Big Wheel Racing

I rode my second ever competitive road event Tuesday, May 13. The Tuesday Night Crits began for 2008 last week, and will be held each Tuesday until June 24. I had wanted to race my Specialized SingleCross, but have not had time to change out the gearing. My wife has graciously allowed me to race her Specialized Allez Elite, that Santa Claus brought her last Christmas. It just happens to fit me, too.  At the first race on May 6, I learned a lot about crits, and got lapped in the process. I didn’t get to warmup either. Helping with race setup, officiating, and racing, leaves little time for preparation. Lenny helped me a lot in that race, keeping me in position, and trying to help me conserve some energy. 

At the latest race, I did much better. I got to ride about six laps before the first race, and another during the kids race. I met my goal- not getting lapped, and finished not too far back from the main pack. I worked hard with a few others in the second pack and had a great race. I’ll be there every night of the series, as the other three in the family race also. Even Vianne got to do the kids race last night on her Specialized Hotrock.

Chris Hereford

12 HMVThe 12 Hours of Mesa Verde was what I’m calling my first successful 12 hour event. I raced Dawn till Dusk, but dropped out after 5 laps, with plenty of time left on the clock. For MV, I put a few more new parts on my 12 year old Specialized S-Works M2 SS. I had replaced the 12 year old brake cables before DtD, and that made a difference. I had converted the bike to SS in August of 2006, for the upcoming cross series in Albuquerque.  And now, since I would be racing it in mtb events, it needed more goodies, and pampering.  The race started good for me, a slow “course learning” first lap, following and passing when possible. On the fourth lap, my brain was fading. I caught up to my wife and decided to walk with her to insure she got to the finish OK. She had ran out of supplies, and it was her weekend, Mother’s Day. This walking break was just what I needed.  

At the pit, I fidgeted with the chain, ate some stuff, drank some stuff, ate some more stuff. And decided to hit the course again. I had to make up for DtD at this race, I had to do more laps. After lap 5, I thought I could do two more, especially since there was plenty of time. After lap 6, I had time for another one, refueled heavily, and took off for my cool down lap. I finished in 6^th for Solo SS males, and 16^th for all Solo males. It was a great race, the course was amazing, and that 12 year old Specialized is my favorite bike of the my three, (Specialized S-Works Enduro and a SingleCross). I may have been not only the oldest solo male SS, but possibly on the oldest bike too.

Chris Hereford

The Big Wheel Racing Team rolled in Cortez, CO for the 2nd annual 12-hours of Mesa Verde Mountain Bike Race. Representation from the team was very high with Mike “Maniac” Mangan entered in the Solo Men’s Category, and Donnie “”Cyclone” Cole, Lenny “King of Gondor” Goodell, Jeff “El Freako from Rico” Hemperley, Chris “C-Cow” Hereford, and Matt “The Fish” Turgeon all entered in the Solo Men’s Singlespeed category, and finally Doug “Da-Goat” Young entered in on a team of three. Big Wheel Racing had some great results and even received recognition from the race organizers for our high level of participation. BWR has a great relationship with the Cortez race and has been very supportive of this race that supports local charities in the community.

Afterward the team distributed a gift box of items from Specialized Bicycle Company, courtesy of our great relationship with High Desert Bicycles in Rio Rancho, NM as they sponsor the team and help prepare our racers for events. We take great pride in partnering with the shop and are very please to also have access to fine quality Specialized components.

Many of the team members were also racing for the first time with their new titanium King Cages made in Durango, CO and also a sponsor of BWR. Nuun and Honey Stinger products fueled the team, and as always we are very thankful for the support of all our sponsors and supporters.

Well I needed a new helmet and the guys at High Desert delivered. Stener and Jeff put their best efforts forward and helped Jeni pick me up a new lid. Great karma from these people and the shop is top notch in the Albuquerque area. The stuff that you need is located no further than here. Trust me.

