Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Psycho Cyclo Thursday!

IT IS TIME..... For cyclocross that is.

The first Cyclocross ride will be Thursday, October 7th at the crossroads trail in the city of Casper. The competitive ride will start at 6pm and will have two categories. We can add more categories if the need arises, but these two should be fine for now.

Casual/40 minutes: this will be for the casual rider and non competitive racer who wants to try out this fun sport.

Competitive/ 60 minutes: The extra 20 minutes will equal many more times dismounting and remounting. To place in the top 5 your going to have smoking fast lap times while saving a little juice at the end for some sprinting. Fast dismounts will really benefit you. Times and placing will be taken and posted on the Internet for the Fat Fish Racing fans to view.

If you don't know what cyclocross is, check out the website below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkRIoU0wm_M

Expect the course to be very fast with very little climbing and an occasional obstacle.

This is going to be a blast and the Fat Fish Racing team hopes that you and all of your family can make it to this event to ride and spectate. Of all the events to watch, a cyclocross race will be the most entertaining of them all. The course is short and tight, with obstacles and many laps. This means that grandma can come and watch you for nearly the entire race.

There is not a single speed category, nor is there a cat for cyclocross bikes and mountain bikes. The two categories are for casual people OR competitive people. Whatever bike you choose to ride is your call.

Here are the need to knows:

Who: Anyone can ride, even kids on a bmx bike. This would actually be a blast for them.

What: A cyclocross ride with two categories lasting either 40 minutes or 60 minutes.

When: Thursday, October 7th. Event starts at 6pm.

Where: We will meet in the central parking lot for the crossroads park. This would be the parking lot in North Casper Park. This park has the softball fields and all the kids soccer fields. Nearby roads are East M Street and North Melrose. We will be able to grill some burgers after the ride at this location.

Why: Seriously? Lets get outside before it is too cold out. You will have a blast.

Please RSVP is you want some free food afterwards.

Adam



Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Stone Temple 8

Hey race fans. Adam here, back from a grueling race weekend. The Stone Temple 8 was a huge success as I finished in 2nd place for the Solo Men. It all started with a Le mans start where about 40+ people dashed 200 yards across the gravel parking lot to their own bikes. This separated the group of people before we got into the tight biking trails. From there it was about one mile of jeep trail (which was the only double track in the entire race) before entering the single track.

Hour after hour the day slowly passed by as you battle your competitors, the trails, and your sanity. After each lap, Andrea was there to hand off fresh water and food before I took off to start the next lap. As I look back now, I don't really remember the last three hours of the race. I felt like I was just in cruise control with my only goal being to maintain the heart rate that I'd been at all day. Every time I put the meat to the pedals my heart would reach my target zone of 163 to 168 beats per minute. Then a down hill section would come after the climb, dropping my heart rate to the mid to upper 130's before rocketing back up to 163+ for the next section of pedaling.

There was a pretty steep and technical rock feature that I was warned to walk down after 4 hours of the race. This was advice given by someone who has battled this course and knows that after 4 hours your mental focus for maneuvering down such features is greatly compromised by your fatigue. At lap 8 I was thinking, "oh yeah, I've made it 7 times down this thing, why not try for another". Well, I should have listened to the advice because once again I found myself soaring over my handlebars and landing on solid rock. The wind was knocked out of me and my cable that ran my remote lockout for my fork was pulled right out.

Anyway, it was a quick recovery. I put my glasses on straight, scrapped the rocks off my elbow and chugged on for another lap after that (on lap 9, I walked down :).

Thank you Andrea for your support throughout the entire day, I love you. She also took a few photos, so check em out.

Looking at results after the race.
Making quick time through the single-track.

The venue at Curt Gowdy State Park.
Finishing up another lap before getting some refreshments from Andrea.

Thanks for reading!

I'll be posting again about the first Fat Fish Racing Cyclocross Event. Check back soon.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Still Riding???

I hope you all are still riding those bikes. There may not be too many more days where we can ride in short sleeves. This Saturday I'll be in Laramie riding in the Stone Temple 8. That is an 8 hour race which I'm doing solo. Currently, there are 27 solo men and I am 1 of only 2 racers from Wyoming. I'm hoping to place top 3 and represent Casper and Wyoming on the podium. Tonight, I rode for 1:45 minutes at 80% and felt great. The bike is running pretty good, but a trip to Mountain Sports tomorrow will get the brakes working a bit better. Phil at Mountain Sports is an awesome bike mechanic and knows my bike and riding style, which means he knows how to dial in all of its components.

Anyways..... I think we are about due for another Fat Fish Racing Competitive Ride!!!

