The American Mountain Classic for me was a journey to say the least. I pretty much experienced every single human emotion over the course of the past 4 days. I try not to write a whole bunch about my personal stuff here but I figured this race would provide some good stories so why not.

Elation
One of my main goals coming in to this race was to win the opening prologue. This is as about as close to a grand tour as I will ever get and the fact that they were awarding a leaders jersey gave me a ton of motivation. I knew Tinker was racing and winning would be hard but if I was going to beat him it would be over 20 minutes in the prologue not over 4 hours on the first stage. I admit I got super lucky and won because Tinker crashed but still, I had my jersey. I felt so pro.

Frustration to Vindication
The first real stage was a point to point 52 mile affair. After the first climb I was about 30 seconds behind Tinker and about 5 seconds behind Hub of Aspen rider http://www.aspenathleticclub.com/staff.htm. In the descent I passed Ted and was feeling the flow until my rear tire started going soft. I rode it as long as possible befor stopping and blasting it with a can of Big Air hoping the Stan’s would work it magic. It did for about 2 miles. After what felt like the slowest flat repair ever I was back on couse. I knew we had a ton of racing left and decided to put the blindrs on and ride a pace I knew would take me to the finish with some gas left in the tank. With about 3 miles to go I was amazed to have caught Ted again. I asked him if he knew what place he was in and he was not sure. Either way I was relieved because I knew from the way he was climbing earlier that he must be pretty far up in the standings. As soon as I caught him I could feel my front tire going soft. You have got to be kidding me. I rode it until we started to descend and jumped of to put some more air in. I managed to get back to Ted just before the mile long descent to the finish. I managed to hold on and get 2nd behind Tinker with Ted one second behind.

Optimistic
I knew from yesterday the Ted could climb really well. I also knew that based on yesterday I was a bit faster in thsingletrack and the DH. Today’s stage started with a 30 minute road climb. The Rev is 6′7″ and 195lbs. long sustained climbs are not a specialty to say the least. Ted was out of sight by the time we got to the top. I needed to stay focused and hope I could claw some time back wherever possible. At one point there was an out and back section of the course meaning I would see everyone in front of me coming the opposite direction. I got to the trun around and never recalled seeing Ted. I figured either he had a mechanical and was out or I was not paying enough attention (I was not paying attention). I also knew that there was a BIG gap between me and the next group on the course. Really though my strategy remained unchanged, keep hammering! I was really hurting the last hour. I was cramoing in both legs and had to walk up the steeper hills. All I could think about was finishing, eating, and sitting in an ice bath. This was the hardest day I have ever had on a bike.

At the finish I got the bad news. Ted has taken 12 minutes out of me. Ouch. Still though I figured if he could do that to me then I could do it to him the next day. In my mind we were even.

Perspective
The night before Rachel had been having some stomach problems throwing up a few times in the night. She is about as tough as anyone you will ever meet and though I was concerned she said she was ok and gonna race. After todays stage (Stage 2) she was in bad shape. She had not been able to eat at all during the race. She felt pretty awful and then it got worse. When she finally said she wanted to see a doctor I knew it was bad. Rachel asking to see a doctor is like Palestine inviting Israel over to watch “America’s Next Top Model”. We immediately drove to the nearset hospital in Cedar City, fast. They pumped 3 litres of fluid and potassium into her over the next 8 hours. The entire time she is telling me to leave so I could recover for my race. Yeah right. No way I am laving my baby alone in a hospital for some stupid race. Not even a question.

They finally let us go after midnight and even then she is worried that we are going to wake up our room mate (Jeremiah Bishop, who was leading the Pro race). Typical.

Armageddon
The 5:30 alarm was particularly cruel this morning. Today my name should have been Beano, I had no gas. We started on the same climb as yesterday and just like yesterday Ted was killin’ it. I was feeling pretty good until we hit the steep stuff near the top. I was walking  stuff that was totally rideable. My legs were total sacks of cement. I made it over the top and really ripped Dark Hollow passing a lot of people who were walking down the hard parts. Ok I though, maybe my legs will come around. Climbing up out of the Scout Camp it became clear they were not liking that idea. When both quads cramped up and I fell over I knew my day was done.

