Team Alpine Orthopaedics Cycling

US Natty Champs

2011-10-03T07:59:00.000-07:00

Jenny Smith teamed up with Team SRAM to take on the 2011 US Natty Team Champs in CO Springs this past weekend. Hot damn those girls RULE! Nice work ladies!

Jari defending title this weekend!

2011-09-30T20:10:00.001-07:00

Good luck Jari!

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/us-24-hour-national-championships-cn-2/preview

Eszter Survives the Vapor Trail 125

2011-09-14T14:27:00.000-07:00

The Vapor Trail 125 is a beast of a race. I've never raced Leadville 100, but even though the Vapor is only 25 miles longer, finishing times tend to be double that of Leadville. The fact that it costs half as much and still will only get 50 people to sign up is a testament to it's difficulty. Roadies need not apply.

This year, I went into the Vapor with a bit of a disadvantage. I'd been at sea level for two weeks and regardless of how much Aclimate I chugged in the week after returning, I could feel that my lungs weren't functioning nearly as well as they had before I left the high altitude of central Colorado. But I couldn't stand the thought of missing the race, it is my favorite after all, so I took my single speed.

I figured if nothing else, it would give me a good excuse to walk my bike when the going got tough.

The race started as it does every year, with me getting dropped during the neutral roll out. Knowing that the only way I was going to survive the day was to pace myself, I settled in for the long haul.

Eight hours later, I arrived at the Snowblind campground where I gorged myself with Dave Wiens' pancakes and sausage. Quite possibly not the best idea before starting the 9 mile climb up Old Monarch Pass, but c'est la vie.

I was pretty shelled by the time I made it up to the Crest, but mustered the energy to enjoy the trail riding, because once at the top, it's mostly downhill. Except the parts that are uphill.

In the end, I finished in 18:27 which was a solid two hours faster than I rode the course last year. It was definitely a long day in the chamois, but all the pain and suffering was quickly forgotten over beer and BBQ post-race. Maybe that's why I keep coming back year after year, I just can't seem to remember how bad it hurts.

Eszter visits Single Speed World Championships

2011-09-09T10:10:00.000-07:00

Last May, I won the single speed category of the Whiskey Off-Road 50, thus securing myself a round trip ticket to Ireland for Single Speed World Championships (SSWC) at the end of August. What the prize didn't include was transportation, lodging, and food so my hubby, Chris, and I opted for the low-budget trip to the race: Riding to the race from the Dublin Airport (120 miles on motorways), camping and staying in hostels along the way, camping at the venue, and then taking the bus back to Dublin after some more sightseeing. It was a brilliant plan, if perhaps not the best race preparation. But then again, I was a mere 2 weeks off of finishing the Colorado Trail Race, so I figured my chances of being able to ride really fast for a two hour cross country race was slim to none, so I might as well enjoy the experience.

Upon arriving in Dublin, we built our bikes in the parking lot, dropped the bike box off at Left Luggage, and started pedaling towards Dublin City Center. Riding on the left hand side of the road was terrifying! It also didn't help the situation that the Irish drivers didn't inspire a lot of confidence and the 20 miles that it took to get out of Dublin and the surrounding suburbs made me wish we were normal people and had rented a car, or at the very least, taken the train. After 6 hours of white knuckled riding, we camped in the yard of a friend of a guy (who raced with Wiens back in the day) who we'd befriended in a bar over Fish 'n Chips.

The following days of riding went much smoother as we made our way south-west towards the host town of Kilfinane. We arrived early afternoon on Friday to a quaint little village, complete with a street of pubs, a delicious breakfast place, and a Mr. Kebab's, which would end up providing many of the calories, if not much of the nourishment, for us in the following days.

We dropped our BOB trailer at the campsite and immediately went to go pre-ride a lap of the course, resisting the urge to join and quickly growing crowd of 'racers' congregating at one of the local bars.

The race was held at a trail center, which is all the rage in the British Isles. Professionally constructed trail which was fun to ride, but definitely lacked the technical riding which I've learned to take advantage of during normal racing. Still, there were plenty of sketchy bridges, fun berms, and forests so dark I had to look over my sunglasses to be able to see anything.

We rolled back into town and joined and swelling mob drinking Guiness, watching racer and racer stumble home, fairly intoxicated. There were riders from all over the world, many who make it a yearly ritual to attend SSWC for the party and excuse to travel someplace new and mountain bike, rather than to actually race.

Race day dawned clear but quickly turned into an average Irish day with periods of heavy rain followed by partial clearing. Those wooden bridges were going to be fun with 600+ sets of muddy tires going over them. Around noon, people shook off the previous night's debauchery and dressed for the Parade of Nations, a 30 minute neutral roll out to the start of the race. We lined our bikes up upside down and went to listen to bad music in the rain while the race organizers moved the bikes around, creating a cluster to remember.

We raced two laps. It rained some. The sun came out some. I found my bike in average time and started in on passing as many people as I could. In the end, I ended up 5th, which considering my leadup to the event, I can be pretty happy with. No tattoo for me this year, but I guess now I have an excuse to try to make it to South Africa next year for the event.

The party that night was one to remember, or not remember depending on the amount of Irish Cider and whiskey consumed. It was a bike event focused not on the race itself, but on the bike culture, on the simple love of bike riding. I don't know if I'll be able to swing South Africa next year, but I sure would like to get myself one of those tattoos someday.

Eszter's Colorado Trail Race Report

2011-09-09T08:39:00.000-07:00

So I realize that I'm well over a month late on this one. But I have an excuse, like going to race in Ireland for Single Speed World Championships between then and now, but I'll talk about that in my next blog post.

For now, Colorado Trail Race was a blast. 470 miles of unsupported racing along the trail from Denver to Durango. I wrote up a more detailed report here for anyone interested.

Long story short: I finished the race in 5 days and 5 and a half hours, breaking my old record by just over 24 hours. I ended up 5th overall and first woman, just behind Jarral Ryter of Gunnison. I didn't sleep much, I ate a lot, and by the end, I was pretty tired.

I'd like to do it again someday because I think I can go under 5 days, but for next year, I have some bigger fish to fry in the bike racing world.

Park City Point to Point and NUE series.

2011-09-04T16:32:00.000-07:00

Jenny's report
I made a whirlwind trip to Utah this weekend for the Park City point to point race. Coming out of Leadville I wanted one more go at a long day, for experience and this event promised a stellar women's field, 80 miles of single track, excellent passionate organizers, and an equal payout 7 deep $5000 prize purse.

My race didn't go quite as planned, past 50 miles, but thats fine and I came away with a few good lessons.
1. Need sleep. Despite excellent accommodation ( thanks Kathy and Chris Sherwin) and really from the drive my sleep was 45 minutes the night before.
2.Check equipment. My cleat threatened to fall off 20 miles into the race. Luckily I had an Alan key set.
3 Look after my back and core. My back has been a bit problematic lately and Spasmed and drove me to distraction in the last 30 miles ( 4 hours of this race).
4 Still working on race nutrition. Fuel + not feeling ill. Liked the potato chips in the last 2 aid stations: helped with the grovel.

The best part was grovelling to the finish line and knowing I am done for a bit.

Next up Brian and I are going to defend our mixed title in Brasil ride www.brasilride.com 23-29 October, but for now its time to Sonya Looney quote ' rebuild my mojo' and my core.

Amanda Carey and I somewhere in the first 50 miles. Amanda rode a superb smooth ride to win the PCP2P.

Womens Podium: Amanda Carey, Erica, Sonya Looney, Rebecca Rusch, Me, Evelyn Dong, Kelly Beim Boniface.

Cycling News's article:

Carey wins in Utah

By:: Ryan O'Dell
Published:: September 4, 14:50,
Updated:: September 4, 19:43

Do you like this?

Grant tops Juarez and Tostado in men's race

Men's open podium

view thumbnail gallery

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Now in its third year, the Park City Point to Point (PCP2P) made its Kenda National Ultra Endurance (NUE) Series debut selling out in a record six minutes. After unusually hot conditions last year, racers at the point to point enjoyed mild weather conditions combined with excellent course conditions this year. 253 out of 310 racers finished.

Open women: Carey gets the NUE win #6 of the year

NUE Series defending champion Amanda Carey (Kenda/Felt) won by a big margin in one of the strongest women's fields this season. "Jenny Smith (Alpine Orthopaedics/SRAM/Breezer) and I were together for the first five hours, trading back and forth, blow by blow. She would go by on the climbs, and I would pass her on the descents. I knew I was descending faster so I wasn't too worried about small gaps on the climbs which is about the first half of the race. It was after Johns, on that really rooty descent, I put in a really hard effort to get into Johns first and came out with a pretty good gap. She charged really hard to catch back on at that point on, I think, the steppes climb."

Smith seemed to hit her limit while Carey stayed steady. "I didn't see her for the rest of the day but I knew she was right there and she was riding strong," said Carey. "She had a strong Leadville and is an extremely accomplished Xterra racer and, like, the nicest person you will ever want to meet. I am very happy to have spent half of my day with her." Smith went on to finish fifth in 8:46:43.

Refering to the highly anticipated matchup with Pua Mata, who failed to show up, Carey said, "I was waiting for it too. I thought she would've come here and destroyed the course which she could have done extremely well on. She has in the past. I don't know what the story is but I heard last weekend that she decided not to come and something had come up."

In only her second-ever endurance race ever since entering the PCP2P last year, Erica Tingey (White Pine) was somewhat emotional about her finish in what may have been the strongest women's field this year. "It went really well. I just started out going mellow and I said I'm just never going to push over threshold. I stayed under threshold the whole day and just knew that had to be good enough and it just happened to be good enough."

Tingey saw Carey after Silver Lake, then not again. "I heard she had seven minutes on me in the feed zone. I passed Jennifer Smith coming out of the second feed zone going up Spiro and I wasn't sure who was behind me so I was being chased by some unknown person. I think I might try some of the other NUE Series races next year because now, I know I can do it (big smile)."

Finishing third 8:36:28 in her first NUE race since placing third behind Carey and Cheryl Sornson (Team CF) at Syllamo's Revenge, Sonya Looney (Ergon) said. "I'm surprised at my finish. I just won a stage race two weeks ago, so I was fatigued." Looney won the Breck Epic. "At the start I tried to go and I held it for a little bit but then my legs started aching and I fell back to about 10th place."

Looney contemplated dropping out, but was encouraged by Lynda Wallenfels (LW coaching) to keep going. "Suddenly, i got a little faster and then faster still. I never actually tried to push really hard after the start, but I was surprised that I just started catching people one after another and I thought, man, everybody else must be having a tough time today too.

Everybody has their story, I mean, I got stung by a bee in the butt and I thought, I hope my butt cheek doesn't swell up because then my butt's gonna look fat in these shorts."

