This is the elevation curve (or stigningsprofil if you prefer Norwegian) for Raumerrittet. And this makes me want to cry. Yes, the highest point of the race is 400m above the start point. And yes it does look like it is going steadily uphill for 50 km. But if I compare to last weekend and the 300m increase over around 15km, this is probably not near as bad as it looks. Two of the hills seem to be on 'dårlig grus' so I assume I will be walking up them.

Their seeding according to my time last year in Grenserittet puts me in Group #8 which assumes 3:47 to 3:54. And since I am not terribly impressed with my Grenserittet time, this was a bit of a surprise. I guess 4 hours should be my goal. Soon I will find out...

And so it was time for my långlopp premiere for this year. The clouds were scary but it only rained a little bit at the beginning. It was warm and very nice overall. The start was not exactly maxspeed direct so I was sitting in a klungan. I was not so happy with the pace in that one (in hindsight, I should have stayed there) so after some effort I caught up to another which was keeping a nice pace. I selfishly just sat second last in this 7-man klungan and things felt okay although the grusväg part was a bit more difficult. Then it was left onto a road heading through Saxdalen which soon led to a right turn that no one wants to see, the road up to Ljungåsen.

When the hill started på riktigt, the pace fell off directly but I had a good rhythm going so I moved to the side and took position at the front of the klungan. Two others followed and sat in front of me so I could have a nice ride the rest of the way up. At some point we passed a distance marking and I was surprised to see that we had covered 30km in just over an hour. I have never averaged anywhere near 30km/h on my MTB before so the pace was that fast. At the top there was a food stop and I had my first Enervitene liquid a banana and a water refill. For once I took the energy before I needed it.

The two I was with took a quick stop and the others who I left behind on the hill had also caught up and left just before me. So I left and rode quite hard to try and catch up but this was downhill now so it is pretty impossible to make up time going downhill. I misread the map before the race because then I realized we were also going over Abborrberg and that was not as bad as the first but tungt ändå. I was on my own all the time now but I tried to keep up the tempo.

Around 55km it happened again. Total energy crash. Evidence that I had gone out quite hard was now very obvious. I felt very weak but I tried anyway to keep a steady motion in the pedals. But my pace was way lower. At this point I was feeling stupid about the 10 LL idea because LL in general feel horrible. I knew that I was close to the 60km mark so I really tried to keep going. I could feel strange things happen because all of a sudden I had a bit of energy. Maybe I was using fat now? I saw the 60km sign and was happy but after a little bit more I started feeling weak again so I stopped for my second Liquid. I decided to keep walking and a group passed me thinking I had a punka but I said that I had no energy. I got on the bike again and tried to keep a steady pace but at the first hill I could feel the cramp monster awakening on both legs. Good thing the 2nd food stop was a bit farther ahead.

I spent quite a few minutes there enjoying gurka and sockerkaka. A lady arrived just before me said she was having cramp problems too. She left and another guy arrived and left so I was about 500 m behind him. The 70km mark was on the road from Sunnansjö and this was a nice part. My strength was back and I was slowly gaining on the guy in front of me. The course turned back onto the grusväg we started on and then there was only 10 km left. I caught up to the guy and passed because I always run the 'now or never' principle during the last 10km. So I had a good lead on him and could see the woman about 400 m ahead but then started the hill of death. Slowly sloping up and probably 2km long. Fan that hurt. I was dead but I tried to keep some pace. Seeing the road and realizing that everything else was road...man I was happy.

So then it was 5km left and the slight downhill meant I could make up time on the woman in front. At the cykelväg I managed to pass her and I kept pumping but I saw that she was på rulle so I knew that this was going to end badly. I had worked too hard and my legs were screaming so I had to shift down and take it easy. She didn't pass though. Psych games. On the last corner I went a bit wrong and saw it was shortcut so I let her pass because she went the right way. About 10 m behind her and with the Finish in view, I shifted to stora klungan fram and smallest back and flew passed her and made one hell of a spurt with the little energy I had left.

