My new favorite first race of the season is the True Grit Epic 100 in St. George, Utah. This race has everything that I want in a mountain bike race, challenging and technical riding, fun fast sections of single track and a good amount of climbing, not to mention the incredible views of the surrounding Zion National Park.

The only problem with this race is that it’s in the middle of March, which is really early for me. I skipped a ton of powder skiing to get ready, and managed to get almost a month of riding before the race. But coming in I was treating it as a training race not really expecting a great result. The weather was going to be beautiful, sunny and temps in the mid 70′s. Things started off good and I was in the lead group for the first 4 or 5 miles of the race. Then things went south, when up a quick punchy climb my derailleur hanger snapped in half. I couldn’t believe what just happened and I took a couple seconds to stare in disbelief. After the reality set in I started to walk and coast my way back to an aid station. At the aid one of the workers was nice enough to give me a ride back to the start and my car where I could get a new hanger and at least get a good ride in.

By the time I got everything sorted out it was a little after 9:30, an hour and a half after I had started. I went to work from the start again, but had to work my way through at least 100 50-mile racers, but I just patiently made my way through. The hanger I had put on was a little bent so my bike was not real happy about things and would not ride in the top 4 gears so in the faster sections I was spun out.

On the second lap just when I looking forward to the end of the race, I suffered a broken chain while riding into a crazy head wind, of course I carry a chain tool and fixed it fairly quickly, I began to think my resolve was being tested but there wasn’t anything that was going stop me from finishing. I pulled into the finish over 9 hours after the first start, but the feeling of pushing through and just finishing the race was just as good as ending up on the podium because I defeated that little voice in my head that said “you can’t”.

I have heard a lot off good things about the Whiskey Off Road for a long time, it’s not the best distance for me at 50 miles but I wanted to check the event out, so I made the trip this year to Prescott, AZ for a weekend of racing.

The race consisted of a road crit in town on Friday night for the pros, the amateur race on Saturday and the pro XC on Sunday. The town of Prescott was basically taken over by the bike industry with all the race sponsors set up on whiskey row in town, lots of things to see and do and made for a fun weekend.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect on Friday for the road crit but it was going to be 20 minutes plus 3 laps on a very hilly course. I knew it was going to be really hard but I wanted to make it to the finish without getting pulled. I felt good and went really deep into the red, something I’m not used to doing, I think this came back to bite me in the ass in the xc on Sunday. I made it to the second to last lap, but got pulled.

Saturday we woke up to cold rain at our campsite, which quickly turned to snow so we headed to town and a nice warm coffee shop. The amateur race started in the rain but now it had turned into a full on blizzard. Sitting drinking coffee watching it snow in Arizona I was glad to not be racing my bike and felt bad for all the amateur racers who had to endure the harsh elements, props to all the racers who finished that day.

Sunday’s weather was looking to be perfect for the pro XC and all the moisture from Saturday made for some seriously great dirt. The pro men’s field was huge at 95 racers and things were looking to be fast and furious. The start was a long roll out on pavement and then to a double track were things got spread out before we headed into the single track. The trails in the race are fun and fast with short technical sections. Unfortunately, I was feeling really flat and sitting somewhere in the middle of the field I was getting slowed by some guys in front of me that were not riding the downhills like I wanted to.

A huge part of this race is a dirt road that you descend for about 9 miles then turn around and climb back up with an added 2 miles of climbing after that for good measure. The final section of single track was super fun and rocky and was great to ride after all of the road sections. The weekend of racing was great however I didn’t do as well as I wanted with a 39th place but it’s definitely out of my comfort zone and it’s good to do things your not used to. The promoters for the race do a great job and they realize what is fun about mountain biking I would recommend this race to anyone and I’ll be back.

This year I decided to go back to Cortez and Phil’s World for the 12 Hours of Mesa Verde. I have done this race before and was excited to go back. The course is super fun with lots of twists and turns, a pump track style trail with technical sections that make for a very well rounded course, definitely a bike-handlers course.

The course was in perfect shape after some moisture in the days leading up to the race. The weather was looking to be perfect for the 900+ racers that were about to jump on the 12 hour merry-go-round of Phil’s World. I’m not a huge fan of the running start but at least it was short, I got clogged up in the bike grab area and had to make up a lot of time before the single track. I was able to make my way into the top 10 before we hit the trail but had to sprint to get there so I took a break and sat on for the first lap at a nice steady pace.

After the madness of the first lap things settled in and spread out, even though the course is 99% single track it’s not congested even with 900 people racing. I felt great most of the day had a couple of bike issues but for the most part things went very smoothly. Even though I was supporting myself, my pit stops were really fast. I had all of my bottles ready to go for every lap and just grabbed what I needed. My goal for the race was to finish 8 more laps then when I raced here 3 years ago. After a couple of bike problems and having to do my own pits I was 5 minutes off my mark. All in all, the entire race was great! I felt good, had a great time, saw a bunch of great people and rode my bike all day, not much more you could ask for. Oh yeah, I won the solo race too, so that’s pretty cool.

