Living the Dream

Outside of Moab, Crested Butte is one of the most mentioned places when it comes to epic singletrack and it's where I found myself last weekend. I made the four hour drive on Friday afternoon to race in the Mountain States Cup Series race at Mt. Crested Butte on Saturday. On the drive down I contemplated why I race, and why I train so much. I came to the conclusion that one of the reasons is simply so that I can ride more singletrack in a given amount of time then anyone else. I did my best to uphold this principle while in CB. I was able to hit up some amazing singletrack with some friends on Saturday evening after the race.


And on Sunday, I rode two of the most epic rides in Crested Butte, The 401 and Reno/Flag/Bear/Deadman's.


It's pretty nice to be able to travel to a place like CB, race, make enough money to more then cover the cost of the trip, and then rip some of the most amazing singletrack ever. Here's to the MSC Series for helping keep the dream alive.

Elevation: 11,680'

At 7:00 am I hopped on the bike and left here:


and headed for those hills:


After almost exactly 3 hours of climbing and some post-holeing through snow:


I made it to 11,680' and the Kennebec Trail:


Which had views like this:


and singletrack like this:



After 5 hours, 43 mins, I made it home to this:

Killing Braincells

I just got back from a trip to Mormon Country for the Deer Valley NMBS Race last weekend.


The weather was hot and the race was at elevation, which helped explain the number of racers exploding and going backwards throughout the race. Unfortunately, Sam got sick after laying the wood to the Euros and was in no shape to race.


As for me, I suffered like a dog. After about one hour of racing my brain started to get fuzzy, my reactions started to get really slow (which is trouble when you are rallying into a switchback as fast as you possibly can), and my thoughts started to run together. I guess I'm just not getting enough oxygen to the brain. I really don't know how to explain it other then it has to be similar to what climbers go through when they summit Everest. I have no idea how many braincells I killed, but considering how long it took me to write this terrible blog entry, its way too many.


Get this man some oxygen.

Between a Rock and Two Volcanoes

My legs hurt. It must be something that I ate. Or maybe its because I did some intervals today. Rather then reach for a recovery drink when I got home though, I just checked out my roommate's new hair cut.


That's what we call "Snyder Style". Sweet. My legs feel better already.

Last week I spent over 40 hours in the car getting to and from Hood River, OR for the Mount Hood Cycling Classic. The scenery alone made the drive worth it. On one side we were flanked by Mount Hood,



and on the other, Mount Adams.


It was my first attempt at a major NRC Stage race and I was looking forward to learning from and chatting with Evan and Owen but they were both done after 2 of the 6 days of racing (see Evan's post for the excuses). I stuck with it and came away with a ravaged gooch and hopefully some good fitness.

Sam has been busy in Europe. In the second round of the World Cup he finished 40th, 3rd American. For some of the most epic pictures I have ever seen you should check out Cycling News.

It hasn't been all racing though. Owen has been hard at work on the new Cycling House website. Check it out. He has done a pretty amazing job. And, tis the season for epic mountain bike rides. So, clear the schedule, pump up the fat tires, and get lost. I'm planning on it.

Mt hood Cycling Classic

In the far NW region of the country is setting for the hardest stage race in the U.S. The Mt Hood cycling classic. This year was just grueling http://www.mthoodcyclingclassic.com/ All the top climbers were there to throw down and make their mark. I showed up with those intentions, but was quickly sidelined with a case of (my legs hurt and I'm going too slow). Really though I was coming off of alittle bout with a lung infection and some antibiotics. I figured I'm tough as nails and i'll show Nathan O'neil who's boss. It was half way through the first road race when my legs started cramping hard. I pushed through the next 40 miles with cement coarsing my veins. It wasn't good. Here's a pic of Owen riding the prolog. I'm nt really sure what to say.
So from there I helped out the team and was able to watch everyone else suffer. It's kind of nice to kick back and have a beer watching an evening crit. When you watch from the side lines you are always yelling at your friends to make the move and to ride faster. I like the side lines sometimes. Anyway it was a great time hanging out with Owen and Andy again. I'll be going to Cali for some racing and training before the next big race. i'll keep you posted. Evan