JB's Adventure Blog: June 2007

This is surreal,' I thought as I lie in bed at Mt Saint Anne with a fever and hacking cough.

The morning of the day before the World Cup race was surely the worst. I was shivering so badly that my muscles felt like the worst cramps of a long race. I was so cold words can not describe it. I would not get out from under the covers. NO way. Later that evening, I had some less intense fever, but the midday wasn't too bad.

I don't think Zack realized how bad I felt, and said maybe I should just take the start and try to keep my good 23 position call-up for the next week. 'HA!' I thought. What's he talking about... I hadn't thought much about the race. I didn't even like the prospect of going up and down the steps to fill my water cup! Race??? I am not a scientist - or coach - but I have learned a few things the hard way in the last 15 years of racing; don't dig a hole for yourself, and don't get down if your out.

The next morning I took an a.m. flight out of Quebec. Glad I didn't feel too bad, I didn't mind sitting on the plane and trying to keep my germs to myself. I was really glad to see Erin at Dulles! She had the car stocked with all kinds of things, lozenges, a cooler with bananas, juice, a sandwich and a thermos of hot water for tea. Now that I'm home I have been quarantined from the kitchen though. That girl's on it. :)

I am disappointed that I had to miss out on my favorite World Cup course. The key is to make sure I am healthy and comeback at my body's own pace and make sure not to ramp it up too fast. I have a lot ahead of me and some wins if I do it right!

Thanks for reading, and wash your hands.

JB

posted by Jeremiah Bishop # 10:34 AM 2 comments

Five Bear Ride

OK, I know some of you would expect the highlight of last week's possible blog topics would surely be my battle for third place at the Park City National Series Race, but not so!

I will let you decide, but in my humble opinion the ride I had last Wednesday was just plain ridiculous.

It all started out when Hunter, my coach, scheduled a 5-plus hour ride for me. I thought, 'nice some real mountain biking instead of intervals up and down some road hill'. I set out on a 5-6 hour ride that I like for its scenery and remote locale. I call it the Big Bear loop because I put it together to replicate some of the tough dirt road races in the west, like Big Bear Lake, CA.

The ride was going great - I saw a large black bear crash threw the brush running down the mountain. Five minutes later, I was nearly attacked by an angry grouse that was protecting its nest - until my back tire went soft, high up on Second Mountain. With only one tube and a CO2 for defense from such problems, I went to work. With ample air in my back tire and no way to fix another flat, I chose to push forward because I was having fun. After 20 minutes of fast rocky dirt road I heard a crashing to see two small dog-sized critters dash into the bushes and scurry up a tree that was 20 feet to my right. Bear cubs! 'Cool,' I thought...Then the thought, 'Where's the mom?' snapped into my head like the tree branches nearby. I looked down the hill and the mother bear was turning around. She walked a few cautious steps and stopped. (The bears here are heavily hunted and quite scared of people.) I was in the start position and able to crank it if I needed to, and the bear was downhill and would have some work to do to get up to my level, so I watched for a few minutes.

I just stood really still and watched a scene out of a National Geographic documentary. The little bears climbed to the highest branch they could and barked a little cry to which the mother bear would let out a quiet gruff noise that was barely audible. As the mother bear and I had full eye contact I was wearing our Trek VW "look at me" gear. I locked eyes with the concerned animal as I started my departure. She just kept an eye on me as I left.

Later that ride, I went in search of Cow Knob. I did find it and the ruins of the old fire watch tower. I did not see the elusive Cow Knob Salamander, though.

I descended 2000 feet down the aptly named Big Bear fire road and got to business finishing the ride. Oh no. I realized my rear tire was going flat. I was in the middle of nowhere and without a tube. I remembered my friend Dylan Johnson talking about how he once packed a tube with leaves and it got him out of the woods. I went to work as small red snake appeared when I moved a pile of leaves. I thought, 'I had better watch it today or somethings going to get me!' It wasn't as easy as I thought and nor was it as affective as the $2 extra inner tube and pump I should have had with me. It did work and I was even able to corner on it OK, but the thing was a slow and lumpy as a snake wrapped around my rim, but oh well, I was moving.

Finally I was at the trail head to salvation - the trail head to Ant Hill. It was actually nice because I was just plain glad I could ride this nice stream side trail through dense hardwood vegetation. Woosh woosh woosh...AHHH... A giant bird of death took to the sky. OK it wasn't a bird of death, but a huge turkey. Oh, did I mention the the giant black snake that shot off into the grass scared by the commotion. I was so busy trying to makes sense what a turkey and a snake where doing here that I didn't notice the crunching sound of my rear derailleur being torn off by a root that was caught in my rear wheel.

