MBAA Race #2 Wihite Tanks Whirlwind

White Tanks is a pretty fun course. Very fast with a few really rocky, technical sections. Located on the far west side of the valley. Last year I flatted on this course and finished way back like some novice on a hybrid.


This was to be my first race in my new sponsor's kit. Bicycle Ranch of Scottsdale.

I had a plan, the plan involved sticking with the leaders up the first climb, into the tech section, and then riding their draft on the long, long downhill back to the start/finish. There was a large pro/Cat 1 showing and the start was crowded. I found my way up near the front and was feeling that all too familiar burn of a real Pro class start. Within minutes the top 3 guys began to get a gap on me. I burned several matches to catch up only to have them pull away as the terrain got steeper. I burned more and surprised myself with the level of hurt I was able to find within the first few minutes of this race. "shit, this is not going as planned" I thought to myself as I hit a wall and was forced to recover as the leaders rode away together.

Now I was all alone in 4th spot. I was hoping to get caught or catch someone I could work with on the back side of the course, however I was not willing to slow down and wait. For the entire race I was alone, running from the guys behind and chasing helmets in the distance. I never passed or got passed by anyone and overall it was an uneventful race until about 200yards before the finish.

I lost it on a sandy turn, had to put a foot down, and by the time I was back on the trail I noticed another pro right behind me. Luckily I was able to beat him to the line by a few seconds to hold onto 4th. Not good enough for a podium and my second 4th in a row. Currently I sit in 3rd place in the points series with 4 races left.

I have been doing as many road races, circuit races, and crits for training as well...and learning and improving little by little.

The next MBAA race is in just a few days, at the most technical course on the calendar.

Big Ups to our sponsors, Bicycle Ranch, Hammer Nutrition, and Trek/Bontrager!

MBAA Race #1 McDowell Mtn

After having such a great race the week before I was really looking forward to the first MBAA race of the season. McDowell Mountain is such a fun course, so fast and plenty of flow. No matter the race outcome I was sure to have fun on my bike!

My start was early, about 8:30 am....temps were only in the 40s under sunny skies. We arrived about 7am and got in line for registration. The reg line was extremely long and slow moving, I stood in line for over an hour waiting to register. The officials had to delay the start of the race. Even then I had about 90 seconds to get to the start line by the time I got dressed and prepared my bike. To top it off I had to line up all the way in the back of the large cat 1 field that is starting with the Pro's this year. Not a good start to the first race of the year.

This is an extremely fast course (like most MBAA race courses) and staying with the front group is uber important. I gave everything I had at the start but was only able to make it into the top 12 or so by the time we filed into the singletrack. The front few guys were riding away and there was nothing I could do to catch up. I was on my own as I worked through the field on the first lap.

Going into lap 2 I was able to work with another racer briefly and this provided some much needed recovery. L.A. was at the feed zone providing some much needed support and also let me know how far out of first place I was.

I was riding well, feeling pretty good, and had no idea what place I was in. Just racing as fast as I could go without crashing, and I still managed to fall on a slick and fast downhill. It was a hard fall onto the hip but I was up and going again in no time, now on my third lap.

I love these early season races. I always feel so focused, fresh, motivated. My bike feels tight with a fresh drivetrain and tires, brake pads and grips.

The third and final lap was exciting. I had joined up with a couple of other really fast guys and we were working our way through some lapped traffic at amazing speeds. Only a couple miles from the finish I dropped my chain off of my ring going through the rock garden and lost the two in front.

I was very disappointed but re-railed the chain and gave chase. After carefully dosing the little energy I had left I caught one of the guys right at the line and outsprinted him to finish 4th in the Pro class by just a few seconds.

Overall I was quite happy with the race considering the stupid circumstances at registration and at the start line. I felt good, rode good, but was too far back from the winner. I am doubting my chances at any real showing in the MBAA Series this year....and reconsidering my priority races.

L.A. was so right on with her drink delivery and information relays. Now it was her turn to race. She went out hard, maybe a little too hard and blew up on her first lap falling back deep into the Cat 1 field. But her racing experience paid off as she gathered herself up and slowly clawed her way back to a 5th place finish in quite a large field. No crashes and some good stories made this a great race for her 1st official Cat 1 battle.It's always fun racing with her but the ride to and from the race as well as the social scene after is what really makes the day for me! We are both looking forward to many more fun filled races.

Not a bad showing for a couple skinny white kids in Arizona Race #1!

