Hello Gang,
Another El Tour is in the books. More on that later but it was epic fun
and epic riding as always. There is always something special about a big
one day event and it is pretty cool to roll through the streets of Tucson
with full enclosure and crowds of people cheering you on. The energy and
enthusiasm for the event is very cool and it is a good reason not to miss
it. I sincerely hope that all you first timers come back again next year
and lets hope that someday the Vegas Century can build into this type of
event.
My tip of the week involves your pre-race routine. For most of my racing
and athletic career I have been able to witness different rituals of
various athletes. The one constant is the successful athlete will usually
have a pre-race routine that is virtually the same for every event. This
routine can be the calm before the storm and is a factor in preparing
yourself to perform at your highest level. As you become a more
accomplished racer or rider you may want to spend a little time working on
a pre-race routine. Here are just a few examples. Keep all your race gear
in one bag all the time. I have two bags when I travel. One for my
regular clothes and one for the bike gear. My gear always stays in this
bag and all my equipment goes back in the bag as soon as I am done riding.
This keeps me organized and makes sure I do not forget race items. Try to
keep your pre-race eating on the same schedule. If you know what you want
to eat and when before the start of the race you will be one step ahead of
the game. Having to deal with an upset stomach before or during a race is
not fun, having no energy because you did not eat right is even worse.
Think ahead and be prepared when it comes to eating. If your race start is
far away from any known source of a good meal, bring it with you. Eating
from Joe's taco hut because that is the only thing you can find is not
smart. When you get ready and get in your kit, establish a timeline of how
long it takes you to get dressed and do whatever it is you need to do
before you start. Once you know how long it takes make sure you allow
enough time for variables and add that in your pre-race plan. Running late
and being stressed to get ready before a start can make you forget
important items and preparation. Now with all those tips, I have observed
some athletes who strive on being completely unprepared and disorganized
before a race and it seems to work for them. Kircher is a perfect example.
If your travel or ride partner is like that, just do your own thing and do
not get involved in their madness. It all works in the end.
El Tour
This year was a good turn out by the Vegas crowd. For the purpose of
content I can not list everybody but it was larger than usual and great to
see. El tour is a 109 miles of pure race speed from the gun. 8 miles into
the race their is a dry river bed crossing and one more at mile 48. After
the second crossing you have a small steep climb out of Sabino Creek and
than lots of rollers before you hit a long descent into town and than 25
miles of cross headwinds to come back to the finish. I flatted 8 miles
into the ride so most of my reporting will be related from stories that I
was told by the guys in the front. i spent the day chasing my ass off to
try and get back and I never made it. This year the first wash was hard
packed and most of the field was able to ride through it without
dismounting. With the group getting split in the cross winds a train
caused the front group to stop allowing slower riders to catch back on.
This meant the field was huge going into the second river crossing.
Brandon was best placed coming out of the second wash and was right on the
wheel of the powerful Mexican team. He was in the front group and was not
able to hold the pace of the Mexicans. Louie, Jay, Balch and Freeze soon
joined him in the front group where the race quickly became negative as
Ride Clean did not want to chase their guy up the road and some of the
other pros were content to just bring it home. Chicken came up from the
rear and the pace slacked off to join this front group. Coming into the
last straightaway before the last corner Balch hit a cone and took him and
Luna from Penta out with a crash. Jay keyed off of the Chicken when he
launched for the corner and was able to win the field sprint in front of
Curtis Gunn from Successful Living. Chicken was close behind with Alex and
Brandon both finishing in this front group. Luna, Balch, and Louie came in
soon after they scraped each other off of the pavement. Vegas was well
represented in the front group and Jay had a great sprint to win the field.
The breaks up the road consisted of several groups with the Mexican team
bringing three riders home together for the win. next year we got to try
and get in that front break but really god job by all you front runners.
Honorable mentions go out to Trena for getting in her 108. Also wanted to
note that Penta brought down a big group.
Black Ace recipients: Jim "the Fat Man" Robbins flatted 8 miles in. Scott
Miller from Penta flatted at mile 30?? Bruce Balchesaurus and Anthony Luna
crashed at mile 107.
