Bike Blood

Pics

bikeblood — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 00:38:40 +0000

Post stage wrap!

bikeblood — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 13:59:24 +0000

……..coming soon!

In the meantime,,,,

http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=US#/watch?v=SF3xMOmYXu4

Or type this into YouTube,,,,,
Gerry Cody rips the last DH into town La Ruta Stage 3.m4v

Stage 3,,,, done.

bikeblood — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 13:58:10 +0000

Bit of a tactical error on my part, I was told today’s stage had a super knarley technical descent. I chose to ride the full suspension…slow climb, but pretty close to balls out on the downhill! Managed to pass 3 guys there, but lost time to Alexander Sanchez who now sits in 9th, bumping me to 10th. I hope to have great legs tomorrow to get the job done! Almost there,
Btw, check out cyclingnews.com for a quick interview that I got to do. I feel like a real pro! Lol
Nighty night!

Stage 2 in the bag

bikeblood — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 21:49:09 +0000

Not sure where to even begin. Let’s just say if you live in socal, like myself, and you are a mountain biker, consider yourself lucky. We have amazing conditions. Before arriving here, I had a heck of a time just trying to find a pair of mud tires. (I ended up getting some here) trying to find a mud tire in l.a. is like trying to find a renegade or a small block 8 here in Costa Rica. Practically extinct. Today I rode through terrain that was indescribable. Mud, thick sticky globby red clay mud. The stuff that bricks and clay pottery is made from. I rode up trails that made Fargo St look like a speed bump. How do you train for this???? I’m racking my brain. I’ve had high speed near misses with:
(mom, don’t read, just scroll down)
A back hoe
Countless jeeps and trucks
A dozen motorcycles
An old lady
At least 20 mangy village dogs
2 horses on a narrow mossy bridge
And a goat!
All at speeds exceeding 35 mph.
It truly is, a jungle out here! Still haven’t seen any monkeys though…..
Today’s stage shot out of the start with a 1k fast warm up, into some super, super steep pitches. The descent was beyond technical. I consider myself a good descender. Today, my spandex could have been a huggies diaper!
Hot and extremely humid to top it off. Once we hit the first climb I managed to stay with the lead group for a little bit. Before I knew it, they rode off into the thick green foliage leaving me in what is called “no man’s land.” nobody in front of me, nobody behind me. (except for about 240 racers) I was sitting in 11th place, and was content with riding my own pace, and being smooth like butter on the descending. I DO NOT want to be changing a flat on a mud caked bike, nor do I want to walk countless miles with a broken wheel. We hit 6,800 feet of climbing in the first 10 miles! With 5,400 feet still to go! Today was referred to by the locals as the easy day! The people here are truly amazing! I rode through tons of towns and villages to hear screams of “go go!” “bein- bein!” I even heard a few “gringo loco’s!” made it to the finish line in 9th, cold shower and off to the hotel. Pre race dinner at 7.
Tomorrow is the volcano day! 1 hr long descent! Not sure about how much climbing. Oh btw, I’m in today’s National newspaper! I’m crossing a river with my bike in the air. Photo coming soon,
G

Quick update:

bikeblood — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 02:57:59 +0000

Stage 1 over. Toughest day on a bike. Unreal. Amazing people here. Feels like tour de France meets Indiana jones! Sitting in 8th at the moment. Mud ravaged my drivetrain early on and I was only able to use my big ring for about 10 miles. Tomorrows stage climbs 6800 feet in the first 10-12 miles. 10k total climbing. Today was 12k!!!!

Goodnight!

Costa Rican Ticos!

bikeblood — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:05:54 +0000

The people here are so hospitable! I’ve never been to a place where so many total strangers will open up their hearts, homes, and possessions in efforts to help someone in need. Maricio gave us a ride to the hotel, even though he was in a hurry to get somewhere, or Guilly from Cyco Guilly loaning me front brakes and lever to return after I finish the race. I met three more friends today, Glenn, Ben, and Maybar. My other friend Jose Espinoza helped me today and is another new friend. He has raced La Ruta numerous times, and was giving me some great tips for the race. Bikes are now prepped and race ready. Time for bed. I can’t wait for this race to start!