Awesome lid amigos. Thanks for the help!

By Nate

Went out to Paso Robles, Ca last week for the 2008 Wildflower Triathlon Festival to race the long course.

This being the first big triathlon I’d done since 2006 and having arthroscopic hip surgery in July of 2007 I wasn’t sure what to expect. As usual, Lake San Antonio was a little brisk at around 65 degF, but in the wetsuit it isn’t a big deal once you get going. The swim was relatively uneventful, and completed in 34:29 for the 1.2mi. T1 was a little slow at 4:41, but I had long way to go barefoot from the swim exit to my transition.

Once on the bike I settled in reasonably quickly. I’m loving the new gear from High Desert Bicycles in Rio Rancho. The Specialized S-works helmet and BG Tri-vent shoes are awesome (Oh Varus Wedge, where have you been my whole life…). Nutrition worked well, a combination of Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem and nuun provided the primary fueling. 56mi bike was covered in 2:48:01 on the brutally hilly course.

T2 was much better at 2:09, heading out for the run it was starting to heat up, staying hydrated was a challenge. Honey Stinger gels was the calorie of choice for the run (if you haven’t yet tried their new chews, they’re lovely..). The Wildflower run is the toughest I’ve seen, an extremely hilly course with quite a bit of off-road. Given I’ve only been back to serious run training for about 5 months, my time of 1:57:42 was satisfying.

Total time was 5:27:04, good enough for 47 of 260 in the 30-34 AG, 260 out 1760 overall.

Our BWR-Europe team member, Mike Cleveland, represented well.

Here are some more pictures from the event!

Big Wheel Racing had a large turnout for the Dawn til Dusk 12 hours race in Gallup New Mexico on April 12^th. In total there were 9 BWR team members racing in multiple classes plus one 13 year old future BWR team member.

It was a very cold 27 degree morning when the race started at 7am. This year the start was different than in past years. I order to reduce the congestion of the single track climbs that start the 13 mile ST loop, the organizers wisely choose to have us start on the road for 5 miles and enter the single track at the turn around point of the normal loop. This made for a nice warm up and allowed everyone to spread out before entering the single track. The day warmed up nicely to the upper 50’s so we could strip off all our cold weather gear.

As we were a lining up for the start , Trek pro racer Travis Brown was there on his Trek 69er single speed, so all us solo SS’ers where thinking “well there goes first place”. On the 3^rd lap here comes Travis flying around us. We thought geeze he can’t already be lapping us, could he… Turns out he was doing a Co-ed duo

Here is how the team faired:

Solo Male Single Speed 40+:
Jeff Hemperley - 1^st place with 9 laps in 11:08:41 (2^nd place overall Solo SS)
Lenny Goodell  - 3^rd place with 8 laps in 10:28:34 (4^th place overall Solo SS)
 Chris Hereford -  8^th place with 5 laps in 08:14:43

Solo Female Single Speed:
Jennifer Albright - 5^th place with 5 laps in 10:25:58

Solo Female:
Lisa Wishard - 7^th place with 6 laps in 10:53:15

Solo  Male 0-23:
Ayden Hibner-Hereford - 6^th place with 4 laps in 10:28:24 (He is only 13 years old!!)

Solo Male 25-24:
Nathan Berg - 17^th place with 4 laps in 08:39:26 (Spent lots of time taking pictures out on the race course, Thanks Nate!)

Solo Male 35-44:
Richard Capener - 8^th place with 8 laps in  10:53:50
Michael Mangan - 9^th place with 7 laps in  09:51:20

Duo Male 80+
Doug Young (with Lars Hansen) - 4^th place with 9 laps in 11:08:12

Full results are posted at:
http://www.dawntilduskrace.net/subpage.php?do=results

Team member comments:

Jeff Hemperley: Words cannot really explain a race, only the results of ones efforts. It was cold, it was rocky, it was burdensome.

