Patrick Wiatrolik

Thank You Brad and Jason

2012-07-29T14:20:00.001-07:00

I want to give a huge thank you to Brad Williams MD. PhD and Jason at Signs 928. Brads continued generosity has made many things happen this season and he continued with race entree fee and travel expenses. Jason also help make this trip happen with his generous contribution. His contribution helped with travel expenses. This moves me up in in ranking and am 4th in the state and top 400 in the nation looking to continue moving up for the finish of the season. Words don't put into perspective on how thankful I am for the contributions from all of my sponsor. They are the reason I am able to move up. Thank you again and again.

Missoula XC Trip Pictures

2012-07-29T13:15:00.000-07:00

Missoula XC Race Day / Drive Home

2012-07-28T23:43:00.000-07:00

Race day woke up to the sounds of the cat 3 racers going off. Felt good, had plenty of time to focus on the race ahead. I ate breakfast, filled bottles, picked out nutritional's for race, and relaxed until warm up time. For warm up I road up and down the road leading up to the resort. The road was either up or down no flat sections which was almost perfect and was able to do hard efforts and cool down and spin with out using to much energy yet being able to warm up muscle properly. I set my spare bottles in the feed zone and got lucky and a guy said he would feed me. At the start line the cat 1 were split in to Jr.'s 15-18, open, and masters 45+. Jr's started it off at noon and open group went off 2 min later.

I started in the second row out side, was able to get a pretty good line but slipped my pedal and fell back a few spots putting me in about 23 spot out of 30. I knew I had to make a move quick before any gaps grew. I attacked the first long climb moving up a few spots. I continued to grind it out maintaining high rpms I was passing competitors at first but everyone was starting to stretch out. I could still see a couple riders ahead and focused on catching and passing them. The climbs were slow and steady. The descents were fast and technical. If I could paint a picture for you the trail was bench cut with roots, rocks and lots of washboard from braking. The switch backs went from steep to almost vertical. The best way to maintain speed through each switchback was to power slide each one which allowed me to maintain a higher speed and to take a better line in the corner. I was able to pass a couple competitors in the corners with this method. Main focus on descent was to stay off the brakes. The course left no room for any error!! The first couple laps went by, 3rd lap nothing major happen started to feel fatigue setting in. I took a deep breath and reset my focus. If I lost my focus on the descent it would mean absolute carnage and loosing focus on climbs meant loosing countless distance in seconds.

The goal for the last lap was to continue to focus and to not bonk. I maintained power on the climbs and keep tire side down on the descents. I was able to pick off one more competitor and chased another but lost sight on the descent. Crossing the finish line was a welcome sight. I finished 15th, there wasn't much I could have done to finished any better. The competition seems to get stronger and stronger. This was a great boost in confidants and a reassurance of all my hard efforts. I know I'm getting faster and better overall which will start to show in increasing ways!!!

The drive home was long, I drove straight through 19 hours. I got home around 8 am instead of 2pm like I was planning. The drive was well worth it, being able to see my kids as they were waking up. Thank you for reading hope you enjoyed!!!

July Training

2012-07-25T19:03:00.003-07:00

In recent weeks training has been going well. I having been doing lots of intervals. Started off hard, to the point of almost not being unable to finish workouts. I have progressed and am feeling stronger and faster and finishing stronger.There is always more to do but feeling great. Most of my rides have been 2 plus hour mtn bike rides on dirt forest service roads. Covering 25-30 miles minimum. Over all speed has increased. Most of my rides I leave from my house and head out Sycamore Canyon Rd to FS258 to Bill Gray Rd and from their the options are to Sedona or Dead Horse or Llama. Distances range from 26 miles plus. Most of ride are dirt forest service road. I will upload the gps file on to a page and/or create a link to view in google maps. I have never done this before so it might take a few days.

Over all I'm feeling good, strong and looking forward to the fall AZ State Series.

Missoula XC Drive and Pre-Ride

2012-07-25T15:18:00.001-07:00

Missoula XC was in Missoula Montana. The drive was is about 19 hours. The drive was uneventful other than the short ride I had in Utah and the beautiful scenery that surrounded me! I road on a dirt road near The Grand Staircase National Monument for 30 min. The scenery made it hard to drive all I wanted to to do was watch the landscape. I spent the night just past Salt Lake City at a truck stop in the back of the van. Slept well for about 5.5 hours. Arose early and drove the final leg of about 8 hours to Missuola. I arrived at the venue at about 2 pm, stretched out and got ready for pre-ride.

