Records were made to be broken

Billed as the world's friendliest rivalry, the WORS Border Battle, pits Wisconsin against Minnesota as they compete for bragging rights and a traveling trophy as part of this race. Wisconsin has captured the first two titles of this annual event, but every season the slate is cleaned off and new competition begins. Minnesota is ready for a rematch!

I've failed the last couple years to participate in this race despite my best intentions. I just couldn't bring myself to make the 8 plus hour round trip to River Falls, WI. But this year I had a few motivating factors to get me going. Not the least of which was the fact that WI had won the Border Battle in 2010 by only 1 point. I needed to go represent. Beyond that I had a podium streak going that I didn't want to break.

I had hoped that such a long trip would pay off with a great trail to race and ride. On that I was not disappointed. This definitely has to qualify as one of the best race course on the WORS circuit. With its roots and rocks; short, steep downhill and uphill sections; uphill switchbacks; grassy, wide open field sections; technical climbs; and a generous amount of flowing singletrack, the race was it's own reward. That being said, I did make the trip with the intent to perform the best I could not just enjoy the scenery.

So far this year, I've collected a few 4th and 5th place podium finishes in my class along with a number of top 20 overall finishes. But this course was such a great match for my strengths as a racer and rider I was hoping to do better.

Racing the Goblin I felt fast and strong for the entire race and ended with a 2nd place finish; my best finish since moving up to the Sport category at the end of last season. What was even more exciting was that I was in the top 10 overall. 2 more of those and I'll be a mandatory move up to the Comp category, which was a goal I laid out for myself at the end of last year. I'm not sure I'm 100% ready for that, but it's exciting to progress and see your goals being realized because of hard work.

This season has been going great, but I'm starting to get to the point where I just want to relax a bit and ride. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited about the upcoming races, but I'm also ready to just take some trips and just explore new and fun ways to ride trail (which may or may not be the fastest way). Racing and riding the Goblin is a fantastic experience, but I find myself longing more and more for riding a dual suspension 26 inch bike in more of a free ride expression. Before you know it, it will be time to head indoors to Ray's MTB and start ripping it up on the Wingman again.

Speaking of the Wingman check out the latest video from Flight Crew members Brent Davidson and Kevin Bonney as the destroy the Mizzou Dual Slalom course on the Airborne Wingman.

And my latest offer featuring the Airborne Taka DH bike.

The Battle of CamRock (and of pain)

A couple of weeks ago I had a chance to race at one of my favorite area trails. New to the WORS lineup this year was the Battle of CamRock at the CamRock 3 trails system nestled between Cambridge and Rockdale (hence CamRock). These trails are twisty with fun technical sections peppered in. This race turned out to be another good test of the Airborne Goblin.

One of my main concerns in making the switch to racing a 29er was it's ability to handle tight singletrack. It's taken a while to get good at it but at this point in my evolution as a rider I think I have the hang of it. I can now navigate just about anything tight and technical equally as fast on my 29er as I can on my 26 inch bikes and I can make the Goblin go really fast every everywhere else.

The race course layout had two good sized climbs right from the word go. After the two climbs there was about a mile of doubletrack before entering the singletrack which seemed to be about the perfect amount to get us somewhat sorted.

This was a little bit longer race than the races leading up to it. Now I've found that there are times in the race where it's just you and pain of pushing the pedals. It's in these times that I have read that pro's develop a strategy for dealing with this mental fatigue. What I've started to do to get over this mental obstacle is to think about how fortunate I am to on my bike at that time riding that particular trail. I mean, there are some people who cannot ride a bike and there will be a day when I can no longer ride a bike (at least not like I do now). So even though I am in physical pain, I'm learning to embrace the time on the bike and it's working great so far.

Having lost my call up from the last race, I only had a mediocre start somewhere in the top 3rd of the pack. So for the next 3 laps I had a blast catching and passing riders while working my way up to a 5th place finish in my age group.

A few thanks have to be issued for this race. Given that this was a little bit longer race and how hot it was, it was important to have some support with people handing me water/sports drink during the race. I want to thank Jeremy Drake of team Nord Lock/Safe Wheels for volunteering to help me out on that.

CORP (Capital Off Road Pathfinder) for building such an awesome trail system and putting on such a great race. As trail builders, these guys get it. The trail incorporates free ride features into the trail and makes excellent use of the available terrain to maximize the fun. From the "Rip and Ride" downhill section that makes use of a draw that swoops you from wall to wall on the natural berm to technically challenging climbs and descents of "Sidewinder," it's just and amazing ride.

