Moab Training Camp Part 2

Slick Rock Over Looking the Colorado River

The Last few days of our trip to Moab fell into a routine. Wake up, do core exercises, eat, ride, eat, swim, eat, and sleep. Even though the last two days were just a part of the routine, I loved them. The Fourth day we rode Slick Rock. It was the first time I had ridden it, and was actually a little scared to do it. My dad had told me the stories of how difficult it was, and the crashes him and his friends had. Along with the story of my mom getting airlifted off the trail, I was pretty scared. But to my surprise I found the trail rather easy. The amount of grip made it rather difficult to fall. There were a few people who crashed and tumbled down the amazingly steep climbs, but none were too bad. I was fascinated with how much grip I had. I tried everything I could to lose grip, but I couldn’t. I just got my body weight forward, and spun up the climbs.

Even though the actual trail was only 12 miles long, we were all super tired from the constant climbs and descents. By about half way through the trail it was the hottest it has been. It said it was only 80 degrees, but the sun was reflecting off the rock making us like the eggs in a frying pan. We ran into another line of jeeps on the last part of the trail, but this time there was over 70 jeeps going up the jeep trail. We were all thankful that the cyclists have a separate trail. We got back to the parking lot and regrouped to ride back to the hostel. It was a short climb then a long Flagstaff like descent back into town. We all bombed down it, got back to the house and collapsed. It was my new second favorite trail, and almost everyone else loved it too.

The final day of the camp started off fairly slow. We didn’t do our morning exercises, everyone woke up late, and most people packed to go home. A few of us were smart enough to pack the night before, so we sat and played cards while the others packed. When we finally did get going I was excited to get back to my third favorite trail, Pipe Dreams. We had a hard time finding it again, and we were running low on time so we decided it was best to split up into groups. All the groups would turn around at a certain time and meet back at the trailhead. I went to the front and just hammered. I looked back at the first junction to find that I was a good minute ahead of everyone. I waited for the group, and when they caught up I went hard again. The trail flowed when I pushed my limits. I kicked out the back end on the tight switchbacks, and floated over the small rock gardens. The steep, thin, and technical trail made me concentrate the whole way which I love.

However on the way back I started to bonk. I didn’t have much breakfast, and didn’t drink any water up until then. I was still able to stay with the front of the group, but I wasn’t flowing like before. Instead I was making

stupid mistakes like letting my front wheel go off the trail. It made me concentrate even more which was hard, but when that happens in a race some day I will be glad I have had practice. When we finally got back to the parking lot our coach was waiting for us. Half the group splintered off and went back to the hostel to pack and rest. So we decided to get in a pace line and get back as fast as we could. I was on the front for most of the time charging, but I did slid in line once in a while for a rest. When we got back we had some lunch, packed up, and left the crazy hostel. I was sad to leave the great trails, my teammates, and the warm weather behind, but I was ready to get home and sleep in my own bed again.

Last Few Minutes Before Heading Home

Moab Training Camp Part 1

Over spring break the Tokyo Joe's development mtb team went to Moab for a 5 day training camp. Last year's trip to Moab was one of the best trips I had ever had, so I had high expectations of a great time. I wasn't let down, but there were some interesting surprises and experiences.

We left from south Boulder on Wednesday the 27 early in the morning with 15 people. We stopped in the mountains to pick up another, then didn't stop again until we were in Fruita. This was the first ride if the trip and one of my favorite trails called Mary's loop. It was the first time I got to ride the bike I borrowed for the trip, so I was super excited to get riding. Mary's loop has a great combination of technical and flowy sections, which made it the perfect place to get used to a heavy trail bike. By the last descent of the day I was comfortable enough to get 3+ get of air, and started to understand the appeal of having a trail bike to ride. The ride was short, and after loading the bikes back onto the car we left for Moab.

The Great Showers at the Lazy Lizard Hostel

After a fairly short drive we arrived at the Lazy Lizard Hotel. It was dusk so we couldn’t get a full look at the hostel, but we could still tell how disgusting it was. I was ecstatic that I brought a sleeping bag, but when I took a shower I realized I forgot a towel. And when I went to see if the hostel had towels I found an unpleasant surprise. The towel was covered in grass, which worried me because there wasn’t a patch of grass anywhere near the hostel. I tried not to notice the painted plywood walls of one of the showers, the mold, and the plaster surrounding the faucet while I dried off with my shirt. Another fun discovery was the stains all over the carpet and sheets of the beds. Eventually we figured out that the building was 2 mobile homes put together using scrap metal and wood.