The 12 Hours of Mesa Verde has become a must do for most of the Colorado mountain bike race scene. It’s really a well-run race and I only have good things to say about it. It’s on my list for next season!

It is my third time doing The Growler and I look forward to this really great mountain bike race. The trails out at Hartman’s rock in Gunnison are a good mix of fast, flowy, bermed-out, rollercoaster riding with plenty off technical riding to keep you in check. There’s not much for long climbs, but there is some significant vertical gain.

The 4:45am wakeup is never fun, and when you look outside to see that it’s raining and about 35 degrees it kills (my) motivation for racing. By 6:00 am the rain was letting up but temps were still chilly and there was going to be some mud to deal with on the first of two 32-mile laps… After the first big hill to thin out the masses I was just behind the first 5 racers and felt good about my position. In the past, I’ve tried to stay out front but I felt good to settle into a good pace and deal with the slick conditions. The trail was not the worst mud I’ve ever seen by any means but there were sections that were un-rideable.

By the second lap I had moved into second place, the sun had come out and things were drying up. I felt great and really put the hammer down, going as hard as I could for the lap. Unfortunately my bike was not happy and I was getting bad chain suck and couldn’t ride in my little ring. This went on for a while, luckily there was an aid station about halfway through and was able to get some lube. The dirt at this point had dried out and became hero dirt! It was a rail fest and you could go as fast as you wanted into the berms, super fun riding… I was able to stay ahead of three chasers for second place. 64 miles is a little short for my taste but the quality of riding and the quality of the event brings my back year after year.

I made the trip back to Gallup NM again this year for 24 Hours in the Enchanted Forest which served as the 24 Hour National Championships for the second year. After having a horrible race at this event last year, I was ready to come back for redemption! The weekend weather was looking good with daytime temps in 80′s and nighttime temps in the 40′s.

The race started at 11am Saturday and finished 24 hours later on Sunday. The start of the race was a traditional start rather than the Le Mans style start used by many 24-hour races. This was fine with me, as I’m not a huge fan of the running start. The pace was quick for the first lap and I got an early lead in the solo race. I kept the pace high for the first 12 hours of the race trying to get as much time on the competition as possible. The course started off in great shape, very dry and dusty but smooth as butter but as the day went on the trail started to get blown out and pretty rugged. When the sun went down and the lights came out, I had about a 25 minute lead on second place but I kept the pace high to keep all the chasers at bay. The night laps are usually when I feel the best, it’s always fun to rip around in the dark as fast as you can, and this race was no exception!

By about 2am, my closest competitor had dropped out and I was a full two laps ahead of the next closest soloist. That’s always the coldest part of the night and a somewhat warm night turned very cold, with some crazy temperature inversions, parts of the course were a good 15 to 20 degree difference from the start/finish area. I had such a big lead that I could just put things in cruise control and take it easy for the remainder of the race. It was still a difficult time after pushing so hard for the first 16 hours and my whole body ached! This is the part of 24 hour racing that’s the hardest; the last 6 hours, when you’re just counting down to the end and it can’t come soon enough. Luckily, I had such a lead over second place that I was able to stop two hours before the end of the race. I’m very happy how things turned out this year at 24-hour nationals, I was so disappointed last year, I worked very hard through the winter and the spring to be in top form for this race and I think I nailed it pretty well. When I began racing, I never thought I would win a national championship and now I’ve won four and can hardly believe it!

For the 10th time I toed the start line at the Breckenridge 100, you would think that it would get easier after doing a race so many times but it only engrains the suffering that is to come in my mind. I decided a couple of years ago that I would do this race 10 times then I would give it a break. After finishing 2nd for the last three years I was hungry for the win.

The 6 am start was not the coldest it has ever been but it was chilly enough to want to get the race going. The first climb over Wheeler Pass went well I was feeling good and the trail was in great shape, a little snow to cross but for the most part it was a beautiful morning and warming up quickly.

After two and a half hours I finished the first lap and was quick to start the second lap of three, this lap is the hardest but the most fun with lots of climbing but with that comes lots of descending. Halfway through this lap I had one of the worst crashes I’ve had in a long time, riding along the Little French Flume I caught my handlebars on a tree and flew off the flume backwards, down an embankment, into some logs. When I finally came to rest, I was 15 feet below the trail and not sure if I was broken or not, after a minute or so I gathered myself together and climbed back up the to the trail. Other than a couple scrapes and bruises luckily I was ok and continued with the race.

I was in the lead from early in the race, but really didn’t know how much of a lead I had and pushed hard all the way to the end. I was really glad to take the win again this year in a race that I feel a little bit of ownership with, I still can’t believe that I’ve done this race 10 times, I feel very lucky to have been healthy enough to be able to do this race for 10 years and to have won 7 times is just incredible to me.

