Cyclepaths/Wild Cherries Racing

This article was originally published in the Friday May 28th 2009 edition of the Lake Tahoe paper, the Sierra Sun.

Have you ever heard the sad stories of professional athletes who become extremely successful in their careers, only to hit a massive downhill spiral, waste all of their money and turn to a life of drugs?

What if they were given a second chance? Would they capitalize on it, or just throw it all away again?

I had the opportunity to read about and witness an example of this situation first hand.

Chad Gerlach was on the A&E show Intervention, which documents a persons drug addiction and his familys efforts to get him treatment. He was an up-and-coming young cyclist who raced for numerous professional teams, including U.S. Postal Service " Lance Armstrongs team in the 90s.

A bad attitude and a series of bad decisions led to Chad being fired from multiple teams, and eventually he turned to alcohol and drugs. The television documentary caught up to him when he was at his lowest point, living on the streets and smoking crack.

I watched the Intervention show with amazement about a week before I traveled to the Folsom Cyclebration race last summer. The actual race was rather routine, except for the guy who cut across the racecourse on the old 10-speed clunker bike.

After the race, I was cooling down, and I noticed the same guy sitting under the shade of a tree. He was dirty and disheveled, and looked disgusting. He looked up at me and said, I hate to break it to you man, but youre a loser.

So I responded, Yeah, well youre a drunk. Then I recognized him. Its Chad from Intervention. So I said, I know you. I know you from TV.

He looked slightly alarmed.

I doubt it, he said, then jumped back on his junk bike and rode away.

Chad eventually got clean, began riding his bike again and was amazingly given a second chance at the sport he loves " and at life. An Italian team known as Amore & Vita/McDonalds signed him to a professional contract and he raced in Europe during the spring of this year.

He just returned and began racing the Northern California race circuit. Not just racing, but dominating. I had the opportunity to race against him this weekend in Folsom and Auburn. Its obvious that he is an extremely gifted athlete.

The most ironic, and amazing, part of the story is that our race in Folsom on Saturday took place only a few miles away from where Chad used to smoke crack and live on the streets. In the span of about eight months, he managed to shake a hard-core drug addiction and rise back to the pinnacle of cycling.

In my opinion, this is nothing short of a miracle! I am proud to have raced with him, and wish him all the best.

Team rider Nate Freed is the author of this week's Cyclepaths/Wild Cherries Racing column. Cyclepaths/Wild Cherries Racing (www.cwcracing.org) is a Truckee-based cycling team focused on racing and local bike advocacy.

(M 55+ 1,2,3,4 Podium, (l to r) David Stockwell 5th, Mac Carey 2nd, Peter Taylor 1st, Paul McKenzie 3rd, Jim Fox 4th. Photo courtesy Zack Beekler.

The Mt. Hamilton Road Race is an epic event. But unfortunately, if you're a Masters rider, you may be relegated to the short course. This course skips the main Hamilton climb and instead starts at Isabel Creek. The 38-mile course features a few initial climbs, a long flat valley, then two substantial climbs, followed by a 15-mile gradual downhill with about a mile of flat before a slight uphill sprint finish.

I was fortunate enough to steal a 3rd place finish in the Masters race which put me 'on the box' after a great day of racing. Here's the play by play:

I line up at the start next to fellow Truckee racer Peter Taylor (Peter won Copperopolis with other racers asking, who is this guy?). Peter asks, me, "Who are the guys to watch?" I say, "Well, you for one...and I wish I could say, me. But seriously, keep an eye on Mac Carey." "Which guy is Mac Carey?" Peter asks. "I'm right here," answers Mac, who is right behind Peter overhearing our quiet conversation. Oops. I also point out Jim Fox to Peter as a guy to watch. Remember these names.

We roll out and get over the first climbs without incident. There are multiple attacks early on, but most are pretty lame efforts. I just keep an eye on Peter, Mac, and Jim.

We cruise across the flats with some more attacks, nothing sticks. Just before the two main climbs two guys take a flyer, a good place for an attack, but again, nobody famous. As we start up the climb, not much happens, so I take the reins and start ticking off a good tempo pace to try to get rid of the bigger guys who can sprint and will crush me later at the finish line. The two breakaway guys start coming back and I look over my shoulder to notice that we've dropped half the field. I'm feeling good.

