Iowa Games Mountain Bike Race

First off I am working on my 24hrs of Cumming race report.

With a lot of rain leading up to the race gear selection was important.  I decided to go with my Carver Gnarvester with normal 29er wheels. This would provide tons of mud clearence.  I also ran it as a single speed. Not much can go wrong there.

I got to the race with plenty of time to warm up and check out the conditions. They weren't as bad as I was expecting. 

I ended up racing Expert 30-39. We lined up with the single speeders and we were all off. I hit the first section of single track first, but when we were back on gravel several single speeders and Oakley Rob came around me.

The rest of my race is kinda borning. Ride as hard as possible. ..blow up...recover...repeat for 1.5hrs.

I ended up second overall in expert and first in my class ( I think I would have been fourth single speed).

Check back soon for the 24hrs of Cumming report.

I am Back!!

Well its been a long time since I updated. There have been some ups and downs as far as cycling is concerned. 

Photo from Seven Oaks Cat 1 Race (Single Speed)

Almanzo Royal: Didn't happen for me. I got the flu a week before the race. Thought I was good to go the Wednesday before the race and then went backwards for the next two and a half days. This one really hurt. I was excited about this race. Lots of my friends went up and had great results. 

Kyle Sedore riding in my honor. 

After Almanzo came and went I started to focus on the 24hrs of Cumming gravel race. You have 24hrs to complete four 60 miles loops. I found the distance scary but the format intriguing. Basically this focus involved everything from route recon to freaking out over equipment. 

One of the many 100 mile rides I did with friends this summer.

More miles in the bank.

After loging several 100 mile rides throughout June and July; the family and I took off for Breckenridge. Spent a week out there doing a lot of great activities. Hiking, fun park, and bike rides. 

Vail Pass. Trying to stay dry

Found a new friend on a hike.

Found time to play in the snow. 

After returning from Breckenridge I did a couple of shorter shake down type rides leading up to the 24hrs of Cumming. Legs felt pretty good. Equipment was locked down. Weather looked good. Only question was: How would my body handle a race like this?

Gents Race Report

Here is a little background on the race: 5 person team has to stay together over the course of 66 miles. Staggered start times (slower teams start at 8 with the fastest team starting around 10:20).

I was lucky enough to find 4 friends who were willing to ride single speed mountain bikes with me. My teams starting time was decided to be at 9:30. 

We decided to meet at Kyle's Bikes at 8:30. We all got signed in. We put some extra water bottles/food into our drop bag (bag was taken to the half way point by some great volunteers). After a few small last second adjustments we road over to the start line.

GO TIME! The first 4 miles of the course are on pavement so it's a good time to warm up. We hit the gravel and we are all working well together. I am personally not feeling the best but the team is rolling along. 

We hit the halfway point in Slater and we check in and grab our drop bag supplies. We hit the road again in a relatively quick fashion. 

The second half of the race was pretty much more of the same. We worked well as a team but we also had our issues. The race finished by heading 12 miles straight south into a 15mph head wind. 

We hit the finish line around 4 hours which was good enough for 8th overall. All in all it was a good team effort and a great day!  

Finally...My Big News

So I will start with a little back story. Last year I purchased a Surly Krampus, and I road it a lot. Gravel, XC races and even bikepacking on the Colorado trail.

I had a lot of fun on it and really enjoyed the way the bike handled. After Carver Bikes released the Gnarvester (Titanium version of the Krampus platform) I knew 100% that I needed one!

After a couple months of selling stuff off and collecting parts it's finally DONE!

Bike Nerd warring...Parts break down:

-Carver Bikes Gnarvester Ti frame

-Carver Bikes 470 carbon fork

-SRAM XX brakes and X0 crankset

-Crank Brothers Quarto Ti pedals

-Thomson Ti handlebar, stem and Masterpiece seatpost

-Chris King Headset, Bottom Bracket and Hubset

-Salsa cycles quick releases and seat clamp

-ESI grips

-Specialized Toupe seat and bottle cage

Famous...or...Infamous

I was lucky enough to be featured in DM Juice this last week. Spoke a little bit about gravel racing/riding and pushing personal limits.

See story here: http://dmjuice.com/driven-taylor-webb-32/

I should have some exciting news in the next couple of days so please check back! 

Winter Riding

So as I am sure many of you know this winter has been rough. Very cold, windy and a fair amount of snow.

I have a lot of friends who ask me how I manage to ride outside this time of year. There is no real seceret....other then experience.

Experience is the greatest tool anyone can have. It tells you that nine layes of cotton is not the right choice. It tells you that one or two key layers are better than MORE. In extrem situations it can even tell you that it's not safe to ride that day. 

Here is to hoping that warmer days are right around the corner!!

CIRREM Gravel Race

The Iowa gravel racing season officially kicked off this last weekend with CIRREM. 62ish miles and 5,000 ft of gravel.

(Photo credit Cheryl Dralle)

The race started at 10 am with temps in the mid 20's and cloud cover. The group of 125 racers rolled out together for the first two miles and then racing began.

The first 30 miles went by with out any major issues (held a 15 mph avg on a single speed). When I reached the half way check point the great volunteers took my number and restocked my supplies (thank you).

(Photo credit Cheryl Dralle)

I knew standing around at the check point wasn't a great idea so I was in and out in under five minutes. Around mile 40 the gravel turned to a sloppy mess. 

My Salsa Selma 29er Single speed didn't let me down. I knew finishing wasn't going to be a real issue; it was just going to take time and perseverance. (32 x 15---suckas)

(Photo credit Jeff Cochran photography)

The gravel became so thick that I couldn't carry any speed from the downhills into the uphills. This resulted in me walking some hills between miles 42 and 52. 

Around mile 52 the gravel got a LOT better! Started rolling pretty good again. Kept my head in the right place and some good techno playing. 

(Salsa Selma after a hard day)

Rolled into the finish in 5hrs and 44 minutes. LONG DAY!!  I ended up 4th in the single speed category and with encouraging numbers for the day. Congrats to fellow Team Metal rider Kent Carlson on the Single Speed win.   

(All smiles after it's done)

Just goes to show- Gettin' dirty can be fun