Eric Emsky Racing

National Championships

2012-01-17T11:54:00.001-08:00

It's usually tough writing a month's worth of wrap-ups and remembering all the juicy parts of my life, but here I go; I'll give it a shot starting in mid December.

With finals week completed, I was feeling good about life. My official Canadian Citizenship went through and I have a sweet proof of citizenship card and next up is getting a passport. From there, it's straight to Havana for Spring Break 2012 baby!!!
While in Durango in the short time period between Thanksgiving and Christmas break, I established a badass routine. Monday through Thursday, I woke around 8:30 or 9, did some work, read, and then headed off to morning class(T-TH). After letting my brain absorb some material, I came home, ate, and then did my training. It was then back to class and reading post class. I got sucked into reading the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who kicked the Hornet's nest. I was burning through these books like noneother. I guess the reading was taking a negative impact on my social life, as I could not stop. Actually, that would be an understatement. It was beginning to interfere with my life, my addiction. Maybe Reader's Anonymous could help out.....
So basically, my life was consisting of a well rounded diet of class, sleeping, training, reading, and eating $30 worth of steak a week. Quite the life.
Luckily, a plane trip home to Washington snapped me out of the routine. My 87 year-old grandmother was visting from Edmonton and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of her company. Being a young man, I have a lot to learn from such a sage woman as herself. I quit the reading and cleaned up my act.
The first day home, I raced a Cascade Series Cyclocross series race in Bellingham. It was an intimate race with a 60 or 70 people racing throughout the day. I caught up with some familiar faces that I hadn't seen in a long time. There was a nice course shortcut which involved shotgunning a beer and doing 20 push-ups to cut off 45 seconds of the course. There was also another one which involved a 4 or 5 feet long skinny. I pulled upon all my log riding experience back in my early days of riding and rode it no problem during practice. At the end of the first lap, the forces of nature thought otherwise of my skinny riding and I wadded it. Hard. Luckily, the paparazzi caught it:

Oops!

Wise( or maybe young and foolish) men take the line less travelled

When the last lap came around I was getting really excited to get my beer, do my pushups, and save myself some pedaling, but as I approached the entrance to the short cut, it was closed off! Apparently, the whole crew of zombie forest creatures(I have no idea, so don't ask me) had packed their bags and closed off their course shortcut. Feeling really screwed, I soldiered my thirsty tail to the line. I was not met with any Busch there either. Life is just not fair.

A couple of days later, we headed over to Coeur d' Alene to spend Christmas with my Auntie and Uncle and their crazy kids. There, I enjoyed the best piece of roast flank I have ever consumed and kicked it with my brother. I'm not posting photos of my little cousins. They never signed the media waiver.

On the 30th, I learned how to make pyrohy with the best of the best; my baba. I never knew making them would be such tiring work. After making a few dozen, we were both toasted. When lunchtime rolled around we enjoyed the fruits of our labour. The family gathered and we enjoyed potato and cheddar, cottage cheese and potato, blueberry, and even my specialty, chocolate pyrohy. You can put just about anything in them. I even made a jumbo-sized blueberry pyrohyzilla. It might just still be there next time I come home.

My mother is so proud of her boy. I wonder why. Sheesh.

On New Years, I packed the bags and flew back to Durango to make the final preparations to my bikes and glue some sets of wheels up. Needless to say, I spent the next two days in a glue-induced fadedness. I was pretty happy when all of that hankypanky was done and over with. I am not a big fan of all those fumes.
Before I knew it, I was back on the road again, this time going to Madison, Wisconsin for the big show.
The whole team got the star treatment with the legendary Grady James, Chad "Chainsaw" Cheeney, John Bailey, and Garrett Alexander driving the team trailer and bikes ahead of the team. They did an excellent job wrenching for the team and attending to all our pit and mechanical needs. These guys are the real men who deserve all the credit. Thank you so much again.
Thursday and Friday were spent pre-riding the course. Every day, the conditions were so much different, ranging from gloopy, snotty mud in the afternoons, to frozen and icy ruts in the mornings. It would be safe to say that everyone was thoroughly enjoying Madison's uncanny nice weather. After expecting for it to be colder than (add your favourite metaphor here), it was a pleasant surprise to have lows in the 20's and highs in the low 40's. It was even sunny too. So spoiled.
I even got some riding time in on Saturday with one of my biggest supporters, Jon Hernandez of Blue Competition Cycles!
Saturday rolled around in record time, and I found myself readying for the U23 race. My openers on course had gone splendidly the day before and I was feeling ready for game time.
Unfortunately, it just wasn't the day I was aiming for.
My start wasn't one of my best and I was riding in midpack going into the pits. I got wrapped up in the strangest entanglement I have ever been in, or witnessed for that matter. Somehow, my left shifter got stuck between the other rider's chainring and bottom bracket junction with the downtube. After 15 seconds of frantically trying to get it undone, we were both freed from the situation.My bike emerged from the scrap with a broken brake lever. With two and a half inches remaining, it was still functional. It wasn't much of a bother and I rode through the pit.
Even though my start was crummy, my equipment performed as it should have. My recently glued FMB Super Mud's on carbon Rolf Prima 58CX's cut deep into the mud and hooked up excellently. The tread is both shorter, taller, and more widely spaced than the Dugast Rhino. Even though the two tires look extremely similar, I am really enjoying just how much better they clear mud and gain traction than the Rhino.
Enough with the tangent; I made up some time in that first lap, but before it was even over, my lower back started to cramp. The power dropped off the deep end and it all went downhill from there. The bike I had been riding and training on so much was my b bike and the seat position was a little lower. My back seized and I rode at 60%. Amazingly frustrating. How could this be happening?!? Is this really happening, right here, right now?
I kept on riding. Pulling out due to pride was not an option. I made myself a pact many years ago that I will never willfully DNF at a National Championship event. Never. 15th place was a bummer, but it was life.
For the good news, Skyler Trujillo rode like a true boss and barely finished outside the Top-5 in 6th place.
Right before me, the girls raced in their collegiate race. Sarah Sturm had a fantastic ride, finishing up in 4th place behind the dominating Kaitlin Antonneau and the ever-quick Coryn Rivera. Hot dog! The rest of the team rode to: Kaila Hart-8th, Lauren Catlin-9th, Brittany Clawson-10th,Missy Erickson-13th,The One and Only Tilly Field-15h,Anne Cheeney-18th, and Courtney Ott-23rd.

Rivals. Shot by Chad Cheeney

LAP ONE

During Saturday night, I got my back and gluteals all worked out by Coach Brutsaert and thought of all things I was to change the next day before racing.There was a lot, but I knew what I was going to do.

Arriving on course at 7a.m. on Sunday morning, the Fort Lewis mean readied for battle. Skyler and I instead battled with our frozen bikes from the day before. Every little bit of water that did not evaporate off during the day and night froze in place. Shift cables, bottom brackets, brake cables, and chains were frozen in place. Luckily, after a couple of minutes next to the camp stove, the bikes thawed out and were ready to race.
I squeezed in 30 minutes of warming up before toeing to the line.
I was called up row 5 of 6. Optimal. Shortly after holeshot, a crash happened in the front quarter of the pack and gummed up the whole race besides the far right. I was able to make it to the right side before reaching it and squeezed throught the melee before I got trapped in it. While I got off easy, it unfortunately caught the majority our team besides Skyler and myself.
During that first lap, I focused on making forward progress. The ruts had frozen in, but nothing was icy. I ran a Schwalbe Racing Ralph in the front and an FMB SSC in the rear. I ran them nice and low and bottomed out frequently on the perpendicular frozen ruts. This was perfect and it allowed for me to take more aggressive lines and make up lots of time.
The first lap was clean. I managed to avoid all the riders who caught ruts and shot off in odd directions. It was one of those days that I was riding hard, but it did not feel as if I were turning myself out. It felt like a really hard tempo. I guess I was having one of those magic days. It couldn't have happened at a better time either.
Riding through the start/finish during the first lap, I looked ahead and saw a group of 4 riders. I didn't see anyone ahead of them. My first thought was, "Damn. Looks like the leaders are gone; today is essentially a repeat of yesterday. I might as well give it my all and see what happens." The gap closes down between myself and the riders. I am within a 3 seconds of the pack and I hear Dave Towle announce, "And here is the lead pack coming through the finish now". Holy shit batman! That's the lead group? I couldn't believe it at first. I guess I had been riding better than I thought I was. Another 10 seconds was all it took to bridge and then I rode tempo off the front. I establish a 5-10 second gap quickly and stay there, riding my race and not worrying what is happening behind.
I later talked with Skyler and he saw that I was a little off his group of 4. He got to the front and slowed down the pace so I could catch on. What a buddy!
I continue to ride the second lap off the front, maintaining a 5-15 second gap.

Runup on lap 1

Second lap. I believe the French would say, "Tete de la course!"

During the third lap, I maintain my position at the front of the race. This lap, I hit the first major climb hard, smashing it in the big ring. Upon cresting and riding the false-flat above, I cease to death-grip the bar and relax just the slightest bit to allow my upper body to recover. Immediately, I shot a rut and take a beeline to the course tape. Both my wheels simultaneously slide out from under me and down I go. Damn. This hurts even to write this, such a bummer.
Kerry catches me while I am trying to grasp what has just happened. He puts in his attack there. He's a smart racer. Great move sir.
The next lap, I work on getting myself out of the hero-to-zero funk that settled over me when I crashed. It takes a full lap for me to almost fully regain my cornering prowess and get back on the gas. Kerry maintains his lead of 10 or so seconds, riding smooth and consistently. I ride at 110% and then feel my back tightening up.
If only I hadn't slacked off the lower back core work in the past month and a half. This weekend, I learned my lesson the hard way.

Glad those aren't my helmet marks on that tree

Lap 4 is pretty uneventful. Just riding hard. Halfway through lap 5, my back is limiting me again and Skyler closes the gap and attacks me.

Skyler and I in riding in lap 4.

I can't respond. He's got the gas in the tank and the motor to throttle.

Half a lap to go and in the cave.

Crossing the line in 3rd place was pretty cool and I am pumped on that. It been a couple of years since I have had a good race at the cyclocross national championships. It feels good to be back up in the front again.
The guys who took Gold and Silver are real beasts. Skyler killed it and Kerry made the race his own. Much congratulations to both.

The rest of the men team faced a hard race much like the women did. It was well marred with crashes and mechanicals. Rotem rode to 5th, Dylan Stucki to 6th, Ryan Dorsey to 7th, Robbie Jones to 14th, Ryan "Crankbrother Off" Cleveland to 16th, and Ben Stalker 22nd.

At the end of the day, Marian College and Fort Lewis tied in team omnium points. The tie-breaker went to Marian since they took the win in the Women's race. It is heartbreaking to tie with another team for points for yet another year and take 2nd in the onmium. So close, yet so far away...
Nonetheless, 2nd place is 2nd place and that isn't shabby by any means.Next year, there will be another chance to take the title. Great work Marian.

Team Omnium Podium

For some great coverage of the week by Chad Cheeney, please visit : www.cycling.fortlewis.edu. He's the media chef. He slices,he dices, and he always delivers the tastiest in digital media.

So with the National Championships culminating my 2011 season, I would like to thank all of my supporters:
Erik Viafore and the Cyclocrossracing.com crew for the excellent bikes and FMB tyres
Jon Hernandez and Chance Regina for the superb bikes
Rolf Prima Wheels for the excellent racing and training hoops
Dave Hagen, Elke Brutsaert, and the aforementioned team mechanics as well as all the Fort Lewis College Sponsors and Supporters
Dave Egan and Ibex Clothing for the excellent wool baselayers, gloves, and headcoverings
Todd Herriott for providing me with superior training and advice
and Mom and Dad. Thank you for supporting me through thick and thin.

Now with a little down time, I have been keeping myself busy. I went skiing for the first time in 7 years using $20 skis and boots I purchased from Jesse DeKrey, before he moved off, on Chapman hill. The next day, I went out with the housemates and skate skiied the trails up at Vallecito Lake. The snow was good and I even learned how to glide. Come to think of it, I still haven't paid Jesse in full for those alpine skis. What a deal!

