temps went up, and tons of other racers smoothed out the course for us). The course: 4.8km/lap. 10 Laps!!(gosh I hope I can count to ten when I've been giving 'er for an hour or two). 3 climbs/lap. Sweet!!!! Some weird (but fun) quary to ride through with some drop offs, a jump, a wall ride, and some gnarly baby heads (round rocks the size of a baby's head, don't hit those wrong they'll mess you up!!!). COOL!!!! A switchback climb through the forest followed by a little downhill with some slippery roots, a slippery log, some off camber slopes, stairs, berms, jumps. HECK YES!!! This was going to be a fun course.

Just before the start looking around at all the riders, I was thinking to myself, Gosh I didn't know there were that many world champions out there. I swear I counted at least 6 guys with rainbow stripes on their sleeves (the mark of a former world champion). Guys like Ralf Naf, Jean Christoph Pereau, Thomas Fritschneck, and the list goes on and on and on. Its gonna be fast!!! I had a reasonably good starting position because of all the points I have from the Continental championships. So I think I was about 25th or 30th call up. Ethan and Colin weren't so fortunate...lining up on the back line. The start climb was about a kilometere long paved climb, not too steep, most guys did the whole thing in their big ring like no big deal. I thought the race was going to be a bit long (48k, could take 2 and a half hours), so I didn't do a very long or hard warmup. My lack of a warmup hurt me bad on the first climb and I fell back to...well...the back and spent the first to laps waging war with my head. "I'm going to die" "Ten laps...ha I won't make it to the 3rd one at this rate" "gosh my legs hurt" "maybe i'm getting fat" "This moustache is making me slow, I think I should shave" "what am I doing here" "i'm burnt out, I need a break" "to think I won a continental championship and podiumed at a NMBS race already this year" "WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?!?! JUST RIDE YOUR BIKE!!!!!" So finally towards the end of the second lap I finally pulled my head on strait started pedaling my bike like I know I can. It was like a little switch just flipped and I started taring through the field. I had a pretty good plan worked out: Climb out of the saddle spinning and easy gear on the paved climb (catching 2-5people per lap) recover on the DH, crush the zigzag field, drink, gap people on the zigzag run through the quary to the step up climbs through the quary, attack attack attack, rail the wall ride, drink, attack attack attack, recover on the zigzag climb through the trees (better to ride it just smooth than blow through a bunch of corners) recover on the downhill, use my skills to catch people. Worked pretty well. I did a good job of hydrating and my head stayed in the race all the way to the end and fought for every spot. I caught all the way back up to 20th. So, a good result, not a GREAT result, but I was happy with the way I won the battle with my head and fought all the way to the end...and I was pretty stoked to finish on the lead lap with such a quality field on such a short course.

This next three weeks is going to be rough. I'll be beating my brains out and taring my own legs off in final preparation for the world championships. Its game time kids!!!

More European Racing...

2008-05-19T06:17:00.002-07:00

This weekend we did an other "Local" European race. Well this one at least felt a little more like a local race. There were only about 15 people who lined up for the start of the Elite mens race.

That day was an interresting one as while we were trying to leave the World Cycling Center in the morning to drive the 250+km to the race we were held up because someone had taken our lunches that had been packed for us by the kitchen staff here. So we spent almost an extra hour racing around looking for the culperit. Once we had our sack lunches to go we made our way off to the north eastern side of Switzerland right on the German/Swiss border. Once we were close to the race, we drove around in circles for an other while looking for the race. By the time we actually found it we only had about 30min to register to race and warm up...this was going to be less that optimal racing conditions. While the Coach, Boris, and Colin went to get our number plates the rest of us chammied up and got our bikes ready. We got our number plates and started rolling around frantically to try to get some kind of warmup in before the race. I took a little road that went around the back side of the course, up to the top of the only substancial descent so I could get a quick look at what the descent would be like in the race. I went down it as fast as possible, but wasn't happy with the cornering capabilities of the tires I had on. Good thing we brought two sets of spair wheels with different tires on them. I quickly went back to the car and got the different set of wheels for the race, thinking they would help my chances on the descents.

We lined up with only about 15 other guys. They all looked fast. Funny how that is, they just look fast around here...probably because they are. We also noticed we were the only ones on full suspension bikes. Everyone else was riding super light sub 20lb carbon hardtails. We kind of thought it was going to be fast and hard right from the beginning. The wistle blew and we were off on a full on dead sprint to the first corner. I was pretty happy with my start, I hit it really hard and made it to the 2nd corner in third. From the back to the front with less than 200 people to go through is nice. We did a little half lap around this little field, hopped over some little jump thing then off through an other field, into the woods. There was a little technical rooty section followed by a little technical rocky section, then swung a hard left hander onto a dirt road. Almost as soon as I hit the dirt road I started going backwards...the no warm up warmup, working its majic....I went from top three strait back to maybe 10th. I suffered for all I was worth just to get up to the top of the hill the first time, thinking the whole time, gosh this is going to be a long six laps. I made it to the top of the climb and breathed a sigh of relief. I recovered well on the descent...no that I had my warmup lap I would be able to do some work. I ground through the fields through the start/finish area again and made my way back to the beginning of the climb. Now I could feel the juices flowing...I started picking off riders. And made my way up to about 7th as is started to rain...no big deal I love racing in the rain. When I got to the descent again I noticed my tires were gripping to the wet grass about as well as tires on an oil slick and went blowing through every corner I wanted to turn around. I finally made it down to start/finish, again through the fields and over the hill we go. I picked off a couple more guys on the climb and came through at the end of lap three in 5th. As I entered the woods and hit the technical rooty section, I went through it a little fast and hit the technical rocky section slicing my sidewall nicly. I quickly grabbed my CO2 and tried to make the stans fill the hole, but it was no good. There was no fixing that flat. So I sat in a car for around 6hours to do a 45min half race. It was fun though, more racing experience and at least I can chalk it up to a good hard interval workout....more stories to come....this coming weekend is our first swisspower cup. I hear those guys are fast!

A "low key local" race!?!?

2008-05-12T02:19:00.003-07:00

So yesterday the team and I did what was supposed to be a sweet little, no pressure, low key, local mountain bike race in Bonvillar, Switzerland. When I am not sure what those words mean in Switzerland, but in the states it means there are usually less than 30 starters and you don't have to give'r all out just to make the top ten. Its more like start fairly easy, chat with your buds for a while and milk the single track for all its worth. Here in switzerland it was more like US National Championships...there were around 300+starters and people were layin it down from the best guys all the way to...well, the back where there were more really really fast guys who just happened to start in the back instead of the front. We saw a few familar faces there....hmm the french national team, including their junior and and espoir national champions.

There was a bit of a language barrier...as usual when in a foreign, non-english speaking country. So we weren't really sure about the whole program. We hadn't be able to preview the course ahead of time, so we really had no idea where we were going or how to expend our energy, so we just kind of gave 'er and hoped for the best. At the beginning we thought there was supposed to be a 6km neutral start then the lead car would pull off and it would be a rat race for 35km. I think everyone else thought the same thing, because we sketchily rode behind the lead car while everyone was bumping bars and elbows, almost crashing the whole group multiple times just to get behind the car to be ready for when it pulled off. Ethan and our Turkish compatriot, Bilal, managed to get right up behind the car, while Colin and I were fairly content to just not crash in the group. So we sped along all the while expecting the car to pull off at any moment. It never pull off, it just randomly stopped as we had arrrived at the actual start. We stood around and 100 guys all took a leak in the field at the same time, then we stood around for and other 5 min before they said GO!!! And everyone went racing off through the field up a road and the race began. Colin and I pretty much stayed together for the first couple of Km' up the climb before we caught Ethan. I pushed the pace harder to crack a few people and try to bridge the gap up to the 20 or 30 guys ahead of us. On the first climb I caught a good number of people and ended up settling in behind a LaPierre rider who we see on the world cups occationally. This guy was built a bit like me...pretty solid for a bike racer. He climbed pretty fast, but it wasn't too hard for be to hold onto his wheel, but when we hit any sort of descent it was like he hit the little red button and said, "hold on to your butts!" I don't know, maybe I was just riding very sketchy low tread tires in really loose leaves...but really I think this guy should be racing down hill. I was scared out of my mind to try to follow him down the hills. Somehow, I managed to keep him within a couple of meters on most of the descents and catch back up to his wheel for the climbs. Then I would pass him and gap him off and catch a couple of people and just before hitting the next descent I would hear him sprinting for all he was worth, then come speeding by me to get to the single track first. Kind of weird, but whatever. On one of the descents I tryed to follow him and couldn't hold a corner and ended up doing a wall ride on a big tree, and when there was no more tree to ride I went flying off my bike, hop-skip-jumping down the hill scared for my life and my collar bones as trees wizzed by me and eventually tumbling ass-over-tea-kettle for a few meters. After I dug myself out of a pile of leaves I had to run about 20meters back up the hill to the tree where my bike still was as riders came smoking by be saying, "Cava???" (meaning are you ok for all you none french speaking people reading). I replied, "Oui Cava!!" and they kept on thier way. I finaly got myself back on my bike and chased after them as hard as I could. I pretty much caught everyone who had passed me including the LaPierre guy who was too fast for me to follow down the hill and sped away as fast as I could. I had a pretty sizeable gap on anyone behind me and had caught two other riders when we went thought the final feed zone, but I thought I had a flat, but didn't want get off and change it because if you stop for a second here you get passed by like 10 guys. So I tried to get used to floating a lot with my rear wheel. The two guys I was with dropped me on the final descent because I was riding it pretty conservatively cuz I though I had flatted and I was still a little jittery from my near hospitalizing crash earlier in the race. The final 5or6km was pretty flat through fields and twisting single track through the trees. The flat is where I really have power so I put it down hard and bridged the gap up to the French Espoir National champion. I blew past him so he wouldn't try to tag on my wheel and kept going trying to catch the next group who had dropped me before. I ended up catching them with about 1km to go. They had formed a bigger group of about 4 and as soon as they saw me catch them, they all attacked and I was powerless to do anything or hold their wheels since I had spent too much energy trying to catch them. I ended the "low key" local race in 9th. This was a rediculously hard little local race, but really fun and no pressure. We'll see what happens next weekend in a "bigger regional race".

It just keeps going up and up and up and up and up....

2008-05-02T09:22:00.002-07:00

Well folks, for the past week and for next six or so I have been in Aigle Switzerland with my teammates Colin Cares and Ethan Gilmor. Let me just say this place is heaven for me. Its like the Tetons suddenly sprouted up on all sides instead of just one and there are roads that go up in between each mountain. Road like, what the heck were they thinking when they built a road up this thing. They could probably barely scale the side of the mountain with ice axes, crampons, and ropes and they built a freakin road up it. And they aren't just short little roads either. I haven't done a climb shorter than an hour long yet. An HOUR thats a long climb, some as long as two hours. I can't remember the last time I felt so tired from training, but wanted to train so much more the next day. I'm like a kid who just got locked in a candy shop over night. I am so thankful God brought me here to see his amazing work of art. This place is like God got bored with the rest of the world and said I'm going to make them wonder and gape in awe of how awesome He is. I have been through this part of the world before, but I didn't even come close to appreciating it. I probably just slept through it riding on a bus or something like that. Now every time I go outside or look through a window all I can do is druel all over myself and thank God for the opportunity he has given me to explore this amazing place he has created. This training camp was exactly what I needed...to get out in my element, just by myself and God and remember why I love my job so much and be thankful for everything God has given me.

Off-the-back-enburg, Germany World Cup#2

2008-04-27T09:32:00.000-07:00

Well, unfortunately I don't have a real sweet exciting story to tell for this one. Pretty much I could not get my head in the game. I felt pretty good in my warmup, and my hot laps the day before the race, but for some reason I just had nothing from the get go. I probably held my start position for the 2 start laps, but went backwards from then on. The first lap was a lot of running...the usual in a world cup. I don't know what was going on in my head, but it was like I forgot how to ride my bike. I was blowing through corners left and right. On technical sections where I usually make up the most ground, I was bouncing all over the place. On some of the steep drops, I was going off sideways and landing flat on the bottom and blowing through the corners, then I was in too big of a gear to get it rolling again so I would have to get off my bike and shift down and hop back on my bike before continuing. I kind of got things rolling a little bit on lap four, but as soon as I started to find a glimmer of a rythm I blew through an other corner and burped my tire pretty bad. When I got off to fill it back up with my CO2 my Valve core came strait out of the valve and the rest of the air came out, so I had to run almost all the way down the Zig-Zag down hill dodging riders and trying not to get hit or kill anyone on the way down before getting to the Tech pit. I got an awesomely speedy wheel change from Yvon our new Swiss compatriot/mechanic. And finished my lap as fast as I could knowing it would be my last after all the time I wasted running. Basically I think my head was in a very bad place. I don't know what got into me this Spring, but I have been a totally ungrateful, angry, bitter, ass and really shouldn't have been. So for those of you reading who have been watching me and shaking your head at me going, "what is this kid thinking?" I sincerely appologize. I don't know what I was thinking, but I can tell you my attitude has changed and I am stoked to move on with the season and leave all my personal BS behind. Tonight, we are off to Aigle, Switzerland where I will begin my next phase of training. The National Team is planning on doing several local Swiss races and a Swiss Power Cup in preparation for the 2008 World Championships in Val di Sole, Italy. I am very much looking forward to experiencing Switzerland in depth over about 7 weeks. Hopefully I'll learn a lot more French than I do now and see some incredible country side, history, and culture...who know maybe I'll even get to break out my fly rod and do a little fishing. Check back for frequent updates...hopefully....this is Sam Jurekovic off to training camp.

Sam Jurekovic
1 Olympic Plaza
Colorado Springs, CO 80909
307-699-0333
Sockbikerdude@aol.com
SamJurekovic@Gmail.com
www.samjracing.blogspot.com

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Off-the-back-enburg, Germany World Cup#2

2008-04-27T08:49:00.004-07:00

Houffalize World Cup 2008

2008-04-23T04:39:00.000-07:00

Ah travels to Europe will never be forgotten. The national team traveled to Europe once again for the beginning of the world cup season in Houffalize, Belgium. I had a rough day of travel due to my sinus headache, my spiking fever and gastrointestinal distress...some how I had caught the flu in because of my several nights with less than adequate sleep. For the few days leading up to the World Cup I struggled with training and more so with recovering from training. I had diarrhea so bad I could have pooped through a screen door. So I was pretty dehydrated and malnourished for the days leading up to the race. I actually felt pretty good the day of the race so I was going to give 'er just like any other race. I had a moderate start position, right in the middle actually; 130th out of 260+ racers, yep smack dab in the middle. It was going to be an interesting start up the first climb of and average of 16% and almost 2km long going full gas to reach the single track first. Maybe I started much better last year or something, but I sure as heck don't remember such a mess right off the bat that went on for so long. It was like ready...set...goSTOP!!!!GO!!!!GO!!!STOP!!!RUN!!!!(Bell rings)FISTFIGHT!!!RUN!!!SLIDEDOWNHILLONASS!!!!GO!!!!SPRINT!!!!STOP!!!!PUNCHYOURNEIGHBOR!!!!SPRINT!!!!!STOP!!!!!GO!!!!!...for the whole first lap. I bet the leaders gained 3/4 of their massive gap just in the first lap because everyone else was screwing around tripping over each other and fighting over who would get to go down the steep hill first while the rest of us just rolled our eyes, laughed, and tried to recover until it was our turn. After all the ruckus, I have no idea where that left me, probably around the same position as I started. As soon as I was able I began to step on the gas. Just punch the climbs as hard as possible and recover and ride the downhill's well within my limits, not doing anything extravagantly crazy (like normal). I took a couple of sweet flyers down some of the steeper descents, most of the Euros have a problem with for some reason, and passed up to 6 or 7 people in doing so. I was pretty much rockin the house until we hit pavement in each lap. Unfortunately, there was a lot of pavement. I opted for a little bit slower tire that would be better in the mud, but paid the price dearly on the extended pave' sections. I kept moving up to about 1 1/2 to go when I crumbled like a third world country in a 8.0 earthquake...the gas tank light never even went on, one second it was at full and over flowing and the next I was tapping on it looking for the needle buried on the 'E' side. I was suffering for all I was worth, putting all my mental fortitude into just turning over the pedals in my granny gear on a flat. I don't think I have ever bonked so hard or so fast. It was one of those, full grown man crying on the side of the road not knowing why kind of cracks. Next thing I know the lead moto pulls around me and the rider asks me to get off the course because the leaders are coming through in a hurry. Usually I would have crawled to the finish line just to finish and not say I quit, but I didn't have a whole lot of choice in the matter here. All things considered I am counting it as a victory; I had no mechanicals, no flats, I didn't miss any of my bottles, and I never crashed. That's one hell of an awesome race for me.

I am now in Offenburg, Germany. Training for the next world cup here this weekend. Hopefully, I'll be able to get my legs back under me for the race, since I will most certainly have a better call up spot because my points from Pan American Championships will now count as they updated the points this monday after the Houffalize world cup. Wish me luck!! Thanks for Reading.