"Then Rebecca Rusch came up me and I was like, oh my gosh, we have to race to the finish so the last five miles we actually kinda rode really hard straight to the finish."

Less than a minute later, three-time Leadville winner Rebecca Rusch (Specialized) crossed the finish line in fourth place in 8:37:24. "My race was fun. I kinda came here sort of with no expectations after Leadville. I've kinda been just chillin' a little bit so this is the first hard day I've done since then but I came here because of the reputation of the course, all singletrack, and the super strong women's field. It's exciting to see the women's field getting deeper and deeper."

When asked how this race compared to Leadville, Rusch said, "It's totally different. Leadville is pretty much a fitness race and the altitude are the things that create the challenge. This is technical mountain bike riding and two hours longer in time. Like this and Shenandoah, the thing about the NUE Series that is really appealing is that every race is a super quality course and some place you would want to go ride anyway, even if there wasn't a race there. Every year, the schedule is a juggle but I always have my eye on the NUE Series because it's such quality races."

Smith, who placed fourth at Leadville just four weeks ago, said, "My motivation for coming here was because, in the end (referring to Leadville), I didn't have the volume. I got to 65 miles and I kind of struggled and I knew the Park City P2P had been won in 8 1/2 hours with 80 miles so I felt I needed some more of that and clearly I do. It was totally different than Leadville being all singletrack and a completely different style of riding. I like them both for different reasons. I'm done with my season for at least a month or so but may do some more NUE races next year."

Open men: Grant makes it three in a row

Two-time defending PCP2P champion Alex Grant of the Cannondale Factory Team made it three in a row with a time of 6:48:59.

"It went well. I felt pretty good," said Grant. "Actually, I hit two trees and crashed once so early on. I was a bit worried but bad things happen in threes, so I managed to pull it out. I had Tinker (Juarez) with me almost the whole time until the last 20 miles and, I mean, you can never count Tinker out, so I was wondering what he had left but I wore a Camelback and he only had one bottle most of the time so I don't know if that was part of the difference."

Josh Tostado was dropped on the Steppes climb coming out of Johns, about four hours into the race. Grant escapted Juarez, who later caught back up.

"That's why I was worried," said Grant. "Then, goin' up Spiro, I figured I would put the pressure on there. That's where I got away from Josh Tostado last year so I knew that was kind of the breaking point of the race. If you're not feeling good, you will lose a lot of time going up that." Grant will race a few more of the western NUEs next season.

Not far behind the defending champion, mountain bike racing legend Tinker Juarez (Cannondale) a two-time US Olympian and former 24-Hour National hampion finished in 7:01:00. According to Juarez, "I knew it was going to be tough today because of the altitude. I just got in yesterday, so I was gonna be hurtin' at one point or another but I definitely started hurting with about 20 miles to go. I stayed with Alex as long as I could but I just didn't feel fresh and, ya know, I just made the best of it."

Juarez rode his own race after that. "I did my best so I was happy, and I held off Josh. After cracking, I had to ride for a long time to get that focus and energy back." Juarez is also likely to do more 100-milers next season

Tostado (Bach Builders), who finished second place in the PCP2P in 2010 and won the the Breckenridge 100 from 2005-2010, crossed the line in third place, less than two minutes behind Juarez at 7:02:26.

According to Tostado, "It was good. This is a really tough race, I mean, 78 miles and 14,000 feet of climbing ya know, you're climbing and descending the whole time. It's all singletrack so you're really beatin' your body up and it's a true strong man's test for sure."

Tostado was feeling run down after a month and a half straight of racing. "All in all, I think I did pretty well today. They dropped me once and then I caught back up. I was feelin' good again and then they dropped me again and I decided to just plug away and go my own pace. You gotta hand it to Alex. This is a real great mountain bike race and a great addition to the NUE Series. If you can't ride a mountain bike real well then I wouldn't recommend doin' this race."

Bryson Perry (Lifetime Fitness), a two-time Leadville 100 winner in 2001-2002 placed fourth in 7:08:16. "I didn't know what to expect coming in today. I didn't know the course too well. I'm from Utah so I was able to come up and ride one or two of the sections of the course. I broke my scapula earlier this year, came back and I've done a couple races since then but you just never know how you're gonna feel but I feel pretty good actually. I tried to just take it easy at the start, maybe 25th or so after the round valley loop and I just started working my way up and it seemed to pay off for sure. No cramps, no mechanicals. I crashed a couple of times, but never hard, just washed out in the corners." Perry is planning to do more NUE Races next year.

Carey Smith (Hammer Nutrition), winner of the NUE Series High Cascades 100 finished fifth. "It's always tough when it's a strong field. Those guys were flyin' but I felt pretty good, no mechanicals and I had great support. I got a bee sting in the head which was rough for a little bit but that was really the only setback. The course is fun but hard. You gotta be on your toes the entire time. There are always gremlins in there to grab a tire. There is a lot more embedded rock than the HC100. We were all together through lost prospectors until after the Deer Crest climb, about mile 40."

Just behind Smith, after trading places throughout most of the day, was Stig Somme (Willas Wheel) who placed fifth 7:20:59. Reigning US Olympic Gold Medalist in the Men's Nordic combined (10km large hill), Billy Demong, placed 28th in the open men with an 8:17:01. In addition to gold, Demong also took the silver in the 4x5 km Team division in Vancouver last year.

Full Results

Women open
		Result
1	Amanda Carey (Kenda)	8:17:33
2	Erica Tingey (White Pine)	0:14:03
3	Sonya Looney (Ergon)	0:18:55
4	Rebecca Rusch (Specialized)	0:19:52
5	Jennifer Smith (Alpine Orthopaedics/ Sram/ Breezer)	0:29:11
6	Evelyn Dong (Brian Mazzola )	0:38:03
7	Kelly Boniface (Moots)	0:42:05
8	Kc Holley (Trek 29Er Crew, Mad Dog Cycles, Powerbar)	0:44:22
9	Erin Collins (Sbr Sports)	0:44:52
10	Jenelle Kremer (Revolution Peak Fastner)	1:03:59
11	Sonya Bugbee (Epic Endurance Cycling Team)	1:55:11
12	Jill Damman (Moots)	2:07:56

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/national-ultra-endurance-nue-series-park-city-point-to-point-80-ne/80-miler/photos/189528

Travis' Leadville

2011-08-18T10:03:00.000-07:00

I always told myself I could wait until I was at least 30 years old to do the Leadville 100. After all, its an old mans event because everyone knows you get better at endurance as you get older. Well, I must be getting stupid because I decided to do the Leadville. I mean why not, the qualifier went well, its only 40 miles longer, it shouldn't be that much harder....

The Spectacle

What happens when 1900 riders and their families and support crews take over the mining town of Leadville at 10,000 ft? Chaos ensues. Not really, but you have to wait in line for everything. You can't go out to eat because everywhere is overrun and the grocery store gets cleaned out. Lycra clad riders and their $10k rides are all over town. The locals must have a hate and love relationship with this event.

How does a mountain bike race have a mass start with 1900 riders? Again, chaos ensues. The start is right in downtown Leadville and is pavement for the first 3 miles, downhill pavement. I was lucky enough to get to start in the top 100 because of my Pro license. The gun went off and I had the most tense 10 minutes on my bike ever. For a solid 10 minutes we were riding at 35+mph (spun out) with a few 90 degree corners thrown in for some fun. I was quite prepared for this as all I wanted to do was stay upright so I didn't get run over by masses behind me. I survived the pavement and as soon as we hit dirt began moving up through the crowd despite the nasty dust cloud prepping everyone's lungs for the rest of the 100 miles.

Once we hit the first climb, 5 miles in, things calmed down a bit and it became more of a normal bike race. I realized I wasn't nearly aggressive enough off the start and it took me most of the first climb to move up from 100th to around 30th. I then found myself in a pack of about 8 guys who I would ride with all the way out to Twin Lakes taking turns pulling and drafting. I quickly realized that my legs hadn't seen enough of my road bike as the flat power sections were sucking the life out of them. And yes, Leadville is a road race. By the time we got out to Twin Lakes (40 miles in) I was wondering if my legs were going to get me up Columbine.

I stopped for a quick feed at our Team Alpine Ortho tent to fuel up before the long climb up Columbine hoping my legs would come around for the climb. I had no such luck and instead of making up time on the climb I watched some of the flat-landers put time on me. I was relieved to reach the top and turn around to be more than half way done with the race. Descending back down Columbine for a solid 20 minutes at high speed, I realized how far I had just climbed up. It was cool to see the 1000+ people in a conga line still coming up the road as I descended and thanks for the cheers whoever was cheering for me.

Back into the aid station at Twin Lakes and all I wanted was a new set of legs to get me to the finish. I settled for half a PB&J and took a bunch of goodies to hopefully get me back to the finish. For the next 15 miles I rode in no mans land (the section from Twin Lakes to Powerline), mostly riding solo. Shortly after the Powerline aid station Rebecca Rusch caught up to me. The women were riding fast this year! As soon as she caught me, my new goal for the race was not to get chicked.

As I hit the base of powerline my legs miraculously felt fresh again (probably due to all the Aclimate and food I put down since Twin Lakes). I was riding behind Rebecca for the beginning of the climb, but she opted to get off as soon as it got steep. I felt good and stayed on the bike riding by to luckily never see her again (during the race). The last 25 miles of the race I felt good and picked off riders one by one to eventually catch Bill Demong at the bottom of the last decent. We ended up riding the last 5 miles together, taking turns pulling to finish under 7.5 hours.

I was pumped to ride across the finish line in 7 hrs and 27 minutes and glad I came around for the last quarter of the race. I ended up finishing 34th which isn't quite what I was expecting place wise, but shows how many fast guys raced this year (including a lot of pro roadies). My time would have placed me 14th in last years race, top ten the years before that. Not bad for a mountain biker who has only ridden his road bike twice in the past two months.

Thanks to Alpine Orthopaedics and Dr. Griggs for the awesome support out on course (and all season)! And Rock n Roll Sports for hooking it up all the time!

I highly recommend doing the event to anyone just because it is such a spectacle and experience (and probably the most popular mtb event in the U.S. now).

Top 5 guys- (Nice job Jay, your the man!)

1. Todd Wells, in 6:23:38 DURANGO CO M3 (30 to 39)
2. Alban Lakata, in 6:27:57 LIENZ AK AUSTRIA M3 (30 to 39)
3. Alex Grant, in 6:35:32 SALT LAKE CITY UT M3 (30 to 39)
4. Jay Henry, in 6:38:31 AVON CO M3 (30 to 39)
5. Jeremiah Bishop, in 6:43:34 HARRISONBURG VA M3 (30 to 39)

Top 5 women (FAST!)