2012 Sponsors!!!

I am excited to be working with some great sponsors for 2012!

It looks like Hammer Nutrition is going to be backing both L.A. and I on the food and drink side of things. They have anything you would need to fuel any endurance event.

Bontrager and Trek are continuing our relationship.

And the big news is that we also got connected with Bicycle Ranch! A full service bike shop in Scottsdale with a reputation for sponsoring the fastest mountain bike racers in the region.

12 Hours Of Winning!

The 12 Hours of Papago is a race I have been looking forward to since moving to Arizona. The course is cool for several reasons. First it's located right in Tempe, a rather hip area of Phoenix. The course is in a public park, surrounded by city on all sides, and contains some extremely unique rock formations. Also included was a 175 long tunnel, a few miles of canal bike path, a public road crossing, a technical bridge over the canal, climbs, descents, rocks and cactus. Oh,...and the transition area was located on a paved road under an overpass.

L.A. and I arrived just in time to make our own parking place around 6 a.m. It was still dark and the bridges over Tempe Town Lake were lit....I had a good feeling about the race.

The start was cold and dark, about 45 degrees. We ran to our bikes and then out onto the course. I started for our team, named "Hole in One" and managed to be one the top 10 into the singletrack. There were 170 or so teams. I followed another rider who had a light through the first little canyon and then rode blindly for a couple minutes until we were in a more open area. The twilight was giving just enough on the high ground to see and it got brighter every minute.

I was highly motivated to take advantage of the open trail ahead of me before it became clogged with hundreds of lapped traffic. Also I was very rested and filled with adrenaline since it was my first mtb race in months.
Within a few minutes I was out front and thinking to myself "dude, this is going pretty well!".
I was totally time trialing, mildly concerned about using too much to soon, and zoomed onto the pavement and through the underpass/transition zone in 1st place, laying down what would be the fastest lap of the race, averaging 16 mph on that lap! One more time around and it was L.A.'s turn a couple out.

Earlier that day we awoke to her front tire completely flat. Actually spent quite a bit of time jerking with it and knew it might be an issue during the race. Both our bikes were well worn and we knew mechanicals were a strong possibility. So of course she had a flat on the first lap, and of course it was not easy to fix as the tubless valve had been completely jacked in the rim.

Limping back to the transition I did a "relief lap" while she finalized repairs.

Back out on the course her enthusiasm got the best of her and she came back after an extremely "hot lap". Explaining that she went so hard that she made herself sick. I was sitting around chowing down, totally not expecting to go back out on the course yet...but I did. I was starting to hurt at this point and there was still about 8 hours of racing to go!

L.A found her mojo on the following lap, putting down her fastest lap of the day. We were behind at this point but slowly crawled back into 1st about mid day. Between laps I was using zip ties to hold both my shoes and my derailer together. But we remained mechanical free and took the win with 22 laps! Rules stated that each teamate had to do a relatively equal number of laps so Lee-Ann finished up the race for us in the dark, putting down yet another of her consistently fast laps.

It was a textbook endurance race, it had extreme temps, mechanicals, drama, and some very close competition....Oh and free beer from the local brewery!

The award ceremony and after party were totally rockstar! I drank half a beer and was wasted.

Arizona State Cyclocross Championships

Mid-December...It had been around 4 months since our last race so we decided it was time to get out and do some racing just for fun. As luck would have it, the Arizona State Cyclocross Championship race happened to be taking place not too far from home!

L.A. 's cyclocross bike was in disrepair, and mine does not exist, so we loaded up my mountain bike and her single speed/fixie and went racin'.

We both showed up with no expectations except to race, hurt, and smile. Mission accomplished!

My race was first, there were about 12 guys in the men's master class. After very little warmup I went off the front on the first lap, but noone came with so I sat up. Into the second lap a couple guys attacked and I chased. They did'nt let up and it became the 3 of us together up front.

The course was all grass with one set of barriers, temps in the high 60's and sunny skies. (I love Phoenix).

Being the only guy on a MTB gave me some advantage on the grassy, tight turns. I could hold more speed through them and that was obvious right away. However I was slower to accelerate and a bit slower on my dismount than my main competitor.

