TJ Woodruff ONLINE

Five laps of the xc course was a brutal way to break in the legs for the start of the ‘08 season. I managed to have a pretty clean start and didn’t have to get off my bike and run at all like a lot of other guys did after things got bunched up. Nice and steady was the pace and I’d pass guys on some of the climbs and then they’d go by me on the flats. By the end of the fifth lap there wasn’t much left in the tank as Paul and several others sped around. Finishing 47th doesn’t sound too impressive, but I had some fun out there.

Seeing DJ, Dave, and Kathleen was great there and we made a third annual visit to El Torrito for some Mexican glycogen replenishment and good times.

Today is the STXC and another shot at riding fast. It’s a tough course if you’re not starting in the front since there are several spots that only allow for single file traffic and it gets stretched out pretty early. With a good start maybe I’ll be able to hang on for a bulk of the race. More on that after the finish.

TJ

It’s been getting warm down here lately. High temps have been in the 80’s which is great, but considering its only March it makes me scared of what July might be like… Perhaps the heat acclimation will give me some sort of advantage at the NMBS opener in Fontana, California this weekend. I’m excited to race and see how things go out there. It’ll be my first MTB race of the year so the nerves will likely be running a little extra. The Fourstroke is receiving some last minute attention as I finish up the ‘race build’ It looks as if it’ll be tipping the scale at 23.5 pounds. This is the heaviest bike I’ve raced in a long time, but hopefully the additional suspension will make for more speed on the course. Of course the NoTubes wheelset is superlight and that’s where the grams count the most anyways. I used to be more of a weight weenie, but now its not quite as much of an issue although I did weigh four tires at Arizona Cyclist before selecting two of them. I feel bad for the guy who is left to purchase the heavier ones of the same model!

There are only a couple of key part changes on the bike this year. The BMC Fourstroke offers 4″ of front and rear suspension travel. This is more than I’ve ever raced on before. The FOx F100RL is 20mm more travel than my last fork. I’ve also switched to Shimano XTR pedals instead of the Egg Beaters. The Shimano pedals have a more solid feel and don’t allow such excessive movement of the feet and knees. After using fixed cleats on my road bike I’ve learned the importance of piston-like pedaling and I might be better off without all of the free float of the Crank Brothers.  These are the only changes for this year’s ride so everything else should be business as usual.

Sunday Chloe and I got out for a solid 3.5 hour ride. Up Redington to the AZ trail and back down Milagrosa. I say it everytime, but I really love these trails and each time out there I’m riding them better. With plenty of technical challenges these trails are always calling out the A game. We even ran into a Gila Monster out there. It was moving pretty slowly and likely just woke up from a long winter’s rest. He wasn’t too happy about the camera so after a quick snapshot we let him be.

More to come from Fontana this weekend, -TJ

The season kicked off with a tough Tumacacori Road Race on Sunday. Twelve circuits of the six mile hilly course is tough, but a early season challenge is always fun. A KOM on the third lap blew apart the field and I was left to ride with four others (one a French-speaking Canadian MTB pro). We kept a solid tempo for the remainder of the day and I came across 15th. Not an mind-blowing result, but a good workout none the less. I haven’t done much road racing in recent history so my tactical senses were a bit rusty out there. I’ve got a thing or two to learn on that front.

With Fontana under two weeks away I’m excited for another go at the NMBS scene. It should be fun to test the legs and see how far along the fitness is. I’ve had some good days, but the consistency is still developing.

I’ve been dialing in the bikes and trying to figure out the tire setup and all. I went as far as to test various PSI levels (from 20 to 50) and evaluate the work requirement to cover a set distance on an uphill dirt road climb. Riding with the MTB PowerTap 2.4 SL Disc brake hub allows such scientific ‘research’. At least I can verify my setup with something more than the mere sense of speed. I’ll admit that numbers will never replace the sense of feel, but they are a good way to take an objective look at things and sometimes what feels fast isn’t always the case.

The ‘08 schedule is coming together so I’ll post that on the site soon. Thanks for reading, -TJ