Saturday we hit the Ridge Trail early. Good times. Pictures are better than words.

Sunrise atop the Alpine Loop
Scott rides into the sunrise
Mt. Timpanogos
Yes Scott, there is a trail through here
Big views of the surrounding hills

"Who can we cheer with any kind of certainty? What too-good-to-be-true story is legit? Where does hopeful belief end and rampant cynicism begin?"

-Pat Forde, ESPN.com

I will tell you where. To often, and for to long we have looked at our professional athletes as our source for inspiration, and heroism. Far to long we have tolerated their drug habits, their wife beatings, their entourages and posses, Hummer 2's and "me first" attitudes.

No more.

The professional athlete has become a whining, spoiled, crying, "everyone owes me something", baby.

Today I want to salute the everyman. The you's and me's of the world. People who get up early and go to work, spend the day doing someone else's bidding, daydreaming of the wind in their faces, and a thin layer of dust rising behind them as they speed through singletrack snaking its way through thick forests, and over tall mountains. People who train as compulsively as any pro, but do it on their own time and dime, men and women who are parents, professionals, PTA board members, church leaders, quality citizens and all the while still find the time to put down a sub 9 off-road hundie, a solo 24, or a team relay in Park City.

Maybe along the way they will win an age group national championship, a local series points title, or just have that magical day when they sneak on to the podium because their usual competition didn't show up. These are people who will scrutinize data from a mid-pack finish, skip desert, and get patient smiles from their wives when the family vacation is planned around a 12 Hour race 3 states away. These are folks who have co-workers who don't understand the shaved legs, 50 resting heart beat, the terribly defined tan lines and why for "heaven's sake you are taking the stairs".

The everyman is the heart of our sport. He is the guy saving up for a bike that comes, not from a sponsor, but from the kid down at the local bike shop. He is the guy who rides and competes because he loves riding and competing. I have no doubt that the pros still love what they do. Down to earth guys like Nick Martin are proof of that. But for to many, in every sport, the pure joy of it all melts away. It gets clouded in contracts, phat gold jewelry and "doing whatever it takes".

Yeah. Whatever it takes. Especially cheating.

I hope Floyd is clean. For his sake, and the sake of the sport. But I would be naive to think that he is outside the realm of performance enhancing drugs. How is he different from Tyler Hamilton? He is not. They are the exact same person. Tyler was the next king. We cheered him on as he broke away with a broken collar bone, winning a dramatic Tour stage while silently weeping for his dying dog. Then the roof came down, and my ideals became sullied.

When does the house that Lance built come crashing down? I hope never. But look how many riders that were his teammates have been suspended. I am choosing to remain naive enough to think and believe he is, and always has been clean.

Are all amateurs clean? No way. But most are. And today I salute all those riders who put in the time and effort just because they choose to. Maybe I am sentimental. Maybe this pseudo-rant is romantic. But with every new hero that falls, or is torn down by positive tests, allegations, or [insert whatever you can think of that ruins careers], I can't help but turn toward my fellow competitors and realize that right in front of me is all the inspiration I need to be a satisfied sports fan.

JUST SAW THIS.......WTF?!?

What does the rest of the season hold in store for me? Well The E100 is the main focus right now. That will take place on August 26th. After that I hope to ride in the 12 Hour version of the 24 Hours of Soldier Hollow on September 9th. I will not be able to compete in the full 24 Hour race because on the 10th I am leaving for an 18 day film shoot in Mexico. After that trip, the 24 Hours of Moab in October.

Up to this point it has been a good season. I have had some great rides, and I feel that overall I have made some signifigant progress in my riding, and racing. The E12 didn't go so well, but I learned some important things from it. I have also had the chance to meet a lot of good folks that I have had contact with through this blog, and that has been a lot of fun.

There are still a few months to go before the days get shorter, the temps cooler, and the gym more crowded. I fully intend to take advantage of as many days as possible out in the sun, and the high country.

There are a few races happening this weekened. Laramie, Brianhead, and of course the throw-down out at 9 mile. Who will be this year's 24 Hour Nat'l champ? The big guns will be firing, but will we see a dark horse coming through with a surprise ride? Wish I could be there, perhaps next year...

The weekend started off well, with good food and good company. Dave and Lynda and I had dinner friday night, along with Lynda's husband and kids. It was a relaxing evening, perfect for a pre-race atmosphere. Lynda's husband, Steve also helped us out with our drop bags during the race. It was a big help, so, thanks Steve! Good luck at Brianhead on Saturday.

Saturday morning Dave and I headed off to the start line at about 5:30AM. We rode our bikes along the dark streets of Park City, spinning easily in the cool mountain air. A few minutes later we found ourselves at the line, and Boris standing on a rock counting down to the start. "3 minutes!.....1 minute!.....5...4...3......" We were off.

