As last years 60 mile winner, I took it upon myself to not sit back, but rather throw everything out there. I took the initiative on the open road to drive to the singletrack right from the gun....no holding back. It seemed that myself and eventual race winner, Brian Fawley, were doing a lot of the work. The effort was high at times, and the race began to splinter on the road.
On the final road climb to the singletrack, a few other riders came up towards the front. I would be the 4th rider onto the singletrack. Two riders would push off the front....never to be seen again. I would start to go after past race winner Raymond Hall. He would get about 100 yards on me.....only to flat a few miles later. I would not see him the rest of the race.
For a majority of the race, I would ride with Aaron Elwell here in this photo. We pushed the pace, and he eventually got ahead of me at one point. I would then be joined by last years 2nd place rider, Noah Singer. Noah and I would ride together until the first long section of dirt road. Here I was able to get away from Noah and bridge up to the Aaron Elwell. Working together, we would get a good gap on Noah.....not seeing him as would turn corners or crest the hills.
Pushing a hard pace we would ride through most of the Womble Trail until I cracked. Even with all the eating and drinking, I was cooked. I pretty much burned my matches in the early parts of the race. Falling off of Aaron Elwell's wheel I would continue to dig deep to get to the finish line in 4th place. With about 8 miles left in the 70 mile race, I would hear chattering breaks behind me coming out of the small water crossings. It would be Noah, who worked his way back up to me......and then past me. I had nothing as I watched him ride by.
I kept pushing on until the final dirt road descent back to the finish line. Here I would hit something sharp in the road. Nail? Metal? Not sure, but it sliced open my Continental Race King 2.2 Protection tire very quickly. While I waited for the Stan's to seal the hole, it never did, as the hole was too big. I quickly popped in a tube....only to have Garth Prosser of Cannondale Fatory Racing come flying by me mid tire change. I just went from 5th to 6th in a matter of seconds.
By the time I changed the flat, it was too late to catch Garth. I pedaled across the finish line in 6th overall. I can pretty much say I left everything out there this year.
My bike post-race (number 100)
The event profile.
Things I need to work on after this event? The tech skills! With no singletrack open here in Colorado prior to the event, I saw myself all over the place on the trails in AR. The skills will come back soon....especially with these 70F+ and windy days were are having here at 5,300 ft right now.
My race nutrition was pretty straight forward. I went through 15 PowerGels (assort flavors), about 20 ELETE Tablytes, 3 bottles of PowerBar Endurance, and 2 bottles of plain water to wash down the gels.
Got out for another 2 hours on the race course today. Provided we don't get any rain of biblical measurements....it should be rip'n fast come Sunday. Lots of leaves on course...makes the rock hunting a little interesting while descending at speed. Here is a short video from today from the opening miles.
Super excited to finally get accepted into the PowerBar Team Elite program for the 2010 and 2011 season. I am a firm believer to seek sponsorship from those products you use and believe in. For me, PowerBar is one of those. After years and years of applying to get into this program, I woke up this AM to a nice little email announcing my inclusion into this program. With the Ouachita Challenge on tap in a few days, I can already confirm that my bottle will have PowerBar Endurance beverage in them...and water. Pockets will be filled with an arsenal of PowerBar Gels. This is the same nutritional plan as last years race.
In Arkansas for the Ouachita Challenge. Weather is warm right now with temps in the low 70F's. Weather could play a factor for race day....as perfect trail conditions could get moist with passing thunderstorms. Today got out for just about 2 hours to spin the legs out. Took a while to get used to the techy trails...but soon the skills came back. FS bike seems dialed...but might switch to the HT is the rains come a dump'n.
A shortened Oval Ride today due to a 1 PM start. The 10 AM start was axed because of yesterday's snow storm and waiting for the temps to rise and roads to clear. I sat in on the ride for about 2 hours. Just long enough to tease the engine for next weekend. I finished the ride still feeling refreshed. Mission accomplished!
Next weekend is the first race of the year. The Ouachita (Wa-sh-it-ta) Challenge in Arkansas is 60 miles of some of the best singletrack in the entire USA! Littered with tons of sharp rocks this course takes a huge toll on equipment and body. Last year I ran a aluminum HT for the race due to a lot of dirt road sections connecting that awesome selection of singletrack. This year, the course sees a change towards more trail and less road. This is where I made the choice to take the FS bike over HT. Below is the bike I plan to run for the 60 miles.