This was my first time making the trip to Wyoming to race the Laramie Enduro. I’ve heard so many good things about this race that I was excited to go and check it out. I knew that the 111K race was a fast one with lots of roads and trail riding mixed in through the course and there’s not a lot of climbing in this race, so I was pretty much out of my element in every way. The race venue was beautiful, rolling hills and cool rock formations peppered the landscape everywhere you looked which made for great scenery for the entire race.

The morning of the race was comfortably cool and with some cloud cover, the first couple hours were very nice. Not so nice was the start, with an all out sprint up a ¼-mile hill onto the first singletrack. I managed to get onto the trail in 4th position so despite being out of breath, I was happy to be up front. After a mix of double track and trail we dumped out to a dirt road for the first of many road sections. There were five people in our group and we started a draft line and moved along quickly. When we got to the next single track section we quickly shed two of our group and it was down to Alex Pond, Thomas Spannring and myself. We stayed together through this section and into the next road section but Thomas was riding very well and gapped us. On the next singletrack section, I got ahead of Alex for a little but when we hit the road again he caught me fairly quickly. We worked together for a while, but the road was killing me and Alex was much stronger here, eventually he pulled away and left me to push into the wind on my own.

By about mile 50, I was feeling all the hard effort in the beginning starting to take its toll on me. Fortunately the last 20 miles is a good amount of singletrack and my energy and spirits began to lift, I was glad to be almost done, then just ahead of me was Alex I didn’t think I would see him again and I think he was just as surprised to see me. We both pushed hard to the finish but I just didn’t have it to catch him. At the finish we found out that Thomas had followed the race moto the wrong way and was now behind us, which was a shame because he was very strong and deserved the win, but that meant Alex got the win and I took second.

It was a really fun weekend of racing in Laramie, great venue with free camping and the after party was really fun with a great band to end the day with, definitely not the type of race that I’m used to but it’s good to get out of your comfort zone from time to time and try something new.

After racing Pierre’s Hole several years ago I’ve been wanting to make the trip back to Grand Targhee Ski Resort in Wyoming to try this race again. If you’ve never been to Grand Targhee you should just come for the mellow vibe and the insane views. I knew that they added miles of single track to the course this year, so I figured it was a good time to get back up there. The course did not disappoint, the trail crew has done plenty of trail work since the last time I was there. The riding on course was spectacular with lots of high alpine climbing, fast flat out descents, switchbacks, and fast, flowy, rolling sections.

The race started out with a huge climb straight up the mountain and it just seemed to go on forever. That sorted out the pack and I quickly jumped to the front with local legend Cary Smith. We rode together for most of the first lap but at about an hour and a half, he got a small gap on me and by the end of the first lap of three, he had about a minute on me. On the second lap I was feeling good but not great and I just tried to keep a good pace going. I had a couple of close calls because of all the insane views, at one point I came around a corner and the Grand Teton was in perfect view, with a cloud getting sliced in half by the summit.

At the start of the third lap, Cary had a four-minute lead on me and I was just trying to stay strong for the rest of the race. After a wet and muddy start to the race, the trail had dried up and was riding like a dream! I was really enjoying rallying such great dirt. I ended up finishing about 7 minutes behind Cary in second and more importantly, I had a great time at this race with super fun riding and the organizers did a great job putting it on. There was camping on-site for 20 dollars with showers for three days and you really can’t beat that. I definitely recommend this race for anybody looking for a fun track in a beautiful setting, it’s a great event and I will be back again.

I was really excited to get back to Park City this year for the Point 2 Point, I missed last years race because of a broken collarbone. For anyone that hasn’t had a chance to ride in Park City, do yourself a favor and check it out! They have a very extensive trail network and like a lot of mountain bike destinations, they have been busy with tons of trail improvements and additions. The Point 2 Point is a 75 mile trail race, I say trail race because it is really all single track with about 12,000 feet of climbing, there is a ton of great descending.

The open field was super stacked this year with 5 time defending champ Alex Grant as the favorite, Cary Smith, Jay Henry, Tinker Juarez and Rob Squire just to name a few, the top 20 men would all prove to be very strong. The race started at a more reasonable pace than most other races this year and that was fine with me! About an hour in, the pace picked up and the group was down to Alex, Rob, Tinker, Jay, Cary, Nate Miller, and myself.  Alex, Tinker and Rob quickly separated themselves from the group and Nate, Cary, and I settled into a pace with Jay close behind. I wasn’t feeling that great and dropped off of the group with Cary and Nate as Jay jumped to the front and left us all behind.

As the day progressed I felt better and better and after about 5 hours, I was feeling really strong and tried to push as hard as I could up the final never ending climb. Near the end I was able to overtake Cary who was having mechanical trouble. I thought maybe I could reel one more guy in if I really pushed it all the way to the finish, but it was no use. I finally saw a group of three up ahead of me just before the finish but I didn’t have enough time to catch them.

In the end I finished in 6th place just off the podium, Really can’t complain though I had a great day of racing on sweet trails in a beautiful place with a bunch of really fast dudes, can’t ask for much more than that.

