Top 12 Reasons-Way More Than You Wanted To Know

Holly crap!! Moving to the expert class for the 2008 Winter Park Series, I did not expect to be doing the grip-and-grin podium photos with my little gold, silver or copper medallion.

But what I got Saturday was an old fashion "spanking" from the 50+ coot clan.

It's not my fault so I thought I'd list the top 12 reasons I placed 12th out of 12 racers.

#12-I'm still waiting on my ASRc uphill racer

#11- I didn't train at 11,000 ft. elevation enough (at all)

#10-They don't like cocky racers who have their names on their bikes.

#9-I thought since I'm on COMotion's 5X winning team I didn't have to really train

#8-Teresa left the lid off the margarita server Friday night

#7-Gas prices are too high to take Silverado and required 200 pounds of tools and extra bike parts

#6-I fell down Wednesday and went boom on the CX bike. Bruised my elbow. It kept making me veer left then I over-corrected. Actually logged 8.3 miles on the 5 mile course

#5-Tim Watkins threw sand my face at the start line

#4- I fell down Wednesday and went boom on the CX bike. Created bacon strips down my left leg and knee would not bend

#3- Train coming out of the Moffat Tunnel made too much noise to hear the start announcement and I started late

#2-Vicodin reacted with Starbucks caffeine and caused brain and muscle cramps.

#1- I fell down Wednesday and went boom on the CX bike. Boy was my hip slow and butt sore! Now, better start a new list for the next race.

Never Get Tired of THE ROCK

If you don't like crowds and wheel-suckers, don't bother with Colorado's largest organized ride -The Elephant Rock Cycling Festival in Castle Rock. This year's cap of 7,000 riders was met well before the event was held June 1st.

One of the first organized rides I ever attended was the Elephant Rock Ride back in 2000. I pedaled a Trek 7000 hardtail pulling an Adam's Trail-a-bike with granddaughter Tori in tow. She threw a screaming fit when I told her to get off and help push until we were at the top of the hill. We were attempting the 8 mile mountain bike family ride. Except for one year since, we've participated annually moving up to the century road ride in 2004.

Take the profile above and tilt it another 3% grade to account for the never silent winds that buffet the open prairies. Despite not having trained specifically for the 100 miler, I was pleased with a slightly under 6 hour ride time and an average speed of 16.1 mph.

Choice of weapon this year was the 2007 Yeti ARC-X cyclocross bike. A fresh set of Continental GP4000 S skins converted the newest member of the Yeti stable into a decent open road cruiser. True, a lot of the descents had me red-lining the CX gearing but the +110 rpm spinning sections serve well as an efficient lactic acid purge following big ring climbs.

Veterans of the game, we arrived early Saturday afternoon with the travel trailer and act dumb about the 3:00pm check-in time. Results are always a prime camping location on precious flat ground and a dawn Sunday morning view of the hordes of cyclist arriving like warriors from a scene in Braveheart.

The early season event serves as a good reality check for fitness and as a reminder that the race season is nearly here. Details of the event can be found at http://www.elephantrockride.com/.

ANNUAL TRIBE MEETING IS ALL ABOUT YETI'S HISTORY & FUTURE

"We're responsible for our own direction," said Brett Hahn, the general manager of Yeti, to the Boulder Daily Camera in 1995. "Schwinn has no desire to blend images."
For true Yeti brand enthusiasts, there is no better place to walk among the company leaders and movers, both past and present, than at the annual Yeti tribe gathering.

Former Yeti General Manager Brett Hahn, (right), yours truly and "Big" Joe Henderson enjoy going through decades of Yeti memorabilia collected by Hahn. Hahn is ever active in the cycling world as Continental Tire's North American Brand Manager for cycling. The lucky dude also lives in Durango, home of some of the world's best known cycling and cyclist.

Henderson was one of only two employees kept when the Durango site was closed in 1999 by new owner Schwinn. True to Brett's statement in 1995, the company has kept it's own image and remains one of the industry's strongest "nitch" brands. For a glimpse into the company's fascinating history check out http://yetifan.com/the_history_of_yeti.html .

Current Yeti "Bossman" Cris Conroy drops his ride in dirt with the rest of the tribe after a full day's ride on legendary Fruita singletracks.

Tribe gathering bring out the common 575 Enduros and collector items such as one of Yeti's first generation rear suspension mountain bikes.

Poor souls knotted up from the kidney jarring desert descents were treated to a massage before applying Oskar Blue's general pain relief medication..

Yeti's future looks bright with the free ride and downhill bunch. Although pretty much ignored in the '08 company brochure, the XC crowd is buzzing over the introduction of the first all carbon ASR. Yep, still waiting for mine.

