Another Cross Update

Here's another quick cyclocross update (Go to utahcyclocross.com for results and links to pictures). Tanner is the man. He has raced 5 races now and has two wins a couple of 2nds and a 3rd. He was 3rd in the State championships two weeks ago with a flat and a wheel change. We would have been contending for the win without the flat. Yesterday, he had a solid win and is getting better each week. We set up some barriers on the grass next to our garage and he has been practicing a day or two a week in the dark. Pretty impressive. I was able to put together a road bike for the T man and he did his first group road rides this week. He road with the Porcupine Team for 2 hours on Thanksgiving and then with the family group for 3 on Friday. He did well and made through 85 miles in two days and then won the cross race on Saturday! It is great to have him riding but a little stressful for Dad as I worry about him crashing or getting hit by a car. Tanner also got a ski day in last week, so he's a happy 14 year old.

My racing has been up and down. I had two good races at Rocky Mountain Raceway and was really excited about the state championships. However, I caught a low-level cold a few days before the race and it did me in. Doug, JoAnn, Erin and other friends were there to watch my explosion and suffering. I was with the two leaders the 1st 9 minute lap then I blew up in a bad way. I then suffered for 45 minutes and watched guys ride away from me all race. I'm not sure I've suffered like that in a race before. I limped home in 9th place. I was sure my season was over. However, after a week of doing very little, I started to feel better this week. I wasn't at my best yesterday, but road a smart race and managed to finish 4th. That is my best cross result to date and I'm now excited to race the last 2 races.

Doug was going to give the racing a go, but crashed on the cross bike and fractured his hand. Hopefully, it will be good enough to let him race the final race in 2 weeks.

I now have an official coach. My teammate Dave Harward (the #1 ranked amateur in Utah) has started a coaching business and I'm now a client. I decided rather than spending some money on a new bike this year, I'd spend some on engine. We are both excited and curious to see how is goes. My focus for next week will be MTB races, Crits and Cyclocross. These three go together well and will allow me to use my limited training time more effectively. It also means no LoToJa again for me. I'll be taking a late summer break and then working specifically on cyclocross in August and September. I think cross could be my most competitive race discipline. I'd really like to do a Nation level race next year in the 45+ masters.

Hope all is well for the Holidays!

Rainy days in Eugene

It has been a while since I was able to post an update, but with my new YM calling my time has been a little more spent. My season is over so there isn't much going on. The rain is starting here and I have REALLY enjoyed riding in the rain.

I don't think I am going to get to race cyclocross this year, but maybe next year. Daren it is good to hear yours is going well. I am glad to hear everyone is still riding and doing well.

Bub

Cross-Eyed

It's time for a Cottle cyclocross update. We're 3 races into the Utah Cyclocross series and there is already a win in the family. Tanner watched my first race and decided he should give it a go. He raced in the Ogden mud-fest two weeks ago and at RMR yesterday. After a strong 2nd at Ogden, Tanner won the junior division at RMR. It was fun to watch and he rode hard.

Tanner raced the his first cross race on his MTB bike. However, we finished putting my old cross bike together a couple of days before RMR. T got a little practice time at the school and in our backyard and gave the new rig a go. He's not completely comfy on it yet, but it was faster than his MTB. The RMR course was hard and surprisingly technical with one barrier secttion, a fast staircase and a grass run-up. His group (the C's, Women's and JR's) went 45 minutes. If you've never done cross, 45 minutes in pretty long. I call cross racing a trip to the pain cave. Tanner call's it a trip to the pain abysis. However, he' pleased to have won and excited to do it again. Next week's race is at RMR again. He goes off at 10 am.

I've had mixed results so far. There is a new 35+ masters class that races with the A's (the pro's, cat 1/2). It has been fun mixing it up with the big boys. The first race was at the Olypmic Park in Park City and included a pretty big climb. I felt really bad at the start and didn't get better. The only good news was that it was on a Friday night and we could only race 30 minutes due to darkness. I manged to not finish last.

