Sea Otter Classic 08: Cold and Windy!

I was blessed to be able to attend the 2008 Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, CA from April 17-20. I say blessed because I wouldn't have been there had it not been for my company Liberty Mountain and Vaude exhibiting at the event. I worked the exhibition booth while there, but was able to pre-ride the course after the show closed on Thursday and raced early Saturday morning. The pre-ride was amazing, sunny, perfect conditions, and I had a great ride except for flatting 3 or so miles from the finish. Although it was late in the day, a rider from Cytomax stopped and gave me a CO2 cartridge and I got home! I think my rear shock was a bit over pressurized but I didn't have time to mess around with it.

Raceday was cold, windy, grey, dreary, cold, and cold! Did I mention it was cold? Unfortunately, being from Canada and living in Utah, I assumed that California would be super warm in late April so I didn't pack my arm or leg warmers. Fortunately, I had a Mountain Hardwear windbloc zip T I was able to wear under my jersey and I'm sure that saved my butt! The loop is just over 19 miles long and had around 3500 feet of climbing. So about the same as the Mid-Mountain trail in Park City, one of my favorites. There were two super sandy downhills that I was a bit sketched out in, especially because I overinflated my brand new Kenda Smallblock 8 rear tire so it was slipping a lot in the sand covered hardpack, but I made it through alright.

I crashed hard about halfway into the ride when a rider went down right in front of me and I skinned my left knee pretty bad. I kept riding and by the end of the ride I had a sweet dried blood trail down to the timing anklet and sock! The best part of the race was that there was a rider that I kept passing and getting passed by. I would pass him on a climb, and he would pass me back on a downhill section. We did this probably 4 or 5 times over the ride. There is a looooong climb before the last quick downhill finish. I was determined to pass him on the climb and give it hell to the finish. I passed him just before the crest and never gave it up. I checked times and i was almost half a minute ahead of him! That made my 49th place finish out of 72 seem sooooo much better! Hahaha! Overall the race and exhibition was soooo much fun and I can't wait for next year!

Desert Rampage: Day Full of Surprises...

The first race of the Intermountain Cup is the Desert Rampage, held March 1st in Green Valley outside of St. George, UT. It's a great location because it's warm, dry, and a fairly non-technical course. I raced my new Ellsworth Evolve for the first time and was able to get a better feel for it.  I took Friday off from work and got there that afternoon after a windy drive down from Salt Lake, and immediately suited up to pre-ride the course. I raced here last year and the course hadn't changed so I knew that the loop would ride up a steep rocky wash, climb up the ridge, come down again, up another wash and climb to the ridge again, before a fast downhill to the start/finish area. 

The Evolve has a dual nature due to the four-bar suspension and Fox RP23 shock. In the "open" position the shock pedals well and soaks up the large and small bumps; however, when in the "closed" position it pedals very well yet felt a bit harsh. I need to dial in my shock pressure and rebound settings so that will affect it as well. It's easy enough to flip the switch when you have a lot of climbing but most of the time I just kept it open as I don't have a smooth enough stroke to take advantage of the stable platform damping anyway. My new 180mm XTR cranks were amazing! I noticed more leverage and due to the high bottom bracket height had no problem with pedal strikes, I am super stoked on these cranks! Although it pedaled well, I can still lose some chub on the Evolve, as it's still in the high 27 pound range, maybe some lighter tires, pedals, brakes, and a cassette. Other than that, the frame rode amazing and I had a blast on it!

The race was super fun, even though I cramped up and finished near the back of the pack in my division. One of my favorite things in the whole world is seeing sponsored riders on 4 and 5,000 dollar machines lining up in the Sport division! Hahahaha, stop sandbagging and move up a level already! The highlight of the race for me was on the second lap when an Expert rider came up behind me and arrogantly barked "passing on the left!" At the time I was in Keyhole Wash with five foot walls on either side of me so I yelled back "where exactly are you passing at?", to which he replied again "passing on the left" and tried to force me into the wash wall. I got pissed and barked back at him "where the hell do you think you're going? You can wait your damn turn!" Needless to say, he didn't try to pass until the trail opened up. The best part is my buddy Chad was a just up the trail and heard the whole thing and tried not to laugh too hard at the rider! 

Overall, the race was a reminder that Spring in Utah is just around the corner, as the temperature in St. George hovered in the low 70's, while up North we got a storm and several inches of new snow! I had fun on my bike and in the sun, and while the weekend contained some unexpected surprises for me, I worked through them and came out happy and content! 

180mm XTR Crankset...

So I bit the bullet and purchased a new XTR FC M-970 180mm crankset. I wanted something light, stiff, and to be honest...something with some unique bling! XTR has always had the best combination of light weight, superior shifting, and light weight and I chose the 180mm length due to my height, 6'3", as well as the higher gearing ratios associated with 29 inch wheels. I put it on my Ellsworth Evolve the night before (as usual) my first XC race of the year, the Desert Rampage in St. George, UT. Throughout the preride and the race, I felt a noticable difference in the gearing needed for the climbing sections. I'm sure some of this was due to a placebo effect from knowing I had longer cranks, but I'm certain it was also due to the increased leverage ratio from the 5mm difference....and the lighter weight of these cranks over my last ones. I'll post more when I get more time on the cranks, but for now I'm happy with my purchase and they look damn sexy on my bike as well!

