Crested Butte Challenge Too Much...

What a change a couple of weeks and 3,000 foot elevation gain can make!

The Shimano XTR Cross Country race at Crested Butte Resort threw me to the ground, stomped me and took away any cockiness Angel Fire and my fastest century ride may have planted. I came with nothing to offer the mountain and was anaerobic 200 yards from the starting line. Two laps with 1,600 feet of gain per lap threw me into the hunch-back survival mode and brought up the question again-- "WHY THE HELL DO YOU DO THIS? "

I'm just glad I'm not paying a cycling coach this year to tell me how bad I prepared for a particular race. I could list the variables but in reality, sometime you feel good and are happy with the outcome and sometimes you just suck and die. This was one of the races I sucked and died.

Finished 10th out of 10 on this one but still ranked 2nd in the series.

What I will always do despite the pain and results, is have fun!!

The best part of the weekend had to be the Sunday morning 8:00am start of the Super Downhill race. COMOtion chums Cris Taylor, Cary Dunn and I shared a chilly and wet chairlift ride to the top of the mountain for a mud slopped downward hurl. We pretended we were going to beat somebody to the finish line. Mission accomplished!
Yeti "Bossman" Chris Conroy was right there beside us on the SD startline proving the adage "practice what you preach" .

Crested Butte trails are like no others in Colorado with really dark organically rich soils that suck up moisture and produce spectacular wildflower carpets . The off-camber singletrack trails are deep and just waiting for you to bang a rim side into them so they can toss you over the handlebars like a rag doll.

With racing done, we enjoyed the beautiful scenery and reminders we we live in ( and never leave) Colorado.

A picnic lunch along the Taylor River on our way to Cottonwood Pass and home ended another memorable MTBing race weekend.

A Ride With 7,500 of my Colorado Cycling Friends

The Elephant Rock Ride is not popular among the cross country race crew but, I still enjoy seeing families, "chubbies", old geezers and ex-high school jocks head out together on the open plains of central Colorado with one common goal FINISH!

The event was the first chance to try out some of the magnificent prodeal sponsor stuff. The Ritchey carbon wheelset contributed greatly to my best time ever with an average speed of 17.2 mph for the wind riddled 100 miler. A top speed of 46.2 mph was recorded 5 1/2 hours into the ride. Total crank time was 5 hours and 50 minutes. The borrowed Topeak Prepstand Max grabs all bikes by the downtube and serves as a stable rack for last minute chain lubes and shifter adjustments. Continental 4000S tires had more air in them when I finished than when I started.

Colorado headquartered and potential 2010 sponsor, Pearl Izumi made the ride extremely comfortable with their new Octane series bib shorts. A hundred miles in the saddle is no time to have your panties in a wad. The PRO series chamois kept me comfy throughout the ride and drew at least a couple of whistles from (bluehaired) ladies as I sprinted by out of the saddle.

E-Rock has definitely grown over the 7 years we've been riding it. The RV parking lot was 20% full when we snuck in a few minutes before the 3pm check in time.

Still the way to beat the massive Sunday morning traffic jams, camping at the Douglas County Fairgrounds lets you relax before the morning frenzy and shower a couple of hundred yard from the finish line.Munching on cedar plank grilled salmon the night before the ride helped provide needed protein and yumness.

Throwing in off weekend century road rides is a good way to keep the drumsticks from going flabby. Another weekend off then we climb the 10,000 foot Crested Butte cross country course. Next road ride-Copper Triangle http://coppertriangle.com/ August 1st.

NOT LIKELY TO HAPPEN AGAIN SOON-ANGEL FIRE -MSC#3 =STXC XC & SD

...not quite the hat trick....

WOW, what a great Memorial Day weekend in New Mexico. We used the 5 day vacation to combine the best of interests in family and racing into a neat package under the conifers and clouds of Angel Fire Resort, New Mexico.

Strouse clan L to R, papa, Tori, Bethany, Shyala, Joshua, Anthony, Chris, Teresa and Kaitlyn.

I've finally figured out the formula to actually end up on the top wrung of the podium... Leave your series competition in Denver and beat one local and a no-show.
Sarge's first Super Downhill (SD) race was a bit more intense than expected. The volcano trash deposited a million years ago was daunting enough as it formed a trail of jagged ridges you were suppose to race over. But the start line mentality was bizarre. These guys ARE SERIOUS about SD and the start line reminded me of scenes from Braveheart as they raced on foot from the start line to the bikes. Part of the ritual included a starting position of one knee and one elbow on the ground, facing the opposite direction of the waiting overweight steeds 50 yards away.

Grandson Anthony and I were way too laid back for the super downhill crowd so I was happy to finish 20th out of 22 starters.

Scoring a 2nd place victory in the 40+ Short Track Cross Country race behind fellow teammate Carry Dunn was another highlight of the weekend. And I HATE Short Track!! COMotion dominated the Cat 2 30-40 yr. old class and the weekend bringing home a near perfect 972 & 986 score extending the lead on the way to the 7th championship year.

Crested Butte- here we come!

