2015 Root 66 Race Schedule

As the U.S. cyclocross season comes to an inauspicious close in Austin, we figured now would be a great time to start thinking about your mountain bike and mountain bike racing.

Well start thinking now because the Northeast's premiere mountain bike racing series, Root 66, announced it's 2015 schedule.

This year's Root 66 calendar includes 11 races, 2 legs of the Kenda Cup East, and a World Cup. Three preliminary races do not have finalized dates at this time, they include: Biker's Edge Winsted Woods, Wrath of Boneyard, and Putney Cider House Classic.

2015 will be the twelfth season for Root 66.

2015 Root 66 Race Schedule

April 12	Hop Brook Dam	Middlebury, Connecticut
April 26	Winding Trails/Kenda Cup East #1	Farmington,  Connecticut
May 24	Coyote Hill Classic	West Fairlee, Vermont
May 31	Millstone/Kenda Cup #3	Websterville, Vermont
June 7	Domnarski Farm	Ware, Massachusetts
June 13/14	Pat’s Peak	Henniker, New Hampshire
July 11/12	Boston Rebellion/Kenda Cup #5	Walpole, Massachusetts
July 26	Bike for Bovines	Keene, New Hampshire
August 8/9	Windham World Cup	Windham, New York
August 16	Hodges Village Dam	Oxford, Massachusetts
September 13	Landmine Classic	Hingham, Massachusetts

Click Here for more information on the Root 66 series

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Coach's Column with Travis Woodruff: Improve Your Climbing Wherever You Live

Question: I live in a very flat area and often get killed on climbs in racing. How do I get better at climbing without having to drive really far to train on hills?

Answer: Like any cycling skill, improvement comes with specific training so it is helpful to understand what it takes to climb faster. Let’s consider what will help you get you up the hills faster so you won’t be getting dropped in your next race.

Power to Weight Ratio (Click Title to Read Full Text)

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Stan's NoTubes Elite Adds New Members and New Management

4 Returning Members of Stan's NoTubes Elite Squad: Nina Baum, Shannon Gibson, Sarah Kaufmann, and Kathy Sherwin

The Stan’s NoTubes Elite Women’s Team announced its roster for 2015, including eight returning riders and two new signings. The squad is heading into its fifth year and will again focus on mountain bike racing.

“The Stan’s NoTubes Elite Women’s Team is a leading domestic women’s cycling team, and in 2015, we will continue inspiring and getting more women on bikes,” said Sarah Kaufmann, one of the team’s managers.

“To that end, we will be participating in a variety of races across the country and the world, and we’ll be leading ladies’ riding clinics at many of the races which we attend. NoTubes’ commitment to women’s racing is a perfect fit for our team, and we’re grateful for their continued support. We love their products, their people and their mission.”

Rich O’Neil, Sponsorship Manager at Stan’s NoTubes, said, “We’re proud to be a partner of the Stan’s NoTubes Elite Women’s Team because we both share the vision of getting more women on bikes. It’s an important part of our company’s mission to support women’s cycling.”

New signings strengthen line-up (Click Title To Read Full Article)

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Coach's Column with Sarah Kaufmann: Returning To The Bike After Injury? Here's How It's Done

Question: I broke my leg in a bad crash late this summer and am just starting to ride again.  How do I start getting back into race shape?  I'd like to do endurance races again next season but don't know if that's an unrealistic goal.

Answer: First, endurance racing next season is not unrealistic! You actually picked a great time to break your leg (only half kidding). If there is ever a good time for an injury, it is late in the race season. I normally recommend that my athletes take two to four weeks off the bike when the season comes to a close. Your forced rest works this in and once you are cleared to ride again, you can begin base training through the winter. Depending on when your first goal events are next year (and what your winter climate is like), November/December is a great time to begin riding again and ease back into some structured training. (Click Title To Read More)

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Coaching Column with Alison Dunlap: What Age Should Children Start Training?

Question: At what age do you think it's ok to start really structured training and racing?  What would you focus on for a young teenager or pre-teen?

