Peak To Peak Bicycles peaktopeakbicycles.com

What a great race! The night before however did not go so well. We made the trip down to Cortez Colorado on Friday night which went well. Once there we set up the bed in the van and settled in for the night. We were pleasantly surprised to run into a few friends who we had not seen in a while and had a great but short evening. Getting in bed by 8:30PM to rest up we were shocked when at 11PM Kalden started projectile vomiting IN THE VAN! We scrambled in a daze to get bags but it was way to late for that. So, it did not take long to decide we need to get to a hotel and fast. Being on the edge of town we had a hotel only 10 minutes down the road so that’s where we went. By the time we settled in there and got Kalden all set it was past midnight. We set the alarm for 5AM and hit the sack.

The alarm came way to early and we really questioned if we should even bother heading over to the race but Kalden was feeling better and we had already paid so what the hell! The day was overcast and breezy which was a nice surprise as they called for 80’s and sunny (way too hot). About 150 riders (600 riders total for the race) including myself lined up at 7AM for the Lemonds style start (run to your bike) and we were off! The first lap took us out a dirt road to a car race track then back to the bike singletrack. This was suppose to break things up before we get on the trail but it did not work. I was in the front 30 or 40 but still came to a dead stop as we entered the trail. The first lap is all about holding position and not making a mistake. If you come off your bike you lose 10-15 spot’s in a blink. From their on out the race went well. Jen rode super solid completing 3 laps (49.2 miles) with no mechanicals and one crash. The crash was on a section called the “rib cage”. She rocketed into a corner that was a bit sandy and slide out. It was a spectacular looking crash with dirt and rocks flying everywhere but luckily she was unscathed and right back at it. My laps went well too. I completed 4 laps (65.6 miles). Laps one and two were rocking then on 3 it started to hurt! After lap 3 I really did not think I was going to go back out but I rallied and completed a 4th lap. It was a crawl but I did it. Jen was super relieved when I came in past the time cut off for her to go back out!

Anyway, a great weekend, great event an super nice people all around (event staff and racers). Anyone interested in this race should put it on their list for sure!

Back from our first MTB race of the season and it was a wake up call! I felt pretty good lining up at the start of the race with 31 other cat.2 racers in my age group (30-39). The first few miles were on dirt roads so right off the start I was in the first 5 or so riders and drafting along feeling good. This went well until it kicked up hill. It was a series of punchy climbs that slowly wore on me and by the 4th climb I was blown and off the back. I backed off and recovered from my 198bpm heart rate and settled into my pace. At the end I ended up 25th out of 31 guy’s which is a little bit of a bummer but it’s also really early in the season.

While I was racing Kalden had his race and he had a blast. It is clear he does not have to much of a competitive spirit as he just smiled and cruised along and when a kid in front of him crashed he stopped to make sure all was ok! At the end all the kids got medals and the kid who won was upset. He said “why does everyone get medals, I won!”. Kalden said “we are all winners today”. Too funny!!

Jen’s race was 31 miles (almost double mine). She did really well and hung on with the front runners for most of the race before fatigue set in. She was very happy with her ride for an early season race and it gives both if us an idea of where we are at. She ended up in the back of the van in the fetal position sleeping for half the ride home though:)

Jen, Kalden and I had another big weekend on the bikes. It’s great to have an “event” to focus on this year and train for. Friday evening as soon as we arrived Jen hit Amassa Back but had a bit of a crash on it. She came down a bit bruised and scraped up but ok. After another great night camping we woke up to clear skies and I finally did a ride I’d been looking at for 2 years. It links Gemini Bridges - Gold Bar - Golden Spike and Poison Spider all together as a through ride. The ride went well but was a pretty long day. 4hrs 15min and 3K feet of climbing. I did however have a fair bit of company with all the jeeps, quads and motorcycles. I’m really glad I decided not to do it as a loop from town which was my original plan!! While I was riding that Jen took Kalden over to ride Bar M again. He is really getting this MTB thing dialed in now and riding faster and farther. It’s fun to watch him develop his skills and gain confidence as he rides.

Sunday it was Jen’s turn for a long ride. We decided to pack up and head over to Fruita so we could pre-ride the Rabbit Valley Rally race course for next Sunday. Jen’s race will be 31 miles so she took off as soon as we arrived and Kalden and I went for a nice ride up and down trail#2. Jen got back about 3 1/2 hours later and did not even complete all of her loop! It was pretty hot out and she ran out of water so she decided (wisely) to bail on Kokopellis Trail. It’s going to be a tough course for her Sunday for sure. By the time she got back it was past 3PM so I decided to have a beer instead of ride and we pointed the VW towards home!

The bigger concern now is how do we pack water for these longer rides? We have training rides of 5+ hours scheduled in the weeks to come. Doing it on the road is no problem as we can hit a store but through the Moab desert could be a disaster!

Made it out to Junction to race in the local crit series last night. On the drive there I was thinking to myself, I’m driving 2hrs each way for a 45 min. race! Oh well, it was well worth it. About 15 min into the race I took a flyer off the front and got a good gap, 2 other riders bridged to join me and we were off. We held it for 1 1/2 laps but then got caught by the field. I then paid the price for that for the next several laps just haging on with fuzzy vision and seeing spot’s! It’s been a long time since I’ve put in effort’s like this.

