Boa President Mark Soderberg Scores A Double Win at Mountain States Cup Opening Weekend

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Boa Technology President Mark Soderberg barely escaped a monstrous spring snowstorm in time to arrive at the opening weekend of the annual Mountain States Cup mountain bike races in Fruita, Colorado. “It was amazing to have three feet of snow on the Front Range and be racing in sunshine and 70 degrees just four hours away,” says Soderberg.

Boa President Mark Soderberg (#511) leads the pack toward his second win of the weekend. Photo By Mike Driver

Boa President Mark Soderberg (#511) leads the pack toward his second win of the weekend. Photo By Mike Driver

It’s a good thing that Soderberg, a Category 1 mountain biker, made the trip (although his competition might not feel the same), because he came away with two wins in the 50+ age category.

In Saturday’s cross-country time trial, Soderberg edged second-place rider Hal Butler by 3.55 seconds. He covered the course in 19:33, a 10-second improvement from the previous year. Says Soderberg, “The time trial was a blast—great tight single track with a few fun rock obstacles and a finish with some roller coasters.”

In Sunday’s Big Event, the Shimano XTR Cross Country, Soderberg enjoyed a more comfortable winning margin, outpacing Butler by 2:06 – although it was not a ride in the park. Soderberg and Butler battled for most of the race.

“Racing was super fast average speed with tons of passing and close racing,” says Soderberg, who eventually pulled away. “I managed the win mostly because my two closest competitors had some mechanical issues late in the race allowing me to sneak out a win.”

In the end, Soderberg registered a time of 2:19:01 over the 27.5-mile course (described by him as “painfully long”).

Complete results can be found by clicking the links below:
Rabbit Valley Rally Time Trial (April 18, 2009)
Rabbit Valley Rally Shimano XTR Cross Country (April 19, 2009)

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Freedom Riders Film Premier

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From NSMB.com:
Freedom Riders, the latest high-definition mountain biking film from Jackson, WY-based KGB Productions and Gravnetic, will hold its world premiere on Saturday April 18, 2009 at the Sea Otter Classic at the Embassy Suites in Seaside, CA. from 7-9pm. The premiere will be screened at the IMBA California Benefit Party with proceeds to benefit the biking advocacy organization. Tickets cost $10 at the door and there will be a huge raffle featuring loads of killer prizes. IMBA, who’s mission is to create, enhance and protect great trail experiences for mountain bikers worldwide, is a partner for the Freedom Riders premiere, as well as the 50 venue nationwide tour that will commence after Sea Otter.

Click below to watch trailer.

HD High Def Freeride Mountain Bike Movie DVD Trailer from Freedom Riders The Movie Freerid on Vimeo.

Posted in: Biking, Videos

Reality Revival

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140x1051 As a twenty-something woman, I cannot help but notice the stellar reality programming that is aimed at my demographic on prime-time channels lately. The Bachelor, The Hills, that one with the celebrity addicts, and isn’t there still the show with Flava Flave trying to find love? I do kinda of like that midget family though, they seem fun. Anway, most reality tv is painful. What’s a girl to do when I decide to hang out at home and relax in front of the tube? Well, I found the answer. Its one part TGR Ski Porn, one part Jackass revival, a splash of Dukes of Hazzard, a twist of Evil Knievel, topped off with some good old fashioned eye candy (note attached photo) . Its called NITRO CIRCUS.

MTV’s new adrenaline-pumping stunt stars motocross and rally car superstar Travis Pastrana. His motley crew is made up of BASE jumper and Jackson local and Erik Roner, Scott Palmer of Jackass fame is Pastrana’s skydiving guru, and Jolene Van Vugt is the sole female who can hold her own on a bike among this crew.

Not to mention Streetbike Tommy Passamonte, Pastrana’s buddy, who is a construction worker with no extreme sports skill whatsoever but the added comic relief to make this show a hit. There are a few other cast members but whatever….

They base jump out of casinos, they hang from helis, they do backflips on tricycles. Its so much better than the Hills, I promise you.

