posted anything here. The racing season was intense with a lot of the races taking place close together, not to mention all of the training time too. My first season as a cat 2 xc racer was a little frustrating due to the inconsistencies for the first half of the year. After Sea Otter my results were way better, but still not like I had hoped they would be. There were just to many real fast racers in my class.
I now have started using a power meter for training and racing and am very confident that this will help me to be much more competitive for next year. All that is left for this year are 3 races I am doing for fun. I have been taking days off of the bike and letting my body enjoy a little break. As of right now I am only riding 3-4 days a week and nothing to long and or hard.
I would also like to say thanks to the sponsors who helped me through this last year (Pronghorn Racing, SixSixOne, Magura, ODI Grips, and most importantly my

Never really reallized how fast you have to be to be competitive in cat2. I train hard and still seem to be falling short. My results are getting more consistant now so I guess thats a start. Ever since my week off I have struggled with my training. I love doing it but my body seems to be boycotting the whole process. This week I have a recovery week and then back to some long base miles and workouts for a feww weeks.

Just did Big Bear #1 last week and somehow managed a 5th place there, follwowed up by a 6th place in Santa Barbara. I shaved over 4 min off of my Big Bear time from last year and chopped off over 11 min at Santa Barbara compared to last year. I am so much faster than last year but keep getting these lower finishes. This is just because the guys in my age group are soooooo fast. I will just have to stay consistant with my training and all will fall into place one day.....maybe by next year even.

     Well it is about half way through the season as far as the aount of races are concerned. This Kenda US Cup West and So Cal Series has been brutal on me. I have been training with great consistancy and the results just were not there, boy has it been frustrating!! My training schedule set me up to peak for Sea Otter so I was waiting to see how it went to know if I was going to have to change my training or just leave it alone. Up to this point my racing consistancy was never there so I was greatly concerned. Ended up with my best race of the year so far with a 10th out of 101 racers, and that was even with a breakdown on the course which took me 2 min to get fixed according to the GPS. If this would not have happened a 4th place finish would have taken place. Traing plan worked and went into Kenda Cup #5 in Los Olivos/ Santa Ynez still peaking and the results showed it. 5th out of 32 racers and my first podium of the series. Thank GOD for this change of events!! Now it is time to rest off of the bike for 1 week and restart the process all over agian for Las Vegas Shootout and then the State Championship in Big Bear. I guess we will just have to wait and see how it goes.

of heart rate????

       Well this day was bound to come just like the day a DNF was to do the same (last race). I was starting to get frustrated with the lack of ANY podiums since the move up to cat 2. Crashes, endurance isues, and bike problems kept the podium off in the distance. Afterr training hard this short off season by doing all of those road rides I was running in the front of my first 2 races of the year, but that jinx thing kept keeping out of the podium by days end. Well anyways the day finally came and I made it through the race with no bike problems, no crashes, and mu endurance seemed to hold up, and lo and behold I made it on the podium for the first time as a cat2 racer. Not only did I podium but won the race.

      I made sure to start the race fast in hopes of tiring out the other racers. I wated them to have to go hard and keep up from the start at the risk of blowing up my own legs. I lead going into the last climb before the paved road and then got past by the winner of the first 2 races. While doing the paved climb I got past again and was sitting in 3rd place and was starting to get a little worried about my legs. I shrugged of any mental lapses and just kepr up the pace and in no time was back in 2nd before hitting the dirt single track. By now the leader was really going hard and out in front by a good margin, but I kept him in sight. After we were coming back down by the brick wall I had managed to catch him and then went past hime on the next climb. Shortly after that I guess he went down but by then I was determined to win this race. He manged to catch me and be within a dozen or maybe less bike legths when we got to the paved climb on our second lap and I will be honest was worried he was going to get me and take the lead. At this time I managed to dig deep and pick up the pace and was pulling away from him. That was the last time I seen him until after the finish line. This whole race was tough because even at the beginning I always had someone right on me, especially for the whole first lap. There was no time to let up, istead I had to keep it hammered. Finally I distanced the 3rd place rider enough to not feel the pressure and was able to focus on catching the leader. Ok, now that the race is over I was glad that I won (1 out of 11) and thankful to GOD for this opurtunity to do well. I am now glad to say that my string of bad luck ended and now I can look forward to the next race with a much more positive attitude.

