ACC Blog

Once again the longest race of the year proved just that-then the gloves came off!  It was a beautiful evening for the race-no armwarmers needed.  The SMA were off with Gu’s and Red Bull shots kicking in early with the race breaking up at the first climb-shocker.  After an early break of Wade, Jason, and Max and many earnest attacks from the BB&S boys, Elliot and Wade dangling out in front caused Max to chase.  With Wade still on the fishing line, Max was caught, then the first 7 racers sprinted to the finish with Charlie(you have a little gray, don’t you?) back to his old ways taking the win with Scanlon and Joel on his wheel. 

The Vet Men A had to be on their best behavior opening doors and such with some ladies at their evening happy hour.  I guess they behaved somewhat nicely because in a sprint finish of ten, only two let Annie Gonzales “girl” them….hmmmmmm or was it Annie being nice to THEM?….I digress.  Young whippersnapper Brian Schaefer(no gray hair that I can see) jumped for the sprint, but Mike Maple once again showed us that gray hair has serious magical powers-STUD.  Mike Maple-gold, Brian Shaeffer-Silver(not enough apparently) and Skarvan-Bronze.

Kelly Cullen decided to “play” with the Senior Women A and set a blistering 20+ mph pace the whole way-thanks, Kelley!  It was so fast that the usual catch from the C’s didn’t happen at the bottom of the climb, but at the top.  Virg and Cat worked together on the climb only to have Virg almost go off a cliff trying to stay on Cat’s wheel for the descent.  Yikes.  The C’s caught Cat and Virg, and the rest was a 1,2,3 for Kelley, Cat, then Virg-thanks for playing.

The C’s are always a fast and furious pack on this race, with a fit and 60 Danny Pierce(Grand Masters) showing again that super heroes have gray hair-he finished first of all the C’s-with it looks like Wade Smith(Master’s) on his tail-do you have gray hair too??  Keith Burgland once again showed us his true grit taking the Vet Men’s C race by over a minute, and Tyson Cross taking the C’s.

And oh, let’s not forget in the sibling rivalry catagory-Alena beat up on big brother Agustin-but that debunks my gray haired super hero myth.  I still will contemplate not coloring my hair now……nah-blondes still have more fun, especially careening towards a guard rail.

Thanks for reading,

Virg

A new race, with lots of unknowns, was somehow pulled off at the base of the Two Creeks ski area. With the sun shining strongly, the Citizen group headed out at 6pm for their 30 minute plus race effort. Race Director Mouse & the volunteer crew, seeing the dizzy looks on racers faces, soon realized that our planned 30 minute and 45 minute races were more than anybody needed to get their suffering on. Some quick consults showed that STXC races are often 25 minutes plus a lap or three. So, the 2 laps to go sign was posted for the leader at 25 minutes and the bell lap was being rung soon after.

Keith Berglund took first place honors in crossing the line first for the Citizens, but not without having to keep looking back at Keegan Swirbul who was leading early on and chasing hard throughout. Not sure how old Keegan is right now, but he’s going to be quite the threat as he continues his journey into adulthood! Congrats to Max, Kelley, John, Phil, and Mr. Maple on their winning efforts! Full results can be found here.

While the course was based on last summer’s Norba Nationals STXC course, we didn’t have the resources for extra turns and chicanes on the pavement portion of this year’s course. As most everybody enjoyed the race this year, we’re likely to see this one come back next summer… hopefully new and improved!

What would you do to tweak next year’s course?

Mike

We haven’t been able to get the Prince Creek Circuit Race to work out this year, so instead we’ll be over at the Two Creeks base area, this coming Wednesday, racing a Short Track X-C race on a course that will be very similar to the one used at last summer’s NORBA Nationals held in Snowmass. Laps should be about 5minutes +/- with A’s racing for 45+ minutes and C’s racing for 30+ minutes. Click on the below Race Course sketch map for a bigger version.

For any and all who’ve enjoyed playing with Google Earth, check out the top of the Race & Event Info Page to download files that open in GE to show most of this year’s mountain and road race courses. Once the file is downloaded and open, you can zoom in and around on each course. Enjoy!

Cheers to everyone who participated in a Trails Day event over the past two weekends! Great work was accomplished that will make portions of the Forest Hollow, Scout, Lower Plunge, and Hunter Creek trails that much more enjoyable over the next year or two. Our trails always need more work than we have time for… SO PLEASE, mark your calendars for the ACC’s 2nd Adopt-a-Trail work day coming up on Sunday, September 7th, likely to be held on the Government Trail.

Have a great week, Mike.

The clouds and rain threatening to put a damper on this year’s Smuggler Hill Climb subsided just in time to run another lung-searing hill climb on Aspen’s backyard testpiece. Was it the weather that kept everyone away this year or the pain?

Breaking the 12 minute mark on Smuggler has been done by a handful of riders over the years but remains a difficult goal. Road conditions, soil moisture content and even wind can play a factor from year to year. Rishi Grewal’s standing record of 10:50 stands as the benchmark and besting that will require wicked early season fitness and perhaps equipment choices specific to the task.

Alex Hagman has posted many fast times on Smuggler and this year was no excecption as he put on a clinic with a winning Senior Men A time of 11:27 – on a borrowed bike no less. Now based in Athens, Georgia, but staying with his folks in Carbondale for a while, Hagman has been chasing his road racing dreams as well as coaching. He claims to have increased his power to weight ratio for Smuggler simply but cutting his shoulder length tangled locks. Len Zanni and Max Taam rounded out the podium.

Ambre Levy hammered out a fast 14:28 to take Senior Women A honors with Kelley Cullen and Annie Gonzalez rounding out the top three. Singlespeed is a new category this year and Michael Hayes was first to officially receive points for his effort on 1×1 on Smuggler. Michael, any comments on your gearing choice for future Struggler singlespeeders? My suspicion was that former valley resident Andrew Gardner was probably also on his single but I didn’t see him.

To junior Keegan Swirbul a congratulations is in order but where are all your friends who ride?

** A reminder to all racers to make some effort to let passing riders by – especially on this type of course with plenty of room - without speeding up and pulling the subtle pinch move on the passing rider. See the section in the newsletter about Good Sportsmanship. Don’t know who you are but you pulled this just before the finish. Comments welcome!