My New Whip...

Some may find it odd that my mountain bike is worth twice as much as my car, but for those of you who have fallen in love with a passion-or who have seen my car-this may not seem all that crazy. Ever since last October's Interbike Trade show, I've had my eye on a new ride and in particular a sultry, anodized, big-wheeled, fully suspended, plush offering from Ellsworth Handcrafted Bicycles. 

Through the shop I used to work at, i was able to pick up my smoke anodized Ellsworth Evolve 4 inch full suspension 29'er frame just days after ordering it! That night Racer and I ordered pepperoni and cheese pizza, and settled in for the long haul as we built it up using the parts from the Gary Fisher Supercaliber 29'er I rode last season. Parts spec includes a Rock Shox Reba fork; Fox RP23 shock; Sram X9 shifters, derailleurs, and pg-950 cassette; Bontrager cranks, bars, seatpost, stem, grips, Mustang rims, and Jones XR tires; Avid Juicy 5 disks; SLR saddle; Singletrack Solutions bar ends; Crank Brothers Candy C pedals; and handbuilt (by me!) DT Swiss 240 hubs, Supercomp spokes, and aluminum (4 red) nipples, all with Stan's goo. Entire bike weight is 28.1 pounds.

It's been hard to find adequate weather to ride in since it's been Utah's stormiest winter in 5 years, but I got a break in the weather and rode some road and low valley dirt trails. The first thing I noticed (after the gorgeous finish of the anodization) was how solid the suspension and linkage felt. My previous ride was an inch less suspension travel and much lighter but the tradeoff came in lateral rigidity. The Evolve cornered and soaked up power turns without the rear end shudder I've noticed (albeit I'm no lightweight at a 185 pound race weight). The extra inch of rear travel as well and it just felt extremely balanced with the 4 inch Reba up front, and I felt balanced in the cockpit. The frame finish is a work of art, the welds are tight and even, the tubes are thick and the worries of Ellsworth frame failure are a thing of the past with large gussets on the down, top, and seat tubes. Pedaling with the Evolve was greatly affected by the Fox RP23 rear shock. In the Propedal setting the frame pedaled near hardtail efficient while seated but soaked up bumps encountered while climbing. In the open setting, the shock and suspension felt '64 Impala plush and soaked up the small drops and bumps I threw at it like it was Bounty. My initial impressions are that it is easily the best feeling frame I have ever ridden, and it had better be with what it cost!

The only real concerns I have are cornering and weight. I haven't had enough time on the bike to determine how well it corners in fast, tight, twisty, singletrack; which is what I'm most used to riding in the Utah Wasatch trails. Initially it felt really balanced so I don't imagine it will have any issues in this area. The other concern is it's portly weight. I'd like to drop a few pounds on the overall bike weight and, with already light wheels, this will take some creative choices. New brakes, cranks, cassette, and tires this should get me close to that goal. Mostly I just want the snow to melt, the temperature to rise, or me to grow more body hair so I can get out and ride more!

My First 24 Hour Race...

Ok, so a 24 hour mountain bike race is not as intense as it may sound...it can be, but my first one wasn't too difficult. First, some background information: a 24 hour mountain bike race is a race that is conducted on a loop of varying distance (usually between 8 and 14 miles) and the total number of laps completed in a 24 hour period is calculated. The race can be run as an individual (solo category) or in teams (2, 4, or 5 members), the team or racer with the highest number of laps completed is wins their category.

The 24 HOM had a loop distance of 15 miles and an elevation gain of 1,360 feet each lap. I raced on a 5-person co-ed team consisting of current and former workers, and friends of Racers Cycle Service, owned by friend Racer Gibson. Of the five I was the second to go out after Racer and following me was Kelly, Shae, and Maggie.

My first lap was conservative and I found the uphill sandstone sections difficult at first, but I soon got in to a rhythm and they became easier. The course was technical but soooo fun, I got a flat the first lap but was able to complete the lap! My night lap was difficult, mostly because it was the first time I had ridden at night and with new lights that took some fiddling with. Halfway though the night lap I had to stop and change my bar mounted light to my helmet and vice versa, after that the light contrast became much better and I was faster but I had a pretty slow night lap. My final lap was my fastest, it was cold and I was battling leaking air in my rear tire but I felt the most comfortable pushing it this lap because I knew it was my last and I was most familiar with the course.

Overall I LOVED the race and will compete in more 24 hour races in the future! Night riding was amazing and I look forward to getting more night laps in, and being in better shape and better prepared for next years races. I loved camping at the course and the family atmosphere that 24 hour racers share as well. Oh yeah, the hot showers and massage therapists available at the venue were amazing as well! See you there next year!

The Dub Biker...

Not to be confused with dumb biker, I feel it necessary to explain the origins of my blogspot name. Dub is a form of music that evolved out of Reggae in the 60's. It consists of remixing and reworking traditional Reggae music, often removing the lyrics and adding other dubbed sounds and beats. Today, dub refers to reworking, mixing, or adding "dubbed" tracks to any genre of music. The Biker part refers to my love and passion for mountain biking, and cycling in general. I have been biking for over a decade and racing for almost five years with my latest being the 24 Hours of Moab this past October. My hope is to mix up and reshape the perspectives of cycling, music, and life in general through the sharing of thought, ideas, wit, and rhyme. I hope you enjoy!