Peak Cycles – BikeParts.com Blog

So the nationals occurred this weekend, pretty cool I bet but four of us (Parker, Charlie, Micah, and myself) decided we wanted to be punished up in Breck this weekend.

The B68 course was amazing, and even more so since the promoter decided to change about 15 miles of it at the last minute!  He definitely added more singletrack (Colorado Trail, Toxic Forest, Blue River Trail, Indiana Creek) which was awesome but it dialed up the suffering so much more.  The overall winning race time was 30 minutes longer than last year.

Props go to Micah who not only finished with the fastest time (6:48?) but also had to endure a flat tire change that included a disc pad removal (unintentional) and a complete tire exchange from his wife’s bike at the 35 mile mark.  Micah turned himself inside out to get 3rd in the crazy strong 30-39 class.  Strong effort man!

Charlie was Mr. Consistency and got 3rd in the 40-49 class.  His visit to the pain cave should be something to remember for a long time.

Parker showed that he isn’t afraid of riding anything in Breckenridge.  I think he actually liked the climb going up Indiana Creek!  Apparently he rode another 30 miles at elevations up to 12,000 feet the day after the race.    I sense a podium finish at the 12 hours of Rage in the Sage for Parker.

Thanks to Jason, Steph, and Betsy for providing support for us lunatics.  It was great to have them at Carter Park!

As for me, I proved once again that Breckenridge eats tires.  I flatted twice within 200 feet on the rear tire.  That was 1:15 and just over 10 miles into the race.  Somehow the tire and bulging tube held up for the next 60 miles.  Crazy.  Personally I couldn’t have been more prepared for the race and I fell truly really good about how I rode.  Once I was long gone from the lead group I was content with catching as many people as possible and just staying hydrated and cramp free.  I drank nearly 10 bottles of electrolytes, ate a dozen Ecaps, dropped my shorts on top of Boreas Pass for some chamois butter, and took a much needed cool down break with Parker on Indiana Creek.  There is nothing like dunking your head in a cold mountain stream on a cloudless mid-70s day at 10,000 feet.  I would have stayed there all day if the water was any deeper.

4 racers riding Bikeparts.com kits all on Giant AnthemX bikes all finishing in the top 10.  Thanks for a great weekend!

Colin M

I am sitting in class this morning while the Urban Assault Ride is tearing through Denver at this same moment.  I have done 5 of these races in Colorado and love the style or urban racing while doing crazy obstacles.  Good luck to the Peak Cycles and bikeparts.com guys heading out to race today Charlie, Brendan, Shane and Micah!  Wish I was out there with you!  Here are some picts of Tate Graves and I from last years race. Enjoy!

Team Bikeparts.com racer, Jason Kompf, climbing the first of many hills in the Gold Rush Run

The 3rd race in the Summit Mountain Challenge, Gold Rush Run, happened this past Wednesday up in beautiful Breckenridge, CO.  Matt and I headed up to join Jason K on his local trails.  All I knew about the race is the Pro/Elite category was going to have to climb ‘Heinous Hill’, not once, but twice.  Way back in college, somewhere around 1997, a group of us started adding a challenge the steep climbs in Fort Collins by trying to ride them only in the middle chainring.  Since that time, we have all gotten stronger and I have not needed a small ring.  But, last year I was headed to Canada for a big race and decided to put it back on just in case.  Even up there, I didnt need it to use it.   The small chain ring has been sitting on my crankset lonely and unused…until that second climb up ‘Heinous Hill’!  It was STEEP and LONG!!!  Check out the GPS of the race course here and see if you can find the said hill on the elevation profile.

During the race we had some rain, but no really long or hard rain showers.  The craziest part of the whole race was the finish line, it ended at a mine!  I looked up as I cross the line, and there were 5-6 lil donkey burros and a guy with a Miners Hat and in the shed in the back were children panning for gold!  In the end, Matt finished 5th which was impressive that at one point during the race he was leading old Norba Pro and all around sking bad ass, Pete Sweson. I, on the other hand, ended up taking a wrong turn, making the second lap much longer then needed… Oh well, it was a fun race with nice people in a beautiful part of Colorado.  If you have nothing going on Wednesday night, head up to Summit County for a good time on the dirt!

First USA Cycling, now more Velonews!

http://www.velonews.com/article/92247/kurchat-drops-absalon-in-heubach

Still got two more races, maybe I can pull off something better!

Thanks again everyone for helping me get here!

Couldn’t have done it without you! Especially John!