Sam Jurekovic
1 Olympic Plaza
Colorado Springs, CO 80909
307-699-0333
Sockbikerdude@aol.com
SamJurekovic@Gmail.com
www.samjracing.blogspot.com

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Houffalize World Cup 2008

2008-04-23T04:09:00.003-07:00

Ah travels to Europe will never be forgotten. The national team traveled to Europe once again for the beginning of the world cup season in Houffalize, Belgium. I had a rough day of travel due to mysinus headache, my spiking fever and gastrointestinal distress...some how I had caught the flu in because of my several nights with less than adequate sleep. For the few days leading up to the World Cup I struggled with training and more so with recovering from training. I had dierrhea so bad I could have pooped through a screen door. So I was pretty dehydrated and malnurished for the days leading up to the race. I actually felt pretty good the day of the race so I was going to give 'er just like any other race. I had a moderate start position, right in the middle actually; 130th out of 260+ racers, yep smack dab in the middle. It was going to be an interresting start up the first climb of and average of 16% and almost 2km long going full gas to reach the single track first. Maybe I started much better last year or something, but I sure as heck don't remember such a mess right off the bat that went on for so long. It was like ready...set...goSTOP!!!!GO!!!!GO!!!STOP!!!RUN!!!!(Bell rings)FISTFIGHT!!!RUN!!!SLIDEDOWNHILLONASS!!!!GO!!!!SPRINT!!!!STOP!!!!PUNCHYOURNEIGHBOR!!!!SPRINT!!!!!STOP!!!!!GO!!!!!...for the whole first lap. I bet the leaders gained 3/4 of their massive gap just in the first lap because everyone else was screwing around tripping over each other and fighting over who would get to go down the steep hill first while the rest of us just rolled our eyes, laughed, and tried to recover until it was our turn. After all the rucus, I have no idea where that left me, probably around the same position as I started. As soon as I was able I began to step on the gas. Just punch the climbs as hard as possible and recover and ride the downhills well within my limits, not doing anything extravagantly crazy (like normal). I took a couple of sweet flyers down some of the steeper descents, most of the Euros have a problem with for some reason, and passed up to 6 or 7 people in doing so. I was pretty much rockin the house until we hit pavement in each lap. Unfortunately, there was a lot of pavement. I opted for a little bit slower tire that would be better in the mud, but paid the price dearly on the extended pave' sections. I kept moving up to about 1 1/2 to go when I crumbled like a third world country in a 8.0 earthquake...the gas tank light never even went on, one second it was at full and over flowing and the next I was tapping on it looking for the needle burried on the 'E' side. I was suffering for all I was worth, puting all my mental fortitude into just turning over the pedals in my granny gear on a flat. I don't think I have ever bonked so hard or so fast. It was one of those, full grown man crying on the side of the road not knowing why kind of cracks. Next thing I know the lead moto pulls around me and the rider asks me to get off the course because the leaders are coming through in a hurry. Usually I would have crawled to the finish line just to finish and not say I quit, but I didn't have a whole lot of choice in the matter here. All things considered I am counting it as a victory; I had no mechanicals, no flats, I didn't miss any of my bottles, and I never crashed. That's one hell of an awesome race for me.

2008 Pam American Championships

2008-04-08T08:11:00.003-07:00

Well, as you can see from the photo, the race went pretty well. This past weekend I was one of 5 american riders to compete in the Pan-American Championships in San Juan De Los Morros, Venezuela. The rest of the team consisted of Todd Wells, Michael Broderic, Mary Mcconeloug, Colin Cares, and myself. We flew most of the way on Wednesday, spent the night in Miami, and continued on the rest of the day on Thursday. Apon our arrival in Caracas we were met by the two body guards who would be accompanying us for the remainder of the weekend: Juan and Luis. Luis was a quiet guy, or at least didn't speak a whole lot of English, but Juan did enough talking for the two of them put together and then some. Juan would be our body guard/tour guide/all-around-go-getter. We loaded up the van we were sharing with a couple of Columbians for the 3 hour drive to Los Morros and headed off. Immediately as we headed out of the airport we could see this is one of the dirtiest countries I have ever seen. There were shanties built up from bottom to top of all the mountains around the city of Caracas. They seem like there is no respect for the land there, the people dump their trash and waste right off their balconies and never clean it up. Also we saw that most of the hillsides were on fire. Juan said it was because they have no respect and just flick their cigaret butts out the window and start the hillside on fire. Then the Gov't doesn't care either, so they won't put it out and it will burn until its done.

We got to the city hosting the race, San Juan de Los Morros. The hotel we were staying at was probably as nice as it gets for that part of the world...they only had a couple of rooms, so Colin, Todd, and I shacked up together like the three gringo amigos, Mike and Mary obviously had their own room, "the suite". The three staff members, TJ "the chainsaw" Grove (in case you are wondering, TJ apparently snores like none other), Mark "Gully" Gullilkson, and Bernard Condevoux, were all in the last room.

For Dinners we were eating in the Venezuela Olympic Complex cafateria. The food was doable, but not quite up to the "Baller Status" of the US Olympic Training Center Cafateria. We did breakfast and lunch at the hotel restaurant and out of my hot pot provided by the USOC for international trips with the probability of sketchy food. I think the thing you miss most in a country like that is fresh vegetables. Salad is hard to come by and if you do see it, its usually better to stay away because they was it with the tap water and just add to the bacteria growing on it. You think the fiber in the vegis will keep you regular when its probably something more like giardia.

To get to the race course from the hotel, we had to, again, risk life and limb (lucky I had pleanty of practice from Fontana). The first time we rode to the course we rode behind the sprinter van and our body guard Luis was pretty much hanging out of the van keeping an I out for kidnappers/someone who may not appreciate our fancy USA costumes. The cars were spuing out desiel and leaded gasoline fumes like chimneys, motor cycles were blazing down the sidewalks, soldiers kept an eye on things from crow's nests lining the road and pictures of Hugo Chavez lined the streets everywhere. The word was they "Treat cyclists as cattle" here, so they will just hit you rather than move out of the way or give you room (really honestly though, I think it was not a whole lot worse than riding some country roads in colorado, at least no one threw any thing at us). It was quite a sight.

The whole time we were riding to the race course we were wonding what it would be like. They said it was really flat with just a couple of short steep climbs. The quote of the weekend was from Colin, "If this is a flat course, I wouldn't want to see a hilly course." There were four significant climbs. They were all the kind of steep where if you sit in the saddle you fall over backwards and if you get out of the saddle you can't get any traction, so pretty freakin steep. My 2X9 was going to be rough since my smaller ring is a 34t instead of at least a 32t and my biggest cog in the back is a 32t. Really the course was AWESOME!!! It was so much fun, up and down, up and down...great course for me, because there is really no section where you can get into a rythm. Oh ya, and it was almost 100degrees no wind and no shade anywhere and moon dust an inch deep on most of the course. The race was not actually going to be a competition to see who is the fastest, but more who can hydrate the best and survive the 7 1/2 15min laps right at the height of the heat of the day.

Race day, I only did a short warm up, 10-15min max. Just 2 hard opener efforts about 1min long. Hardly a warmup by any standards. I figured the first couple of laps would not be fun, but I would be flying come the end of the race. We started about 5min behind the elite men. The start was the usual caos of a Pan American Championship...south americans all trying to take flyers off the front in the first kilometer and just crashing into each other and stirring up dust. I just hung a little off the back of the kluster and watched them sort it out in the start lap, but maintained contact so no one could sneak away. Coming out of the start lap a group of about 5 of us had formed and made our way around the first lap. By about half way through the first full lap it was down to just myself and an Argentinian. I gave him the signal to see if he wanted to work with me to open up a big gap. He nodded and as a measure of good faith I took the first pull. haha, ya so back to that non-existant warm up...I took one pull and shot off the back. I was almost over heating already. Amonia taste in my mouth, goose bumps, and dizziness...gotta love the heat. I contemplated pulling in mid lap 2, but hung in there, heck I was still in second place with no one in sight behind. I just hung there for a while. Laps 1-3.5 I just suffered in the heat. I was having to walk up about half of the climbs, and grind up some of them in my huge gear. The only thing on my mind was surviving the heat. I was drinking a whole bottle of gatorade and about half to three quarters a bottle of water each lap (mind you laps were only about 15min long, yes that isa lot of fluids, but my body was like, "GIVE ME MORE!!!"). Mid way through lap three I started to feel better; the goosebumbs went away and I started loosing the amonia taste. So I just kept doing what I was doing, surviving. The gap between me and the Argentinian was about 1min 30sec. Beginning lap 6, I felt pretty good and if I was going to make a move it was going to have to be now. I kicked it up about 4 notches and brought the gap down to about 20sec in one lap. Cresting the last climb of the lap Gully yelled at me, "hes right up ahead, you can catch him!!!! 20seconds!!!!" I had to do a little mental check and not hit it too hard and bring it all back right away and crack again with half a lap to go. I went through the first feed zone for the last time getting a bottle from bernard, I shoved it into my cage way too hard and it fell through and I lost my last bottle in almost 100degrees. In immediately in my head i'm like, "$#!+". thats going to make things a little more interresting. But I thought back to Fontana where I had dropped it on the second lap and made it through just fine. I wanted the jersey and a gold medal!!! I continued to push hard and caught my man just after the second significant climb/hike-a-bike. I let him have a little gap for a minute and recovered a bit myself. We got to a very moderate 2-3%climb, I shifted into my big ring and built up enough speed while covering the gap I gave him and blew past him going about 4 times faster than him just to mentally burry the hatchet. Pretty soon after that, I reached the tech pit at the far end of the course and picked up a bottle of water from TJ and put the whole thing away in about a second. I plowed through the rest of the course as hard as I could, I wanted to get as far away as possible before hitting the last two climbs. The last couple of climbs were really rough, but I was in the lead and going to win even if I had to run it in. I made it to the top of the first one just as the Argentinian reached the bottom. I just couldn't do something stupid on the final descent to screw it all up so I took it a little tentitively, but safely made it down. I hit the final run in to the Finish line and raised my hands for the win. Thank God for getting me through the heat and helping me keep my head on strate for the whole race.

After the race, a candian, the argentinian, and myself, were all on the podium. The staff didn't know I pulled away in to the lead and when I got on the podium they were a little surprised. Bernard was signaling me to move over because I was in the "wrong spot". I laughed and was like, nope, i'm right where I should be. He just smiled and laughed.

Huge thanks go out to the Staff at the race...Gully, TJ, and Bernard. You guys are awesome and we most definitely couldn't do it without you. I can't wait to work with you all again. Thanks for reading.

Appologies.

2008-04-01T11:06:00.003-07:00

To all of you who read my previous blog and thought I was "bashing my sponsors" I sincerely appologize. I did not in any way feel negatively towards USA Cycling or any of my other sponsors when I wrote my race report. I was on a high from getting 4th in a National Series Race. I was hoping people would view it as humorous. Every bike racer I have ever met has had to stay in sketchy places, hotels, ride sketchy roads to get to the race course, work on their own bike, etc. Maybe you just had to have been there. As one commentor so delicately put, "I am the best supported U23 in the country". I am the first to say thank you to USA Cycling and the rest of our sponsors who have supported me for the past 3+ years. I would not be here without them. Again, I did not intend to make USA Cycling sound bad in anyway. I will be more delicate with my racing blogs in the future.

Some people took my last email a very bad way...

2008-03-31T12:34:00.000-07:00

Dear friends, family, coaches, sponsors, etc.,
I would like to appologize for possibly putting USA Cycling in a bad light. I have been getting emails all day about how I shouldn't "Bash my sponsors". I said, " This weekend has been quite a junk show...for starters USA Cycling pulled most of our support for the National Series so we don't have a mechanic or team car or any of the support we are used to. We still don't have new mountain bikes or new shoes...." In this statement I am not bashing USA Cycling or any of my other sponsors. I am however explaining some of the changes I have had to deal with as opposed to the past few years. Yes, I was very frustrated going into the weekend and stressed to the limit. I have dedicated the past 6+ years of my life to racing my mountain bike. I work as hard and harder than the next guy to be successful and after all my really bad luck last year I reached the breaking point. If this past weekend didn't go without issue I would have had a very hard time recovering. I appoligize if I made USA Cycling look bad. I will be the first to say thank you to USA Cycling for supporting me for the past three years, I would not be where I am without USA Cycling's help. Some of you took what I said in a very negative light and I appologize for that.

Sam Jurekovic
1 Olympic Plaza
Colorado Springs, CO 80909
307-699-0333
Sockbikerdude@aol.com
SamJurekovic@Gmail.com
www.samjracing.blogspot.com

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NMBS #1 Fontana California

2008-03-29T21:15:00.005-07:00

This weekend has been quite a junk show...for starters USA Cycling pulled most of our support for the National Series so we don't have a mechanic or team car or any of the support we are used to. We still don't have new mountain bikes or new shoes. We are staying in this totally getto hotel, between a getto tatoo shop and and other getto tatoo shop. To get to the race course we had to ride about 20min, risk life and limb crossing the 10 Freeway, and ride several roads with incredibly sketchy california drivers honking and road raging. I had to work on my own bike...thank goodness I am very capable of working on my own bike. I had to hang out at the venue yesterday for 3 hours waiting for Fox to fix my fork that was oozing all over the place. Thanks to the Fox Support guys here at the race for working on my fork since we don't have a mechanic here....Lets just say this weekend was a flashback to the good old junior days of hitch hiking from the airport, sleeping on the floor, penny pinching, and being totally stressed out because you work so freaking hard to do well and something goes wrong because you don't have the support you need to make everything go off without without a hitch. So needless to say I was incredibly nervous and scared of something going wrong (flat, broken chain, bad shifting, chain suck, crash, missed feed, whatever) since I've worked so hard this winter to make the next step up this year. I couldn't wait for the start wistle to blow, just to get it started.

At the start, It was a full show, lots and lots of fast guys, which made me even more nervous. I had a pretty good start position, second line right behind Elite National Champion Adam Craig. Right before everything really got roling, my entire family showed up, Uncles, Aunts, Cousins, and all their kids all showed up to cheer me on. My family easily made up a quarter of all the people cheering in the race. The whistle blew and we were off...for some reason all the nervousness and butterflies just went away and I felt no pain and it felt like there was no one in my way. I cruised around the first couple of corners with the lead group and up the first hill dodging a couple of guys who got balled up, but hit the single track in the top 6or7 and tried to get comfortable. I thought I might have gone a bit hard, cuz my legs were so full of Lactate I could hardly move them, but I knew if I wanted to meet my goal of making the podium today I had to be there and I had to hang tough. I hung on JHK's wheel for a while with Adam Craig on my wheel until near the top of the first major climb before Adam passed me to get to the first descent first. I fell in behind JHK for the first descent and had no problem riding with him. I had dropped my chain a few times, but didn't loose my head and kept it going forward. By the time we hit the second climb JHK had a sizeable gap on my and Sam Schultz was chasing hard from behind. He caught me by the top of the climb and passed me before the descent, I dug a little deeper and grabbed on his wheel and did my darnedest to not let him go. Once we were descending I recoverd quite a bit and let Sam work for a little while. He gave me the elbow wave on the back stretch saying, "Ok its your turn to work a little." So I pulled around and got on it again. I didn't think I got on it too hard, and thought if the two of us worked together we could bring back some more riders, but I got a gap on Sam without meaning to and started trying to chase down JHK. I was in no man's land for the better part of the race, which was really nice because it was really dusty. For the rest of the race I slowly picked off JHK, Barry Wicks, and Ricky Federeau. The last lap I was in 4th. I still wanted to catch one more person, but I backed off a little to make sure I just got myself to the finish line in 4th without any disastrous mechanicals or crashes, but I was also pretty tentative looking behind, because Barry Wicks had caught his second wind and Kris Sneddon was chasing for all he was worth behind Barry. I put the hammer down for the last time on the two flats on the back stretch and went out of sight from Barry and cruised into the finish 2min behind Kabush, 1.5min behind Adam, 1min behind Max Plaxton. This was a great race for me. I thank God for giving me great legs and the motivation and desire to be here. I want to thank all my family who do so much to support me all year round and coming to this race to cheer me on. Thanks to all my friends and fans who were out there yelling at the top of their lungs for me. Today is the short track, we'll see what happens. Pictures are soon to come as well. Thanks for reading.

Pre-season Training

2008-03-21T07:14:00.003-07:00

Well sports fans, its almost here, the first race of the season...the Fontana, CA National Mountain Bike Series Race #1. For the past few months of my blogging hiatus I have been training more intensly and methodically than ever for this season. This year I expected to make one of the 8 possible Long Team Slots to have a chance at qualifying for the Olympics, so I took the fall semester off of school and trained incessently, adding an additional block of base training to my usual 3 block regiment. However, the USA Cycling Long Team Selection Committee didn't think they should name all 8 riders to the long team, and only named 6. I formally appealed the desision and asked my name be added to the Long Team Roster to be eligable to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games. So needless to say I am pretty pissed and bitter over the situation. For all you on the selection committee who might read this, it is my mission this year to show everyone I should be on the long team roster.

I have been training longer and harder than ever. I am significantly more fit than I was concluding the 2007 season. And I am motivated like never before.

Look out!!!

Holidays: Vacation what?

2008-01-07T14:45:00.000-07:00

I was blessed this holiday season to go back to my home town of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I was there for about 15 days. This was a "vacation", well from my bike at least. I think it was the first time in several years I have traveled somewhere without my bike. Don't worry though, I still got pleanty of training in. While at home I hiked Ascent ridge countless times to board down teton pass and take full advantage of all the powder the yuppees who only ski in the resort don't get to experience because they are too lazy to get off their asses and earn a run or two. Honestly I would rather hike for two hours and have 15min of insain face shots the whole way down than get a whole day of cruddy bumps and groomers at a big ski resort. My time at home was spent backcountry boarding every day and at night going to the Enclosure rock/fitness gym in the evenings to lift weights every other day and to climb every other day. I pretty much went totally non-stop from dawn to dark until I pushed it over the edge and caught a knarly cold with only one day at home left. So I did miss probably the best day of boarding, since they got 20inches in mountains the day I had to take off because I was sick, but the word was there were some big time avalanches that went off and it was a good thing I wasn't out. Thank you God for keeping me safe while risking life and limb each day out in the back country. Thanks also to my faithful back country skiing buddy, John Allum. Dude it was great actually going with someone for a change.

