Todd Wells

Training for 2012

I'm not even going to start in about the neglect of this site, not updated since La Ruta, I blame Facebook and Twitter. So what's been going on since Costa Rica...

Had a good CX race in Louisville on Day 2 sprinted with Powers for the win and got 2nd. Drove down to Tucson after that and went to Jingle Cross.  Won Day 2 at Jingle CX when Driscoll and TimmyJ decided not to race and was pretty good on Day 3 as well. It was nice to spend some time in Tucson in November training with a big group in the warm weather. 

Jingle Cross is usually when I ramp it up during CX but this year I pulled the plug right after to take a break and get ready for the first World Cup in South Africa, March 17. With CX Nats moving a full month later in the year and the WC starting a full month earlier, it was an easy decision to end my CX season early. That said, it feels weird to be doing base in December, usually I'm sitting on the beach this time of year. Don't worry, I still spent a lot of time on the beach, just a few weeks earlier then normal. 

Meg, Winston and I loaded up the truck and pointed it South right after Jingle Cross for our annual pilgrimage to San Pancho, Mexico. It's a long drive from Tucson, 19 hours with plenty of hassle like registering the vehicle and going through customs/immigration in Mexico. This year we managed to get 3 tickets as well, 2 for speeding and 1 for making a left turn without a left arrow(can't see the arrow, the traffic lights are barely visible when they change). This was the first year we've ever seen traffic cops giving out citations, usually it's just the Federalies with huge machine guns and the military. 

We also had an increased number of military check points where teenagers with HUGE guns make you get out of your vehicle while they go through and make sure you're not transporting drugs or fruit. The drive is always an adventure but it seems to be getting even worse so we'll probably just fly from now on, the town of San Pancho however is getting nicer and nicer. 

I spent a lot of time doing this. 


 

My family and Meg's came down with us for a week this year, her family has been coming to this town for almost 20 years. This year Meg's mom had some bad luck and got stung in her bad foot by a Sting Ray. She spent most of her vacation like this: 

 
In bed hooked up to an antibiotic IV drip. At least she had HankMed concierge style treatment at home with a doctor that made house calls and an around the clock nurse(do they even offer that type of treatment in the US?). She also had a pretty sweet view and a custom IV/broom handle/cooler IV holder.

When I wasn't hanging out with the family I was hitting the new golf course in town, Las Huertas, it's a 5 minute walk from the house with my clubs. Yes!

T-Box for the Par 4 number 9. Club house in the middle, ocean in the background. 

The course is only a 9 hole but it's got 1 Par 5, 3 Par 4s and 5 Par 3s. Plus it's only $25 with a cart and water so you can't go wrong. That Bermuda grass sure is hard to put on.

Here's another view:

We made it back to Tucson for Christmas/my birthday, had a great hike up in the Tortolita Mountains on the Northeast side of town: 


 Now I'm back in saddle training for 2012 and looking forward to the first World Cup and my first ever run at the Cape Epic. These long endurance stage races are so cool, I can't wait to see what the Epic is like. 

I'm running out of time for this update, my new teammate and Windham Junior World Cup winner Howard Grotts is in town and we're getting ready to head out on a ride. Then I have to meet up with my triathlon teammate Ben Hoffman for a few holes up at Starr Pass.

I wonder what Rudes' doing right now......

La Ruta

What a race! La Ruta was everything it was billed as and more. The climbs go on FOREVER! and they are super STEEP! Like, how am I going to ride up that steep. And just finding the correct way on the course is a challenge, the direction signs are small and if you're not with a moto or someone that knows the course, good luck. The hiking wasn't bad, just a lot of on and off the bike. The railroad bridges were crazy, not because you're going to fall off but it's very easy to slip and cut your leg or foot on the old ties. Oh yea, you might get your bike stolen at gunpoint as well or get stung by a bunch of bees while crossing one of the bridges. All that said it was awesome. 

I was lucky to have a great first day and get enough time to hang onto the jersey for the rest of the week. On day 2 I was still pretty good but had some bad luck with a flat tire and lost time to the guy in 2ne. Day 3 we climbed for what seemed like forever and I was in the box the whole way. Rom(Costa Rican from Specialized in 2nd) had me under pressure for all 7,000 ft of the volcano climb, luckily I caught him on the descent and he cracked less then 10 K from the finish so I gained half the time back I had lost to him the day before. And the last day had two climbs at the start, about 15-20 min each that hurt really bad. I came off a bit on the 2nd steep dirt road climb but was able to get back on before the flat section of road, dirt road, railroad tracks and beach.