As the race wound down it was clear no break was going to stick so I tried to rest for the sprint finish. With 2 laps to go things really wound up. I was in the front 10 going around the last lap but fully red lined staying there. At the sprint everyone around me stood up and hit it but I couldn’t, I just kept cranking but in the seat. The course was dead flat and I showed a top speed of 33mph, not bad. All in all a great race and I’m very happy with how I did. I’ll be heading back next week for more!

Just back from a weekend in Fruita and Junction. Started with a 4:30 AM Saturday departure from Ridgway to make it down to Junction for the COPMOBA bike swap. What a great event! Met lot’s of nice people and we sold off alot of old stuff that had accumulated over our 5 years in business. After that it was time to enjoy the sunny/70 degree temps here and we made out way over to Rustlers loop in Fruita with our 5 year old boy (Kalden). He did the whole loop (about 4 miles) and had a blast. After a night in the hotel we headed out to rip a lap on Western Rim in the morning. I dropped Jen off there and headed back over to Rustlers with Kalden so he could ride it again. He tore it up this time and I was very impressed! Next Jen and I did “the swap” and it was my turn for Western Rim. Had a blast but man were there a lot of people out there. Saw Chris Carmichael and about 20 riders from the “Honey Stinger” team.

Anyway, great weekend and looking forward to next. Maybe Moab again!

Jen and I have just finished back to back 3hr days on the MTB, this has been our biggest week so far on the bike this season. I tried a new route today heading out towards Playa Avellana then cutting in on a new dirt track that dumped me off between Playa Negra and Paraiso, from there I continued onto Playa Junquilla (another great little beach town). Once there I had seen on a map a possible dirt track heading back along the ocean to Playa Negra and had a look around for it. I found it without too much trouble and followed it as planned. It was a nice track with several deep creek crossings (nice cool off) and a good break from the washboard roads I’ve been on for weeks now! Once back in Playa Negra I got back on the main road and headed back to Playa Avellana to take a quick drink break then home for a cold shower! Today was an incredibly hot day on the bike but I kept telling myself I’ll be begging for this heat in a week once back in Colorado.

Jen has been spending a bit of time in a new resort called Hacienda Pinilla. We have been into the resort twice for pool and beach trips but Jen has been coming in off the beach and has managed to find some nice single track! She has made 3 trips in there now and has found probably 10+ miles of great single track. Next week I hope to get over there and check it out as well.

Well, 7 more day’s of this and we are back on the plane heading to Colorado. Kinda looking forward to getting home……………..

I gotta say we are for real! We’ve been here in Tamarindo for 2 weeks now and life is great! Jen and I have been getting great miles in on the mountain bike which was a huge priority for us and then getting out and surfing almost everyday. The past few day’s have been especially nice as Kalden has been coming out of his shell and really making friends. Last week we met a couple from Glenwood Springs, CO here and they had a 4 year old son who Kalden really likes. We met them at a outdoor pizza place behind our place that has a great play area for kids while we eat. Then, yesterday we met a nice couple from Canada who have a 3 1/2 year old boy (and an infant) that Kalden is enjoying. They joined us for a trip to Hacienda Panilla (a beach resort) today and we all had a blast at the pool and surfing the incredible but a bit large break!

The best part of traveling overseas is meeting people who also travel! It’s great to hear all the stories of where other folks have been and how excited they are to be seeing the world. We are pretty blessed to live in our little town in Ridgway, CO where alot of the people here are world travelers with jobs in guiding, Adventure travel or even non-profits. To often Americans are just stuck in there comfort zone and think nothing exists beyond out borders and in some cases beyond their neighborhood! It’s an incredible world out here, gert out and see it!

Done rambling for tonight,

Adios!

We are well into week 2 of our 5 week trip in Costa Rica and I wanted to post a few comments on a couple of things I brought from the shop. First off is the new Polar RS 800 CX watch

This watch has performed great for me on this trip. It is the first one I’ve used on a MTB that does not vibrate and hurt my wrist. I’m using the GPS on it and uploading to Polar Pro Trainer software which also let’s me then send it over to Google earth to view my route! As many of you know Jen and I have signed up for Breck Epic in August. With that in mind I’ve also signed onto Alison Dunlap Training to put together a training plan for us. With the polar software you can upload the workouts directly to the watch and have it prompt you for each phase and time it automatically.

For this trip we decided to leave our Maverick bikes at home and instead brought a Rocky Mountain Element 50. We have been selling RM bikes since we opened the doors almost 5 years ago and have always loved them. The Element line has always been our best seller and for good reason, it is an aggressive XC full suspension that really feels like a hard tail until you hit the bumps. After a week and a half on this bike here in Costa Rica it has only reinforced that feeling and I’m even more excited about our partnership with Rocky Mountain in 2010!

Well, that’s about it on the bike front. On another note the sufing here rocks! We are having a great time learning at the break right behind Witchs Rock Surf camp and have managed to get out everyday. Kalden (our 4 year old son) is showing us up right now and having a blast and we are trying to catch up……………