Gears and suspension make you weak. I will make you strong!

-Rocky, my un-suspended, steel-framed singlespeed mountain bike prior to last week’s Red River Shootout

That kinda sums things up. I again rode my singlespeed for the XC race in Coldspring, TX this weekend. And if you know anything about single speed gearing, yes, you are reading those pics correctly: 38×18

I think had it not rained the morning of the race, that gear would have been just fine. Throw some rain and 32 miles of energy sucking muck at it though, and it is quite a painful battle. No worries though. While I was seriously questioning why the hell I ran such a high gear with about 5 miles left in the race, I have no regrets for racing singlespeed as I mustered up a 7th place finish out of 20 racers, within a stone’s throw of 5th and 6th.  The other 4? Well, their licenses all have a “Pro” printed on them, including Texas racing legend Jason Sager (currently pursuing his racing dream in Portland, OR) who decided to pay us a visit while in the area to see his family. Couple that with a crash at the start line that hindered any chance at a good start position, and then a high speed mud induced skid that resulted in a very unfriendly encounter between my right shoulder and a tree thereby sending me to the very end of the field, well then, 7th place ain’t all that bad.

It was good enough for some payout, awarded to me via a pint glass with a little scotch tape to hold the cash on the side, along with a verbal notice that the keg was to my left. I had given up alcohol this race season (a little over 2 months so far) to help a teammate who pledged not to drink until the last race of the season (May 17). When I heard that said teammate had broken his own vow the weekend prior, all bets were off, and I’ll be damned if I wasn’t going to enjoy some hard earned frosty beverages following this day’s efforts.  Bottom’s Up! Caveman is rolling strong! Too bad the XC season is now over for me. I’m skipping X-Bar to do the Canyon Lake Xterra the same day. Tri season is here, and it’s time to start training for the next big thing…

A few more pics from the drive home. I love Texas.

