Blaster!

Trying to figure out how I am going to put this.

It.....Was..........AWESOME!!!!

Those seemed to be the only words I could make come out of my mouth at the time of my speech. The few words I did manage to get out pretty much summed things up for the 4 laps of gnar we called our "race".

The place was awesome, the people were great, and without cool events like this some people might forget why they mountain bike.

Thanks to the Curtes Bro's and all that helped with everything, these folks are class acts.

Check out all of the stuff I walked away with...My favorite besides the Jersey is the official autographed flyer.

DB

Hurt Box!!!!

That is where I spent the later half of Sunday's race. But you know it was a good hurt. The kind that once it is over and the dust settles things are going to be all smiles.

I will go into story time now and let everyone in on how things actually went on Sunday.

Friday night was chill as usual. Saturday was a bit of the same with the exception of getting my bike 100% for Sunday. I seem to be hard on wheels and didn't want to overload Russell after WORS 11 so I put my rear wheel under the scope and got to work. Now I am not much of a mechanic so after about an hour I had it strait and what seemed to be the appropriate tension on the spokes. Nice! The rest was pretty easy and before I know it I was on my way to Sheboygan to meet the 212 crew.

Pre ride went good and the course seemed to be in great shape. My legs felt good and after opening up all systems were a go. Back home to eat some supsup then hit the sack.

Sunday,

I was ready. Standard routine then off to the races. I felt good and was getting excited for the WORS finale. This year has been phenomenal for me and with all of the support I get from everyone I didn't want to let my "fans" down. I warm up and head to the line but just before callups Claire comes up with the Hero Cam. I was suppose to hook up with her earlier but couldn't find her and she couldn't find me. Anyway, Standing at the front of the starting shoot she rushes to put the cam on as she apologizes for the missed connections. I felt bad and assured her that I wasn't worried about it and that things were all good.

Go time and off we went! Damn my foot un clipped. Back in and I hammered my way back into position. It was right then I noticed my bike wasn't shifting right. I tried to shake it off but by the time we hit the first section of single track it was in full buck mode. I had 2 and 1/2 gears. I say1/2 cause if I held the shifter in it would stay up one more gear. By now I was sitting 5th wheel behind Mike. He slipped by Nate and a little later I got by as well with my focus on keeping in contact with the group. I still felt good but not being able to shift was getting the best of me. By the time we hit the equalizer I lost contact. I had to run that darn hill the first time around and I wasn't happy!!

I put it in full chase mode diggin as deep as I could. I felt like I was closing the gap but in all reality I think it was opening up more. Time to restrategize as I thought to myself "if I don't chill I am going to blow up bad", so that is what I did. Too late! The bike still wasn't cooperating and I was hurting. To top things off I was getting caught from behind. Once I saw it was Chris catching me I didn't feel too bad but still didn't really let off the gas too much. One more lap down and he was breathing down my back so it was time to just let up so he could catch me.

Now in tandem Chris took total charge of keeping me motivated to push me to the finish. About this time I regained my shifting ability but I am still not totally sure why it wouldn't shift. A little while later I caught myself laughing and thinking "not to many people get there own personal coach during a race". I didn't have to do anything except turn the peddles and that was hard enough. With Chris counting down the finish finally came and I couldn't be happier. Ouch that hurt but I couldn't think of another way to spend my race day. THANKS CHRIS!!!!!!!

Lesson for the day; Pick a good team because some time you might have to depend on your temmates.

D.B.

Oh Yeah!

The title could pretty much sum up the past weekend. For kicks and grins I will go into details.

It started out with a nice trip to the north woods to attend the newly organized Wors #11. I wasn't expecting much from the trails as the race seemed to be thrown together. Much to my surprise the course was rippin awesome with the exception of a few large puddles. After an hour of preride and trash talk amongst Chris p. and I we were ready for some supper and some rest.

The next day it was rise and shine and getting stuff ready. For some reason I was actually on ahead of schedule. Nice! Lynn and I hit the Continental and then she did her homework while I finished getting ready. After that I headed over to catch some breakfast with the 212crew. Then off to the course.

No nerves, no worries, for some reason I was totally relaxed and ready. We warmed up as a team and every person we went past seemed to be jealous of our "212 train". We were thrilled to be in company with each other and we looked good doing it too.

To the start line for call ups and then off we went. I had a good start and was up there with the boys. Hitting the climb at full velocity was good and by the time we got to the top I was sitting 3rd wheel. I felt good and was happy with my position so I just sat in and waited. Much to my surprise Mike was in charge and drilling it at the front. Now, I am not surprised at his fitness but more so that he hadn't prerode the day before and was able to tear it up. That man is an animal!!!!

I sat on Cole the whole first lap not knowing he was messing with me the whole time. He would pop off Mike and then pull back making me work harder, I guess he could see I was on the bubble and wanted to get rid of me. Tristan came up toward the end of the 1st just as I popped off so I waited for him to come up and let him pull me back. 2nd lap was much of the same and I wasn't smart enough to know what was happening so pop I went again.