See you next year!!!

See, I Told You We Were Eating Too Much Pasta!!

What does Dave Strouse, Floyd Landis and Bronco's QB Jay Cutler have in common? We all inject HORMONES!!

Wait a minute, Floyd had a different reason.

Annual trip to endocrinologist Dr. Higgins in Boulder confirms that I have been mis-behav'n, am over weight, have a higher than 7% A1C, elevated cholesterol and don't keep track of my blood glucose levels like I should. The treatment now goes to the next level of pre-meal injections.

Motivation for racing and exercising comes from the fact that "Sarge" has been a Type 2 diabetic since 1991. I don't play on that fact or seek pity but instead join the millions of folks world wide including Jay Cutler, who lives daily with a lazy pancreas.

I'm lucky-Type 2 diabetes means I do produce some insulin- necessary for converting sugar to energy. Previous management consisted of 2 oral medications and 1 long acting insulin injection at night.

Jay's pancreas has shut down all together (Type 1) meaning all of his insulin must be provided by injections.

The handy Humalog pens will accompany both of us to insure we are able to keep a balanced carbohydrate intake and circulating insulin level. It's a complicated chemistry equation you can learn more about at: http://www.diabetes.org/ and http://www.diabetes-excercise.org/ .

While most folks with diabetes are overweight and lead a sedimentary lifestyle, I was atypical and first diagnosed after a sudden weight loss, typical frequent urination, constant thirst and fatigue. Family history of diabetes included only one paternal aunt that developed Type 1 in her 50's.

During extended XC racing, I consciously take on Powerbar gel packs every 45 minutes. The stream of carbs at these intervals insures that the insulin I injected and the daily oral medications I take don't do their job too well and cause a "bonk" serious enough to prevent "vital functions" to proceed.

Sheri Colberg's "The Diabetic Athlete" has provided tons of useful training information and guided me through the complicated process of balancing diet, medication and extreme exercise. What I have learned is exercise is 75% of the equation. I love a challenge!

If you're looking for a fun group ride, join me August 23 at the Boulder County fairground for the 2008 Tour de Cure fundraiser benefiting diabetes research. For more info visit: http://tour.diabetes.org/site/PageServer?pagename=TC_homepage

As for Floyd, I don't understand what his problem is.

BACK FROM EUROPE AND NEED TO LOOSE SOME WEIGHT...

Maintaining the dignity and respect for US tourist was my first priority. Eating everything in sight by utilizing the 5 course meal system was a downfall.

Choosing to visit northern Italy in early April was based around our 35th wedding anniversary date of April 6th (Happy 53rd B'day also). Going early in the year protects you from the high cost of flights, motels and attraction bookings during the traditional tourist season of June through August.

It does however, leave the spring weather to the roulette table and except for the planned day of mountain biking in Cinque Terre we beat the odds. Trails were partially closed due to rain and rock slides not unheard of in Colorado high country this time of year.

The trip was incredible and has provided the perfect "brain drain" to re-group and train in the high intensity mode till the first race in mid June.. a mear 45 minute hill climb at Winter Park. Having now seen the real statue of "David", I need to protect my namesake by do some major "glute" development in the next 30 days! Check out our fun trip slide show at:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=8njcnx5.tv4jv09&Uy=sn7bq8&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&UV=737484133444_10552846313&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1

TIME OUT WITH THE BIKE STUFF !!!!!

Time to give back to my junior high sweetheart Teresa (Quantz). We will leave Friday to spend April 6th, our 35th wedding anniversary in Venice, Italy. She's put up with decades of my selfish hunting, fishing, motorcycle racing, RVing and now mountain biking so hey.....it's the least I could do.

We'll visit Amsterdam, Venice, Florence, Pisa, Cinque Terre and Milan.

Should be a good time together enjoying all the romantic settings of the European cities. We've been training for the trip by sampling red wines from the different regions each night at dinner. Since my first race isn't until June, I figure I'll come back strong in May to work off the pounds gained in April.

Proud products of the union are daughter Bethany, 33 an RN in Oklahoma City and Joshua, 28 an investment advisor in Dallas. Their contributions are three granddaughters and one grandson.

Life is good........

And for those who think I've gone soft....Following Friday I'm set up for a full day of mountain bike riding above Riomaggiore overlooking the Mediterranean coastline. Don't tell the bride.

