SWEET RIDE!!!!

What a great experience I had on Thursday! I mentioned in my last entry that I had given my dad my old mountain bike and that my mom had just bought a bike. They were so excited like little kids at Christmas that you couldn't help but be overjoyed with them! They had already laid down the gauntlet by doing a 30+ mile ride for their first ride in...oh I don't know....25 years!
I had the EXTREME pleasure of taking them on their first ever mountain bike ride! I told them to meet me at Sycamore Canyon and Pacific Coast Highway at 10:30 am!
I had ridden down through the canyon from Thousand Oaks and ended up being a couple minutes late after finding that 5 of the creek crossings were still running! My dad was kind of pacing around trying to find a cell signal so he could call me and find out where I was! It was 1033! They were so excited and that was awesome to see!
We headed into the canyon and my mom took off like someone had just screamed go! She was quickly 100 yards ahead of us and I asked my dad if he had ever heard the expression,"don't burn all the matches in your book!" He said that that's how fast she rides! I asked him if this was the pace that she kept on the Ojai ride and he said yes! I told him that he was in trouble!
I caught up with her and realized that she was in her BIG RING! After noticing that she wasn't shifting for the little hills I asked her why not and she said that she wasn't to comfortable with shifting yet! I gave her a quick lesson and she exclaimed how much easier it was to pedal! She then increased her cadence and took off again!

On their long first ride she had started to cramp up near the end and I had told her about nutrition and hydrating! They had brought all kinds of goodies with them including fresh cut pineapple and nuts! About halfway towards the turn around I led them off the double track onto some sweet single-track! You could tell they were a little nervous at first..ok..for most of it, but every time I glanced back they were right on my tail eating it up! Once back on the fire road moms said that she didn't know if she was ready for that. I told her that she did awesome and she just grinned from ear to ear!
At the turn around we chowed down on bars and fresh pineapple! We headed back towards the beach and my mom just hit the gas again! It was a little slower as we had a bit of a headwind but she was still pushing it hard! The second time through all the water crossings they seemed to have it down...choose a line and pedal through!
When we got back to their car and I we talked about how far we had gone(12.5 miles) my moms next comment was,"that's it? Let's go home, wash the bikes and go for another ride!" FREAKING AWESOME!!!
This was definitely a highlight of my life! I couldn't of asked for the experience to be any better! I look forward to many rides with them! Oh yeah...the next day they did the 30+ mile Ojai ride again! Then they called this morning and asked where they should ride today!

Ma and Pa...Ride On!

Thursday Night Fixie Fun

As we are coming out of the cold winter nights, Thursdays are getting better and better! When I asked for a Fixed Gear bike for my birthday back in January, I had one thing on my mind...Thousand Oaks Chain Gang Thursday night rides!

Drew (The Pirate?) Guarding the fleet!

As the weeks roll on, there are more and more people showing up to ride! We meet at the bike shop around 7PM and start rolling at about 7:30. All kinds of folks show up. Guys, gals, and youngsters. Most have fixies but some show up on geared road bikes and occasionally something crazy like a tall bike! We usually head down Thousand Oaks Blvd.(The main street in our community) towards Moorpark Rd. The larger the group gets the safer we all seem to feel riding on the busier roads. We usually get lot's of honks and waves. People get a kick out of seeing us all riding down the road. We also get the occasional jerk that wants to give us grief! Whatever! Once we hit Moorpark road it's a climb up to Toppers Pizza! Some of the best pizza ever!