Winter Cyclocross

2011-12-15T19:48:00.000-08:00

For the past two weeks, this has increasingly become the normal view from my bedroom window. Every third day or so, the roads are dry enough for me to sneak out on the roads and take a break from the drums.
The 4 Corners Cyclocross Race series is about to wrap up down here. My FLC teammate Ryan Cleveland has been in the lead all the way up to this point. He's been killing it being Mr. Consistent.
During this past weekend's racing in Aztec, New Mexico, we were treated to 50 degree weather, sunshine, a dry track, and a seriously awesome BMX section on the race course. While the races are small, they are nothing but pure speed. Right off the bat, my old landlord Miguel Ramos took the holeshot and held head of the race for ~5 laps. It wasn't until Travis Brown, on his singlespeed mtb steed, complete with sweep bars, caught him and took over the lead. A large pack of chasers consisting of Skyler Trujillo, Dylan Stucki, the enduro mtb-beast Nick Gould, Rotem Ishay,Ryan Cleveland and myself trailed consistently by a matter of seconds.
Mother nature had littered with course with a thick layer of maple leaves and many of the corners were tricky propositions. Little by little, they claimed many riders, first starting with Ryan, then Dylan, until the chase group consisted of Nick, Rotem, and myself. A lap passed and Rotem and I were out the only remainders of the original chase. An especially sneaky corner around a tree, with frozen/wet ground and a nice, thick layer of leaves claimed Rotem. I was riding solidly at redline and after another lap, Rotem recovered from his crash. On such a twisty, turny course with so much cornering, being able to recover from such a mishap is admirable, to crash and recover is tough stuff.
Rotem was fully opening it up on the straightaways and putting in some good time on the leaders and myself. He gapped me a half-lap after he bridged. Pure horsepower wasn't going to cut it on a course like Aztec's, and Miguel and Travis are both excellent bike handlers. They put out a lot of power their own and didn't make mistakes.
I rode a very clean race, taking good lines, putting down as many ponies as I could, and didn't let the leaves take the best of me. At the end of the day, the finishing order was: Travis, Miguel, Rotem, Myself, and Nick. Best of all, I didn't feel too turned inside-out once I the racing was done. Even still, the roomies Ryan and Tilly, Ryan Cleveland, Evan(old roomie), and myself went out to dinner at Old Tymer's Cafe. I dominated the OTC Cow Patty, 3/4lb burger with tater tots and grilled green chilis. I love living in America.
With most(if not all) of the racing done, I am training my brains out in preparation for Nationals. I have been spending up the past week and a half studying, taking multiple exams, finalizing projects, and taking finals for my Business Statistics, Microeconomics, and Managerial Accounting courses. It has been hard work, but completely worth it. I'm looking forward to seeing my marks for the semester.
I picked up my first crime novel a week ago, by chance, it was The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I've got to come clean, I've been sucked headfirst into these books. They are written excellently and has a fascinating storyline. It's what is keeping me glued to my bed and making the most out of my free time. It's good rest when I don't have much energy to do anything else with myself. It's keeping me out of trouble.
Looking at the calendar, there is less than a month left to the national championships. Look's like we're now on the

Flying home to Seattle for a little over a week for break and then back to Durazno, and subsequently, Madison. The Fort Lewis Cycling team is racing very strong and I hope we can all earn ourselves another national cyclocross omnium championship. It was hard to stand on the second step of the podium last year.

It's only worth what you put into it,
-Eric

USGP of Cyclocross; New Belgium Cup

2011-10-14T09:22:00.001-07:00

I would first like to say that I haven't had this much fun racing for a while now before this past weekend of racing. Thanks to the Trujillo family, I had a great place to stay, much entertainment, plenty of good food, and awesome people to stay with.
After racing the New Belgium Cup for the first time last year, it was much more relaxing knowing what I was getting myself into this year. Skyler and I took the time, did it right and boogied out of Durango on Thursday night, drove through the snow, and arrived in Fort Collins a tad past midnight.An hour down the road from Durango, we experienced our first snow of the year in Pagosa Springs.

Friday was leisurely, we were able to pick up our race packets, finish gluing my Racing Ralph tubulars to Rolf Prima VCX's, and get in a bit of solid practice on the course, while letting my newly-built Norcross SL "seat in". With ideal conditions, I was able to ride the stairstep section and even hop the barriers. The homemade PVC barriers I have been practicing with in the past couple of weeks have really helped with those skills. Everyone should make a set. They are so convenient for the skills work.
We awoke on Saturday morning to more of the Trujillo household's signature breakfast burritos and overcast skies. I was hoping for the overcast weather to continue, so we could race in the dry, but Mother Nature had other plans in mind. The wind picked up and the rain clouds opened up. Temperatures dropped due to the wind chill and it was time to race cyclocross in, what many would say, true cyclocross weather.

I got my set of mud tyres set up on my A bike, and after a great warmup and a nice application of vaseline slathered on the legs, I headed to the line. I was graced with an awesome 4th row start, and I made the best of it. Heading into the first stairstep run up, I was sitting in the low 20's of the field. The next 30 minutes of the race, I rode it hard; perhaps a bit too hard as I had to back waaaaaay off for a good 15 minutes before I felt decent again. By that time, the race had strung itself way out. I was riding with Matt Pacocha for a while, and came into the pits for a bike wash as my bike was weighing a good 28 or so pounds with all the accumulated mud on it. My B bike had some less-than-ideal Grifo's on it, and I spent the long half of the lap slip sliding around. I'm not too proud of the time I lost, but hey, live and learn. Once back on my A bike, I got my beloved traction back and finished the day up in 32nd place. Not too shabby for my first cyclocross race of the year. Skyler rode his tail off on his birthday, riding to a 25th place finish. Boom!

Once back at the Trujillo's house and after a warm shower, Skyler and I enjoyed some delicious muffins I have ever eaten. They were made by the Bob's Red Mill crew who used the Trujillo's kitchen for their advertising segment during the live streaming segment for the weekend's racing. Talk about perks!

Woke up on Sunday to overcast skies once again, but they cleared up to reveal blue skies; just the way I love it. I threw on the file treads for the race and loved it. (If you are reading, Derek Archibald, the wheels are still performing like true champs! I love them!) Fort Collins is one of the only places where it can be a stupidly snotty one day and fast and hardpack the next. Pretty unusual.

I was once again graced with an awesome start position in the 4th row and made the most of it.I got off to a relatively clean start. 30 seconds into the race, during the stairstep run-up, my bike got involved in a big tangleup, after some fancy footwork the rider behind me was able to get his right foot untangled from between my front triangle and we were both able to continue with our business. It was a pretty comical sight.
After racing my first cyclocross race of the season the day before, I now knew how to pace myself for the entirety of the race. I felt strong for the whole race and rode smoothly, making up time wherever I could by riding efficiently. I spent most of the race riding with Brady Kappius, with each of us riding sections faster than the other. The file treads were stupidly fun, they hooked up so well and rode so fast.
Some corners had hardened up to resemble pavement. I got some sweet rear wheel slides on some corners. I rode the stairstep run-up cleanly 6 times. In addition to saving a bit of energy, I was able to make a couple of passes throughout the race. Plus, I earned myself some admirers. Bonus score. Winning.
When it was all said and done, Brady had just a little bit more left in the tank and he bested me on the finishing stretch. I finished the day out in 28th place. Pretty successful day on the bike.
Once again, Skyler excelled on his home course and in front of the hometown crowd, riding to an awesome 23rd place. After receiving two day's worth of UCI payouts, the guy was rolling in the dough!
After cleaning up and getting some goods to take on the road, we left Fort Collins at 7 in the evening to make it back down to Durango.
While sitting in class on Monday, I thought about our trip. It's awesome being young and being able to race and drive throughout the night, but you can only get away with so much. My eyes started drooping and the professor's words became only noise as I nodded off into a different state of conscious.........

Cyclocrossracing.com

2011-10-02T18:09:00.001-07:00

I have the opportunity to work with the great people at Cyclocrossracing.com once again this year and I will be looking to put in some good rides in the name of these good people.

Big thank you to Jon Hernandez of Blue Competition Cycles and Erik Viafore and the rest of the crew of Cyclocrossracing.com!

As of late, I have been racing with the crazy(in a great way) Fort Lewis Cycling team. Learned that Redfeather Lakes, CO is a stupidly awesome place to ride, with trails which resemble B.C., Vermont, and Colorado trails. Mind-blowing fun too. Teammates Howard Grotts and Colton Anderson have been on fire, riding stupidly strong as usual. Austin-Newcomer, Payson McElveen has been tearing it up too. Transitioning really well to the high-altitude riding. Our Gravity team is strong as well, with Lucas LeMaire and Taylor Borucki leading the squad. The weekend's are hard work, often traveling 14-18 hours a weekend to the Northern Side of the state, but I would not trade it for anything. The case of the Monday's after a double weekend is pretty rough though......
Nonetheless, the team is looking amazing and hopefully, I will have the opportunity to race for my school during the Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships in Angelfire, New Mexico.

After hearing about all the exciting things happening with Cyclocrossracing.com, I am pumped to be on the squad again and looking to race with all these great fellows. It is awesome that American cyclocross has grown to where it has today and hopefully, it will continue to expand. I was letting my mind wander the other day and I remembered just how valuable the Seattle Wednesday night cyclocross practices held at Marymoor Park were. I developed so much as a rider and as a person at those practices. I will never forget those practices and the great times that I had with my Rad Racing teammates and coach Dale Knapp. I hope other areas in the nation have similar mid-week practices with something for everyone, especially for the beginners and the juniors.

More for later,
-E

Great Summer

2011-10-02T17:32:00.000-07:00

I would like to put out a big thank you to all of my supporters from this past summer. It was a busy summer, bussing and hosting at Carver Brewing CO here in Durango. It was some good old, hard restaurant work, but taught me how to really appreciate my days spent in school and days spent racing.
After traveling to some of the Mountain States Cups and other races in the region, I have nothing but respect for the racers living in this high altitude region. Many hard men and women who put in the time during the week, then bring it during the weekend.

First and foremost, Mr. Joe Burtoni of Durango Land and Homes was most influential in my riding this summer. It was exciting traveling around the region with the team trailer to race. I had the opportunity to see the Colorado that I had not before. For example, finding out that Salida isn't a sleepy little town and seeing the amazing "fingers" of Los Alamos. It was hard work; sometimes stressful, sometimes hilarious, but always a new experience to take in. Thanks to Joe for his spectacular support and for providing me with support to race!

Secondly, I would like to thank Chris McGovern of Cycleution coaching for providing me with the structure to work towards my goals. The training provided was easy to follow, hard work, and in the end, payed off well.

Third, to Hassle Free Sports of Durango for helping me out with my equipment as well as my mechanical work.

Fourth, to Trek Bikes for helping me get into two awesome race bikes. My Superfly 100 Elite continues to amaze me everyday, with the stability,sure steering, and comfiness. The Active Braking Pivot stays active under heavy braking and pedaling, never squatting or any other hanky-panky. Plus, I get to run a Fox Racing Shox RP23; a shock which I never have to worry about refilling or tinkering with; ever.
The Madone 6.2 I have been riding and racing on since March is my dependable bike. I can count on it to get my road training done. It is simply such a great bike that races and rides really well and is stiff to boot. For $4300.00, it is worth every penny. Of such high quality and dependability.

Lastly, to Schwalbe Tires for providing me with the best rubber to keep me rolling. After putting in many, many miles on my road bike training, my Durano's have yet to flat and never let me down. When I go out for a ride on the many dirt roads around Durango, I never worry about flatting and have the luxury of riding wherever I want. It's awesome! But most importantly, my 2.25" Racing Ralph tubeless ready tires are my favoritefor racing. With sealant,I run them at pressures in the low 20's and never worry about flatting, since I never have flatted them. Traction is amazing and I can claw my way up the steepest climbs and bomb scree like nothing. I can ride like the nut I am with these tyres. Big thanks to the amazing people behind these amazing tires!

These people are great to me and help my life as a collegiate student/bike racer looking to make my way up through the ranks much easier. When I have the means, I will be sure to kick down support to the cyclists such as myself.

Thank you so much again!

Photo courtesy of Alpinfoto

Nationals Montage

2011-07-19T10:25:00.001-07:00

Here is some narcissism at it's best. Enjoy.......