Damage control time. The rest of the laps would've been so bad except for the fact that I couldn't keep the bike upright. I had already fallen once and now with the coarse changing every minute and I was going down everywhere. I guess it made me look cool in this pic.

Oh well. I had a good finish and spent the weekend with good people. 4th on the day and 1st in my age group.

I definitely need to give a HUGE thanks to all my supporters. My girlfriend Lynn who despite all her homework, work, and side activities has time to help me with my goals. That girl is a doll!!! Also the Peariso's have been super great and have helped me more than I probably deserve. Adventure 212 the all star team hookup for everything involved, Joe Ciesynski my stellar coach, and my big bro Craig who has been giving me the positive reinforcement I need. He is the one that got me started mountain biking and without him I probably wouldn't be here writing this post.

DB

Training Partners

With the changing seasons comes the change in motivation. Each year it seems to be getting pushed later into the season. I am not sure why but maybe I am getting better at controlling this overwhelming feeling of blah. Or, maybe it is the crowd I choose to hang out with and their ability to bring me back in my element.

I think this year it hit me last week as a strong surge of laziness and has since settled into a subtle feeling of "this isn't so bad". To get me through these bouts of whatever you want to call it I really call on other people and things for motivation, even if they don't know it.

Nate the past two Wednesdays, and the whole Waukesha crew lead by the one and only Ronsta have been great support. This is nothing new as I have ridden with these guys before but recently it has been so great to have their company. Last Saturday my dog Ginger took the reigns as she added a good 15lbs to my uphill intervals at Lapham. Sunday Mike P. brought me through the downtown and then northbound on a little adventure. Monday Ging took over again as I ran with her through the streets of Butler to get ready for cross. As recent as yesterday I was totally settled as I flowed through the single track across the road. It is perfect for a recovery ride and at times I forget I am in the middle of a metropolitan.

The point of the story today is that it is ok to rely on other people to get me through these "hard times". Ahhhhh I feel better already.

Thanks to all for helping me out.

Oh yeah, Jack, that chicken sandwich and beer hit the spot so thanks.

DB

Check this out.

So while checking things out on USA Cycling I stumbled across This.......
http://www.usacycling.org/rankings/index.php?sex=m&state=&org=mountain&disc=xc&cat=1&agemin=1&agemax=99
Not bad for my first year racing Cat. 1 :)
(Click Go!)

Not Bad?

Lake Geneva.

Another top 5 elite had me super stoked but yet disappointed. Am I getting a little greedy? I am going to say YES!!!!!

My training has brought me to this point and I have exceeded my personal expectations for the year. So why must I continue to strive for more excellence. It is the way I am wired as is probably the case for many of us A Typical people.

If I were asked at the beginning of the year what my goals were I would have quickly rambled off "A top ten would be awesome" without even thinking about an Elite WORS overall series finish. I don't think I set the bar low as the Elite competition is steep and every race has brought new challenges.

That bar that I am referring to has been lifted every time I met a goal this year, and Sunday was no exception. I had to at least tell my self there was an outside chance. So I pumped myself up and said I can do this. right out of the shoot I made a fool out of myself missing my peddle and falling back to 20th or so. Immediately panic set in as I started to claw my way back to a decent position. While on my way there I was cussing and very upset with myself but finally made it to about 10th or so. A few more passes and I was onto Matters wheel which made me feel a little better about things. Having burned a lot of matches to get there I was redlining. Matter made his move and I wasn't able to go with him around Ryan Baumann who is super strong but struggled in the singletrack.

After the first lap I settled down a bit and tried to be more in the moment to conserve the position that I had. A few more painstaking laps had me trading places with a few guys but I pretty much new where I stood. Another good finnish and great race in the books. To top things off I learned something again. After all that is my primary focus and I can't lose sight of that.

All and all the weekend was great.

I want to say thank you to the Peariso's and Adventure 212 for all their support. I feel so grateful to be on the team and can't wait for the Cheq. 40 where we will all be at the same time. I also want to thank my wonderful girlfriend Lynn who amongst school, work, school work and chores has time be my sideline coach. These guys and many others make it possible for me to beat the crap out of myself every weekend. I mean do what I love and love what I do.

Darrin

Report(s)

Soooooo whats happening? Good question. The answer.....A LOT!!!! I have been a total slacker with my blog and I know that there are people who actually care what I have going on and wonder how I am doing. So to you two or three, here goes.

Lets roll things back a bit;
8/2 Wors #7 was my best showing at a WORS event to date. I took 4th at that race on my Surly which Don deemed a "boat anchor". The coarse ripped and I was so happy for Nathan G. on his first WORS win in his Elite career. Every time I would see him I would cheer him on.That was also the last race I did on a single speed. Since then I have been training and riding on a geared bike to get ready for the Chequomegon 40. My good fried/team manager Chris P. has been nice enough to let me use his Titus 29er.


