GT Dirt Coalition Texas

1st Annual (?) Mellow Johnny's Classic

2009-11-24T19:34:00.004-06:00

Rancho de Juan Pelota
Dripping Springs, TX
Sunday, Nov 22, 2009

I woke up, hit snooze, and left 45 minutes late. As I was driving the 85 miles to Lance Armstrong's ranch, it was misting/drizzling, and a bit chilly. Mix that in with the 4 inches of rain Friday, I wasn't really looking forward to it.

This isn't part of the Texas series racing, so I figured I might as well cat-up now from Sport to Expert (CAT 2 to 1). I've had six top five races this year so I had to cat up for 2010 anyway. Less pressure, plus the CAT1's weren't racing till 130pm versus the CAT2's at 9am.

This extra time also allowed me time to setup the GTDC tent, chairs and team area.

So after warming up with Brian Zettner (he's been around awhile and I figured he would help calm my nerves), I go over to stage. They called me up about 8 in, and I just moved up and to the side. Having no clue who was who, I opted to stay in the back so as not to spoil any of these expert's starts. Rookie here, just move up there I told em! I saw that a few other of my Spring CAT2 competitors chose this race as well to move up. Scott Long (2nd overall Spring) and Jason Grimes (4th overall) were lined up. Timmy, who took 1st was also there, but he's been racing expert all fall. So the top 4 sport guys were all here.

Dead last going into the single track behind over 30 riders wasn't optimal considering the mud and greasy ledges. Lot's of hike a bike (my left calf is beat to hell cuz I don't know how to cyclo-cross)! With a mere 3 minute head start over the Open Womens race, Heather Irmiger only took 4 miles to breach my 3 minute head start. She flew past me, UNREAL how fast that chica is!

Settle in and start reeling folks in by the end of lap 1, I had passed a few in my group and they repassed me going thru the start finish, only to go to their cars, I guess they only wanted 1 lap. The expert 50+ winner Pete Stewart passed me right as we dropped back into the single track for lap two. That means it only took him 8 miles to breach the six minute gap. Wasn't another 3 miles or so and the first PRO lapped me, yup, the PRO winner Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski flew past me, and right towards the end, second place PRO Bryan Fawley went around. I was sooo stoked that Lance Armstrong didn't lap me! WOO-HOO. Found out later he flatted early and DNF'd. So does that mean I beat LANCE???

Few.Fast.Dirty.
/jt

Mellow Johnny's Classic Pre-Ride

2009-11-16T13:11:00.007-06:00

Rancho de Juan Pelota
Dripping Springs, TX
Sunday, Nov 15, 2009

Loaded up with 3 riders and 3 bikes, we headed up at 845 am to ride a few laps at Lance Armstrong's ranch in Dripping Springs. For those who aren't Spanish speakers, Lance's play on words for his ranch mean "One Ball"! LOL That's also the name of the cafe in his Mellow Johnny's bike shop in Austin.

Doug and I rode two laps. The trail had a mixture of stuff seen through-out central Texas trails, a little bit of everything, with just enough technical challenge to make it interesting and several areas with berms and even a table top if you are so inclined to catch a bit of air.

Here is Doug and I dropping down the steepest (not that you can tell in the picture) downhill drop area. I hollered cheese at Austin Bike as he snapped the picture, cheesy smile I know {Click the Austin Bike link above for many more pictures of the ranch}:

There was also a cool "Pavè" section with 150 meters of cobblestone ala Paris-Roubaix (or so I hear).

Here is another trail review with pictures from Pedigre of Mountain Bike Texas

Rocky Hill Round-up XC Race

2009-11-09T20:14:00.008-06:00

Saturday-Sunday, November 7-8, 2009
Smithville, TX

Showed up around 9am to setup the GT Dirt Coalition tent and team area and get in a pre-ride at ten with some friends. Just as we were finishing up prepping to ride, Jason Sager and his team-mate Adam Snyder rolled up in their Dodge Sprinter full of Edge Composites mountain rims. Very nice carbon MTB wheels!! They setup right next to us.

We were setup right along the start line.

The trail was in near perfect conditions with a few wet creek crossings. One was hub deep but for the pre-ride we veered off to the side where it just wet the tires. Many of the twists and turns were nicely tacky and we had fun railing them!

Sunday morning was beautiful. They were trying a new format for this race, usually laps of a 9 mile course, they utilized all of the trail system, everyone doing one larger 21 mile lap. CAT3's included. There were almost 400 racers, and they started off with the Pro's, then staggered the CAT1's, 2's, and 3's. My group of about 36 CAT2 40's went off around 9:30am.

I ended up about 7th into the single track and shortly worked my way to third, spent some time as 1st considering the rabbit who got away Mike L, taco'd a wheel, then Chris and Eddie passed me when I slid out the rear end on a wet root after a creek crossing. I tried keeping them in sight but with the candle burning at both ends I couldn't hold their wheel. Gordon caught me on a long climb and I kept him in sight for a few miles, then lost him as well. I was alone in 4th until the last climb when out of no where Kent comes screaming past me like I was standing still. Finished fifth some 30 seconds back from Kent. It was a fine race & the GT Marathon performed flawlessly as usual.

Alamo Golden Ale set us up with a keg. When the race sponsor's beer ran out it didn't take long for everyone to find we had some fine ale on tap in the GT Dirt Coalition tent. Lots of folks had a chance to check out the Marathon, seems more folks like the red expert color scheme than the pro gray/yellow. A few IMBA brochures were handed out and some of the 2009 catalogs perused, and stickers handed out.

Prost!

New Frame

2009-10-28T13:21:00.003-05:00

Just picked up the new ride from Action Bikes in Universal City.

The non-drive chain-stay on my Pro bike developed a crack, and with no 2009 Pro inventory GT sent me the Expert frame, and the fine folks at Action swapped all the Pro stuff over:

It's still too muddy out to ride, hopefully the front coming in tomorrow will miss dumping anymore rain on us and we can ride in the dirt this weekend!

-00:02:22 with 22 laps

2009-10-19T18:27:00.007-05:00

Saturday/Sunday October, 17 & 18, 2009
Rocky Hill Ranch, Smithville, TX

Wow, such a small difference for a 24 hour Grande team race.