Wowee

2011-07-16T10:17:00.000-07:00

Just got off a pretty good day yesterday, racing the Under-23 Men's National Mountain Bike Championships in Sun Valley, Idaho.
It was a rough course, straight-up, and then straight-down. Nothing to it but to slug it out. Deciding to train in Durango has been a great idea as I was feeling pretty good at altitude, started moderately and then gradually ramped it up toward the end of the climb to enter the descent back down to the venue. I knew the climb, which gained ~450ft in 3/4 of a mile, was going to be the real deciding factor of the race a month ago, so I am glad I put in the efforts on Durango's Champman ski hill, which was a similar climb, but only gained 300ft in at an almost identical grade, but was only half as long time-wise unfortunately. While the training was something, I wished I put in a little more time in on it in preparation.
Coming out at the top of the climb on lap 2(of 5) I rode myself up to 5th place, battling it out with Kerry Werner and Russell Finsterwald, who were both putting in some really solid days themselves. During the next lap, I maintained this position, and on the third descent, I decided to ride myself off the trail and do a bit of hiking back up the slope, but was passed by Kerry and Russell, who were riding together. I then proceeded to blow all the hell up, riding it out in 9th place.
Going into the race, I knew I had good form in my legs and I am happy that I was riding up with the leaders. With a little more training, or time for my training to settle into my legs, I believe that I could have held my Top-5 position and this feels really good. All in all, I am pretty pumped on life right now. Good stuff.
Cannot congratulate Stephen Ettinger enough for blowing away the race in his final year as a U-23 after an awesome season so far. It's great to see an American mauling it out there in the U-23 ranks. Most notably was Jack Hinkens 2nd place ride. He killed it out there! It was a great field of racers to be a part of.

I would like to especially thank Joe Burtoni of Durango Land and Homes for his utmost support so far during this past racing season; my coach Chris McGovern of Cycleution; Grant Berry, and the rest of my team; especially mom and pops as well!

Full Tilt in Telluride Mountain States Cup

2011-07-10T09:32:00.001-07:00

I finally got out with my landlord Miguel Ramos to go out racing. This weekend had in store the sixth stop in the Mountain States Cup series, "Full Tilt in Telluride". The weekend was glorious as I was feeling pretty good after leaving a bussing job which I have been working ever since school ended earlier this spring. The people were great, but the nature of the job was tough. I have realized that life working in bike shops really isn't so bad after all. Early, long days and late nights were pretty tough, and training around this schedule got pretty stressful at times, but I have emerged a stronger person because of it. You've got to know what feeling shitty feels like in order to know what feeling good feels like!
Arriving in the late afternoon, we were tough pressed to find the ideal camping spot in town, but thankfully found a spot in a neighbouring site a which was actually closer to the race venue than Miguel's original preference of camping down in town. After speaking to the campground attendant, a man who looked to be a "Steve" or so, we landed ourselves a reserved campsite with a bribe of Carver Brewing Old Oak Amber Ale and a couple bags of Chip Peddler chips-two perks of Miguel's and my own sponsors with Durango Land and Homes. We got into a reserved campsite and for free, a pleasant double whammy.
After dropping off some supplies at the site, both of us did our virgin pre-ride of the xc course for Miguel is a first-year xc racer coming off of the big bike, and myself being a Colorado first-year resident, the course was a bit of a shock to both of us.
Full Tilt was another one of the resort races, with a huge climb, big descents, and thin air. With the base of Mountain Village, at 9600ft, it was another one of those slug it out types of races. As we started the pre-ride, we started up on some singletrack straight up a ski run, climbed on that for a while, reached pavement, continued climbing, back on ski run singletrack, back to pavement, then to singletrack; and finally after many switchbacks, onto service road to the top of the climb, cresting about 200ft below treeline. It seemed to drag on, and on, and on.......
Rewarded with a quick, but steady dirt descent complete with exposed roots to make things fun, it was once again traversing across the hillside with some punchy rollers to connect to the final descent back into the start/finish.
After riding this loop, Miguel's Garmin said we had climbed 3100 vertical feet, so knock off 100 or so ft from our ride from the car to the course, there was a fair bit of climbing on this course. After the 40 mile, 8,000ft of climbing Wildflower Rush in Crested Butte a couple of weekend's earlier, this race couldn't be too bad in comparison.
The night was great. Shortly after returning to the village and getting signed up to race, the skies opened up and after an hour of rain, lightning started to strike. Believing it to be unncessary baggage, the tents were left in Durango, so we slept under the bed of Miguel's truck that night, and actually slept very well. Before retiring, we stayed up late, conversing with our campground neighbors, two good looking girls from Boulder and a couple on a Vanagon vacation from Ottawa. We enjoyed great conversation from travels in New Zealand, to life in Austin, to working for the Canadian Government late into the night. When 8:30 rolled around the next morning, I was ready to enjoy another 3 or so hours of sleep.
After putting in a solid warm-up and toeing up to race, the start was pretty mellow, as the day would have plenty of climbing and there was really no need to go balls-out since there really wasn't a hole-shot to get into. The pack gradually strung itself out and I got into a groove, a painful and uncomfortable groove, but a groove nonetheless. First lap went pretty uneventfully, just riding as hard as I could and not much more. The climb which seemed to last forever in pre-ride, was still quite long in race-pace.
I missed my bottle/energy feed on the second lap and got a bottle fill-up from a gracious course crossing volunteer on the climb. I then proceeded to powerbonk and then the skies opened up again. I dragged my cold, muddy rump to the finish line and promptly put on my warmest clothes. Sweet relief. After losing two places while getting my water from the volunteer and fading, I finished in 11th place in the Pro Men's race.
Miguel placed 4th in the Cat 1 Men 19-29 and my teammate Sarah Sturm won the Cat 1 Women 19-29. Cha-ching!
I am happy my training is finally settling into my legs and that feels really good. The team and I leave at the break of dawn to go up to Sun Valley for the national championships.
This suspense is killing me......

2011-07-10T09:27:00.000-07:00

A quick snapshot of the suffering at the finish of the Ironhorse Classic Road Race.

Pajarito Mountain Punishment

2011-06-12T07:34:00.000-07:00

Week XX of my life in Durango

Dear Diary,

This past Saturday, I raced the Pajarito Mountain Punishment in Los Alamos, New Mexico, the home of the atomic bomb. I learned many things these past couple of days, like the importance of riding new tyres as soon as they are set up and seated and that racing at 9,000ft, isn't quite like racing at slightly lower elevations, such as 6,500ft.
I remembered how much fun it is to race at Ski resorts with small race organizers who are pumped for everyone who shows up and create an extremely positive atmosphere for racing. It reminds me of the good old, nostalgic days.

Enough with the cheesiness; racing in Los Alamos a breath of fresh air. After riding desert and high alpine singletrack for the past couple of months, going to Pajarito and riding in forests, with plenty of organic matter and (gasp) roots(!) to dig my tyres into was amazing. I have been missing it so much. It's not quite the loam back at home, but it's a step closer.....

I entered the holeshot sitting in second position, knowing full well that I would soon give in to the sparse air , and lo and behold, I was fading minutes later. I finally did recover around an 1:10 into the race and was able to put in a solid second lap on the upper mountain.

Riding at 9,000ft is strange. I'm sure it's going to make me a beast, but it's odd to be redlining or just below redline when riding a moderate sea-level pace. It's just an odd thing to think about.

Coming up here in the next couple of weeks has the Wildflower Rush in Crested Butte, which looks to be a real ball busting 40 mile course with 7800ft of elevation gain and hopefully I can make it over to the Springs for a Sand Creek race before Nationals.

More for later!

Wrecked

2011-05-28T18:46:00.000-07:00

Outside of Colorado, the Ironhorse Bicycle Classic is a little-known race, but it's a real ass buster. 50 mile road race starting at 6,500ft, cresting on top two passes, 10,600 and 10,900ft, and descending down into Silverton at 9,500ft.
I felt really good today and pulled out a 15th place finish, in 2:26:23; placing me 7th in the Category 2/3's(15th in the Pro Men/Cat 1).
Beware, it's a real wrecker. I feel like I have food poisoning tonight. Everything hurts and is sore. Gotta do it.

Anasazi Run

2011-03-29T21:52:00.001-07:00

Had to scratch the itch and hit the mountain bike today.
After a long day dragging in class, I hopped on my brand, spankin' new Superfly and hit up the trails. It was a gorgeous evening in Durango and the trails were dry, even dust. A little surreal to think they were completely unridable 3 weeks ago, hidden under layers of snow and the most horrendous mud known to man.
With that behind us, the trails were fast and offered plenty of traction. The new whip is extremely comfy on the ups, and the downs.

On top of Telegraph

Last weekend's collegiate racing was a hard one. Saturday's hill climb TT up Lookout Mountain in Golden was really fun and really not all that taxing, but Sunday's crit was a real ball buster. After getting involved in a break which established itself on the 5th lap or so, Luke, Nathaniel, and myself were in it all day. My other two teammates were absolutely killing it, but I wasn't feeling it so much. With 5 to go, Nate and myself were dropped and we slugged it out to the end. A hard day on the bike and I was feeling pretty beat after that.

Lookout Mountain Hill Climb
Photo Courtesy of Mike Kane, www.summitshots.com

Nate, Luke, and I in the Break
Photo Courtesy of Mike Kane, www.summitshots.com

Good news is that I am 2nd in the Rocky Mountain Collegiate Cycling Division 1 Men A category right now. It's pretty funny to think that I'm there, but if you (using the theoretical you) race your brains out, good things will happen! Zack Allison, the one who is leading the category is a strong dude. Props to him for blowing the crits out of the water every single weekend! The division 2 schools have some very strong men in them as well. I am glad to be in such a great conference to race in.

First Taste of Collegiate Racing

2011-03-23T14:01:00.000-07:00

The opening weekend of collegiate racing in the Rocky Mountain collegiate cycling conference kicked off last weekend in Boulder and Laramie. Both stops were crits and were really good to open up the legs after the winter of training.
Saturday's race at Colorado University was very successful for the team. Griffin Easter blew away the Men's C race and Ryan Dorsey scored a 2nd in the Men's B race. Kaila Hart put in an excellently-timed sprint to win the women's B race and Missy Erickson blew apart the Women's A race. It was a great morning!
For the Men's A race, the team was in defensive mode right from the beginning and had to cover much work. The race ended in a field sprint and the team got into the Top-15, but not much to write home about. A learning race.
After a 2 hour drive up to Laramie, the team raced again with Griffin and Ryan taking the W in the C and B races and Kaila raced again to a strong 2nd and Sarah Sturm taking the win in the Women's B and A races. The windy day blew apart all the fields and breakaways succeeded on the technical 6 corner course. A break formed right away during the men's A race and the race was to decided there. Zack Allison of Colorado State University blew the race apart and lapped the field, while a "chase" group formed with two Colorado State University, one Colorado University, and Ian Gordon and I. After staying away for the whole race, we finished up in 3rd and 5th place. Racing at 7,150 ft was no joke and it hurt! It was really nice to go down in altitude and race in Boulder.
Velonews got some photos of Saturday's action and they can be found here:
http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/03/gallery/2011-rocky-mountain-collegiate-cycling-conference-a-boulder-wyoming-gallery_164622

My new Madone was a dream to ride. The geometry, sticky tyres, and stiff bottom bracket make it a real crit shark. I'm liking it!

Overall, it was a weekend of getting to know the team and each other. The Fort Lewis Team is strong and I think we can do some special things this year.
A huge thank you goes out to Dave Hagen, Chris McGovern, and Coach Kight for arranging everything for the team and allowing for us to focus solely on the racing! It is greatly appreciated.