And of course, thanks to Airborne for allowing me to push beyond my comfort zone and continually expand my riding experience. This makes 3 straight WORS podium finishes. Let's keep this momentum rolling :)

On the video front the new Goblin video just dropped.



I also just finished a video for Wheel and Sprocket - Delafield.



And lastly, here is a fun little piece from this weekend's race in Green Bay, WI. It features Pro Mountain Biker Brian Matter.

Brian Matter, Steelers Fan from Team WORS on Vimeo.

The 24 Hours of Wausau

The 24 Hours of Wausau (the race formerly know as the 24 Hours of 9 Mile (or 24-9 for short) that Granny Gear ran into the ground) was held again this year at end of July at 9 Mile Forest in Wausau, WI. I did this race last year and for those of you who know me, I pledged that I would never do another 24 hour race again. Waking up at 3 in the morning and putting on a still wet jersey and shorts while temperatures dipped into the 50's and humidity remained high was not my idea of a good time.

Then a couple months ago, something strange happened. I started thinking about how much fun the race was last year and that I might like to do it again. I could hardly believe myself. Was I really volunteering to put myself through that again? What was I thinking? But when someone came calling that they needed a 4th for there 4 man team I jumped at the chance to do it again.

I decided if nothing else it would be a good test of the Airborne Goblin's ability to handle technical terrain over an extended period of time (or maybe more rightly put, my ability to ride a hardtail through very rocky and technical trails over and extended period of time). I brought my 26 inch full squish bike thinking that at some point my body would not be able to take the pounding any more.

It was decided that I would be the last rider in our rotation and after my first lap I actually had the fastest time which was a really positive start to the event. And then the rains came. While our 2nd rider was out a thunder storm rolled in and forced a 3 hour delay in the race because of lighting. And that is why it shows up as a 3 hour 50 minute lap. He's really not that slow. The clock just never stops. Not even for weather delays.

At this point we were very grateful that our team leader had the foresight to bring out the family camper so we could take shelter, get some rest and stay dry.

After the rain I was a little concerned about the course as I was running Kenda Small Block 8's which are by no means a tire that excels in mud. On my next lap the two most technical sections might as well have been ice as far as my tires were concerned. It was faster to just hike a bike through those sections at that time. By my 3rd lap however, the entire course was ridable again.

On my first night lap, I laid down the fastest night lap for the team and after a little more rain on my second night lap I improved on that time and FINALLY cleared the whole course (which I had never done before). And what was even more awesome was my body was feeling good. I thought for sure by this point I would have been on my full suspension bike. But the 29er just kept rolling over stuff.

Just when I thought I couldn't be more amazed. I put down my fastest lap of the race on my last lap. It certainly didn't feel fast while I was doing it, but the clock doesn't lie. I don't want to discount my hard work training and conditioning, but I think that definitely says something about the capabilities of the Airborne Goblin.

As a member of Airborne Flight Crew, I am fortunate to have the opportunity to continually try other types and genres of riding. Through these opportunities I find I am continually being amazed by all the variety of awesome experiences to be had with in bicycling. Now I can add racing a hardtail 29er in a 24 hour race to that list of amazing experiences. Being a 29er skeptic at first, I am slowly coming around. Stay tuned for more race results.

Alterra Coffee Bean Classic

Coming off what I felt was a very strong week of riding, I was excited for the Alterra Coffee Bean Classic WORS race. After a strong finish in the previous race, I had moved into the top five in series points, so I was entitled to a call up. This was something entirely new to me and I really didn't know what to do with it. In the end it really didn't change anything, though.

The race started well and I had a good charge up the initial climb and was sitting in about 10th spot. Still feeling good I passed about 7 other riders in spots I identified during my preride and was looking good going into the singletrack in 2nd or 3rd place. However, on a very bumpy section just before the singletrack, my chain jumped off my sprocket and despite playing with the shifter trying to bring the chain back on, it just wasn't happening. So I pulled out of the way and threw the chain back on and waited while a line of about 15 riders flew by. Needless to say, I had my work cut out for me.

So long story short I picked my way back into the top five while crashing 3 times in the process. But I felt pretty good most of the race. I felt like no one could pull away from me. I ended up with my second straight podium finish (4th place) and finished ahead of everyone that was ahead of me in series points.

Here is where things get a little weird. Despite beating every single rider that had more points than me going into the race, I actually dropped to 6th in series points after the race. So no call up for me in CamRock. It's just one of those things, I guess.