…Continued

The soft light filtering through my tent and the sound of chirping birds gently welcomed me to a new day. A good night’s sleeps was well appreciated after a hard race the day before. Even well rested and well re-fueled though, my body was aching. The knee swelling had gone done a bit and toe wasn’t bleeding anymore, but that certainly did not mean they hurt any less. Doubt still loomed whether I would race that morning.
I was hanging out in the team area when I heard the announcement that registration was closing in 5 minutes. I was a bit more awake by now, and the decision was obvious. I did not drive all this way and hype up this weekend with Okie teammates to sit and watch the Sunday race, or even more shamefully, drive back home. Nope, I filled out the form and hopped in line.
I did bring my trusty single speed along, and in fact had a nice pre-ride on it Friday night, so I reserved the option of doing the SS category thereby saving me 8 extra miles of racing, an option that my knee would likely appreciate. I was even more tempted to do this as I saw a few familiar faces from the Texas pro scene show up and know I would have to contend with them by racing Cat 1.
Backing down from a challenge is not in my nature though, and I knew I could hold out for 3 laps of the 8 mile loop that day. Confidence overcame me, I told the registration lady to put me down for the Pro/Cat 1 race. I don’t know why, but my confidence continued to grow as I walked back to my campsite to get ready. Proud Mary had raced very well the day before and had a good setup for the course. But there was this little voice in my head: “less is more”
There was Rocky (the SS), leaning up against a tree, saying “Hey, let’s do this.” At first I said, “Alright, let’s do it, but how about swapping the rigid fork for some suspension?” But then Rocky was like “Gears and suspension make you weak. I will make you strong!” and then I was like “Hell yeah, let’s show these wimps how it’s done!”
So, I toed the line against high doller, high tech, geared, suspended, aluminum alloyed, carbon fiber-ed bikes on my $300* steel rigid singlespeed.
The other 12 or so racers did not seem very intimidated. They should have been though. This bike has the potential to really bring out the beast in me. Enough with the smack talk. The gun goes off and it’s on. I did not line up in a great spot, and ran out of gears on the sprint (the only time on the entire course I would do so), so I didn’t get a great spot heading into the singletrack, but I settled in behind Wink, who had also raced the day before. I think he was feeling a bit tired too because he didn’t get a great spot either. Things were going smoothly. I was keeping Wink right in front of me and occasionally we would pass a rider who couldn’t ride a technical section on his full suspension 29er. We had a good pace, and then poof. Came down a ledge, hit a rock at the bottom, tire blows of the rim.
I was running my new Panaracer rampage tires tubeless on the American classic wheels. They held up fine on the pre-ride, so I didn’t see any reason to not trust them for the race. Sadly, it was just like the incident at Moab all over again. This was the last race I will ever do in those American Classics (they are for sale if you’re interested!). They just don’t work for tubeless setups. A new set of Stan’s wheels were on order, but not due in til next week.
Back to the race though, I was determined to get that flat fixed fast so I didn’t get passed by the next age group and have to pass them back. Success! A pretty quick repair, and I was rolling again, with about 15 seconds on those 30-39 guys. The second half of the course had more climbing, and I was running a big gear, because running big gears is what I do, but man those climbs took a toll on my tired legs. The first and second 30-39 guys finally caught me in the feed zone. I felt dead at this point and let them go right by.
Having a nice flat stretch for a change allowed me to take in some water and fuel. It didn’t take but 2 minutes to kick in and I was going once again. I caught back up with the old guys and rode with them for all of lap 2. They rode well and tried to outgun this maverick on a rigid SS, but I was riding even better. We maybe passed 1 or 2 people in my category, not much cause for excitement, yet.
Lap 3 comes and I sense I have a chance to finally pass these old guys and catch a few more in my category. I get my chance when one of them takes a hard endo over his full suspension 26er on a ledge while I just roll on by (after asking if he was ok, of course). Well, the other rider, being a very fair sport, let up a little and let me pass so as to let the downed rider catch back up. Step 1 accomplished.
At this point, I had about 5 miles of trail left to reel in what fish I could. I set out like a bat out of hell and entered “the zone” Man and machine and determination became one. Just like the day before, I picked off my targets one by one, all the way to the finish line. The effort was good enough for 5th place, right behind Wink, right where I had left him before the flat.
I always try to judge my races not on the finish, but by the effort. I can say without a doubt this is one of my top 10 efforts. I had a lot of fun and felt a great sense of accomplishment having done that race on a SS rigid. Only one full suspension finished ahead of me. The other 3 were on 29er hardtails, go figure. Mad props to them all though, for they are all worthy opponents.
The drive back to Austin was long and uneventful. My time in Oklahoma was enjoyable but I was glad to see that Red River again, and even more so, fields of bluebonnets between Ft. Worth and Hillsboro. The body will take some time to heal, but I’m definitely getting stronger as the season nears an end. The next race up is this weekend in Coldspring, TX. Stay tuned. Thanks for reading.
Caveman

*Note on value of SS: i have since upgraded to race wheels, a rigid carbon front fork, and BB7 disc brakes, upping the cost to about $700, still a lot cheaper and simpler than the competition though!

It was pretty good weekend as I ventured north of the Red River into Sooner country for the Red River Xterra on Saturday and Red River shootout on Sunday. Saturday’s race would be my first triathlon of the year. A half day off work Friday provided me ample time to make the roughly 292 mile jaunt up I-35 to Lake Murray State Park near Ardmore, get a pre-ride in on my singlespeed, setup camp, eat dinner, and hang out with teammates Richard Suggs, Lupe Herndandez, and Bill Nelson before getting a good night’s sleep in the breezy, cool Oklahoma night.

This was the first year for this Xterra and things did not go on without a hitch. It was an odd start time of high noon, which not only meant we’d be racing into the heat of the day, but also have a kink in our eating schedule as a normal breakfast would be fine, but no lunch. It wasn’t a big deal to me since I train and eat for any kind of condition that might present itself, but for some it was an issue. Admittedly, the heat would play a factor for me.

The 1000 meter swim was shortend to 500m because a strong southest wind was causing 2′-3′ swells with white tips. I’d

never swam in such conditions, still being somewhat of a rookie to triathlons, but wasn’t afraid to take them on with all I had. I was expecting and hoping to have staggered starts for the age groups since my age group is usually one of the first to go, and I could get a jump on a lot of the faster swimmers and not have to pass them on the trail. I’m not a super fast swimmer (yet), but I am one of the fastest mountain bikers at these events, so you imagine my frustation by having to pass 30+ people on the trail that beat me on the swim. No such luck though as the gun went off and all 100 athletes entered the intimidating conditions.

