Karmic Slap

I'm sick. I haven't been sick in over a year. Thinking that I was beginning to discover my new superhuman hero immune system that had lay dormant until it was realized post-Race Across America, I set out for a test.

I went to Vegas. Drank until I had to drink more to keep going, I stayed out until the not so wee hours of the morning, coming in for a brief rest when most are headed out to work. I ate crap and more crap and ate some more, just for good measure. I took a cab with my buddies to In- and-Out Burger and then came back to the hotel for a drink or eight. Red Bull gives you wings. Red Bull with top shelf vodka gives you loud, gregarious and mildly ridiculous wings. Wings that take you over and above and around until 5 or 6 in the morning.

I punished my body after coming back from Vegas. Wanted to teach a lesson to myself. I rode about 40 miles on my singlespeed road bike and then went to the gym to continue the lesson. I ran a 5k indoors and lifted and then swam 12 laps. It felt terrible and wonderful.

Then I went out the night before my latest shift, drank some more, got home much too late, slept for two hours and then went to work yesterday where we had what I would call a "mega fire," a fire that is big and punishing and smokey and dangerous. I was on the ladder truck doing "truckie" things, like the aptly named Vent Enter Search, which is basically an activity where you intentionally enter burning, smoke filled spaces, without a hoseline, looking for victims. I ascended high above the fire with my Captain so that we could get a good look at the fire and also to drop some water onto the top of the fire. Ever been up above a burning apartment complex at 70 feet with smoke and heat just an "armslength" away?

So today I'm sick. Apparently my superhuman abilities to refute sickness came at the hand of good living, enough rest, respect for my body and an understanding that when both ends of the candle are burning eventually the fire goes out.

Next time...more wax.

TC

What Happens In Vegas

So...I went to Las Vegas last week with some friends to pretty much undo the past ten years of bicycle training. Mission accomplished! A few more days of partying until dawn and I do believe that I would have died, with a smile on my face of course.

The first day out there we renamed Vegas "Awesome Town." If you've never been I suggest you get in your car right now and head over there. Okay, so it is a town of gluttony, debauchery and carousing, but that is what makes the place so special! I'll just leave it at that.

The last day I was out there (I stayed a day later than my friends to get a cheaper flight), I met up with Team Strong Heart coach Eric Kenney of EK Endurance Coaching. He had just completed what is termed the "world's toughest triathlon" out in Henderson, Nevada. Eric smoked the half triathlon, coming in 4th overall as an amateur out of something like 800 competitors, and I got to go to his awards ceremony the day I was traveling back to CO. The full version of the Silverman Triathlon features about 10k of climbing on the bike and super hilly terrain for the run. During the race the athletes were treated to a full compliment of weather from nature, including three foot swells out on Lake Mead during the swim. Competitive finishing times for the full version were around 13 hours. Yikes!

I'm debating about racing this weekend on my cx bike. My lungs still feel as if I was stuck in a coal mine out in Vegas (where everyone smokes) and I'm just not feeling combat effective quite yet. Back to the grindstone I go...

Keep the rubber side pointed towards the ground.

Tim

Vail Pass, Single Speed Style

Team Strong Heart racer Eric Begin and I set out to tackle Vail Pass a couple of days ago on our bicycles. We've been there many times before, climbing out of Frisco up to the pass, which sits at about 10,700 feet, down into the Vail valley and then back up over the pass and out (usually to Taco Bell).

I took my singlespeed road bike out for the ride. Yeah, that's right. One gear, one speed (slow) and luckily a freewheel for coasting down the back side of the pass (times two). It actually wasn't that bad. The weather was sunny but dang chilly. It's amazing how the weather out here in Colorado is so divergent. Down by Boulder it was in the 70's and fair. Up near Vail it was windy and chilly. Oh well...

Anyway, we had snow to contend with in the shade and actually ended up walking part of the route when the snow really got tough. Mind you, it was only a couple of inches of snow, but you know, road bikes and road shoes aren't really made for that sort of thing. There was more than a couple of times where a cyclocross bike would definitely have been handy.

Well, we made it and now I have a hair-brained scheme to take my singlespeed road bike up and over as many mountain passes as I can. Call it my version of the "classic" 14'er Colorado brag.

