The Benefits of Short Track Racing...

Short track racing is nothing like cross-country racing, but I feel it can add value to your cross-country training. I will be so bold as to say that you will rarely (if ever) have a XC situtation in a short track race, but you will have a short track situtation in a cross-country race. In fact, you may have a dozen short track situations in a single cross-country race.

So, if you are willing to take your mind off the fact that a typical short track race is only 25 - 45 minutes in length, I feel you can really fine tune some technical aspects of cross-country racing that may help you get on the podium after your next cross-country race.

Starting Line: It is a good place to learn to jump off the line. There are times in cross-country racing when you want to be the first rider off the line in order to avoid a potential bottle-neck as the trail goes from dirt road to single-track. In short track your starting position is essential and it will force you to learn to click in and get the bike moving, fast!

Cornering: Short track races should have loads of corners. Some will be banked, others off-camber; some will have tacky dirt, while others may be sandy and loose. Some corners will be located at the base of a hill and others will be at the apex. Nowhere are you better able to hone your cornering skills than on a short track course. Not only are you forced to take a lot of corners, but you are required to do them at high speed.

Riding in a Pack: Most cross-country races start in a pack and then once you leave the line you don't have to worry about bumping elbows or tires with a fellow racer. Short track packs will string out a bit, but you will likely bump elbows in a corner with another racer, which brings me to the next thing you can learn from short track.

Passing: Learning when the best opportunity to pass a fellow rider will help big time on the cross-country course. I've been in dozens of situations where I had to figure out the best time to pass someone in front of me while doing cross-country. In short track you have short sprint areas that force you to find the quickest way to pass. Otherwise, you learn to take the proper lines into a corner to try to get around a rider in front of you.

Physical Limits: You can put your heart rate monitor on and force yourself to get in the anaerobic zone during your weekday workout or you can jump into a short track race and effortlessly push your heart to the limit. One of the biggest complaints I hear about short track is from people who say they are just starting to warm-up as the race completes. Plan your race with this knowledge. If it takes you 25 minutes to warm-up; plan on being at the race course 25 minutes before the race. Warm-up for the full 25 minutes and show up to the start line with a good sweat.

I truly feel that any serious mountain biker will find time to focus on these aspects of their training with the same zest as they do their cardio training. And what better place to hone these skills than at your local short track race series; Where you can race both friends and strangers as you train for the technical challenges you'll see on the cross-country race course.

Fathers Day...

Yesterday was Fathers Day and when I went downstairs to make coffee I was suprised to find three new books next to the coffee maker and a full pot of coffee already made. As I stood there and read the cover of one of the books my son quietly walked up next to me and stood there silently. When I broke my attention away from the book and looked down at him he captured my attention with his big blue eyes and in his most endearing tone said, "Happy Fathers Day and I love you, Daddy."

I don't know if you have ever had the opportunity to have every heart string pulled at the same time by unconditional love, but that tug on your heart is what will make a grown man cry for apparently no reason and will create a bond stronger than anything which can be imagined.

I scooped him into my arms and gave him a great big hug. While I hugged him I cataloged the moment and hoped when the time comes that I need to leave this life this moment will flash before my eyes once again.

Boulder Short Track Photo Journal - June 11th...

Another Study About Teenagers...

Extra! Extra! This just in! Teen drivers ignore cell phone restrictions!

During the past five years many states have been passing laws restricting teenagers from using cell phones while driving. A recent study shows that although a majority of adults and teenagers agree with the new driving laws, the recent restrictions have little effect, while in some areas the cell phone use rate among teenagers while driving has actually increased since passing the new driving laws...

I mean, come on! Was this study really necessary? Put together a combination of a typical teenager's inexperience and a need to challenge the rules with an inability to enforce a law and what do you think is going to happen?

And you know someone needs to be blamed for the increase in that particular area. Do we blame the teenagers? Of course not. They can do no wrong. How about the law enforcement? No, they have more important things to think about. I know! Let's blame the parents.

My big question in all of this is why are we focusing on teenagers? Yes, according to a different study they are found to be the most likely to have major accidents while cell phones are being used, but does it not increase the chance of major accidents if adults use cell phones while driving too?

Maybe we adults should be the role model (No, not just parents. All adults). Teenagers are seeing adults using the phone while they drive. What message is that sending to them?

In any case, it doesn't seem that creating laws restricting cell phone use among teenagers while driving has made a bit of difference. Maybe we can create a law that requires teenagers to follow the laws. Then we can do a study to see if that has a higher success rate among teenagers.

You can read the article about the study here:
Teen drivers ignore cell phone restrictions

Jeffco Air Show...

Yesterday the family and I were treated to the sights, sounds, and feeling of an F-16 fighter jet flying as low as 300 feet over our head.

