My 2011 Felt Edict LTD needs a home! You need a mtn bike!
Email me: tschouten@gmail.com

http://tristanschouten-results.blogspot.com/

Yeah, need to get rid of the rig from last year. The Felt was pretty awesome but I've got a new bike on the way and I think it's going to be even better. I'll talk about it soon but I'm going back a brand I rode quite a few years ago and am pretty excited about it. I'm still looking for a title sponsor, but at least I have some equipment now and some motivation for the trails to dry out a bit.

I've been getting in some riding. I wouldn't say a ton and I wouldn't necessarily say I'm training all that hard, but I've been getting in some steady miles and a few big weekends. I don't think it would take much to get going medium good again so I'm not pushing it but there is a point where you can't be off the bike any longer without losing a lot more fitness than I wanted so it was time to get some exercise and maintain some sort of form.

7am sunday, exciting birthday morning

I turned 30 yesterday so that was kind of a milestone I guess. I didn't think much about it until it was almost Sunday, I guess it was kind of depressing thinking that I'm 30 but at the same time it doesn't feel any different so it's not so bad. I don't really know what it is means to feel your age but if you would have asked me 15 years ago what it was like to be 30 I would probably have imagined it was a lot worse. One thing I do know is time flys and it went pretty quick but I have seen a lot of things and gone a lot of places, mostly because I bike race so I think I will keep that as my theme for a while yet and hope it takes me some new and iteresting places. Having a family might change those plans or goals along the way but I think there is room to fit them both in and still have fun and push the limits.

Spring Training and a Baby

sisters

I guess it took us having our 2nd child to get me back on the bike. We weren't due until early March but Jocelyn came early and on February 17 at 7:30am we had our second child. From my perspective it went pretty well, Jocelyn is a lightweight at 5lbs 12oz but she is doing fine. What that meant for me was taking a week of FMLA from work and hanging out at home all last weekend and this week. It turned out to be the perfect week for riding as it was in the mid 30s for most of the week and pretty nice out. I haven't been on the bike for quite a while so it was a sort of spring training session for me to get some endurance back in the legs while everyone was taking their afternoon naps. It hasn't been too hard transitioning from one kid to two yet but maybe that's because J is sleeping a lot right now and being a lot better than Ellie was when she was born. Hoping it keeps going that way.

It has been enjoyable being off work and not racing bikes at the same time, barely even training at that. I haven't taken any vacation in the last 3 years that didn't involve a bike race event because I just don't have enough vacation to race and take an actual vacation. I didn't get any time off when Ellie was born so this has been a nice break and fun time to be with the family without much going on.

I haven't really thought about what the plan is for the coming season yet but now that baby #2 is here early I'll probably need to sit down with the coach again and start laying the plans down. Currently I don't have a team for mtn bike and that has been a disappointment but hopefully in the next couple weeks I can find some support. If I can't find what I am looking for I'll probably pick and choose more what I'll do until later in the season but we'll see how things progress. I've probably had my best two seasons in row the last two years but just haven't been able to find the support that I had or need to race at a high level so far for this year. We'll see what happens.

the finished project

I did finish up the wood projects I was working on, got in some more sledding yesterday and also got my new road bike from Blue. I've been on it now all this week while I was riding and it's really nice. It usually takes me about a month to get a bike to fit me well but so far I've only adjust the seat a tiny bit and have felt perfect on it.

Keeping Busy

I've gone just about as long as I've ever gone without much of a workout routine. Normally I would have been on the skis by now and enjoying the time off riding and getting in a good workout but with the lack of snow I haven't been able to do that. So, I haven't really been doing anything to keep myself in shape, I feel a little guilty, but it was a long season and I still haven't really finalized or thought too hard about what I want to do this spring.