The show is the perfect stop-gap solution when its too late to take another bcountry lap, and its too early to head to the bar.

Want a sneak peak? [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwLhhierkKE&hl=en&fs=1]

Posted in: Biking, Climbing, Musings, Skiing, Videos

Training like Lance

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Len and Lance on the Podium

Len and Lance on the Podium

Our boy Len Zanni from Big Agnes/Honey Stinger had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to race with Lance Armstrong this summer at the 12 Hours of Snowmass race. Len is a typical Roaring Fork Valley sandbagger, so you’d never know it from talking to him that he’s one of the best cyclists in the Valley, if not the state. At the Snowmass race, Len held his own, riding laps just a couple minutes slower than Lance and helping their three-man team to victory.

b-town-marbleAs winter sets in here and the snow starts to fly, Len and I have been trying to squeeze in as much riding as we can, unlike the rest of the Backbone crew, which is solely focused on skiing now. (click photo on right to see our friend B-town ripping some early-season powder grass during a mission in nearby Marble with JLD last weekend).

Len and I were plotting our winter training yesterday, talking about getting in one road ride per week, with lots of gym time and skate skiing to maintain fitness. Then I stumbled across Lance’s winter training plan as explained by Chris Carmichael on Bicycling.com.

Lance’s Training Outline
2 x per week 5-5.5 hrs endurance pace
2 x per week 3-4 hrs endurance pace with 2 x 20minutes at just below LT pace (380-400watts)
1 x per week Tuesday-night ride
1 x per week 3-4 hrs with 2 sets of 4 x 20seconds max effort x 40 seconds recovery
1 x per week–day of for travel, rest.

Uhh yeah, Len, you’re going to have a tough time keeping up with Lance next year.

Here are a few reasons why choosing a recumbent bike can be beneficial for you and your family.

Posted in: Backbone Adventures, Biking, Skiing \ Tagged: , ,

Red Hill Rampage

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I just got back from a great lunch time mountain bike ride on Red Hill, which was absolutely nothing like the Red Bull Rampage.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIQWg6M2J10&feature=related]

It’s amazing how much the sport of mountain biking has evolved in the past few years. The Rampage is the mutant love child of an X-Games BMX freestyle comp and full-on downhill mountain bike racing.

About the only thing my mountain biking shares in common with this is we’re both on two inflated rubbber tires. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before we see BASE-biking, Shane McConkey style.

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Lenny vs. Lance UPDATE

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Turns out Lenny was holding out on us yesterday. In his typically modest fashion, he failed to mention that while he raced against Lance on Wednesday, he’ll be racing with Lance on Sunday (along with another local badass, Max Taam). There aren’t too many people who can call themselves Lance’s teammate, especially when they’re from the US, they’re NOT a domestique and they ride a mountain bike.

Lenny was trying to keep all this on the DL so the pressure wouldn’t mount, but then Sari outed him on her blog and then Velo News picked up the story too. So much for Lenny’s nice, little laid back race with the 7-time Tour de France winner on his team. The question is, will Len get spoiled with his access to Lance’s mechanic, masseuse, bikes, supplements, etc. And, will Lance fuel up with Honey Stinger and their awesome new organic chews?

Good luck Lenny. We’ll be rooting for you. Check back on Monday for a full recap.

Posted in: Backbone Adventures, Biking \ Tagged: , ,

Lenny vs. Lance

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Big Agnes co-owner, local mountain bike legend, and our downstairs office dweller, Len Zanni, got a little surprise at the final race in the Aspen local series last night: Lance Armstrong.

Lance has been hanging around the valley ever since his comeback performance at the Leadville 100 last month. He says he likes training at altitude and that “it’s pretty similar to European mountain towns,” but I hear the reason he’s hanging around is because he’s dating a local girl.

Anyway, Mr. Zanni lined up against Mr. Armstrong last night at the base of Smuggler Mtn for the 10 mile race. According to Zanni he was ahead of Lance for a while but he got blinded by all the paparazzi flashbulbs at the finish.

