Thank Steven for the egg nog!

This is what my bottles looked like after I got home this afternoon. What is it that causes us make totally stupid decisions that go against all the good stuff we've been taught? It was 12 degrees at Klondike Park in St.Charles this afternoon which was the site of Team Seagal's CXmas non-race. For whatever reason I decided earlier this week that I was doing it no matter what. Even when the predicted highs dropped from 28 to 16, I was in. Even when I started to feel the effects of a head and chest cold starting, I was in. So back to the real bad decision.



I made up two bottles with the intent to use one an hour, hoping I would finish in two-BAD IDEA- read on. The non-race was 30 miles of mostly gravel road, Katy/Hamberg, pavement with a hint of trail and unimproved gravel. We started in Klondike, rode down to the Katy, then made a left on Terry Road, Oh Terry Road. That thing is a hell of a climb! Not as steep as Matson Hill Road but certainly longer, more rollers. Then we turned onto Duke Road, a paved and also rolling road. Luckily we then turned and descended Matson Hill Road which led us back to the Katy. Miles into what seemed like a headwind brought us to the Hamberg turn off and soon our first check point. Long before this I realized that my bottles were frozen solid(effect of said bad idea), I thought about dumping them somewhere where I could retrieve them later so I wouldn't have to carry the dead weight, but never did it. Approaching the first check point I saw a table with cups stacked half-time-at-a-soccer-game style. Behind the cups I could see Pabst 12 packs and expected to have to down a cup of beer. Instead it was egg nog! If we could have a Tour De Egg Nog much like the Tour De Doughnut(which I want to try sometime), I think I would win. Not that I'm an egg nog fan, but I put that mofo down! It turned out to be my only hydration for the event which was fine. Up the Hamberg to turn into the back side of Lost Valley, I finally put some time on the fella, Ryan Heine I think, that I was swapping places with for the last 10 miles. He was on a fixed gear cross bike, I rode this. My Retrotec "Classic" that I picked up about three years ago. You know how when it's really cold all your components seem to operate "slow like", my whole bike felt slow. When I got home, I noticed my rear hub has a bearing that is locked up, done. Don't think it would have made any difference in my finish, which happened to be 4th. One place away from a coveted CXmas hat, dammit! Back to Lost Valley.

After bombing down the rough gravel downhill and suffering up the big gravel climb I approached the first "detour". It was supposed to be the "mud pit", but given the temps was the "rutted field of ice". About a mile later I came to detour #2. This one forced a dismount up onto an old foundation, over several old steel I-beams and down a couple of steps. Didn't even know that old thing was there. If you have it, click on google earth once you've opened my GPS recording of the non-race. You can see the foundation at the upper left corner of what looks like the northern loop, pretty cool! One more descent out of Lost Valley and the advantage for the mountain bike was over, all smooth from here. We crossed Hwy 94 back to the Hamberg trail. Another check point loomed ahead. You may have trouble believing this, but we were given a large, wrapped(like a Christmas present) box and told to carry it all the way back to the Terry Road and Katy junction. WTF! over. So I did. It was empty, but still a pain in the ars to carry. When I finally made it to the drop off point we also had to do a series of barricades in tall off camber grass. I was spent by then and started to cramp at the thought of lifting my heavy legs over the obstacles. After lumbering through I got back on the bike, stretched and pushed into a wicked head wind all the way to the finish. I was glad to be done, toes and fingers numb. The people with face masks had ice from frozen breath, the guys with facial hair had ice beards.

Felt ok after a half hour in Michaels Jeep with the engine running and the heated seat on. Michael did it on his urban road bike with mountain style handle bars. He only had 28mm road tires and ended up flatting once in Lost Valley and soon after a second time. He was able to nurse the second one all the way home to finish. I can not imagine changing a flat in that cold, it kills your fingers. Greg Ott did it on his only bike, a Niner One 9 single speed. Good job to both!

Thanks to Team Seagal for putting this on. It's one thing to get dressed up and ride in this weather, it's another to come out and put on an event for free. They stood out in the cold for registration, taking pictures, manning check points and waiting for everyone to finish AFTER marking the course-very well(plus clean up). Was run as well as most sanctioned events I've been to, even the "floating finish line" was cool, you had to chase it down! Mark it down for next year all youins that stayed home and ate bon bons.

