What little winter we had has all but come and gone & Its time to get the party started

FLi BYe is loaded with the same roster that won 11 events last season & landed a total of 21 podium finishes including a dominating performance at the 24 hours of Colorado Springs/Usac 24hr Nationals. 

We have added Five new team partners that we need to recognize right of the bat.

• www.NewBelgium.com   New Belgium Brewing Co
• www.winlsowbmw.com  Winslow BMW of Colorado Springs
• www.Maxxis.com   The best on the planet Maxxis Tires 
• www.Veloshine.com   Veloshine. Keeping our bikes and bodies clean the green way
• www.UpaDowna.com  getting folks off the couch and into the wild.

In addition we have retained all the team partners that helped make our sophmore season a success!

• Tomac Bikes
• Sram/Rockshox/Avid/Truvativ
• Trinity Motors
• Honey Stinger
• Acli-Mate
• Smith Optics
• Chief Petroleum
• Evidense Clothing
• Colorado Structures
• Muscle Fortress

Lets Roll Baby!

This time last year I had finished up my first Breck Epic and said " I did it once but probably won't do it again for a while"  Well at this time last year my friend Christopher came to the final stage of the 2010 event, watched the start, saw the finish and hung out with me and the rest of the Epic'ers through the awards and dinner banquet.

At that point he got the itch to start racing mountain bikes and we started to ride together back in C.Springs in early September.  Not long after Chris says " yeah I want to train for the Epic" and signed us both up for the 2011 event.  We were fortunate to have a very mild fall and winter and put in a good amount of miles prior to spring.  Cycling legs are not built in one season let alone cycling legs to complete something as grueling as the Breck Epic, but Chris, our friend Todd and I pounded out mile after mile on both the mountain and road bikes in prep for a few select races this summer.  First was the FireCracker 50, then came the Steamboat Stinger 50 and the big daddy that we completed this week was the grand finale for the summer season. 

I want to start the recap off by giving out major props to Christopher, until you sign up, race each and every stage and finish it up on day 6 you have no clue what kind of mental and physical toll this event will take out of you.  Chris started the week a little slow but came on like a rabid band of ninja's towards the end, for someone who is just now nearing his one year mountain bike riding/racing anniversary I can't tell you how proud I am of him, he has accomplished something that 99% of the population will never even attempt and I am super pumped that I got to see the progression of his fitness and the rewards of his efforts over the past year all come together this past week.  Great work Buddie!

You all know how my week went. It started off like a bang as I had two solid days in a row.  Then on Tuesday it started to unravel and unravel and unravel.  There has never been a day in my life that I've woken up and had the chance to ride my bike and not wanted to... today was that day, between the hard hit my body and head took on Wednesday's crash to not feeling comfortable on my backup bike, the last 3 days have been all about completion not competition.  In the process of riding further back in the pack than I am used to I did get to meet some great people that will hopefully lead to long term friendships across the country.

Up next for me is the 24 hour national championships, I will be part of a 4 man squad with fellow Fli Bye Racing teamate Todd Shaffer along with a couple of Canadiens that rip.  This will be my first ever 24hr event and should be a great experience, so after a couple days off I will re-mount one of the trusty steeds and have the top step of the box in my vision come October 1-2.

Thanks to all of you who have read and followed each day. Your support of us is incredible and we genuinely appreciate each and every email, text, phone call etc that we recived this week.

Thanks again to all our sponsors for your support as we give our best to represent and make you proud of our efforts!

Peace n Chicken Grease.. off to get our shinny new belt buckles

Since the Breck Epic and my scrambled brain head

 I have taken some time off the bike, some time off from blogging and got a much needed bike less trip to the mountains with my wife.  Here is what has gone down in the FLi BYe world since CP198 & I wrapped up the Epic.

The USA Pro Cycling Challenge rolled through Colorado with many team members being a part of it on different levels with volunteer work at various stages and I was fortunate enough to get a media pass and cover the event throughout the week.  Jonathan preceeded the Pro Challenge with a Crit race at University Village on Saturday and the Cheyenne Canon  Time Trial on Sunday.  Saturday he nailed down a 3rd place & on Sunday threw down a 2nd place finish while setting a Personal Record up the Canon.  The following weekend Jonathan took on Pikes Peak in the 2nd annual Assault on the Peak ( a 22 mile race up the Pikes Peak Highway after starting in Manitou Springs)  with a very competitive open field he landed himself a podium spot with a solid 3rd overall - Mighty Fine Work If I say so myself!!

THE FOLLOWING was written by team member Drew Norkoli after he returned home from South Dakota...

The 11th Annual Dakota Five 0 was held in Spearfish South Dakota on Sunday September 4, 2011.  The race was capped at 700 riders this year.  The route is on 90% Singletrack on a 50 mile Lollipop type course.  There were four offical aid stations with one unofficial station that served PBR and bacon.  The locals considered you a cheater if you didn't stop to drink and eat some the "bacon station."  By far the coolest part of the race and really made us remember that we were there to have fun. 

Oh Wheeler & the ten mile range what a view you provide

Christopher not only took on stage 5 but he put in his best performance of the week on his hardtail 29er.  Topping out at over 12,500 and taking in the view as far as he could see lit a fire inside him and he rocketed down the long descent towards Copper Mountain and into Frisco.  From there he put on a charge up the Peaks Trail en route to a 4:10 finish time and seems rejuvenated from Fridays Finale.

Everything comes in 3's right? So I should be great after today, For me I picked up my replacement bike at 7am which game me exactly 50 minutes to get back to the house, get dressed and get the bike set up.  The Gun went off for the start and within the first 5 miles I threw the chain into the rear hub like i've never seen before - if it hadnt been for a duo team of 50+ guys from Mississippi it might of been the end of the week for me as I fought it like a monkey humping a football for 15 minutes with no luck.  These two stopped and had a custom little tool and one link at a time they pried it loose from the hub, by now i'm down 30 minutes and absolutley dead last at the first aid station. I recovered to finish around 4:20 and have no clue where that put me in the standings.  It blows my mind that last year I rode the exact same 6 stages with Zero bike issues and this year I have issues three straight days in a row when I am much more prepared physically and mentally.  Anyway I am done racing and will spend Fridays stage 6 riding a good 30+ miles right along the side of my teamate and great friend who I've spent the week with up here, To me there is no difference between 4th and 14th - If you aren't on the podium then who cares and no one remembers!  So we are going to go out and enjoy the final day of racing together and have a great time on the bike.

look for a Breck Epic Review in the coming days.