    Well here a I am in the start of my 2nd season of racing. My knee re-hab (sprained MCL) went well and after a little 2 week transition period I was able to start training again. Last year was a great year until I moved up tp sport class, that is where all went sour. Because I have only been riding a bike for just under 2 years my endurance was not even close to where it needed to be for the longer sport class races. Thankfully my trainer and Training Peaks software got me going in the right direction. I have spent many hours riding on the road with my mountain bike and I was hoping it would pay off. So now to the season at hand......

     Race #1-Fontana Winter Series:  I showed up at this race to just work on pacing myself, not to win. A few weeks back I received a sponsorship offer from "Pronhorn Racing", a new company out of Denmark. Marcus from Pronghorn said I could race a demo carbon fiber bike if I wanted to so that is just what I did.  I put my wheels on it and went for a little pre-ride. The cassette on my wheel and his chain did not play well together. It kept ghost shifting etc. and we could not get adjusted to work right so we put his wheel back on and all was well. The start was fast and I just let people go, afterall I was not here to win but try the new frame and work on pacing myself for the longer races. It was not long and the leader was out of site but that was ok. I was sitting in 3rd but before making it to the top of the first climb had to pass the 2nd place rider who was starting to slow down way to much. Somehow I managed to catch and pass the leader before the end of the first lap, but that is when my problems started. With no warning the crank arm started to move around, and i don't mean in circles like it is supposed to do. I should have stopped at the staging area and got it taken care of but I did not. Instead I kept going thinking that it would make it 2 more laps, how dumb was that. When I got around to the 4X track the arm went limp (dang XTR cranks). I had to stop and run my bike down past the finish area and over to the staging area. As I passed my wife I had her go and get Marcus from Pronghorn Racing. He promptly showed up and we tightened the arm, or so we thought. I went less than 20 yards and the things popped loose again. Marcus came back and we struggled getting the arm to line up on the splines of the bottom bracket but we finally did. Now of course my race was over. By this I mean I had no chance of placing, or very little but that did not stop me from going hard anyways. I somehow manged to catch all the way up to 6th place and missed 5th by 7 seconds. Ok, so the season opener was out of the way. 6th out of 9. And just to throw it in the Prongorn bike did awesome. On the climbs it felt like a hard tail and the harder I went the faster it wanted to go. My Epic is fast and weighs around 24lbs but does not climb like this bike at all. My mind was made up and the new frame was ordered that day.

    Race #2-Fontana Winter Series: Ok, I was ready for today. Went over the bike with a fine toothed comb and all was well. Today I was riding my Epic because my new frame is still on a boat or in transit somewhere.  Did a complete lap for  warmup to check out the changes they made to the far side of the course. They had added a mile or so to make up for some of the course we lost due to a conservation group protecting sand flies. The start went good, had the usual sprinters go fo broke until there legs blew up while me and the winner of the first race tokk off and were running 1-2 after climbing the first long climb. He is pretty quick on the downhill stuff, but I was always close by. After completeing the first lap I was in second right on his rear wheel, kind of just pacing him trying to tire him out. By the time we climbed the pave road he was starting to look a little fatigued to me. He was going down to granny gear and kind of swerving on the singletrack climb. I was sitting right there on his rear wheel, except for now and then I would show him my front wheel and he would go fast for a secondto keep me behind him. This is what I wanted, to tire him out for later in the race and I hope it was working but I would not find out. When going down the single track I went into a hard left with soft dirt/sand and stuck my front wheel into  it causing my front wheel to taco. My race was over and as my coach said maybe I am a jinx.....

    Well moved up tp sport after dominating the beginner class this season. Been riding a bike now for a little over 1.5 years. Here is where the problem arises. I have not been riding long enough to have built up the endurance needed to compete in the longer sport class races. My first sport race was at the SoCal State race in Santa Barbara. This was brutal for me and my body. I was just as quick as the leaders for a while and then BAM!!! my legs fried. I crashed twice in this race, which frustrated me because I had not crashed in the last 20 races or so. I was just pushing harder than normal. I finished 12th/19.

