Blogs by Professional Cyclists - Professional Cycling Unplugged™

There wasn’t actually a call, or even an email. I had heard through the grapevine the day before the 24 Hours of Moab (Also the 24 –Hour National Champs) that Chris Eatough was sick with H1N1. I had my own agenda going into this event and I knew I had good fitness, but now I felt I had yet another reason to go for it out in the desert. I’ve always looked up to Chris, and being on the same team as him starting last year gave me inspiration. Just like in the movies, with the favorite out, it was the kid’s turn to try and deliver for the team!

I had everything in my corner that I could ever need including my girlfriend, family, and friends that were 100% on board to support me. The race started in its usual dusty fury and we were off. The solo field quickly whittled down to Josh Tostado and I and we were going at a good click. On lap 3 Josh decided to back off and I began to put time into him for the next 5 laps.

As night fell and the sun coldheartedly slipped behind the rocks, a new race developed and I found myself in a darker place than I’d like to admit. I was eating well and I physically felt fine, but the thought of defending the lead for the next 15 hours became a little daunting and I became a little too wrapped up in my own mind. The funny thing about this is that I thrive on being out front and I usually get inspired to keep the distance to second. Josh started recovering from the early cross-country race pace and he began taking time back, eventually passing me around 9:15 PM.

During the night, my lights would go out on two consecutive laps – at which point you decide on one of two things: 1) I’m going to melt down… OR 2) I’m going to figure out the fastest way to get through this lap. Because I’ve been around true professionals like Eatough, I chose the second option. I got through the night losing some more time to Josh, but as the early hours of the morning approached and caffeine reached my bloodstream, I began feeling really good again and my morale was getting back to where it needed to be. Everything was feeling better and my bike had ridden perfectly for so long and was feeling so comfortable – even after so many hours!

My crew told me to hammer on all the climbs and all of the flats. (That would be the whole course, right?) Well, if you’ve ever done a solo 24-hour race, 20 hours into it, your mind is foggy at best and I was going to listen to whatever I was told. I began steeling decent chunks of time from Josh and people were telling me he had been looking rough. There was a hope; a shot in the darkest of the dark and all I could do was pedal. I left for lap 16 at 10:30AM and knew I had to hammer to make it back before noon to start lap 17. I had moments of feeling like the windshield, and then moments of feeling like the bug that hit the windshield. I did what I could, but I did not make it in before noon. However, I had put Josh in the agonizing position of having to decide whether or not to do the extra lap, which he did end up doing. There was NO way I was going to rest and I wanted to make him earn it. Well, he definitely earned it. Josh was the faster man on that day and I felt honored to be able to race against him and grab second at the 24-Hour Nationals.

I feel proud about my team’s effort and mine. I worked so hard all year long and I thought about that throughout the race. I also thought about my crew, who were perfect, about my sponsors, and how Trek supplied the best bikes I have ever ridden. I also thought about how great it would have been to see Chris Eatough out there in his last 24-hour race as a pro. Even though he wasn’t there, his inspiration was partly responsible for the wheels on my Top Fuel to keep rolling for 24 hours and 8 minutes.

Thank you Trek, my family, friends and support crew for a great race and a great season!

Thanks for reading,

Kelly Magelky

(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Posted under MTB: ENDURANCE

Crank the Shield, a 250km 3 day stage race through the Haliburton area of Ontario was this past weekend. I got to race the event with Norco teammate, Matt Pazuik. With the majority of racing done for the year this was our final event and training leading up to it was pretty low key.  We got in a couple of rides together with Matt showing me the local real estate, I still don’t know what you would do with a seven car garage, as well as some local bike path rides and a hot chocolate stop. This year there was no messing around and Matt and I turned my hardtail into a Faze 1 dualie. We set our race plan to having fun, and stopping at every aid station.

Day 1 was a completely new course compared to last year and it was a big hit. Lots of new single track through Haliburton forest and since it was early on in the race you even got to enjoy it while fresh. The start was pretty relaxed with everyone knowing there was lots of racing ahead. Once we hit the single track things heated up and any thoughts of riding chill were thrown aside. It’s a race it was go time.  Matt and I had a really good day, we both felt strong and steadily moved up throughout the stage finishing in 12/13 overall.  The 4.5 hour stage had been about an hour longer than we anticipated but we were able to push through to the finish. Crank the Shield uses summer camps for accommodation which is kind of neat. Eat in a big hall and sleep in cabins. Matt and I had our own cabin which meant it was nice and quiet but with a few holes in the wall it made for a rather cold sleep.