Check out these numbers!
Distance: 90km
Time: 3:46:22
Energy: 3073 kcal
Hr ave: 161
Hr max: 187

This was WAY above what I expected. Not bad at all for me. So that explains the satisfied look.

And a nice plaque never hurt either.

Even a handlebar in my ear could not stop my satisfied look...

While I am eating in preparation for my race tomorrow, I thought I would do a bit of travel reporting. How many times can you get a hotel room with this kind of view? It just never happens.

This is Grangärde Hotell which is in the village of Grangärde sitting between a couple of lakes and lots of mountains.

There are lots of typical Dalarna buildings like this one. Check out the cool little white rallybil!

And roads like this are perfect for a little bike tour. But I have a race tomorrow so no tour for me just yet. I was driving the opposite way along one of the roads in the race and it is a long way up to Ljungåsen. So I have no expectations for time tomorrow but I hope it is in the range of 4-5 hours. The rain is on its way but that is okay since it is 15C.

I feel pretty good today and my bike seems to be fine also. It is certainly clean for once. I am also quite full from a nice pasta meal. All of this means just one thing...it is time to leave for Ludvika and Den Långa Dagen.

Långlopp fans will notice that this covers parts of Finnmarksturen but in the opposite direction. Ljungåsen seems to be the highest point so I expect quite a few höjdmeter on Saturday. A good training pass for next weekend and Raumerrittet which has a wee bit of a mountain in the middle.

Vi ses i underbara Dalarna!

At MCK on the LVG side we have something called 'Andra klungan' for those of us that can't keep up to MCK Elit. Well, as usual, tonight I had a round of 'Egen klungan' instead. Up to Furulund went quite well this time which is a sign that I am rested, my legs are strong and that what I have is more allergy than sickness.

So I just took a quick spin around the motionspår again with lots of starts since many people were out walking their dogs. I flew down the hill back to Sävedalen and then took a few of the villa streets back home. At one point I was behind a slowly-moving police car. Since it was slow, I immediately thought I should pass but I didn't. My MTB doesn't exactly have any reflectors or bells so I saw no point in giving them reason to stop me.

The bike is clean and I just need to check a few things but I am ready for MTB marathon #1 this weekend. Now where is my pasta...

This blog needs more silly pictures so here is a 'dagens outfit'. I guess maybe I should also wear something else. =)

These are GripGrab Shark from Denmark which you can find at CykelCity, SportSpec and places online. We shall see if they are too warm for MTB in the summer but right now they should be perfect.

I have officially had it with this cough. It is just annoying. I am not coughing anything up but still it keeps going. My coughs always have sounded bad because I have a mix of allergies and used to have asthma. I don't smoke but I have one hell of a smoker's cough. My father has a similar coughing problem and the doctors could not figure out what the cause was. How comforting.

Am I healthy or not? That is always a hard question in this case. My muscles feel just fine but the cough is not nice. So this will continue to be a motionär week which means I have zero expectations for Den Långa Dagen up in Ludvika this Saturday.

This quote is in their PM.
där det viktigaste inte är att segra utan att vinna över sig själv
And that is actually what I like about MTB marathons in general. But I was hoping for better than just getting around. I am above that level now.

If anyone was wondering, I am busy doing some medical experiments on myself. Back in the 70s, Nobel Prize winners did this all the time. But I don't suggest trying this at home.

An article I found yesterday while I was dissing Actimel said that anti-oxidants like vitamin C and E are good for stopping inflammation during exercise but you can also take carbohydrates. Vitamin C is obvious but the E I found at Apoteket is mixed with selenium which is something the meat I ate today was full of. So I don't need this and my stomach is reminding me of that. And I know that I don't need one of those sport multivitamin mixes.

After exercise you need, among other things, anti-oxidants and what happens to be in my favourite Enervit R2 Recovery? Exactly. Both vitamin C and E. I know that R2 works. So why change a winning recipe?

By now we all know that Charlotte Kalla starts her day with one of these, at least we are supposed to think that.

And judging by the crowds of people around these products at ICA, people seem to agree that Actimel is something to buy. My first experience with this was on a Malmö Aviation flight where you actually get free food and then there was another free sample at ICA. In my case, my morgonvana is coffee and a bowl of cereal. So adding an Actimel to that seems like a good idea and it tastes good.