The race between the 3 of us quickly became a race between myself and "main competitor". He was fast on the accelerations and slow in the corners. As the last lap bell rang he put me in front and that was fine with me. I soft pedaled the last lap and he made his move on a straight just like I thought he would. With one tight corner to go I knew I had to make my move so I sprinted up on the inside, he noticed and as we went into the corner he intentionally cut me off and there was a collision. I had to unclip, he sprinted ahead, and I was not able to out sprint the suck in the end. Dirty racing indeed but I applaud his effort. He did what he needed to and won. I was second, one second back.

This was good enough for a podium spot (if they had a podium) and a nice silver medal from USA Cycling! Great surprise for me too, cyclocross is'nt all that bad!

Lee-Ann's race was next. She was the only chick on a single speed and on the flat open course this was a big disadvantage. She rode great and looked strong, I think she even had fun! Finishing 5th among some strong competition.


Today was the first "Southside Underground Crit" and I am stoked to say that I won by about 2". Fun, fast, free, training race!

Much more to update! Coming soon....

Local Press!

InMaricopa, a local magazine did a brief write up on local athletes lately and I was lucky enough t be included!
Brad Wilhelm, 36
professiona l cyclist,
dog train er, tour guid e
Desert Ceda rs
What event are you training for? 12
hours of Papago, a mountain bike
race at Papago Mountain in Tempe.
Why this event? It is preparation for
the 2012 cross-country series.
How many similar events have you
competed in previously? About 100.
What does your training consist
of? Riding my road or mountain bike
six or seven days per week performing
specific workouts. Each workout targets a
specific skill necessary for successful race
performance.
Why fitness? As I aged I realized the
need for exercise. During my quest to gain
fitness I discovered cycling and fell in love.
How many hours per week do you
train? Ten to 20.
How do you fit training into your
schedule? I mold my life around my
training, this includes my “career.”
Do you have a special diet that is a
part of your training regimen? I just try
to eat healthy and eat the correct amounts.
What advice would you give to others
who are thinking about getting in shape
but haven’t taken the first step? Just start
doing anything; it does not matter what.
Make it a priority.
Stay informed
Follow us on
www.inmaricopa.com

BARN BURNER~!!!!!

Barn Burner was a blast! This was a relay race that took place near Flagstaff, above 7000 feet elevation, on a 20+ mile rough dirt road loop. It was the first race that I teamed up with my girl L.A. and what a team we turned out to be!

Leaving Phoenix in the early morning hours we left the summer heat behind and arrived at the venue just as the sun was coming up. Temps were much cooler up here in the mountains and pines near Flagstaff, and the terrain was red dirt and lava rock. We picked a parking place, registered, and I lined up for the LeMans style start.

The start was CROWDED! People were pushing and shoving as we were herded down a long corridor of race tape to where our bikes were parked. Hundreds of us were off and racing and it took several minutes to reach the dirt road where I could finally begin some passing. I teamed up with several other fast racers and we made time sharing the lead and our slipstreams. Coming into the barn where we had to dismount I found my teammate, Lee-Ann saddled up and ready for her hand off. I handed the baton and she was off! We were in great shape going into our second of 4 laps. I had come in among the top 10 on the first lap and LA had a killer lap time on the second.

Unfortunately I was caught hiding in the shade as she finished her lap, missed her coming through the barn, and she spent over 5 minutes searching for me for the hand off. This cost us second place and we slipped into 3rd or 4th.

Desperate to regain our podium spot we decided I would do the remaining two laps back to back...that was about 5o more miles on top of the 25 I had already done. Lap 3 went great but during lap 4 I hit the dreaded bonk zone.

To compound matters...the skies then opened up and began to pour. Temps dropped more than 20 degrees nearly instantly and the dirt road turned into a river in spots. I was freezing, bonking, losing my shit as I limped into the finish for the 3rd time to claim 4th place in the co ed duo.

Eventually I was able to get warm, then the sun showed itself just as our good friend Stephanie came in. LA and I enjoyed our free beer, the great company, and some time with our dogs in the mountains as we waited and waited for the awards.
Turns out we earned a couple of real cowboy belt buckles for finishing in under 9 hours. Great times were had as we mingled with the other racers of Arizona.

As always I have Trek bicycles, Bontrager parts, and Dales bikes to thank for my success. I also need to give a shout to HUB EVENT PRODUCTIONS and Mike Melley. Mike and Co. was a big help getting us to the event and with registration, would not have been here without them! Thanks, Mike!

This race officially ended my season. I have been doing some low key road racing for training, short track, and group rides in the Phoenix area.

My next planned event is actually another duo relay race with my most awesome girlfriend at the 12 hours of Papago in December. Should be a great time!