Mas O Menos - Photoblog

4 Skinny Dorks

I packed her to the limit

Sweet Pic - Behind us is the epic Tres Cuevas climb we had to do twice. This picture does it little justice.

Terlingua Sunset

A Race Report - Mas O Menos 100k

I wrote a race report on my Team's forum, so I copied and pasted it here as well.

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I'll give this race report thing a shot, never done one...

Terlingua is a SWEEEEET course or should I say "Nuclear" (a term created during the trip, well not created but you know what I mean. Seriously, drop it in a normal converstion tomorrow, everyone will want to be you). Eric the Red, Dan the Man V, Joseph "JoJo" G, and myself pre-rode the South loop on Friday and were pretty much smiling the entire time. How can you not smile while flogging the dog (aka riding in the big ring)? Anyways, we skipped the cllimb for obvious reasons but could see it looming in the background from the road crossing.

Anyways, the race started pretty fast as the 19-29 group went off with the PSE's. One of coolest parts was flying down the first road with dust/sand flying everywhere making it very difficult to see. All you could do was hold on and hope for the best. I tried to keep it at a decent pace but with tight singletrack ahead it was hard to back off the throttle in order to get in a good position. I entered the singletrack 2 behind the eventual Womens open winner. She is not slow. I figured the pace would slow down once we entered the singletrack and it did... a little. After jamming through the first loose/gravel/creek section I let her and about 4 others do their thing and I backed off the throttle and got into a comfortable pace, I still had 4+ hours of riding to do. I learned very quickly I ride much smarter if I am pacing behind someone on this kind of course. The funny part it is I usually hate when someone is following me really close. Oh well, this is the tactical side of MTB racing and I am still learning. I rode at a pace that I could enjoy myself but still felt like I was given'r a little as well. There was a pretty strong headwind on the road leading to the climb. I was with 2 other guys so we all started acting like goofy roadies and were taking shady pulls . At this point the 30-39 leader came flying by, we tried to jump on his train of 2 but that didn't last long, yup different league of players in that train-o-pain. So, the climb begins. I like climbing, it wasn't easy but there were some sweet views that made it all worth while. I can honestly say that just the excitment of being on the climb everyone was talking about all week made it fun, I may of busted out a smile a few times during it. I came up on 3 - 5 Mashers during the course of the climb and as usual friendly/encouraging words were exchanged. Once the climbing ended it was full spead ahead to the finish. My MAX on my computer said 29.5 mph and I am sure it came from that section. I felt surprisingly good at the feed zone, I think it was partly due to the game time decision of taking a camelbak on the first lap, I sucked that thing dry. I dropped my camelbak chugged a flat coke/H20 (Eric B convinced me to do this and man did hit the spot) and grabbed two bottles, power gels, and a clif bar.

The 2nd lap was windy and lonesome for the first 20 min or so. I got caught by some of the faster 30-39 or 40-49 guys and the coke kicked in. I new these guys were much faster but I felt good so I decided to hang in a group of about 5 and we were flying! Wheels were about a foot apart and all you could do was follow the bike in front of you. This was probably the highlight of my race. I was tired but still decided to nail it which I am proud of. Overall I think it helped my final time and my confidence. We all eventually split up and for me the 100k started feeling like a 100k. I didnt bonk but definitely decided to ride my own race. The road to the climb was BRUTAL and the winds were picking up on the climb and decent which was knocking my not so big body type around. I spun up the climb in the easiest gear and probably should of pushed it harder but mentally I was being a wimp. Of course this is easy to say when I am sitting in a computer chair. I few guys passed me on the climb and then the decent home was done solo finishing in 5:07. I can't complain, I felt good, didn't bonk, fueled right, no mechanicals, and had fun. Time for some vodka and beer. These 2 hour XC races coming up are going to be a piece of cake after this I just hope I can make them all.

The one downer is my 3 best kits (2 pedalmasher kits, 1 other) are more than likely laying on the side of the road in Big Bend somewhere. I had them in a black bag and believe they flew out of my truck. Anyone see some dirty chamois on the side of the road? Anyone have an extra set of medium bibs they want to sell?

Andy

Nike + in the Hizouse

I decided to pick up Nike+ for a little fun, it's really simple to use but I am not a fan of hauling around a Nano when I have a Shuffle, so we shall see. I clocked my last mile with my watch at a pace of 6:50 ish but this thing has it around a 7:15 so I dont know. I'll have to test this little contraption a little further, maybe take it on a track. I'd be pissed if my watch has been making me look faster than I am! Boooo.

Make it Rain

I was designed to be rich. Seriously. I would by so much useless crap (like heelys... read earlier post)

I did 6 laps out at Double Lake yesterday on my MTB, little over 4 hours, I felt pretty good too. This would be my 3rd weekend in a row to get a 4+ hour ride in. All for this...

http://www.desertsportstx.com/masomenos.php

Pretty much in Mexico. Word.

I banged out 2.5 hours on the road bike today, but the legs didnt have much zap to them after yesterdays ride. It's amazing what the body can adapt to, it just takes time and patience. Looks like I will start the traveling gig back up in the next month. My biggest concern is I won't be able to train as much on the bike. I am going to lug my road bike everywhere I go which is going to get interesting but I'm doing it NO MATTER WHAT. I am going to buy a Computrainer http://www.racermateinc.com, which will let me get everything out of indoor training. Man my hotel rooms are going to smell sweet. Well, girls from Northern Canadian oil towns probably like the smell of sweat. With the traveling schedule again I can do out of state races during weekends which is a bonus. I figure in a in a few years when the hotels finally get old I can hit all the local races up. I also started running again as a back up form of fitness for when I can't ride on the road. I have exercise OCD.

If you haven't noticed, I am slowly getting this blog back up and running. Any readers besides my mom out there?