That ain't nuthin!

These World Cup guys think they are all that AND a bag of chips!!??? I don't think so. Look at this hookey-pokey tech-zone set up...

ANYONE, who knows ANYTHING at all, knows that faithful husband/cheerleader/race support SUPER-Todd has TWICE that much stuff available and ready for Krista Park EVERY time he goes out. But, that's NOT the impressive part. Todd carry's all of this stuff around SINGLE & SOLO...no, NOT single like that, single like as in SINGLE SPEED, with wheels hanging from ears, neck and hands. Bottles in mouth, Park Tool backpack the size of a refrigerator strapped on somehow, and all manner of tools flailing about as he is ALSO MOBILE and goes from one tech/feed zone to the next. Maybe the Specialized guys should take some notes...

World cup photos are RAD!...

However, when it comes to athletes, if these guys don't inspire, then I don't know what does!

Go Sam! Get some! This kid just keeps getting stronger!

Not just a pretty face! The girl not only has some lungs, but some technical skills, too!

Lene Byberg just keeps on trucking, too! From Sea Otter to Germany, nearly unstoppable!

Now go ride your bike!!!

LEMURIAN -- EPIC ADVENTURE!!!

Wow! To say this weekend went well for us would be an understatement! After a dismal performance in Sundays' Donkey Pop, I was pretty upset to have under-performed my home town race. But, in the spirit of moving onward and upward, I was able to mentally dispose of the Otter quickly. Unfortunately, the severe cramping I suffered stayed with me until the day before the Lemurian, making me question whether or not I would thrive or merely survive!

Fortunately, the entire Butler clan was able to put down some great rides and really enjoy the adventure of this incredibly cool race! This event offers 3 courses; the 8 mile "short/beginner", the 20 mile "intermediate/sport" and the 27 mile "long/expert" course. While there is "only" about 4500 feet of climbing on the 27 mile course, the way that it unfolds is brutal, painful, and only can be fully comprehended by actually riding (or in many cases walking...) the steeps of Whiskeytown Lake's scenic, but treacherous terrain. Not only are the climbs an assault to the senses, but the descents strike fear into even seasoned veterans and most riders barely have the physical and emotional capacity to handle the arm pumping final decent without catastrophic results...

On the 8 mile course, Bri knew it was going to be a pure sprint...and she was right! On the ascent she rode by last years beginner victor (and of course, NEMESIS!) Leah, who is a strong climber. Bri kept her in sight up the climb and then took the brakes off down the treacherous Ice Box trail to open up a comfortable margin of victory! Not only did she win her class, but she ended up 3rd overall out of all the beginners! NICE WORK!

On the 20 miler, we had Brett and "Pro Joe" ready for battle. Brett knew what to expect and blazed to a solid 4th place finish...narrowly missing the podium, but improving his time from last year considerably AND earning 8th overall out of all the 20 milers...about 70 of them! Nice job Brett!

Big Dad (aka Pro Joe) was in for a real special treat! Driving to the event, he was unsure of what race to do. I simply advised: "The short course is a pure sprint, you will hardly even get up to operating temperature and then be done. The middle course will give you some adventure and there are only like 2 climbs to contend with. I am pretty sure you will think it's easy..." When the long course looped back on the middle course, I passed Pro Joe and he was lookin' strong! I said "Good job Dad! Only a few more miles and then it's ALL downhill to the truck!" Oops. Not quite...

Upon coming into the finish, words along the lines of "Brian, I am going to KILL YOU!!!!" MIGHT have been muttered. Honestly though, in his exhausted slur of speech it's really impossible to discern what was really said. The POINT is that Pro Joe CONQUERED his demons, the course, and made it around safely in what coincidentally turned out to be only 9 minutes long of his goal time...3:09. Had it not been for some cramps, I think a 3 hour flat was in the cards! After a beer, he was doin' better. Upon realization that he podiumed with a 3rd place in the "Legends" he was on cloud nine! After looking at his race number of "309" we realized his destiny had actually been carved out pre-race...

