Enduro Then Endurance - CA Enduro Series #1 (Battle Born Enduro) and NCNCA State XC Champs (Rockhopper Classic)

After dipping my toes into "Enduro" last year, I've been really looking forward to this years' races.  Yeah, I've always been more of an XC racer, but that's just because it's been convenient and it's the most efficient use of my time (pack the most miles in as small of a time period as you can).  But since I grew up controlling things with motors, and as a bigger guy I really, REALLY liked going downhill when I started out riding mountain bikes (Flashback to 2005), I've always had a love for speed.  And as great as the Highball and Tallboy c are at what they do, riding and racing my Tallboy LTc is just fun.  So off to Reno I went for the first round of the California Enduro Series on Peavine Mountain.  Reno? California series? The west side of the mountain is technically in California and though we didn't ride on that side, I guess it still counts :-).

Marshall and Ryan would also make the trip up the hill and we took to the baron, desert mountain in our flo-yellow. Stoked...

We had a seven mile, two thousand or so foot climb to start our day as the first "transfer" stage before we even started racing.  It's not timed, but I set out at a nice pace to get my body warmed up.  Plus it was already getting quite hot, and I didn't really want to be standing in line at the start of each stage in the sun.  I was the second rider to go off for stage one. I hammered the dry, loose and flat corners as best I could but it was really hard to find any flow and really open it up.  It was a nice long stage, but it seemed like every corner was blown out with vision blocking bushes, rocks, or hill contour on the inside.  The "bobsled" I remember from racing XC here was fun, as it snakes down a small canyon from side to side.  I beat the camera man, so here's Ryan and Marshall on the bobsled.

After finishing stage 1, I felt I had more to give but the corners were getting to me.  After a brief pedal back up the hill, I'd start stage two with even slower, tighter corners that I fumbled around in.  Feeling pretty frustrated with myself, I was happy that the second half of stage two opened up a bit and I could let her fly.  Finally! Some speed!  Stages three and four were much of the same.  Just trying to find a place to put power down while skating around in the corners.  Most of stage four I was familiar with from the old Peavine XC course, except for an abrupt trail turn at the bottom with signage that was a bit too late.  I blew right by, but thankfully I saw it and went back.

The final stage was for pro/expert only since it ran through the main rock gardens on the hill.  It was pretty fun, and thankfully I had seen it before so I knew just to point it straight and let the bike do the work.  The LTc soaked it all up and I'm really diggin' the TALAS 140 fork.  Especially dropping it down to 120mm for the long transfer climbs.

I ended up 12th overall, and even though times were very close together, I couldn't help but be frustrated with my performance.  I just need to relax and ride it, not tense up and try to pedal my way through everything.  But I was stoked with the trailer I picked up through craigslist while I was up in Reno, it's going to be perfect to use for TimeYourRace!  And maybe the occasional shuttle day... :-)

The next day was the Rockhopper Classic XC race at Lagoon Valley Park in Vacaville.  Last year I had to miss this race because I sliced open my hand with a saw, so I was happy to be in one piece this year!  We were timing the race as well, so Jen took the trailer early in the morning.  I set off a little later after dropping Logan off with some friends to watch for the day.  While I was so thankful for their help, I really didn't want to leave him since he's always incredibly cute in the morning and hard to leave!  Because of that, and my frustration with my enduro race the day before, I decided I'd really make this race count.

With the steep, punchy style of this course, the Highball was my steed for the day.  I got in an easy warmup, stuck six Clif Shot Bloks to the top tube (sorted by caffeine level), and I was feeling comfortable on the line.

 The legs were a little heavy once we got started, and I was happy the pace wasn't a sprint from the get-go. I think everyone knew there was a long hot race ahead, and didn't want to fry themselves early. I hung in there in about 3rd or 4th spot for the first couple climbs and around to the backside of the hill.  I got into 3rd as we made our way up the singletrack climbs and was feeling good so when we hit the first of the really steep climbs I went to the front and upped the pace a bit.  Jim Hewitt stuck with me as well as Justin Thomas, and Jim went by as we pedaled up the fire road climb in the middle of the course.  That fire road always seems to hurt more than I think it should, but the cold water on my back from the neutral aid station felt great after the initial shock.  Jim lead up the next set of switchback climbs and slowed the pace down a little.  He is always very good at pacing a race, so he may have been trying to keep us within his pacing strategy.  Since I was feeling up for it, I wanted to try and push the pace beyond what he was comfortable with, and went around at a break in the big climb before we got to the final switchbacks.  I made it to the top, with maybe a five second gap lap record!