Fastest Man in Nevada- Jay Lilge from Paul Tracy
Best rider out of the second wash- Brandon with awesome skills almost rode
the whole wash.
Random Thoughts:
Michael Ball throws the Koo Koo switch and hires Rudy Pevanage as director.
Can Jan be soon to follow??
Good legs does not always mean good results. The beauty of a classic is
you have to have legs, a good team, and good luck. That is what makes them
classics. Lets get one of us in that final break next year.
I heard a rumor that Andy Brown and Dave herbst will be riding with DeWalt
next year. Like there wasn't enough players in the masters already.
How about that Squirrel!!!!! He took some confidence with him to Tucson
and pulled off a nice sprint. Oh and did I say that was after a 108 miles
of racing. I can not wait to see that sprint in the big races this spring.
Flat tires suck but crashing is worse. Bruce is banged up but nothing
broken. I have not heard any report on Luna. Hope all is well!! Let us
know.
Damn those Mexicans are strong. The punked Tucson and took 1-3. WOW!!
Brandido rode like a champ. There are some great pics of him coming out of
Sabino with the leaders. Nice job Brandon.
Chicken rode hard to get back to the front group. He should have a good
training camp next week. Does anyone have some extra clothing you can
donate him until he gets his Cal Pools kit.
Brandido hooked us up in style for Saturday night. The talent at Raw Sushi
in Scottsdale is very nice. The hotel was awesome and much better than the
Motel 6 Louie normally has us at. I think Chicken stole the robe so check
your credit card.
Penta, don't give up. Anthony was rocking to get back to the front group.
Lets bring that level up for the race season. I can not wait to see you
guys bring up your game. You guys looked good before the race and it is
nice to see all your players back to riding.
Allegiant, it would be cool to see you guys in the game next year. This
race is ideal for Little Hurt. I think he could be a player at the finish.
Have a great Thanksgiving and I will see all of you in two weeks. Since I
will not be riding much this weekend, (I have my little one's) I will be
putting out a year highlight edition. Send me a note and tell me who you
think had a breakthrough result or ride this year and I will gather them
together.
Jim Robbins
Another El Tour is in the books. More on that later but it was epic fun
and epic riding as always. There is always something special about a big
one day event and it is pretty cool to roll through the streets of Tucson
with full enclosure and crowds of people cheering you on. The energy and
enthusiasm for the event is very cool and it is a good reason not to miss
it. I sincerely hope that all you first timers come back again next year
and lets hope that someday the Vegas Century can build into this type of
event.
My tip of the week involves your pre-race routine. For most of my racing
and athletic career I have been able to witness different rituals of
various athletes. The one constant is the successful athlete will usually
have a pre-race routine that is virtually the same for every event. This
routine can be the calm before the storm and is a factor in preparing
yourself to perform at your highest level. As you become a more
accomplished racer or rider you may want to spend a little time working on
a pre-race routine. Here are just a few examples. Keep all your race gear
in one bag all the time. I have two bags when I travel. One for my
regular clothes and one for the bike gear. My gear always stays in this
bag and all my equipment goes back in the bag as soon as I am done riding.
This keeps me organized and makes sure I do not forget race items. Try to
keep your pre-race eating on the same schedule. If you know what you want
to eat and when before the start of the race you will be one step ahead of
the game. Having to deal with an upset stomach before or during a race is
not fun, having no energy because you did not eat right is even worse.
Think ahead and be prepared when it comes to eating. If your race start is
far away from any known source of a good meal, bring it with you. Eating
from Joe's taco hut because that is the only thing you can find is not
smart. When you get ready and get in your kit, establish a timeline of how
long it takes you to get dressed and do whatever it is you need to do
before you start. Once you know how long it takes make sure you allow
enough time for variables and add that in your pre-race plan. Running late
and being stressed to get ready before a start can make you forget
important items and preparation. Now with all those tips, I have observed
some athletes who strive on being completely unprepared and disorganized
before a race and it seems to work for them. Kircher is a perfect example.
If your travel or ride partner is like that, just do your own thing and do
not get involved in their madness. It all works in the end.
