I am officially 0 for 3 at this event. Can never seem to pull it together to execute a good race from start to finish. It's always one thing or another. Finished in 6 hrs and 24 minutes....about 4 minutes slower than 2009...but on a tad longer course. Finished 20th by the time it was said and done. I knew it was going to be an 'off' weekend when I arrive Saturday to Gunnison....and forgot my cycling socks. I have never forgot to bring anything to a race. Socks....I am picky about. I was stuck hunting around town for a less superior footwear. Good socks for endurance races are one of life's little luxuries.
Lap 1 was OK...as I turned it out right at the 3 hour mark. Kind'a knew it wasn't going to be my day as I was a bit "off" riding through the trail. Seemed like I was hitting every big rock and taking just about every bad line that was available. To add injury to insult, I went over the bars on a rock drop....smashed my knee. No big deal, but a HUGE blow to what little mojo I had going.
Lap 2 wasn't fun for me. First 45 minutes were OK, then it all went down hill from there. Still being plagued by lap 1 bad mojo....I pedaled out lap 2 with a simple goal of getting to the end and not braking anything on me or my bike. Overall result by this time really didn't matter.
HR and elevation data from the Growler.
Overall, the Growler is about as perfect as it gets for an organized mtb marathon. Just a bummer I can never have a good ride here.
With the start of the Colorado Trail Race a little over 2 months away, the practice/testing/trial runs have begun. Today was the first day taking the race bike out with a fully loaded seat bag. Inside the seat bag was a MontBell sleeping bag, Montbell Gore-Tex sleeping bag cover/bivy, and a small tarp. The weight of these 3 items is not that much, but, when you strap it to the back of your big it does make the bike handle a little different.
I also ran the 'gas tank' on the top tube. It is filled with some PowerBar products, 2 tubes, and a Topeak shock pump. Granted these are not the items that will be in here on race day...these were items I needed for the day. The shock pump was along to dial in the bike on the trail...but was not needed.
the route for the day? A bunch of different terrain. Everything for rocky and choppy to fast and smooth. Bike handled it all sooooo smoothly. Can't wait to get it fully loaded for that first over night training ride!
You may or may not know that Continental is developing a new tire for the coming model year. This new tire is called the X-King.....or Mountain Cross. If you are familiar with Conti's tire line, the new X-King is a mix between the Mountain King and Race King. As in previous years, members of Team Topeak-Ergon help to develop this new tire. While the tread pattern is not 100% set in stone, the images below will give you an idea of what this new tire will be like.
The new X-King takes the high volume of the Race King...and adds some knobs similar to the Mountain King....but in a lower profile. This tire rolls fast...but still hooks up really well in loose conditions. Can you say, "The perfect Colorado tire!"
Here is the Race King 2.2 (Left) up against the new X-King 2.4 (right). Visually both tires look the same width....but you still run into Conti's sizing weirdness. My take on it, if you like the Race King 2.2.....get the X-King 2.4.
Fresh off a very muddy and sticky Offenburg course, the X-King proves it can shed the mud well. In the image, you are looking at the 2.4 version of the X-King
With the trip to Koblenz and Offenburg Germany coming up tomorrow (Monday). The weekend training was all about piling on the hours. Six hour days on Saturday and Sunday were spent on the mtb on the road due to the rainy weather on Saturday....and because of the saturated trails from the earlier in the week snow fall.
Saturday I left the camera at home. With rain all around me, I left the camera at home in exchange for the MontBell rain jacket. Yes, it was used. Out of my 6 hour ride I spent about 2 hours in it. Oddly enough both time I got rained on were when I was at the highest and coldest points on my route. Not having the jacket would have been a ride ender for sure. At about the 4 hour mark I was drag'n ass. I ended up having my first soda is gosh knows how long. It was delightful....and a nice little kick in the pants for the rest of the ride.
Sunday's weather was perfect! Almost completely blue skies and very little wind. I opted to head up to Estes Park because of muddy trails. Yes the trails are muddy. Just ask those folks who decided to ride the trails today and then put their muddy bike on the back of their SUV. A little reminder people....you are NOT doing the trails any favors. Give it time...please.