It didn’t take me long to see why the race officials decided to shorten the swim course. This was one hell of a swim. As if it wasn’t hard enough navigating the wind and waves, the mass start created a ton of traffic. I was getting kicked, slashed, and splashed at any which way you can imagine. I refused to let fear set in, though, and carried onward. My swim time was better than I thought it would be at 9:14, but it still positioned me about 37th out of T1 (transition 1. this course had 2 transition areas since the lake was so far away from the trailhead).

Next up was where the real fun began: the MTB singletrack! The course was not superbly marked and a lot of folks took the wrong turn at the first fork, myself included. Well, it didn’t take long to figure out we were going the wrong way because it spit us out at T2, obviously not the right spot. We hit the brakes and headed back to the fork, this time taking the right way. I lost a few more spots and maybe 35 seconds but didn’t let it get to me. From here, I began working on my masterpiece. One by one I picked off riders like a well trained sniper. Most everyone was courteous and allowed me to pass the super tight and twisty singletrack with ease. The more I moved up, the longer it took to reach the next rider because they were getting faster. The increased speed also made it harder to pass safely.

I was really working the trail that day. I knew this leg would be my strength, and I had to do as much damage as possible. I was pushing my bike, tires, legs, and reflexes to the limit. It was a beautiful thing. Sadly, My work of art came to a very violent end when one of the top riders I caught up to did not want to let me pass. I was hot on his tail, waiting for an opening in the trail to pass him whether he liked it or not, and then bam. He took a technical descent a little faster than he could handle and the trail ate him and his bike for lunch. Unfortunately, his bike ate me for lunch too, and I had quite an acrobatic launch off of my machine.

The collision resulted in a blunt blow to my left knee and right big toe. I was slow to get up, but did not see any bones sticking out or huge gaping holes, and aside from a thrown chain, my bike made it out ok too, so I hopped back on and slowly got moving again under extremely painful pedal strokes. The pain was enough to consider not doing the run, but that decision could wait until I made it to T2, about another mile and half. I don’t get ticked off very often, but I tell ya, when other people’s ignorance causes me great stress I get furious. That rider got away from me and ended up 1 spot ahead in the results. He had done his damage, but I had done mine. In between T1 and T2 I went from 37th to about 4th. Had the course been the advertised 16 miles and not the actual 12 (another hitch in the inaugural edition) , I honestly feel I could’ve been the first one into T2. I might also have not got caught behind the crash rider and not have gotten hurt, but hindsight is 50/50. The bike leg was what it was and I was on to the run, my pain overcome by enough adrenaline and lactic acid at this point that to carry on.

They say that triathlons are a runner’s sport, usually because the swims are short enough to not have a huge influence on overall finish, and because people are more evenly matched on bikes (unless it’s mountain biking, as I have found out). I do find the statement to be true though. With my swimming now up to par, running is now the weakest link. I just did not have things going for me in the run. Bum knee and toe, it was now super warm and humid, the course was close to 5 miles instead of the advertised 4 (yet another hitch), there was only 1 water station the whole run (another hitch), and I was sporting my new Mizuno Wave Universe II shoes. These are basically track shoes meant for running track or short road races. They are super light, but also super flimsy and offer no support whatsoever and minimal cushion. I knew this going into the race, and actually wanted these qualities in a running shoe to supplement the POSE style of running I’ve been working on, but I had not accounted for the sloppy form I would have following such a hard bike. Some direct hits to rocks on both the sides and bottom, and an ankle roll did not make matters any better.

It was rough out there. But I kept doing the only thing a Caveman knows to do: I kept going. I had to slow and take a few walk breaks occasionally, but you know, sans shoe selection, everyone else out there had the same conditions to deal with as I did. I actually passed up two runners (non age group), but sadly got passed by two other runners who were in my age group. I was in much better position than I had known, and I had given it up.

