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!

Vulture's Knob Double Down Enduro

Next on the list of Ohio races was Vulture's Knob Double Down Enduro. This was a double distance cross country race on a rather technical course. Vulture's Knob is the site of my very first mountain bike race, as well as Lee-Ann's first. Also one of our favorite courses. A technical mix of speed, climbing, and some crazy bridges...The Knob is forever evolving. It's truly an xc playground. I love V-Knob, I love long races, and I love the heat. This day I got to mix all three into a cocktail of fun and pain! Temps were again near 90 with high humidity. My girl LA was the only female brave enough to enter the expert class, everyone else sandbagged to avoid death by heat exhaustion. Lining up at the start I was excited to race my old rivals and my favorite racecourse of all time. Finally after some jibber jabbering by the race officials we were off and racing. I got a great start out front and promptly dropped my chain entangling it in the crankset. I dismounted and repaired, all the while being passed by wave after wave of slower racers. I lost valuable time as I waited to pass in the tight singletrack. Not panicking yet though, this was a double distance race and I had the better part of 3 hours to make up my time. Also coming off of the Arizona Mountain bike series I had plenty of fitness and heat tolerance to spare....so I bowed my head to the gods of speed and went to work. I was focused and riding well, however could not help but think of how a little preparation would have had me at the front of the pack already. Old lesson learned over again. About half-way into the race I started to get some time gaps yelled to me, I was in 2nd place only about 3 minutes behind 1st. "Wow" I thought, "a lot of racers must have dropped out" as I did'nt recall passing too many. Now was my chance, but the gap was growing and no matter what I tried I was unable to close in on first. I ended up finishing second just a few minutes out of first after nearly 50 miles of racing. The winner was not even able to make it to the podium as he was suffering from severe dehydration and /or heat exhaustion. Later looking at my lap times they were pretty equal to the winner with the exception of my mechanical lap. This could have been a really great competition! Oh well, I will fight another day. Lee-Ann showed off her solid base fitness by finishing strong in the heat. Taking her loyal dog, Pueblo along on her final 8 mile lap. After the race we got to hang out with some really great, long time friends, the dj began spinning some beats, the laser's blasted and the kegs flowed. I was reminded of all the reasons I grew to love racing bicycles. The friendship, nature, fresh air, endorphins....the list just goes on and on. Before we blew out of town I got schooled in the art of road crits, visited with the famdamily, went to Tennessee just to visit Burrito Meal, and had all different kinds of fun! Next up is Barn Burner....man I have some catching up to do!!!

East Fork OMBC race

Ok so first off I have no photos from this race....so here are a few from a really fun group ride I did in Pittsburgh with some new and old friends...at least you have something to look at!



With the official end of the State Championship Series and the onset of triple digit heat, I decided it was a good time to focus more on other things like work and family. Boring I know but I have squeezed a few races worth talking about in during that time!


First....road trip! My Rockstar and I decided to drive "home" to the Ohio/Pennsylvania area to visit some friends and family...and do some racing!

First up was the Ohio State Championship Race at East Fork State Park. I really enjoy this course, probably the fastest in Ohio.

After driving for 3 days straight we pulled into the race venue. It was extremely humid and hot, the trails were slightly muddy with lots of clay, roots, and high speed turns. Very little climbing to speak of.

Off we went on my first East Coast race of the year. I stayed tucked into the pack on the road start and got into the singletrack in 3rd position. The trail was fast but slick. We were all trying to push the pace without balling it up. The top 3 of us quickly got a gap on the rest of the field and continued together through the first lap.

Going into lap 2 I was having a hard time holding onto first and second, and they slowly formed a gap. The gap grew throughout that lap and I knew I was likely not catching them at this point. The fast speeds allow for drafting so once a gap is opened between racers it is very difficult to close.

The third and final lap I decided to play it cool and save my energy just in case someone came up from the rear.

And someone did! A long time rival and very fast racer was slowly gaining on me. I kept hearing some bike noises but whenever I looked back I did not see him. Somehow he crept up on me and about 3 miles from the finish he was suddenly on my wheel! Panic Time!

Just as I looked behind me I went off trail striking a tree with my shoulder and this dude flew right around me.

Jumping back on the bike I attacked hard and caught up quite quickly, staying in his draft over the next few minutes of trail. He was racing all out trying to lose me...which was perfect for me, as he used up his precious and limited energy I was cruising behind in his slipstream, just waiting for him to croak.