After a few minutes of climbing a steep dirt road we hit the singletrack. We snaked our way up through Aspen trees, and across grassy slopes when, almost suddenly, the trail became an absolute blast. It was like being on a roller coaster. Small burst climbs, folllowed by twisty turns, and descents, banked corners, smooth dirt, beams of light illuminating the dust through the thick pines and then....we popped out high on a ridge, Park City far below us, the sun stretching over the mountains. I had an ear to ear grin, knowing, whatever pain might arrive later, that this was going to be a good day.

Stage 1 came and went quickly, ending with some tricky, fast switchbacks that drop into Park City Mountain Resort. From there, the course points upward. And upward. And then upward some more. Stage 2 began with 90 minutes of climbing. Some of it technical singletrack, some it dirt road, some of it steep doubletrack. The stage tops out at over 9300 feet.

For all the difficulty in this stage, it was still a pleasant portion of the race. The climbs are rewarded with great views, and stunning singletrack. Can I say enough about the singletrack? I had a good rythm going, and I felt really comfortable on my bike. I decended better than I ever have, even catching people on downhills. After the race a few people would comment on how fast I was descending. That is a first.

I made my way up the Tour de Homes climb, knowing that at the top I would be done. I crossed the line with a big smile on my face, pleased with my time, and the effort I put in. Boris happened to be at the finish line as I rolled through. I shook his hand, and congratulated him on a job well done.

The E100 now looms. I have a better idea of what we are all in for with that one. It will be a beast. But I can't wait for it.

The E50 went well. 87 solos started, about 60 finished. The weather was good and trails were awesome. I had a pretty good ride, coming in 14th overall, and 2nd in my age group (20-29) with a time of 5:41. The course was epic, with some huge climbs, crazy fast descents, and big views.

I will post a more detailed recap soon.

Full race results are posted here.

Time to race. I am feeling good. My legs feel good, my mind is ready, and most of all...I am just plain excited to go compete. Maybe it is the Tour, perhaps it was Dicky's TR sweepstakes, or maybe it's just that time again. Competing brings all the training together into a consolidated effort. The build up, the anticipation, the nerves, all melt away when the gun goes off, and then it is just the bike, me, and the mountain.

So, it is off to some classic singletrack, good competition, and a whole lotta fun! I will post some details about the race Sunday sometime.

Wow, the tour is going to come down to the final TT. Landis was incredible today.

I am having a busy week. My little brother gets married tomorrow. I have managed to get a few rides in though. Rains has fallen the last 2 days, so that bodes well for Saturday's trail conditions.

What happened to Landis?

I got a short road ride in this evening, after the temps cooled down to the mid 80s. Tomorrow I am going to get up early and drive to my parents and watch the Tour. I love big uphill finishes and they don't get much better than tomorrow. I would guess that this will be when the real contenders finally take charge of the race. Will Landis be among them?

Need a new Jersey? Wear a small? I am selling a Team Italia jersey on eBay. Check it out.

I helped Boris mark The E100 course this morning. He and I took stage 4, while other teams of two, tackled stages 2 and 3. Boris himself marked stages 1 and 5 yesterday, so that means that the entire 100 miles is flagged.

Just riding stage 4 gave me a good idea just how epic The E100 will be. Boris has hit the nail on the head with his "mind over mountains" mantra. The trails this race will cover are unforgiving, steep, rocky, rooty, and spectacular.

Stage 4 offers up some huge views. The stage climbs up from Silver Lake Lodge in Deer Valley, up to very near the summit of the resort. The climb is on a steep, sandy fire road and will be anything but a relief 60 or so miles into the ride. The reward after the climb is miles of world class singletrack, yeah, the same kind of stuff you will be riding all day long. Honestly, is there a better hundie course in the world?







click pics for bigger size

I recently had a coaching consultation with Lynda Wallenfels. Lynda is a premier endurance athlete, and she is happy to share her knowledge and experience as a coach. It was an eye opener for me. Lynda has seen me ride in a couple of endurance events, and she was able to observe some key things that I was doing that were hindering my performance. I was surprised at how detailed she was in her observations. We talked at length about every aspect of endurance racing, from perspective, to goals, to attitude, nutrition, pacing, cadence, and results. It was well worth the time and money. If you are looking for some objective feedback on your racing, I highly recommend speaking with Lynda.

The E50 is right around the corner. I expect the field will be big, and the competition steep. Just like the climbs. The weeks since the E12 have been good. I feel rested, both mentally and physically. I have set PRs up the Provo side of the Alpine Loop and up South Fork road. I am enjoying the process of training as much as I am racing. I think that is a good sign.

Endurance racing is a journey. It is grueling and painful, yet rewarding beyond any athletic pursual I have ever encountered.

I finally got around to doing one of the Wednesday night MTB races. The series alternates between Sundance and Soldier Hollow. Tonight we hammered at Sundance, and had a good time. These weeknight races are typically shorter than the ICUP races, but the competition is good, and the courses fun. I used the evening as an opportunity to get another TT like effort in. Over the last week or so I have been focused on short, intense rides. The upcoming E50 is going to demand some intense effort, and I want my reserves topped off. Some of the races at Soldier Hollow are a bit different than your normal bike race. I can't wait to give one of these a go.

