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Sorry things have been quiet around these parts. Saw this on the...

Thu, 09 May 2013 15:29:05 -0700

Sorry things have been quiet around these parts. Saw this on the road the other day, so creepy.

I raced the Sea Otter Classic this year after a hiatus last...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 21:58:05 -0700

I raced the Sea Otter Classic this year after a hiatus last year. My Cat 2 singlespeed field was about 45 deep and I managed a 7th place finish, 7 minutes off 1st. I think the bummer was we were the second wave to roll after the tandems. Once we hit the singletrack, I was stuck behind several tandems and watched the leading pack disappear. Such a downer.

The rest of the race I just settled into my own rhythm and pushed to the finish by myself. See you next year. Tailwinds!

The roads less traveled.

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 10:42:57 -0700

The roads less traveled.

Jeff and I took on a big one the other day. Check out the write...

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 09:27:12 -0700

Jeff and I took on a big one the other day. Check out the write up:

A light that never goes out.

Took a 4th place today at the US Cup Bonelli race. I got there...

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 18:44:00 -0700

Took a 4th place today at the US Cup Bonelli race. I got there early enough to get in a course pre-ride and good thing I did, they changed it up to be more technical than the past races. Pretty large field of 18 other singlespeed freaks lined up, and we went hard from the start. Kind of bummer they started us as the last Cat 2 field, so I had a lot of traffic to work through, and the tight singletrack made it impossible to cleanly pass people on hard climbs. First lap down and I was in 4th … chased 3rd around on the second lap, and passed him in the back section on the flowy singletrack. Came though for the final 3rd lap with a big gap, and crashed hard at an off camber loose turn downhill portion. Caught my breath and assessed the damage with about 10 other riders passing me, but no singlespeeders. Took it easy on the second half of the lap and got caught by 3rd on the final 1/4 mile … I figured I could catch him on the gassy section to the finish but with 3 other riders between us, he created a gap. Came through for 4th and a podium. Cheers!

Did my first SF Sprint Classic this past weekend. A long, fast...

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 10:30:41 -0700

Did my first SF Sprint Classic this past weekend. A long, fast road ride through some amazing NorCal backroads from Berkeley to Patterson. I wish I could sum it up in fewer words, but the route should really give you an idea of the difficulty level. It was a perfect, beautiful day and the company of friends could not have been any better. We pushed a good pace from start to finish and had no mechanicals. Definitely a good day. I cannot wait to do this again, hopefully with some dirt mixed into the route next time.

2013 is a year of changes. This applies to bikes too. I have...

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 17:33:00 -0800

2013 is a year of changes. This applies to bikes too. I have ridden nothing but hardtail mountain bikes for the last two years and I decided to get rid of my trusty Niner A9C in favor of the new Scott Genius 700 SL, in the 650b flavor. A few headaches in the ordering process and then the build itself (which thanks my buddy Cache we managed to get done by 1am Saturday night). I waited with my eye on this frame specifically because it was not a conversion but a true 650 frame, and Fox released their first 650-specific fork, again I did not want to convert anything and deal with ill handling later down the line. Glad I waited.

Build as follows: Genius 700 SL carbon frame, DT Nude shock, Fox Talas 34 fork, Enve post/handlebar, XX cranks/RD/shifter, American Classic 650b wheelset, XT hydraulic brakes (180 in the rear due to frame spacing). We weighed it in at 25 lbs on the dot with pedals. I am going to skip the 2x10 (no FD at the moment) and keep it at 1x10 after I decide on which chainring to run up front.

I have never ridden a full suspension bike, so I was a little nervous on going on the maiden voyage the following day, but boy was in for a pleasant surprise. The technical climbs (think 20% grades, tight switchback type of trail) were a breeze with the TwinLoc lever locking out both shocks into climb mode, it felt rigid with no rear bounce and very little front compression when standing up. With my weight slightly over the rear wheel, clearing tough sections of the trail were painless. It is definitely easier for me to push the smaller wheel up steep terrain which I have only done on 29ers. I felt like I was flying. After several K of climbing, we hit the first section of downhill single track: rocky, sharp, steep. I let the brakes go and just let the bike soak up the trail as it glided over stuff I normally dismounted for on my hartails. Dropped off tech sections almost bottoming out the 160mm fork at full speed. I seriously felt like it was my first time truly “mountain biking.”

Second downhill we hit was smooth but very fast single track. This was a trail I was very comfortable on my hardtail, so it was interesting to see how much faster I was able to go down this trail, not losing momentum in the sharp switchback turns and powering out of the turns. It was mind-blowing.