Spring Break

2011-03-16T09:43:00.000-07:00

As many students head off to Cancun, Miami, SoCal, etc, my Spring Break was done the Fort Lewis way; off in the great outdoors. After a ridiculous week of all schoolwork, studying, and a complete lack of riding, I was ready to get back in the saddle and blow ride my brains out.
I love going to new places and seeing new things, but the sheer amount of natural beauty which Moab and the surrounding area had to offer simply blew me away. The amount of unique geological formations and landscape was amazing. The area in which Moab is in was simply stunning. I wish I could come up with better words for it, but I really cannot at this point in time.
Starting on Saturday, my road mates Tilly, Britney, and Ryan started our mountain bike expedition off with the Slickrock Trail, Porcupine Rim, Fins and Things (easy day), and finally Poison Spider. Before heading out of Moab, we wrapped the trip up with a road ride to Canyonlands National Park for a quick look at the spectacular example of erosion. Riding on a friend's borrowed 29'er hardtail, I wish I could come back on an all-mountain bike because by the end of the 4 days of real mountain biking, I was toasted. I have forgotten just how hard that mountain bike training will take a toll on the body! I had to take 2 days off of the bike after the trip just so I could recover from that beating.
The crew headed off to Grand Junction to stay at fellow Fort Lewis student and cycling team member Tyler Brickle's house to stay for the remainder of break. Transitioning from camping to staying in a very large, luxurious house was quite the shock, but very satisfying at the same time. While living in the lap of luxury, Ryan, Tilly, and I rode the Rabbit Valley Rampage Mountain States Cup cross country course. After getting my tail handed to me simply pre-riding it, I think it will be a really fun race to blow my brains out in a couple of months.
Returning to Durango was relaxing. I needed a break from my break; that is just how much we fit in to 9 day's worth of time.
Road racing is starting up and I just got my new Madone and Superfly! Pumped to get on them!
More for later,
-E

Team Ride

2011-01-25T20:43:00.000-08:00

Out with with team on another cold, but hospitable day. The team is going to bring it this Spring! Coach Chris McGovern has it dialled!

Back to Work!

2011-01-10T12:14:00.001-08:00

Back to the Grindstone in Durango!

Blur

2011-01-10T12:01:00.000-08:00

Streaming down the road, the taillights of fellow travelers on the road, passing by. The dusk illuminates the outlines of the car bodies. In only an hour or two, I will be home. Home once again before heading back out to Durango in only a few days. The training has been good for the past week. The feeling of finishing three hours of chill mountain riding is intoxicating. After a good three weeks of keeping my life easy, enjoying myself in many aspects of life which I have abstained from during the racing season. The simple joys of life which I have been waiting months for and it feels good to unwind.
For the past month, my life has been very much like the visual of the taillights streaking across the horizon of the dying day; a blur. Thinking back to the National Championships and the Portland USGP’s feels like I was witnessing somebody else’s life through a dream. In spite of this, that it feels odd to think that it was my life, my experience.
Traveling back a month ago, I found myself preparing for the USGP’s in Portland in Durango. The weather had been poor and I found myself balancing schoolwork and training. As we all find at times, I was living life hour-to-hour, trying to accomplish what I could in the time I had. A bit of a drag, but I found myself in Portland in a day-dreamy manner. Quite honestly, the wrists were bothersome. During Friday’s pre-ride, it tore me apart not knowing whether they would hold up for the next day’s race. I may be young, but something which I have realized in my years of racing is that you sometimes have to not think and just do. Punch-in the card and don't look back. Sometimes thinking can be one’s biggest enemy, so I just didn’t think about it. It’s as simple as that.
Racing high priority races is always odd. There is always the internal pressure put on to do well and it mounts to the hours coming to race start. There comes a time where the realization comes to one which helps make sense of the world; when the gun goes off, there is only one thing which matters in my life: Racing my brains out. The jumbled, confused world comes together. For that second, an eerie peace comes over me, even though I am doing the human equivalent of a quarter mile, but then have to put in another 55 minutes of work.
During the first day of the Portland USGP’s, despite yet another beautiful start position in the 6th row, I worked my way up to the Top-25 during the second lap. Feeling pretty good about life, I got too comfortable with myself during a high-speed corner. Poor weighting of my wheels and a little grease and I was on the dirt. I once found it odd how when people crash at high speeds and/or get a relatively small mechanical, how long it takes them to get their ducks back in a row and back on the bike, but I now know. Despite only managing to sandwich my chain between my frame and cassette, it took me a full two minutes to get it back to normal. Oxygen starved brains do funny things. After getting on the bike, I would like to say that I was able to put in a monstrous effort and muscle my way back up to where I was pre-crash, but even our best visualizations do not come true always. I was able to make up a good one and a half of those minutes I lost, but I was still 30 seconds off pace.
Day two of the USGP Stanley Cup went quite a bit smoother. Another day without a glamourous call-up, I rode my way from the sixth row up to Top-30, after catching on to a pack whose leader was sitting in 19th, I promptly felt the high-end fall through. I knew that on this particular day, I was riding in above my head and I knew the end was coming. After toning it down to a more manageable pace, I rode the race out to finish in the low 30’s. A decent day, but wishing there was more.
Life is strange. Sometimes it may feel like it is passing at an extremely excruciating slow pace, but at other times, it there is no time or even mental capacity to even consider the day’s events, it is only go-go-go. It was one of those weeks in between the Portland USGP’s and the National Championships. I had been glad that my wrists had actually reverted back to normal over two days of hard racing. In a way, it was simply hard to believe. How could a pair of wrists which were excruciatingly sore to ride on rollers for 40 minutes handle two back-to-back days on the cross bike and come out better? Sometimes it just helps to not think and just do. As I continue to live and experience, the more things seem to make sense, the more they do not make any sense at all. There is just too much in the world to take into consideration such things as this. In a way, my wrist unexpectedly coming around was representative of my life for the past three months; having an obstacle pop up and then resolve itself over time, without me even really putting much time, nor effort into thinking about it, living my life in obliviousness and having thinks resolve themselves. Strange, quite surreal even.

The travel to the National Championships was a welcome respite to the soloing I had been doing all year long. When many people think of collegiate cycling, they think that it's a joke. This is absolutely not the case with the Fort Lewis Team. It is truly a professional programme and I am proud to be a part of the organization.
The preparation for Saturday’s U23 race was fairly straightforward. I got to get to know the course well as it was quite similar. Come race morning, it was easy, wake up, eat, chill, go to course, ride a lap, warm-up, and toe –up, and proceed to race the brains out, etc. Race day, you know?

Thankfully, Saturday, December 11, 2010 was a good day. To my pleasure, my legs and lungs had depth and the proceeding 50 minute trance resulted in a 9th place finish. It’s always good to improve on the previous year’s result and beat rivals.
Coming off a nice ride the day before and having the stress of racing well off my shoulders, Sunday’s Division Collegiate race was a treat. Racing in the collegiate field is always an adventure with racers of all abilities arriving on the start line. Per strategy, I lined up deep in the field, around 45th call-up in a massive race. After surviving the first lap melee, I crossed the line sitting in 9th, in a train consisting of Rotem Ishay, Jack Hankins, Colton Anderson, and myself. I was pretty tapped after the getting up through the field, so I backed off a bit and found my rhythm. I fought hard to the finish, earning 7th position, finishing right behind of teammate Colton Anderson who had a fantastic first cyclocross season. Props to him.

I honestly have to say I haven’t come that close to throwing up during a race as I did that day. I managed to hold off a hard-riding chaser by running through the infield section since it was faster. Wood smoke and asthma don’t mix well, but I was able to stave him off. I was refreshed to be able to hit the sack at 4:30 the next morning after jamming out a research paper in one sitting. The life of a student is a good one.

35 hours later and I was back in Durango after some flight fun with United. Two days of studying and then two days of finals later and I was back home in Seattle for a much-needed break. Traveling to Coeur d’ Alene for Christmas, then off to Half Moon Bay, BC for New Year’s and before I knew it, I was back on the bike and having a stupid amount of fun riding on BC singletrack. I sure have missed the roots, rocks, and moss when I have been away.

Uncle Jim and I Spending Some Quality Time Together

The lights continued to silhouette the skyline as the orange light faded. The night enveloped the day and the taillights continued to trail along, a never-ending stream.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T11:52:00.001-08:00

Yeah! Another Holiday which we don't really need, but I WILL TAKE IT! A whole week off from school to rest, relax, and pursue athletic pursuits is amazing.
Staying true to holiday tradition, I ran the farthest I ever have in one sitting, 5 miles, this morning at Durango's Turkey Trot. Yup, five(cinco, one handful) of miles. Me, running five freakin miles. In all truthfulness, it was really fun. It certainly didn't feel that long to me. Saw Durango cycling regulars Brendan Schafer, the Wells Bros, Cricket, and Rotem out there. Thanks for the cheering!

Now for some good, clean entertainment:

Once again, happy thanksgiving!
-E

SMOKED!

2010-11-22T12:22:00.001-08:00

I got SMOKED by a barrier set for the first time in a looooong time! I was out racing the 4 Corners Cyclocross series race here in town, and was having a fun day in the saddle after getting sick coming up with a pleasant stomach "bug".
It was a mellow race, I was having fun cheering on my fellow teammates and enjoying a nice autumn day. On the fifth or sixth lap in, I approached the barriers at a good pace, got all squared up for the dismount, and when I was around the normal 3 feet out from the barrier, I tried to fully unclip and dismount. The normal amount of twist was applied, but it was a no-go.
The disbelief hit me. It was a like a dream. I thought to myself "Is this really happening right now?". As my front wheel kisses the barrier, I am ejected, like a crash-test dummy, except I have no seat-belt to save my tail. My moment mid-air was eerie, the anticipation of hitting the ground loomed in my near future. Left shoulder first, then I hit the second barrier with my head. More disbelief, numbness, achiness, a few seconds later, I can finally collect myself and pull my carcass out of the middle of the set.
After getting checked out by a doc, everything looks good, just a bunch of bruising. Nothing that lots of Aleve and time won't take care of. Thank God!
Now, it is time to keep it easy. Doesn't look like I won't be riding off road due to some sore wrists, but thankfully everything still works!

In other news, teammate Craig Ritchey is off in Euroland, racing Superprestiges, GVA Trofees, and more of the like. He can be followed at craigritchey.ca. All adventures overseas are good reading, you should check it out!

I've got a little down time on my hands right now. No racing next weekend, but flying out to Portland the first weekend of December for the USGP's in Portland and then the National Championships the following weekend. After 11 straight weeks of school, I can say the overall morale of Fort Lewis was being dampened. Being an intellectual zombie and living out of the library was eating my soul!

It's definitely winter, but still no snow that has stuck around . It's only a matter of time before the trainer becomes my training weapon of choice. Not looking forward to that!

More for later,
E

Rally Time

2010-11-15T18:10:00.001-08:00

This past weekend, I traveled up North to Fort Collins to race the USGP rounds 5 and 6. The courses were some of the most fun cross courses I have ever ridden, with plenty of elevation gain and loss, with some long climbs and descents, as well as some greeeeasy cornering. If you didn't hit the rut, you were guaranteed for a wild ride. I had a pretty clean race sans one lap missed all the lines and was sliding all over the place, tyre pressure is KEY, even a couple of pounds makes a world of difference.
It finally feels like winter out here in Colorado, the snow is falling every couple of days. The other day, Durango woke up to an inch and a half of snow and everyone was in a chipper mood. Now, it's just damn cold, but it's way better than rain!
Teammate Tristian Shouten added to his awesome season, notching in two more great rides to his "comeback" season (If it can be called that), racing to two more Top-10 finishes. I'm proud to be on the Cyclocrossracing.com/PB Blue Competition Cycles program with such riders as himself. Zach Mcdonald also blew the doors off with his 6th place finish on Saturday, awesome ride to him. Admirable.
I stayed with Ben Stalker (Clif Bar Junior Team Mechanic) and his aunt this weekend. She had a pair of dachshunds. For some reason, I was under the impression they were pretty mild dogs, but those dogs are BONKERS. Between being attacked with sloppy dog kisses and being barked at, they good lap warmers while napping on the couch.
Sunday was a good day on the bike. The course was tighter than the day before and it had tacked up a bit. Some great ruts developed, so once the front wheel was thrown in one, things went smoothly, but like the day before, if you didn't get that rut, you were in for a wild ride. I was battling with Justin Robinson of Cal Giant for the middle half of the race and had a was working my way up though the field before I was involved in a nasty crash on a muddy descent which bent my front brake arm and left me swimming in the mud. Thankfully, the pit was close and I was able to run to it in a timely manner and get my B to put in a solid lap before getting back on my A. I had been working my way up through the field before this happened and the 40(or more?) seconds I lost during this ordeal were crucial as it meant I was put out of contention of beating 3 other U23's I was riding with.
Thanks to world class brake jerry-rigging by my top-notch pit men Andy Rigel and Mike Dicenso, the crash didn't take me out of the race and I am very grateful to these two cool guys. Thanks so much!
My efforts earned me a 26th place finish. It was a tough, but really enjoyable race at the same time.
After getting a good homecooked dinner from "Chuck", Jack Hinkens (who had some awesome rides this weekend as well), Ben, and I hit the road in the toaster. Arriving back in Durango at 1:30, it was nice being able to attend classes on Monday, but I'm also beat from the weekend. It stinks going back to D Block in the dorms and eating food service from the caf, but that's life. At least I got away from the incessant barking from the weiner dogs.......