1. Rebecca Rusch, in 7:31:46 KETCHUM ID F4 (40 to 49)
2. Gretchen Reeves, in 7:35:38 AVON CO F4 (40 to 49)
3. Pua Mata, in 7:37:50 ANAHEIM HILLS CA F3 (30 to 39)
4. Jennifer Smith, in 7:39:14 GUNNISON CO F3 (30 to 39)
5. Tammy Jacques, in 8:02:30 STEAMBOAT SPRINGS CO… F4 (40 to 49)

Congrats to Jenny Smith on finishing 4th in the women! You'll get it next year.

For some awesome pics from Crested Butte Photography (Thanks Kevin!)
http://crestedbuttephotography.com/blog/2011/08/14/leadville-trail-100-mtb-race-2011/
Of course the one on the main page has to be me and Rebecca (note to self; do not let the girls actually catch you!)

For full results-
http://singletrack.competitor.com/2011/08/news/2011-leadville-trail-100-results-top-50-men-and-women_19946/1

Jenny's Leadville 100 Wrap up.

2011-08-16T19:14:00.000-07:00

Image courtesy of Jody Grigg.

Leadville Wrap up.

I think Leadville has turned me into a passionate endurance MTB racer.

I chose this race as an A race earlier in the year, partly as a new challenge.
Its been a great experience from start to finish and I am officially totally hooked.

The womens field was exceptionally deep and fast in Leadville this year. I am psyched to have finished the race 8 minutes under the existing record time. It was also really an engaging and mostly enjoyable experience to race with the fast deep field of women out there. .

Now that I have completed the event I have a heightened respect for the 100 mile distance and for this particular race.
The altitude in Leadville ( 10, 400 ft is the lower elevation of the day). and the road nature of the race make it one tough day out.
For me any road aspect adds difficulty and requires more skill. It adds the whole dimension of other wheels to ride on, and having pace and effort dictated by said wheels, need to hang on the descents and not get dropped from a group, responding to efforts of others around me, etc..

The road nature is only true for part of the course too, others parts are mountain rough, steep, loose, and sketchy. Plus had I mentioned it is an altitude upwards of 10, 400 feet!

My race was honestly really great until it wasn't. I had good legs, good attitude and for 85 miles was fully committed to the race.
I did have stomach issues from 65 miles in . Not sure why. ( heat, altitude, effort. distance: who knows?) juststarted bringing back up my food and fluid. It wasn't a huge problem as I was still eating and drinking and my legs still felt good.
My lights first went out on the pinch of a climb up Powerline. I redlined and never really came back. At the time I was riding with Gretchen Reeves. Super grateful for both the company and the fact that she wasn't accelerating and dropping me. ( . My mantra up that entire 4 mile climb was go quietly.. hmmm ....not exactly effort inspiring ?!)
From there we descended for about 5 miles and transitioned into a pavement climb around Turquoise lake. That pavement did me in. It was bye bye me time.
At the end of the day while disappointing to have grovelled my way home, I was pretty happy to have lost only 7.5 minutes to Rebecca's new course record.
Congratulations all the women on the podium. Rebecca Rusch for really bringing her A game and defending her title. To Gretchen for riding a near perfect race. Gretchen was so consistent and smooth and really finished strongly. Another 5 miles and she quite probably would have won. To Pua who hung in there amidst bike problems, it takes alot of strength to keep focused when things don't go the way you hope and plan.
Plus to Kelli, Sari, Tammi, and Amanda for making it such a valid race.

Any event like this is a team effort. A huge thanks go out to:

1. Alpine Orthapeadics and Dr Rhett Griggs.
Alpine Orthapeadics investment in the Alpine Ortho mountain bike team is the reason I am cycling this season.
It has been an amazing experience that has completely rejuvenated my interest in cycling as my sport. To have the support and companionship of my teamates ( who also happen to be my friends and peers) has been building a sense of comradeship , fun and pride.

Success breeds success and I really believe our team is on a path to success. It is evident in the way that riders have been developing and improving.

Dr Griggs and his family camped out and fed us while racing. Which is huge and we couldn't have done it so smoothly without them ( Twin lakes feed zone has to be seen to believed, It had seeminly about the population of Gunnison out there which totally overwhelmed my senses: thank goodness Brian was in Brasil and not my feeder as planned, he would not have been as kind and tolerant to my confusion as Lisa and Rhett).

Along with all our supportive sponsors making this team a reality.
For excellent Leadville 100 images of the entire Alpine ORTHO crew please visit Kevin Krills website: Kevin Krill: http://crestedbuttephotography.com/blog/2011/08/14/leadville-trail-100-mtb-race-2011/

andBeth Sneider's: Peleton post article. www.peletonpost.com

I was only one of the Alpine Ortho crew out there racing. Nick Kempin, Dave Ochs, Travis Scheefer, and Stuart Grosse have their stories too: You guys need to post them .....

cheers
Jenny Smith.

Kevin Krill's Leadville 100 Photos

2011-08-14T22:30:00.001-07:00

http://crestedbuttephotography.com/blog/2011/08/14/leadville-trail-100-mtb-race-2011/

CB Alpine Oddysey (Leadville Qualifier)- Racing with Lance

2011-08-02T09:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday is worthy of a lengthy blog post, so here it goes.

Since the Firecracker 50 on the 4th of July I have been on the "just ride for fun" plan. This bike season has been up and down for me, with some good results and some bad luck. I opted to not take the trip up to National Championships in Sun Valley a couple weeks ago and instead enjoy the local trails with friends. The high alpine riding is finally dry, the wildflowers are spectacular and the trails are tacky making for some awesome trail riding.

Crested Butte was the host for the final Leadville 100 qualifying race over the weekend and even I had no desire to race Leadville, I'm not one to pass up a local race. I figured I would take the “just for fun” approach with it. I showed up to pick up my number on Saturday afternoon and heard the rumor that Lance was racing. Of course my reaction was, "Yeah, right." However, it was announced at the race meeting that he was on his way over. So much for a casual pace....

Sure enough Lance Armstrong rolled up to the start line a couple minutes before 6:30 am. Of course I’m thinking, "Wow, I'm getting to race Lance again on a mountain bike." I raced against him a couple summers ago in Snowmass at a Mountain States Cup race and it was pretty anti-climatic. The race started and immediately Lance rode off the front and was out of sight within 5 minutes. I hoped for something different today, but expected the same to happen. Luckily, we had a neutral roll out from Mt. Crested Butte down and around town before the race started so everyone would get to ride with him for at least the first 5 miles.

The energy of the peloton was buzzing as everyone rode behind the pace car and Lance down Elk Avenue as locals and tourists snapped pics and cheered. A pace line quickly formed as we headed out of town and turned onto the dirt road to head up the Slate river valley. The group stayed together for the first 5 miles of dirt to the base of the first climb, locally called Slate D'uez. As soon as the road grade started to climb the group slowed dramatically and I found myself out in the front pedaling comfortably. For the first few pitches I was waiting for Lance to come flying by, but he didn't.

Instead he rode right on my wheel and stayed there even when another rider came by and opened up a small gap partway up the climb. I was feeling great, riding at a comfortable pace, and enjoying myself. I could hear Lance breathing hard and about three quarters of the way up the climb he was asking, "Does this climb ever end?". To which I replied jokingly, "I know the Alps has way harder climbs then this." His reply was in good spirit, "Yeah, but it's different when you haven't been training."

When we reached the top of the climb there was a guy who had a 30 second lead on us. I quickly closed the gap on the short decent into Paradise Basin and passed him on a fast section where he chose a bad line threw the rocks. As the road flattened out Lance rolled up and informed me that the guy had flatted due to his bad line choice. There were a couple more little climbs to get to the top of Scoffield Pass and Lance again was asking me, "Do we ever get to descend?" I was still feeling great and found this encouraging, but told him we were almost at the top.

We rolled over the top of Scofield together and started the screaming fast road decent down past Emerald Lake to the snow plug. The snow field across the road is huge this year, still a couple hundred yards long, and requires dismounting to get across. The photographers snapped away at the unique shoot as I scurried across with Lance on right on my heels. Then it was back on the bike for a couple more minutes of screaming fast road decent before it flattened out for some fast road riding. As Lance and I started taking turns pulling across the flats another rider who neither of us recognized, caught up to join us. We made quick work of the ride out of Gothic each taking pulls to get back to the ski area.

I jumped out in front when we hit the 5 miles of singletrack at CBMR to climb up and over to the base area. Hopefully, this will make you chuckle; About halfway up the climb I made the decision to stop for a minute and go pee, thinking I could easily catch Lance and Greg on the decent. Luckily my plan worked as I caught up partway down the decent to ride Lance's wheel into the base area on the first lap. Of course, the crowd was all cheers as we rolled through the base area. You are probably wondering, "How are Lance's descending skills on a mountain bike?". Surprisingly, they are pretty good, he is really fast on the dirt road decents, but a little slower on the singletrack.

As we started the climb up Washington Gulch on the pavement my legs were starting to feel the 40 miles. I ignored the feeling, hoping it would go away and put down some food and liquid to keep going. I was encouraged that Lance was feeling the same as he was asking me about distance and climbing of the second lap. Once we hit the dirt after climbing on the pavement for a few miles Lance said, "Is anybody else feeling this? Or is it just me?" To which I replied, "No, my legs are definitely feeling this." However, the mystery man, didn't really say much and shortly afterward began to push the pace and pull away.

Neither Lance or I felt like trying to hang with him so we chatted it up for a bit as we started the gradual climb. As the climbing got steeper Lance started to push it a little more, split timing with his watch as to how big the gap was. He also asked me, "How much time do you think you can make up on the final singletrack decent on him?" in a way that almost implied that he would help me get to the top to close the gap on mystery man. To which I replied, "I think easily a minute." As we hit "the wall" near the top of Washington Gulch I could feel my legs starting to cramp, but just kept pushing to stay on Lance's wheel. As we rounded the final corner and could see the top he said, "I think there is a god." To which I had to laugh that he was as relieved as me to reach the top.

When we hit the top of Scofield the mystery man had about a minute and a half on us. A quick decent down to the snow field, this time it seemed more challenging to stay up right crossing with my bike, not sure if it was my legs or that the snow had softened up. Then another screaming fast decent down to the flats and Lance started to push the pace on the false flats down to Gothic. My legs started to cramp so I eased up thinking there was no way I could keep that pace all the way to the finish. Lance looked back when had opened up a gap of a hundred yards and to my surprise he slowed down a little to wait for me.

When I caught up, he asked me how I was doing and I told him my legs were starting to cramp. He said his legs were starting to cramp too if he started to “give er” and said lets work together. So I put my head down and rode threw the pain, taking turns pulling all the way to the ski area. We turned off onto Prospect and could see the mystery man climbing up the road ahead, still about a minute and a half up. Lance was on it and began to pull away as we started to climb, obviously determined to close the gap.