The first night was a little hard to sleep. There were weird noises, and holes going to the outside of the house. The best part was the animals crawling around in the ceiling. We could tell there was a family of some sort of animals living in the ceiling. In fact I only think 3 people actually slept that night, and the rest of us were either too grossed out or scared to sleep. In the morning we could really see how nasty the place really was. Almost everything was broken or stained, and the kitchen was a mish mash of tables, islands, stoves and dust. Even the light covers that were glasse had holes in them. At least we only had to spend about 3 hours of time awake there, and the rest would be on the legendary trails of moab.

My Favorite Trail Amasa Back

The first trail that we rode in Moab was Amasa Back, my all time favorite trail. The technical climbs and descents makes you stay on your toes constantly. The trail starts with 15 drops to go down, and then almost immediately after there is a 3 foot drop. I would have gone off the bigger drop at the bottom, but there was a line of about 30 jeeps in the lading. We were able to get around the jeeps pretty fast by doing the bike only single track, but right around the corner was another line of jeeps waiting to go up the main climb. This time we had to wait 20 minutes until they finally let us by them. From there we had the trail to ourselves, so we went a little nuts because of how excited we were. I was still able to clear all the lines on the climbs I could before, but I was able to clear lines I didn’t think were possible on the downhill.

After Amasa Back we were too tired to even care about the condition of the hostel. We all took showers, then one of my teammates had the idea to go to the rec center to swim. We were all for it because it would get us out of the hostel and keep us from being bored. The rec center had high and low diving boards, so we ended up swimming for about 2 hours. We had competitions to see who could do the best trick off the high dive. I was the first one to do a flip, and I was happy I did because Jack tried to match it. He jumped off and over rotated straight onto his stomach. He doggy paddled to the side of the pool and just waited there in pain for a second. Naturally we couldn’t stop laughing, and after the pain went away Jack was laughing too. Then right after we stopped laughing about Jack, Denzel went and did the same thing. I had never seen anything funnier while swimming before. Just for that it was worth the money to go swimming.

Day three started out with a fairly disappointing decision to ride Mag-7 instead of Porcupine Rim. Almost everyone was mad because of how legendary Porcupine Rim is. It has a reputation of being flowy, technical, hard, and fast singletrack. Not to mention that it is completely downhill. There is a long dirt road climb, but the actual trail is completely downhill. I knew immediately that I wasn’t going to have a good day. The second they changed the ride I knew that even if the trail was great I wouldn’t like it. It was a 30 mile car ride to the trailhead, and when we got there I knew there would be a lot of gentle yet brutal climbing. But to my surprise we didn’t do any climbing. There was a long downhill with lots of short but easy climbs, so I didn’t expect to have to do much climbing at the end. The trail was pretty good, but it would have been so much more fun on a race bike. There were shallow descents that required pedaling, and pedaling was not a strength of the bike I was on. Along with the shallow gradients, there weren’t many sections that made the extra weight and suspension worth it.

Lunch Time on MAG-7

Everyone on their light efficient race bikes loved the trail, but by the end some of them hated it like I did. The last part of the trail was a sandy uphill mess that had nothing remotely fun on it which ended abruptly in a dirt road. Long, steep, and boring dirt road was the last thing put Mag-7 on the never ride again list. I realize that I had a bad attitude towards that trail from the beginning, but I still won't even give that trail a second chance. We drove back, and immediately went back to the rec center for some more swimming. When we got back we were so tired we didn’t even talk. Instead we stared off into space and quietly ate our dinner. We still played cards which rejuvenated the team a bit, but we still went to bed early.

Snow Riding

Riding in bad conditions is a fact of the sport, and here in Colorado it is part of commuting. It usually doesn’t snow very much during any of the cycling seasons, but it snows a lot right when people first start switching from cyclocross to mountain biking. This is usually the most annoying part of the year for riding. The days are just long enough to ride after work, warm enough to go riding, but there is still a couple inches of snow on the ground. If however you have the right cold weather gear it is possible to have a lot of fun in the snow.

The first thing to worry about when riding in the snow is warmth. If you can’t stay warm  enough the whole ride will be a very unpleasant experience. It is also important to have multiple layers. It may seem really cold out, but once you start plowing through a foot of snow you will get hot. The most important part dressing to ride in the snow is to wear a hat under your helmet! Without a hat your ears will start to sting almost immediately, which can hurt bad enough to stop riding.

The second part of snow riding is tire choice and tire pressure. With any tire in the snow it is super important to ride with low pressure. Low pressure allows the tire to spread out more on the ground, which makes more contact area and more grip. I will be close to 17 psi when it is snowy and slippery, but because of this on exposed pavement it can be easy to fold the sidewall of the tire. Tire choice is also important when riding in snow and is dependant on the type of snow you are riding on. I like to ride with my most aggressive tire in deep snow. It helps dig through the pow and onto solid ground. For hard packed snow I like file treads with really low pressure. The file tread doesn’t dig into the snow, and instead it floats on top of it making the rolling resistance really low. If there is a combination of hard pack snow, ice, pavement, and deep snow then I will use an aggressive tire in the front and a moderate tread in the rear. But it is important to remember that the tire choice should only help you and good technique will allow you to ride safely.