Chris Hereford: This was my first long lapping race. I had heard many people talk about the logistics, but I had not see the planning, coordination, and layout of a pit area until yesterday. I was impressed! From Janella’s assisting, Lenny’s smoothness, to Jeff’s Quicky Mart. It was all amazing, and everyone worked together at the pit. I learned a lot this weekend. This was so different from leaving the car for a day with a  full camelback, and stopping 11 hours later. I wish I could’ve hung in there a little longer with Lenny, but it didn’t happen. Great riding Lisa, Jen, Rich, Nate, Doug, Lenny, and Jeff! Thanks for the support, and thanks for supporting Ayden, also.

Lenny Goodell: I finally got that elusive 8 lap at DtD and my first 24/12 hour race podium finish!! I had 3hrs and 10 mins left after my 7^th lap and was feeling good. I was thinking 9 laps, YEAAA!! My slowest lap (lap 7) was 1:25 so I had plenty of time. Then I started the climbs on the 8^th lap and my legs said 9 laps!, what the hell are you thinking!! My 8^th lap took 1:38, eating away all my buffer to complete a 9^th lap by 7pm.. Lonn Bate from Calgary who took 2^nd place in front of me would take longer pit stops then me and then pass me each lap, so I know he was waiting to see if I would go out for a 9^th and just pass me again… so 3^rd place was my destiny. Old men rock solo SS!! Only one 0-39 solo male SS beat the top 3 40+ solo male SS’ers!

Jennifer Albright: This was my first year racing D2D solo, and to start it off right I brought the singlespeed.  Based upon my performance at my last 2 endurance races, both 24 hour events, I was hoping for 4 solid laps.  I was pleased to get 5, and although the 5th lap was tough due to feet problems, I think the muscles were good for 6 - only the feet prevented it.  I had a good regime of Hammer products that kept me fueled and feeling good. All said and done, I had my best endurance race, both in how I felt and rode, and in the support and fun with my BWR teammates.  The highlight for me really was Ayden sticking with me on what was the last lap for both of us. 

Richard Capener: I felt good out at D2D. I could have pushed a little harder but didn’t know how I would hold up at race speed. The first couple of laps I would come in a eat something then head out into the climb and almost puke. So then I would load up and take it with me and eat once I got on top. Felt much better.

Michael Mangan: Over all, the race was fun with great folks and excellent weather. But, having two flats on lap 2 was really demotivating. The first was on the tight switchback on a climb that resulted in my tire being partially removed from the rim, but was easily fixed. The second flat, a side wall tear, was a problem since I had no more CO2. Luckily, someone gave me a CO2 cartridge and I was able to finish the lap and switch out bikes, but lots of time was lost. Feeling out of contention, my mindset had changed from “it’s a competitive event” to “it’s a training event: work on form, bike handling and endurance.”

Lisa Wishard: The women’s field was hugely competitive this year! Big names, big laps and the best weather yet (except, I saw 18 degrees at the start dude, not 27!!!) my freezing water bottles bear that out.

All of the pictures that Nate took are posted at:
 http://www.flickr.com/photos/505live/sets/72157604517118269/ 
Check out the picture of Ayden finishing with Travis Brown on his wheel… what a shot!!