As I forced my legs to keep spinning as the road got steeper the sound of my chain going around was similar to nails on a chalkboard. My bike was in dire need of chain-lube after 60 miles and multiple stream crossings. My legs felt just like my bike sounded, screaming at me, but I had to keep pushing forward. I was relieved to hit the singletrack and get off the road, but Lance had already opened up a decent gap.

The singletrack gave me something to focus on other than the growing pain and cramps in my legs. On the first steep section my legs began to seize but I just let out a few choice words and pounded my fist against my quad to unlock it and keep going. I was relieved to reach the top of the singletrack but my legs where so smoked that I had little left to push across the top of Painterboy to begin the decent. I rode the decent fast and smooth knowing I would at least make up a little time. Halfway down I caught a glimpse of the duo riding right together lower down on the mountain, but the gap was a little too big to close before the finish line.

Lance Armstrong took the race in a time of 4:32:21, edging out the mystery man by 3 seconds! Turns out the mystery man was Greg Krause from Littleton. I finished just over a minute back in third place.

Wow! What a day to remember, I got to race side by side with Lance for almost 60 miles!

Lance later tweeted-
"Helluva fun ride today in CB for the @ltrail100 qualifier. Beautiful course. Squeaked out a "W" somehow. Full body cramp at the end."
"Thanks to the Crested Butte Alpine Odyssey MTB race yesterday I now feel like I've been run over by a truck."
I guess we have something in common, I woke up this morning feeling like I was run over by a truck too!

Thanks for reading!

for some awesome pics-
http://trentbona.photoshelter.com/gallery/2011-Alpine-Odyssey/G0000IxvE6pa7a5A

Team Alpine Othropaedics had a great showing for the day. Jenny Smith from AO took 2nd place on the women’s side in a close race with the winner Rebecca Rusch. Jari Kirkland also from AO rounded out 3rd. We had a bunch of riders from the team in the top 20, including Dr. Griggs, Mr. Alpine Orthopaedics himself.

for full results- http://singletrack.competitor.com/2011/07/race-results/2011-crested-butte-alpine-odyssey-results_19070/2

Pictures in place of words

2011-07-13T20:45:00.000-07:00

There have been many races and adventures lately.Here is a look at some recent efforts, media and images!

FIRE CRACKER 50, BRECKENRIDGE, CO

Brian Smith 4th fire cracker 50

Dave O : racing WELL! b4 mechanicals.....

Mens podium: Colin Cares, Jay Henry, Kelly Magelky, Brian Smith

ladies podium: Monique Mata, Jenny Smith, Kelly Bonfiace, Jen Gersbach,

Fire cracker 50 Media:

Mountain Flyer magazine: http://www.mountainflyermagazine.com/view.php/firecracker-50-2.htm

Cycling news: http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/us-pro-uet-2-firecracker-50-ne/marathon/photos/181104

FAT TIRE 40, CRESTED BUTTE, CO

Travis Scheefer 4th Fat tire 40.

Jenny Smith, 2nd Fat tire 40: Kevin Dirk Photography.

FAT TIRE 40 MEDIA

MOUNTAIN FLYER MAGAZINE: http://www.mountainflyermagazine.com/view.php/fat-tire-40-a-proper-test-of-skill-power-and-endurance.html

MTB RACE NEWS: http://www.mtbracenews.com/view_article.jsp?id=353

http://www.mtbracenews.com/view_article.jsp?id=35

Dixie 200

2011-07-07T16:45:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago, I wandered into Rock N Roll Sports with the goal of finally acquiring the last of my gear for the Colorado Trail Race: A lightweight down jacket, a lightweight sleeping bag, and a bivy. I combed through catalogues with Dave Moe until I had the perfect setup. Last weekend, I took it all out for a test run at a little race called the Dixie 200 in Central Utah. The race was 176 miles (shortened due to snow that wouldn't melt in time) and circumnavigated the stunning Bryce Canyon National Park on a mix of dirt roads, pavement, and single track.

Five intrepid souls lined up bright and early on Saturday morning at the Thunder Mountain Trail head not really sure what to expect. Armed with little more than a GPS, two days worth of food, and my newly acquired sleeping gear, I felt slightly less than ready to take on the world. My two goals were to finish, and to finish with a happy stomach.

The first miles flew by with 40 miles of trail and dirt road covered in just over 5 hours. Then came the 'optional' out-and-back to Powell Point, a 25 mile detour climbing up to 10,200 feet. Optional because the race organizer wasn't sure it would be clear of snow, but he did offer a 10 hour 'time bonus' to anyone who made the trek to see the view. In a race like this, the idea of a time bonus is a little bit silly because everyone is out there for the adventure more than the time or finishing place, but I liked the idea of up. After a very trivial, but not short, climb, I arrived at the point having seen first place returning from the point a mere 20 minutes ahead of me. Even with my rabbit in sight, I had to take several moments to take some pictures, chat with Dave Harris the race organizer who had pedaled up to the point to hand apples out, and soak in the beauty before screaming back down the climb.

It was only a matter of another hour of climbing on a dirt road and then a 20 mile descent with a little bit of everything (downed trees, primitive trail, treacherous water crossings, sand, and rocks) before I coasted into Tropic, the little tourist town serving Bryce Canyon and serving as our one resupply point. Lo and behold, I found Aaron Gully there who had been leading the race since we first hit singletrack 10 hours ago. Since I wasn't sure I'd make it to Tropic before stores closed, I had all my food on board so I quickly filled up my bottles, my camelback, stuffed some cashews in my mouth and was off a mere 15 seconds after Aaron left. The race was on.

Things were going swimmingly until nightfall. The trail was slow going, but that was to be expected. The second half of the route was going to be the crux and I felt prepared. Ride until 2 am, sleep for 4 hours, get up and keep moving. That was the plan.

Then I hit the first downed tree in the middle of the road. I hoisted my bike over the massive pile of logs and hoped that it would be the exception rather than the norm. I continued up Crawford Pass encountering log jam after log jam. I crawled over them, under them, around them, through them, covering a mile in just over an hour to get to the top of the pass where I saw car tire tracks, indicating that the road was clear on the other side of the pass. Unfortunately, my little GPS track pointed in another direction, up a trail and through the woods. The first log jam was about 15 feet up the trail.

At 2 am, I looked around. I was on a mountain side surrounded by dead trees littering the ground and the trail. While I still had water, I knew it would go fast if I stopped for the night and had a recovery drink and then food for breakfast. My plan shifted: Move until you get to the reliable water source. Sleep there.

20 miles later, it was 7 am. The sunrise had been beautiful, but even more beautiful was the sound of a stream next to the trail. I quickly downed the water I had been rationing, filled up my bottles and camelback, dropped in some iodine, and laid down to sleep for a few hours in broad daylight. 45 minutes later, 3 helicopters flew overhead waking me from my dreams. Awake, I figured I might as well keep moving.

The next 20 miles was more of the same except with big views. 20 miles in 8 hours. My legs were scratched, my arms were raw, my bike was not happy with being tree-bound for the majority of the time. Yet, I had no map of how to get out easily, so I figured that as long as I kept moving, I'd get to where I was going. I prayed that the long descent off of the plateau was a road and not a tree-clogged singletrack, and for the first time all day, my prayers came true. Dropping 2,000+ feet on a smooth, grated road was the best present I could have wished for.

From there, it was another 20 miles home. Some on single track, some on the Fremont ATV trail, which thankfully was smooth and well maintained. I arrived at the top of Thunder Mountain at 9 pm with only 6 miles of single track to ride. I'd ridden the trail earlier this spring so I knew what to expect, swoopy, fun, and dropping 1,200 feet down to the parking lot. The last mile was the hardest. High speed, straight, I sang to myself to keep alert and awake. Loudly.

I finished in 39 hours and 5 minutes, the only one to finish the entire course. I guess that means I won, but more than anything, it was the reaffirmation that as long as I keep moving, I'll get to where I'm going.

Ethan

2011-06-21T13:05:00.000-07:00

Like many people in the Gunnison/Crested Butte area we have become glued to the live spot tracking of the Tour divide race.
www.tourdivide.org
With three Gunnison/Crested Butte riders in the top four overall its addicting and very inspiring to watch their progress southward.
Last night we saw that team Alpine Ortho rider Ethan Passant was riding over the Continental divide via Marshall pass to Sargents, CO.
Bryan Wickenhauser loaded Brian Smith, Myself, and Jarral Ryter into his truck and took us on a late night tiki tour up to cheer on Ethan. We ran into him at 1800 miles into his race high on Marshall pass. Pretty cool close to 11pm at close to 11,000 ft we saw one lonely set of lights coming down the mountain toward us.

its never too late, dark, cold, or early to geek out over someones bike and equipment choices. Brian and Jarral checking out Ethans rig.

Self admittedly a little delirious and sporting a sore knee he was otherwise in good spirits and ready for some desert warmth. The night before had been spent in a prefab post office building in Como to hide from the snow. Bonus it was open double bonus it was heated.
Have to say the legend of Ethan is Growing!
Good luck for the next week we'll all be following.

SSUSA

2011-06-08T08:41:00.000-07:00

After the Growler last week, I decided to go for a change of pace with racing. I gave up 20 of my 21 gears and any form of suspension and headed to the Front Range to race Single Speed USA. It's 4th addition was run in my former hometown of Boulder, so I couldn't resist heading back to see what the race was all about.

All we knew headed into the race was to meet at a park in Boulder on Friday night for a cruiser ride and round one of the hosting competition, a series of contests to decide who got to host the event in 2012. Round one was a tube race down the kayak course in Boulder Creek. With run-off in full force, I can't imagine the water was warm.

The motley crew of single speeders than proceeded to various Boulder watering-holes to receive a map to the race start, ride mechanical bulls, and to pre-race carbo load with some of the fine micro-brews available in Boulder.

Saturday morning brought a race start at an altitude which favored the mountain dwellers. Shawn Lortie did a nice write-up of the actual race over at Mountain Flyer which I highly recommend checking out. To sum-up, everyone got at least a little lost. Even I, who learned how to ride on these trails, got turned around a time or two. It was a rollicking good time with a happy combination of dirt roads, trails, and post-holing through snow. Winning the race was just an added bonus.

The post-race party was also the venue for the infamous foot-down bike-derby competition and the last round of the hosting competition. I took a non-violent approach to the derby and was able to outlast all the boys who took great joy in running into each other with their bikes.

Vermont won the hosting competition. Guess I'll have to travel out there next summer to defend my belt and title.

Dana Allen Photos from Growler

2011-06-02T06:49:00.001-07:00

Thanks Dana! - Some sweet shots.