Just then, Mac leans over to Peter and asks him if he's willing to go with him to get away on the climb and work to the finish. It's my turn to overhear the conversation. Peter agrees, and it's then I figure I'd better get my nose out of the wind and watch these guys. I ease up and Mac goes immediately. Not an attack, just a high climbing pace. Peter follows, and Jim Fox and I jump on. We quickly catch the two breakaway guys. First guy we pass like he's pedaling backwards, second guy jumps on for a while and then blows spectacularly after riding with us for only about 100 meters.

I make it over the first climb with my 3 breakaway buddies, and glance back to an empty road. Weve dropped everyone and now have a huge gap. Second climb is the same. Very high effort and I barely hang on but know what I have to do... stay on or be relegated to fighting for the crumbs. It's painful.

At the top, just as we are about to embark on the 15 mile gradual rolling downhill, Mac announces, "We've got to work together and keep the pace high." We do. We form a perfect pace line, taking 20 second pulls with the four of us taking equal turns after a flick of the elbow. Damn, it's nice working with guys who know how to ride! We do this steady for 15 miles with not a single interruption. Perfect pace line riding, and no chance of being caught.

We hammer to the finish where a 4-man sprint ensues. We don't ease up until the last mile and there is just a little bit of Cat and Mouse. Perfect gentlemen. We all cross the line within a few tenths of a second. Mac leads out, followed by Peter, then me, then Jim. Peter nips Mac at the line and I take 3rd, with Jim rounding out the top 4. It's a while before the rest of the field finishes.

Peter and I then ride back to the start by finishing the entire Mt. Hamilton loop (total 105 miles) after collecting our prizes. We ride a good part of the way with the 'Autobus', the Bissel Pro team with the Jacques-Mayne brothers, (Andy won the P 1,2 race, with brother Ben finishing 4th) who were also finishing the loop, though I have to admit I was finally dropped on Calaveras even at their Social Pace.

(l to r) Zack Beekler (Penn Velo), Peter Taylor (Reno Wheelmen), Paul McKenzie (CWC Racing). Zack finished 8th in the 45+ race. Photo courtesy Zack Beekler.

Bottom line is this is my best finish yet this year (or last year for that matter). So it was a great day on the bike. Weather was perfect, riding mates were awesome, and it was great to finish the long ride with Peter. Splendid day.

As we rolled up to the start line, the Race Director (Rich Paul) crackled out on his loudspeaker. He began a short speech, rehashed a thousand times over at every local Tuesday night crit in the nation. Safety-this, lap count-that. Premes, points, etc. Then suddenly his voice began to deepen. His banter into the loudspeaker slowed and his words sounded like they were being channeled from a higher power. The ground began to rumble beneath us and dark clouds emerged to blot out the sun. Rich paused, as a sudden silence fell on the normally chatty group. Without opening his mouth, the loudspeaker roared in the tongue of an ancient demon, "The winner of this day's Air Center Criterium shall receive not one, but TWO no-holds bared, full-day tickets to thy fabled Wild Island Water Park!" In the distance, lighting crashed beyond the shadow of Mount Rose.

Those words, "Wild Island" were echoed as foreboding whispers throughout the group of forty competitors. Muscles tensed, sweat beads formed and veins began to throb with boiling blood. Lighting crashed again as the wind howled through the narrow race course.

United as teammates under the banner of Cyclepaths/Wild Cherries Racing, the three of us stood among the restlessness at the line, patiently waiting for the race to start. Matthew Chappell, Nathan Freed and I, Nicholas James Schaffner, didn't even need to exchange words. We knew the carnal pleasures of a slippery water slide under the beaming sierra sun on a hot Reno day. All it took was a quick wink between our trio, and a sacred silent pact was sealed to sacrifice legs, lungs and lives to acquire those tickets. Needless to say, much was on the line for this race, and shit was about to hit the fan...

Except it was super windy on the front side of the course, and the big swinging dicks in the peleton weren't motivated to get away. Nate wasn't making any ground with his attacks, Matt was studying the race from mid-pack and I didn't feel like doing anything but following the fast wheels.

1. Bubba Melcher (Team Clover)
2. Nate Freed (Cyclepaths/Wild Cherries Racing)
3. Nick Schaffner (Cyclepaths/Wild Cherries Racing)

In the end we had to mug Bubba in the darkened parking lot to get his tickets. It took all three of us to take him down. And that's what I call teamwork.

