report by : Laura Knight

The idea of doing the Leadville 100 started last January. My friend Mary Dannelley called me on a Tuesday morning and asked if I would do it if I had the chance. I had two hours to think about it. After consulting fellow team mates Tim, Monica and a couple of other friends, I decided to give it a go. Mainly because no one said I could never do it. As a matter of fact, I received a lot of encouragement. So, two hours later, I was in.

I also had the BC bike race scheduled this summer (with the Dannelleys no less). It’s been a big summer for me. I was not too successful there, so the thought of another failure this summer was nauseating.

I jumped in to training for this race right after I got back. Six to seven hours on the bike on Saturdays was standard operating procedure. I missed my teammates and racing XC this summer. By the time I arrived in Leadville, I was ready to get the party started and over with.

We arrived on a Thursday; Monica came with us for support/Dannelley child care. Leadville is a small mining town, a little on the depressed side, but charming just the same.

Friday was medical check in and race check in. It was a very organized procedure. I went for a short ride up Power Line with a friend of mine afterwards just to spin.

Saturday, we woke up at 3:45 am to check our bikes in and get a good coral spot. I was a little nervous as most of the guys around me were aiming for 8 to 9 hours. The nice thing was that there wasn’t a cloud in the sky – no rain today! I knew then I had to take my second opportunity. Finish or die.

Laura on the left, Mary on the right at the early morning start.

The first climb as a little congested. It thinned toward the top, and then we had a long paved downhill. We then began our climb up to Power Line, the Leadville version of technical downhill, NOT! I was hoping to make up time here but there was a lot of traffic. There was a crash at this point that Mary stopped for, but she still caught me back on the road.

The rest of the first part of the race consisted mainly of paved roads and slow rollers. The first checkpoint was at 40 miles, which had to be done in 4 hours. I rolled up to Monica and I told her I hadn’t felt like I had done anything yet. Good thing because next was the infamous Columbine climb.

The climb was nice and smooth fire road for the first 2000 feet. Then the loose rock and shale started. Then it became hike a bike. The top was 12,600 feet. Now I was feeling a little worked. I stayed at the top for about 10 minutes and then began my descent. It felt fabulous. It took my about 2 and one half hours to ascend, but only 45 minutes to come down!

I spent the next 2 hours basically retracing my steps through the rollers, no big deal! Then I had to go back up Power Line. Not fun at mile 80. Next I had the asphalt climb to go back up. It was like doing Newport Coast (for those of you in Orange County) 3 times at mile 90 and 10,000 feet. I blew the last aid station and headed in. I knew I was cutting it close, I road hard the last few miles. I came in to all my friends, including the Dannelleys and Monica, waiting for me. Mary finished in 10:54 even after helping with the Power Line crash. I was just glad I set out to do what I wanted and my mission was accomplished.

Thanks for all of you who believed in me. I heard a lot of “you will be just fine” the week before I left. I really had a hard time believing you. Thanks for all the support. I had a great time and I owe it to the Dannelleys for getting me in.

Would I do it again?
Probably…

In our third season, we picked up a few new riders. One of them has been blazing fast in the masters 45-49 class. You may have seen an amazingly cool orange Blur XC carbon, decked out with orange Iodine wheels go flying past you. The rider of that bike is Tom Robe – one of our new additions to Troupe.

You’re not a Cali native. How long have you been in California?

I moved to CA in 1990 from NJ where I was born and raised. I followed two good friends from college who had moved out here about 8 months prior.

How did you decide to race for Troupe – or racing in general?

Well, probably just like some other people out there, I have Roy Alvarado to thank for that. I met Roy and started riding with him in early 2008. During our rides he would mention upcoming races that he was doing and also tell me about Troupe. I got into racing in the summer of 2008 participating in the Rim Nordic series. I really enjoyed the adrenalin rush I got from racing. I ended up riding as a “guest rider” for Troupe on a couple of 5 man teams at the 12 hour events at Vail Lake in Temecula in 2008 & 2009 as well as the 24 hours of Adrenalin at Hurkey Creek in September 2009 as well. Prior to the 2010 season I was invited to join Troupe Racing and was excited to become part of a team. I really enjoy the camaraderie that we have amongst the team members on Troupe.

What’s your weekly ride schedule look like, (miles, type of riding)?