Sick Job Smithy! You friggin CRUSHED that race! What a great showing for team AO and thanks so much for all the support out there! Lisa, Missy, Stew, Doc G, Travis and the whole Alpine Ortho Crew that was out there - you were stellar support. Thanks to Rob and the Acli-mate crew for their on course support both in the water bottle and at the base. Our sponsors RULE! And one of them slayed a 14th place - Yeah JB and Go To Guide! Paul Pike was also out there smilin' as always - nice work Paul!

Gunnison Growler highlight video

2011-05-30T16:54:00.000-07:00

http://bcove.me/swqr2xe8

The video link above highlights the Gunnison Growler 64 and 32 mile from the weekend. The scenery of Hartman's in it is stunning and Brian is making it look... well how we all want our riding to feel.
With so many Alpine Orthopaedic team riders out in force: riding, racing, supporting, organizing, this video is one of our stories.
It was a really neat experience to be part of such a successful positive team effort.

Congrats to everyone who competed in the Growler event and thanks to everyone who supported the racing. You all made it smooth and fun.
Check back during the week for more pictures and results.
cheers
Jenny Smith

Salida MSC #3

2011-05-30T08:02:00.000-07:00

Great weekend across the way in Salida with some REAL mountain biking on hand. Team AO was out in force with 5 riders taking on the 3 stage race weekend.

Results are definitely early season but Brian and Jenny Smith showed some great results with a 2nd (Jenny) and 4th (Brian) overall. Travis had some bad luck with a super fast and twitchy Short track start that put him back in Gunny in the good hands of Alpine Orthopaedics for some stitches in the elbow. But that didn't stop him from accelerating like a bat out of hell after getting up and trying to get back into the race. Both Laura and myself got a good beating out there, but it was one for under the belts and getting some race legs in.

12 Hours of Mesa Verde

2011-05-16T07:33:00.000-07:00

The 12 Hours of Mesa Verde is an awesome event right outside of Cortez held on the Phil's World trail system. This year registration filled up in record time as it seems like all the popular events are doing these days. However, this event is not about the hype like some others, it is about having a good time and getting to ride one of the best 16 mile singletrack loops around!

Team Alpine Ortho had a great showing this year at the event. Laura Anderson and Jenny Smith teamed up to take on the women's duo field and ended up showing the competition how it is possible to throw down fast laps all day long! They took the win with 8 laps.

Stew Gross and Jeff Irwin both went solo and rode right in the thick of the competition. Stew hung tough all day and hammered lap after lap to do 7 total and come in 6th place(out of 58 solo males)!

I teamed up with Jon Brown again to race duo with our eyes set on the top of the podium. Jon was sick coming into the race but rallied(as usual) to race fast all day. We ended up putting down 9 laps and taking the win!

Next up is the Mountain States Cup Salida Stage race this weekend.

Whiskey 50 - Single Speed Style

2011-05-05T11:48:00.000-07:00

I've been known to choose races to go to based on two criteria: Good trails and a good party.

Whiskey 50 offered up both, so months ago, I put it on my calendar, fully intending on racing my geared bike on it. When it was announced that the winner of the single speed category would win a round trip ticket to Ireland for Single Speed Worlds, I contemplated the possibility.

I really like riding my single speed. And I really wanted to go to Ireland. So I ponied up my $10 to switch my registration a few weeks prior, put a suspension for on the single speed, and headed south.

The single speed category was raced with the amateur classes on Saturday. 600+ people lined up, but luckily, they made a last minute call to bring all the single speeders up to the front line. This was great for approximately the first 100 yards, then the road went downhill and seemingly 589 people passed me.

But with a solid 30 minute road climb, I was able to work my way through the majority of the traffic, and while I was still in some conga lines for the first stretches of single track, I never felt terribly hindered by traffic. I think there were only a few down-to-up transitions where I was behind geared riders wanting to tell them to stop shifting and start pedaling. Plus, I got clean runs down on both single track descents, so I'm in no position to complain.

The majority of the course was perfect for single speeding. Short, punchy climbs and very little flat ground. Until the 9 mile coast downhill on a jeep road halfway through the race which definitely got me questioning my single speeding love. I got to spend a lot of time contemplating the meaning of life while tucked up watching people pedal by me in their big rings. These same people became my rabbits when we pulled a u-turn at the bottom of the hill and started the 13 mile climb back up.

This was the first time I got to see where the other girls were. I had been climbing for a solid 10 minutes before I saw the next gal on a single speed, which gave me hope that as long as I didn't implode on the climb, crash, flat, or have a catastrophic bike failure, I was going to be able to pull off the win.

Lucky for me, none of the above happened, I was able to rail the descent, spin my brains out back into town, with a police escort nonetheless, and pull off the win.

Round trip tickets to Ireland. Pretty spectacular if you ask me.

Whiskey 50

2011-05-02T21:58:00.000-07:00

There was allot of racing to choose from this past weekend. The Gila road race was happening in New Mexico. The mountain states cup kicked off in Rabbit valley, Colorado.
Brian Smith raced the inaugural ITU CROSS World championship triathlon ( competing for the USA team) He exited the swim in 32nd and went on to post the 6th fastest bike and 9th fastest run to finish 13th! Perhaps most note able for this blog is that he's exactly 12 months out of Pec tendon surgery from Alpine Orthopaedics and this is just his second triathlon since surgery. Successful!
I joined two other Team Alpine Orthopaedic racers ( Travis Scheefer and Eszter Horanyi) in choosing to race the Whiskey 50 in Prescott Arizona.
This event has been on my radar for a while as it is ridden in memory of our friend Mike Janelle.
Such a great race! An excellent mix of single track and jeep road plus 7000 feet of climbing. Prescott is a cool town and Epic rides put on an event with a great vibe. Add the whiskey 50 to your list.

From all accounts Eszter rode phenomenally in the single speed race. She won both the event plus a trip to IRELAND. She'll have to fill you in more on her race.
My trip has been a spring break with fabulous riding in Durango, Sedona, and Flagstaff. I am happy to say that other than the Whiskey pro Road crit on Friday, my riding has all been on DIRT and it's been amazing.
The pro race started with a ridiculously hard road fat tire citerium. (or slick tires if you knew and bought them with) It had a monster hill that we climbed more times than I can remember. Mainly it just hurt ALOT and I behaved like a slobbering snot monster resembling a cyclist and came home in 10th place.
In the Whiskey 50 mile race. I rode much better. Among a stacked Pro women's field I moved between 5, 6th and 7th place. The 1 hour 30 jeep road climb out of the turn around point saw me in seventh. A minute or so from 6th dropping into the final rocky singletrack back to Prescott. There I cut a side wall of my rear tire. That turned into a bit of a tire change fiasco. Lesson 101 'shortcuts don't work' and 'Stan's doesn't hold in a sidewall cut!' So I wasted a ton of time fluffing around babying 8 lbs of pressure, before actually stopping and putting in a tube. I rolled home in 9th.
The highlight of my day was meeting Joe Breeze. I'm soon to be riding the Breezer cloud nine 29er bike. To meet Joe Breeze and hear his story about Breezer bikes was really neat. He started making mountain bikes again in 2008 because his son outgrew the old generation Breezer bikes and needed a new frame!

Ezster and Travis will hopefully post their reports, A trip to IRELAND.. is super exciting!l

Meeting Joe Breeze

cheers
Jenny Smith

Lake Pueblo Arkansas Point Challenge XC

2011-04-18T13:56:00.000-07:00

It's not often that I can be talked into a full-fledged cross country race. Two hours of suffering just seems so...hard. Give me 100 miles, or 500 for that matter. But, the stars seemed to align with a pre-planned trip to the Front Range and the Lake Pueblo XC race, which I had raced two years prior and enjoyed, so I put on my big girl pants and saddled up for 28 miles of single track.

And in preparation for the big dance of Whiskey 50 in two weeks, I brought my single-speed with a brand new fork on it. One with suspension. My warm-up consisted of trying to relearn how to ride the bike and pulling myself out of more than one ditch after blowing corners.

The gun went off at the start and I immediately found myself in dead-last after a slightly downhill start. Having the bike geared for Crested Butte hills did not bode well for the mostly flat course and I looked dejectedly at the 100+ people I was going to have to work my way through once we hit the single track.

Sure enough, once we hit trail, I started making up ground. I worked my way through conga ling after conga line of traffic having many near encounters with the cacti dotting the course. But, once I was out on the open trail, I was flying...as long as I could spin at 100+ rpm. Did I mention I was under-geared?

The first hour of racing consisted of trying to pedal as fast as possible, knowing that the last 3 miles of the course were flat/slightly downhill, so if I came into the last bit with anyone, I wasn't really going to be able to hold on to them to the finish. The second hour consisted of holding onto the bike for dear life as the wind picked up, gusting at close to 40 mph, knocking the bike all over the trail as we navigated a twisty-turney trail along the edge of the reservoir, right above a 200 foot cliff. Team Vertigo was not happy.

After I managed to not fall off a cliff and survived the final 3 mile spin-and-tuck to the finish, I found out I had managed to win the pro/expert category. This netted me $40 with which I paid my portion of the gas bill, my portion of the camping spot, and bought myself a Chipotle Burrito Bowl on the way home. All in all, a fantastic day in the office.

Season Opener in Brasil.

2011-04-14T19:09:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to start my 2011 season on April 2/3rd in Ipitinga Brasil.
I'd been invited down to race the 2011 season opener XTERRA Brasil series race. My husband Brian Smith and I have raced between us five events with Xterra Brasil, and we love their attitude, professionalism, culture and atmosphere.
Xterra Ipitinga was held in an industrial town rich in minerals and agriculture. Ipitanga is home to one of the series major sponsors. The event XTERRA 'VALE DO ACO' translates to 'valley of steel'.
I flew from Gunnison, to DFW to Rio De Janerio and landed in Cococabana beach for the day. It was rad, this was my first time to RIO and its beautiful, the landscape is mountainous and stunning!

CopoCabana Beach

Acai: a pretty good reason to get Jet Lag to cure!

really the beach, from my hotel room, right there.

CopaCabana beach was insane and to say a culture change from Gunnison in March is an understatement. I was just there for the day, so jet lagged and all took in my share of Acai, beach, ocean, shopping and dinner. It was like a dream!

Where am I? Is this sand?

Gotta shop if its right there: bananas for summer riding fuel, haviannas just because,and shorts for Brian to sport!

5am came around quickly the next day though and I met Camilla from X3M Xterra Brazil to fly to Belo Horizonte and drive to Ipitinga.
It was so hot and humid there and I was pale pale whitey, plus the town was bustling, My culture shock continued. After our arrival I quickly built up my bike and rode at 5pm. OVERWHELMING! this pro cyclist and triathlete does not have the skills or temperament to handle the Brasillian rush hour so I rode seriously back and forward on a 1km section commuter bike path for 40 minutes. Have to say the Numbers of commuters where impressive! Literally Hundreds.

swim venue

swimmers starting to gather for the deep water swim start

Including me

Saturday came quickly and with it the XTERRA race. I was very thankful for sea level and good arms + legs. I had a good swim, then took the lead on the bike in the triathlon and held it throughout the run to win XTERRA Vale Do Aco. It was really fun, and I was excited to win.

leading on the bike

Saturday night was social time in the VIP booth at the Xterra village. Found the aged Cuchaca and spoke English to the Portuguese speaking guests while the Xterra night run took place. Good times! ( note to self: need to learn a bit of Portuguese)

Aged Cuchaca: mmmm.

poor Pic of hundreds of night runners.

