Recap from last light in Laramie

From all of us here in Casper who made it to one or all of the races that Laramie hosted this year, we would like to say THANK YOU. Thank you to every single person who had anything to do with hosting the Laramie Mountain Bike Series. The Tuesday night race series is a total blast and it is always worth the 2.5 hour drive (one way) to get to a couple of them each year. Thank you for the cheers, the shwagg, amazing courses, variety in the courses, quick results and friendliness that you have given all of us. We truly appreciate all the hard work you put into it.

And now for the race from last night.

I must say that I am mighty proud of the racing that was thrown together from the Casper guys who raced last night. Two from Casper placed in the top 3 overall in expert while the rest of the speedy bunch tore up the expert and sport class. As always, the race started at a lightning fast pace that was just too much for me to hang on too. The technical terrain of the area is still a bit challenging and it was pretty disapointing to see Evan (from Laramie) and Steve (from Fort Collins) steadily gap me and the rest of the group. After about 5 minutes, I looked back to see that nobody was close to me and I thought that this race would be like ALL the rest of them. I usually always ride alone... I always tell my brother that I need to stop being the slowest fast guy and ride with the group of guys ahead of me. So I settled in and for another 10 minutes I rode solo until I came up on Even having trouble with his first flat.

After just 30 seconds or so, I was off again minus my extra tube. At the bottom of a long decent, two U of WY riders passed me while another guy was riding my wheel. The four of us rode the really flat and fast two-track until the flat turned to a little incline. Not knowing what was ahead, I attacked. For the next 5 minutes I rode at 174 bpm, making a huge gap on those three guys. So I rested for a couple minutes letting the heart get back down in the upper 150's and low 160's. Its a good thing I did, because it was just enough time to rest before the hill climb that they call DEATH CROTCH! This was a very long, very technical single track climb that seemed to be longer than any hill climb I've ever done before. For what seemed to be 20 minutes, I lugged along in the granny gear spinning as fast as my legs could go. For me, the high cadence and easy gear really keeps my legs fresh versus struggling to mash a harder gear and wearing you down.

Anyway, Evan caught up to me and passed at the top of Death Crotch and I was sure that I had third place in the bag. That was until Evan was once again on the side of the trail fixing his second flat tire of the race. After I passed him, I really layed it on and hammered the final 10 minutes of the race. It was mostly pretty fast and short ups and downs the rest of the way to the finish line where I came in a terrible 5 minutes behind Steve. I'll get him next year!

Until then, all of us here in Casper will be enjoying some Fat Fish Races hosted by the team and a couple of long distance events too. Again, Thank you to all of you who were part of hosting the Laramie Bike Series. You ROCK!!!

YEAH, so I'm not a photographer. Here are the best two that I could come up with from the race last night. Neil above and Mike below.

Anyone ready for the next Fat Fish Racing competitive ride??? I hope so. Next one will be within the next two weeks, so stay tuned for the location and date.

Casper Mountain Competitive Ride Rewind

The Wednesday night competitive ride was a huge success for the Fat Fish Racing team. We're just a couple of guys who told some friends and posted some flags on the trail, but it was all of you riders who made this bike ride a total blast for everyone.

The trail was changed up a bit from the last ride and from listening to everyone after the ride, the changes resulted in an great XC race course. Those of us competitive riders rode our hardest for three laps that were 3.78 miles each. In the first 3/4 of a mile, the top 8 riders stuck together up the long and steady hill. The climb was not steep, but at the pace that Neil started us out at, it was a total lung buster.

At the word GO, Neil started the ride at an Expert level pace and led the group for a few hundred yards until Colby, on his singlespeed, took the lead for the next 20 minutes of the ride. Leif and I followed until Colby hit the single track where he maintained his lead by ripping through the single track faster than anyone else. At the start of the second lap, I attacked midway through the long climb and attacked every hill from then on. I knew that Colby was faster on the decents and that my way to win would be to power up every hill. So I stuck to that plan the rest of the ride and it's a good thing I did, because Colby finished just 30 seconds behind me, while Leif finished another minute after him.

Great job everyone and I hope to see you all again soon. Results are posted below for all of us competitive riders.

Thank you Aspen Ridge Dental for your donation of food after the ride. Also, thank you Mountain Sports for your support in our efforts to rally all mountain bikers to our Fat Fish Racing events.

