One Week in Tulsa

Well we made it! We are one week into our new life in Tulsa, Ok. Still settling in and getting things unpacked, but we love it so far. The house is coming together and we all really like it. It takes us less than 5 min to get to the River Trail system on our bikes! We also have a decent backyard here, which we did not in OKC, and the dogs are spending plenty of time exploring out there. Last Sunday Ryry and I built a fire pit for Vanessa’s Mothers Day wish. 

We have gone to do a few rides so far. I took the kids out last Saturday on the trails, then Sunday we went out with Mark TeRuki also on the trails, just further out. I met up with Jake Lasley Tuesday morning and he took me for a 40 mile spin before work to show me some good riding West of town and followed that up with the Tulsa Wheelmen Tuesday night crit. We were happy to see a lot of junior and women racers there too. I was off work Thursday so I rode to Turkey Mountain to try out a Specialized Camber, and learn the trail system. It’s a 20min ride from the house so a perfect Warmup and cool down distance. I did pretty well in the rocks first time out, only went over the bars once! Everyone’s been so welcoming and helpful here, that’s made it much easier. There’s so much to do, because it’s all new to us, so we are having to pull back and not try to go do everything right away. I did take Ryan out to Turkey to assist with a trail work day for the upcoming Turkey Mountain MTB Festival. We had some good bro time, until we realized we were being overtaken by ticks. They were all over us! I didn’t get any riding, so likely just because we were reaching way back and trimming. But bring your spray to be safe next weekend. 

I am working at T-Town Bicycles here in Tulsa. It’s going good, there’s always an adjustment period to figure out the process at a new workplace, but I’m getting there and everyone there is super cool and helpful. The commute is very short, 20 min on my bike, so I’ve been using the old school Stumpy which is perfect for the ride. I did get a disappointed look from Jake when he saw my 1x on there though haha! 

Well that’s week 1, hope to see all my OKC friends this weekend at the Sand Springs crit, or next weekend at Turkey. 

MTB Marathon Nationals

Sunday was MTB Marathon National Championships in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. After driving half way across the country twice to race CX Nats, it was nice having this race so close. This is also the main reason for me going and racing. I know I’m not great a marathon type racing, but if someone regionally is going to take this on, I want to go support the event. 

Saturday was the Oklahoma State Championship Road Race at Draper Lake. I wasn’t racing, which I wish could have, but Aubrey was. She’s been having a good year on the road and I knew she had a good shot at the win. We went out earlier in the week and rode the course and specifically studied the long uphill finish. Sounded like a pretty active race with a few attacks going, but she and a couple others helped neutralize those and it came to a bunch sprint. As they rounded the final bend into the finish, ( the spot where we discussed the sprint should start), I see her pop around from about 5th wheel. The whole field looked gassed as no one stood to sprint. They were all pushing hard but seemed to not have the legs left for a standing sprint. As she got closer I could see a definite gap and she increased it to the line. Impressive effort and good start to the weekend winning the women’s Cat 4 State Championship. 

The kids decided not to go to Arkansas so Vanessa and I set off on the first race trip with just the two of us in a really long time! We arrived around 5:30pm, settled into Bike Lab team cabins, and I headed off to ride. I picked up my packet as well and was excited to see I was given # 151. This was my motocross number for years and it was cool to finally get it at a bike race! Since it was a 24 mile lap, riding the entire trail wasn’t the best plan so I rode the harder sections. I planned to figure the rest out as I went on sunday. We had a team dinner then all hung out around a campfire for a bit. It was pretty quiet as this was a few of the teams “A” race for the year and nerves may have been a bit high, understandably. 

Sunday morning we got to the race and got things sorted quickly, funny how little there is to do when there’s only one person racing and not three! Talked to a few Oklahoma and Texas friends and got in a little warm up. It was an uphill road start, and I was unsure what the pace would be so I made sure to have my legs ready, good thing! The guy I lined up behind jumped at the gun and drove the pace into the hill, but finally backed off a bit. From there about 3 other attacks went. I leap frogged onto each one to stay up out of trouble. They went but looked to me to pull through but I wasn’t interested in that. I knew we had a long way to go. I finally jumped at the top of the hill and got a gap into the downhill road section. I got caught, and I sat and waited until the trail began and jumped one more time and went in first. I kept the pace high up the double track climb and by the end of the prologue I was second wheel and we were about 30 sec up on third place.

