Winter Training Groove

Happy New Year!

The Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season was cold this year, with a few odd weeks that hit mid 60’s. To be honest, it’s the most I have enjoyed winter’s early snow. Embracing the conditions is a lot better than fighting them.

Lately the training has been an eclectic mix of mashing it for a week with the pro road guys or some big snow-country mountain bike rides with the huge winter tires.

I have been lucky enough to ride through epic snow conditions that Jim Cantorie would boast of. Testing the skills and muscles, pushing thru snow and sliding around turns -feeling like a kid on a bike is invigorating.

One snowy day Conrad and I played “hill shuttle” in substitute for my squats and lunges.
I would run up the 20% hill pulling him in his blue plastic sled to the top. “Mush, Daddy! MUSH!” he would shout. Standing at the top of the hill, my breath steaming like a racehorse, then he’d ask, “why are you breathing so hard? Lets go!” I smiled.

My ride yesterday was an excursion in risk-management due to an unexpected snow. I took on the trails with my friend Eric for a test of the rocky labyrinth of Jawbone Trail. The slender rocky ridge leaves little room for error. Huge rock wedges, switchback staircases and rock bridges are like a sculpture garden of barely rideable features. I go there rarely, but it’s so damn fun – you turn around to try sections you miss and our loud laughter punctuates the forest quiet every time you ace a move…
That’s what it’s all about!

Smiles and worked legs have been the theme of the last month, also has been the ruddy checks of exertion and the knowing smile that each mile I lay down now equals another notch higher at the big races next season.

Next stop: SoCal for the Cannondale Pro Cycling team launch, media events, some sunny big training rides and to catch up with Team SHO-AIR/Cannondale to plan the big 2014 season!

Happy trails,

Jeremiah

Iceman Cometh and Campfires

UCI Marathon World Series

After a massive 24-hour travel day of layovers and sitting in one spot on the airplane, I arrived in Santiago, Chile to sun and spring breezes.

Word on the street was that the weekend’s UCI Marathon Series race on Chile’s semi-arid maritime coast was to be steep in spots and a little rocky; ‘ok, that’s nice,’ I thought.

I heard 3,500+meters in 85 kilometers and thought, ‘Nah… The long races are known to be off on elevation stats.’

I enjoyed my visit at the massive new Cannondale flagship store Intercycle. The staff snapped pictures of my Cannondale Flash and me. It was fun talking about our shared love of high-performance bicycles!

The next day we picked up Perlikis Ilias – the 2012 World Champ – and his coach Andre. We started the 2-hour drive north toward the Bay of Punchuncavi.  There, the resort village was dotted with nice old beach houses reminding me of the central California coast – except for the notable presence of penguins!

The race venue was in the city square and it was well appointed with chairs, vendors, food and of course the Latin flair of competing promo/podium girls meant to maximize the attention of the mostly male crowd. Don’t worry Cannondale had some too!

The gun went off melting the cold chill of the foggy morning.

The pace was tough; led by Chilean rider Javier Puchel. We settled into more of a tempo on the start lap and I knew right away my legs were tight and heavy despite the reduced pace ‘uh oh,’ I thought.

I had taken the lead on a technical section and raced with what I had; punching the climbs hoping a change of luck changed my leg-speed setting. The first descent was brief but a fun roller coaster through dry forest.

The hiking and grinding at a cadence of just 40 took its toll on all of us, and the race course became like a battle ground. I was shocked to see many of the lapped riders lying on the ground! Cramped up, I assume.

I did hang it out on some of the steep descents and made sure to keep a balance in the smile-to-grimace ratio.  My rotors were smoking from dropping 4,000 feet in 3 miles on a section of trail that is more suitable to world cup downhill!

Our stiff pace set Perlikis and me firmly off the front, leading ahead of Argentina’s top endurance racer and the team leaders from the other visiting countries of Ecuador, Peru and Colombia.

