Go Beyond!

Marni and I put together our sponsorship application tonight for Beyond Clothing. They've got some really cool gear, be sure to check them out!

What to do?

Snow race options
#1 - Big and Bad:
Togwotee Winter Classic 100, Alaska Ultrasport 350
#2 - Conservative:
Togwotee Winter Classic 100, Arrowhead 135
#3 - More Conservative
Togwotee Winter Classic 100, Susitna 100
#4 - Short Triple Crown:
Togwotee Winter Classic 100, Arrowhead 135, Susitna 100

Togwatee Winter Classic is good timing, close by, great for my experience and inexpensive relatively speaking. I'm going for sure. Marni can come and even maybe race the 25 mile option.

Alaska Ultrasport is pushing my cold weather experience as it stands today. There is time to learn prior to the race here in Colorado and Wyoming but I have to commit before then so it's a bit of a gamble. The distance itself doesn't scare me and I have most of the gear. It is really expensive to do the race between entry and travel and vacation time. But, and it's a big but, I really want to go to Alaska and it would be a hell of a birthday race and an amazing experience if I can make my goals to stay safe and finish. Marni probably can't come.

Arrowhead may be a lottery entry and the Monday start requires a lot of days off for a 135 mile race. Conditions will likely be great training for a future Alaska adventure. Moderately expensive due to the long drive or required flight and days off. Must decide and register within 2 weeks and I'll know by December first. Marni probably can't come.

Susitna is really far to travel for a 100 miler but it would give me some Alaska fun and experience without the Ultrasport's commitment. Marni might be able to come along. Expensive (what else is new right?) but possibly the easiest and most vacation like experience/race.

Triple crown is less committing than the Ultrasport. Tons of experience. Tons of travel and money. Tempting idea but possibly too little time to recover between all 3 races, especially if conditions are really bad at any one.

Whatever I do, I need to make up my mind ASAP. Bike and gear needs to be prepared and entries need to be mailed in. Discuss...

Good times

Awesome trip around the White Rim. Took lots of pictures and played tourist quite a bit this time. Total time for the trip was 10:45 or so but ride time was only 8:45. Dare I say it felt reasonably easy? Pictures tomorrow. Man the weather was nice and again today playing at 18 road in Fruita. No Hot Tomato was the only bummer all weekend, well and some rutts on Joe's.

Happy Birthday Dad!

My dad turns 57 years old today. While I'm only lucky enough to have known him for 25 years, I am going to tell you some of what I know.
He's one of the most giving and caring people you've ever met. For years he has been a fixture in the Kirkwood First Presbyterian church as a deacon, an elder and a Steven minister. He's given hundreds and probably thousands of hours of his time helping and listening to people in their times of need.

He's a amazing father. He has taught my brother, sister and me some of the most important lessons we could ever learn. He has always been there for us and when I lived at home we used to spend hours discussing everything from politics to science to world events and everything in between.

He's a great fighter and athlete. When I started racing triathlons in high school, my dad joined in not long after. One of my favorite runs ever is when we ran 15 miles together just a couple days before his cancer surgery. His doctors said he was probably the healthiest patient ever to have this type of procedure. Post surgery he didn't give up despite becoming an instant type 1 diabetic with no pancreas at all. Gaining back the probably 50 pounds he had lost from the cancer along the way, he is back at it again: Swimming, riding his bike and running despite all the complications of being diabetic.

I could go on and on forever but I'll stop here for now. Hopefully the rest of you out there will get to meet him at a race or ride or run someday. I just know that when I have to dig deep, it's nothing compared to what he's gone through and conquered. And he's not stopping yet.

Happy Birthday Dad, Love ya.

2007 Race Schedule

Not much of a point to the post, just a season recap for tracking purposes.