The next stop was at Fort Buenaventura in Ogden. It rain all week and most of the race. The course is about 90% dirt or grass and was very muddy. However, the course is the best we race on and the mud was actually kind of fun (other than the 3 hours of bike cleaning after the race). I had a much better race and finished 5th in the 35+ and 19th overall. I was less intimidated by the fast A's but still got a very poor start. In cross racing, the start is very important. There is usually some obsticle in the first minute or so that make the riders go single-file. If you're at the back, you lose big time to the leaders. Did I mention cross racing is hard? My AT is 160 peats per minute. I averaged 159 for an hour and 5 minutes. I was pretty much at my limit the entire race.

As I mentioned above, yesterday's race was at RMR. I didn't think the course would be too great, but it was fun. It was about 60% pavement, but pretty technical. I actually did well on the pavement. I was agressive on the start and was in 2nd in my class into the first corner (in the top 15 overall). I was on my teammate Steve's wheel (Steve has won all 3 35+ races this year) and hanging. Our teammate Aaron Jordin came by and we got on his wheel and he pulled through the first long pavement section. The three of us stayed together the 1st lap and were just off the overall leaders. The next time up the grass section, I could feel my rear tire rolling. I looked back and it was going flat. I had to back off on the grass or crash. I managed to get around to the pits and changed my wheel. By this time, I was about in dead last and only 10 minutes into the race. However, I got going again and rode hard the rest of the race. I slowly pulled some guys back and had 3rd&4th place in my class about a 100 yards ahead. However, I ran out of time and couldn't get to them before the finish. I ended up 5th again, but with losing a couple of minutes due to the flat, I was pretty happy. I should have / could have been 2nd or 3rd.

Did I mention cross is hard? My average HR was again 159 and I was cross-eyed for about 30 minutes after the race. I was cramping the last 15 minutes and could hardly walk last night. Not sure why we do this, but I can't wait for next week.

Daren

Not so Good Day at the Races

I did the first cyclocross race of the season. It was not a good showing for big D. I was out of town all week on business and was feeling my lack of sleep and over-eating. In addition, I've got a little bit of a cold.

The cross course at the Olympic Sports Park is brutal when you have a bad day. It is very moutain bike like and I might race my MTB there the next time. It has a steep, long climb each lap as you drop down below the ski jump.

In an effort to search for the positives in life, here's what I've come up with for last night's race. Due to darkness, the race was only 30 minutes. I got lapped just before the leaders started their last lap thus eliminating one lap for me. I wasn't dead last. Chris Pietrzak on my team won impressively. I was able to chear Chris on as he passed me. I did well on the barriers. There are more races.

Tanner and I are planning on racing in Ogden next Saturday. AT, you should do it. We could probably get my old cross bike together. You should do the next race at the Olympic Sport Park on your MTB.

Daren

Good Day at the Races

Yesterday was the Harvest Moon Crit in Ogden. It was a great atmosphere for a bike race. A big street festival with a race in the middle of it. It probably had the most people I've ever raced in front of. The family was well respresented. Adam and Doug in the Cat 4/5's (Doug was guilted into the 4/5's after passing on the master's race) and me in the Cat 3's.

Adam and Doug did really well. It was pretty fast and Doug made it through about half the race. A guy in front of him let a gap open and that was it. In a short, 4 corner crit, it is difficult to catch back on when gaps go. AT looked comfy in the front thrid of the pack the whole race. I was warming up and riding back and forth in a parking lot to see him twice a lap. I was more nervous for AT than for me. He moved up at the right time and battled it out on the last lap. AT ended up 3rd in the 5's and 4th overall. At little better placing on the last lap and he would have won. On this course, you had to 1st or 2nd out of the last corner. For a first crit, he did awsome. He's now amped up to race next season and will be racing with me in no time.