For a while it bothered me if I missed a day of riding. I had to tone it down a bit and find a happy medium with riding and the other things going on in my life. I typically ride about 3 times a week. My rides can be anywhere from 12-24 miles. Usually somewhere in the 15 mile range.

What’s been the biggest change this season ?

The amount of racing that I have done. Yesterday (Aug. 15th) was my 14th race of the season. I participated in the US Cup series for the first time this year and enjoyed the competition and the variety of race courses.

You changed from a 30lb bike to a carbon Blur XC. How has that been?

The Santa Cruz has been great. It definitely makes the climbing a bit easier. I had some initial concerns with the Blur due to the style of riding I do on some serious technical downhill trails with lots of obstacles but the Blur has handled everything that I have thrown at it with no problems.

You insist on not wearing Lycra shorts, in favor of the baggie riding shorts. What’s the deal?

I only ride on the dirt. I don’t own a road bike or do any road training. I enjoy getting out on the trails both with friends or by myself. To me, lycra is not what mountain biking is about. I’m sure it would be beneficial in racing but it’s just not something I want to do.

Favorite trail or ride that you have been doing lately?

Living in South Orange County we are very fortunate to have many options for mountain bike riding for all skill levels. If I had to pick one trail I would say it is San Juan Trail. After the initial 6 mile singletrack climb, which offers 17 switchbacks within the first mile, you have a couple of options. Besides just turning around and coming back down you can add a 5 mile lollipop loop or go up to Blue Jay campground or get on the Main Divide and challenge yourself on Los Pinos Trail. Lots to do with a great downhill return.

California has a ton of racing. What has been your favorite and why? I really enjoy the test of the Counting Coup which is put on by the Warriors Society in conjunction with their Vision Quest race. The CC is 44 miles and 8800 feet of climbing. This was my 2nd year participating in this race and with the experience from last year as well as my new bike, I beat my previous time by almost an hour and that was with 2 flats. My goal is to come in under 5 hours in the future. I also participated in the Idyllwild Spring Challenge for the first time this year. This course really was set up for my style of riding. Lots of technical climbing as well as fast, technical downhills. I was very surprised when the results were posted and saw that I had come in first in my age class out of 15 riders. That was a great feeling!

Most riders have pre race rituals or superstitions. Got any? Meals, drinks?

Not really any superstitions. I try to eat half of a PB&J before the race so that I have some fuel in me. I have also started using Hammer’s Sustained Energy in a water bottle during races and that seems to help as well.

What is you jam song – what song is going through your head during races?

I don’t listen to music while I ride. I prefer to hear what’s going on around me, especially oncoming riders. For some reason when I am doing a decent climb, AC/DC’s “It’s a long way to the top if you want to rock & roll” pops into my head.

Any end of the season goals?

No real goals. Just to continue going out and enjoying rides with friends and maybe making some new mountain bike friends along the way. Looking forward to the last race of the season which is the12 hour race at Vail Lake in November where I will be racing on the Troupe 4 man team.

Favorite piece of gear in your pack that you always have and why?

My camera. I basically have it with me on all rides, except when racing. I have seen some incredible wildlife while out riding and have been fortunate to get some cool pics of bobcats, rattlesnakes, tarantulas, salamanders & one of a bear up on the Flume Trail in Tahoe. I also have some good shots of some of my riding buddies in some interesting positions after crashing.

On august 15, Troupe rider Laura will take on the ultimate endurance race that’s on everyone’s to-do list, the Leadville 100. She has been putting in the big miles this summer in preparation and is ready as she can be!

Plus, we’ve updated her carbon Blur XC with some of amazing components to trim the weight down and get it ready for a 100 mile race. By upgrading to Formula R1 brakes, a crankbrothers Cobalt 11 seat post, Hutchinson tires and a carbon Noir crank set, we were able to shed about 2 lbs off the bike!

I caught up with Laura when she stopped by Troupe HQ and we talked about her plans and preparation.

How has your training changed since you decided to race and got accepted into Leadville?

I did a lot more road riding for my Leadville training. I did 90 to 100 miles every weekend, with mountain bike riders during the week – many of them starting very early in order to get the miles needed.

What’s your weekly milage look like, or hours per week. Is that mostly mountain or road?