El Tour
This year was a good turn out by the Vegas crowd. For the purpose of
content I can not list everybody but it was larger than usual and great to
see. El tour is a 109 miles of pure race speed from the gun. 8 miles into
the race their is a dry river bed crossing and one more at mile 48. After
the second crossing you have a small steep climb out of Sabino Creek and
than lots of rollers before you hit a long descent into town and than 25
miles of cross headwinds to come back to the finish. I flatted 8 miles
into the ride so most of my reporting will be related from stories that I
was told by the guys in the front. i spent the day chasing my ass off to
try and get back and I never made it. This year the first wash was hard
packed and most of the field was able to ride through it without
dismounting. With the group getting split in the cross winds a train
caused the front group to stop allowing slower riders to catch back on.
This meant the field was huge going into the second river crossing.
Brandon was best placed coming out of the second wash and was right on the
wheel of the powerful Mexican team. He was in the front group and was not
able to hold the pace of the Mexicans. Louie, Jay, Balch and Freeze soon
joined him in the front group where the race quickly became negative as
Ride Clean did not want to chase their guy up the road and some of the
other pros were content to just bring it home. Chicken came up from the
rear and the pace slacked off to join this front group. Coming into the
last straightaway before the last corner Balch hit a cone and took him and
Luna from Penta out with a crash. Jay keyed off of the Chicken when he
launched for the corner and was able to win the field sprint in front of
Curtis Gunn from Successful Living. Chicken was close behind with Alex and
Brandon both finishing in this front group. Luna, Balch, and Louie came in
soon after they scraped each other off of the pavement. Vegas was well
represented in the front group and Jay had a great sprint to win the field.
The breaks up the road consisted of several groups with the Mexican team
bringing three riders home together for the win. next year we got to try
and get in that front break but really god job by all you front runners.
Honorable mentions go out to Trena for getting in her 108. Also wanted to
note that Penta brought down a big group.
Black Ace recipients: Jim "the Fat Man" Robbins flatted 8 miles in. Scott
Miller from Penta flatted at mile 30?? Bruce Balchesaurus and Anthony Luna
crashed at mile 107.
Fastest Man in Nevada- Jay Lilge from Paul Tracy
Best rider out of the second wash- Brandon with awesome skills almost rode
the whole wash.
Random Thoughts:
Michael Ball throws the Koo Koo switch and hires Rudy Pevanage as director.
Can Jan be soon to follow??
Good legs does not always mean good results. The beauty of a classic is
you have to have legs, a good team, and good luck. That is what makes them
classics. Lets get one of us in that final break next year.
I heard a rumor that Andy Brown and Dave herbst will be riding with DeWalt
next year. Like there wasn't enough players in the masters already.
How about that Squirrel!!!!! He took some confidence with him to Tucson
and pulled off a nice sprint. Oh and did I say that was after a 108 miles
of racing. I can not wait to see that sprint in the big races this spring.
Flat tires suck but crashing is worse. Bruce is banged up but nothing
broken. I have not heard any report on Luna. Hope all is well!! Let us
know.
Damn those Mexicans are strong. The punked Tucson and took 1-3. WOW!!
Brandido rode like a champ. There are some great pics of him coming out of
Sabino with the leaders. Nice job Brandon.
Chicken rode hard to get back to the front group. He should have a good
training camp next week. Does anyone have some extra clothing you can
donate him until he gets his Cal Pools kit.
Brandido hooked us up in style for Saturday night. The talent at Raw Sushi
in Scottsdale is very nice. The hotel was awesome and much better than the
Motel 6 Louie normally has us at. I think Chicken stole the robe so check
your credit card.
Penta, don't give up. Anthony was rocking to get back to the front group.
Lets bring that level up for the race season. I can not wait to see you
guys bring up your game. You guys looked good before the race and it is
nice to see all your players back to riding.
Allegiant, it would be cool to see you guys in the game next year. This
race is ideal for Little Hurt. I think he could be a player at the finish.
Have a great Thanksgiving and I will see all of you in two weeks. Since I
will not be riding much this weekend, (I have my little one's) I will be
putting out a year highlight edition. Send me a note and tell me who you
think had a breakthrough result or ride this year and I will gather them
together.
Jim Robbins
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