But let's look at the health info. Starting with my own poorly designed experiment on myself, I did not have any yoghurt over the weekend I because sick. But is that proof? I started drinking Actimel again during my cold and I didn't become healthy. These things are difficult.

The Actimel website has a list of quite a few scientific articles which was actually a bit surprising. Most foods or diet supplements do not list any actual evidence. When you want medical information, you search on PubMed which is essentially a collection of every proper medical article there is. If it is not here, the article is probably not very trustworthy. So, a search for Lactobacillus casei DN-114 001 (L Casei defensis) gives 27 articles. Was one of those the article saying how drinking Actimel helps athletes recover after hard exercise? Unfortunately, no.

The Merenstein et al paper is interesting because Danone has claimed in advertising that Actimel will help children stay more healthy. And this study does say that there is a small but significant improvement. However, the Meyer at al paper compares Actimel to normal yoghurt and there was absolutely no difference. Both worked just fine. And also probiotics from other companies likely have the same effect.

So if your current morgonvana includes some fil or other yoghurt, there is no need to change. But if you are like me and never had any, Actimel works just fine. Where Actimel wins is in the packaging. If you, like I, am running late in the morning, grabbing one of these is easier than most other yoghurts.

Do you agree?

And since I am looking, I think it is time I review exercise and the immune system. We need some more info on this...

Today at precisely 15:40, my bike and I were best friends again. It feels like an eternity but now I am back. So the plan was to have a 'cykelglädje' tour and that was a success.

It took 5 minutes before I got covered in mud which is amazing when you consider how dry it is. Instead of turning left and up the hill to Furulund, I turned right towards Sävedalen where I could have a nice dose of cykelglädje (no hills or wind). Skatås had a few runners at along 8:an but nothing like it usually is so I could sail around there at a pretty good pace.

Then it was time for some streets and I even did go over towards Avenyn so technically I did see part of GöteborgsVarvet anyway. But the city is annoying when you are riding because no one walks where they are supposed to and people even ride in the wrong directions. But I had my MCK jersey so people moved even if I was going quite slow at that point. Over towards Allén and Ullevi I could accelerate again and pass everyone else until I was back to Skatås again for a few smaller trails before heading home again.

My muscles feel rested and strong. And the steering on the bike is fine. There is another noise but it is probably my pedal.

I forgot my pulsklocka so I will have to guess the numbers.
Time: 1:45:14
Distance: Avenyn and back with some nice side trips
Energy: 2 bananas
Hr ave: Above 0
Hr peak: I think there was one 185-hill

Today is GöteborgsVarvet day. I thought it was the same day as Billingeracet so I did not plan to run it this year. I am quite satisfied with my 1:55 last year so why ruin the record. And actually I am not even planning a trip into the city to watch it. The crowds will be killer.

It is 20C and absolutely gorgeous outside. I have a bit of a sore throat still but I don't care. Today I have to ride. And Skatås seems like a perfect start since all the runners are in the city.

I am sure you know that Långloppscupen, the Swedish MTB marathon series is underway. And since they have added my blog to their RSS feed, I will happily write a few lines on this.

For the glada motionär that spends their Sundays around Hellasgården (Sthlm) or Skatås (Gbg), an MTB marathon is usually a goal for those sick of looking at someone's ass for 10+ hours in Vätternrundan. This is how I got interested in MTB and is what we should focus our efforts on. Långloppscupen is a winning concept so I support this happily. I have paid for Ränneslättsturen many times but have never managed to actually do it. Injuries, car trouble, sickness...you name it, fate is against me for that race.

Just by geography, Lida Loop is probably the first race people do. While many say Mörksuggajakten is the 'easiest', I can argue with that. Lida Loop does not have any 'suicidal XC-style terrain' even if Diagonalen is a bit tougher. It does have a lot of roots in parts towards the end but the rest is fine. I have heard people call Lida the grusvägsrally and most of the first kms are on grusväg. Since it is always sunny for that race, be prepared for a ton of dust in your eyes and some pretty close riding while everyone fights their way along these motionspår. They also talk about hills but these are not anything to be scared of unless you come from Uppsala where you never see any hills. It goes up and down a few metres for the whole race but there are no 300m vertical mountains to conquer. Of course after 50km, any little change in elevation can hurt.