I’d say my riding was mostly road. Overall, I was on the bike for about 12 hours per week. I would to one long and one short road ride. Then 2 “short” mountain bike rides. I tried to make the mountain bike riding as technical as possible to keep my skill level up. I was getting pretty bored with the road riding. I often trained with a nice group of riders, Velo 605, and a number of them have also been training for Leadville.

Anything special you’ve been working on in preparation? Specific workouts, course recon, simulations, etc.?

My friends did some recon for the ride. I don’t feel I need to know the course because it is all fire road. I did do some upper body strength training specific for riding with my physical therapist. The last ride we did was 82 miles on a mountain bike but riding mainly on a road. Of course, I watched the movie “Race Across the Sky”.

What will your nutrition plan be like?

I am drinking a mixture of Cytomax and Perpetuem. I also found that peanut butter stuffed pretzels are a great food source. They have salt, carbs, fat and protein. One thing I learned at the BC Bike Race, take advantage of the aid station goodies. I have an iron stomach so I can eat pretty much anything. I need to remember to eat before I get hungry!

I have been using Hammer Recoverite after every ride and training session and it’s been the best. Training has gone really well this year and I’m certain that has been one of the reasons why.

What are your goals heading into Leadville?

I just want to finish this monster. I would like to be under 12 hours but if I am not, that’s ok with me.

What are you planning on carrying on the bike?

Fellow Trouper Monica will be out on the course for support so hopefully I will be able to drop and pick up clothes as needed. I need to be prepared but I also don’t want to lug the kitchen sink with me, either. Definitely a spare tube, CO2, peanut butter pretzels, possibly a cell phone.

Follow our Twitter for updates as they happen or to hear how laura is doing:
twitter.com/trouperacingco

Over the summer months, we’ll take time-out to introduce some of the sponsors that have helped make our team who we are. To us, these companies make some of the best gear – wether its cycling components, skin care, or outdoors equipment. Their brands are like us: unexpected, serious, yet surprisingly approachable. We’re greatfull for their generosity in supporting us and we hope we can do them proud.

First up, Sqivvy.

Every find yourself getting ready for a race, wondering where to change into your kit? Or maybe looking for the right distance between parked cars to change out of your riding clothing after that long training ride with a group of riders. Either situation is quite a predicament, and one that we found our selves in all too often.

Then we found Sqivvy – super cool pop-up changing tents.

A Sqivvy pop-up works like one of those car window shades that fold and collapses into a big round coil – the size of a road wheel, basically. Each tent comes complete with a bag, stakes, and a rainfly that closes the roof and helps keep rain out.

Compared to the “deck change” of wrapping a towel around your waist, or undressing behind a bush, changing in a Sqivvy is pure luxury.

The door is very large and easy to open and close. Once in side, the user has the option of standing on the ground or on a partial tent floor. This is especially handy if you’ve got dirty mountain bike shoes on. The floor easily detaches and rolls up if the ground is too rocky, or to work with a shower system. Looking straight up, the ceiling is open unless the rain fly is installed. A zip mesh window is opposite the door and helps with air flow in the event the top is used.

Each of the 3 walls include some sort of storage feature. A mesh pocket, a solid closed top nylon bag, or our favorite – a light clothes line. This is perfect for micro towels, base layers or other light items that need to be hung up to dry quickly.

Set up is a snap. Take it out of the bag, and it virtually springs open. Find a level spot, push (our pound) 4 corner stakes in, and you’re done! Should you set up a Sqivvy on a parking lot or sand, 3 sides include a pocket for filling with sand or rocks to hold it in place instead of the corner stakes.

Take down is also super easy, although we did need to practice this a few times and watch the video. There’s a little trick to it – a twist of the wrist. Once you get that down, its super easy.

If you can’t tell, we’re very happy to have Sqivvy’s support this season. It’s been one of our favorite items to bring to rides and races. And it never fails; someone always asks us to use it.

So, here’s the chance to get your very own Sqivvy! Visit their web store and use promo code “Troupe” at check out to receive $10 off and free shipping. Or stop by at one of our races and check it’s awesomeness for yourself.

Each summer, I head home to Michigan to visit family, race an XC event, and to do some road riding with a local team, Leadout Racing. This year, I was able time my trip back for the 8 Hours of Cannonsburg, where I raced solo.