It was really starting to warm up as I started my second lap.  And I tried to ride in the shade wherever I could.

I was still feeling decent on the steep climbs for the second lap, which was surprising to me since I haven't had the chance to do much training for them.  They were tough though, especially with the dead air making me feel like I was in an oven while climbing slowly.  I was slowly, slowly stretching my lead but Justin was still hanging on about five to ten seconds back so I had to keep my pace up.  Every time I'd look back to him, his effort showed on his face and his jersey was fully open.  He was ready to crack, I was just hoping it was soon!  I really wanted to ease up for a minute and take on a little more fuel and water without giving ground.  That finally happened by the time I reached the top of the mountain on the second lap.  And once I reached the bottom and headed out for my third and final lap, I had no chasers in sight.  I took down the last of my non-caffeinated Shot Bloks and a bunch of water as I started the third lap.  But half way through I was getting hungry and those steep climbs were burning hot.  On to the caffeinated bloks for the last boost of energy to the finish!  I started talking to myself... "They're still there, chasing... they're coming... just a few more minutes of climbing... one more set of switchbacks... you can do this keep it up!"  Finally I made it to the top, happy to rail the descent one final time.  I was a bit out of it though, and as I jumped over a rock about half way down, my take-off was poor and I didn't counter the force of the hot side-wind coming up the hill.  I landed on the bank of the cut in trail, the tires slipped out and I slid along for about ten feet on my hip and elbow.  I never let go of the bars though and was back on and rolling quickly with revived focus that carried me to the finish and the win.  

In addition to the wine and a little cash, I was also awarded the USA Cycling Northern CA and NV district state championship for the second year in a row!

 Jen also won some wine in the raffle!  It was a good day!

 I'm very happy I could pull this one off and feel a little redeemed after the Battle Born Enduro.  I've always made an effort to be well rounded and I'm thankful I have the support to do both types of events.  Who knew enduro would be the perfect leg opener for an XC race?

Changing It Up - Pavement Racing

Last weekend was the Auburn Omnium which consisted of a circuit race on Saturday and a criterium on Sunday.  Don't ask me what the difference is between the two, I couldn't tell ya.  But since we were out there timing the events with TimeYourRace I figured I'd give racing the skinny tires a try.

The last (and only!) road race I entered was five or six years ago.  Since USAC won't transfer any of my MTB rankings over to road categories, I'm still just a Cat 5.  I just never got into it because if I didn't have a MTB race to attend, going for a long training ride on the dirt always seemed better than paying for a short road race.  Anyways... we had help in Jen's parent's and our friend Kris Morin to fill in for me watching Logan and helping run the event, so I suited up in fluorescent yellow and got to the line.

The course was about a mile and a half with two good climbs.  I jumped right to the front from the start and pulled the group around for a couple laps.  Then dropped the hammer for a few minutes to break away.

Since this was a "rest week" for me with about half the volume and no intensity, it was nice to test out the legs a little.  

But going hard enough to stay away from the group for the rest of the race was going to be too much too soon, I eased up to get caught and would wait for the last lap.  Funny thing is... I never once saw the lap cards where they were positioned, and nobody rang the bell for us to signify the final lap, I didn't get my opportunity to give that final push.  We were supposed to race for 30 minutes and I was watching the clock on my Garmin, so as we went up the final climb at just over 27 minutes, I was sitting up and happy to get pulled up to the leader about 30 yards ahead but a guy who seemed to be working really hard and I couldn't figure out why.  Until we rolled across the line and the USAC officials said we're done.  So I finished 3rd. I asked if they rang a bell for us and nobody seemed to know what I was talking about.  Hmmm... Oh well, it's a two day event, and I learned a couple things.  Back to work...

Day two was the Auburn Downtown Crit.  The course was awesome with a long start/finish straightaway and up a short climb to the top of the hill.  A u-turn under the railroad tracks and then a gradual climb on the back stretch to an old pot-holed bridge over those same railroad tracks.  Then a fun descent where you pick up speed quickly three 90 degree corners... left, then right, then another right before back to the finish stretch in downtown.  

When the gun went off I was at the front again but realized I probably should have had more than just a bucket of coffee and a banana for breakfast!  Oh well.