I was racing for the second straight year with the Texas Chain Gang 24hour endurance team consisting of experts Melanie and Steve Etherton, along with sport racers Bob Sparacino, Rudy Rymal, and John Conwell. Our rotation was just keeping it simple, 1-6 and repeat. I was slot two and raced 4 laps, approximately at 1pm, 7pm, 1:30am, and 8am. All things remaining the same, if I just turned my first lap as quick as I did last year we would have WON! (Or my third lap, or fourth for that matter!!!) It was a team effort and some of us were off of our pace from last year and it affected our overall result. We all did our level best and are proud of the result.

Second place, Grande.

The course conditions were a bit more challenging than last year, as rain in days/weeks prior had many creek crossings wet. This affected brakes and drive trains and it was a chore cleaning your bike every lap you turned, and sorting the drive train, lube etc readying your rig for your next lap. I noticed if I traipsed through the large puddles I collected more mud on the drive train and had fits with my rear derailleur; but if I bombed through them splashing up water, it would clean the mud off and I could shift. So I was bombing all the stream crossings once I figured that out. Kinda fun actually!!

Rudy and Kelly Rymal, official team photogs contributed some pixels:

Course Marshall Mike and I talking bikes and trail conditions (team area under Bob's RV canopy):

Lemans style start in back ground, me in the foreground sporting the retro GT jersey:

Getting ready to receive the baton (necklace with team # token) from Steve, note the stylin' GTDC kit:

Podium pix with the Texas Chain Gang:

Mud Pedal

2009-10-06T11:50:00.002-05:00

Sunday, Oct 4, 2009
Lake Bryan, TX

We arrived on Saturday am and got in a pre-ride before the rain hit. The course still had some standing water in spots but was otherwise in fine shape for the pre-ride. Folks who rode after the initial round of intense rain said otherwise. It was a soupy mess.

It rained on and off all night long. It stopped raining around 8:15am Sunday morning.

The CAT1's wheeled off at 9:15am, delayed waiting on the ambulance crew to show up. The course was reduced from 18 to 11 miles due to the sloppy conditions. The fast ones were doing it in around 1:10-15.

CAT2's, we lined up at 11am. I was on my beater no-name SS 26er running 32-18 hoping it wasn't too low of a gear ratio for the flats, but it was fine, and by the end I was thinking a 19 might have been better. The thick mud is tough to pedal through. After sloughing through the course, I came in at 1:29 and 4th place. This makes my fifth top five for 2009 and forces me to CAT1 for the spring. (I requested and was granted a waiver to remain CAT2 for the remaining two races of the season).

Onto other news, Lance Armstrong is hosting an XC race at his Ranch de Juan Pelota in Dripping Springs, TX on November 22nd. Lance along with JHK and Heather Irmiger are signed up. So far over 500 folks have pre-registered for the race (cap at 700) in under 48 hours. WOW this is gonna be fun, there are already 55 racers signed up in my group, second largest behind the 63 signed up for CAT2 30+. STOKED!

Camp Eagle Classic

2009-09-09T11:15:00.005-05:00

The best of times, the worst of times. Love-hate.

Camp Eagle is my favorite race venue and course in Texas. It is also my largest nemesis from a technical perspective. When dry, I've ridden alot more of the course than previous attempts and always seem to ride a bit more each time. When wet, all bets are off. I have 4 kids depending on me for a fun family camping weekend, and I'm not about to get hurt, so I am uber cautious. I hike a biked quite a bit for the first 2/3rds of the course due to the slick, wet, muddy conditions. Wet rocks and roots and Hutchinson Python's do not like one another!!

The kids and I setup the Dirt Coalition Tent about 50 yards up from the starting line on Saturday morning, I did a pre-ride, then went back to get the kids from the screen shelter so we could go swimming in the river. As we went past the team area, the tent was gone!!! I was freaked out big time. My team mates from Sage Cycles moved it closer to the start line with their tent. Man was I relieved that someone didn't steal it!!

I registered about an hour before race time, was #30 to sign up out of 35 racers. Lined up at the back row and found it difficult to find my way to the front before the big climb, I entered the single track about 10th, and pretty much stayed there the entire 18 miles. I swapped back a forth a couple of times, but ended up 10th place. My training died off in May, and the hot summer took it's toll on my riding; add in the wet conditions and I think I did well.

Back Row:

Hello:

Few.Fast.Dirty.
/JT

Camp Eagle Pre-Ride

2009-08-19T13:42:00.002-05:00

Woke up at 430 on Saturday, car wheels down at 530 to meet the bike wheels down by 8am. I was 2 minutes behind my friends Steve and Mel from Austin.

We did 2 laps then hit the Nueces River for a cool down. Ahh, refreshing.

The course was marked for an Xterra race they held Sunday. They pretty much have the CAT3 race loop groomed to make for some beginner friendly trails, there is still techy stuff and the dry creek bed is still a good challenge, but the smoother trails are going to translate to much faster times IMHO. There is one section called Texas, and it is still the technical wonder it always has been, I cleared a few more sections than I have in the past, but still hiked the bike a few times. Gotta learn to cyclo-cross those sections better, or just nut-up and ride 'em!

They added some more toys to the water front that my kids are gonna love, in particular are two water slides from the top of the ridge down into the river, it's about ~75 feet the ridge to the water, whoosh!!

Crunch Time

2009-08-11T15:00:00.004-05:00

4 Weeks left until the first Fall Cup race at Camp Eagle. I have a screen shelter reserved for the kids and I; our annual camping trip to Camp Eagle with a nice fast XC ride for me thrown in! The trails at Camp Eagle are arguably the best in the state! The amenities are fabulous fun for the kids! The Nueces River is sourced from underground springs and stays remarkably cold year long!

This bridge over the Nueces River is part of the XC course:

The blob is too much fun!

I'm getting back into the riding groove, but probably a bit late to be 100% for Camp Eagle, maybe I'll be ready for BTU Power Pedal in Bryan, TX in October??