Boulder

2010-11-03T19:51:00.000-07:00

This past weekend's travels took me to Boulder, where the city was hosting the Boulder Cyclocross Classic and the Boulder Cup; two races I have always heard a lot about, but have never raced. Unfortunately, the weather was very un-cylocross-like and the sun took centre stage all weekend.
Saturday, AKA The Colorado Cyclocross Classic, looked to be a great day. The course was fast, smooth, and had tons of sand. It was a classic day for the files and they made sure I was MAULING through the sand pits. Starting in the back 4/5th of the field, I managed to work my way up in the high 30's during the fourth lap. Disaster struck as I was heading out of the sand and noticed I was victim to a nasty goat head puncture. I cannot lie, I accidentally passed the back entrance to the pit, but thankfully the pits were horribly unevenly spaced and it was not long before I was back in again. After accidentally getting on another person's bike (don't worry about the details) I raged a lap on that bad boy and was able to get back on my beautiful Norcross. The damage had been done and the rest of the race was simply ridden out to the end. Another ruff day in the saddle. Props to Jack Hinkens for putting in a good ride and best of healing to Trebon and his pulled leg muscle.
Sunday, AKA The Boulder Cup, was another story though. Held in the parking lot of Flat Iron Mall, it was nasty course, featuring off camber corners off the yin-yang and excessive amounts of torn-up, loose grass to add a big element of danger. My cousin Julie, who plays basketball on the Colorado University Women's squad was able to come out to the race. Any extra support is awesome, especially when it comes from a 6'4" chick haha!
Blessed with a second to last row start, I was patient with the race, gradually working my way up. It was absolute mayhem out there, people were crashing all over the place as the torn up grass creating a slick surface to the extreme hard pack dirt. It was similar to riding on ice.
As the race progressed, I worked my way up through the field. After finding my limits of traction in practice(through painful trial-and-error), I avoided the dreaded crash. I was racing much of the race with Mitch Hoke, who, hands-down, put in one of the most impressive rides of the day. Besides rolling tubeless tyres 3 times during the race, he kept it all together mentally, riding strong and hopping the barriers. Impressive work! He managed to put a gap on me in the end, but the day ran smoothly for me and I crossed the line in 23rd place. It feels really good to put in a good ride after a turbulent season to this point. Every good ride is celebrated. Bike racing is such a grab-bag sport when it comes to how the day is to go, but that is just the way it goes!

Big thanks to Ben Stalker, Dylan Stucki for the ride and tech support and Abbey for the couch!

Broken Chains and Lung Cheese

2010-09-27T11:41:00.000-07:00

Racing while being sick with bad lungs usually doesn't end very well, but sometimes the card just has to be punched.
While I was really looking forward to putting in some good rides this past weekend, the odds were just stacked too high in the opposition's favour.
Saturday's race went slightly my way. I worked my way up through a last start position to finish in the high thirties. Unfortunately, the motor was just not having it and I started to really hurt only a few laps in.
On Sunday, I toed to the line high hopes and a sweaty, warmed-up body. As things would have it, a rider decided to crash into the barriers 40 feet off the line and I got stuck behind it. Watching a field of 60 riders tearing away in the opposite direction is something I never want to see again in my cycling days. It was going to be a rough day, but that is just the way it goes.
After a lap, I managed to claw my way onto the back on the field, but got involved in another unfortunate crash with the course marking barriers with another rider. Not fun. I had come so far to race and I was not about to back down. A couple of laps later, my chain had decided it had enough and broke on me. That was the end of my day of racing. A DNF hurts so much, even after all that I had went through.
I am really looking forward to getting over this lung infection and being able to come back to training for the next couple of weeks before Louisville.
Till next time,
-Eric

Homecoming

2010-09-22T12:54:00.000-07:00

I am now going to college at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. It is an awesome town, with a seemingly never-ending system of trails and good road riding. The life is quite simple, socialize, study, and fit riding in when I can. There is always something to do, which I always enjoy. The professors are pretty funny, since half of them cannot be reached during the hours of 1-3pm since they are out on a run, riding, or doing another outdoor activity. It is an outdoor junkie’s paradise.
After three and a half weeks of studying, I was able to come home this weekend to race Starcrossed and the Rad Racing Gran Prix.

The first 4 laps of Starcrossed went less-than-spectacularly and I found myself working my way back up from the latter of the field. After the turbulence, things went pretty smoothly and the riding well. I am amazed with my new Blue Norcross Sl. It is the stiffest and comfortable cyclocross bike I have ever ridden. It is strong in the bottom bracket and headtube junction and steers and tracks very well. I especially noticed the low centre of gravity when I was in the greasy, tight corners Marymoor is well known for. Anyways, I was gradually making up time through the field and was bummed to be pulled with two laps to go, another victim of the 80% rule.

That night, I was watching Universal sports and the Koksijde World Cup was on! I don’t care what time it is on at, at least cyclocross has finally made its way onto TV in the United States. Small steps….

The Rad Racing GP was an awesome race this year. Moving to Issaquah for the 2010 edition, the course was hands down the best course the Rad GP has ever fielded. If it had not rained the night before, it would have been a flat drag race through the grass fields, but after record-breaking rains during Sunday, it had turned into a greasy dream for mud loving racers.

I had a good ride, and for a lot of the race, I was riding with Carl Decker and we were exchanging positions. The two sand pits on the course were a great addition as the first was ride-able, but the second was a run. I was GASSED after the second run and it took a while to recover from the effort. I crossed the line in 16th today and I am happy of the ride. It is promising for the rest of the season.
My family hosted fellow cyclocrosser Aaron Schooler and his mechanic Jeff for the weekend. I met Aaron a couple of years ago when he came down for some racing and he is like family. The cyclocross racing community is unlike any other community of bike racing disciplines; we are much more tightly knit.

I was thinking about this whole cycling family concept when I was flying back to Durango. Now that I am 19 years of age, I have been involved with the Seattle Cyclocross scene since I was 13 years old. Split between the genuine people involved with Rad Racing Northwest and all others, the Seattle cyclocross community has to be one of the best in the world. Now that I am living away from Seattle, I am realizing that the people involved are very much a family to me. I’ll miss it while I am away!

Now it is back to Durango for more studies and preparing for the Wisconsin USGP’s next weekend!
-Eric

Photo courtesy of Jon Hernandez

Capitol Forest Classic Cross Country

2010-08-20T11:34:00.000-07:00

The good guys down in Olympia put on the annual Friends of Capitol Forest Classic last weekend.

Up on the board was a grueling 24 mile cross country event with 3400' of climbing spread out over two climbs.

Treated with a Leman's start into some rolling and twisty singletrack, the race got off to a quick start. After 5 minutes, the trail rose skywards and for the next hour, we were treated to mildish grades on buffed, beautiful singletrack.

Spencer Paxon took out off the front as I rode with local mtb hero Russell Stevenson and Patrick Branch. I was holding back a little, then decided to go for it when Patrick attacked and Russell did not respond.

For what seemed forever in the clearcut, 110 degree clearings, we finally reached the summit of this beast of a climb and then proceded to tear up the descent. I was AMAZED at the quality of trail we were on. The locals call it GL6, but I know it as one of the best designed cross country descents known to man. The berms, corners, and flow of the trail were all of top notch quality. I flew down the thing, but was surpised to see Patrick was still holding on to his 15 second gap he opened on me when I took a wrong turn on the ill-marked course. I closed it down to 5 seconds and then he opened it back up again. I hear he comes from a downhill racing background, so I shouldn't beat myself up about it. After the race, he was pretty pumped I was riding descending so fast. I guess that is what happens when you ride a road bike too much then get back on the knobs!

Spencer Paxson had blown this race apart at the seams by now and Patrick and I were dueling for Second place now. He still had his gap on me and I was seeing sideways from dropping a full bottle and riding the whole first 1.5 hrs on a bottle in the heat.
As my luck would have it, he was feeling pretty haggard on the last 1000' climb and I put all that I could muster out onto the pedals. The heat started to get to me again and found myself getting irritable and seemingly mundane things, such as the trail continuing to climb and climb. I am just glad there is never anybody there to hear my ranting in the woods.......

I dragged my beat carcass to the top of that ascent and relished the gravity on the way back down. I was pretty chapped crossing the line, but everything had gone pretty well sans the bottle drop for the 2:15 long race. My Blue XC2 had billygoated me to the top of the mountains, descended like a champ, and allowed me to hit the fastest, most aggressive lines on the way down to have some real fun. I was running my Schwalbe Racing Ralphs at 24lbs and they were GLUED.
For a regional race, the competition was strong, the sky was sunny, and the trails superb. An awesome day to spend on two wheels!

A big thank you to the Friends of Capitol Forest for the race and trails and best of luck to Spencer at the Mountain Bike World Championships in Mont Saint Anne, PQ!
Till next time,
Eric

Cyclocrossracing.com CX Squad

2010-08-13T19:47:00.001-07:00

Want the best cyclocross gear on the internet at affordable prices? Check out cyclocrossracing.com for the best gear!

The team should be pretty sick as well.We'll be hitting it hard all around the country. Stay tuned!

Transitions

2010-08-04T16:16:00.000-07:00

It seems that the summer season is coming to a close. In reflection, my life and racing has been treating me fairly well. I was able to race a lot and learn some great lessons in life and racing. In addition to my usual load of mountain racing, I was able to try my hand in a few road races and see just how well my fitness and skills transfer on over. Life is all about getting out there and givin it your all.

I would like to take some time and thank every one of my supporters who help make my racing happen. Without them, I know my life would be fairly rough. Please support the people who support upcoming riders such as myself. It may seem cliched, but it really does make a difference.

First off, Blue Competition Cycles has been very generous to me and have provided me with some very fast bikes to ride. The newly introduced AC1 is an absolute rocket on the road. When I first jumped on it, I was amazed on how well it sliced through the wind. I could actually feel the difference that it made. Pretty amazing. To add, it is stable on descents, corners, and has the stiffness and "give" in all the right places.

Being a mountain bike racer, the most important tool I need are great race bikes.
Thanks to my awesome XC2 and FS Carbon, I was able to pull off some great rides in my first year as a racer in the Elite categories. At the Santa Ynez Valley Classic and the Sea Otter Classic in April, I had some great rides, finishing up in 8th and 46th. Upon returning home,I won the local Squilchucker Classic and came 2nd at the White Water Revival. At the national championships, I put in yet another good ride at a lung busting 8500 feet and logged a 13th place finish. My bikes were essential to these rides. At the Sea Otter Classic and other smooth races, my XC2 climbed like a crazed goat and accelerated at break neck speeds. When the going got rough, my FS Carbon was my go-to bike. I love the smooth pedaling platform and energy saving ride.

Good Times on my FS Carbon
rideblue.com

Schwalbe
Without a doubt, the BEST tire I have ever ridden. It is an absolute honor to ride for this great company.
Living in Washington, the Rocket Ron is my tread of choice. It handles all conditions very well and has gotten me out of some pretty hairy situations. On dry, fast courses, the Racing Ralph is awesome with fast centre knobs and deep side lugs for optimal cornering traction. Going with the wider 2.25" versions of both tires provides a comfortable ride with insane traction.
Training is an everyday event for me, so I was always looking for the best tire to train on without every worrying about a flat. In the 6 months I have been riding on this pair of tires, I have never flatted. I am extremely impressed as I never shy away from the occasional off-road section to my everyday road ride and don't pay extra attention looking for broken glass.
When I am racing, the tire I love the most is the Ultremo R.1. It offers a plush ride, really sticks it to corners, and is featherlight at 180 grams per tire. It is the closest feeling clincher to a tubular I have ever felt.

schwalbe.com

Oakley
I wear contacts, so my eyewear is very important to me. I have ridden many(almost all) of the other high end sports eyewear from other companies and my Oakleys top the charts when it comes to optical clarity and contrast. When I am on the trail, the terrain really pops and my eyes still feel great at the end of long rides. Really check out the Jawbones and Radars if you have not already, they are quality glasses and worth every penny.

oakley.com

Louis Garneau
The CFS-150 road shoe has proven to be invaluable this past season. Between training and racing, I have put in some serious hours on my bike and these shoes have been wonderful from the very start. After I pulled these puppies out of my oven and put them on my feet, I knew they were going to be good, and they were! Providing a heat-moldable fit and an extremely stiff carbon sole, these shoes have been a dream to ride in. They are light, stiff, and comfortable, everything I have ever looked for in a shoe. Plus they're white! Cha-Ching!
The Diamond Helmet is light at 300grams, fits well, and is looks sharp. I never notice it on top of my head, even on the hottest of days.

louisgarneau.com

GENr8 Vitargo
When I am training and racing, Vitargo has been essential to meet my high energy needs. Being a highly concentrated, easily digestable carbohydrate, I know that I am able to push to my limits and still finish strong. I have not hit the wall once this year, and I attribute that to being able to stick with my fuel demands while racing. Even more importantly than never bonking, Vitargo has allowed for me to push harder and dig deeper in the latter stages of long road races than every before.
Backed by collegiate and professional sports training group studies, Vitargo is scientifically proven to work and it does!