Didn't know much about coarse other than I was told to keep steady hard pace and has lots of climbing. Bottles filled, tires pumped up and I was off. From the start line it was pretty much up hill for 2.5 miles. Below is the map and the elevation chart. The course was hard lots of long climbs, didn't think it would ever end. First section of climb was double track with a slight reprieve and then back to climbing with steep switch backs back to double track steady climb for a short distance and then on to the steepest switch back section. Now its was steady climbs with some descents mixed in. Finally the descent was found here. the descent was much more technical than I anticipated. I took it easy making sure to learn the switch back and washboard sections. Quicker than a blink of a eye it was over. I stopped to look at time and to my surprise it was only 25 minutes. The lap felt like it took 45-60 minutes not 25. I decided to take another lap due to the descent and how unforgiving it was. The second lap was good I was able to find smoother lines on the climbs and faster lines on the descent.

Subaru Mellow Johnny's Classic

2012-03-15T21:11:00.000-07:00

This was a long journey and this is how it goes. I left from my house at about 2 am on Thursday and headed south to Tucson to pick up a couple of the AZ Devo Crew. Left Tucson about 6am headed east to Sonora, TX. the drive wasn't bad a few stops for food and gas. Driving past Ciudad Juarez Mexico made me realize how lucky we are as Americans and how much I love this country. Not to poke as the town but what a slum. A few hours later and about 10 miles from Sonora we stopped got out and jumped on our bikes and road in the rest of the way to are hotel. The frontage road we road in was great some climbing bust mostly flat. Very pretty country side. Had a good dinner and went to bed early.

Friday morning woke up early had breakfast and went to spin for a short time. Found a drainage ditch with banked walls and ended up playing in there for a while. Great training work on spinning and balance at the same time! Left late afternoon drove the last few hours to Flat Creek Crossing Ranch which is the venue site. About 3 hours later arrived parked and went to check things out. The venue was nice had good set up and location for everything to take place. Went for pre-ride and course was technical but awesome if I could race courses like that every race I would be in heaven. There was quite a few short technical climbs was able to clear all but stopped and looked at a few different lines. Course had one good climb double track loose dry dirt and some single track dirt mixed with rock. Course was very similar to riding in the Ozark Mountains. Lots of great single track, really kept you at whits end. Finished hung out, talked some and headed out for the next hotel! thanks your Travis and his dad Damon for getting us the hotel. Went out for dinner and came home and rolled legs out stretched and hit the sack!

Saturday Travis raced in the elite pros class. Had a good breakfast of oatmeal and lots of fruit. got everything packed up and drove to venue about an hour away! Got a great parking spot up front and set up everything in feed zone. Mark and I handed bottles to TJ, Graham, Travis probably forgetting someone. Feeds went great. Elite Pros were flying around course about 15 min per lap plus a starter lap that took only 3 min. After watching a great race got dressed and went for another ride on course. Check a few things out went back to hotel. After dinner was cleaning bike and found a crack in the face plate of my stem was worried but lots a companies at venue so was going to go ask for a loaner stem. Stretched rolled legs out, did some meditation and hit the sack race day was tomorrow!

