Are you ready for another race? Ready to try something new and different? Saturday September 24th 2016 is our first ever Run N' Ride Duathlonin Rexburg! If you are a hardcore runner/biker then try out the Olympic Distance; if you like keeping things short and sweet but still competitive then try out the Sprint Distance, or sign up as a team and only do the run or walk part of it as your teammate helps and does the other half! This Duathlon is also the perfect opportunity to introduce your kids to the run/bike racing atmosphere during the kid's race after the adult races! Learn more at RexburgRaces.com
If you are interested in saving money then make sure to sign up before our next price jump on September 10th. During registration there is also a Facebook Referral button which will save you $3. And on your confirmation email there is a referral code that will get you a $5 refunded for each friend that signs up using your code!
Hurry and grease your chains and slip on your running shoes! We are excited to share this fun event with you!
I also spoke with Pat Kearney, the new race director for Moose Cross.Victor will only be hosting one cross race this year (Moose Cross October 15th and 16th). It appears that we will be moving the Cube from October 22nd to October 29th. I will verify that after my meeting with Jeff Crowther tomorrow.
Today was a very interesting day, I had heard rumors of Peter Sagan being at Pierre's Hole since Thursday night. But I was very skeptical about it.
We went to Targhee early and got signed in and went to the parking lot to get into our kits and warm up. While we are getting ready a very nice decked out sprinter van pulls up right next to us (Brian, Kelton, Joe, Steph and Myself). I am putting my shoes on and Brian says, "Look who it is." Needless to say I think all of us were a little star struck seeing a world champ in our midst.
We finished getting ready while he got ready and Kelton and Brian and I walked over to see if we could get a pic. At this point it was very evident how serious Peter is. His bike (even though it's a Specialized) was a full custom with a new color changing paint that isn't available yet, and it was incredible. The computer on his bike was a special rainbow edition. Everything was well organized and had a place in the van.
Peter himself was very impressive. The guy is solid rock! The dude has calves that would rival Tony Perkins. Peter is pretty soft spoken, humble and nice. Kelton and I both were like little kids meeting Santa when we got a pic with him.
After that we all headed to the start line. There is nothing like a group of 70-80 riders sitting there then splitting right down the middle when Peter went to the front. Something about that whole lineup and his call up was special. Kelton and I lined up 1 row back from Peter (God of Cycling) Sagan!!!
This race is a 50K with 4000ft of climbing. The start hit and the race is straight up for 7-8 miles. In 3 minutes I was at 190 bpm and Peter was still pulling away much faster than I expected. Once we hit the switchbacks it was evident the wizardry we were dealing with. I pride myself on being a strong climber and every single switchback he would be another 3-5 seconds farther out and he was out of sight surprisingly fast.
I had a goal of a sub 3 hour finish and I finished in 2:42. I feel I had a decent race. The strongest locals around were all in the 2:20 - 2:35 range. Sagan finished in 2 hours flat and wasn't at full effort!!! I honestly think he could have knocked 5 mins off if he was going 100%.
The bike handling he is capable of is spectacular; he and the bike are one unit. It's so special to witness in real life. Peter's wife took a liking to Brians new puppy Indy and Peter came over and gave Indy a blessing. That was cool.
Today was an amazing experience and I am hoping he does very well in Rio. I love our crew that was there and I had a great time with everyone. Brian, Heather,Kelton, Cooper, Indy, Zac, Jeralyn, Joe, Steph, Tim, Eric and Gabe (Who was man enough to race the 100 mile!) Such a killer day and I am tired! Goodnight.
Here's a little preview of most of the south loop of what is mostly a figure 8 course for the 60 mile edition. Tony, Ryan, Dave and I were treated with a not-so-rare sighting of a bear on the Baker's Draw road. This one was a tawny cinnamon color, but from our eyes had the larger ears and more slender profile of a yearling black bear, although it could have been a skinny grizzly.
Unfortunately the wide-angle of the GoPro doesn't really do it justice. More info on JP's Race can be found here:
I just spoke with Kellen (pictured here with Kelton and World Champion Peter Sagan). All the local guys rode well. Sagan was in a class by himself. Kellen reports that Peter Sagan is a totally cool, approachable guy. We will publish an expanded report from Kellen tomorrow.
This was my sixth trip to the Torrey/Teasdale area and one of the best ever. I am immensely grateful for the kindness and generosity of Brian's parents Robert and Charlotte Williams who have provided food, hospitality, and lodging. Charlotte rented a house for us this year which is known as the Teasdale Retreat. It is the best place we have ever stayed in the area. If I had a way to pay the bills, I would leave Rexburg and live in that house. If you are ever in Torrey/Teasdale, consider staying there.
The Tour of Utah peleton rode two and a half laps of the 17 mile Torrey to Teasdale loop as a finishing circuit. Rob's built a scarecrow named Slim which the peleton passed three times on the finishing circuit..
Thanks also to Tim who arranged VIP passes for us at the finish, even though he was unable to be there himself. Life is good in the VIP tent. The Kelson bicycle at the finish is Tim's gorgeous new gravel bike Pigpen (full carbon, Di2, hydraulic disc brakes, Enve wheels, top tier componentry).
Brian engineered our big ride. On paper, it looked pretty straightforward: 63 miles, mixed pavement and gravel, with about 6000 feet of vertical. We rode south on Highway 12 toward its 9800 foot summit. At about 9000 feet, Brian, Kelton, Dan, and I took a hard left on gravel and dropped toward Lower Down's Reservoir. We picked up the South Draw 4WD Trail which we rode north through Capitol Reef National Park, exiting by way of the Scenic Drive and the Park Headquarters at Fruta.
The scenery in the Park was spectacular. Plus, we did not see another human until we reached the pavement at the Scenic Drive where Charlotte, Heather, and Kooper met us with desperately needed cold drinks. It was a hot day in Capitol Reef and we underestimated the ruggedness of the South Draw Trail which stretched the limits of drop bar gravel bikes. It was an absolutely epic ride, Harder than expected, I would do it again in a minute, but probably on a mountain bike.
I guess this video has been on-line for a while. The first time I saw the footage was in a commercial-length edit on the Jumbotron at the Tour of Utah.
