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By Gabor Csonka, on July 20th, 2010 02:40
I optimistically took my geared bike to the XC Nationals on Sunday. The field was strong, with most of the usual suspects in Masters 30-39.
Warmed up fairly decently and felt good. From the start attacked and made it to ride in 3rd place. Just before the Eye dropper the first and second rider crashed. I was able to avoid the crash and rode down the Eye dropper first. Just over a minute into the race and I am leading already! From there on all I needed to do is put the hammer down and maintain a pace that no-one else could keep up. So I did put the hammer down, but towards the top of the course I noticed that only rider not able to keep up my pace was me. Graham, Mike, Steve and Gord Jewett was still on my wheel. Then when I popped they just rode pass by me. Ouch. Took me a good 1.5 lap to recover. Started some hopeless effort to chase down the guys, but my legs were not cooperating. My downhill skills were crappy again – need to ride on the trails more. Steve Martins from Hardcore was about twice as fast on every technical downhill. I gapped him on the climbs then he caught me quickly in the downhills.
Ended up finishing 6th with no legs left.
Gordon Jewett took the national champ’s jersey, while Graham finished 2nd, Robin McKeever in 3rd. Gord and Robin are Vancouver 2010 Olympian XC skiers (try to beat their cardio-vascular system…), Graham is a world cup racer athlete hidden in the skin of a stay home dad from Medicine Hat. They all did a fantastic job.
ride on.
By Gabor Csonka, on July 12th, 2010 04:37
 Edmonton canada cup - photo by Gordon Brenner It was a matching end to an unrewarding and unhealthy week. Packed the family into the van on Saturday, along with our friend Alistar, than headed to Edmonton. On the way we got into a big rain storm, that passed through the race course in Kinsmen Park the previous night. Really fun little park with fun, but technical singletrack system. When Alistar and I pre-rode the course it was very sketchy. I did not feel at all comfortable with the wet roots. Pre-rode again few hours later and finally I could ride everything. On race day, Bogi took 2nd place in sport, but she said she could not enjoy the course, it was packed with riders from novice level to expert.
While she was racing I desperately tried to put our two kids to sleep in the van as they did not sleep much in the hotel. In secret I wanted to sleep myself. Not sure why but my body wanted nothing else but to sleep. I must be catching my 2nd bug of the week.
Soma also raced the kids race, he crossed the finish line proudly in first place, the only issue was that he missed the turn for his second lap….so he only did one. No problemo – got his medal and stickers anyways and was as happy as a 5 year old can be.
I made myself go to do some warm up and felt pretty decent in about half an hour. Listened to the new Eminem album and went to the start line just in time to hear them call me up. The field was impressive of course, the best elite riders of Canada. Not to get lapped would be a good realistic goal for me in the 6 lap race I thought.
Then we started, and did it really fast. Into the 1st single track section I was in good position, behind Brian Bain. But I already noticed that I was not riding well. The second more technical section totally got me. Crashed, while 4-5 guys passed me. Than crashed again loosing another 3-4 spots. Then as I tried to chase the group I could not believe how clumsy I was riding. Another bad line and slip, my front wheel burped most of its air out. Stopped added some CO2 and continued the hopeless chase. My skills at this point were good enough for the kids course, but nothing more technical. I even had to laugh at myself a few times – it was comic. In the open area I thought should have enough power to bridge the gap, but I was proven wrong again. Just could not turn the pedal. At that point I decided to downgrade my race to a ride, and hoped that my focus will make me able to ride the single track again. My riding was better in the second lap but I started to loose air really quickly again. Having lost most of my motivation to race I stopped once more and added some CO2. It lasted about 500m. This was the farthest point of the course from the feed zone, where I kept my spare wheels. This was it for me.
Things to do for the nationals:
- Register
- Sleep and get healthy
- Learn how to ride a bike
ride hard.
By Gabor Csonka, on July 9th, 2010 05:14
By Gabor Csonka, on July 7th, 2010 04:41
Just got my analysis done at CPSTC. The good news is I got two legs. The bad news is one is fairly weak and inefficient, the other is much weaker and much more inefficient. I got some work to do to restore the balance, but it is all good stuff. Looking forward to the one legged drills again! But this time I will do them properly.
By Gabor Csonka, on July 1st, 2010 03:30
Here is what you need:
How it worked out: After having some success with my knee treatment at CPSTC I headed for the Edworthy hill for some Tuesday night pain and suffering. I had full confidence knowing that my knee is improving so I did my hill intervals with bit more excitement than usual.
Until this day I could not bring my heart rate over 168bpm this year at all. Not even on a race. My average heart rates were shamefully low on every race and workout I measured it. I was kind of thinking this is the result of me getting old(er). You know as you get older your HR slows, than it stops, than you are dead. Quite straight forward process.
But after my 3rd ride up the top I concluded I might not be as old just yet. For some reason I shifted to my big ring and started to hammer up trying to catch a rabbit rider. At the end my HR reached 176bpm! PR for 2010. I also cleared the hill in record (my record) time.