Then there was my support crew, they were the key to everything. I had Meg, Benno(Specialized Factory TM/Mechanic), his girlfriend Manuela, Carlos(Specialized Costa Rica Distributor) and his friend Roberto. We had two land cruisers fully decked out with Thule racks and boxes. I had both my Stumpjumper 29 which I raced the first two days and my Epic 29 which I raced the last two days. The crew would make it to each aid station regardless of how remote or how fast they would have to drive to get there. They almost flipped the vehicle multiple times on the steep, muddy dirt roads(paths) used to access a lot of the zones. There are no street signs or addresses in most of the places we went in Costa Rica and the course map is almost nonexistent so if you don't have local knowledge, you're not going anywhere.

After racing around all day to feed me and give technical assistance, Benno and Manuela would completely rebuild mine and Reba's bike to get them ready for the next day. Meg would clean all my other stuff and the Specialized crew would do store runs and whatever else was needed, including taking care of their normal jobs. And did I mention the races started at 6 am so we would normally be up by 4:30 AM. The team was incredible.

The Costa Rican people were awesome and it was cool to catch the race on the news at night while flipping through the channels. The scenery was great and finishing at the Caribbean sea on the last day in Limon was definitely a highlight. We rode on the beach for 8 of the last 10K and it was awesome. After the race we had another race to get to the Pacquare Lodge, a 5 Star Eco resort nestled in the rain forest of Costa Rica. There are 3 ways to access it, down a 6 K dirt road/trail that takes about an hour to drive in a real 4X4 and then you have to zipline across the Paquare river to the other side, by raft or by helicopter. There is no electricity and it's the coolest place I've ever been. Here is a little peak at the main lodge:

Meg and I had this for our room:

And of course every room needs a personal infinity pool:

And an outdoor shower:

We 4x4ed in but we rafted out, here are a few of the better rafting pics...

There were tons of rapids, most class 4. 

We stopped at a cool waterfall:

Benno's boat:

Time to get back to work, got to get out for a spin so we can go jet skiing before we have to head back to San Jose. Thanks Costa Rica for a great time, Pura Vida. 

 

I wonder what Winstons' doing right now....

Cyclocross Season is here!!

I don't know what it is about barriers on course but they sure do cause a lot of havoc. I'm not immune by any degree after my antics last year in Ft. Collins. This though has to be the best barrier crash I've seen in a long time from the Rapha Focus GP yesterday: 

 

I had a few good crashes myself this weekend. I don't know what it is about switching from the MTB to the CX bike but I usually lay it down a few times early in the CX season. Saturday I found myself on the attack halfway through the race. That lasted all of 1 to 2 minutes when I managed to pile drive myself into the sand pit and break my shifter lever. I lost the group and had to ride to the pit in my easiest gear. By that time the group had 15-20 seconds and the only person I saw from it before the finish was Chris Shepard. I caught him right before the finish and was able to out sprint him. Yup, I out sprinted someone.

I'm surprised I don't have more crashes in the beggining of the CX season. I am usually seeing cross eyed for the whole race just trying to hold the wheel in front of me. In other words I'm riding over my head on a bike that is completely different then my MTB and I'm trying to make up time in the more technical sections because I'm flat out on the pedaling sections.

It feels awesome to ride in the National Champ jersey on the CX bike this year. It's real honnor, especially with so many guys stepping it up in the US. And the field here are getting insane. I think Cross Vegas probably had 10 countries represented this year. Even the World Champ from just a few years ago chose to start his season here. The US promoters have done an amazing job growing the sport.

Sunday I improved on my result from Star Crossed and finished 4th. I was chasing Rob Peeters with Wellens on my wheel on the 2nd or 3rd lap but he dropped my and bridged across to his teammate in the sand. I kept it upright in the sand on Sunday but the Belgies were riding it perfect every time and I only got it right 2 or 3 times. One time I did a pirouette trying to hop back on in the middle, it was something to see. Page caught me in the last 3rd of the race and dropped me in the sand also. I clawed back to him but he dropped me again in the sand on the last lap and I had to settle for 4th. At least I'm getting closer to the podium.