Here is today's workout. Let me break it down for you: 1 hour warm up. 1 hour at HR 150. 20 min at HR 160-170. Recover for 30-40 minutes. 1 hour at HR 150. Finish remainder of ride based on feel and energy levels.
The ride up to Estes Park went better than I thought. My legs felt better today than they did yesterday. Figured there be a bit more snow up here as well....considering Estes Park got almost 1 foot of snow on Tuesday.
Here is the route I chose. Pretty popular route for cyclists in this area. I added some extra little climbs in to give me a 5.5 hour day and just shy of 105 miles.
The weekend block went well. A big system stimulator leading up to a week of travel and light riding. Tomorrow, I am heading to Germany for work...and to attend the Offenburg World Cup. No, I am not racing and have no interest in doing so. Stay tuned, as I will upload video and images as interweb connections become available.
As requested, here are images of the Epic Designs bags on my Rotwild R.R2 FS bike. Yes, I plan to run the SRAM XX. Tire change is most likely coming as well. Continental has a new tire they are testing with the team that should be perfect for an event like the Colorado Trail Race.
All the bags in place. Everything fits like a glove!
"Gas Tank" on the top tube for easy access to items like food, map, camera, etc, etc.
The inside of the "Gas Tank"
The frame bag the fill the entire main triangle of the bike. Lots of storage here in either 1 or 2 seperate compartments.
One big ass seat bag! Fill it with items like sleeping bag, clothing, etc, etc.
Very low profile.
Close up of frame bag details.
The bike is ready to start testing. What to bring? What not to bring? Many overnight trips are already planned. These will help to streamline the race machine.
Super excited now! Eric up at Epic Designs in Alaska did a fantastic job of putting together my bags for the Colorado Trail Race. For right now.....I just got these in the mail about 10 minutes ago....I'll get some pictures posted up. In the next few days I'll get some photos posted up with bike and bags.
The bag in the upper left is the 'Gas Tank'. It sits on the top tube by the stem. Good place to stick food and other items I need to be hands on with all the time. In the upper right is the seat bag. Lots of room here! The bottom bag which was custom built to fit my main triangle of my Rotwild R.R2 FS bike.
Close up of the Epic Designs logo and material used in these bags. The overall weight of the 3 bags is insanely light!
It has been 3 years now since I first got fit to my bikes. Prior, I was just eye balling it and going on what "felt good". Got to say, it makes a huge difference in comfort, power, and efficiency. In my mind, it is worth every penny. That is why this AM, I headed back down to Pro Bike Center in Loveland to get the full suspension bike dialed in for the Colorado Trail Race.
First things first....a thicker saddle for the may hours and days to be spent on this bike.
As for the bike? It is the Rotwild R.R2 FS. Carbon frame and all the other bells and whistles needed to go as fast as my engine can.
Had a great window of opportunity today with the weather! Coach had me riding high to start to get the body adapted for the high altitude racing that will be starting soon....and more importantly....the Colorado Trail Race. With temps pushing near 50F at 12,000 ft and sunny blue skies, I packed up the Ergon van and drove up to Frisco to base out of for the day. Really don't have to dwell too much on the details, the pictures do a fantastic job!
Heading to where it is white and trees don't grow....and breathing becomes labored. Might just throw up in your mouth a bit.
Passing by A-Basin...where ski season is still in full swing! Skiers looking at me saying "WTF!?"....I was saying the same thing to them after they paid $20 to park their SUV.
Spinning up to Loveland Pass which sits just shy of 12,000 ft. Dicky approved for sure!
I am the only thing green up here this time of year!
Great success! Yeah, the summit...and lots of snow....and more skiers looking at me like I shouldn't be up here until July. After I reached this point, I continued over the other side down to I-70....then turned around and rode back up.
Nutrition with a view! And some rogue dude in the back ground in a flannel shirt ruining my photo.
Heading back down.
Post-workout. Just throttled! My legs are shelled from the race on Saturday...and then what I did on top of it during this ride. I am whispering bad things to my machine which has inflicted pain the last few days.