Frigid Pikes Peak

2007-11-29T09:15:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I had the brilliant idea of climbing Pikes Peak and camping up there somewhere. I started at about 10AM from the bottom of the incline with my backpack weighing in at about 50lbs. There weren't very many people there, probably since it was freezing cold and there was snow on the incline. I wanted to go up the incline because it is way faster than going up the barr trail. About half way up I passed a couple of people going down who asked me if I was training for something. I mean why else would someone be hiking up the incline with a 50lb pack? I said nope, not today, this one I'm just doing for fun. They gave me a weird look and kept going down. I actually made pretty good time up the incline, 35 min from the Parking lot to the top. When I reached the top, more weird looks from some young lady who asked me if I had seen two other women running. I said no one has passed me, but there looks to be a couple a little ways behind me. Turns out it was Kelly Emmit and Alison Dunlap (former mountain bike world champion) a couple of the local mountain bike women. They were like, " Oh hey Sam, what the heck are you doing up here with a pack?" I told them I was going to the top and probably camping out somewhere along the way. They told me not to freeze and we went our separate ways. I was a little scared going up the incline because it looked like a crazy storm was brewing, but by the time I reached the top it was sunny and gorgeous out, other than it was pretty chilly. I kept going at a good pace and reached the Barr Camp after about 2 hours of total hiking time. I didn't even stop at the Barr Camp I just kept walking, by then I had been hiking in snow for quite a while, and I could tell it was pretty cold by the groan of the snow under my feet. The further I went up the more the groan turned to a crackle as it got colder and colder. I passed the "A-frame" after about an other 40min and dropped my pack, I wasn't too worried about anyone taking it because I had the only set of foot prints in the snow and it was getting kind of late for anyone to be following me up here, especially on a wednesday afternoon. I grabbed a snack, a couple more layers and my head lamp and made off up the trail again. This time much faster since I didn't have my pack with me. I finished off the mountain in about 4hours total, but as soon as I hit the top the wind started whipping around like the mountain was angry at me. I hardly took any time at all before I headed back down because I was so cold from the biting wind. I picked up the pace as fast I could to get back to the "A-frame". When I got there it was just starting to get pretty dark. I grabbed my pack and started heading further down the mountain in search of a camping spot a little closer to the Barr Camp. I found one that looked ok and emptied my pack quickly grabbing my tent, and unroling it, but by the time I had unrolled it, my hands and feet were so cold I could hardly hold onto my hatchet and stakes to put up my tent. So I tryed starting a fire, again my hands were so cold I couldn't hold my lighter, so I went for the back up matches. I brought paper because I thought with all the snow I would need all the help I could get to get a fire going. I found as dry of fire starter as I could and lit 'er up. It tried to start up for about 5 min before it just sputtered its last wisp of smoke. At this point my hands and feet were so cold I was like, screw this, I'm packing up and heading back down. So I halfassed rolled up my tent and repacked my pack and added every additional layer I had (by now I have a base layer, expedition weight fleece shirt, insulating layer jacket, windproof shell, expedition weight fleece pants, thick insulating fleece pants, and windproof shell pants, hat, gloves, the whole nine yards). By the time I was all packed back up I needed my head lamp to see. Then I marched as fast as I could back down the mountain. All most as soon as I started walking, I was toasty and snug as a bug in a rug in all my layers. I must just have really bad circulation in my hands and feet from all the time they have spent numb from long icey rides during base season for them to get so cold so fast. The whole way down I was talking to myself, telling myself what a woose I was to have camp almost all set up and packing it up and heading back down. Then telling myself, you can still make a night out of it, just camp at the top of the incline. Haha, the longer I hiked the longer I just wanted hot soup and hot chocolate and a hot shower. Towards the bottom I started getting spooked, thinking I heard something in the trees. There has supposedly been a lot of mountain lion activity up there lately, so everyone is scared and it was rubbing off on me being tired and cold. With about three miles to go down the barr trial, my feet started throbbing like I've never felt before. I just bought some new hiking boots, I have never had a descent pair before and found a deal I just couldn't pass up. I have been wearing them around the OTC since Thanksgiving, trying to break them in a little, but lets just say they need a little more time. By the time I got back to the car, my feet hurt so bad I could hardly walk and my knees so bad I could hardly stand. I made it back to the car at about 8PM and sped as fast as I could to get back to the training center before dinner closed at 8:30, I made it just in time for a burger, fries, and some hot chicken and rice goulash. And that rounds out an other Sam J adventure, if anyone ever wants an adventure they are welcome to join me. Haha, ya not too many people out there up for one of those.

Juniors are Scary!!!!

2007-11-12T16:41:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I had the great pleasure of riding with a couple of the local juniors in town, Russel and Jensen. They live on the mountain side of 25 and do most of their riding in cheyenne canyon and the surrounding areas and wanted to do some new stuff they had never ridden before. I said I would be happy to take them out on some fun trails, hopefully ones they had never ridden before, I mean they are the locals, I've only lived here for 2 years. The ride plan for the day was meet early at the OTC and we would ride Palmer Park. I remembered when I first moved here I hated palmer park because I kept riding the same stupid small boring loop over and over and only recently have I descovered some of what Palmer Park really has to offer for cyclists. So we met up and I immediately see two kids who remind me totally of myself. All stoked and ready to get there already. I had to ask them a couple of times if they were in a hury or something, maybe i'm just getting slow. We went the really chill way around the golf course and through the neighborhoods so we wouldn't have to ride in a group of 3 down Union. On the way we talked and I asked about what their coaches have had them doing and I was a little surprised to hear them say intervals a couple days a week. I was like WOW!!! NOOOO INTERVALS THiS TIME OF YEAR!!!!! Honestly I think these guys should be doing something other than riding their bikes in the fall. I love bike riding and I'm all for it, but when you are in high school do some high school sports, run XC, play football, swim, play soccer, basketball whatever, put your bike in the closet from September till January maybe even february. There are too many super talented kids who burn themselves out way too soon because they thought they needed to be training hard year round, or even worse, someone told them thats what they have to do to be great. You guys don't need to be riding year round as long as you are staying active and doing things that will increase your fitness.

So we got to Palmer Park and I told them I would take them on my favorite route, and this route is pretty much really stupid technical and challenging and we'll probably have to walk some sections, but its a sweet spot to try to improve the technical skills like none other. So we road all over the place, starting a little easier then gradually getting harder and harder until it was like a trials course. A couple of times we tried a couple of times to get over something. Those kids were awesome...I was super impressed with their already stellar handling skills and ballance. It was pretty funny some of the looks we got from walkers and hikers when they would see us riding down some super sketchy, what may look like unridable stuff or up stupid rediculously technical stuff. You guys keep up the good work, remember to keep it fun. Go off jumps, build trials courses in your back yards, learn how to wheelie...now is the time when your young, heck I wish I could wheelie.

Pikes Peak Ascent

2007-10-29T21:37:00.000-07:00

Today the weather report called for 75 and sunny here in the Springs, so I thought I would do what I have been waiting for, for the past three weeks: go on and awesome epic Sam adventure. I was planning on at least a 6hour mountain bike ride and thought, "hmmm its so nice out maybe i'll go for pikes peak, since I haven't been to the top yet." So I did it. I started from the training center at about 9:30A with my track racing pal Mike Blatchford. He rode his road bike to manitou with me since he's not so much a mountain biker and apparently I make him hurt a lot on road rides, so I thought I would level the playing field a little with me riding my mountain bike. We talked the whole way about who knows what and split at the Cog. I started pretty slow since I knew it would be a really long day. I rode pretty steady and clean all the way up to the Barr Camp where I thought I would be hanging a right and going down some sweet trail I have never ridden before (maybe wednesday), but I have had an itch to bag a 14er this year so I thought, oh heck i'll just keep going. I could mostly ride all the way up till about 3 miles to go before it got too technical and too snowy to ride any more so I shouldered my bike and started hiking, occationally dropping it back on the ground to ride a less technical switch back or two here and there. The last three miles took longer than the previous 20 or so from the training center. The snow + hiking in my cycling shoes + awkwardly carying a bike made it slow going, not to mention I was well above 10,000 and climbing the whole time. I glanced at my watch for the first time the whole day and just about turned it around. It was almost 2PM and I had to be back at the training center at 4PM for my massage. I was so close...only a mile to go...I couldn't turn back now. Unfortunately it was a little bitter sweet summitting a 14er with a bike and not being able to ride the awesome single track back down, but whatever I still got to ride down the pikes peak highway...or at least most of it. I made it down the 20 mile descent until about 2 miles to go before getting pulled over by a ranger who, although polite, made me hop in his truck and get a ride the rest of the way down because riding a bike is way more dangerous than driving a car down that mountain...pshhhhh. Anyhoo, he drove me a whole two miles of which I probably would have beat him down by about 15min had I been riding. I was totally bonked at this point since I hadn't had any food since breakfast because I am on a silly stupid diet as always, the flavor of the month this month is little protein so I can loose some muscle mass I don't need. I had a half hour to make it from Manitou Springs to the training center while being totally bonked barely able to turn over my middle ring. Somehow I managed to make it just in the nick of time for my massage and took no time in passing out on the massage table and waking up feeling great. Great day, awesome view, can't wait to get out again.

Time to Unwind

2007-10-14T16:50:00.000-07:00

Its the end of the long season, I just got back from the US Elite Track Cycling National Championships and I have been counting down the days until I could just take off and not worry about training. I have finally finished putting together my backpacking setup so I am all ready to try it out. Last year after the Mountain Bike World Championships I went with my former teammate Sam Schutlz up to the Holy Cross Wilderness Area and thought it was such a cool spot I had to go back. This year I took a very good friend of mine from the OTC (Olympic Training Center), Corey Cogdell. We were hoping to get four or five people to go with us, but they all bailed or had scheduling conflicts so we just went for it. It was really nice going in the middle of the week, because there was almost guaranteed to be no one up there for the whole week. We parked at the head of one of the jeep trails, took a couple pictures, and said a prayer, then headed off up the trail. Both of us have had an incredibly long season and were just getting out to unwind and do some of the things we can't normally do during the regular competition season. We planned on just doing some easy hiking and tons of fishing. We only had about a ten mile hike from the trail head to the campsite at "Hunky dory Lake". We casually chatted the whole way up about our seasons, friends, and whatever else came to mind until it started raining on us. We looked up a little and saw the mountain in front of us almost totally engulfed by freezing rain and we got worried real quick; was the camping trip we have been waiting for for weeks going to be cold and wet? Instantly we both blurted out, " Ahh man I for got cards." Would have been nice if it was a nasty week and we were confined to our tent. We kept hiking and crossed our fingers for about ten minutes before the rain broke and it seemed as though the whole storm got pushed further north. Thank God!!! The further we got up towards about 11,000 ft we could see the storm had brought a little dusting of snow with it, this could be a chilly couple of days. A little further up we got to a "Y" in the trail and entered the Wilderness Area where it was only a little walk to the campsite. The whole walk up we had been gaping over how beautiful the Colorado Mountains are and comparing them to our home states of Wyoming and Alaska. We reached the lake after only about 3 hours hiking and stood awestruck. The lake was at the base of a massive granite wall bordering the lake on the south and east sides. In the middle of the face, their were two boulder slides, one with a waterfall careening down it. The lake was as clear as glass and we could see hundreds (and yes I mean hundreds) of fish right from the shore. We both wanted to get right to fishing, but thought it best to set up camp real quick before it got too late and cold. We walked around the lake to pick the best spot and chose one on the opposite side of the lake from where the trail comes up. There would be the best morning light and the driest ground after the snowfall. We pitched the tent, gathered some firewood quickly, and grabbed our fishing gear. Since I had been there before I knew "Hunky dory Lake" was only hunky dory as far as the fishing went. Most of the fish were very small; the real jewels were a climb up the boulder slide to an other lake right at tree line. It took about a half hour to scramble up to the top of the boulder slide and a short walk to the other lake. When we got there it was amazing, even more fish than the first lake and they were all significantly larger. We fished for a couple of hours, I lost two lures and caught one, but threw it back, Corey didn't have any luck. The wind was coming up and it was getting really cold out so we decided to call it and carefully make our way back down the boulder slide to the lower lake. We made it down to our campsite just as it was getting dark and made a fire. This place was so peaceful, so serene; it was just what the Dr ordered. The wind was biting so we began layering up as the water boiled to make soup. After the soup we made the good ol' American favorite smores with a twist, "the Corey". "The Corey" is more or less like a regular smore, but instead of having the chocolate cold and hard on the graham, its stuffed inside the marshmallow while it is roasting so when the mallow is done its full of melted chocolate. Yes, it's very messy, but that's half the point, right? After we had our fill of marshmallowy-chocolaty goodness it was time to make the "Anti-Bear device". As usually we ended up doing this in the dark, we found a couple of trees that seemed a sufficient distance apart and were climbable. I, being part monkey or part child still, clipped one end of what is normally my slack line to my belt loop and climbed about 20 feet up one of the trees. The first time up a tree is always the hardest, you have to deal with all the little branches that get in your hair and snag on everything, the next times are always easier because you have more or less cleared a path up the tree. So the first time up this tree I came back down with slices in my hands, arms, and legs and pockets full of bark and branches. The next tree was more difficult in a different way, there were no branches near the bottom, so having mastered the Palm Tree climb I scrambled up the first ten feet without any holds until finally reaching one just as I was about to slip off. After successfully attaching the second point of the Anti-bear device and safely ditching it off the tree we hung our packs and food like good responsible campers do and went back to our campfire to be hypnotized by the glowing embers for a while before turning in.

I had just purchased a -15 sleeping back and figured I would still be cold up there for some reason (the previous year I was freezing my tail off in a 15 degree bag). Corey, although she says she is from Alaska, had me wondering if it were true because of the 6 layers of wool and fleece she put on to sleep in her 0 degree bag. I was smoldering all night and ended up delayering quite a bit, but still could not sleep. I pretty much counted the hours until the sun came up and I couldn't take it anymore. Around 7AM I started the water boiling and the fire and let the packs down. We had a pretty basic breakfast, coffee and oatmeal. Today was the day to fish. At about 9 we threw a few casts in Hunky dory, Corey had some luck, she caught 2 little fish and I caught 1 and we decided to climb back to the upper lake. Once we got up there, we tried every lure in the tackle box and had nothing. I finally started getting creative and used some of the chocolate peanut butter meant for lunch to lather my fly with as bait. Immediately I got a big hit and reeled in a nice 12 incher. Who knew, fish like chocolate peanut butter. For the rest of the day I was hauling them out, one after the other. Finally Corey broke down and tried some of the peanut butter bait. She got some nibbles, but still no luck. We fished all day from about 9:30 till about 5pm until we were fished to death. We made our way back down the boulder slide to the lower lake, cleaned the fish and started a campfire to feast on what we had caught. The fish were delicious, just as fish always are when you are camping. Corey's cooked a lot better than mine, mine were more like trout Sashimi since I was at little impatient cooking them and they had a little more meat on them. We talked and gazed into the fire until there was nothing left bug embers, then hung our packs and made our way to bed. Again I hardly slept a wink between being too warm and hardly being able to breathe. In the morning it was oatmeal and coffee again before packing up camp and heading back down the trail. I think the hike down was way harder than the hike up, my cyclists knees can't take the downhill. By the bottom my legs were shaking and it was a good thing it was only a few miles. It was an awesome trip, I can't wait to do some more things I can't do during the racing season.

Track National Championships Part 2 the Pursuit

2007-10-05T08:22:00.000-07:00

Well folks, the pursuit wasn't quite what my coach and I were hoping it would be, for some reason I just couldn't turn over the gear late in the race. Somehow I drew, as my pursuit buddy, current Junior World TT Champ Taylor "Mini" Phinney. Lets just say he is a World Champion for a reason. The kid is strong as an ox. My whole plan relied on me not going out too fast, so I was doing all I could to not get too excited and blow it early in the race. I went out and hit my first 4 splits perfect, textbook perfect (exactly what I had planned on hitting). Then I tried to settle in, but just couldn't settle in at the pace I wanted or needed to. I didn't ride a bad time. I rode a 4:50 which I think is about 5 seconds better than last year at nationals. But it was kind of dissapointing because this year I actually knew what I was doing and have been training really hard for this race since mountain bike world championships. My coach Des Dickie and I talked about it pre-race and he and I both know I put in the time and the hard work, probably more than most of the people doing the pursuit that day, and I know I can ride better than that, what can I say, I think I'm all used up from the long season...which shouldn't make any difference, since everyone else here, and I mean everyone else here has been racing just as long this season as I have, and probably with harder schedules. Oh well, anyhoo...I didn't think mini phinney was catching me at all I thought we were right neck and neck, until 5 to go when he blew past me like he had a rocket attached to his seatpost. I even tried to latch onto him to catch a little draft but couldn't respond since my legs were all used up. Hard race and a little dissapointing for me, but holy smokes that kid is going places on the road and track. Phinney went on that night to make the pursuit final with my very good pal Brad Huff and beat him to win the Elite National Pursuit Title as a 17 year old....I don't feel bad for getting passed by him at all.

Track Nationals 2007 Part one

2007-10-03T13:01:00.000-07:00

Hey folks, I'm here in Los Angeles, California for the 2007 Elite National Track Cycling Championships. First of all I would like to give a ginormous thank you to my cousin Billy Simpson and his family for being so hospitable and putting me up for the week. You guys are awesome. I would like to congratulate my buddy Mike Blatchford for winning the standing 250m Sprint. He timed his start wrong and got jerked by the starting gate, but still pulled off the fastest time of the day, imagine what he could have done without botching his start.

As I am writing I am watching the, boring as watching paint dry, womans mass start test (not that the men are any more exciting for this event). Other than the individual events here it should be an exciting week. I personally am just racing the individual pursuit, sorry I can't be more exciting, but what can I say I am just a TTer. Then I am also doing the points race on Friday. That race is going to be incredibly exciting because there are so many big guns here for it. Hopefully I'll get some points this year in the prelims instead of not getting a single point like last year. Stay posted for more stories and results.

