Back on the Saddle at High Altitude at the Crankworx Colorado XC

Winter Park hosts an excellent and competitive series of mountain bike races each summer, and this weekend's event corresponded with the Crankworx Colorado festival, an exciting mix of vending and various competitions. Amy, Wyatt, and I headed up on Saturday morning for the XC race, which covered 25 miles of dirt roads and singletrack.

With JHK (yes, the JHK) at the starting line, I knew the race would be competitive and fast.  My goal for the race was to re-accustom my body to a high effort at altitude before the LT100 in two weeks, and the first climb of the race definitely did that!  Pure suffering for the first 20 minutes set me back in the field, but I regained control and steadily gained places throughout the race.  It seems that two long races in Europe removed a bit of snappiness and high-end speed, as expected, but the strength was thankfully there late in the race.

JHK won by about five minutes, and I was happy to finish 8th, just over two minutes off 2nd place.  It was fun to get out there with a competitive pro field, and congrats to all who made it out!

Wyatt enjoyed some watermelon after the race.

European Journey: Wrapping it Up!

Three weeks of travel and racing in France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and Germany has left Amy, Wyatt, and I bonded, refueled, happy...and a bit tired out from 30 hours of nonstop travel home!

This was a great trip, and we look forward to life at home and the Leadville 100 mtb on 8/13.

Highlights of the trip:

2nd, MB Race, Megeve, France
With four climbs adding up to over 18000' of climbing and a field of 500, the 140-kilometer MB Race was a bear.  Lots of riding at altitude prepared me well, and I was able to finish 2nd overall.  I won a huge ham and some French wine, and participated in a public speech and TV interview after the race.  It was quite an experience!

12th, Salzkammergut Trophy, Bad Goisern, Austria
A week after the MB Race (and a day after crash-related swelling in my abdomen finally subsided enough to breath hard), I toed the line with a strong international field of 600 at the Salzkammergut Trophy MTB race in Austria.  Heavy legs and the foolish choice of carrying backpack with 3L of water left me hoping for a bit more sharpness on the first climb, and I lost contact with the leaders.  From there, however, the racing was steady and I passed a few racers in the final 20 miles to finish 12th.  The ride gained more than 21000' over 211 kilometers, and it was a solid day in the saddle!

Tour de France
We traveled to the Alps for the final stages of the Tour. Road closures during the Galibier stage forced us to watch the race from a small bar in Bourg d'Oisson, at the base of Alpe d'Huez, and we enjoyed the experience.  The next day, French AR legend Seb Sxay and I rode up and down L'Alpe in the morning before we all headed up the hill to watch the climb.  The atmosphere was absolutely crazy!  Finally, we watched the time trial in Grenoble.

Cancellara and Cavendish at the TT:

The scene at Alpe d'Huez:

Climbing Alpe d'Huez:

Baptized by Fire for 12th Place at the Salzkammergut Trophy 211k in Austria

They (when I say "they" I mean Jay Henry) said that mountain bike marathon races in Europe would be very competitive, and they were right! With 211k in just under 11:30 and over 7000 vertical meters of climbing, the Salzkammergut was quite a day. Check ou the video for a synopsis.

Thanks to Squirt Lube Austria for hosting us at their house here in beautiful Altenmarkt im Pongua, and as always, to Team Merrell Adventure and Chiru Bikes.

MB Race, Megeve, France

Organizers of the MB Race promise an epic experience, and participants of this monster are not to be disappointed! I was happy to finish second in the 140k mtb ride that features over 6000 meters of climbing and technical, muddy descending. Amy, Wyatt, and Pierre's entire family were an incredible support crew; it was really a team effort! The Chiru Pulse was excellent. The racing time was just under nine hours.

I hope these videos and photos do justice to the incredible views experienced throughout the week and the race. We passed through Venice today and will land in Austria tomorrow.

Day 3 in Europe: New Chiru Bike and Sweet Views all Around!