Travis made the trek again after a dehydration bout last year nearly took him out of the race. This year was time for a little payback! He ripped his way around the course on his Giant XTC to finish in a very respectable 2:37...Waaaaay better than last years near death march!

As for myself. I had a pretty good day. I unleashed the fury that I wanted to impose upon the Otter Pop and had it not been for a poor decision regarding equipment choice I probably could have done even better. It's ok though, I like to have some room for improvement each year! I ended up 3rd in my class and 21st out of almost 200 long course riders, so I was a pretty pumped on that!

However, my finishing time of 2:27 was 21 minutes SLOWER than first place Xterra racer from Canada, Mike Vine. That guy won last year with a 2:07 and this year he did a 2:06! Unfathomable! He battled tooth and nail with Trek/Volkswagon's Tim Olson for much of the race before pulling away on his Intense Spider on the final climb. I believe he won by about 1 minute, so those guys were both hauling! All I need to find is about 46 seconds per mile...

All in all, a great adventure, epic mountain bike race that seems to bring out strong riders who only show up for certain "big mountain" events like this and D-ville. So not only is the course challenging, but you can be sure that the talent pool is plenty deep if you are looking for a challenge! Pencil it into next years calendar for sure! Nice hair...

Change or Die

Not just an axiom of business books everywhere, but really a life truth that most people fail to completely understand much less embrace. Evolution is the natural progression of life, we make small changes to improve over time. Without shaking things up a bit we would remain stagnant and stale. One of my many favorite sayings is:

"Do what you've always done and you will get what you've always gotten"

In other words, what have you done lately? What risks have you taken? Chances that may or may not pay off, but must be explored in order to progress. Not all of them will work out. But that doesn't mean you simply stop trying.

What in the heck is up with this post anyway, you ask? Well, I stumbled upon an interesting article about Michael Phelps this morning. You may have heard of the guy, he's not bad in an aquatic environment. After dominating the Olympics like never before and arguably being at the top of his game more so than anyone in the world, why would this guy change ANYTHING!!???

TO GET BETTER.

Does this guy really need to get any better? Apparently he thinks so. Not satisfied with merely winning, but wanting to ENSURE VICTORY, he is changing up his freestyle to become even MORE dominant. Aren't the Olympics still 4 years away? No resting here...

There is always room for improvement and for those of you that don't believe it, I am sorry. It's funny, sometimes it takes the people with the smallest amount of gains to be made from changing up their programs to remind us that regardless of the incremental improvement, change is necessary. The article points out Tiger Woods and Jordan doing the same. I would remind people Lance Armstrong didn't get to be a 7 time winner by doing the same thing for 7 years. While they had a winning formula, they were constantly searching for ways to add better ingredients into the mix.

So whether it's at work, on the bike, or any other aspect of your life, maybe it's time for a little self reflection. What can you try to do differently that might yield the better results you desire?

Click the link below for the article:

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/What-will-Michael-Phelps-new-freestyle-look-lik?urn=oly,158392

PS: Interesting side note to the article. It sounds to me like he is trying to "Armstrong" his stroke by increasing his cadence? Anyone else get that impression? Looks like the quick steps of those Kenyan runners have made a fairly wide ranging impact across sporting disciplines...

Lemurian or Santa Ynez?

For us, there is no question. Lemurian is the way to go...check out the course profile at:

www.shastalemurian.org

This race pretty much only rivals D-Ville as an epic adventure with loads of climbing, gnarly downs, and all of the challenges and obstacles necessary to test our mountain bike skills. Sweet!

The Kenda Cup is back to Santa Ynez where I fried the eggs for my breakfast on the hood of my truck last year. Yup, it was even hotter than Sea Otter last weekend...if you can believe that! While the baked hills were ok and the Cup Circus is really quite well run and fun, I am once again lured away by the promise of better adventuring at Shasta! Plus, if it's hot there, you can jump in the lake!

