Mt Ogden 50k

So I finally got off my duff and did another race. The Mt Ogden (Snowbasin resort) 50k was just what the doctor ordered. It was longer than most ICUP races but not by much. It was something different and the sponsorship and bike industry representation made it feel like a huge established race. You wouldn't know that it was only its second year running.


Carson, Adam and I headed up dark and early at 4:45 am and met up with Bruce, Chris, KC and Kevin. The later three were there to tackle the 100k. I had it in my mind that the 50k was a big number and a long distance race but when you figure it in miles it was only 30 miles. I went into it thinking 'slow start' and take it easy to save energy but half way into it I realized that it really wasn't THAT long. But it was definitely long enough for me. I got a good start with the pack and was feeling strong way into the first lap (25k x 2). But it had rained pretty hard last night so we started to hit some really sticky mud. It literally stopped my rear tire from rotating. Others had similar problems but not all. So I lost about 10 spots trying to clean out the Arantix. The worse part was that the chain soon after got dried up and shifting and chain suck would haunt me the rest of the race. But that was the only downside. The course was fun and by the second lap it was packed and I was still feeling good. I had one cramping episode which I spun out and had fun the second lap. By the finish I was spent but that was the goal. I came in a few minutes behind the other Maddoggers but felt it was respectable considering it was my "off" year.


The cool thing was KC took 1st and Chris took 2nd in pro and Carson took third over all in the "amateur" which was all but pro. Good job all.

Chris coming across the finish line in 2nd. Look at that time- 5:11:43!
KC just finishing the 100K in 1st place pro division!
Carson collecting his goods.
Me, enjoying the day.

Mad Dog Community Ride Corner Canyon

The team's community guided ride this week will be lead by Carson and I at Corner Canyon at 5:45p tomorrow. We will be leading groups at all levels so if you have friends or neighbors interested in checking it out invite them.
Here's a map of the trails.

I hope to see you there.

MIA- Maui In Action

Alas, I've missed the last ICUP race of the season. Not exactly what I planned on for the end of the season but the family comes first and this something they HAD to do. I suppose they really didn't drag me kicking and screaming. I did get some road riding in which made the trip. Has anyone ridden around West Maui before? It has some incredible ups and downs and so many turns that it almost felt like MTB riding. I did inquire about some real MTB rides but was told it was all private. About the most they would do at the shop was point in the general direction. I'll try it next time (if there is one).

MIA- Missing In Alaska

Not much biking stuff to write about since my last race. I've been expanding my horizons. And Wow! You should see the horizons in Alaska! Just got back yesterday morning. I had aspirations of making it to the Snowbasin race. I even had my bike ready in the car at the airport. But alas, the plane got in too late and I had 100 lbs of frozen Salmon thawing in the car. Bummer.
Sorry about the blood. Bleeding them supposedly makes them stay fresher. There was not much mountain biking in Alaska with rain nearly everyday for the last month, but I found a couple trail systems to try for next time. We only saw about 20 min of sunshine while we were there and highs were in the upper 50's! All was made right by the good fish'n.