So, I've been working on the cars and also decided to try a little basic woodworking. I absolutely hate rickety particle board furniture Ikea type stuff. We had some of it when we first got married but it doesn't hold up that well. I wanted a storage cubby for Ellie's growing toy stash but couldn't see buying one that would only last 3 years before the particle board fell apart. So, I found some stuff online and have been working on for a while. I thought I might do it in some hardwood and staing it, but wasn't confident enough in my ability so went with softwood and we'll just paint it. I'm pretty happy with it so far, just need to cut and attach the top. Had some leftover trim from another job so put that to good use too around the bottom

New rotors and pads in the Mazda for the summer, trying to take care of this stuff now so I don't have to think about it when I start getting serious about riding. I wish I could get away with only having one car and cut my expenses in half, it seems like one of them always needs something and I never like to take the time when I'm training to work on them but I just can't see paying someone 3x what it cost to do it myself.

January is pretty much gone. It went by fast. Despite being in a relaxed mode without much on the agenda it's still hard for me to sit still and do nothing so I have been keeping at the home projects. I've painted 3 different rooms and 6 ceilings, put a new exhaust and oil pan on the Mazda, redid a bunch of lighting in the house and various other projects like that. It's a good feeling to knock out the projects I've wanted to get done but are low priority when I am on a tight schedule while training.

I haven't touched a bike in 3 weeks now but did finally get out on skis twice. The snow is disappearing fast right now so I have a feeling those might be the only two times I'll ski for at least a week looking at the weather. Maybe even for the winter. I almost wish it would be cold and snowing so I would be distracted by skiing to think about riding, but when it's close to 50 it seems like I should be riding and I want to hold off on that a while longer.

I watched the CX World Champs on Sunday and truthfully I thought it was a pretty boring race. the course seemed like it was way too narrow and selective to be a good cross race and I think more or less the race was over for most at the first corner if you weren't front row. I don't mind courses being selective but for the most part everyone was out of contention 2 minutes into the race. Neils totally dominated but not very many other guys really had a chance because it was so bottlenecked early on but I think Neils was by far the best. The US guys didn't seem to have very good races other than Trebon, I still think cross racing in Belgium is a completely different sport than cross racing in the US and based on how the best racers from the US did over there that would seem to be the case. I heard a lot of guys it was a "specialists" course but looking at the results they were pretty consistent with all other euro races so specialist or not, guys sorted out where they normally do. I think if it was really a specialists course the top 10 guys wouldn't have been the same top 10 guys you see over there all year long getting the same spots and it more or less was. It's just a different kind of racing and we don't have those kinds of courses here in the US which puts us a pretty big disadvantage when it comes down to real hardcore cross racing.

I'm putting up my Felt Edict from last year for sale. If anyone is interested you can email or comment on this blog or tschouten@gmail.com

I don't know what I'll be doing for mtn bike yet this year but for now if anyone locally would like a great new bike for the year I'd like to get rid of it.

I've discovered that since buying my first house two years ago I actually enjoy most home improvement projects. It's a great distraction from riding this time of the year and mentally it has been great waking up in the morning with something other to do than ride my bike. It's also 8 degrees out right now so I am pretty happy I have no reason to be out, or in, riding my bike right now.

Our entire house has light fixtures that look like this, both bathrooms, our hallway and dining room chandeliers and most of the bedrooms. It's time to update. Updating is very easy compared to renovation.

The new.

Last year I did the upstairs bathroom floor and this year the downstairs vinyl had to go. New paint, vanity tops and fixtures also going in. I find it somewhat hard to integrate a 100 year old house with new updates because we are trying to keep the character of the original style and woodwork but I think we are doing ok at it.

Ellie was excited for the new snow we are finally getting. We've been sledding a few times and Ellie loves it. Last year she wasn't so sure but this year she was saying "nother one" before we even got to the bottom.
I'[m hoping in couple more years she still enjoys shoveling as much as she does now cause she can have the job.

Nationals

What to say after a race like that. Not the kind of way I wanted to end my season. Most of the time after a bad race it's hard not to wish for a do-over but I haven't decided that yet on this one. If I knew it would change the result yeah, of course I would but December was a pretty mediocre month of racing for me and the last two weekends were just plain bad so a do-over probably wouldn't change much and so I probably don't even want one.





I haven't really dwelled on the race too much, in fact, I haven't even really looked over the results very much or looked at videos and coverage, I've seen lots of tags on facebook though and the look I have to me says I'm going about 75% right now but that's all I got. That's the way bike racing is though and basing the season on one race is something I have learned a long time ago not to do. I trained hard for the event and stayed pretty focused through the Christmas Holiday but when the body won't do what you are asking there is just nothing you can do. The mind says "more power" and the legs say "there is no more power".