After salad and pizza we have been lately heading out trying to find a place to race. Some weeks it's drag races, other weeks we map out a course. The last two weeks we have been going to the park behind the Thousand Oaks Library. We figured out a CRAZY figure 8 cyclocross type of race track. The first half-lap is on a 4 foot wide sidewalk that has twists and turns(even a bridge crossing) that are hard to navigate on a fixed-gear! Then it gets even CRAZIER when you hit the second half as it turns to a sandy path that also twists and turns! People were even crashing as we slowly rode the course pre-race. It then turns off the sand path onto the grass where you have to duck under some tree branches! A mushy jaunt over the soft playground surface and you finish the lap! 3 laps was the call and the first week out was NUTS! There was crashing and banging from the start, (no injuries) and I couldn't even hang with 3-4 of the guys! After that race we decided to do a gate to gate drag race. The road through the park is shaped like a big U. There are closed gates at each end and I would say that it is about 1/2 of a mile or a little more all the way around. We had someone yell o and I got a pretty good start. I was 3rd at the half-way point and I think we had pretty much dropped everyone else. As we approached the finishing gate it was slightly uphill. I looked up to see Bobby Langin Jr. and some other racer guy hammering with their heads down. In a flash Bobby screamed OH SH...and next thing you know he was flying over his bars! He did he pretty good tuck and roll and came right up to his feet screaming' "Did I win, Did I win?" The other guy had locked up into a skid that was no less than 25ft! Yeah...they were flying! I locked into a skid(I have no brakes, this is a complete lock up of the legs) and barely missed crashing into the fence! I guess we should have checked the end of the course first! The whole way back to the shop all we talked about was Bobby's Superman over the fence! He's got a pretty good talent for crashing onto his face!
We had about 20 people this last week and hope that it continues to grow! We will have to start reserving the party room at the pizza place! I also got to do the Ride of Silence this last Wed. This was a memorial ride that was held all over the country last week. Thousand Oaks had about 300 riders show up! It was pretty cool as some bike police also showed to ride with us. We rode up Thousand Oaks Blvd and made a big loop back around to the start. It was about 12 miles and there were all kinds of riders there! There were a couple really young kids that did the whole 12 miles on BMX bikes! There were old folks, racers, tag-along's, and even a few tandems. It was kind of funny when we were sitting in the parking lot waiting to take off and there were people eating GU"S and Shot Blocks! We asked each other if we missed the invitation to the race? It was a great time! We rode to Taco Bell afterwards and managed to eat a lot!
Sometime in the next couple of weeks will be the big Chain Gang Race that we have been planning for over a year! It will be from Agoura High School to the Jann's Mall parking lot! Straight down Thousand Oaks Blvd! There are a couple tough hills in the first 5 miles so correct gearing on the fixie will be key! I will definately have some pics!
I HAVE TO GIVE A HUGE CONGRATS TO MY MOM AND DAD! They have been looking to buy a bike for my mom and actually went out and rented one to try. So any regular Joe would go to an easy short bike path to get a feel for the bike! Nope! Not my parents. They decided to ride from Ventura to Ojai and back!!! Ummm yeah...that's 15 miles each way! It climbs 1000ft from Ventura to Ojai and then when you head back to Ventura it's all downhill, but usually a headwind right in your face! Though she started to have a little cramping, they made it the whole way! Awesome! Way to go guys! I am dropping off my old mountain bike to my dad tomorrow! Next up for them, a ride through Sycamore Canyon! They want me to go with them but I am not sure I will be able to keep up!