Genesis
Some may say this weekend was a bust. They would be wrong. The riding and intensity I got this weekend will pay dividends on the cross bike. My final placing was far from a sure thing. In stage races you have to finish each day. Being fast on one day means nothing if that effort leaves you blown for the next days. There are no gifts at these races. The guys who got Top 5 earned every penny they won in prize money and deserve all the respect that comes with it.

I slept 14 hours last night. I have race Tour of the Gila twice and I was never this tired. The late night before the final stage while not ideal, was not what caused me to drop out. Bottom line I did not have the legs for this race. I will be back next year and I will be ready. Ted, I hope you come back as well. You might beat me again but hopefully it will be closer:-)

The best part about the weekend was the people we met and got to spend tme with. I have not raced much this year so I met some of my team for the first time. Tinker, Blake, and Sue. It is a pleasure to wear the same jersey as you. Bart and Jason for getting the sweet helmet cam footage. Ohran the hardest working man in the bike biz kept our machines running fast. As I mentioned we ended up sharing a room with Jeremiah Bishop. That guys is hard as nails and an all around class act. Tim Butler (aka Sue’s husband), awesome ride man, can’t wait to mix it up on the cross bike with ya.

Today’s stage was billed as a 6 mile prologue, the time does not count for GC but there is cash for each stage so I lined up. Since the were calling it a prologue I was thinking time trial but it was a mass start. Weird. My team mate Tinker Juarez (yeah that Tinker) was racing with me in the Elite Masters category. My plan was to stay with him until the single track and try to ride tempo until the finish. Shortly after entering the woods he clipped a tree hard enough to break his handle bars. Shit, I am in the lead, time to roll The Big Ring! We were at 9000ft and I have three 5 hour+ days to go I didn’t want to go too deep in the red. The Gods indeed favored me today and I was able to get the win. The real racing starts tomorrow and I have no idea how I will hold up to a 5 hour stage. Wearing the leaders jersey will be pretty sweet even if Tinker will most likely have it after that. Oh well as long as it stays in the team.

The Tour of Utah has come and gone. Might as well been the Tour of Antarctica for me since I did not make it to a single stage. I did see a Rock Racing bus on my way to the cube farm one day though. Anyway, the 801 was well represented with Brothere Louder taking the win and Brother Swindlehurst 4th. Snake told me that Stage 2 started like a crit, then got hard. Ouch. If Snake says it is hard then it is a world of pain that few can imagine. Sounds like the race had it all. Climbing, wind, and even fisticuffs.

I think the heat of Bejing may be getting to Sven Nys. According to Velonews Brother Nys had this to say of the Olympic MTB race. “Being here beats every cyclocross for the rest of my life. It gives me goose bumps.” Better than cross? Blasphemy. I am sure when he gets back to the rains of Belgium he will come to his senses.

I will be chasing my own dreams of dirty glory at the American Mountain Classic begining tomorrow. It is not better then cross, but it will be fun. Hopefully I will have a wireless connection so I can bore you all with tales from the middle of the pack.

If you are in need of any gear for your next outdoor adventure check out my pals over at Backcountry.com as they are having their huge Semi-Annual sale starting today. Heck, they even have bike gear now so give ‘em a look and tell then The Rev sent ya.

Well here we have one of the biggest darn races in the US of A right here in my own back yard. You would think I would make it to at least one of the stages yeah? Well Brothers and Sisters the evil spectre of the dreaded day job has kept me firmly in it’s icy grasp. Try as I might to break away… Anyway with tomorrow being Saturday I am free from the paycheck provider and can go see some racing. Tomorrow however I will be in Ogden watching soon to be Mrs. Big Ring (STBMBR) throw down in XTerra and it will be awesome. The gods willing I can make it back to SLC to see the finish of the most bad ass retarded amount of climbing stage (MBARAOCS) up at Snowbird to support Brothers Louder and Swindlehurst as they call on the climbing gods to vanquish their rivals. Either way it is a win win day for The Rev.

First off, big ups to Brothers Cancellara, Gustavoson and Leipheimer. There are no lucky winners in the TT, those guys fought for every second out on the course. Cancellara, the gods indeed favor this one. Brother Z while not in the medals gave his best, pushing himself to limits most of us will never know. That is what The Big Ring is all about.

