King of the Rockies!

This Labor Day weekend brought the Winter Park Resort Tipperary Creek XC race, which the locals refer to as the "King of the Rockies". Brooks, Tiff, and longtime friend Doug headed up to the race to give it a whirl. This was the first time at this race for Brooks and Tiff, and the 3rd go-round for Doug who spends most of his time kicking butt on the Mountain States Cup circuit.

The race started at 10:02 am for us boys with a 3-4 mile road section. It was a good, controlled pace, and Doug and I were able to stay in the top 4 spots in the paceline. Several hundred meters before the singletrack climb started up Tipperary creek, I pushed to the front, and was able to set the pace up the long climb. With my head down but going at a reasonable pace, as we approached the top of the climb I imagined all the angry riders I had held up on the singletrack, just trying to maintain myself for later in the race. To my surprise, as I looked back, only Doug was behind me and he let me know I had "shelled" the rest of the field on the climb. Needless to say, Doug and I battled for almost the entire 26 miles, exchanging places during his amazing uphill endo, and my air-headed unclip as I hit a pedal on a rock. In the end, Doug took second in the Men's Expert 25-29 division behind a former professional road rider, and I took 3rd around 2 minutes behind Doug (he really put it to me on the last climb!).

As for Tiffanie, well, she pretty much killed it! Tiff easily won the Womens Expert 19-29 divison by over 2.5 minutes. I think I smell an upgrade to the Pro division in her future!

Congrats to Doug, you have deserved to put it to me all season, and I just kept putting together good races. Good job mate!

Congrats to Tiffanie on her win! It has been amazing to see someone go from bike-commuting only, to being a top-level Mountain biker in only 3 years.

On a future note, the team is now committed to racing in the USARA (United States Adventure Racing Association) 24 hour National Championships in Blue Ridge, GA November 7th-8th. We are looking for a good race to do between now and then (besides local cyclocross races), and we will keep you updated on where we go!

Thanks for your support of our team, and thanks to our sponsors who make all of this possible.

Cheers!

My how time flies!!!!!!

Sorry for the long delay since I last posted! Life has been very hectic around here with racing season in full swing, and lots of changes in the personal lives as well!!!

Lots to report on, so I will get going!

First, the team had a great race waaay back at the end of June at the Adventure Xstream 24 hour in Breckenridge, CO. Starting at midnight, we ran with our paddling gear to the marina, and braced for a lap around Lake Dillon in the painfully slow duckys. After some good navigation by Boyd and James getting around some small inlet islands, the team was tied with Eolus and Boulder Performance Network for the lead arriving at CP 3, the halfway point of the kayak. After battling a fierce side/headwind, some seasickness, and a back spasm for the remainder of the kayak, the team lost some time on the last leg, but was feeling strong again after the run back to the nordic center, and TA1. We hit the Orienteering course hard, and managed to maintain our deficit to the top teams, and went out on the trek ready make up time and conserve energy for the bike. Heading out at around 7 am after 4.5 hours in the boats, and 2.5 hours on the O-course, it was a beautiful morning as we crested the Continental Divide on Miners Creek, and headed down toward Copper Mountain. As we hit the intersection with Wheeler Trail about 1200 vertical feet below and West of the divide, we took a hard left, and headed back up to the top of Peak 9 above Breckenridge resort and our 2nd divide crossing. Passing another team on the Way, we crossed the Divide again heading East, and started the long descent down Breckenridge Ski Area. Thanks to Boyd's "local knowledge" we had some good Navigation down the mountain, and hit TA3 in Breckenridge just as the skies opened and started pouring rain! With Boyd and Brooks on inline skates, and James and Tiffanie on kick bikes, the team flew from Breckenridge to Frisco despite the rain, and the practice paid off with our team having the fastest inline skate of the whole race!

Once on the mountain bikes it was a long climb up Tiger Road, but the climbing was only getting started. After a looonnnggg climb to CP15 on the Colorado Trail just below Georgia Pass, it became all worth it with an amazing CT singletrack descent made even better by ultra-tacky trails following the rain. Unfortunately, the long climb had taken its toll on the team, and although our team and strategy was strong, we missed a time cutoff by only 5 minutes, and was unable to proceed to CP19. The 2 hour penalty dropped the team two spots in the final rankings, but we are still happy with 5th place. The team dynamic was amazing, and we nearly all agreed that this was the most fun we had ever had in a race.

As usual, special thanks goes out to our sponsors. Our GoLite Virga jackets and Smartwool socks performed flawlessly in the high-alpine downpour, our Maxxis tires made a tricky descent sooo much fun, and the testing at BPL and Alta PT paid off in our training. As usual, our AY UP lights were the envy of the Orienteering course, and our Tifosi optics not only look great, but kept the muck out of our eyes in the rain and mud.

Cheers!