Ride On,
Lucas

National Race Report

Wow! What a race! I am really glad that I pre-rode on Saturday in the heat as I think that it helped my body adjust...or ready itself for the hell I was about to put it through! After a rough nights sleep on the hard farmland, I awoke to cool air and a touch of fog. I new that it would get hot quick but I just couldn't decide on what jersey to wear? I definatley made the right choice with the short sleeve.
We lined up with a fairly large group and a lot of the usual suspects. There are some real powerhouses in the 35+ clydesdale class that are really fast and I even notoced some new guys to! We started at about 817 am and it had heated up quickly! We were off at a really quick pace so I tried to jump on to the front group as best as I could. I held on pretty well for the first climb even passing a few guys! Legs felt good but I knew I had a long way to go. The had us do this weird quarter lap twice. It included the hardest climb of the course so the second time up I backed off a touch so I wouldn't blow up! I continues to pass slower riders and then I hit the descent! I just let go of the brake and flew down the hill! When we rounded the corner by the dual slolom course to start the next climb, I found myself staring directly into the hot sun! I was sweating so much that I gave my bike below a bath! It was SOOO hot! I settled into a pace and started sucking down the liquids!
I really felt this climb as it felt like every rotation of the pedals I got closer to the sun! Soon I was at the top and really just blasted down the hill! I knew the corners to slow for from the pre-ride the day before and I was really able to open up some gaps on the guys behind me. As I rounded the landfill and started that climb I realized that there was two guys from my class right ahead. This is a rolling climb with 3 levels before it tops out and drops into the valley back towards the finish. I got close to the two guys and waited until the third roller to make my attack. As we approached I stood up and hit the turbo as I climbed! I blew past them and I think caught them by complete surprise. Knowing that I had a big downhill for recovery...I was pretty much going at 170 percent! At the bottom of the descent I looked back and saw no one! The next section of single-track is hard as it's slightly up-hill and a little technical. I kept my effort at about 130 percent and was able to put more time into the guys! As I hit the next short and steep climb I had to dial it way back! Once over that it was another fast descent that leads you to the last climb.

Right at the begining of this monster...I saw an angel! There was a man with a cooler and bottles of ice cold water! He sceamed as I approached asking if I wanted it dumped down my back? I screamed back that I wanted it on my head! He warned me that it was ice cold and I told him that I didn't care! Just dump away! That was SO WHAT I NEEDED to get up this hill! As I was about 1/2 way up I kept feeling as there were people closing on me and I tried to push as hard as I could! Once to the top (totally blown) I got ready for the last descent. I caught two more guys on the way down and found a way around them! Once at the bottom it was 2 miles at a 1 percent grade to the finish! I dropped through the creekbed and hammered it the last 1k to the finish!
Not only did I win my class...I beat EVERYONE that I started with! I can't tell you how much this win stokes me! Though XC racing is a total blast, my focus is longer endurance events. Winning XC is like butter on a warm muffin!
Peace,
Lucas

PS: this was once again typed on my blackberry during lunch...please forgive any spelling errors!

Santa Ynez National

I woke early today in order to get the dogs walked and to get Kristen ans I some breakfast. Then it was off to get a BADLY needed haircut! My chops were so long I was afraid that they would slow me down! I then stopped by the bike shop to pick up my trusty steed! I blew up my rear wheel yesterday for the last time and decided to just get a new one. It seems that I always need to replace something vital a day or two before a race!
I hit the road only to realize that the good ol' 101 freeway was a parking lot due to the Oxnard Strawberry Festival was going on. It also did not help that it was 11am and already 95 degrees! Everyone seemed to be headed for the beach. Before long I had made it through Ventura and it was pretty smooth sailing until I came up on an overturned SUV near UCSB. That took a b it to get through but I arrived to the venue just in time to watch the Pro XC guys take off! I felt really bad for them as it was 102 degrees!
They had a great showing with most of the big guys showing up. After the end of lap 2 there was a group of about 10 off the front and they looked pretty freaking strong in the heat. The finish was an odd one! The first guy came in and there was no one with him? I couldn't tell you his name as it did not sound familiar to me? Geoff Kabush came in about 2 or 3 minutes later. Then the next 8 to 10 guys came in seperated by a minute or more. I had never seen it so strung out? Weird!
I then got dressed and headed out for a lap on the course. it was still over 100 so I filled up a bottle and my camelback and was off. I find this course pretty tough as far as the fact that there is not a lot of recovery. You are either climbing or descending a very rough very narrow singletrack! Me being the fat belly that I am....I have a hard time on the climbs. There are a couple steady climbs that I may be able to hammer up and make some passes on...we'll see!
When I got finished I went up the hill to watch the dual slalom races. This was pretty intense! It's so cool to see all the pro's that you read about! These guys are so dialed it was fun to watch the fly down the hill!
I went into Buelton for dinner and then headed back to the course to settle in for the night. It's cooled down considerably as I sit here and type this out on my Blackberry in my tent! Please forgive any spelling or gramatical errors as there is no spell check on my Crackberry! I will send a full race report tomorrow night! I really want to win this one....
Please don't forget get about www.fatcyclist.com ! I would ask that you please continue to pray for the Nelson Family. Susan has had some better days since radiation started and the blogosphere keeps pouring out support for them which is awesome! He's had some cool and touching updates this last week...
Keep climbing...
Lucas