I pulled the group on the back stretch at about 23mph before one of the host shop (Victory Velo) riders went to the front for the first downhill.  He took the corners well and then I was back at the front on the start climb for another lap.  We did this dance for a few laps before someone else decided to lead on the back stretch at 19mph.  I sat in and attacked before the bridge, and hammered the downhill.  I wasn't too comfortable with the oil stains on the pavement on entry to each corner, but the bike always felt solid.  A little gap formed when I did that but I figured that mixing it up was kind of fun instead of trying to ride by myself which I do all the time.  I just wish there was a bigger group since there was only three of us at the front.  

I made sure to ignore my Garmin clock and pay attention to the lap cards for this race and when the final lap came I went to the front.  We slowly made the turn to the back stretch and I was wondering if someone might jump early.  Nope.  Half way there I picked up the pace and listened for any shifting behind me.  I hammered over the bridge and down the hill, carrying good speed through the first left.  I could see a lapped rider ahead just entering the next turn and I hoped he wouldn't be in the way.  By the last corner I was starting to stretch a small gap but I had to let up for that lapped rider, catching him right before the apex of the turn.  I waited to see his exit route and decided that since there was enough room, I could carry the most speed on the outside to go around.  That also gave me the opportunity to look back and see where the other guys were.  They went to the inside and were already sprinting so I set my sights on the finish line as well and made it there first.  Cool!

I definitely had a fun time trying something different, playing strategy games and mixing it up with guys.  Maybe I'll do a few more... but now back to the dirt...

Sea Otter Classic Wrap Up

Before we had our son Logan, Jen made a little list of things she'd like to do soon after he was born.  It starts off small and simple, with things like "go for a walk" with no real criteria so that if a long recovery was needed after delivery it could still be something easily checked off so she could feel like she was accomplishing something.  The list also had "go to Sea Otter" on it.  Before he was born, we were trying to keep expectations low but we were really hoping we'd be able to integrate him into our racing and events life early, but Sea Otter still seemed daunting.  Thankfully Jen and Logan recovered well and even though he was only a little over three weeks old by the time the 'Otter rolled around, it would be his fourth MTB race.  So he was ready... was I?  Training for me has been a little "off" with the new addition to the team so I'd be relying more on my base and the two Prairie City Race Series "tune up" races leading up to SOC.  I won both of the PCRS races which felt good but a 5th at the Napa Valley Dirt Classic the week before didn't leave me feeling so great about my fitness.

When we rolled down to Monterey Thursday night, we met up with Marshall who had brought down the rush order kits that Capo got to us in time for the weekend.  After seeing them and trying them on, I wasn't sure how well they were going to go over, but we were sure going to stand out!

Short track was Friday morning and I got a nice long warm up in.  The course was similar to last years but a little longer with a few more features.  The infield section had a tunnel and flyover and then went out onto the track with a few more turns in the sand.  It was actually kind of fun!  Except for that nasty gravel section of course.

I got a decent starting spot on the line, about four rows back and on the inside of the first turn which I thought would be good.  It was not.  I got pinched off there and was very quickly shuffled back.  Then in the next corner, last years big "choke point," I was on the outside and the same thing happened again.  The guys in the middle shot through first before I had room from the outside.  Essentially I was caught in an eddy.  Who knew you had to study up on fluid dynamics before racing short track!?  Anyways, my main goal was to stay out of trouble which I managed to do in the next few corners and I was able to pedal through the gravel pit, sweet (remember, we're into checking easy stuff off the list!).  The infield section had some sharp corners and big dirt mounds to go over and on each one there was a bottleneck as you can see in the aerial video (start at 3:45 for the men's start):

At least I'm easy to spot in the new colors!  I settled into the field after the first lap sorted out and began my moving up.  With the field so strung out I knew I wouldn't get far but I managed to pick off a few and had some fun in between the pain.

I finished 41st out of about 65 guys and set off for my XC course pre-ride.  When I got back to the expo, I found Marshall (he was SO hard to spot!) and found out he'd finished 10th in the Enduro! Sweet!!