-Colin O

Team Bikeparts.com Pro, Colin Osborn, has been in Europe the past month trying out the dirt!  Here is the following write up from USA Cycling about the young Americans kicking butt!

Development mountain bikers fare well in Europe

The USA Cycling National Development Mountain Bike Team grabbed both first and second place at the Wittnauer mountain bike race in Germany on May 10. U.S. team member Tad Elliott (Durango, Colo.) earned a victory in the local mountain bike race, while his teammate Robbie Squire (Sandy, Utah) grabbed second and Ethan Gilmour (Ludlow, Vt.) finished ninth.

The National Development team members also recently contested the Racer Bikes Cup/Swiss National Series #3 in Solothurn, Switzerland where Elliott finished 27th and Squire 30th in the top-level European race series.

Racing alongside the USA Cycling National Development Mountain Bike Team members was Mitchell Hoke (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Tristan Cowie(Brevard, N.C.), Kevin Cane (Dillon, Colo.), Stephan Ettinger (Cashmere, Wash.), Trevor Downing (Durango, Colo.) and Colin Osborn (Durango, Colo.). These six U23 cross country racers are experiencing European mountain bike racing for the first time as a part of the first of three USA Cycling European Mountain Bike Development Race Camps scheduled for this summer.

The six camp participants are set to contest the following upcoming races:

May 17-Heubach Budesliga XCO, Germany
May 23-Buhlertaler Hill Climb, Germany
May 24-Solingen MTB RennenXC, Germany

The U23 and junior cross-country camps are based in Kirchzarten, Germany, each running for a three-week period. The second and third camps, scheduled for May 28 – June 15 and June 18 – July 6, will be open to both U23 and junior 17-18 riders. Click here for more information.

This Article Published 2009-05-12 17:10:31 For more information contact: asmith@usacycling.org

This Article Published 2009-05-12 17:10:31 For more information contact: asmith@usacycling.org

The Rocky Mountains cycling magazine, Mtn Flyer, has this photo on their blog of Team Bikeparts.com racer, Mitch Westall heading out for another lap at Teva Games in Vail.  Looking fast Mitch!

Mitch Westall climbing fast in Vail at this years Teva Games

Team Bikeparts.com representing CO in SD!

jon w, tate, matt, micah and i all headed to Rapid City South Dakota for the Black Hills Fat Tire Festival.  it was a small, low key event but it was a new race to do and beautiful part of the country to see!

we got a hotel in downtown Rapid City because the races were being held in a park system just on the edge of town.  (see the photo below)

Friday – Hill Climb: matt, micah and tate raced.  tate took off at the start, but micah proved to be the strong one on the 7 minute steep fire road climb to the radio towers ( see the 1st photo above) and won the entire race and set himself up well for the King of the Mtn stage race.

Saturday – XC race: jon w, matt, micah, tate and myself raced.  two 10 mile laps up and down and around the park.  the start of the race was 1/4 mile sprint in wet grass!  matt took an early lead with jesse, micah and jon chasing with another local pro attacking him often.  as the race course crossed over its self, matt almost hit Tate on a descent as Tate was climbing just minutes behind the race leader.  jesse and micah had a hard time staying behind matt but jesse came around him into the final descent.  micah attacked hard and caught matt and jesse.  in the grass spring towards the finish line, micah attacked again!  jesse ended up winning, with micah 2nd, matt 3rd, local pro in 4th and jon w in 5th.  bobbie watt ( jon’s wife placed 2nd in the womens race!)

Sunday – Super D race: jon w, matt, micah, tate and my self raced.  the super d was very casual and was done in a Time Trial format where each racer starting individually and was racing the clock like a downhill race.  the race promoter said “if you think you are fast, get in the front of the line!”  so tate and jon w started the whole race off.  tate had some bad luck and tore his baggy shorts.  micah and matt also had some bad luck but jon watt kicked ass and won with a time around 6:35minutes!  as well, bobbie watt won too!

King of The Mountain –  in the end, Micah gained enough points in all 3 races to win the King of the Mountain award!  he took home some cash and a pretty trophy!  Matt placed 3 in the KOTM and needs to contact the race promoter for his money!  🙂  seriously matt…

Not only were there races, but there were organized group rides and a Film Festival!  The winning film was about a 34 month old toddler riding around town picking up girls to AC/DC’s TNT song!  very funny!  And, like any fat tire festival, the beer was flowing!  The whole event was fun and the locals were all very nice!  South Dakota has a ton of trails and next time you are thinking of heading to Fruita or Moab, head north east instead and check out the Black Hills mountain bike scene!  🙂

Black Hills Fat Tire Festival

P.S. it was a good weekend hanging out and racing with you guys!  – jesse

This race is part of the Summit Mountain Challenge series and is happening this weekend up near Keystone!  $2o entry fee and 12:30pm start time…  count me in!!!  Click here to find out more about the Tour De Trash.