In the days leading up to the race, good ol’ Michigan weather was on my mind. The typical pattern was in effect: rain forecasted for the weekend. Luckily, rain came in on Friday, and got the course good and tacky for race day. Saturday’s temps were forecasted to be in the mid 90′s with high humidity… great.

The course was a single track dream come true: 5.5 miles tree covered joy. There were only two wide sections that were pretty short, but the rest was pure single track through tight trees – a far cry from SoCal’s dessert style of riding.

The race got started at 10:01 for the solos. I quickly got out towards the front and began stretching out the lead with the faster guys. After a few miles, we had opened up a bit of a gap. Because of the course layout, I thought that the idea of “out of site – out of mind” would come into play so an good effort up front would pay off later. About at the 1/2 point of our first lap, we rolled down a “steep” short descent and then immediately up a “steep” climb. It wasnt that bad, but steep enough to dump it into my small chainring and easiest gear in the back. As luck had it, I dumped the chain up and over my cassette and wedged it into my spokes. I pulled over and struggled to dislodge it and watched every single solo rider pass me. Great.

I got back on and re-established my pace. At this point, I was going just hard enough to slowly reel in some of the riders who had passed. No sense in sprinting at this point. I figured I would catch them during the day.

Around lap 4, my back began to tighten. I stopped at my pit and do some quick stretching, but the pain was getting unbearable. I even started running up some of the climbs just to give my back a break which helped a lot.

Nutrition was spot on for this race. After pre-riding, it was clear that there was no place or time to take my hands off the bars to drink. I wore a small Camelbak of water. Each lap, I altered between a small bottle of HEED or Perpetuem. HEED for electrolytes and easy H20, and Perpetuem for some solid calories and protein to help keep hunger down. My pit crew (my dad – running the pit for his first time!) made sure to have a cold bottle of each mixed up for each lap. I also alternated 2 endurolytes and 1 Anti-Fatigue cap each lap. I was sweating buckets, and was paying close attention to how much water was coming in. I also made sure to take in a good size shot of Hammer gel at a selected spot on each lap – one of the only fire road sections.

Shortly into it the last lap, a rider in another group caught and passed me. He and I had gone back/forth throughout the day and he was setting a good pace. I got on his wheel and we were rollin’ along. At one point he asked me if I wanted to pass, and I told him that I needed a rider to chase to keep up the pace. I was able to stay on his wheel till just about the last mile. Nothin’ quite like two Santa Cruz bikes flowin’ through the forest…

Overall, it was a really fun event. I finished 7th in the solo 30-39. Maybe I didn’t have the miles needed for this one. For sure, I had the climbing legs and my ability to ride what little downhill there was fast worked to my advantage. My fueling strategy worked very well: a total of 8:26 hours and not a single cramp and my legs actually felt great.

jeff gets ready to head back out.

report by : Jeff Resnick

I get the strangest looks from people when I tell them I’m going to do a 12 hour mountain bike race solo. When there hear its in Temecula in mid-June, they know for sure that I’m crazy. It is these reactions that motivate me to do long distance bike races, such as the 12 Hour of Temecula on June 12th.

This was the second 12 hour race in a 3-part series put on by one of our favorite race promoters – Jason Ranoa. The first race was in January and the third race will be in November. We lucked out for this race as temperatures were very mild and Jason set out a fun course.

The Troupe team had 3 solo riders, Mykyta, Damon and myself, a men’s team composed of Tom, Kevin, Ben and Roy, and a women’s team composed of Michelle, Laura, Monica and Mary.

kevin comes in from a hot lap.

We all arrived bright and early to set up a pit along the course, which was near the pool area at Vail Lake. After lugging our stuff from our cars to the pit, which felt like miles, we got the gear ready, did final bike tune-ups and prepared all our bottles for the upcoming long day. I was already tired and the race had not begun.

The race started on time at 9am and the pace was fast. Several pros, such as Tinker Juarez and John “Fuzzy” Mylne, were pushing everyone. This combined with a fast course and cool temps made for fast lap times. Most in the sport, expert and pro classes, whether on a team or solo, were pushing lap times between 40 to 55 minutes.

tom's blur is camouflaged by the orange course tape.

