Last Friday Mykyta, Tom, Ben, Vickie and I set out for Prescott, AZ to race the Whiskey Off-Road, a 50-mile race starting and ending in downtown Prescott. I had done the 25-mile option a few years prior, so I mostly knew what to expect of the course. The 12-mile out and back into Skull Valley would be new to me and I’d been hearing stories of how awesome it was (sarcasm). This out and back is the only difference between the 25 and 50-mile routes.

We got into town Friday afternoon just in time to check out the vendor booths along Whiskey Row and watch the Fat Tire Crit Race downtown. After stopping by the Ergon booth to say hi to Sonya and Jeff and wish them luck, Mykyta and I picked a spot along the crit course to watch the pros. The gun went off, and we got to witness some serious suffering amongst the pro women and later the men. There was a great vibe – tons of cheering spectators, crazy costumes, and even some partial nudity. Sounds like a recipe for fun!

After things wound down, we headed back to the weekend Troupe House for some of Tom’s home-made lasagna. I got in trouble for asking if it was from Costco. Oops… Sorry Tom!

Saturday morning was race day. We rode down Gurley Street to the start line and picked our spots in the massive herd of fellow mountain bikers. It was balmy at the start line but we knew it would warm up pretty quickly. After about thirty minutes of waiting patiently to start our race, the gun went off and we hit the road. The four-mile road ride was a good warm-up including a pretty steep climb just before reaching the dirt. We even saw a deer run straight across the road, through bike traffic, and into someone’s back yard. Just another day in Prescott.

Once we reached the first single track it was bottleneck city. It took a good 15 minutes of waiting patiently in line to get rolling again and I made a mental note for my next Whiskey race that I needed to start a little further up the line and maybe push it just a little harder on the road to minimize the wait time on that.

The next four or five miles were a mix of rolling single track, steep pitches, water bars (up and down) and lots of on and off the bike. With a record number of participants (about 1,750) and almost all single track, it was tough to keep a good rhythm in these sections. I was super excited to reach the first major downhill, Trail #260, but it took some strategic (but polite) passing to get ahead of some slower descenders. Once out of the conga line and no one in front of me, I remembered what I was in Prescott for – fun, swoopy, twisty, turny, flowy single track!

After that awesomeness, we had a bit more climbing to do on a dirt road leading up to the first Aid Station. I had a few orange slices, a pickle, and some Hammer HEED, then began my “what have I gotten myself into” descent into Skull Valley. I get bored to tears on fireroad descents so this was not my favorite part – especially because I got to see the zillions of people who were ahead of me on their way back up towards Aid Station 1 (and 3). The only cool part was seeing Ben, then Mykyta, then Tom making their way towards the top, all looking strong.

I finally reached the bottom of Skull Valley and took a few minutes to stretch, refuel, and such then began the long trek back up the fire road. I settled in a good rhythm and managed to pass the time along thinking about things like what I would have for dinner, why poison oak lasts so long, the meaning of life, etc. etc. I must have been sucked away into la-la land for a bit too long because I was starting to bonk. My good rhythm became less than good, and as I looked at my bottle of Perpetuem, still ¾ full, I realized I was under-fueled. Careful not to overdo it, I took a few good sips, then granny-geared myself up the increasingly steep road finally reaching the Aid Station 1/3 again.

My Ergon pack was stocked with bars, Endurolytes, Endurance Aminos, and water, so I finally took a few minutes to utilize these goods, douse myself with cold water, stretch, and get back at it. I felt pretty darn good after that and got into another good climbing rhythm. Many 25- and 50-milers were getting pretty tired at this point, some even walking their bikes. It was hot and I was slowing, but I knew I had more fun downhill coming up so I needed to get this fireroad stuff out of the way.

Finally we got to more single track descending and my energy was renewed. I squeezed past a few guys who gladly let me by and instructed me to “get some”. Again, I remembered why I was there – fun, swoopy, twisty, turny, flowy single track! Woohoo!

