Saturday was our 4th race of the year and a new venue for the Root 66 schedule.  Almost all the way to Cape  Cod in the really nice rooty Massosoit State park.  You couldn't of asked for a better day with temps in the 70's and blue skies.  I lined up with about half of the normal field.  I think there was about 15 pros all together including Mark McCormick.  I used to race against him 15 years ago when he was a regular on the cover of Velonews but he has since slowed down quit a bit.  I'm sure he would still rock my world on a road bike but I think he has become a casual mtb racer doing it for the fun of it.  So once the gun went off we were racing down the access road for a bit and then into some seriously bumpy single/double track.  Matt O'keefe and I broke away from the group for about a half a lap and then my chain came off.  About 10 sec later 6 guys came by and I was frantically trying to get my chain on.  Unfortunately before the race I noticed that my chain guide was all bent to hell from the animals at the SFO airport the week prior.  I guess thats what I get when I forget to check my bike over before the race.  My brother and I tweaked it right before the start but obviously not enough.  Well anyway I got it on and caught back up to the leaders, Seamuss, Hines and O'Keefe then my chain came off again.  This scenario happened a few more times and I finished 5th on the day, 2minutes down from first.  I rode so hard trying to catch up I barely drank any water or ate anything.  This race was a serious time trial.  I had alot of fun playing catch up.  
    Also racing was my brother and Aleksandra in the expert class. It cracks me up that she and my brother race against each other, but the fact that we take separate cars makes the ride home much safer.  Matt ripped his side wall on the first lap, fixed it and then flatted again.  Aleks finished 1st pro women and 2nd in expert with an amazing sprint finish against a  guy that probably didn't know he was racing a girl.   Overall we had a great time and want to thank Colt from Cyclingdirt for his coverage of the race.  If you want to check out  Aleksandra's interview here it is.


Mike

    I don't want complain or try to figure out what went wrong last weekend. Neither Mike nor I had a good race. I don't want to look for excuses, but we were both tired and I think one more day to recover after the travel could have helped but ...who knows?

  We both didn't like the course and we have to work on our attitude next time. We both end up in the middle of the pack which is not too bad, but it's way bellow our expectations. I learned my lesson, and I'm already thinking about my next race and I know I will be better prepared for it.

   Oh well, we had a good trip and it was great to spend some time with Ben, Alex, Tonya, Nick, Seamus, Stevo, Linnea and Colin.  I would say, it was worth just for that reason. Having fun with people who share the same passion and we mostly can see them only on those bigger races. We got back home late on Monday. Some of the lucky people like Linnea and Colin (our East coast friends) stayed longer in Santa Cruz to explore those beautiful trails which makes me super jealous and I'm waiting for some reports from those two :)

   Back at home, we had a great ride at the Stables yesterday. The trails are in great shape and I think we are very lucky to have such a place to ride and outstanding group of people who are doing magnificent work on the trail maintenance.

   I'd like to thank to every SMBA member who was working on trails maintenance two weeks ago. You guys rock! I love new extension from the Dam trail. I can't wait for that trail to be completely done. It's pretty smooth and fast which is a little bit different than rest of the trails. I'm very excited about. Thanks again and hopefully to see ya up there!
   
Happy rides, 
Aleksandra and Mike



 

      Everyone who knows us knows we are always late. Everywhere and almost everytime we travel. It's nothing to be proud of but somehow it's almost impossible for us to be on time. I read somewhere in an interview with Adam Craig who said that the hardest race is the one to the airport. I agree. We left home on Thursday (I already was running late to pick Mike up from work and Jamie saved me by picking up our dog- Mabel). We drove to NYC and stayed there with our good friends, Joe and Grace.  Thank you Joe and Grace.   Our flight was the fallowing day at 8am. As  responsible atheletes we wanted to grab some breakfast which took forever in the local NYC bagel shop. Then we were stuck in traffic- NYC is never disapointing so insead of the 10min drive to the airport it took us about 50min. An exciting rush with two bike boxes from the car to check in. Then after we had to run back to the car and move it to the long term parking lot. Running from the parking to the air train, from the air train to security , from security to the gate...we made it 5min before flight departure! We were the last two to get on the plane.
      