It is awesome racing so much. I am feeling better and better just like a stage race. I will have 5 races in 10 days and then I have a small break. I wish we could race everyday. Each race I have been more and more part of the race. It sucks just hanging on but it's so much fun to be able to attack and chase stuff down. It's also cool when I can actually accelerate instead of just being pinned at one speed the whole time. 

Meg and I are heading back to Durango for a day before I'm off to Gateway Cup in St Louis. Looking forward to checking out Mesa Cycles since I've heard so much about the shop from Richard. 

I wonder what Winsons' doing right now....

 

Cross Eyed Vegas

I don't know what it is about Cross Vegas but it hurts more then most races I do all year. I thought it was the dry air and hard ground but this year there was moisture in the air and a few slick turns which is about as good as it will ever get for Vegas. It is probably the fact that each year the CX talent in the US gets deeper and better and more international stars show up. It could also be the fact that it's my first CX training/race of the year but what ever it is it sure is painful. 

I've tried everything to get ready for Vegas in the 3-10 days I usually have after the MTB World Champs before the CX race. I've rested, motorpaced, intervaled, long rides, short rides and CX simulations in the park. I haven't figured it out yet. I think that the quality of CX riders in the US has risen so much over the last 5 years that I need to have some serious time 4-8 wks of specific training to get in shape to compete with those guys. That said, it's awesome so many US riders are stepping it up. It wasn't long ago that the Euros would come over and easily win any race here by 2-3 minutes. Now they don't always win and they certainly earn it if they do. 

I couldn't believe the rain at Cross Vegas this year. The day before the race streets were flooding and the ground got a good soaking. There is so much sand in the desert that it didn't have much effect on the course. There were a few slick corners and I think I saw 3 crashes happen right in front of me but other then that the course was very similar to the past. They added 1 stair section so that made for 2 sand/stair run ups and 1 set of barriers at the bottom of a small hill. The moisture made everything ride-able and I think I only got off the bike maybe 2 times the whole race b/c of traffic. 

I tacked on the back of the lead group at the end of the first lap. With guys crashing and blowing up we were a group of 10 by midway through the race. I knew it was going to be a long night when I thought it was the bell lap but I saw 4 to go on the laps cards. I popped out of the front group shortly after that but was able to hold off the chase group with Mcdonald and Kabush to roll in for 10th. The race seems to go the same way each year. Trebon is always the strongest, a group or guy gets off, he is the only one that will work and brings them back on the last lap and gets out sprinted. He needs a teammate or a better game plan. 

I usually get back to my hotel room by about 6 am after the race since we don't get home until almost 1am, then dinner and go out on the town, next thing you know the sun is coming up. This year I was in bed by 2am which was awesome. Meg and I flew home for 24 hours and now we're heading to Star Crossed out in Seattle. With such little time at home all year, it's worth it to fly back just for the day if it's possible. Winston appreciated it. 

So I have 2 CX races this weekend in Seattle, home for 1 full day then off to St Louis for the Gateway Cup on Wednesday night, then USGP #1 in WI on Saturday and back home for WIllow and Myle's wedding on Sunday. It's going to be a busy week and I don't think my golf game is going to get any better for a while, hopefully my CX skills will though. 

I wonder how the Dart and Susi's "Holiday Racing" is going.....

World Champs!

2 Weeks in Champery, Switzerland led to my best World Champs result ever, 7th! If you've never been to the Swiss Alps I would say it is one of the most beautiful places on earth and a must visit. Champery is nestled right in the middle of the Alps with giant glacier covered mountains, sweeping green valleys, quintessential swiss homes and giant cows with bells that seem to defy gravity to stand on 45 degree hillsides. 

The course is most technical we ride all year when it's dry. When it's wet, it's the most technical I've ever ridden. It is like Mt Snow if you took all the dirt away and it was just roots and rocks. I was shooting for a top 5 finish in hopes to qualify for the Olympic team this year. I knew I had pretty good fitness, the Epic 29er was the perfect bike for the course and I had ridden what felt like a million laps of the 4.5K course leading up to the event. 

The day of the race there were a lot of clouds but it was dry when we lined up for the start. My jump off the line left a lot to be desired as I missed my pedal and went from 2/3 row to 40th place by the time we rolled through the s/f after the 6 minute start loop. I had also crashed off a drop trying to avoid another rider that had crashed and burped my front tire. I had 21 psi in it to start with and I think it dropped to about 15 psi after. I thought about stopping the pit to change the wheel but at the start of the race it's so tight if you stop for 30 seconds, you loose at least 20 places. I figured if I could make it off the jump with out the tire rolling off the rim I'd be good to go and sure enough it held. 