The technique to riding in the snow is like a combination of mud and sand riding. It is slippery like mud, and you float around much like sand. Like mud riding braking, accelerating, and cornering should all be done separately. If you try to brake and turn, the front wheel usually will lock up and slide. Accelerating and cornering will make the back wheel spin and you will not move anywhere. While riding in the sand the bike drifts from side to side, and gets taken by ruts off your intended path. In snow it is no different. Your tires dig into ruts and when you try to get out of them you slide. The best way to stay upright is to let the bike go where it wants, even if it takes you from one side of the course to the other and back. But if you do have to fight it to stay out of the course tape, the only way to do so is moving your body. If you try to steer the front tire will dig in and you will get bogged down immediately. But if you use your torso to steer, then the bike will follow much more smoothly. Ruts are faster than deep snow, so using your body to stay in one can make tough sections a lot faster. Even throwing a foot out to stay in a rut is better than going into deeper snow. It may feel weird at first, but once you master the body language it will be much easier.

Xpedo M-force 4 ti Pedal Review

Its been about 300 miles of riding in dirt, mud, snow, rain, and slush with these pedals, and I now can really say what these pedals bring to the table. Like I said in earlier in my first impressions, I really like the idea of these pedals. They combine the strengths of SPD’s and Egg Beaters, but there’s a reason why more people would rather go with the more popular pedals.

First off these pedals were much harder to get into than eggbeaters, even with lots of practice. The lip that initially bugged me when I first got these pedals caused the cleat get caught and made me try again. For me this was an issue because I have to get in and out of my pedals a lot during a cyclocross race, and if I miss a pedal once I could lose 20 yards. However if you are riding a MTB this wouldn’t really affect you very much. In fact I would keep using these pedals on my mountain bike if I didn’t switch to back and forth between bikes so much. I also noticed that using SPD cleats make getting out much more predictable than when using the cleats included.

I did like the ability to adjust how hard it was to get out of the pedals. It let me adjust the pedals to feel the same no matter how much wear the cleats had. I also loved how well these did in bad conditions. Even after running around in a foot of snow I could clip in without much issue. Along with easy entry in when mud and snow pack on the bottom of your shoes, they are predictable to get out of. But the best thing about these pedals by far is the power transfer. Your feet are solidly in the pedals, and don’t move at all when sprinting. I felt like no power was being wasted, and had tons of control while riding.

I still have mixed feelings about these pedals, and would say they are good pedals for mountain biking. For cross I would say you are better off with a set of eggbeaters. The eggbeaters clear mud better, are easier to get out of, and most importantly are impossible not to get clipped into. I do really love these pedals for rides that don’t require getting clipped in very much, and if they fix a few small things it would be a great pedal for cyclocross.

POC Trabec Race Helmet

I’ve had POC’s Trabec Race helmet for about a week now, and have already gotten a feel for how this helmet performs. I was initially offput by the bulk and looks of the helmet, but now that I’ve used it for a while I don’t care how I look in it.

The Trabec Race helmet is quite unique looking helmet. Unlike a regular helmet that looks like an extension of your head, it looks like a balloon was squished over it. I don’t in the slightest argue that it’s not an atrocity to look at, but it shouldn’t be ruled out just for it’s looks. The ugly duckling as I call it does perform very well even though there are some small design flaws.

The first and most annoying flaw is that it cannot hold your sunglasses when it gets dark or are going inside. I have tried multiple ways to get my shades to stay in the helmet when I don't need them, but every way I try they still fall out. This is the only helmet that I have ever had do this, and because my team rides always end with me riding home in the dark makes it a huge nuisance. The second flaw is the visor. I hate riding with a visor on my helmet, but without it the helmet gets even more  hideous. I would like to see another model that is meant not to be used with a visor. The last flaw is the looks, but once it is on my head I forget about it.

But for me all these flaws can be overlooked, because the the overall performance of this helmet is amazing. Your head will stay cool in this helmet, even though there are only a few vents compared to a more conventional helmet. The reason you can stay cool will less vents is in the superbe way the vents are placed, and the small gap between the helmet and your head. The gap allows the air to get pulled along your head, and this reduces the amount of vents needed. Another great part about this helmet is the padding. It is by far the most comfortable helmet I have ever worn. The padding will keep you comfortable all day, and even has an antimicrobial treatment to keep it from smelling. The helmet also has an easy one handed adjustability that allows you to loosen or tighten the helmet on the bike. But the most important feature is the safety. Even though the helmet looks like it sits on top of the head, it actually wraps around it to make it safer. The lack of vents keeps rocks from directly hitting your head when you crash. Everything about this helmet is aimed toward comfort and safety, and I have seen it in action.