COMotion Team Crushes Training Camp

TC's 2008 team training camp had to be one of best attended in recent years. Although the process-of-elimination-date ended up on Easter weekend, 18 members plus a few significant others topped the attendance at around 24 campers. The conclave took shape on Bureau Of Land Mis-management's Road 18 North of Fruita. Lots of MTB miles and elevation gained over the 5 day event but just as important was the time spent around camp meeting new members and sharing goals for the upcoming race season.

Speed coach Todd Carver was impressed with new team member's skills and fitness levels. He's a butt man and always quick to suggest raising or lowering you saddle with a glance...

With the exception of a Thursday afternoon snow and ice packed Vail pass descent, (details of the jack-knifed trailer withheld until the cops loose the blood trail) weather was as good as it gets the entire weekend.

Friday's ride was easy Kokopelli Trailhead loops letting everyone get their singletrack rhythm back and trail tuning a few new bikes .

Saturday was filled with an epic trek up the infamous Ribbon Trail just outside Grand Junction. The view from the top of The Ribbon reveals views of the Book Cliffs, Colorado National Monument, and Grand Mesa. Published stats state 3.6 miles on singletrack; 4.8 miles on doubletrack with a short road side connector jaunt. What they don't tell you is the upper body work out you'll get hoisting bikes over impassable boulders, cliffs and stair-stepped passage ways. There's a thru-cave to explore on the way up. Pay dirt or rock is a series of 20% grade slickrock avenues disappearing in the sky ahead of you. Crank..crank...crank.

Sunday most racers rode the abundant trails right out of camp or headed over to Rabbit Valley to pre-ride the 1st MSC course of the year. I played camp bum most of the day enjoying the scenery and geriatric induced "recovery" time.
The bean based Taco Soup was ready by afternoon and disappeared in about 15 minutes. By Sunday evening, the group had pretty well disbursed and headed east. Probably best for the ozone layer above Fruita as the bean soup conversion really kicks in about dark.

Monday was mine wrapping up camp details and heading in to town to begin the road ride up Colorado Monument at 9:00 am. Beginning at the Fruita end, the 40 mile out and back was pure climbing for the first hour and twenty minutes. Screw the TT bar critics. Laying nearly flat, chest open with a slight up-pull on the bars, the cranking was steady and worked the gluts well. The original plan was to head straight to the high point of the rim road at 6,640 ft. and head back. As I later discovered, that point is clearly marked on the map but not evident on the road. By the time I descended into Cold Shivers Point, it was obvious the top was behind me so I hooked a u-turn and headed back to Fruita. Devorah Peterson had started about a 1/2 hour behind me and we passes each other somewhere around Upper Ute Canyon.

The day was cool but beautiful and a total of 4 or 5 cars passed on the 2 1/2 hour ride. Ending to a super weekend.

Special thanks to Chris Butler and Ryan Schultz for doing the camp scout and food prep. Autumn Schultz and Holly for the awesome pasta feed Saturday night and Kelly Emich (Pearl Izumi) and Scott Gordon (IMBA) for their generous donations to the team "goodie bags". Chris Taylor for the photos.

Training Camp Prep

Twenty-Nine Goodie Bags loaded with SWAG from Topeak, Yeti, Pearl Izumi, Smartwool, IMBA, Powerbar and others ready to deliver to COMotion Sports Team members during the upcoming training camp.

THANK GOD ! the 5:30 am spinning classes are going to get relief from me next week. The COMotion team training camp is March 20th-24th in Fruita and it will feel good to get back on the ASR and bounce down some redrock ledges and grunt climb steep, sandy singletracks.

First task is to get bikes ready. Teamies poked fun at me last year for having a clean "brand new bike" every race. Fact is I love to work on them and spend hours each week in the fully equipped basement work shop checking every detail. Not a single DNF in 5 years racing is the pay off.

I'll be hauling the ASR, Road Project and the ARC CX. No one believes we'll get 4 good weather days to mountain bike so the road bike will probably see most of the saddle time.

Team member Ryan Schultz sends the following info about conditions in the Grand Junction area weekend prior:"Riding in GJ was pretty good this weekend. TheKokopelli was great, little muddy in spots, but overall it was excellent riding, and a majority of theKokopelli loops were open. Rabbit Valley was VERY muddy still. We rode the time trial course and a lot of it was unridable due to mud. The kids ORV training loop however, was fun. It had some pretty sweet jumps!"

That's good news as I look out my window Sunday night and see snow piling up in the Broomfield backyard. Plans are to haul the family travel trailer across the continental divide, through Glenwood Canyon and past Grand Junkyard to Fruita. That could change on Thursday with bad news from Larry Green and a call to the Fruita Motel 6...

Yeti trio ready to lock in the Silverado rack. Yes Boulder, friends, those are dead animals on the wall in the background...

