Pics

TULSA TOUGH! and State Crit Weekend write ups on the way! Till then check out these cool pics!

Oh yeah, and check out those sweet new Oakley glasses!

Matrix and so on....

The past month has flew by! After the Ouachita Challenge I was a bit worked, but instead of taking a week off, I did the Fiesta Grand Stage race which left me flat for the next 2 weeks. The only thing holding me together was all the hard work I have been doing at the CTC (Competitive Training Center ) the past 2 months. After a week of recovery came the Matrix Crits. 2 days of 90 minute figure 8 crits that will leave your legs worked. On the 2nd day I was finally starting to get some snap in my legs and was able to stay near the front of the race. At about minute 50 the guy in front of me rolls his tubular and hits the ground. I try to ride it out into the hay bales and go for a yard sail over them. Somehow, I managed to stay in one piece and a lap later get back into the race. The race had split and after 20 minutes of all-out I got back to the front as the race came back together with 15 minutes to go. I just tried to stay near the front and save any energy for the final sprint which actually happens up the backside of the course before turns 7 & 8. Since from turn 8 there is only 150 meters to go. I pinned it with a lap to go sitting 5th wheel and through the turn 6 the sprint started, I waited till about half -way up the windy stretch and hit it just getting through turn 7 in 1st allllll outtttt. I was there 100 meters come-on and I got it! Park Place took it's 2nd win of the day. Jorge Merle won the 40+ earlier in the day. There is a cool youtube video type in: matrix 2009 bike race.

The following week I did a road race sat and mtb race Sunday. My legs were flat again! Anyway, Kevin K. won the road race, and Jason Sager should up to give a clinic at the big-ring challenge for the win. Then off to Joe Martin for 4 days of tough racing. The hill climb tt started off bad as our GC guy had a bad run and we had nobody within 45 sec of the GC. However, we went big and on the 2nd road race Virginia Park Place rider Andy McKeegan got us a podium with a good move to a late break for 3rd. I got 2nd in the field sprint for 6th. The next day was a tough crit with a steep hill that left most of the field watching. In 6th wheel with a 1/2 lap to go a guy in front of me clips a pedal and lays it across the road. Here we go.... as I ride over top of the guy and do a flip to come out with only a few stratchs. Well that wraps it up.... a little bad luck seems to be the trend. Hopefully, I can change that this weekend with 2 crits in Houston. The pics are provided by Mike Brooks @ Commiebiker. Time for new Tegaderm....

Ouachita Challenge

There are many ways to describe a great race: Hard, Epic, Wow, torturous, beautiful, painful, and so on...... This race was all this together.

There are 2 versions. A 60 mile and an 80 mile route that differ a lot. The 80 mile that I did was close to 70 miles of wicked single track and started with 2 miles and finished with 8 miles on gravel roads and a touch of pavement. The 60 is 40 single track and 20 miles road/ gravel section. Well, needless to say I did some homework talked to last years winner Scott Henry got the scope on course etc. Except he didn't know they cut the course 10 miles short and skipped the 2nd hardest climb on the course( 30 minutes of just tough single track climbing that rolled and rolled). So I had prepared for about 6 hrs as I start this Epic day. That definitely wasn't enough!

The raced started with 60 & 80 mile riders together. So it was hard to judge who to go with etc. So I just stayed near the front. Looking around seeing who was there. Cameron Chambers, Garth Posser, Kip Biese, and Team Ergon was there. I didn't know how everyone was riding and knew I would struggle with the distance. However, as the single track came up I grabbed the front of the race and set the pace. Quickly the race broke apart. Ergon was there with 60 and 80 mile rider, me, Kip and Raymond Hall who was doing the 60 were out in front. Then at mile 6 I slice the side wall of my tire....Sh*T....D*a* ..... Needless to say I was not happy. This early into a long race and I am already putting a tub in with a gel wrapper to hold the sidewall together. This could be a long day! Well as I am trying to navigate through riders, I mean lots of riders I am thinking up my stadegy to get back to the front. With a hole in my rear tire I was going to have to pin it up every climb and take it easy down all the downhills and for people that know me this is hard to do! So I focus picking of riders watching for any and every rock that could cause any more problems. Mile 20 I catch Stew Stafford who is doing the 60 and ended up 5th. He said I was probably 6 or 7 in the 80 miler. Then check point 1 came up and he hit the road and I hit more trail. 6 minutes back...what 6 minutes. I am like how? So I keep my head down, slowly I start to see a rider ahead. A Texas boy PACC rider was rolling. He said he was 5th, and he stuck to my wheel we were carving the single track I opened a 30 sec or so gap on him that I lost as we came to the next open section which I doubled back on where I couldn't find any taping etc. We roll up to the next turn at about mile 40 and they say 6 minutes again.....I didn't make up any time? I am hoping they are wrong.