Based on some feedback my CPSTC, my mechanics in my right leg is a bit screwed possibly due to an old snowboard injury. As a result it seems like I have been using mostly my left leg for quite some time now when I cycled.
Next week I will have a video analysis of my cycling technique, which should tell us more about my knee issues. Than we will strengthen it and stretch it. Than I will get faster. That is the plan.
By Gabor Csonka, on June 22nd, 2010 02:43
Thanks to Dr Uchacz and Amy for sending me to him.
By Gabor Csonka, on June 21st, 2010 03:37
 I was doing baby sitting intervals all day on Father’s day. Not only I had my two troublemakers, but also watched Leanne’s two boys while she went on a road ride. I tell ya…this is a tough business. Even tougher is the cleanup after two 2.5 year olds are playing in your car for an hour, finding the toothpaste…sorry Leanne.
After Iron Lung I followed Amy’s advice and visited Dr. Greg Uchacz. He looked at my knee and figured that some of my muscles are too tight and causing my knee issue. This is good news as first I thought I twisted something on the Giver8r. After some aggressive (and effective) soft tissue work he told me to test out my knee on the weekend but avoid racing.
It was good timing as this is a race where Sport and Elite categories race the same time, so only one of us can race (got few kids you know).
Towed the Aliner to Paddy’s flat camping and had some great time with the kids roasting marshmallows on Saturday evening.
On Sunday Bogi,Ramona and Alistair lined up for sport category while Justin were ready to hammer his first ever XC race in novice. Spent some time chasing kids and in about 50 minutes or so Alistair stormed by the start area leading the sport field by a large margin. He eventually earned his first win of the season!
Bogi and Ramona had a great fight that saw Bogi finishing 1st and Ramona 2nd in sport women . Justin finished his race strong, and will likely join us in Edmonton as well!
The Elite race was dominated by the Hardcore guys from Edmonton taking top 3. It was also great to see Craig Stappler racing again. I was worried that the roadies took him to the dark side this year.
 As for me I had two good rides on the weekend, both of them on the Pneauma trail. Tested out the knee by climbing to the top with Jon on Saturday and more riding on Sunday. So far so good, I am keeping my fingers crossed and going back to the doc on Monday.
Deadgoats did a great race again, next time lets include more Pneuma trail please! Bow Cycle had a ton of raffle prizes for almost everyone!
keep riding.
By Gabor Csonka, on June 15th, 2010 03:58
Considering the week leading to the race…it went pretty good.
It was a busy week. Cleaned the the trailer, short circuited (ans smoked) its power converter, visited beautiful Ft McMurray for work, sold our house, sent the in-laws home and got a flat on the way to work on Friday. Packed up the kids and the camping stuff too late and arrived to the Nordic Center at 7:30pm on Friday. Not much energy left to preride…
Bogi went first, then I took off for a lap around 9pm…until a sharp rock cut my front tire just before the Laundry Chutes.. my second flat on the same day (3rd int the last 12 months). Having no time, energy or inspiration left we headed to the Three Sisters campground. The first night of camping with kinds is always a gong show. They are too excited to sleep, so no-one sleeps and next day is a guaranteed disaster.
Somehow made it to Beamers coffee in the morning and woke up finally after an XL coffee mocha. Before Bogi’s race I was able to preride the course, which was a ton of fun. One of the best courses I have ever ridden in 18 years of mtb racing.
Bogi and the sport field took off first. Bogi, Leanne, Ramona and Carthy all rode strong Bogi taking 8th in the huge and strong field.
Just as she finished Soma started his race in the U7 category of Little Lung race going hard in the beginning, but crashing after about 150m meters. Thanks Dad for full-face helmet. His 2nd race… so much to learn at the age of 5. At the end he did manage to do a nice sprint and were super happy to take the candy medal and goodie bag award.
In the afternoon it was my turn. I always want to win. Every race. Tired or not, slow or fast, my plan is to win. However there always seem to be issues with this plan’s execution. I keep trying tho. Some of complications are the local riders that are way faster than me. Other issues are the pro riders who are way faster than the local riders who are faster than me. And the list goes on. Anyway I lined up with several pros and many local elite riders at the start line and we took of in a very friendly pace. For about 250 meters. Then hell got loose. Someone accelerated and we took off like a 737 on a runway. Managed make it to the top of the climb in 8th place and actually felt pretty good. The top 5 were disappearing fast but I had a satisfying small gap on some big local guns.
On lap 2 (!) the expert machines Graham Torrie and Gordon Jewett passed me on a downhill. They were riding like no tomorrow. Until that point I thought I was going well. Everything is relative.
My climbing speed is not where I like it to be but it is improving. Managed to stay around top 10 for most of the race, but on the last lap my right knee started to hurt badly again. Tried different movements, but the sharp pain continued. Eventually I had to slow down a bit and lost few spots. Still finished 12th, which I am happy with considering the field quality. Stefan Widmer took 1st, in an impressive fashion as he always does.