K.C. Holley has been keeping up a blog since January. I just recently discovered it. I ride with K.C. and her husband Chris (They recently owned the E12 as a coed duo on their 29ers) multiple times a week. I can't believe I never knew K.C. was keeping up a blog. Anyway, check it out, it is a good read. Chris and K.C. both moved into the Pro ranks this year, and both have been hammering out some great results.

Karl showed us a bit of the singletrack out his back door. Long sustained climbs, fast downhills, little jumps, and switchbacks. At the top you get a great view of Utah Valley.

click for biggie size

I hit the road today for 3 hours. Battled a head wind for miles 30-50, but it wasn't to bad. All in all a good ride.

Make sure you visit Team Dicky's blog for information on how we can help send him to the 2006 TR. It is really simple, watch the videos, then vote for "Bad Idea Racing". If they win, they will make TransRockies history by being the first singlespeed team.

Why wouldn't you want to send these guys to Canada?

Sometimes a switch will click, one way or the other. Is there anything better than when it switches back to "on" ?

I didn't think so.

I have been testing the new flavors of Accelerade drink and gel. The new drink is Lemonade flavor, and the gel is citrus orange. Accelerade is unique in that it is protein enhanced. They produce one of the only gels on the market that includes a 4:1 carb to protein ratio. How does it taste? So far so good. I have used the Lemonade as a recovery drink. It has a light smooth taste that is not to sweet. There is a bit of the "chalky" texture to it that is common in other protien enhanced drinks, but overall it goes down easy. It mixes up well without leaving clumps at the bottom of the bottle. I have also used it in a couple of recent smoothie recipes. It adds a nice lemon accent, and is an easy way to get some protein in them.

The gel also tasted pretty good. The protein in it gave it a bit of a different texture than gels I am used to, but the taste has a natural orange feel. It doesn't taste like candy, like a lot of gels do. In fact, the gel was quite tasty. It was not so sweet that I had to immediatley wash it down with water. I was able to enjoy it a bit more than some gels, that sort of just need to be choked down.

I will contineu to test the flavors over the next few days, and add any more feedback. Overall the new tastes are very good. The common theme with both of them is a natural fruit flavor that is not sticky or sweet. I found myself looking forward to the large bottle of cold Accelerade that was waiting for me in the fridge last night as I finished up my ride.

Jeff Kerkove and Carl B. are also testing the product out, so check out their blogs over the next little while to see what they think.

I have been a smoothie junkie latley. I have conjured up some pretty good ones. Here are a few of my favorites.

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Apple Juice
Orange Juice concentrate
Rasberries
Pineapple
Half scoop of lemonade Accelerade
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Apple Juice
Strawberries
Peaches
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Vanilla Soy milk
Bananna
Yoplait Chocolate Whip yogurt
Hammer chocolate gel
Hammer Bananna gel
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Smoothies are a great way to get your daily fruit. They taste great after a long hot ride, they are cheap to make, and there are a million different possiblities. Just do a google for "smoothie recipes" and you will get a ton of hits. The ones I listed above are of my own creation, not that they are all that original but I like them. I don't really worry about amounts of different ingredients. I just sort of favor whichever fruit I am in the mood for.

Well, my big plans for some MTBing in Park City sort of fizzled, but I did get some nice road rides in. Today was a 2 hour TT up South Fork, (16:54 up the 4.2 mile climb) and Monday was 55 miles out near West Mountain. Tuesday I had planned on riding, but got rained out. There was some big time rain and lighting in Park City, so instead I watched Italy score in the 118th minute over Germany and enjoyed some BBQ with the family.

Tonight we went to a Salt Lake Bees game. Pretty good times.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th!

I took the week off. I rode once for an hour on the road with Keith. I skipped the XC race today, which I was a bit sad about. I love the course up at Solitude, but, I have long term goals in mind and indulging on some sweet singletrack was just not in the formula. It has been a good week of rest and recovery. I have spent some pool side time with the kids, did a bit of work around the house, watched some amazing World Cup soccer games (nice to watch a sport where people just flop instead of dope) and tonight had a great time at a wrap party for our latest project. Wrap parties are always fun because it is a chance to sit back and say "good job" to everyone. We don't worry about deadlines, music scores, budgets or anything else. We eat, we joke, we pat each other on the back. Good times.

Next week I will start to reawaken the racing spirit and start spinning the cranks once again. I will most likely spend some time up in Park City riding parts of the E50 and E100 courses. Norba is coming to town, but I am opting out of the marathon on Thursday. I have waffled on that race all year long, and am deciding against it. I think instead I may do a 170 mile road ride over both the Alpine and Nebo loops on July 10th. But first we will see how this week goes.

On the 4th I am planning on doing something I have not done in years. I am going to run the Park City 5k. I used to run Cross Country in high school, so there was a time when 5ks were my life. I wonder if I can still go sub 18:00?

Laters.