The Cat 3 race was fun. Glen and Eric on my team raced and the plan was to try to launch them for a 1,2 finish. Eric has been very strong this year (he's the overall Utah Cat 3 champ) and Glen is well, Glen. If a break wasn't going to stick, which became clear early, the plan was for me to lead out Glen and Eric in the last couple of laps. Only problem with the plan is that I've never been on the front of a Cat 3 race with a few laps to go.

I was just hanging on the first 15 - 20 mins and wondering if I would survive. My heart rate was above AT the whole time and we were sprinting out of every corner. Fortunately, it calmed down, I improved and found a much better line around the course. Glen and I hung out in the back 1/3 of the pack for 15 minutes then started to move up. When we got the 8 laps to go call, I moved up just ahead of Glen and Eric and got to 3rd then 2nd wheel. I closed gaps and tried to stay right there. With about 4 to go, a bunch of guys attached and Glen and Eric got a head of me. I thought I was done, but hung in around 10th place. On the second to last lap, I was moving up a little and decided to go for it. With half a lap to go I jumped and got Glen and Eric on my wheel out of the last corner (I had the full 2 wheel slide going). I went to the front and drilled it as hard as I could through the first corner. Glen and Eric launched off my pull with 2/3 a lap to go and easily finished 1,2. I avoided the 2 crashes on the lap and rolled in a very pleased 14th. I was pumped to have actually helped in a high level race. It has been a long time coming and is a huge confidence builder for next year.

There is one more crit next Saturday, but I think we're going to break out the MTB's instead. The first cross race is Friday night and I don't think I'll do the double. I'm going to be out of town most of the week and that might be a bit much. I'm really excited about the cross race. I didn't race at all last year and I missed it. In cross, you send the whole race in the pain cave, but it is somehow fun.

Later,

Daren

Last Crit

Well, it was the last crit of the year. I attacked to try and get a breakaway started and push the pace. The first attack me and another guy broke away, but he died out and I ended up pulling for 5 laps before they finally caught us. The second attack I got four riders. Only one of them would pull. One guy even told me he wouldn't pull, he said he was "riding for his team." It was frustrating, I guess that is why people join teams. With 2km to go I decided for one last try to attack, but got caught with 1/2 a km to go and ended up taking 6th. Avery got to ride in her first road race. She had fun, but got tired riding the 2 km's.

I wanted to ride the Eugene Celebration this year because it was before Lotoja. It is a four stage, three day stage race. I wanted to ride the Sat. road race, but it was $80 for all three days and they wouldn't let me ride only one day. So I was a little disappointed, but it keeps me fresh for Lotoja. It was a good year, and I learned a lot more about racing. I know I need to be more patient before I attack.

4 days to Lotoja! Hope were all ready.

Talk to you all later,
Bubba

Eugene Crit Update

Well, I am finally updating from last Tues. I have been trying to ride as much as possible over last two weeks. I have been riding twice a week with a local group, who kick my rear end. So when last weeks crit came along I was pretty beat. A group of four riders took off early and got a good lead. No one wanted to pull them back in, and their teams sat at the front and kept the pace slow. I wasted a lot of energy pulling them back. My friend Jeremy was racing in his second crit and he felt pretty good. Into the last corner he was in the lead. He stood up to pedal in the last corner to early and his back tire went out from him, and he hit his pedal on the ground in his down stroke. Needless to say the fall was pretty. He hit pretty hard. I didn't see him do it but had to swerve to miss him and got stuck behind someone whose chain came off. I finished the race 7th. Jeremy is sore but alright. He hurt his hip and neck. He does have some nice cuts and bruises to go with it.

We have the last crit of the summer on Tues. and a road race on Sat. I will let you know how they go.

Bub

Let's Go South

If anyone is reading this still, I'll catch up a little. The road and MTB season is offically over for me. I struggled to a 3rd place finish at the Unitas I-Cup. It was a very difficult day and I was a little disappointed. However, it was enough to win the overall points title in the 40+ experts. I'm pretty happy with the year and surprised to win the overall. There were some injuries to other riders, but I still had my best year. I went faster than ever and actually won 2 races. I'm motivated to continue the improvement next year. I re-discovered that mountain bike riding and racing is why I started riding in the 1st place. It rocks.