After some ridiculously fun descending, we came to “cramp hill” which I was able to pedal through. Sure, it was a granny-gear sort of pedal, but hey, I didn’t have to walk. We had a little more descending, then ups and downs and stream crossings, then finally reached the end of the single track. The rest of the race went back through downtown Prescott ending on Whiskey Row. I finished just shy of six hours, which is actually better than I expected. I managed to find Tom, Mykyta, and Ben who all had strong finishing times. Mykyta was nice enough to ride back to the Troupe House (all uphill!) and get the car to pick us all up. We hung out downtown for a while to unwind and to get Ben some IV fluids as he was pretty dehydrated.

After a nice cold shower and de-griming, we hit The Raven downtown for some grub. We shared our war stories, had some laughs, and agreed we needed to do this again!

by : laura knight

I will admit my choice in purchasing the the cobalt 11 wheels was mostly driven by vanity. Some of you who know me may not find that surprising.

It all started last December when my old Santa Cruz blur took a tip on a rock bed which left a nasty crack in the rear triangle. What a great opportunity to purchase the new Blur frame which just happened to come in black and gold. My old crankbrothers Cobalt rims where of course, blue. What to do but buy a nice set of black and gold carbon wheels for my black, gold and white bike. Mike, my boyfriend, helped me deck it out with a gold chain and caps for all the wire entries. What a picture!

Per Mike’s instructions, I saved them only for race day. I hate saving things “for good”, it’s not my nature. I am glad I did though!

Fist, some tech specs. The 26″ wheel set comes in around 1380 grams (not included the crankbrothers split skewers, which we swapped out for some kcnc ti skewers. We put the crankbrothers on my day-to-day training wheels – crankbrothers cobalt 2′s). The rim is carbon, with a dual anodized hub. Spokes are triple butted, their laced with machined aluminum spoke nipples and hollow spoke “pins”. The pins are what passes through the tabs in the rim.

The wheels feel good. They are just a bit compliant, which helps provide a smoother ride. The feel like the absorb some vibration and shock from the trail, but are not flex.

Care does need to be taken on tire set up. Crankbrothers cautions to not over-inflate them when setting the tire bead on the rim. We were careful not to go past 60 psi, and bring the psi back down to 40 once the bead was set (we’re set up with Kenda Karmas with Stan’s).

My first race on them was in Temecula. It was about 90 degrees that day, which I am also discovering works in my favor. We took off and after a little scrimmage at the beginning I had a bit of uphill catching up to do. I felt like I was on pulleys. I instantly caught up and passed the other women with ease. I was back to being a climber. Being a new cat 1 rider, I was hanging with the other girls on the descents but I was getting dropped on the climbs. Not anymore.

I further tested them on this year’s Counting Coup. I wanted to take off 20 minutes from a time 2 years ago. I wasn’t sure how that would work as my descending is only a little better than 2 years ago. Again I was landing my climbs which lead me to a drop of 34 minutes from 2 years ago.

On descents I really don’t notice a difference. I am however able to make it up steeper grades. I just need to remember to keep more pressure on the front wheel as it has a tendency to pop up more on steep ups because my wheel is so light.

I give the Carbon 11 wheels a 10! So far my race season is off to a fabulous start and I believe in part it is due to my new Carbon 11’s!

posted by : willie

I used to think the post-ride pain and numbness in the nether region was just part of the game. Thankfully, as I’ve learned, it doesn’t have to be.

After running the fi’zi:k Vesta saddle for the last six months or so I’ve realized the benefits of using a good-quality saddle.

The Vesta has some key features that help make it awesome. For me, the most noticeable right off the bat were the wing flex and glossy “thigh glide” material. At first the Vesta seemed a bit firm, so I was slightly apprehensive and wasn’t sure how I’d like it. But my first ride using it, I noticed my pedal stroke felt smoother due to the reduced friction and there was just the right amount of flex. The firmness of the saddle was an afterthought and seemed to be completely offset by the wing flex feature.

The king (err, queen) of all saddle tests was last weekend’s Vision Quest here in Orange County. With a 9.5 hour completion time, Vesta and I got to know each other pretty well. I fully expected to be beyond sore during and after the ride, so I was quite relieved when the soreness and numbness never came. Sure, I felt like I had been hit by a train – but my girlie parts were unscathed!