"

Needless to say, we are enjoying our time in Megeve!

Almost time for two big MTB races in Europe...and Wyatt has arrived!

Bergen Peak...the Best 80 Minutes of Training Around!

Epic Singletrack Series at Winter Park: Feeling Good Heading in to Europe Trip

Disclaimer:
Big races in Crested Butte and elsewhere attracted many of the top names elsewhere this weekend.  Nonetheless, I was stoked to get the win in the pro field at the Winter Park Epic Singletrack series race today.

Front Range 60 MTB Race...and More!

Bee-lieve it or not, this swarming of stingers on a for-sale bike at Bear Creek Lake Park is not the only exciting event of the last week.  In three years of existence, the Front Range 60 has grown into a competitive and well-attended event.  Consisting of six ten-mile loops on a relatively flat course with short, punchy climbs, the race provided a good speed workout for me.

Bailey Hundo

Even in Colorado, it's rare indeed that one can drive just a few minutes from home to compete in a world-class event.  The Bailey Hundo, however, presented an exception to the rule and made for an excellent Father's Day weekend experience!

Teva Mountain Games 2011

Year after year (I think it's been 10 now), the Teva Mountain Games have brought together the country's greatest athletes in a wide variety of adventure sports.  And, year after year, I have sought to take home to the prize in the Ultimate Mountain Challenge, a multisport competition that combines a racer's times in a 20-minute downriver kayak race, a 90-minute mountain biking race, a 10k trail run, and, finally, a 30-minute, all-out, lung-burning road bike time trial up Vail Pass.

Summer Races in France and Austria

Amy, Wyatt, and I have made plans to travel for two big endurance mtb races this summer.  Check out www.mb-race.com and http://www.salzkammergut-trophy.at/salzkammergut-trophy-pid164.

We're stoked for the journey!

Iron Horse Bicycle Classic

The 40th annual Iron Horse Bicycle Classic was a great time for all!  A full Memorial Day weekend of fun sandwiched between seven-hour car rides was memorable indeed.

Motivational Speaking at a Local School

In conjunction with an excellent local event called the Kids Rodeo Stampede, I recently presented "Lessons for School and Life from Adventure Racing" for three assemblies at a local middle school.  The enthusiastic students brightened my day, and one student even exclaimed, "I'm going to be an adventure racer when I grow up!"  It was a good time for all.

Endurance Racing: Food for Thought

North American Snowshoeing Championships/Beaver Creek Snowshoe Race #3: A Big Day for EHS!

A few inches of fresh powder and a starting line at 10,000' welcomed competitors to the final snowshoe race of the season, the Jeremy Wright North American Snowshoe Championship (also the third race of the Beaver Creek series). Prize money was on the line for series participants, with the spoils going to the those with the fastest combined time for three races in the 5k series and separate 10k series.

Mt. Taylor Quadrathlon 2011...and Wyatt's First Road Trip!

The list of Mt. Taylor Quadrathlon champions includes some legendary names: Matt Carpenter, Mike Tobin, Mike Kloser, Andrew Adamowski, Jack Swift, and Dan "King of the Quad" Nielson. None(on the male side, that is--Danelle Ballengee's victories reached double digits, including a burly 3:52), however, have dominated like Josiah Middaugh, who has claimed the most victories and never (to my knowledge) finished off the top of the podium.

Beaver Creek Snowshoe Adventure Series: Race #2

Traffic on I-70 was quite a challenge, and I missed half of the Super Bowl getting home. The Beaver Creek Snowshoe Challenge, however, was worth the effort of getting there!

A fresh dump of over a foot at Beaver Creek made for some excellent snowshoeing conditions, and I was lucky to be able to break trail for about a third of the 5k course. Happy that no one was able to catch me on this slow section, I continued to the finish and gained the win in the race.