For the first half of the race I moved up steadily and probably got into the top 20 by the midway point in the race when the rain started. The course was already slippery since all the bark had been ridden off the roots and they were white and shinny from the tens of thousands of laps ridden on the course prior to our race. When the dirt sections started to get slick from the rain I started to move up even faster and had cracked the top 10 going into the 2nd to last lap. It's much easier to move up when you're further down the field then when you're passing guys up front since the speed is so much higher. I almost caught Vogel for 6th place on the last climb but he held me off and I managed to make contact with him right as we hit the 100 meter finishing straight. He held me off in the sprint but I was still happy to finish 7th, my best place ever at Worlds(previous best place was 8, 2 years ago)

I went through a lot of emotions in that race. I was very excited before and looked down at my HR when I was coasting through the pits and it was 125 when it's normally about 70 in that situation. Then when I had such a crappy start I was just wanting the race to be over. By the time the end came I was so fired up and just wishing I had one more lap to try to get up to the top 5. Funny now racing works. 

My teammate Jaro killed it like he has all year and took the jersey he deserved, the rainbow stripes. Susi finished just behind me in 8th and Burry crashed into a metal bridge when it started raining and he was just off the lead group. He wasn't able to finish. We all rode our 29er Epic and the bikes were incredible. With so much technical, rough pedaling sections, it just ate up the bumps. Plus they looked really cool since they're 2012 model bikes:) 

The party after the race was fun and the DH the next day was crazy. I flew home on Monday, Jaro went back to Czech to do a press conference, Burry and Susi went to Zermatt to film videos, the staff split up with some flying straight to Bejing for a tri event and the rest going to Zermatt. 

Now I'm in the process of getting ready for cross. I've been gluing up Zipp wheels/Specialized tires all week. I've been trying to get out on the CX bike since Vegas is only a week away but the trails are in such great shape it's hard to pull myself away from the MTB. 

Here's the Worlds Recap:

 

I wonder how the Darts' wrist is healing up....

Champery

So we have been hanging out in Champery all week since Val di Sole. Val di Sole was right below the Passo Tonale. 

We had an awesome authentic Italian dinner our last night there. We got invited to one of Benno's friend's hotel. It was some of the best pasta I've ever had. 
 

Since getting to Champery we have been logging in some serious laps on the World Champs course. It is a short 4 KM technical circuit that has 1, 2 minute climb and 1, 1 minute climb, the rest either downhill or flat with tons of roots. It is 1 of our best courses. 

It is somewhat of a "Couples Retreat" here in Switzerland with Burry having Cherise here and Lene having Sondra. I do have Sandy "AKA Dirty Dog" and Jonny though. Cherise has been working over Burry on her roadbike. 


 I also got a new Epic when we got here. It is definitely going to be my race bike of choice for World Champs. The big wheels and plush suspension soak up all the roots and rocks. The Brain locks everything out though for the steep climbs, couldn't think of any other bike I would rather race. 

And finally, this one is for Meg, Swiss Recycling! 

Today we're off to Bern for a Racer Bike Cup night race. The race is a UCI C1 event in the middle of the city of Bern. It's a 1 hr crit through the city with some stairs and jumps put in so a MTB is must. We're not in Leadville anymore. No time for musettes, only water bottles. 

1 last leadville pic, warping through the thin air. 

I wonder what Meg and Winston are doing right now.....

Leadville

All that hard work paid off

So if you read this website you probably have already heard all about the race. This is what went down from my perspective. 

We rolled out of town under warmer temperatures then last year and with about 400 more starters then in the past. The race almost went bad in the first few minutes when the big Star and Bars flag on the lead truck fell off and send the group scattering to the side of the road. Luckily no one crashed and the we were off. The first climb was much easier then last year when Shriver, JHK and Levi were setting a super hard pace. This year Alban and I rolled off the front of the group on the lower slopes with out much reaction. Alban flatted right before the Carter lake feedzone but his didn't have spare wheels there and his CO2 didn't work. That left me alone off the front with 80 something miles to go. 

I cruised the pavement downhill and soft pedaled to the turn off for Hagerman Pass when Jungle Jay, Alex Grant and Greg Krause came across. We kept the group together up the backside climb of Powerline so we would be able to roll it on the flats out to Columbine. Krause was taking some big pulls on the road sections but was having trouble with the downhills and we would have to wait for him after every downhill which was a toss up between having the extra fire power and waiting. We hit Columbine and I managed to ride off the front of the group. I felt like I was climbing great and staying with in myself but at the top Alban had almost bridged over a three minute gap. 