Ben Nevis

2007-09-09T06:46:00.001-07:00

Well folks, today I hiked the highest peak in the UK. Ben Nevis at a wapping 4400ft. Don't let such a small #fool you, it was maybe a little harder than it looked. I was going to do it yesterday morning, but my mom called the hotel and left a message saying she was going to call at 7AM my time 12Midnight their time, so that put the cabosh on the early ascent of big ben. As it were there were two other people who wanted to join in the fun and didn't have anyone else to go with. I was a little hesitant to bring on two of the Junior girls from the US mtb team, because I didn't know how hard the hike was going to be since I have never done it and I didn't know how tough they were or if they really knew what they were getting into, let me say they were less than prepared for what the mountain would through at them. I said we would leave bright and early after breakfast at 7:30AM. So bright and early we started walking from the hotel to the trail head (about 3miles). At the base we checked the time and headed off up the mountain. It looked pretty cloudy, but not too cold and we all immediately started peeling off layers. I noticed one of the girls, Amy Cox, was wearing nothing but some deck shoes on her feet. Thats right kind of like converses, but with no laces, and she was going to climb this mountain and get back down with those shoes. I was contemplating pulling the plug right there on the whole thing, but she insisted her feet were fine, so I more or less reluctantly continued to lead on. Every so often we would stop, take a breath and some pictures. For the most part the hike wasn't very hard at all, just really rocky. We were half way done before we knew it and we started to march on up into the cloud. It wasn't really any big deal until we were only a few switchbacks from the summit, then it got really windy and the cloud just breathed on us till we were chilled to the bone. The whole way up I kept checking to make sure they were ok and warm enough, they continued to march on. When hiking Ben Nevis, you know you're at the top when the mountain drops off into oblivion, so we reached the summit and could only see about 20 feet in front of our faces...quick take some pictures and lets get off this pile of rocks, was pretty much the word. Those girls must have been pretty freekin cold, because I was really cold and I garentee I had much better clothing on than they did. We scurried down the mountain about as quickly as possible passing way more hikers going up than we had seen all morning. Finally we got back to the half way point and out of the chilly cloud. Pretty much I am not sure weather I thought they were really stupid to come with me or really tough, either way, they were pretty tough, especially Amy who wore those shoes up that mountain, I do not envy her tomorrow making a huge international travel day back to the states in those same shoes. Anyway, we got to summit the highest peak in the UK, no biggy...

The worlds Curse

2007-09-07T10:28:00.001-07:00

And it continues. Well, today was the U23 world championship cross country race. I was feeling pretty good, very focused and on the ball. I feel like I did just about everything right as far as eating. I have had a little trouble sleeping, but really not enough to make that much of a difference. As it is the food is not spectacular here in Scotland (sorry marco), for the most part they have no taste and no idea what a growing boy like myself needs to fill his two hollow legs and stomach. Anyway, I was pretty stoked when I got my #16 plate today meaning I would be on the second row at the call up. I timed my warm up pretty much on the money and was in the box and on the start line probably less than 5 min from finishing my warm up. I was really nervous for the race today, and wanted it to get underway ASAP. I had the jitters like crazy all morning and was just trying to get to the start, because I knew once the gun went off, everything would be ok and work itself out. I really thought I could be in the Top 10 today so I had my game face on. Well the gun went off and I went flying out of the start hitting the start climb in 5th or 6th and looking good when the person right in front of me shifted from the big ring to his bottom bracket and crashed me and a lot of the field behind me. I got off and started running for my life and managed to salvage maybe a top 20 spot for a little bit until we got to the feed zone and someone else did pretty much the same thing again. Now I was probably in 30th with about half the start climb to go still. I did all I could to keep going up the climb, but was having trouble putting the pain face on and finding the pain cave. I reached the top of the climb on the first lap somewhere in the mid 30s and was overjoyed to get to the descent. This course was a little big more ''American style'', long climb and really long descent with lots of recovery on the descent. I was railing the descent and passed about 8 Euros who still haven't figured out how to ride their bikes down the mountain yet (God save us when they do). When I hit the flat section at the bottom of the descent I filed into position behind a couple other people and sat in and tried to recover a little. I wasn't feeling very good, kind of gassy and bloated, maybe I had too much milk with my breakfast or something. Starting the next lap, I started going backwards fast. Just suffered up the climb and did damage control. I had hardly drank anything and almost forgot to take my feed in the feed zone i was so out of it and just not feeling good. I got to the top of the climb and passed a bunch of people on the descent again, just relaxing and taking advantage of the Euros who blow through corners or take the slow lines. Back at the bottom, more of the same, file into position, don't work, try to recover. Third lap...on the climb, more damage control, still can't drink so I didn't take a new bottle. THe coaches are telling me I'm still in the Top 40. I try tagging onto some trains to get the top, but its no use, i've got nothin today. The descent i'm blowing by people still and catch the canadian, max plaxton at the bottom. He was in 3rd and flatted. I ride with him for a while on the flat before the climb on the 4th lap. When I get there, for some reason I couldn't get my chain to go from the big ring to the middle ring, its totally jammed up. I big ring the 4th lap climb, that definitely put the hurt on the legs. Just before the top, I see the front derralier cage is broken so it won't move the chain inside. On the descent i pass more people again that I have already passed on every other descent and who have subsequently passed me on every climb. I get to the bottom and go as hard as I can to the base of the final lap climb, kind of hoping in my head they will pull me...call it the mercy killing...nope, I get through. Final lap....I hope off my bike and manually move my chain down to the middle ring and hop back on. Now i'm cramping from not drinking hardly at all. I get up the climb ok and am actually maybe passing a couple of people who are fading, maybe i'll stay in the top 40 after all. I'm rockin on the descent...no more than the other laps, probably a little more conservative just in case. Almost to the bottom and I go over some rocks and slice my sidewall...The icing on the cake. I try to fill it with my big air, but its no use, I can't get the big air to work and it would probably be worthless anyhow since my sidewall was sliced. By now my teammates Colin Cares and Mitchell Peterson have passed me and its time to just start running. I've got about 2K to go to the finish. First I rode it for a while, then my tire came off the rim, so I just started running. I ran it all the way into the finish for some place I have no idea. Bottom line, I had nothing to day other than a sweet 10 second start. The broken derralier didn't really mean anything, the flat...well, I was already way back so who cares. The curse continues. Someday I am going to tare one off at worlds and its going to be sweet...until then I thank God I have had the opportunity to be here at the world championships for the 4th time and have been to a lot of sweet places on the way. Thanks to all of you who have supported me so much over the years and thanks especially to the staff here at worlds, these guys work so hard to give us the best support possible its unbelievable, we couldn't do it without you guys, you are awesome. Until next time....Cheers from Fort William Scotland.

Scotland pre race.

2007-09-04T08:34:00.000-07:00

Well I am here in the UK, Scotland to be a little more precise. I love it here. I came here for the world cup last year and loved it. It was super beautiful yesterday as we drove up from the airport in Glasgow and we got to see all the sights on the way up, particularly Loc Lemond. So pretty. We had a couple of close calls riding in the bus on the way up since the roads are so narrow if one person is wider than about 4 feet two cars have to wait for each other to pass. This made the drive from Glasgow very slow. Now that we are here, the US delegation has taken up an entire hotel for the week. Its pretty nice and the people who own it and run it are very nice as well. Yesterday, as Tadd and I headed out of the hotel to preview the course we both turned right around the roundabout and almost got totally mowed over since we are supposed to ride on the left side fo the road here, close call. We previewed the course. I was told it was almost the same exact course as last year, but it is totally different. It is now just one long climb all the way to the top of the course and on really long descent. I actually think the descent is longer than the climb. Then there are a couple really long flat sections which I should be able to make up a lot of ground. So far the jury is still out on whether or not I like the course, but oh well, I'll learn to love it by friday. Congrats to the relay team Adam, Sam S, Georgia and the junior for getting 3rd. BEst relay finish for the US ever!!! Stay tuned for race results on Friday. Thanks for reading. Sammy J

I'm an idiot!!!!

2007-08-31T22:05:00.000-07:00

haha, so funny story...today I was kind of starting to pack for mountain bike worlds and I was going through my track bag looking for tools. I dumped it totally out on the floor. My track bag is not all that impressive; it is a specialized shoe bag that I have allotted for my track gear. My track gear includes a couple of the chainrings I use most:47,48,49,50 tooth chainrings. A 16tooth cog ring for when my 14/15 flip flop won't do the trick. I have a open end wrench, a 4 and 5mm allen wrench, a chain whip, and a second set of cranks. I have a pair of 165mm cranks for mass start events and a pair of 172.5mm cranks for pursuiting. So I thought I had been using the 172.5's all along, but when I dumped out my bag I saw the engraved 172.5mm staring me right in the face. Maybe that would explain why I have sucked so bad on the track lately....I have no torque....stay tuned for mountain bike worlds news.

Sam J

Something to Think About.

2007-08-28T07:05:00.000-07:00

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways , but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness. We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much , and pray too seldom.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things. We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less. These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete... Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be a round forever. Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side. Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent. Remember, to say, "I love you" to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you. Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again. Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind. AND ALWAYS REMEMBER: Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. -George Carlin

Jones Park Run!!!

2007-08-24T21:28:00.001-07:00

Today I went on a sweet shuttle run with one of the local Juniors, Cody Cox. Let me tell all the rest of you juniors out there...look out Cody's gonna start spankin ya'll next year. This kid had me winded from the start.

His dad was kind enough to drive us all the way up Old Stage road to the Jones Park trailhead.

Well almost all the way. There was a little section of road from old stage up to the trail head that is a little sketchy for cars, so we rode that part. While riding up to the trail head Cody and I had a conversation, half of which I could hardly cary on because I was huffing and puffing like the big bad wolf who didn't feel so bad and Cody was just whistling his way up no prob. We got to the trailhead and I lead it down the begining of the trail having fun catching about as much air as I was comfortable with doing my sweet not so sweet goofy bunny hop/not really a bunny hop hop. Then we got to a couple of the hi speed sections where I was letting it go a little more...Jones Park is pretty nice for cyclists because for the most part we can throw down and not have to worry about killing hikers. Intermittently I would stop and take a couple pictures (posted with this blog). Jones Park is a pretty sweet trail. I think every time I ride it I get a little faster and a little better on technical downhills.

There were a couple of times where I got into a sketchy position...something I should have rolled ass-over-tea kettle down the mountain from...but committed to it and rode it fine. I think there was a couple of times I should have flatted really really bad and got lucky...thanks to my big 800gram Fast tracks. The further down you get on the trail the more technical it gets and the more I love going for it. All the rocks definitely teach you to be smooth and choose good lines. So we made it down to the end of jones park and crossed bear creek to go up Captain Jacks. I had actually never riden Jacks that direction before. I always take it from Cheyenne Canyon and climb all the way up it and go down the way we came up. I do have to say going from trail 667 to Capt. Jacks is way more fun. Then as Cody says, "Its nice, you just end up at the top of Jacks and have an even longer sweet downhill to do." I let Cody take the lead for a bit and he showed me his stuff. This kid was railing the descent like no bodies business and it was really really hard to hold his wheel. Once we got down to the bottom he told me to take the lead again. By this time I was kind of tired and feeling a little sluggish so I backed it off a little and just rode real smooth. We got to the little climb (apparently there is a secret trail somewhere around there, I'll look for it next time), and passed a really young kid workin his way up with his dad. He let us around and we started bombing down again. I started to let it go a little to much and found my front wheel floating a little more than I could control. Yep, I got cheese gradered on Captain Jacks. Got the full work up, elbows, chest, hips. I was like, "thats gonna sting in the shower." I wasn't really hurt at all, kind of felt good to crash, haven't done it in a while and was long over due. Just a little one to remind me to keep the rubber side down. We finished of the descent, I was ok for most of it, but towards the end I started washing out of every corner I went around, definitely time to call it a day. We got to the bottom of Capt Jacks and went up Gold Camp through the first tunnel to the little secret trail to get down to Columbine, I just tried to get down it without crashing again. We made it back to the car not too worse for the wear. It was fun Cody, we totally need to do some big epic rides this fall.

NMBS Finals Snowmass, Colorado

2007-08-12T06:55:00.000-07:00

Colins Awesome Post race helmet hair!!
U23 Series Points Podium

Well everyone, the season is nearing a close. Yesterday was the last National Series cross country race of the season. I have had a spectacular season this year with great fitness, but also a lot of flats. However, in spite of all the flats and bad luck, I have definitely fought my way through it all to still have my most successful season yet. Since the previous Sugar Mountain NMBS race I have had 9 whole days off my bike to recoup mentally and physically. The first few days were pretty rough, since there is not a whole lot to do at the training center other than train, but one of my best friends from Jackson came down to the springs for the weekend and kept me busy, which saved me from going totally and completely out of my mind. When my time off was up, I hit the track for one day of flying k's and 5k's in a really really small gear to kind of get my legs back under me. I was really surprised to be hitting times on the 5k's that I could have only dreamed about hitting last year. So I took it as, I am ready for this weekend. I have been knocking on the door of the podium all year in the Pro XC races, but haven't quite been able to put it all together, so it was my goal for the weekend. Usually the course here in Snowmass is a real killer. It usually takes well over two hours and has more climbing than any other race during the year. This year they changed the course and made it ridiculously short. Dubbed, "The lolly pop" course it was pretty much a really really long climb to start, medium length downhill to about half way up the first climb, then back up to the top of the course again, followed by a really really long descent back to the finish. The semi pros did it in about an hour and fifty minutes so we were thinking it would be around an hour forty minutes. I knew it would be a short race, so I started my warm up a little earlier and made it a little more intense than usual so I could hit it hard earlier, because that's what the top guys were going to do. From the gun it was a crazy rat race to get the first bit of single track that would dictate, for the most part the rest of the race. There was absolutely no passing whatsoever on the first half of the single track climb. I totally blew it and ended up somewhere around 15th hitting the single track. It all stayed together for a little while, but sure enough someone 5 places ahead of me cracked super early and let a big gap open up. I my head I am flipping out, I know I can make the podium today and I am blowing it. I have to get around these guys. Well since there was no passing I just had to sit and wait, so I shifted down to my middle ring and just spun up the hill real easily behind the train of 5. Still I'm pretty much freaking out, but there is just no where to pass safely. Finally there was a wide section in the trail where there was a steep right hand sweeping turn and the lane magically opened up for me. I kind did a weird zig zag through the group, coming around the rider right in front of me on the right, then moving up on the left to cut strait back through the group again to the right, somehow I pulled it off smooth and didn't bump wheels with anyone. As soon as I made my move, I hear Jay Henry (pretty much the craziest fastest machine at altitude) say, nice move and hop on my wheel. I got the feeling he was about as itchy as I was to get out of the pack and try to bridge the, now almost insurmountable, gap to the leaders. He didn't let me lead for long, he was really itchy to get it going, so he pulled around me and started cranking. It was almost everything I could do to hold his wheel. He kept getting out of the saddle and accelerating over and over again. We started riding through a few more people who had been popped from the lead group, first we caught Bary Wicks, then Jeff Shaulk, then Trebon, then Sam Schultz. Jay was still kicking it at the front, sending me gasping for more air in the pain cave. Lucky for me there were a couple little sections of down hill single track and some more technical sections on the climb to close little gaps Jay had opened up. After one I finally kind of got settled in and comfortable behind him. He kept telling me to go around him, and I kept telling him, no not yet. We came through the feed zone about 3/4 the way up the climb, and as soon as we were through it he attacked me again. I quickly put my bottle in my cage and covered the attack and I think it was the nail in the coffin for Jay. He worked so hard to try to bridge the gap to the leaders and shake me he kind of finally cracked a little. I noticed he wasn't quite as fresh as he was earlier and I took over the pulling. Initially I wanted to work with him a little longer to the top, so I just shifted it into my big ring for a flatter section and slowly wound it up to top speed. Jay hung with me for a little while, but ended up cracking a little more as a gap began to form. I looked back and saw I had an ok gap so I let it go and put more and more pressure on him all the way to the top. And as soon as I hit the top I bolted for the single track descent. I knew I could make up some more ground on the descent to the lead group so I went for it. I definitely took some risks trying to get closer to the lead group on the descent. What can I say its not easy riding smooth when you're totally cross eyed and have salty stinging sweat pouring into your eyes. I still bombed down to the lap point where I turned back up the climb again. No one is in sight. I know this is my last shot at a podium for the year, so I give 'er all the way back through the feed zone and all the way to the top, there was a couple of times I could see JHK up ahead on an upper switchback. I was bringing it back a little, but not enough to make it to the podium. Jay was no where in sight. I recovered a little more on the top and rode the descent a lot more smooth than the first lap. There was pretty much no way I was going to close the gap now unless someone ahead of me flatted or had a major mechanical, so I held back a little so that wouldn't happen to me. I safely made it down the descent fast and smooth all the way to the finish line for my best finish ever in a National Series race, 6th place. Not the podium I was looking for, but hey I'll take a best finish ever. Sometimes you think, "Oh if only I wouldn't have got stuck behind someone slow on the climb, or if only this or that wouldn't have happened I would have made it to the podium." But it didn't happen that way. If I would have made the early move, maybe I wouldn't have been able to hold on, maybe I would have just gone too hard too early and been one of the people who cracked on the climb. Who knows? It is what it is and it was a great race for me. So 6th place in the race, 12th place in the series points standings for overall pros and 1st for overall U23s, not a bad finish to the regular season. Today is the last short track of the year then the next stop is the World Championships in Fort William Scotland. Thank you all for all your support over the years, I couldn't do it without you.

The Pre-race suffering

2007-08-10T20:41:00.000-07:00

The Beginning
Thats a lot of food!!!!
I'm done, couldn't finish it...