My fast descending was over after lap-one, when police slowed us as we came upon the scene of a nasty head-on car accident.  I turned my head so the sight wouldn’t shake my composure to tackle the treacherous descents ahead.

The race on the second 35-kilometer loop became a bit of a death march as we ascended back into the cool clouded forest. Thistle-like plants hung with dewdrops, but the east slope was exposed with bluebird skies, dry and hot with a Sonoran desert feel!

The legs had just one speed since I had climbed 10,000 ft and my quads were loaded with maximum effort. My left arm streaked with blood from an encounter with the local plant life; imagine a cross between thornbush and a small tree: when clipped makes like a steel wire trimmed on angle.

Damage control earned my silver medal ahead of the Argentine rider Miguel Angel Hidalgo. Given my season is done, I was proud of the effort! Nothing like a helicopter camera crew flying above to keep you honest!

The vortex from the chopper 30-feet above me came with the added benefit of crop dusting my sweat and sports drink-covered legs like two skinny brown powdered doughnut sticks. I was a sight to see at the finish, covered with bloody scratches and dust.

Post race, I wiped the dust from my face and laughed. I revisited the math: 4,000 meters for 78 kilometers works out to be an average of… about 20% with pitches at 40% walking up a washed-out landslide on the dry mountainside!

The after-race scene was great. I’d signed more autographs and done more photo sessions that the whole US Pro series combined! It made me blush to have so much star-quality attention, but I’m cool with it as long as more people are stoked to ride.

My trip was over and a final fond memory was carpooling with Xavier, Jose and Chi Chi (team Ecuador) back to the airport. We were joking and having fun, sharing pictures of our vastly different homelands, and stopping at the roadside vendors to sample the local pastry skills. The sharp Andes passed to the east; surreal like burnt brown cardboard triangles of a play backdrop.

My mind replayed the warp-speed trip to South America, and off to bed I went. It was just a nap before my 2:30 a.m. alarm kicked off a 23-hour travel day home. After the Chilean spring, back to Virginia’s autumn and pumpkin-picking with Conrad, the trip felt like a vivid dream.

Jeremiah

A Good Year for Apples

Conrad, Erin and I joined the ruddy-checked preschool field trip to “Farmer Paugh’s” orchard.

Wicked Mountains

Hampshire 100/Mt Washington Auto Road Hill Climb “King of the Mountains Double Dare”

My resolution post Pro XCT was to “put the mountain back into mountain biking”.  I had a blast and wrapped up the national series with 3 wins 10 podium finishes and 2^nd over all For sure that was a lot of laps and I was jones’n to get out and do some scary stuff on some deep trails.

As I planned the double trouble weekend that bordered on absurd.  I said to myself “Tinker did it last year.” Should’a thought about that one a bit…  Ha ha ha.

Saturday was the 40^th annually Mt Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hill Climb. A race steeped in legend and lore. It is so hard to get into that someone has to die for a spot to open up and the weather at the top is among the worst weather in the World. Winds exceeding huricane force take place on this mountain an average of 110 days out of the year! http://zielonko.org/bike/new_england/mtwash.htm

I thought to myself pre trip yeah yeah; I know it’s a steep road and what not.  I went with a gear easier than normal 34 with a 12-28 on my 12 pound Cannondale Super 6 EVO. This was however like going to fish for jaws in the little dingy they use in the movie.   BAD IDEA.

Because the road is closed to riders 363 days of the year and I arrived the night before it was going to be a “surprise” to see what’s up there. Yep it was a surprise alright.  Clouds flying at you like fuzzy parade floats at 45 miles an hour. You even brace for impact and then just every thing goes fuzz for a second. The back to blue it’s kind of strange while in an anerobic trance.

Prior to the race I bet friend /coaching client and climbing specialist Cameron Cogburn that I could take him in the double.   He rocked a 4^th at Leadville last weekend and has the second best time on Mt Washington ever recorded so I knew it would be good.  We agreed on percent based formula for our bet.

The gun went off and we quicky ground to a near hault on the first 14% pitch.