Answer: Cycling is a challenging sport as we all know.  The emphasis with young kids should be on the pure joy of riding and the fun that can be had cruising up and down the alleys around your neighborhood.  Go on an “urban assault” with your kids and show them all of the obstacles that can be ridden on a bike.  During these younger years it is important that kids be exposed to many kinds of activities, not just cycling.  This will help develop coordination, balance, movement and cognitive skills.  The emphasis should not be on structure, but the fun and enjoyment of being active with friends and family.  It is not appropriate to ask a young child (pre-puberty) to “train”.  Kids at this age should be allowed to play for the sake of enjoyment and not have to follow the rules and regimens of adult level sport rules. [1]

Click Title To Read Full Story

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Complete 2015 National Ultra Endurance Series Schedule; New International Event Listed

The Ninth Annual KENDA National Ultra Endurance (NUE) Series announced the 2015 schedule this week, including a new International venue.

Born in 2006, the Kenda NUE Series began with just six races before growing to include thirteen races held within thirteen different states by 2014. 2014 saw the addition of two new venues in California and Colorado. In 2015, NUE makes the leap to the International stage by introducing the Rincon de La Vieja Challenge, held in Costa Rica, as its first Latin American venue.

2015 NUE Race Schedule

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Coach's Column with Drew Edsall: 4 Tips To Make You Faster in 2015

Question: About 4-5 hours into an endurance race my back and arms are feeling really fatigued even though I ride a dual suspension bike, what can I do to help feel better in endurance races?

Answer: Endurance racing can be very challenging. You are pushing your body beyond it’s limits and often times it reacts with pain you might not experience often. If you find that you are running into similar issues from race to race, such as lower back and arm pain, then it is a good idea to look into what might be the main cause for this. Unfortunately there is no “one size fits all” recipe for this. Every athlete is unique. There might be one single cause for the pain, but there also might be multiple reasons for it. Looking into the following four areas can help you identify the problem and move onto racing your bike faster come 2015.

The four main areas you should look into are the following:

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Coach's Column with Andy Applegate: Trainer Workouts to Get You Through The Winter

Question: What trainer workouts can I do this winter to really work on increasing my overall power?

Answer: This is a very general question and we could write many words to cover all the possibilities. Ideally you would be able to periodize your trainer workouts over several training blocks. By this I mean, targeting specific types of intensity sessions to focus on one aspect of fitness for several weeks at a time before moving on to the a different focus. If you do have a couple months, I would suggest first doing a full block of steady state efforts (long efforts of approximately 95 to 99% of current lactate threshold, or about a 7.5 to 8 on a 1-10 intensity scale). An example of workout progression here would be building from a session of 5x5 mins up to 3x15 mins at steady state effort. Recovery time for these should be approximately 50% of the duration of the "work" interval. Do this type of session about 3 times a week for 3 weeks and you should see some significant gains. After a bit of an recovery block it would be time to move to the next focus: Vo2max.

(Click Title to Read Full Text)

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New Spring Date & Pivot Sponsorship for Grand Junction Off-Road

Chloe Woodruff leads the way at the 2014 Grand Junction Off-Road - photo by: Brian Leddy

Epic Rides Announces May 2015 Grand Junction Off-Road Date & New Sponsors to Reward Participants with $75,000+ in Gear

A new year is right around the corner, and to celebrate, Epic Rides today announced a new event date for the Grand Junction Off-Road presented by U.S. Bank mountain bike event and new high-profile sponsors for 2015 that will reward event registrants and participants with some of the best gear the bike industry has to offer, with a total retail value of over $75,000.

Taking advantage of the glorious late spring riding weather in Western Colorado, Epic Rides is working closely with the City of Grand Junction and the Bureau of Land Management to move the 2015 Grand Junction Off-Road to May 29-31. The Grand new date will now be a month after the Whiskey Off-Road in Prescott, Ariz., enabling participants to gear up more easily for both events while enjoying a more temperate time of year for mountain biking on Colorado’s Western Slope.

(Click Title To View Full Story)

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Coach's Column with Lynda Wallenfels: Taking Time Off vs. Enjoying Late Season Riding

Question: I want to take some time off the bike during this off-season, but I hate missing the nice fall weather since winter is right around the corner.  I also know I need to be back to a structured training program in December, January at the latest.  I don't feel too burned out from the season.  Should I still take a break?  If so, how long of a break should I take and how should I time it? Also, should I be 'lazy' during the break or be active still doing other physical activities?

