My Conversion Story

I have to admit something.  I absolutely love mountain biking.  I started my illustrious biking hobby back in 2010 mostly due to a friend in my neighborhood who was (and still is) way into road biking.  So I picked up a really cheap Schwinn road bike and started to get out a little and found that I actually enjoyed it.  Not long after that I sold the Schwinn and picked up a used KHS road bike, with a little better components.  I entered a couple of organized races and even rode in a relay from Salt Lake City to St George.  Then winter came and then I deployed for six months.  Before I deployed I had grand visions of doing all sorts of road bike rides/races when I got back so I bought a full carbon Raleigh the day after Thanksgiving and let it gather dust in my garage.  I managed to sell my KHS to a friend who wanted to try out biking.

Some time back in either 2005 or 2006 I bought a decent mountain bike (for my skill level).  It was definitely entry level but it worked fine for the once a year trip to Moab with my brother and our friends.  Well, while I was deployed I was introduced to the world famous, award winning blog of Elden Nelson, AKA Fatty.  I spent a lot of time reading Fatty’s blog and came to be interested in mountain biking through his stories.  Here was a guy who did both road and mountain biking.

Fast forward to my return from deployment and I quickly started to scour the classifieds in search of a more advanced mountain bike.  It didn’t take me too long to find it.  A really nice looking Giant VT2, surely a full-suspension work of art.  I still went out riding on my Raleigh but didn’t have much time to enter into anything structured.  I managed to get out a couple of times on my mountain bike before winter hit in full force and I quickly discovered that I enjoyed the different challenges that comes with mountain biking.

Spring (2013) soon came and we made our annual pilgrimage to Moab, including two new riders, Chase and Justin.  This trip is really what I consider my “conversion and baptism” into mountain biking.  I felt like I had already had a bunch of MTB experiences by reading Fatty’s blog but to actually get out and ride trails I had never tried before was something entirely different…definitely an awakening in my soul.  My Giant performed well despite having a broken shock mount bolt and a blown rear shock.  After that trip I was hooked and committed.

I managed to enter four different MTB races in Utah through spring and summer 2013.  As exhausting as each race was I still had a blast.  After the racing season ended I decided that my Raleigh road bike was no longer the type of bike I needed or wanted so I put it up for sale and managed to get almost what I paid for it.  The next decision I had to make was what to do with the money from the Raleigh.  I still wanted to do some road biking so I quickly found a Specialized Allez Sport for a decent price.  Here I was back to an entry level road bike, but really I didn’t care.  It is still light years ahead of the original Schwinn.  I was torn on whether I wanted to invest a bunch of money into my Giant or try to sell it and get a new bike.  For the most part I was happy with the Giant but there was a part of me that wanted a newer bike.  Deep down inside what I really wanted was a new 27.5” bike but I knew the price was way too much so I pretty much dismissed the desire.  I decided to keep the Giant and just invest in fixing it up so I started to order a bunch of new parts- cassette, chain, shifter, dropper seat post, bash guard.  Literally while most of the parts were being shipped, I found the most amazing deal on a brand new Rocky Mountain Altitude 27.5” full-suspension bike.  Long story short, I managed to buy the Rocky Mountain and sell the Giant and either return or sell the parts I ordered.

So why the long story about my biking addiction?  Mostly I  want to document how and why I became the MTB addict that I am today.  Unlike other types of addiction, I say that with an absolute smile on my face even as I think about how I can get in more riding before the snow hits.

Run to Sundance MTB Race Report

Before the race

Well, this last Saturday I raced in the Run to Sundance mountain bike race with my brother James.  This is only my second race and the first time I have ridden at a ski resort.  I really had no idea what to expect other than I knew that there was somewhere in the neighborhood of 1200 feet of climbing in 7ish miles.  Armed with this small modicum of information, we headed out around 8:30 to get checked in and ready to go.

The previous week there was a lot of stormy weather so I was a little concerned that we were going to be riding in mud.  Lucky for us, Saturday turned out to be perfect riding weather.  No bad weather to speak of, other than a few drops of rain after we had already finished our category. 

So James and I got to the Sundance ski resort and got our bikes unloaded and prepped for the race.  As we were riding around the parking lot to warm up I noticed that my rear derailleur was not shifting very well.  One of the benefits to racing with a team is the availability of mechanical help prior to racing.  Unfortunately for me, I don’t really know anyone on the UtahMountainBiking.com team and so I didn’t have a chance to ask for help adjusting the derailleur.  Looking back I wish I would have been a little more outgoing and just asked someone for help.  A little more frustrating than that is that I have had another bike shop adjust it a couple of times and it keeps messing up.