The Vesta passed the ultimate test. It’s key features, design, and light weight make it the ultimate women’s saddle. It is absolutely brilliant.

note: all troupe’s women riders choose the vesta saddle for xc, road and ‘cross racing.
more at fi’zi:k.

The more we race, the more bikes we have to work on (we’re thankful for that, btw), and the more serious our training becomes, the harder it is to write race reports. And who wants to read anyway? Here’s a collection of photos from the recent race – The US Cup XC race in Fontana. Lover it or hate it, the new course is challenging, techincal, and actually very fun compared to some of the tamer SoCal XC courses.

many miles were ridden on the road.

The final even of the Racers and Chasers Winter Series has come to a close, and Michelle took another first place in the women’s open marathon, which also gave her the overall series title. She looks back at the race and taking on endurance races.

report by : michelle van gilder

After attending many endurance races, always on a team, I wondered what it would be like to do laps, end on end. It seemed like a grueling task, hard on the body and even harder on the mind. So when I went into my first marathon, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

I told myself to do at least 3 laps, because that would equal the distance of the pro xc category. After 2 laps, 3 seemed easy, and after 3, well 4 was just one more, and after 4, if I had time, and I wasn’t cramping on the side on the trail, why not? I surprised myself with 5 laps. Not bad for a first try.

As the last race of the series approached, I was still uncertain about how it would go. It was a new course, less technical, longer, and the word that equates boring – fire road.

I spent the first lap following other riders who seemed equally unsure of where we were going. After that I figured out a pattern to the race. Big long fast downhill, followed by short climbs. The mid point hosted a painful “power line climb”. Luckily I was always within sight of other riders, and this shamed me into staying on the bike. Last of all was this super fun single track, which would have been even more fun, had it been downhill. Despite these challenges, the course had good flow, and each time I arrived at 7 miles, I was surprised that there was only a few more until the lap was up. It was on my final lap where I had convinced myself to do one more, but I had made a slight miscalculation on time.

Upon completing my forth, and about to begin my 5th, I was abruptly told that I could not do another, or rather, ” you can do another if you want, but it won’t count.” I could have sworn in that moment, that the lap counter was wrong, I was so perplexed, and I just wanted to do one more lap!

Well, I had a taste of what a marathon is like, and it was grueling at times, definitely hard on the body, but it wasn’t that bad on mind. I’ve got the bug, and I’d like to do more, well at least just one more…

report by : mykyta yurtyn

Last year was our first year at this event, and boy we loved it! Despite last year’s nasty weather conditions, the warm and festive atmosphere at the event and amazingly good organization made it easy for me to make the first step and sign up for this year’s 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo. Next steps – actually preparing for the event – proved to be a little harder.

Most who witnessed the race course at the Willow Springs Ranch, admit that it is a fairly non-technical but very fun mountain bike course. But it is always possible to make it as difficult as one wants – you can ride harder and faster, or ride solo, or single speed, or rigid single speed, or any combination of these would make the experience a little more challenging (as if riding for 24 hours is not challenging enough).

Remembering the fun turns and smooth trail surface I thought it would be fun to race a lap or two on the cross bike. The trails looked just right for the skinny and fast cross tires and agile and turny bike geometry. Somehow a thought of a lap or two turned into changing my registration to Solo Singlespeed and I decided to give it a try on my SSCX bike. If anything, it would make a great experience and story to tell.

I think this bike deserves a few words, as it is a fairly unusual setup – Raleigh SSCXWC (Hodala) singlespeed specific carbon frameset keyed for the belt drive, with Gates Carbon Belt drivetrain, carbon tubular wheels with Clement PDX tubulars glued on. Tires should be the main concern on this course as large amount of cactus means almost certain puncture for any non-sealant tire setup. That’s where Clement’s tires work great – these tubeless tubulars are less prone to pinch flats and can be run with sealant, so after adding extra ounce or so of Stan’s I had full confidence in the setup. Bike was geared 2:1 and it sounded reasonable based on what others were saying about SS’ing the Old Pueblo course.
But still I decided to bring spare bike(s), my backup SS CX and SS MTB, each with progressively easier gearing.

