Furious 3 2011 tournament

Two more days until Canada Day and my 1st multi-day bike race the Furious 3 bicycle tournament. 

http://www.furious3.com/

A friend of mine jokingly asked me when my next bike tournament was? 

I laughed and said this weekend. He walked away and I thought about what he said then laughed again. This weekend will kind of feel like a hockey tournament. I have 3 games to play and when they are all over the person with the most wins will be rewarded. 

Since this event will be my first stage race I am a bit nervous as to how my body will deal with the stress. Furious 3 will be a good experience for me and I will get a small taste of whats the Trans Rockies 7 day race in August will be like. 

http://www.transrockies.com/trc/about

I am excited to ride so many of the great trails Fernie has to offer and I look forward to racing with a bunch of great people and competitors.

Thanks for reading, it feels good to write this down. Wish me luck.

Giveout creek, 49 creek, Sproul creek, Small wood creek. by travis_hauck at Garmin Connect - Details

Giveout creek, 49 creek, Sproul creek, Small wood creek by travis_hauck at Garmin Connect - Details
Big long training day. Warm and sunny, good reason to stay on the bike all day.
Hope this ride builds up some power for the Furious 3 coming up this weekend.
Wish me luck.

Training day. by travis_hauck at Garmin Connect - Details

Training day. by travis_hauck at Garmin Connect - Details

Really fun fast late night solo ride.

Gerick Cycle Bombi team prusuit by travis_hauck at Garmin Connect - Details

Gerick Cycle Bombi team prusuit by travis_hauck at Garmin Connect - Details

Organ Grinder 2011 by travis_hauck at Garmin Connect - Details

Organ Grinder 2011 by travis_hauck at Garmin Connect - Details

Organ Grinder 2011

I started out the race with a fast pace leading the field up the hill and into the trail. I heard Paddy yell to me to slow down but he only has one gear so I ignored that and stated pedaling harder. I had Graham Torrie right behind me and I knew he wasn't going to let up. Graham and I were wheel to wheel and broke away from the group so we set into a pace and started to chat. This helped the race go by a little quicker. We chatted for about 5 laps and then Graham started to out climb me and then I lost sight of him. I did, however, catch up to him in the feed zone while he had to get some air in his tire. So we rode together a little longer on lap six but once again, Graham climbed the Dog town climb stronger than I could and broke away from me again.

I was feeling pretty tired on lap 7 and was looking forward to the finish line. About half way around lap 7, Steve Gaffney, a rider from the first place team passed me. He rode by me like I was standing still. I was hoping I could hold off the other teams so I dug deep and kept up my pace. I finished the race in 2nd place for the Solo category and 3rd place overall. I am really happy with my race and I look forward to some good training over the next 2 weeks.

I am now going to get focused for the Furious 3 in Fernie BC July 1st.

Organ Grinder.

Looks like it might be a bit wet this weekend in Canmore for the Organ Grinder. Not sure what tires to run.
Anyway it should be fun.

Leading up to the Organ Grinder.

I am really excited about this years Cyclemeisters 5hr enduro, the "Organ Grinder". Last year was the first ever and since it took place the day after the XC Mountain Bike Provincial race, lots of fast riders stuck around and participated in the new event. One bonus for me was that the really fast guys were a bit spent from the xc race the day before.

I felt really good last year.  I started out fast, but got a flat and had to work hard to catch up again, which led to me bonking. It was a hot day and I didn't have support. Based on my results from the last two races this year, I feel I have benefited from good support. I eat more, drink more, and a bit of oil on the chain goes a long way.

The Provincial XC race will be held at the Canmore Nordic Center again this year the day before the Organ Grinder and I hope to see all of the fast riders out there again.

Stay tuned.

Photos from John Gibson. Giver 8er 2011.

Giver 8 er 2011

Another sunny day for racing. The mud, on the other hand, was very difficult to deal with. Calgary had a ton of rain prior to the event and then with the sun showing it face on Sunday it started turning the mud into clay.

I started the race as fast as I could, chasing Shawn Bunnin from Calgary to try and win the $50 for fastest first lap. He was too fast and I reminded myself that I had 8 hrs to go.  He was on a team so he had half the amount of dinner on his plate. I continued to keep him in my sites for the first 4 hrs and was holding 1st place solo and was sitting 2nd overall behind the teams. Right around 4hrs my future Trans Rockies teammate Jonathan Firth, also on a two man team, came racing by Shawn and myself like we were standing still.

I kept track of my average speed and watched it slowly deplete. Starting out at 16.8 km/hr and finishing at 15.8, my goal was to not let it drop below 15.5. I didn't ask my pit crew how far ahead I was until around 5hr mark and they told me 10 min or so. That felt comforting but I know that Luke is strong racer and could attack at any time. As I kept doing laps I also kept gaining time on Luke. My pit crew, John Gibson and Naomi Humenny where the best pit crew ever. Naomi just got off a night shift and hadn't slept but each lap continued stuffing food in my face. Gibby cleared all of the mud out of my rear wheel and oiled my chain. Thanks you two. A huge role in my successful day.

So everything went good for me, my bike held up and so did I. I finished the race after 7:30 hrs, 13 laps, 110 km, 3800 meters of climbing. 1st place, 3rd overall and very happy. All that I had to do next was drive back to Nelson...I got home and was in bed around 12:30 am. Long day.

Pictures to follow stay tuned.