Race update:

bikeblood — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 17:23:56 +0000

La Ruta de los Conquistadores
‎(LaRuta2011) Start gun will go off Wednesday 2nd at 05:20. Tune in to follow detailed coverage of the race. Minute to minute text coverage, plus images, videos and audio every day! Welcome to Costa Rica, welcome to the adventure! LAM.
(this is on the main la Ruta website)

First pre ride of day 2

bikeblood — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 02:36:04 +0000

Okay here we go……. My new friends Dax and Luis came to the hotel to meet me for today’s ride. Luis comes from Columbia, and Dax leaves here close by. We went up some steep steep steep climbs. Did I say steep? Haha
Coming down the descent I rode over a patch of rocks and heard “throp!” (it’s like pop and thud at the same time) instant flat. The tire was slashed from the center, down the sidewalk, and stopped at the bead. It was hard to believe. I’ve never seen a tire get sliced like that. Luis had a gu wrapper, and we combined it with a rubber sidewall patch. We were in the middle of almost nowhere with a good chunk of pedaling still to go. I limped it back home with the help of my two new amigos! Gracias! Just had dinner, now I’m ready for bed. (I also got to meet Ben Sonntag today. He was the winner of last years La Ruta)

Costa Rica!

bikeblood — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 12:03:19 +0000

All settled in, and adjusting to the Costa Rican scene. (which is easy to do) Pops and I opened the boxes and built the 2 bikes yesterday. Somewhere between lax and Mexico city, someone danced the coo coo racha on my bike box. My shifter paid the price. Manny may have an extra one for me, and that would be awesome.
Going put today to recon stage 2 with my new friend Dax. Riding my bike through the city is exhilarating! Nobody cares that you are on a bike, it’s survival! Haha.
Enjoy the pictures, more to come.
(to my nephews, I haven’t eaten any bananas yet, or seen any monkeys, pumas, or tucans!) …… But I haven’t gotten into the jungle yet!!!!

Fat tire 50 at Vail Lake

bikeblood — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 17:26:09 +0000

It was already a warm morning for the start of Saturday’s Epic Fat Tire 50. Jason and Heather Ranoa went all out with providing an amazing venue for racers and spectators alike. I knew the layout of the first 35 miles very well, but the second “Lolly-Pop” was a bit cloudy. The race began and the lead group found itself dicing it pretty quickly as we headed out of the park, and onto the dry dusty fire road. We hit “The Damn Climb” and as I suspected, Tinker went to the front and pressed the pace. I did my best to hang with him, and not long after we started climbing we were both left with our respective teammates just behind us 30 yards or so. I knew from previous experiences that Tinker is a beast both climbing and descending, so my plan was to ride and pace with him for as long as possible. It’s nice knowing that the kind hearted warrior will still talk to you in the middle of a race. We took turns at the front, and made our way
through the roller coaster single track. The temperatures climbed. In fact, a friend told me that temperatures on the back stretch were in the triple digits. The water in my bottles became hot. Countless squirts, and water dunks seemed useless. While climbing up one of the steep shoots, I missed a shift and threw my chain. Tinker cleared the climb, and I scrambled up the hill on foot. He looked back one last time, and that’s when it was over. There was no chance of me catching him. I was cooked. He put it down, like the great cyclist he is, hard! I came in about 4 or 5 minutes after he did and went straight to the cold shower. I sat under the nozzle, still wearing my helmet, gloves, and even glasses. Sitting there, slowly cooling myself back to life,,,,with a big smile on my face! (Side note, Snow cones should be a must at any mountain bike race!)
And a very special thank you to my Grandpa, who was my race support and made a successful high-speed bottle hand off at the perfect time! (his first time too!)
Until next time!
Codyman