The pre-ride lap Friday morning left me with a huge grin on my face. This course is so much fun on the cross bike! Bike was practically doing the job for me – turning and carving and leaning in each turn. The trails were just excellent for the bike. But many sharp rocks sticking out on the trail and unnoticeable on the larger MTB tires, were posing bigger problem for thin cross tires that offered no cushion and on many occasions I felt rim hitting the rock. Though fun, the course was not all that easy on the cross bike and required constant attention and active control of the bike to avoid the rocks and pick the best line through the many rock outcroppings.

Another big factor at the 24 Hours of Old Pueblo is the weather. February in the desert can be nice and warm, or can quickly turn into a wet, cold, windy miserable mess (as it happened last year). But Saturday morning greeted us with warm air, clear skies and warm sun. All was pointing to a great adventure ahead.

Just before noon all racers gathered half a mile up the road for a short run of the LeMans start and with the shot of shotgun we were off. The usual traffic of mass start helped me to keep the effort in check and not go out too hard from the start. There was a lot of usual chit-chat and laughter in the slow moving traffic. Great vibe in the camp moved into even better vibe on the course.

On lap 2 traffic spread out and the fun of riding cross bike on this course was just overwhelming. It was not easy by any means and required constant focus and attention, especially as race progressed and sun started setting and legs started getting tired a little. When I headed out on lap 3 the gas line bypass trail was open. Bypass is a singletrack that allows riders to cut out the Gas Line fire road, aka The Bitches section. The Bitches is a straight, rutted, loose and rocky road with 7 steep climbs on it. After ascending each hill you loose it all on the back side descent only to start climbing again. This road is not fun at all, but a little faster, so many racers with ambitions for the podium finish prefer this option over the bypass trail. Bypass trail on the other hand is a single track like no other on the course. It slowly and gradually climbs to the top of the hill and the opens an amazing view to the desert around and offers an extremely fun winding descent ending back on the Gas Line road right after the last Bitch. It is a little longer, slower but much more interesting option to the Bitches. Needless to say as soon as bypass was open I never rode the Gas Line again.

After lap 3 it was time to dress warmer, put the lights on and start preparing to the night laps ahead. I was still riding the cross bike and was still enjoying the ride, however constant need concentration to avoid the sharp rocks was taking its toll as I was feeling more and more tired and lap times started to grow. The weather however did not disappoint – while it got a little colder at night, it was very quiet and clear and it was not difficult at all to kick myself out of the camp for another lap.

Night laps were getting a bit monotonous. To keep myself motivated I was posting live updates on Facebook and comments from friends were great support and motivation to “do another lap”, “go one lap at a time” and to “just keep on rolling”. On the trails every time I was getting passed, in addition to customary “on your left” or “good job solo”, there were countless “You are crazy, and I mean it in a loving way”, “keep it up crosser”, “you’re bad ass” all commenting on me still riding the cross bike… All this support kept me going through the night and time was passing by quickly.

As it usually happens, rising sun elevated the spirits and I was pushing harder on the 2nd half of lap 8. While my mind was riding fast, the body disagreed and for next two laps I slowed down a little again. However stops between laps were shorter again. The end was in sight and on the last lap I was burning every remaining match I had in my legs.

And then at noon I was done with my 24 Hours of SSCX in The Old Pueblo. 11 laps. All 11 done on the same single speed cyclocross bike.

I’d say Old Pueblo is quite technical cyclocross course. The biggest challenge is to avoid ruining tires and rims by hitting them on the rocks. This requires much more focus, attention and bike control than one might need riding mountain bike on this course, Which riding over 24 hours adds up to quite a significant added effort.

It was definitely not easy. But it was very fun and memorable experience. I’m very glad I did it and might do it again some time. One thing for sure – SSCX or not, I will be back next year to race this amazing and fun 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo.

The Racers and Chasers events have been going on for a few years now, but they always seem to overlap other events (or preperation for other events) in our area. So when the planets finally aligned and gave us a free weekend for the January 28 race, we jumped in. Originally, the plan was to race the xc event.