The three of us came together due to catching traffic from the group before us and we went back and forth for about half the lap. The leader crept away as I stayed in the zone I knew I needed to and hoped maybe he was going too hard. I was second or third all that lap, but could feel my legs were pretty tired by the end of lap 1. I knew this wasn’t good but all you can do is keep going. About half way through lap 2, I was suffering and legs were cramping, I see Ray Hall coming. He started two waves behind me so I knew he was flying, and leading his race! Along with him came fourth place in my group so this dropped me to fourth, no big deal as I wasn’t going anywhere fast. Ray felt bad for dragging him along, but that guy pushed Ray to the finish, and he won a National Championship!! I would much rather he win and I get fourth instead of third. The rest of the lap had good and bad moments, I would latch on to people passing and that helped up my pace at times. I hit the final double track climb, and both legs were completely locking up each pedal stroke. I had two options, stop and rest them, or just pedal through them and get to the top. Neither were good options so I kept pedaling. I was relieved to cross that line. Fourth place is ok considering. I don’t feel I put in what’s required to win. I pretty much feel the effort I put in and where my mind was at with this event, I got out exactly what I put into it. 

I went straight to Ray and gave him a big hug, I know that feeling and I was so happy for him. I knew he put everything into it and had the first or nothing mentality and he pulled it off. I was also excited that Mat Ankney who was “just there to ride” got fourth as well in the same age group as Ray. Oklahoma had a great showing with 6 medals and 2 National Championships jerseys! Our state is definitely on the map in all disciplines these days. 

So with that comes and end to my time racing on the Bike Lab team. What a great team it has been that has provided me with so many opportunities and given me tremendous support. It would’ve been nice to end with a jersey, but a podium medal isn’t bad. 

It also brings an end to #yearofthehardtail. It was a good run, and I saw it through as long as possible, but the hardtail will now find a new owner to hopefully ride it into maximum wickyness. I’ll be living 3 miles from Turkey Mountain in Tulsa, full squish sounds like a much better idea. I’m prepared for the online backlash I’m about to get from this so bring it on!! 

Our Final Days (in OKC)

The time is almost here. That’s right, in one week we are relocating to Tulsa, Ok. It’s been in progress for quite a while, but the time has really flown by with all the planning and packing needed to make the move. We are all pretty excited about being in a new city and experiencing all the new things that come with it. Vanessa has been working up there two days a week for the past few weeks which has been a challenge for us, but one we got through and it was just how it had to be to make it all work. 

As far as bike riding/racing it has been pretty quiet. I just saw my last post here was about the Ouachita Challenge, which was the last time I raced! Over a month ago! I skipped one race, Medicine Park, then the next two were rained out. Probably all for the best after taking on a tree at Draper MTB trails with my shoulder a couple days before Medicine Park. Minor AC separation was the result, so this break has allowed that to mostly heal. The goal all Spring has been Marathon MTB Nationals which is this Sunday in Arkadelphia, Ar. The last month of training has been a real challenge. I’ve struggled to stay motivated and focused with the injury and all the extra stuff going on with moving. My coach Mark TeRuki has been fantastic through it all. Kept pushing me when I needed, but didn’t want it. This means, although I wasn’t enjoying all that much, that my fitness is really good going into the event. That’s a good thing. Now I just need to get mentally ready to go. As of today, I’m still not there. The excitement and fire isn’t there. I think a big part of that is the lack of racing. That’s why I do this. Sure I like riding my bike, but I love racing my bike! I love to compete. That’s why I will do all the work (training) because the rush of competition is what I live for. Without that release for the last 6-7 weeks, it’s just all work. I say work mainly because I don’t enjoy the type of training this form of racing requires, it’s very repetitive and less intense than training for CX. It’s all done now though and hopefully pays off on Sunday. If I have a good day, I feel I have a good shot at another Stars and Stripes jersey, but it will have to be a really good day. Luckily for me, I’m not going in with the same pressure and mindset of CX Nats of winning being the only option. That’s a lot of pressure and it makes it hard to enjoy the event. Worst case scenario I get to ride some nice scenic single track for 50 miles so not that bad! I stole a couple pics from Ray Hall who is camping there for the week. Arkansas has some beautiful areas.

The one small release I’ve had the last month is the weekly practice crit on Tuesday night at the Wheeler Crit. This is by far the hardest workout I get on my bike. The course is basically a 3 corner drag strip. No rest, just pain, especially when you have zero training for it. The first two weeks I took my beatings, getting dropped and lapped. I knew this would happen so just did what I could. The last few I have finally ridden myself into crit shape somewhat and even managed to score a third place this week. I’m racing my CX bike as I don’t have a road bike right now. While it’s definitely not as fast, it is very smooth on the rough course and you can’t go wrong with DISC BRAKES!! It’s a fun time, no team tactics, just a slugfest so finishing, especially with a podium spot always feels good there.