6 hours of power - longer write up

2010 6 hours of power 02, originally uploaded by solo_goat.

sorry for the late update, been hectic getting in some miles the past week.

at the start, field was pretty decent sized and included some fast locals, ross clark and mike simonson.

le mans style start always sucks, kind of getting tired of them but i guess it does the job of stringing it out at the start.

mike takes off at the srart of the first climb, ross is in a group in front of me and i am trailing off the back of them.

it rained the night before and the trails were a little slick at the start. i, of course, had pre-ridden when it was dry and had the tire pressure a little too high and it made things slippy. i backed off as i didn't need to take a spill on the first lap.

lap one down, mike had a small lead that would eventually lead to him winning. i eventually caught up to a small group with ross.

that group would all break up and ross parted ways, i caught back up to him around lap 4 on the start climb. by the top, he took off and i settled in. i was playing a chess game, i would hold him close enough to chase him back in the closing laps - i would drill it on the last lap just as i would roll under the start/finish with about 5-10 minutes to go before the cut-off.

next to last lap, my nightmare happened as the gap to ross was about 30 seconds - my chain dropped into my spokes. AGAIN. hate those freaking "shadow" shimano derailleurs. those things suck. adjusitng them is just a pain in the arse.

dejected, i pulled off to the side of the trail, thought about life for a few moments, and managed to get the chain out. estimate my loss of time roughly about 5 minutes.

last lap, i was convinced i lost 2nd place and came around a corner and washed out the front wheel. nice. another lost minute.

would come in third, behind ross by about 3 minutes. not the race i planned out in my head. that's racing though.

this weekend, pain train ride with phatty.

weekend after - little trip out west (more on that later)

sologoat out

6 hours of power

2010 6 hours of power 01, originally uploaded by solo_goat.

short version - 3rd place.

longer version up in the next day or two as i try to un-pack, clean and fix up the bikes and get ready for a trip out west in a few weeks.

more on that later - time to sleep.

sologoat out

a rare site

IMG_3362, originally uploaded by solo_goat.

the josh "the toastman" tostado at 11,500 feet.

2010 Marathon National Championships

2010 Marathon National Championships, originally uploaded by Jeff Kerkove.

well, colorado offically kicked my arse.

gun went off and the parade start rolled through town. we made a left starting up the first climb of the day and the pace just ramped up slowly and slowy.

soon, i was popped off the back and the heart rate i was seeing on my monitor was no where near my max. altitude hits all riders different, and you can pretty much get your max at sea level, subtract roughly 10 beats and there you go.

even with that rough "science" i was still about 10 beats lower. not feeling bad, not feeling awesome - just feeling like i was kind of stuck in 3 1/2 gear out of 5.

second lap went better, pulled a few riders back, but in the back of my head i was wishing it was another 25 miles.

so with that, i rode out the race and enjoyed it. towards the end, i duked it out with DJ - still can't believe anybody can ride that stuff with just 1 gear. rough finishing spot was mid to back of the pro field.

congrats to all the ergon riders - yuki taking the win in his class, dave 3rd in the pro men, sonya 8th and jeff riding a new PR.

with that - time for some hiking and some riding.

and check out my flick pics when you have a sec - new pics up daily this week.

sologoat out

last pre-ride

jeff_k_01, originally uploaded by solo_goat.

short pre-ride of about 1/2 of tomorrow's course today, partial ride time with mr kerkove.

course is screaming fast, few wet spots here and there but i'll take that instead of the dry pebbles jeff was sketching out on last weekend.

750 riders take the to the start line tomorrow - nothing like starting the race being in a parade. the fun quickly fades as the first major climb starts right out of town and goes about 6 miles up.

50 miles later, you'll end up back in breck to some good food and brews. happy 4th to all - get your bike out and take a spin.

sologoat out

pre-ride at the firecracker

IMG_3079, originally uploaded by solo_goat.

short post up, got to sneak in another ride.

rain bursts have padded down the trails and it's going to be a fast 50 tomorrow. town is hectic with people, trails are loaded up with riders.

chekc out my flickr pics here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/solo_goat/sets/72157624412880972/

today, pre-ride.

tomorrow, race and post race brews, fun, fireworks.

the 5th - heading out with mr kerkove. he's getting 10 hours, i think i may opt for the 5-6.

sologoat out.