Half way 3hrs..., atleast I think. Then the race starts getting really hard, steep climbs, more technical single track, and I am starting to dyhydrate. Up and over the next mtn. to a checkpoint. They say 2 min to the next rider, 5 min. to the leader. Finally, I make up some time. The course continues to go up and down, long single track climb after another. Followed by switch back decents and stream crossings. I catch Garth Posser on a switch back downhill, and he says 1.5 min to the next guy. At this point I am getting pumped up, but trying not to blow up at the same time. I am just staying steady and about an hr later I catch 2nd and 3rd, kip and the ergon rider. They seem to have lost their attack and I roll by neither of them trying to stay with me. Now I am in 2nd, 2 min. down. I am pushing it now. Fighting cramps, diggging deep, hoping 1st is hurting as much. I am out of water, it seems like it's been hrs and hrs since the last check point. Finally, I see a gate...water?...nope....only to see another marshall pointing me up the next mtn saying 5 miles to the next check point. At this point, I am fighting whole leg cramps, stoping and using trees to get short 5 sec breaks. I see a rider! But, it's only the back of the 60 mile race, I guess we merged courses at the last marshall. I am begging for water...then a rider says yes I have some...I latch onto the camelback and drink till I can't breath. Then back in pursuit, I am now catching lots of traffic making it hard to stay focused, until I see I rider who looked like Cameron Chambers through some steep switch backs. I am marching on the pedals for all I am worth. It's him! I take the lead as we hit a downhill to water station! 20 miles to go, I grab a bottle a water and fill up with cytomax. Looking back watching for Cameron, I am going for what I am worth. It seems like this race is never going to end. The trails are so sweet, but I just want to be done. Finally, I see a dirt road and a course marshall. 8.5 miles to go all on dirt roads. I keep looking back not to see anyone. After 80 miles and 10,000 ft. of climbing I WIN! WOW....
I couldn't believe i battle back to win the race. Garth was 2nd 4 min back and Cameron was 3rd 9 min back.

I have a pic from mile 65 where I look like I am about to die. Then a pic of my rear wheel with the gel wrapper sticking out of the side wall. Then a sweet pic of my Lanza 21.9 lb 29er dirty.

Also, I had my 2nd set of Scrub rotors on( 90 grams for the pair) to test them in the nasty conditions and the worked flawlessly.

Pics from University Oaks Crit.

Here are a couple shots. Check out my SLR Cosmic Carbones. Stiff and Fast! To bad they didn't
get one of me bouncing off the ground.

Training Update: Did my first season of off the bike work with CTC (Competitive Training Center) yesterday. Combination of physical therapy and serious focused training are sure to give me that extra power later this year when the big crits roll around.

To functional strength... Well at least that how I'm dealing with all this tenderness in my gluts!

Road Racing with some Dirt!

The past 3 weeks I have spent on the road bike. Lots of travel, lots of competition, and some great courses have made for great racing.

Lago Vista: 2 days of racing on almost the same course. This course is tough! With 2 mile false flat head wind climb with small stair steps that will leave your legs worked after 16 laps of the 4-5 mile course. DAY 1: With lots of riders starting to find form, riders from out of state doing some winter racing/ training the field 100+ makes for a hard days work. The day went crazy from the gun, breaks going then coming back. Then again. Heath Blackgrove of Hotel San Jose hit it early with Steve Tilford, Stephan & Alex of TX Tough, and Sol Frost of AustinBikes. This Break stayed away all day with Sol getting picked up with a few laps to go. Heath took the win, Stephan, Tilford, then Welch. The field sprint was for 5th. I got 2nd to Josh Carter in the field sprint for 6th. DAY 2: This day was going to be a bit different with the full Kelly Benefits Pro Team showing up. 12 Strong Riders! From the gun attack after attack, I tried to go with almost everything. After 2 hrs of non-stop attacks I was starting to feel it! At this point there was a group of 6 up the road and the sprint was for 7th. I waited to the last lap and on Loren Dodsons wheel he moved me up to the front and I finished 4th in the field sprint for 10th. Kelly Benefits went 1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th, 11th or something close to that. Defintely a tough weekend.