Ah yes, the always fun Front Range 50. This is basically the first big bang for the mtb season here in Colorado....especially in the Denver area. The format is simple, it is a 50 mile race....5 laps on a 10 mile course. It's fast...and more like a long xc race more than anything. Heck, this race is only 1 hr from the house so there is no reason to skip it.
As far as importance goes, this race has a very low priority on my season goals. For me, it serves as a fantastic training day to go out there and rev the engine. Don't get me wrong, every time I race I want to do well. It basically comes down to risk taking. This race has a lot of risks involved in it. It all comes in the form of stuffing roughly 800+ racers onto a 10 mile loop. Passing becomes an issue...and dangerous. In my race, I saw 3 guys basically face plant while riding though high grass trying to pass a slower rider. Sketchy stuff for sure.
For me, my race went well from an execution standpoint. Pacing was spot on and nutrition was dialed to give me a clean energy burn from start to finish.
Overall my race was uneventful. There were so many people on course, I had know idea who was or was not in my race. So it basically became a 3.5 hour TT. By the time it was said and done the promoters had me listed as 15th overall out of 94 riders. Not 100% sure those are correct. There are some guys listed above me that I know for a fact finished after I did. Not a huge deal....not going to make a big deal about it.
Time now to keep pushing towards the CTR...and the next race, the Gunni Growler.
Was looking forward to the 3.5 hours on the mtb bike today. The forecast on the other hand was not helping my cause. I left this AM staring directly into black clouds parked right over where I was planning to ride today. Normally when you see this it is a 50-50 shot as to if those clouds will make it over the mountains and into the foothills...and then town.
The first miles of trail were primo...and I only ran into a few other mtbers out there today.
As I rode, the weather inched closer and closer.
I kept riding...telling myself I was not turning around until I started to feel those first drops.
Sure enough, at the furthest point from the front door....the skies started to open up with bone chilling precip. Out came the gore-tex. I ended up riding home on the road, as retracing my tracks would have been a muddy hell.
Today's ride was a slog...but it wasn't supposed to be. Coach had me out for a 6 hour zone 2 ride. Which, on a training zone scale of 1 being the easiest and 5 being the hardest.....2 should have been no problem. This is basically endurance pace.
I wanted to get up high today to train, above 9,000 ft would have been great. But this past week...and even today it is dumping snow in the mountains. So, I started from Fort Collins and rode up Poudre Canyon.
Getting started in the AM by filling 2 bottle with PowerBar Endurance and the rest of the bottles with regular water and ELETE. Other calories would come from a variety of PowerBar product.
Poudre Canyon is pretty tame. It is not steep. It is a consistent gradient from the mouth of the canyon to a few miles before the pass.....and green this time of year!
Tunnel. Just in case you don't see it. Lots of cars parked off the road today. Lots of folks fishing and kayaking.
Still climbing...
Only 35 miles to the pass. No I didn't ride to the pass. It was 35 miles from Ft Collins to the spot where this photo was taken. Plus, Cameron Pass sits at 10,270 ft. It would be snowing and cold....I didn't have the clothes, nutrition, or time.
Instead, I opted for a little gravel road that turned off the Poudre Canyon hwy. Dirt was good! Didn't ride the dirt for long, as it got stupid steep...and put me out of my training plan for the day.
The ride back down was fun! Not long after this video was taken, my legs had other ideas. They were detonated...not sure why. Felt like I had 10 hours of bike time in them already.
The remaining ride would suck! Legs had no juice to go....it was a slog back to the house, even as I took in liquid and calories. Seriously, I feel like I just race 100+ miles. Time to take in some quality food for tomorrow's training session.
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
I am officially 0 for 3 at this event. Can never seem to pull it together to execute a good race from start to finish. It's always one thing or another. Finished in 6 hrs and 24 minutes....about 4 minutes slower than 2009...but on a tad longer course. Finished 20th by the time it was said and done. I knew it was going to be an 'off' weekend when I arrive Saturday to Gunnison....and forgot my cycling socks. I have never forgot to bring anything to a race. Socks....I am picky about. I was stuck hunting around town for a less superior footwear. Good socks for endurance races are one of life's little luxuries.
HR and elevation data from the Growler.