The Paulster and I destroyed ourselves at the Davis Double century this weekend. We rode Paul's super-pimp Co-Motion road-race aluminum tandem, outfitted with dual aero bars, deep Rolf rims, and carbon accoutrements. We'd like to think that since we finished first, we put a serious hurt on the others, but we both know that in reality, we probably just put the hurt on ourselves. Highlights (and lowlights) include:

• Rolling up to the start at with Paul McKenzie and watching "the mayor" of Nor-Cal endurance cycling being greeted by his constituents, "oh, there's Paul". They actually asked Paul if it was ok for the group to roll out at the official start time of 5:15am (editorial note: Paul is at least partially, if not wholly, responsible for having the event organizers of several of the more epic endurance cycling events in CA add an official timed category, thereby converting them into races, with official record times)
• Thinking about how bad I felt at the end of this ride when we did it 2 years ago and carefully constructing a race plan with Paul, where we agreed to "chill" until Cobb Mountain, at 90miles
• Forgetting how bad I felt 2 years ago and revising our plan 5 miles in and deciding instead to put the smack down
• Feeling awesome and riding fast (how long will it take me to learn what NOT to do in this situation?)
• Noting with disgust when the speedometer read anything below 30 mph along the flats
• Winning the Winters town-limit sprint along the flats at 40mph. Sitting down.
• Shattering the field from 100 riders to 10 by mile 20
• Making a break for it at 80 miles, opting to skip the aid station
• Thinking, 40 miles later, that we probably shouldnt have rationed our fluids to do so
• Looking at the odometer at mile 100 and thinking: it would be perfect to be done now
• Having Paul's 2 homies on single bikes bridge up to us on Cobb Mountain
• Having one of them get delirious and ride into me, putting himself down hard into the pavement. After we waited for him, he rode up alongside and promises beer at the finish
• Noting that we were now averaging 20 mph along the flats
• Feeling like I might throw up
• At mile 160 I ask: "When's the next aid station?" Paul replies: "Mile 200, the finish, we're going all the way in without stopping"
• At mile 170 I ask: "When's the next aid station?". Paul replies: "It's at mile 180, I guess this means you want to stop?" to which I respond: "Goddamn right I do"
• With only 20 miles of pancake-flat riding left, I get off the bike, fill 1 bottle with ice & coke, 1 bottle with ice & water (should have put coke in that one too), drink another coke and curl up into a ball in the cold-water plastic kiddy wading pool with the hose over my head; I have to be coaxed back onto the bike with promises of cold beer and shade at the finish
• Wishing I could mainline coca cola
• Thinking about getting off the bike and lying down on the grass in the shade no fewer than 500 times in the last 20 miles. It took EVERYTHING I had to distract myself from how much I didnt want to be riding
• Realizing that Paul was riding with a cold and reflecting on what a wimp I was
• Noting that we were now averaging 15 mph along the flats
• Trying with all my might not to stare at the odometer and calculate how much longer we'd be out there
• Passing mile 200, not being at the finish, and feeling gypped
• Finishing to LT and "the Janice" cheering us in (mile 202)
• A shower, lasagna and ice-cream sandwiches
• Noting an hour later that only 5 or so people total had finished
• Reading the car's thermometer sustaining 100 degrees on the drive home
• Reflecting on how miserable 200 miles is at 100 degrees
• Watching Paul basically fall face-first into his dinner that night in utter exhaustion
• Forgetting the misery 2 days later and reflecting on the humor and the fun of it all
• Getting on a plane at 7am the next morning and flying to Miami; I'm pretty sure 7 hours in a coach seat is the BEST recovery!

It's epic rides like this that build character, and teach me how to stick it out and get it done (or at least that's what I'm telling myself).

From a friend:
I had a Sgt. from the Truckee PD stop by. He gave me a heads up that with spring here, the Truckee PD will step up the enforcement of vehicle moving violations this spring and summer. This includes vehicles running stop lights and stop signs. I am told this will include bicyclists. It was laid out that bicyclists running red lights is a total no go, and a ticket for certain! Also, bicyclists not attempting to stop for a stop sign will also result in a moving violation ticket.

From another friend (2 days later):
I neglected to forward this email to my girlfriend. She went out for a ride today. She blew through the stoplight on the corner of Northwoods and Donner Pass Rd. going east, and promptly got "pulled over" and got a ticket!!!!!!!!

This article was originally published in the Friday May 14th 2009 edition of the Lake Tahoe paper, the Sierra Sun.

Now that the weather is changing, its time to put the summer storage wax on the skis and dust off your bike. Lube your chain and pump up your tires " its time to ride.

Many of us have been riding for months already, and are eagerly anticipating the opening of all our favorite local routes so we no longer have to drive off the hill to ride.

