Bigger and Better for 2011!

Big news today...more big-wheeled gospel to spread...and even more stoke to invoke.

Check out all the action here.

Ciociaro

Haven't rolled these circles in two years, man I missed this place. I love International racing.

Mohican 100

"There is no such thing as bad weather only soft people"
-Bill Bowerman

In the case of the 2010 Mohican 100, this quote may be debatable. Perhaps the soft people may have been the smarter ones on a day like this. A mere 10 miles into this race I knew that simply finishing would be my win.

I need a little time to digest this one before a full report. In the meantime, check this out.

This is not a race report.

Typically most of my travels wind me up at a bike race of some sort. However, this past weekend Angela and I went up to Boyne Mountain to begin the planning process of our wedding on July 30th, 2011 at Boyne. Coincidentally this trip was the same weekend as the 12/24 hours of Boyne. However, in an effort to save myself for the Mohican 100 and of course to dedicate my energy to Angela, I refrained from racing. I still managed to squeeze out quite a bit of trail riding but at “vacation” pace. I’ll save the race pace for this upcoming weekend.


I ended the weekend with the content feeling that sometimes the best experiences can actually be while out of the saddle.

It's the Middle that Counts

“Love is stronger than death even though it can't stop death from happening, but no matter how hard death tries it can't separate people from love. It can't take away our memories either. In the end, life is stronger than death.”
-Author Unknown

There are two dates that are associated with an individual after they pass.
1. The day they were born.
2. The day they died.

However, I was once told by a teacher that, “it’s everything in the middle that counts”. Today would have been my brother’s 40th birthday. Although he is no longer physically with us, he remains in the hearts of so many people. The evidence of his influence being continually felt by so many today reminds me just how much he was able to make everything in the middle count the most he possibly could. It also reminds me daily to make sure I am making the most of the middle parts.

He continues to be a role model to me.

Happy Birthday Don! I miss and love you.

12 hrs of Stony Creek

A good friend of mine and Ironman athlete once told me, “you race your first Ironman to conquer it and embrace the feeling, you race every race after that to chase that feeling you once had your first time”. I mention this quote because I feel it is applicable to 12/24 hour solo mountain bike racing as well. The first time you muster the gumption to set your sights high and roll to the line of a 24hr race you don’t know what’s in store for you. Your anxiety and anticipation of the unknown lead to your excitement. You are seeking to discover just how far you are able to push yourself, to meet your limits face to face, and to push beyond those limits. When you finally achieve this accomplishment you are initially consumed by newly discovered elation and emotion you have never felt before. However, much like any addictions, this high leads you begging to answer the question, “what’s next”? You’ve surprised yourself, proved you can overcome what was once thought of as insurmountable adversity, and now you want to do it again…only BETTER!

WARNING: This mentality/realization/vision quest can lead to one of two things:
1. Debilitating disappointment
2. Success that leads to the perpetuation of the same question, “what’s next”?

Last season I raced two 12-hour races and won them both without contest. However, despite my second place podium spot at the 2010 12hrs of Stony Creek, I am personally more proud and satisfied with this result than any of my previous 12hr wins. Why?...because I was able to discover that I could go further than what I previously thought was possible.

Healthy competition amongst teammates can be a great thing when there is a mutual respect. Robert Herrimen and Mike Simonson are both Gary Fisher 29er Crew teammates of mine that have lengthy career resumes with several solid finishes and wins. The result of all of us showing up to the same line was a symbiotic success.


My previous 12-hour race distance record was 140 miles. Thanks to the motivation of my fellow 29er Crew comrades we were all able to achieve 161 miles of trail mayhem that boasted 1000 feet of climbing per lap. In addition were we able to not only claim a 1st and 2nd place victory in the 30-39 solo category and a 1st in the 40+ category, but we managed to all complete 14 laps and also claim the 1st, 2nd and 3rd spots in the overall results, including the teams.