     Now to the next sport race at Bonelli Park. Started well again, came towards the finish line in top 5 and then it happened again......crash!!! Felt something pop in my right knee. Got back on the bike but could not pedal with the right leg. Used my left leg for a little bit and then was able to start using my right leg again. I just could not stand up and pedal, the pain was wicked.  Finished 6th out of 16 despite what ended up being a torn MCL.

    To the present day. Just finished Fontana a week or 2 ago. Have a brace on my knee when I ride, but it is healing up well. Been training again real hard after a month off of so due to the knee injury. MY power is almost back to where it was, but not my endurance!!! I managed 8th out of 17. Was dissapointed but what should I expect after not training for a while. Inow get almost 2 months of race free days to work on my endurance, or base as it is called. Will not be in shape for the first Fontana races, but will be in the process. Once I get this endurance issue under control I will be able to build up on it and look forward to a good second half of the season.

   Went down in Bonelli at the race last weekend on the first lap. Still not using my head now that I have moved up to sport class. I am racing these races like it is a sprint when they are not. Was trying to keep someone from passing me just before the first lap was over and went down in the grass. Really tweaked my knee and could not use my right leg for the rest of the first lap.Finally it started working again and I was able to go hard, I just could not stand up and pedal. Any ways these races are long enough that I shoul have let him by and then just caught him later instead of going all out and crashing. Went to the docs and got braced up. 6 days later and it still is not as good as I would like, but its getting there. Should be fine in 2-3 weeks. Been doing easy rides on my trainer and it feels good. Not being on the bike because of the injury allowed me to think about the mistakes I have been making. In the sport races I need to be patient and not go so hard right away, instead try and pace myself always remembering its a long race and I can make up time later.

    Raced at the State Championships in Big Bear this weekend. I had set up my training with help from a trainer to peak on this race. I was feeling pretty goo and real fresh. On the start I made sure to pace myself so as not to blow up early. Kept an eye on my heart rate monitor and just kept goigng. A couple of people from the younger class took off and left me back, but I could still see them. Within the first mile their pace dropped considerably and I was able to get by. My legs were feeling really good. I was standing and sprinting on the climbs by now and my legs were still feeling great. My time was way faster than the first race in Big Bear. Then it happened, I turned off onto the first single track and somehow managed to get stung by a bee on my tongue. Man did it hurt. After about 5 min it started to swell just a little. Another 5-10 min later it was really swelling. I am not allergic to bee stings so I was not to worried, but my tongue just kept sweling. Within 20 min of the sting it would not even fit in my mouth. It became this monsterous thing taking over my body. Breathing became hard through my mouth. The poison started to really really affect my muscle contractions, but I kept going. After an hour of racing with the bee sting/poison in my system I finally finished the race. Ended up going straight to the hospital and spent 5 hours there. I now have to go and get tested for bee allergies, bummer. The good new is is that I won my class and am now moving up to race in the sport class.

Ok, was at Rim Nordic #1. Already did my warm-up and was on the line waiting for the race to start...thats when it happened. I noticed my front tire wasgoing flat. I used the CO2 to fill it, and thought it would be ok.The race coordinator told me to go to my car and fix it and he would wait to start the race. This is where I went totaly wrong. I went back to my car and just put extra air in the tire. Forgot to check my Stans sealant, which had evaporated away. I did not have any with me either. Any ways I thought I could do the race before the tire lost that much air, hahaha. I made it 1.5-2miles and was flat. Was leading at that point, but not by far. Had to fix the tire andput a tube in it. This is what I should have done to begin with. Oh well I got passed by 2nd and 3rd place riders. Over inflated my tire and the bead cameoff the rim. Let air outand put the bead back in, but did not have enough CO2 to refill the tire. Had to ride with about 10-12lbs of air in the tire. I still managed to catch the guy in second and pass him. At this point I was content with a second place. Could not go very fast or I would end up pinch my tube so I took it easy all the way to the finish line. I lost because of my mistake and have hopefully learned from it...Don't look a gift horse in the mouth!!