I have done Lida Loop twice and won a prize both times so my memories are quite positive. They end the race with a loop up the slalom hill where I passed many people both times I did this race. So remember to save a bit of energy for that since the crowd will love it. And nothing is better than a crowd cheering you on when you are less than a km from finishing your first MTB marathon.

Yes, I am still here. And the good news is that I am basically healthy now...I think. I know that I have an allergy to björkpollen and during my cold I have taken my allergy medicine. But yesterday I stopped and suddenly my cold is fine. (??) Now I have that slight headache and fatigue plus my nose is a bit runny which is my body's response to allergy and not a sign that I am sick. Which essentially means that I am feeling perfectly normal compared to any other spring. I should add here that I do not take any medication while racing.

Anyway, to celebrate I signed up for Den Långa Dagen in Ludvika 29 maj. This motion race is 90km and is 60km grusväg + 30km road which is actually close to what I will see in Norway. So I apologize to MCK for missing our own MTB race but honestly it would be humiliating.

Maybe I will manage 10 marathons...

It goes without saying that this cold I have is some serious shit. The last couple of days I have spent in the 'cough' phase. In some people, this can last several weeks but it is still possible to function and work. And this is where I am today.

The normal me would start training now and that would mean the first MTB race in Göteborgsserien tonight in Lindome. The weather is gorgeous so it would be a lovely night of cycling and socializing. But I have decided to pass on this pass. Honestly, this is the first day I have felt reasonably good. So why risk it?

Yes, this whole inlägg stinks of vuxenpoäng.

Jaha, and what do I have to celebrate on this Monday morning? The start of the week where all the bills come in? The start of the week of the month where I am completely broke? No, it must be something more positive than this. And you are right. Today I celebrate the 1-week anniversary of the start of my cold! Woohoo! Yes, I am still sick.

About 3 years ago I caught something like this on my flight home for Christmas one year. So I spent the 2 weeks in Canada with my family completely sick. Now I am into the coughing phase and so long as there is something to cough up, it is fine. But my coughs last night while I was trying to sleep...fy fan how unpleasant that was. Ouch.

Yes, new beginnings are the theme of this week.

And now I will write my most important entry ever. So important that there will always be a link to this. Why? So I can read it whenever I am sick or when I get upset for missing races. Why do I bother with cycling?

If you look at the results of the races I enter, the story is always the same. I am nowhere near. It is bad. In the results list, there is always a big gap in time between my name and the one above. But do I really suck?

Cycling in Sweden is very small and those competing have talent. Loads of talent! Probably they have been doing this all of their life compared to my few years of experience and no formal lessons. Actually, I have only been doing exercise of any type for a few years. So where are the others like me? They are off in Skatås or other places playing around. I know because I see them. I have chosen to join a club and support CykelSverige since this is a great thing for kids.

But back to the point...am I that useless? Lets take some examples.
GöteborgsVarvet: Last year I ran this in 1:55 which was slightly above average. Not bad since in Canada our general fitness is only slighty above that of our fat, lazy American neighbours.
Grenserittet: With basically no långlopp training at all last year, I came 3866 out of 5370 in this Norwegian race. You can understand why I have an interest in races in Norway all of a sudden.
Orust Runt: Last year I did this 80km LVG race under the disguise of a beginner (no MCK shirt). I floated around at 30km/h with one group that was trying to break away from me many times. They didn't succeed. Out of kindness I didn't spurt away at the end but I had the energy for it.
Göteborgscrossen: Every week I was battling away with people at my level. Most times I even won those battles.

So am I that bad? Nja...not really THAT bad. When I am battling with equals, I am pretty good. Then why do I keep doing MTB races with people who are all elite?