Well, the time rolled around for us to start, roughly 10:00.  James and I were both in the beginner men’s division and we were the first group to go out of about 10 different divisions.  I think they stagger started the other divisions by a minute or two after us.  From the start, this track headed up a paved single lane road.  On the one hand it sucked because you are starting out going up but on the other hand it was nice because it spread us out which really made the single track portions less congested.  Before we left the starting line I overheard another ride say something to the effect that around mile 3.1 of the track it goes through a meadow and then up a steep jeep trail.  At the time I just kind of let that sit in the back of my mind.

As we started the race and headed up the road, I felt a bit dismayed by the other beginner men who seemed to go up the hill much faster than me.  I doubt it was much more than about ¼ of a mile climb but by the time it got to a more level track, I was pretty well spent.  In my mind I went from hoping for a good finish to hoping for a finish period. 

The trail itself was really fun to ride with a ton of single track winding through the mountain side.  There was definitely a lot of climbing but, I really only feel like there were three areas that are worth mentioning, as far as the climbing goes.  The first is the start.  It was quite a climb but not insurmountable.  It was nice that it was wide enough for people to pass (or be passed) before the single track portion.  The second notable climb is the afore mentioned climb at 3.1 miles.  If my memory serves correctly, you come out of a more forested area in to a meadow and start following a jeep road.  Looking forward you can see what appears to be a decent uphill section, but nothing that seem too difficult.  This perception I can only attribute to fatigue because once you really start up the hill, it is quite tough.  I was particularly glad that I overheard the person at the beginning so that I had some idea of where I was on the track.  I don’t have any other means of knowing how far I have gone so it was nice to know I was almost half way done.

The last section of notable uphill is the finish.  Yeah, that’s right, the finish.  Turns out some sadistic planner decided it would be fun to make everyone ride up a very steep road for about half a mile to the finish.  The only good thing is that it was a paved road and I knew that the finish wasn’t far away.

For the most part, the rest of the course was a good mix of up and down single track.  I didn’t feel like any one part of it was too hard or beyond my skill level.  I discovered that I need to practice a lot more on the downhill sections.  I was pretty cautious going down a lot of sections of the single track.  I ended up finishing 5^th out of 12 racers and James finished 8^th.  I figure that if I would have been a little better on the downhill sections I could have finished 4^th or better.  The person that finished in front of me passed me on the downhill section probably about a mile from the end and then I almost caught him on the uphill at the end but I was pretty well spent.  At least I know what I need to work on.  Now I just need the time to do it.

My next race is going to be on Memorial Day in the Corner Canyon area.  I need to get my bike fixed so that my shifting works when I need it to.  There were a lot of times when I needed to shift smoothly and I ended up skipping gears and losing traction.  Hopefully I will be able to get a couple of training rides in before the next race.  My goal is to have one podium finish this year.  We’ll see how close I come.

I wanted to add another photo to the blog so here is a random picture of me mountain biking in Alpine, UT right after Thanksgiving 2012.

My first Mountain Bike Race

So this year I have decided to focus more on mountain biking instead of road biking.  Not that I am giving up on road biking, I will still do it to mix things up.  In my quest to become a good mountain biker, I decided to trying actually racing instead of just riding for fun.  Throughout the Wasatch front area there is a MTB racing circuit called Intermountain Cup or just ICup that I will mostly be racing in.  There are 12-15 races throughout the season and I am only going to be able to do 3-4.

Well, today was race #1 for me and it was held at 5 mile pass which is about 20 miles west of Lehi, UT incase you don’t know where it is.  I don’t know if this is the most difficult race in the series (probably not) but let me just tell you, it was plenty hard for this old man.  I smartly signed up for the beginner men’s division and the course is an 11 mile loop through the mountains.  Makes sense you know, because we are on mountain bikes.

Well, we got started about 9:25 AM and I was really hoping for a sub 1-hour finish.  I had looked up the times from the beginner men’s division from last season and the winners were coming in around 53-55 minutes.  As much as I love to win (I really do love to win) I knew I would probably not be able to match those times since it is the beginning of the season and I am 1) inexperienced in the ways of MTB racing and 2) terribly out of shape.  I did not disappoint myself.  Actually I did disappoint myself a bit, coming in at around 1:16:00.  I don’t know my official time yet but I had my daughter time me so it is probably pretty close.