It doesn't take away my excitement for the next race. The 24 Hours of Wausau. Look for a blog entry on the event soon.

The Goblin at the Chippewa Firecracker

Yesterday was my favorite races of the whole season; The WORS Chippewa Firecracker. After feeling like I got off to a slow start this year, I was really looking forward to having a great race. I had a fantastic 2 weeks of training/riding leading up to the race so I was feeling ready to break out.

Let's back up a little bit and start this story off on the 4th of July. On the 4th, I was out riding at John Muir and and performing a bit of an experiment. For awhile now I've been saying how fast the Airborne Goblin 29er feels. I wanted to see if I could prove that it actually is faster than my 26 inch race rig. So after a 20 mile warm up, I decided to take both bikes out for an orange loop at Muir. The orange loop is about a 6 mile loop that features a little bit of everything; rocks, roots, a tight bermed section, a technical climb, a fast descent and some flowy stuff, too. The idea was to ride the bikes back to back on the same loop at the same perceived effort and allowing myself enough rest in between to let my heart race come down and for my muscles to recover a bit.

First up was the Goblin. I rode the Goblin around the loop in 20:35 seconds and ended the ride feeling very good and ready to keep riding. Next up was my 26 in Jamis Dragon. I rode the orange loop on the Jamis in 20:40. I think it is worth mentioning that my Dragon at least a couple pounds lighter than the Goblin. As far as this experiment is concerned, however, the Goblin was faster, but only 5 seconds faster. I found the biggest difference was in how I felt upon completing the loop. Despite trying to give the same perceived effort on both bikes, I felt exhausted after finishing on the Dragon.

Now what happened after that is still a little hazy. Apparently, I was riding around the parking lot at the trail head (presumably just cooling down) and proceeded to ride into a car, giving myself a concussion. I really don't recall what happened leading up to the incident or what happened right afterwards. But a few minutes later I came back to reality and stopped babbling incoherent nonsense. A couple fellow bikers were good enough to take me to my local hospital so my wife didn't have to travel with our 22 month old and 4 month old very far. So thank you very much Shawn for helping a guy out.

I also would be remiss if I didn't give a shout out to the Kali Protectives crew for designing such excellent helmets. I apparently hit my head hard enough against the car to leave a dent in one of the metal pillars. And I'm assuming that must be true because the right side of my face was sore for the next couple days. Luckily there is no dent or damage to my head thanks to my Kali Avita Carbon helmet and I was back on my bike (albeit on the road) 1 day later. Even more surprising, is that there is no visible damage to my helmet. But don't worry, I've already replaced it with another helmet. My old helmet did it's job and is now going to be sent back to Kali for them to examine.

Fast forward to the Chippewa Firecracker. Despite having a little bit of an interesting run up to the race, I resolved to be aggressive from the beginning. This race starts with about a 1-1 1/2 mile lead out before entering singletrack. My goal was to go into the singletrack as close to the leaders as possible no matter how hard I had to push to do so. And that is exactly what I did. I was running in the top 3 after the first lap before settling into a more sustainable pace.

During the preride the course was bone dry and very fast. However, that morning a thunderstorm rolled through and dumped just shy of an inch of water on the course. Most of the course drained well with the exception of the freshly cut singletrack. Those sections were just a slippery mudfest the first lap, but were substantially better the 2nd lap. After starting out so fast, I found I was slowing down the 2nd lap and was passed by a couple riders in my age group.

The Goblin propelled me to a 4th place finish, which is my best finish since moving up to the Sport class and I'm very happy with it. Now I just want to keep riding and training so I can beat that guy who finished 5 seconds a head of me. Thanks to the Chippewa Off Road Bike Association for putting on such a great race. It's always been such a great experience.

Swapping out the fork on the Goblin with the Fox F29 that I won from the Subaru Cup video remix contest was a great upgrade. The overall feel of the front end was noticeably improved. Not that it was bad before, it is just so much better now. The 15mm QR axle stiffened things up and the fox fork handles like a dream. The weigh savings is always nice too. We'll see if we can't make a few more upgrades before the Alterra Coffee Bean Classic at Crystal Ridge.

