Training Diary - Ojai Century

As a final tune up, I rode in the Ojai Century this weekend in Ojai, CA. I thought I was in for a beautiful 100 mile ride in the mountains surrounding Ojai and then down to the coast for nice 25 miles downwind stretch before ascending the Ojai grade to the finish. As it turned out, June gloom left us with nice cool weather and RAIN! on the decent to the coast. It felt like it was about 35 degrees, even though it was probably more like 60. The wind on the coast was in our favor, however, and I was able to finish the 100 miles and 4,000 feet of climbing at my goal time of 5.5 hours of saddle time.

That will probably be my last long ride prior to our start. I will spend the next couple of weeks spinning through 50 mile rides in the Santa Monica Mountains and tapering to build reserves and energy.

As a team we are finalizing our plans. During the race we will have some posts from our support team as well as it seems that the logistics of this beast are as all consuming as the training. God bless our support team (Sharon Sherman, Mark Sherman, Chris Olsson and we have a couple more that will joining us as well) as well as our spouses and families for all their support!

Jim Kodjababian

Training Diary - 20 more days

20 more days until the gun sounds! I am feeling a little like Lance Armstrong and Levi Leipheimer after stage 15 of the Giro d'Italia. Lance stated that he thought it was the hardest single stage of his career. More than 7 hours on the bike, many categorized climbs as well as several small non-categorized climbs and 100 degree heat. Lance said, "I've never seen a stage like that.. in all the years that I've raced...hard, hard, hard".

On June 17, the Wildcats Four Brett look forward to conquering the RAW which will provide us each with 17 hours in the saddle, temperatures in excess of 100 degrees and overall climbing of close to 40,000 feet - hard, hard, hard.

Keep following us, we need your support!

To listen to Lance's recap of stage 15 follow this link - http://www.livestrong.com/lance-armstrong/video/lance-and-levi-postrace-recap-after-giros-stage-15/4d0583e9-3a09-4f40-a244-907f40c0c247/.

Happy riding and keep the rubber side down!

Brett Stories: Planes, Trains and Automobiles

As 27 year old graduate student with family, I was always known affectionately on the team as the “old man”. In addition, I was usually one of the only ones that could afford the $27 per night for the Motel 6 (which beat sleeping in the car), which always led to plenty of freeloaders in the room. It was during one such event that Sharon, Tyler and I shared a small, two-bed hotel room with Brett. It was late when we arrived. No stores were open, so we went to the vending machine for a soda to quiet our young son. Understanding that all dark sodas contain caffeine, we decided upon Mountain Dew! After unknowingly pumping our 18 month old full of sugar and caffeine Sharon spent the next several hours peeling Tyler off the ceiling and walls. Needing my beauty rest, I decided to remove myself from the Tasmanian devil bed and climbed into bed next to Brett. As you all know, competitive cyclists are a little twisted and shave their legs. After falling asleep, Brett’s subconscious was telling him he was next to Sarah and my subconscious was telling me I was next to Sharon. While cyclists do shave their legs, they don’t shave their faces. Upon briefly regaining consciousness, the dialog went something like this.

Scott: "Brett."
Brett: "Hmmm."
Scott: "Why did you kiss my ear?"
Brett: "Why are you holding my hand?"
Scott: "Where's your other hand?"
Brett: "Between two pillows."
Scott: "Those aren't pillows!"
Both: "AAAHHHHHHHHHHHH! (much shivering and grimacing by both)"
Scott: "See that Giro d’Italia last week?"
Brett: "Yeah, heckuva a race, heckuva race. Team Motorla gotta great team this year."

Scott Forman and Brett Sprint for the Line

Brett Dobis

Brett Dobis

Northwestern Wildcats Racing Team

Cruisin' the Conejo

33 more training days until race day! On Saturday, I completed the Cruisin' the Conejo Century, a challenging full century that starts in Thousand Oaks, winds through the Santa Monica Mountains decends into the Oxnard plain and finally snakes through scorching Simi Valley and back to Thousand Oaks. The ride measures 102.8 miles and a full 6000 ft of climbing. I met my time goals and felt very good at the finish. A good indication of current training progress.

This week I am planning a couple of "two-a-days" with a 50 mile morning ride and then either a group ride or join the weekly criterium training ride in the afternoon.

I drove through the desert coming back from Mammoth this past weekend in the 90 degree heat. I rolled down the window and tried to imagine what it will be like to be pedaling in the heat for long stretches. Those drawing the night shifts will definitely appreciate the cool desert nights.

Wildcats Four Brett

On June 17, Wildcats Four Brett, a team composed of Scott Sherman, Jim Kodjababian, Jay Osborne and Scott Forman will begin their quest for victory in the Race Across the West (RAW). RAW is a non-stop, non-drafting 1,044 mile bike race from Oceanside, California to the mountains of Taos, New Mexico, in which the riders will encounter fatigue, extreme heat, cold temperatures and elevations in excess of 10,000 feet in their quest for victory. While the team has ambitions of returning to their former race glory, the real purpose is to provide a fitting tribute to another teammate, the late Brett Dobis and to raise money for the cure to Huntington’s Disease. Brett suffered from Huntington's Disease and passed away in 2005 at an early age. Brett is survived by his wife and two children. While Brett will certainly be racing with us in spirit, had he been here to race himself, he certainly would have insisted on riding the entire 1,044 miles himself.

Race Across the West

The Race Across the West is a non-stop, non-drafting 1,044 mile bike race from Oceanside, California to the mountains of Taos, New Mexico. The race route encompasses some of the most spectacular scenery the southwest has to offer, as well as presenting some daunting challenges. The race climbs up from the Pacific coast and across the coastal mountains where riders will face their first challenging climbs. The route then continues west crossing the Californian and Arizonian deserts where temperatures can hit well over 110F, testing the riders conditioning and stamina.
The route passes through Blyth California and then through the towns of Prescott and Flagstaff, Arizona. The long climb up to Flagstaff will tax already very tired legs. The route then moves northward through the spectacular Monument Valley and then passes through Montezuma Creek, Utah before moving into Colorado and crossing the Rockies. This will be one of the most daunting sections of the route with several high mountain passes to cross. The route then turns southward down to the resort town of Taos New Mexico.