Oh man...I think I'm gonna Ralph! 8 hours of Hurkey Creek Report

I had been looking forward to this race all winter! We were supposed to race the 24 hour as a 4 man team, but each and every one of us had to work on Sunday! I was just as stoked to do the 8 hour race and started training pretty hard about 4 weeks ago. I started commuting to work through the valley on my fixed gear in order to get riding time in on days that work would not allow regular rides. I found a bike path that runs from Woodland Hills to Sherman Oaks and is pretty much as flat as a pancake.

Monday the 14th I woke up with a devastating cold! I had been training really hard and was worried that I had overdone it. I went to the doctor that day and he told me that the nasty cold was going around. He wanted to put me on antibiotics and I said NO! I did not want to risk the side effects of that on my body!

Rory, Jen, and I drove up on Friday. We arrived a little after two and it was HOT and DRY. We set up camp and rode around the venue a bit. I wanted to ride the course to loosen up the legs but Rory wasn't feeling it so we just hung out relaxed, told stories and laughed our heads of.

It heated up considerably as 12pm approached and the wind was gusting pretty hard. Soon it was time to line up for the Le Mans start and Rory and I found ourselves in a sea of racers. We had a huge field of 48 sole 8 hour riders! The biggest ever at this event! The gun sounded and we were off! Rory and I had agreed to briskly walk as we are not big runners and did not plan on being out in front on the first lap!

The first lap was slow and steady. You start with a an amazing technical two mile climb up through the edge of the canyon. It was slow with all the traffic, but that helped us keep a manageable pace. When you hit the first aid station at the top, the fiirst roller oaster section shoots you around the mountain into the back valley. Once in the valley it turns to double track which is the first and best opportunity to pass people. The only problem was that as soon as you turned into the valley, the wind was blowing 20-30 mph right into your face! This made it really hard to not exert too much energy early on! I think that we over did it a little on the first and second lap. The descents are AMAZING at Hurkey Creek! Like fast downhill roller coasters! We rolled through the finish line with a time of 1:07. Jen had our bottles and food ready for us and we were off on lap two.

Lap two was a little quicker up the opening climb and we again pushed it to pass some slower guys out in the windy valley. Things got a little crazy as we descended into middle of the course we were following some slower riders. Rory went for a crazy pass on an even crazier line and ALMOST pulled it off! Next thing you know Rory's body and bike were turning sideways and looking like death was imminent! But no! He was stopped by a very large bush! He was a little torqued but like a champion was right back onto his bike and behind me in just a moment! As we were finishing up this 2nd lap my stomach was really starting to bother me and that was making me not want to ingest any of the liquid that I had on me. That had the side effect of cramping! We came through lap two at 1:05! New bottles and a pep talk from Jen and we were off on the lap of disaster!

With every pedal stroke I felt as if I was going to hurl my insides out! Rory was starting to cramp pretty bad and we continued to ride ourselves deep into a pain cave. We took a break at the second aid station and drank lots of water. That seem to make me want to hurl even more! It did help with my cramping though. We rode through the finish line with a lap time of 1:34! Hideous! When we stopped at the pits, Rory started to self-destruct. His muscles went haywire and he passed the point of no return. I drank some more plain water and managed to get a banana down and spent over 10 minutes stretching. After a 15-20 minute break I took off for lap 4.