1. Cycling is fun. Just look at the smile on my face.
2. I meet a lot of great people through cycling. MCK is great. MTB Täby was great.
3. I see many places in Sweden I would not normally see. Who knew that Hjo was such a pretty little town? And I owe my love of Dalarna to cycling.
4. Cycling is a great exercise and one needs health benefits in today's stressful work environment.

And these are 4 reasons why you will still see me at races, probably finishing last. I constantly push myself and eventually I will start to take in those minutes I have up to the next person in the race. And if that never happens, who cares?

Today I feel exactly the same as yesterday. The same mild cough. The same mild sneezing. I did not have soup last night so perhaps that really is the magical cure for colds. Anyway, my decision to not start Billingeracet was a good one.

In other negative news, my mom in Canada said that it has rained there all week and was cold. With about 75% certainty, that weather will be in Göteborg this week. Bläää.

I feel a lot better and I can actually talk today. But I am one day short of a full recovery. So with great annoyance, I cancelled my hotel reservation and will not be starting Billingeracet.

Without the proper mix of eating and light training a few days before a marathon, the race becomes just a glada motiönar tour. And I already did that last year.

But on a positive note, if there is anything positive about this week, I can buy a new set of tires with the money I save on hotels.

After my little walk in a grey Göteborg, I wonder how it is possible that I can feel this tired and still be awake. It's 14.00 and I want bed. This must be a flu.

So now I will move the blogg to Örebro and get all my gnäll out in one entry.
1. It is May and yet I am still wearing my winter jacket. Enough is enough.
2. Last Thursday when I was so snabb, it was also chilly out. That led to my sore throat in Friday.
3. Saturday I raced in Hjo and my body felt seg som fan but I finished. Felt like crap that night but I still raced Sunday in Tidaholm.
4. So this has meant a whole week of gnäll since I was so stupid last weekend. Racing has made me way more sick than I would have been and that is costing me Billingeracet.

While I am at it, I can also gnäll about work deadlines. Up until 31 May I am very busy so honestly I don't even have time to go away. I would have managed just fine if my brain had been functioning these last few days.

Ja, even though I had yet another long sleep I am not through this thing yet. The coughing and sneezing is better so theoretically I should be almost there. But I feel completely drained of any energy this morning. You know that feeling you get about 3 hours after a race when your body is completely dead and useless? That's what I feel now.

At work yesterday they were quite happy that I had no voice. But I wonder why, of all days, did I get so many phone calls? I can't talk! I was even presented with a fine flirting opportunity on #7 but I had no voice at all. And I still don't.

Things are not looking positive.

This is the view from my office and it is pouring rain and 6C. This is certainly a good way to keep people at work since you need to walk a fair distance outside to get to any spårvagn from here.

So here are my thoughts on rain. In cross season, rain is a dream. A grown man can slop around in the wet for 40 minutes without any risk of getting sent to the looney bin. But what about rain during MTB marathons?

In Finnmarksturen it rained just when I was starting the toughest uphill in that race. Perfect timing! And the same thing happened to me in MTB SM tempo last year since the rain hit when I reached Mördarbacken. But there it continued and was a bit heavy to be that fun.

The worst rain I have been in was during Grenserittets speedseeding last year. That was 10km of max speed in my case until the sky opened and it poured so much I could not see where I was going. And the water was so deep I didn't know where the track was in the downhills. I just aimed and hoped for the best. No wonder I ended up with leg cramps in the real race the day after.

If it were 6C and raining this much at the start of a marathon, I am not sure I would make it. Standing waiting for the start would leave me soaked and then I would need twice the energy just to keep warm. I will gladly use my mind to win over muscle pain or tiredness but a full-body chill is too much for anyone.

I have been fortunate with weather for my marathons but I will say this now...I am going to start 10 MTB marathons in 2010. And I hope to finish them also. Given the right conditions, I always finish eventually. But some things are beyond our control.

When I woke up this morning after a long sleep, I felt brilliant. By the time I got to work I felt pretty far from brilliant. But overall I am better than yesterday.

This of course means that I will just manage to get healthy in time for Billingeracet but will have a less than ideal preparation in terms of food. Whatever I eat will just go straight to my stomach instead of those super powerful legs.