Last weekend had more than just a paved road. The weekend started early Sat. morning with a 2 hr drive to the Tunis Roubaix. A 13 mile lap, 6 miles of gravel and 7 miles of pavement. Within the first 2 miles of the race everyone flated except 2 people. Seruiously it was burly! Huge gravel and no line through it. After 5 minutes or so and almost the entire field swaping wheels it was a race for 3rd, and all survial! I tip-toed through gravel for 65 mile with Nate Miller. He and I worked together on the pavement picking off riders 1 by 1. Then easy through the gravel. Then on the last lap as cramps were starting to show I attacked with 3 miles to go for 3rd and Nate finished 4th. Mitch Comardo rode away from the gun winning by 10min over 2nd. Only 10 or so riders finished this race! Then into the car for another 6 or so hrs to Rouge Roubaix where after only 3 hrs of sleep we saddled up for the 101 mile jouney over sweet rolling roads and some serious dirt roads! At mile 5 I attacked to open up my legs a bit, nothing serious and next thing you know I have 5 riders and a nice gap. Here we go! We hit the first section of dirt and its way looser than last year, almost sandy at times. Feels like lifting weights as I pedal! Then back to pavement and no sign of the peloton till mile 35 where it looks like 20 riders coming, half Metro-VW team. With only 25 riders, 11 VW riders this was going to be tough! The next dirt section would come at mile 60 and it comes with a wall of a climb, the field shatters! I am in the 2nd group of 6 and not sure how many are left behind. I chase hard with help from Matt Davis we catch the leading group of 5. Now just 11 riders and 25 miles to go. Metro-VW has 5 riders left and looks content to wait for the next section of dirt, as Matt Davis goes solo up the road with about a minute gap. Here it comes, the toughest section. Super steep rollers and fast loose decents. I get gapped on the first steep section and chase catching Travis Brandt. Matt still up the road, then Chistian Helmig and Andrew Dalheim just ahead. I push hard, just can't close the gap. Then that it, Christian and Andrew pass Matt to go 1/2. Travis will not help because of the VW rider sitting behind us, so Matt does a strong tt effort for 3rd and I finished 4th. The other metro rider was 5th. Travis 6th and another VW rider in 7th. Great ride by them! Maybe next year!

Then this weekend was my first crit of the year. University Oaks Crit. After a hard ride Saturday, I figured my legs would be a bit tired. They were, but I had go snape still in them. With rain coming down and a bit a dirt on the course it didn't look like to much fun. From the gun, the first turn took down 3 riders. lap after lap riders went down in that turn. It was like glass, super slick. I managed to stay upright and grab all 3 primes throughout the race. I felt good with two to go. Eric Benz throws in a flyer and has a gap. 1 to go I chase hard hit the first turn and hit the pavement hard! I'm thinking seriuosly? Make it all race and now I go down? Oh well. My bike is ok, I am sore and have a couple scabs to heal up.

Next week. Fayetteville Stage Race. RR, TT, RR Should be fun. Pics are from Lago day 2.

Mas O Menos

Every year Texas mountain biking starts for most in the Desert @ the Mas O Menos 100K near Terlingua, TX. This fast, fun course outlined by the beautiful high desert mountains. Then highlighted by the Tres Cuevas a 20 min climb that really tests your will power on the 2nd lap of the 31 mile lap. Made extra rough by the heavy rain storms earlier in the year, then add the unseasonable heat, this was going to be tough!

It seemed every morning started at Kathy's Kosmic Cafe. A pink bus that served up some great coffee and food! Then out to the race for the pain to start. As we were lead out by Austin bike zoo
snake(check out desertsportstx.com ) for all the cool pics! I did my usual attack from the gun, immedialtly sprinting up the first hill and down the dusty fire road to the single track. As we entered the single track I was joined by Scott Henry with JT Cody and Travis Brown close behind. I attacked again opening up a gap. This single track! You can't help but smile, it rips, flows...etc. It's hard not to keep the throttle on...the faster you go the better the flow! After about 15 miles I was holding a small gap on Scott and about 30 sec. to the other 2. I slowed at the top of small hill following this 300 meter sand section that felt like you were in quick sand. I yelled to Scott lets go, as I could see JT and Travis in the distance. I hit it on the false flat climbs to open a gap again. I really needed Scott for the windy section into the climb, but took a chance and went for it. I just kept it pegged all the way to the base of the climb, hit a Gel and big drink of water and pegged it again for the $100 dollars waiting at the top of the climb from New Revolution Cycles. At this point they said there was nobody in sight so I figured I had around 2 minutes. So I rode smart all the way back to the start/ finish to start the next lap. About 6 miles into the 2nd lap I cut my rear tire on a sharp rock and battled it all the way to the finish. It would seal, unseal 4-5miles later, loose air, again and again. Thankfully I had 2 Co2's that got me around the course to the finish. Finally took this one home on the 3rd try. I was so stoked. Jt Cody came in 2nd, and Sean Sindt rounded out the podium with awesome start to his season. This desert always takes it out of you. Dehydrated and hot I was ready for the firy night to be here, and it came! After some good pizza, we arrived to the beats of the band and the fire big as ever! The night was fun!