Ahh, here it is! I've said all along that I was happy on a hardtail and that full suspension wasn't necessary with big wheels, but now look at me. I thought it would be cool to do my winter riding on a squishy bike and maybe prove myself wrong. Niner does an excellent job with the details on the frame, now it's time to see how it rides.

The design is a VPP(Virtual Pivot Point) in which the rear end swings as if attached to a pivot located out in front of the cranks. By changing the length and arc of the linkage plates they can control the path of the rear axle throughout the travel. This is where the CVA(Constantly Varying Arc) comes from. In the first part of the travel the rear wheel actually travels back, most of this travel should be taken up by sag if set up properly. From that point on the wheel follows a more upward path. This translates to a very active suspension that braking and drivetrain forces have little affect on.

BTEpic

The results for the Berryman Epic are up.

1 CHRIS PLOCH 30 1 1ST 30-39 GEAR 4:42:46
2 BRAD HUFF 29 2 1ST 29- GEAR 4:43:29 69
3 MIKE BEST 34 3 2ND 30-39 GEAR 4:44:3269
4 MATT KEEVEN 32 4 1ST SING SING 4:45:17
5 TRAVIS THROWER 21 5 2ND 29- GEAR 4:52:29
6 MITCH JOHNSON 34 6 3RD 30-39 GEAR 4:53:05 66
7 CLAYTON BELL 25 7 3RD 29- GEAR 4:55:13
8 RICHARD MACHYCEK 42 8 1ST40-49 GEAR 5:01:55
9 JIM VANDEVEN 34 9 GEAR 5:04:50
10 DWAYNE GOSCINSKI 37 10 GEAR 5:05:09
11 ANDY GIBBS 35 11 GEAR 5:06:50
12 JEREMY BRADSHAW 33 12 GEAR 5:19:11
13 WES BIERMANN 31 13 GEAR 5:20:29
14 JIM KREWET 35 14 2ND SING SINGLE 5:24:45
15 ERIC SCHUCK 50 15 1ST 50+ GEAR 5:29:12
16 DAN FUHRMANN 16 GEAR 5:31:42
17 SCOTT PEIPERT 27 17 3RD SING SINGLE 5:34:57
18 STEVE HULL 54 18 2ND 50+ GEAR 5:35:50
19 NATE MEANS 36 19 GEAR 5:39:06
20 SAM YOUNT 27 20 GEAR 5:45:30
21 JASON OZENBERGER 33 21 GEAR 5:45:40
22 RICK SEDERBERG 59 22 3RD 50+ GEAR 5:47:27
23 GARRETT SPEINMUT 23 GEAR 5:48:15
24 CHRISTIAN STIZTZ 30 24 GEAR 5:49:45
25 STACEY LAPRESTA 31 25 1ST WOMEN GEAR 5:49:58
26 MATT PAYES 30 26 SINGLE 5:51:55
27 SCOTT MORTIMER 36 27 GEAR 5:53:34
28 TOM ALBERT 50 28 GEAR 5:53:35
29 DOUG LONG 55 29 GEAR 5:57:30
30 CHARLES EMMONS 33 30 GEAR 5:57:31
31 BRYAN ADAMS 41 31 2ND 40-49 SINGLE 5:59:39
32 DATHAN ATCHISON 39 32 GEAR 6:00:30
33 MATT SCHWEIKER 22 33 GEAR 6:01:43
34 ALLEN COCHRAN 33 34 GEAR 6:02:05
35 ALAN CORUM 35 35 GEAR 6:02:47
36 NATHAN KOEN 25 36 SINGLE 6:03:27
37 TOM LAURIA 57 37 GEAR 6:04:23
38 ANDY SCHUETTE 25 38 GEAR 6:05:06
39 LOREEN MATTSON 40 39 2ND WOM GEAR 6:06
40 ADAM MANNINEM 25 40 GEAR 6:08:24
41 JARRED BRACKETT 35 41 GEAR 6:11:30
42 CHAD BRIXEY 38 42 GEAR 6:16:07
43 TODD HOLTMANN 39 43 GEAR 6:17:50
44 ANDREW WARRER 22 44 GEAR 6:20:09
45 CHASE KELLY 23 45 GEAR 6:21:16
46 CODY RANKIN 34 46 GEAR 6:21:36
47 JARRET KINDER 29 47 GEAR 6:21:59
48 BRIAN ROGGEVEN 34 48 GEAR 6:26:33 182
49 BRIAN BUSKEN 37 49 GEAR 6:28:09
50 MATHEW FULLBRIGH 37 50 GEAR 6:29:17
51 SARA MILLER 27 51 3RDWOM GEAR 6:31:15
52 JR. SHOEMAKER 45 52 3RD40-49 GEAR 6:31:59
53 WALTER DAVIS 40 53 GEAR 6:35:28 120
54 ROBERT METZ 24 54 GEAR 6:37:10
55 JASON MATYAS 29 55 GEAR 6:44:50
56 KAREN HOLTMAN 38 56 GEAR 6:44:50
57 KERRY RASCHER 45 57 GEAR 6:46:15
58 PETE BERMUDEZ 60 58 SINGLE 6:48:10
59 SARA PARRISH 40 59 SINGLE 6:48:13
60 TOM BURKS 62 60 GEAR 6:59:59
61 STEVE MILLER 43 61 GEAR 7:01:30
62 CHAD CANFIELD 33 62 GEAR 7:05:55
63 SUSAN WILLIAMS 42 63 GEAR 7:11:42
64 KEVIN WILLIAMS 25 64 GEAR 7:14:35
65 MARK SIEVERS 46 65 GEAR 7:39:20
66 CHRIS LUDWIG 47 66 GEAR 7:49:00
67 LON FARINELLA 33 67 GEAR 7:49:01
68 123 68 GEAR 9:24:2769 181
69 GEAR 9:24:3670 58
70 GEAR 9:29:13 103