I never said that Billingeracet would be my best and there has to be a first marathon of the year. This is it. So be sure to have loads of gurka and Ryfors godis ready for me at the Brobacka stop...I will be stopping there for awhile.

My cold has finally broken after the annoying sore throat which started last Friday. So technically I could have just sneezed on my bike but I decided to drop by CykelCity anyway and get some grease and a couple more yummy products from Enervit.

After I left there I was out in the sun which game me an instant migraine. Either it is that whole vampire thing again or perhaps I do work in a dark office all day. Anyway, tillsvidare I will be home resting and sleeping. But Billingeracet is on...

After quite some time and a few google searches, I realized how my headset works. I checked the bag of stuff with the fork for my cross and was getting all confused looking for the expanding cartridge. But the MTB doesn't have that type.

Anyway, I did slide everything out and clean it but I don't have any grease so I will pick that up tomorrow. Probably a lot of this was a result of me taking the stem off before just to try a smaller size. Duh. But now I know how to adjust a headset and stem.

So Billingeracet is on again as long as my current sore throat doesn't develop into some svininfluensa.

I was hoping that I would not need to buy anything for my bike since I am broke. And, sure enough, bad luck has hit me. I just noticed that the headset is completely loose so that my whole shock moves in a rather unpleasant way. No wonder the bike sounded funny during the race. The bottom bearing has fallen down a bit from the frame and when I turn the bars I hear a 'scratchy mud' sound. So it looks like I will have to change the headset.

In some way this is good because I do need to learn how to change these things. But the problem is to get whatever parts I need before next weekend. Good luck. First I am injured. Now my bike is falling apart. 2010 is not getting any better...

I am quite impressed by all the MCKare this weekend. Last year we all raced in HSport and this was something I found very annoying. They are not beginners and what is the point of driving for so long to race for 20 minutes on an easy course?

But this year we have all taken a step up and most of us are suffering. The guys in H40 are suddenly racing twice as long and on the full course. Yesterday was a disaster but today they all finished. And my own pain in HSenior is a sign that I am also taking a step up. The only way we will get better is to race with those better than us.

So for now I, like everyone else, will die on the sofa and let the cold virus which is inside me take over. Then I will be ready for Billingeracet.

And so it was time for Race #2 of the weekend but this time at Tidaholm. And with a name like Hökensås one can expect hills. And the first was just to get up from the parking lot to the start area. So I took my practice lap but this time I made no opinion about how fun the course was after yesterday's silly comment.

HSenior was 2 laps which made me believe that I could go out quite hard and still make it around. My start was perfection and I was actually ahead of about 4 people after the start straight. So I kept it up but soon there was only one behind me when we entered the first singletrack and I could tell that I was slowing him down so eventually he passed also. And today everyone disappeared after the nice downhill part where it turned into a muddy mess of grass. That was Hill #1 and once you made it through the mud it was okay, but long. After that it was a series of nice wide trails of the kind I train on so things were moving along well until the 2nd half when the F15-16 girls were already wanting to pass. Sure, they are fast but I thought I was moving along well. Hill #2 was rocky and crap so I had to walk. But then I could follow one of the girls just to push myself but she disappeared in one of the downhills. I am too chicken in these.

There was lots of mud in these downhills and I managed to fall before the mud since I was trying to get a better line for when I hit the mud. So soon I was back to the start area where there was a nasty sand hill full of people and I didn't make it. But then it was back to the wide start straight so I could speed up.

On the second lap I really pushed myself on the wide trails but I just fell apart on the hills. It was not as bad as Hjo but I should have been able to get up all these hills today. And just to prove that, I did get up the last sand hill where the people were.

So overall I was 16th of 17 since one had technical problems on the first lap. And my bike is also making some strange noises so I have to check that out.

Whoever was taking pictures yesterday and today, please send them to me. I know I had a good race face today. =)

Already from driving up the road to park at Högaliden, I knew that today would be about hills. I took a relaxed test lap and thought it was quite a nice course. This was mostly trails covered in pine needles and not so many nasty rock parts. It was the kind of trails they put in långlopp so for the sake of practice for Billingeracet next week, I stayed in HSenior. Yes, 3x4.5km.