Actually, at this point, I think most of us are just trying to recover from the adventures of Sea Otter. Most everyone I know is either still dehydrated or cramped to the point of hobbling instead of walking...well everyone except Shelly who I think inked a deal with Scott for the World Cups :)

That's it for tonight. Gotta go repair Bri's bike and polish up her sweet new Cobalt Wheels. Man those are some good looking hoops!

Congrats SHELLY!!!!!!

Let's start this post off on a positive note and congratulate Shelly on a STELLAR performance today in the Women's expert race. Not only did she get some podium pie for desert, she got the TOP STEP! WOW! Looks like this whole cycling thing actually does take months to really kick in and make deep down biological changes that benefit us down the road...and it probably doesn't hurt that a little birdie told me that she has at least been on a cycling "maintenance" program this spring. Looks like there maybe is something to this whole "cycles of life" theory....

One last bit of good news...did anyone see the handsome devil on the COVER OF THE SPORTS page today? Whoa baby! You should have seen the girls hounding BRETT BUTLER ALL DAY long for autographs, dates, and all manner of requests! Nice shot dude! We will have to get a picture up here soon!

As for me, well let's just say the last two Sunday's have been a real doosey. I thought that some higher power was teaching me humility last weekend, by not letting me put down a good "pre ride". But during the race today, I realized that this "gwass-hoopppaa" has MUCH to learn. Let's just leave it at "I learned a lot" and then I thought about it some more and realized this...

It wasn't long ago when I was bed-ridden for several months after a knee injury. EVERY day that I lay in bed, I wondered if I would ever be able to do the sports that I enjoyed again. It was a pretty tough time. Days like today remind me that I am lucky to be healthy and have the opportunity to go out and punish myself. Even if I am unsatisfied with the outcome, there is always another race. And now I have another arrow of knowledge for my ever expanding quiver of "lessons learned".

Random notes...
Bri just missed the podium in her race. She's racing sport next year!
None of you guys pushed hard enough unless you landed yourself in the ER! Only our Pro Pal Krista can claim she really gave it her ALL!
Mark Faulkner just rode and rode and then he rode some more. That guy is a stud!
My buddy Clint form NorCal KILLED IT! 2 podiums and only 2 seconds off in DH! That's how you put it down on the Sea Donkey weekend! Nice work!
Fortunately Greg wasn't seriously injured in his get off and he will live to ride again.
Travis will be on TV tonight because they wanted to interview a real MTB STUD! KION46 don't miss it!
Our buddies from Reno (well now NorCal) were here and John put in some more great efforts on the roadie bike. Nice work! Looks like you are still making great gains!
Thanks to Bri, Brett, my parents, Chris Burnham, Joselyn's, Hammer, Krista and Todd Park and everyone who helped me over the course of the weekend, I couldn't have done it without you!
Hope you had as much fun as I did this weekend and can find the positive in whatever you put forth for your efforts.

Guess Who?

How well do you really know the pro's bikes? Anyone out there fathom a guess as to who's super fast steed this is? You may have seen it passing you by on a SOC practice loop or perhaps you would better recognize it as the winning rig at Bonelli Park round 1 of the Kenda Cup. You can obviously see that the rider has some taste by running the super cool decals from rock solid companies with great products like KENDA and Crank Brothers.

Bicycles are COOL!!!!

Don't forget the sunscreen...

Hmmm, it looks like the long range forecast is calling for something most Otter Donkeys are not familiar with...

SUNSHINE!

Dare I say warmth? This is just CRAZY TALK! Although windy today and the next day, it looks like things are headed towards the bright side of the street for the weekend. Thus, don't forget the sunscreen. Learn from my mistakes (Oh, and always listen to an engineer!). Sunday morning dawned early, sunny and strangely warm. As I pulled off my long sleeve jersey Todd questioned "Should we were sunscreen?"
My response "Nah, this is Monterey, it never gets hot..." Off we rode. Upon return, I was sweaty warm...dare I say hot? Oh...and burned. Ooops.