Heres a quick guide to some of our favorite local rides:

Winter and spring road cycling

Baxter (Open most of the year): The Baxter exit off Interstate 80 is close to Truckee and is a nice gateway to small back roads in the Sierra foothills, winding through tiny towns all the way to Colfax.

Colfax to Grass Valley (Open all year): Take Tokoyana Road to Dog Bar Road to Magnolia to McCourtney all the way to Grass Valley. Stop at the Flour Garden Bakery for great sandwiches and coffee, then ride up through Empire Mine State Park to Rattlesnake Road to Dog Bar Road and back up Tokoyana.

Iowa Hill Loop (Open spring through fall): Park in Colfax and ride on the beautiful, steep, narrow Iowa Hill road down the canyon, over the river, up through the town of Iowa Hill, and all the way to Foresthill Road. Take this to Auburn, then hop on Historic Highway 40 back to the car.

Auburn to Lincoln: (Open all year): Create a loop on roads like Mt. Vernon, Virginiatown and Chili Hill. Start at Auburn Bike Works, then be sure to stop at the Brickhouse Coffee Co. in Lincoln to caffeinate for the uphill ride back to the car.

Explore on your own: Pull out a map of an area that looks interesting (or just zoom around using Google maps) and look for the thin little squiggly white roads to explore. Those are the fun ones for riding, as they typically translate to smaller roads with less traffic.

Winter and spring mountain biking

Auburn (Open all year): Thanks to the Folsom-Auburn Trail Riders Association (www.fatrac.org), you can now link the Manzanita, Foresthill Loop, Culvert and Stagecoach trails together for 30 miles of swoopy, non-technical singletrack fun. But watch out. The poison oak can be thick! Do not miss the opportunity for a meal at Davids Thai to refuel after the ride.

Washington (Open spring through fall): Climb fire roads then descend on the fast and fun Missouri Bar trail, returning to the car on the breathtaking Yuba River trail. But watch out for poison oak! Be sure to stop at the Washington Hotels caf after your ride to immerse yourself in gold-rush history and enjoy a beer and burger or fish and chips.

Other rides: The Commemorative Emigrant Trail is traditionally the first local trail to melt out, while the Forest Service Road 06 area is usually the second area to melt out. The big network of roads and trails around the 06 Forest Service road in Sierra Meadows presents many options.

Team rider Conrad Snover is the author of this week's Cyclepaths/Wild Cherries Racing column. Cyclepaths/Wild Cherries Racing (www.cwcracing.org) is a Truckee-based cycling team focused on racing and local bike advocacy.

This article was originally published in the Friday May 8th 2009 edition of the Lake Tahoe paper, the Sierra Sun.

A constant thirst for fun, learning, friends and all that life has to offer is often hard to resist, although strides to streamline your life by simplifying your day-to-day routine may prove to be beneficial in pursuit of balance.

It seems part of our mountain lifestyle is to pack everything into one day, whether a hike, run, kayak, walk, ski, ride and all of the other things that abound in our day-to-day routine.

I remember hearing a friend from San Francisco who was visiting me several summers ago ask how it was that everyone was out playing. My answer was simply because its fun. In some shape or form we are all here to have fun, and as spring blossoms into summer, why not take advantage of what social internet has to offer in the form of social recreation in simple form?

While tracking my training on the bike for the last several months, I stumbled upon many cool online training tools. The most noteworthy one was the +3 Network (www.plus3network.com), which is an online community. No, its not Myspace or Facebook, its actually an incentive-based internet training tool that allows you to connect to others for rides, to set goals, get motivated, and most importantly, support a cause.

The latter is what makes this community networking tool most noteworthy.

Every mile you log and every lap you swim, which you populate into the site, benefits a cause that you select, turning every activity into a fitness fundraiser. For instance, next week during Bike to Work Week, if you log in 35 miles on the bike, a designated sponsor (provided from within the +3 network website) will donate funds to a cause selected by you.

As a community, I bet we could really help to generate funds for various causes out in the world. And with a tool like the aforementioned, how can you go wrong? All you have to do is track your activities to generate funds for other causes. No teams, no races, no carwashes " just simple recreation.

Knowing this, check your bike tire pressure, pack your work clothes in a bag and create an online +3 Network account to track your miles next week on your way to work and see how much your sponsors contribute to your personal selected cause.

Or, keep it simple, and just ride your bike to work.

