2016, a year of stuff and things.

What does 2016 hold for me? I’ve made it clear that it’s a new year with new focus and new goals. So here’s what I’ve got planned.

The big factor in 2016 is that I’ve started working. I got a job working at the local airport for Alaska Airlines. I’m sure you’ll see plenty about that to come, but what it means for racing is that I’ll probably racing less and training more. So I’ve shifted my focus away from the big long trips to shorter trips and more local racing.

Here are the races

·         NW Epic Series 5/14, 6/11, 7/16, 8/27
·         Dakota 5-0 9/4
·         Chequamegon 9/17
·         Ore 2 Shore 8/13
·         Whiskey off road 4/29-5/1
·         Grand junction off road 5/20-22
·         US Cup Sea Otter 4/16
·         WORS Cup 7/23-724
·         US Cup Missoula 6/8

Quick Recap: (Alterra, opps) Colectivo Coffee Bean Classic

Time for a quick recap and opinion on WORS #8 in Franklin, WI.

This race can be considered my home race. Although it might be better to call Cam-Rock my home race, I grew up about a 15 minute drive from then Crystal Ridge, now The Rock. I rode there a lot when I was just getting started. And once I had a drivers license, I was there after school as often as I could borrow my parents car. To be honest, it’s been a while since I’ve ridden there, but it still has the feel of a home race. My family and friends always make it out.

Tough couple of weeks, and it’s about to get tougher.

The last few weeks have been difficult for me. Fracturing a collarbone is a pretty common injury in cycling, so it’s tough to say this will end my hopes of making something out of racing my bike. But beyond those worries, there is something more basic.

I talked to my dad yesterday when I called him in the morning to wish him a happy father’s day. We talked about a lot, but the conversation turned to my collarbone soon enough. Most people seem to ask about the physical pain saying “I bet that hurt” does it still hurt?” of course it hurt, I’m human but I expect that. And besides I race bike and train to endure pain and almost enjoy it. But when we started talking about it my dad’s first response was, “you must be going insane!”

He captured exactly the problem! The pain was there but it was nothing. What’s been the most difficult is waiting for it to heal and watching my season slowly tick by from the sidelines. I became so focused on working hard, training and racing that without it I felt lost. Without that focus I felt like I was waiting to die. Sounds harsh, but it’s kind of true. It’s a bit extreme, but so am I.

The first few weeks have been tough, but I had good friends to help me through it. Accepting help with daily tasks is strange for me, but something I dealt with and I can’t thank Tim enough for everything. But there was a little fun too bad had. I helped out with the WORS Media at the 4^th race of the year, CamRock. It was a little strange watching from the sidelines, the racing kept my mind off those thoughts.

But it is starting to heal. More than just feeling better, it is starting to feel more solid. Although it feels more solid like jello is more solid than water, it’s still and improvement. It’s actually to point where when I move, it moves with me. That’s cool, but hurts like a bitch. And that’s the story, as it hardens it will likely hurt more and more until things are strong enough to bear my weight in 2-3 weeks’ time. And that only part of it. The training will start back up soon and we’ll see how much fitness I’ve lost. The good news is there is a ton of time between my next race and now, so I’ll be able to get into some good shape and regain any confidence I’ve lost off-road. If I’ve done an okay job on the trainer it won’t be too bad, but hopefully it not so bad to where I can’t easily motivate myself.

Next race on the schedule right now is Ore to Shore, possibly going to race Wausau 24 and Sunburst if I can get clearance by then. The next couple weeks will be all about resting and healing, getting on the trainer when I can and holding on to what fitness I can. Then I’ll have a couple of month of train and very little racing to build fitness and hopefully come into the second half of season riding like I have something to prove, cause I do.

there is fine line between badass and stupid, i walk that line

so, some bad news.

my collarbone is broken. i crashed yesterday racing the Wausau big ring WORS race. i was in position to sprint for that  elusive 5th place i've  been hunting. crashed pretty hard and thought right away is was the collarbone. i was told it was not broken on the scene and i could move it around, so i was hopeful. but i went into the emergency room today for x-rays and they said it is broken in two places. everything is in place and it already beginning to fully set so recovery will hopefully be quick.

typing is slow going with one hand so i'll make this quick. laps 1 and 2 were awesome. i felt in control and i was riding within myself. i was sitting in because i knew from last time that its not really possible for to ride away so tactically my best move was to follow wheels. Matt was talking to me over dinner the night before and made sure i heard it this time. sit in, take it easy and wait for the big moves. beginning of lap 3 things came back together and the big move happened, Tristan went. the group worked together to pull him back in but it was over. then Brian went and the  group exploded. i was sitting 3th with Nate on my wheel and i had a little tangle with a tree in the first section of single track. i got back on and Cory caught me.