Day 2 used a very similar course to last year of which I remembered lying in countless mud bogs with frogs jumping around. This year promised to be only mid calf deep bogs, I quickly realized this was not true as the first bog I went mid thigh deep and riding through one puddle which looked more like a lake Matt put his hands underwater. I didn’t see any frogs this year though. The course was actually a lot drier than last year with lots of routes around the worst bogs but still there were some that were unavoidable. Early in the race it was hard to get into a rhythm on the rocky ATV trails that we actually quite technical. There were lots of people around and passing was difficult. I had some issues there too with a nice uphill endo into the granite shield.  After the first aid station there was a good section of dirt road and we put in a solid 20/30min effort getting some time on a large pack of riders before settling into our pace again. It was much easier to ride when you had a clear run at things. Unfortunately Matt then burped his tire and we had some difficulties using our CO2, neither of us realized there was a safety on the head. Once we got going again we were able to make up what we had lost and were feeling pretty good however I then put my chain and derailleur into my spokes. My derailleur was pretty twisted and we had some issues straightening it out. We had some great comments as riders went by and the two of us were staring at my bike in one hand and derailleur in the other. We were lucky however and got it back together and found a gear that worked so I was on the 3×1 gearing. I could shift a little just felt like I was never in the right gear. The single speeders told me that was how they always rode. The next half hour was a lot of mud bogs and seemed to last forever, Matt and I sort of lost motivation but fuelled up as our day goal was approaching. We knew the last 19km was rail trail not nice rail trail but loose, sandy, bumpy slightly uphill rail trail. We had planned on attacking this and that is what we did. Matt ramped the pace and I suffered, huge. I was doing all I could to hang on to his wheel for the first 6km but then I started coming around and felt a bit better at the pace. We were catching riders and no one was able to stay on it was fun. Matt had given all he had and with 6km to go I went to the front and rode the hardest 6km I think I ever had. I was planning on going till I died and figured Matt would take over at that point. I was surprised with what I had left. I made Matt suffer and he was pretty cross eyed by the finish. It was a fun way to end the stage we both buried ourselves on that rail trail, probably not the best stage race tactic but we enjoyed it. 4:57 on the day was another long day on the bike. From the finish in downtown haliburton it was a short bus back to Camp White Pines.

Day 3 started with a neutral 18km ride over to the start. We opted for a little motorpacing which I quickly found out was way too hard for me. We were crushing the hills and I was dead. I dropped off and rode into the start myself hoping the legs would come around a little. Right off the gun the pace was intense there was some riders fighting for their category titles and they were determined from the get go. The course was great. Lots of climbing only two puddles that hardly got you wet. We did a massive climb up to the lookout and we made sure to look left as we rode by so that we could enjoy the scenery. Some fun new single track, some forest roads, dirt roads, atv trails and to finish some great single track in Haliburton forest. However it wasn’t nearly as fun as the first day as it just seemed hard and I was looking forward to that finish. Matt and I both suffered today, he rode a single ring up front for the race and says it was great but it meant he had to push all the steep stuff and I had no power today so basically suffered on every steep climb to go with him. I however felt pretty good on the roads and rolling terrain so was able to push there. At the finish we were met with a great barbeque and awards ceremony.

Matt and I met our goals we enjoyed ourselves while pushing each other to our limits. We stopped at every aid station even if it wasn’t necessary and came home with far more food than we started. We’re pretty lucky that Norco is a sponsor providing neutral support at the race so we had lots of help with mechanics and team support. The atmosphere of the race is pretty cool and we decided it is a great end to the season kind of like a yearend banquet. Thanks to Chico and the crew for putting on a great event, and to Norco for their support. For results and information on the race check out www.cranktheshield.com.

(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Posted under MTB: ENDURANCE

SOMETHING NEW.  –JEREMIAH BISHOP.

(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)

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Posted under MTB: ENDURANCE, NON-BIKE

Here’s a video interview (thanks to http://www.cyclingdirt.com) of Colin Cares’ U23 MTB National Championship win–Enjoy!!

Cycling Videos on CyclingDirt

(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Posted under MTB: ENDURANCE

Although the 2nd half of this cycling season is about to get under way, it’s really the start of mine. Unfortunately, for a nonsalaried professional mountain bike racer, I need to make money somewhere else. Even though I don’t make a salary, I must give a plug to Trek for sponsoring me. I’m fortunate to have a group of people like that supporting me.

Luckily, I’ve suffered, scraped, begged and banked on my naivety for the last 5 years and have created a business that has become a viable source of income – albeit with a flexible schedule. (Read as: can work any 16 out the 24 hours, 7 days a week) I feel very fortunate to do what I love for work, but sometimes it’s tough when both of your full-time passions meet each other head on, going 80 mph. Such was the case this year. Ironically, with our economic climate about as comfortable as Antarctica in July, I’ve been very busy. In addition, I stacked my race schedule pretty high earlier this year – but when pushing came to shoving came to punching, I had to find creative ways to stay fit, without racing – or riding. Did I succeed? Maybe, maybe not, but I gave it the ol’ college try and I’m relatively fit.

I’ve been traveling quite a bit for work this summer with trips to India, France and soon, Jamaica. It’s hard to get into a rhythm, but judging by my last race, I bet I can get into race shape by . . . mid August.

Photos to come shortly…

Thanks for reading.

km

(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)

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Posted under MTB: ENDURANCE, TOUR OF CALIFORNIA