There is often talk of what it takes to complete a multi-day ultra mountain bike race. Is it fitness? A simple mantra of eat, ride, sleep? Or, something more intangible like mental toughness and the ability to keep going when it gets really tough? Naturally I have my own ideas. In my experience, the #1 […]
Category Archives: Single Speed
Blue Dome Racing
Kenny Jones and I have been chasing each other around for years, but usually just a bit too far apart to converse. I’ve long admired his grit, quiet poise, and downright bike killing abilities. Call it a man crush if you must. Can you blame me? So after the Park City shindig we cooked up […]
Moab 24 Hour Nationals
Last weekend we earned matching jerseys. 24 hour solo single speed national championship jerseys, that is. This one has been a long time in the making. As recent as 3 years ago I thought riding a SS was a freaky fringe thing – as all non single speeders do. After bombing out of Moab in […]
Durango Weekender SSWC and CT
SSWC09 was without a doubt the nuttiest race I have done. The aid stations served mostly beer, one had freshly cooked bacon and crossing the finish-line I was handed a beer… I didn’t win :-) The win plus tattoo prize went to Heather Irmiger. The tattoo turned out to be big and ornate – Yikes! […]
2009 Single Speed World Championships
The course has finally been announced after months of taunting and red herring hints. I’m very excited for our trip to Durango. Not only to participate and bear witness to the spectacle of SSWC but also to ride a big fat honking chunk of the Colorado Trail the next day. I shall hopefully return to […]
Kaibab Adventure!
KMC is a course of contrasts. Lots of singletrack. Wide open desert country, Vermillion cliff backdrops. Miles and miles of alpine deep forests. A recovering burn area. Grand Canyon views. And, this year: an alternate option to go 200 miles instead of the tried and true 130 option. Which do you think we chose? Right…it’s […]
Racing the Grand Loop
When I did the Grand Loop in ’07 it was a completely consuming affair. Everything about it was so new, so foreign, so promising, so freightening…I was green to multi-day self-supported racing (still am, really). Having that first one in the books removed much of the unknown about the event this time. By far, Grand Loop […]
2009 Old Pueblo race report
I’m tired but wired. I can’t think in a straight line but my head is buzzing with random thoughts. OP was good to me this year. Not so much for Dave. He’ll blog his story later perhaps. I finished first female solo single speed with 16 laps. At 16 mile laps that adds up to 256 miles which is […]