After Crystal Ridge it was my time off, a whole week to be exact and no racing for three weeks....or so I thought. My week was filled with activities like walks with my two favorite ladies in the whole world, a few chill bike rides, and one long 4hr ride with my coach Joe. The next week was filled with short rides and no intensity but I could swear up and down that I was still ready to race. So we made some quick arrangements and off we went to River falls for the border battle.


8/16 WORS #8 As a last minute addition to the schedule preparation was minimal and I mean MINIMAL. Bad Idea #1 I grabbed the Titus for its first race with me aboard. The NO TUBES CROWS were still on there and rain was in the forecast so I grabbed some mud tires that I haven't ever used. Bad idea #2. We get there and fire our bodies after hibernation of a drive. I felt pretty good physically on the preride but did way too much. Also I wasn't used to the bike but didn't have a choice so I acted as if. The whole night it rained and I was in panic mode so on went the mud tires. Bad Idea #3 But what the heck. A good call up and I was rubbing shoulders with the best of them. I felt like crap on the first climb and new I was going to be in for a longgggg day. No joke as I came in 14th and feeling like the onset of death had come over me. Chalked it up as a bad day and headed home.

I want to thank the Senkerik's for putting up with Lynn, Ginger and I the whole weekend.

After that weekend the pressure was on. I had already gotten a boatload of flack from all the guys on singles, and even some geared guys. So it was time to train and get things going again. I was scheduled for a long week already but the guilt trip I put on myself made it even longer. about 5hours of saddle time longer. I was scheduled for about 14 but ended up doing 19 with some pretty hard efforts. One motor pace session with Joe and Mike and a 4.5hr solid ride at the southern Kettles with Nate. I was spent but knew it would pay off sometime down the road. My next major focus, Chequomegon.

Can't forget about the in between.
Wors#9 Reforestation Ramble.
An awesome start had me sitting 3rd or 4th wheel into the woods and I was giddy about that. I think I can credit it to the gears, with no out of control spinning to just stay in the group I was able to hold my own. Once things got going I felt confident with my riding and was sure I would be able to stay with the lead group. This was another huge goal of mine as I haven't been able to make said group yet this year. With Jesse killing it at the front and the more experienced guys pushing me to the back I was playing YOYO all day. It was just a matter of time and sure enough with about 15minutes left in the race I let a small gap open and off the back I went. So I regrouped and pushed it to the finish line seeing stars the whole way. Whew! Held onto 6th and with that star studded crowed I was pleased. Shout out to Chris P. for his finish as he has been having bad luck all year. He even had to claw his way back to the lead pack after a first lap crash. During my time with the pack he was attacking like a mad man and seemed to have great form!

Copper Harbor
A short week of work and training lead me into the Labor day weekend which I was super stoked about. I love going to Coppor Harbor and with Friday off Lynn and I were able to start our vacation early. We drove up to the MI border and Camped one night. Up early so we could take our time seeing things and stopping at random. That area is so cool and there is so much to see. Amongst our sight seeing we also saw many good people. Nate and his Family, Steve and Judy whom I met the very first year I went up there, and the whole gang from that area. It was so cool to be back. Lots of hiking, riding, eating and just plain hanging out. Ahhhh the good life.
Sunday came as it always does and I was ready to race. Not before taking a plunge into the frigid waters of lake Superior and ya it was cold. I missed out last year so I thought I had better make up and jump in twice this year. Next thing I know we are toeing the line and getting ready to go. Off we went chasing the truck up the hill and then finally we were on our own. Chris P. did his usual and I grabbed his wheel with a little gap opening between us and the rest of the field. I let him hammer for a while then took over. Before long we were by ourselves and neither of us were taking it easy on each other. As we finished up the first lap we called a truce and decided we would come in together and put the trophy in Adventure 212. In my eyes there was no other way as this was a chance for us to show people there what we do. So in we came holding each others arms aloft to signify a co victory. Good food and booze followed and a good night was had. More riding and sight seeing was in store the next day before the dreaded drive home. I would like to give shout out to my good friend Chris Z. on his 3rd place SS finish. Also, Congrats to the whole 212 team who had an awesome showing filling up the top spots and taking home some sweet awards.

To sum things up the weekend was more than I ever expected as always, and I will definitely go back again next year. I also want to thank every one who helped me out last weekend including Lynn who did a great job of handing bottles off to the whole team. Terry, David, Dennis and Heidi for all of their super support. And last but certainly not least the Peariso's and Adventure 212. Without these guys my season probably wouldn't have been the same. I am learning so much this year and I feel like I am one step closer everyday to achieving my goal.

Everyday is an opportunity for me and I will continiue to use these opportunities to my advantage.
Be happy.
Darrin

P.S. Thanks for hanging in there as I know it was a long one. Also I will post some pics soon or you can go to our Flikr page and they will be posted in a day or so.