On Sunday I lined up in the MTB race. It had a great turn out probably much to do with the $1000 US prize money. There where 350 cyclists there for the race.
We started with a 10km neutral (scarier than hell) start through the city in the rain. What is it with me, Brasil and rain. I've raced my MTB ten days in Brasil and nine of them have been in the rain. Here we go again I thought.
The race was fast and furious being 98% Jeep road. I realised early on that it was April the 3rd and that I was definitely not fit enough to have two good days in a row. I held on to finish in 3rd. two minutes twenty back and with $600 for my effort.
Xterra Brasil do a great job rewarding their athletes!
Here's the weekends highlight video.
<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9v5kRAy28vg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The highlight of my MTB race was being passed by a one legged cyclist. He had permanently injured his left leg in a motorbike accident so had a modified crank that allowed him to cycle with his right leg only. ( have you ever tried this for 1 minute? single leg pedaling. It was both humbling and incredibly inspiring to me. He was so fluid and fast!
Thanks XTERRA Brasil and X3m for a great weekend. Till next time. Abragda!
Jenny Smith

Season kickoff in the snow

2011-04-11T10:11:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was the season kickoff for team Alpine Ortho down at the Gallup Dawn til Dusk 12 hour race. Now one would think the weather should have been fine that far down in NM but hell no. The race started under partly sunny skies and 37 degree temps. I think that may have been the high for the day as gradually the clouds picked up and the wind started to blow with gusts as high as 60 mph. Yup, 60 mph. I actually had myself and bike lifted off of the trail once. I know I'm skinny but thats ridiculous!! The snow started flying at about 1 pm and the temps quickly dropped to right around freezing and the course turned into sloppy clay. They ended up shortening the race to 10 hours as a result. Us three solo riders Stew, Laura and myself had to call it a day about 7 - 71/2 hours in. A wise choice as none of us has enough body fat keep warm in those temps. Even so Stew held on to a fine 3rd place in the solo men 20-29, Laura was 3rd in the solo women even though her lap times were way ahead of 2nd and was quickly gaining on first. And old man Jeff managed to take 1st in the uggghhhhhhh 40 -44's. ( Can I say I was leading all solo's when I stopped? Is that too egoish? Well I was, so there!) What might have been with better weather but it was a good early test nonetheless. Until next time....................

AO 2011 is BACK!!!!!!

2011-04-11T09:42:00.001-07:00

2011 is comin' in hot and a new and improved Team AO is out laying down the rubber. Brian and Jenny Smith, as well as Eszter Horanyi have been added to the team this year and we are geared up for a SICK year of riding and racing. We have the same super groovy local sponsors that we had last year in our Title Sponsor - Alpine Orthopaedics, as well as Pike Builders, the Go To Guide, High Mountain Concepts, Acli-mate, the Alpineer and Rock N'Roll Sports. We have been bolstered by the greatest ski mountain on the planet in Crested Butte Mountain Resort for 2011, and are supported by SRAM, Schwalbe, First Endurance, Crank Bros., Mavic and Squirt Lube as well as the Western College Hal-Lab. Alpine Orthopaedics is constantly throwing nothing but LOVE to the Gunnison Valley and they are supporting so many good things related to biking this summer in this bad-ass team, and several races and events including the inaugural USA Pro Cycling Challenge. As a team, we can't thank our sponsors enough, we can not do this without you, and we plan on putting on a great display of stewardship and determination in a great year of riding and racing our beloved bicycles in your name!

Jari wins 24 hours of Moab - National Champion!

2010-10-12T08:16:00.001-07:00

Jari is the National 24 Hour Solo Champion AGAIN! Jari rocked 15 laps in high fashion and won by over 2 laps on Chris Cannon. Jari was awesome through the night, showed some expected fatigue, but never kept fighting and crushed it out there.

The fellas took 5th in the National 4 man race, and had a great time with no mechanicals or light issues, but showed some late season fatigue and didn't have the mad firepower to throw down fast lap after fast lap. Jon Brown rallied for the fastest of the laps, besides Travis almost breaking the hour mark on his second lap. Ethan rallied a sick mullet from the Mullet Militia crew and good times were had.

Great weather, great support, and damn good times in Moab once again. Big thanks to Jefferson Lewis, Dawn Passant, and Laura and Jeff Irwin/Anderson for some really good crewing and motivation!

7th CB Classic - Sept. 25th 2010

2010-09-27T12:14:00.001-07:00

Sick day at the 7th CB Classic. Mad props to Kelly Magelky and Heather McDowell, Heather coming down to the wire to take the win on the Dyke trail by 2 minutes. Becky Sears had the lead going into the final loop, but Heather caught her out there and took the win. Brian Smith put in a massive effort to try and catch a 'demon plagued' Magelky on the Dyke trail but finished 2nd. Big Dan Loftus threw down as usual and rounded out the podium. Huge thanks to the Brick Oven and Avery Brewing, to Amelia and Karyn, and the other good folks that were out to support and drink beers on a perfect Saturday in September. Photos by Johnny Biggers. For results and story check out CrankCollective.com

http://www.crankcollective.com/viewnews.php?id=58

AO Junior Cycling Team Members in the High School mountain bike league.

2010-09-21T14:22:00.001-07:00

AO junior cycling team member TJ Curry is continuing his stellar summer of biking in the new Colorado High School league. The first race was this weekend and TJ showed that the training this summer paid off with a time that not only put him in first in his current Freshman category but would have placed him in first in the Sophomore Category too. He is now in the overall leaders jersey for the Freshman class.

Overall the Gunnison Valley had a good showing with alot of kids from both CB and Gunny showing up. Congrats to all of the riders who raced in Chalk Creek.

Full Results: http://go.madmimi.com/redirects/f6781266171528080c9026c5b50846d3?pa=1854092581

Jon Brown is BACK!!!!!!!

2010-09-16T07:05:00.000-07:00

It's been a while, and I need to get on here and update more, but this one needs to site asap. Sponsor and racing guru over the years here in the Gunnison Valley is BACK in action, and racing like a man possessed. Jon Brown of the Go To Guide won the Single Speed category in all 3 of the last MSC races. Here he is decorating the podium up in Winter Park.

Get Tested to Improve Your Training!

2010-09-07T18:28:00.001-07:00

Fall is here in the Gunnison Valley which means lots of things. Mountain bike racing is wrapping up, cyclocross season is starting, we can begin to see the end of our ability to ride bikes and the start of snow season (damn it…summer is never long enough). But here is one more item for the list of Fall items; get into the High Altitude Performance Laboratory (HAPLAB) and get your self tested to find out where you stand at the end of this racing season. The HAPLAB at Western State College is equipped with state of the art equipment (same as what the US Olympic Training Center uses) for conducting all sorts of test such as VO2 max, Lactate Threshold, Power tests, and body fat analysis to name a few. Even if you do not know what any of these terms mean or why they are relevant to you as a racer (we explain them to everyone who gets tested) you should still come on down and get tested. But why, you say. There are many reasons but just a few are to improve the way you train, and to keep track of the effectiveness and progress of your current training.

However, for the AO team the best reason is the fact that it is FREE because HAPLAB is one of our sponsors. The PRO team gets unlimited free testing and the club team gets one free test battery (VO2, Lactate Threshold and a consult) and then ridiculously reduced prices on any other testing. How sweet is that!

If you want to schedule a time to get into the HAPLAB to get some testing done just contact me (Tim Curry) @ curry.mtb@gmail.com because i am currently in charge of the operation of the HAPLAB.

Later,

-Tim Curry

Lead Exercise Specialist – HAPLAB

More Telluride results

2010-08-29T07:17:00.000-07:00

Team AO Cycling rocked Telluride on the whole, with Travis Scheefer taking 3rd in the Pro Men, and Laura Anderson coming in HOT with a 2nd place in the pro Women. The year may be nearing an end, but watch out for LA ladies - there's more racing to be had.

Jungle Jeffrey Irwin had some mechanical issues, then got taken out in the Super D - but hot damn that boy was up there!

Nice work to the Jr Team - it's too bad the year is at it's end - school is nigh! Man they go by fast! We're gonna have to get those Curry boys some foam filled tires that don't flat!

Telluride

2010-08-23T12:06:00.001-07:00

The last official junior team race of the season occurred this weekend at Keystone. First up, the junior 14 & under rider on the team Pete Landry put in a strong 4th place finish on the long, yet fun, course at Keystone. TJ Curry was putting in a killer performance until he blew his tire off the rim. The set back to put a tube in the tire caused him to roll in in 6th place. Once again, the Curry duo had the same issue occur when i put a rock clean through my front tire and was forced to stop and put a tube in. After falling from 3rd to 5th (thanks to the flat) i managed to claw my way up to a 4th place finish in the XC; the next day i pulled out another 4th place in the hill climb.

Overall, the junior team has had a great season with a state title to it’s name along with one 1st place, six 2nd places, two 4ths, and three 6ths.

KEYSTONE JUNIOR RESULTS!

2010-08-09T20:32:00.001-07:00

The AO junior team had an awesome weekend at Keystone with some killer results. First off, Arly Landry is the new State Champ in CAT 2 19-29. To follow that off, her brother Pete Landry took 2nd place in both XC and short track (AKA STXC). Finally, TJ Curry followed up a great, but slightly off podium, result in XC with an exciting 2nd place finish in STXC.

As for myself (Tim Curry), I managed to capture a solid 2nd place in STXC after a disappointing XC race the day before.

All in all, the junior team (along with their coach) ended up with 1 Gold (State Champion title), and 4 Silver Medals from Keystone.

More photos are coming soon!

View Full Album

Keystone Pics by Jeff

2010-08-08T17:33:00.001-07:00

Keystone Revival - CO State Champs

2010-08-08T07:32:00.000-07:00

Great weekend over in Keystone - details to come!

Passant Wins CTR!

2010-08-08T07:31:00.000-07:00

A time of 4:13:44 - in gnarly weather it seems, Ethan has won the Colorado Trail Race for the 2nd time. More to come!