Last season in early spring when the the paths without sunlight were still solid sheets of ice my teammate crashed. We weren’t going very fast, but his head was the first thing to hit. I was right behind him and heard a terrible smack when his head hit the ground. I knew immediately that he was knocked out, and if he wasn’t wearing his helmet he would have easily broken his skull. This was the second time he had had a crash straight onto the back of his head, and thanks to his POC only had a minor concussion. I believe that if he had been wearing a regular helmet he would have had a much more severe concussion. So purely from a safety aspect I believe this helmet is the future, and after they work out a few of those small issues it will be the ultimate helmet.

Gaerne G.Keira MTB shoes

There are only a few pieces of cycling equipment that I would rather have comfortable than light weight, even though weight is still a big part in my decision making. That said I really based the choice to buy the G.Keira shoes on price. I was able to get them at a great deal, so I decided to give them a try. For the price I got them at, I thought why not they have all the qualities I’m looking for. These features include a rubber sole, high quality material, a durable design, and yet still a very elegant looking shoe. And after a full season of cyclocross and mountain biking I have learned quite a bit about these shoes.

First what I liked about these shoes. The best part of these shoes was their tread. None of that plastic outsole crap that has almost no grip, but real rubber that actually grips when running or walking. Another thing that I love about these shoes is their velcro strap system. The straps have a ratchet system that ensure that they stay tight while riding. It also allows them to stay tight even when the velcro gets worn out. Unfortunately those are really the only two things that I liked.

Now for the bad, and it is a pretty long list. First even though I loved the rubber outsole, it came off in big chunks and half way through the season it was nearly all gone. Also the velcro straps with the rachet system on them made the shoes hard to take off. So the things that made the shoes good while riding made pre and post ride a pain. The buckle would also sometimes make it difficult take off the shoes, because it would get clogged with mud and jam. Along with them being a pain after rides they could be a pain while riding too. If too tight I would get hot spots, and if too loose my heels would slip. They also have a very narrow toe box, so I had a hard time finding the right amount of tension in the straps.

When I was deciding to get a carbon sole or not I tried to think about durability, so I chose the non carbon version. But even with the added durability they did not last that long before rocks and missed pedals started to take its toll. They also shrunk after a couple of wet races, which made them a little too tight to wear thick socks when it got cold. Not only was the sole not very durable, but the buckle racket also didn’t last. It fell off during a ride, so now I have to buy a new one for 20 dollars. But at least I can replace it.The weight didn’t exactly help me get over the lack of durability. They weigh a hefty 500 grams per shoe, making them a full pound heavier than my new Mavic Fury’s.

For these reasons I will be retiring these shoes for the most part, and will only use them in case something happens to my race shoes. I wouldn’t buy these shoes again, but for people who have narrower feet than I do, they could be very comfortable. But be sure to try them on, and if you are going to race cyclocross get one size bigger! If you are willing to spend a bit more and get the carbon sole version, it would make them much lighter and more worth the money.

Lizard Skins DSP 2.5 mm Bar Tape

Even though bar tape is a small and seemingly unimportant accessory of a cyclocross or road bike, it is still important enough to deserve some thought. Bar tape isn’t talked about much and usually isn’t even a second thought, but it can greatly improve the comfort of riding a cyclocross or road bike. The increased comfort is especially prevalent on cyclocross courses and rough cobblestones. During the spring classics on the cobbles riders will double and sometimes triple wrap their bars with the thickest tape that is available to them, and in cyclocross it will give the grip needed to hold onto the bike in ice cold rain.

Most bar tape is made specifically for road bikes and is not always very good to use for the sloppy conditions of cyclocross. For a road bike the only thing to look for in bar tape is comfort, so other qualities like grip in wet conditions and water absorbance is not usually thought about. But Lizard Skins have made a bar tape that is perfect for cyclocross. The DPS bar tape is used by many cyclocross racers for a good reason. It grips great in both dry and wet conditions, but doesn’t make your hands blister. It is also thick enough to absorb the shock of the course without losing a feel for the amount of grip through corners. It also is thin enough to make the transition between the hoods and bar tape smooth and comfortable. It weighs in at only 56 grams with the bar plugs making it have no weight penalty for extra comfort.

With this bar tape there is no need for extra gel padding underneath the tape, and if you feel it is not thick enough there is an even thicker 3.2 mm option. For 38 dollars this bar tape is the cheapest upgrade that will improve comfort, and will last for quite a long time. I have used the same bar tape for about four months with multiple crashes, and it has held up fine. In fact my hoods are wearing out faster than the grip tape. I would say this tape is a necessity for cyclocross, and would recommend it to anyone who wants a smoother more grippy ride.