One last stop at the pink bus in the morning before the long drive home!

Early Season and Training Camp

About a month ago before embarking on a trip to the east coast for training I hit another DORBA 6hr MTB race at Erwin Park. I got the hole shot after the Le-mans start. Immediately I was challenged by Chad Haga who seemed to know the course in and out. After a back and forth battle it seemed as though I might have finally broke him, as he said nice racing with you(of sorts) as I attacked going into the next lap. But, he keep the throttle on and here he comes again. Back together! At this point I didn't know what to do, then I felt my left foot slipping a bit...Sh*t! My cleat came loose...should have used lock-tight. In panic mode I watched him ride away. When I got going again it was 1.5 min. they said. I pushed it and already a 4 hr into the race I was hurting. I some how managed to bring him back, but I was really felling tired at this point with a lot of miles still to go. Chad again turned it on! I could only watch as he rode out of sight. I battle with the cleat staying tight 2 more times and bonked big time! Chad went on to win by a big margin. I held on to 2nd because of the huge gap he and I opened battling in the early part of the race. I have some work to do after that! Great race Chad! Maybe he will start racing on the dirt more with a W on his side.

Then it was off to Clemson to do my base block. While I used to do 2-3 months of base training, now I get about 2 weeks between my cross and road season. Basically I put as many hrs as I can in 10 days. The first 4 days of riding I was joined by Jeremiah Bishop and Kelly Orr. Jeremiah who has a baby on the way and couldn't stay for the whole camp. Kelly who I just signed on the developmental squad was putting down some good riding, but also left after the 21hrs that we put in the first 4 days. This 21hrs wasn't base time either. Kelly was doing testing so this was some serious paced and sprinted riding. Along with doing the Greenville training race/ride made for a fun 4 days. After 2 days of recovery I hit 4 more days with 23 hrs of riding and lots of climbing. I did my personal biggest solo ride 120 miles, 7hrs, and 12,500 ft of climbing. 44hrs. in 10 days, thats my base!

Back in Texas for the season opener of road racing for a crit on Saturday and a road race Sunday.
After chasing a break of just a few riders almost the entire race we caught them at the line. With the perfect wheel to follow ( Will Ross) I hesited to jump and got caught watching the sprint. Somehow still getting 5th I was pretty happy considering how flat my legs were. The road race was a painful loop! With crazy wind and good hills this race shattered! I found myself alone early then finding Wally Grouda and Drew Hill. We 3 worked together. Pushing the pace we picked up and dropped off 50 riders or so. We trooped on for 60 of the 75 miles finshing 16th, 17th and 20th. I know 16th, but let me tell you if I had a power meter this day, I would have set some serious personal best marks.

Now to this past weekend. We had the the Alsatian stage race with time trial and crit on Saturday then a road race Sunday. This would be my first true TT on a TT bike and helmet etc. I definitely felt alittle weird, but was happy with my 20th place. I averaged 193Heart Rate for 21min 45 sec. for the 10 mile course. The crit was later in the evening. After lunch and coffee with new Elite Team member Loren Dodson. We headed out to the crit. Everyone seemed to be riding well. We were hitting 35+ MPH on every straight. Attack, attack, attack the race was super exciting. But, with the super high speed nothing was getting away. With 400 meters to go I was third wheel and maxed out digging deep I was in perfect postion going into the final turn. Travis Brandt leading it out for Rodney Strange and I was on his wheel. As we whipped around the turn Travis pulls out enough for Rodney to slip by then cut down on the turn. I jam the brakes and hope nobody stacks it. We all slipped by somehow. Rodney took the win, I held on for 2nd. Sitting 4th because of the points GC, I am hoping to have a better race then last week. Again a tough course, with lots of wind. I manged to break away early with just one other rider Ian Dille. He and I opened it up to 2 minutes at one point to get caught at mile 40. Once back together the race slowed a bit and on the rough road with wicked head wind Justin Wallace had a small gap, I jumped up to him and again I was off. Then joined by Russ Walker we were moving. 1.5 minutes 25 miles to go. I pushed everything I had for 15 miles, but my legs were fried. Then I sat on, encouaging Justin and Russ. I really thought we had it! But, at 5 miles to go I look back only to see the whole Super Squadra team and Pat Mccarty on the front. Needless to say, I gave it all I had! Only to finish at the back of the group in the long uphill finish.

On a positive Note, my new shoes and wheels felt awesome! Mavic really put it together this time. Shoe are super stiff, but feel like bedroom slippers and the SLR Cabones were flat out fast!

This will be a short week as I head to the desert for Mas O Menos Marathon MTB race. Should have good legs. So pretty excited to see how it goes. 5th-2 years ago, 3rd last year, this year?

Thanks for reading, Bryan