Day of race didn't sleep that long but the sleep I got was great. I organized everything night before and filled bottles in morning. had good breakfast. Was really focused on race and was running through lines and mentally preparing myself. Arrived at venue with plenty of time to prepare and warm up. Went got a loaner stem thank you Shimano. Warmed up on road mostly but did start loop a few times. Time to line up got divided up into age groups and the wait for the gun. Open Cat 1 pro class went first then Jr's and finally my group. Gun and we were off. Didn't have a great start but wasn't in last. pace was fast just hold my line was in front group first couple miles. then we hit the climb. The guy in front of me slipped rear wheel and fell over taking me out in the process riders behind saw and ran past as I was pulling my bike from between bikes and was off again. Not so great to start a climb from a stop. but as is racing. got up and off again. lead group of 12-15 riders had broken up and first few was gone. Now it was pull back time. focused on trail and keeping my pace high as I could and maintained good lines, high cadence and climb fast. was able to pick off quite a few riders but most were Jr's, some of my group and a couple pros in the open class. Second lap was feeling good and then i heard a dreaded sound air leaking and Stan's doing its jobs sealing it up the whole. tire went flat stopped checked it out wasn't cut to bad, put some air in it and was off again still heard air leaking out of about half the lap finally nothing I just kept on going and pray for it to seal and not give out. Third lap I passed a few lapped riders and a couple others in my group and a pro that dropped back. As I was passing on the inside going way to fast for the loose terrain front tire slid out and took me and him out. I said sorry, my fault, as i jumped up and started up at a short step climb was not in a good gear and suddenly felt a great push from behind the guy I didn't even look as and crashed into gave me a push and said go get them there not fare. I made the climb not even clipped in and this all happen in front of about 15-20 people stand on the climb. they all cheered and was a great motivator. Going past the feed zone looked for Mark who was suppose to feed me but no wear to be found luckily the had neutral feed got a bottle of nasty bleach tasting water but still water. was putting in a good lap time and about half way through lap passed another in my group I could hear him staying behind me. I picked up the pace and attacked pulled away but also taking a lot out of me! I was able to maintain for the rest of the lap until I slipped my rear tire and put my foot down a couple times on climb and one short steep tech section. He was back I held him off as long as I could I was starting to cramp I eased up new the finish was getting close. took a rest behind him rounded a corner and the sprint was on he had about 50-75 yards on me I closed down to about 20-30 ft but legs were burnt to a crisp. Went spun my legs out for 30mins or so and packed up car and we where on are way back to AZ. We packed up another ride Ty who a supper fast U23 rider. Had a great trip back to Tucson dropped off 3 guys and then on to Phoenix to drop of Ty and back home to Clarkdale! Left Venue about 1500 arrived home at 0630 following morning.

Me at Finish

Sonora, TX

Only in TX

Mexico

Womens Elite Race

Subaru Trek Women Elite Race

Crank Brothers Elite Women

Emily Batty putting the hammer down to move up after flat on first lap

Cranks Borthers Women Elite

Yes that Is the Womens World Champion killing everyone

Rabobank Elite Women

Elite Women

Emily passing another place

Finish

Emily Batty

Elite Mens Start Loop

Elite Mens Start

February Training

2012-02-07T17:52:00.000-07:00

Last week I road mtn in sedona. Started on Girdner then to Wagon Wheel, dead mans, Aries, cockscomb, western civilization and finished on last frontier. Great set of trails. This was the last ride for my fork the damper was officially dead. I didn't have much suspension but the ride was still good, covered about 30 miles. Last few weeks have been good only missing a work out here and there due to work or kids. Feel like I'm making good improvement on base miles and endurance. Looking forward to the season at hand should be a good one! Thanks to all my supporters you help me through the tough times and encourage me to push myself!!!

Last couple of rides

2012-01-12T11:07:00.001-07:00

Last couple of rides were great wanted to get out and do 4 hours but was only able to get 3 because of time constraint daycare and daughter getting out of school. Any how went out and my goal was to have an over all avg speed increase. Went out solo and had a couple really good rides. Pushing my self a little more than I normally do. I tried to no matter what to not give up and slow way down. Also focused on pedaling I put on my old garmin w/ Spd and cadence and watched rpms. Tried to keep a high cadence over 90 to start and working towards 100 rpms avg. wow it's hard to have a high cadence with mtn. But it's all apart of the process of getting faster. I am learning a lot from graham and his experiences of riding with other high level pro cyclist. thank you! In the end Tuesday I covers about 34 miles in 3 hours and Wednesday cover about 38 in 3 hours. Still not good enough for me but it's improvement. Endurance is getting stronger and speed will come next along with Andy's coaching. Getting more and more excited about the race season to come. First mbaa race is Saturday not sure if I'm going to do it finances are kinda right after the move and shox is still out of service. Till next time thank you for you support !!!!

