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re: tOfficial Cycling Thread
Posted on 7/25/22 at 2:55 pm to TigeRoots
Posted on 7/25/22 at 2:55 pm to TigeRoots
Time for the report from Nationals at Trestle Bike Park (Winter Park, CO).
We started out in Santa Fe and Durango for a week, which wasn't really elevation. We then went to Frisco, CO for a couple of days for the boy to hit some dirt jumps and work on backflips at Woodward Copper Mountain (successful).
We went to Winter Park on Sunday with race day being the next Saturday. The boy rode for a week, staying pretty focused on pre-riding his Enduro stages with the majority of the time, despite the fact that he had a ton of friends who were also just riding park and filming all day. I was really proud of his focus, and he was feel great and fast all week. He also opted to not ride the Dual Slalom event as he felt like the course was sketchy/dangerous, and practicing it was distracting him from his main event of Enduro.
The night before the race, he slept really poorly. Then he puked that morning when we were getting out of the car at the mountain. This has happened once before with a big race, so we just assumed it was race nerves. Unfortunately, he felt pretty poorly the entire day of the race. He's never had issues with altitude before, but I think it got him this time. He just felt like he had the flu and was sick feeling all day with no energy in his legs.
He ended up taking 9th place in the nation (we were stoked on a top 10 finish), but he's bummed as he feels like he could have podiumed if he'd been riding as fast as he was earlier in the week when he was healthy. Still, he's 14 years old racing against a lot of kids who are local Colorado kids and 16 years old... so I'm proud that he's as competitive as he is on the national scale. He's also even more fired up for racing/training after seeing that he needs to keep on working on his fitness and sprinting more than his technical bike skills (which are excellent).
We started out in Santa Fe and Durango for a week, which wasn't really elevation. We then went to Frisco, CO for a couple of days for the boy to hit some dirt jumps and work on backflips at Woodward Copper Mountain (successful).
We went to Winter Park on Sunday with race day being the next Saturday. The boy rode for a week, staying pretty focused on pre-riding his Enduro stages with the majority of the time, despite the fact that he had a ton of friends who were also just riding park and filming all day. I was really proud of his focus, and he was feel great and fast all week. He also opted to not ride the Dual Slalom event as he felt like the course was sketchy/dangerous, and practicing it was distracting him from his main event of Enduro.
The night before the race, he slept really poorly. Then he puked that morning when we were getting out of the car at the mountain. This has happened once before with a big race, so we just assumed it was race nerves. Unfortunately, he felt pretty poorly the entire day of the race. He's never had issues with altitude before, but I think it got him this time. He just felt like he had the flu and was sick feeling all day with no energy in his legs.
He ended up taking 9th place in the nation (we were stoked on a top 10 finish), but he's bummed as he feels like he could have podiumed if he'd been riding as fast as he was earlier in the week when he was healthy. Still, he's 14 years old racing against a lot of kids who are local Colorado kids and 16 years old... so I'm proud that he's as competitive as he is on the national scale. He's also even more fired up for racing/training after seeing that he needs to keep on working on his fitness and sprinting more than his technical bike skills (which are excellent).
2
Posted on 7/25/22 at 11:39 pm to hogfly
Congrats to your son for persevering through adversity. Shows he has got that mentality to win when it is his time on the big stage.
Posted on 8/29/22 at 2:50 pm to TigeRoots
I'm in the market for a new bike.
I'm not a roadie, so I shy away from pure road bikes.
I'm big on gravel and all things associated, but of course living in the city I don't ride as much gravel as I'd like.
I love steel, but also I sometimes end up in roadie type rides where I have to drop the hammer, and a 25 pound steel bike is not ideal here.
The older I get the more I prioritize comfort above all, so this fits well with my love for steel.
Anyone got some recs?
Right now my short list is the following:
- Salsa Vaya (steel, comfortable, but will definitely be slower)
- Trek Checkpoint (hate the aluminum, don't hate the carbon but also don't really want to go that high end; geo is still very roadie centric just with more clearance)
- All City Space Horse (steel, a little more aggressive and a little lighter than the Vaya)
- Niner RTL 9 steel (expensive as shite for a steel bike, lighter than the other steel bikes)
- Chumba Terlingua (the most expensive, but a local builder to Central Texas, very high quality steel, lifelong type bike for road and gravel, could be worth the investment)
I'm not a roadie, so I shy away from pure road bikes.
I'm big on gravel and all things associated, but of course living in the city I don't ride as much gravel as I'd like.
I love steel, but also I sometimes end up in roadie type rides where I have to drop the hammer, and a 25 pound steel bike is not ideal here.
The older I get the more I prioritize comfort above all, so this fits well with my love for steel.
Anyone got some recs?