Results:
1st place SS, 4th overall - Rim Ride Moab
6th Place (Series Overall) - Cherry Creek Time Trials Cat 4
5th, 7th, 8th, 8th, 8th, 12th (Individual Races) - Cherry Creek Time Trials Cat 4
32nd Place - Boulder Roubaix Cat 4
2nd SS, 6th Overall - TransIowa
7th Overall - Kokopelli Trail Race
Got to Bedrock - Grand Loop Race
6th Place (Series Overall) - Winter Park XC MTB Series Expert 25-29
3rd, 3rd, 8th, 9th, 12th, 14th (Individual Races) - Winter Park MTB Series Expert 25-29
9th - 24 Hours of Moab Solo Men

Schedule:
February 17 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo Solo
March 24 The Rim Ride (SS)
April 11 CCTT Series #1
April 14 Boulder Roubaix
April 18 CCTT Series #2
April 25 CCTT Series #3
April 28-29 TransIowa V3 (SS)
May 2 CCTT Series #4
May 9 CCTT Series #5
May 16 CCTT Series #6
May 19 Kokopelli Trail Race
May 23 CCTT Series #7
June 1-4 Grand Loop Race
June 9 Winter Park Series #1 (SS)
June 16 Winter Park Series #2
July 7 Winter Park Series #3
July 21 Winter Park Series #4
August 4 Winter Park Series #5
August 25 Winter Park Series #6 (SS)
October 13-14 24 Hours of Moab Solo

24 Hours of Redemption

Better grab some No-doze and a snack because this is going to be a long one...

2007 has been one heck of a year. You have to return full circle, to the 24 Hours of Moab 2006, to truely find the start. My very fresh endurance racing career was on the fast track and Moab was supposed to be my season ender and first 24 solo. 9 hours later we were shut down by the rain and though disappointed, I began a month off the bike as promised to Marni. Winter saw me back on the bike and with renewed focus. Months and races began to roll by. Successes and failures came just as rapidly. I was becoming well known to the headmaster at the school of hard knocks. Late spring brought more drama to our little household and after a successful TransIowa, real life began to steal my attention from it's "bike only" focus. Kokopelli and the Grand Loop came and went and they were both big time learning experiences. I was happy and disappointed at the same time, leaning heavily towards the later. Mostly I was feeling all the racing and life stresses and took a step back and some time off. My job and failure of my toenail to not get infected again nixed a CTR attempt in July which was big time depressing. To this day I still haven't read all the great CTR stories. From there, things slowly began to move again in the right direction. Marni and I were racing short XC races together and it was fun. Riding was fun focused and training began to snowball from there despite some minor setbacks due to me not keeping the rubber side down. While Moab had been on our all our minds since last year, it finally made the official calendar. Necessary training and preparations were made and the Plesko clan was going back to the desert for the 24 Hours of Moab.

