Hurkey Creek Pictures

Now that the pain is starting to fade from my memory (not yet from my legs and back) I can only remember how much fun it was out on the Hurkey Creek track. I remember thinking somewhere around 4am that I NEVER wanted to see that trail again. Please dont make me go out there again in the cold... That was before Marius did three laps in a row and I realized that the pain always runs away when the fun takes over. . .


Pictures are posted over here and below are a few from the professionals(and here too).
Fun times.

Dave squeezes in another lap to make our 24hr complete

Look out Darth Vader! Im packin' a lightsaber on my rig!

Monique cranking around at lap two looking pretty in pink

24 Hours of Adrenalin - Hurkey Creek

Twenty four hours of pain? This was the hardest race for me to date. Why? Pace was out the window even if it was an endurance event. With the laps averaging an hour at a time you really had to give it your all and try to recover before your next go around... The first few laps are a blast until you realize your not even a fraction of the way through the race!

That is what makes it such a challenge though. . . and working with my favorite buddies - Monique, Mandy, Marius and Dave made it an unforgettably fun day and I was glad we had a full 24 plus hours to hang out. Not to mention our support from Georgina!! She could be out there suffering with the best of them too but she helped volunteer for us and we are so stoked for her support... And her South African stew ;-P

Georgina on point at the lap table

Marius had been giving some insight weeks before but for some reason I just never did the math for the total miles/ride time that we all would be putting in. I think that Marius, Dave and myself did six laps each (about 60 miles) which is only compounded when you consider it is at race pace. I guess that is where the rest comes in and I really get impressed by Marius. The night was the hardest time to push through and when Dave and I awoke around 3:30 we found Marius on his third lap in a row! Yes, he is just in another league.

Monique and I pretty much gave up on our hopes for the LA tri series triathlons after our first lap. Better to enjoy the race we were at than to try and do too much again. I still remember that bonk at Snow Valley a few weeks back. Two hard weekends in a row just doesn't work.

Now it is time to rest is up and eat away... Monique's Mom is cooking up some good food and I am starvin'

Back@Baldy

Now that we had recovered from our races and had the weekend to spend with Monique's parents (Willards Birthday!) we just had to sneak up to Mt Baldy for a quick Hike/Run...

We have been doing so much riding lately that I forgot how nice it felt to float down a trail with the simplicity of just your own two feet. The only running I have done in the last few weeks has been at the track or in a race but this was a wonderful reminder about time on the trail .

As we made our way up we talked about the first time we climbed up to the saddle (packed a lunch, jackets and all kinds of crap we would never need) and how that seven plus hours was so hard. Kind of like life I guess.... Was it easier to make the trip up and down now or just faster? We talked about how much has changed in the last two years. Bako, friends, goals, goals, goals... Thank God His mercy never ends.


There are a few things that I can always count on in a trip up Baldy. One is no matter how good of shape I am in or what speed I go I cannot get off that mountain without being sore. I guess that is what keeps me going back though. The other constant is the silliness that comes on just as we begin to settle into the trail.


This is why I love being out at Baldy. Maybe it is something in the water or something in the air but we were trying to get plenty of both on our way down.


Monique will probably get mad at me for posting this picture but it says it all. We made it back before dark and we were feeling it. I was almost out of beans and we were looking for dinner.

Wicked

Yesterday we went out with Moniques family to catch a play in LA... Wicked. It was a crazy and beautifully orchestrated dance that was a run off from the Wizard of Oz. It was nice to hang out with the family and sit back and relax. Entertainment like before there was TV, Nintendo or the internet??

(Will, Monique, Yolanda, Dez and Susanne)

Monique is starting to heal up nicely and sporting her normal bike bruises... I still like her legs even if they are camouflaged with what she is wearing.

Monique bites the dust...

Decided to stay home for the weekend again and ride some local trails , swim the long course at the aquatic center and get back to some yard work. Nice weather and so much time to hang around and cook. Agghhh.... I love Moniques cooking ; -O

I got to take out the Alma for my first ride although only one gear for now. Just couldn't wait any longer. It proved to be a dirt bike feel and was not too big like I thought that it would be. I will have to ride the Epic and it on the same day/trail to see what is really going on.


And Monique?? She is getting along with her new bike so well... Not that her crash had anything to do with feeling out her new bike but she did break it in nice. Flying down some woops in the big ring and I see her little body pitch out horizontal . . . Ahhhh that does not look right! That is going to hurt!

We were going so fast and when I saw here little hundred pound body bounce I thought for sure that she had knocked the wind out of herself. She is a tough little girl though. Ripped shirt, cracked helmet, BIG scrapes and busies but she was still smiling... Crazy girl!

(Monique tests out her new ride with a horizontal bonko)

She said it felt like a snowboarding crash but your skin does not look like that from snow... I will have to get some pic's up when she is nice and purple. I think that rock under her tire is what broke the fall for her head. This is the first time I have seen a helmet crack like this. We had ice cream to sooth things over.

(helmets are for real!)