It wasn't an easy lap for sure but I put one pedal in front of the other and pushed out another lap. I was actually passing some slower riders which gave me the confidence to push a little harder. I really opened up on the downhills since that did not require pedaling! I managed to make up a lot of time on the descents. I rolled through the finish with a lap time of 1:47. My actual ride time was 1:15 minutes! I had spent 30 minutes trying to recover between laps and one stretching stop during the lap.

After some heavy praying during lap four, my stomach was no longer hurting and my legs seemed to regain some of there snap. I climbed steady and strong and managed to ride the whole lap. About halfway through I came upon another 8 hour racer and he looked back and saw my plate. He took off like a rabbit and I went on the chase! I pushed as I hard as I could and came within a bike link going into the final limb but blew up as soon as I started the ascent! Once at the top I flew down the whoop section and into the finish line. Rory and Jen were standing just under the finish holding a beer for me. I was undecided about one last lap. I had peeled off a lap of 1:09 and realized that I could probably get one more in.

As I looked at Rory, I asked him how he was doing and you could tell he was having trouble just standing there. I decided against the lap and opted for the beer instead! The crowd gathered at the finish line seemed happy with my decision as they roared with applause as I took a drink! Kind of funny.

When I was said and done, I was really happy with the way that I rode. The heat was definitely not helping in the cramping department. I also learned a valuable lesson in the nutrition department! I had mixed my drink very concentrated in order for each bottle to last longer....not a good idea!

I ended up in 14th place!!! That's out of 48 8 hour racers! I am super stoked with that result. Not a bad way to start my endurance season! Back to training!

Keep Climbing,
Lucas

Enjoyment

My First Fixie!


Beautiful Day

I apologize that I left you with the statement that I would try to write more regularly and then I wait 15 days to post! I have continued to work some insane hours yet see the fruit of my labour. It's truly amazing to watch the cement poured into a foundation and then move it around a bit trying to level it out. I find gaps and cracks but work quickly with the crew to smooth out the roughness. It is so close to setting that I am running out to buy the lumber for the frame!
When I have a free moment I try to first spend it with my lovelies(yes, that's Kristen and my doggies, not my bicycles!) I find myself not wanting to spend a ton of time on the computer after a day of work. I have barely been able to keep up with all my favorite blogs, let alone find time to get to mine!
I have been able to get a fair amount of saddle time in! I also raced the first California State XC race last Sunday. It was a pretty crazy race! My friends and I were smart enough to set our clocks before bed on Saturday...not the case with everyone else! They pushed the start of the race back an hour because there were so many people showing up late. It was an AMAZING turnout! Men, women, kids, it was nuts. Definitely the largest turnout to a state race in a long time! It was also great to see all the usual suspects that I had not seen since winter. I felt great during warm-up and then went over to wait for my start. This is one of the things I dislike about XC races. You warm-up before the race and then you start 17 minutes after lining up! I am always cold and sore for the first 10-15 minutes. Endurance races are a little different as I don't warm up much and start much slower. XC races are like a Japanese Bullet Train from the sound of the gun. I need to experiment a little more with the XC warm up. We had a decent group that we started with and the pace was fast. I was able to lead out the group to the first climb and then started dropping back into the pack. I managed to stay ahead of the guys in my class about 1/2 way through the first lap. That's when I was overtaken. I stayed close until the long climb towards the end of the lap and then he just rode away from me. It is very apparent that I need to drop this extra weight that I am carrying around. I feel very fast on everything except the climbs. Carrying my fat butt up these climbs is tough! Midway through my second lap I was passed by a pro that then broke his chain right in front of me. I stopped an offered my chain tool and a quick link. In the end I was about 14 minutes behind first place yet still managed to pull off 2nd. The results of this race were a little crazy as some of the big names did not do to well. Most people had set up their feed zone in the wrong spot and missed getting fresh bottles on all their laps! There were a lot of crashes too! My friend Bobby Langin Jr. went down pretty hard onto his face! He pulled out after the crash.
Mike Mahoney and I did a 4.5 hour MTB ride yesterday and it was amazing! I don't get the opportunity to blow him up very often and feel so great when I do! I had another hour at least, in me! I won't talk to much about the fact that when he pulled his bike out of the car at the trail head, his shock was completely broken. He rode the entire 40 miles with 4700 ft of climbing in "Lockout" mode which totally changed the geometry of his bike and pedaling! I don't think I could have done it! When we were climbing Overlook in Sycamore Canyon which is a 6ish mile climb, he rode away from me and stated later that he decided to put the "HURT" on. I gave him mad props then laughed at him later when he was suffering! Good times!
As you can see from the pictures above, Kristen and I took the bikes up to Ventura for a little sun therapy. We rode the bikes along the beach path then headed into town to see an old friend. It was a really great day! I love when Kristen gets on a bike and enjoys herself!
I am hoping to do 3 long rides in 3 days at the end of this coming week. Wed-Friday I hope to get in 4+ hour rides. Hopefully the weather will cooperate!
Please keep Kristen and I in your prayers over the next couple of weeks as we may have an opportunity that would change our lives forever!
Keep Climbing
Lucas