Then Mark Lalonde got me on the big hill but i was able to keep him in sight through the single track. then Tyler caught me but i was able to hold his wheel much better and we paced each other for the rest of the lap and into the last lap. i was putting everything i had to hold his wheel, but was beginning to settle in. just as we entered the most technical section i eased up a little but Tyler put on the gas. i began to follow but just couldn't quiet follow through the rocks. i was back in the red and without warning i hit a rock which flung me off my bike. i hit the ground and felt a crunch. i rolled off the trail and just sat there assessing the damage. i tried to get up but couldn't. my race was over.

a huge thanks to the national mountain bike patrol for getting me out of the woods and getting me some immediate care. Thanks to Matt for the pre-race talk and saying exactly how i felt as he went by me laying on the ground; "dammit Joe!" also huge thanks to teammate Tim for helping me home and with getting to the hospital. it's nice to know that when things go wrong, friends have your back. i'll be at the Trek 100, we'll see if i can ride.

Dive in Head First

WORS #2 was this past weekend and after a relatively good start to the season I was still hungry for more. This season’s start off-road has to be put in perspective. Last year I placed 40^th at Iola and DNF’d at Crystal Lake, so placing 13^th this year at the season opener was exciting. I came out of that weekend with high hopes for a monster season.

Part of taking Mountain Biking more seriously this year has been making a full weekend out of racing. At Iola, Tim Racette and I stayed at one of our KS/TW teammate’s cabin about 20 minutes from the race. This past weekend it was about time to break out the tent and air mattress for a little camping. It was awesome that the venue had full shower, restrooms and food. It made everything so much easier.

Saturday was the usual pre-ride. I did something different than I usually do this time though. I took my first lap super slow and found all the lines. When you go slow you have a little more time to think and process everything. You also feel the bumps a lot more so when you make a mistake you feel it. The course was crazy dusty and just about as dry as I ever seen a course. But things were very fast as the course was dominated by fast open double track. On the flip side, the single track was bumpy and technical. My pick for ideal bike? Trek Top Fuel. The smaller wheels might not have been awesome on the flat open sections but were unbeatable in the tight stuff. And the soft tail made putting the power down a lot easier coming out of corners. Unfortunately I was on a hard tail, so my body was in for a pounding. I finished my pre-ride off with a fast lap at race pace, which took about 35 minutes, and finally another slightly faster lap which was just under 40 minutes.

Another teammate of mine, Matt Gehling was there as well and we got talking about the race. I knew I’d have a second if not first row start, so I was determined to make something of it. Matt was in total support. As he will say the plan should have been to go out super hard and then sit in, but all I heard was go out super hard…

After a solid warm-up I came to the line a little later than usual as I was called up and didn’t need to fight for a third row start. When I was called, there was not really any room on the front, but I asked politely and was able to squeeze in. Off the line I tried to play it cool, but that’s not really my thing and when Maciej went off the front, probably joking, I followed and it was on. When things settled a little more I tried to do my best to sit in and not push it too hard. I was trying to ride like I belonged there in the top 5. When the pace elevated I was the last man in the lead group sitting top 5! I wasn’t sure was to expect, but somehow I was sitting comfortably and making a point to keep second or third wheel trying to keep the dust out of my lungs. I never really tried to attack, but tried to keep an eye out for someone else to make a move. I felt things slowing a little and I knew I couldn’t hang, so my plan was to pull; keep the pace high and stretch the gap out to make sure that when I got dropped I could have a lot of space to keep my 5^th place. In hind sight not a great idea.