Tanner had a super race. He was a solid 2nd and made huge progress this year. It has been a blast riding and racing with him. He is still very uncomfortable riding on the road, but hopefully, I get him out with us next year.

I took more than a week off the bike and it was OK. It felt good to rest a bit, but by the end I felt lazy, fat, slow and ready to get off the couch. I've been back on this week and actually felt fast on the lunch ride hill climb today. The plan is now to ride, do some cross training and get ready for cyclocross. I'm really looking forward to cross. Hopefully, I'll be able to hang with the top guys in my class. I'll be building some barriers with weekend to begin my practice. You all should consider doing a cross race. It is a gas. I'll probably race a few of the weekday crits to work on top end speed.

The bow hunt is on. Tanner and I have been up a couple of times. No shots yet, but have chased a couple small bucks. For me the big deal is the Elk hunt. It opens tomorrow and I'll be hunting hard the week of 9/11. With any luck, I'll have a big rack in the garage and lots of meat to share.

Doug and I have been talking about a fall trip to Moab (now that he is a mountain biker). I'm thinking UEA weekend, 10/20 and 10/21. The plan would be to leave Friday AM, ride Friday PM and Saturday AM, come home Saturday PM. Anybody in? Let me know. We need to decide asap.

Brady, good job on the racing. It sounds like you are flying. I wish you were here so we could race together. I could be your leadout man in the cat. 3's. Send me an e-mail at dgc@eastontp.com. I can give you wheel options for LoToJa on my bike.

Later.

GC Connection

GC Connection
The cache Valley century 2006 is on the 26th of Aug. It is a $25 registration fee on the day of (Ten more $$ if you want the shirt). I think it would be a great training ride. We can talk about it on the 19th. If you want to check it out go to www.cvveloist.org/century/register.htm.
I'm out

Oregon Update

It has been a while since I have updated. Thanks for the rides in Utah. The 100 mile (excuse me 92.2 mile) ride was a lot of fun. Here are the winners:

White Jersey (Oldest rider and being able to hang with 30 year olds): Doug
Green Jersey (for chasing the Ogden 1 rider down the hill/flats): Sutt
Polka Dot Jersey (or otherwise known as the stupidity award): Bubba
Most Improved Rider (and a welcomed guest to the Lotoja team): Robbie

It was good to be back racing this Tuesday. I tried to make a break with another guy with 9 km laps to go. I pulled out hard and sprinted a lap and turned to the guy to take a turn and pull, but he said he couldn't. I held the breakaway for about 4 laps, then knew I couldn't hold it for 5 more laps by myself. It took a lot of my energy, and ended finishing 3rd. On the plus side, I was the overall points winner for the July crits! I guess it pays to be consistant.

GC Connection

How far are we going on sat? what time and where? Let me know.

A Double Win

A good day on the MTB for the Cottle's yesterday. Tanner won the 13 - 15 Beginner class and I won the 40+ expert. With last week's relay win, that brings our house-hold win total to 4 over the last two weeks. No wins for years, now four. Go figure.

We raced 32 miles west of Wendover. It was at pretty high elevation, but still very hot. The course had a ton of climbing and was very hard. T and I both had good days and won by wide margins. I dug very deep and was a sad looking puppy at the end. It took a good hour to be able to stand without getting dizzy. For a while I thought Tanner would have to drive home. My AT heart rate is about 160 and I averaged 159 for 2 hours and 35 minutes. I guess you could say I went hard the whole time.

With one race to go in the intermountain cup series, I'm now in 1st place on points. I guess I really need to do the last race on the 12th because it is double points. If I finish no worse than one place behind the guy in 2nd, I should win the overall. Hopefully, I can get another win. I think it is a good course for me - long, fast, hard and no long climbs.

Tanner has realized huge improvement this year. Early in the year, he could hardly ride a course like Saturday's, let alone race it. He road hard for an hour and 20 minutes and felt good. It's cool to see him become a mountain biker and that we can ride together and have fun. (He said I had to mention that he won by 20 minutes just because it's cool.)