(2nd bounce to slide ended the shine to those new glasses)

The good news is that her bike is OK!! A little scratch but no broken levers or missing pink paint. The front tire blew off of the rim when she landed but we needed a walk back to the car as a cool down anyways.

Snow Valley Xterra

This turned out to be another unexpected race but the expected fun was delivered on the weekend as normal.

Two years ago when I did this race it was the inaugural Xterra Snow Valley and my first triathlon ever... My first real race ever and I really didn't know what I was getting into or how "life changing" it would be for me. Monique and I always manage to jump into the hardest of events fist and this race is a good example of that. Two years and a few dozen races later and this race kicked my butt . . . again.

I was planning on a strong finish and a good placing... Not only did I have a little something to prove to myself for my return to Snow Valley but this was an Xterra and I wanted to pickup some points in the series too. I also had not raced here since that first triathlon so I thought that I could drop buckets of time but maybe I had too many expectations? I also had a few things working against me like that our nine hour/three park ride the weekend before and my taper and any rest was blown for sure.

However, and its a big however. . . Snow Valley, as I was reminded was a special place for me and the weekend was a reminder about why I started racing triathlons, adventure races and getting out on the trail in the first place. Snow Valley is where I would spend most of my days when I worked at Stussy. The time I spend snowboarding here helped me through some tough times trying to figure out the mysteries of the world and look to Jesus for some strength... It is also where I dislocated my shoulder the first of many times AND where I met Monique, my beautiful wife for the first time. Pain from injury, joy from snowboarding endless hours with friends, discovery of racing and love deeper than any I have ever known. All on a little mountain.

(Monique and Me ready to camp it out)

So, with all that in check I was delighted to have Marius and Mandy join up with us for some camping and good times while racing. This is what it was about! I may be tired but I was going to give it my all and have FUN in the dirt ; - )

(M&M -Marius and Mandy ready to ride)

Mandy and Marius joined up to race the triathlon as a team after almost racing the cross country mountain bike race across the street. We had dinner with some of Mandy's friends last night who dominated the cross country race as I am sure that she would have but it was great to have them join in on the Xterra style and camp out with them for the weekend.

(the warm-up trek to the swim)

I felt pretty good race morning and after seeing the lake (or lack there of) I was confident that my lack of swimming would not hold me back. There was SOOO little water that most of the swim would turn into a water run... Seriously! The last time I did this I went so anaerobic on the swim that I was dead on the bike... the altitude is just killer up there. This year you would think I would have learned but I ran my buns off and swam WAY to hard again.... Here I am exiting the water right behind the Willie Stewart the 1st place overall winner(pro) and before Jon Clark the first place overall male winner... You could say I went out a bit fast.

The rest of the race was pretty bonkie... I had to slow WAY down on the bike and had that familiar feeling in my legs of no power...started to come back only to have no juice on the run. I was totally out of it and trying to keep a positive time on the last few miles but it was hard to keep up a run. I knew when I got out of the water that I was spent...I was just beat deep down and could not get it going. This was a good learning lesson again that I need to dedicate time not only pacing within the race but in the weeks before the race.

Marius and Mandy ended up getting a podium finish and it was a nice day to round out watching the Rim Nodic races across the street.


Snow Valley will continue to provide some lessons for me I am sure...and as alway produce good times.

Posted some pictures from the weekend over here
http://slater.smugmug.com/gallery/3268030#P-1-15

ride ride ride

We should have known better when we decided to go on a ride today with Cisco and M&M that it would not be a short route. This weekend we had originally planned on running a half marathon up in San Francisco with Moniques school mates but then switched to the night adventure race(under the full moon), then pre-riding the course at Snow Valley and finally a short ride because we needed a rest. Ride ride ride. A little over 8 hours later we got back to our cars and OOhhhhhh was I hungry! ;- O

We had planned to start out at Aliso Woods ride through Laguna Canyon park and loop through El Moro. Monique and I were going to turn around early and I wanted to do a few brick workouts on the way back BUT hanging out with M&M is just too much fun.

We should have taken our exit when Cisco headed back at El Moro but he was on his single speed and made more of the downhill sections that we could make with our fully suspended bikes so there is no comparison there. He also completed a 100+ race last year on that single speed.... He is an animal! So with that we continued on and had the hopes of some milk shake and ocean water ahead to recover. Well worth the ride!

Sunday we spent the day out at trails surfing. Ohhh do I miss surfing! Georgina saved a few waves for us but she obviously had talent all over the place. I think she could have make any of our boards look like magic that day...

I almost forgot about that pain in my ribs the first few times you go out but again it was so worth it. I only with Jordo, David and Westa were there to hang out too. I would have love to see Westa drop in on someone again ;-P

And Mandy... What a superstar! Not only did she literally ride circles around us for almost nine hours but she has a smile and attitude that goes on for days. A true match for Marius and it is so cool to see them together. Mandy only after a short time in the water braved the waves to catch her first wave and I am sure she will be back on a board again. I hope we all will be again soon!