Place	Name	Finish Time
1	Adam L	1:02
2	Colby F	1:03
3	Leif J	1:05
4	Mike D	1:06
5	Pat B	1:09:15
6	Shawn N	1:09:45
7	Michael B	1:10:45
8	Neil B	1:12:38
9	Ryan R	1:13:30
10	Bryce S	1:13:36
11	Isaiah R	1:22:19
12	Brian B	1:23:07
13	Clint C	1:25:49
14	Rick M	1:32:12
	Craig C	DNF

In ultra new news, Casper already has one 4 person team heading to Moab, UT for 24hours of Moab on October 9th and 10th. I'll be there riding with Mike, Ray and Matt. There is interest from a few other people from Casper and they may be looking for another guy or gal to complete a team. If you are interested and want to ride your bike for 1/4th of a 24 hour race, email me at fatfishracing@gmail.com and I'll help get you connected.

A Tip for all of you out there...... Keep it fresh..... your training that is. This late in the riding season, fatigue and boredom may be hitting you hard. Go out and ride with someone new, try a new trail, drive the short distance to Glendo and ride their trail system. Have you been to the Alcova Marina to ride up the Canyon? Might be worth checking out.

Enjoy!

August 18 Casper Mountain Competitive Ride

"This course was perfect."

"Awesome course man."

"I loved the changes you made to the Casper Mountain race course."

"Is this chicken, what I have, or is it fish? I know it's tuna, but it says 'Chicken of the Sea.'"

Three of the above quotes were said at the last Fat Fish Racing Competitive Ride. I'll give you a hint, Jessica Simpson was NOT at the last Fat Fish Racing Competitive Ride. Good work mountain biker friends! You guessed it right..... and that means that the next Fat Fish ride is going to be BACK on Casper Mountain. Were we can tear up the awesome single-track that we have so close to home. If you were one of the lucky ones to race the Red Cross race then you will be so pumped to see the changes that I made to the course. I have cut out the slow spots from that race to give you a better riding experience. The course is super fun because it has less climbing and less double-track.

I forget exactly what the distance and times were from the last Fat Fish ride that we had on the mountain, but they were close to 4 miles a lap at 20 - 25 minutes a lap.

The ride will have 3 categories which will be as follows:

Competitive: 3 laps. A ride for anyone who wants to challenge the Fat Fish and the rest of Casper's finest. You will be timed and results will be posted online.

Womens: 2 laps. A ride for all women whether you are competitive or not. You will be timed and results will be out for you to view after the ride but not posted to the internet.

Casual rider: 2 laps. A ride for all the rest of the men who are out to get some miles in and have fun. You will be timed and results will be out for you to view after the ride but not posted to the internet.

The August 18th Fat Fish Racing Competitive Ride will start at 6:30pm

This ride is sponsored by..............

So that means that there will be plenty of food there for everyone (as long as they RSVP). That also means that this ride is FREE for everyone. So ask your mom for a ride and get tot the top of Casper Mountain for the next Fat Fish Racing Competitive Ride.

We will start at the trailhead just past the nordic center. Check out the link below for a map of the area and look for the parking/trailhead beyond the trail center.

http://www.caspernordic.com/Documents/ski_map.pdf

Thursday Night MTN Bike Ride

The Enduro has now come and gone, but the riding in Casper MUST continue. The Fat Fish Racing bike ride that will be this Thursday is going to be a very chill ride for everyone. A recovery ride for those of us who did the Enduro and a fun "No Drop" ride for all who show.

There is a jeep trail that I have seen going up the west side of Casper mountain which I really want to explore. I plan on leaving the horse arena at 6:15 to ride up Jackson Canyon.

The course: 30 minute ride up Jackson Canyon (that is a very casual pace) then 15 minutes of flat, two track trail before a very long decent down about 1,000 ft in elevation. At the bottom we will take a short break before tackling the jeep trail up Casper mountain. I'd like to make it to the top before turning back around and going back the same way we came.

2.5 hours is a good estimate of what we will bike. Of course we can go longer or shorter if the group would like.

Bring a granola bar or GU to eat while we ride and plenty of water.

We are not going to drop anyone, so anyone can ride with us. This is just for fun.

Oh, the grasshoppers are EVERYWHERE. If grass and hoppers touching your legs are your worst nightmares then the first 15 minutes of the ride will tick you off. Everywhere else is fun and fast two track.

See you there.

adam