The XC start got moved up from 1:30pm to 11am which was nice and meant we might not have as much wind to battle out on the ridge tops.  Sporting our "flo-yellow" I lined up with Ryan and nearly 100 other guys for the start of our 35 mile race.  We started out on the track as normal but I was surprised to find that we pulled off earlier than normal and went out to a road outside the track before finally climbing up to the dirt.  The pace was intense but my legs felt more fatigued than they should have been by that point.  So my strategy early on would be to maximize my passing opportunities on the downhills and techy sections while trying not to blow up on the climbs.  Then just hope my legs would come around later in the race.  I passed a load of guys on the first few big descents and managed to hold my position on the few climbs along the ridge.  We got to the bottom where we normally turn into fun singletrack but instead made a sharper turn down a short double track with a couple off camber rollers.  I had scouted this out in my prelap and my assumption was correct that everyone would be in the clearer high line but the lower line was the place to be and I motored by some more.  Until one guy forgot how to corner and drifted out into me, his inside leg sticking straight out for counter balance, and he almost pushed us both off the edge.  Thankfully I was able to brake and let him cross in front of me and recover before we made it down to the road.  Yes... road, quite a lot of it in the first part of this course.  I topped out my 39 tooth gear and found a drafting partner before it leveled out and we entered the first singletrack climb.  Here we had to stop, literally.  It's the inevitable pro conga line at Sea Otter that always happens and this year I just didn't have the stuff to get in front of it in time.  Oh well.  We moseyed up the climb at a fairly moderate pace but it still seemed tough for my legs.  "When are they going to come around?!" I thought.  When we got towards the top it opened up and I made my way around the few holding us up, but my legs still felt flat.  As Ryan passed me cresting the ridge I felt something in my helmet, then "AAHHHH!!! Something's stinging me!!!"  I didn't know what it was but I hoped it wasn't going to give me a reaction, which I'd had before during a hard ride that left me slightly incapacitated for a bit.  The stinging finally stopped and thankfully I didn't feel any shock coming on so I pressed on, remembering how my brother had joked about our new kits attracting insects.  Ryan had a little gap on me as we rode down the next road (yep) downhill and he was able to pedal away with his bigger 42 tooth gearing.  But a little drafting help came and I caught back up by the time we started climbing again.

I ate, I drank, but the legs were still not coming around and Ryan slowly began to pull away from me.  With our new colors so bright, I always knew where he was even though he was across a canyon.  I came through the start/finish a little over an hour and a significantly slower pace than I'd hoped for.

I was loosing my optimism that the legs would come around in the second lap as it seemed no matter what I did helped.  I just felt like I was running on 'E'.  My heart rate was dropping and so was my positioning.  By the half way point of the lap I was in "just finish" mode and pretty frustrated.  There didn't seem to be anything I could do.  I was even passed on the ridge road by a guy hauling some camera gear back.  Pretty demoralizing!  I got a little boost of energy in the last mile or so, like a horse sprinting back to the barn, and made a couple passes to end up finishing 66th.

Man was I happy to be done.  It'll be one of those races I'll just clear from my mind and move on.  I think I needed more calories the day before and/or before the race because I powered down lunch like it was nothing.  Oh well, at least we looked good!

Then it was back to work, heading out again on course to help out one of my local high school racers with her pre-ride and give her some tips before her first Sea Otter XC.

Riding with Sam and coaching her made me feel better, but nothing beat holding my little guy after a long day.

Racing Into Shape - Episode 4 - TBF MTB Madness

Last weekend was the fourth and final TBF race in Granite Bay and wraps up what I usually do each year to jump start my intensity training.  We got a little taste of winter in the week prior and it was nice to see Folsom Lake rising up a bit.  The weather gave us a break for the race and the trails had a day to dry out making the dirt conditions pretty stellar.  There was just a pretty strong wind from the South to contend with and would certainly become a strategic factor on a course where it's normally hard to break away.

I started mid pack just to get used to close quarters and working through traffic.  After a couple corners I was at the front and paced just fast enough to make people work without over doing it.

Once I reached the road before the first climb I looked back to see a group of about six.  Normally, someone is eager to attack here and peg it up the first climb but there were no takers.  Until about fifty yards before the turn into the climb someone tried to go by on my left.  There was room, but not much and he clipped my bar and almost took me down.  Thankfully I pulled out of it!  I certainly wasn't expecting that since there was plenty of room to pass elsewhere and, well... it's Granite Bay not a Pro XCT Short Track.  But racing is racing no matter where you are, so it was a good reminder for me not to get so comfortable.  The guy apologized and yielded the corner to me and we mashed up the climb.

I wasn't feeling very fleet and the lungs felt a little closed off on the top end efforts.  I was hoping there wouldn't be any attackers early and thankfully there weren't.  So we cruised around at a controlled pace that I got to set.

By the end of the first lap we had trimmed down the group to four and I was learning that my chasers, all under twenty years old, didn't seem to be racing each other but were really only racing me.  Especially when we were suffering into the headwind (though I guess it was only me suffering at the front!).  Thankfully they weren't working together or they could have put the hurt on me I'm sure.