 Answer:  There is no need to take any more than one week off the bike as an off-season break if you are healthy and don't feel burned out from the season. Do take a longer break from structured training but stay active. In fact doing late fall rides are a great way to take advantage of all that hard earned fitness you built up during the race season. Get out and have fun on your bike!

Do take a minimum of a single very low key recovery week where you relax, get a massage and sleep a lot. After that, enjoy the late fall weather and do all those routes and rides you missed out on during the season when they didn’t fit perfectly into your training plan. Most mountain bike racers enjoy adventures on their bikes, so pack a lunch and go exploring with friends.

Stay active in November and set yourself up for higher performance in 2015 with some of the following:

•          Rehab any injuries.

•          Improve your technical ride skills with a class, lesson, camp or practice.

•          Cross train with other aerobic seasonal sports such as skate skiing.

•          Improve body composition and lose weight if you are more than 10 lbs over your optimum race weight for men or 7 lbs for women.

•          Strengthen any weaknesses.

•          Stretch any tight muscles and balance your body.

•          Learn a new skill that will help you once the season starts such as yoga or how to wrench on your bike.

•          Get any dental work done if needed.

•          Get any other medical issue that needs recovery time taken care of.

•          Take care of any physical labor or domestic chores you put off during the season.

•          Give extra time and attention to your support crew - you know the people who you depend on in-season.

Lynda Wallenfels is a Category 1 certified USA Cycling coach. She coaches mountain bike, cross country and endurance athletes to personal bests and national championships. Lynda has been coaching off-road athletes and racing for 18 years. Connect with her through her website for information on mountain bike training plans, coaching and consulting at LWCoaching.com.

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Moab Builds New Trails and BLM Bans E-Bikes on Trails

Looking up Castle Valley toward the La Sal Mountains - photo by: Townsend Bessent

Moab Trail News

The volunteer organization, Moab Trail Mix, has been busy constructing new bike trails. Keep in mind the agencies, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the National Forest Service, National Park Service, the City, and local bike businesses and riders sit at the table and collaborate. The BLM used National Public Lands Day to encourage volunteers to shape a pedestrian path to the Dinosaur Stomping Grounds. It is an area that received tremendous press in August 2014. It is a trail that parallels the Mega Steps mountain bike trail in the Klondike Bike Trail System to an expanse of trace fossils. Close by, find the Copper Ridge Track Site, both areas of tracks are from the Jurassic Period in the fluvial Morrison formation deposit.

MOAB BLM has determined this year that motor assist bicycles (electric or fueled) are motorized vehicles, therefore, motor assisted bicycles are NOT allowed on non-motorized trails. The Moab Travel Council posted a terrific Motorcycle Trail Ride page in September 2014. Go look at it now. http://www.discovermoab.com/motorcycle_moab.htm 

New Trail Report

In the La Sal Mountains, standing regal to the east of Moab, the Forest Service completed the Geyser to Burro singletrack trail and Jimmy Keen Flat Trail is 9 miles. Get a little respite from the summer heat and pedal these trails in the warmer summer months.

http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/mantilasal/recreation/bicycling/recarea/?recid=72828&actid=24

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Swank 65 - Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina

A cold start to the 2015 Couch Potato

Swank 65 and Couch Potato Reports

Despite lingering snow up high on the course, conditions were looking good for the 16^th edition of the Swank 65k race on Sunday. Despite chilly temperatures that lingered in the mid-forties all day, the sky was clear and the sun was out. A modified course had riders tackling more technical singletrack than ever, and with the first technical climb up Daniel Ridge trail coming early in the race, the start was more important than normal for those looking for a good result.

Rolling up the Daniel Ridge climb, David Forkner (Greenlife) went off the front, cleaning many of the more technical sections, and opening a small gap on Matt Williams (Epic Brewing), Jacob McGahey (Industry Nine), and Spencer Lowden (Sycamore Cycles). Forkner was able to stretch his lead on the descent off the back side and he headed into the first aid station at Gloucester Gap with a sizable lead on a chase group that included McGahey, Williams, Lowden,  Nick Bragg, and Matt Champion (Sycamore Cycles).

(Click title to view full report)

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