When we hit the last stretch of jeep trail (about 1k left), I could see the guy who took me out in the bike leg up ahead. I was dying, walking a fine between maximum threshhold and just over maximum threshhold. The runner up ahead provided me with some motivation to hold a strong steady pace, but two runners about 50 yards back proved to provide even more! I had to keep telling myself “mental toughness” over and over. I didn’t catch that fellow ahead of me, but I did hold off the men behind me. The effort was good enough for 6th overall-out of 97 entrants. Technically, I finished 4th in the 25-29 men age group, but since the #2 and #3 men were both in my age group and earned overall trophies, they got pulled from age group awards. That left #5 overall in first place 25-29, and yours truly in 2nd (4 of the top 6 overall were M 25-29) . Hardware. Sweet!. A silver cowbell to add to the trophy collection!

Following the race was some massive food and fluid replenishment, stretching, a little foam rolling, and damage assessment. The knee was very swollen and tender and knew it would be the limiter for tomorrow.

The big toe? Well, the crash had put a hole in my mountain bike shoe (not easy to do), a hole through my sock, and had pulled back my toenail. This the about the 4th time that left knee has taken major trauma and the third time that toenail has been pulled back. Why it only happens to each body part respectively is beyond me. But at any rate, they both hurt, and doubt set in on whether I would race Sunday morning.

Dinner that night with teammates and neighbors was mighty fine. The weather was wonderful, the food tasty, and the conversation enlightening. I little bit of literature from Louis L’Amour and I was out like a rock.

to be continued…

My bicycle breakage streak continues at Comfort. It seems like just a few months ago I was writing about the latest toll this quintessential Texas Hill Country course had taken on my bike. Sunday, it struck again. Comfort ~10, me ~1.

10-1, not a great track record.

Yet, I always come back for more. It was a very good chance to podium for the overall standings. I blew it before the bike did though. This year’s race was an omnium format. A short track race followed by a time trial on Saturday, and the XC race on Sunday.

The short track race brought very promising results with a 3rd place finish-my first ever top 3 in the Pro/Cat 1 category. Granted, the field was a bit shallow at 10 racers, but I came ahead of some strong riders that I’ve never beat before. That had me pumped up about the time trial, but some time dis-synchronization on my part got me to the start line about 2 minutes too late. I wanted the omnium points though, so I still rode it and settled for last place.

After a raw steak and salad dinner, a good night’s sleep, and a nice 5 egg, trail mix, and fruit Caveman breakfast, I was in good spirits for the XC race. Having feared sustaining a flat from races past, I threw on the biggest 29er tires I could find for this race, the Panaracer Rampage 2.35. Now this is one beefy tire. After giving it a thrashing on the greenbelt, I felt 99% sure it was not going to flat on this course. With such beefiness comes a sacrifice of speed though. The tires were noticeably slower on the smooth flats, and around parts of the course that required fast acceleration. However, they soaked up the rough stuff with ease and I had near fear of blasting the descents as hard as my body could handle. They also hooked up very well on tight turns and steep climbing. I felt like the weight penalty was a fair price to pay for the benefit.

Sunday’s Pro/Cat 1 field would swell to almost 20, with fresh non-omnium legs showing up just for the XC. The legs were definintely feeling yesterday’s effort and the sluggishness of the tires on the sprint as I had to settle for next to last place into the singletrack. No worries though, I knew this course would take its toll on the riders and that I’m a “second half racer”.

True to my instinct, I started slowly picking off my rabbits and passing trailkill. I could feel the legs and lungs opening up and my effort gradually increasing. I was on fire, man. I was making good progress gaining ground on 5th/6th place. Then I felt this weird hitch in my chain, and I knew it’s useful time on this earth was near an end. Maybe 200 yards later, after going up a big tree root, the chain finally succumbed to my insatiable rage. All I could do was watch as all the riders I had worked so hard to overcome pass me right by as I play with my chain tool to try and get my propulsion mechanism back together.

Well, I was determined to at least have a decent finish time compared to my age group racers so I pushed on at race pace, until my chain broke again a few miles down the trail. At this point, racing is over and I just want to finish, so I fix it again and get going. Then the chain breaks a third time going up an incline. I’m out of fluids and food by now and contemplating taking the jeep road that my chain conveniently broke at back to the finish. All I can think about is a juicy hamburger and free ice cream bars.