To quote the great Monte Python, “And now for something completely differet”.

Michelle decided she wanted to try the marathon. She’s had a solo 6 hour on her mind, and will probably try that this summer. This marathon had a more grassroots approach; start as many laps as you can in the 3.5 hours time limit.

My training plan called for 3.5 hours and a steady pace, so we devised a plan to make this work. I’d ride with her for the company and also be her pack mule domestique. When she needed to shed layers or get food, I’d have it ready.

Thanks to the 7 am start, we were able to park close to the course before any of the xc riders arrived to the venue. The Element served once again as a fine pit stop. The cooler was stocked with pre-mixed Perpetuem on ice, gels, and a pile of tools ready for anything. I’d simply exit the course and ride a short distance to the car, gab bottles or gels, and then ride back and re-enter the course (at the same place I exited) and chase Michelle back with the fresh bottles and supplies.

Our strategy changed once the ride got going. Race adrenaline is always pumping and we marked another woman rider from the Albion Brewery team who was setting a strong pace. We kept an eye on her, and never let her out of sight until around 1 lap in, and then it was time to re-focus and make sure we were riding Michelle’s pace.

The course actually quite challenging, and brought riders through a variety of conditions: rocky ridgeline where bike handeling got a bit sketchy at times (we both had a slow-speed wash out a couple times), meadowy rolling terrain, great flowing single track through an area called Martha’s something-er-other.

Through it all, the bikes, as usual, we perfect. I know, 29ers are all the rage, and I even have a lovely carbon Tallboy, but you’ll have to pry me off my carbon Blur xc. Same for Michelle. The bikes were so solid and light. (Note – Michelle’s new XX drivetrain brought her carbon Blur down to 22 lb flat). They were a great to ride, for sure.

But, more importantly, was Michelle’s new found endurance. She kicked it into diesel mode and kept the pace going forward. Legs got heavy, backs began to ache, but she never stopped.

After 3 laps we felt like a 4th lap would be no problem. We had plenty of water on board, so we rolled through and stated lap 4. We had only been passed by a few of the marathon pros, and were feeling pretty good.

Half way through the 4th lap, we started to do some math. It was clear that on our current pace, we’d come in with enough time to start a 5th lap. “What if the other girls stopped at 4 – then I need to do 1 more”. I had a very proud husband moment at that point in the race, and we pushed on without pitting before our 5th and final lap!

Turns out, the woman rider that had gotten away from us during the first lap had a major mechanical on her 4th lap and had to run her bike in to the finish. Our 5th lap sealed the deal and locked Michelle in to her first marathon win. Could there be more? Only the 2012 season will tell.

Thanks to Rashers and Chasers for putting on a great winter series. We’ll have to do a few more of these.

The 2012 season is officially off and running. Seems like just a week ago we were acknowledging the end of the ’11 season. But, one end is another beginning, so here we go.

The first race is always the first 12 Hours of Temecula. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: this endurance series is the real deal. The people at SoCal Endurance put on a great race and this one like all the others before it was no exception.

Leading up to the event, we had some pretty bleak looking weather forecast. 80% chance of rain all say, high winds, cold temps. The memory of our last wet 12 hour race was all fresh in our minds, and no one was really keen on a day and night in the rain.

We set up base camp a day early in an attempt to reduce the stress of a frantic morning trying to get both bikes and shelter set up. By 7 pm, everything was set and we were enjoying filet mignon, rice and a bit of red wine in the warm rented RV. Troupe is racing in style….

We awoke on Saturday to rain. No surprise there. Not really rain, but heavy thick falling mist that wasn’t quite rain but still was enough to warrant the use of rain gear. What we didn’t know was that the rain was soaking into the trail and setting up for one of the fastest courses to date.

Our line up looked like this:

4 women team : Michelle, Laura, Monica and Mary
4 man team : Mykyta, Joses, Tom and Pavel
3 man #1 : Charlie, Nat and Tim
3 man #2 : Jeff, JP and guest rider Craig
solo 6 hour : Mike, Ben and Damon

The race got up and rolling right on schedule, just as it always does. From that point on, we ran the rotations like clock work. While are times were not the fastest out there of all the racers, we were putting in some good times for being so early in the year, and they were fast enough to put us in some good spots right away.