I stood there. Astounded! Not shocked but just like, 'is that for REAL?' I rigged it and set to a brisk trot. I figured at any minute the animals of the forest would realize my vulnerability and come back for the kill. I was getting out of there if I had to throw my bike in the woods and come back for it later.

I got to the dirt road that was three miles from the first dwelling. I took the hanger, clamped it like McGuiver under the skewer, found my gear and, voila, I was pedaling again. I was really thirsty, having not had any water in an hour or so. Funny thing is if you have been hungy before, it is - no contest - much worse to be really thirsty.

It turned out the animals didn't get me. Even the Rot Wilder that guarded the well of the small white house where I arrived at didn't bite either.

Be prepared, be careful, go big!

Jeremiah

I will always ride with two tubes, a hanger and a pump when in the back country.

I will always ride with 2 tubes, a hanger and a pump
I will always ride with 2 tubes, a hanger and a pump
I will always ride with 2 tubes, a hanger and a pump
I will always ride with 2 tubes, a hanger and a pump
I will always ride with 2 tubes, a hanger and a pump
I will always ride with 2 tubes, a hanger and a pump
I will always ride with 2 tubes, a hanger and a pump
I will always ride with 2 tubes, a hanger and a pump
I will always ride with 2 tubes, a hanger and a pump

posted by Jeremiah Bishop # 11:28 AM 6 comments

State of the Union

For those of you who are looking ahead to the 2008 Olympics, the following information provided by USA Cycling will give you some early season insight. Currently, the US men are focused on maintaining a top-5 nation ranking and securing the greatest amount of Olympic start positions. A nation's ranking is determined by the combined total of its three highest ranked individual racers. If the US men remain among the top-5 nations, the US will be given 3 start positions for the men's Olympic cross country event in 2008.

The third round of the UCI Cross Country Mountain Bike World Cup took place last weekend in Champéry, Switzerland. In the men’s contest, Adam Craig (Bend, Ore./Giant) came away with a tenth-place finish, Jeremiah Bishop (Harrisonburg, Va./Trek-VW) finished 23rd, Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Boulder, Colo./Subaru-Gary Fisher) came in 30th and Michael Broderick (Chilmark, Mass./Kenda-Seven) finished 60th.

Elite Men World Cup Cross Country Standings
1. Julien Absalon (FRA) 700
2. Christoph Sauser (SUI) 490
3. Jose Antonia Hermida Ramos (ESP) 480
4. Cedric Ravanel (FRA) 420
5. Roel Paulissen (BEL) 380
30. Adam Craig (Bend, Ore.) 121
33. Jeremiah Bishop (Harrisonburg, Va.) 106
41. Todd Wells (Durango, Colo.) 90
49. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Boulder, Colo.) 73
75. Sam Schultz (Missoula, Mont.) 28

In the UCI nations rankings, the United States currently has 963 points, and sits behind France (1,934), Switzerland (1,474), Spain (1,206), and Belgium (1,103). A nation’s ranking is the primary factor used to determine the number of start positions a country receives at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

2007 UCI Mountain Bike Rankings as of June 12, 2007:
Individual Men’s Rankings
1. Julien Absalon (FRA) 940
2. Roel Paulissen (BEL) 660
3. Christophe Sauser (SUI) 650
14. Todd Wells (Durango, Colo.) 380
20. Adam Craig (Bend, Ore.) 318
28. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Boulder, Colo.) 265
34. Jeremiah Bishop (Harrisonburg, Va.) 236
71. Sam Schultz (Missoula. Mont.) 151
72. Michael Broderick (Chilmark, Mass.) 146
108. Sam Jurekovic (Colorado Springs, Colo.) 99
155. Jeff Hall (Farmington, Minn.) 67
162. Colin Cares (Boulder, Colo.) 63
198. Ryan Trebon (Ventura, Calif.) 45

The 2007 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup series will make its first stop in North America, June 23-24. The world’s top mountain bikers will head to Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec as the Canadian city hosts World Cup competitions in cross country, four cross and downhill disciplines. It will be the fourth round of cross country competition and third round of gravity events. Following the Mont Sainte Anne World Cup, the international mountain bike community will remain in Quebec for the fifth round of the cross country series in St. Felicien.