Few.Fast.Dirty.
/jt

40 Days

2009-08-05T12:17:00.002-05:00

40 Days with 100+ degree highs, ouch. Training has been mostly indoors, and mostly infrequent. Gotta get back on the training wagon, next race is on September 6th.

I was lucky enough to go on a business trip to Taos, NM and ride the South Boundary Trail with some friends. We started at the trail head on the Angel Fire side and rode back to Taos, dropping into town on the Otero Trail. The first few miles were hell on me (several thousand feet of elevation gain to crest 10.5K or so), but once we got to the real single track, aspen groves, etc it was worth the pain. We did get turned around a few times as it seems some one must have absconded with some trail markers at a few key points.

We also squeezed in a ride on the Dale Ball Trails in Santa Fe. Nice, extremely well marked city trail system.

Looking around the GT Dirt blogs it seems like we have quite a few great stories and many podiums. Way to go Dirt Coalition!!

Few.Fast.Dirty.
/jt

New Team Sage Cycles Sponsor's

2009-07-13T12:51:00.005-05:00

Although GT Dirt Coalition is my main sponsor, I ride, race, train and hang out with Team Sage Cycles. My LBS Sage Cycles is the title sponsor of the team, and we have picked up some new sponsor's for the 2009 Fall, and 2010 Spring Season and some have stepped up and renewed their sponsorship.

The first is Alamo Golden Ale. Alamo Beer Company is the brainchild of Eugene Simor of San Antonio, Texas. Handcrafted just a day’s ride from the Alamo, Alamo Golden Ale is the company’s first offering in San Antonio, Texas. So the next time you’re in town, remember to raise some ale. Eugene showed up at our team BBQ last night with a cooler full of Golden Ale. I hadn't had it since he slighty reformulated it making it less sweet and more balanced with a nice hop and slightly bitter finish (which is a good thing). To me it was much improved and I see going to it as the standard ale in the fridge. Thanks Eugene! We look forward to seeing you at the races!

Magura has also stepped up to provide 5 of the Team Sage Cycles racers with the Durin SL100 suspension forks and Marta SL brake systems. I have heard great things from my team-mates about both the Durin and the Marta's. Gonna save up and grab some at a good price thanks to Sage Cycles and Magura.

Bob's Red Mill has stepped up once again as a cash and product sponsor. Many of us at Team Sage Cycles start our day out with Bob's products. My favorite breakfast is Old Country Style Muesli, cold with milk and honey. That's also usually my pre-race meal. Healthy, nutritious, and a balanced meal.

Being the caffeine fiend I am, and seeing my stomach can't handle acidic coffee, I tend to be a tea totaler. Good thing that the world's best Earl Grey Tea maker, Bigelow Tea, is on board once again as a sponsor. They use natural bergamot oils, not essences like most EG's. I use one bag of EG and one of English Tea Time for a strong deliciuos cup of tea. 3-4X daily. Of course drinking a few gallons of water a day I can get away with the caffeine consumption. It's a bad day when I don't get my bergamot fix!

From one of the largest petro hubs in the world, Houston, Texas comes Bike Medicine's Purple Extreme chain lube. Purple Extreme is an advanced, high performance, synthetic bike chain lubricant. Purple Extreme was originally formulated to protect drive chains in the mining business and on offshore oil rigs, in some the harshest conditions imaginable, for months at a time. I run it exclusively on my road bikes and it's set and forget. Once again our friends in Houston have stepped up to sponsor Team Sage Cycles.

Scrub Components is also on board with their rotor line, weighing it at a mere 56grams for their 160mm rotors. The heart of Scrub Components is their superlight disc brake rotors. Their rotors are built one at a time from metal-matrix composite sheet.

Thanks to all of our Sponsors, and especially Rick at Sage Cycles, and team mates Charissa, Gary, and Ryan for all of their hard work doing the background work to negotiate sponsorship deals. Hoo Rah!

Heat Wave

2009-07-10T15:03:00.003-05:00

No let up yet, nor on the horizon. With this weather, it's either the Gym spin bike, o-dark thirty rides, or like last night, hit the heat. The modest paced 10ish miler felt more like 20 miles.

(picture credit to Dennis Adams, BTW)

Received the new GT Dirt Coalition kit yesterday, to my surprise the package contained an extra bib short (old design) and a couple more DC t-shirts in medium. My son gets them until race season (I'm assuming I'll actually fit in them by then, LOL).

105°

2009-06-28T15:57:00.003-05:00

Wow is the heat a buzz kill. The last two weeks, and the foreseeable future is around triple digits. Looks like rides will all now be starting at 6-630am, and be shorter, but more frequent, and I'll likely take the old road bike and make a permanent trainer station :-( Uggh, If I wouldn't die of heatstroke, riding when it's 105° and 80% humidity is almost better than a trainer.

I got to ride with some racer friends from Austin today at Government Canyon. We started a bit before 8am and by our finish around 11:15 it was scorching hot. It was Steve and Mel's first ride at GCSNA, and they really liked it. Seeing they are from Austin with all of the awesome trails they have, that's saying something!

Well I hope all of the GTDC team are staying cool and having great races! If any of you are going to be at the Nationals at Solvista, look for the Sage Cycles crew. Two of them are Texas State Champs and are gonna give it a go at 9000ft. I think at last count there were 5-6 of them heading up.

Few.Fast.Dirty.
/jt

June Heat

2009-06-15T10:54:00.002-05:00

Wow has the past week been HOT. Rode about 20 miles of Government Canyon on Saturday 6/6 with the Sage crew. Glad Timmy was tired, made it easier for me to keep up. Hit the gym on Tuesday, then tried riding the Tuesday niter road ride, got dropped by the main peleton at the same place as last time. I guess leg presses, curls, extensions, and calf raises affect endurance. Hit the gym again on Thursday, and rode with the guys at Salado Creek, nice new trail system being developed there. Went up to Austin to hang with friends and ride the Barton Creek Greenbelt on Saturday 6/13 and a couple of laps of Walnut Creek Park on Sunday 6/14. Great food, friends, and trails. Legs are cooked today, but will hit the gym. This week I'll be in the gym M/W/F. Gonna try and get some quick 25 mile early morning spins on the road bike (early, with lights).