Team rider Matt Chappell is the author of this week's Cyclepaths/Wild Cherries Racing column. Cyclepaths/Wild Cherries Racing (www.cwcracing.org) is a Truckee-based cycling team focused on racing and local bike advocacy.

Every once in a while a product comes along that you can really be excited about. You want to tell people about it, share it with friends. The new Mavic Cycling Shoes fit the bill. They're simply the best, most comfortable, lightest, and fastest shoes on the market.

First a little background. Over the years I've spent most of my riding time in Sidi shoes. Great product. I've also been in Shimano, North Wave, Pearl Izumi, and most recently, Adidas. Mavic had a licensing agreement with Adidas and last year our CWC team were in Adidas Cycling Shoes. We all loved the stiff carbon sole, but some riders had issues with the fit of the upper.

Now Mavic has released their own shoes and CWC racing has had a chance to try them out. First good news was realized when I came to a team meeting with boxes of shoes. The guys tried them on and I kept hearing comments like, "Wow, these feel like slippers. What did they do?"

What they did was keep the great, stiff, carbon sole of the Adidas shoe and completely redesign the upper. It's clear they listened to cyclists. Basically, the shoe grips the forefoot firmly without biting in to the ankle. At the same time the ball of the foot seems to have enough room for a personal, custom fit, for ultimate comfort.

For me personally, I've had problems with "hot foot" on long rides. The foot tends to swell a bit in warm weather, and if a shoe isn't forgiving enough in the ball of the foot/toe area, it can lead to severe discomfort.

I've been struggling with this problem for years, and with the new Mavic Zxellium, my problems may be solved. I've done several long rides with the shoes with no discomfort whatsover. I've now sold or given away all my old cycling shoes. I can't wear anything but the Mavics!

My recommendation? If you're in the market for a new pair of cycling shoes, you owe it to yourself to try the Mavic Cycling Shoes. Find a dealer that carries them. Try on a few different pairs of shoes to get a feel. Then try the Mavics last. I doubt you'll need any more convincing.

Note: Our team is riding the Zxellium Road shoe and the Fury Mt. Bike shoe for off road. Same great fit. There are many other models in all price ranges. They all feature the great fit discussed in this article. Visit the Mavic web site for more details. Photos by Paul McKenzie

Bike Racing and Burritos

Andy Scott: Masters 35+1/2/3

I got gapped on the 3rd (of 4) times up the 3 bears climbs. I thought I would chase back on the long descent w/ some other folks, but it was just me and 2 other guys in purgatory and the lead group was *gone* hammering away into the last lap/attacking/chasing/etc. Amazing how quickly a 10 second gap can turn into minutes.

Me and the other 2 guys were joined by 6 others. The 9 of us rode the final 15 miles at a well be the next 9 guys to finish pace (i.e. fast enough to not get joined by those behind, but not nearly fast enough to catch those up the road)

At the base of the finish climb I followed a skinny climby dude who rode away from our little group and sucked his wheel to the line. Im guessing I was twenty or maybe thirty something (60+? in our field)

My first Berkley RR: awesome weather, roads, course and set-up, highly recommend it (70+ miles and 6k feet climbing packed into what ends up feeling like a really fast race)

Extra excitement: two guys went down right in front of me in a silly early mid-pack crash " one guys bike (front wheel) bounced off my shoulder as I slid by (it shot up in air when his body hit the road). These things are still novel to me (apologies to grizzled race vets)

Fighting a post-race bonk fog Nick and I combined enough random data points to hone in on a quad-size burrito at the Fairfield Chipotle. As Tenacious D says thats f---in teamwork

Conrad Snover: Masters 35+1/2/3

After attending the Truckee Hospitals Cancer Center fund raiser and staying up until midnight, I woke up at 3:15am to meet Nick and get on the road by 3:30am. Seriously second-guessing the intelligence of this schedule, I checked with Nick to make sure he wasnt going just because I was. If he was, Id have suggested we skip it and go back to bed. Unfortunately for me, he wanted to go, and we made record time to the San Pablo Dam. The weather called for 80 degrees, so even though it was a brisk morning, Ive learned to leave the extra clothing in the car, and didnt even wear an undershirt. While I was cold on the neutral start and the first descent, I was plenty warm after about 5 minutes.