The Vapor Trail 125, what a great race, 125 miles of some of the best riding in Colorado, 20,000 feet of climbing and all at night! What’s not to love? The weather in Colorado this year has been pretty iffy so I was a little nervous about getting worked over by rain and or snow in the middle of the night at 12,000 feet. I definitely packed for the worst: I had 2 jackets rain nickers extra warm gloves and a hat, along with the warm clothing I started the race in. I started the race with enough water to last me the 8 hours it would take to get to the top of monarch pass where I could get another full pack.

The start of the race at 10 pm on Main Street, Salida is so cool; lots of people come out of the bars to send us off into the night. The competition this year was very high with Jesse Jakomait, Cary Smith, Zack Guy, Jeff Kerkove, and Kyle Taylor (who you have probably never heard of but you will be hearing much more about this kid in the future). When we finally hit the dirt after a long neutral roll out of town a group of 5 quickly formed with Jesse, Cary, Kyle, Zack and myself. Jesse, Zack and Kyle jumped to the front and made a move to quicken the pace, Cary went with for a second and I was off the back. I was having some stomach issues and wasn’t really sure what was wrong but I was extremely bloated and it felt like an alien was going to pop out of my stomach at any moment. I have been in plenty of races where I’ve felt like crap, so I wanted to try and wait it out.

When we hit the Colorado Trail I was still not feeling well and after a couple of people passed me I was in 7th place. About halfway through the Colorado Trail section the bloating started to go away and I was feeling normal again. By the first aid station I was back with Cary and Kyle. Then Kyle decided to put the hammer down and left Cary and me alone on the long climb up to the alpine tunnel. About halfway up we caught and passed Kyle, another 15 minutes went by and Cary dropped off and I was by myself in 3rd. I was feeling good at this point so I tried to push hard to catch the leaders who were now in sight. Halfway up the hike-a-bike to granite peak I overtook Zack for second place and just had Jesse in front of me. The decent down from granite peak is one of the longest and best downhills that I know of, it’s about an hour of berms, rollers and rocks to deal with, I definitely had the right tools for the job my Santa Cruz TallBoy was smashing everything in sight and with the new Niterider Enduro 2200 lighting the way, I could go as fast as I wanted.

About 15 minutes from the next aid I noticed that my dropper post was sagging about an inch or more, this would’ve really sucked for the big climbs to come, I was hoping that it was just low air pressure in the post so I decided to stop at the Snow Blind aid station to try and pump it up. Luckily they had a shock pump and I got it pumped up and it was good to go. It took about 5 minutes to get it done though and any time I had just gained on the downhill was thrown out the window.

After about an hour and 20 minute climb, I was at the top of Monarch Pass. This is always my favorite section of the race! The sun is just coming up and I can’t imagine a better place to watch the sunrise than the Monarch Crest Trail. At each aid station, I was pretty consistently 15 minutes behind Jesse, I knew he had been strong all night and was probably not going to crack now. I went as hard as I could anyway because you never know and I had no idea who was behind me or how far back they were. I ended up coming in just under 13 hours, not my best time, but not bad for this race, Jesse ended up beating my course record by 4 minutes, congrats to him, he was flying! I do tons of riding in and around Salida and I really love that this helps with the trail work that goes on in the area and I will be back again for this race, it’s one of the great ones.

The True Grit 100 has become one of my favorite races of the season. Even though it’s still the middle of winter at home and I usually only have a month of riding in at this point in the season. I really enjoy the location vibe and terrain of this race and it’s a great way to start things off.

The race is out of St George, UT where the riding is spectacular and the views are outstanding. You can even see into Zion National Park from several spots on the course. The course itself consists of really technical slick rock sections, fast as hell pump track sections and medium technical single track …all around great riding, it’s really a mountain biker’s course.

This year the course was two identical laps of about 45 miles, this allowed for more single track and less road. The start wasn’t super fast but fast enough for me. As we made our way to the first set of climbs I was just in behind the leaders and they were setting a good pace that was a bit faster than I wanted to go so I let them get away a bit and would catch them on the downhills. This worked great for the first 90 minutes then when we hit the really technical section of trail called “Zen” I picked everyone off through the tough riding. Out of Zen I was in second just behind Cary Smith and rolled into the fast flowy section of Bear Claw. I was set on setting a pace that I would be able to keep up for the remainder of the race. I knew if I went too hard with minimal training under my belt that I was going to blow and I just wanted to finish strong.

By the end of the first lap I was sitting in third and feeling good. It was getting hot and I kept the fluid intake high. As we rode through the second lap I kept a good pace and left a little reserve in the tank in case I had to turn it on at the end.

I finished up in third place and was very happy with the result for this time of year. For me this race has become more of fun, hard training and a great way to reconnect with friends from the race scene. This is now my season opener and it’s a great place to visit with Hurricane, UT just 30 minutes down the road the riding possibilities are endless.

One of my priorities this season is to check out some new races, so for April I decided on the 12 Hours in the Wild West in Ruidoso NM, put on by Zia rides. I kind of had a picture in my head of how the both riding and the town would be. I was totally wrong about both, Ruidoso is about 2 hours south of Santa Fe and I was not expecting mountains or a ski town but it was both. The race venue is located about 30 minutes from town with great camping and cool high desert riding making this a great spot for a 12 hour race.