This very Sunday, however, I was destined to finish, even if it was 20 min behind the next competitor. Besides, I wanted my omnium points, and I got them. Through all the weekend’s mishaps, I still managed an 8th place Omnium finish. Could’ve been better, but it also could’ve been worse. The good news is that I did not get any flats, and I didn’t feel as beat up from that course as I normally do, even while riding a hardtail. This tells me that my full body workouts including P90X, yoga, running, and swimming, are really helping out.  I’m really excited about the next few races.

Some day, Comfort, I will get the best of you. Some day.

Nuts are an integral part to the caveman diet. In fact, a special someone ranting about eating too much nuts is what jumpstarted my reseach on the Caveman diet in the first place! Who would’ve known that someone else’s negative energy would’ve turned into one my biggest and most life changing discoveries? Thanks cupcake! But back to the subject, I wanted to talk about nuts today.

A lot of folks are misinformed about nuts. They are scared off by the same ridiculous rhetoric that influences them to buy such products as reduced fat oreos, and non fat yogurt.  These unfortunate souls are victims of sleek marketing and skewed medical research. It’s not the fat in oreos that makes you fat, it’s the sugar!  Time to move on to some REAL food and an excellent choice for daytime snacking: nuts.

Nuts are absolutely packed full of nutrients and energy. Monosaturated and omega 3 fats, B and E vitamins, protein, and other necessary minerals. The best way to eat them is RAW! While I do like the crunch and aroma of roasted nuts, I like the flavor and nutritional benefits of raw nuts more. Just the way nature intended. Remember that heat kills or alters nutrients in food to the point where they aren’t as beneficial, one of the many reasons I try to eat everything raw.

Check out this website on the 6 healthiest nuts and their many benefits. Being a proud Texan, I personally like pecans the most. I am not a huge fan of brazil nuts, but brazil nuts are usually cheap, and just look at how much Selenium they have! Nuts are awesome. Go to the bulk bins and load up all kinds of species. Nuts, unfortunately, are not subsidized like corn and soy are, so they are much more expensive, but a little goes a long way, and the benefits are 10 fold what you get from corn and soy anyways. If you want to save some money, buy them unshelled and find a shelling device for them. My York Texan Sheller works pretty well with the pecans I bought from Berdoll Farms (check these guys out if you’re driving between Austin and Bastrop on Hwy. 71! ). If you are lucky enough to have a pecan tree in your backyard or know someone who does, they almost always have an abundant harvest in the fall so stock up while you can! Unshelled pecans can last up to 9 months in the freezer!

Notice neither the link nor I made mention of peanuts. To me, peanuts are to nuts what corn is to vegetables. Sure, corn is sort of a vegetable, but nutritionally it’s more like a grain. It’s a cheap, mass produced readily available source of energy. Peanuts have some good stuff in them, but it’s like comparing a Natural Light canned beer to a finely crafted Shiner Bock Beer on tap. I won’t call peanuts bad, I just won’t call them good, although they are quite tasty at the rodeo or the Irish bar on the riverwalk in San Antonio. Go for the better nuts instead.

Go nuts, and enjoy.

Caveman

While I like training hard and getting in good workouts, sometimes you just need a recovey week. This week I have spent a lot of time taking care of my lower back problem. With the help of some active release by Dr. Chris Sellers at Performance Wellness, I was finally able to loosen up the psoas muscle by Thursday afternoon. Enough so, that I finally felt like working out again, so I hit up the Thursday crit out at the driveway. I got in some breakaways and did a lot of bridging, the last effort of which left me in poor position for the sprint, but I still finished somewhere around 15 out about 53, compared to not finishing at all last time I did this race, so I was very pleased with the progress. Colleen and I followed up with some dinner and then headed over to Barton Springs where I had a pretty damn good swim workout. It’s nice having a girlfriend who can teach swimming and push you a bit :). It was one of my first times doing hardcore swim intervals 8x 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off. I took on quite a bit of water, but it is a good feeling getting up to a speed where you actually feel the water rushing past your body. Two hard workouts in one day setup some pretty peaceful sleep last night.