Just another great weekend

2010-07-18T20:11:00.000-07:00

I would like to take this moment to say that I can't believe how amazing my teammates are. How did I get so lucky to ride along side these wonderful people? Stu, you saved me. Thanks for the water when the aid station wasn't there. When I couldn't eat anything because my mouth was so dry and you gave me your water bottle to wash down my food, I knew then that I was apart of something special. That was the best part of my entire 9 hours and 59 minutes of racing. And Jeff, for pushing and encouraging me and Laura, making believe that it was all possible. THANKS!!! And of course, for Alpine Orthopeadics for making it possible, for letting me have the opportunity to even start the race.
So, now you know how I feel you need to know what I did. It was the Breckenridge 100. Which is a sweet 100 miles mt bike race in Breckenridge, CO. Any time you think you want to race a 100 miles on your mt bike and you hear about the Leadville 100 remember this, it sucks compared to the Breck 100. You could either ride 100 miles on a road (in Leadville ) or you could ride sweet single track and mt passes in the Breck 100. Which, of course, is what I did. We do three different loops, the first one topping out at 12,500 feet on single track with a sweet little steep sketchy decent. More single track back to the pit area. Next is the lap with 4,600 feet of climbing, which keeping in mind means you get to descend 4,600 feet. Part of which is the famous Colorado Trail. Then the last lap over another pass to Como with a steep climb but lots of single track and one impossible long (at least for that time in the race) climb back to the pass for the FINAL descent. Yep, there are such things as final descents and they are things of beauty and wonder and all things good. And that is just how I felt when I knew it was all downhill for a little more than 8 miles.
And then the finish line. Ahhhhh. What a wonderful site. And as it worked out I was able to pull off a first place.
So here's to great weekends in the mountains with Great Friends and Teammates.
jari

2010-07-14T21:08:00.001-07:00

Greetings from a very green and flower filled Colorado. It has been a few weeks of training and racing and I just wanted to keep you in the loop.

First, I placed 2nd at the Teva Games in the All Mountain Challenge. It was a great weekend with 4 hard fast events. The first was a bit scary because the water level was above flood stage and I ended up swimming in the white water portion of the event. It was cold and fun but a little stressful. Then a mt bike race with 30 pro's. SWEET. I was able to get a great night sleep and then the 10 trail run first thing Sunday morning. It wasn't like any trail race I have ever done. It was really just a hike strait up then as fast as you could strait down, repeat a few times. All followed by then uphill time trail. Which I can't believe I could do after running strait down Vail mt. All in all it was a great weekend and I can't wait to do it again next year, without the swimming part.

Three weeks again I raced the Mountain States Cup, here in Crested Butte, the Wildflower Rush. The 44 mile course was perfect and at the day was ended up 6th. My best MSC race finish to date. Finally I am getting into my grove.
Then this last weekend I went to SnowMass and did another MSC. It was only a two hour race with the last ten minutes pouring down rain and hail. I pulled out a 6th place and feel like I am ready for the Breckenridge 100 this weekend. So wish me luck and hopefully I will have good things to tell you come Monday.

Till then

jari k.

MSC #5 - Blast the Mass

2010-07-14T07:20:00.000-07:00

Team AO had a great showing this past weekend in Snowmass at Blast the Mass - round #5 in the Mountain States Cup Series.

Young Gun Travis Scheefer has been working with Dr. Griggs all year and is coming into shape as planned. He rocked a 2nd place finish in the Short track on Saturday despite the hail that was landing, and then 4th on Sunday in the XC. Travis was incredible in the XC race, duking it out at the top of the climb on the 2nd lap with none other than Jay Henry (Tokyo Joes). A flat tire ended the possibility of throwing down with Jay at the Finish, but to be there riding with Jay at the top of the climb - well that says it all about what kind of shape he's in right now. Even with the flat, 4th place was rather awesome.

New cat to Team AO, Bryan Dillon in his first pro race, got 10th. Bryan is only 22, has been in 2 races this year, and he won them both, and in good fashion. In applying for his first USA cycling license, he was put right up into the Pro category with the results he's proven so far, and he proved it with a 10th place finish in his first pro race - and with a crash. A bit shooken up with the crash and being up against the big dogs, he had quite a result. Jeff Irwin dogging a little mid-season malaise in the legs finished 14th.

For the Pro Ladies, Jari Kirkland finished in 6th, and Laura Anderson 7th on the rather unrelenting Snowmass course. Laura finished just as the heavens were releasing their fury again this past weekend.

Dave here got 3rd - Cat 1 (30-39)- thanks to a little assistance by Doc G! I was pretty bummed about my race in Breck the previous weekend, but Doc G has advised me with a training schedule to keep my sights in focus, and try to eliminate those doldrum days. Stew Gross rocked another 5th place - Cat 1 (19-29). Stew has been on the up and up all year - keep at it man!

The Team AO Juniors Blasted their own Mass and rocked the scene over there.

Pete Landry got 2nd - Jr Men 14 and under, his sister Arly got 2nd place - Cat 2 women. Then David Duesbout got 11th in Cat 2 - but had some mechanicals.

All in all - great weekend, and the good stuff is still to come. Team AO RULES!!!!!!!!!

Firecracker 50

2010-07-06T10:56:00.000-07:00

Travis Scheefer put in a huge effort to crack the top 10 at the US National Marathon Championships. Travis rocked a 9th place finish, 22 minutes behind 2 time Champ Jeremy Horgan Kobelski. Travis rode real smart and put in a solid 2nd lap to jump places and eventually get into the top 10. The lad is getting the distance down, once he gets that to match his speed - watch out Past Marathon Champs!

Heather Irmiger took the title for the ladies, keeping it in the family with JHK being her husband.

Gunnison Legend Dave Wiens turned on the heat himself to knock off all the younger fellas and slot into 3rd place, 11 minutes behind JHK. Wiens picked em off one after another on his 2nd lap. Damn Leadville is going to be good this year!

Awesome event in Breckenridge, sick weather, and a HUGE result for Scheefer and Wiens.

Allison Gannet's Rippin Chix Camps

2010-07-06T10:50:00.001-07:00

Over the course of Fat Tire Bike Week, Alison put on some Women's clinics and had a sick turnout. I heard nothing but love for the time spent and the girls seemed to really pick up a good bit of advice, tips, and support.

Alison had several local ladies out there as additional instructors/support. Missy Ochs, Sydney Fuller, Stacey Van Aernum, and Sarah Ballantyne amongst them - nice job ladies!

Check out Alison's Camps at http://www.alisongannett.com/Alison_Gannett/Rippin_Chix_Bike.html

2010-06-30T06:19:00.000-07:00

SICK weekend for Team AO cycling right here at home in CB. Many a race were contested and the top step on the podium was realized in both the MSC Fat Tire 40, and the Open Wildcat 40. Travis Scheefer won the Fat Tire 40 with commanding speed and newcomer and youngster Bryan Dillon took the win in the Wildcat 40. Travis' winning time was 3:43:46 while Bryan won in 3:53:57. Totally awesome having AO on the top step for both races. Ethan Passant placed 4th in the pro race, just missing the podium but riding super strong.

The pro ladies had some good competition, and Jari Kirkland took 6th place overall. Our other Fat Tire 40 contingents were Cat 1 riders Stewart Gross and Tim Curry. Stewart rocked his way to 5th, while Tim Curry and seemingly the whole Curry contingent flatted twice and took 11th. TJ curry had the same mishap, and didn't get to finish. Pete Landry took 8th in the Junior men MSC race as well - rep'ing the Jr's with some toughness as he came across the line with only one hand on the bar. Apparently he had a mishap with a tree, but hung in there to ride with one arm.

In the Open Wildcat 40, we had Bryan on the top step, and roadie hardman Nicholas Kempin rocking a 10th spot, Torrey Carrol just behind in 12th, and super groovy sponsor and rider Paul Pike took out 19th - just surviving some locked legs coming across the line.

The ladies were awesome little Wildcat's - raaarrhhhhh (cat noise) with Dawn Passant taking out 4th place, Missy Ochs in 5th, and Sarah Gillis in 6th. These ladies were 1,2,3 in their 30-39 category, and stole all the podium there too.

Topping things off, Junior Downhiller and recently attached at the arm to his new honey Melissa, Teo Bradbury totally stomped his run and took out 2nd place in the Cat 2 15-18's. He would have

been 4th in the Cat 1's, and 30th in the pro field. This boy is only on the up and up and the DH racing is just starting up in earnest.

quick wildflower update

2010-06-26T15:56:00.001-07:00

The AO pro team had a great result this weekend with Travis winning the pro men category. The AO team also scored wins in the wildcat men catedory and a fifth place in CAT 1 19-29. Here are some shots of Travis on his way up to the podium:

View Full Album

The junior team did not have the strongest opening race with only half the team at the race (the rest of the team had prior commitments), and during the race TJ had a double flat and was pulled then Pete got up close and personal with a tree on the course and had a injured shoulder for the rest of the race (however, he still pulled out a great finish and was right up at the front of the pack).

That is the short version of what occured at the Wildflower Rush; wait for the full version of what happened this weekend from Dave Ochs.

Teva Mtn Games and Angel Fire - MSC #3

2010-06-07T12:47:00.000-07:00

Nice weekend of racing all! Tim and Stuart were duking it out in the heat down at the MSC race, (see post below) while Travis and Jari were over in Vail throwing down with some big names on both the mountain and road scene. Travis took out 10th place in the Pro Men XC race with not much time for him needed to get in the top 5, and Jari took out 18th in the Pro Women XC, and 2nd in the whole shebang - the GNC Ultimate Mtn Challenge. Travis went on to rock 14th place in the Uphill Road Time Trial, throwing down with some of the big name domestic scene Pro Roadies.

Our Downhill rider Teo Bradbury had a good start in the preliminary runs down in Angel Fire, but wound up tangling up with a rock and kissing a tree on the run that counted. The downhill phenom bent his bars, but he walked away un-harmed, and is glad to have the first one out of the way. You always need one race to get the race back in ya', so Teo's psyched to be into the season and looking forward to the next race, MSC #4 - the Wildflower Rush here in CB.

Angel Fire MSC

2010-06-07T12:28:00.001-07:00

It was a hot one down in Angel Fire New Mexico for the third stop of the MSC with race start temperatures between 80 and 90 degrees. However, that did not stop new club rider Stewart from taking a huge lead in the first lap of the CAT 2 19-29 race and holding on to it for a win (by several minutes!). Big props to Stew for kicking some butt at Angel fire in the sweltering heat.

Yours truly (Tim Curry) did not deal with the heat as well. At the end of the first lap i was sitting comfortably in second feeling awsome and then the heat got to me. At the beginning of lap 2 I found one of the nasty side effects of hot weather called heat exhaustion and, in turn, dropped like a rock to a finish in 12th. Guess thats what happens when you go from riding in 60-70 degrees to a race at 90 degrees.

Congrats again Stewart on the big win and photos from the race will be posted as soon as i get them!