So, what was the course like?  Something like this, you go up and then up some more and then up some more and then a little section of rocky downhill followed by more uphill.  I swear, this course had two uphill sections for every downhill section.  And let’s not forget the most famous attraction of this course, “Yellow Pages Hill”.  The best way to describe this section is that NOBODY is able to climb it.  Even the expert and pro class.  I don’t know the actual length, but I can tell you it feels like it will not end…EVER!  This section defines the term “hike-a-bike”.  I only stopped twice during the entire race to catch my breath and this was one of them.

Actually, I stopped three times, but the last one was not by choice.  I was coming down a fairly steep road and misjudged a rock.  My front tire hit it and over the handle bars I went.  I got a little scrapped up on my shin but after a few seconds I picked my bike up and headed back down the trail.  I certainly could have been a lot worse so I am thankful that I am okay.

This course effectively kicked my butt, no question about it.  I think I was a little overconfident in my fitness level since I had just completed the Porcupine Rim trail in Moab a week ago.  I guess I forgot to factor in the innumerable time we stopped in Moab versus the nonstop pace of a race.  Hopefully I will get better as time goes by.

I have to give ultimate props to my wife who despite it being my daughter’s 2^nd birthday, supported me in attending this race (probably against her better judgment).  I love you darling J.

Let the fun begin!

So I would have to say that yesterday marked the official start of the new "adventure" season for me.  I joined up with a cycling group at Noble Sports for my first cycling run of the year.  The weather was beautiful and I was pretty excited to be back in the saddle, so to speak.  The plan was to ride from the store to Lincoln Beach and back, a round trip of (supposedly) 25 miles.  I figured for a first ride it would be manageable.  The ride in and of itself was pretty uneventful.  It did feel great to be out riding again.  About half way to Lincoln Beach, I realized what exactly it meant to not ride for six months.  I was disappointed in myself a bit as I watched my speed steadily drop from about 18 mph to an average of 15.  That may not seem like a lot, but to a cyclist, it is.

I finished the ride in just over two hours, including a couple of resting periods.  My body reacted much in the way I should have predicted.  PAIN...EVERYWHERE!  I will say that it is a good pain, telling me that I pushed myself past my comfort zone.

Now I will be more motivated to get out and ride more in the coming weeks, especially with the upcoming Moab trip.

Well, it has certainly been a while since I posted anything.  Most of the winter was spent indoors, no real adventure to speak of.

James and I competed in two triathlons before the cold temps set in.  The first was at Yuba Lake, Utah.  This was our first open water swim and unfortunately it got the best of me and I ended up with a DNF.   I waited for James to finish the swim and then we did the bike and run together.  The second event was our annual trek to St. George for their Turkey Triathlon.  We both fared much better and I even managed to capture the best time overall for the Men's Beginner Category.  It certainly felt good to win.

The next adventure on the calendar is Moab Madness 2013 in mid April.  We are planning a day of rock climbing and a day of mountain biking.  We have tried to make this an annual event but we are not always successful.  It should be a great event with plenty of stories and pictures.

Well, I figured that I better start using this blog for better or worse.

I just returned from a six month deployment to the middle east and my "adventure" opportunities were limited at best.  The most adventurous things I was able to do were play indoor soccer and teach a spin class.  While I was gone I made grand plans on what I would do when I got back to the states and could actually go out and do stuff.

I am participating in a triathlon in September with James so my main goal is to stay in good enough shape to do well.  Mostly that means finish the race and not be in last place.  I have accepted that I will most likely never be  podium finisher.  I suppose I could if I trained a lot harder than I do now.  It seems like works and family always trump training.

Today I finally got to ride my new road bike :)!  I actually bought it the day after Thanksgiving 2011.  Yeah, that's right, it has sat unridden for almost a year.  So, it is a full carbon Raleigh with Shimano 105 components.  Let me just say that it rides like a friggin' dream.  JMan and I rode from my house to the Walkers in Springville.  Not exactly a long ride but since I haven't ridden in close to a year (spin doesn't count) it was just the right distance.

I will try to keep up on this blog a little better, mostly tracking my training and the races that I end up doing.

In The Beginning...

So here is the magnificent website that will track the doings of two brothers who adopted the name of Climb Naked Adventures as their AKA.