So this weekend, when the sun is out and you are soaking up a great Sea Otter, take some advice...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5NAPZp2w-o

Roll with it...

I hope this is a characteristic of things to come for me, but yesterday's SOC course pre ride was below what I was hoping for...and I didn't mentally flip out. You know, not quite eye of the tiger...maybe more like eye of the baby kitten. BUT, the strange thing was that while not making a bunch of excuses, I just accepted that you can't have your "best day" every single time you are on your bike. AND I did in fact have some SUPER duper sections that I managed to scare myself on, so really that is what I look for anyway...that whole fun and adventure thing! So what does all of this mean? I really don't know other than I can't wait to ride some more!

I can say one of the greatest things about mountain biking is all of the cool people you meet, and the Otter Pop definitely brings them to town. In the last week, we've been fortunate enough to meet Pro Woman Krista Park and her Single Speedin' Husband Todd and they are two of the nicest people you could ever talk to. If you see 'em in the pits or are at an event where Krista is doing a riding clinic I would highly recommend attending. I think their engineering background provides a methodical approach that can benefit most. Anyhow, Todd came out for our pre-ride yesterday and put down a SOLID time on his Single Speed...it's fun riding with new people!

As for other notes, Bri, Allison and Shelly had a good pre-ride of the beginners girl course and I think Greg is definitely liking his stiffie as he put down a blazing time around the loop yesterday. I believe a spiffy new Chris Burnham coaching shirt is in his future!

Lastly, if you haven't been over to Todd Wells' site yet, he had a GREAT WC going, inside the top 10 before slipping back a bit. Between S. Africa and Fontana, those are the kinds of tough rides that ensure good finishes are just on the horizon! Check it: www.ToddWells.net

World Cup #1

Looks like the results are posted for round 1 of the World Cup in South Africa and I just gotta start with the girls since our American women put in a solid performance with 3 inside the top ten! Mary McConneloug nailed a 5th while Willow Koerber was only about 30 seconds back in 6th and Heather Irmiger was only another 30 or so seconds back in 8th. All of them about 5 minutes back of the winner Elisabeth Osl. Nice showing! It was only a few years ago when we were just barely cracking the top 10! Plus, Mary just continues to impress with seemingly new found speed each year! I love this sport, you just keep getting better and faster! The 90lb Russian Irina Kalentyeva finished 2nd, 2 minutes back of Osl and in front of Lene Byberg of Norway.

A job well done for Mary!

In the men, Jose Hermida proved that the Flyin' French Absalon is in fact human taking the opener by 30 seconds over the perennial champion. Young home turf hero Burry Sander was only slightly off the pace, finishing 20 seconds back of Julien for 3rd. Wow. That kid is getting good. Well I guess we knew that from last year, but he is certainly confirming it and proving that the learning curve from GT to Specialized did not hurt him in the least as he easily collected the U23 class victory on his vacation to the podium. Finishing aonther 30 seconds back of Burry was Mr. Stripes and Specialized teamate Christoph Sauser.

The winner...digging!

Those guys are fast...I think our North American contingent would definitely agree as Adam Craig brought it home in 49th, Michael B was 63 and K-Bomb did the best in 30th. Wonder where Todd Wells finished? Nothing up on him yet, but despite his mechanical he was on a mission at Fontana passing 100 riders in an impressive ride, so I am sure he had high expectations for this race.

***Just in, sounds like Kabush had the holeshot in the men's race and JHK got involved in a big pile up off the start that ruined his wheel. Man, that is tough luck. Still no word on Wells.***

Lastly, what about those Swiss? 6 of them in the top 15!!! I think I need an Alpine Vacation...

Get CRANKED!

Thank you so much to Crank Brothers!!!

For those of you that didn't hear, the marketing guru's at Crank Brothers thought it would be brilliant to provide a set of their absolutely beautiful race wheels to 50 lucky riders at the Sea Otter. But, that's not all. Podium in your event and you get to keep the wheels. Um, did you hear that? KEEP THESE GORGEOUS HOOPS ALL FOR YOUR OWN! The "Me & Bri Team" jumped faster than Greg to a new pink bike! We were fortunate enough to get signed up and sure as the unbelievable announcement claimed, the new wheels showed up and were blinging right out of the box!

