La Ruta

Here are two pictures that embody the true spirit of La Ruta. All racing aside, La Ruta is about pushing your own boundaries and seeing what you are made of. These two guys are as tough as they come.


One arm- killed it the entire way. Amazing.



Look closely at the guy on the left... that's right, prosthetic leg. Wow.


That was certainly one of the most memorable experiences of my life and one of the most intense races I ever done. The night before the race, promoter Roman Urbina talked about the race and ended by saying that this race is mostly mental. You really need to be in the right state of mind just to finish the thing.

As for my 2nd place- I still can't believe that all came together. I rode my own race, stayed consistent and dug deep when I needed to. I am super excited though, I never would have thought I could get 2nd in my first attempt!

Check Cycling Dirt for lots of cool race videos, thanks Colt.

Check Monavie-Cannondale for a full race report courtesy of Bart.

Snow sports on the horizon...

Cruel and Unusual...

Punishment...

I know some people get a vision of lounging at the beach enjoying a vacation when I say I am going to Costa Rica... getting up at 4 am every day to tackle this is what's in store. Mud, rain, heat, cold, piranhas, hiking, exhaustion I will be disappointed with anything less!

Word to the wise: Don't stretch an injury

OK so I should know that already. Maybe I did but it was easy to forget. I hurt my back/left side ribs in my dual crashes last Saturday. I was pretty sore right below my armpit for a few days- just felt like a bruised rib/pulled muscle or something. It got better throughout the week and I wasn't feeling too bad. Sleep wasn't too much trouble and I thought I was fine. I even did some pullups and pushups this week pain free. I thought I was in the clear.

That all changed Friday night when I decided it would be good to stretch a little. I was doing normal stretches for me and came to one that I do all the time- extending arms to the ceiling, lengthening the spine and arching the back slowly. All of a sudden- "OH S%^$!" I felt some separation in my ribs in that spot down below my armpit and man, that hurts. Now I feel like I have broken rib and certain movements make me cry out, sleeping hurts like crazy and the cross race yesterday was excruciating. I tried to ignore it for the first part of the race but all the standing bumpy sections where you had to accelerate were killing me. Now I don't know what to do- maybe I should let it heal but cross is so fun that I am tempted to go suffer through another hour... it feels pretty messed up though...

Speaking of cross, yesterday at Wheeler was awesome. So many people out racing and watching. Super cool. I managed to get in the lead group and even gave it a shot at the front for a lap despite not being able to fully accelerate out of the saddle. I pinched in the creek bottom and lost some air before Stan's sealed the hole, but started to roll my tire a little in the corners. Even almost ended up in the goose pond! Ali got by me there then I proceeded to get in Bart and Eric's way for a bit and almost cost them the chance to contest the race. They got by me though and it went down to a sprint for the win, and I rolled in 4th.

Just writing that makes me want to go race, but just moving my arm makes me want to yell bloody murder. What to do, what to do...

Helmet insulation

I was getting a little cold during yesterdays freezing cross race so I figured I'd pack my helmet vents for a little warmth...



Having a quite some luck racing cross this year- can't ride a clean race to save my life. Sorry to anyone I crashed in front of lap 1. I felt pretty bad, hopefully nobody's race was ruined. I got going again and got back in to the race and eventually made my way up to Bart, but that was short lived and I wadded it up in the exact same spot after another couple laps. After that I was riding to conservatively down that hill while Bart rallied it like it was dry. Very impressive cx mud skills! I still managed 2nd despite shivering my way through the last two laps. I really never warmed up the whole race. That was a cold one...



Killer mtb ride today through some off limits terrain. That's all I'm saying.

Trying to figure out how to prepare the mind for the suffering of La Ruta. Does anyone have any torture devices I can borrow? Going to need to push the pain tolerance a little higher!

Umas fotografias de Brasil

OK so I really don't speak any Portuguese and my Spanish only helped me a little down there. I picked up a little Portuguese, though I did a better job picking up some nice Brasilian poison ivy/oak or something. Yaaaa itching like crazy!

Brasil

About to spend one last day in Brasil then hop on a red eye back to the states. We are in Sao Paolo now which is big beyond big. I never imagined that so many apartment buildings could exist in one place. But then we are in the 4th largest city in the world and you have to put 18 million people somewhere. I guess Tokyo, Hong Kong and Mumbai are the only cities worldwide to beat out Sao Paolo. Wow.

The race took place out in the country though and it was beautiful- I'll get some pics up when I get home. The racing itself was very tough and we weren't quite able to ride with the top guys. Its tough when you travel across the world and try to perform at your best- there are just too many variables you can't control that you can at home. Travel takes a toll as well.

Its all about the experience though and we saw some cool stuff and participated in an amazing event. The people here are great and the culture is very unique.

Today we are doing a little city tour then heading to the airport.

Cao!

Last straw

Another flat- that's it, I'm going tubeless or with some tubies.

This time I flatted about one minute in to the race when I had to make a last second adjustment in speed and direction while hopping a log to avoid Rico who had gone down on the log. I pinched and it slowly leaked to the point where I crashed in a corner because my tire folded and I was forced to nurse it over to the pits where I aired it up with a borrowed pump. The sealant held the new air and I set out to chase. I actually enjoyed the race and got a good workout which is why I go in the first place.

I realized that this is three flats in three races @ Weber Fairgrounds in the past year. The curse of the fairgrounds! Maybe I should stay away...