For the first 4 laps, my lap times were around 50 minutes. I’m not sure why I felt so good, but figured I’d take advantage of it and try to get a lead on my competitors. I didn’t recognize any names in my class, which was the solo master 40+, so I had no idea who my competition was. After the 5th lap I checked results to find out I was in 2nd by about 1 minute. The battle had begun. In fact, at one point in the race, 1st and 2nd were within 10 seconds of each other, with me leading. I then lost my lead when I went over the bars on a soft and loose downhill section. These kind of things happen after you’ve been on the bike for 6+ hours. Luckily, I did not get hurt, but did have to make some minor bike repairs, which caused me to lose some time.

During races you sometimes only know people by there number plate, so I only knew this mystery 2nd place racer by his number, which was 157. I keep asking my team, has any seen 157. It turned out that 157 was pitting right next to us and his name was Alex. When we stopped to rest between laps, I could gauge how Alex was feeling. I overhead Alex say he was cramping so I figured that if I keep moving, I could retake 1st and build a lead. During the middle of the day, the weather warmed and my lap times slowed. Also, nothing I ate was satisfying. It didn’t help that the start and finish was near the pool area, so each time I finished a lap I saw people frolicking in a cool and refreshing pool – that was painful.

As the sun started to set I got a second wind and felt much better. During the race I saw some of my teammates, Tom, Damon, Roy and Ben. I tried to ride with them when possible. I saw Ben twice, the first time when he passed me and the second time when he crashed. Unfortunately, the crash turned out to be a bad one and Ben had to drive himself to the hospital for stitches. Our 4-man team was no a 3-man team by default.

ben paid a visit to the med tent, and eventually the ER.

I never saw Mykyta who was also riding solo until the last lap, which we rode together. Mykyta and I had tentative plans to ride together and push each other. He has been racing well all year so I knew he could push me. We finally met up and rode together during our last lap.

the sun starts to set and damon is ready for more.

The race ended for me at about 8:15pm with 11 laps in 11:13 hours. Mykyta, Tom and I all finished our last lap together – which was fun. There was no time to do a 12th lap. After finishing I checked results and it turned out that I was in 1st place. Other Troupers also did well – Damon placed 2nd in the solo Clydesdale class and our Women’s team came in 3rd in their class. Mykyta and our men’s team all had respective finishes. After getting cleaned up and packing the cars, we all hung out in the cool summer night, to enjoy the raffle and awards ceremony. Another successful race in the books for the Troupe team.

the medal tells the tale: damon takes 2nd in the clydes solo.

Rumors were swirling around that The June 5th Elings Park race in Santa Barbara was cancelled and I have to admit that part of me was hoping it was. June has been a very busy month for me both personally and professionally and a good local ride followed by some R&R was sounding very appealing. In addition, many Troupe members were either out of town or committed to the Toad Festival so I figured I would have to make the trek to Santa Barbara on my own. The Thursday before the race I confirmed that the race was still on and I felt compelled to participate in order to maintain my top 5 series point standings.

Tom, Mykyta and myself were the only three Troupe members to make the trip. Mykyta and I pre-rode two laps prior to the start of our race. The course was about 5.5 miles long and had a great combination of semi-technical climbs and downhills with lots of switchbacks. The course was fast and everthing could be ridden in the middle chainring (with fresh legs). The weather was cool and overcast, perfect racing conditions. To my surprise, there was a great turnout and I had about 25 riders in the 40 44 sport division.

As usual, the start was fast and furious. I slipped into 5th place but the top 3 quickly started gapping the rest of us. Third place crashed on one of the first downhill switchbacks and I moved into 4th place. First and second were pulling away and third place was starting to fade so I pushed my way buy on a single track section. After the completion of the first lap, I was alone in third and feeling good so I picked up the pace and managed to catch second place. I battled with second place most of the second lap and finally managed to pull a small gap. The hard effort of the second lap took its toll on me and late in the third lap I got passed by a rider in my class who came through the pack. Still, third place exceeded my expectations so I wasn’t complaining. Mykyta had an outstanding race, grabbing the lead in the 30 – 34 catagory late in the third lap and holding on for the win. Tom also had s strong showing finishing top 10 in the 45 – 49 catagory. Overall, another great showing for Troupe!!!

We love bike races. So much that we often spend several hours driving to/from the race that lasts an hour and a half. Some times it’s 4 hour drive each way, some times we fly across the pond to another continent (like Italy’s Garda Fest). But some times mountain bike race comes to us, practically to our doorstep, 10 minutes away from some troupers’ homes. How could we not race it? Of course we did!