Oh yeah, if there was ever an opportunity for an awkward white guy like me to be:

BALLIN'...SHA...CALLIN'...26 INCH BLADES ON THE ANTHEM-ALLIN...

It is NOW! Check 'em out in the pictures below. Sweet dual action skewers, too!

And if you want to find out more about the company with the coolest logo, check this: http://www.velonews.com/article/90390/a-visit-to-crankbrothers

Reality and Fun!!!

Good Morning ALL FOLLOWERS!...well all two of you anyhow...

Few things this morning,

1. First off, I am going to put my Super Realtor Helmet on for a minute and remind everyone that property taxes are due tomorrow (April 10th...black Friday!!!). So if you haven't paid get down to the county office to deliver in person, or head to www.co.monterey.ca.us/taxcollector to pay on line. Ok, now that's out of the way...

2. PICTURES! I know we need more pictures here. I'm trying. Here are some cool shots from the Dirt Classic of some local speed racers!!!

Greg ripping along on Day 2 of racing!

Aaron from Hollister getting 3rd OA in his first try! NICE JOB!
My Buddy Clint ripping to a top 5 Finish!!!Is this slouch even racing?

Weekend Update!

Oh man, what a weekend for Iron Men! Many people on the team decided to race CCCX on Saturday and then travel to the Napa Valley Dirt Classic on Sunday or go to Santa Cruz for a circle race on roadies. It sounded like Alex had an incredible day on Sunday to rebound after his deflated day on Saturday. Mark was also riding well according to reports I heard.

Up in Napa, Greg drove up with me, Bri and Brett and we met up with Steve Kelley to bring a pretty strong assault to the Dirt Classic this year. The course was a bit dry but super fun! A little faster than I remember from 3 years ago (Bri would point out that at my advanced age the gray matter doesn't have the same capacity to fire like it once did...). Lots of flow-ee fire roads, tight technical woods trails and a PUSH your bike climb! I was able to latch onto Greg who was absolutely FLYING through the technical stuff!!! We moto'd along and it was sweet!

Bri was sick all week and rode the first 16miles of race to darn near perfection, sharing the lead and going for it in typical "attack" fashion! Unfortunately, she blew herself to bits and bonked so hard she wasn't sure she would finish. Fortunately she persevered and can take the fact that she can ride hard for 16 miles with her into the 10 mile SOC course!

Brett was really happy with his ride and Steve Kelley proved that the Yeti can hold its own on the flats of CCCX land or the hills of Napa! After seeing him ride the technical stuff, I'll bet he had the YETI PINNED TO THE MOON at Napa!

In the end it was great weekend of riding!
NEXT STOP: Sea DONKEY!!!

Training Tips

Here is your tip of the day:

Ride with a slow leak on your road bike. Oh wait, DISCLAIMER!!!! ONLY DO THIS IF YOU CARRY A HAND PUMP!!!!

To get proper benefit, the leak should be slow enough that you get at minimum 30 minutes between when it is at full moto pressure and a pressure so soft, you confuse your stiff and responsive road steed for a lumbering 7 inch downhill bike! The benefits include:

Lower tire pressures roll slower. This means you develop BIG SEXY MUSCLES pushing the lower pressures!

Second, every time you have to stop and fill it up, pump that sucker like there's no tomorrow! This builds BIG SEXY ARM muscles! Ok, let's be realistic I suppose. Perhaps, people might notice those noodles hanging off of your skinny biker shoulders are actually supposed to be arms!

Lastly, it prepares you for situations where you must finish MTB races with ridiculously low tire pressures!!! YaY! Commit this to memory.

I hope to see you all out on the road...preferably on the side, pumping away at your partially leaking tires...and for CM, no, somehow that stupid tube just REFUSES TO REPAIR ITSELF!