Gone in a Flash

This is my year, so I'll apologize now for the time you'll never get back if you take a few minutes to read this.

2008 has come and gone. What a year! When I think back to last fall completing my first 24 hour solo and then two weeks later my 4th Burnin' 12 hour, I knew then I was hooked. Hanging out with Dwayne Goscinski and Chad Brixey at the 24 made the monster effort doable. I had ridden with Dwanyne several times at the Ranch and the Burnin' 12 hour two other years. I knew Chad from my previous life in Springfield, Mo. but it had been a long time since I had seen him. I planned to train all winter and stay in good shape, that didn't pan out. Come March of this year I hadn't ridden much and I went on a ride at Lost Valley with Michael Rawitcher, Greg Ott and Dave Dellisio and barely hung on. That was it!

The next weekend the same group of four did a long, for that time of year, road ride. It was cold but my attitude was different. We knocked out a little over 60 miles in the hills out west and I was the strongest at the end. Towing 236 pounds up all those hills was not where I wanted to be. After that, I really watched my diet and rode whenever I could.

I now had a goal, Dwayne and I were talking about doing a 100 mile race in July. Although there were lots of races before then, I knew even July would be a push, so I refrained. Lots of riding, 3 months and about 25 pounds lost later, Dwayne and I were thinking about a SUPER ride. We planned it for July 5 and I was definitely nervous about venturing out on this one with Super Dwayne and his huge base miles. Long story short, it was incredible. 167 miles, every hill we could work into it. I started at my house in Manchester, Dwayne at his in Crystal City and rode toward each other until we met near House Springs. We did a big loop on stuff I normally ride but was mostly new to him and then cruised south and did his big loop which was new to me. We ended up at his house and I drove back home. We were in 5 different counties that day so we named the ride such. I was beyond wasted at about 140 miles but continued on and finished as strong as I ever would have expected. 5 Counties Ride.

Michael, Dwayne and I planned a trip to Colorado to coincide with the Breckenridge 100 race I mentioned earlier. I was stoked because Michael and Dan Libby, from Denver had decided to do the 38 mile version of the race. The trip was incredible, the race was...well hard, fun, demoralizing....I could keep going. Short version, I quit after 68 miles. Dwayne didn't think 100 was enough so he did 110+, but finished. Michael was glad to only have signed up for 38. The altitude was a killer. Started at 9600ft, peaked at 12,600+ft and never dropped below 9,200ft. For us Midwesterners there just wasn't enough oxygen. The rest of the trip was awesome! Day in day out riding, visiting with Jim and Judy in BV. Riding the Crest trail again. The photo on my cover page is Michael near the beginning not far from Monarch Pass. The photo at the top is the view of Jimmer's work shop with some little mountains in the background.