The Moab Rim Ride, an informal endurance mountain bike event, began a little after 6am at the Colorado River, just outside of Moab. I missed the starting roll out but was able to catch the pack and tuck in with a little effort just before everyone turned onto the old highway and began climbing away from town. As the incline increased, the pack began to spread out. After the climb we hit the first dirt road, Bar M loop, and quickly entered a new single track trail Rockin’ A. This was on slick rock and was a bit of a challenge to follow. Another challenge was getting used to the bike while carrying more weight than usual. Immediately after Rockin’ A, the course entered another new trail, Circle O. This one was easy to follow and was also on slick rock. The next trail, after a small section of dirt road was Sovereign. It started a little sandy, but soon became hard pack intermixed with in-bedded rock. This had some technical sections and a few steep climbs that became hike-a-bikes. Last year there was nasty mud on this trail. After Sovereign, the course passed under Highway 191 and joined dirt roads for several miles eventually turning onto a technical climb on a jeep road called 7 Mile Rim. Just before the end I took a wrong turn and nearly ended up a the Uranium Arch. Returning to 7 Mile Rim required a climb, but not too much time or energy was lost. The end of 7 Mile Rim has a nice descent on slick rock with multiple discontinuities on the sheets of rock where you get to fly over some small drops while passing jeeps. With a short section of a sandy dirt road, the course returned to slick rock, this time with some amazing mounds followed by a really steep slick rock descent that ends at top of Wipeout Hill, a jeep rock climb that I walked down. At the base of Wipeout Hill the course followed a dirt road that, in places, the sand was too deep to ride. Before the sand became unbearable, the course transitioned onto slick rock that was sparsely marked with rock cairns undulating up and down eventually dumping us out on highway 313.

On 313 we had 5 miles of riding into a headwind with a couple of gradual climbs. While on the road, it was a good time to really hydrate and refuel. Between the wind, getting tired and trying to multitask I managed to drop a bottle and latter electrolytes. Retrieving them wasn’t a problem, but I was began to feel like a bumbling fool, which isn’t the mental state you want when heading to the more technical portions of the course. Turning off the highway onto the dirt Gemini Bridge Road was a time to rest, although while bombing down it high speed. After 4 miles of a fast descent, it forked off to Metal Masher and the work load began to increase. Getting to the point referred to as “the widow maker” had the riders wondering how to get down this ~10 foot rock drop. Basically you drop your bike over the edge, then scoot yourself over edge and hope for a descent landing. After widow maker, Metal Masher seemed to just keep progressively climbing while getting more technical. Eventually, Metal Masher began to descend. Somewhere in the descent I managed to crash in a transition from rock to sand. Other than being a little shaken, I wasn’t hurt and the bike wasn’t damaged. Finishing Metal Masher was the point where I mentally knew that I could finish the course, although it is only a little past the half way point.

After Metal Masher, the course rejoins Gemini Bridges briefly, then turns onto Bull Canyon. If you’re paying attention to the course markings (blue ribbons) it is clear that the course goes left and begin a descent to Gold Bar. This is where I was flaking out and ended up going down two different dirt roads , both of which end at canyon overlooks. Scenic, cool views, but not on the course. After back tracking, I eventually found my errors and rode on to Gold Bar Rim. Now the course started to get very difficult – very steep, ledgy, jeep traffic, an occasional cyclist coming from the opposite direction. After slow progress, we turned onto Golden Spike and then on to Gold Bar Singletrack, where it is REALLY exposed! Imagine a portion of trail about 2 feet wide with a 400 foot drop on one side. I walked my bike there. When this ended, the course joined Poison Spider. There are parts of Poison Spider that are really fun and challenging but there is also a lot of sand!

Since I was camped at the bottom of Poison Spider, after riding that trail but before heading down Potash Road to the finish, I stopped to let Isabelle (my dog) out of the camper. Derrick, a rider from Utah that had been riding with me for the last 15 mile also stopped. After that brief break, Derrick and I rode a 2 person pace-line down Potash Road to the finish. Derrick and I finished the ride just before dark, logging nearly 13 hours of saddle time over nearly 100 miles and finishing tied for 10th.