We'll see and keep our fingers crossed for great weather!!

Training Takes on Variety

Yea, I know, the last half dozen posts are headlined and/or in reference to TRAINING....well that is about all racers do this time of year. Today's ride was a bit different for me and accomplished a couple of personal goals even if most racers think it routine.

The Broomfield to Left Hand Canyon route was pretty uneventful until I entered the canyon. The usual thought process goes....plenty of time, legs still attached (30 miles in), and weather looks like it will hold out. I'm going to Ward. Or, not much time, legs squeaking and looks like a storm is at higher elevation. I'm going to Jamestown.

This ride the 2008 Yeti ARC CX is under me and I'm doing a loop on the mountain bike trails of Heil Ranch. Yeti has gone un-dinged long enough and the technical handling is yet to be tested. I'm riding an off-road virgin.
Plans were to actually use it for a couple of late season CX races but mister gimpy leg threw a wrench in the cog on that one.
Heil is among one of the more "rocktical" area rides especially on the top loop although the ascent is relatively mild and even. Having never ridden the CXer up technical terrain and steep grades, I had no idea if it or me would be up to the climb. No Granny MTB gears to fall back on when boulders need to be attacked. Maybe I would find out why the bike's shouldering ability was a major design consideration.
The Texas longhorn sized Salsa handlebars proved useful to power-jerk the front wheel up and over babyheads. The lost art of finding a "line" suddenly became important. My fore and aft Fox suspended ASR makes that a much less important task.

Through multiple stand ups and anaerobic sprints I made the first 2.5 miles to the start of the rock infested Ponderosa Loop with no major injuries or broken bike parts. On to the feared loop. Taking the counterclockwise route put me quickly into a rapid descent through loose rocks, tire slicing angled flagstone and an occasional snow crossing. Rough but I held on and so did the Ritchey wheels and tires. Stark reminder of why MTBers need to work the upper body more. It has been awhile since the arms worked harder than the legs on a bike.

A little more climbing and I'm greeted by the familiar benchs marking the highpoint (6,821 ft) and farthest end of the loop.

Visible below the benches, is Hall Ranch another Boulder County MTB meca. Rumors last year were that there are plans to tie the 2 areas together making an excellent multi-hour MTB ride.

The long descent back to the trailhead had me feeling like a jackhammer operator. Two guys on older Cannondales were impressed when I asked to pass on the left. Guess they thought I was actually in control.


On the way back to Broomfield, I was please to know the answer to the questions that had me wanting to do the Heil Ranch ride. Yes, my legs were able to push up the rocky stuff with CX gearing and no the bike did not fail under MTB trail conditions.
Constant bouncing of the seat bag did finally cause the zipper to fly open and deposit everything squarely on the cross over bridge. Two nice Boulder type ladies put down their field guides and helped me gather it all up. I made a mental note to zip tie the bag closed as soon as I get home.
Garmin stats for the ride were 67.5 miles, 6,494 ft of elevation gained, ride time 4 hrs and 40 min. Lets not talk about average speed.

Dodging The Scalpel........

Cornerstone Orthopaedics doctors High-5 after deciding Dave Strouse will not require major surgery to re-attach the tendon severed in an August 11, 2007 accident. The Retul cycling gait analysis data was taken into consideration.
After nearly 60 days of physical therapy, insurance denied orthodics and fingers-crossed promises by the patient, the judgement at this time is that I have shown enough progress in the "learn-to-walk-again" program that I can continue cycling and moderate running.
The surgery would not actually re-connect the tendon ends but would tie them to other tendons in the area. No promises of success and the surgery would most likely leave a nasty 8" long scar along the front of the right leg -dangerously close to the the Yeti man and COMOtion Sports logo tattoo.

Medically Based Fitness http://www.medfit.net/ physical therapist Marny Farrell administers the "cryogenic torture treatment" on the injury site to reduce swelling brought on by earlier physical terrorist exercises and stretches.
The key to recovery will be in working the entire muscular system to improve general fittness with special emphasis on those little used "side" muscles and tendons in the knee and ankle areas. Stretching the extensor hallucis longus tendon that is taking up the slack for the R.I.P tibialis anterior tendon and muscle is mandatory (test at end of this blog). Phase II of rehab involves the use of foot orthodics to promote even pressure as it is applied across the foot during walking and cycling efforts.

