Nebo Loop. July 30, 2011

Jacob, Golden, Ryan and I biked the Mt. Nebo loop on Saturday. Interestingly enough, "Nebo" is Navajo for "Bicycle" (true story... maybe not). Anyway, we left from Noble Sports and started to head to Payson on a rural road with hardly any traffic. It was fun to cross paths with quite a few other cyclists enjoying the day. Up in the mountains was simply beautiful! They had finished construction on the descent so nobody had to walk their bike. We ate at Quiznos and began the flat journey back home. It was hot and at times we felt like we were glued to the road. Both Golden and Ryan got flats. Otherwise we all got home safely without any real problems. Great training for Lotoja!

Capitol Reef Classic. July 15-16, 2011

I came in first last year at the Capitol Reef Classic racing in Cat. 5 so I came into the race with certain hopes and expectations. At first I was excited to see that I had beat my prior time trial time by a minute. It turns out conditions were better this year and nearly everyone did better than in 2010. I ended up getting 13th in the time trial, a stage that I had won last year. The circuit race consisted of two laps. On the second lap I put in what I thought was a brutal attack on the uphill but everyone was able to follow. I ended up finishing just a few seconds behind the winner. The road race was much more difficult. Not only was it 30 miles longer but it had several thousand feet of climbing. The pack went at a leisurely pace and I decided to pull as we arrived in Bicknell. I really wasn't putting forth much effort but still I ended up just kind of dribbling off the front. One of the other riders asked if I wanted to work with him to try and stay away. That seemed like a disaster so I politely declined but then two other riders cut across the gap that I had inadvertently created. I decided that maybe it was worth a go. I was down about a minute and a half from the overall lead and thought that maybe this was my chance to turn things around. We worked well together and created a gap of 5 minutes at one point. The motor official had let us know that there was some infighting in the pack. Some people had chosen to attack at the first feed zone at during a nature break. We climbed past fish lake and continued back on the highway when I finally ran out of gas with about 20 miles to go. Someone from our group won the stage which made me kind of happy. I ended up in 8th overall which I didn't feel too bad about.

Porcupine Hill Climb, July 9, 2011

It was a beautiful day for a hill climb. We had four Noble Sports riders show up (Me (Todd), Ryan, Chris and Kim). It was a fast start and never let-up for the whole 14.7 miles up the canyon. All categories started together which resulted in a high pace. I felt like I never had a moment of respite. Once it felt like my rear tire was going flat and I thought, "thank goodness! I can stop now!" Turns out it wasn't flat. The thing I need to remember is that when I feel like death, the riders around me are probably feeling the same way. A large group, with mostly Cat. 1-3, left me and many others behind. I ended up in a second group of about 10 people. We stayed together almost until the end when one guy accelerated and it was all I could do to follow him. While I was trying to recover I saw him drop into a higher gear again and off he went. This time I couldn't follow. I ended up getting 3rd with a time of 1:05:00. It's funny how a lot of events work. During the event I think, "why the heck am I paying money to suffer like this?" After it's over I think, "Man that was fun! I want to do that again!" The next event is the Capitol Reef Classic!

Squaw Peak, South Fork, Alpine Loop & Cascade Springs June 18, 2011

Ryan, Jacob and I got in some good climbing today. We went up Squaw Peak, South Fork, The Alpine Loop and Cascade Springs. I think it worked out to be about 6500 ft in climbing which is roughly the same amount of climbing for Lotoja. Not only was the weather perfect, but the Alpine Loop was still closed to motorists which made for a perfect day of cycling. At the Cascade Springs junction we ran into the Fat Cyclist who was doing the Alpine Loop with a single-speed.

The windiest criterium I've ever done. June 16, 2011

I went to the Vineyard criterium and was just happy to make it home without being blown to Oz. Every time I find myself in a very windy situation I swear it's the windiest situation I've been in but this time I think it really was the windiest ride I've been on. Only about 7 people showed up but it was still a lot of fun and no one was blown over.

Nebo Loop Jun 11, 2011

For our Noble Sports ride we went up the Nebo Loop just beyond Blackhawk Campground. At that point it became kind of wet and slushy but it was perfectly dry up until that point. The weather could not have been better and the day could not have been more beautiful. Mike, Golden, Chris, Ryan, Maggie, Jacob and Todd all participated.

Vineyard Criterium. June 2, 2011

3 of us (Joe, Jacob and I) left Noble Sports at 5:15 and headed up to Vineyard in a narly headwind. We didn't get killed going along Geneva Road during rush hour, and we're grateful for that. Jacob got a flat right as we arrived at Vineyard. Joe and I arrived at the circuit right as the Bike Peddler folks had started the neutral lap. It was a lot of fun and some good competition. Two guys from SBR raced really well and took 1st and 2nd. I came in behind them at 3rd. I'm hoping we can get some more Noble Sports people out for the next one on the 16th.