Lap two was uneventful and I stayed at the front.  I backed off the effort a bit whenever we turned into the wind to try and save the legs since nobody else was willing to pull.

We were getting into some heavy traffic and thankfully I was feeling a little better by the third lap climb.  I continued to lead and at the top and first corner of the decent I heard the unmistakable sound of a tubeless tire "burp" and resulting crash.  Alec Crofoot who was sitting third had crossed up in the corner and went OTB ending his day.  So then there were three... continuing to work through traffic.  I would push the pace here and there, testing the guys a bit but they hung in there and we were just biding time until the last lap.

Final lap... somebody's got to do something!  And heading up the only major climb on the course I felt Andrew Taylor making a move as the pace increased.  He went by looking strong and I suppressed the "give up" voice in my head and was able to keep contact.  I let a little gap form towards the top to recover figuring I could catch back up on the descent and turns.  I played that strategy and stayed in contact without over doing it for the rest of the lap and was right back on his wheel with a couple miles to go.  We had dropped Tofor Lewis in third with a decent gap and we both knew it was going to come down to a sprint finish.  I stayed right in his draft as we turned into the wind and he slowed the pace, daring me to pass.  It was really hard not to but would have been a poor move in such a strong wind.  Tofor wasn't catching us so I stayed right there in the 2nd spot as we neared the line.  With two corners to go, Andrew picked the pace back up and over the final knoll he went for it a little earlier than I was expecting and got a little gap just before we were blasted with wind.  I started my attack and the gap wasn't closing very quickly and I started to think I wasn't going to get it done.  But then the gap suddenly closed so I gave it one last kick, pulling up beside with closing speed and I lunged for the line...

It was so close and neither of us knew who'd won.  We each wanted to be the winner but were both pretty stoked on how exciting it was.  In the end, the RFID timing system picked up his chip first but just barely!

Congrats to Andrew for throwing down a strong last lap.  I'm pretty happy that after pulling everyone for three laps I was able to stick with him and make it that close of a finish.  I'm pretty sure that was the first time I was in the "attacking" position for a sprint which was cool... I just need to have more confidence!

2014 Kickstart!

I spent the last week of 2013 and the beginning of 2014 recovering from a spectacular crash on Christmas eve where I clipped a tree branch with my handle bar at over 21mph and smacked the ground hard.

I hit the branch on the left and ended up just past the trees to the right.

It left me with 15 stitches above the eye and a left knee about three times its normal size.  I was able to lightly ride out the swelling but it still didn't feel right and would easily swell back up.  An MRI revealed a severe bone bruise on my femur at the knee, as well as a bruised patella, tibia, and strained IT band and popliteal tendons.  Thankfully the MRI confirmed there was no ligament damage and I could resume riding without further damage.  All I'd have to do was not fall on it!

So why not race?!  The TBF MTB Kickstart is always a good opener for the year and a good shock to the system.  Conditions were a bit odd, July dry dirt with January cold.  I'd have to be careful in the slick corners and not take any risks, but I was looking forward to mixing it up as best I could.  I had no expectations after some very inconsistent riding over the past month. I donned my CA State Champ jersey (with my regular jersey underneath... it was 32 degrees!), because it's not every year you get to wear one of those, and toed the line with the usual local speedsters and some seriously fast high school racers who've been training hard for their fast approaching season.

We set off at a decent pace for the start loop and see-sawed a bit until I settled into the 3rd spot on the first climb.  I was enjoying watching the two characters in front of me... Ron Shevock leading but nearly sliding out in every corner due to a very worn out back tire and Tofor Lewis taking some skillful "fun" lines through the singletrack.  I could tell that 16 year old Tofor had some spunk and would likely be the one to beat.  Half way through the first lap I passed for the lead and Tofor pulled in behind.

I was racing my Tallboy not just because it's a fast bike for this course but because it would put less strain on my knee vs. the Highball.  Tofor was strong on the climbs, so I set out to push the pace where the Tallboy excelled and dial it back where I didn't feel as strong.  I stayed out front with three chasers close all the way through the second lap as we battled through lapped traffic.

And on the first climb of the last lap, Tofor attacked for the lead and never looked back.  I couldn't match his acceleration and after getting stuck behind a lapped rider for a bit, I couldn't see him by the top.  My race would be for 2nd with Andrew Taylor.  I stretched out a small gap through the corners but he was able to reel me back in at the last corner with enough left to take me by a wheel in a sprint finish.  I've never been a good sprinter, but apparently I'm a really good lead-out man!