Subaru Cup Pro XCT race report

How awesome is it to compete against the best in your category (or in the case of the Subaru Cup, the next category up)? You see, in the Wisconsin Off Road Series (WORS) Cat 2 is split into to separate groups; Sport where I race and Comp which faster guys who usually do one more lap than Sport riders. However, since the Subaru Cup is a USA Cycling event all Cat 2's raced together. No, I didn't beat single Comp rider, but it was cool to get a gauge on where I stand in relation to those guys. I mean if I didn't like competition, I wouldn't be racing, right? Plus, it's always nice to chat with the Pro's.

I chose to ride the Airborne Goblin for the XC and Short Track races. I'm not sure a hardtail 29er was the best choice for me given the technical nature of the XC course at Nordic Mountain. But at the same time the top finishers among the Pro men and women were riding hardtail 29ers, so I certainly can't blame the bike.

I actually wasn't doing too bad until about with 2 miles left on my last lap, I hit a rock hard with my rear wheel and proceeded to listen to the sound of my tire going flat with each rotation of the wheel. The stan's finally sealed the leak with what felt like about 10 lbs of pressure left in the tire. At that point it was so squirmy that I couldn't hold a line and risked damage to the wheel if I pushed through any technical sections. So I basically just road very cautiously and pretty slowly the last couple miles and hoped that no one would catch me.

I was wrong. Someone caught me on the last climb and passed me with about a 1/2 mile left. He kind of blew himself up on the last climb and I stayed with him and tried to out sprint him but could not make the last 180 degree turn up to the finish line. That was really frustrating because I know on any other day I could have out sprinted him. Next time :)

Where the Goblin really shined was in the Short Track event. The course was basically a short cyclocross track. I was able to hang mid pack for the majority of the race. Then on what I figured would be my last lap, I just went all out and passed 4-5 other racers and hoped I would get pulled. Luckily that's how it went down and I finished better than I probably would have otherwise. It was pretty intense and after initially deciding not to do the Short Track race, I'm glad I had the experience.

The last race was the Outback Super D. I pulled out my purpose built Yeti 575 for that race and man, what a hoot. I had so much fun on that bike on that course. I wish I could to the Super D as a stand alone event that wasn't proceeded by an XC and Short Track race.

You can check out the whole event in this video I produced for WORS.

The Goblin weight reduction program begins: I finally received the new Fox fork for winning the WORS Subaru Cup Video Remix Contest. I chose the F29 RLC w/15mm QR axle. It'd be going on the Goblin tomorrow and will have it's first test in the race this weekend in Eau Claire, WI. This will be nice step up in performance and step down in weight. There was nothing wrong with the Rock Shox Reba that came stock with the bike, it's just that I really like the feel of Fox forks and it's lighter.

I'll be sure to let you know how it performs and how the race goes after the weekend. In the meantime, get out and ride!!!! This weather is awesome!!!!!

Airborne Goblin 29er review

I've been riding the Airborne Goblin 29er hard and often (insert crude joke here) since I received it back in early May. Aside from riding and training rides, I've also had a chance to race the bike in 2 Wisconsin Endurance Mountain Bike Series (WEMS) endurance races as well a 15 mile CAT 2 Wisconsin Off Road Series (WORS) race. After all this riding, I feel I'm ready to render an opinion on this 29er phenomenon sweeping the Midwest and on the Airborne Goblin specifically.

You have probably heard a million different opinions on 29ers just like I have. "They climb great," or "they are harder to climb" or "it has the equivalent of 1 inch of travel due to the larger wheel size." I set out dismissing everything I heard about 29ers so that I could form my own unbiased opinions about the bike. The following thoughts are from a guy who was a bit of a skeptic on the 29er thing who loves riding technical terrain on a 26 inch full squish bike.

I left my bike mostly stock until shortly before my first race when I replaced the stock WTB Laser Disc wheels with super light Sun Ringle Black Flag Pro's and the WTB grips with Ergons. I didn't find the weight of the Laser Discs bothersome like others have, I just wanted something to make the bike really fast for racing. Thus the change to the Black Flags. As for the grips, that's just a personal preference. But now onto the bike.

First and foremost, the Goblin is a 29 inch bike that is also a hardtail and none of that "built in travel due to the larger wheel size" talk will make you forget it. Not that there is anything wrong with a hardtail. My last race bike was a hardtail and I can tell you it was very fast and efficient and I can definitely say that about the Goblin. It is a fast, fast bike; faster than my previous race bike.