Yes, it’s true this race was a quest to strive for that aforementioned feeling of my first endurance event. Much to my surprise, I managed to create a new feeling of elation as I discovered I could push beyond my previous limitations. However, due to my healthy dosage of lactic acid in my legs currently, I plan on simply savoring this one for a while and waiting a bit before I eventually ask that inevitable question, “What’s Next”?


I’d like to give a special thanks to my family and friends that showed up to support me for this event. Your love and words of encouragement during the race served as great mental race fuel. I love you all!



Check out race footage here

Peaks and Valleys

The past four days have been a bit busy in terms of racing. I’ve always said that racing can bring you from your highest of highs to lowest of lows…well…I wasn’t quite at my highest this past weekend and I wasn’t quite at my lowest either. However, there were many peaks and valleys.

Race 1: May 7th Waterford Hills Thursday Night Worlds

Ok, so the WSC may have had the dominant numbers in this field. However, success is success and a win is a win. Being my first win of the 2010 season, I was stoked to take it.

There was a bit of a reversal of team roles in the air as we saw a solo flyer from our Cat. 3 sprinter Ricardo Cotto and myself, being deemed more of a breakaway horse head ended up taking the field sprint for the win (thanks to a stellar lead-out from junior Brett Beddow)in addition to the ever so coveted Beer Growler Prime. I guess if your team is going to have the numbers tipped in your favor, you better finish well. Indeed we did claiming 1st, 2nd (Luke Cavender), 4th (K-Man), and 5th (Jay Moncel) along with all four primes up for grabs.

Nonetheless, this race was nothing more than a prequel for the havoc that was sure to ensue with TOKV and Cone Azalia falling on the same weekend this year.



Race 2: May 9th Tour of Kensington Valley

This year, TOKV boasted winds that I have never raced in before in my life coupled with some low temps and a dash of intermittent precipitation. All of these variables added together equaled a minimally motivated Finkelstein. I equated the experience to riding behind a fan boat for 3.5 hours. However, despite missing the winning break I still hung strong to the finish only to flub up the sprint. I managed to squeak out an 11th place, which was still good for a slice of the prize purse albeit a small one.



Race 3: May 10th Cone Azalia

Going into this race as a 2009 podium finisher I was very motivated to try and have a repeat good showing. Sometimes all the motivation in the world can be reduced to a pile of ruble due to mechanical difficulties. It seems my choice to try out tubulars this year was a bad one as I flatted a mere 6 min into the 75-mile race. Cone Azalia is several parts luck and a few parts skill. While my skill may have been present, my luck was not.

Other than sound tire choice, I did learn something about myself. After the wheel car took several minutes to reach me I realized that the loss of time I had on the field was an insurmountable amount and that my race was over. I screamed a few words that should never come out of my mouth on Mother’s Day as I rolled through the gravel in solitude. My intentions were to finish the lap and simply call it a day while I watched the race transpire from the sidelines. However, after I finished lap 1 I found myself rolling out for another one without giving it too much thought. I wasn’t racing for anything at this point; I was simply riding my bike. While I rolled lap 2 I decided that upon finishing this lap I was going to throw in the towel and quit. Once again, for some reason, I rolled out for a 3rd lap. This trend continued until I finally finished the 75 miles and 7 laps in solitude and out of the money.

It wasn't pride that kept me from stopping, it wasn’t my ego, it wasn’t the hope that something unforeseeable like a train might slow the field down and I could catch back on, and it wasn’t the hope that perhaps I may still crack the top 15 and get paid. My persistence came from somewhere deeper. I was searching for something but I’m not sure what. Perhaps it was fear that kept me going, or grief. Although I love racing and “playing the game of bike racing” it is all simply a bi-product of my love to ride a bicycle. If I were to be told tomorrow that I could never race another bike race again I would probably go out and ride more than I do now.

George Sheehan once said in an essay titled Why Do I Run, “I run everyday to not lose the me I was yesterday and the me I might become tomorrow”. I suppose this is true for me, I ride to preserve the person I was yesterday and to secure the person I want to be tomorrow.

I may of been DFL but I refused to DNF.