There have been more important gains than physical though. Last week at the 5k race, I met a woman who bested me in the overall standings named Sarah Stewart. We got to talking about running and mountain biking. After concluding that my running was lacking, and her mountain biking wasn’t spectacular, we agreed to trade some lessons. Little did I know that Sarah is a certified Crossfit coach and owner of Kinetic Movement Systems, a pretty hardcore training group here in Austin.

When I’m not out training, I have some time to step back and do some reseach and evaluate my training methods. I remember seeing on my Caveman friend Matt Emery’s Caveman Power website that overall competent fitness involves way more than how long and how fast you can go at certain athletic events. He was kind enough to send me the article from Crossfit journal that he based those findings upon. It is a very excellent read and will challenge the way normal athletes train for their competition. I will be writing a new post for my health section about this soon, but to give you a sneak peak, true fitness involves such abilities as agility, balance, flexibility, accuracy, and coordination. Rarely does a cyclist take these other abilities into consideration. Suffice to say, they’re not as “fit” as they think are.

Other than this major find, I also picked up some really good psoas muscle stretches that I would like to share with all the athletes that read my blog.  Stay tuned for a health tip post on that as well. Remember, training and gains don’t always have to be made at the helms of a workout. If you’ve got some recovery time ahead of you, spend it wisely by doing some research or having discussions with a coach or fast racer friend. Use your downtime to learn new things.

Have a great Easter weekend, and remember the reason for celebrating Easter:

The Apostle’s Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty,

creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died, and was buried;

he descended to the dead.

On the third day he rose again;

he ascended into heaven,

he is seated at the right hand of the Father,

and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic Church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting.

Amen.

Change is here. Following an injury-filled weekend, I needed some change to get me back on track and pumped up for the next race in two weeks. The blog needed some color! I’m going to heal up,  put in some quality workouts, and I’m going to come back with a punch. Thank you Dave Grohl and Bill Conti for providing me some inspirational tunes. Hope you like the new layout.

Caveman

Following the great race I had at Warda, I had some great lower back pain develop. I had set the hardtail up with a new handlebar that week before the Warda race, and I also dropped the handlebar height quite a bit. During the race at Saint Jo, I was trying out the syntace 16d bar on the hardtail for the first time. It had felt great on the full suspension at the Warda 12 hour, but it did not translate very well to the hardtail. Different geometry, different riding style, and different course. The bar felt too high and too wide, compromising the handling. For Warda, I put the newly acquired Salsa 17d bar on. It is narrower, has no rise, and as mentioned, I set it up lower by flipping the stem upside down and removing a stem spacer. The result was much more desirable. The geometry and handling felt way better. Anytime you make a change to your bike fit, 4mm is considered a large change. It’s best to make anything larger than that in small increments so your body can adapt. I dropped it well over 4mm, all at once. Throw that in when an all out 1 hour 50 minute effort, and you’re asking for some muscle problems.

So I theorize that’s how it all started. It was likely perpetuated by some swimming and running that I threw in last week for triathlon training-AND-not enough stretching/foam rolling. The instant you know you have a muscles problem, you have to attack it with a vengeance. Don’t just assume it will go away. I did the latter, and have paid the price.

As planned, I did enter the 5k trail run Saturday morning. I was very pleased with a 2nd place finish in my age group, but the effort left my back feeling even worse-not to mention the toll it took on my quads and calves. I really pushed it that morning, having not done much running training the weeks before. I  made it home and hit the foam roller until Colleen showed up and we left for Reimer’s Ranch in western Travis County, site of Sunday’s XC mountain bike race. The pre-ride felt ok, but since I was riding with Colleen, I cut out a lot of the expert trails I would be racing the next day that the beginners didn’t have to ride. This would result in less than desirable consequences come race time, but to finish the day up, we rolled down to the Perdenales River for a quick swim, then back to camp for a good dinner and more stretching/foam rolling.

3 raw eggs, trail mix, and kiwi got the day started at 6:30am Sunday. Come 9am we are off! I knew my top end would be gone following the run yesterday, so I was happy to not get last in the field sprint before we hit singletrack. Things were going alright, I was hanging in a nice midpack group and didn’t feel like the pace was beyond my capability-both physically and technically. I got around a few riders who crashed or couldn’t ride some of the ledges and was actually moving up when my negligence to pre-ride the entire course the previous day bit me in the butt.  Actually, it bit my rear tire as it came down hard from a rock ledge, bottomed out on the rim, and sustained a hole.