Hope the rest of the GT Dirt Coalition is enjoying their prime racing season!

Few.Fast.Dirty.
/jt

Base Time

2009-06-05T13:15:00.003-05:00

Now that the Texas Spring series is over, we are all hibernating from the heat.

Last Saturday, a few of us met up with McAllister Trail Steward Laura Matthews and helped finish building the last section of a new ~1 mile addition of twisties. Forgot how hard that maddox is to yield, was fine whilst removing stumps and shrub roots, but Sunday morning was a different story. South Texas Off Road Mountain Bikers (STORM has a MOU with the city Parks and Rec department to build and maintain natural surface trails at several parks in our fair city. I hope to participate more often, in fact I need to get with the trail steward responsible for the park near my house so I can get permission to go out and trim face slappers and maybe get some weed eating done (but need a gas powered weed eater first...)

Although I did ride on Monday and Thursday this week, 100oz bladder filled mostly with ice is the ticket. Fortunately the humidity has been okay this week. Tomorrow I'm doing the Sage Cycles Shop Ride. We are fortunate to have Government Canyon State Natural Area to ride in, very close and some awesome south Texas trails.

I hit the gym today, has been a while, and forgot how good it felt, the endorphin rush was pleasant! I'm lucky to have access to a small gym here in our office building, with showers. Now I gotta figure out a route to commute by bike that isn't too dangerous....

Ride of Silence

2009-05-26T14:49:00.002-05:00

I attended this ride last week, very good cause. Hope to have the kids in tow next year. This is the only time I've been on two wheels since the final XC race, hopeful to get a ride in on the dirt this weekend, weather permitting. I did get to take the kids camping over the Memorial Day weekend, we had a blast!

See the story and some pictures here:
San Antonio Express News Story

Texas Spring Season Finale

2009-05-19T11:25:00.005-05:00

X-Bar Shootout
ElDorado, TX
May 17, 2009

This past Sunday marked the final race in the Texas Spring Championship series.

Congratulations to Tim Kane for snagging the Championship, CAT2, 40-44. I moved up to #3 overall.

With inches of rain Friday and Saturday, and the high potential for more wind and storms I decided not to risk damaging the DC easy up. We tried to pre-ride the course around 1230 on Saturday, but got about 1/2 mile in and decided it was just too wet to ride. Went back out at 430pm and it was mostly rideable.

For the race Sunday they reduced the loop to 6 miles, down from 9, but increased the lap count to still make it 18 miles. Fortunately it didn't rain overnight Saturday and the CAT3's and CAT1's raced ahead of us, helping get rid of some of the mud, but there were still spots where you had to CX the bike across.

I was third into the single track, and about 2 miles or so in, I almost endo'd in a rock garden, and having issues getting back on the saddle and clipped in Gary comes around me. Towards the end of lap 2 Drew catches me and goes around me and gaps me in a tricky section he cleaned and I dabbed. Lap 3 I was all alone and not sure of my pace requirements and Mark and Phil catch me with only a few hundred yards left. Mark blazes around me, and when I realize he's in my class, I hit the gas. In the same section Drew got me last lap (I didn't clean that section in 3 previous tries), Mark and I both pretty much clean it, but he beats me in the final sprint to the line, 6th place, Phil didn't clean it, and was a second or so behind. That was enough points wise to put me in 3rd for the series!

Drew on my six.

Lots of rocks:

Session 1

2009-05-14T18:05:00.003-05:00

Never done the chiro thing, and was hoping he'd snap-crackle-pop my back and all would be well. No improvement that I can detect. Impatient, I know. Back again in the morning.

Sciatica?

2009-05-13T21:24:00.002-05:00

Welp, looks like there is some disk compression in the lumbar. Chiro took some pictures and the basic physical exam seems I caught it early and it should be nothing extreme. Hopefully the initial session tomorrow will turn out to alleviate the ache and tinglies. He warned I might be off the bike for 6 weeks and to think about a recumbent.

Recumbent mountain bike? Whatever.

I'm racing X-bar this weekend, lots of rocks, ledges, etc. Sounds like I might need to go back for another decompression next week.

Hey if you can't feel your leg, that means you can push harder, right?

Last week of the Spring Season

2009-05-12T22:30:00.003-05:00

Wow, can't believe the Texas Spring racing season is coming to a close this weekend. I can certainly feel that I've gone down hill, especially since we had 3 races in a row. Difficult to figure out what to do to hold shape.

Before the last race I was doing a road ride and felt some hammy issues in my left leg. Thinking it was the fit on the roadie, I scheduled a biomechanic session with Joe Sulak. He made adjustments to the bike, we changed stems, and he tested me for flexibility. It appears I have some lopsided flex issues with left adductor / right abductor so he recommended some stretches to help alleviate my wild pedal stroke. Gotta work on that over the summer.......

So I go out today for a ride (on the mal-adjusted SS, not the just tweaked roadie) and it seems I'm having back issues, my thinking is a pinched nerve, as the hammy pain I thought I was having seems to have turned to tingling and what not. The whole sciatic nerve dealio on the left side. Chiro next??

So this weekend is the finale. Timmy is leading by a decent margin, although if he doesn't finish in the top 4, Scott, Jason or I could sneak past him in the points and take the season. He knows this so I am sure he will ride a very smart race. I'll give it a go, in 4th overall and have the potential to move up in the standings. I'd like a top 3 in my first Cat2 Spring season....

The Golden Race

2009-05-04T11:31:00.022-05:00

GHORBA Big Ring Challenge
Coldspring, TX
Double Lake Rec Area, Sam Houston National Forest
May 3, 2009.

When we arrived Saturday morning, Paco (Golden Bike) and Louis (GT Demo Tour) were busy setting up with the help of Mike Pluto (GT Sales Rep for Texas). My buddy Drew and I went to work setting up the GT Dirt Coalition tent, and then went to work helping Louis and Mike prep some of the GT Swag bags and water bottles. We also helped Louis set out some of the demo bikes. Man is that Zaskar team an awesome machine.