Educational Interlude: CCIRA Conference Presentation

On February 3rd, I was honored to present with Alyse, Alex, Alec, John, and Sam, five students from EHS, at the Annual Conference of the Colorado Council of the International Reading Association. Speaking in front of a packed room of over 90 educators, the students were poised, confident, and impressive. Our presentation, "Literacy and Technology in the 21st-Century English Classroom," discussed the use of technology in education. Go Cougars!

A video of the session is online here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlNYkEilazs.

Colorado Snowshoeing State Championship

Mild weather in Leadville, Colorado on Saturday provided a peaceful backdrop for a 10k snowshoeing course that was, well, anything but mild. Hosted by the Pedal Power Bike Shop and Tennessee Pass Nordic Center, the Colorado Snowshoeing State Championship began at 10,024' in elevation and went up from there.

I love the courses created by RD Bruce Kelly. Feeling fairly confident from the start, I took the lead at the beginning and gained a bit of a gap on Bernie Boettcher, who is always a very strong competitor. The singletrack--and there was plenty of it--proved to be particularly hard to handle (especially when breaking trail) due to a combination of corn snow, overblown trail, and a chunky freeze-up. I had to work the whole way, and the descents were particularly challenging in these conditions!

I was able to hold off Bernie and take the State Championship; definitely a fulfilling win!

Up next is the second race of the Beaver Creek Snowshoe Adventure Series on February 6th, followed by the Mt. Taylor Winter Quadrathlon on February 19th.

Photos: Credit Bernie Boettcher and Greg Krause.

Beaver Creek Snowshoe Adventure Series: Race #1

The nation's biggest and longest-lasting snowshoe racing series, the Beaver Creek Snowshoe Adventure Series (www.bcsnowshoe.com) kicked off this weekend. The Beaver Creek races offer 5k and 10k courses at high altitude, and the groomed trails that make up most of the courses make for a good old lung-burning time!

Prize money is offered in the 5k and 10k divisions this year. I have had a few close races with Josiah Middaugh in other snowshoe races this season, but I figured that besting him in three races would not be a sure bet. So, when my friend, Greg Krause, informed me of the series details on Saturday during our long bike ride (I had not paid attention to the information due to preoccupation with the birth of our son), I decided to try my hand at the 5k distance. I have not done a 5k running race since college, and my last 5k snowshoe race was probably at about age 13.

The wager paid off, and I was able to win the 5k by a decent margin. In order to maintain a lead in the series, I will need to remain consistent for the next two races in the series, as the victory goes to the person with the lowest combined time.

Up next is the Colorado Snowshoeing State Championship next Saturday at the Tennessee Pass Nordic Center outside of Leadville. The whole course is above 10,000'...perfect!

Life's biggest and best adventure begins!

We are absolutely ecstatic (thoroughly sleepy, but stoked nonetheless) to announce the birth of Wyatt Jacoby Macy!

Born January 2nd, 2011 at 12:27 a.m.
6 pounds, 10.7 ounces, 13.5-inch head circumference
20.5 inches
Totally cute
Mom and baby are well

Pedal Power Bike Shop Snowshoe Racing Series

Snowshoe racing has always been a key component of my wintertime fitness, and it's also a great way to experience a bit of adventure with my dad and friends from around the state. My favorite races are the Pedal Power Snowshoe Adventure Series (www.pedalpowerbike.com), which generally feature a good deal of powder, singletrack, bush-whacking, and strong competition. Bruce and Stacey Kelly, the organizers, donate all proceeds to important causes, which is great.

Adventure Racing National Championship, Presented by Check Point Tracker and Adventure Xstream, Moab, Utah, October 29-30

Yahoo! Team Osprey Packs wins the National Championship! Wait...maybe not.





The Adventure Racing National Championship presented by Check Point Tracker and Adventure Xstream last weekend provided a chance for some of the best domestic teams in the country to battle it out in Moab’s legendary terrain. The high LaSalle Mountains, miles of slickrock, vast canyons, and the raging (and COLD, this time of year) Colorado River filled the minds of four-person coed teams as they travelled from around the country to compete in the 20-28 hour, nonstop race. The course would remain secret throughout most of the race, with athletes learning about each element of the race upon completing the previous section.