SHORT BREAK FROM BIKING CHASING GOBBLERS

Just spent four days of solo brain-drain turkey hunting along the Purgatoire River in Southeastern Colorado. The hunt site was about as far away from civilization in Colorado as I could find. Twenty five miles south of La Junta, then 23 miles of dirt road to the ranch headquarters, 4 more miles into the ranch to the campsite and a final 2 1/2 mile mountain bike ride each morning to the roost area.





I wasn't entirely off the bike. Days before the hunt were spent outfitting the race retired 2007 ASR with a shotgun rack, GPS mount and hiking boot friendly platform pedals. The head strap mounted Petzel provided enough light to follow cattle trails on the pre-dawn rides in.
I believe I'm safe in declaring that I'm the first person ever to baptise an XTR crankset in the Purgatoire River crossing it twice a day to get to the roost areas.

Continental Mountain King tubeless 2.4's worked great in the land if prickly pear and cholla catus, sandburrs and yucca. Evidence of many punctures were present but the Stan's did its job every time.

In 1982 the Sarge was living in Oklahoma and feverishly involved in the out-of-doors. Before the passion was mountain bikes, I was chasing wild turkeys and slaying monster large-mouth bass every chance I had. I'm twenty seven years old in the photo above with one of my first birds.

During the last 27 years, the birds have gotten smarter. I evidently have not. After setting up on the same lone gobbler and his hens three mornings in a row, the closest I could call him in was about 75 yards. Just out of shotgun range. God bless him!

SECOND INSTALLMENT ON THE MSC TOUR COMPLETE

Back in 2006 when I competed in the cow pattie XC race at Nathrop, I ran the 3 laps in 2 hours and 6 minutes to finish 7th.. This year, the identical course (log jump #3 worn down from crank strikes considerably) took 2 hours and 8 minutes to finish 4 out of 5. Three years older and only added 2 minutes? Could be worse.

The course was a blast with long flat road sections, off camber sandy technical drops and twisty turny singletrack avenues along the banks of Chalk Creek. Mount Princeton served as a spectacular backdrop for the second race of the season.

Sunday morning quiet time with the girls, biscuits, eggs, bacon and coffee proved too tempting to roll out for the early AM short track race.

We did make it over to the venue to watch a bit of the gravity events on Sunday. Pretty cool. These kids ride on adreneline and spikes of testestrone to beat the other guy to the timer.

Cat 1 COMotion racer Matt Juth saw heavy competition on the short track.

Still early in the series, I have time to knuckle down and get serious about training 3-4 days a week, spending time in the weight room and cutting down on junk food and brewskis. It could happen.

SEASON OPENER ...MEMORABLE

The 2009 MSC opener had some very ominous signs to say the least. Lets go over the time line:
FRIDAY
2:20pm-Me and Charlie E. sneek out early from work (Big boss riding horses in Houston or something).

2:45pm-Meet Chris Taylor at the Yeti Park & Ride to load up 3 bikes, gear, team Continental tires, Smartwool duds, Crank Bros. backorders and provisions. Off to Fruita! Snow never hurt anybody!

4:15pm-CSP's finest wave us off I-70 at Georgetown with somber options. Go back to Idaho Spring for a shelter being set up there or wait it out in Georgetown.

6:10pm-Crackberry e-mails with other COMOtion team members confirm that yeah, you're screwed! Doug D. headed back as instructed and (eventually made it back to Golden at 3am Saturday morning.) Hang out at the Visitor Center. They love travelers. Motels.....ha sold out at 3:00pm.
7:00pm- Lovely Chinese dinner within walking distance. Two employees, 37 hungry, pissed-off traveler. WHERE'S MY POTSTICKERS!!....an hour later we were served our meal. Very good (always good with a 68 glucose reading)


9:30pm- Potstickers arrived after the meal. Kelli E. shows up after learning from e-mails we were there. Stares at potstickers.......Can we have some hot tea please?


11:30pm- Bar drunks and solo waiter give us dirty looks wondering if we were going to apply for residency. Kelli's cousin (one of 6,000 in CO) rescues her from the night. There's only 7 in their motel room so far.

11:40pm-Back to the WELCOME CENTER...more brochure reading.

SATURDAY

12:00pm-WELCOME CENTER becomes the UN-WELCOME CENTER. CT is booted out while Charlie and I sip coffee at the gas station. Seems he fits the profile of a vagrant. He's called a liar by the brassy broad locking up when he explains that "the nice man at the center had told us earlier that they would be opened all night." Strong letter to follow.

1:00pm: Warm up the Silverado Hotel get ready for a cramped 5 hour on/off sleep cycle. Charlie is 6' 3" and settles in horizontally in the extended cab's rear seat....kinda. Knees bent. Chris and I lean the seats back 45 degrees and stare at the ceiling....kinda. Every half hour I crank up the engine (driving lights go on and blind poor souls trying to sleep in the Subaru in front of us. Sorry) get warm and shut it off.

6:00am: Gotta pee..off to the gas station and hot coffee. Other survivors are starting to stir and all have horror stories about car napping with puking dogs, wet babies and dead batteries. Maybe it wasn't that bad after all.