After a brisk start and a few breaks that I covered but that didnt get away, the group settled into a rhythm: reasonable tempo around the loop, and super-hot pace up the 2 climbs at the end of each lap. We started with a field of 65, but Chris Phipps, whos on fire and has won every race Ive been to this year, absolutely lit it up on each climb, whittling down the size of the group on each lap. On our third of four times up the big climb that crosses the finish line, Phipps went exceptionally hard and shattered the field, but ex-US Postal Service rider Dylan Casey and I were able to grab onto his wheel over the top.

Over the huge descents and rollers, Casey didnt help once. Since Im slow and not much help, the field was slowly reeling us back in. Phipps rode up to me and said the field is closing, and its just you and me, do you want to go for it? to which I responded: well if we try, and they catch, then Ill probably be so tired Ill get last place, but Im game to do whatever. We agreed to try a while longer with 30 second pulls but just a few pulls later, he looks at me and says theyre right there, lets just wait until the finish climb. As we rounded the bottom of the loop, Specialized threw out a series of well executed attacks, with 2 guys eventually getting away. I was worked, so sat in the pack toward the front and ignored them all; the disadvantage of not having a big team. Morgan Stanley went to the front and laid down a mean effort, bringing them back. The field stretched out into single file and we rode over 30mph up the back stretch. I sat in line and was pleasantly pulled along; the advantage of being in a race with a large team.

As we entered the bears lair the last time, I was sitting in the middle near the front, which blocked me from joining Phipps when he launched his race winning attack, followed again by Dylan Casey. Im not sure I could have stayed with them, but in retrospect, it would have been nice to try. I stayed in the group, and covered the front as we started up the final 1 mile 7% climb.

Someone went for it and I jumped on his wheel. By halfway up, the rest of the field had dropped back. I charged as hard as I could to stay with him, but the cramp-twinges rippling up my quads prevented me from holding on and he gapped me slightly, relegating me to 4th place. Im pleased with the result, and congratulate Nick on the wisdom of wanting to go.

I always reflect on what I could have done better, so here are this weeks thoughts:

• Dug deeper to try and stay away with Chris and Dylan
• Made sure I wasnt blocked into the group when we hit the final climbs, so I could go with the decisive attacks
• Dug deeper on the uphill climb sprint to the finish

Congrats to the other CWC racers who were out there: Paul raced the young guys in 35+4/5 and had a solid mid-pack finish, Nick raced P/1/2 but wasnt recovered after the Gila and packed it in 1 lap early and Andy was mixing it up with me and finished front/mid pack.

After the race, Paul and I had a terrific and scenic route through Moraga, up Canyon, along Skyline and down Wildcat. The views from Skyline across the Bay to SF and Marin were absolutely unbelievable. We finished it up right with beers and HUGE burritos at Picante in Berkeley; a perfect day.

Nick Schaffner: P/1/2

Chipolte may have been my favorite part of the day. Crack addict reality show star turned pro-cyclist Chad Gerlach made his return to racing on American soil at Berkeley. I wasn't feeling so hot from the start, so my plan was sit in the entire race, and sprint the field for 40th - 75th place.

As soon as the ref blew the whistle to end the neutral rollout, Cal-Giant attacked, followed by Z-team, followed by Webcor, followed by Chad Gerlach, followed by about 10 other dudes. I knew as soon as it happened that it was the move to go with. However I made the decision to bridge up about 30 seconds too late. I spent the next 3 laps trying in vain to make it up to the breakaway. I was joined and/or followed wheels repeatedly of Team Lombardi (who wasn't in the break) and Nate English of Zteam (who had teammates in the break, but seemed to by trying to catch them anyways). Cal-Giant wisely marked every single move and we never made it more than the distance of a fart up the road.

I kept getting sensations of asthma on the backside of the course, and every time I would go anaerobic up the bears my whole lower body up through my abs and my arms would go tingly numb. After the 3rd time up the bears, I didn't feel like racing anymore and watched the group ride away. DNF for the day, but I am glad I quit early. I think the fatigue from Sea Otter/Gila etc is finally starting to sink in. Time to gain some weight and enjoy a full week off.

Paul McKenzie: Masters 45+ 4/5

I had a tough day racing with the 'young' dudes

, and finished 28th in a field of 60.

After the race Nick and I rode back to the finish area, up a pretty decent climb, to meet Conrad and Andy, then back to the parking area. Then Conrad announces he wants to do another lap, 18 miles. But it was getting hot, so I said let's do a different loop into the redwoods...which was more like 30 miles. End result, Conrad had well over 100 miles and I had about 90. We hit Picante in Berkeley for awesome burritos, chips, and guacamole. Great day out there!