I took the wheel off and shook it around to get the tubeless sealant to seal the hole. It worked after a few tries and some more air from my mini pump, but not until the ranks of the 19-29 men whizzed by. I knew my race was over, but I still wanted to get a hard ride in, so I kept going. The roughness of the trail did not ease up and the more I rode on, the more the back pain started to kick in. Had I rode these rougher parts the day before, I undoubtedly would have raced the full suspension bike with beefier tires as opposed to the hardtail with the squirrely Ravens. The decision had already cost me a flat, and now it was breaking my back and spirit to the point that I did something that I’ve never done before. I threw in the towel.  I quit. I rode by the race official and said “I’m done”. Not once in my entire cycling career have I recorded a DNF in a mountain bike race. I simply had absolutely nothing to gain by finishing that race that day, but much to lose, and so really, the decision was a no brainer.

It was odd rolling through the expo area with all my teammates sporting a look of confusion on their faces. That was not the Caveman they knew, the one that fought to the bitter end. I held no shame and no regret though. Every day has its dog, and every dog has its day. No group of people understands this better than my teammates, just another reason I race for the best team in the state of Texas. Sure, it was a bummer, but I will live to race another day, and another race there will always be.

Some reaseach and consulting with my therapist and coach isolated the lower back pain to the psoas muscle. I’ve long had a tight psoas and have to constantly keep it in check. If you ever get a tight hip/lower back pain, it is likely the result of a tight psoas. Look up how to stretch it and do it as many times as you can a day! Even if you don’t have problems, increased flexibility in the psoas will improve performance, especially if you are a runner/cyclist. I’m making progress on loosening up the tightness and expect to be working out by week’s end. Late April has some big races coming up that I’m really looking foward to. Thanks for reading. Now go stretch you psoas!

After having much success eating raw beef, fish, insects, and even a little bit of rabbit, I decided that my gut was ready to take on the next challenge: raw chicken. I’m not totally sure why this meat ranked so high on my “risk factor” list, maybe because of all the bad things you hear about chickens (bird flu, etc.) and that most commercial chickens live in extremely uncomfortable and unsanitary conditions, but I sourced some trusted bird meat from the Austin Whole Foods and broke it out last night for dinner. I had some Chef Tony creole seasoning on standby in case things took a turn for the worse. Raw chicken flesh is actually the most tender raw meat I’ve yet to eat. It is very easy to chew and goes down fairly easy. It’s really not much on taste though. And while the tastebuds on the front of my tongue didn’t seem to have a problem with this bird, the ones on the rear as I was swallowing objected a bit. I little Chef Tony’s fixed the taste problem, but not the swallowing one. I’m guessing it has to do with the texture of the meat. At any rate, it wasn’t the worst experience, but it wasn’t the best either. I remember getting used to raw eggs and having a similar sensation. It was an acquired taste for sure. Chicken is going to have to be the same thing, or else I’ll just cook it. There is a certain beauty about the simplicity of tearing open a package of raw chicken and grubbing it down though. Plus, it makes you realize more of what you are eating. When you cook a chicken breast and spice it all up and add sauces it’s easy to forget that it was once an animal that died for you eat. Eating it raw, you are very, very aware of what you are eating, and in that sense have more respect for the animal, as it should be.

In unrelated news, I randomly signed up for a 5k trail run race this Saturday here in Austin. That’s only 3.125 miles for you non metric folk. That’s just the right distance to get some good caveman sprints in while having some fun.

The payout for the Pro category at Warda were messed up. After the officials fixed them, it put me in the money!! $38.43 payout for a $40 race!! If I keep it up, I might be able to recoup half the costs I put into this sport! It was my first payout since moving up to the elite ranks, so I’m just happy with that!