Alban caught me on the descent where we were almost crashing into riders coming up the entire way down the mountain. There were many more riders in the race this year and people were fanned out all over the road. In addition to that we rode out to Columbine slower then last year so we started running into people higher up the mountain. Alban and I rode in the scrub brush through the first single track sections because so many people were coming the other direction. We managed to make it back through the next aid station with out running into anyone and rode together for the next few rolling miles. 

I got a small gap on him going up the mile long single track section and instead of waiting and riding with him the next 8 or so rolling dirt road miles to the Powerline climb I just kept riding my own pace. I was worried he had closed that big gap to me on Columbine so fast that he would be really dangerous if we hit Powerline together. The gap hovered between 25-45 seconds into the base of Powerline climb that is about 20 miles to the finish. I finally cracked the gap open by the time we descended down Powerline to almost 2 minutes. I kept it pegged and opened it up to over four minutes by the finish. 

I felt great for most of the race but in the last twenty miles my stomach turned to knots and I couldn't eat anything. Luckily I could still drink and was able to keep together to the finish. 

I couldn't believe how strong Alban was riding at such a high altitude. I thought the altitude was my biggest advantage but he was so strong on all the climbs and flew up Columbine. He is the Marathon World Champ just last year and he was like a rocket up that climb. If he hadn't flatted I think we would have ridden a much faster race. I learned a lot last year and feel like that experience was the main factor in my race. I opted for the S-Works Stumpjumper 29er. The course is really smooth so the lighter weight of the HT was a bigger benefit then the comfort of the suspension. 

This was the kit:

I had such great support for the whole race as well as the buildup. Sarah Tesher hooked me up with my base camp training area in Silverton, 9,300. If you're training for this race, I think the best thing you can do to improve your chances is get acclimated. 

When I wasn't in Silverton, I was sleeping in my Altitudetech.ca tent at home. It also helps to have the best wife ever. Even after constantly supporting me, driving back and forth to Silverton and having me sleep in a tent for the few nights I'm home, she slept on the couch the night of the race so I could have the perfect night's sleep. How many guys have slept in bed when their wife is on the couch, probably not many. WIth that kind of support how could I not have a great race.

Meg's parents were also out there supporting me. They were all over the course on the way back giving me time splits. With the race being so close those were key in helping me gauge my efforts.

I also lost some weight to get ready for the race since the climbs last an hour, instead of 2 minutes. I ate a lot of these:

I think it might have been the golf with Meg's dad at the Eagle Vail course on Thursday before the race that gave me that slight advantage though. 

Or it might have been hanging out with Winston so much..

What ever it was, I'm glad it worked. 

We got home today after the awards and look what I found in the garage:

That's a whole lot of Zipp 303s which means cyclocross is just around the corner. But before cross starts I have a little trip across the pond for World Cup Finals and World Champs. I'm hoping for some good form but I'm excited to spend some time at sea level after all this time up in the air. 

I wonder how long it's going to take me to drive from Zurich to Val di Sole.....

Leadville

I'm officially 2 weeks into my high altitude training camp/prep for Leadville. For the past 2 weeks I've been staying up in Silverton and in my Altitudetech tent between 9,300-11,000 ft to get ready for this super high altitude event. I did a sweet ride loop from Silverton to Telluride on dirt over Ophir and back Black Bear pass. If you're ever in Telluride you have to check out Bridal Falls located about 1,500 ft directly above town. And I would avoid driving the Black Bear Pass unless you're a serious 4X4er. I saw a bunch of guys trying to pull out their rented Jeep Cherokee on one of the easier sections about 3,000 ft above town.

Anyway, I've been spending most of my time in the high country trying to boost my endurance but feeling like I'm loosing my power. It's a hard balance since the race this weekend is 100 miles at or above 10,000 ft the whole time and the World Cup next weekend is 20 miles at sea level. Hard to train for both but hoping the big volume I put in the past few weeks will get me through this weekend and allow me to taper for Worlds in 3 weeks. Guess I'll find out.

July and August in Colorado have been awesome. We've had beautiful days and just enough rain to keep the trails in good shape and the trees and plants green. Winston has been logging in some river time, too hot for running but great for swimming.