Its nessessary for a good race tomorrow.

NCS Sugar Mountain.

2007-07-29T08:47:00.001-07:00

This week in between the National Mountain Bike Championships and an other National Series race here in Sugar Mountain, North Carolina I found myself with little or no motivation. One of two things that were driving my whole season was over. I am relieved it is over, because I spent so much time and energy training for it. This week was my last week of racing before I begin my, much needed eight day break off the bike, so lets just say my motivation was dwindling.

All week I just kept it pretty chill, my coach told me to just do what I did the week of nationals. I didn’t really need to taper, I was definitely on form and I didn’t really need to train a whole lot, it would just make me tired for the race this weekend. I pretty much kept it to: 1-2 hour rides all week, real chill no big deal, just trying to get through this week. Friday, the day before the race, I did a hot lap to “open up”, kind of a warm up to warm up. Get the legs going, suffer a little, and remind my body what it was supposed to do the next day. I rode a 35min lap, which seemed ridiculously fast compared to every other lap I had done over the week. Off that we determined it was going to be either a short race at 3 laps or a crazy long race at 4 laps. Our mechanic TJ went to the managers meeting and told us what we feared, “4 laps.” Ah yes, gone are the days when the winners come in under 2 hours, maybe they are trying to train us better for the world cups, which by the way the winners never come finish in over two hours. I pretty much didn’t care at this point; I was just here to suffer through one more race before my break.

The course wasn’t all that much to look at, just a silly long climb and a stupid short, fast, scary, technical, descent. Lets just say it took about 29 minutes to do the climb and about 3 minutes to do the whole descent. The climb was just a simple service road climb, most places were pretty gradual with a couple of steep inclines, really, it played well to my strengths. Then the descent was easily the most technical of the season. We did several switchbacks through the trees and ski slopes. In the trees was the slimiest mud known to man and a couple of really hairy rock gardens and off camber flying turns covered in that mud I mentioned earlier. There were definitely plenty of people really struggling on it. For some reason, one of my major improvements this year has been my down hill skills, I was having no trouble at all on the descent. Maybe its because I crashed so much in the last couple of years I’m finally learning how to ride this stuff fast and the fact I have completely embraced the mud and roots.

Race day: I showed up first to the trailer and it was sunny out, none of the women on course already looked muddy at all. Immediately I asked TJ to change my front tire…oops I kind of jumped the gun a little because 20 minutes before the start it started drizzling. This was a drizzle by North Carolina standards, but a good down pour by Wyoming standards, regardless it doesn’t take hardly any water to make the course slicker than snot. Quick re-change tires back to my original choice. Huge thanks go to my mechanics TJ and Joey who work all together too hard for us, especially me. They changed my tire back and no worries. I opted for the super short 20 minute warm up because it was going to be a really epic long race. Just a couple of hi cadence efforts and a couple short hard strength efforts to get the legs opened up and used to a little lactate. Still raining. I rolled up to the start line in my rain jacket and it stopped raining. They did the usual count down: 2 min, 1 min, 30 sec, 15sec, however the last 15seconds was the fastest 15 seconds in the history of 15seconds because the gun went off more like 5 seconds after the 15second call out. Anyway, I made my mind up to take the first lap relaxed and chill, and chase for the remaining three laps. Mid way up the first climb I was probably in the mid 20’s maybe 30’s. No worries. I caught Tad as we were hitting the first paved section. This kid was out of the saddle hammering like there was no tomorrow. I came up behind him and reminded him, “Dude, it’s the first lap, and there’s three more after this one, sit down, drink, relax hop on my wheel and take it easy.” He did and we rode together for a little while until Cody Peterson and Mich Hoke caught Tad and I. Cody asked to let him pull, so I was like, be my guest. He pulled most of the rest of the way on the long road climb. Near the top I pulled around him and caught a couple of people before the first little single track section on the top of the mountain, then a couple more people before the first descent. I pretty much just wanted to have the descent wide open and all to myself because I knew I could close some serious gaps. I rode all the technical sections super smooth and fast; I must have because the fans were yelling like crazy as soon as I cleared some of the technical section quickly. Then on the high-speed section near the bottom, I punched a hole in my rear tire, luckily I was really close to the pit so I rode it in and got a quick tire change. Now it was time to start working. I got into a real good hard tempo for the second lap climb and caught all the way up to 9th place by the beginning of the downhill at the top. At the top it was three Sams, Sam S. Sam J. and Sam K. kind of funny. Sam K. passed me just before we headed down the first section, then went sailing down the hill after blowing through a corner slick with mud. I was rockin on the descent again, until the last little rock garden. I caught somebody and had to slam on my breaks and take a rougher line, I burped my front tire like three times and had to pull off the trail to change it. I struggled with my CO2 for a couple of minutes until I was out of gas and had to run at least 2miles down the hill, through the start finish area, and back up the first park of the climb to the tech pit. In the pit Joey gave me a quick wheel change while I sprayed off my drive train, Mary M. gave me a fresh bottle, and Matt Opperman gave me a peanut butter M&M feed. I kind of had a moment of reckoning in the tech zone. Already before the race I wasn’t motivated, now two flats were not helping the motivation at all. I asked the guys in the pit if I should keep going or just pull it. They all yelled unison, “ Yes!!! Go!!! Get Going!!!!” Guess you can’t argue with that, so I kind of grumbled a little bit and started up the hill again. I was just over it now, but however slowly I was going up the climb, there were way more people who had passed me while I was running who were going way slower than me. The more people I passed the more I got into it, and the more the fans cheered, the more I got into it, before long I was out of the saddle hammering for all I was worth. I rode through almost the rest of the U23 field by the top of the climb. I caught Tad half way down the descent, he was going good. Then, I finally made it through the feed, tech pit without a problem and got an actual feed. I cracked a joke about needing an other M&M feed. I heard I was just three spots out of the top 20. I was kind of like, “hmmm maybe I can still make the top 20.” I just put it down as hard as I could for the rest of the climb. I caught Cody Peterson and Adam Snider at the top of the climb and passed them just before the single track at the top. I put a good gap on them by the very top and caught one more person before the final descent. I railed the top technical portion of the descent and caught Colin again. He let me pass him, but as soon as I got around him, my chain jammed like two cars on the freeway in Brazil. It was stuck between my little cog and my frame in the rear. Colin went around me again along with the guy I passed at the top. I finally got it going, but I had lost all momentum I had. I had total utter and complete mental and physical detonation. I couldn’t hardly ride my bike or hold on to my handlebars, I just started loosing control of everything. Adam Snyder caught me again and I just barely finished in one piece.

All in all this was one of the craziest races I have ever raced. I went from mid pack to top ten, to DFL (dead freaking last), to 16th and back to 20th. I probably had the best legs I have ever had, I felt like I could ride through the whole field no problem. I just had the worst luck ever. Thanks to all the people in the pit for telling me to keep on going, without you guys I would have pulled the plug and missed out on some good racing. Thanks to all people cheering out on course, there were so many of you who saw me riding a flat, then catching up, then running because of an other flat, the chasing back on, you guys were awesome. Thanks especially to my mechanics Joey and TJ for putting up with all my fiascos and kicking ass and taking names in the pit and feedzone.
In other notes, nice work Colin, staying a little more conservative on the downhill was ultimately the way to go on this one. You rode an awesome steady smart race. I was all over the place. Awesome job Tad, you killed it this weekend, you flatted and you put the rest of the U23’s in the hurt box and survived that last lap when most everyone else pretty much died, you showed your stuff this weekend, nice work. And congrats to Joey Ernst our team mechanic for winning the Expert Class over all this weekend and last.

Cross Country Mountain Bike Nationals

2007-07-21T18:30:00.000-07:00

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For the U23 National Cross Country Championships it was set to be an epic battle. Current defending U23 Cross Country Champion Sam Schultz was there to defend his title, my self, my teammates: Colin Cares and Tad Elliot, and plenty more racers making this the biggest field ever in the U23 National Championships. I have had this race on my mind since last year when I finished second to Sam S. This season has been awesome so far, I have made huge improvements and have been hungry and motivated to do well. For the past couple of weeks I have been on the road a lot, the Park City NMBS, two world cups in Canada, a week in Jackson Hole, and road nationals last week. With all the training and travel, this week before the race I felt like I had a big sinus infection coming on, my forehead felt as if it would explode, so I took a Tylenol sinus headache and was right as rain two days before the race. The first day we rode the course it was the driest I have ever seen Mount Snow, the course was dusty in places. The weather didn't hold out long and it turned into a classic Mount Snow weekend. Wednesday it began raining and rained over and inch in the two and a half days before the race. Tires were the biggest puzzle to work out. I figured the race would be won based mostly on tires. Most people chose the super specific mud tires, which are great in the mud, but very slow on anything other than mud. I chose a newer tire specialized gave us this year, the "Saucer Wind". It's much wider than a mud tire, but also has very widely spaced knobs to help with clearing mud. The center knobs are not very deep and are ramped to role faster and the side knobs are bigger and hook up on roots well. I chose these tires because the only place on the course you really needed a mud tire for traction was so muddy and slippery not even the mud tire would suffice to ride up it and everyone would be running no matter what tires they had. So I figured I would go with the faster tire for the rest of the course that I could actually ride. The down hills were incredibly muddy and slippery, but very rideable, I was very confident in my skills and ability to ride the downhill faster than anyone else.

The night before the race I was super nervous, a lot of people had come up to me saying, "Good luck, we know you can to it etc." I felt like I was fast enough to win, but didn't know how Sam S. was coming around, which was really scary. The start of the race was scheduled for 5 PM, when we would start with the Junior men right behind us, the U23 Women right behind them, and the Junior women right behind them. We all kind of figured it would be a 3 lap race since it was taking about 45min to ride a lap in practice, but to our horror they called it to be 4 laps. That totally changed my race strategy. I was planning on hitting it really hard and putting everyone in the hurt box early, but with such a long race that would have been a stupid move. I pretty much hit the start hard enough to get to the single track with Sam and just stuck on his wheel never letting him get to far ahead. In the trees on the single track I was picking pretty good lines and was riding smoother than Sam and passed him a few times only to bobble and get passed right back by him. The first lap was pretty fast to shed a lot of people off, then the second lap we slowed down considerably. Towards the end of the second lap we back to ride through the Junior women. One of them didn't quite get out of the way in time and I had to slow down on a technical rocky section and I hit a rock with not quite enough momentum and found myself tumbling over the handlebars as my teammate Colin bridged up to me. I got back on as quick as possible. When we came through the second feed zone Sam had 30 seconds on Colin and I. By the time we went through the start finish area and the first feed zone he had 45 seconds. In my head I was panicking, my mind waging an epic war with itself to not panic and bring Sam back slowly VS put in a huge effort and bring him back as fast as possible. Some how I held it all together, collected myself and began chipping away at the time gap by riding steady, smooth, and in control. It paid off and I caught him just before entering the woods at the top of the climb on the third lap. I didn't slow down or recover. As soon as I made contact with him I accelerated and attacked him to get to the woods fast so I wouldn't have ride behind him one more time through the now darkening forest. I put it in the big ring and hammered over a two little rocky technical climbs and up the last little stretch of fire road before hitting the first main stretch of downhill. The whole time I had to yell ahead of me to Junior men, and U23 and Junior women to pull over and let me go by. I bombed the 3^rd lap downhill and put a minute and a half on Sam by the 2^nd feed zone near the end of the lap. I came through the start/finish area with Sam nowhere in sight and my coach Matt Cramer telling me, "Good job, ride smart, ride smart." I put down a good tempo, hard enough to keep the pressure on, but not so hard I would blow half way up the big climb. I made it through the start lap and the first feed zone with Sam nowhere in sight. I just kept my steady tempo to the first technical climb and calmly speed walked the muddy climb impossible to ride. I finally made it to a section of fire road on the climb and kept telling myself to shift down and keep the pressure on. I made it to the top of the course alone, but still passing other juniors. I rode the downhill really smooth and in control, didn't push the limits at all. I made it through the final feed zone and hit the gas hard to seal the deal. With a quarter of a mile to go I caught the leading U23 woman, Cloe Foresman. I looked back Sam was no where in sight still, so I said to Cloe, "Lets make this cool and finish together." So we rode it in to the finish together. Cloe nipped me a the line. This was an awesome race. Holy Smokes am I glad its over. I was so nervous, its been a long time since I've been that nervous, probably the last time was my first NORBA ever in Big Bear, CA in 2002. I want to say thanks to all the people who were out there cheering for me and to the people who couldn't make it who were cheering for me at home and to Sam Schultz, good race man it was a battle. To Colin, congrats on the third place finish. To my other teammate, Tad Elliot, who flatted and who is visiting the east coast for the first time kind of tough luck dude, don't worry about it though, you have a long career in front of you and an amazing amount of talent keep working hard and you'll have your day.

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Road Nationals

2007-07-14T09:21:00.000-07:00

For the past couple of days I have been in Seven Springs, PA for Road Nationals, pretty much just preparing for Mountain Bike Nationals next week in Mount Snow, VT. In the road race I pretty much just sat in for the first (of three) lap and took it easy. The plan was to use the entire team to go off in attacking rotations to wear out the competion and make them chase for the whole race. The first lap nothing got away, then starting the second lap my MTB teammate Colin Cares put in the mother of all attacks and put like 5 min in to the main field and held it for about 45 min solo. It was pretty impressive to see him go for it like that. Finishing up the 2nd lap, my teammates gave me the go ahead to start attacking and I attacked hard once...got brought back. Then some of the slipstream guys attacked and I brought them back. Then I attacked hard and got brought back. Then as soon as I got brought back I attacked again as hard as I could. No one chased me down and I went for it. I almost caught the break 2 min up the road. I got to about 1:45, 15 seconds down until I cracked on a steep climb and got shot out the back of the peleton like I was standing still. That was my race. The only thing I had left to think about was MTB nationals next week and the TT the next day, so I pulled it in the feed zone, no point in wasting energy to ride a lap alone, I'm going to win it or even catch the peleton again.

In the TT yesterday. I almost missed my start, but thanks to my old pal Noah Singer who yelled at me as I was getting my bike checked, "DUDE YOU'RE UP NEXT!" I just barely clipped in on the start gate as they said go. I just stuck it at about 360Watts and held it the whole 25KM felt good and in control and when I finished I was in 5th with only a few riders left. When all was said and done I got bumped down to 10th. Not bad for my first ever road TT on a not so Aero Road bike. Next stop Mountain Bike Nationals.

Sammy J

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Mont Sainte Anne World Cup

2007-06-24T07:34:00.000-07:00

Quebec Mont Saint Anne World Cup

Oh the pain and Suffering.

I am kind of getting in this mode of realizing before the race how much it is going to hurt if I want to do well. I am not sure if it is a good thing or a bad thing, probably a good thing to try to prepare for it, but a bad thing to dwell on it. I am getting a pretty good routine with the pre-race meals, I'm figuring out what works well for me to drink during races, and I have my warm up pretty much dialed for every race.

The world cup here started as it always does: REDICULOUSLY FAST!!!! So fast that half the field blows sky high on the first climb after the start/parade lap. I kind of realized it as we were making our way through the cloud of dust off the start and trying to avoid crashing because of some jerk brake checking the whole field like three times. It was really dusty on the parade lap and I was trying to be calm, conserve and breath through my nose as much as possible to save my lungs for the job later. We hit the first climb, which by all standards is pretty steep and covered on top with crushed gravel making a bunch of Euros dismount and start running. I, again this being the third year in a row I have raced here, just kept riding up the climb through the scramble. It never ceases to amaze me how so many of them give up so easily on riding some of this stuff. If they would stay on their bikes they would conserve so much energy and pass all the stupid people running (don't tell anyone I said that, for now its one thing I have going for me). By the time I had hit the second major climb with about 7 short switchbacks on it, I was up with Mikey Wiess and Adam Craig. Mikey was severely pissing me off because he was cutting every corner he could find, not riding, but running and balling up half of the field. I kept yelling at him that its not a cross country running race, but a mountain bike race and he should stop fooling around and ride his bike. I hear Adam Craig concurring right behind me with a remark like "shift down and ride it you idiots!!!" I finally got around Mikey and started tearing down the next down hill section. Back to an other climb. I literally hear "PSSSSSSSS" about a bike length past the tech pit and due to UCI rules I am not aloud to ride backwards on the course, DAMN IT!!!!! I'm up in the high thirties barely breathing hard and I freekin flatted. First it takes me almost a minute to get my CO2 off my bike. The Velcro on the silly thing was stuck on there so good I just couldn't get it off. When I finally did, I used a shot of it to see if the Sealant in my tires would take hold and I could keep going…NEGATIVE!!! I frantically looked for the hole. CRAPP!!! Its in the sidewall!! Ok now I had to change it for real. It probably took me 5 minutes to get the whole thing sorted out. My race was pretty much over. I get my on my bike and sprint as hard as I can to finish the second half of the first lap…I'm DFL (Dead Freekin Last). When I hit the bridge just past the start finish area I hit it so hard I launched it 3-4feet in the air and landed about 2/3s the way down the other side, and I heard everyone who saw me gasp as I almost killed myself trying to land it. Luckly I am at the first pit again and I go through to get a new rear wheel. Cramer gives me a quick wheel change and I'm out of the saddle on my way again, still DFL.

