Lost in the Alps.......sort of

Put the Tacx real-life video trainer through a pretty solid two hours tonight. Simulated ride of 2 hours, 4,000 feet of climbing, over 42 miles. Garmin and Power hub are a lot more accurate with a norm power of 260+ watts for the 2 hours. I think trainers with power meters purposely show a higher power output to make riders feel good. As much as I would love the stated power, it varies up to 18% from reality. On the other hand, Tacx trainers have it figured out when it comes time to duplicating the sensation of road riding outside. It is very hard to notice any difference. The real life videos only add to the experience........way cool. Hope everyone is doing great!

Diesel

Out of balance

It appears I lost the battle of the bulge again this winter and managed to let the weight creep up to 250 pounds in mid November. My lack of will power in the nutrition department pales in comparison to my will power on the bike. It appears my "race weight" is going to be around 220 pounds if I can find the discipline to start eating better......I will kill the descents!

Tuesday night workout. Cant wait for the recovery meal.

Remember the name

Remember the name "Northwest Park". Over the course of the next few years, it will become the raddest 8 miles of single track the Chippewa Valley has ever seen.

Time to breathe

BC bike race + co-race director for Eau Claire's Firecracker (WORS #6) = no time! Now that both are in the books, there is a little more time to take a trip down memory lane (or at least whats left of my memory at this point).

BC Race

Gear:

• Troy - 2010 Santa Cruz TallBoy. Full suspension all carbon 29r. 22.5 lbs


• Jim - 2009 Custom Sisu. Full suspension steel 29r. 27 lbs


• Tires - Geaxsaguaroo......could have used a little more meat

Team:

OTR Racing (On The Rivet).....more to come on that subject, but check out the sweet kits

Race details:

• approximately 43,000 feet of climbing


• 40k to 70k per day


• 4-6 hours in the saddle per day


• 3,600 - 5,000kilojouless per day


• pitches as steep as 35 degrees


• 7 days total riding, plus a prologuee


• drops, rocks, table tops, massive roots, bridges, berms, service roads, unrideable down hills, countless dismounts, hour long hike-a-bikes (repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat). Nastiest trails I have ever seen and certainly nothing like what they show on theInternett or in magazines!


• 21 countries represented


• one fast unicycle who could ride almost anything


• lots of ferry crossings
  

Brand new Sidi Dragon 2s. No blisters and no more pretty bottoms
Sweet kits....not so good looking of a guy

Aid station in the mountains. Cookies, bars, chips, energy drinks, Gu packs and lots of fresh fruit. Not a time to be worrying about calories

No, it's not a post card. Rained one morning otherwise in the 70's everyday.

Another sweet kit. I assume Jim was sideways when he decided to do a little sight seeing on one of the nasty decents and lost the line over the bars. Only blood of the week.

Picture is worth a thousand words.

Jim was kind enough to back off the throttle and ride with me the entire week. Every so often he would jet up a climb and snap a pic.

He is closer to being a pro photographer than racer.

How cool is this pic?

Base Camp for those that thought camping in a two person tent was a good idea after riding their bike all day long. Jim and I were hotel weenies.

If it wasn't for the logging, you would swear man has never stepped foot here

Jim......all smiles all the time.

Watch for an updated counter on the blog. If it pops up, it means I am going back for another week of BC.

Firecracker recap: 8 minutes, rolled tire off the rim. Race over.

Thanks for reading......Troy

Epic

Ferry to Vancouver Island for the start of the 1st stage

cooked after 6 hours in the saddle.

mandatory walk bridge.

Jim with 3 time Xterra word champion.

Jim with Manny Prado.....defending LaRuta champ

Epic is about the most underrated word I would use to define the BC Race. Started Sat with a short prologue, which is meant to get you used to the trail conditions and make sure the bike builds worked. To be honest I thought the trails would be nice and buff with big swooping berms and modest rock and root sections......you know, like the bike rags all show. Instead we were treated to non-stop roots that protruded out of endless boulder fields. In 15 minutes of riding we went off more log drops then in the past combined five years of biking. Sunday was the first stage of the race and the trails were every bit as gnarly, except we got to throw in 6,000 feet of climbing and 20 minute descents that numbed the hands and arms. 4 miles into day two the power tap hub ceased tight and the rest of the day was in the bike shop having a new wheel built up. Tomorrow we start all over.

Game Time

Hard to believe the BC Bike Race is already here. Training has been next to non existent, but I am not going to let a little thing like a lack of fitness get in the way of having the best week ever on a bike. Jim has been really consistent with his riding and is super strong right now, so he will be doing most if not all the pulling. The new Santa Cruz Tallboy along with Jim's Sisu are waiting for us in Canada and from what I can tell they are the perfect choice for the race. 30 minute prologue tomorrow and then the real deal starts on Sunday. We will do our best to get some pics on the blog each night. Next up, 6 hour flight to Vancouver. Stay tuned and thanks for checking in.

http://bcbikerace.com

Good Bye

6-8-2010.........Rest In Peace dad. You will be deeply missed, but never forgotten. We all love you so much.