This will be my last race on Shimano XTR. For 2010, the team has partnered with SRAM to run XX for the 2010 season and beyond. When the new bikes arrive while we are in Arkansas, we will return to a massive bike building session to get the rigs ready for the next event, Sea Otter.
Take it while you can. The last 3 days it has been sunny and over 60F degrees! Love it! But, March is the snowiest month in Colorado and tonight we going into a Winter Storm Warning. They are talking lots of wind and 3-10 inches of snow. I am hoping the weather lady is way off on this one.
I got out there today for another interval session that lasted 2.5 hours. Friday is a recovery or "off" day from the bike. Good timing, as mother nature is going to bitch slap us in the face.
Brown and kind'a green will be replaced with white....as clouds push over the mountains. Looks like 2 days of crappy weather..then back to the 60F's. Just in time for the trip to Arkansas.
I leave you with the theme for this years race season....and words to live by.
Race week is next week. Bikes are being prep'd for the kick off to the 2010 season. Yesterday I got my wheels set up for the Ouachita Challenge. This rock riddled course will be a good test of equipment. I am basically running the same set up as last year: Continental Race King 2.2 Protection tires and Stan's tubeless system. Only difference is the addition of the carbon wheels. According to the folks at DT Swiss, I should not have any issues with the rims and terrain...and I don't expect to. Although, a lot of folks seem to think that these rims cannot be ridden hard off-road.....they can.
Next up is the full bike build for the event. What to race? FS or HT? Hmmmm....
I can say, that while I was in Seattle for work, I saw the sun break through the clouds for a total of about 1 hour over the span of 5 days. It was great to be back on the bike...and in Colorado for a blue bird day. Temps in the high 60F's made for a fantastic bike session. Lets see here. Lets count the clouds today. One. Two. Yep, two....and a full day of sunshine. Fantastic!
Arm warmers...leave them at home. Leg and knee warmers....leave those at home as well. The workouts over the next week and a half are all focused on the Ouachita Challenge. The OC race is a great event utilizing, in my mind, one of the best trail systems in the southern USA. 60+ mile race, and about 80% of it is on rocky shoulder wide singletrack. I am hoping now, that I can get on some dirt here in CO before the event. Trails are dry...or getting dry. But the long term forecast is looking more like winter. Boo!
This post will be brief, as I am out the door to catch a flight to Seattle for the Seattle Bike Expo. Because of the expo....and the 5 days of no bike....the workouts have been running together. Monday is normally a day off. Not this week, the intervals and intensity keep rolling through until today. My only fitness on this trip will be some core work and a gym spin bike at the hotel.
Yesterday was windy as all get out! Roughly a 25mph breeze blowing out of the north. I took my 3 hour tempo to the canyon. It worked out well...and kept the wind burn to a minimum. It was a great day to be out there! Temps in the mid-50F's made for an enjoyable day.
Today (Wednesday) is another story....cue the A.D.D. Colorado weather. I had 3 x 20 min 300ish watt intervals to get done before this flight. High temps near 40F are not that bad. What made it bad was about 5 miles north of town, the skies let loose with a soaking mix of rain, snow, sleet, and grapple. A first for me....experiencing all of Colorado's precipitation forms in one ride. Temps in the 40F's....a bike speed of 25 mph....and wet clothes made for a chilly ride. I got it done, but it sucked...and I have a road bike that need a damn good cleaning.
Time for a recovery beverage....and now off to Seattle. Above beverage is a mix of: water, FRS, orange juice, and a glutamine supplement.
With the Ouachita Challenge on tap in a few weeks, I should be getting in some solid dirt time, but the long and chilly winter has our trails muddy. We need about a week of solid sunshine and wind to dry things up. So, the substitute is the mtb on the road.
The OC race course has a pretty aggressive profile and is unrelenting, so today (above profile) was all about going up and going down....not much recovery in between.
A large dosage of 8% grades...and beyond...had me wishing I didn't dig so deep late in the Oval Ride yesterday. I was a cooked amigo!