Race Report: Sunday Morning, 845am. Raining, hard and I've only ridden once on a wet course a few years ago, so this was somewhat new to me. Race Start 9:09 am. Rain subsided just in time for staging, so we went off during a dry spell. The start of the race is up a paved road, about 1/4 mile before a 90 degree left into the single track. I'm up front with Jason on the right, Scott on the left, Tim is right there as well, as we slowed for the turn, Jason pulls into the track first, me second. I'm sliding in the mud on a few turns having to dab to say upright. Man was it a mess.

A few miles in and I can't get my breathing under control (still a bit under with a sinus infection), Tim notices me fading off of Jason so goes around to reel him in. Soon there after Scott and Doug come around as well, putting me in 5th. I tried staying on their wheel, but still laboring for breath I get dropped. Drew catches me and we ride together going really fast as the trail is shaping up and draining well. Towards the end of lap 1, Daryl catches up and the three of us swoop along having some fun. Drew blows a turn and we get past him and head out for lap 2, I slow to get a handup and shoot down a Carb-boom gel, Daryl continues on at speed and I started cramping (just the left calf this time). Drew caught back up somewhere during lap 2, and came around, I followed for a while, but he pulled away.

A mile or so into the single track on the 3rd lap, it gets dark, oh great, more rain. Miserable as the trail was turning back into wet muck again, and visibility was meager. Quentin and Gary catch and pass me at some point. Less than a mile to go and Philip passes me, and KC catches back up, last turn before the finish straight KC slides out and crashes. Philip and I sprint to the finish and I edge him out by a few seconds, 9th place. Fun, maybe, miserable, yeah lap 3 was.....

Thanks to the Golden Bike, Demo Tour, and Jenny's home made energy bars I got to talk to lots of folks about GT and IMBA. I got to meet the marketing folks running the GB stuff with Paco. Greater Houston Off-Road Bicycle Association (GHORBA) hosted an awesome event and things went smoothly. The $7 bottom-less pints with commemorative glass were the hit.

Me, the Golden Bike Winner

The real Golden Bike Winner, Vincent Lombardi successfully retained the Golden Bike, smacking down the local amateur experts (his finish time would have put him in 5th against the pro's):

Louis' Toy Box:

The Dirty Bike (my GT Marathon Carbon Pro):

Congrats out to the podium finishers Doug Webb (TX Pro-health), Timmy Kane (Sage Cycles) and Daryl Rosenfeld (BikeBarn). Jason Grimes (OA) and Scott Long (Longshot) rounded out the top five. Great mud bog skills boys!

Few.Fast.Dirty.
/JT

Hill Country Challenge Omnium Win

2009-04-19T17:42:00.014-05:00

Comfort, Tx. Flat Rock Ranch.
April 18 and 19, 2009

After several days of deluge, much needed rain for the countries #1 dehydrated state, the South Texas Off Road Mountain Bikers hosted the Hill Country Challenge Omnium.

The attendance was a bit lower than anticipated due to the rain. Too bad for the weather watcher's. The trail was primo for the STXC and TT events on Saturday, and even better for Sunday, the best conditions in ages. You can see all the kids that showed up for the kids kup here. I offered to let them stream through the GT tent with shimnano tape hanging down kinda like a carwash, but not enough time to set it up. Shucks, the kids woulda liked it.

As a CAT2, my omnium was TT (Saturday) and XC (Sunday).

Here is my Saturday kit, until the next DC kit comes in:

Our tent location today was ideal. Traffic had to pass through our area and it paid off. Many folks oogling the Marathon, both Willie Rivera and I's. This course and the Marathon are a good match. The longer travel assisted in the rocky down hills and assured a planted feel. All who came and gawked at the new GT tech were impressed. I spoke with more folks this weekend than I did in the last two race weekends combined. I'm stoked folks are taking notice!

ONWARDS: For some reason, my math skills lacking, I thought I had more time to my TT start on Saturday afternoon, and only got in about 1 mile of warm up. Was I warm, NOT.

I staged about 3 minutes before my 30 second slot. Off I went, and fought to clip in, why did I fight with it, should of just pedaled along the flat start and clipped in at speed, DOH. Cruised through the 4 mile course, almost catching an SS racer 2 slots before me (the SS racer just ahead of me passed 2 in front of him!. I finished 2nd in the TT, 2 seconds behind Chris Koob (NRC) and 2 seconds ahead of Shawn Harris (Bike Lane). Not too shabby!

So here we are Sunday am. The winner from the last race, Jason Grimes (OA) had family stuff, so wasn't around; but Matt Schram (Austin Bikes) and Daryl Hilsenbeck (NRC) were. They finished 2 & 3 behind Jason up at Reimers.

I was late to the line and everyone was relieved to find I finally showed up...They are so eager to hand me my arse :-)

I'm up front with the leaders into the 100 yard start and wimp it around the corner and up the hill, 6th into the single track. The top six actually gap the field some 10 or 20 seconds in short order, and once we hit a pretty good uphill double step ledge I end up #3 going along. Matt doesn't take but a few seconds to realize his engine is going strong and dumps 2 & 3 into 3 & 4 (me being 4). Not long after, Daryl (3) hollers Tim (1) is pulling away and it seems Matt puts some effort to close the gap. Daryl lets me around so I can show him the line (local track for me) and after we get to the top of a techy climb, I let him back around as he is a better descender than I am.

Yeah, this is cool looking and all, but when me arse is above me head, I get a wee bit nervous, I rolled it, but still, them rocks are skeery:

As I come through the transition between the upper and lower pasture (yes, we Texans race alot on private cattle ranches, most of our lone star state is private land), I can see the top 3 several hundred yards ahead. I pedaled, but my legs felt like jelly. I put my head down and just plugged away. Unfortunately for Tim, I passed him as he was attending to a flat (again), putting me into 3rd. Knowing I needed to protect what I just gained I poured some on and held to what I had until the end. I struggled for a while, calves twitching then cramping here and there, and any freewheel I hear, fearing Scott or Tim. Daryl found his way around Matt at some point and put some time between them. They both finished solidly ahead of me, especially considering they both dropped their chain at some point. End result of the XC, Daryl #1, Matt #2, and I eeked in at #3.