By Nate:

Well, it was 4 weeks ago so you’d think I’d get around to writing this one up. Spring Death Valley Double Century is in the books. I left Thursday 2/28 after work and made it to Flagstaff, then drove the remaining distance Friday arriving around 2-3PM local time (stayed at Stovepipe Wells). I spent my afternoon getting equipment and bottles all ready, then made the trip to Furnace Creek for check-in and packet pick-up. Was up at 0430 or so Saturday, had breakfast and got headed to Furnace Creek for the start, I was a little later than I’d planned but figured I’d be ok. Until I got there and found the rear tire flat on the bike. So, it was a mad dash to swap out the tire/tube from another wheel (I was committed to using the Zipps), and I barely made the 6:10 start group. After that, things were relatively uneventful. Road an easy tempo for the first ~40mi, but about then the day’s theme reared its ugly head. Wind. About 5 mi out from the Ashford Mill turn to head up to Jubilee and Salsbury passes we met a good stiff breeze out of the north. Wasn’t too concerned, hopping that when we came back we’d have a nice tailwind for the roughly 50 miles between Ashford Mill and the turn around at Stovepipe Wells.

I was a little overly ambitious in my gearing selection for the passes, having selected an 11-23 to optimize the long rolling portion than makes up about ~165 miles of the event. I paid for it as I started to have cramping problems at the top of the first trip up Salsbury pass (only 60 mi into the event). Miles 50 to 80 contain about 90% of all the vertical in the entire event. Unfortunately, once you start to have a cramping problem you can pretty much count on having to deal with it for the rest of the day. In my case, any time there was a steep little roller I couldn’t power over it b/c things would seize up.

After climbing up and over Jubilee and Salsbury and back to Ashford Mill, got to enjoy the tailwind. For about 10mi. Then it switched and was dead out of the south again like last year. Maybe even a little worse. And, unlike last year, it didn’t die at Furnace Creek. But, also unlike last year, I had somebody to work with most of the day, Kevin Marr, owner of Godspeed Tattoo. Kevin started in the 6am group, and I caught up about 5-8mi before Ashford Mill. He had a good tempo over the climbs, but I caught back up again the 2nd time at Ashford Mill. After that, pretty much road the 2nd 100mi together. It was great having the help in the wind, and somebody else w/ a good “do or die” attitude. We picked up another person just outside of Furnace Creek, who also started in the 6am group. That guy pretty much bolted at the Stovepipe Wells turn around, and Kevin went to chase him down. I didn’t have it to hammer over the hills, so I just worked to ensure I didn’t loose my entire 10min. Overall it turned into a long day, ~ 12:36 total time. About 20min slower than last year, but even the overall fastest time was nearly 30min slower than last year. Good enough for 5th overall out of about 150 who started the double. Of those 150, about 50 finished all 200, 50 quit at 150mi, and the remainder DNF’d.

Of course, no write-up is complete without pimping some of the products I found exceptionally useful. My nutrition strategy worked well, it consisted of mixing nuun electrolyte tablets with Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem. In addition, Endurolytes were used extensively once I started to have the cramping problems.

On Feb 16^th, Big Wheel Racing represented at Mas-o-Menos (MoM), the first race of the USAC Endurance Series in Terlingua, TX outside of the Big Bend National Park.  This series is sanctioned under the NORBA banner of the USAC and ties together a number of National Level events.  These culminate in the National Marathon Championships to be held on the 4th of July in Breckenridge, CO at the Firecracker 50 ( http://www.mavsports.com/?id=8 )

Doug “da Goat” Young rode the “Marathon” distance of 100K in which he was entered in the Expert Masters (50+) class.  Doug was able to finish in a time of 6:04 to place 14^th out of 29 overall competitors in his class.  Of those 29, only 18 ended up finishing the event, which was a testament to the rugged nature of the course located in the Chihuahuan Desert. 

Doug was only 6 mins out of the top ten and is focused to improve upon that finish next year, now that he has a feel for the overall course.  “I can’t say enough about this particular race.”  Doug commented, “The stark beauty of the desert combined with a fun, flowing, but challenging track, made this race a gem.  I’m definitely coming back next year to up the ante.”

Doug would like to acknowledge the support of Hammer products for keeping him rolling. Doug uses a combination of Perpetuem and HEED along with flasks of Hammer Gel to keep the cranks turning with power.  Hammer delivers, without a doubt.