The course was 14 miles of almost all single track with mostly climbing for the first half and then fast flowing mostly downhill with a couple of rock gardens for the second half. Race day weather was perfect with a high of 71 and a bit of breeze to keep things cool. On the first lap I jumped out to the lead and rode with a duo team rider for the entire lap we had a good pace going and I felt great, after the first couple fast laps I settled in to a good pace and turned lap after lap. I really wasn’t sure how far ahead I was but I new Brian Sells was somewhere behind me, and he has been riding very strong so I just stayed on the gas all day.

Near the end of my 8th lap I saw Brian ahead of me and I was about to lap him with only 3 hours left in the race I knew I only needed one more lap and I would have enough for the win. On the last lap I felt great I definitely could have done a 10th lap but I got a great workout in and was very happy with the race.

I had a great time hanging out with all the locals from Ruidoso and vibe was very great all around. I guess that’s why I like mountain bikers because I haven’t meet to many that are not great people and fun to be around. 12 Hours in the Wild West was a great race and I highly recommend this event to anyone looking for a good time at a race..

It has been several years since I’ve raced the Mohican 100 in Ohio, mostly because it’s so far and there’s more racing closer to home for me. The Mohican is one of the largest 100 mile races in the country with 600 racers entered and with stiff competition, it presents a very challenging race.

The course is comprised of one giant loop with lots of twisting, fun single track, jeep road, dirt roads, and some very primitive trails. The weather was calling for rain on race day but when we woke up that morning, it was clear as a bell. The start of the race is in downtown Loudonville and basically 600 racers sprint down Main Street into a steep quarter mile road climb, it definitely hurts but this breaks up the pack before the first single track section.

I was sitting in the top 10 entering the trail and we mostly stayed together for the first 30 miles of racing, this section of the race is great riding, almost all single track, it was super fun being in a train of fast riders as we snaked our way through the Ohio jungle.

As we exited this section our group of ten began to splinter with a lead group of five and the rest of us were slowly falling of the pace. I rode a while by myself before teaming up with a guy named Ron from Michigan. We worked together back and forth for a couple of hours, both of us were suffering cramps from the heat and humidity.

My least favorite section is a 10 mile rail trail that’s a false flat and I was out of water to make things worse, Ron dropped me here and I was starting to go backwards. I finally made it to the mile 76 aid and got some water and I was still feeling bad but, you just need to push through in these situations. Nearing the end at mile 90 I started to feel better and rallied for the finish to put an end to the suffering.

In the end I held on to 8th place, it felt like I had great fitness coming into this race but things don’t always work the way you want them to so you just have to role with the punches.

A new addition to the NUE series for 2015 is the Bailey Hundo. Being just a little over an hour from my house, I thought I give this race a try. The Bailey Hundo is a fundraiser for the trails in Bailey and for the high school cycling league in Colorado so the race is for a good cause. I come to ride Bailey in the late winter and fall when the trails in Breckenridge are snowed in, so it’s a great way to give back.

This year because of flooding on the front range of CO, the road section of the course had to be cut out, instead the race promoters decided to do two laps of the single track section. While this shortened the course to 85 miles it made the race much more fun. Start time was 6am in downtown Bailey, and the weather was looking to be perfect, but maybe a little hot for the mountain folk at 85 degrees.

We had about 8 miles of dirt road to spread things out until we hit the Colorado Trail and the start of the single track, this section had three good climbs and by the second climb I found myself with one other guy at the front.

When we hit the single track there was one racer ahead and three guys one minute behind my position. I quickly took the lead and worked my way through the trail system of Buffalo Creek. Since I do come and ride these trails on a semi regular basis so I know most of them pretty well. I definitely enjoy the riding here since it has lots of fast flowing single track and cool rock formations thrown in to spice it up a bit. I was feeling really good and had built a lead of a couple minutes or so and came up to the 5th aid station, where my drop bag was supposed to be. Unfortunately my drop was not there, this was problem because I had a pack full of Infinit Nutrition, which was basically all my calories for the next 3 hours, and now I had nothing…

I fumbled with the pack I had, filling it with water and grabbing some Gu’s. While this was going on, Zach Guy passed me and by the time I got back underway he had a couple minutes on me. I was definitely not a happy camper but I had to just push on, stay steady and try to grab more fuel from the aid stations on the way.

Nearing the end of the trail section I caught back up with Zach, we rode together for about 15 minutes but when we hit the 4th aid I had to stop for food again. I needed something for the last big climb to the finish. Unfortunately they were all out of race specific nutrition so I had to grab a cookie and part of a PB&J sandwich, not the best fuel for a big climb.

