Last weekend my wife Brooke and I celebrated our one year anniversary. (Actually, we celebrated the fact that Brooke made it through one year with me!)
Since moving to CT last year, we have talked about a day in the city so we decided to treat each other to an action packed, fun filled day in the Big Apple.
The day started with a 1 hour drive to the Metro North train which drops us off right at Grand Central.

Our first stop of the day was the Empire State Building. It’s very hard not to look just like every tourist in the city…i guess we were the only ones without front packs on, you know…a fanny pack worn up front. I love the black leather ones the best…that is a serious traveler.

Anyway, after the Empire State building we took a nice stroll down 5th ave and headed over to Rockefeller Center, down through Time Square and eventually ending up at Mesa Grill for brunch. http://mesagrill.com/ is owned and operated by one of my favorite chefs in the country, Bobby Flay. Bobby has a ton of great shows on the food network that really highlight his southwest style and his masterful sauces.

After brunch, we slowly shuffled our way back up town with heavy stomachs to Broadway to see a show. Ever since we moved here last year, Brooke has wanted to see Wicked in the city but because tickets are so hard to come by, we settled for Les Miserables. What an awesome show! besides the two idiots that i sat next to that smelled like cheap perfume, ate potato chips and M&M’s and narrated the whole time…it was definitely worth it and i can’t wait to get down there soon for another show.

Finally, as our day was coming to an end, we walked through Central Park, snapped a few photos and headed back to Grand Central to catch the train back home.

Everyday is great with Brooke but this one was especially cool.

I leave Sunday for Kona and hope to update the blog throughout the race week.

Good luck to all of the athletes competing, you will do great!

Special K

So you showed up too early. You’re tapering, you’re a little restless, moody — in hawaii we call it feeling futless. I don’t think I have to remind anyone to honor the taper, but maybe I can help someone out there by suggesting some things you not do in the final week before The Show.

10. Try to out-drink an Aussie.
9. Chum the water at Dig Me just to see what happens.
8. Race the dudes time-trialing on the Queen K Friday morning.
7. Attempt to steal Cowman’s hat. He’s large & a little crazy.
6. Play ‘who can get closest to the lava flow’.
5. Go commando at the underwear run. They will arrest you.
4. Order one of everything on the espresso menu at L.J.
3. Decide to try out a better, much more aero bike position.
2. Take up smoking to calm your nerves.
1. Touch Sister Madonna’s bike. She’ll smite you.

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I really enjoy riding my singlespeed, and this year decided my season objective would be to tackle another epic endurance mtb race, the Park City Endurance 100 (PCE100). Last year I raced another 100 miler, the Cascade Cream Puff. It was hard, but I had a great time. I’d read online that the PCE100 was harder, but didn’t think twice about it.

I drove from Truckee with my friends Matt & Rich, and met our friends Dave and Jen Noble, their two daughters and Jen’s parents, who generously hosted us all at their house in Park City for the weekend. Park City reminds me of Northstar in Truckee, a large sprawling ski area on gentle, family-friendly hills.

The race was REALLY hard. Unlike the Cream Puff, the climbs were all technical singletrack, much of it difficult on a singlespeed. The trails were super fun, all rideable, flowing, in and out of the trees. It was also fun to see and race with our friend Erika formerly from Truckee who was there with her husband Pete. With the exception of Dave, none of us finished. Here are their stories:

• Rich: brought his bazooka to a knife fight: racing slick tires and a 34X18 gear on his Sycip singlespeed. He opted out at 50 miles, changed his registration, becoming the 1-speed winner of that distance (wish I’d thought of that).
• Matt: had the longest list of problems I’ve heard of in a race: 4 miles in on a climb he was in the middle of a line of riders when the guy in front of him crashed, Matt ran into him, then was run into from behind. His saddle popped off the rails and his derailleur hanger was bent. Creatively, he used one of his arm warmers to tie his saddle on and made it to the first aid station where someone loaned him a saddle, but not before fixing a flat on the way. Since he was so far behind, but looks so pro, a volunteer thought he was a lap ahead and directed him the wrong way. I knew something had gone wrong when I caught up with him from behind even though I had just heard he was an hour behind me. After all that, he ran into my bad attitude, and that was it for him.
• Dave: Rode strong, stuck to his nutrition/hydration plan of an Ensure and fresh camelback at each aid station. Rode strong and steady the whole time and finished 11th overall with a time around 12 hours.
• Erika: Only had to finish to shore up her win in the National Endurance Series. She was in 2nd place after getting lost twice and decided she’d had enough and called it quits.
• Most of the other racers: All of us feel a little better since only 23 out of 60 or so racers finished.

As for me? I headed out with the leaders, then got a flat at 20 miles and was passed by ~10 riders while I fixed it (and almost lost my wheel down a VERY steep hill when I dropped it while trying to put it back on the bike). I had bars, gels, blocks, Gatorade nutrition shakes, and Starbucks doubleshots in my cooler and every lap tried to throw down whatever I could stomach and take whatever I could fit in my pockets- usually a coffee, 2-3 gels and 2 bottles (or camelback). After 60 miles I was in 5th place overall, and ahead of the next singlespeed by 2 hours. However, I was over it. I was out of energy and not having fun. As soon as I started “praying for a mechanical” so I had a legitimate reason to quit, I decided I was done. When I caught Matt, he and I decided to pack it in, so we took a long break on the side of the trail before turning around and heading down.

This is the first race I’ve ever not finished, which is definitely a bummer. I wasn’t ready for it- 100 miles on a mtb takes a lot of training, and I should have known I was in trouble when I didn’t finish my 60 mile training ride. I’m not sure if I’ll go back, but anything’s possible….

Special thanks:

• Dave and Jen Noble for arranging accommodations
• Jen’s parents Dick and Judy Valliere for providing unbelievably fantastic accommodations and a BBQ to boot!
• Gary Leuders for showing us the trails the day before the race (where Rich and I saw a moose) and for helping us in transition
• Erika’s husband Pete for helping us in transition