THANK YOU 2010

Looking back on another amazing season of cycling, I find myself again, in great appreciation for all those who have supported me over the yeas and continued that support for 2010. There were a number of really good events that I was able to attend as an athlete and in support to an or many athletes. There were some new adventures that had and will continue to have a huge impact on my life and of course some excellent learning experiences that will change the way I train and compete for 2011.As the season began, the KUHL Mountain Team came out strong and with good representation. KUHL has been great to me for the past three seasons and I can't imagine a better crew of buddies that all share the same passion for the sport and desire to get out and ride. I started the season on an S-Works from Bingham Cyclery. It had been a while since I dawned the big red S on any of my mountain bikes. Bingham Cyclery has always been a friend of mine and when I found out out team would be pairing up I got all giddy inside.My first ride on this fine racing machine felt as though I'd been riding it for a few seasons now. It fit like a glove and was rocket fast. It proved to be an excellent bike as I assumed it would, but due to some other arrangements, I wouldn't continue to race it for the entire season.2010 OPPORTUNITIES The other arrangements came along and brought an entirely new direction to life that I'd never thought would happen. A good direction. The making and building out of Bike Fix. A new shop here along the Wasatch, that I was able to have a huge part of. Originally coming on to be the Brand Manager, I also accepted a management/ownership position of the Bountiful location. It took us nearly three months to build it out. From this to this. Long days that went into the very next day and well into the next with lots of missed sleep and training. No worries though. It was all worth it for sure. We opened and have been enjoying all that the cycling industry has to offer since day one.Trips to Wisconsin and endless laps on Trek's private trails atop of some sweet rides. Great demo bikes that I can take out during the middle of the week when the trails are empty and one of the best commutes ever. An awesome crew of bike loving dudes with a lot to offer and chatting about bikes while eating Filly Cheese-steak sandwiches from Vitos, will all be missed. As of December 1st. I'll be going back to R&R Partners full time. I'm going to miss the day to day activities at the shop and seeing many of my great friends that come in from time to time, BUT! I'll still be at Bike Fix as much as I possibly can and continue to help out with brand management, bike team, club rides, clinics and anything else I can. If you need something, never hesitate to give me a call, text or email and I'll get you taken care of or meet you at the shop.EXCELLENT EVENTS IN 2010As always, Utah hosts a number of world class events throughout the year for all types of athletes. Some of my favorites this season were the following: Pedal Feast at Deer Valley. One of the classic stops of the Intermountain Cup series and one for the history books for 2010. Due to a tremendous amount of rain, the race was postponed to the following Wed. night. There just so happened to be a crew of factory Cannonale riders in town that had the evening open. It's not often, frankly never, do we get that many rainbow stripes in the pro mens field so why not jump at the chance to lead em out. I did it Hidalgo style. Mine wasn't entierly for show though. I felt good that day and hadn't been at the races for a while. I wanted to blow out the cob webs and test the recovery time. I led the field to the base of Little Stick then slowly moved back. Though the race was pretty short I continued to put in a few efforts and felt great. Unfortunaltly a flat tire followed by a flaw in my Co2 skills forced me to drop out. It was a good "test" race to check the fitness and make any changes to the training plan for the rest of the season.The Wasatch Back was an entierly new experience to me this season that proved to be really fun but in the end it hurt more than any cycling event I've ever attended. I'm no runner but would do it again in a heart beat.The Snowbasin 100K was a blast! Big thanks to all those who raced the 50K and splashed out all the mud for the 100K riders. The course was in fantastic condition. A few cows on the trail and some flat tire issues but it was a great test of fitness and start to three weeks in a row of endurance events. 100K, P2P and LOTOJA.Of course the Park City Point to Point makes the Best Of list. Despite being a dummy and taking a wrong turn, it's still on my top three favorite races of all time. I'll be back next year for sure and you can count on me staying on course this time.The Logan to Jackson was also a first for me this season. Possibly a last? At least not on a tandem again. Although our schwag bag of winnings have paid off in many ways and helped make the event even more enjoyable.NEW FOR ME IN 2010With each new season comes new products, training methods and ideas. Along with those come moments of truth where in which we the athletes decide whether or not the product is worth keeping around or using throughout the season. From my experience this season, here's a list of what worked and didn't work for me: FOOD: GU Roctane gets my five star approval for 2010 and will remain a staple during events and some training rides for 2011. In the past I've been a user of the regular GU packets and thought they did a fine job for two hour events or just a little pick-me-up on a long ride. What I didn't like was that during events I sometimes felt like a had to take more than I wanted to, to keep me going. I'm a minimalist and if I can get by with out, that's how I'll roll. Roctane is a more sustained formula that built more for endurance racing. It has more amino acids and in some cases, double the caffein. I found that I can use Roctane during shorter events and I don't have to pack as many for those "just in case" moments. The energy punch is much more sustained without the spike and lasts a bit longer than the regular GU gels. It also seems to be pretty easy on the stomach as well. Oh wait, that's probably the Carbo Rocket talking. Another five start approval only it falls in the beverage category. There seems to be a lot of competition in the "chomp/block" category and though I dig the packaging of Clif chomps and the Honey Stinger taste and eatability the best, I prefer the results of GU chomps over them all. I think I could eat Honey Stingers all day because they taste so good and are super easy to eat while riding and racing, they just didn't seem to have much by the way of punch when it came down to it. Plus the new GU Chomps Watermelon flavor gives Honey Stingers a run for their money in taste. GU Chomps will be in my race bag for 2011. *after thought: I don't generally consume a lot of chomps during the shorter events. For me they're better during the endurance races. I also generally replace GU's on training rides with chomps. I'd just rather chew on something and not have to deal with messy gu packets for long periods of time.Eating on the go: I've fallen in love with PB&Banana sandwiches. When pre-made and cut into fourths, they're not to hard to take in and provide some serious energy and nutrition during those epic days in the saddle. I also stumbled across Bonk Breaker who makes a some really delicious bars that I'm hoping to get my hands on in the near future. This would be the perfect solution to my PB&J or PB&B fix out on the trail. Much less hassle and mess. There's also those delicious and fairly healthy KDAY Racing Power Cookies I posted about a while back. It's been a some time since I made a batch, but they're also on my keepers list for 2011. PRODUCT:Awesome Straps. The name says it all. They work great, easy to use and fit right into that minimalist category. The Crank Brothers Multi 17. This guy is the ultimate multi-tool. It’s light small and simple and packs nearly every tool you’ll need for the trail. Most tools now all have a torx wrench which is mandatory if you’re running XX. None of my tools in the past had this.