I went to the front and pushed it in the single track and got a small gap, and once we hit the open double track the gap only grew, so I didn’t let off. Again, probably really dumb move but it wasn’t all bad. From hearing stories, Jesse Lalonde asked the group when I took a flyer, “who the hell is that?” As far as I’m concerned, mission accomplished. If they didn’t know then, they know now. I remember thinking when I was off the front, I’ve got the element of surprise, they don’t know me, and maybe I can pull a big gap and stay away. Again, really dumb, but I know that now. They pulled me back middle of lap two and when I tried to catch the last wheel, it wasn’t there. I think I pissed them off a little bit.

There is a noticable difference in my face from
the beginning to my face a the end in this picture.

I finished lap 2 lap two solo with the chase group slowly pulling me in. On lap 3 they caught me and again, couldn’t hang on. After a bit of shuffling and some bad “I’m too cross-eyed to do simple math” I was either in 7^th or 8^th with bag gaps ahead and behind. I was pretty sure I was in 8^th, but turns out I was in 7^th, again, thinking is tough when you’re in over your head. Things stayed the same from there on out, every time I stood up and pushed it up a hill I was burning matches I just didn’t have. Usually if it hurts I can just indulge in the pain and push a little harder, but this was a lot of pain and I couldn’t catch the group in front of me. But I rolled in for 7th, matching my best ever finish in a WORS race.

I am incredibly pleased with how the race went. Ideally I wouldn’t have blown up so bad and finished 5^th, but I think I did what I wanted to do. I went to the front and showed my colors. I showed those guys that I’m here and they better take notice. Hopefully I didn’t piss them off too bad, but next time I won’t race so stupid. Next time I think I can hang on.

WORS #1

With all the success in the past few weeks and how well I'd been feeling during the week, it's an understatement to say I was excited for the first mountain bike race of the year. With the new Trek Elite 9.9, I was losing almost 6 lbs off the old bike, and the confidence of having a new coach behind me, I had pretty high expectations. My dream goal was to really burst on the scene with a top 5. I didn't feel perfect on Saturday, but as the pre-ride went on I only felt better and better and the bike was hooking up nicely. This was certainly in part to the new tires I just picked up. I was lucky to snag some Bontrager XR1s and some XR3s, both tubeless ready. I mounted up the XR1s thinking I'd most likely use them in the sandy condition, as they are a good all around tire, but brought the XR3s in case of mud. The XR1s were sick in the sand of Iola, better than anything I've ever had. It had tons of traction and the 2.2 had the volume to push the corners hard without burping. But rain was expected that night so to be honest, the pre-ride was useless.

And what do you know, it rained. It rained hard that night. I stayed the night in a cabin 20 minutes from the course with a teammate, so I was able to not only relax and get a good nights sleep, but also keep a close eye on the weather. It rained a little during the night, but poured pretty good that morning. Tim (my teammate) and I both considered changing tires. He had a super slick raven on the back, and switched, which was a good idea. I decided to leave the XR1 on because I figured the sandy course would hold up. I was pretty nervous that things would fall apart completely and I'd be screwed. I got the venue at the Iola Winter sports club, always a cool place to race, and walked around. Between stopping to talk with good friends from Madison and years past from racing, I checked out the course.The starting area and the surrounding area was dry, but also sandy. Based on that I stuck with the XR1s. I got ready and started the warm up. the legs felt good, much better than the day before. I had a big breakfast and right on schedule I started burping it up during my warm up. On a side note, the guys I was staying with asked if I had any pre-race rituals. Tim would eat mac and cheese pizza the night before, pretty strange, but it must work. I had nothing to really say then, but I do now. Big breakfast, followed by lots of water. Then if I don't burp and taste it before the race started, I know I won't feel good because I didn't eat early enough. So that was a good sign. I got some hard efforts in a lined up.