Catch Up

I have been playing catch up in every way the last few weeks. Not a bad thing, there has just been so much to do! Work is going great as far as the shape that we are starting to take! It hasn't been easy...but it's been fun. I have been finally catching up on my mileage! No trainer! Actual mileage!
I don't remember if I told you all what I got for my birthday? Well if not, let me share! My lovely wife heard my birthday wish and got me a fixed gear Limited Edition Specialized Langster "London"! This thing is so freaking sweet! I have been having a blast on it. Riding twenty miles on this is like riding 40 on my regular bike! No matter which way I ride from home, it is so hilly! This makes for a non-stop ride of pain! The Chain Gang, which is the my friend Drews fixed gear bike club here in Thousand Oaks, have been teaching me a few tricks when we ride. I have learned how to do a pretty good skid. When we rode this last Thursday night, they taught me how to do a 1 footed 180 skid! I'm also getting better at track stands. When I have an hour or so to ride and the dirt is out of the question, I have been grabbing this bike. I can get a pretty intense hour in!
I had the ride/hike from hell last Saturday. I got home about 3:15 and decided to hit the dirt before the rain started again. I took off into Chesbro Canyon and went for a climb! I climbed Palo Comado and the technical single-track that parallels it. As I got up to China Flat it started to rain a bit. Luckily it was all downhill from there...or so I thought. I was about halfway down when my rear tire blew. I was cold and wet but knew that I could change my tire quickly. Tube, check, CO2, check, CO2 adapter....crap... where is my adapter? Say it isn't so! Well, it was so! I was about five miles from home! The light of day had just gone and the rain was picking up. I started jogging down the hill with bike next to me but that didn't last long! By the time I got home I was a meat popsicle! You only forget your CO2 adapter once!
I have been squeezing in rides almost daily! Thursday I went on a great ride with my friend Mike and his friend Evan who is the Giant Bicycle demo coordinator. He just started in the position and was sharing his travel plans for the year during the ride. We rode out in Simi and I was a little tired from my fixed gear ride the day before. As we were climbing up Stage Coach Trail, I managed to fly over my bars and land on my face! Yeah...it was great! I must have hit my knee either on the bars going over or on the top tube as I face planted because I have a bump on the inside of my knee that looks like their is a golfball under my skin! It's a little freaky! It was a great ride and much needed after the long week of work!
That same day I did a ride with the Chain Gang through Thousand Oaks. It was a blast!
This morning Mike and I hit Sycamore Canyon. The fog and the moisture were super thick but it was great! We held probably our fastest pace through our ride ever! It felt great! It was more like a race ride. The trail was excellent with the moisture.
I have to work tomorrow but plan to get up early and get a three hour ride in. Next Sunday is the first California State race. It's a course that suits me well. Hopefully I can make it!
I will post some pics of the new FIXIE soon and try to blog a bit more regular!
Peace,
Lucas