Zach got a 30 second gap on me with this stop and I just couldn’t catch back up. He wasn’t pulling away from me but I had him in sight for the next 40 minutes to the finish. Zacg ended up in first and I came in a minute behind him despite my bag mix up I had a great day of racing! I felt strong, my bike ran perfectly and the riding was great. I’ll take second place any day of the week but could I have won? Maybe, but Zach was riding strong and I couldn’t stay with him at the end, congrats to him and my next race is right around the corner.

It had been a couple years sense I raced in Bend OR at the High Cascade 100. This year I decided to make a big trip of it and head down the coast to race the Big Bear Grizzly the following weekend. The High Cascade is one of the best 100 mile mountain bike races in the country, not only are the trails amazingly fun but the race promoter Mike Ripley is one of the best in the biz.

The start of the high cascade is right out of bend up the pavement for about 6 miles to a dirt double track for another couple to thin things out. Once we hit the trail, its game on, the rest of the race is on single track until the last section of pavement to the finish. By the time we reached the first aid at mile 20 Barry Wicks and myself were in the lead with a couple guys not far behind. All of the trails in this race are so fun and to have a guy like Barry to rally around with made it even better!

By about mile 45 we had just exited a super fun downhill and started a 25 minute climb I was feeling a little sluggish and Barry moved around me and started to build a gap.

When I hit the 56 mile aid station, the 3rd place guy came around me and I stopped and got my drop bag and chased him down. I quickly moved back into second as he stopped to get some aid from his crew. This was the start of the loop around Mt Bachelor and to this point the dirt was hero to say the least. This part of the trail has lots of lava rock and is much looser. I kept attacking the corners like I had been and bang I was on the ground in a pile of dirt. I quickly picked myself up, dusted off and got going again. The crash must of woke me up because I started to feel better and pushed through the aid at mile 79 and could smell the finish.

I was looking back to see if I could see 3rd and there he was about 40 seconds back and grinding away. I started to rally and I felt great and wanted to push all the way to the finish. Then there was Barry right in front of me I quickly passed him and we proceeded to bomb down the last decent, Tidily Winks, to the final pavement section. I tried to lose Barry in this section hitting the doubles and going at breakneck speed, but these are his home trails and he’s a great rider so he was on me the entire way. We did end up having a great time just sending it though. We hit the pavement together and I knew it would be a sprint at the end and it was… Barry got me at the finish, but what a great time rallying around for almost 8 hours and then you sprint for the line, super fun! I wouldn’t change a thing.

This was my first time coming to Big Bear, let alone racing here, I had no idea what to expect. The riding turned out to be super fun, they seem to have a great cycling community in Big Bear and the trails reflected that. The start of the race was pretty quick but within my comfort zone, by the time we entered the first trail section I was at the front and made quick work of a super fun steep scary downhill, which is just how I like it. I pinned it all the way down and when I came out the bottom, I was by myself.

Having put about 2 minutes into my chasers I stayed steady, trying to conserve energy as they had to race to catch up. The group of 6 pulled me back a couple minutes before the next section of trail, Eric Bostrom jumped to the front to get into the single track first and I followed. This trail was called The River Trail and was again super fun with a bit of exposure. In fact, a couple of the guys in our group actually slipped off of the trail but thankfully were ok.

We exited this section and began a long climb back towards Big Bear, this is where eventual winner Nic Beechan made his move. I stopped for my aid and he motored right through. I tried to chase him down but his pace was too much and I had to back off. Eric and I continued together up the climb and to more great riding. The jewel of the race was the Skyline trail, really fun flowy up and down and with a couple of technical rocky bits to keep you on your toes. I was with Eric for a good portion of this trail but slowly started to gap him and after a while I was alone I felt good till the end and was able to push all the way finishing less than 3 minutes behind Nic in second place. The Big Bear Grizzly was a great race and I would do it again, it’s got what I love: great riding and great organization.

The Pierre’s Hole 100 takes place at Grand Targhee Ski Area in Alta Wyoming. This is definitely one of the most scenic backdrops in the country to have a bike race! Along with natural beauty, the vibe at Targhee is very laid back, perfect place for a bike race. They have been putting some serious effort into their trail system at Targhee and it shows with a mix of switchback climbs and descents, screaming high speed downhills and flowy bermed out roller coaster runs are what you will find on this 3 lap 33 mile course.

With heavy rain the night before, the course was a little slick for the first lap. At the start, I jumped out to an early lead along with Carry Smith and Sam Sweetser. We all stayed together for the slippery first lap, and then near the end of lap one Carry hit a soft spot and crashed hard, breaking his shifter off taking him out of the race. Sam and I continued into the first aid station where Cary was now helping out with neutral support and was trying to get everyone what they needed. This is a huge reason why I love mountain bike racing one minute you’re trying to put the screws to your fellow racers and the next minute he is helping you out, it definitely makes you feel like you’re part of a family. My good sportsmanship award goes to Carry on that one, he was there all day and helped for the rest of the race and, very cool man!