CBMBA Budd Trail workday

2010-06-07T11:24:00.001-07:00

Super Groovy Sponsor and Trail Maintenance and Advocacy group - the Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association had a huge workday this past weekend. Over 180 people came out to lend a hand, swing a tool, and create the Budd Trail. Connecting the North end of the Woods walk with the top of the Upper Lower Loop Climb, the Budd trail is 1.4 miles and crosses Land Trust, Peanut Mine, and Budd Family land. Click on the CBMBA link below for more details and stories, check out CrankCollective for more groovy details, and don't forget to come out and support CBMBA in all that they do.

The AO riders that weren't racing at the Teva Mountain Games and Angel Fire (MSC#3) were there in force, we had Junior's helping out there, and a great day with great trail education was had.

AO's famed trail maker, and creator of many a classic trail at Hartman's Rocks was on hand to help out in the preceding weeks to get the best line we could out there. Thanks Jeff for helping CBMBA and the time you gave!

LA Birthday Ride

2010-06-01T06:49:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday we rocked out the first 'bandit' ride of the season with a little fun ride for Laura Anderson's 40th Birthday. You wouldn't know she was 40 - that's for sure.

Chalk Creek Stampede - Nathrop, CO

2010-05-18T07:22:00.000-07:00

Not too bad a showing in Nathrop this time around. And finally some stellar weather and minimal winds taboot. I think more important than anything, the three of us that did just the XC on Sunday saw signs of good things to come, and some decent legs to throw around for the day. In the Pro Race, young Travis Scheefer took off quick and got himself right up there with the big dogs. Notice Dylan Stucki unable to control the adrenaline and hitting the front right away (far left). Travis on the far right.

Irwin had a good race compared to other Nathrop excursions and finished 30th out of about 45 fellas but was consistent and able to keep chugging - all good signs of the upcoming 'Summer of Jeff part 2'.

Georgia Gould did beat over half of the men's field and you can see a stellar picture of her crushing it and our buddy Jeff just behind. Little can you tell by the picture, that Georgia went by Jeff, and said to him - 'Hey, you have a nice backside, and I really dig those AO team kits'.

Tim Curry, our Jr. Team Coach, posted a 3rd place in the Short Track on Saturday, but maybe soured up the legs a bit, and Sunday didn't have his best XC race, but damn did he look good out there in his MTB skinsuit. (Check it out ladies - it's a bit see through)

As for myself, I had a good race and finished 3rd in the Cat 1 XC. My best showing at Nathrop to date and although the legs aren't going full bore, I had 'good feelings' and was "molto tranquilo" - if I may quote my favorite Italians when they feel good.

Nathrop XC

2010-05-16T05:15:00.000-07:00

Natrhrop XC today. Normally this course just does damage to us CB folk. It's flat, it's windy, and we usually just haven't had the time racing in. This year, we have a bit of illness, and perhaps one or two sets of tired legs - in that there's been a lot of racing so far. We'll see how she pans out. I would love to see team AO finally overcome that early spring thaw and get some groovy results.

Nathrop pre-race day

2010-05-14T14:01:00.000-07:00

As I am typing this I sit in my tent drinking chai tea and listening to the rain pour down. I will post an update each
daywith team results. Right now it is looking like the STXC and XC tracks will be super fast hardpack thanks to the rain.

Later!

Photos from Thursday night

2010-05-13T19:40:00.001-07:00

View Full Album

12 Hours of Mesa Verde

2010-05-12T06:53:00.001-07:00

A little blood - a little carnage, but great times this past weekend in Cortez, CO - 12 hours of Mesa Verde. Jari Kirkland took first place with a smile the whole time in the Womens Solo category. Travis and Jon Brown went to defend their title in the Men's Duo, and were just 10 minutes shy taking 2nd place. Paul Pike, John Starr, and Torrey Carroll took 5th in the Men's 3/4 man, and big dog Dave Scheefer rocked out a 5th place in the Geezer Category. Scheefdog wanted to pull out 7 laps, and hot damn did he make it happen. We had stellar support from Mark O'Neill again, including a cold foot bath for Scheefdog to relieve some foot hot spots - that's some support right there!

Lots of fun with the Brick Oven/CB Builders crew just across the way, and that crew had some epic racing as well - taking out many a category with a whole bunch of different categories racing.

I broke my bike on lap 3, and was feeling stellar - but that's racing. Glad to only have a bit of a leg wound, but it's going to make a sweet scar.

It was totally awesome having one of our sponsors, Paul Pike, on board for some racing, and I'm sure he's now hooked.

It's only May - so much more racing to be had, and this was a great way to get some miles in for all. Off to Nathrop this weekend for MSC #2 or US Cup #2 for some Short Track and XC racing on a usually defeating course for us late bloomers. But I think we have some early legs coming to form this year - looking forward to having some better results than previous years.

Tour of the Gila

2010-05-04T08:25:00.000-07:00

Check out Mountain Flyer for some photos and race banter. What a sweet time down there in Silver City, NM. A bit windy, but at least an escape to some sun, some summer, and some sick road biking!

http://www.mountainflyer.com/news.cfm - or click on the link on the right!

2010-04-29T11:16:00.000-07:00

Well it is that time of year again. It is the end of April and the Fruita Fat Tire Festival. Yee Ha!!!

It is nice to be out of the mountains for a bit and riding my bike in the desert. As I understand it, it is snowing in Crested Butte right now. So being here I am looking forward to the weekend festivities. It will be crazy and full of riding my bike and dressing up for the clunker crit. FUN!!! Hopefully I will have more to report after it is all over. So until then, keep the rubber side down.
jari

Dave wins Men's XC Single Speed Division!!!

2010-04-26T08:54:00.000-07:00

More photos from MSC #1

2010-04-25T19:05:00.001-07:00

Here are a few shots from the first mountain states cup race.

View Full Album

Lookin' HOT!!

2010-04-24T20:08:00.000-07:00

Travis Scheefer and Jeff Irwin tearing it up at the Pro Men's Time Trial, MSC #1, Fruita April 24th. (posted by Laura)

MSC #1 Time Trial

2010-04-24T20:03:00.000-07:00

The season has started out well at MSC#1 Time Trial, with a first place podium by Tim Curry in the Men's Cat 1 19-29, and a third place podium by Dave Ochs in the Men's Single Speed!

2010-04-22T07:28:00.000-07:00

Our boy and Club Rider Jordan Carr scored the first podium of the year for Team Alpine Ortho! He came in 2nd place in the 12 Hours of Dawn til Dusk, in Gallup, New Mexico with 9 laps. Only he and the 1st and 3rd place cats picked up 9 laps in their respective Solo Male 0-29 Category. Way to go Jordan - Happy Graduation coming up here to you soon as well! Next race we'll have Team Alpine Ortho gear for that stud!

Science for the Endurance Athlete: Are Slushies the key to better performance for endurance athletes in hot weather?

2010-04-07T20:07:00.001-07:00

Resident Exercise Science geek Tim Curry here with a study I ran across that may make you run to your local gas station for a slushie before your next ride on a hot day…

A new use (besides causing brain freezes) for the common slushie has been found by researchers in Australia. A brand new study that was published in the most recent issue of the American College of Sports Medicines Journal: Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise looked at the effects of drinking an ice slurry (aka a slushie) on endurance running in hot weather (hot = ~93 degrees Fahrenheit). The runners in the study drank 7.5 grams of either a slushie (not sure quit yet how many fluid oz. this is…) or cold water per kg of body weight 30 minutes before running at their ventilitory threshold (VT). SIDE NOTE: VT is almost equivalent to a persons Lactate Threshold which is the point at which the body cannot clear lactic acid out of the blood as quickly as it is produced; basically you can only exercise at this point for a limited amount of time before your body will stop you from continuing. In the end it was found that the runners ran for 19% longer (which was an average of 10 min. longer in the study) when they drank the slushie vs. the cold water. This massive increase in running time with the slushie was attributed to the lower starting core temperature and higher end core temperature of the runners. Cooling the core temperature of an athlete is not a new concept (think of the ice vests that riders used in during the TT warm ups in the Tour de France) and has been shown to be effective. The concept behind this study is that it is more efficient and effective to cool the body from the inside-out not the outside-in. On this point the authors were correct and found that a slushie is the most effective means of cooling for the following reason. Warning Science Content: Slushies are more effective due to the fact that it takes more energy, in the form of heat in our body’s case, to make water changes states from ice to water then it does to simply heat up cold water. Ipso facto, slushies, because they are mostly ice, cool down the body better than cold water does. So what does this mean for us endurance athletes?

Basically, the results of this study point out a simple, and obvious, fact: cooling the body from the inside-out is very effective and taking advantage of some the chemical properties of matter (see science content above) helps out too. The bottom line is this, if you are an endurance athlete who is going out on a ride in the summer, or whenever it is hot, try drinking a slushie before you head out (30-60 min. before). You should find out, as the study shows, that you can last longer at a higher pace due to your lower starting core temperature. This means that during that killer climb in your ride you may leave your riding partners or competitiors in the dust because you can last longer than they can thanks to your lower starting core tempurature. Who knows, in a race you may just place higher in a competition because of the lower core temperature… Who knew the humble slushie could do so much for endurance athletes?

-Tim Curry

P.S. If you have and questions just post them in the comment area and i will try to address them ASAP.

Information source:

Siegel, R., Mate, J., Brearley, M.B., Watson, G., Nosaka, K., & Laursen, P.B. (2010). Ice slurry ingestion increases core tempurature capacity and running time in heat. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 42(4), 717-725.

2010-04-07T07:31:00.000-07:00

Finally some sun in CB! Been some nasty days here, but it looks like spring is upon us. Go away snow, go away!

Physiotherapy Associates has now joined Team Alpine Ortho Cycling - YEAH!!!!!!! So glad to have Tim Poppe and crew on board. Let's hope we don't need to see Tim out of necessity, but to benefit from his expertise, and keep our team in tip-top shape!

Thanks PA and TP!

On the Bike!

2010-04-06T10:07:00.000-07:00

Spring training has started! With the Gunnison Valley getting the typical spring weather; snow, rain, wind, sun, more snow and more wind many of us from Team Alpine Ortho head out to Fruita or Moab for some warmer weather and dry trails. I enjoyed Fruita over the weekend and did some testing on the Colorado Monument road.

Does hair effect how fast you can go? The choice hair do of speed freaks seems to be the mustache and mullet(think Nascar). I had to give it a try myself....

The verdict is still out, but I sure do FEEL fast and that is part of the ballgame!

Up and Pedaling!

2010-03-18T13:49:00.000-07:00

Here we go with the first post. It is warm and sunny here in the Gunnison Valley and bikes are rolling out of storage. We are starting to put in base miles and make the transition from snow to dirt. Check out our sweet new kits that are on order!

I am still working on the page so if you have feedback feel free to comment.
Team Alpine Ortho