The two 3 man teams had a good battle going on and were riding hard to fend off the team in 4th. The 4 man had a very close race which came down to just about 2 minutes in the end – a very close race over the course of 12 hours.

Our women did what they do bast and kept consistent laps going against a very tough team.

The solos put their heads down and pushed for 6 hours, with Mike coming through with a 5th place finish in the 40+ masters class.

The following day, Ben raced in the first Super D stage race – a 3 race series featuring some of Vail Lakes best downhill trails. Riders start in packs of 5 or so, and once finish ride to the following stage. It was a new and exciting format to watch with riders throwin’ elbows while passing on the little climbs. Ben strapped on some elbow pads and won the sport men class.

After Saturday’s race, we gathered (17 people) in the RV for our pre-awards party, including some much needed lasagna, and of course a bit of beer (of course). It was a fine end to a fine day of pushing the limits and we all got to share our best moments from the day’s laps.

final results
4 women team – 2nd
3 man team 1 – 2nd
3 man team 2 – 3rd
4 man team – 3rd
6 hour solo – mike 5th
super d stage race – ben 1st

The 2011 race season has finally come to an end. It was the 4th year for the Troupe, and it’s been a long and challenging one – one with unexpected twists that we never saw coming. It kept us guessing and ultimately coming back for more. Races started in January, and lasted through November. That’s long season.

Laura and Tim closed out the xc season with the final race of the SoCal Triple Crown series in Fontana. Usually, this is a good course with a fair bit of technical stuff thrown in. For this final race, a new section was added to the front half making one of the best xc course of the year. Lots more technical climbing, a bit more technical descending – a real mountain bike course. Laura finished 2nd, and Tim made it up on the podium for 3rd. Laura also took home 2nd for the series overall, while Tim just missed the podium with his 4th overall. We hope this course comes back next year – it was by far the best course Fontana has put together and maybe one of the best course of the xc season.

Of course cross season is going on, and Michelle and Mykyta raced the SoCal Prestige series Turkey Trot in Glendale. This was a technical course by cross standards, with lots of roots and tight, off camber turns. Michelle finished 4th, while Mykyta fought hard in the single speed class and finished somewhere in the top 10.

The following week, a group of Troupers hit the UCI CXLA in Los Angeles. Laura took 2nd, Michelle 9th, and Mykyta and Jeff both took 6th in the two single speed classes.

Whew. Thats a lot of racing in 3 weeks.

And with that, we’re done! We’ve had injury, illness and all sorts of random setbacks. We could think about how its all about the struggle to get to the race, the sacrifices made and all that. But set backs and broken collar bones aren’t fun. As always, our focus on goals and our passion for riding that keeps us sane and going forward.

So what’s on tap for 2012?

We’re lucky enough to have what we feel are the greatest partners out there. Santa Cruz bikes, X Fusion, crankbrothers, Formula, Ergon and fi’zi:k will all be back in our line up. Knog will be supporting us again with all sorts of lights. The essential pit accessory – the Sqivvy changing tent, will be with us in 2012, along with Kinetic Trainers. Lazer is creating the best helmets and they will again be part of our kit, along with Hincapie Sportswear. For cooler weather training, we’ll again be using Soigneur Embrocation. And finally, the whole team will be fueled by Hammer Nutrition.

There’s that old saying if it ain’t broke then don’t fix it. Thats sort of where we’re at with our sponsors. We’ve got what we feel is the best support, and there’s no reason to change it.

Its early to know for sure, but the event calendar will have some new races too. A number of us are looking at getting out to races outside of SoCal. Already, some of us are registered for the 24 Hours of Old Pueblo. We’ll hit the Mellow Jonny’s Classic and the Whiskey 50, and have plans to go to Nationals before they move over to the east side of the US for a couple years. No doubt that 2012 is going to be a busy season.

So to our sponsors and those of you following our news updates, thanks on behalf of Troupe for your support and for making 2011 a great season.

Troupe out.