My start went much better today since my shoe clicked in and I did not lose so much time. I was still last by the end of the straight but I was definitely with the rest. Then there was a sharp right and drop into a fun little singletrack and I could slowly see everyone disappear. I was going quite fast but there were so many long and gradual hills that by the time I was finished half a lap I was hurting.

There was one rocky uphill bit that was tough and since I knew that the F 15-16 were right behind, I just jumped off the bike, got out of the way and ran up instead. I think it is time to give up on Öijertekniken because it is not helping anymore. The second lap was absolutely horrible and I had no strength in my body. So I probably am sick but yet I raced anyway. When I reached the rocky part some P 15-16 riders wanted to lap me so yet again I was off the bike. But I was worried of getting lapped by someone in my race so I kept up and made it to Lap 3. Yes, Lap 3. I was getting the hang of it by Lap 3 except I was dead on the hills. And when I reached the rocky bit there were people behind me again. This time, though, it was people warming up so I didn't move. Let me finish my race. And that I did. With an agonizing ride across the muddy grass field and up to the finish area, I could hear the cheers from fellow MCKare and that was all I needed to make a good finish... 1:05:31 is a pathetic time but it was good for 17th since only 17 started. And 17th = lots of points. =)

It was a tough day for others in Mölndals CK with lots of bike problems and asthma symptoms. But my former club MTB Täby did very well in H40. I have been lapped many times by Erik Vrang and company in club races.

There should be some pictures soon too...

Yes, some things don't go quite as planned. Here is the new, uncrashable Volvo S60 crashing into a truck in front of hundreds of journalists.

But luckily the windshield wipers turned on so the driver would be able to see through all that oil and stuff flying out of the engine. Seriously, would anyone actually trust a car to stop itself? That would be like trusting our computers to run perfectly every day. It just never happens.

In other news, I feel quite crap now and I am wondering if that fish I had for lunch has made me sick. But everything is packed for tomorrow so I will just sleep and see what happens.

The start list is now up for Högaliden race tomorrow and even though I emailed the organizers, I am still in HSenior. And with the thought of how long it will take to drive there, maybe I should just stay in this class (start time is after 12.00). There are only 17 people in HSenior and only 6 in HSport but since this is Kalas cup, many are in the veteran classes instead.

So I will probably just accept the pain and take HSenior. But it will be bad mentally to be passed by most of the F15-16 class starting only 2 minutes behind...

Today I tried the new Enervit R1 recovery drink after the race and here you can see the lovely Italian packaging...

Il recupero is just what I needed and BCAA e glutammina sounds like things my muscles could use. And sure, several ora after the race my legs feel fine and my slight knee pain is gone. So this seems to work as well as their R2.

The main difference between R1 and R2 is sprint vs endurance. If you are racing for an hour, use R1 recovery. Longer races need R2.

And then there is the taste...gusto limone. I know that means lemon flavour but it tastes absolutely horrible. And that is the sign of a perfect recovery drink.

This sign always makes me smile because this is what we all want to be. Håkan Hellström wrote a song about this street and I will now write an blog entry about it.

So what has changed? Did I eat snabbmacaroni? No. I just had the usual sportgryn. What changed was my bike position.

The first few minutes felt different in my knees but every rotation felt so much more effective. My quads and calves were solid and when I got to the hill up to Furulund it felt great. Since my plan today was to just spend about an hour, I decided to push much harder than I have on this trail before. Wow! What a difference! I could stand up just fine and really attacked the hills. But just to make sure that it wasn't just a matter of time before I have a calf cramp, I rolled down to Allum and then did a bit of tempo training along the river since there was no one around. And I could certainly feel a bit of pain starting but how often in MTB do you have a flat road to fly along at over 30 km/h?

So watch out HSport...things are happening...

I was just at CykelCity and there I ran into a certain MCKare that strongly disagrees in the use of energy products during racing. And what was he buying? Energy products. =) Of course I was also there to buy energy products so I am not exactly innocent either.