It was a great race out on the trails and I'm really happy that 1) I'm able to do it at all, and 2) I performed as well as I did!  Congrats to the young racers out there working hard... looks like I'll be hitting them up to tag along on training rides to push my fitness!

Baptism by Cross

I gave cyclocross a serious try back in 2009.  Coming of an awesome MTB season including an XC National Championship and Downieville All Mountain victory for Cat 1, I was feeling good and was figuring out I was fairly good at racing bikes.  So I immersed myself in cross... I bought a geared CX bike and entered the elite categories to promptly have my arse handed to me repeatedly.  I was taking it way too seriously, putting the same pressure on myself as I did during the previous MTB season and not having fun.  After that winter I sold that cross bike and decided that I wouldn't race cross anymore because I need an off season.  That was a good decision, leading to much needed recovery for my body, some fun vacations, completed house projects.

But this year I got the itch again.  Probably because I've had a better, more relaxed attitude towards racing in general that didn't leave me so wiped by October.  But I told myself that this still needed to be an off season, but possibly with some fun shenanigans on a technologically archaic bike.  My cyclocross savior would come in the form of a single speed, and my baptism would be at the first Sacramento Cyclocross Series race in Vacaville.  Fittingly... it was pouring rain...

That's me... D...F...L... and I was fine with it!  I hadn't raced a cross bike in just under four years and riding in serious muck was something I never really do either.  I was seriously feeling "reborn."  My first few laps were spent feeling like I was learning how to ride a bike again.  Slipping, sliding, and skating around turns.  It was cold and wet, which I normally hate, but I was having a blast.  Pedaling where I could... and accepting the fact that I could only go so fast because of the gearing and trying to lay off the brakes.  After a few laps I learned that those skinny tires can grip and you can lean the bike over more than you think.

I ended up getting the hang of it and picking off some of the field and finished 4th.  While surprised at the result, I didn't care much about it.  I was doing it for the fun and smiles... which were plenty!

After a nice vacation and a couple weeks off the bike (all bikes), it was time to take up my cross again.  This time at Lange Twins Winery for Sac CX #4.  With no expectations, I lined up with the Single Speed A's again under beautiful blue skies.  I'm about to race... and the typical anxieties that run through a racers brain just weren't there.  Did my bike have the right gearing for the course?  I don't know, and I don't care.  Did I eat the right food the two nights before??  Most likely not, but pumpkin ice cream is tasty and while egg nog ice cream isn't great on it's own, adding a little dark rum makes it better.  It's just for fun, and just to mix it up a little because riding and racing bikes is awesome.  I was also happy that after a couple weeks of vacation I fit into my new SacCX kit which I helped design.  I was lined up next to Ron Shevock who currently leads the series on a Felt carbon cx bike with disc brakes (he ended up winning this race too).  I have to say I'm a little jealous of the discs... old canti's hardly deserve to be called brakes by comparison.  Anyways... it was go time and we headed out into the course.  I tried to stay with Ron and the front guys, but I had no misconceptions about how out of shape I'd be or that the effort wasn't going to hurt.

I fell to the back, but not off the back at least.  The nice thing about single speed racing is that nobody you're racing with can pull away too quickly.  But that also means that if you drop back for whatever reason you can't really catch up.  Like when your front wheel skewer comes loose because you're screwing around jumping off stuff on an already bumpy course.

Makes me really appreciate the thru-axel's on my MTB's.  I heard and felt rattling for about a lap, and figured it was just aluminum frame noise or something.  Then I looked down and saw the skewer lever pointing forward... and I NEVER leave it that way.  Briefly the thought of just continuing on went through my head, but then I remembered the time the front wheel came off my POS commuter bike in college.  That eject did not feel good... so after climbing the stair section of the course I stopped to tighten that puppy up.  I pedaled hard, drifted some corners and passed a few guys back so I could stay on the lead lap.  I see-sawed with one other SS'er on the final lap but he had a bigger gear, the finish stretch was pavement, and there was nothing I could do.  Oh well, I finished 6th.  I had fun, rode as fast as my gearing would allow, opened up the legs which felt good (I hit some surprising heart rate numbers too!), and the gaggle of course hecklers on the hairpin turns gave my kit good reviews.  Only sucky part was a painful cross blister from the rough course.

I guess I will have to do a little more work to this bike than just lubing the chain.  Time for new bar tape!

Ride on!