Over The Hump mountain bike race series started last year with two races at the end of summer as the orange county’s only mid-week mountain bike race. In fact it was and remains to this day OC’s only cross country mountain bike race! Turnout and buzz at the last year races were incredible and future for the series looked bright. This year the series is back not with two, but 12 (that’s right, twelve!) races running on Tuesdays through the summer. And this Tuesday was opener for the 2010 season. Many local businesses from MTB industry and beyond had their booths at the venue – crankbrothers, Verizon Wireless, H2O Overdrive, most local bike shops, Sambazone and many others. It was especially encouraging to see big non-MTB brands throwing their support behind the series in true testament to growing popularity of the sport.

Even more encouraging was to see all the people who came out to the Irvine Lake this pleasant Tuesday evening. Turnout was huge, there were more beginner racers than ever, families came out to race with their 10 year old children. And that’s what makes this event so special. Seasoned athletes can find a very fast race course that will make hearts pump fast and muscles burn hot right from the start and will leave legs jittery and sore the next day. Beginners will find the excitement of the mountain bike race on the fun, not intimidating but fairly challenging course. The course changed from the last year slightly because good part of old singletrack is now flooded by the high waters of the Irvine Lake, which made it necessary to build a 500 foot long floating bridge across the lake. Racing across the floating bridge, how cool is that?!

Troupe was represented by Randy and Me this time. The only drawback of the mid-week evening race is that for many slight delay at work means missing the 6 PM start time. This was the case with many troupers on Tuesday. But we had a great support team present in full force including Tim, Michelle, Roy, Laura and Monica. It seemed that for every turn and climb there was a trouper to cheer us on.

My goal for these races is a solid, high intensity mid week workout ride. Yes, I could do intervals, but where is fun in that? I decided to race in expert category to make the ride longer, efforts harder and solid and strong competition push me through the race. It was great to see many guys I raced at the State and USCup series trying their luck in the expert category too. The hurt was on form the very start. I managed to hang on to the guys in the chase group for most of the first lap, but made a mistake on the narrow singletrack, fell back a bit and ended up chasing alone. Hour long time trial sure resulted in some very hard efforts and great workout. Now I just need too work on improving my time.

Randy had a solid ride, but not without mishaps. He was attacking on the climbs but had several unfortunate crashes on the off-camber turns on the last lap that cost him several spots, but never stopped fighting and finished strong.

randy heads out on the course.

It was a solid, fast and very fun race and we will surely be back for more. Look for more Troupe jerseys at the next and future Over The Hump races, and come out to race, too. It’s fun!!!

mykyta and one of his opponents, jason rusnak, post race.

Personally, I’m not one for traveling. I always feel destroyed when I return from any sort of long distance trip – whether its for business or vacation. But, when the opportunity to travel to Italy’s Garda Fest came up a few months ago, my ears perked up.

The Garda Fest is similar to a European version of Sea Otter. Despite being in Italy, it’s predominantly attended by Germans. The main attraction is the marathon xc event that I would race. And by race, I mean participate. Not only had I been focusing on more shorter xc events this year, but the marathon has an attendance of over 2,000 riders. Yes, two thousand. Racing this event was more about participating and finishing strong and not crawling on all fours across the finish line.

I, along with my wife Michelle and our friend Amanda, arrived in Riva del Garda on the Wednesday before the Saturday race. Our first order of business was securing bikes. We pulled in to the best shop in Garda – Carpintera Bike Shop and rented our bikes: Cube Ltd hard tails. For those that don’t know, Cube is Germany’s biggest brand, and we were stoked to find some race bikes in our size in the rental fleet and not clunkers from years past. And they were even stocked with Formula RX brakes.

We check into our rooms, changed clothes and immediately hit the local paths to spin the legs for a couple hours.

The area was amazing. Olive groves and vineyards surround the lake and expo venue. Bike paths took us from one small town to another, each one a 100 years older then the last. Castles hang from one of the sheer mountains and overlook the valley below.

And then we began to climb…

We soon found ourselves going up into one of the small towns and on a very winding road through the hillside. The road was steep, narrow and was mostly cobble stones. But, the view was so amazing that we didn’t realize how steep the climbing was. We kept together and relaxed, knowing that we could turn around at any point.