I got in about 2nd row, but as more people came to the line i was pushed back to 4th or 5th row. That kinda sucked but it was ok because I nailed the start shooting the inside. I usually avoid the inside because everyone goes for it and if you are a few rows back it clogs up, but the inside was lose so people avoided it and the lane was open. I moved into the top 15 and charged up the hill taking a few more spots. I think I broke into the top 10, probably 9th for a period. I passed a few people on lap 1 and then started to fade on lap 2 a little which was made worse by some mechanical troubles from the mud, but i think that was pretty common. But what I was blow away by was how well my 'dry' tires were handling the mud. Some sections were beyond greasy, and running was the only option, regardless of tires. But in the light mud and the sandy sections I was making up 1-2 spots because I was railing the corners like they were dry. I think in dirt with more clay they would have clogged up, but in that sandy stuff, they were able to shed mud and hook up. I kept it going, my drive train was well behaved, until the last lap and I was able to nurse it in for 13th. Not what I was hoping for, but this will get me a call up in the next race so I should be well on my way to a solid season. 

I have to give some mention to the Speed cycling crew. I've been coached by Gordy for only a week now, but I'm already seeing benefit. Obviously it's impossible to see benefits from improved fitness in just a week. But i think the extra motivation both racing and training have helped a ton. And Gordy's experience has kept me from over training so I felt fresh and ready to go on race day. It's good to have someone with the experience and the knowledge to keep you on the right track. hopefully this is only the beginning.

Full results are here on the WORS website



Thanks for reading!

Cross in Grafton and MTB in Sheboygan, I am beyond Tired

This was an awesome weekend of racing; the heat was really out there. I decided to go home to Milwaukee on Friday night so I could sleep late on Saturday morning. I got up and headed out to Grafton to for the pumpkin cross race at Lime Kiln Park. When I got there I met up with my teammates from Unwin Chiropractic and Wellness, and just chilled for a while before my race. I was racing cat 3, which started at 11:15, so I was lucky the heat wasn’t too bad by then. It was a 45 minute race, but things were really fast. I had a few friends racing, including Matt Yerke from my team, and Neil Swanson, who I know from working at Saris.

Neil started out strong, but I was able to get the hole shot. I went really hard in the beginning so I slowed a little and let the others set the pace. I was having trouble hanging on, but I was still in it. Neil was really putting the hurt on the front for the first 3 or 4 laps, but started to drop back, sounded like chain problems, because he ended up breaking a chain. That guy breaks just about anything and everything. There was a lot of movement in the top 5 for the good part of the race. But with 2 laps to go, I was able to get on the wheel of the leader, with clear trail behind me. This guy I later found out was only 15, but he had some crazy power. A lap and a half left to go he shot off like a bullet from a gun, leaving me in the dust. I followed as best I could, but really went to the edge just to keep within sight. On the last lap, the big hill on the course came up. I had been making time up all race on that hill, as I was just not suffering as much as the other guys on it. I was able to make up most of my time, but still sat in 2^nd. Coming into the last half of the course, there was a single barrier, and a set of two. Two guys had been bunny hoping the single all day. Coming into it, one of the guys came around with a bunny hop, and the forth place guy also made a pass on the barrier. I was able to catch those two on the double set, and coming into the last 180 degree turn, dug really deep on the inside, and passed to take 3rd as he went too wide. I sprinted with everything left around a right hander, and ended up in third. I then topped of the day with the best tasting butter burger ever, plus a build your own Sunday.

My teammate Issac ripped up the Cat 1 race, he's an animal!

Then Today was the Wigwam WORS race in Sheboygan. it was a warm one, and with my race at 1:30, I didn’t escape the heat. Lucky for me I had my parents there, so I was getting hand ups all day. I played some good tactics on the start to grab the hole shot sprint, nabbing $20, very nice. I decided to just keep the rhythm going and gave it all I had in an attempt to just get a break. To my delight, I was feeling great, even after Grafton. I rode a hard race, and felt really good, that course is one of the best I have every ridden. I went absolutely as fast as I could, and thought I was going to win overall, even gave a little victory salute at the finish. But a few guys in the wave behind me grabbed 1^st and 2^nd. So I won my age class, with Tim having a great race only 45 sec off the pace. And topped off with a third overall, should put me in third overall for the series, so I’m stoked. My dad was giving my hand ups all day, and he was really getting into it. It good to see him enjoying the support role, because he usually likes  to race, so I’m glad he had fun, and super glad to have the support. My mom got some sweet picture, I’ll have them soon. Got to say thanks to my folks for supporting me, I love you guys with everything in my heart, thanks for the support.

Badger Prairie cross race next weekend, and a Sunday to myself! Should be a good time.