For some reason, Todd Wells inspired me. That guy, no matter what happens in a race (flat, two flats, broken bike, broken bone, whatever) he always fights it out and finishes the race probably pretty close to where he would have finished anyway. He fights it out all the time. So in this race (I think normally I would have thrown in the towel) I thought of Todd Wells, because of his terrible luck last week in Deer Valley, but he still fought it out and finished high up in the race. I fought it out. I am going really good right now, definitely apparent from the way I rode the next 4 laps. I think I was out of the saddle for every climb and fearlessly shredding the DH's. It wasn't until my third lap that I saw someone. Finally I am caught someone. From there I was riding through the field as fast as I could, frantically screaming, "GO GO GO GET OUT OF THE WAY!!!! MOVE!!!!" I was going so hard I didn't even thing of blowing my nose the good ol' snot rocket style, I just blew it. I think I looked like one of those Nordic Skiers in the Olympics with snot and drool all over their face and ski suites. Every lap I came through I thought I would probably get pulled, and I wouldn't and I would hammer out an other lap. It wasn't until two to go that I got pulled. I had ridden through the last third of the field. It was really a pretty awesome race, except for the flat, probably my best ever. Last year or two years ago; if I flatted on the first lap I would have been pulled on the first lap, heck last year I got pulled on the third lap and nothing went wrong, this year I made it 5 out of seven and I had to change a flat myself and visit the pit three times. I can't wait for the lap break down to see how fast I was going. Hopefully I will keep this form going for an other few weeks.

This week we are staying in Mont Sainte Ann until Thursday to train and hang out before heading north to Sainte Felicion for the next stop on the world cup circuit. Thanks for reading.

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Champagne Shower!!!

2007-06-17T20:21:00.000-07:00

Today was a little surreal. I woke up pretty cooked from yesterday and not motivated to race at all, pretty much just wanted to ride the couch all day. I had a second row call up right next to Kenda rider Brian Falley. He can be a bit sketchy at times so I wasn't real stoked on starting next to him. I just didn't want to race at all, my warm up felt like I couldn't get anything rolling and I just felt flat flat flat no giddyup at all. The gun went off and it was pedal to the medal. I kind of just didn't feel anything. I ended up almost getting put in the first ditch by Brian, but made myself known I was coming through as I screemed "MOVE OVER!!!!" as loud as I could...thank goodness he complied. Pretty much I thought I was going to just do a couple laps and get shot out of the back. I hit the first little climb of lap 1 in the top 15 and just kind of settle in. I was just numb for the climbs and flats and flying on the Down hills passing people slowly usually on the hairpin near the start finish line. I kind of just kept moving up and before I knew it I had bridged up to the lead chase group. Kabush off the front never to be seen again, Todd Wells leading the chase, Carl Deker on his wheel and JHK on his. I drifted off the back a couple times and caught back on. I'm stoked, I'm on the podium at the moment. The cards come out...3 to go. I'm there, I'm hangin tough...i'm going to make it on the podium. I settle in and was totally happy with my spot in 5th. 1 Lap to go, Decker is on the front, and TOdd and JHK attack Decker on the right hand side...Decker sees them and blocks them into the boards, while I practically flip out and hit the gas. I had a wide open lane all to myself to hit the single track climb. I punched it as hard as I could and blew past, pretty much my heros. I'm in second place, just hold on, punch it harder harder harder hammer hammer hammer. I look back and JHK is chasing hard after me up the last little climb. I'm scared as hell and hit the DH. OK i'm there I'm almost there. Just make it down the DH in one piece. I hit the hairpin and I've got a big gap. I am home free...2nd place. My best finish ever in a short track...or any pro race for that matter. Thank God this weekend is over. it was really hard. I am super stoked, i'm making an other step up. Thank you so much to all the people screaming and cheering for me in the race, I don't think I have heard fans that loud at a National Ever!!! IT was AWESOME!!!! On the podium Geoff Kabush asked me if this was my first podium and I said ya. I knew what was coming the...Champagne Shower!!!!

Sam J

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Deer Valley Sufferfest.

2007-06-16T17:25:00.000-07:00

Today was I have to say, one of my best and hardest races ever. Some how I found the pain cave. Here's how it unfolded....

Before the start of the race I went through the whole pre-race thing, ya yada yada yada, kind of just going though the motions not really feeling it, honestly I really didn't want to race today. The Teva Mountain Games really messed with my head over the last couple of weeks and I have been training super hard since I got back from Europe. I was pretty much planning on not riding well here, maybe hopefully so I could ride well at Saint Felicion, Canada in two weeks. So this morning I was hangin out, made some awesome pancakes for breakfast (buckwheat flour, banana, oatmeal, nutella, honey, raspberry yogurt, egg, milk). They were amazing. Had some good coffee...so good it went from one press to two presses to my third press just before getting ready to warm up.

Warming up...I warmed up on the trainer in the Garage of the Mechanics Condo. While warming up the third press began to kick in and I was floored...so floored I was jittery and kind of felt like bonking on the start line before the race...not to mention I was totally phsycing myself out from the Teva Games. I was called up third line, figured as much since we have been on the world cup and missed a couple NMBS races and the points along with them. Just felt pretty blah really nervous, not good. The only thing about the start that was good was the ZZtop playing "Sharp Dressed Man". The gun went off and I was like "CRAP!!!!" I actually have to race. Somehow I found the legs to get over the first climb in 7th or 8th. Rallied the first DH and closed the gap to Ross Schnell. The first descent there were lots of switch backs and really really high speed sections. Ross got a little gap on me near the end of the Down Hill I was a little cross eyed and dizzy, between that and the dust I couldn't see very well. I was sitting in the saddle when it happened. Suddenly the ground dropped out from under me and I smashed into the other side of the little ditch whoopdeeedoooo and bounced ASS-over-TeaKettle several feet into the air and found a nice hard tree to break my fall. Having severely rung my bell and running solely on adrenaline I got back on my bike without being passed by anyone (we must have been going pretty darn fast to open up that kind of a gap). I didn't really think about checking my bike or me over to see if everything was ok, I just went. Now I had some serious adrenaline flowing and just kept it going. I could still see Ross and the lead group...holy smokes I was on the tail end of the lead group. Going up the next climb, Todd Wells was on the side of the trail with a flat. I was having some serious mental block and couldn't seem to get it moving. At least I felt like I wasn't pushing it at all and the battle of Sams Head VS Sams other imaginary head raged on kind of like Seinfeld playing chess with himself. I kept shifting down till I met some resistance on the climb and played "Sharp dressed man" over and over in my head....I swear it was the only thing keeping me moving. Starting the 2nd lap...Oh my gosh I'm in 6th place. And there is a group of two right in front of me, Burry Standar and someone else. I spun nicely through the feedzone and got on it and had closed the gap to Burry by the end of the first climb. One thing I think I have learned very well over the last couple of years as a Pro is how to descend while completely cross eyed from the outrageous effort of some of the climbs in Mountain Biking. I war baring down on Burry really hard, I think I was making him nervous or something. I recovered completely by the bottom of the descent (this time I made the whooopdeedooo without bouncing myself off the ground). I passed him on the first little climb and put some hard time into him on the next climb. Starting an other descent again, Ross Schnell is in the middle of the trail fixing a flat. HOLY $#!* I'm in 4th. I am flying on cloud nine, not only am I in podium position, but I am on the podium. All I can think of is hammer hammer hammer, don't let anyone catch me. Also I'm thinking, sweet I'm qualifying for worlds today. Beginning of the third lap. The announcer give me a big woop woop and I'm off through the feed zone with no one in sight. I'm out of the saddle in the middle ring hammering up the start climb. 45seconds to third place. HOT DRESSED MAN!!! The redbull I picked up in the feed zone is not very good. I drink about half the bottle before getting some water in the Feed Zone 2 (my second mistake, the first was taking the redbull in the first place) I should have got Gatorade in Feed Zone 2 but whatever. I'm still feeling good, heck I'm in 4th catching 3rd. Back through the start finish. I'm ok, i'm ok. One to go, this is your best race ever!!!! Through the feed....gatorade....out of the saddle hammer hammer hammer. As soon as I hit the steep part of the first climb. KAAABOOOOMMMMM!!!!!! Oh no!!! That's not good. I went from out of the saddle hammering to granny gear literally crying...yes with tears running down my face and everything. Giving 'er just to move one utterly painful pedal stroke after an other, oops, there went Carl Decker, oops there goes a Kona Factory rider. Its ok you're still in 6th, no prob, just make it to the DH and you've got 6th. Next climb, the cramping starts. I let out some screams like something from Frankensteins castle, trying to keep it going. A whole group of guys catch me and pass me, there goes top ten. I make it to the 2nd feed zone. I must have looked like grim death. As soon as I hit the next climb I had to pull over. I started hacking and coughing, then vomited, and choked on it for a little bit while MAxxis rider Matt Talouse passed me asking, "Dude, you ok!?" Maybe, come on SAM only one more climb to get through. I gave 'er just to get up the climb. The DH was super slow, I'm pretty sure I was going to get passsed Aaaagain. Somehow no, I make it to the finish in 12th. I am rendered completely helpless like a torture victim or something. Andrew had to hold me on my bike for some time...I was probably about ready to pass out from heat stroke or something. I poured cold water over my head and back to cool off a little, finally I can at least lean on my bike myself. THAT WAS THE HARDEST RACE EVER!!!!

You think I am disappointed with my result, I mean I was in 4th, the podium at a pro race for crying out loud, for the better part of the race....HECK NO I'M NOT DISAPPOINTED!!! I made a new step up today. I suffered like never before. I flied and died. I left it all out there and I mean everything. Today was a great day, but I don't really want to race short track tomorrow ;)

Thanks for reading.

SAMMY J

GINORMOUS piece of Pooo!!

2007-06-04T09:43:00.000-07:00

Well for the Teva mountain games I felt as though I was a GINORMOUS piece of poo. It was really quite comical actually. I didn't have any gas or a gas tank nor any batteries, not even a little fire cracker or some gas to propel me faster than going backwards. There are a few things which could have been a factor in my slowness: more or less 6 weeks at sea level, lots and lots of racing, 9,000ft base elevation, my awesome interval day the day before, maybe my small breakfast, hmmmm nope I was just SLOW!!!! On the bright side, my bike worked perfect, although I was praying I would break my chain or flat or crash or something to make an excuse for the reason I was soo slow, I have none. At least I beat Floyd Landis. I am chalking it up as training and moving on and going to get myself lost for the afternoon somewhere around pikes peak...more blog to follow.

World Cup #2 Offenburg Germany

2007-05-27T08:43:00.000-07:00

Well, as it would happen the world cup course in Germany went from being super dry and fast to ridiculously muddy as someone turned on the water faucet up stairs. It started down pouring just before the start of the womens race and continued to pour until about half way through the mens race. The course was a muddy mess. I have learned to embrace the mud. Its going to be muddy for most of the world cups so why not love it? When we were getting called up, I just happened to start right next to Sam Schultz once again. I don’t know how I always end up lining up next to him, but it is what it is. Immediately I decided to forgo with my sunglasses because they were going to last a whole 2 minutes anyway and they would be worthless. The gun went off way before I was remotely ready and we were off. I had a pretty good start until the second right hander I got pinned momentarily between a hundred hungry cyclists and a tree on the far right. After getting free of the tree it was a mad dash through the trees to the first climb on the start loop. The best way to go up this climb is to big ring it and get as much speed as you can before you get to it and hold your momentum as far up as you can before dropping down to the middle ring and sprinting out of the saddle to get the rest of the way up the climb. In the start lap I think I ended up gaining quite a few spots from my starting position.

The beginning of the first long lap was up a long paved climb to the first feed/tech zone and the first bit of single track. It was a fight all the way to the single track and for the first Kilometer of single track to the first set of “Crazy Euro Chutes”. This particular set of Chutes had about 6 different lines to get down and everyone was off their bikes running down them. I was like you’ve got to be kidding me and bombed down the first possible line on the left as most of the field appeared to be trying to run down on the right. I passed about 25 guys effortlessly and made my way to the next climb riddled with roots and mud. I had no problem riding it since we finally got some appropriate tires for the occasion. On the way up I had to dodge racers running/pushing their bikes up the climb. By now I had reached a pretty high place in the field and I did my best to settle in, but I went out really really hard. I seemed to be able to ride everything while 90% of the rest of the field was walking or rolling down in the mud. Once or twice I took the hot line on the inside of some of the chutes where other racers were taking the wide outside. On every occasion the biggest crowd I have ever seen at a mountain bike race was screaming and cheering.

I didn’t have the punch on the longer big ring sections the other racers did and they didn’t have the technical skills I had, so between the two I ended up passing and getting passed by the same people over and over again. On the fourth lap near the end I was chasing down the former U23 world champ from Russia, Yuri and he wrecked it hard in a gully and they waved me off with a yellow flag forcing me to take a less than optimal line and I burped my front tire bad. It wasn’t totally flat, but I probably only had about 10lbs in it and I had some major issues steering for the next 3 km to the tech zone where I had to stop and let Joey pump up my front tire some more. Then it was back on the gas. I figured I would be pulled on this lap since I had lost quite a bit of time in the tech zone and Julien Absalon, the current World and Olympic Champ, was coming on hard and fast. I did all I could to put the hammer down for my final lap and ended up catching quite a few of the people who had passed me while I was in the tech pit, but I did get pulled at the end of the lap.

Congrats to Sam Schultz for having an amazing race. Dude you tore it up today, nice work and good luck in the road race next weekend.
All and all it was a really fun race. I felt like I was flying through the mud like not one else around me, quite a difference with good mud tires. I might still have some recovering to do from the road race last week, but for now its back to the Springs for a couple weeks before heading to Park City, Utah for an other NORBA.

Breakfast with Sven Nyys

2007-05-26T12:07:00.000-07:00

The last two days I have had breakfast with current World Cyclocross Champion Sven Nice, who just happened to be staying at the same hotel as me. At first I was very intimidated to talk to him. Heck he is like GOD in Belgium, or at least the next step down from Tom Boonen. He seemed like a nice enough guy, at least at breakfast. We talked about several subjects ranging from his new sport “mountain biking”, to the war in Iraq, to the new doping scandal with Erik Zabel and Biarne Riise. He was very easy to talk to once I got over him being him and yes, he is just an other person who rides a bike (very fast compared to the average bear, but just an other person just the same). When we were talking about Zabel and Riise admitting to doping I asked him what he thought of it. He said, “I think its very bad for the sport [that these men are admitting to doping].” I partially agreed with him. I responded by saying, “I think currently and immediately it will be hard for the sport, but in the long run cycling needs to get over its doping culture and all the scandal that goes with it, in the long run this will be very good for the sport.”

Its always hard talking to the Belgians about doping it seems to be a pretty intertwined part of their cycling culture. When Filipe Merehagian was asked if he was sorry for what he did, he responded by saying, “I’m sorry I got caught.” Similarly at the last world cup we were at in Belgium there were hundreds of fans wearing T-shirts that proudly sported “Filipe Merehagian Supporter”. They all know he took drugs and cheated and they don’t care. They don’t see anything wrong with it.

One of the first questions we asked ourselves when we arrived at the hotel and found out the Belgian National Team was staying in the same hotel with us was, “Will Filipe be around or is he more or less banned from all National Team functions?” The answer was soon staring us right in the face as Filipe showed up for dinner with the Belgian National Team. Officially, he has served his time and paid his dues for what he has done, but most Americans and many other Europeans I could name think a life time ban is a better sentence for those caught cheating by taking drugs.

Even with the thought doping in the back of everyone’s minds its was still an honor to share breakfast with Sven Nice and pick his brain for all kinds of information I have learned a lot by just talking to him. Best of luck Sven in your first World Cup Mountain Bike race this weekend. Tomorrow we race. Wish me luck.

-SJ

Good times in spain

2007-05-23T09:24:00.000-07:00

Well its been a nice relaxing time in spain for the past couple of days after the long stage race. Coling and I have sat back on the beach, got sunburned. Eaten some good (and bad) food. Ridden a bus to Barcelona. Checked out the Picasso Museum. Some other Arcitecture. Checked out some castles today on our ride and generally had a good time and are well rested up. Tomorrow we fly to Germany for the 2nd round of the World Cup in Offenburg Germany. Then we will return states side on Monday. Wish us luck.

Volta Tarragona Stages 5and6

2007-05-19T15:02:00.001-07:00

Wow today was a little rough. This morning we had to get up butt early to make our start time of 9:30 AM in the time trial. A little different than our 4PM start times. The TT went pretty average. Most of the team was supposed to save their energy for this afternoon for the final road stage if John got the Yellow jersey. most of the team, myself included finished mid pack. TJ and John finished up on the list. 8th and 1st respectively. I knew it would be a rough day when I got on the trainer to warm up and I could hardly turn my legs in circles. Some how I got through it though. The TT was as steep and hard as I remember it from last year. grinding gears with a 34 front 27 rear cog. Everyone could tell I was hardly up for one more stage this afternoon. I fell asleep in the chair while the other guys were doing their TT. We barely got time to make it down to the hotel for lunch and back to the race start. When we got back to the race start Noel was giving the race duties for everyone. He told colin and I to stay on the front and keep the tempo high so it would be hard for other riders to attack john in the yellow jersey. I kind of thought he was nuts. I thought it would be better for me to cover jumps until I couldn´t anymore then go off the back and just ride it in. Whatever. We started the race with 10K neutral riding more like 15K then the race was on. As soon as the race started it started pouring rain on us. I was having a hard time staying at the front since I was so blown and colin was no where to be seen. Then one of our riders, Chad Beyer, attacked and crashed on the slick road on a corner. Following him was Sheldon and Chris. Half our team was gone in the crash. Immediately riders started attacking and it was up to me to pull it all back together. Somehow I got to the front and found the pain cave. I probably took a 6 or 7 minute pull going who knows how many watts to catch the 2nd and 3rd place riders with the entire field minus 4 of our riders chasing as hard as they could back to the field after crashing or avoiding a crash. As soon as the break was caught an other one went off and I had to bring it back again. This stupid hammerfest went on for about and hour and a half. I spent at least 50min of that time on the front hammering my brains into the tarmac; either keeping the tempo high or chasing down an attack by myself. by midway through the stage we hit the first climb and the other riders who had crashed caught back up to the front of the peleton and had recovered enough to work. I made it to the major climb and was totally cooked. I couldn´t do an other thing I was off the back. Dropped like a bad habit. It was up to the rest of the guys to get john the win now. For the rest of the day I was in the groupetto again. Colin joined in a little after the descent from the major climb. We just pacelined it back to the finish for the celebration of the team winning a big stage race. Go team USA!!! Now its a couple days in spain to relax and recover before an other world cup in Germany. THanks for all the continued support. -SamJ

Volta Tarragona Stage 4

2007-05-18T13:23:00.000-07:00

Today the moves went from the gun. Noel said today could be the hardest day. Funny didn´t think it could get a whole lot harder than yesterday. I stayed at the front and jumped every 10 seconds to bring back the attackers or maybe make the break. This foolishness went on for the first 35km until we hit the first big climb and John and Sheldon made the break. I just hung in the pack for the climb trying not to get dropped. When we went over the top the really picked up the pace. There were three main teams with no one in the break and they all went to the front and totally put the hammer down for about 30km while I just sat in and enjoyed the free ride for a while. Eventually they caught the break and more people began jumping right and left. Seems kind of normal by now. I covered tons of attacks as did my teammate Chris Barton and nothing seemed to stick. Eventually in a windy section John, Sheldon, TJ, and Chad all made the selection and a gravely section of road plus a nasty cross wind blew apart the field leaving Colin, Chris, and I in the Groupetto again. No worries though what started as a hellish stage turned into a nice rolling day in the Spanish country side. One I wish I had my camera for. Maybe i´ll start racing with it, since I seem to end up in the groupetto more often than not. Still getting in some great racing and even more importantly great training for upcoming mountain bike races. Tomorrow is going to be a hellish time trial in the morning followed by the 6th and final stage in the afternoon. Wish me luck.