In the end, Lance beat Len by just 14 seconds. But, Len claimed the overall series title.

Lenny crawling up Lance's muffler

Lenny crawling up Lance's muffler

Read the full race report here (“Lance Strong-Arms Local Field”…the copy editor must be really proud of that headline in the Aspen Times).

I just found out I’ll be lining up against Lance at the 12 Hours of Snowmass on my single speed this weekend. At least the SS gives me the perfect excuse when Lance yells “Passing on Your Right” behind me. And I’ve got a secret weapon on my team, my wife.

Posted in: Backbone Adventures, Biking \ Tagged: , ,

Baby Steps Out of Gaper-town

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I recently (2 months ago) started mountain biking after a few years of intimidation about the sport and the crazies here in Jackson that take it to the extreme. Well, much like every sport I do, I’m not very good at it, but I love it. (With me in this photo is a past Backbone staffer, Courtney Ludden, and our 7ft tall friend Ned)

I have been trying to slowly try harder trails, much like my attempt to slowly work my way up the spice scale at our local Thai joint, Teton Thai. I’m only at a 1.5 out of 5 on my Pad Ke Mao, so hopefully biking goes faster.

I began on Putt-Putt, a local trail named aptly for its easiness. Then moved on to Hagen, labeled Moderate in the bike books. Killed it. Over it. Moved on.

This week, I moved on to “difficult” and I tackled one of Jackson’s toughest downhills, Black Canyon. A long, technical 8 mile descent, requiring white-knuckled breaking and a few bike carries down steep roots drops. Heres the scoop:
Black Canyon
Difficulty: Difficult
Season: Late July to October
Mileage: 10 miles
Elevation Gain: 3430′
Top Elevation: 9460′
Trail Type: Paved road and singletrack
Summary: This is on e of the classic downhills in Jackson. Steep switchbacks, root drps, creek crossings, fast straight-aways, and rocks on the downhill keep one paying attention to the action. One can drive almost to the top of the ride, if an uphill grind is not desired.

I was feeling pretty great about my 1 mph descent until 3/4 of the way down I pulled over for some arrogant uphillers. Really? Up this thing? Just to make me feel bad about myself? Be Serious.Typical Jackson.

Anyway, trail completed. It wasn’t pretty but it was done. One pathetic step for mountain biking, one giant step for this young lass. Tonight…I try the clipless pedals. Tomorrow… I show up to work covered in Band-Aids. No blood no fun, right?

Posted in: Biking

Start Slow and Taper

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Pssshhhhh… 80 miles!

When I think of 80 miles, I think of:

  1. An hour and a half car ride.
  2. A long weekend road bike ride with more flats than steeps.
  3. A multi-day raft trip with a bunch of friends.

But when my friend and colleague, Kara Armano proposed that we do an 80-mile mountain bike ride over the course of two days, I thought, what the heck?

I signed up that day, ready to try a new adventure. Plus, I had never been to Durango before, so I figured it would be a great way to see/experience the area, which I certainly did (sometimes face first).

The event was the CT Jamboree, a two-day, 80-mile mountain bike ride on the Colorado Trail to raise money and awareness for Multiple Sclerosis. All proceeds benefited the non-profit Heuga Center, the Colorado Trail Foundation and Trails 2000.

Shortly after signing up it become apparent that I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. Turns out that most of the Colorado Trail near Durango is well above 12,000 feet. It’s also an incredibly technical trail with steep climbs, talus field descents and tight, sandy switchbacks.

Our group consisted of five people: Kara and her husband, me and two other friends. The plan was to leave Carbondale Friday, as close to 2 p.m. as possible so that we would get to Durango at a reasonable hour. Of course, we didn’t end up leaving until after 4 p.m. And that soon became the theme of the trip; things don’t always go as planned. Continue Reading →

Posted in: Backbone Adventures, Biking, Colorado \ Tagged: ,