Results Summary

• Paul McKenzie: 28th
• Andy Scott: 20-30th
• Nick Shaffner: DNF
• Conrad Snover: 4th

Last weekend was the first of 8 stops on the Xterra Cup series for 2009. Not having raced an Xterra or ANY triathlon for that matter in 2 years meant there were a lot of unknowns of how this race was going to go. I lined up at the swim start with the usual pre-race butterflies, but definitely not as nervous as previous years b/c I had nothing to lose. Had a decent swim in just under 21 minutes coming out with the second pack, about 2 minutes behind the leaders.

My first transition definitely wasn't the best as my heart rate was sky rocketing and it seemed to take me an eternity to get out of my wetsuit. Once onto the bike, my heart rate felt high but I didn't seem to be going very fast as Nico Lebrun quickly passed me going up an early climb. I tried to stay calm as Steve Larsen and Brian Smith caught and passed me towards the end of the first of two laps. At the start of the second lap my HR seemed to calm and I felt some rhythm in my pedal stroke. I caught up to and passed Brian S. back, and was lucky when Nico L. got a flat tire. I felt better as the bike wore on and caught a few other male pros that seemed to be slowing towards the end of the bike portion.

My second transition was much better than the first and I was able to find my running legs pretty quickly. Although my run training has been minimal, I seemed to be holding pace with the other male pros up ahead. I caught one other male pro during the second lap and held off a few others lurking behind. All in all, I was really happy finishing 7th and was happy to report back to USA Triathlon that I still deserved to have a "Pro" license. Looking forward to my next Cup race in Idaho in June. Till then, I'll work on my transitions and do a few hard runs!

The south side of Donner Lake is a go. I hit it this morning and in the park were a couple of park rangers spying on a nesting osprey with a huge telescope. They let me peek into the glass and WOW. Very cool. While I was out doing 25 uphill sprints there was a huge bird sitting on a real live egg. Oh yeah. The egg said " It's going to take me a while to get hard, I just got laid.

How far can you ride in 12 hours? How about 24 hours? On Saturday May 2, 2009, I lined up at the start of the Davis 12/24. Riders leave solo at 15-second intervals to attack the day loop. There is no drafting allowed, it's basically a 12 hour (or 24 hour, your choice) time trial. There are age categories and team relay divisions as well.

When you're a Double Century Superstar, chicks come out of the woodwork
Adrienne Ruggles (l), supported me on Furnace Creek 508 2005
Janet supported Michelle Santilhano (r) on Furnace Creek 508 2008

The day loop is basically the hilly part of the Davis Double Century course. Its 162.5 miles in length and includes about 8400' of climbing, including Cardiac Hill, Cobb Mountain, and Resurrection grade. Once the rider completes this day loop, it's time to head out on the flat night loop. The night loop is 18.4 miles in length and the rider races on the night loop until time runs out. On the last lap, the rider records his/her last mile marker on the night loop when the time is up and the mileage is totaled.

I rolled out of the start at 6:39 AM, under cloudy skies and feeling great.

Patsy Inouye gives me the start call

Weather called for 50% chance of rain with a high of 69 degrees. I figured even if it rained I'd be plenty warm, so I donned a skin suit and arm warmers. I immediately began catching riders, and by the time I reached the bottom of Cardiac Hill at mile 11, I had passed a half dozen riders. By the top I had claimed another half dozen after dancing up the climb effortlessly.

Climbing up Cobb Mountain

My goal was to ride a minimum of 200 miles. The record for my age group is 220 miles. I made a small cheat sheet with time goals and mounted it on my stem. I had two times for each checkpoint. The first time was what I needed to do to make 200 miles, and the second time was record pace. 70 miles in I was well ahead of record pace.

Stem mounted "cheat sheet"

But then everything took a turn for the worse. The rain had started just an hour or so into the race, and was becoming heavier. The temperature also plummeted. At the bottom of Cobb Mountain, the hardest climb on the ride, I was really cold. I elected to add a light vest as I thought that anything more would cause me to overheat on the strenuous climb.

As I neared the top at 3,000' I was borderline hypothermic. Curious about the temperature, I checked it on my HR monitor...47 degrees. Not exactly the predicted 69 degrees. I was drenched from head to foot. At Loch Lomond, mile 77, Janet stopped my support car and I jumped in with the heater blasting. I was shivering uncontrollably and in bad shape. I couldn't unzip my clothing to change into dry gear. Janet had to help me with everything. It took forever to get myself ready for the rest of the ride. I watched a dozen or so riders pass as I fumbled with my clothing with numb hands. I was basically finished for the day, losing all the time I had worked so hard to gain.