My team consisted of Scott Swaney (Highlands Ranch, CO), Gretchen Reeves (Avon, CO), Jon Brown (Gunnison, CO), and myself. We were stoked to be using Osprey backpacks for the race, and we raced as Team Osprey Packs. The competition was strong, and we were amped to make a hard run for the National Championship.

USAC 24 Hour National Championship at 24 Hours of Moab, October, 2010

Epic glory on a world-renoun course. A chance to test season-finale fitness against strong competitors. Enticing prize money in an often-ignored sport...

The 2010 edition of 24 Hours of Moab Mountain Bike Race sounded attractive to me for a number of reasons. Shortly after the gun went off, I discovered that a number of very talented and fit competitors had been thinking along the same lines.

I felt confident going into the race. My brand-new, super-light, supremely-responsive Chiru Sonic mountain bike (www.chirubikes.com) was accompanied by a bullet-proof support crew consisting of my dad, my sister, and my uncle--all seasoned veterans who helped me to victory at the 24 Hours of Leadville last month. I felt fit, and was ready to race some of the best competition around, namely Josh Tostado and Kelly Megelky, with whom I had done some training over the summer.

After a screaming-fast 400 meter run at the le mans start, I grabbed my Chiru in good position (right behind Kelly), sprinted with the bike in hand, and executed a perfect flying mount...that ended with my left foot jamming directly between the spokes and the inside of the frame! After realizing just how I had managed to grind to a halt before taking a single pedal stroke, I extracted my foot and rode away with the leaders, rear wheel whobbling from side to side. Five minutes later, on first section of singletrack, the spoke I had so brutally assulted finally snapped, forcing me to stop and wrap it around its neighbor.

The fact that I was able to complete a halway-decent first lap minus one spoke is a true credit to the quality of the Chiru Sonic, which was later repaired and performed extremely well throughout more than 24 hours of very technical riding.

My lap times remained consistent until 2:00 a.m., and I battled for a podium position. Between 2:00 and 7:00, however, I managed to complete only two laps. Most of my laps of the 15-mile course throughout the race were completed between 1:30 and 1:40, and the two killers in the middle of night set me far back in the standings. This lag in the wee hours was particularly disappointig in light of my significant experience in adventure races.

As the sun rose, I became revitalized and ticked off three fairly strong laps. I was happy to finish strong. In completing 15 laps, I finished 8th in the USAC National Championship, set a personal record for the event, and bested the winner's count from 2007, when I finished second. Tostado, Magelky, and many of the other competitors were extremely impressive!

Thanks again to my support crew and sponsors, particularly Team Merrell Akali Adventure, Chiru Bikes, and AYUP Lights.

I'll return to Moab in three weeks for the Checkpoint Tracker National Champship Adventure Race.

24 Hours of Leadville Mountain Bike Race, September 4-5, 2010

I'll be the first to admit that elite athletes sometimes toe the line with little but prize money on the mind. At times, however, most racers return to the original motivations of sport, to the competitions and challenges that are completed simply for growth, betterment of self, comaraderie, and glory.

For me, the Leadville 100 series provides such a venue. The LT100 series, which has grown incredibly despite offering no prize money, expanded this year to host a 24-hour mountain bike race. The concept is simple: ride as many loops of a 17.1-mile course as possible between 10:00 a.m. Saturday and 10:00 a.m. Sunday. The altitude ranges from 10,000' to about 11,400', and each lap climbs almost 2,000'. Some athletes compete on relay teams, and others race solo.

