Sask cup #2 on singlespeed! Single speeders unite!

Hey everyone! Here is my latest racing report. This is the first time racing a single speed on a short intense xc bike race. Myself, Tom Wolfe, and Jon Bath were the only single speeds in a expert field. There were seven of us altogether.

As single speeders, we knew right off of the back that we would be left behind in getting to the first stretch of single track and that was okay with us. Thus, we spun to the back of the elite, expert class.

We stayed together for most of the first lap until Tom snapped his chain and had to fix it. That mechanical cost him around five minutes. We checked to see if he was fine and he said to go ahead. Jon and myself stayed together for most of the first lap until a terrible crash caused Jon to go head first into the the ground. He thinks he broke his nose. We paused and stopped to make sure that everything was alright, but I think that the adrenalin kicked in and all of a sudden Jon put the hammer down. By the end of the first lap he was starting to open the gap.

For the second lap, I did not see Jon at all; I thought that he was going to lap me. All I could think in my head was keep pedaling, no coasting at all, watch my heart rate and drink as much Gatorade as I could for each lap.

By the end of the second and most of the third lap, I was riding by myself and then I saw the cool Swobo jersey and white single speed of Jon right at the beginning of the 4th and final lap. In the feed zone he was no more than 50 meters away. Motivation kicked in and some extra energy emerged! We entered the single track very closely and then on the flats, I finally caught him. It looked like the adrenalin rush was over; but I have to admit for someone who broke his nose and still keep a pace like that...awesome!

Middle to the end I decided to put the hammer down and just giver! Right at the last climb before the finish, I caught up to another person in expert field and looked down at my fork and said "forget it!" and attacked. I ended up beating him on the final sprint. I remember hearing, man get out of that small gear! Wait it's a single speed. That dude's crazy!

I ended up second in the expert category and first in the single speed group. The single speed group that I raced with, were all gentlemen and were extremely fun to race with. The race did not have that serious tone to it. We shook hands before the race and cheered each other on. We made sure that we were alright if something went wrong and were willing to stop to ensure safety. To me that is why I love to race, for good clean competitive spirit and showing the best of human compassion. It has been an honor dudes, see ya at the next race!

Check out the pic of Jon, if you look closely you can see gnarly damage. Jon, you are hardcore!

Cheers and many drinks!

Mel

I pulled a Lance Armstrong..in a bad way.

Hey everyone,

Just finshed the race and got totally trashed! Every pedal stroke hurt and felt like I was going through sand. I pumped up my tubulars to 160psi, so I figured that I would just float over the pavement. That was not the case. The course was called the Saskatoon Roubaix and consisted of pavement and dirt roads. On the warm up lap, I was already in zone 5 heart rate. I was like what the heck, am I that out of shape! Is my heart rate monitor at home lying to me?

I was dropped after a few moments after the first attack, then I figured that I would complete the race even though I was dropped. For 2.5 laps I was fighting to keep my speed at 33kms. I was last and the person ahead of me was around 10 mins. Then, I looked down at my front wheel because it sounded like it was squealing and I thought that the bearings were shot. I looked at my front brake and lifted the lever to release the brake to remove the wheel and instant speed. Drat, I rode in zone 5 and kept up decently with the pack. I said forget it and I attacked. I picked off the rider 5 mins and ahead and just a few seconds off of the back of the main pack. I pulled a 2003 Armstrong, where he rode with his brake rubbing. Now I could not pedal through it to keep up with the pack, like him; but after I sure did feel good.

Will be riding the single speed tomorrow on some single track, will let you know how my new baby rides.

When you feel like quitting, just forget it and keep on going!

Cheers!

New ride finally built!!!

Here it is everybody! My Ti Vassago. I have it set up as a single speed right now and will run a 32 19 for the upcoming xc race. I don't know maybe if I really like it, I will ride it for the world solo's. We'll see. Will take my new baby on it's first ride tomorrow night and get the bugs worked out. I have a road race tomorrow, will let you know how both rides go.

Cheers!

Official singlespeed provincial series begins May 9th!

We are throwing down the gauntlet and making ss an official race gender here in Saskatchewan! Myself and another rider are announcing the first ever ss provincial race series in conjunction with other xc events. First race is May 9th, will let you know how it goes; and what the response is like. We need to shake it up here in North! Here are some details from the creative mind of Jon Bath a gifted single speeder!

Prize -- highest finisher in provincial series (according to SCA system, regardless of age class, but must ride same number of laps -- means that expert juniors, seniors and masters all qualify) gets a T-shirt (I'll supply for this year-Jon Bath). More importantly, they earn the right to the title Saskatchewan Single Speed Champion 2008 and all the glory that comes with it. And they have to supply the T-shirt for the next year (if there is a next year).

Woo! Hoo! Makes me want to do the splits!

Cheers!

New frame coming in!

Hello everyone! Training is going well. Moving on to 8 min intervals in my zone 4, I am surviving them; that is super sweet! The weather is turning for the better, I plan to put on a lot hours this week and until the racing season starts at the end of April. My new frame Optimus Ti should be in this Thursday or Friday. Once it is completed, I will be posting pic's of my new ride for the season.

Keep the rubber to tha ground!

Nothing too eventful!

Hey everyone! Spring is around the corner, so everything is super wet. But I can't complain because at least it isn't -50! I have been training hard and working on some life goals. I am planning which classes to take for my Master's program, hopefully I can get started in May and take some time out of the classroom. Also, my wife and I invested in our financial education and have a mentor/coach to guide us through the real estate process. Hmm... what else is new? We just finalized our next home and I almost forgot, I applied for a transfer to a different school for next year. I have been at the current school for 7 years and I believe that it is time for a change.

Goals for this year:

1. Train super hard for cycling, as the last 2 years were pretty mellow.
2. Gain some financial gains to goal of getting out of the rat race.
3. Perhaps begin a family.
4. Complete tattoo and begin new ones.

Can't wait till the weather really turns!

Later,

Mel

Cold and cold!

Hey everyone!

We'll it's been minus 50 degrees Celcius for the past two weeks here in Saskatoon...Really sucks! Training has been going well, until I got sick last Friday. Took the day off of work today, feel a little better. I expect by Thursday, I should be 100% again. We'll keep warm everyone and train hard.

Later!