Had a better night sleep on Saturday night camping with Alistar and Ramona At Bow River Campground. Then headed to the start of the Organ Grinder race. Not wanting to rename the race to Knee grinder we decided to change our registrations to do more babysitting and less riding. Leanne and I teamed up, while Bogi went for the solo race. To limit the knee pain I got my fancy bike out, the Niner Air 9 with gears and even suspension. Once Leanne finished her 3rd lap, it was my turn in riding and hers in babysitting. Did two easy, but fun laps mostly using the left leg and enjoyed every bit of singletrack. Finished 6th in Mixed Team category. Bogi took 13th in open solo women and I got fired as her mechanic right after the race. Cory Wallace just hammered it in the whole way and won by a landslide. What a cardiovascular machine.
Scott and Justin represented Team Singletouch on Sunday in the two mens category. After a broken seatpost, some good looking bruises they finished the race on a high note, with great lap times completing 5 laps. Scott told me after his 2nd mtb race: “I totally can see why you guys are doing this”. I hope Scott and Justing are hooked now.
Thanks for Stefan and Cory for showing us how this business is done. Thanks CMC/Bowcycle for the great course and organizing.
Time to see a physiotherapist.
By Gabor Csonka, on June 3rd, 2010 01:05
Did a little fartlek on the way home today. Tomorrow same thing on Nose Hill hopefully. The knee is still a bit sore, but the legs felt good. Oddly I feel like I cannot push my heart rate over 160bpm tho. I really need some high speed work. I wish I had a working heart rate monitor….
By Gabor Csonka, on May 30th, 2010 23:05
We already had 2 inches of snow in the backyard on Saturday morning and the forecast looked pretty bad for Sunday too. Looked like it will be cold and rainy for the entire race. In preparation for the mud I decided to put on my CX tires, and Bogi was prepping for the first ever race on her rigid single speed.
By Saturday midnight both bikes were mud ready. On the food side though we were a bit in trouble as we run out of clif shots and my kids ate most of my bananas…
 Giver8r 2010 Single speed solo podium Race day morning was chilly, but there was no rain. More people showed up than any of us expected.
 Giver8r 2010 2 person Women's team podium I raced single speed solo, Bogi raced team with Leanne.
The start was pretty bad for me. Fallen back to about 20th not able to find enough traction with my skinny CX tires. The course was muddy, but not nearly muddy enough for these tires. On my second lap I could already notice that the course was quickly drying, so I decided to swap the Racing Ralph 35s to a set of Racing Ralph 2.4s. I probably had less than 20psi in my big fat tubeless setup . As a result from lap 3 I could ride pretty much everything on the course and started passing pretty quickly. By lap 4 I caught Devin, who took off like a rocket from the start and had probably 5 minutes on me after few laps. I could feel that I was more and more relaxed on the trail each lap, riding everything and enjoying the flow in most single-track sections. The giver8r course is super demanding and super rewarding. There isn’t enough easy sections for the rider to rest, which makes it a very tough marathon course. But once you get the flow of the single-track and able to slay it, it rewards you with energizing satisfaction.
I must have pulled a muscle above my right knee as it was getting more painful after every climb. I tried to slow down a bit, walked the harder climbs and used my left leg to do most of the pedalling. But 5 hours of riding started to show in my focus too and I started becoming clumsy and lost my flow. For a lap or two I was riding all over the trail – the course started to defeat me.
About 3 hours to go Bogi saved me with some caffeinated GU gels. With some bananas, accelerate and the gels I felt I was strong enough again and could focus well. Went out for a last lap at 45 minutes to go and come in well below 40 minutes. Some races you just barely make it to the finish line. Not this one…for one last time I defeated the course.
 Giver8r 2010 4 man team winners Scott, Jeremy, Justin and Ted Took 1st in solo single speed with 13 laps in 7:50(ish). Was also good enough for 2nd overall behind Travis Hauck the solo winner.
This was Bogi’s first ride on a single speed. She did 5 continuous laps, and enjoyed every bit of it despite running a 32×18 gear, which was way too hard for this course. She and Leanne took 2nd place in the 2 person women team category. Quoting Bogi : “It was awesome, now I will race single speed on every race where is a single speed category!” It took me about 5 years to convert her to single speeding. Job done.
Another great success of the day is Team Singletouch’s 1st place in the 4 man team division. I signed up my colleagues on Friday night really doubting whether this would be the right event for riders who never raced mtb’s before. Despite rain, cold, snow and mud Jeremy, Justin, Scott and Ted showed up Sunday morning and were ready to hammer. They did awesome averaging 45 minute laps, and finished 1st in their category!
Thanks for Deadgoat Racing for the great event, Mother Nature for the decent race day weather, Bow Cycle for the great draw prizes, Crazy Larry for the jokes and support and everyone else for cheering for us. Hope to be here again next year.
The super base race-training in May is done. 2 XC races, 3 marathons, about 380km of mtb racing, 2 wins.
Now it is time to do some high intensity work. Hello Edworthy and COP hills, I am coming.
Keep riding.
Video and blog by Ken Hurd and Sheldon Smart
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