It is obvious that Billingeracet is near. One is never really prepared for the first LL of the season. Especially one which starts and ends with a monster of a hill.

I have just spent the last hour adjusting my MTB to try and get a better position. I never had a problem with the shoes on my cross so it has to be the MTB. According to the way it 'should be' set up, I had to raise the seat and then push it a bit more forward. But since I was trying it so much in bad positions, my knees and back feel quite crap now. I think it is correct now but a good outside test will answer that for sure.

I think it is quite obvious that I will be in HSport this weekend.

I guess you probably already guessed what was in my cyclecomponents box. My Ridley X-ride cross frame!

But DAMN look how fine it is! Just wait until I cover it in mud! The geometry is much different than my Merida and with a front end this low I should be a corner master. Now if you excuse me I would like to be alone with all this shiny aluminum and carbon...

I have a course again this afternoon so there is no way I can make it to MCK training tonight. But I suppose that is okay for Knä-Chris. The good news is that I have two bruises on my knee which is a good sign that it is just a surface injury and not serious. I can walk fine so I am positive.

But to continue with more reasons why spring is not my season, the björkpollen is killing me and I refuse to take medicine for this. So I am rather sedated now.

The thing is even though I am sedated, injured or in general useless shape, I still end up racing. Maybe that is stupid.

After the race on Saturday I felt some knee pain and that is still with me today. It is the left knee. My right one is now heeled and fine. But I can't believe the bad luck I am having since I switched to SPD.

The pain is nowhere near as bad as last time so this is a minor thing. This knee pain plus the fact that I get calf cramps every time I stand up suggests that my bike position is all wrong again. So it is time to put the MTB on the trainer again and adjust. So I will see about next weekend. For the sake of Billingeracet I may switch down to HSport for the 2 XC races.

Waiting for a start is always a mix of nervousness and excitement but what makes it funny is all those comments people throw out to psyche each other out. Some people are really bothered by these things and I am sure that is why others do it.

The best one I heard yesterday (rough english translation here) was 'Soon I think you are going to be sick because when I pass you there will be a cold wind.' Classic. =)

Which line do you use?

I was on the road very early this morning to get to Kvänum and after my test lap I was ready to leave and go buy a kitchen instead. This was a proper XC course full of technical trails covered with nasty roots and rocks. Then there were many flat wet rocks of the kind that I cracked my rib on last year. But I stayed anyway since there is no better training pass than a race. I let some air out of the tires and then took a warm-up lap later and things were so much better.

I raced in HSenior which had 35 people and for some reason they put me in the first starting row. I think it may be the CAN in my licence number so maybe they think I am like one of those Norwegians that come here and wins everything. Starts have never been my strong point so I was instantly last due to SPD problems. But once I got my silly shoe clipped in I could catch up with the others. I was riding faster than I would normally and was surprised that it actually does work. I had one guy just in front of me so I had to pass him to avoid last place. And I did it using Öijertekniken on the first of many nasty uphills. But I kept going because he could pass me again but I had already lost contact with those ahead so I focused on speed and technique.

The first lap I am satisfied with but it left me pretty tired. I made it most of the way around before people from the start groups behind me wanted to pass. But I could still focus on my race. Second lap I really tried to get up those hills and that led to cramps in both of my calves which is a sign that I was pushing and a sign that I need more training. So I was off the bike far too much and pretty fed up by the time I reached the psycho rock drop which I chickened out on every time.

After that point, it was really just roots left and no matter how hard I pushed I could just not master those. But soon I was out on the beginner course again which meant the end was near. There I gave it everything I had and flew along the grass field over towards the finish. Yes, the finish line where someone from the women's class had just passed me in a spurt I did not know was happening. Lovely. So overall it was 44:44 of the best training you can get. That meant 31st which is fine. Except that my left knee now hurts while my right is okay now.

Special mention to Benny Andersson who raced H50 as a warm-up and won followed by H30 which he also won. 16 years from now I would be happy to be able to start a race in H50. =)

Results are here.
Västgötacupen 2010 page is here.