With 2nd in TT and 3rd in XC, I ended up 1st in the General Classification. Top of the podium for the Omnium. Woo-Hoo.

I can't wait...two weeks away from meeting the Golden Bike winner (and of course the cheerleaders!!!!!)

Congrats to Chris Koob (NRC), second place in the GC and Shawn Harris (Bike Lane) third place. Rounding out the top five were Leonard Roberson (Bicycles, Inc) and Mark Roberson (M7 Racing). Good ride boys!

CHEERS! Sharing an ice cold Guinness with Mr. Sage Cycles, Rick Morris:

Few.Fast.Dirty.
/JT

Wow, a week without a race

2009-04-11T19:49:00.003-05:00

So this was a week without a race, it was tough figuring out what to do with 3 races in a row.

I rested Monday and Tuesday, and decided to try and squeeze in a lap at Flat Rock Ranch. FRR is our next race venue, and I only had time to do the lower loop and the inter-loop transition. About 15 miles. They cut some new trail on the lower so it was good to get a feel for it. Although I was sportin' the DC kit, I encountered nothing but cattle and sheep. Doubt they were impressed.

Jen and I had a date Thursday night, so no training.

Opted for a lap at GOV Canyon State Natural area on Friday. Looped around the back country to hit as much goodness as I could. Got in about 18 miles of Hill Country rocky goodness. Left some skin on a rock or two. OUCH.

Saturday, some confusion on start time, but hooked up with some Sage Cycles and Peak Fitness friends and we did a full loop at Flat Rock Ranch. Was doing good until I stalled on a rocky uphill and subsequently got run over by rock-hoppin Randy. Down I went, bruised calf from a pedal strike, and the left side is sore where I landed. Shoulda known better to stall in front of Mr. DP. All Good.

Got home, did some grocery shopping (I'm the cook in the family and need to make provisions for Easter Sunday), decorated some eggs with the kids. I tried to make a blue and yellow GT egg, it's okay. Will post pix later.

Happy Easter to all!

Few.Fast.Dirty.
/JT

Green Eggs and Derailleur?

2009-04-05T18:51:00.007-05:00

My apologies to the doc, Seuss, that is!

I would not, could not, in a box.
I could not, would not, with a fox.

I would not, could not, win a race,
I could not, would not, hittin' rockface.

A derailleur works when its straight,
Does not, does not with a crook-ed face.

Mr Jim is not so fasst, when he catapults his ........

Ledge mashin', yeah its a ledge, darn 2d:

The GT Marathon Pro LOVES ledge hoppin! Jim loves ledge hoppin' on his Marathon. 'Cept of course when lap two mind numb is involved. That darn gummed rock decided to eat my "shadow" derailleur (Maybe I need the invisible version), and my strong 4th place gonna catch 3 & 2 at the next turn woulda been.......Oh well.

Talked to some folks about the cushy Marathon, handed out some IMBA material, and hope to get great exposure at Comfort and Double Lake. Oh! And drank some beer. Okay, more beer. Hittin the ledge and cartwheeling hurt me more than the Marathon. Marathon is fine (less the d.hanger) Jim has some post traumatic stress to deal with :-) Nothin a few sessions with the ol Shiner Bock won't situate!

Yo, Yo, Gary, around the rock is fastah! Yep the only rock rockin the course got me!

Congrats out to the top five:
Jason Grimes (Team OA/Mad Duck) {His first win, AWESOME}
Matt Schram (AustinBikes) {Uber Strong Rhodie, first MTB Race!! WOW}
Daryl Hilsenbeck (Team NRC) {Second MTB race, second podium, strong rider indeed}
TimmyK (Team Sage Cycles) {Freaking everyone out with his post race crampathon}
Gary Hanna (Team NRC) {Talk smooth and consistent, that's Gary!}

Few.Fast.Dirty.
/jt

Podium you say!

2009-03-29T20:17:00.007-05:00

March 29, 2009. The Warda Race.

So the GT Marathon Pro is cleaned, lubed, and ready to roll. I have like 25 miles experience on her race morning. Temps are in the low 40's, brrr. Dew temp is right there too. Start is in a wet grassy field.

For those impatient, I won. My first bridal show. Sure, I've been bridesmaid many, many times......too many. I finally got hitched and won a race. So, first race on my GT Marathon Pro, first win for me, eva....hmmmmm.

For those patient: The whole shot was nothing to worry about, 1+ mile of open field to settle in. I led to the first turn, coasted through (wet grass), and several folks get by. I hammer the straight to stay in the top 10, and as we pass the cattle guard (we are racing on a private cattle ranch) the single track is left, jeep road parallel to the right. The majority of the lead peleton stays on the jeep track, I stay on the single track. Low and behold, the single track is faster, I end up in second into the trees. My teammate (former, Team Sage Cycles) Timmy pin balls off a tree and I get around and lead lap 1 almost to the end. Michael gets around me and slows big time (?) then Timmy pulls past us both under a 1/2 mile to the transition. I pull around Michael and Timmy and I cruise into the trees with a good gap on #3. As we continue to plow thru back markers from ahead, Timmy finds a root that upsets his bike, and OTB he goes. I was just far enough off his wheel to sneak past as his bike bounces. He's up and hollerin at me to go-go-go. I turn on the heat to take what little advantage there was in his mishap. Lap 3 was lonely, not sure how far up I was, I just zoned on the next back marker up front, past em, found another, and kept putting them between me and #2. I ended up with a 90 second gap on Scott. He was my goal today, I wanted to beat Scott. Hoo-rah!

That's CamelBak's race back under the GT Jersey. Very nice device, and with the unusual water bottle mounts on the Marathon, this works perfectly.

A good techy course is next weekend, Reimers Ranch in Austin. The Austin Ridge Riders host an awesome race, and they like uphill ledges, the 2-4 foot variety. Lets see how the GT likes ledge hoppin!

P.S. The Marathon gets sweet sleeping digs:

Few.Fast.Dirty.
/jt

Marathon Carbon Pro

2009-03-23T19:27:00.004-05:00

Wow! Wow, what a bike. I received the GT Marathon Carbon Pro on Saturday while I was off racing. I unboxed it last night and stared at it awhile. I went ahead and set it up initially just like my Scott Spark (seat height, stack height on steerer, saddle angle, pedals, air pressures, etc).