Labels: Bejing

posted by Jeremiah Bishop # 8:27 AM 0 comments

Champery, Switzerland

Today, Jeremiah and I went on a little spin around the village of Champery, to the World Cup race venue and in the mountains near the race course. The weather here is very nice; pleasant sunny mornings and cool afternoons when the clouds steam off of the high Alps above the town.

A view up the main street.

The chalet where we are staying is very comfortable. It is owned and run by a wonderful group from England and Scotland. They are adventurers of all kinds; from a former World Cup downhiller to cross country mountain bikers and telemark tour guides. Tea is at 4 p.m., the atmosphere is very healthy and relaxed, paired with the scenery... I am loving it!

The view from our balcony.

Erin

posted by Jeremiah Bishop # 7:14 AM 2 comments

Euro Photos

This is Erin, photo blogging for Jeremiah. We're having a great time, now in Switzerland, on the last leg of our European World Cup adventure.

On one of his training rides, Jeremiah took this photo of the Partnach Gorge just above the German town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

In Garmisch, our guest house was next to the river. The first night we were in town, a storm came through and dumped fresh powder as low as 2000 meters!

Everyone has a clean and tidy garden.

For the days ahead of the Windhaag UCI race, we stayed in the Austrian town of Rechberg. This is the view, from our room's balcony, of the town's fountain and chapel.

The mountain roads near Rechberg rolled in and out of pine forests and wheat fields; the Austrians work their magic and these wheat fields turn into the most delicious wheat beer.

The men's podium at the Windhaag race. Jeremiah was third and our friend, Michi Weiss, took second. Fellow American, Jeff Hall (Salsa gear) was seventh.

Even though we couldn't understand much of what he said, our host, Alfred, was very proud of Jeremiah's race.

A view of the Mondsee lake and Alps beyond. This was the view from our table at the Fisherman's Restaurant.

We'll create some proper photo galleries (link at left) when we have a high-speed connection.

Having a wonderful time on our World Cup adventure!
Erin

posted by Jeremiah Bishop # 5:55 AM 0 comments

Windhagg Austria

SO. Today I did a decent race and got my first top-3 podium of the year.

Not my best, but I held solid third.

Christophe Soufcuped took an early flyer and I followed. The course was a slick steep 3.5 kilometer track that looped around a castle that was built in 1250. Sick. I have never raced around a castle, much less through a boulder tunnel.

For what ever reason, I was feeling good for the first two laps, jocking for the lead but then fell apart a bit. My legs were mush, my muscles felt sore and weak on the steeps. I suffered and was rewarded a ride in the Volkwagen Passat convertable race vehicle to the podium. The people here are nuts about racing. There was a speaker on the "Demon's Downhill" for all of the spectors with there brats and beers in hand.

Erin has really enjoyed seeing how much of a show the bike races are here. In fact, between races Erin and I stayed in Garmisch Germany and saw all these road team vehicles. We found out that the Bayern Rumnfart road stage race started there on Wednesday. So, we got to watch that race start the next morning with the helecopter above and all the hooplah.

"Europe is pretty cool eh," I asked Erin.

What do you think?

Later,
JB

posted by Jeremiah Bishop # 12:29 PM 0 comments

Going Back to Mittenwald

Yesterday Erin and I left our temporary rest spot at the Mercure Hotel and Dive Resort near Munchen Airport. I thought it might be a nice middle spot and a good place to ride to go to Garmicsh. I also thought it would be a great place for Erin’s first experience amidst the grandure of the Alps.

The first day in Garmisch, the weather was nasty, but the cold rain gave way to fresh snow that came down below 2,000 meters! Amazing! The Zugenspits (the highest peak in Germany) was visible from our guesthouse. This Alp is a gnarly jagged mass of upward pointing rock that cradles glaciers and dwarfs the snow caped peaks below.

It was very cool.

I decided to make a pilgrimage (via mountain trails I didn’t know) to Mittenwald, Germany. Mittenwald was the start place of the stage race that ignited my professional career: four years ago competing in the TransAlp Challenge with Chris was, without a doubt, a turning point in my career - from mediocre to exceptional.

It was really cool to read the familiar route signs, feel the pain of the crazy steep dirt roads and paved paths, see the flowers and yurts, and smell the fresh misty air of a magic land you must see to believe.

JB

posted by Jeremiah Bishop # 11:51 AM 0 comments

Sidelined in Canada