Keep the rubber side down...especially in the snow.

TC

Boulder Cup Weekend

Every year Boulder brings in the baddest local and national racers for a UCI Cyclocross extravaganza. Oh, and I also raced. The Boulder Cup draws thousands of spectators and some interesting Boulderites out of the woodwork. Just when I start getting sick of the "26 miles surrounded by reality," the Boulder Cup comes calling...

Yesterday's pain fest was held at the Boulder Reservoir. I'm not entirely sure what the deal was with the course designers, but they obviously had a "thing" for sand. The back half of the course was basically one big sand run, with a couple of barriers thrown in for good measure. I had a hard time getting a rhythm down, but ended up finishing 27th overall, which I guess is a-okay. To think I was racing RAAM four months ago.

Today's race was held at the Harlow Platts cyclocross course, set up against the flatirons. I was feeling pretty decent but couldn't uncork anything special during the race. For the uninitiated, it's amazing how hard a cyclocross race is right from the very beginning. If you don't hit it hard on the first lap, well, you might as well be resigned mid or latter pack riding. If you don't get the holeshot, you're "race" is done. The course was really fun and had it's own version of sand riding on the back half of the race. It was great to try and ride the sand parts of the course, though you were really screwed either way and got the life sucked out of you if you ran, or if you rode through. I did a little bit of both for good measure.

Just like any good cyclocross event, the race was only part of the fun. Mass quantities of PBR and Old Chubb turned an "ordinary" race into a wonder, and it was definitely great to catch up with some racing buddies, new and old. Guys dressed like bottles of Duff Beer, guys dressed like dolls and various stages of undress (see above) made this a great weekend of racing...

Tomorrow I'm heading up to Vail for some single-speed road riding. Stay tuned for that...

Keep the rubber side down...

Tim

Pics of My New/Old Singlespeed Road Bike

Jay T. inspired me with his Headwaters 100 singlespeed race to go out and get a lingering project bike of mine done. This is what happens when an old cross bike gets a new set of lungs...

RAAM Fall Festival

So I headed out to Terry Zrmal's house yesterday for the second annual RAAM Fall Festival. Terry is the Race Director for RAAM and the day was billed as a meet and greet for RAAM particpants and staff, past, present and future.

After fighting some crazy Boulder fall winds coming out of the west (think downhill riding at 10 mph), I made it to Terry's for the morning ride. It was a mixed group but everyone rode very strong as we hit a classic Boulder ride, the Fruit Loops... I was struggling from an interval workout the previous day but uncorked another hard ride, knowing that I'd get to "recover" today at work...

After the ride we ate BBQ (best part of the ride), caught up on things and traded stories about RAAM. David Jones, three time RAAM solo rider and great guy flew out to Colorado for the event and a few business meetings. It was interesting to hear his experiences and that of one of his crew people who was also in attendance for the party. I guess my crazy solo RAAM wasn't that unique after all...

Following the food we watched a rough cut of the RAAM DVD which will be out within a month, or so. The footage was spectacular, the commentary of the media crew was pretty funny and the whole movie was an engaging and moving recap of the 2008 Race Across America. That is my unbiased opinion...

It was encouraging to meet a couple of women from the Boulder based, Title 9 Cycling Team who are likely going to field a four woman team for 2009. I love sharing my experiences and limited understanding of the race with newbies and it was definitely cool to hear their questions and the blank look of disbelief as we told them about the race. The RAAM is definitely something to experience first hand. Seeing and feeling RAAM IS believing.

A couple of quirky things came out of the Fall Festival. I got an AMAZING workout/ride from a RAAM racer, Drew Clark who created what has to be one of the most insane rides I've ever heard about. I'll be posting the ride details in a few days, but the bottom line is that the ride covers about 100 miles, 14,000 feet of climbing and takes about 9 hours to complete. I'm looking to do the ride within the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned for that. Also, I heard a fairly credible rumor that Lance Armstrong is going to be racing his cyclocross bike in Boulder next weekend, during the big time UCI cyclocross event.

So...all-in-all the RAAM Fall Festival was a success and a solid day of riding and reflection.

Keep the rubber side down...

TC

Pics from First Cyclocross Race of Season

Who'd a thunk I'd be racing cyclocross this year???