tomorrow we're over this

going up

Today we've improved ourselves. Finished 4th (in our cat) in the 40 mile 'queen's stage' of the Breck Epic. A stage that crossed a couple of 12k passes, had some stunning views and singletrack in a remote setting. The stage included a killer 'hike a bike'- sure there are some pics out there on the web somewhere, some white knuckle section and a mind numbing climb up America Gulch. All good fun. Both rode really well today, although the hiker bike section didn't suit me- I'm a biker not a hiker!!




Weather, have to mention it as English, has continued to be great- clear skies and warm without the expected PM thunderstorms. Has resulted in drier trails.

Tried the cold water treatment again today. Key to success- keep your shoes on, sit down and keep the feet near the surface- the waters warmer.

Had some service work to do- new cables. Other than that both bikes are running well. Loving the 6 inches in the rear on the Yeti. Awesome on the descents and with the lockout it climbs just as well as the Superlight. Key is to flip that switch. Jeff is loving his 'bargain basement' Haro too, only BMX out there!

Been using squirt lube on the chains, one of the race sponsors, and real impressed. There has been a guy at each aid station ready to lube your chain and get you going. Loads of Hammer product too. Swag is great and there is a promise of loads more at the post race party Friday night. Pics to follow of the goodie bag

Couple more stages left- tomorrow goes over the ten mile range and spits you out near Copper for a gentle spin back to town. So need to hit the hay so I'm fit and ready for the morning.

As a side note Deb was in Winter Park today- pre riding the w/e race course and met a black bear on the trail.

Later, Lynx

Talent

Rah Rah Ree,  kick `em in the knee.  Rah Rah Rass, kick `em in the other knee.

Jon and I had a great day in what was billed as the toughest stage of the race.  We did a large part of the Firecracker Course, in reverse.   Went over 12,000 feet.  Big, steep climbs.  We rode the best race as a team so far--and we are still in 5th place.   We did manage to finish ahead of the Belgian team, which is an accomplishment since they've been whoopin' us from the start.  Though I'd like to blame my lack of ability on my lack of training, the truth is that I really have to blame my parents.  And their parents.  And so on and so on.  I never should have done that stinkin VO2 Max test.  I could have continued to live my life in blissful ignorance.  But nooooooo.  I had to go and quantify my cursed limitations.  "What do you mean I'm born with that number? Can I change it?"

"No"

"I can't make it better?"

"Maybe a little, if you work really hard."

"But I want to have been born with naturally superior ability."

"Well, you weren't"

So there you have it.  I just don't have the genetics to ever be better than a marginally better-than-average mountain biker.  But being a non-contender has it's advantages.  I can sleep at night knowing that all the genetically superior bikers out there are . . . .  oh hell, I want talent!

TALENT!  T-A-L-E-N-T. TALENT!

Or I at least want a separate category for a Chinese/British men's duo.

But I digress.

We actually did ride a pretty good race today.  Team 303 Racing (who are tucked comfortably into 3rd place) saw us finish shortly after them.  Their faces said it all. "You guys?!  No, really, you guys???!!!"

Jon and I switched leads pretty evenly throughout the race today.  He is stronger on the easy to moderate climbs.  I am able to stay in the saddle a bit more on the heinously steep stuff.  Yeah, man.  I'm really good with granny.  The truth is that I'm just such a slow and pathetic walker (Ryn and Ken can attest to that), that I'll do anything to avoid it.

The course had some pretty sketchy stuff.  Mike did warn us of a steep little pitch on the other side of French Pass.  He warned us that we might want to slow down a bit.   Um, that was scary.  It was too steep to change your mind once you were committed, so I had no choice but to ride it with my ass on the rear wheel.  I don't think I want to do that piece again.

As a side note, Spare Tire Cycling is looking for sponsors.  We will shamelessly include product placement pics in our blog (see Jon's contribution).   We noticed that Squirt has a pretty stout list of athletes on their brochure.  Travis Brown, Jay Henry, Ned Overend, Conrad Stolz . . . .  

One question.  Where the hell is Jeff Wu on that list?  I'll have you know that I am the reigning Colorado State Short Track Champion for sport men 30-34!  (It was a stacked field too.  I beat a guy on a unicycle and an asthmatic (barely)).  Plus, I could use Squirt in the ER.  Who needs Surgilube when you have Squirt?  I'll use it for things like . . . well . . . for "procedures" that require lube.  We won't go into that. 

Tomorrow is another big day.  35 miles, 6000 feet of climbing.  The Wheeler Pass loop.

We still feel pretty good.  As long as we don't have any major mechanical issues (or any number of potential disasters) the next 2 days, we should have second-to-last place locked up.

More tomorrow.

out.

Tuesday's finish

Here we are after finishing yesterday's stage.- pic from Brandon, owner of Boulder Cycle Sport and currently standing 3rd in the Open mens cat. Cheers

Big Bucks! Big Bucks! No Whammies!

Or in your case...Big Push! Big Push! No Mechanicals!!! As the official Spare Tire Cycling Cheerleader and Support Crew, I feel as if I must actually do some cheerleading. :) I am highly enjoying this blog...and thank goodness I was not drinking anything when I read the projectile vomiting post! My family is so awesome...Breck Epic, Gigathlon, and soon Leadville! Y'ALL ROCK!!! (Oh, and as I am currently sitting in my office in Little Rock, rather than playing around in Switzerland, I have full access to my exclamation point key and thus will rub it in by using it excessively!!!) Keep the updates coming and I can't wait to come cheer all of you on in Leadville!!!!!!!

great job jeff and jon. i have no doubt that team spare tire cycling will move up several places once the cats and cramps start behaving and other teams start realizing what a threat you are. i love the blog. i wish i was there and that it did not coincide with our trip to switzerland. ...pretend there are lots of exclamation marks in my post--still cannot figure it out on this swiss keyboard. jeff, drink more and dont forget your tums and electrolyte pills. jon, dont push my brother too hard. and most importantly, have fun and i am sending you karma not to have any mechanicals . . . with your bike or your bodies. love, ryn

up and running- well walking in places

24 hours makes a world of difference. Felt soo much better and 'team spare tire' had a great day in the Epic. 28 miles, 4000ft just under 3 hours- pleasing. The race started with a natural roll out from the Ice Rink- the cop leading this had a heavy right foot and blew the backside out of the field, deja vu.
Couple of big climbs today and saw something that Jeff needs to try- a guy pushing his team mate- a lot, even running alongside pushing, leaving a bike at the top of a climb and running back down to push up! Sure that's not allowed, but hey, they're not in our cat!
Had our own 'advantage' today as taped a profile of the course to the handlebars- oh, how that helped with knowing what's going on. Also tried leg recovery other than compression tights after the ride- standing, waist (too cold), knee (still too cold) calf deep in a lake of freezing water- now that I'm not too sure about. Didn't last too long. Compression tights have it!
Midway point today - but, tomorrow's stage has as much climbing as the first three combined, and the mileage jumps to 40 and change. We've only covered 70 miles todate and there's still over a 100 to go, so will be on the heavy side of 'midway' tomorrow evening. Lets just hope it goes well as cross a couple of 12,000ft passes.
More tomorrow