A 3.5 hour, 25 mile, 5300 ft vert day is just a scratch on the surface and I can’t wait to get back out on the bike and relearn the trails I have ridden countless times. Cheers!

Went out to Virgin/Hurricane Utah this past weekend with some...

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 16:16:05 -0800

Went out to Virgin/Hurricane Utah this past weekend with some buddies. Rode some amazing trails. Gooseberry Mesa is always a favorite. Second day we rode Guacamole per a LBS suggestion and then ripped JEM Trail before hitting the road back to Los Angeles. Something really hard to explain that makes mountain biking a very unique experience. It was also my last ride on the Niner A9C, 2013 is full suspension for me. See my photos here.

First 12 hours endurance race of 2013 just happened, and Jeff...

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 10:32:25 -0800

First 12 hours endurance race of 2013 just happened, and Jeff and I landed on the podium in 5th place. I decided to ride my singlespeed this time around since the painful “Dam climb” was not part of this course, and my 34/22 gearing was perfect. I went out for the first laps but was pretty far back in the mass start to clear the traffic on the course. I managed a 44 minute lap time (see our laps times here, Mudfoot 2) but the 2nd back to back lap was a bad decision and it took me 48 minutes. Jeff broke his chain half way through his first lap which also cost us some time. We probably would have ended up 4th (again!) by getting one more lap in within the 12 hours, but still stoked on our result. Started to cramp around my 4th lap, but Jeff’s wife Nina had awesome electrolyte mixes ready when I came back after my laps, and some stretching helped subside them. The rest of the day went by pretty quickly, I had to run the steep switch back climb which really didn’t affect my times, and proved to be the faster route seeing people struggle up it. Downhills were super fast as you hardly needed to pedal. Got lapped by Tinker who was super nice and gave me an encouraging “good job” … also ran into a couple of my singlespeed competitors from some other races who happened to be there. Nighttime laps were just as fast, as there were hardly people on the trails (aside from the distant lights of other racers). Took a hot shower and got to work on much needed beers while we waited for the podium. Dean and Ty finished 3rd, and we took the last spot on the podium in 5th. Not bad for my first 12 hour race on a singlespeed. Great racing with some great friends. Cheers!

Got a W in the singlespeed class at the Southridge USA Winter...

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 09:42:12 -0800

Got a W in the singlespeed class at the Southridge USA Winter Challenge this past Saturday. The last time I raced this course I blew up super early and my sole competitor pulled away. I decided to hang back this time and let my competition set the pace and it worked to my favor. 2nd place was hammering up the singletrack climbs, and I sat on his wheel until he popped in the first lap and I never saw him again. Picked off some geared Expert/Pro cat riders which was fun.

This weekend I will be racing at the 12 Hours of Temecula with my buddy Jeff again. Super stoked to give it a shot on my singlespeed this time around.

Set some goals for myself for 2013. Hope this year will be even...

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 09:12:05 -0800

Set some goals for myself for 2013. Hope this year will be even better than last year. Tailwind!

RIP Burry Stander. What a sad day.

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 11:04:19 -0800

RIP Burry Stander. What a sad day.

What I truly love and enjoy doing. Even better with good...

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 10:54:27 -0800

What I truly love and enjoy doing. Even better with good friends. The singlespeed was perfect for the trails we rode. Unfortunately we have two people get injured pretty seriously, and healing vibes to them. See photos from our recent MTB trip out to Sedona AZ here. Tailwinds!

Southridge USA winter challenge. Talk about a hard technical...

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 14:54:08 -0800

Southridge USA winter challenge. Talk about a hard technical course, I really enjoyed this one. Could have used an extra tooth (or two) on my singlespeed for the steep punchy stuff. Rocks, tight singletrack, ruts, a true XC experience.

My last lap before turning on the lights at 12 Hours of Temecula...

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 10:04:18 -0800

My last lap before turning on the lights at 12 Hours of Temecula … this was my favorite part of the day.