Cold and wet, now in survival mode. Note shower cap and rubber gloves.

I got back on the bike and shivered down the descents. Visibility was poor, and the roads were slick. Caution was in order. I finally made it to the aid station at Resurrection grade (mile 109) after a long, slow slog. There I had planned a bike change. It was time to switch from my super light Scott Addict, to another bike equipped with aero bars and set up for more of a Time Trial position as the climbing for the day was done at this point. Seemed a little futile though, as my tired legs could barely manage 19 mph on flat terrain.

Nearing the end of the day loop the weather cleared for a bit

I slogged down the canyon along Cache Creek, then rode the flats toward the finish. I stopped in Guinda (mile 132) for a bit, then got on the bike for the final push toward the finish. It was windy and slow. I finally made it back to the finish at 4:30 PM. I had about two hours to cover the needed 38 miles to complete a total of 200 miles, my minimum goal. I suffered badly on my two laps of the night loop. I could only get my heart rate up to about 120 bpm, but that was enough to deliver lap times of about 1 hour. After completing two laps, I had a few minutes remaining, so I sprinted for one extra mile lest I be left with the dreaded 199.3 mile total, which is the total of the day loop plus two complete night loops.

The start of the night loop included this historic bridge in Winters, CA

The weather, and the fact that I've only done one 100-mile ride this year (a week ago), threw a wrench in my soup for a good performance, though I am content with the 200 mile accomplishment in the tough conditions. It's a great event and I will be back to fight another day. Speaking of soup, the organizers supplied nice hot soup for the riders at the finish. Janet gave me a cup of soup before I headed out on my last lap. Without it, I'm not sure I'd have made 200 miles!

Route sheet with notes

Special thanks to Organizer Patsy Inouye and Course Director Lee Mitchell and all the volunteers for putting on this epic event with great spirit and support for this hearty group of riders. Also thanks to Janet DeHaven who supported me on the ride and took all these great photos.

An image of my father running alongside of me on my brother's banana seat clad "Red Schwinn" bicycle comes in focus when I reflect on the first ride of my life. I ditched the training wheels, opting for a few scraped elbows and bruises. My first ride was in 1983 in the driveway of my fathers house in Napa. He gave me a pep talk which, coming from a bearded man in short shorts, seemed a bit off but it worked. With his hand on the bar of my "Classic Banana Seat" he guided me into my first solo ride lasting 15 yards (27 years depending on perspective) until I dumped the bike and stood up punching my hands into the air.
This experience marked a turning point igniting a thirst for independence and adventure. The "Red Schwinn" took me on many rides introducing me to friends, places, and best of all, adventures. In School, we'd pack our bikes the night before and as soon as the school bell sounded drive quickly to the hidden single track scattered throughout Sonoma County charging rigid descents in shouting celebration. These experiences stimulated my adventure sense leading me to my home here in Truckee.
I hold these memories close and Im certain all of you have similar memories. Whether it's a first day on skis at Mighty Mites, the magic carpet at TD Tikes, or your first swim lesson, what I love about Truckee is that all of us share a love for adventure. And when times are tough, nothing beats sharing a smile with friends while adventuring outside of your door (Truckees adventure gateway).

Take Adventure Back by participating in Bike to Work Week
During Bike to Work Week, Monday, May 11 " Friday, May 15, I intend to put adventure back into my daily routine by stepping out of the house, jumping onto a bike, meeting up with friends, and pedaling through town up to my office at Tahoe Donner and I want to encourage all of you to join me by waving, saying hello, or by sharing a cup of warm Wild Cherries coffee while en-route. My goal is to ride to work all week. My route begins at the top of Sierra Meadows and ends up in Tahoe Donner resembling the path of a pendulum which is what plagued my attempt last year. This year will be different since all of you will be riding to work with me. You can find tips on how to plan your commuting adventure on our website at www.cwcracing.org. Also, share your adventures and photos with the Cyclepaths/Wild Cherries racing team by emailing mattchapp@gmail.com At the end of the week we will post a feature about a commuter on our bulletin board at Wild Cherries Coffee Shop and our website blog. Finally, follow my bike-commuting adventure at www.twitter.com/hellowchappawitz.

For more information regarding riding safety, tips, route planning information and more click here to visit The League of American Cyclists' website.

On the bike next to the infamous Ford Pinto with wood side paneling.