Coming out of lap one, I got a small gap on Sam and slowly started to pull away. The trails were drying up now and the riding was phenomenal to say the least. By the 3rd and final lap I had built a lead but wasn’t sure of how much the gap was so I stayed on the gas till the end. One thing I’ve learned in 13 years of racing is there’s always someone coming from behind hard charging for you and you never let up! That person was Jamie Lamb putting in a strong effort overtaking Sam and finishing in second place. I finally got the win that had eluded me so many times! I am never unhappy with second place, I’ll take that any day of the week but nothing is better than getting the win and standing on the top step.

The Park City Point to Point another must do event!

This race is a great example of what I’m looking for in an endurance race with great riding, the trail system in Park City and the surrounding area is stellar. There’s tons of climbing, and you know what that means what goes up must come down. Super fun descending, screaming fast, tight and technical, and great flowy trails are what you will find in this race. The amount of single track is second to none, it’s a 78 mile race and probably 77 of that is trail. Last but not least there cash pay out is the best in the country for this distance, they pay 5 deep and even in 5th your still making more than most other races pay for 1st place.

The race starts out down below Park City in a trail network called Round Valley. Right from the start and into the single track I was in the top 5, right where I wanted to be. Unfortunately, I dropped my chain, which was the first time this has happened all season. I jumped out of the human snake and throw the chain back on and after 10 seconds I back to around 15th place.

By the time we get out of Round Valley and started working our way to PC, I had worked my way back to top 5 and the players were getting sorted out, Rob Squire jumps out front and starts hammering never to be seen again. This left Nathan Miller, Drew Free, Sam Sweetser, Justin Lindine, and myself to battle it out. Nate, Drew and I fall into a group and worked our way through the web of trail network from Deer valley to PC. Justin joins us briefly then slowly pulls away, we are all content to stay together, its nice to have a group of guys to rally with especially when the riding is so fun.

In the middle of the race there’s an enduro segment and so I hit the gas to go for a good time. I hit it pretty hard but a couple blown corners and my chances of winning the enduro were pretty slim. I did succeed in dropping my group and if nothing else, they had to work hard to catch back up. Drew and another guy pull me back after 15 or so minutes but Nate drops off the pace we continue like this until the final decent back down to PC.

Drew and myself are rallying down when he blows a corner and I get by, at the bottom I have about 30 seconds on him and just ahead by 30 seconds I see Justin. This is the start of the last long climb from PC to the Canyons and the finish. I gave it all I had to stay ahead of Drew, but he gets back up to me anyway. When we get close to the canyons the weather starts to turn and we start to get pounded with rain and hail. This made things interesting and very cold. By the time we hit the final decent our hands are numb and the trail is very slick and to make things even more interesting Sam is on us making it a 3-man race for 3^rd place.

We stayed together until the last mile where it’s a decent to the finish. I’m sensing a battle royal but as soon as we make the turn to go down my chain drops again and I’m forced to stop and fix it. It was a very anticlimactic way to end the race, but I end up in 5^th, 20 seconds back from 3rd and Justin was only 1 minute up from that.

It turned out to be a very close race and super fun I would have loved to sprint it out to the finish but that’s racing you have to just roll with the punches. The PCPP is a must do race, this is what mountain biking is all about, they have the race dialed, I will be back again for this great event!

The Vapor Trail 125 is a one of a kind mountain bike race! It is 125 miles with 19,000 feet of climbing on some of the most fun and burly trails you could find in Colorado. Oh yeah, did I mention it starts at 10pm? I don’t know why more races don’t take place at night, it’s so fun. Riding at night just adds an element of adventure, it feels like you’re getting away with something…

With the elevation profile alone, this race should scare the crap out of you! Add to that the fact that it sends you way out in the backcountry, if something happens, you are on your own. I love this element of the race and I really don’t stress about it like I do with other races.

This year’s race was looking to be a great one with perfect weather and warm temps. There were about 70 people in this year’s race and we all rolled out of Salida in a neutral start. The pack stayed together for about the first 30 minutes until we crossed Highway 285. Then it was game on! The start was not as fast as some years and that was fine with me. I got to the front and settled in to a pace I felt comfortable with.

When we got up to the Colorado trail there was one guy about 30 seconds back and the trail was dry and loose definitely a bit sketchy. I remember telling myself “take it easy, it’s a long race”. I had already almost slid off the trail several times, then about 2 hours into the race I was ripping down part of the trail and all of a sudden my bike just goes out from under me. So I’m flying through the air, having enough time to think to myself that this is going to hurt and it did! I landed directly on my hip and ribs in a bunch of rocks. At first I thought my hip was broken and I just laid there for several minutes waiting to see if I could move. By the time I started to get up, Chris Alstrin came up to me and stopped to see if I was ok. I didn’t know at that point but I told him to go ahead and I would make it at least to the first aid station.

I got on the bike and started to pedal It was painful but I thought I could ride it out. Adding insult to injury my front light mount was broken, so I had to use my helmet mount light to get down the rest of the trail to the aid station.

Luckily when I got to the aid they were able to zip tie my light back on and I decided to push on, this section of the race is where you are out in no-mans-land and once you’re in you’re committed to go the distance.