12 Hours of Temecula endurance race report. I partnered up with...

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 11:12:59 -0800

12 Hours of Temecula endurance race report. I partnered up with my buddy Jeff to form a 2-person team, set up Base Camp with some friends, and prepped food/drinks for the long day ahead of us. We decided I would go out for the first lap (which is notorious for being a cluster f@ck of riders of various ability). I lined up well with my buddy Dean and hit the gas at 9am sharp. The 10 mile course (1300 ft of climbing per lap) starts off with a flat fire road, and kicks up to 10% for the next 3.5 miles, followed by a rocky singletrack, and then punchy singletrack rollers and a false flat wash climb followed by more singletrack. I managed to pull off a 44 minute lap, even with a little bit of traffic. Jeff went out for his 1st lap while I relaxed a little and ate some fruit and hydrated. He came back quickly and as I hit the long climb my calves just cramped up! WTF! This got me worried being my second lap of the day (would this kill my race?). I took it easy up the climb, staying seated and just spinning out the lactic acid. Stood up on the singletrack and almost flew off the bike as my legs seized up. Now I am worried. Sat down and spinned some more, finally cramps subsided and I came through with a 47 minute lap, not bad. Stretched out my legs and drank a mix, continued the day taking it easy up the climbs and making up time on the downhill sections. Around 2pm I checked the prelim results and save the we were in 3rd place, pleasant surprise but the day was still long with 6 more hours of racing. Weather started to get colder and windier but we continued passing the baton through the next few hours and saw our lead over 4th come down to a mere 3 minutes. Jeff went out for his 6th lap, crashed and lost a little time. This compounded with the fatigue of the day on both of us, we got overtaken for 3rd as I went out for my 7th lap. Went as hard as I could with a 55 minute lap time, coming back in at 8pm. With 1 hour of racing left, we stood there in the pit with the guys in 3rd debating if I should go out for an 8th lap. The guys in 3rd knew they would have to go out for 1 more if we did, and none of us had it in us to do a what now was a 57 minute lap. We mutually said f-it, and settled for 4th place. Spent the last hour breaking down Base Camp and packing up the cars, just in time for our podium. I was so stoked to do this good in a race this long and hard, and my buddy Jeff got his first podium ever. That’s the little golden moment in a bike race. Looking forward to the next one!

The top-step feeling is really incredible, especially when you...

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 15:24:00 -0700

The top-step feeling is really incredible, especially when you work your ass off for it. Raced singlespeed open class at the Triple Crown Series race #2 at Bonelli Park. We started with the Pro/Expert classes and I hit the throttle off the line. The course starts off with a long fireroad climb, followed by a pretty easy (but very fast) double track descent then crosses over into singletrack climbs and downhills for the remainder of the course. I was geared at 34/20 on my s-works 29er which is not an easy gear to push over. I picked off geared riders in the Pro/Expert classes on the climbs, and on the second lap ran into a lot of traffic to work through. I kept telling myself to just keep the pace high and recover on the rollers/downhills as much as I can but not blow up. As I hit the singletrack on the last lap, I was seeing stars but I knew after looking back and not seeing anyone, I had it. All those miles and hours in the saddle were going to pay off today. I crested the final singletrack climb where my wife and two of my friends were cheering me on, and just let ‘er rip down to the finish line. Came in with a final time of 1:12-ish and 1st place with a sizable gap on the rest of my class. I was pretty beside myself.

My first Sport/Cat 2 XC race yesterday. 4 laps of 3 miles per...

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 11:07:17 -0700

My first Sport/Cat 2 XC race yesterday. 4 laps of 3 miles per lap with about 700ft of climbing per lap. Got a good start and worked my way through the field into 2nd wheel. Sat 2nd for the first 2 laps (Sean T was in 1st and we never saw him again), then got passed on a long fireroad climb in the 3rd lap. Sat patiently on the dudes wheel until the last lap and wanted to drop him on the singletrack to the finish where I saw he was weak. Right as we crested the climb I shift over into the big ring for the downhill, and the chain tangles up between the frame and then tosses it off the crankarm. F! The dude takes off and another guy in our category took advantage and jumped past me while i pulled over to fix it.

I chased them down the singletrack, had them in my sights and as we hit the straight gravel to the finish they saw me coming and just took turns pulling to the finish. Came through for a 4th. such a bummer. Would have been good to podium such a fast race for mudfoot.

Cyclocross season kicked of in SoCal last weekend and I was in...

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 15:01:20 -0700

Cyclocross season kicked of in SoCal last weekend and I was in full heckle-and-beer mode under the Mudfoot tent. I am not racing myself this year as I have been focusing 100% on XC mountain bike racing, and my first race since my horrible Cat 2 finish earlier this year is this Sunday. I am a bit nervous, but mostly excited to get out there and rip out. Skinksuit is being dusted off as I type this. This photo is of my buddy Jonny Weir catching some air over the hips on the course. Cowbell!

theblueandred.tumblr.com took that while I was taking this...

Thu, 13 Sep 2012 21:32:00 -0700

theblueandred.tumblr.com took that while I was taking this one:

Camping and campfire stories.