Almost spot on, a few tweaks will be needed, but was close enough on my test ride. I was railing corners out at the Birds of Prey trail and man oh man does she take it. I slid her sideways through a few turns (not used to Kenda karma's) but it was all very predictable. The handling is confidence inspiring. She soaked up rock gardens well. Need to get some protection on the chain stay, I had the chain slapping pretty good on the bumpy stuff, but I expected it on a single pivot machine.

I then took her to KCF hill. A lung and leg buster (for San Antonio anyway). Short and steep, loose. I tried it twice, in my preferred climbing gear (mid chain ring and 32 tooth out back) I went right up, no slipping, good line, bad line, in the saddle, off the saddle. Very cool. I then tried it in the small chain ring, and the 25(ish) cog and over torqued her a few times on the saddle and spinning the rear wheel, off saddle it was very planted. Couldn't do that on my previous single pivot Cannondale!

Me and my new steed (and very cool GT Dirt Coalition Kit by Sugoi):

Few.Fast.Dirty.
/JT

Got Air?

2009-03-23T12:21:00.005-05:00

Sunday March 22, 2009: Waco, Tx Outback Blow-out Race Report:

The race name sums it up in many respects, blow-out.

1. Fellow Team Sage Cycles racer TimmyK, blew away the Cat2 40-44 by over a two minute margin.
2. Not so much a blow-out, but I suppose I got a little zealous on lap 1 and helped my rear tire loose some air by burping now and again. There are a few downhill's that just need you to catch air, otherwise whats the fun?

The morning was superb. We had a 9am start time and the conditions were perfect. Lots of rain a week back to pack down trail, everything smooth and ready, except the uneven grassy pasture we started in. There are about 3 turns weaving around before the single track in the grass. I find myself leading the start sprint into turn 1, coast through it and zoom, 1 passes, accelerate to turn 2, coast, zoom zoom, two pass, turn three zoom, 1 more pass, just before the single track, zoom. I'm about 5th into the single track, and stay there for all of lap 1.

Lap 2 we pass Jason, who flatted, but Scott had passed earlier, so evened me out at 5 or 6? I'm feeling stronger about 9 miles into the 12 miler, and just pass who I thought was #5 into 4 and start building some space and reeling in Scott. Feeling solid up the climbs, I'm recovering faster and screaming downhill. Sharp left turn at the bottom, rear wheel rolls a bit sideways, bead unseats, no chance for Stans to work.

I pull over and shoot in a GEAX air/latex canister, but it doesn't have the uumph to reseat the bead. Not thinking right I decide to throw a tube in. Overturn the bike, but can't get it stable. So had to walk several hundred yards to find a flat area to work off the trail. Open the seat bag and out spills my CO2 pump. In pieces. The nozzle head came apart. Piece it back together, get the tube into the stans/slime coated tire, air it up. Holding air fine, whew. Struggle to get the wheel back on. Frustrated I just want to finish. Then anger settles in and I decide to hammer the last few miles to the finish, DNF and DFL are not options.

I end up 19th of 26th. Took me at least 8 minutes + to get air. Was really upsetting when I looked at the results, I would have finished 3rd, if not second as I was feeling strong and making time on #2........

I should have shot CO2 in first to seat the bead, then used the GEAX canister. I never used one before, lesson learned.

Again, Congrats to Tim for an awesome win!!

Few.Fast.Dirty.
/JT

Friday Ramblings

2009-03-20T15:13:00.002-05:00

Anticipation. The GT welcome kit awaits at home. Fedex has my Marathon, and should deliver it Saturday. Bad news is I will be up in Waco, TX this weekend for a race (yup more anticipation), likely the last one this season on my "other" bike. Good news is, that I have a week to dial in the Marathon for a race next weekend up in Warda, TX. Not one of my 6 required, and actually ahead of the contract start date, buy why not! Represent more and often!

Wednesday found me riding our local city park, OP Schnable. 18 miles of fun single track, some jeep road, some pavement. But still a good workout. Thursday was an easy spin at another local park, MacAllister. A fine place to practice handling through tight trees.

Closing up shop here at work; gonna hit the bike shop to pickup the race bike, grocery store for weekend provisions, and home to get it all cleaned, packed, cooked, and ready to roll at o'dark 30 to drive up to Waco for a pre-ride. Going to try and get in two laps before noon then hit the hotel and rest hard!

Few.Fast.Dirty.
/JT

Tuesday Nighter

2009-03-17T21:00:00.002-05:00

Wow, that was a fast road ride! There is a long standing road ride on Tuesday nights here in San Antonio during daylight savings. It's referred to as the cheapest race in town. First time for me, and I was impressed, not as large a group as normal, I'd say less than 35 riders. I learned a lot about pace and pace-lines in this type environment as my previous exposure was team rides, common pace, common goals, etc. This racier stuff is certainly not a team ride or XC racing :-). 25 miles in hill country terrain, I faded fast at the end, ~1:09 finish time.

That hour of riding sure was better than the hour on the trainer last night!! The weather tonight was PERFECT!

Few.Fast.Dirty,
/JT

GT TENT

2009-03-14T16:08:00.005-05:00

Fedex just dropped by, in his truck was the GT Dirt Coalition Tent. My kids, Josh, Mya, Ana, and Ian, as well as Josh's best friend Thomas, assisted me with putting up the tent in the living room. Too cold and wet outside so we decided to try it out indoors.

Cool Tent, here is my Vanna White:

The childrens goofing off:

The oh so hot Jenny, my umbrella girl:

Rain, hoo-ahh

2009-03-12T20:09:00.003-05:00

As mentioned below, training on the road with odd work hours has been extremely difficult. The weather in Waco, TX has pushed the race off a week. I am thankful, as I only had time for 1 day on the hotel spin bike. A decent workout, but too lite for the pre-race week. Friday is going to be another 14-16 hour workday, considering the travel piece. Here's to hoping for a smooth travel day.