Why is it faster than my 26 inch bikes? I think there are two reasons for that. Firstly, the momentum of the wheels tend to make them roll over things a little better and therefore loses less speed over bumps. Of course, the flip side of this is you have to develop the fitness level necessary to get and keep those big wheels rolling, but it doesn't take long. The second reason is the 2x10 SRAM X.7 drivetrain is a perfect match for this bike in my opinion. With a 39 and 22 tooth sprockets in front and a 11-36 cassette in the rear, I've never had a problem finding just the right gear. The only thing I didn't initially like was the big jump from the big sprocket to the little one. However, as you train and ride the bike you start getting a better feel for when to shift, you'll lose less and less momentum due to that big jump. In fact, now that I'm used to the 2x10 drivetrain, I found I hate the feel of my 3x9 setups. I just can't seem to find the right gear to keep my speed up at my desired cadence. I'm sure that's because my legs are now conditioned to the new gearing.

Like I said earlier, I've had a chance to race the Goblin a couple times. I did a 3 hour endurance race on a very rocky course that was probably a better fit for a full suspension bike. I did well in the race and turned decent lap times. I did, however, feel quite beat up on the last lap and after the race. A lot of that had to do with the previous condition of my back (which had been giving me problems leading up to the race). The bike actually had no problem handling the rocky course and I knew that going in from previously riding the trail on the Goblin. But riding for 3 hours straight is a lot different than regular riding and that's why if I did a race that long on that rocky of a course, personally I would choose a full suspension bike.


The 15 mile WORS race was a lot of wide open fire road with small sections of really technical singletrack peppered in. It was the perfect bike for a course like that. I flew through the wide open sections and easily rolled through the technical stuff. The Rockshox Reba fork proved competent through the technical sections and the lockout feature was invaluable on the fire road and climbs.

The second WEMS race I competed in the Goblin shined again. I turned my fastest lap times on my home trails ever (and did so lap after lap) and turned in a WEMS personal best 4th place finish. I did this 50 mile race as part of a duo. That means I had about 50 minutes between laps to recover. This was a really great opportunity to see that the bike does more than just feel fast. Seeing my lap times proved that the bike really IS faster on my local trails. While these trails are not the most technical or rocky trails around they have plenty of rocks and roots to keep things interesting.

Speaking of climbing, you can add that to another thing this bike does well. Provided you condition your legs to keep the wheels rolling and to the 2x10 gearing it's easy to fly right up hills. I'm by no means a strong climber, but the Goblin allows me to get to the top at a decent pace without blowing myself up.

Another thing I like is how this bike corners. Due to a relatively low bottom bracket this bike feels very stable while cornering. The Kenda Small block 8's do their job well, too. They work very well on hardpack and even do okay in looser stuff. Due to the small knobs, the tires obviously don't do well in mud, but as tires go you can't have everything. I think the Kenda's are a decent choice here.

Now, I realize I'm talking a little bit out of both sides of my mouth here because the low bottom bracket lends itself to great corner, but at the same time it makes the bike prone to pedal strikes. This does does get better with more time in the saddle and you learn where you can pedal and where you can’t, but this is at the expense of losing pedal strokes through certain sections.

The other complaints I have, which is a general 29er complaints, is its ability to handle tight and twisty singletrack. The bigger wheels make it harder to time turns through narrow corners. So generally, I feel a little slower through those sections. I expect this to improve slightly over time with more practice, but I don't think the Goblin will ever be as nimble as my 26 inch bikes. It also doesn't necessarily like to be in the air. It's hard to explain, but the bike feels like it would rather roll over small ledges, jumps and drops rather than being launched into the air. My riding style is not to just roll over things. I like to jump on, off and over obstacles. While the Goblin does all of this, it just seems to take more effort and ability to do so.

This last quibble is pretty minor, but I think it is worth mentioning. I wish the water bottle cage mounts on the seat tube were lower. As is sits right now its a tight fit for a 16oz bottle and getting a 24oz water bottle in there; forget about it. I'd like to see these mounts on future models pushed as low as frame design will allow (assuming they are not already).

Summing up:

There are a lot of things this bike does well and I can see why someone would want to add this high speed weapon to their arsenal. I'm really happy to have it in my collection and will most likely be using it as a race rig and at my local trails going forward. I will also be gradually upgrading it as funds allow. The intent strictly being to shed weight from the bike; not to gain any functional improvement as I'm very pleased with the performance of the stock components; especially considering the price. That said, my 26 inch bikes are not going anywhere. I find the 29er a nice addition as it does something different than anything my current group of bikes, but it is not the end all be all of mountain bikes as I've heard others claim.

My advice regarding 29ers: Don't believe the hype about 29 inch wheels. Ride one and find out for yourself!