Three day training block left, then I have a recovery period as I head to Seattle for work.
Race season must be near, cause local riders are FLYING! With some of the local racing starting today, I was happy to see over 20 people for today's weekly suffer-fest. I think I survived about 70 of the roughly 90 miles before I burned through all my matches. The gradual uphill run to the Carter Lake switchbacks at over 25 mph is what did me and others in. I would spend the last hour of the ride chasing....but not making much headway on those in front of me. I would catch a few riders that would pop, but damn, the lead group had some serious power to the pedals. By the time I got back to the house I just wanted to lay down....my tank was empty.
The awesomeness of the day? Near 60F temps and a post-ride road bike not covered in road crap!
Looking at this photo, it could be 20F or 80F. I am happy to report, it was 60F. The sun never felt so good! It gave me super human strength on the bike today. OK, maybe not, but it is amazing what the warmth of the sun can do for your bike mojo.
Leg warmers, long finger gloves, booties, skull cap, thermal jacket.....you can leave all that at home today. The exposed skin was all about soaking up the rays of the sun.
What was today's workout you ask? Well it was 2 sets of 4 x 4 minute zone 5 intervals. Yeah, the kind that make you throw up in your mouth a bit. Lets just say, the warmer weather makes this workout a 1,000x easier. The warmer weather sticks around for a few days before we get a rain/snow chance late in the week. Still temps will be warm enough to get outside.
Well, not sure if it could fit 12 people in it....but I bet it could. Without a doubt, the growth of Ergon in the 3...now going on 4 years I have been with the brand has been out of control. But, in a good way. With more products and more events on the schedule, the need for a new-to-us used vehicle had come.
Say "Hello" to the new Ergon road trip slaying machine. It is a used 2006 Dodge Sprinter 3500. As an added bonus, it is in mint condition with very low miles. Talk about a find!
"Hmmmm, what to do with all this room?"
I flew to LA on Monday in the early AM from Denver. Once I landed, I got the van, then started the 16 hour drive back home.
Don't make any plans to ride in Moab any time soon. Still lots of snow out there! This picture was taken about 8 miles from the I-70 Moab exit.
The drive was uneventful...the way I wanted it. Basically just gunned it all the way home...only stopping for gas. Which, with a 26 gallon tank....isn't often.
Tomorrow, back to regular scheduled programing. Temps are in the mid-50F's all week! FINALLY!
2005 Results
12 Hr Sugar Creek :: 2nd
12 Hr of Metro :: 1st
12 Hr of Thunder :: 2nd
12 Hr of Winter :: 3rd
24 Hr of 9 Mile :: DNF
24 Hr of 7 Oaks :: 1st
24 Hr in Japan :: 1st
2004 Results
Stump Farm 12 Hr :: 2nd
24 Hr of Rapelje :: 1st
12 Hr Nationals :: 3rd
24 Hr of 9 Mile :: 10th
24 Hr Solo World :: 12th
24 Hr of Moab :: DNF
Bio
NAME: Jeff Kerkove
NICKNAME: Mr. 24
COUNTRY: USA (Colorado)
TEAM:Topeak-Ergon DOB: 2.7.1978
HEIGHT: 6 ft.
WEIGHT: 165 lbs.
RACE CATEGORIES:
Pro (XC & Endurance) Click for full Bio
As last years 60 mile winner, I took it upon myself to not sit back, but rather throw everything out there. I took the initiative on the open road to drive to the singletrack right from the gun....no holding back. It seemed that myself and eventual race winner, Brian Fawley, were doing a lot of the work. The effort was high at times, and the race began to splinter on the road.
For a majority of the race, I would ride with Aaron Elwell here in this photo. We pushed the pace, and he eventually got ahead of me at one point. I would then be joined by last years 2nd place rider, Noah Singer. Noah and I would ride together until the first long section of dirt road. Here I was able to get away from Noah and bridge up to the Aaron Elwell. Working together, we would get a good gap on Noah.....not seeing him as would turn corners or crest the hills.
My bike post-race (number 100)
The event profile.
Arm warmers...leave them at home. Leg and knee warmers....leave those at home as well. The workouts over the next week and a half are all focused on the 