Overall I am still happy with my season. I learned a lot and can take a lot into next seasons planning. It was tough to lay out a season that went into January and started in April but it's hard to look back and say I shouldn't have done this or that, I like racing and there were great experiences at all the races that I wouldn't have if I hadn't gone and racing is the best place to learn to get faster. I think to do any elite level racing there has to be a point though where you need to give up some to gain some and I might have to take a closer look at that going into next season as I consider where to spend my energy. I think another major factor in performance is travel to the race and this year was horrible in that regard. I think 3/5 races I flew to had concelled or severly delayed flights and you just can't show up to elite level races on short nights and long travel.





I think the highlights of the season were Boulder Cup where I was 5th and also Ft. Collins USGP where I was 4th. Both I had amazing days and it's those days that keep me motivated and looking towards improvement. It takes time to learn how to get those results consistently along with a slow increases in fitness levels but over time they can be attainable on a consistent bases. Looking at my early WORS results they went this way too, one weekend 3rd and the next weekend 25th. It just takes time in the sport to gain consistency at a higher level.





My sponsors were really great this year, having two Blue Norcross SL fully decked out with Dura Ace and 5 sets of Rolf Prima wheels to choose from with any option of FMB tires was awesome. Getting two sets of CycleOps powertaps for training and racing on to get that race data on will be a huge help going into next season as we look at the numbers. It was awesome having Lazer helmets again this year along with some new eyewear. The guys at Cyclocrossracing.com have been awesome with me and really done all they could to make sure I had everything I needed. It's great to have a sponsor that calls you to see how things are and if you need anything and it has been great racing with them.

Christmas

I thought I was doing pretty well with my training but I sure didn't get things right last weekend in Chicago. At least I know what NOT to do before Nationals coming up in a few days. I was pretty far off on Saturday and knew it 3o seconds into the race. I have been a bit inconsistent this year and haven't been able to get it right on the first day of racing yet so I tried to mimic what I will do this coming weekend for a warmup - I will not be doing it so I did come away with that I guess. I rode by myself pretty slow for about 40 minutes and didn't care much after I knew I didn't have it. I considered stopping after 2 laps but I thought I should at least spend a little time out on the cross bike on a course if nothing else. I hadn't planned on racing Sunday and after leaving Saturday I was glad I had made that decision since I don't really have time to rebuild two bikes right now.

Doldrums

I'll admit it, the last couple weeks have gone by pretty slow. I knew going into the season early on that extending it another month would be tough, but it just seems to be dragging a this point. If there had been some racing going on to keep me occupied it would have been better or being able to train somewhere where there is warmth or sunshine, but having not raced in a few weeks and being forced to train another month in WI in December just hasn't been that fun. I already train enough in the spring in miserable weather so to add another one at the end of the season too is just cruel. Maybe next year they'll move it back to a more sensable time considering there are probably only 2 riders at nationals that cared.

Luckily we have had a mild fall so far which really only means my fingers only freeze mildly everyday. I have mixed it up some with the trainer when the roads were wet but mostly I have been outside. I think my preparation has been as good as I can hope for, there isnt much time left to change it at this point. It's hard to tell this late in the season if you are better off resting or training but you can't really coast for a month leading up to Nats and think you're going to gain anything so I've tried to keep the intensity and riding at the same level despite my fading motivation. I'm starting to loose focus though and having to train for a solid month at the end of the year for one race is probably going to blow me up enough to keep me off the bike until it's warm next spring so maybe I'll just count this as my spring riding for next year and be done with it.

I will be doing at least one day of the New Years Eve Resolution CX race in Chicago this weekend. I have raced twice the weekend before nats and done well the following week, and I have raced twice the weekend before nats and not done well the following week at nats so I might try just racing once this time and see how it goes. It probably doesn't matter too much but hopefully it's just enough to get the edge back.

