2012 Rocky Mountain Vertex 990

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Koppenberg

Well, my second road race of the season is complete, and I must say I am a bit disappointed with my current fitness. I guess the weird and limited training schedule and poor luck are not working to my advantage this year. Go figure. For those not familiar with it, the Koppenberg road race is a pretty awesome event. A 5 mile circuit with two miles of gravel and a short and brutal 17% rutted hill to keep everyone honest. There is nothing in bike racing quite like the feeling of a two wheel sideways slide, in gravel, on road tires, at 20 mph, other racers within inches of you, trying to focus on your line and not panic. I managed to stay with the lead pack until a pack crash on a paved climb (how is that possible?) separated the pack with less than a mile to go. I was unable to fight back after that, but still managed to roll across the line in 11th out of 40 in the cat 4's. Not too shabby, but the legs did not have it either way. Maybe next time... (photo is from last year, showing the "fun" hill section)

6mo Later, to the Day.... RME Voodoo Fire

Updated on Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 9:38AM by Mike Berg

During a mountain bike endurance race there is  plenty of time for the mind to wander, sometimes it helps the time go by during the less desirable parts of the race course. As I pedaled my way across the desert, dry, dusty trails at the Pueblo Reservoir during the 2012 Voodoo Fire yesterday, I realized it was nearly exactly six months ago that I broke my clavicle.

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Air 9 RDO

Today I took my new Niner Air 9 RDO out for its first ride at Buffalo Creek.  The weather was perfect.  It was a little warm, which was actually ideal as I need to get used to riding in warmer weather.  I rode the normal loop since I know times and how my other bikes handle with a few additional trails.  I added 1/3 of Segment 2 (Colorado Trail) and Green Mountain, which I've never ridden before. 

I figured that there would be some necessary trail side adjustments and a bit of a break in period.  I stopped a few times the in the first 1.5 hours to adjust the height of the seat.  The brakes took a bit of time to get used to as well.  My legs felt a bit sluggish too as I've been doing more speed work to get ready for the Whiskey 50.  My first impressions of the bike, wow, it climbs amazing.  Step on it, and it takes off like a rocket.  Even though I did not have a lot of speed today, I was still faster to the CT from 543 then I was on my previous ride, which I rode fairly hard and felt decent.  The XTR brakes are absolutely amazing.  I've heard people talk about 1 finger braking, but never really felt comfortable doing that with my old brakes.  The power and feel of the XTR brakes makes this possible.  I was also quite amazed that I was able to use the big chainring (38/26) the whole ride except one short stretch on Green Mountain, which is a pretty fair climb.  Ride data here.

My bike is full XTR except for the cassette, which is XT.  The matching Sid XX World Cup felt sweet and looks even sweeter.  Crests, 240s, and Schwalbe Racing Ralphs rolled really nicely.  With Crankbrother egg beater 11s it weighs 21.7lbs.  I currently have a borrowed seatpost, which is a fair bit heavier than what I will have shortly.

I would like to thank Golden Bikeshop and Adam Boe, who was great to work with.  Adam was able to get me the green matching fork and the frame before Niner promised it.  He even borrowed me one of his seatposts for the time being until the one I want comes in.  Now thats customer service!  Getting the bike is especially key as a week from today I will be racing it for the first time.

Season Opener: Rumble at 18 Road

The 2012 mountain bike season got kicked of with a brand new venue in Fruita. Live train race  promoted the event, and did a great job. The course was 10.5 miles long and included Fruita classic trails like Prime Cut, and Chutes and ladders. There was a bit of two track, but it made strategy important, and drinking possible.

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