Training

2012-01-11T08:49:00.001-07:00

Training has been going good getting at least one if not 2 3.5 hr rides in a week. Have been slacking some on the weights though. I have been read this great book called "finding your zone" it's really helping me to get better about focusing and getting my motivation to just do it instead of thinking about doing it! I've been riding with someone fast a lot fast and that is really putting into perspective how much I need to work of I want to be a contender on the pro circuit! Getting strong and am in better shape than I think I was in all of last year cross my finger well find out come race day I'm getting excited about mellow Johnny's the first big race of the season. Need to start making plans for race weekend driving flying lodging wow this is an expensive journey but I love it and can't wait to take on a circuit!! Thanks to all my supporters and sponsors it's not possible with out you!!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart this is for you all!!!!

Ride 12/28

2011-12-29T22:27:00.001-07:00

Ride was good but shorter than I planned. Road with Graham who rides for CTS U23 team. Was on call for the ambo so needed to stay within 10 min of station. I road up to Jerome twice before I was called in to cover station. First time was a warm up graham started the pace between 11-12, I quickly said I need to warm up first. We set in around 9-10 mph and chatted as we ascended. He told me how he has become pretty good friends with tom Danielson who road for Harmon cervelo last year. Tom comes in quite a bit to the shop he works for. Talked a bit about races for this season how he's going to warm up for the UCI Pro season by doing some of the local MBAA races! We talked about routines. Second time up I didn't talk much graham set a good pace up we bounced from 8 near the bottom and 13 closer to the top. I fell back just bellow the high school. I donno what happen but my legs just stopped. I tried pushing it as best as I could but couldn't hold his pace. Kids a monster going to be a big shot in a few year if not sooner! The steep section wasn't horrid but just couldn't turn the legs over like I wanted to! Still kept spd up around 7-9 on the 16-20% grade section. Meet graham at top by one of the galleries and we continued on past gold long mine and onto the dirt road to Perkinsville. Quickly turned back around and headed down part way down felt pager go off twice, time for me to go to work. Graham desired to head over to Prescott and back to finish his ride! Kids a monster!

Dec 16, 2011

2011-12-17T10:41:00.001-07:00

Well today was a cold ride. 36 deg. Road mtn bike for 3 hours. Started out on a usual route from Zachary's daycare out sycamore canyon rd to buckboard rd up to bill gray rd around to 258b onto 9536? Down rust bucket around thumper. I added a new trail the bill ??? Trail in dead horse st park. I came out on Mingus extension and back to daycare.

The roads started out nice but as it warmed up to 45 deg the dirt started to cake on to the tires also the soft dirt felt like you where riding in sand. Made for a little extra effort but makes ya stronger. Tread didn't get to bad but enough to causing my wheel to spin when pedaling. Once onto single track tread cleaned out and Picked up speed . Road rust bucket to thumper no issues kept up a good pace! After thumper I tried a new trail. Started out pretty bad, torn up my horses and very soft and lose. After a few hundred yards turned into an alright trail! If maintained this could be a great trail to add some extra distance to area!!! Over all ride was good only was able to get in 3 hours but 3 is better than 2.

Prescott Sixxer

2011-11-25T07:49:00.000-07:00

Well not sure how to start this other than I finished and how it was an experience and endurance athletes are animals. Prescott Sixxer (http://www.dcbadventures.com/) is a 6 hour endurance race held in Prescott, AZ at Pioneer Park on November 19th, 2011. Weather was not too bad other than chilly between 30's and 40's. It was windy on the first half of the course. Course started with a half lap of the 9 mile loop then continuing on to the full loop. The course was a mixture of double track and single track. Terrain was rocky with lots of differing gradients with a few longer climbs. The course wasn't the best I have ever ridden but defiantly not the worst. Not warming up before the start was very hard not to do but with my usual race taking less than 2 hours I didn't want to over do it. Overall I had a good race no mechanical other than my chain dropping off small ring a couple times. Had plenty of water and Hammer gel. I drank a bottle every lap, each bottle was filled with water and whey protein to keep the calories coming in. The people all around where great the promoter DCB Adventures did as always a fa nominal job.