Wednesday night Dad flew in and Thursday morning before the race, Dad and I hit up Centennial Cone while Marni was at work.
It was an easy ride for me but the exposure and altitude were new to my dad. He rocked my rigid singlespeed the whole ride anyway, despite me tempting him with offers to ride the Fuel. The only drama was my good gloves falling out of his pocket and I did a quick route retrace to track them down. Even the thought of losing my main gloves didn't rattle me and calm was the name of the game.
The rest of the day we picked up last minute items and packed the Element. As always it was stuffed full and we had a good laugh. Why is it that I can go for a 3 day bike ride with 1 bike and a 20lbs backpack yet for a lap solo race we had 2 bikes, 3 people and a car bursting at the seams with stuff? Sleeping in our own beds that night was nice and we woke up in no hurry to get on the road. By early afternoon I was checked in and we rolled into the Behind the Rocks area to find our pit.
My teammate from Feedback Sports and fellow solo warrior, Nick Thelen, had room in his camp and we setup next door. Marni and dad worked on the fine details of our pit while Nick and I took an afternoon preride of the course.
Home sweet home!
Our preride was smooth and easy. An hour and forty five minutes saw us rolling back into camp with plenty of time off the bike scouting technical lines and testing the radio. That's right, I finally brought the FRS radios to talk to my pit during the race. This turned out to be great for me.
The evening at camp was spent chatting with friends, friends and more friends. Plus the Ergon pusher and loads of the RATM crew were there. The Plesko clan cooked up some veggies and ate some tasty sandwiches before going to bed early. Well not before checking out...
the Gnome jump! I didn't hit it but I wanted to. I should really try one of these on a team so I can play around more.
The Hotelement was ready in fine style. For camping this is hard to beat. Quiet, comfy and warm. 12 hours later Marni and I crawled out to great the outside world.
I set out to make breakfast but we had forgot the frying pan. Whoops. I tried valiantly in the 1L ti pot but all I got were scrambled pancakes.
They did taste good.
They were not quick nor going to work however. Dad headed off and found some alternative mondo cinnamon rolls.
Last minute preparations took place but mostly we relaxed and people watched. All the details were taken care of and the calm vibe continued.
Little by little "the board" began to grow though. Marni's "Plesko Pimpmobile" was becoming famous. Who needs chainstays? :)
We mugged for the camera.
The steeds were ready.
And with a little trimming the numbers left room for the lights.
Shortly before zero hour we headed out to rack my bike.
A few more pictures.
To kill the time. Nerves were growing but still pretty under control. I did forget the radio but Dad ran back to get it in record time. Riding sans camelback is a freeing experience.
I lined up with everyone else and stuck toward the back. I wasn't headed towards the front of the race on lap 1 and I'm not as confident as Eatough and company to make my way to the front with 1 minute to the gun.
The gun went off and the stampede began. I just tried to stay the heck out of trouble and keep my feet out of holes. Marni managed to catch my awesome running though! What luck.
I got to my bike soon enough and was happy to be on it. My calves felt like cramping from running in bike shoes but I knew they would loosen up. I made my way through the crowd and it didn't take long to here the familiar voice of DH moving up through the field. I decided I'd take advantage and at least say "Hi". I stuck on his wheel up onto the first climb and said hey before getting separated by the masses. He was probably riding faster than I wanted to and my plan was to remain relaxed for the first 12 hours. Still it was nice to see a friendly face so early, even for a brief moment.
The first 3 laps went perfectly. I never even stopped, just getting bottles from Marni and Dad as I rolled though the pits. My primary focus was riding smooth and letting the team riders do their thing without wasting any energy. I knew there were a lot of laps to go and even with a stop to clean and lube a very dusty chain my first 4 laps were all around 90 minutes each. I had already moved up from the mid 20's to the low teens just with my pit speed and consistency.
The photographers were parked on the sand hill descent among other places and it was fun to pass them every lap. With just my experience last year and this year I was beating almost everyone around me on the downhills and I'd just climb consistently in the sand and ledges. Of course Nat Ross and the Monavie team did come by me after just 2.5 laps! They were moving.
Smile and ride. Smile and ride. Talk to the other riders whenever they wanted. For another event I never broke out the iPod. I always have it in the pits but I'm not sure why. I rarely listen to music when riding except maybe during interval workouts. Steady and relaxed was the name of the game. I was getting down a bottle and a half of Perpetuem a lap and trying to use my little front chain ring. Moab is a course that is basically all rideable in the middle ring but not if I was going to limit power bursts as I learned from Linda at Old Pueblo.My lights and jacket went on for lap 5. Darkness came slowly though and I didn't fire them until a downhill around 7pm. As I climbed out of the Nosedive I set my bike down on the rock above a little too hard. My rear wheel popped out of the dropouts and because I was holding the brakes for traction, my rear lever instantly went to the bar. F*&k me. I got my wheel back in the drops but the brakes were rubbing bad. I quickly tried a stick and a rock to rectify the problem with no success. My multitool was no help either so I radioed into Marni and Dad that I'd be late. I spent the rest of the lap cursing a rear wheel that stopped within one rotation due to brake drag but at least it was rideable. Still not wasting extra energy I rolled back into the pits 20 minutes later than I wanted .
My stomach was also getting really full and I was fully hydrated so I switched my two bottles of Perp to one of water and one of double strength Perp. I was also running 1 scoop of Endurolytes powder per bottles and for the first enduro ever I had zero cramping issues: legs, arms, hands, chin (yes chin!), nothing. I fixed my wheel in the pit in less than 30 seconds and went back out, clicking off a slow but steady lap. It was getting darker, windier and colder.

Lap 7 was almost my undoing, certainly the crux lap of the race. I was beginning to fuel off cookies and took a jacket to stay warm out there. Leaving at 10pm and returning just before 12:30am it was a slog. Stefan's aptly named "sleep monster" was hitting me hard. I could barely stay awake and was constantly worried I would fall asleep on the bike. The downhills were terrifying but I rode everything I normally would, just trying to keep my eyes open. Slaps to the face, food, cold air, nothing woke me up. "Just make it back to the pit," I told myself. There was soup waiting and coffee too if I must. Somewhere out there I think I saw Dan and Truesdale although certainly not on the same lap. But somehow we weren't able to ride together much to my dismay. The Feedback boys and Lisa plus Bill and Brady's clyde teammates were always cheering me on but on this lap I was mostly alone. All I needed was someone to talk to but no dice. An eternity later I radioed into the pits that I was almost there.