I've seen O-dog more this summer then I have the past 3 years combined. He is sporting some new shoes nowadays seen here at the SKA World Headquaters.

I've been playing a little golf with Barthel and Troy but not as much as I would like. Especially since Anthony hooked me up with the custom PROV-1 Cal Giant golf balls. I have been watching quite a bit of TV even though the Tours over. It's been Royal Pains, Burn Notice, Necessary Roughness, Suits and just about anything else on USA, it's my go to channel in the summer. 

Meg has been logging in the hours at Nectar, the lingerie store in town. If you're in need of a present for your lady I highly suggest checking it out. 

I'm planning on riding from Leadville to Meg's parent's house in Vail, taking a nap and then hitting the Eagle Vail golf course. Might even try to sneak in a spin on the bike path before dinner and then back up to 10,200 ft. I'm looking forward to the race this weekend but also looking forward to it being over. It's a delicate balancing act spending enough time at high altitude to become acclimated but not so much I become tired and lose all the power. I'll tell you, the first week I rode half as much as last week and felt so tired I thought I had the flu just from sleeping and training so high. 

I wonder how the Darts' swing is coming along.....

High Times

I have been breathing some thin air the past couple of days. First, I had a great break when I got home from Nationals. No training, just hanging out and playing golf. I had only been to Albuquerque once ever but last week Gilby and I went down to Bernallio, not quite the ABQ but close to play Twin Warriors. The course was awesome and we just finished before a big thunderstorm ripped through. 

Saturday night Meg, Winston and I went to sleep up on top of Purg. We camped out above 10,000 ft and I had my best ever camping sleep. Usually my bed feels like I'm laying on a rock pile and Winston barks at any and every noise. Well the ground was soft and Winston only barked at a few ghosts. 

From DMR we came over to Silverton to stay at Sarah's house/trains. The place is super pimp and now I'm breathing that 9,300 ft air in a converted caboose. 

There isn't much to do in Silverton, now that Meg and Winston are back in Durango I'm pretty bored. Managed to knock out a MTB ride with a few 12,000 ft passes before it started pouring here. When you're at high altitude storms roll in quick and fierce. It's finally stopped raining but the two coffee shops in town are closed already. Feels like Europe, weird store hours, rain, clouds and no TV but my phone is pumping out the 3G so I can burn through the data at the house. Here's a lake on top of Hurricane Pass from today's ride.

There is some serious dirt road climbing to be done around these parts. It's steep, loose and there isn't much oxygen but the views are awesome. I finally rode past the Silverton Ski Mountain. It is a hardcore ski area with only expert terrain and definitely not a real estate resort. This is the entire base area. 

 I'm looking forward to getting a shipment of Cal Giant berries tomorrow but what I'm really looking forward to is the Cal Giant ProV logo balls that are coming with them. 

I wonder what the Dart is doing right now......

National Champs!!!

The National Championships were a great success!!! I won the XC and got 2nd in STXC, all that hard work paid off.

The course was brutal, straight up the mountain and switchback all the way down. The climb had a long stretch that was 27%, loose gravel fire road up above 6,000 ft. The downhill had more pedaling then coasting but it all worked out perfect for me. 

Sam Shultz was keeping the pressure on me all day and the gap hovered between 15-30 seconds for most of the race. I could see him at the top of climb each lap and after I went through the rock garden at the bottom. Luckily I had been not eating much leading up to the race b/c I figured it would be a big climb. My bike weighed in around 8.4 Kg and Meg was the only person feeding at the top of the climb so I wouldn't have to carry a bottle up it. I couldn't believe no one else was feeding up there so everyone else carried a heavy bottle up that long steep climb. 

Sun Valley was awesome and I would suggest visiting it to anyone that enjoys mountain towns. Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher were even there cheering and watching the races, you don't get that everyday. The weather was perfect all weekend, nothing like the Swiss National Champs: 

http://www.sport.sf.tv/Nachrichten/Archiv/2011/07/17/Rad/Florian-Vogel-ist-Schweizer-Meister 

Ned was refueling after the race and look how skinny Dave Towle is. Towle has dropped 70 lbs and is looking svelte. He dropped so much weight people have been asking him if he's been sick. This was right after the Leadville Movie Q and A. 

I have a few more days at home before I move to my high altitude training camp in Silverton thanks to Sarah T. 

I wonder how the Darts' hitting his new clubs....