It’s a good 2 hour climb up to the first of several hike-a-bike sections I was feeling ok on the dirt road but when I started hiking I was second-guessing my decision to continue. I was having a hard time getting on and off the bike and now my ribs were really hurting. By the second and longer hike-a-bike I was not in good shape but the only option at this point was to go forward. After nearly an hour hike, you get up to the top of Canyon Creek trail. Usually this is my favorite part of the race: high alpine gnarly riding that leads into berms and whoops and it goes on for about an hour. This turned out to be hell, I couldn’t even balance and kept riding off the trail, which in spots could have been very bad. I was moving slow in this section and it was very painful, I suspected I had some broken ribs and by the bottom I decided to pull the plug.

I always try to finish races no matter what, but this time I probably should have stopped much earlier. Stubbornness is usually a good thing in endurance races, but this time it got the better of me. Continuing was not the best decision I have ever made, but no one has ever accused me of being smart. Nonetheless, I will be back to do this race next year because it is so fun and embodies everything I love about mountain biking. Of course, now I need redemption for myself…

I have been thinking about this race all season, worrying, planning, and worrying some more, only to lay in bed thinking about it. The thing about 24 hour racing is that it’s really, really, really hard! Especially when you get a bunch of crazy hammerheads from around the world in one place, things get really interesting. Riding your bike for 24 hours is not that big of a deal but racing for that long is. There is a big difference, when you are so tired and sore and you just want it to end, except you have to dig really deep for the 3rd time and keep racing. That’s how it was this year at the 24 Hour World Championships.

I am really impressed with WEMBO, the organization who oversees this 24 worlds thing. They change the course every year to somewhere new around the world and this year it came to Weaverville California. The organization for the race was top notch. It was very well done, great volunteers and the local community came together to make the race a really good time.

Santa Cruz bikes was the tittle sponsor and they were on hand to give myself and 2 other Santa Cruz racers support. It was great to have them at the race but it also added pressure for me to perform well in front of my bike sponsor. It ended up the contrary, having them in my corner made things very relaxed and mellow. We all just hung out and the night before the race, Allan Cook (who was there to wrench and give support to all of us) cooked a fabulous meal and it really just eased the stress of the whole event.

The course was really suited to my strong points, one big climb then all descending on single track. We rolled out in a neutral start and onto the first climb the pace was pretty light. Soon enough Kelly Magellky and Tinker Juarez jumped out and upped the pace, I was happy to just let them go. I stayed with a comfortable pace and was joined by Mike Macall, we rode together for the first 3 laps with Kelly and Tinker just ahead.

It was a pretty hot day and on the 4th and 5th laps I had a bit of leg cramping, nothing horrible, but the climb was very steep and required a lot of power to get up it. Once night fell I had passed Kelly and Tinker had dropped out, so I found myself in the lead. I knew that there were lots of strong guys behind me including 5-time world champ Jason English, and Canadian National champion Cory Wallace.

I continued in the lead making 0-10 second pit stops for the entire race. At around 13 hours in, Jason and Cory caught up to me and both passed me. I was a bit inclined to chase but I was feeling low so I decided to stay steady. By daybreak I had a solid grasp on 3rd with Jason riding away in the lead and Cory dangling in 2nd by about 20 minutes.

With 4 hours to go in the race, I was feeling pretty rough, but Cory was falling apart even worse, he was down to only a 6 minute lead and we had 2 maybe 3 laps left. I was not in the mood to chase since I just wanted the pain to end… Of course, now I had bigger problems since the 40 minute lead I had on Mike in 4th was down to 25 minutes, and he was charging. This woke me up, along with my girlfriend and main support Marlee who had been pushing me to go get Cory. People talk about the 2nd wind, well this was like my 4th wind, I just started to hammer, “time to dig deep” I kept telling myself, I went as hard as I could, ignoring the pain, and at the end of the lap there was Cory in his pit, he looked shattered and I knew I had him.

I went out on the 20th lap and kept looking back and never saw Cory so I went hard but I was saving a bit just in case I had to do a 21st lap. It was going to be close, the rules for this race were if you cross the line before 24 hours has expired then you can go out for another lap, I finished my lap with 10 minutes to spare, I wasn’t sure how far back Cory or the hard charging Mike were, so I came through the finish and the pits and grabbed another and started the 21st lap. I only rode to were I could see the finish and race clock, and I could also see where Cory would be coming from, if he did make the time cut at least I would have a couple minute lead on him for the last lap. In the end he didn’t make the cut when I saw that clock hit 24 hours I was so happy to be done, it is one of the best feelings out there to be done with a hard fought race especially a 24 hour event.

2nd place at the World Championships, wow, what an accomplishment! I am so happy with the effort I was able to give for this race especially at the end, I wasn’t even sure I could do this race 3 weeks prior, after suffering cracked or bruised ribs. I was not feeling the greatest, but maybe it was a blessing in disguise since I got extra rest and this time it paid off. It has been a great season for me and this definitely put an exclamation point on it!