Now we're on to August. Mandy and I wanted to do the Moonlight Ramble on our tandem. It starts at midnight and takes about an hour and a half to ride. The thing is I was planning on doing my first cross country(shorter and faster) race in Cape the next morning. We got home at about 2:45am and I had to leave the house by 6am to make the 9am start, who needs sleep? If you think that's nuts, Dwayne did the 12 hour at Landahl in K.C. which finished after midnight and proceeded to drive home, took a short nap and then headed to Cape himself! He took off like a madman at the start, I just tried to hang on. Then there were three, we dropped the rest. Brad from Cape was leading and Dwayne began to fade(as he should have!). I chased Brad but had to settle for 2nd. OK by me, I was back! Dwayne wasn't far behind me.

Then I had my sights on a new adventure, my first 6 hour. 12 hour races for me to this point had been go super easy and be smooth. A 6 hour is short enough that you have to go fast, but long enough for endurance to play a major role. I couldn't believe the turnout. There were over 40 racers going solo! I decided to ride my single speed bike to keep things simple and this was a great course for it. Except for getting started way back in the pack it was an awesome race. I started my last lap in 5th place and briefly caught up to Mike Best who was in 4th, but he had more in his tanks than I did, so 5th it was. I was happy.

My next bright idea was to go with the Monsanto Mavericks and help raise money for MS research by riding in the MS 150. And as always, 150 wasn't enough. Greg and I did the double century but it felt great. What a great group of people!

In lieu of the Landahl 24 that we had planned on racing all year and then was canceled, Dwayne, Chad and I then traveled to Ohio to the 24 hours of Mohican. What a weekend. A 9+ hour drive, packing way too much stuff, raining on us most of the way there and pouring on us when we got there, it couldn't have been better. Fun course, good people and the most I've been able to ride with friends at one time, ever! Seemed like the three of us did lap after lap together. I was happy with 3rd place considering the guy that got 4th won it last year! If I go back to this one I will be taking a helmet camera, some of the stuff we rode you wouldn't believe!

Now for some R & R. Mandy-my wife of 12 years, Adam-my 8 year old, Eric-my 3 year old and I headed to Florida and a Disney filled week. We had a blast and due to my wife's excellent planning, picked the perfect time of year to go, great weather and no crowds. I found out that I don't like to be spun around in circles really fast!

After our trip I had one week until the 5th Burnin' at the Bluff 12 hour, the race to always look forward to. Dwayne is always fast, I knew Zach Brace was fast last year and was gunning for it this year. Zach's times last year were way faster than mine and only because he stopped did I finish ahead of him. I didn't really pay much attention to who else was in the race, I just assumed there were some other fast guys but didn't want to waste the energy on worrying. Typical start, which happened to be a 200ish meter run to your bike, I DON'T RUN WELL. I found myself lumbering through the short cut grass as if it was prairie grass up to my waist, heart rate 180, place-near dead last. I've got 12 hours, right? I spent the next 15 minutes trying to pass slower riders on the narrow and sometimes treacherous single track. Soon I caught Zach who was behind a bunch of other riders. I decided I would stick with him, if he passed someone, I was going to pass them. He says I was pushing him, that is, making him feel like he was slowing me up or something, but my head was about to explode the whole time. With the run we turned a 1:14 1st lap! My second lap was 1:13 with a 3 minute break, the only time I've come close to a 1:10 lap in a 12 hour. The lap is about 13 miles, mostly single track, rocky and has several climbs, none of which are super tough.

My third lap, I was on track to come in well under 1:10 when my master link on my chain failed and when it did, it took my rear der. with it. Like a dummy, I had forgotten my chain tool. My only hope, as it happened with 5 miles left in the lap, was to borrow a chain tool and shorten my chain to create a single speed. I ran with my bike, a loosing proposition, for about a mile until someone gave me a tool-Thank You! It was the hottest part of the day and I was on the dam so I kept running to get in the woods and some shade. I tried to put the chain on my 21t cog but it wasn't tight enough and bounced off as soon as I tried to ride. So I figured I would put it in the smallest cog since that's where it was bouncing off to. I did and as soon as I pedaled it shifted up to the next cog making the chain unbelievable tight and tough to turn. But hey, it wasn't falling off, so I made the best of it and pushed my hee-man gear(71.38 inches). I still managed a ride time of 1:21 but lost about 45 minutes and had to work so hard that I had to take a longer break before going back out. You see, everyone razzed me for bringing extra bikes, but because I did I was able to keep on racing.