Doug’s Ergon GC2 Grips provided comfort and relief from numbness caused by pressure at the base of the palms.  In addition they gave him a variety of hand positions and excellent leverage on the climbs.

Doug rides an Orbea Alma 29er available at High Desert Cycles in Rio Rancho, NM.  They kitted Doug up with a combo-set of tires, featuring the new Specialized Captain in the rear and a Fast Trak 29er tire up front.  “The grip was excellent for the conditions in the Chihuahuan Desert” Doug said, “and they really held up well.  When many other people were flatting I rode steady with no sidewall cuts or other issues. I truly believe that Specialized builds one of the best racing tires around.  Light but strong!”

Doug would also like to acknowledge the quality of Pactimo and Sock Guy clothing.  “I was warm, dry and comfortable throughout the race. “ Doug added.  “I can’t say enough about the race quality Chamois in the Pactimo bib shorts.  They really we’re comfortable throughout the event.  And my Team issued Sock Guy wool socks provided the padded comfort I like with the ability to keep my feet warm and dry”.

Doug will be throwing his hat into the 50+ Expert Masters classes at the New Mexico Off Road Series events this summer and will be targeting the Firecracker 50 as his premier summer effort.  Stay tuned for more excitement from the Big Wheel Racing Team.

It rained, it snowed, it froze, the sun shone and through it all Big Wheel Racing rode. And rode, and rode and even rode two team members right onto the podium!  As well, 3 other BWR riders and teams gained top 10 finishes in their class. Collectively Big Wheel Racing rode 82 laps:

Jen Albright: 7 (2nd Place Female Solo Single Speed)
Lisa Wishard: 10 (6th place Female Solo)
Jeff Hemperley: 15 (2nd Place Male Solo Single Speed)
Scott Sportsman: 3
John Mazzola: 13 (8th place Male Solo)
Mike Mangan: 11
Donny Cole: 6
Nate Berg and Rich Capener: 17 (6th place Male Duo).

At approximately 16 miles and 1,200 feet of climbing per lap that is over 1,300 miles and nearly 100K of climbing! A Big Wheel weekend to be sure. We could not have done this without the amazing help of our crew, and sponsors. Nuun, Hammer and Honey Stinger products kept us hydrated and fed. Boy those Honey Stinger ‘Peanut Butta’ protein bars hit the spot at 3 a.m. and Nuun, warm or cold, kept us cranking. Along with our Hammer Perpeteum mixes–some of us run it as liquid and some of us as paste–either formula sure helped to keep us going. Our Maxxis and Kenda tires proved worthy in the mud, the ruts and when things finally did dry out were smokin’ fast on the course.  Our Ergon grips kept us in the right positions and kept us from the dreaded tingly fingers. High Desert Cycles came through with many accessories used throughout the race from water bottles, to saddles, to fork pump nozzles these guys have hooked us up! And, a big toast was raised, around the post race feast, to Santa Fe Brewing for supplying the ever excellent recovery drinks! And a few spines were realigned at Gonstead Family Chiropractic of Albuquerque in order to get us ready for the next collective glimpse of the team in April at the Dawn ’til’ Dusk race in Gallup, NM. Until then, keep the rubber side down. Team Big Wheel.

Team Big Wheel Racing is preparing to make its presense felt at one of the country’s Premier early season Endurance Events. In its 9th year the Kona 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo is one of the largest 24 Hour events in North America. The race will take place starting at noon on Saturday Feb 16th in Oracle, AZ outside of Tucson and won’t finsh until Sunday at noon. There’ll be lots of crankin’ going on.