     We arrived in San Francisco on time finally and drove to Monterey, home of the biggest mountain bike race in the country -The Sea Otter Classic. We had a great trip driving there, taking Highway 1 and checking exciting places out. We went to see the giant Redwood trees in the Big Basin National Park. There is nothing more imppresive to me then our nature. You can go to visit cool cities and buildings but it's never as impressive as our worlds natural treasures . Our drive was thru beautiful european narrow style roads with some incredible views.   I wish we had more time to spend there and ride some of these beautiful places. We both fell in love with the Santa Cruz area . Everyone there is riding their bikes or their surfboards. There are alot of young fit people who seem super friendly. We were ready to move there, dreaming about riding in the morning and hanging out on the beach later...hmmmm.

    We pre-rode the course today and decided it is not the best course for us but good racers have to be fast everywhere:) There are some pics from the our trip.

Happy rides,
Aleksandra & Mike

   This was the 2nd year racing the Middlebury CT Root 66 season opener and its becoming one of my favorite regional races.  Like last year it was a bit chilly, the kind of chilly that your not sure what to wear.  I usually opt for short sleeves and shorts in this situation mainly because I know after ten minutes I'll be sweating my ass off, which was the case.   After saying hi to everyone we were off racing like mad thru the New England singletrack and it felt good, really good.  Two weeks prior we were racing in the desert of California which felt like racing on the moon compared to the east coast.  I generally suck when I race on the moon so being in first place after the first five minutes gives the ego a glimpse of sunshine after it was crushed by Todd Wells a couple of weeks back.  So after three quarters into it, my little buddy (not really little) came flying by me at the speed of light and then it was all over.  I could see him for the next couple of laps but never close the gap.  Seamus is strong this year and its going to take a alot of training to beat him I know it.  He has finally grown into his legs and I believe he is on the way up, bigtime.  So second was still awesome and I'm happy.   Aleksandra got to race against the expert men which was a real treat for her because the women's field is so small.  She rode really well against the guys and was only out of first place by 18seconds.  I am really proud of her and think this year will be so much more rewarding being able to race in a large field especially since one of them is my brother.  Knowing how competitive they both are it was a good thing  we took two cars because if we didn't I might not be here today to write this.  My brother Matt did really well with a fifth place finish, which isn't too shabby for his first expert race.  And our other family member Scotty DNF because  he is always too busy fixing our problems and doesn't spend enough time on his own bike.  Damn chain.   
See you on the trails
       Mike

     I'm finding it difficult to find the right words to express my feeling of compassion for the tragic loss for my home country, Poland. Don't know what to say other that I'm deeply shocked and saddened to hear about the catastrophe that occurred last weekend.    

    On April 10, a Polish Air Force plane crashed near Smolensk, killing 96 passengers, including the president of Poland and his wife, general staff of polish army, military officers, members of Parliament, the president of the central bank of Poland and the polish chief of Olympics.     

     No doubt, this sad event has been very disturbing for all Polish people. I'd like to send my deepest condolences to the families of the people we lost. I'm sharing the pain with my community.

Aleksandra

      On March 28th my husband Mike and I entered into 2010 race season at Fontana. I'm happy with both of our results. Mike placed 51st, with me finishing 12th.

   You never really know what to expect before the first race; there are a lot of questions about where is your fitness is compared to the other racers. For me, the most important thing is to see the progress, and I see that this year in both of us.

    Mike was 69th last year at Fontana, and I was 15th. We both got stronger over the winter and it's very exciting and motivating. We both trained really hard through winter, and I'm especially proud of Mike who works 50+ hours a week in a hydraulic shop, and trains after work, often in the dark, cold weather like insane person.

    I don't know anybody who would suffer more than him for this sport. I love the fact that after a rough winter in Upstate NY, Mike can go to the first national race and finish before some younger riders from California who are able to train all year long in much better weather conditions. Good job!

   I want to see better results for myself this year, but I'm considering Fontana a good, solid race. I DIDN'T panic! I had a poor start and I tried to push myself steady to make some time up. When I got too crazy going too fast on the single track and crashed, I didn't think too much about it, got back on the machine, and kept going. Maybe I'm not that strong physically yet but I feel much stronger mentally this year and the most important part: I love what I do.   I didn't even ride our local trails yet. Looks like the snow finally melted and they are ready to be ridden. See ya up there!

  Happy rides,
    Aleksandra&Mike