In all my feeling sorry for myself for not prediction the winner of the mens race I totally ignored the way Kristen Armstrong absolutly OWNED the womens TT. People say she is the Cacellara of womens time trialing, I think it is the other way around. Brother Cancelarra took 33 second out of the Silver medal in 47K, Sister Armstrong took 24 seconds out of Silver in half that distance. Owned.

Tomorrow Brothers and Sisters I will be on course at the Tour of Utah getting pictures and some first hand spectating. Sadly I will miss the finish due to commitments at the cube farm but hopefully I will have some good tales to tell. Two of Utahs favorite sons, Brother Swindlehurst and Brother Louder are sure to be in the mix giving the serious uphill slant of tomorrows stage. Word around the alter is Burrito Boy Jason Donald took V today. Game on in the 801!

BTW if any member of the Big Ring congregation wins the auction for my TT bike on Ebay I will send along one of the new Big Ring T-Shirt and sticker designs.

I guess I wont be breaking into that lucrative “telling the future” market anytime soon.

Next up at the Olympics is the mens TT. I like the idea of the time trial. No drafting, no tactics, just who can push the biggest gear. On the surface it seems pretty simple. In practice not so much. Like I said Ilike the idea of the TT but I have always been a pretty mediocre time trialist myself. Something about being alone with my thoughts is kind of unnerving. The TT is the ultimate mind f@*#. Lose your concentration and you lose a few seconds per K. I don’t know how the pro’s deal with a team director giving them splits, I would think that would be a total distraction. One of the best things I ever did to improve my TT was to take off my computer and HR monitor. Without the feedback I was able to focus purely on the effort. It worked for me. Anyway, I have a lot of respect for the TT specialist. Truely Big Ring.

As I read the other online rags the pundits are in agreement that Cancellara is the fav. With is resume there is little reason to argue. Other names like Levi, Contador and Schumacher come up. No one is even mentioning my man Zabriskie. Well that is their mistake. I am gonna say it again. Zabriskie is going to win.

Speaking of TT’s if you know anyone tall who needs a TT bike send them to Ebay. I am selling my seldom ridden bike. The Rev needs some carbon wheels and Dugasts!

Brothers and Sisters I am just going to say it. I am an Olympic junkie. I will watch pretty much any event at the Olympics. Ping pong, fencing you name it. Still though, the cycling events are the ones I really look forward too (and womens beach volleyball). The road course was an absolute killer ya? That was one race I was glad to be watching rather then racing in. I watched the mens RR live online which meant I was up til 2:30 am and it was worth every second of sleep I missed. Too bad some douche bag Spanish dude chick had to get popped for EPO. At least it was not Sanchez, though the “Dirty Sanchez” headlines would have been kind of funny. Cancellara better get used to a medal other than gold cuz I think Brother Zabriskie will be smiled upon by the Gods of The Big Ring and Gold shall be coming to the 801.
The womens race was even more epic what with the rain and all. Nicole Cooke’s primal scream at the finish was total Big Ring material.

Here in the 801 the Tour of Utah starts on Wed. Hopefully I can sneak away from the cube farm and get some pics and maybe some rider quotes. The Big Ring’s own Brother Swindlehurst is in fine form for this one. Expect some carnage on the many feet of vertical in this one.

Cycling is becoming more and more mainstream by the day. With gas not going down (despite a $20 per barrel drop in crude?) and the current fixie hipster trend. Bikes are everywhere. The more the merrier I say.

When the NY Times starts publishing tire tests you know cyclng has gone parabolic. For this tire shootout they spared no expense testing tires from Vittoria, Continental, Panaracer, Specialized and Michelin. They marveled at the use of Kevlar and “other space-age fibers” that tire manufacturers have been using since the ’80’s.

After reading the test I am going to get the Vittoria Rubios because according to the article the tester rode through a “bunch of potholes, it held up just fine”. Also since it has some tread it ensures “that if you are running over a piece of wet ground, you don’t have to worry about slipping.” Wow, that is quite an endorsement. I bet if Jan Ullrich had these he would have won A Tour de France in ‘03. The Conti’s seemed a strong contender until I read, “they’re expensive but they’ll last quite a while if you don’t skid.” Well nuts to that cuz I skid, hard.