I set up my back up bike and rode 5 more laps feeling like I was doing the right thing by not quitting. On my 8th and last lap of the day I was riding at night. I LOVE night riding! I was picking off riders one by one and soon at the 4 mile marker came across a guy I had never met, Kyle Shour. I was going way faster than he was but waited to pass in a safe place. When I did he asked me what class I was, "solo", I said. Then he asked me what lap I was on,"8", I said. "How bout you?", I asked. In a bummed out voice he said,"8". That was it, just the boost I needed. If nothing else, I had just moved up a spot on the last lap. I had no idea where I was, could have been 10th place for all I knew. I tore up that last lap and when I finished and everyone realized that I had passed Kyle for 3rd place,they went nuts. Again, I was super happy with that. I knew that 1st and 2nd would be Dwayne and Zach, although not in that order. Zach had the race of his life. He had passed Dwayne and even with a flat on the last lap, won the 5th Burnin' 12 hour. Way to go Zach! And by the way, the picture of the trophies at the top....Anybody else have all 5?

The end was near. This past weekend had to have been the high of all highs for me. I don't win much and when there is tough competition, I don't usually place well. Enter, Berryman Epic. A 55-60 mile race including the Berryman Trail, Ozark Trail and gravel roads. 92 racers, I hoped to 1st, finish and 2nd, place top 20. A neutral start got us rolling and led us to a 2 mile gravel road that essentially climbed most of the time, not my forte. I pushed reasonably hard to get pretty far up before entering the single track, I had learned my lesson. This race was just fun! I found myself riding with guys that are consistently faster than me, Wes. I just tried to ride my pace and pound on. We came up on Travis on the side of the trail. I think he had crashed, so he got on with us and it wasn't long before he passed me. I pushed on and soon was at the first check point. The check points are to verify that each rider completes the entire course. Checked in and off I went. Caught Jim Vandeven just before and thought for sure he'd be right there with me, but never saw him again. Passed a few riders fixing flats, but saw no one else before the Berryman check point. I had a hard time finding my feed bag and when I did, I grabbed new water bottles and took off.

We started south on the OT, I had never ridden any of this and it was cool. Lots of climbing and my heart rate was too high so I backed off. Nearing 28 miles on my computer, I heard a rider closing in on me from behind. Mentally, this killed me. He didn't look like anyone special, so I thought I was going to become a door mat for everyone behind me. Come to find out it was Brad Huff, who is an accomplished pro cyclist. In a little bit I came to the next check point and the end of the OT. The lady said, "8th place". I asked her to repeat herself as I couldn't believe it. It was on now! I pulled on to the gravel road and shifted to my big ring and began "mashing". It wasn't long and I came up on Eric Pirtle. He was cramping and was done, that's racing. So that meant 7th place. I continued to hammer. Back on a short section of blacktop now I looked up and could see another rider. It seemed like I was gaining on him when we started up a near mile long climb back to Berryman campground. He pulled away from me, I must emphasize, I don't climb well . At the top, I stopped to grab something to eat and started to ride away when I noticed the rider I was chasing was still filling his bottles, so I took off. I knew this next section well so I gave it all I had.

The climb after turning off of the last of the single track was brutal. A long straight climb with no break. You could see all the way to the top, so that meant you could see all the way down from the top. I pushed my way up it and then turned around expecting to see someone on my heels and saw no one! I wasn't home free, but I felt pretty good about where I was. Head down, hammering into a headwind, I suffered my way back. When I started down the big hill we had climbed in the beginning and I figured out where I was, I let it all go. I almost wiped out at the bottom of the hill because I was going so fast. Soon I was done. Not the usual 20-30 riders already finished and showered. Chris Ploch, Brad Huff, Mike Best, Matt Keeven and Travis Thrower all still dressed in their gear looking tired like me. But where's Dwayne? I hadn't passed him. I find out later that he missed a turn and I must have been very close to him and got by him before he figured it out. Killer race, can't wait to do it next year!

I can't believe all that happened this year. Gone in a Flash!