If you didn't know about the Jeffco Air Show and you live in the Denver metro area, you probably figured it out; 28,000 lbs or thrust creates a lot of noise. We watched as the F-16 fighter jet did laps from Denver to Boulder in under a minute. It was amazing!

As I watched this machine and the power it harnessed I couldn't help but think, "I'm glad it's on my side."

A stunt plane doing the

best corkscrew I've ever seen.

F-16 takes to the air

Climate Confusion

I'll be honest with you, I not sure what I think about global warming. When I first saw An Inconvenient Truth about a year ago I was ready to go plant a tree the moment the movie ended. Honestly, since then I've been nervous to run my lawn mower out of fear that it will cause the temperature to raise a quarter of a degree, which will in turn cause an ice shelf to break off, causing the ocean to rise, and then bye-bye coastal city.

That is a lot of guilt to live with.

What I needed to alleviate the guilt was a new perspective. It isn't fair to any subject to base an opinion on only one point of view. For this reason, I've started reading a book called Climate Confusion by Roy W. Spencer. A book about, "How global warming hysteria leads to bad science, pandering politicians and misguided policies that hurt the poor."

Unlike Al Gore's fear tactics, Roy Spencer uses humor in his writing to connect the reader with the subject. He connected with me the moment he made the following quote, "Warmer winters? Evidence of global warming. Colder winters? Also evidence of global warming. The theory of man made global warming has been elevated to physical law, proven beyond any doubt, and it supposedly now gives us a unified way to explain any change we see in nature."

In all honestly I believe that having watched Al Gore, and reading Roy Spencer I'm seeing both the head and the tail of the global warming coin. I don't think it will make my stand on the global warming issue any more concrete, but it doesn't hurt to try to understand both sides of the argument.

Experimental Photographs...

Today was the first race of the ten race CU short track series in Boulder. My son and I used it as a bonding experience. We packed a picnic lunch and two cameras and headed to the race venue after work.

My Photos:
Today I experimented with shutter speed and apeture. I can't say I was successfull in the least. One day I hope to learn how to use my camera.





My Son's Photos:
It is safe to say that my three year old son is a better photographer than I am. He is getting a lot better at following the action in the view finder, but the big lesson we worked on today is trying to keep his figers away from the lens.

Moment of Happiness...

Do you know what the best moment is when building a new bicycle wheel?

It is the very moment when all four variables of the wheel (radial, lateral, tension, and dish) are calibrated and you realize the wheel is ready to ride.

It's been a week since vacation...

It's been a week since I've returned from my vacation in Hawaii and all I can say is, "I want to go back!"

I spent 14 days in Hawaii with my wife; 5 days on Maui and 9 days on Kauai. In that short time I was able to capture enough memories and photographs to fill a thousand posts, but I won't bore anyone by doing that. Although, I will likely post a couple highlights of the trip.

In the meantime, I'm going to watch this video I took of my feet on the beach in the surf and reminisce about how good it felt to be doing nothing but watching and feeling the ocean as I stood on the beach and watched the sun set on Maui...

Stoned for 20 years...

I found this article interesting and couldn't help but laugh at the study.

Apparently a study has been done in regards to long term, heavy use of marijuana. "Long term" identified as an average of 20 years among 15 participants and "heavy use" being at least five marijuana cigarettes a day.

It was stated in the article that given these conditions a user "may" be shrinking two parts of their brain; the hippocampus (memory and emotion) and the amygdala (fear and aggression).

After reading this article I had to laugh. The subjects of this study have been stoned for the past 20 years. I think they have lot more to worry about than forgetting a phone number or losing their competitive edge. I'm thinking; what the hell kind of job do they have where they are able to be stoned? Secondly, who in the hell smokes that much in a day?

If the worst thing that can happen after 20 years of heavy smoking is a possibility that you "may" forget a few things and become less aggressive, it doesn't seem like it strengthened the argument to keep marijuana use illegal.

You can read the article here:
Heavy marijuana use shrinks brain parts: study

Burned in my memory forever...

I use to race road bikes and I use to volunteer my time to marshal at road races. While participating in those activities I always had a legitimate fear of the possibility of what is seen in this image.

This image is of a horrible accident that recently happened on June 2nd down in Matamoros, Mexico as a 28 year old, drunk driver, fell asleep at the wheel and plowed through the front of a race pack.

One rider died in the accident and 10 others were injured. Looking at the picture I am amazed that only one rider died.

As I said in my title, this is one of those images that will stay with me for a while.

You can read more by reading this article in the Washington Post:
Car plows into bike race in Mexico, 1 dead

*(AP Photo/Jose Fidelino Vera Hernandez)