Marni and Dad were there waiting for me. They said I was easy to identify by my lights. I was thankful for my lights too. 1200 lumens of Dinotte power and 6 batteries kept me running with perfect vision all through the night. I think Marni and Dad also recognized this moment from Old Pueblo. I was practically asleep but I knew it would pass. They didn't even have to force me back on course this time. The chicken noodle soup was just what I needed though and I had a couple small cupfuls, saving some for the next lap. My crew also got me in warmer clothes as my slow pace wasn't doing me much to keep me warm with the coldest part of the night coming up.

As luck would have it, I heard a familiar voice just as I was ready to leave the pits. Erin Huck, a friend from engineering school and the CU Tri Team, plus Marni's old roommate in college, rolled by my sorry self and stopped. She was racing on a just for fun team and offered to ride with me a bit. I quickly accepted and got my ass moving. Starting another lap with a friend was heaven sent. Erin started off leading the way and asking me questions as I blindly followed her wheel. She made sure not to drop me and we caught up on our lives while keeping me awake at the same time. Erin happens to be a pro MTB'er so our pace gradually quickened as the climbing began in earnest. My legs came around. We climbed together for a while and eventually I popped in front somehow. I'm still not sure how that happened. With my legs feeling good, I also woke up! The rest of the circuit I was on a tear. I could hear Erin just behind me the rest of the lap but I couldn't stop.

I roared into the pits, awake again and flying high. This time Stefan was there too. I got more soup and cookies. Marni even applied my chammy butter for me because "I didn't want to take my gloves off". Yes I know I am a lucky lucky man. Stefan laughed and we joked that he would apply some for me too. Being awake was awesome. My fast lap moved me up the field and I was making my midnight move just as planned. Lots of other riders had dropped out but now I was feeling great. Motivation snowballed and I stormed out to another lap just 1 minute slower than the previous one briefly following another pro woman, Lisa from Feedback. I got more soup and cold chammy butter because apparently "I was hot down there". A third hot lap in a row was going awesome until I had another minor mechanical issue. One of my rear rotor bolts backed out and was digging into my caliper adapter, stopping my wheel. Fixing it wasn't a huge deal but it deflated my pace as I slowly dug out my tools and tightened the bolt. Fine motor skills are not so great or quick at 5am after riding for 17 hours. I radioed in my hold up and finished my lap, slower now but briefly riding with another friend, Kevin Gillest.

This time there was chicken ramen waiting for me and Dad took my lights off my helmet. It felt great to get the weight off my head, as small as it was. The sun was rising now although I was incredulous. I had expected it a few minutes earlier but Marni laughingly assured me it was coming up. I took off again and sure enough, up came the sun on the opening climb. As the lights all began to get flipped off, the cheers began to grow. "Go solo, good job solo" became nice motivation. That and the breakfast I had ordered to be awaiting my return. I like this picture because it reminds me of the morning. I'm sure it's actually still the dusk of the previous day but this picture is how dawn felt out there.
Near the end of the lap Adam rolled by me on his SS and we chatted briefly. My pace picked up and for the first time I rolled into the pits and sat down. Marni plopped some delicious sausage, eggs and hash browns in my lap. While I ate, a bigger crew (I think Jim B and Scott were there) got to work. My lights disappeared, my chain got cleaned and lubed and my clothing was pulled off me and replaced with less layers and fresh socks. I stopped short of demolishing the entire meal for fear of it not staying down and the crew sent me back out and cheered me on.

