Whiskey 50: Pro MTB Street Crit

The street crit is new this year....and required by all Pro riders. It was a short 3 minute loop on the city streets of Prescott, AZ. The rules were simple: race for 30 minutes + 3 laps and don't get lapped. You get lapped....you get pulled. Roughly 75 riders toed the line....only 7 didn't get pulled/lapped. Here is the first 6 minutes of the race!

Jeff Kerkove said at 7:24 AM :: ::

Whiskey 50 pre-ride

Race day is Sunday in Prescott, AZ!

Jeff Kerkove said at 8:27 PM :: ::

Race Report: Julian Death March

First race of the year is in the books!  Hit up the Julian Death March in Julian, CA as it fits nicely with my season goals.  This is a smaller event with a big course.  It is a 86 mile event with close to 13,000 ft of climbing.  Consisting of mostly dirt roads, the race is fast from the gun.

We rolled out of town at 8 AM from 4,000 ft.  Once the field got to the end of the neutral roll out, I went to the front to set tempo.  I soon found myself pulling Sonya and about 7 other guys down the road to the desert floor.  The race starts with 13 miles of downhill before making you grunt up a 3,000 ft climb over about 20 miles.  It is here that myself and last years winner, Brent Prenzlow, found ourselves rolling away from the group.  It wasn't long and Brent just rode away.  I was here to ride hard...but going this hard too early into this 7 hr race would spell doom. So, I maintained my pace and kept Brent within sight.

Soon, I was joined by Bryan Taylor.  We rode together for about 10 miles before he gaped me.  I still kept my tempo pace and soon bridged back up to him.  At the 1st aid station we were told Brent was about 4 minutes up the road.

We kept riding until the next big climb.  It was here that I rode Bryan off my wheel while climbing....and with Brent within sight from time to time on the road zig-zag'n up the hill side.

Now riding solo, I pushed on following a single set of tire tracks. I would ride solo through some soft snow covered singletrack......double track....and the rocky Oriflame climb.  The Oriflame climb for me was cleaned...but I was running low on power.

Heading into aid station 3 I was told I was 9 minuted behind Brent....and there was no sign of Bryan. I then began the climb up the Banner Toll Road. This was a singletrack climb...which then turned to a dirt road climb. It was here at about mile 60 that I realized I hadn't eaten enough food...as I was having too much fun riding earlier. I soon began to slow and was caught....passed.....and dropped by Byran. I was now in 3rd place.


I rolled into the Start/Finish to resupply and head out for the last 20 miles. I met Bryan on his way out. He wasn't that far ahead of me. I stopped at my drop bag and grabbed some PowerBar and Elete products.....then I began chase, while shoving food in my face. I went some 15 miles of riding solo before I caught Bryan at aid station 3. He was getting more food/water....I just blew by and began the long climb back to the starting line. Still not feeling super strong from my lack of calorie intake, Bryan soon caught and passed me. I would watch him ride away and finish 2 minutes in front of me.

Top 3 Men Overall - 86 Mile Race
1. Brent Prenzlow
2. Bryan Taylor
3. Jeff Kerkove

GPS file for the day.


Overall, I was happy with my race.....except for the minor nutrition hiccup which was 100% my fault. Next up is the Whiskey 50...which is a lower priority race.

Jeff Kerkove said at 8:00 PM :: ::

Fires, Bikes, Snow

Wow, what a weekend!  As I type this the weekend isn't even over yet!  Lets start with Saturday.  Item to note first is it was warm....very warm....record heat warm.  We topped out near 80F here in Fort Collins.  With the warm temps, it was perfect timing to get in one last endurance ride on the mtb here in Fort Collins.  Both Jason and Sonya drove up from Boulder to join in on the singletrack escapade.  It was a good ride with some big climbs, fast singletrack, and chunky trail.  Speaking for me, the pace was mellow....a nice zone 2 and 3 ride.  Got in some good photos as well.  Some of my favs....







All the photos are posted here.

Here is the GPS file for the day via Strava.



Now onto Saturday night. I went to bed at like 11 PM after I got done doing some work and unwinding from the days ride. During the day when it was warm and windy a few small fires had popped up in the mountains to the west...as well as the plains to the East. Really never thought anything of it as the evening news stated that the fires were 'contained.' Well, at about 3:30 AM I woke up to a house filled with smoke! It wasn't anything crazy, but the house smelled like a KOA on 4th of July weekend. My eyes were burning as was my throat. I got up to make sure the townhouse wasn't on fire....or was any of the nearby townhouse. Nope, all was clear, but outside, it was super windy and smoke was blowing into Fort Collins from a fire that blew up over night about 15 miles west of town.

I live too close to the base of the mountains to see over them, but this is what was filling the homes of Fort Collins with smoke. I managed to get back to sleep....and to awake to sunny skies and a cleared out house. Only a slight smoke smell lingers in the lower levels.

The plus side of this is today (Sunday) we are to get rain...then snow. Yes, it was 80F yesterday...and now snow today. Good for the fire...bad for training. So, I got up early and got in some sub-threshold climbing repeats while watching the dark clouds roll in from the northwest.

I started my ride in 60F temps, sun, and no wind. By the time I was forced to bag the ride about 90 minutes later the clouds moved in, the wind picked up, and the temp dropped to below 40F.  Ride over.

Now, it is time to taper and get ready to head to California on Wednesday for the Julian Death March and Sea Otter.

Jeff Kerkove said at 12:15 PM :: ::