Micah strong on the start

Mitch W and Micah J headed to Santa Fe this weekend and met up with Tom A for a little New Mexico XC  and ST racing.  Micah ended up 4th in pro in the XC!  Way to go!  Mitch did well in the Cat 1 ST race and finished 4th, but was battling food posining and a flat tire, and wasnt able to finish the XC race.  It was good to see you racing on the dirt again Mitch!  The XC  course was fast, twisty and rolling!  Check out the GPS of the race here…  Here are some photos of the XC race..

For all those roadies climbing Lookout Mtn, keep your head up for these 4 wheel skate board down hill daredevils racing the other way!

I just got this email from the crew over at Maverick Sports…

Greetings and Welcome to the 2009 Firecracker 50, home of the USA Cycling Mountain Bike Marathon National Championships!  Plans are well under way for the 9th annual Firecracker and we have some changes and tweaks to share with you.

REGISTRATION

Registration is now open!  Read on for some very important information regarding field size limits and the first ever time cut-off.

WEBSITE

All event details are posted at www.mavsports.com.  Info will be updated periodically as the event nears so check in from time to time.

Photo from Velonews.com
Wow, I am really tired. I am still coughing up a lot of dust. I finally had a good Southern California race. The course here is really cool, pretty difficult though. They changed the it a lot from the previous years. Last year’s course was predominantly flat with some steep little pitches here and there, but this years course had some hill to it. In the first kilometer of the track, there was a climb that was really freaking steep and loose. It was an awesome change, It was nice to have some split in the race, but it also sucked a lot. You really had to save some gas for that climb every lap. I have never ridden something so steep and so challenging so many times, while going as fast as I can.

Like normal, I got a terrible start position, I really don’t understand how I keep getting these terrible start places. I even had UCI points from the previous year, and a top 30 overall ranking in the now defunct NMBS series from last year. Oh well, It worked out okay, although I am curious how I would have done had I gotten a place a little closer to the front. Any ways, I started right behind Trevor around 80th, we took the outside lines and they worked out pretty well. It was a crazy mad dash with over 120 guys starting in the Pro race, and it held together pretty well until that steep as hell climb called “the elevator”. There is where things got really crazy. I had to jump off and start running the climb, then someone swung there leg off and hit me right on the upper lip really hard with there shoe. I honestly thought I broke or chipped a tooth for over the first half of the race. With there being so many people behind me, I really didn’t have the option to stop or slow down. Then, finally after going through the technical downhill sections we met back up with the paved road and I could make up some places. As the race went then I got tangled with some other dude who kicked my front derailleur over and it was rubbing my chain the whole rest of the race. Quick note, there are a lot of Semi Pro’s who are racing pro and really shouldn’t be. I don’t necessarily mean fitness wise, but etiquette and also just how to race with the pro’s. Just my two cents. Any ways, I was really worried I was going to break a chain or something, but it held together really well. I made it through all 5 laps, feeling better and better as the race went on and got 53rd, passing over 30-40 guys from that climb. 

It was a great feeling to come across the line knowing I had a great race. I am really hoping to build off this and have a good season. Another quick note, The new US Cup/ Pro XC tour is awesome. There were a bunch of people out there this weekend watching and cheering us on. The vibe was awesome, the scheduling was really well thought out and ran smoothly. They had awesome goody bags with free T shirts and In N Out Burger tickets. I was really impressed, I can honestly say that the future of mountain bike racing in the US is looking good.Plus the entry fee for Pro men, UCI race even, was only $45. My hat goes off to Scott Tedro and everyone at Sho-Air. Well my Ice cream is melting and Trevor’s parents have Formula One racing on so I need to go, but before I do, A huge thanks to Trevor Downing and his family, Sam Jurekovic, Bikeparts.com/Peak Cycles and everyone else who helped me get here. Thanks Again!
– Colin Osborn

Team Evergreen Racing is putting on The Burn again this year!  Its a MTB time trail held up in the Buffalo Creek trail systems!  Click here for more race info.  See ya on the dirt!

Hey, an old Fort Lewis College buddy sent me a link to this race down in Pueblo on the trails near the Res.  It looks likes all the money goes to building new trails around the Pueblo Reservoir!  I’ll be heading down, let me know if you are in for a new race on new dirt!