biking's done for 06

One last Cyclocross race in Ogden, it was muddy and fun. Didn't really have a lot of punch left, but I had a great time. Lots of slippery mud. I still haven't cleaned my bike yet, I figure the mud will preserve the parts well.

I went skate skiing Sunday and Monday, legs are really tired today. The skiing is pretty good at Soldier Hollow, thanks to some good snow making. Looking forward to doing some more skate skiing this year, maybe I'll even try a race or two.

After a good month or so of eating bad foods, I decided to go to the University to have a Body Composition Analysis done. Turns out I weigh in at 163 solid pounds, 11% body fat and 89% lean body mass. (that includes everything but fat) I guess it could be a little better, but considering the time of the year, I'm quite ok with that. Having a lot of austrian chocolate in the house really doesn't help loosing weight, but it sure tastes good. Now I have to go wax my skis for tomorrow.

Snowshoeing

Since riding my bike outside is pretty much done due to the temperatures, a few friends of mine and I decided to go out for a snowshoe at Deer Valley. It was a full moon, and we started from Silver Lake Village towards Park City. It was great, DV hasn't opened that side of the mountain yet, so there was no grooming going on. Also, the mid mountain trail was in great shape. Plenty of snow to make snowshoeing fun, but you could still see where the trail was. I found some pics from last weekends CX race, hopefully this weekend will be just as much fun.




See you in Ogden on Saturday!

Getting close to the last race of the season

One more cyclocross race down, one to go. It was a fun race again in Ogden, finally we had some different conditions. The course was a mixture of hard packed snow, ice and mud. I didn't know how I would feel, not having ridden my bike all week. I felt good, though, not much different than usual. I had an ok start, after lap 1 there were 2 groups of 3 in the front, I made up the rear in 6th. In lap 2, things started to speed up a little, and I was able to move up to 2nd, 8 seconds down on Bart when we came through the start/finish line. Art O'Conner was right on my ass, and he did so for the next lap. In lap 3, Art came around and I was happy to see that, I thought it would be good to work with him, maybe even get closer up to Bart. But then, on a fast sketchy downhill, I lost control and went tumbling into the snow. The snow certainly softened my fall, but my handlebars were all twistet. I rode a 1/2 mile or so, but had to stop and straighten out my steerer. That cost me some time, and I found myself in 6th, with Jason Sager and Jon Gallagher righ in front of me. By the end, I finished in 4th, behind Bart, Art and Chris Pietrzak. The race was fun, the course was a blast, only one more to go and then it's time to get fat. Actually I've been working on that already. Went skate skiing for the first time this year on Sunday. Legs felt a little tired and technique certainly rusty, hope I can improve on that over the next few months. We'll see.

Wheeler Farm CX Race

Last race at Wheeler Farm this year. The weather was sunny again, a little chilly, I'm still waiting for that muddy cyclocross race this year. The course was fun as always, there actually was one muddy section, pretty much unrideable from my perspective. I felt good, I was still hyped up because the Jazz beat the Lakers the night before. The Lakers are the team that everybody wants to beat, and the Jazz played fantastic.

Anyway, I had a good start, got tangled up with Sager again as usual. No time lost, really, it's funny how the two of us get tangled up on a regular basis right after the start. After the first off-camber section, Sly (who had a great start) crashed on the gravel and Bart was able to open up a little gap on Sager and me. I rode with him the first lap, but noticed that he was not on top of his game today. I pulled away on lap 2, feeling good, I was hoping to somehow get back up to Bart. I was about 15 seconds back, the time gap stayed pretty much the same, I made up a few seconds in one lap, but went back to the old time gap later on. I had a pretty good gap on Sager and Gallagher, who were chasing from behind. With two laps to go, my front wheel started to feel a little wobbly and I noticed I had a flat. I was pretty bummed, there were a lot of turns that you could normally ride quite fast, and I had to ride on my flat for almost a lap to get back to the pits. I was able to hold off Sager and Gallagher, but after the wheel change I lost my rhythm and Sager was able to pass me on one of the last corners in the race. 3rd is not bad, I felt good and it was a fun race. Still 2 races to go this season, I'm hoping for some mud. Or snow. Or both.

Cross Training

I have to admit, I did struggle a little the past few weeks to keep training and stay focused on Cyclocross. I usually don't finish work until it's dark, and I really don't like riding my trainer except during the winter months. So I went for a "ski conditioning" class in Park City last night. Thought I'd try something different. It was a lot of fun, kind of a circuit training with about 30 different stations. The group dynamic keeps you pushing hard, I really enjoyed the hard workout. This morning I realized how one dimensional cycling can be in terms of which muscle groups are used. I haven't been that sore in a long time, and I consider myself in good shape. But I'm already looking forward to the next class. Anything to stay off the trainer for now!

Utah State CX Championships

Saturday was the big day, the Utah CX Championships. The fields were huge and the best Utah CX racers were on the line. I had a good start in the A race, hung in 3rd behind Bart and Jason going into the first corner.

Chris Pietrzak, the eventual winner, passed me on the 1st lap, he flew by me and looked really strong. Ali Goulet passed me later on in the lap and I started to loose a little of my concentration. I was hanging a few seconds off the front and ended up in a group with Art, Sam Krieg and Mitch Peterson. I lost contact to them as well, but regained a spot or two towards the end to finish 6th. I certainly wanted more, but I can feel I'm loosing the "edge" that late in the cycling season. This might be a good transition into the off season now. I wouldn't mind racing in some really nasty conditions, though, the courses have been really fast and dry lately. We'll see.

Fall Dreams

There we go. I have finally become a member of the blog family. My parents will be proud of me. Believe me, it's a big thing for someone growing up in the back woods of Austria.
Beer and brats, yes, that's what I've been dreaming about lately. More often than not, the dreams have come true. I guess I've been really good all year with training and nutrition, so a little slacking that late in the season can't be all that bad. No beer and brats tonight, though, tomorrow we'll have the Utah CX State Championships and I'd hate to throw up midway through the race. Like I said, I've been slacking a little with my diet, but I'm still highly motivated to compete. Looks like we might have some CX weather as well, I can't wait.
I did the US Gran Prix of Cyclocross races this past week in Boulder and Longmont, CO. There was a good showing of Utah racers there, with John Gallagher and Art O'Conner kicking ass in the Masters 35+ category and Ali G. and Chris Pitrzak having great performances to finish in the 20s in the Elite field. Myself, I finished in the 30s in both races and had a really good time. So tomorrow's field will be packed with great riders in great form.

I can't believe what I'm reading about Jason, Cale Redpath and possibly Bart regarding a missed drug test. I am really speechless. The thought of them getting a ban while other big name cyclists are still out there racing all doped up makes me sick. I can't think about it too much, almost makes me loose my motivation to compete.

Well, I got to go to bed now, so I won't get my ass kicked too badly tomorrow. I'll keep you posted how it went.