2010 Season....another new bike you say?

It's been a long time since I last updated this blog.  Alot has happened since Hurkey Creek.  The 2010 race season is already upon us with the 2nd US Cup race this weekend at Bonelli park.  My miles have been lacking lately due to a very wet February and March thus far, but the extended forecast is looking much better.  Vision Quest is just around the corner and to be honest, I'm not really looking forward to it.  However, I will man up and put forth my best effort to get as close to the 6 hour mark as I can.

I managed to break my Blur XCc before Xmas which turned out to be a beautiful thing.  Santa Cruz hooked me up on the warranty which allowed me to get their brand new full suspension 29'er called the Tallboy!  This bike has been an absolute thrill to own and ride.  I'm more than satisfied with this bike in every way, plus it's pretty darn sexy.  Take a look for yourself.

Santa Cruz Tallboy!

Busted Blur.  :-(

Build list:

Frame: Santa Cruz Tallboy, XL

Rear Shock: Monarch 3.3; 6.5" x 1.5" (165x38mm)
Fork: Fox F29 120mm RLC Q15 with FIT 2010 (non-tapered)
Saddle: Specialized Phenom SL plus Gumby
Seatpost: Easton EC90
Seatpost Clamp: Santa Cruz QR
Handlebar: Easton MonkeyLite XC
Stem: Easton EA90 90mm 10 degree rise
Grips: LizardSkins Charger
Headset: Chris King
Brakes: Avid Elixir CR, 160mm front/rear rotors
Shift Lever: Simano XTR SL-M970
Chain Guide: MRP 1.X
Rear Derailleur: Shimano XTR RD-M972 Shadow
Crankset: Shimano XTR M970 32t chainring 180mm length
Bottom Bracket: Chris King
Chain: Shimano XTR CN-7701
Pedals: Time Atac XS Carbon
Cassette: Shimano XT 11-34t
Wheels: DT Swiss 240s laced to DT X470 rims. Converted tubeless
Tires: Maxxis Aspen 2.1 Front; Specialized Captain Control 2bliss 2.0 Rear. Stans Tire Sealant

Weight: 24.2lbs.

I'm very happy with how the build came out.  Even with the big wagon wheels, the bike is only 1/2 lb heavier than my old blur.  I did have to compromise a little with tire selection in the form of a non tubeless ready tire (Maxxis Aspen), but so far it's been holding up great.  How does it ride you ask?  The bike handles and performs just like a blur.  The biggest difference is stability.  This bike is extremely stable at speed and holds a line fantasticly.  This could be attributed to other components such as bars, stem and/or frame size when comparing to my old blur.  I went with an XL over the L.  Another noticeable difference is how much speed and momentum this bike carry's up and down.  Climbing is great once you get it up to speed.  Acceleration is a noticeably slower over the blur, but not by much at all to really make a difference.  This bike loves to eat up any rough terrain thrown at it and just inspires confidence with the added traction of the wagon wheels.  It really is a joy to ride.  I haven't ridden my other mountain bikes since I got it.

12 HOT action

I also managed to race the 1st 12 hours of Temecula back in January.  I decided to give this a go solo and the masochist in me voted for my single speed.  The race turned out to be fantastic and overall I did well.  I ended up 5th out of 15 with a total of 10 laps.  I had a chance for 2nd place, but I took too long of a break after my 8th lap which didn't allow me enough time for that 11th lap.  I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the organizers did a great job with the course work since it rained for a week straight leading up to the race.  I learned alot about nutrition and pacing myself for such a long time.  I think I ended up riding close to 100 miles and somewhere around 14,000 feet of ascent.  Just a normal day on the bike...lol!  I'm looking forward to the next one in June.

WEEEeeeeee!

The US Cup #1 at Sagebrush was a couple of weekends ago.  With poor weather for most of the week, it appeared that Sunday's race would be a mudfest, but the course turned out to be in much better shape than I anticipated.  One small setback was a course change that eliminated the upper loop to Mt. Pinos.  I was a little bummed about that since I really was looking forward to that descent from Mt. Pinos.  Since this was my first official CAT1 race, I didn't get to do it last year.  The course change had us doing the upper loop from 4 corners twice which meant we had to do the hike-a-bike section twice!  As for my race, overall it was going great until I had to fight off cramps for the last 10 miles which pretty much killed my chances for a better finish.  I placed 8th out of 15 which is just about where I thought I would be racing with these fast guys in the minor leagues of CAT1.  This race also marked the Tallboy's inception into XC racing.  The bike felt fantastic all day.  There was one small problem, my front rotor started to come loose on the final descent.  I guess I didn't tighten the DT Swiss centerlock adaptor enough.  Fortunately, it didn't cause me any problems, but was scary hearing that thing rattling around.  The race was extremely fun and it was great to catch up with all the familiar faces from last year.  I love the MTB community!  They make racing so much fun!

Yes, I jumped on the leg shaving/bib short bandwagon.  Definitely faster this way!

Need more lean!