Right now my short list is the following:
- Salsa Vaya (steel, comfortable, but will definitely be slower)
- Trek Checkpoint (hate the aluminum, don't hate the carbon but also don't really want to go that high end; geo is still very roadie centric just with more clearance)
- All City Space Horse (steel, a little more aggressive and a little lighter than the Vaya)
- Niner RTL 9 steel (expensive as shite for a steel bike, lighter than the other steel bikes)
- Chumba Terlingua (the most expensive, but a local builder to Central Texas, very high quality steel, lifelong type bike for road and gravel, could be worth the investment)
Posted on 8/30/22 at 10:26 am to thegreatboudini
quote:
Right now my short list is the following:
- Salsa Vaya (steel, comfortable, but will definitely be slower)
- Trek Checkpoint (hate the aluminum, don't hate the carbon but also don't really want to go that high end; geo is still very roadie centric just with more clearance)
- All City Space Horse (steel, a little more aggressive and a little lighter than the Vaya)
- Niner RTL 9 steel (expensive as shite for a steel bike, lighter than the other steel bikes)
- Chumba Terlingua (the most expensive, but a local builder to Central Texas, very high quality steel, lifelong type bike for road and gravel, could be worth the investment)
I've got a '20 Checkpoint SL, which is the previous geometry so mine probably rides a tad different than the current one. It's fast and feels like a road bike, which is my preference. I'll throw my 35mm semi slicks on it and do the fast road group rides from time to time if I don't feel like riding the road bike. Have to sit in a little due to gearing (48x31) cause i'll spin out at like 31mph
This post was edited on 8/30/22 at 10:52 am
Posted on 8/30/22 at 10:38 am to gmrkr5
Good feedback. I think the newest model is a little slacker and longer with more tire clearance. If yours feels like a road bike, I don't think the subtle changes from yours to current gen are changing that feeling.
That kind of bumps it down my list.
That kind of bumps it down my list.
Posted on 8/30/22 at 10:54 am to thegreatboudini
sure thing...
that is true, newer one is supposed to be a bit more slack. i'm with you though, i doubt it's drastically different
that is true, newer one is supposed to be a bit more slack. i'm with you though, i doubt it's drastically different
Posted on 9/2/22 at 5:01 pm to hogfly
Incredible results
Posted on 10/5/22 at 1:41 pm to gmrkr5
Following up on this, I ended up going with an Obed Boundary out of Chattanooga.
I've been exploring all of these direct to consumer brands, and finally pulled the trigger. I received the bike today, and so far it's been an all around great experience working with them.
It was hand delivered fully built from Kitzuma Cycling Logistics. Talked to the Kitzuma guy, Adam, for a bit. He's from Charlotte NC, and had a route across the south to deliver 18 bikes this week. He said this was a light week compare to the usual 25+.
He dropped a bike in Galveston, then made it to me in Round Rock, then his next stop was in Leander, then on to Dallas and start heading back.
Anyway, I went with the GRX 400 build, because I figured I've been riding Apex and Rival 1x's for years, even the lower end the GRX group will probably still feel awesome. Size medium, 170 cranks, 44cm bars, and 80mm stem.
Hope to get a shakedown ride later today and rip a big one this weekend.
I've been exploring all of these direct to consumer brands, and finally pulled the trigger. I received the bike today, and so far it's been an all around great experience working with them.
It was hand delivered fully built from Kitzuma Cycling Logistics. Talked to the Kitzuma guy, Adam, for a bit. He's from Charlotte NC, and had a route across the south to deliver 18 bikes this week. He said this was a light week compare to the usual 25+.
He dropped a bike in Galveston, then made it to me in Round Rock, then his next stop was in Leander, then on to Dallas and start heading back.
Anyway, I went with the GRX 400 build, because I figured I've been riding Apex and Rival 1x's for years, even the lower end the GRX group will probably still feel awesome. Size medium, 170 cranks, 44cm bars, and 80mm stem.
Hope to get a shakedown ride later today and rip a big one this weekend.
Posted on 10/5/22 at 2:05 pm to thegreatboudini
Nice! New bikes are always fun!
Posted on 10/5/22 at 2:09 pm to gmrkr5
Yay for the thread bump.
Just got back from the Team Trail Party race at Angel Fire (great format... you can rerun your stages as many times as you're able until 4pm).
The boy ended up P1 among all categories except pro men at 14 years old. He had one stage where his time was 7th overall and one stage where his time was 8th overall. This is against nationally (and globally) competitive pro riders. He also had better times than all of our local pros that usually race the same races that he does back home, and he'll be racing pro next year for those series. Super stoked that he was able to put it together out in the mountains for a change!
Obligatory Instagram Shredit from Angel Fire on the day after the race.
Just got back from the Team Trail Party race at Angel Fire (great format... you can rerun your stages as many times as you're able until 4pm).