Volta Tarragona Stage 3

2007-05-17T12:18:00.000-07:00

3 down 3 to go in this crazy crazy race. Sheesh road racin is hard. Today I had a bad attitude from the start and had to snap out of it. I pretty much just felt like crap all around. Felt like I was going to bonk on the start line. But I didn´t and I ended up fighting my way to the front for the first 25km before the massive 25km climb that lay ahead of us. I was covering attacks left and right for our main man John Devine. With all the jumps and attacks and the nasty head\side wind a big group of us (me and john included) managed to get off. I worked on the front with the guys pulling to build our gap to the main peleton as we began the climb. From there I covered a couple of attacks and worked for about the first third of the climb before I was pretty much kaput. John attacked and took the pressure off me and bridged up to the lead group, never to be seen again. A small chase group formed and I hopped in. We all worked pretty hard to get to the top of the climb catching riders who had been dropped from the lead group all the way up. Then we caught a bigger group that worked together for quite a while. I was in the second group and we had about 2minutes to the peleton. Over the top there was some nasty wind and a couple little kicker climbs that made the legs burn and I finally cracked. The peleton caught me and I barely squeeked enough energy out to stay with them. The peleton stayed together for a while down a descent to the base of the 3rd and final climb before it shattered again. I was off the back in the cars totally cracked. Me and some spanish guy worked to gether for the final 50km to get back. We were the second group in with groupettos coming in very randomly and spread out. Super hard day. I think tomorrow is going to be really hard. Wish me luck.

Volta Tarragona Stage 2

2007-05-17T02:32:00.000-07:00

Well yesterday was terrible. haha. THe start wasn´t too bad, but we thought it could get rough because it was really windy. One of our guys made the break so we didn´t have to work, we just had to cover attacks to make sure nothing too big got off. within about 10k from the start a bunch of people in front of me tried to avoid something a little to fast for my reflexes and I got my front wheel all banged up in someones derraller. I road it for about 2k before the group slowed down enough to give me a chance to get a new wheel. So almost 15k in the stage and I was already in the cars. I got in the cars and caught back on after working my tail off for about 5-10min. Then I tried to move up to the front as much as I could and recover before getting back on the front to cover attacks. That game of cat and mouse went on for about 35k more until we hit the first climb. By then I was beginning to feel the effects of covering attack after attack after attack. And my legs didn´t want to climb this stupid steep climb and I got shot out the back slowly. Its a good thing I started near the front because I was able to just barely stay close enough in contact with the peleton to catch back up on the descent. Then I moved back up to the front to recover so I wouldnt´get dropped like last year at this point of this stage. Now I was just trying to settle in in the side wind and hang on as best as I could. Then the big rollers came with attacks. the whole field just accellerated again and again. I was suffering like crazy. We made it up the rollers to a downhill-rolly-twisty turny section that lasted a few ks and I did my best to recover for the last climb, but couldn´t recover enough. I was pretty much bonked after not drinking enough while covering attacks. I floated off the back never to regain contact. I road with the cars up the last climb and made my way down the super fun descent on the other side and joined the ¨groupeto´´ the group of guys who have lost contact with the rest of the field who are just trying to make it to the finish before the timecut at 20%. It was no problem and we made it back only 5 or 10 minutes after the main field. Congrats to Colin who suffered through the whole day and made the main peleton for the finish. Hopefully today will be a better day for me.

Volta Tarragona Stage 1

2007-05-15T13:06:00.000-07:00

Today was the first stage of the Volta Tarragona. A six stage road race on the east coast of spain. I did this race last year with Sam Schultz and some of the road national team. Last year things were rough, this year not so much. For the most part I felt pretty good today considering I haven´t been able to do a whole lot of training due to all the travel days i´ve been logging. I remember this stage vividly from last year. Started in the same spot. did the same climbs. finished almost the same spot. From the start I made the first break and we stayed away until about mid way up the 1st climb. I probably worked a little too hard in the break. I was stoked, I´ve never been in a break in a road race before (not really too much of a surprise since this is my 4th road race to date. The break didn´t last, no surprise there. Today my goal was to be very close to the front of the peleton all day so as to not be in gutter like last year. the day was a success. went well up the climbs stayed a ways up in the field amost the whole day, until i dropped my chain on the second little climb and flew back through the cars before I could get it back on. I did and had to work my way back through the cars to get back to the field. Shortly after, we started the long gradual descent to the finish. There was a break that got off that we didn´t have anyone in so Noel ordered the team up to the front to bring it back. I actually got to do something useful in this race rather than sit in the pack and try not to crash. We brought them back and I got comfortable in the pack. An other break got away, but we had someone in it so we let it go. It made it to the finish alone and our man was 4th or 5th on the stage. the rest of the team finished in the top 25ish riders. way better than last year.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!

2007-05-13T01:58:00.000-07:00

I just want to take a second and say Happy Mothers Day to my mom. I wish I could be home today to wish you Happy Mothers Day in person. I hope you have a wonderful day.

"The House"

2007-05-11T11:12:00.000-07:00

Well Colin and I have arrived at "the House" in Izegem. Its not as bad as all the stories. Except for something that smelled like raw sewage in one room in the house, but it was bad because you have to walk through that room to get any other room in the house. Its pretty simple. Several rooms with four beds in each one. Several different toilets and shower stalls. A big kitchen and dining room. Then there's the Garage. Pretty much looks like a big bike warehouse. I don't know, I don't think it would be to bad living here. Its nice right now because there aren't really that many people, I'll bet its rough here when there are a ton of people. We only have today and tomorrow here then we are off on Sunday to Spain for the Vuelta Tarragona, a 5day 6stage road race on the eastern coast of Spain a little south of Gerona. Should be exciting.

Yaya the springs

2007-05-07T21:14:00.000-07:00

Wow, I am back in the springs for a whole 2 days. Just enough time to maybe do some laundry and get a massage. Check my mail. Maybe clean my place up post suitcase explosion. Anyhoo, its here till thursday morning then off across the pond once again. Road race in Spain, mountain bike world cup in Germany, maybe some more road racin. Bring it you crazy Euro roadies, I'm comin for ya!!!!!

Fontucky Short track

2007-05-06T21:36:00.000-07:00

Well, I pretty much felt like crap today. Maybe I didn't warm up enough or something. Maybe I didn't eat soon enough after the race yesterday, but whatever it was I felt like pooo for the first 3/4 of the short track today. Started slow, got slower, ended up in no mans land and just stayed there for a while. The group in front of my started to fade a little or I started fighting a little harder or something, but with about 4 to go I started gaining on a group of about 5. Somehow I closed the gap on the last lap and sprinted up the 4x climb up and around the group and got on Cody Petersons wheel to sprint it out with him at the finish. I had to come around him in the sand and couldn't quite get there, we both lunged for the line in a spectacular finish for 13th and 14th place. It was so close neither of us knew who got who at the line. They gave it to Cody. well earned my friend. For me 14th for both races. Tomorrow we head back to the Springs for 2 days then its off across the pond again for 4 days in Izigem, Belgium and a week and a half in Spain for a road race. Then back to Germany for an other world cup. Wish me luck.

NMBS#3 FONTUCKY

2007-05-06T09:01:00.000-07:00

Well it was an other suffer fest at the Fontana National. Yes, Kabush and Gould won again, except they didn't have the spectacular finish they did last year finishing at the same time, but at least we didn't have to ride through the whole pro-womens field too.

For me, it was a pretty good race. I had about 20 Relatives here to cheer for me Uncles and Aunts and Cousins. From the call up, it was immediatly apparent missing last weeks race in Santa Barbra crushed our series standings and relegated Colin and I to the middle of the starting line. Tad was at the back since this was his first race of the year.

From the start I knew it was going to be dusty and caotic since we had three hairpin turns before making a grind up this super steep loose climb. The start went smooth up till the second corner where riders were already balling it up and getting off their bikes. I made it through without any trouble. I was kind of just taking my time. It was going to be a long race and people were going to be detonating left and ride come the third lap no reason for me to. We hit the first short steep climb and more people were off their bikes forcing me to join in the run (probably helped me move up a couple spots. At the top of the climp it was a quick sprint to the single track. Once we hit the single track I just settled in and relaxed not trying to make any moves. Then we hit a fairly descent longer paved climb, an opportunity to open things up a little and pass with ease. That hill quickly separated the men from the boys. Pretty much the top twenty was set from then on. For the rest of the first lap I just tried my best to ride smooth and in control and not crash like last year. honestly I still had some demons to face over my crash here last year. I made it through almost the whole first lap without crashing and got stuck in a rut on the last little descent and went rolling down the hill banging my self against some good rocks. Lucky for me my bikes stayed in the trail and stopped traffic long enough for me to run back up the hill and get on my bike only loosing a couple spots. After crashing I was motivated to start picking riders off one by one trying to make it to the top ten. My second lap was pretty fast, maybe a little to fast. I kind of began to fade in the 3rd lap. I got caught by a couple people, but also caught a couple people and maintained my 14/15th spot. About 2/3 of the way through the 3rd lap my front derallier stopped shifting and I was completely stuck in my big ring. I tried kicking it but nothing it was the shifter. It was riding with Ross Schnel and came through the feed zone fall off his wheel. I yelled at my Coach gatorade instead of redbull a little too late and we got all jumbled up and I missed my feet (myfault). So I knew it was going to be a really hard painful last lap, with only a big ring and no bottle. On the straight away before the super steep little climb out of the feed zone I put the hammer down to get up enought momentum to get up the hill in my big ring and burned past Ross and up the climb. The rest of the lap I went into the pain cave, trying to catch Andy Schultz and trying not to get bogged down in my big ring. Andy also put the hammer down and there was no way I could catch him. About 2/3 through the last lap I got some of the worst leg cramps I can remember from the lack of water and electrolights. But I fought through it and made it in behind Andy and in front of Ross. All and all I think all the stuff that went wrong helped me, kept me focused and made me keep fighting instead of just riding mindless focusless through the last couple laps. Felt good.

The New Guy

2007-05-05T08:36:00.000-07:00

I just want to take a moment to give a shout out to the new guy on the U23 National Team, TAD ELLIOTT (I think thats the correct spelling). Tad welcome to the Team.

Playing the Waiting Game Pre Race.

2007-05-05T08:21:00.000-07:00

For all you who think my job is Glamorous think again. One thing I get all the time is how cool it is we get to travel and see the world and all that. Yes it is sweet to get stamps in my passport, but for the most part all I get to see is the race course and the inside of a hotel room that looks the same as the last hotel room and the hotel room before that.

Basically my job is: fly or drive to some city somewhere, Eat, Ride, hangout in the hotel room, eat, eat, eat, hang out in Hotel room, eat, eat some more, sleep, eat, ride, eat, hang out in hotel room while eating, eat some more, sleep, eat, eat, eat, eat, race, feel sick, hang out in hotel room, eat, pack, fly home.

Some races are better than others, for scenery, not this one. Fontucky is pretty much the ghetto in LA. if we ride to the race course we have to ride through Hellish SoCal traffic and risk life and limb multiple times just get to the race course. Not to mention almost being asphyxiated from the smog.

Haha no worries though. I love my job and I can't imagine doing anything else. I would shoot myself if I had to work a 9to5er in a cube with no windows dayin and dayout. Thank God for giving me the opportunity to do what I love however much longer I get to do it.

Sea Otter Classic Part 3:the cross country

2007-04-15T18:24:00.000-07:00

Sunday was looking to be sunny at least. I began my morning as usuall...walking across the street to Starbucks and almost got blown across the street due to the gail force winds, it was going to be a long hard race. Getting to the venue, the pond around our trailer was subsiding and we were all set up behind the trailer still. I began going through my mental check list of things to do before the race...check tire pressure, get tube, get CO2, get sunglasses, check and tighten bolts, check cleat bolts, drink, drink, drink, eat a banana, eat some clifshotblocks, drink, drink, drink, eat a banana, begin warm up. Since it was most likely going to be a very long day I judged my warm up accordingly as to not burn too much energy in my warm up so I would have enough later for the end of the race.

The call up was awesome, all the top americans got front row call ups because they haven't updated UCI points since continental championships. I chose to line up behind the front row instead of on the front row because the wind was horrendous and I didn't need to work at all for the first lap of the track. As usual Cody Peterson pulled a dumbass move and attacked from the gun. The group let him hang out there for about 30/40 seconds until he was completely blown and swallowed him up and spit him out the back in true Cody Peterson style. The group made its way around the track and didn't really begin picking up speed until we caught the tail wind, then it was a no holds barred free for all to get to the fence first. While everyone was scrambling to get through the fence, Trebon and I hooked handle bars a little and I hear yelling from behind. These guys can freekin give me a break. I am a young bike racer trying to make things happen for myself and I bump bars with someone. ITS A RACE YOU CRAZY UPTIGHT CYCLISTS of course there is going to be some elbowing. I didn't crash anyone. Shortly there after Adam Craig who was yelling, rides up next to me and flicks my shifter, shifting my gears into an aukward gear, SO UNCALLED FOR!!!! Anyway, I didn't let it get to me and fell into the line for the race to the Single track.

Being in line on the single track on the first lap of the race is kind of laim, you really can't do anything until the person in front of you cracks or makes a big mistake or we get to a section of road. So its just a waiting game for a little bit. I just stayed in line until the next road section. The group was moving so fast, it was me who was struggling to hang on. When we reached the road section, Liam Killeen and Matt Talouse came up from behind and passed me. I completely pinned myself to try to stay with Liam because if anyone could bridge the gap to the break it would be him. I lasted for about 90% of the climb up the road and cracked. Talouse went with him. Now I was kind of in no mans land in an epic battle with me myself and I. My head struggling to stay in the game and continue to push, while my body is saying you're done you missed the break and you are tired as hell. All in all I think my head overcame the body and I fought hard the whole race. On the last climb of the first lap I got caught by a Spanish Obea rider and did all I had to do to hold his wheel with Jeff Shaulk hard on my heels. We all reached the Race Track together with Thomas Frischnick and worked together to get around the track as fast as possible. Once we got off the track, the Spaniard attacked up a little climb and I went with him with Frishy. When we hit the first descent I attacked and the SPaniard dared not follow. Since I really had no one in front of me I blasted down the Single track and put some serious distance between me and the Spaniard. Only Frishy could follow. Frishy rode up next to me and asked me what my name was and told me I was riding very well. I was like HOLY @#%$ Thomas Frischnick the legend just complemented me on how well I was riding. It was really cool. We rode together and worked together for the rest of the second lap. Somehow I stayed with him. He kept putting me deeper and deeper into the pain cave further than I have ever gone and come back from. By the time we reached the final climb we had caught Matt Talouse again and Ryan Treybon. We all worked together to make it up the climb in the Gail Force winds. I pushed the pace super hard near the Top and Trebon gave in and floated back. Talouse went with me. I hit the Race Track first and attacked with everything I had. I almost lost Talouse, but couldn't quite put the final Nail in the Coffin. so I backed off and slowed way down to recover and kept an eye on him from the corner of my eye. With about 50meters to go I zigged and put in one more attack with all I had left and finished it. I got the last UCI point in the race and my top finish ever at the Sea Otter, 15th Place. Holy Moly that was a sufferfest, but I felt great.

Sea Otter Classic Part 3:the short track

2007-04-15T09:15:00.000-07:00

We woke up today and it looked a little cloudy, nothing too serious, but chilly. As I walked across the street from the Embassy Suites to Starbucks I saw what was really coming. It wasn't a little rain, it was going to be a Delouge. Sure enough, immediately the sunny dry Monterey, was bringing back night meres of years past, of mudd up to our hubs and sand in our chammy's.

Matt called the room and asked if we needed anything brought up to the venue, since we planned on riding. I asked him if he really thought it was a great idea given the zero visibility due to rain and the fact that we could screw ourselves for the world cup next weekend. He actually was just looking outside as I called him and was quick to renig on the plan to ride out to the venue.