Christmas was a fun distraction for the weekend. We didn't have to do much traveling and that made it a lot nicer to get some workouts in around schedules. Ellie got more puzzles than I can keep up with and I get woken up every morning now to her asking me to do "puwwels"?? Not really the first thing you want to do before your morning coffee but Ellie needs no coffee to get going in the morning. "Nuhwere one nuhwere one".

USGP Bend, OR

Where to start with this one. I thought I had done everything right, I even took my last 1/2 day of vacation Thursday night so when I got up at 3:30am for the 6am flight to Denver it wouldn't be a 3hr sleep night. Well, it pretty much was anyway since I don't fall asleep before 11pm anyway from being use to not going to bed until 12am but at the time I felt pretty good. 24hrs later when I finally rolled into Bend I was thinking a little different.

It started when we couldn't land in Denver for weather at 8am so we circled until we ran low on fuel. Then we flew to CO Springs to refuel but sat there for 3 hrs waiting and then finally back to Denver and landed at 12:30pm - 7.5hrs on the plane already and I was supposed to be in Portland at 10am!!! So, Brian and I suffered at DIA for 7 more hours waiting for a flight with room and finally at 7pm we departed. Landed at PDX at 9pm and started the 3hr drive over Mt. Hood. Luckily there was not bad weather there but it was still slow going since driving mtn roads at midnight while blown out isn't really fast going. Finally rolled into Bend, OR at 1:30am or 3:30am central time - 24hr day - YES!! Perfect prep for the big race.

We were still running about 12hrs behind on just about everything Saturday but we managed to get our bikes together and over to the course for a lap or two. We had a decent warmup riding towards Mt. Washington on some pretty awesome roads but the race didn't go that well for me. I was still flat and not opened up enough and not going very well, I got pushed around a lot the first lap and just felt pretty dazed out there. Finally, I ripped my tire off the rear rim right after the up-over and lost some time and spots and then just rolled it in about 18th. I used my new G3 Powertap wheel so I did collect some good data, always interesting to see cyclocross race data as there isn't that much out there.

following Johnson and Powers up the steps.

Sunday's race went way better. I was feeling good and recovered plus really opened up from day 1. I warmed up really well and then had a great first lap coming through maybe 5th at lap 1. I held about the same for about 3 laps until the race starting splitting. Ben Berden sat up about lap 4 and after watchign the race on Cyclingdirt looks like he is the one that gapped the rest of us off the lead group. That is why you don't sit back in the group but the course was very tight and turny with not many places to move around. So, I ended up racing for 5-9 and ended up 8th. Not my best result but decent considering the previouse days events. It is rather frustrating to actually plan out and take extra steps to ensure you do everything you can to prepare correctly and then have one thing go wrong and make a 7hr plane ride into a 24hr death march. I was disappointed that having the bad race Saturday took me to 11th overall and out of the top 10 for USGP but I guess that doesn't really mean too much anyway.

With 4 weeks to go till nationals now it will be interesting to see who can hold their form and what guys will do to stay in shape. I think I can do pretty well riding inside like I do all spring and I know I can gain some fitness yet doing it, it will just be interesting not racing for a few weeks before a major race. We havevn't had cold or snow really yet so one of these days it's just going to snap around here and the later it gets the better the chances of that happening in January.

USGP Bend Day 1

I'll update a little more on the races later on but I did collect some interesting data on my new CycleOps G3 Powertap hub at the Saturday race in Bend this weekend. I did not have a good race at all but despite that the numbers are still pretty interesting. Wondering how different they would be for a better race. I actually rolled the tire off the rim 1/2 way through the race or I would have had the whole thing. In my defense it was the last wheel I glued and cut a few corners, guess I paid the price for that since I lost about 5-6 spots and a bit of time limping to the pits. It wasn't going that well before that anyway though. I think I have had the worst ever season in terms of flights getting cancelled, delayed, or re-routed and that was no different for this weekend. Friday was a 24hr travel day hence the bad race- more on that later on.

here is the data

This is probably the most interesting to me. 27 minutes of racing and 9 of it I was at zero watts or coasting - that is a lot! Figure if I rode the whole race I would have had close to 20 minutes at zero watts of a 60 minute race. It's just insane how many power spikes there are over 500 watts though in the file above though, has to be over 50.