Let get to the racing!! We lined up and the horn went off! Right from the get go was about 5 places back. A lady was walking across the course with a stroller and stopped everyone in there tracks. I road in a circle so I didn't have to clip out, she jumped out of the way. Again we started and everyone took off again now I was in about 20th. My legs didn't seem to want to turn over and felt like lead weights. After about 2 hours of riding my legs seem to get better but my stomach started to have a pain. With every jolt it felt like someone was stabbing me in the side, the pain grew worst as time went on but I was convinced it would go away if I kept riding. Hour 2-4 was kinda a blur just kept my moving forward with the stabbing in my side. Mile by mile and lap by lap the time disappeared. I passing riders here and their and continued on. Still with every jolt my side continued to get worse. Pushing through the pain I continued on. As time drew on the climbs went from not so bad to starting to hurt. Pushing with every pedal stoke keeping my momentum up. I passed a few more on climbs by this time I was on my 5th lap. The leaders came by my like I was at a stand still. Pushing on and feeling the fatigue set in I kept on keeping on with my steady pace. 6th lap felt like an eternity it was never going to end watching my time and came across the the start line with 15min to spare continuing on with my seventh lap. Now the climbs felt like endless mountain as my legs throbbed from the 6 + hours of riding and my side still getting stabbed. Only a few miles out still keeping tire side down and maintaining a steady pace. The final climb was great knowing I only had a few more minutes. The final down hill I couldn't even get myself to push it. I crossed the finished with 6 hours and 48 minutes of riding time and about 70 miles of mountain biking! Today was a good day!! I will say overall the experience was good and I will probably do another 6 hour race! But I am defiantly sticking with XC racing the endurance racing is too much with kids and starting a career. Thank you Susie and Ashley for cheering me on and keeping me going. The pain almost unbearable and I almost gave in and went to the hospital! Thank you for reading and for supporting me!!

Training Ride Brad

2011-11-10T06:32:00.001-07:00

So went out for with my buddy brad who is an animal on the road and come to find out is also a animal on the mtn. He doesn't even have a mtn bike. We set out for a long ride in sycamore canyon road typical loop and head toward Sedona area. Maintained a good pace up and down climbs. The ride was good was out for 4.5 hours not much happen . But wow was I beat afterwards. Covered about 40 miles.

Verde Valley Independent Article 1

2011-10-12T14:58:00.001-07:00

4/26/2011 2:46:00 PM
Verde Valley man aspires to go pro

Patrick Wiatrolik traverses down a rocky portion of a trail at Dead Horse State Park. VVN/Sean Morris

Patrick Wiatrolik powers up a rocky incline on a trail at Dead Horse State Park. VVN/Sean Morris

Sean Morris
Sports Reporter

Cat One is right below pro--it's the highest amateur level. Cottonwood resident Patrick Wiatrolik isMountain Biking in Cat One right now, and he's training to go pro.

It's a huge commitment. There's only an elite group of riders who make it to the top because the competition is so fierce.

"It depends on how hard I train, and how many races I do," said Wiatrolik. "I'd like to say it could be this year, but in reality there's such an incredible difference in abilities, it will probably be a year or two years of solid riding and racing to be able to get to the pro level because you need that good competition to improve."

Luckily for Wiatrolik, the trails around the Verde Valley are the perfect proving ground for him to refine his skills. He came from the Midwest about five years ago, and the trails out here are a lot different.

"The trails around here are awesome. There's a lot of technical riding, and that's fun because I really enjoy the technical aspects--it definitely makes things a lot harder. It's a completely different breed of trails than those in the Midwest. You can't even compare them because they're just a different caliber of riding. A lot of my friends that come out to visit say these trails are absolutely hands-down amazing, best trails in the world," said Wiatrolik.

Riding nearly every day on the trails in the Verde Valley to train for races is equivalent to running with weights strapped to your legs, or warming up with a bat weight before stepping to the plate.

"Most of these trails are a little bit harder than the trails I race on," said Wiatrolik. "It gives me the ability to push myself further. With the technical riding and longer climbs around here, I continually improve and I can push myself to a further extent."

And you can tell he's been pushing pretty hard; his thighs are the size of Easter hams. The muscle definition of his legs is like a badge of honor--evidence of countless training hours pushing up hills.

Wiatrolik started Mountain Biking about 12 years ago, but his cycling background goes back even further to his BMX days. Sprinkle in a little road cycling and you realize Wiatrolik would probably ride anything with two wheels.