I knew was almost done now and it was almost a parade lap for me. I struggled with going out for another lap but I had pretty much decided against it. I didn't come here to place in the top 10, that was just a bonus. All I had wanted was to have a good race and not stop through the night and that I had accomplished plus more. I talked to the other solos and duos on the course. Some were going back out, others were done. I wanted to be done being a part of the living dead on course. Mile by mile the lap clicked by. I was cold. I shouldn't have taken off my knee warmers. Despite the cold I was in a good mood and enjoyed every move, attempting things I hadn't done since the first couple laps. I climbed everything I could, giving it my best effort. At 11:30am I rolled down the road to the pit. I called in that I was done. Marni said we would talk about it when I got in knowing there was time to send me on one more. Under the tent the announcer called my name and they asked if I was going out again. I said I didn't know. I waited for Dad to join me under the tent. I asked where I stood and what would happen if I went back out. He went to find out and came back quickly. With a couple racers waiting to see what I would do, the best I could realistically finish was 7th. Worst I could do was drop to 9th from 8th. That was all I needed to know and I turned in my chip. I was done. 12 laps, 180 miles, 16k+ vertical feet in 23:30. 24 sandy technical hard hours. Success.
I hugged my Dad and my eyes welled up. These things are always emotional for me although the tears that fell en mass descending to the finish of the KTR stayed put. I put my sunglasses on to walk through the crowd while my dad walked my bike. Marni and I hugged too and I happily sat back down in the chair. Parka and puffy pants on, victory Sobe in hand. The parade of friends began soon after. Bill left me lots of notes on the board and his clyde team kicked major ass to come in 2nd place.
Marni and I mugged for more pictures.
The board was complete and everyone stopped by to check it out. Along with the radio, that is a must for the future.
Soon Nick joined the camp. He did a great job in his first 24 solo completing 10 laps and coming in 23rd place. Way to go Nick! You definitely earned that chair.
Big Jim came by and then so did Doug, Lisa, Rob, Rob, Scott and Jason, all my Feedback teammates to congratulate Nick and me.
They cleaned up, coming in 3rd in Coed Pro/Am! Plus they always cheered me on when they saw me out there.
The rest is history. We packed up camp, chatted up war stories with everyone and left for the hotel. Marni got us in early and after a quick shower we ate at Pasta Jay's. Then I hobbled up the stairs and into bed. Marni scored some cake from the Denny's. Dad and I were out like lights. Like father like son. (Yes I'm wearing my jacket. My temp regulation gets all jacked up after races are over.)
After demolishing breakfast at the Diner, we had to get out of town. Sleeping in too long nixed our easy ride plans because we had to get back to pick up Turbo from the kennel. Not quite ready to leave, we made a quick stop to checkout the towers. The red sand is hard to leave behind. Very hard sometimes.
So there you have it, a successful 24 hours of Moab this go around. The third time was the charm, at least as far as me finishing a supported 24 hour solo goes. I owe a huge huge huge thanks to Marni and my dad. They were an amazing crew. The two of them never missed a beat and I certainly don't make it easy on them. Thanks also to all my family and friends who were there and those who supported me from afar. It means a ton to know you're all behind me.

Where does this leave me now? For one I know that lap races have pretty small roll for me in the future. Even with the minor mechanical incidents and sleep monster lap 7, just finishing lacked something I was searching for. Even going for lap 13 would have been formulaic and I don't regret not going at all. I wouldn't say that I'm done with them because I really do enjoy the competitive challenge of racing and learning to go faster. However I don't see racing more than 1 or 2 a year anytime in the near future. Certainly laps at Moab didn't fill the desire for exploration that I'm really longing for. This year I won't be taking the next month off.

I'm already mostly recovered, my maps are out and my eyes are green.

It's coming

Moab story should be up tonight. I'm in the all to usual post race letdown phase. Moab was good though. I'll just leave it at that and keep cracking on the story before the lynch mob comes a knockin.

Minor miracles

We're packed and ready to roll out early in the AM. It all fit in and on the car somehow. Amazing. No pictures because that's packed too. I'm happy to sleep in my own bed tonight instead of driving. See everyone down there tomorrow early afternoon. I'm ready to ride :)

And HAPPY 23rd BIRTHDAY JESSICA!

The end of an era

My galant shell left this afternoon. With the Colt leaving a couple months back, this feels like closure to my parting out and selling off of the car stuff. While I still have a shed full of parts to sell and some parts not even located at my house, the big stuff is now gone. It feels good to move on even though I'm definitely (very) sad to see it leave. Lucky for me, the new owner of the Colt already has it driving around town and this shell is not going to the crusher as I feared it may, but insted headed out to be amazingly reconstructed for winter duty here in Colorado. Good luck to both machines in their new homes and with their new owners. All this may sound silly but Marni and I have a lot of time, money and memories wrapped up in those cars. For now though, we're done. Maybe someday I will need a car of my own again and the turbo addiction wil be allowed to return.

Until then this is goodbye and never forget.

Where does time go?