The boy ended up P1 among all categories except pro men at 14 years old. He had one stage where his time was 7th overall and one stage where his time was 8th overall. This is against nationally (and globally) competitive pro riders. He also had better times than all of our local pros that usually race the same races that he does back home, and he'll be racing pro next year for those series. Super stoked that he was able to put it together out in the mountains for a change!
Obligatory Instagram Shredit from Angel Fire on the day after the race.
This post was edited on 10/5/22 at 2:10 pm
Posted on 10/6/22 at 9:19 am to hogfly
damn he can rip.. has he had a chance to ride pisgah yet?
Posted on 10/6/22 at 9:23 am to gmrkr5
Thanks! It's pretty awesome having something we can all do together as a family. We haven't gotten out there yet, but we really want to do the East coast soon. It's so hard for us to point Eastwards for vacation because we love heading out West so much. We definitely are trying to plan an Eastern vacation where we go from Pisgah then north up to Highlands and such.
This post was edited on 10/6/22 at 9:25 am
Posted on 10/6/22 at 11:54 am to hogfly
14 you say? Daggum, dude can shred.
Posted on 10/6/22 at 1:12 pm to Cdawg
quote:
14 you say? Daggum, dude can shred.
Kids these days are kind of crazy with how good they get at things in the right environment. That being said, he works really, really hard at it.
But yeah... only problem is that Asa Vermette (15) was there racing Pro and placed 2nd in Pro. Asa had also just placed 2nd at the US Open against top professional riders who race World Cup in Europe (Luca Shaw, Jackson Goldstone, Neko Mullaly to name a few). That being said, Asa placed 1st in 17U last year at this race (which is what my kid placed this year, after failing to make the podium last year)... so maybe my kid will follow the same trajectory, hah (very unlikely, since he doesn't have access to the same kind of terrain and we refuse to let him do home school or a virtual school, which is what most kids who are on the pro devo route in cycling do).
This post was edited on 10/6/22 at 1:14 pm
Posted on 10/11/22 at 12:14 pm to hogfly
Does he have any interest in XC? Courses have progressively gotten more rowdy over the last 5 years but he would have to put major focus on aerobic endurance as well to compete
Posted on 10/11/22 at 1:00 pm to crazyLSUstudent
quote:
Does he have any interest in XC? Courses have progressively gotten more rowdy over the last 5 years but he would have to put major focus on aerobic endurance as well to compete
Yeah. He races XC as well as is competitive at the State level, but it's not his main interest at this point. That may change, as he has the mindset and could do it, but I don't think that he's ready to specialize at the level required for true XC competitiveness right now. He mainly uses XC season as a training block in the offseason of Enduro.
He knows a lot of the top junior XC riders in the US (a lot of the Bear National kids), though, and has a lot of love for the discipline. He just loves building dirt jumps, riding BMX, and building freeride lines on a lot of afternoons he would be sitting on a trainer... and I'm okay with that. Also, especially with XC, you almost need to home school or virtual school at a certain point to get the hours needed to train.
This post was edited on 10/11/22 at 1:01 pm
Posted on 10/11/22 at 1:56 pm to hogfly
quote:
He just loves building dirt jumps, riding BMX, and building freeride lines on a lot of afternoons he would be sitting on a trainer...
You ain't lying. Keegan averages 15 to 20 hr weeks for most of the year. Blevins seems to do less volume but his events are a lot shorter so that makes sense
Posted on 10/11/22 at 2:07 pm to crazyLSUstudent
quote:
You ain't lying. Keegan averages 15 to 20 hr weeks for most of the year. Blevins seems to do less volume but his events are a lot shorter so that makes sense
Yeah. Keegan has a freak engine. Those guys (and the Bear kids like Riley Amos, Bjorn Riley, Caden Parker, etc..) all sort of underscore what's required at a certain point: total dedication at a really high cost. Whether it's having to move to a different "home" seasaonlly in order to have the weather to train in the winter (Keegan in Tucson), or home school, or whatever.. it's pretty wild the lengths people will go to go "pro" at a discipline that's upper salary ceiling is pretty laughable compared to other professional sports.
Posted on 10/11/22 at 3:24 pm to hogfly
quote:
He just loves building dirt jumps, riding BMX, and building freeride lines on a lot of afternoons he would be sitting on a trainer... and I'm okay with that.
That's cool because that is the main reason I like riding off road. Building trails, exploring, building features, etc.
quote:
it's pretty wild the lengths people will go to go "pro" at a discipline that's upper salary ceiling is pretty laughable compared to other professional sports.
same with triathlon. Only a handful are really making any serious money or a living doing it.
This post was edited on 10/11/22 at 3:26 pm
Posted on 10/11/22 at 10:45 pm to hogfly
quote:
it's pretty wild the lengths people will go to go "pro" at a discipline that's upper salary ceiling is pretty laughable compared to other professional sports.
That feeling of having a high level of fitness relative to your competition is real addicting once you get there
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