"My background in BMX helps me hugely. Every bit of cycling, whether it's BMX, road cycling, ormountain biking, they all go back and forth and help with one another. It helps to have a background in all of them. That's why I try to keep doing them, to a certain extent, to improve my riding ability," said Wiatrolik.

Recently he sold some of his spare bikes to fund his racing season. He also consolidated and bought a Giant XTC Advanced. He trains and races on the same bike.

"I just wanted to have something close to what the guys at the top are racing with," said Wiatrolik.

Right now, Wiatrolik is a reserve firefighter. That means he works when stations need him to cover. The hours aren't consistent, but he takes what he can get.

"If I was offered a full-time position I would take it," said Wiatrolik, "but I wouldn't stop training."

A lot of pro riders don't make enough money to quit their day jobs. Only a handful of pros are positioned well enough with sponsorships to make a living solely on a Mountain Bike racing career.

The hours of a typical firefighter (a few days on, a few days off) also lend themselves to having time for training and racing.

Balancing a family life and a career with Mountain Biking aspirations can be tricky. Wiatrolik is gone for several days at a time, traveling far distances around the country for various competitions, but he says his wife makes it easy on him.

"I have a five-year-old daughter named Avery, I have a two and a half-year-old son named Benjamin, and an almost two year-old son named Zachary," said Wiatrolik. "My wife means everything to me, she's my world. Without her I probably wouldn't exist. She does everything. She takes care of me and allows me to do what I want with racing. She allows me to maximize my potential and supports my racing, in all aspects."

Article Verde Valley Independent

2011-10-12T14:51:00.000-07:00

9/20/2011 2:46:00 PM
Mountain Biking Balancing Act
Patrick Wiatrolik splits time as a Category One mountain biker, reserve firefighter, and dad

Patrick Wiatrolik rides his bike on the foothills of Mingus Mountain close to his Clarkdale home. VVN/Sean Morris

Patrick Wiatrolik rides around his Mountain Gate Neighborhood with his three children, Benjamin, Zachary, and Avery. VVN/Sean Morris

Sean Morris
Sports Reporter

COTTONWOOD--As Patrick Wiatrolik quests for greatness and a national mountain biking championship, no roadmap exists to guide him.

If there's a book out there entitled, "How to be a happily married father of three, reserve firefighter, and compete nationally on a mountain bike," Wiatrolik hasn't found it yet, so for now he's learning what works as he goes.

His season just ended, and with his zeal for the sport and determination for national recognition still intact, Wiatrolik can look back at his season and evaluate what he did right and what he can do better next time.

"The season went great. It was harder than I anticipated, but I showed a lot of improvement," said Wiatrolik. "I learned a lot from the races, I got a lot of experience at the national level and there's no holding back. It's flat-out brutal the entire time. If you're not ready for it, it shows. There is no give at all, and if you're not giving 100 percent all the time, you're not going to place or even be in the top 10."

Success in mountain biking takes endurance, determination, and racing experience. You can win with athletic ability, but you also need to be crafty.

Riders look for any advantage they can gain. Thousands of dollars are spent on equipment, dietary supplements, even aerodynamics, but if you start a race without a full tank of gas you're shooting yourself in the foot. Wiatrolik was running on E to start his most important race.

"Nationals was in Sun Valley, Idaho, and I have to say I did pretty bad," said Wiatrolik. "I got in the top 20, and for a first time at nationals that's not that bad, but I drove 17 hours the night before and I got there at 4 a.m. The race was at 7 a.m. I was testing for a firefighting position and I didn't have a choice. My main priority is to get a full-time job as a fireman. It's give and take, and that's what I had to do."

Wiatrolik is still looking for that full-time position and he tests often, but like mountain biking, there's a lot of competition. He has faith that he'll get an opportunity, just like he has faith he can eventually go pro.

He says the most important thing for him to attain that goal in time on his bike training, but he also has responsibilities as a father and husband to uphold. Using a two-seat bike trailer with seat belts and a protective roll cage is one of his tricks in a balancing act between two passions.

Benjamin, his middle child, attends Verde Valley Christian preschool and the family lives in Clarkdale. Instead of driving him to school and paying for childcare for his youngest, Zachary, Wiatrolik uses his bike for transportation training sessions. He says the extra 75 pounds of kid and trailer weight helps his leg strength.