I realized quickly the legs I had hoped for where still in my checked bag, I suffered hard after the first couple thousand feet of ascent.

Cameron set off in pursuit of Tom Danielsons record.   I set to a hard pace and was moving pretty good for my lack of specific prep.  The first incline was very steep and had mean pitches relegating me to for the rest of the climbing into low back twisting 55 -65 cadence.

I took in the jaw dropping scenery as we approached treeline realizing I was getting 3^rd and that was that.  Switchbacks twisted like intestines of some mythic beast…then  the road gave way to packed wet sand.  Dripping in sweat from the intense effort we rounded a exposed switch back and it was like someone opened a door to and arctic wind storm. 45 mile an hour 45 degree gust and I was chilled to the bone in an instant. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Washington_(New_Hampshire)

I remembered the wind whisle thru the spokes and the intense pain in both feet.  Some spectators in costum yelled “almost there”!!    expecting to see the top I saw a tower sticking out of a cloud another 1,400 feet vertical feet above..  “o damn”  I paced myself so I wouldn’t fall over in the final 24 percent corkscrew. The crowd was going nuts, it was pretty sick, like a mountain top finish in the Tour.

I crossed the line after 44 minutes and it was like an arctic weather station triage zone! Fans yelling and people wrapped like refuges in complimentary blankets, the wind was raging in the thin air. Would I do it again? yes but with a massive gear swap and after a month of Jenny Craig! Cameron won and was 3+ minutes ahead so I had some work to do! Based off the precent formula I would need to win by almost 20 minutes a near impossible feat.

200 miles south in the rolling green mountains of New Hampshire riders were gear up for the Hampshire 100 a test of grit  and single track fortitude.  But we where still a 3 hour drive from the race. I was nervous about having not raced longer than 3 hrs this year and more so because my huge gear workout blasted my muscles to a cramped spaghetti.

6:45 came way too early we set off with the lead group and played it as efficiently as possible. A lead group formed and luckily it was flat for a while letting me wake up my legs. I managed to ride a super steep power line climb and used the technical single track as a wedge to pressure the other riders. It seemed only Christian could follow in this stuff and I vowed to fight for this one having had a bad day yesterday. It was all or nothing.

I pushed hard to open a gap at mile 55 and got a minute gap after pushing an impossible to hold pace.  I decided to make a break for it a really long break!   On the rail trail sections I imagined my chasers working together to close down on my narrow 2 min lead.  Pushing while my legs were still good was the plan get a gap “if I fade out Ill just try to hold on”

Some how and I have no good reason for it other than it was my day… my motor turned full diesel and I could drive the big ring for much of the last 25 miles! I had one hell of a second wind and remembered the race that crushed me last year.

Remembering the bet I had made with Cameron Cogburn the day before that I could take him in the diabolical double.  Last I heard Christian Tanguy was 10 minutes back and Cam in 3^rd.   I need 20 minutes to claim the game so I was in full tt mode!   Well; Camerons freehub blew while he was in 3^rd a few minutes back, I had no clue so I just put it to the maximum.  We agreed to a re match at the Alpine Loop Gran Fondo.

I won by the largest margin I have ever won any race by almost 17 minutes!
I can’t forget the thrill of racing the lead moto down a couple of the sweeping final single tracks and pinning it xc style sliding the turns and going for seconds, It was sweet awesomeness.

16,000 ft of climbing in a weekend within only 8 hrs and 107 miles the big mountain adventure is BACK!  Next stop Shenandoah 100!

Thanks to Team Sho-Air/Cannondale for the bikes and support; Arnie Mostowy and Tom Barton for support on site and Goodales Bike Shop for the bike build!
http://www.northeastcycling.com/Hillclimb_Races.html for those looking for all the dirt on the north east hill climbs.

http://www.strava.com/activities/76096809

Strava from the Hampshire 100 – not big climbs but plenty of roots, single-track and deep forest.

http://dirtwire.tv/2013/08/hampshire-100-the-movie/