GENr8 Vitargo

Superfeet

Proper biomechanics allow for me to put the power down! With my Superfeet insoles in my shoes, my feet stay comfy and my lower body stays biomechanically correct. With insoles for every shoe, Superfeet make an ideal addition to any shoe! I'm really happy with my Yellow, cycling-specific insoles as they have a great arch and have a low stack-height. Cycling perfection!

Superfeet

Finally, what good is any student who has no teacher? I would like to finally thank my coach Todd Herriott of Herriott Sports Performance to provide me with the knowledge, support, and training necessary for me to continue on my path to my full athletic potential. He has been instrumental in my success as an athlete.

Herriott Sports Performance

Lastly, a biiiiiiiig thank you to anyone who cheers for me during races + mom and pops!

-Eric

Mountain Bike National Championships

2010-07-19T14:12:00.001-07:00

The mountain bike national championships are always one of the two or three races that I reeeeally look forward to racing every year. Where else can you go blow your brains out and see how fast you really are compared to every other fast rider in the country?

Going to altitude always comes as a bit of a shock to the system, but like climbing, you must adopt a positive attitude towards it. While it makes spinting and other anaerobic activities close to undoable, at least it presents an opportunity to ride your guts out in a hard tempo.

I put in a good ride, starting conservatively, but then ramping it up towards the end of the race to finish with nothing left, but not burning the turkey. I was toasted at the end and crossed the line in 13th place, a ride I am proud of since overcoming high altitude and heat.

The course this year was a bit rougher than in years past, but my FS Carbon took everything like a champ. In the tight, chopped out singletrack and all the descents, I was TEARING it up, putting on loads on time on people on 29'ers and hardtails. The FS really puts the hurt on tight switchbacks. Coupled with some Schwable Racing Ralph 2.1's, this bike was ideal for the dusty and rocky course.

Many thanks Schwalbe for providing the best tires for the conditions and Vitargo for providing the racing fuel my engine needs!

Full results can be found at:http://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?year=2010&id=1666&info_id=27112

I've got complete respect for those who topped me, and those who stuck it out through mechanical issues, as there were a lot out there, but thankfully, I was able to stay out of all trouble.

Road Racing

2010-07-10T08:59:00.001-07:00

Oh yeah, the self-centered montage.....

Flat Tracking in Fremont

2010-06-01T09:21:00.000-07:00

The season is upon us! Crits are fun!

Success!

2010-05-18T20:16:00.000-07:00

I had a great day on Sunday!. Headed over to Wenatchee to race. I climbed and descended well. Played my cards right and broke away on a long descent and soloed it back in to the finish. Character building work!

I have been really happy with my Blue AC1. It is such a fast all-around bike. Stiff and aero. What more could be asked for?

Many thanks to the bike racing and organizing community in Wenatchee. I love how the races are always neat, tidy, and laid-back(a huge plus to me). I'll take any opportunity to come over the mountains to race!

Rocket Fuel!

2010-05-13T12:40:00.000-07:00

When training and racing hard, it is absolutely necessary to use a drink to provide fuel and rehydrate. Without one, the body will begin to eat away at itself rather than make proper adaptations to the training load being placed upon it.

I have been extremely grateful to work with a company called GenR8, who are the makers of Vitargo S2. Vitargo is the best energy drink I have ever used. Period. It is not some hokey gimmick. Vitargo has been used for many years in Europe and has been recently imported the United States. Vitargo is one of the few nutritional products which has actually been put through credible scientific studies, unlike a market flooded with sketchy claims and unmet promises.

So what is Vitargo? Vitargo is an extremely complex carbohydrate powder made from barley. It is a starch and contains absolutley no sugar to upset stomachs or create any "sugar blues".

I can mix it to concentrations of 280 calories per bottle and drink two bottles an hour. My stomach can process it perfectly well and this eliminates all need for bars, bloks, and energy gels along with the fluid replacement and energy drink.

In the past, I can remember times in the latter stages of a mountain bike or road race when I have not had enough energy to finish as strong as I started. With Vitargo, I feel like I can push myself all the way to where I am seeing stars and keep on pushing through. It has been crucial for my recovery as well right after I finish a hard ride or race. All I do is mix a serving up in a bottle with whey and chug!

An added bonus is that Vitargo can be made into a pudding as well. You heard me, a pudding! Nothing tastes better than coming back home from a long ride, opening the fridge and pull out some Vitargo and enjoy it with a spoon. Nothing!

Mmmmmm mmmmmmm! Vitargo pudding!

Do yourself a favor and buy some Vitargo at your local GNC. It is truly worth every penny. When used as recommended, it may just be one of the best investments you have ever placed

If you are further interested, check out the GenR8 website at http://genr8speed.com/endurance/endurance.php?tid=e.

Vitargo isn't some janky snake dust, it is a straightforward, easy-to-use carbohydrate source with no unnecessary fillers. The flavoured versions only contain the patented Vitargo barley starch, natural flavor, a barely detectable amount of citric acid for flavour, natural colour, and a sweetener. That's it! Nothing else. Best of all, EVERY batch of Vitargo is certified banned substance free by the Banned Substance Control Group, the industry standard for clean sports supplements. If you are further curious, please follow this link: http://www.bscg.org/GENR8.php.

Trust me, Vitargo truly is great stuff and you should give it a try! There is nothing to lose, only something to gain.

May Update

2010-05-10T08:19:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it is May already! It seems as if I was slogging my way through the gloom and doom of February only yesterday, awaiting for these nice spring days to come.

My days have been relatively simple, but enjoyable. I landed a part-time at my local shop and have been working three days a week. It has to be the best job I have ever had. The people I work with are real, genuine people. I have been there for a couple of weeks and am really liking it.

I have had plenty of time for quality training and have been able to put in some quality time off-road. My Blue FS Carbon is one of the most fun bikes I have ever ridden. It pedals better than any dually I have ever owned, and the geometry is great for climbing and really pushing hard into corners. I have been able to put it through its paces, and it is growing on me.

Went out to Wenatchee for the Chainbreaker mountain bike race. It was a challenging race. Five 4.5 mile loops with 1000ft of climbing per lap. It wasn't blistering fast, but simply tough. During the first two laps, the pace was pretty mild, but after the third, I stepped it up to see what would happen. Gaps opened up and I rode much of it with Aaron Bradford and Kevin Bradford-Parrish.
I was able to open up some gaps on the climbing sections and grew those in the singletrack and descents. It was a long day on the bike, with a race finishing time of 1:56 and I dug deep into myself to get across the finish. Surprisingly, I felt pretty good at the end and not too beat up. I love riding duallys. Nice!

Afternoon Intervals

2010-04-22T14:56:00.000-07:00

RADNESS

2010-04-22T14:07:00.000-07:00

All Caps. Yes, RADNESS

Through all the ups and downs, mountain bike racing has got to be one of the best things.

Through all the hard work, dedication, and time put into getting to the highest level, professional cyclists have be one of the most under-appreciated groups of people out there.

Sea Otter was wonderful. I slept on two beds, one couch, and one pull-out in four nights. The amount of hopping from one group of people to the next was insane, but I was able to put in some good, clean racing.

The Short Track was going to be an absolute mess right from the get-go, but everyone knew that. When the gun went off and the ~70 rider strong field started, it was a mad run for the holeshot and a nice little mud pit created some great action.

Short Track's are awesome races just because of the insane intensity which goes into to them. I went for as hard as I possibly could for as long as I could and was able to to stay in the race for 13 minutes before getting pulled. I didn't have a bad race, it was just that the field was so big and strung-out, it made for some mad racing. Props to everyone who slugged it out longer than I. Second-to-back row starts are real character builders.

The XC track had been changed. Rather than doing a full loop on the traditional course, the UCI moved in and created a ~4(5?) mile loop which consisted of almost an entire loop on Laguna Seca, some gradual and punchy climbing, and some fast descending right on the backside of the raceways. It wasn't very American mountain bikey, but I personally loved it. It was FAST. My average lap time was a little under 18:30 and I was finally able to run one of my favorite tires for dry conditions, my 2.0 Schwalbe Furious Fred's. I couldn't have asked for a better tire on that day. On the pavement sections, they rolled like a road tire and I was able to run them around 21 lbs, so they had a great ride on the dirt as well.

For more or less, this race resembled a glorified cx course. I am looking forward to hitting up some more races similar to this one since the level of competition was so high.

I am now back at home and enjoying the life I was missing for the time while I was gone.

Props to Robert Pauley of Marin Bikes for the photo.

Santa Ynez

2010-04-12T16:23:00.001-07:00

First things first:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d72wgT6swCA&feature=related

Secondly, the Santa Ynez Valley Classic was great this year. Unlike 2007, when it was 1000 degrees and Georgia Gould died, the XC was held in ~70 degree weather. Very comfortable racing.
I was called up second to Sid Taberlay in all the races. I forgot how nice it is to have front row starts and not have to worry about working up through a field.
In the cross country, I got into the holeshot in third and worked my way into a solid 8th position. I had good sensations in the legs and held that position for the meat of the race.
On Sunday, the short track was pretty uneventful. The legs were a little sluggish, but that's life.
I raced my first Super D of my life and it was pretty fun. I think I will have to do more of them in the future.

I can remember questioning why I have chosen cycling as my main sport in the past, and after weekends like this one, I remember how fun it is to jump in the saddle and just ride with my heart. Mountain biking is sweet.

Recognize Me?

2010-04-03T15:33:00.000-07:00

Bizzay

2010-03-30T09:12:00.000-07:00

The past two weeks have been anything but slow. Not that I am whining or anything, but it is actually the way I like. Just a lot.
Finished up my quarter at school at the local college. I can officially say I have fulfilled all of my graduation requirements for High School and have graduated. It feels good to get that all behind me and out of the way. I am now taking the next quarter off to take a long summer vacation before starting up again next Fall. Haven't made a decision yet to where I am going, but I have until May 1st to figure that one out.
On the weekend of the 20th and 21st, I had a great couple of days. I built up my new AC1 and got it rolling for the second Tour de Dung road race in Sequim. I sat in the pack for much of the race this week and played my cards in the last 7 miles of the race. I got off in a small break of 3 guys and we were working together for a couple of minutes. Not exactly the most tactically smart move, but it was what it was. We went through a couple of rotations and they were not really feeling it. I took my turn at the front and pulled through smoothly, but looking back and they had popped. From that point on, it was do or die. I was off the front of the pack and with around 5 miles left to go in the race, I knew it was time to make something happen.
I hadn't hurt that well for a while now. I just put my head down and went after it. After 12 minutes of tt'ing it has hard as I could with my elbows on my tops, I passed the 200M sign. I looked back and had a sizable gap on the field. It feels great to win.
On Sunday, I raced a small mtb race 20 minutes away from my pad in Fall City. It was a little, low key race in a park nicknamed "The Beav". Tight, fast, and muddy trails. Just what the doctor ordered and it was right up my alley. After an 1:20 of racing, I crossed the line in First position. It was a great way to wrap up a weekend worth of riding.
Flew down to Chance Noble's house on Wednesday and got my brand new XC2 in the mail on Thursday. It is a sick whip. Climbs reeallly fast. Got her all built up and ready to rip. Thankfully I was able to sneak in a 30 minute ride on it Friday night before the Fontana Pro XCT on Saturday.
Now Saturday was not one of my proudest days on the bike. I got in a great start, even though I was 82nd of 87 starters to be called up. After some insane bike carnage in the starting chicanes, I was sitting somewhere in the 40's. My first lap was smooth, but going into the second lap, I got cold. The heat had caught up with me and hit me hard. It was really not all that hot, as it was only 75-80 degrees out there, but I was simply not acclimatized. I tried to get all the fluids I could into me and it helped a little, but the damage had been done and I was feeling terrible. I had a nasty crash at the top of the one technical rock chute on the course and gave myself a huge goose egg on my shoulder. It made supporting my body while standing up really painful and I lost a bit of my range of motion.
Not being a quitter, I kept on at it, for better or for worse. I was pulled going into my final lap. A bit of a bummer, but that is just the way it goes.