I trained hard for this race, and traded in what would normally be running sessions for extra time on the bike. Despite fighting a nasty cough for a couple of weeks before the race, I went into the competition feeling pretty good. I was also lucky to have an incredible support crew on my side. My dad, Mark, who has finished the Leadville 100 run many times, was accompanied by Uncles Brian and Eric Pence, also multiple finishers of the 100 run. My sisters, Katelyn and Dona, also stayed on course all night, and my wife, Amy, and mom, Pam, chipped in as well. Some families watch football games together...I guess we tend to attend ultra-distance events in Leadville! I was truly inspired by my team.

When race director Ken Chlouber fired a shotgun (yes, real ammunition) at 10:00 a.m., the field took off running up Dutch Henri Hill, a massive, un-bike-able pitch at the start of the course. Eager to stay out of trouble, I took the lead and held on for the first few laps. I completed four laps in six hours and was just behind the first few relay teams. Unfortunately, another solo competitor was just a few minutes behind me. This pressure in mind, I went hard for the final two laps before dark, knowing that we would all slow down when the night brought sleepy, lonely hours on the trail.

And boy were they sleepy and lonely! Adventure racing experience paid off as I was able to hold a steady pace through the night, when I would often ride for well over an hour without seeing another racer. My mind often wandered, but my AYUP lights burned bright and something like happiness stoked in my heart.

Just before dawn, I caught eight minutes of sleep in a nap on the side of the trail. Revitalized by the shut-eye and refueled by yet another helping of Uncle B's signature hash browns, I cranked out two more laps before 8:38 a.m., when it was too late to start another. I had completed a course-record (this was a first-year race) 12 laps and been able to lap the field. I was ready for a nap and some real food. Most of all, my butt was chaffed and I needed a shower!

Thanks again to my incredible support crew--this really was a team effort. Sponsors like Merrel/Akali and AYUP also helped out in creating a great racing experience.

AYUP Lights and Hawaiian Adventure

I don't take time often enough to thank my sponsors (the companies linked to the right). These are companies that make excellent products and people who provide genuine support. I'm careful to select gear that works well--these items are tried and true.

One company that has made a big difference over the past few years is AYUP. Makers of the best lights around, AYUP is based in Australia. The size and weight of the lights are incredible, with no trade-off in brightness. Check out the link for details. I use AYUP lights daily for running, biking, and paddling in the winter, when I do almost all of my training in the dark due to short days. In the summer, I use them for trekking, biking, and other sports (they mount easily onto a headband or any helmet) in adventure races and 24-hour MTB races.

I'm happy to welcome Andy Fellows, an Australian rep for AYUP and superb mountain bike racer, who will be in Colorado the next few weeks to promote the lights at races in the Rockies. Look for him at the Leadville 100, Rage in the Sage in Gunnison, and other events. If anyone in the area is interested in trying out AYUP lights, shoot me an email and we'll set up a time to try them out...you'll be impressed!

In other news, Amy and I spent eight days in Hawaii. Most of the time was spent on Maui, where we camped on the beach, snorkeled daily (saw many sea turtles--amazing!), and enjoyed some peace before the start of the school year. We stayed in Nemo's new Nano Elite tent (http://www.nemoequipment.com/nemo2010-nanoelite-tent), a super-light, awesome backpacking shelter.

The outdoor highlight was a 140-mile road bike ride including a summit of the Haleakala Crater. Climbing 10,000' from sea level in a steady climb was a sweet experience, and there are not many places in the world to find such an ascent! The downhill was pretty fun as well.

On Oahu, we checked out the North Shore, where world-class surfing takes place every winter. I did a bit of surfing, and enjoyed running on trails in the area where Lost and Jurassic Park were filmed. It was a sweet trip, and we returned home mentally-prepared to head back to reality!

Bob Cook Memorial / Mt. Evans Hill Climb / Colorado Hill Climb State Championship, July 24, 2010

One of the benefits of living in Evergreen, Colorado is that the highest paved road in the United States is in our backyard. Colorado Route 5 winds to the summit of Mt. Evans at 14,264', and there's a road cycling race to the top. It's the Hill Climb State Championship, and I decided to give it a shot this year.