When we arrived at the trailer or should I say USAcycling Team Ark. The Ark...I mean trailer was on top of a pond and Joey was sloshing around in the water looking like he didn't really knwo what to do. We moved the canopies to the rear of the trailer to have a little dry ground to set up shop on. Matt, thinking fast religated the team table to liferaft/bridge to the island where we had set up bikes and trainers. Colin and I began our warm up in full thermal gear, slowly peeling layer after layer off as we warmed up. While warming up we watched all the poor 1st heat and women Shortrack racers race in the Squawl, but also wishing we were already out there just to get it over with. Not to mention we knew they were tearing holes in the course for the Fast Heat Pro men.

We both had mediocre call ups with our TT results, but some how off the gun I easily found myself weaving my way to the front with Ryan Trebon. We had about 15seconds gap to 3rd place for the first 4laps. Then on the steep slimy downhill I found myself face down in the mud doing a spectacular faceplant/skid all the way down the hill and was caught easily by the group chasing hard. I got back on and rode the rest of the race with my # plate flapping upside down off my brake housing. I gave her for the rest of the race and ended up going back and forth a bit with Kris Sneddon from Kona but ended up pulling a sweet track style pass before the last climb of the race and held him off almost catching JHK at the finish, finishing up 16th.

Sea Otter Classic Part 2

2007-04-14T10:36:00.000-07:00

Day 2...
Wowa, it was an early morning. I woke up sometime around 5/5:30ish. Colin had made it, but didn't look like he was sleeping too good since the blinds were still open and the window is facing east...makes for a wakeup at the buttcrack of dawn imminent.

I walked down to breakfast around 6:30...the place was already bustling. I actually got a good laugh in right away. I thought to myself, "I'm Home!!". It was just like the training center in a scary Steven King sort of way. The Dewey Eberts Coffee, the Juice Machines, the grapefruits cut in half, the omlette bar, yogarts, and on and on. So it was cool, I just went about my normal morning rutine...how often do you get to do that on the road. 3 egg omlette with ham, onions, peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, and spinach, with salsa and potatoes on top. Two yogarts, two grapefruits, two glasses of orange passion guava juice, and a muffin. I kind of feel like a pig sitting down next to any normal person, but if I didn't eat that every morning I would wither away to nothing. The coffee was hidious so once I finished breakfast I walked across the street for Buckees for some descent coffee. I think that was the first time I had been to Starbucks in like 8 months. I have been trying to go more for the sustainable business ideals and buy coffee at locally own places, buy more organic, more local stuff vs massive corporate America. The rest of America feeds those big companies so they won't miss my business.

Pretty much no one knew what the program was for the day. When the races were...start times etc. We heard from Cody Peterson (Scott USA bikes and former D-town homeboy now residing in his home of Ketchum, ID), the racing would commence at 10AM and the TT startlist would be alphabetical...bad news for Colin who got in at 2AM and was still sleeping at 8. Cramer finally called me with a start time and Cody and I left at 8:30 with colin working on getting ready. Easy ride out in tipcal Sea OTter fasion. DHers buzzing Cody and I on the way out. You'd think at least a cyclist wouldn't go out of his way to Buzz an other cyclist, but apparently it happens...F$&* the down hillers who buzzed us, I mean what the heck. Cody and I used the ride to brain storm on new ideas to promote mountain biking to General America. There were some interresting ideas and some good ones. Partner up with a bigtime rock band or something and have a concert and a bike race at the same time. People with at least come for the concert and maybe see some bike racing too.

Once at the venue I was a total space case on what the heck I was supposed to do before the race even though I have done it a thousand time already and it should be reflex by now. I actually got in a good warmup, drank my readbull too late and watched the field start in 30sec increments pursuit style. The start list was so random I don't even know what they were thinking. It wasn't alpha betical in anyway. I was right after colin, and Melanie Meyers was right after me with more men after here. We decided, if I got beat by Mel, I would be forced to undergo a sex change and race for the Womens development team.

I hadn't ridden the course yet, so I wasn't really out to prove anything. I was just trying to make the fast heat in the short track the next day, so pretty much all I needed to do was ride it smooth and withinmyself. I did almost that, I road very much within myself for the whole climb, trying to use as small of gears as possible to save my legs for the next two races. I somehow pinned the sketchy of camber corner and made the great inside line on the grass, then coming out of the woods I got stuck in a rut and had to get off my bike for a second. But I got rolling again and powered throug the last 40 seconds of the TT and ended up 20th. Not too bad for not riding the whole course beforehand and I made the fast heat in the TT with a semi-respectable start spot. Colin ended up 24th, also in the fast heat.....

Sea Otter Classic Part 1

2007-04-13T08:05:00.000-07:00

Well, we have finally arrived in Monterey, CA. I love this place always have. THank GOD its not raining this weekend!!! Last year this race was HELL!!! We had some interresting travel yesterday. Since the spring storm of the year was supposed to hit the frontrange yesterday one of our flights got cancelled so the Team Director MAtt Cramer went around frantically calling every airline he could to get Colin and I out on a flight ASAP. We finally got on sepparate flights. Mine to MOnterey and Colin to San Jose. I thought we better get to Denver before the storm hit I-25 so we left at 10AM for a 6 and 8PM flight in hopes we could get on something standby earlier...No luck there were no flights from Denver to Monterey other than the one I was on. So we waited and waited. They wouldn't let me check my bag in until 4 hours before my flight so I waited up stairs in DIA (denver international aiport) and took a seat in a nice quiet corner and read the rest of my book "london bridges". I finished that and had an eterity to wait so I began calling random people on my contact list to see what they were up to. Friedman was on his way to breakfast...at 11AM?? Tyler was getting lunch. Mom was doing research. Cramer was freeking out...Joey was bored out of his goard. After I called just about everyone it was gettign to be time to check my bag. I got up and looked down into the corral the TSA had set up and watched the rats creep through the maze. After checking my bag I went down to the maze thinking, " I'm glad I'm here four hours early, because its going to take that long to get through this line". As I was looking for the end of the line I passed the Premier/First Class line and because of my extensive travel with United Airlines I had made premier so I was through security in a matter of 5 minutes as apposed to at least a couple hours.

Once on the inside, I hunted down my teammate colin who had been looking around the airport, our home away from home. He had been checking out the chocolate factory and looking for a blowupneck pillow. We tooled around the airport for a while, just wasted time. We ended up at the newstand. Of course the latest issue of "Bike" caught my eye and I sat there consumed by the pictures of riders ripping single track and having all my dream adventures all over the world, always pictures of Vancuver, BC. Colin was over it and moved on to somewhere to "Curl up and take a nap". After finishing my magazine I went searching for him and found Adam Schnider, an old Fort Lewis buddy of mine, on his way up to Wolfgang Puck's for a pizza. We ended up going to the free internet business center checking email and catching up for a while.

I was getting hungry and my computer battery was dead so we packed it up. We were thinking of Wolfgang Puck's, but my stomach said "itza bowl itza wrap", the best burrito/wrap in any airport I have been to. They accually give you a descent sized portion. For all you normal people out there a mini Quedoba tortilla with beans and cheese may satisfy, but for a freekish athlete, we need something to at least fill the void instead of scratching the surface and showing us how hungry we really are. Anyway, this place is the best and they don't RAPE you with how much they cost. Once finishing my wrap, it was pretty much time to board the plane. Schnider and I walked over only to have to waite longer since there was no plane yet. No worries though, "the Captain" (Ned Overend former mountain bike world champ and D-Town icon) was sitting there waiting for the same plane. So we chatted with him for a while, caught up on the D-Town gossip which I miss so much. Ned told a really crazy story of him flying home in the middle of the night and picking up some crazed lady on the side of the road in the dark and trying to take her home. But she didn't really have a home so he took her home with him. Don't worry he woke up Pam (his wife) and told her the scoop, but could you immagine. Talk about a strange way to wake up in the middle of the night...so ya funny story for more details talk to Ned.

Once on the plain I passed a guy in First Class who appeared to work for Velonews. He asked me if I was racing this weekend at the Sea Otter, I nodded and asked him if he was reporting. He wasn't just going to watch and race recreationally. Later in the flight he handed me a brand new velonews hot off the press...really hot off the press, half the ink wasn't even dry yet.

This was an interresting flight for me. Usually my body's reflex for riding on an airplane is to fall asleep immediately when I hit the seat. This flight was the only flight can remember that I accually didn't even feel like sleeping. I read the whole flight...re-reading JRR Tolkiens "the Hobbit" for the third time, and read the new velonews issue.

Seemed like kind of a long flight (probably since I was awake the whole time), but no worries, its no international flight or a 14hour drive from the Springs to Phoenix. Once the flight was over, typical de-boarding and luggage pick up. Joey Ernst, our mechanic was waiting outside. Off to the Embassy Suites. Check in was a breeze, the Consierge was actually really awesome and gave me the Code for the internet so I didn't have to pay for it. I went up stairs and unwound a little, checked email, showered and went to bed with all the lights on so Colin could just come in and not feel like he had to tiptoe all over the place (see guys there are pluses to having a teammate who can sleep anywhere and in any condition)....To Be continued.....

If you ever go Mountain biking with me bring lots of food and water...

2007-04-07T08:40:00.000-07:00

Well, this week has been interresting. Since getting back from AZ I seem to have screwed myself as far as training goes. We drove all day monday back to the springs, so Tuesday I was itchin' to go for a big MTB ride and have some fun in the backcountry. I started the ride tuesday morning with Sam Schultz, Colin Cares, and Joey Ernst. They wanted to ride cheyenne canyon, which I went along with for a while. Basically my legs felt like crap, we weren't going very fast, but I was struggling to keep within sight of the three of them. So I decided to pull off from the group at the top of Upper Cabin Jacks. I invited any of them who wanted to go with me, no one did which didn't surprise me in the least. I am well known for my epic rides/hike-a-bikes which can turn into all day adventures out in the back country. I wanted to try a trail we all knew had been completely snowed in two weeks before, but I figured what the heck my coach told me to go for a "fun ride" today and keep it easy, which I wasn't doing with Sam, Colin, and Joey. So I headed off on my own. Much to my pleasant surprise, the trail was much more cleared off than I expected and I quickly made it to the intersection of trails 666 and 667. I stopped at the creek and had a power bar, since I was in no hurry to go anywhere I sat on a rock next to the creek and ate it and just took a few to be thankful for my job and the incredible scenery surrounding me. While sitting on the rock, I looked at the trail going each way and the one going further up into the mountains was actually clear of snow, so being in an adventurous state of mind and not having three other guys with me to tell me otherwise, I chose to head up. It was a slow climb, but totally doable since it was free and clear of snow up to the intersection of trail 667, pipeline, and jones park. I had been itching to try to find a route from The Barr trail to Jones Park to Trail 667. I had tried the route about a week earlier from the Barr Trail side of things, but couldn't find the trail due to the fresh snow accumulation. So since I was here I pushed on. There was some snow at the bottom of Jones Park, but it looked like if I was able to stay on south facing slopes I would be able to ride most of the way. Needless to say there was snow everywhere, and it turned into about a 100m ride 25m walk and so on and so forth. Then the trail completely opened up and was dry for a couple of miles. I was just so stoked to be riding something other than the same ol' same ol' I couldn't help myself and kept going. The trail turned to solid snow once again and I began to hike-a-bike. Kind of one of those times you know in your gut its not really a great plan to keep going, but you go anyway. Well, a 100m turned to a km and a km probably turned to 5 (yes still hiking in the snow). After about 45min I began to get a really good view of Pikes peak and popped out on the road I was looking for. Stoked to get to the road I bombed down it and completely missed the turn off I was supposed to turn on. So I ended rolling around a sweet high mountain lake looking for a trail (or the road I was supposed to turn off on). Finally I gave up, my photographic memory was missing something so I checked my phone to see if I had reception, YES!!! I called my roomate Colin Cares and asked him to check out the map in our room for the route and talk me through it (no I didn't have the map with me, this was just supposed to be a sweet 3 hour chill ride on familiar and incredibly boring trials who needs a map). Even with Colins help I couldn't find the road for the life of me (yes the road I had passed long ago). I was either going to have to climb back out of the valley to Old Stage Road or hike through the Snow and trees to the Barr Trail or the Cog Railroad, both of which I could see from where I was, but I knew it would be a several hour ordeal, haha and yes I chose that route. Well, at least until I walk up to the edge of a hundred foot cliff and figured my suspension probably couldn't take that kind of landing ;). So I turned back to the lake and road up he road to go back to Old Stage. By this point I had been out for about 6 hours on two bottles of Gatorade and had eaten 1 of 2 cliff bars and 2 of 2 bananas. I have been in this position many times and have learned its best not to drink the water from a stream even if you are at 12,000 feet. However, there was pleanty of snow, so I filled one of my empty waterbottles with snow and stuck it in my back jersey pocket to melt. So on my way back up to Old Stage I majically found the road I missed on my way down since I was riding about 3 miles per hour in a severe state of the "bonk". It looked like it was all downhill from there so I screamed "WOOHOOO" and went for it. Thank God it was all down hill, cuz I was GOING that way, no more up for me today. For you kids reading at home, don't do this next part. I reached the COG railroad and I had two choices, find the "faint footpath" (haha ya right) to the Barr Trail, something sure to involve more hiking...OR...RIDE DOWN THE COG RAILROAD. yes you read correct, ride down the Cog railroad, not inside the train mind you, but down the actual train tracks. It was like 5 PM I hoped they wouldn't be sending any more up, but I was over that ride, tired, cold, starving, and parched. "WOOOHOOO" down the cog. I wish I had some exciting story to tell about almost running into the train or something, but I'm sure I would have been in major trouble had someone seen me blasting down the Cog at mock ten. Actually if you are ever stuck or lost at lake moraine, the cog is a pretty quick way down, no switchbacks and few turns, if on a bike, pray you have suspension and watch out for the occasional missing railroad tie (those are big bumps), oh and don't forget to pull out at the bottom on the back way up the Barr Trail so you don't pop out in the actual train station, if you do that you deserve to go to jail or whatever they would do to you for breaking about a hundred rules on the way down. haha, so needless to day that 7 hour day kind of cooked me for the rest of the week of training. I have wanted to go for more big rides, but just physically couldn't do a whole lot, so here I am righting a rediculously long story. If you made it this far through it, I hope you enjoyed reading...Sam Jurekovic EPIC mountain biker/hike a biker signing off.

Race #2 Fountain Hills, AZ

2007-04-07T08:11:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I have been in Fountain Hills, AZ just outside Phoenix, AZ, for the first National Mountain Bike Series race of the year. This weekend's racing consisted of three races: a Time Trial on Friday, a Short Track on Saturday night, and a 40mile Cross Country race today.

The weekend turned out to be a good one. Friday's Time Trial was a pleasant surprise 5th place, my first ever Pro Podium at a National Event. I just tried to ride the course smooth and in control and it turns out my fitness is quite a bit higher than I thought. Saturday's short track was intense. I had a good call up from my overall seasons ranking last year, second row. When the gun went off, it was a mad dash up a paved road to the first turn where the field would be separated immediately. I had a great start and was 5th to the corner and made the lead group of about 10 riders who rode away from the rest of the field. Adam Craig attacked and had a sizable lead before he was brought back to the group by all the big names: JHK, Ryan Trebon, Ross Schnell, Sam Schultz, Todd Wells, Geoff Kabush, and myself. With only four laps to go I had a momentary laps in concentration or pain tolerance or something and floated off the back of the line. And had to chase for the last 4 laps, finishing 7th, again my best short track finish ever. I didn't think I would be racing so fast this time of year since I didn't start my base this year until January and my coach is having me train through this weekend (meaning I am not tapering or resting at all this week, I am doing big training rides before or after each race). Today's race was interesting. I had great legs, I felt like a rock star. I had a great starting position, but missed my pedal and had to chase right from the get go. Luckily I missed a massive pile up entering the single track 100m from the start. I just had to file into line with everyone else for the first lap, everyone going 100% to not loose the wheel in front of them. I finally had some passing opportunities about 2/3's through the first lap and made it most of the way through the big group I was in before crashing and loosing all the hard work it took to pass all those people. It didn't take me long to get rolling again and had to start the tedious process of passing on single track surrounded by cactus all over again. Finally we made it to the start finish area where I could sprint past about 15 people all at the same time and catch a couple Canadians really pushing the pace and catching people who had gone way too hard on the first lap who were now detonating left and right. Soon the Canadians blew also and I passed them. 1/2 way through the 2nd lap (out of four) I had two of the trek VW boys in Sight, Jeff Shaulk and Ross Schnell. I rode with them for a little while, kind of recovered and passed them after the only significant downhill on the course. The U23 Pan American Champion Max Plaxton was on the side of the trail begging for a chain tool (which no one carries because if you break a chain you are done anyways). At this point I am feeling super strong, getting faster, and am currently comfortably in the top 10. Almost immediately after passing Plaxton I hear my tire explode on a rock. I tried to ride it a little while to see if my tire sealant would fill the hole, it doesn't and I am forced to pull off the trail and begin fixing my flat. It takes me a while, probably longer than it should. I didn't freak out or anything, the tire was just being a pain and wouldn't stay on the rim. Finally I got the flat fixed I think I am somewhere around 50-60 range...back to passing on single track. I make it back to the start/finish area and get a new wheel in the pits just in case. I since the field is now pretty sparse I have some room to open it up and can pretty much pass people at will who are baked from racing for almost 2 hours already in 90degree desert heat. Coming around for the fourth and final lap I was hoping they would pull me so I wouldn't have to do anymore of this nonsense, but no they send me out for one more. First I stop in the pit for a quick front derralier tune up before putting the hammer down for the last lap. I caught a bunch of people and had no problems on the final lap, I have no idea what place I am in since its been such a mess of a race. I rode hard all the way to the finish, I'm pretty sure my fourth and final lap was my fastest by several minutes. I ended up 23rd out of the 100+ rider field. So given the circumstances I had an amazing race, probably would have been one of my best cross country races ever. I can't wait for the next race to see what happens.