Looks like I'll miss Brady entirely. Kind of a bummer, I was hoping to get at least one ride in with him. I guess I'll just watch him from the car at LoToJa.

Later,

DC

Final Results

Here we go. After all the tie breakers, Robbie get the Yellow, Kim the Green and Russ the Polka Dots. Using the weighting we agreed to, Adam is the overall winner, Robbie is second and I'm third.

Thanks for playing, it was fun.


General Classification (Yellow): Hours Min Sec
1 Team Robbie - - -
2 Team Adam 1 1 45
3 Team Tanner 1 11 44
4 Team Brady 1 21 54
5 Team Daren 1 25 33
6 Team Doug 1 25 33
7 Team Russ 3 27 17
8 Team Kim 5 27 24

Points Competition (Green): Points
1 Team Kim461
2Team Doug461
3Team Adam461
4Team Russ339
5Team Robbie339
6Team Daren276
7Team Brady276
8Team Tanner248


King of the Mountains (Polka dot):Points
1Team Russ294
2Team Tanner226
3Team Kim226
4Team Daren226
5Team Adam226
6Team Robbie223
7Team Doug163
8Team Brady163


Overall
1 Team Adam 6.6
2 Team Robbie 5.8
3 Team Daren 4.5
4 Team Russ 4.1
5 Team Doug 3.8
6 Team Brady 3.3
7 Team Kim 3.1
8 Team Tanner 2.9

Out team won the E100 MTB relay yesterday. It was a cool rece and I had a good day. Our anchor was a stud. He made up over 16 minutes on the last segment. Check out "thee100.com" in a couple of days and results will be posed.

We're off to go camping for 3 days. Be back Wed evening. Brady, call me Wed night about you schedule while your here.

Daren

Big Change

Well, I'm back and the results are very different after the last crazy couple of days. Robbie is firmly in the GC lead, over an hour ahead of 2nd, and it is a close battle for second. Tom B. left the tour and killed me and Bub. The climbers battle is pretty much done at this point.

I'll work out the formula for the overall winner this weekend.


General Classification (Yellow): Hours Min Sec
1 Team Robbie - - -
2Team Adam 1 8 48
3Team Tanner 1 10 53
4Team Brady 1 28 56
5Team Daren 1 29 35
6Team Doug 1 29 35
7Team Russ 3 18 11
8Team Kim 5 38 31


Points Competition (Green):Points
1 Team Kim 411
2 Team Doug 411
3 Team Adam 411
4 Team Russ 295
5 Team Robbie 295
6 Team Daren 252
7 Team Brady 252
8 Team Tanner 202


King of the Mountains (Polka dot):Points
1 Team Russ 294
2 Team Tanner 226
3 Team Kim 226
4 Team Daren 226
5 Team Adam 226
6 Team Robbie 223
7 Team Doug 163
8 Team Brady 163

I don't think we'll see much change from now on. Good job boys. This has been fun.

Being Consistent

What I should do is copy and past the last two races. Yet again I took second. There were about 40+ people yesterday and the pace was pretty quick. I was in a good position on the last lap, but didn't have enough room to pass the last guy, so I lost by about a foot.

Sutt, Louie, or Robbie let me know if you want to go ride on that Wed., Thurs., or Friday when I am in town. It would be fun to do a ride together before Sat.

Bub

Visit

It looks like our visit will be July 25 - 31. Doug told me that there is going to be a family ride on Sat., 100 miles. Sounds great! I am excited to get to ride with everyone. Daren, sorry you won't be there. Doug and I may come down on Thurs or Fri and ride the lunch ride. Good job Robbie and Daren on your races. Can't wait to ride with you all again.

Go Floyd!