At the top, we found a single track trail that would more or less bring us down to where we started up. So, we dropped in and were treated to some super technical (for hard tails) descending over some of the most slippery rocks we’ve ridden on.

Our plan for Thursday was to get some specific course recon. We set off with the intent of pre-riding the course for our chosen distance: the Piccolo, which was 54k, with over 6,000 ft of climbing. This was a chance to take in the EPIC scenery of the course, for we knew that on race day, we’d be redlined and not be seeing the sights.

The course was amazing, but we soon learned that mountain biking in Europe means something different over there. To them, it means riding up and down a mountain on either paved roads, cobbles, or dirt, and the course was made of all three of those options. Climbing was done on paved roads through villages, while downhills were mostly on trails…. and the cobbles were reserved for any trails through the olive groves. We climbed for a couple of hours all the while being thrilled with the scale of what we were doing, and a bit nervous that we were biting off more then we could chew. We rode about 75% of the course and headed back to our hotel to refuel and strategize.

A word of advice for those that travel to an event like this. Bringing your own shoes and pedals is a no-brainer. But we also brought our own fizik saddles – a critical upgrade to the rental bike. What we forgot, however, was our own stems. Luckily, we happened upon a few shorter ones and were able to swap out the 110mm stock stems that were the cause of some serious back pain.

Fast forward to race day, 7 am.

We hit the bikes to ride to the start. Riders start in waves of about 300-500 per wave, and 5 minutes apart. The “A” wave was already lined up and counting down to the start. Since each rider wears a transponder, start position doesn’t matter; your time starts when you cross the start line. We were in wave “D”, which took us quite a wile to make our way through the sea of bikes to our area. Of course, by this time, we’re at the back of the group and kept reminding ourselves that it didn’t make a difference.

Before we knew it, we were off.

The start was insane – riders where everywhere going all sorts of speeds. I quickly found a clear spot along the edge of the road and put some power the the pedals to help warm up for the impending climbing and to get past some riders that would certainly bottleneck at some of the narrow trails.

It wasn’t long before I realized was feeling good… really good. We hit the climbs and while other riders dumped it into their 22T ring to spin, I found some strength and powered through the never ending field and began to claw my way up through the ranks. The more I passed, the faster I wanted to go. I was in race mode and loving it.

Amanda had been on my wheel since the start and we decided to ride together. We were both riding a strong pace and thought we could work together.

At about mile 12, we pulled in to the first aid station. The euro aid stations are stocked a bit differently. Gone were the Powerbars, Hammer Gels and sports drinks. Here, you’re offered water and a host of different birthday cakes, cups of peanuts, or dates or prunes. Good thing we packed our own supplies. We downed a few Endurolytes, topped off our bottles and dropped into one of the best single track descents of the course. It was twisty, steep, loamy, and difficult enough to make most of the riders dismount an walk. But thanks to our home town technical trails, we let off the brakes and flew down the trail SoCal style.

Soon the trail opened up into an amazing road descent of tight switchbacks through the mountains. This was pure Tour de France style of high speed aero tuck descending. It was a bit intense going into a 180 degree turn 3 or 4 riders wide but it added to the thrill. After each turn, we grew more confident of our tires, our bikes and our skills.

The rest of the course through a few surprises at us – we hadn’t ridden this area on our pre-ride. We were forced by our lack of trail knowledge to hold back and save some for any surprising climbs – which there was.

But with all good climbs come good downhills. We wound ourselves heading back down the mountain on single track rocky trails, passing through villages that were hundreds of years old, and into more olive groves. As the course flattened out, and I could tell that we were on the roads on our way to the finish, we threw whatever we had left on the fire. It was a 6 mile ride back, and we planned to spend it all by the finish. We picked up a few other riders and before long had a pace-line of 5 or so riders. But we were determined to do all the work and pull away at the finish. Mission accomplished.

Coming in to the finish area was one of the most rewarding feelings I’ve had in a while. We were strangers in a strange land, and there were no cheering fans or friends. But the fact that we came to put in a solid ride and pulled it off was reason enough to celebrate.

In the end, I finished 3 hours, 12 minutes and in 192 place of over 400 men that raced the Piccolo. Michelle was around 60th place for open women in the Piccolo distance. Those finish are nothing amazing, but a podium finish was never the goal.

We’re keeping our eyes on airline prices for next year – this one is a must do!