Duel Bad Luck in Early Spring

Riding on Saturday up Deer Creek Canyon, one of our members got stung by a bee or wasp that flew into his open jersey.  Pain and grimace lasted the rest of the climb and on the way down.  A rare event made even rarer that the date was March 31st!  The next day this same team member was riding his mountain bike at Green Mountain.  At the top of a long steady climb, the ridgeline opened up to a sprawling meadow on the top with wildflowers beginning to bloom.  A strong wind was blowing from the East.  As the rider was gasping for air with an open mouth, low and behold, a bee/wasp blew into his open mouth!  As he tried to gather the insect to spit it out he was stung on the tongue!  What are the odds of getting stung on the tongue on April 1st (no joking matter) let alone getting stung two days in a row!!!   What a weekend for this TNWRT rider!

Thursday Night Ride

Our regular Thursday night ride to South Side Pizzeria (Chatfield and Wadsworth) was changed for our Denver members to El Camino in the Highlands.  We choose this place solely on the fact that they have Lagunitas IPA on tap.  Curry and Robert went out for a pre-ride ride up Deer Creek Canyon as a hard training ride then meet up with other members including Kirsten, Scott, and Joel.  We rode 23 miles on the South Platte Trail to El Camino where we ordered many Lagunitas IPA pints, then with high powered lights rode the 23 miles back home.  Curry did 80 miles that night!  Proficiat!

Need To Find A Mountain Bike Trail Around Boulder?

The fine folks from the Boulder County website have posted a Parks and Open Space Interactive Map that highlights major mountain bike trails from Broomfield to Longmont. The page also includes links to more detailed information for each trail. Just in time for serious training!

Zephyr Recalls His 2010 Wildflower Rush Podium Ride

With warm weather arriving in Littleton, the team has started cranking out base miles and intervals in preparation for an awesome race year. For some inspiration, we asked Zephyr Wrigley to recall one of his favorite race stories.

“I have been heading down to Crested Butte every spring since 2003 to participate in the Wildflower Rush.  This is an awesome race in one of the most beautiful areas of Colorado and it’s always a highlight of the racing calendar for me.  In the spring of 2010, this was the first mountain bike race for me as a member of the Natural Way Racing Team and I was fired up.  I had put in my training miles and set my sights on a strong finish.

I surprised myself by getting the holeshot to start the race and after a bit of jostling through the first turn found myself in second heading up the main climb.  I was able to regain the lead early in the climb, but lost my advantage after getting stuck behind traffic form the prior start wave.  From there I had a great battle with the eventual winner who gapped at the top of the major climb and closed the door on me when I tried to counter.  I chased hard down the final descent, but was never able to make contact.  I crossed the line about 45 seconds off the pace, but the two of us had a large gap over the field with the third place finisher nearly 4 minutes back.

Although I lost out on first place, I was extremely pleased with my race.  This was a personal best finish for me and one of the best races I’ve ever had, everything just sort of came together.  I was extremely happy to step onto the podium and represent our team.

I was able to return for the 2011 race, finishing in 4th place after moving up to Cat2, but the 2010 race was definitely a high point in my racing career.”

Sponsor Spotlight: Lagunitas Brewing Company

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Lagunitas is a spectacular beer made by guys you wanna hang out with and beer you wish you could make. Their beer is so good that our Belgian relatives thought it was the best American made beer they’ve tasted!  Ask … Continue reading →

Boulder Roubaix Coming This April!

The Boulder Roubaix will be running again this April. A race not to miss… road, sand, mud and plenty of pain!

View race flyer
Register today!  

Natural Goodness

Just like our team name, there are all sorts of ways to add natural goodness to your diet and cycling nutrition needs.

Two of our team members, Scott and Ray, have volunteered two home-made recipes that will power your next ride and save you some hard-earned cash. The true beauty of any of these recipes is controlling the ingredients in the bars you are eating and customizing them to your tastes and needs. Bon Appetit!

Here’s the recipes for Scott’s Energy Bars (courtesy of his wife):

High Protein Peanut Butter Apricot Energy Bars
Ray’s note: The recipe is as follows, I made my own modifications – I personally think using honey makes it a bit more sweet but I like agave better…
(agave comes for cactus – not bee’s)

1 cup Natural Peanut Butter (creamy or smooth)  (I used Almond Butter!)
1 cup of Honey – (I used Agave)
1 cup Old Fashioned Oatmeal
1 cup Diced Apricots
1 cup Almonds (I used slivered almonds)
3 Scoops Vanilla Protein Powder (I used Max Muscle protein powder, but I also like Jay Robb products as well)
Cinnamon to taste (optional)

Directions:

1. In a medium size pot, heat Honey & Peanut Butter on stove medium heat until texture is runny
2. Mix in Apricots, Nuts, Oatmeal, and Protein Powder
3. Stir until all ingredients are well coated
4. Grease a 9×9 pan with fat free non-stick spray (I actually put foil in the pan so it is easier to get out)
5. Press in ingredients evenly
6. Cool in fridge for at least an hour
7. Slice & wrap individual bars in foil or plastic wrap and freeze

Team Member David Rapp Rocks the Jersey

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Here’s David Rapp rocking The Natural Way colors with his family while on a mercy ride up Squaw in the fall. A buddy of his would have been in the shot… but was hurtin’ too badly!

Sponsor Spotlight: mix1

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Clean, simple, effective fuel for pre & post workouts and recovery.  Great tasting and really delicious!  Also comes in Lean Performance Shakes.  We love and use Mix1 everyday.  The highest quality, natural ingredients for maximum benefits. mix1 is a Boulder, Colorado based … Continue reading →

Joe Wins Colorado Cross Cup 35+4 Category!

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2011 was a great year for The Natural Way Racing Team and one of the highlights was Joe Coffey’s battle for the Colorado Cross Cup Cat 4 34+ Best All Around Rider. For the first several races, Joe chased Robert … Continue reading →