8:15am: Official word is we're still shut down but the west bound gates are up and a lot of the trucks have disappeared. We're finally off to Fruita. Time Trial starts at 10:00am. $40 donation to Darner's retirement.

12:00 Noon: Arrive in Grand Junkyard after white knuckle drive between Georgetown and Vail. Just wet through the canyon and sunshine greeted us at Rifle. That was fun....After checking in at the Super 8, a shower and lunch we headed over to Rabbit Valley to pick up number plates and honor the BLM with a $5 donation to straighten out the sand once we're through. Charlie and I salvage the day with a short ride from the Tabeguache trailhead south of town towards the Ribbon Trail. Dinner with COMOtion team and a couple of Breckenridge brews and we're out for the night. Real beds with a pillow!

Sunday

With an 8:00am Cross Country race start time we set the alarms and arranged a wake up call for 5:30am. Load em up, Continental breakfast and off to race.

Lucy keeps watch over the COMOtion pit in case unwelcome competitors want to use our tire pump.

The opener results started out just like the last season had ended. Last place. I knew I was not ready to compete but I didn't think a was going to suffer that much. The legs were there but the lungs and heart went in shut-down mode about a half mile from the finish and I seriously thought I was looking at my first DNF ever.

The cheers from the vulture crowd on the last climb surged me through 12 minutes behind ex-Team Evergreen teammate Steve Como's win.

Disaster number 3 for the weekend started on the way back with a melted transmission as we left the Colorado River valley. Nice way to finale.

Thanks to COMOtion teammate Chris Butler, we continued eastbound in his sweet ride and backed the team trailer in the driveway at 10:30pm. A weekend adventure for sure. Race turned out to be the small part. Above and beyond, Chis nursed the sick Chevy to Rifle Transmission and another teammate Ryan Schultz brought it back to the front range Friday. Do I have great teammates or what?

POP GOES THE WIESEL!!!

OK, Larry Green blew the big storm prediction again but I still had enough faith to plan a bachelor's weekend of basement bike work, Internet cruising, Turbo-tax, and wiener dog play. Factory screw just freaked me out.

For no good reason, my metallurgical and engineering education and background kicked in and I decided to do a major re-vamp of a Vaison Elite bike travel bike box I just purchase at The Pro's Closet http://www.theproscloset.com/Shop/Control/fp/SFV/32625 in Boulder. The guys there get first dibs on several of the world's fastest team's left over cycling equipment and clothing.

My bitch was that all the hardware (bolts) pointed inward and posed threats to the content. Some had become loose and generally did not meet my quality standards. Other than that, the case was perfect. Drill and pop rivet was the prescription.

The box is for an August trip planned with COMo Bro. Chris Taylor to Wales to attend the UK Yeti Tribe Meeting. More on that later.

Now I feel better. Domed aluminum rivet heads greet my carbon parts instead of a stupid loose, false cap over a menacing M2.5 bolt steel shank.

So that my bike case doesn't get mixed up with the dozens of other elephant sized bike bags, I've cleverly attached COMOtion and Yeti stickers so I can pick them out on the 87 RPM baggage claim carousel.

Ipod updated. Better go to the fitness club Sunday to burn off beer and pasta ingested from the boring day inside.

2009 COMOTION SPORTS TRAINING CAMP HUGE SUCCESS

Boasting a 90% plus attendance, the 2009 Training Camp in Fruita was a great time and stoked the folks for the upcoming Mountain States Cup quest for an unheard of 7th consecutive team category championship. The roster is at the maximum allowable 30 racers strong with nearly every category represented.

Perfect weather greeting team members the entire 6 days in Fruita. Nights were chilly (I just turned up the heater at the Super 8) but 10:00 am, the sun was shining and outer appendage warmers were discarded like empty gel packs.

Saturday night was spent with team members and friends stuffing carb-deprived bellies with delicious Mexican food at Ryan & Autumn's GJ home.

Cervezas and Margaritas were toasted high when CT revealed the purpose and spirit of BIG JIM and why this season is dedicated to him and his daughter.... star Cat 1 racer, Megan Taylor. Big Jim passed a way June 23rd 2008.

A total of 28 riders counted off mid-ride Saturday during the big Rabbit Valley loop. Almost 35 team members and support folks started the I70/Exit 2 trailhead gathering. Some got lost.

The term "Herding Cats" was repeated several times by ride leaders. Not sure what that means.

Satellite image of Sunday's Road 18 route looks more like moonscape scenery than earth. Welcome to BLM's finest. What was really cool was to watch the reaction of weekend Trek riders when they watched the COMOtion team kitted peleton cruise through the main trailhead parking lot on killer Yetis. You would have thought we were rock stars. You know, I think we ARE rock and sand stars!! We sure looked fast and organized.
Rides were organized by locals Ryan Schultz and Chris Butler with volunteer leaders Kris Lathrop and Scott Gordon offering alternate routes on the Rabbit Valley and Road 18 expeditions.

Monday presented a great morning to grunt the uphill Colorado National Monument ride from the Fruita side. No traffic, cool in the shade, hot in the sun and desert scenery Moab can't out do.

Friday's dirty dozen............................................Another one in the book and a great start to the upcoming race season. First stop. Yip, Rabbit Valley.