Few.Fast.Dirty.
/JT

Week of 9 March

2009-03-10T21:41:00.004-05:00

Wow, been a long week and it's only Tuesday. I'm out of town on business travel to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. On Monday, I was up at 4am for an early 7am departure. Traveled here via Chicago and Raleigh. Got to the hotel after 5pm. Today, I woke up early to be on base by 7am, got back to the hotel after 9:30pm EDT. Sooo, no workout for me. Although they do have a recumbent spin bike in the hotel exercise room. I hope to get an hour in tomorrow morning, if not, maybe after supper at my older sister Linda's house in the evening. I did get to have supper with her and her family on Monday night at a local southern soul food place. The collards and okra were exceptional, as was the ribs & cabbage!!

On to some good news, I received an email from the GT Dirt Coalition management and the GT Dirt Coalition Kit (bike, apparel, etc) should be delivered to my home address by March 20th. I'm hopeful to have the GT Marathon Pro dialed in and ready to race by the Warda Race on March 29th, but certainly in time for the Reimers Ranch Race on April 5th.

Sooo, look for me soon riding the Marathon in my GT Dirt Coalition kit!! Woo-hoo!

Few.Fast.Dirty.
/JT

TMBRA Spring Series Overalls

2009-03-02T21:32:00.004-06:00

Granted this is race 2 of 8 with 3 drops (Best 5 of 8 decide the champion), I can get used to seeing this. First time in my young racing career. #3 (Tim Kane) and a few others not visible on the list are going to make me work extremely hard to try and keep my name on this page of Top 5. Printing this and putting it on the top tube, trainer, refrigerator, ice chest (beer), etc will be like a motivation poster for me............(and if I know Tim, him too..)

Bar-H Bash Race Report

2009-03-02T12:01:00.007-06:00

Sunday, March 1, 2009. Bar-H Ranch, Saint Jo, Texas.

Starting out the day at 9am with 25 degree weather with a high teen wind chill were fellow Team Sage Cycles Expert racers Rick Morris, Randy James, Brian Zettner,Bob Cowley, and Forist David Jr. In the 50+ Rick improved his time by over 9 minutes compared to 2008 finishing in a strong 10th place and Randy finished 12th. Not enough rocks and ledges for Randy to play on, he'll be up front on the more technical courses which play to his skills. Forist, Brian, and Bob finished 12th, 19th and 22nd in the extremely competitive 40+ Expert group.

At 11am, the weather warmed a bit to the low 40's, wind around 11mph. In the Sport 40-44 race, fellow Team Sage Cycles racer Tim Kane and I lined up, I edged to the front right, Tim taking the opposite corner. They called up the top 10 and I rolled up with about 5 of my competitors from Terlingua. At the whistle, I was in the top 2 getting ready to make a 90 degree left into the single track, but during my pre-ride I turned onto the single track at the wrong place (unknowingly) and slowed to take the turn where a course marshal hollered at me to keep going straight. This error pushed me to about 5th going into the real single track turn. After a few minutes rider #4 was allowing a gap to third so I rushed around him to 4th. The top 4 train then pulled away, putting a good gap on the field. I pulled into 3rd on the first hill climb. Near the end of the first lap I pulled around the #2 guy at the top of a small climb, put my head down to try and reel in Tim Kane, who had built a solid 60 second lead. I was putting a small gap on #3 in the small rolling climbs, and lost whatever gain I made due to crashing when I let my guard down, letting my mind wander. Steep down hill, totally not technical, kind of a wide rut, front tire was above/outside the rut, rear stayed in, next thing I knew I was tumbling sideways down the hill, first few with the bike, then the bike went tumbling along by itself. I ran to it, jumped back on, crooked seat and all. After getting my senses back and seat straightened, #3 came around me at the start/finish at the start of the second lap. I lost sight of him in traffic, and never reeled him back in. He ended up putting a 60ish second gap on me, and closing to within 30 of Tim who took the win with an extremely fast 1:20. Way to go Tim!! Second place went to Jason Grimes (OA/Mad Duck - Dallas, Tx), and I finished third with over 75 seconds on 4th place.

Tim and I stopped at Bonnie's Kitchen in Sanger, TX on the drive home. I treated him to a buffet dinner. The pork in green chile was delicious. A new pact was made with Tim, loser buys dinner from here on out. New motivation to ride harder, eat better, and figure out the insomnia.

Next race: March 15, 2009. Outback Blow-out, Cameron Park, Waco, Tx

Pictures, credit Rudy and Kelly Rymal.

Jason and I coming thru for lap 2:

Goofing around with camera-woman Kelly on the course during lap 2:

Award, a neat poster, a bag of Mad Duck Cyclery coffee and some chocolate covered pretzels that my wife and kids are enjoying.

Blog Layout

2009-02-25T23:01:00.003-06:00

Working with input from my buds Zach and Rick, I continue to modify the layout of my newbie blog. I've worked with limited HTML, etc previously and I find that blog spot is very user friendly. I'll continue to mod the site, I won't rest until all the images on the right frame are in order. It seems that the discipline instilled in me over 20 years ago when I was Sgt. Thomas, US Army, won't suffer unevenly sized images :-) I finish this night sipping a nice domestic Cab/Shiraz blend. The Guinness is reserved for post-race up in Saint Jo this weekend.

Training

2009-02-25T16:26:00.000-06:00

I rode at McAllister Park after work Tuesday. Managed to squeeze in 19 miles before the sun went down. Pace was a brisk 12.67mph, not too shabby considering the dry dusty conditions. We need some measurable rain fall!

GT Dirt Coalition Email

2009-02-25T15:59:00.000-06:00

I received the nod from Team GT Management! I am so stoked to be selected and look forward to representing the coalition, GT, and IMBA across the Texas racing scene! Cool-Cool!

Congratulations!  We're excited to announce that you've been selected
to join the GT Dirt Coalition.

We've recruited a group of like-minded athletes who live to race,
enjoy getting dirty and sharing stories over a beer and pizza
afterwards. As a member of the Dirt Coalition, you will represent GT on
and off the course by racing a GT bike, wearing your branded apparel
kit, setting up a GT tent at six of your races and spreading the gospel
about GT and IMBA's advocacy efforts.