I am really enjoying the beautiful weather here in California. Waking up to sunny skies and warm air feels awesome. Just got off the phone with the crew back in Washington and it was snowing yesterday. All I can say, is that I am glad the largest of my worries is getting dehydrated or burnt on my training rides.

More for later,
E

Quick Check In

2010-03-01T10:47:00.001-08:00

The spring has been treating me well. The weather has been pro-training and the buds on the Cherry trees have even begun to bud. I am not getting my hopes up though, it is still going to be a long, wet couple of months before the weather really starts to get nice and toasty. I have gotten out to explore the great trail systems on Tokul Hill and in Griffin Creek, here in Fall City and in Carnation. They are quite extensive and offer a bit of everything for everyone from pure XC trails, so some steep, bomber descents which 6" trailbikes with slack head angles are designed for.
I even rode some Taylor Mountain, a mountain behind my house, for the first time in a long time. Didn't see any bears, dear, elk, or coyotes like we usually do, but it was fun.
I was looking over my 2010 race schedule and noticed that I was getting pretty excited for the start of the racing season. My year ahead is packed full of some great races. I am pumped to get it done. More for later......

My First Blender Explosion

Making Art

Thanks

2010-01-26T21:16:00.001-08:00

I am proud to announce I am taking the next step as a cyclist and have partnered with Blue Competition Cycles for the 2010 season. I am looking forward to advancing my racing and beginning my professional career.

With a little bit of sadness and great appreciation, I am moving on from my development team, Rad Racing Northwest. It has proven invaluable to my development as a cyclist and as an individual.

I would like to take the time to thank everyone who has helped make me who I am today.

First of all, I would like to thank Jim Brown, for leading and directing Rad Racing Northwest. It is with his support that many cyclists, including myself, have learned to appreciate and love riding their bikes. His program offers all the necessary infrastructure for junior cyclists to become successful. Rad Racing gave me the support to gradually develop into a dedicated and passionate athlete. Jim arranged team camps, gave us access to the best equipment and provided us with a fostering environment which never applied any pressure to come up with results, only good times. Some of my best memories have been when I was out riding with my teammates. It is my aim to continue to help the program out, as I hope to share my passion and love of the sport with any budding rider.

Secondly, I would like to thank Dale Knapp. In the beginning, he provided an inspiration to me. He was the picture of strength and determination while on the bike. As I grew older, he became more than an image, he became my first coach and a good friend. He taught me how to embrace pain. The most important lesson he ever gave me was " Go hard and don't think about a thing. Just bust your ass." True inspiration.

Thirdly, I would like to thank everyone who provided support to Rad Racing Northwest's Junior Program. Without your gracious support, it would not have the resources available to make its riders dreams come true. Having access to affordable and trustworthy equipment was one of the best things that I could possibly imagine at the age of 14. It allowed for me to focus on riding hard rather than being limited by my equipment. Your help has also allowed for me to travel to races around the nation and the world. Thank you!

Lastly, I would like to thank everyone else who has reached out and helped me. Whether it be working on my bike (Big Cat Mike Smith), cheering me on, providing me with competition, helping me out at races, cooking food, or giving me a necessary pointer, thank you so much.

Moving on to the present, I am excited to begin a new chapter to my life. During the upcoming years, I hope to make them my best yet. With the gracious support from my new sponsors and support net, I am excited to see how far I can push myself and where I can go with my cycling endeavours.

Thank you so much once again and to a prosperous 2010!,
-Eric

Give Me Your Worst

2010-01-25T20:48:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the classroom of two wheels.

Some may see the dark, rainy, and cold winter months as the worst months of the year. This is life though. To the cyclist, winter is the worst friend he could ever have. These winter months separate the strong from the weak. Dedication and perseverance are not learned in the warmth of the sun, they are learned under the gloom of the clouds.

As I put forth stroke after stroke, I bathe in the misery. There is nowhere worse than where I am right now. I am glad that I am being broken from the head down It will make me stronger than I have ever been before. Champions are made in the rain.

Nothing comes easy in this life and the best things are always the things in which you work the hardest for. There is no arguing that.

Am I going mad? Probably

A Life Left Unexamined is a Life Left Unlived

2010-01-11T20:24:00.000-08:00

Interpret it yourself, for only you know what it truly means

__________________________________________________

Holidays

2009-12-29T21:06:00.000-08:00

It really feels good to be home for the Holidays. After spending the past two away from home racing cyclocross, it feels good to slow down and enjoy life.

Between cookie baking, Christmas decorating, and seeing my family I have been able to put in some solid rest and recuperate from the season. My body was looking for it. After a whole year of building something on top of nothing, I am ready to start once again and build base fit for a skyscraper.

My body is healthy and stronger than ever. I have a feeling that 2010 is going to be good.

Cyclocross National Championships

2009-12-15T13:59:00.000-08:00

When people say cyclocross hurts (insert whiny tone here), you usually think, "Yeah, whatever. Suck it up you wuss", but it really does. Crashing is never fun. Especially at The Big Show of the season.

Before I get too far ahead of myself, I had a good start. Despite missing my call up (18), I rolled up to the line as they were calling late 30's. After quickly jumping into the field, I did a little "line repositioning" and got to the third row, from the fourth. But low and behold, there was the guy wearing the nonchalant wool jersey and shorts, on a dirty, beat-up old bike lined up in front of me. No offense to everybody who rocks wool (I personally love the stuff to death-as a base, socks, and gloves), but when lining up at the National Championships, I don't wear wool jerseys or ride a dirty bike. This was trouble.I knew that I had a 50-50 chance of being able to move around him, but which side should I line up on, the left or the right? I took a shot and rolled the dice. I was to line up to the left-hand side of him.

When the gun went off, he instantly slipped off both his pedals and veered straight to the right! I was so pumped that I got out of that sticky situation! I pumped my pistons as hard as possible and got into the first corner sitting in 13th or so and exited in 8th. Threading the needle to the max!

To my surprise, I settled in the back of the chase pack for the first lap, but unfortunately got gapped off on the second lap when a rider in front of me crashed in a slippery corner and I had to ride on his bike to get around. It was pretty funny. I straight-up rode on it too. This was the beginning of my trouble. I worked hard to get myself back to the pack, but I crashed going into my third lap. I was exiting the corner to the first pit and I was looking down the course, waiting to be able to get back the gas, but both my wheels started to slide out. I started to realize how bad it was going to be once I was sliding on the wet/frozen gravel. I once thought that people were being dramatic wusses when they crashed and took their time to get back up, but I now feel their pain (pun not intended) . To go from redline to mother earth is the worst.
I pulled myself back together again and got up off the ground and into the pits to get my B. Thanks to Ian, Mike, and Benny for yelling at me to get it. I may have just layed there indefinitely if it were not for the encouragement coming from the pits.

The middle half of the race was damage control in my eyes. I was a hurting unit. Once I got control of myself and regained some confidence in the corners, I still was not able to push it the way I was trying to. I was mentally putting all my energy into going fast, but my body was not allowing it. It was really strange.

On the last two laps, I came to again. My senses were finally being regained and I noticed that the people I was riding with could easily be beaten. I was able to ride hard and I did as much as possible to do so. I regained a few of the positions that I had lost in my crash and rolled across the line. Definitely a little disheartened, but that is the way that racing goes. At the end of it all, you are still alive and kicking, ready to do it again, only better with experience.

I would like to take some time to be thankful for what I have. Thanks to Kona for providing me solid, reliable cyclocross bikes. Over the two years I have owned my Major Jakes, I have never had a single problem with them. I never have to worry about having a bike failing on me, I only have to worry about myself failing on the bike( haha). Mavic for providing fast and reliable wheels, along as light, grippy shoes. Giro for top-notch glasses and helmets, and Chris King for their industy leading headsets and hubs.

Props to Mike "Big Cat" Smith for wrenching, Jason Casebolt for having a posh trailer and team area set up at the courses, and Jim Brown for making Rad Racing what it is.

Thank you for allowing me to focus on racing my bike fast!

After the crash. Check out the right knee.

Givin' er!

My Mom and I Detroit, Oregon. Who ever knew that there was a huge dam here!

USGP Day 2

2009-12-07T17:07:00.001-08:00

Call Up Fun

The Whoops

The Step-Through

Traction up the Yangtze!

USGP Day 1

2009-12-07T16:56:00.000-08:00

3rd Lap Run Up

Start Lap

Riding into the Sunset

USGP Portland

2009-12-07T16:08:00.000-08:00

I've been waiting all cyclocross season for these two weeks and they have finally come! I've forgotten how much I love racing in large races with competitors who are from around the nation.

This weekend's racing also marked a first for me: My first real Elite Men's races of my career.

I have to be honest; I was pretty nervous for Saturday's race. How was it going to play out? Was I going to get lapped? I guess I would learn the answers to these questions as I toed to the line. 5th row call-up. I guess I didn't have to worry about being exposed to the wind during the start. When the gun went off, I found my pedals well and put my all into it. I fared well in the first lap mayhem and found myself sitting in the top-30 for the first lap. All the work I've put into my starts is finally starting to show for itself. I put my all into this race. I think Steve was pretty pissed that it took him three laps to finally get himself in front of me haha, sucker. He was a pissed too. I fought it out with Molly Cameron for most of the race and even faded a little towards the very end, but otherwise felt good. When I was going out on my last lap, everybody was lined up along the barricades on the start/finish and I thought to myself, " Wow, I can't believe you are the guy who runs through the start/finish just before the leaders go through! Embarassing!" This was my first elite race you know? Can't complain; 33rd on the day.

That night, Steve, Ian Crane, Ian Terrry, and Zach McDonald got some tasty Mexican food at Aqui in Portland. We didn't score the love den, (if you know of Aqui, you know what I am talking of), but we still got great Mexican food. Asi aqui!

After enjoying the best night's sleep that I have had in a very long time, I awoke on Sunday morning refreshed. Racing really takes it out of you! After breakfast and a light spin, I made my way over to the venue. The track was similar to the day before, but included some sections on the moto track which really hurt during the race and some whoops in the wooded area. There were less people racing today than the day before. It was cold too! The wind chill was heinous. I may have looked like Randy, but at least I was warm.

My start wasn't fireworks like Saturday and I had to work my way up during the whole race. Besides tripping in some gooey mud during the start lap, I rode a clean race and finished strong. My legs were killer today. While some may have looked at the nutella waffle I was chowing on 30 minutes before start time as ammunition to throw up, I saw it as rocket fuel, and rocket fuel is was! For the second day in a row, I found myself riding with Molly, but this time, there was no sprinting for the line, I had him by a matter of seconds. Even though I didn't feel awesome, I guess my performance talked for me. I raced hard all the way to the finish. I couldn'f feel my arms for the last two laps, they were too gooey with fatigue. I was even out of the start/finish straight before too many people started to line up to see the leaders finish. Whew! Disregarding the messed up results cyclingnews has posted, I finished 25th on the day (Official USGP results at the race). In the money! All $19 of it is going straight to the candy and pop fund! Weighall, I better not beat you again.

The best thing about racing in Portland is the ability to come home at the end of the day and not have to worry about packing bikes or early flights. It is so nice! I even had time to put the finishing touches on my English Final and do a little cramming for my other classes.

So as of Monday, I am settling back into the groove. I aced my International Relations final and got my English final paper turned in on time. I walked Java and in the process, froze my ears off.
Today's high in Fall City: 28 degrees Fahrenheit. Cheelay!