How do I get these things in??
The inserts are basically the same thing Ed McCaffery is advertising for the "Good Feet" people in Colorado. The foot is an amazing mechanism but is still in the R&D stage on the evolution scale. A little help from the smart bio-mechanics folks like David Hardcastles' Orthopedic Rehab in Littleton speeds the process.
Customized Orthodics-same price as a brand new 2008 Mavic Ksyrium SL front wheel. One year warranty.
Oh yeah, those big white things in the photo above are the molds. The actual orthodics are here and feel a little bit like putting a baked potato in your shoes at first.
Quit your whining....Fruita training camp is in 4 weeks.

Training Keeps Pace With Todd's Commands

This gorgeous Sunday is spent with COMotion Sports teammates Matt, Boni and Rob doing what team trainer Todd calls "mandatory base miles" before we actually start torturing our bodies into shape.

This week I made the 10:00 am start beginning at COMotion's only 10 year sponsor's shop Green Mountain Sports off Morison Road and Bear Creek Road. Corky sleeps in until 5:00 pm on Sundays but we used his parking lot anyway.


Our route began north on Morrison road then quickly turned northeast along pedestrian and canine infested trails until we cruised into our legal potty spot- the REI Flagship store in downtown Denver. We passed on the lattes and scones opting for POWERBARS and gel packs from the jersey's back trunks. A few garment were shed thanks to the 55 degree weather by noontime. On to scenic Commerce City, Thornton, Arvada, Golden and back to Lakewood completing the loop.
It may be my imagination but Rob seemed to draw all the barking dogs and middle finger salutes because of his red Specialized garb. Freshmen often have to endure such ridicule until they received their cool YETI splattered COMotion kits and race bikes.

Stats from the Garmin read 55.35 miles with 4,308 feet of climbing and a ride time of 3 hours 17 minutes. Average speed was 16.8 mph. Beautiful January numbers. Boni's computer reads 59 miles so that's what we're feeding Todd.

Training and Rehab In Style

This winter if you can't get out to ride on Colorado's unbeatable mountain bike trails and endless scenic roads, you just have to suck it up, get on the stationary trainer or spin bike and make the best of it. But why not do it is style? This winter I'm doing just that. I said good bye to the local crowded "rec" center and adopted Mountainside Fitness http://www.mountainsidefitness.com/ as the early morning workout location. The Arizona based company opened the doors to a brand new 40,000 sq. ft. facility on December 15th in Westminster just 5 minutes from la casa.

Tops on the training arsenal is the 25 station (Star Trac) flywheel bike equipped studio that features blacklights, thumping music and an I-MAX style theater screen.

Workouts vary between traditional follow the leader (New Year's resolution crowd) basics to specific Tour de France stage races with you in the mix. I just passed the Phonak dude...Much, much more tolerable than the basement wall and the stationary trainer.

Last Wednesday's DVD was a locally produced ride beginning in Boulder, heading up Lee Hill, back to Hwy. 36 and ending via return route on 63rd street. Having actually ridden this route, it was fun to sit in the fan cooled studio watching the familiar sights fly by. No flats this ride.

Ad in 120 pieces of cardio equipment each with a TV monitor, every conceivable weight machine and a coffee/smoothie shop and suddenly winter outdoor workouts become second choice. Yes there is also massage, steam room and sauna rooms and a salon attached. Bring on the snow...

First Training Ride of 2008

Beautiful thing about the Denver area is on occasion, you get to steal a warm sunny day in the middle of winter while the mountains and eastern prairies are getting pounded with snow and wind.

Saturday , January 5th was one of those days and provided the first real training ride of '08. For the first time since the end of the race season I felt worthy of calling myself a racer in training.

Having blown the 11:00 am start time to ride with a half dozen other COMotion Sports racers, I opted to just take a couple of laps around Bear Creek Park and Reservoir. Sitting at the edge of the southern metro, the wide open space has few trees, gets plenty of sun and has a great system of hiking and biking trails.

NO SHORTAGE OF BIKE STANDS AT BEAR CREEK!!

The my-own pace allowed me to fiddle with the new Garmin bike mounted GPS a gift from Teresa Claus. I was sceptical about it's accuracy so for the first few miles, I carefully compared speeds and distance to the tried and true Shimano Flight Deck setup. At the 12 mile mark, the difference was a mere 2 hundreths of a mile between the two instruments. Good enough. The GPS data can be downloaded to my PC and processed with a 3rd party mapping software. From there, I can get other information about the route including total elevation gain and loss. The route tracking feature and compass will come in handy when trying to re-trace steps and return to point "A". Or in the case of Bear Creek, I could also look down from the top of the dam and see the parking lot on E470 where I parked. GPS results were 21.38 miles in 1:34 minutes. Max speed 32 mph...I can beat that.

Great to be back in the saddle...more snow is due in today so back to the stationary trainer and Mountainside Fitness until the next gift of sunshine.