On the morning of July 24th, 6,700 vertical feet and 28 miles from the summit, racers warmed up against a cool breeze and overcast skies in Idaho Springs. The weather looked grim, and I was expecting rain and cold at the top. As my group, Category 3, ascended, however, temperatures rose and we broke into the sun just below Echo Lake at the halfway point.

From there, the racing heated up as we climbed above treeline, with a pack of five riders working together to catch one man who had broken away miles earlier. We did finally catch him, and it was every man for himself rising up the final five miles of switchbacks from Summit Lake. After losing contact after one surge, I regained myself and passed two riders to finish fourth in approximately 2:01. The next man to finish was a 15-year-old sophomore from Cherry Creek High School who rides on the Garmin Transitions farm team...watch out for this guy in the future!

Racing the road bike uphill was a fun experience. I was happy with the performance, and the dizziness due to an anaerobic effort above 14,000' made for an interesting afternoon.

Leadville Silver Rush 50 MTB, Winter Park Valley to Valley MTB, Maroon Peak

The last two weeks have brought a great deal of fun in the Colorado Rockies!

The Winter Park mountain biking series (www.epicsingletrack.com) has long been a staple of the Colorado mountain biking scene. On Saturday the 10th, I found out just why the races are so popular: excellent courses combine with a great environment and strong competition to make a great overall experience. I have not done too much cross country mtb racing and do not hold a pro license, but the Winter Park series allows all comers to race pro if interested. I have been focusing on cycling, so I decided to give the pro race a shot. Things went well on a steep, uphill start, and I got out in the top four heading into 23 miles of superb singletrack. After a bit of battling with another rider, who eventually pulled away on a winding section, I finished third overall.

A week later, Leadville, a classic Colorado mining town at 10,200', was the stage for the Leadville Silver Rush 50-mile mountain bike race. Part of the Leadville Trail 100 series, the course includes plenty of climbing and descending on steep, loose singetrack and two-track trails. I have been around the Leadville races since I watched my dad run the Leadville 100 when I was a little boy, and the series holds a special place in my heart.

The Silver Rush begins with fifty meters of bike-carrying up a very steep hill, and I made it to the top in third place. Excited to get ahead of any potential problems on a steep singletrack section a few hundred meters away, I took the lead shortly after the top of the first hill. The course wound over three significant climbs before the turnaround at 25 miles, and I had gained a lead of about ten minutes by that point. Feeling good, I continued to push hard to the finish and completed the race in a course record 3:52:34. I was happy with the win on a beautiful Colorado day!

Post-awards ceremony, it was off to a drive over Independence Pass for some camping at Crater Lake outside of Aspen. I met my good old friends from childhood at the Lake in the evening, and we woke up early the next morning for a summit bid on South Maroon Peak, a fairly challenging Class 3 peak. Through much perseverance up a very steep three thousand foot climb followed by some tricky route-finding, we made the summit just after 10am on another perfect mountain day. Summiting was a fitting pinnacle to the bachelor party of the one and only Erik Jackson!

Le Grand Raid Adventure Race, Northern France, June 23-27

Anticipation was high for Le Grand Raid, a five-day adventure race in Northern France. Decent prize money drew some of the top teams in the world, and I was happy to compete with Mike Kloser, Monique Merrell, and Jay Henry on Team Le Grand Raid Out There USA.

Due to the stage-racing format, a fast pace was part of the bargain, and things moved quickly from the start. We battled hard with the French of Team Wilsa/AFG, the Kiwis and Swedes of Team Thule, and the Spanish of Team Buff, and were happy to be in the mix after three of five days of racing.

Early on the fourth day, our team was brought back to reality by a very serious bike crash for Mona. After crashing into a cement pillar and flying over ten feet, Mona lay battered on the side of the road. Tense minutes passed as we stabilized her and waited for an ambulance. She was diagnosed with a broken wrist, cracked ribs, and deflated lung at a large French hospital.