The Big Wheel Team Roster will include:

Jen Albright - Solo SS Female

Lisa Wishard – Solo Female

Jeff Hemperley - Solo SS Male

Scott Sportsman - Solo SS Male

Mike Mangan - Solo Male

Donnie Cole - Solo Male

John Mazzola - Solo Male

Nate Berg & Rich Capener – Open Duo

(Team Name: Big Wheel Racing - B100 addition)

Starting at noon on Saturday, Feb 16th, you can follow the real time tracking of the lap results at the following site: 

http://liveresults.epicrides.com/

Here’s to wishing the entire Big Wheel Team much success.  Stay tuned here for insight into all of the action. Gonna be a great time in the Ol’ Pueblo for sure.

January 6, 2008–Here we are 6 days into the new year and recovery from the holidays is just getting started, but it is time to take out the cross bike for one more race to wrap up the season. The Grote Prijs race is the traditional year end race in Kansas City (at least for the past 3-4 years). Last year this race was brutally cold, this year was to be different–temps in the low 50s!! Great, but for the fact that all the snow/ice that had been around was now pure mud–this race turned into an epic mudfest and was generally an all around great way to finish the season with some classic cyclocross racing conditions (note I said generally, more on that below).

In typical fashion for me I got to the start line late, but snuck into the third row behind a couple of folks I planned to try to grab a wheel from (approx. 38-40 riders)—the start takes you down a long straight pea-gravel straightaway and into a big parking lot for an uphill paved sprint then into the grass (mud). I was in the top 12 by the time we hit the grass and within the first lap pulled into 6-7th and up to 4th-5th by lap 2. By this time we were pretty well covered in mud and the field had spread out pretty widely with a group of two guys chasing me while I tried to reel in the top guys, but was unable to do so. The final couple of laps turned into a cat-mouse game with the two guys chasing me–they would reel me in and then I would pull away–I tried to use some of the super long/thick mud bogs as a chance to really put the hammer down and pedal through to pick up some time from them and it seemed to work. I backed off a tad on the final lap figuring if they caught me that they’d be gassed and I would then be able to put in an attack and would be more rested. The plan worked to perfection (almost) as we were neck in neck entering the final obstacles and all three jumped on our bikes for the pea-gravel/pavement finish stretch.

Thats when the wheels came off……my bike which had been flawless (despite all the mud) suddenly didn’t want to shift. Once it did, the rear cassette decided it didn’t know what gear it wanted to be in and I suddenly found myself behind two guys sprinting away as my bike started pumping out skipping noises and generally letting me get about 40% of my power (what was left of it) to the road. Needless to say, I lost the sprint before it started. Final placing “should have been” around 6th or 7th, but in fine form and tradition (started at last year’s GP race) the race officials once again placed lapped riders directly behind the podium finishers in the final standings. This blows my mind as they did it last year as well and despite complaints this year they did it again so go figure….Not sure what my “official” placing was, but my real finish was around 7th–right about what seems to have been the norm for me the past few races.

Here’s to a successful season supported by our great sponsors and hoping for a successful 2008/09 campaign that hopefully includes Big Wheel Racing team members racing at the National Championships!!

Posted by Doug Young

I thought I’d take this opportunity in the relative off season to introduce the bike I’ll be racing for the Big Wheel Team on smoother terrain.  I have been piloting a Ti Seven Sola 26er HT for buff single track courses, but last fall I began to think about getting back on a 29er.  I had in the past ridden a Ti Airborne B29 with a White Bros fork.  Unfortunately, in the early days of the 29er revolution the bike was relatively heavy at 24-25lbs and steered like a truck.  That drove me to the Seven Sola.  A world class racing frame no doubt and at 22lbs one of most responsive mt. bikes I have ever ridden. 

I had heard that the newer 29er forks had greater offsets designed to improve their steering response and that there was now a few frame options that would rival the Sola in weight.  So I began looking for my next race chassis.  I decided to go with the lightest 29er frame on the market; an Orbea Alma 29er (available at High Desert Bicycles).  I had never ridden a carbon frame and I had some concerns, but I decided to take the plunge.