He also said putting his oldest, Avery, in preschool was hugely beneficial to her development, and as a kindergartner at Clarkdale-Jerome School she's already reading. She's also just learning to ride a bike and his dad offers this advice, "If you go faster, it's easier."

A piece of wisdom that applies to his high-level riding as well.

"My biggest triumph this season was the amount of knowledge I gained and the people I met," said Wiatrolik. "Placing wise, my top-five finish in a national race was huge, and my third place finish at the Arizona State Championship. In that race I was following the first and second place guys the whole way, but I just didn't have enough to get past them. We were all within a few hundred yards of each other and we all knew it because we raced with each other all season."

Wiatrolik's job is making things work, and he's doing a pretty great job, but he says there are important players that help him along the way.

"First off, I want to thank my family, my wife who lets me leave for multiple days on end to allow me to enjoy my hobby. All the guys at the firehouses play a huge role in supporting me as well, and they've always had my back, and they give me nothing but encouragement. My friends help me both mentally and financially. Aaron at Sultana helps out as much as possible. Brian Launius, M.D. is a guy I ride with a lot and he gives me a lot of support. Bradley Williams, M.D.,Ph.D gives me a lot of support too and that helps out immensely," Wiatrolik said. "My bike shop from back home in Illinois supplied me with my bike at a significant discount, otherwise I wouldn't be able to afford it. They're called the Cyclery and Fitness Center of Edwardsville."

Wiatrolik has set his sights on a Category One national championship next year, and he just started a blog to document the journey. You can see it at http://patrickwiatrolik.blogspot.com/

Fire on the Rim

2011-08-07T00:47:00.000-07:00

Today was a "training" since the season is pretty much over. I'm starting to do longer rides and races to improve my endurance. Fire on the Rim had 3 options 15, 30, 45 miles. I did the 30 miles. I didn't want to push myself to hard since its the start of base training for next season.

Didn't get much of a warm up only about 15 min. Race started out with a long climb on fire road. The pack stayed together for the first quarter mile and then people started to fall off the pace. I moved up to the front and kept the pace up dropping everyone but top 3 riders. We worked together on the fire roads and then split up on the single track. The single track was awesome. The descents where fast and technical, lots of rocks and ruts. The last 5 miles was mix of technical rock covered trail and paved road. Once again the trail was awesome. The end of the first lap we where about 45secants apart coming in at 1.19 and 1.20.

At the start of the second lap I was feeling pretty good but not looking forward to another 2200 ft of elevation gain, most of which is on the first climb. Climb started and I could see the 2 other guys one right in front of me Nick who rides for AZ DEVO and another Jason riding for Exhale bikes. I was only able to cut off a few seconds on the first parts of the climb. I was inching closer and closer the second part of the climb. We hit the descent and about 45 seconds into the descent I hear and see my rear tire get sliced on a rock. I look to check out the damages thinking shit even though that's not what i was saying. My tire had a nice 2" cut running from the side wall to the middle of the tread. Which is not fixable. I jump on my bike and continue one to see how far I can make it with a flat tire. I make it down the descent and on to paved road. I was amazed on how much traction I still had, but was still very little to a properly inflated tire offers. I continued on at a much slower pace hearing all the helpers say you got a flat and I thanking them for letting me know after I asked each one if they had a spare wheel laying around. I made it to the "flat" technical section I continued to ride what I could ride and walked/ran what I couldn't ride. Surprising still passing people that didn't have a flat. I would tell them keep it up there doing great as I think thing to my self I hope to don't eat shit in front of someone!!! After about 25 minutes I get past by a rider who was in the 0-18 category. The whole time thinking I'm about to get passed by a ton of racers in the 30 mile category. this helped to to stay motivated along with the sooner I get back the sooner this fiasco is over. The last couple miles was pretty uneventfully other than a wonderful guy who was handing out cups of beer!! Which I most definitely did not turn down at this point I needed it. I Chug it while still riding and a few minutes later I was crossing the finish line in 2nd for which I did not know at that time.
WOW what a ride. Can't wait for next years race this was a great venue and the people of Pine where great!! Special thanks to all the volunteers who helped put this event on!!!