And he did! Only a mile or so from the finish he lost his handling and crashed down over a drop off to the side of the trail and I had only to ride hard into the finish to clinch my podium spot!

LA also finished 3rd after destroying her rear wheel on the final lap and limping into the finish.
Luckily we had a spare wheel as the double distance race at Vulture's Knob was up next!

Bike Racing Is Expensive

I am constantly reminded of how expensive bike racing can be. As I install my 3rd drive train this season and second pair of shoes I am reminded of how important sponsorship is. Thanks to the good folks at Trek/Bontrager/Dales Bike Shop in Ohio and Bob Myers. I would be forced into a cheaper sport such as running without the backup my sponsors provide. I have also been doing just a bit of racing since our Arizona XC series ended in July. Updates on that coming soon. But for now it's out with the old and in with the new as I prepare for pre-season fun/training racesbeginning in about a month.

McWilliams Warp-Final MBAA Race and Series awards ceremony

McWillaiams Warp....MBAA final race of 2011 was scheduled to take place in Williams, AZ last weekend. Williams is situated around 7000ft elevation and so is generally much cooler than Phoenix. Unfortunately the Arizona wildfires closed all state forests just days before our race...officials were forced to find a new venue for our final race. Ironically they choose McDowell Mountain Park which was the location of our first race of the season as well!

With temps of around 110 predicted we were forced to start at sunrise around 530am. This ensure the survival of all.

I had been training hard for this race and was feeling good the morning of. I like this course and also enjoy racing in the heat so things were looking pretty good. I knew I just needed to finish in order to clinch the state championship but I really wanted a podium spot as well.

Wavering on my race strategy I decided last minute to just "go for it" and race as hard as possible.

There were some really fast guys on the line and once we were off and racing I found myself in second place of the 4 leaders.

Slowly but surely our pace increased and my handling started to get sloppy, I was going all out as we swapped positions over and over again the first lap.

We all slid out or slipped up on the fast, slick, sandy trails and made our own mistakes. Unfortunately mine was rather costly as I was forced to make a quick repair to the bike on trail near the end of lap 1. I lost contact with the other guys and continued to chase them for the rest of the day. Racing in the desert provided an opportunity to see the guys I was chasing even as they were nearly one minute ahead. This helped me to keep the pace high and push as hard as possible....hard enough to crash out a few more times and ruin my chances at a podium spot. I was reminded once again that sometimes you go faster by going a little slower and finally rolled in less than a minute from my podium spot in 4th place.





At some point I brushed an evil Cholla cactus and the spines went deep into my calf. It was extremely painful in a "charlie horse" kinda way whenever I would coast on the downhills but there was nothing that could be done without a pair of pliers. These are also known as "jumping cactus" as they seeming jump onto you as you pass by.











The good news is that I finished in position to take the 2011 Pro Men Arizona State Championship Title! This was pretty exciting for me as it was my goal when I arrived here 6 months ago and only my second state championship title of my cycling career!





So as I was competing in my final Arizona Series XC race my rock star girlfriend L-A was competing in her first bike race in Arizona and of 2011. I was stoked to see her back in action and reunited with the podium again! She is quickly earning a reputation on and off the bike in the local cycling scene!









After the racing was over and my spines were removed by the medics I got to hang with all of our new cycling friends, old cycling friends, new/old cycling friends and my girlfriend. (she is such a bad ass)

Looking back on the season I was impressed by the number of talented cyclists of all skill levels who I see at races and out on the trails. Phoenix has a very large and varied cycling scene and it's been my dream for some time to live in a place like this! The turn outs for some of the races were surprisingly large and others surprisingly small. The race courses were varied and fun but lacked technical terrain for the most part. There is a very large group of junior racers which is promising. The race entry fees were among the highest I have seen anywhere and the cash paybacks were among the lowest. Switching to a hardtail mid-season was very difficult for me. Getting used to a new riding style, bike, pedaling cadence was like learning to ride again but kept things interesting in a way I had never considered. In the long run it was a great decision...not because I prefer a hardtail but because my bike and I needed something "fresh" in our relationship.

A big I O U goes out to Bob Myers and Trek Bicycle for keeping me on the best racing bikes and products available. I absolutely could not have done this without the help of Trek and my other sponsors: Dales Bike Shop in Oberlin Ohio and Bontrager clothing and components.

Next up I think I may show my face at an Ohio race or two and then venture into the world of ultra endurance mtb, and maybe some road or cyclocross races this fall.