Holy crap I need to get an update in but the days keep clicking by with no update so here goes nothing. This weekend was a ton of fun and nice and relaxed. On Saturday I finally got down to Salvagetti to pick up some Rock and Roll Extreme lube. I was fresh out and now I'm hooked on that stuff. Marni and I also bumped into Dave at the Wilderness Exchange sale after we bummed around REI looking for warmer winter 14er gear. After the shopping exursions we headed over to Craig and Emily's baby shower for little Ariel. She is a really cute little girl and Marni got her a book and a stuffed giraffe and knitted her some booties. While we were there Scott got Craig's dad to let us ride the penny farthing. Good thing I've got long legs! Craig and his dad are way taller than me and I could barely reach the pedals. It was pretty fun though and I'm sure I'd do better if I got a little more practice. Wheeeee!Sunday we got more stuff ready for Moab and slept in again which was great. We checked out the new REI expansion while we were in Boulder and most hung out all day.

Last night Marni had another kickball game so I rode down to Boulder on a sly fox style night ride. Lights blastin down the singletrack. Wheeee! Plus my fantasy football team finally won a game, thank god. I didn't want to be skunked all season. Today and tonight will be more Moab prep. Got to cut my hair, wash my bike and then dad is coming tomorrow. I hope some packages show up in the mail today and tomorrow too. I'm getting excited and it's hard to wait until Friday to leave.

In other news there is an enduronut WRIAD trip coming a couple weeks after Moab. Plus a new mountain biking website, MBpost.com, just rolled out to the public. You've got to check it out. It's some really cool and powerful software that makes for a great way to post trails and trip reports.

Also found this one for Scott on MTBR. Glowing rotors! Close but not quite (FSAE) on finding glowing MTB disc brakes. Then today I leave you with, The Uber Elks Traverse...could it be done?

Cyclofile #1

Last night Marni, Bill, Nicolette and I headed up to Boulder for the evening's activities. We ate at Pete's, caught a showing of a fun cyclocross movie, Cyclofile, at the Boulder theater and then Marni and I got some cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. We had to walk right by it and I can't resist. Plus we finally got Bill his awesome awards for winning the WP series as a clyde. Only a couple months after the fact, d'oh. Can't wait to see how good he does in expert next year. After we got home we ended up watching the end of Gray's Anatomy which I didn't pay much attention to since we missed the beginning and I was kind of lost and kind of didn't care. I also got an email from a little birdy about a very exciting new race. Can't wait until it goes public but I'm definitely going!

This morning Marni and I had our Friday morning Starbucks date at the new drive thur. Holy crap they slapped that building up fast. Plus the mom (grande non-fat, sugar free cinnamon dulce latte) and mini-mom (grande strawberry frappacino - is there even coffee in that?) followed us to the new place, ha ha. I'm really looking forward to a weekend of sleeping in and getting prepped for Moab. Time to make sure the sleep stores are fully stocked up and continue to let my legs come around. Fresh legs and fall afternoon rides, what could be better? Hopefully the storm the mountains are supposed to get won't hammer us too bad down here. The 14ers might be winter technical from here on out though which should add to the challenge. Alright better get to work...

Ante up

Well I'm all registered for Moab. 55 in the solo field already and plenty of big names. Where will I end up? Who knows. I've got my goals but mostly I want to have a great ride and let the chips fall where they may. I've already learned that these are long races and anything can happen so we'll just be rolling with the punches in the Plesko camp. My dad gets in town the middle of next week so I'm really looking forward to getting to hang out with him for a week. He will be my main crew along with Marni and I ordered both of them some fun presents from the TwinSix sale today. Lights are ready and supplies are massed. Training is done and tapering down has begun. Hopefully soon we'll figure out exactly when we'll be down there and before you know it we'll be heading out!

This year I've got lots of other fun teams going down among my friends and teammates! Let me know if I forgot anyone.
Nick Thelen - another Feedback Sports solo racer.
Ballistic Stillness - a Cylde team featuring Bill and Brady among others
Bufo Alvarius - Ride Against the Machine fun team with Dan, Truesdale, Nicolette and Cori.
Gears of Glory - a Feedback Sports expert team with Doug, Jason, Fast Rob and Scott.
29, single and rigid - 29er SS team featuring Epic Adam and the Mad Dog crew.
Last but not least DH is racing solo too, battling it out with Eatough, Nat, Ernesto, Gagnon and who knows who else.
Should be good times. It can't possibly be more epic than last year...right?

Last night

I went on a solo 3 hour MTB ride. It was beautiful.
Pictures never seem to do sunsets justice, at least my pictures.
Endless foothills, mountains and ridges are always calling.
It was still a good ride even with no one to share it with.