To keep this short and to the point, the build came in at 22.6lbs as you see it here.  The few rides I’ve done so far have exhibited a nice neutral type of handling that for the most part feels like riding a 26er.  Yes, there’s still the tendency to go wide on the apex of turns that you have to correct for in your line, but the small steering inputs required to maneuver in tight technical sections is as reactive as any of my other race bikes.  The days of a 29er feeling like steering a John Deere Tractor are gone.

The carbon frame (and perhaps it is the parallelogram design of the Orbea) feels soft but responsive.  It’s definitely not as harsh a ride as an aluminum frame, but I’m not ready to say it’s as smooth as a Ti ride.  Some where in between.  However, the acceleration snap is there.  Obviously with the 29er wheels, not as sharp as the Sola, but pretty responsive none the less.

The build includes Bontrager Race X Lite Cranks with their XXX Lite stem and bar.  The transmission is controlled by SRAM XO grip shifts and derailleur’s.  Also on tap are Avid’s Juicy Ultimate brakes.  I’ve matched these to a set of Stan’s Aluminum Rotors and Kool Stop Organic brake pads. 

This combination really woke me up.  Not so much because it’s a really light weight setup, but more because of the nice soft braking modulation of organic pads on an aluminum rotor.  The modulation on this setup is awesome.  I can’t say enough about this; it really does feel smooth without being grabby.  Perfect for giving you that minor adjustment through the technical descents.

The bike is presently fitted with Fox’s new F29er fork which feels great.  The compression damping is spot on and with the lockout you can really hammer well on it.  Unfortunately for Fox, I’m planning to replace this fork with a Rock Shox Reba 29er Race.  Why?  All the major forks today have great dampening systems, but Rock Shox is the only company offering a remote lock out.  I have come to really appreciate their Pop-Lock on my other bikes and how it allows you to lock and release without having to take your hands off the bars.  It makes me wonder why the other brands haven’t followed suit.  Oh well, their loss in my book.

I’d also like to acknowledge with a special thanks to Matt Turgeon for his insight into wheel selection.  I fitted the bike with a set of American Classic MTB 29er wheels and I couldn’t be happier.  These turned out to be some of the lightest wheels around.  And they feel smooth over the rough stuff.  These replaced a set of high dollar Reynolds Carbon Fiber wheels and they seem to have a smoother feel to them.  Then again, it may be my brain not worrying as much about blowing up a rim on a rock.  I guess I’m not ready to trust carbon in a wheel set.

I combined these with the Specialized S-works Captain rear tire and a Specialized Fast Trak up front.  I have a similar combination on the Sola with a Roll-X rear with Fast Trak front tire.  I’ve had a couple rides on the Captain/Fast Trak combination and I can say without a doubt that they are great together.  The blocky rear tread design of the Captain grabs well on the loose granite conditions of Albuquerque’s South Foothills trails.  The tight knob pattern of the Fast Trak with its nice side ribs allows the front tire to track effortlessly, roll smoothly, but bite well into the tightest turns.  I never feel like I’m going to push the front end out.

At this point all I need to do is fit a set of Ergon GC2 Grips on my bars and it will be ready to rumble.  Mas-o-Menos here I come.     

Polar Bear Sprint Triathlon was held Dec 8th, with Nate in attendance for his first sprint tri in nearly 3 years. With distances of 7km (4mi) run, 30km (19mi) bike, and 400m (1/4mi) swim this was exactly the opposite type of racing to the 135mi brevet the previous weekend. A finish time of 1:26:02 was good enough to get 2nd in the 30-34 age group, and 4th overall out of 60 male finishers. Wind on the bike proved to be the primary challange, after running a steady 30min 7k Nate made up ground in the wind with a 46min 30K bike. Kona Cola nuun provided the hydration with that little extra kick from a small amount of caffiene. The Zipp 404 wheels proved once again why they are the choice of so many riders for everything from sprints to Ironman, handling the cross winds well while just being plain wicked fast. High Desert Bicycles in Rio Rancho just happens to have a demo set of 404’s, so you can try before you buy….