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

on the Road again and again and again

It's been about three weeks since my last big stage race in New Mexico and I'm still living out of my suitcase bouncing across the country. I've been to Flagstaff AZ to Boulder Co and back to Flagstaff all in the 12 days. If any of you have ever been to boulder , you know what an athletic town it is. I was taken back by how many top notch cyclist and triathletes there are in Boulder. A new friend of our Bryan Rhodes calls boulder home. He's one of the top triathletes in the world. I met up with Bryan for an epic ride alond the peak to peak highway near estes park. Estes park sits at about 7500ft and was quite cold when we set out. I'm always one for a challenge though, and sometimes it's the weather that makes the ride. Here's pic of me all bundled up for my ride. I didn't bring any proper warm weather clothes, so I made use of what I had.
Here's the fashion statement made this day: 3 Jerseys, arm warmers, knee high compression socks, shoe covers on my hands and feet, a hat and a my Hammer sweatshirt. It was a great ride and one i'll remember forever. Oh ya, I spent this trip with my Mom, so it made it extra special.

Coming to a Laundromat Near You

You know you live an exciting and meaningful life when your biggest event in the last two weeks is having your IPod quit working. For me, it was devastating. Fifteen minutes into my ride today my music stopped playing and I was confronted with a frowning IPod icon on my screen.


After nearly 4 hours of listening to myself sing "The Hustle" in my head I found myself back at home. When I'm riding the road bike I need all the extra stimuli I can get so a broken IPod is a big deal. I sort of felt like this as I realized that I wasn't going to have music for the rest of my ride. Man, I hope I can get it fixed. Otherwise I might just have to stop riding.

For those few people who actually read this blog you might remember a post that I did a few weeks ago about living in the back of my car. Well, Fred Drier from VeloNews thought that my accommodations were a humorous enough testament to the current state of mountain biking to include a few sentences about it in the beginning of the article about the Santa Ynez race in the latest issue of VeloNews. Check it out.

In other news, Evan, Owen, and I will soon collide at Mt. Hood, where we will each try to have the highest average speed after six days of racing. As for Sam, he is currently sharpening his fitness so he can tear off some Euros' legs at the second World Cup in Offenburg, Germany. Maybe, if we all shut our eyes and wish really hard, Sam might post a few pictures and words about his experience. Don't hold your breath though.

In the meantime I'm settling into my new digs in the high-elevation town of Durango, CO, (I can practically hear my blood thickening) and pursuing a job at a local laundromat. Just wait until I let Montana State University know what this recent engineering grad is doing with his degree. They are going to be SO proud. Hey, maybe VeloNews will think that this is a funny enough to include in their next issue. Keep your eyes peeled.

Until then, do the hustle.