Thankfully, Mona will recover fully. The owner of Breckenridge's Amazing Grace Cafe, Mona truly showed amazing grace in courageously dealing with a terrible accident, severe pain, and a week in a foreign hospital. Hats off to Mona, who reminded me this week about the truly important things in life.

Sometimes we forget that making it home in one piece is the most important thing. We did not finish this race, and things looked bleak for awhile, but we all made it home in one piece.

Special thanks to our support crew, Mike and Audrey, who's hospitality (show here) and care made a tough situation just bearable.

Ultimate Mountain Challenge at Teva Mountain Games, Vail, Colorado, June 5-6, 2010

With world-class competitions in paddling, running, cycling, climbing, fly fishing, dog jumping (yep, and it's awesome!) and more, the Teva Mountain Games in Vail have become an excellent, high-profile event. Significant prize money draws top competition in all sports, and the festival atmosphere is friendly to athletes, fans, and families.

My focus each year at the Teva Games is the Ultimate Mountain Challenge. This event involves racing in four separate individual events: the downriver paddle, the mountain biking race (among a field of competitive professionals), the 10k trail run, and an uphill time trial on the road bike.

My wife, Amy, and I headed to Vail on Friday morning to allow some time to pre-run the paddle and mountain bike courses. Gore Creek was relatively benign on Friday morning, and I enjoyed an easy paddle down the three-mile section. The mountain bike course, I discovered, constituted three loops of about seven miles, each lap climbing steadily and then dropping significantly on a bumpy single-track.

After a night of rest at the mountain residence of Mike Kloser, also one of my chief competitors in the UMC, the racing began on Saturday morning. As the temperature rose steadily on Friday, increasing snowmelt up high, the clear trickle that was Gore Creek had become a raging blur of chocolate. The creek was far more technical--and fun--than it had been for my practice run. Those unfamiliar with paddling swam often in the downriver time trial, and those ready for the challenge flew through the course. Mike and I paddled within one second of each other, clocking 16:32, and we were 40 ticks ahead of the man to beat in the UMC, local strongman Josiah Middaugh.

Hours later, we saddled up for the longest event of the weekend, the mountain bike race. The field was stacked with top pros like JHK and Jay Henry, and my goal was to stay somewhere near Josiah, who often clocks the fastest bike splits at Xterra triathlons. I have been cycling a lot, and the race went well. I finished 18th overall and less than three minutes behind Josiah. I also gained about three minutes on Mike, a good gap going into day two.

Bang! The gun blast at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday morning signified the start of the 10k trail run. Decent prize money for the top five drew stellar trail runners like Rickey Gates out to the action. The course is full of steep climbs (which I like) and steeper descents (which I dislike). Ten minutes into the race, I found myself packed up with friends Ryan Haebe (a 19-year-old stud from Evergreen who runs for Western State) and Andy Biglow. Pushing each other hard, we worked our way through the field until my buddies left me for dead on the kick home. I finished 10th overall, again a couple of minutes behind Josiah and a few ahead of Mike.

Going into the final road biking time trial, Josiah had a decent lead on me. However, one mechanical issue with his bike could bring me to first. Likewise, any slip on my part could bring Mike ahead; I have learned to never take a position for granted when Kloser is trailing! After a quick pre-race TV interview, I hopped on the starting block, pretended I was in the Tour de France, and hammered for all I was worth! I have been doing some road riding with my friend, Greg Krause, who finished third overall among the pros in the time trial, and I felt pretty good on the bike.

We each rode consistently, clocking in similar times to years past (approximately 32:40 for 9.8 miles uphill, for me). As such, positions remained the same. With Josiah in the race, I was happy with second place. He and Mike are excellent competitors, and his three-week-old daughter, Larson, may be visiting the podium again before we know it!