I made the short jaunt out to Warda with teammates Nick and Dustin, and lady friend Cupcake early Sunday morning.  A good massage the day before by Katie Cully from Performance Wellness ( set up a session with her if you need a massage!), some nice relaxing the rest of Saturday, a very good Caveman dinner consisting of raw London Broil, beets, rutabaga, avocado, a tasty raw salad Colleen put together, and some cooked cabbage, augmented with some decent sleep left me feeling about as prepared as I could be for the 28 mile race Sunday afternoon. It was cold when we arrived, but I knew that a little norther couldn’t overpower the Texas sun on such a nice spring day and it warmed up quickly as the sun climbed higher in the sky. A nice Caveman breakfast ( 4 raw eggs, 1 pear, some trail mix, and Colleen’s homemade energy bars) 3 hours before race start proved to be a good way to start the morning. I toed the line with 24 other racers in the Pro/Cat 1 category as the gun went off at 11am. We had a nice long stretch of pasture and ranch road to spread the field out. Some days you have it, and some days you don’t. This gorgeous Sunday aftenoon, I was closer on the “have” side of the scale than the “don’t have”. After the pace settled down a bit from the initial sprint, I still had quite a bit of octane left in the tank and saw a chance to go to the front of the pack, and so I did!! Outsprinting the fastest guys in the state is not something I’m accustomed to, but it felt good to have my few seconds of glory as we rolled by the expo center and team area. I felt the NOS start to fade after such an effort, so I fell back to midpack before we hit the singletrack. It was cool being in front, but in retrospect sitting in the pack would’ve probably yielded a better position heading into the singletrack. Once you hit the singletrack, there aren’t too many places to pass, so it is quite easy to get passed in the sprint by a rider who might not be the best rider in tight twisty wooded areas and get slowed up by them as the lead riders begin to build a lead.  Such was the case here. No matter though, I was still recovering from the sprint. Lap 1 seemed to be about finding a rhythm and holding steady. Laps 2 and 3 were all about relentess attacks to bridge up and pass as many riders as I could. The 4th and final lap was about holding off the riders I passed on the last 2 laps. They were hungry to have that spot back, and I was starting to cramp on the climbs.  I was riding extremely well through the twisty woods, the fastest and most efficiently I ever had. This is where I was able to open up the gap on passed riders and close it on riders ahead. On the long open straightaways, the 29er Raven tires I was running were just absolutely killing it. Then came the up/down roller coaster sections that criss-cross a bluff on the ranch a number of times. Right now climbing is my number one weakness, and this is where I was losing time to other riders.  Almost all the climbs have a 180 degree turn at the top, and you can see how close riders are behind you. I was the rabbit this time, and I could see those dogs getting closer and closer. About a 1/2 mile before the Finish line, there is a straightaway that runs behind the campgrounds. One of the dogs finally caught me there and tried to take a bite on the inside left, but I wouldn’t have any of it.  I beat him to the entrance into one last short section of singletrack and held steady, knowing 100% well that I could outsprint this pooch after the turn onto the ranch road and 100 yards to the end of a hard fought race and well deserved top 10 finish. A perusing of results indicated that I was only 2 1/2 minutes from the top 5. This finish was a huge moral victory for me, and another huge victory for the Caveman diet. I’m always reluctant to state that I am in as good as shape as I was before getting injured last February. It has been a long, hard march to get back to that level, but I think it’s pretty safe to say that I have not only surpassed that amount of fitness, but am healthier and wiser than I  ever imagined I would be. Not only that, this is just the beginning. If I don’t ever think I can hang with those top 5 racers, then I probably never will. Deep inside, I know I can, and I know someday I will. With hard work and the right tools, you too can accomplish your goals. Don’t let setbacks get in the way of your goals. And remember, eat like a Caveman!

Here are some pics online from bobcat13:

http://bobcat13.smugmug.com/gallery/7726572_iTdcG#501812847_2brju

http://bobcat13.smugmug.com/gallery/7726572_iTdcG#501792180_23ESd

Other race notes:

• Thanks to Patty B for loaning me his shades. I left mine in Austin.
• Congrats to Cupcake for taking 3rd place in the Cat 3 women 30-39!
• I did not buzz my legs for this race. I think i was somehow faster because of this.
• The exta speed might also be attributed to the mustache I’m growing
• The new Salsa Moto Ace 17 DEGREE flat bar was freaking awesome. I like this bar even more than the Syntace 16 D bar. Review on tech corner coming soon.