2005 Season Recap
The 2005 season has come and gone. Overall it was a good racing season, and a fun time on the bike. It started slowly for me, but eventually I was able to get into decent form and spend a lot of time riding in some fun events.
The season started slowly for me for a couple of reasons. 1) I ordered a bike form a certain company that was having a ton of trouble getting new bikes shipped. So for 3 months I waited. Eventually the races started without me. About a month after I got the bike, I snapped the chainstay during an XC race. So that put me down for another month. 2) Work was crazy busy this spring and early summer.
However, by July I was ready to get serious, and with the 12 Hours of Endurance, and the Briandhead Epic 100 coming up I was well behind schedule. I treated the 12 Hours of Endurance as a training ride. Up to that point I had not spent more than 3 hours on the bike. I was pleased though with how the race turned out. I rode strong through the day, and was able to fine tune some nutrition strategies. It was a good event to start “filling the canteen” with the hours I would need. Afterall, I was treating these summer events as warm up runs for the two 24 Hour races that were coming in the fall. The Brianhead Epic 100 turned out to be the worst day I think I’ve had on a bike. I suffered the greatest bonk I have ever encountered. I don’t really want to recap that. I wrote about it here as my first blog entry, so you can read the details there.
A good thing that came out of the Epic bonk was a re-commitment to training, eating right, and getting the rest I knew my body was craving. Over the next 6 weeks I became a much improved rider and racer. The payoff came in September when I finished first in the 24 Hours of Soldier Hollow. Now, I realize that it was not the most competitive race I have been in. But I was able to ride the race on my terms, and work through all the goals that I had set out. For that reason it was more of a success than finishing first. Of course, I enjoyed getting the win. It is nice to have a 24 Hour solo win under your belt.
All these things were leading to Moab. Moab is the big finale for my season, and this year I was very excited to get out there with some of the world’s best solo riders. But, as many of you read, the race did not pan out as I had hoped. But like the epic 100, I was able to learn a lot, re-evealuate some things, and come away from it a better racer.
This year I got to explore a lot fo the trails and roads that I have been wanting to see for a few seasons. I got to meet a lot of great people, and spend some great days on the bike with the Mad Dog Cyclesteam. As a team we finished 2nd overall in the Intermountain Cup XC series, which is great, but it ended our 3 year run of championships. Not to worry, we will be back in ’06 ready to roll. And speaking of ’06, the endurance calendar is filling up with a ton of great race options all across the country. I am hoping to try some new events this year, and hopefully branch out a bit to experience courses and races that I have not previously attended.
Overall, 2005 was a great time. Even bad days on the bike are good days. I hope 2005 was a great riding year for all of you.