The Fat Fish are talking about doing a Cyclocross style of mountain bike race. There are very few people in Casper with cross bikes, but this will be a ride that we can all do on our fat tires. I will post new info on the blog as soon as we figure out what we plan on doing.

Enjoy the rest of the beautiful weather before it gets cold and remember...

Keep the rubber side down!

Adam




Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Thursday Night Throwdown!!


Hello again single track freaks. I just got down from the mountain an hour ago and am pumped for the Thursday night ride. The trail is amazing and it is actually BETTER than it was last week when Leif and I rode. The landowner did some trail work, clearing a down tree and making an AWESOME 4 foot wide path for us to finish/start each loop. The path that was cleared is a really fun and swoopy dirt trail which is wide enough for passing at the finish/start of each lap.
In new race news, the ride will be starting at 6pm instead of 6:30. So be there, ready to roll out at 6pm. There will be a race cut off time. Nobody will start a new lap after 7:15 because at about 7:45pm it is getting dark enough in the woods where you would want lights. Remember here folks, this is just for fun. So if you sign up for the Competitive 4 loop category and decide that you are better off just doing 3 loops, thats fine. In fact, I will give you a refund of your money if you DNF due to an injury or flat tire. Oh, did I mention that this competitive ride is free?

I rode the loop tonight and threw down about 10 signs that I made. These signs are only because I want you to be extra safe. There are no parts that are dangerous for you, but I am just taking extra precautions to ensure a fun ride. The photo above is showing you the part of the trail where you want to be in a really easy gear before you get to the bottom (you can see the bridge behind the second sign). This is not a dangerous place, but there are two signs there to let you know of a very steep (but very ridable) climb after the bridge. The climb is short and steep, so pedal fast and even with your butt on the nose of your saddle.
Above is a pic just showing you the ribbon which is placed on the trail. Just follow the markers of orange ribbon and orange flags. Below is another down hill section that is not dangerous, but challenging enough to throw a down arrow there to keep you alert.


Thursday Night MTN Bike Ride

Hey Mountain Bikers! It seems that I missed the start time of the ride in my last post. We will be starting the mountain bike ride at 6pm. So be there a couple minutes early to get signed up for the ride. Same as last time, people who RSVP will get some burgers after the ride.

See you on Thursday

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Lamberson's Loop Competitive Ride



Get your bike ready for the best single track in all of central Wyoming. This competitive ride is going to be so fun and so fast it will blow your socks off. The 2.2 mile loop is 90% single-track and I can honestly say that it is the best 2.2 miles of trail in the area. Leif and I rode 4 laps last night and had the most fun we've had this year on our bikes.

YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THIS ONE!!! This trail is on private land and we may not get the chance to ride this again anytime soon, so get to this ride.

Course Description: The loop is 2.2 miles long and 90% single-track. The last few hundred yards of the loop is double-track, so there may be some exciting sprints to the finish line. We will start the ride by spreading everyone out through a 1/4 mile loop around the Hogadon parking lot before we enter the woods. Upon entering the single-track you can expect to have your fingers on the brakes for most of the first half of the lap. Rarely do you get the chance to go wide open on your bike. There are a total of 6 wooden bridges through this loop with most of them in the first half. If you have technical skills, you will dominate! You should know, however, that the technicality of this trail is not because of crazy rock gardens, teeter-totters, dangerous ledges, or witches with broomsticks, it is technical because of all the tight turns, close tree's and fast corners which = FUN!!!

This trail can be ridden by anyone. Remember, there are two categories, Competitive and Casual. Come out and have fun in the casual category. Either way, you will have a good time.

The second half of the 2.2 mile trail is where all of us with a little fitness might have the chance to catch up to those guys who have all the guts. There is under 300 feet of climbing per lap, but most of it is in this last half. Make sure you are in the right gear after crossing one of the bridges, to make it up the steep (but short) hill. Once you get out of the forest, you will get the chance to hammer out the last 250 yards through some double track. This is the area you have the best shot of passing people as you sprint to the finish.

Seriously folks, this trail is amazing! We hope that you can make it to this ride.


Three categories

Casual Rider (men and women): Two Loops

Competitive Women: Three Loops

Competitive Men: Four Loops

Last night, Leif and I did our fastest lap in just under 16 minutes. Just a guess here, but the fastest people may be able to average a 16 minute lap.

The one rule I can think of right now is, NO LITTERING. Do not throw you gels on the ground. This is private land and make sure you show your appreciation by telling the land owner once the ride is over.

There will be hamburgers/hotdogs after the ride for everyone who RSVP's.

This ride is sponsored by.....



Be sure to show your appreciation to our sponsors for helping us host these events. Thank you Bruce at Mountain Sports for your help.