Bub

A Winning Day

Looks like today was a winning day for the family. Robbie won his class at the Echo Tri and I won my class at the Snowbird MTB race. This is my 1st win of an expert XC and of any race for a long time. There were only 3 in my class today, but hey, a win's a win. The Snowbird course if very hard. There is only about 5 mins of descending per lap. All the climbing is very steep, so the last lap was very difficult for me. I'm trashed tonight. Brady, your win is coming. It's time for a break-through.

No real chanbe in the fantasy tour, although kind of a strange day. Probably a good move for Landis to give up the jersey for a few days. I'm out of town Mon - Wed, so I'm not sure I'll have internet access. If I don't I'll update the standings when I'm back.


General Classification (Yellow): Hours Min Sec
1 Team Robbie - - -
2 Team Daren - 5 15
3 Team Doug - 5 15
4 Team Brady - 6 27
5 Team Adam - 19 15
6 Team Tanner - 21 20
7 Team Russ - 43 31
8 Team Kim 1 26 40


Points Competition (Green):Points
1 Team Daren 474
2 Team Brady 474
3 Team Kim 411
4 Team Doug 411
5 Team Adam 411
6 Team Russ 295
7 Team Robbie 295
8 Team Tanner 202


King of the Mountains (Polka dot):Points
1 Team Russ 96
2 Team Tanner 76
3 Team Kim 76
4 Team Daren 76
5 Team Adam 76
6 Team Robbie 75
7 Team Doug 61
8 Team Brady 61

Stage 12

Well Doug and Brady used their 2nd reserve with Salvo now out. Their replacements helped both of them. Popo's win helped close the gap to Robbie for a few of us.

I'm racing at Snowbird tomorrow. It is a very difficult course. If I feel good, I should do well. However, with bad legs, it could get ugly fast. We'll see.

Good luck Robbie at your Tri-geek race.


General Classification (Yellow): Hours Min Sec
1Team Robbie - - -
2Team Daren - 5 5
3Team Doug - 5 5
4Team Brady - 6 17
5Team Adam - 19 5
6Team Tanner - 21 10
7Team Russ - 43 21
8Team Kim 1 27 31


Points Competition (Green):Points
1Team Daren 436
2Team Brady 436
3Team Kim 377
4Team Doug 377
5Team Adam 377
6Team Russ 275
7Team Robbie 275
8Team Tanner 188


King of the Mountains (Polka dot):Points
1 Team Russ 96
2Team Robbie 75
3 Team Tanner 70
4 Team Kim 70
5 Team Daren 70
6 Team Adam 70
7 Team Doug 61
8 Team Brady 61

The Real Race is ON!

George Hincapie has become a climber. Chris Horner will be with Evans in the mountains. After the TT, Levi is done. Oscar Pereiro will fight for the climbers jersey. Discovery has 4 guys that can win the tour. Iban Mayo will contend this year. Daren can climb with Chris Bingham on the lunch ride. These are a few of the myths that were destroyed today.

Robbie had the vision to not pick George and he is firmly in the lead. It will take a big come back from George to boot Robbie out.

Here's where we stand:


General Classification (Yellow): Hours Min Sec
1 Team Robbie - - -
2 Team Daren - 10 21
3 Team Adam - 19 17
4 Team Tanner - 21 22
5 Team Doug - 25 43
6 Team Brady - 33 26
7 Team Russ - 42 54
8 Team Kim 1 19 4


Points Competition (Green):Points
1 Team Daren 405
2 Team Brady 405
3 Team Kim 351
4 Team Doug 351
5 Team Adam 351
6 Team Russ 260
7 Team Robbie 260
8 Team Tanner 177


King of the Mountains (Polka dot):Points
1 Team Russ 84
2 Team Robbie 63
3 Team Tanner 49
4 Team Kim 49
5 Team Daren 49
6 Team Adam 49
7 Team Doug 49
8 Team Brady 49

Brady, I'm racing over by Wendover on the 29th. However, let's try to ride while your here. Maybe a lunch ride or after work. When will you be here?

Group Ride?

It looks like we are going to be in Utah for a few days at the end of July. Is there anyone interested in doing a group ride July 29? Let me know.

Bub