Tunnel Vision

2009-11-30T16:37:00.000-08:00

A lot happens in two weeks.
Looking back on it all, I am a busy guy, but life has to stay balanced. Sometimes one feels as if they are going through life's motions and going through the steps. This past four day weekend helped pull me out of such a rut. Life really is not fun when it becomes so hectic that it becomes next to impossible to sit down and enjoy everything.
Moral of the story: Don't let life pass you by. Get out and make a difference in the world.

Firing on 70%

2009-11-16T15:17:00.000-08:00

Woke up on Saturday with a cough! Decided to talk the conservative route and take the day completely off. Glad I did too because I did more homework than I ever thought possible, but still had some on my plate at the end of the day. Pounded the garlic and sambucus, some elderberry extract with magical antioxidant and bug-fighting properties. Tastes like garbage, but I am willing to take it down if it gets me back to fighting condition in no time.

Sunday-Woke up and the cough had subsided. I guess a combination of the rest, garlic, and Sambucus did the trick. Loaded the buggy up and traveled to the big city, Seattle for MFG Cyclocross. It was the first race this whole year that has actually been muddy. I enjoyed getting out and getting dirty again. I didn't enjoy cleaning up afterwards though.

Props to the MFG boys. They produced an awesome course today. It was wide open, including long, muddy grass straightaways, two mile-tall barriers, a small run-up, and long packed gravel sections. I loved it. Note to all cx promoters: this is the best type of cx course: let the strongest go out and win it. Pure CX, beautiful to say the least.

I had another first lap mishap and pushed my front too hard in a greasy corner and spent some quality time on the ground. IT came by for a short visit and ran into me while I was down. I'm thanking my lucky stars that I didn't get run over by anybody else.

From here, I chased and never got back up to my former position. After I regained my cornering prowess, I rode my own race. Not exactly fun, but practical. Knocked off a couple of lost positions and finished 6th for the day.

Slugging it out at Sprinker

2009-11-08T18:46:00.000-08:00

45 seconds into the race, I fell victim to my first crash of the season today. Forgot how much it sucks to crash and make up the lost ground. While I am in the same vein of thought, I also forgot how nice tubulars are. Whenever I go back to clinchers, I yearn for the silky, smooth ride that tubulars afford.

Like every race so far this year, I rode with Steve Fisher for the meat of it. We've got a nice chemistry on the cross bikes. He can drill the road sections and I will show him the nice, fast lines through the tech. Cyclocross teamwork at its finest.

Slugged it out for a while, but ended up finishing 6th on the day. I can blame it on the SAT that I took on Saturday. That test is terrible, a true brain wrecker. At least I think I did better on it the second time around. Only time will tell.

Playing Catch-Up

2009-11-02T20:58:00.000-08:00

Seattle Cyclocross: Maris Farms.

I have many words to describe the place. When I first rolled up to the venue, I first thought "What a zoo!" and "Are we really having a race here?". The place was just reeking of commercialized fall and Halloween festivities. I got over it soon though and actually enjoyed the venue. Who doesn't like pygmy goats on catwalks that you can feed or a race that runs through a pumpkin pasture and through a corn maze? It was awesome! I have always wanted to ride through a corn maze, and my wish finally came true.

I got there bright and early to show some of the Junior raddies the course and give them some pointers. Props go out to Marcus and Andrea for showing up. I'm glad that I could give them some help with their riding. A little bit of instruction can go a long way when you are just "learning the ropes".

Going on to the race report, everything was running smoothly for the first 50 feet after the start and then I noticed the ever-so-pleasant feeling of rim running on the ground. That's right, I flatted another tubular. I think that makes it three in one month. I feel like I should set up a mass-mailing agreement and account with Ron over at Tire Alert.

I rode the first half lap on rim and managed to get out of the pits with a new front wheel before the Master Men Cat 1/2's caught me. They had me sweating it out for a bit, but I eventually opened a gap up on them and began clawing my way back into the race.

It is always fun to just giv'r and not give a rip about a race. I love surprising myself and I just kept on plugging away, not caring about how far the race had progressed or what position I was sitting in, but just riding with a clear purpose of moving forward in the pack. It wasn't until 45 minutes in that the announcers awoke me from this haze when they announced that I was in fourth place with third in my sights. I thought to myself, how could this be? I was pretty surprised to say the least. Even though I was never able to pull up there and cinch third place, I am pretty surprised that I moved from a minute down in the race to fourth by the finish.

A good day in all.

Plugging Away

Living out my dreams- Riding in a Corn Maze

Photos Courtesy of Patrick Benson and Laurie O'Brien

Nicked on the Line

2009-11-01T20:21:00.000-08:00

At the MFG, it was pretty low key. The legs weren't feeling all that hot and I wasn't up to too much effort. Logan Owen, the fourteen-year-old phenom, was on today. He rode with Steve Fisher and I for the first half hour. Around half-way through the race, we dropped him and rode together for the remainder of the race. At only fourteen years of age, Logan shows quite a bit of promise, for he is quite fast, but doesn't have any depth yet. That will come though.
Anyways, Steve and I looked at each other on the last lap and decided that the best man should win. I led out, but Steve nicked me one the line. No worries because I will get mine one of these days. 3rd place.

Steven and I out for a nice Autumn Ride

I wrapped up this sunny fall day with a nice relaxing movie with the fam and retired. Good times.

Fox News Star!

2009-10-27T21:03:00.001-07:00

I was out riding yesterday in the torrential rain and was stopped by some of the guys from Q13 Fox, the local Fox News network station.

They asked me what I thought about this rain that we have been having and took some footage of me riding to the edge of a flooded road and turning around.

Check it out: Apparently I "Live Nearby"

Nonetheless, I can check the "Become a Fox News Star" off the ol' bucket list.

Now when I think of it that way, maybe I shouldn't even have agreed to do the interview in the first place, haha.

Finding Stride

2009-10-26T14:00:00.000-07:00

Fort Steilacoom Park. Again. Yes, again.

I guess that I can call this place my primary weekend destination since I have been here for four weekends since the beginning of September.

Anyways, the Seattle Cyclocross Series made a stop there on Sunday the 25th of October. It was a cool day with temperatures in the low 40's for most of the morning. A little rain the night before and some grease in the grass rounded things out. A swell day for racing cross.

The usual suspects showed up to race the fast, straight-forward course. After the first lap, things settled out with the lead group (see above). Throughout the race, Ian Terry, Ryan Iddings, Logan Wetzel, and Logan Owen made some attacks to keep things interesting. None of which really stuck for the remainder of the race and going into bell lap, Spencer Paxson made a nice attack on the start/finish straight, only to be claimed by the grease gods on the first hard corner. This, coupled with another crash on the immediate corner after involving Ryan Iddings and Logan Owen, strung the field out. Zach Mcdonald and I found ourselves off the front. I was pretty pumped to be off the front, so I drove the pace and we attempted to open the gap up between us and the rest of the strung-apart pack. Things were going swell until we started to encounter lapped riders who were not abiding by cyclocross courtesy and pulling off when lapped. I got stuck behind multiple groups of these riders in areas where there was only one line to take and Zach opened a gap up. I fought to maintain, but was caught by Steve Fisher and Toby Swanson in the last hundreds of meters.

Frustrating, but there will always be another.

Next up: MFG and Seattle CX Doubleheader next weekend.

Please stay tuned for more:

Please Disconnect to Connect

2009-10-18T22:37:00.000-07:00

This weekend, I decided to break the weekly habits of living at home and went off Walla Walla, Washington for a distant, distant relative's wedding reception. I'm really glad that I decided to go because I got to know some of my far family much better. My mother's side of the family has a ton of genuine, honest-to-earth people which I am really grateful to meet.
Sometimes, we spend a lot of time with direct family and we don't necessarily get to know our distant relatives well. This weekend, I was able to really connect with my Great Aunt Viva. She is such a worldy, well-rounded, and kind lady that I am kicking myself that I did not get to know her better earlier. She's also a great cook, so I guess that helps as well.
I guess what I am really getting at it that we all have to sometimes disconnect from our daily habits and lives and connect with what really matters, family.

October Days

2009-10-11T13:45:00.000-07:00

Wow! It has been a long and busy week for me. During the summer, I forgot just how busy things get during the school year. It is amazing how much I have to be better with my time. Priorities, priorities.......

While it has been quite busy, I have also had the opportunity to spend some quality time with the Grail. I gave her up yesterday at the MFG Cross Clash. It was heartbreaking, but we have had some good days together.

On Saturday, I woke up at 5 to help set up the day's course. Only the day before, I decided to "give it a go" and race just because I was going to be there setting up the course anyway. I was looking forward to racing against some Portland boys, but a little aprehensive about some sluggish legs and droopy eyes.

Eight hours later,I found myself throwing myself into a grassy holeshot. I found myself in an alright position 5 or so men deep in the holeshot. It's a place that is secure, but by no means comfortable or safe to stay in.

Sittin' Pretty on Top of the Rad Trailer

Second Corner Mayhem- Gotta get that High-Inside!

By the end of the first lap, things were pretty much decided. Props to Russell Stevenson for blowing things apart. Quite impressive. I was hanging out on the middle half of the chase group when Josh Berry decided to lay it out right in front of me on a very sketchy, sandy corner. I got caught up in it and a gap opened between the leaders and I. I pulled out the pocket book and lit some matches to catch back up. I managed to close the gap, but it opened up right again on the climb. Frustrating.

Mid-Race

I was riding pretty much by myself, but within second's reach of Rich McClung and Nathan Bannerman. I rode a little while with Erik Tonkin, but then he was off, leaving me to wonder what happened. I kept on plugging away in no-man's land for a while until Josh caught back up to me. We rode for a little while, then he put in a solid attack which I could not respond to. I was back to riding alone, but this time I was riding solidly in fith.With each passing lap, I would come close to the first chase group, then the group would open up again, and I would chase. Eventually,the time gaps stabilized and I settled in.

I'm all alone

on the plains..........

Once again, I crossed the line in fifth place. This weekend's race was a bit faster than in Issaquah, but I still feel like there is more room for improvement. This weekend, I noticed that things are coming back together slowly, but surely. It's hard to get back into cyclocross, just because the pace of racing is so much different than either mountain bike or road racing. It takes me a couple of races to get back into the groove of things. Next race, I am going to go all-for-broke and see how it goes. It is always fun to experiment.

Cat 1/2 Men Results

MFG Cyclocross Race #4, Fort Steilacoom Park, Tacoma, WA

1 STEVENSON RUSSELL KENDA PRO CYCLING P/B SPI SEATTLE WA
2 PAXSON SPENCER TEAM S&M SEATTLE WA
3 Men BABCOCK SEAN TEAM S&M CORVALLIS OR
4 BERRY JOSH
5 EMSKY ERIC RAD RACING NW FALL CITY WA

Full Results:

http://gcracingllc.com/Documents/2009-MFG-4.pdf

Big Cat and I Defendin'

MFG Cyclocross #3

2009-10-04T18:02:00.000-07:00

First race of the season is in the books. I had a good start and going into the end of the first lap, I was sitting in the lead group, but got caught up in a crash with another rider as we were entering the start/finish straight. I had to chase hard to catch back on, but thankfully there were no attacks in the meantime.

There was a sick sand section along the shores of Lake Sammamish that led to some key moves as the race went on. The rest of the course was pretty straightforward grass and pavement, so the only place to put some time into a rider was there. With many different run/ride sections, it made things interesting. I'd loved to been able to watch my race just to see how things played out each lap.

As you can see here, there were lots of options to take in the sand

As the race played itself out, I found myself out of contact with the lead group by 12 seconds or so, but just couldn't close the gap. So, I maintained my position and rode out the rest of the race with my teammate Nathan Bannerman. It was pretty uneventful after losing contact with the leaders and I finished the race in 5th place. Not bad, but not great either. I'm not sweating it though because I have only been training now for one and a half weeks steadily now. The rest of the season is ahead of me and I am feeling good about the things in store for me.

CX Raging

2009-10-01T20:43:00.000-07:00

It's on!
My first race of the season will be this Sunday and I'm going to bring it. I've been spending all this time cooped up in a classroom, daydreaming about riding mud and hurting a very deep hurt, and now I am finally here, or should I say cyclocross is finally here?

This doesn't count either