Dun Blowed It!

I had a chance to do something I've never done before, ride 200 miles in one day. It hurts, no matter what, no matter who.

The Nine Mile 24 hour started out with a longer than I expected run to our bikes. Running is ok if you are anyone but me, running in cycling gear(shoes) while starting a 24 hour mtb race SUCKS! Around 250 (runners) started the race and I couldn't believe I got on my bike about mid-pack. We rode about half a mile on double track to find a bottle neck at the start of the single track. Next time I walk to my bike, hang out for 5 minutes and ride my own pace. Nothing like red-lining, then STOPPING to wait and then riding the single track as slow as possible. Soon it smoothed out and we were cruising. Dwayne dropped his chain and in a blink we were "out of sight", he said. All that did was allow me to lead him for at least ONE lap of this freak show. I went harder than I wanted to and felt I paid the price later on.

The miles clicked off relatively fast dispite the technical sections we encountered. The loop was a little over 14 miles, several of which were either gravel or cross country ski trails, kind of like double track with only one track. Anyone who says that this trail is not technical is smoking crack. There was a section from the 4 to the 5 mile marker that lacked a 20 foot section of the trail that didn't have either 5 turns or 15 rocks and roots. It wasn't that difficult mind you, just not that easy at 2am. There were a half dozen rock gardens that separated the men from the boys and more turns than Deal's Gap ever thought about. I did have to laugh when I came across the XXX-Danger signs. Tough sections and I guess if you were in a 14th hour daze, you could get hurt. We didn't prepare enough to have quick transitions and wasted time between laps. Next time we have bottles sitting out and stop less.

It rained on us in the late afternoon but the trail recovered well. I should have changed clothes after it rained and paid the price later with some saddle(butt) issues. The night laps were fun and I was getting back into it when I kind of hit a wall. I was cold so I decided to get into dry stuff and eat some real food. Once dry and clean, the tent looked real good. I climbed in for about an hour and a half and warmed back up. By the time I got going again the lights were no longer needed. I couldn't believe how well I was riding at this point in the race. Seeing the sun come up was a good boost. Knocked out a few more laps and started to think about the nine hour drive home and cleaning up our campsite/pit area. The voluteers at the check in table told me that I was seconds away from being lapped by the leader and so I called it. I should have checked for myself on the computers. He started lap 13 51 minutes ahead of me and I reduced that lead to 30 minutes by the end of that lap. His last lap was 1:53 and I had just finished a 1:25 lap with a short break. If I had ridden a 14th lap, 2nd place would have been a given. That would have forced a 15th lap by one or both of us, or a truce. All that's easy to say now that I'm recovered sitting in my cosy chair, I was in some pain and discomfort at the time. It was still stoooopid.

Still close to 200 miles, still 4th place. I was showered, had eaten and taken down our camp/pit by the time 3rd place came in. Indiana, here we come. Maybe this time, with less than a year since my last attempt, I'll remeber to not make the same mistakes.

24 hours of 9 mile

Dwayne and I are leaving tonight for Wausau,WI to ride in a 24 hour race. Surprizingly, it's a 14.2 mile course. If interested Granny Gear uses Real Time scoring and you can watch us turn laps into the night. We carry a timing chip that posts our times within seconds of completing a lap on the web. Sorry, I can't tell you exactly how to look at the times once you get there but I think it will be relatively easy to figure out. I'm in the "Men's solo just for fun" and Dwayne is "Men's solo singlespeed". It costs less than half to not race for the Championships so we figured we would have to win a ton of prize money to break even if we had, so we went just for fun. The race starts at 11am Saturday and ends at 11am Sunday.

If you watch closely you will be able to tell when I shove a stick into Dwayne's front wheel in an attempt to gain back lost time. I've also replaced his Stan's sealant with whole milk. So not only will he not have flat protection, but I figure by Sunday morning his bike will begin to smell real perty! Wish us(me) luck.

Non Race #1 Chubb Challenge

This post is bound to expand like my belly after 3 delicious tall PBR's, a burger, a brat and half a bag of chips. Which happens to be what I ingested after claiming the "Champion" ranking from this years first Team Seagal non-race. Beyond that I just had a freaking awesome time yesterday at Chubb.

It was cool as shit to see all those people out there ready to scrape some paint(and knees, and shins, and elbows......) in front of a crowd. I must declare to all who graced this event with their presence, I have ridden Chubb more times than most people have ridden a mountain bike. That trail taught me how to ride, period. Ride Chubb and you can ride almost anything. Anytime you think you are good, there is a different line that will kick your ass.

There were as many, if not more, single speeds as geared bikes. I thought about the single speed but I was going to put a wuss ass gear on, so I refrained. No way in hell I would have made hardly any of those sections on a single speed. But sections were made by many sporting gears that I couldn't run at Lost Valley.

We got to see spectacular, slow motion falls. We heard chainrings scraping rocks(including my own XTR big ring). Frames and forks bouncing off of rocks like empty PBR cans. Blood was spilled, tubes were punctured, chains were torqued from their rings(Jim, pure power). After all was said and done we finished to a grill of hot goodies and lots of ice cold PBR. Wendy made enough cheese stuff to feed ALL of the Shriners, mmmmmm cheese spread!

If you missed it, shame on you. And in case you are wondering, if you don't feel capable but are interested in this event, next year come out and hike along with us. This could easily be spectated on foot. Thanks to Seagal for a fun Sunday. Hope to have some pics soon.

Here is a link to some video. Thanks Greg!

Sacked

Didn't plan on doing this one when I was plotting the upcoming race season. 3+ hour drive and a course that I didn't care for too much last time I rode it. I remember it being a little over 3 miles and rough as hell. Not the fun kind of rough, just rough. A series of events changed my mind and Sac River was calling to me.

Greg, Dwayne and I went down early Sunday morning encountering some rain on the way down, but nothing too bad. It had clearly rained there sometime that morning but only made the rocks and roots a little slick. We registered and suited up for a pre-race lap. I could immediately tell that this was a much improved version of what I had last ridden in 1997ish. It had everything. 6.3 miles of fast and smooth, twisty and rooty, and loaded with rock ledges to go up and down. I was very happy with my choice to race the Jet 9, my short travel, 29" wheeled full suspension bike.

I started out at a slightly below redline pace and sat in around 6th place going into the woods. Within 2 miles I was in second place with Greg on my heals until he flatted. I never saw anyone again, including Dwayne. Didn't expect to. I had a pucture in my front tire on the second lap and my sealant took care of it for me. Didn't lose that much pressure so I pushed on. I finally got passed on my 4th lap by the 3 fastest experts and eventually a 4th followed by the two "old guy" experts and Gino, one fast single speeder on my 5th lap. Turns out Dwayne wasn't too far ahead until the last lap. I kept him to a sub 7 minute lead through the first four but he had over 14 minutes after the 5th lap. He put in a He-Man effort on the last lap chasing an expert while I started to run out of gas. I fully expected him to lap me, or at least make it out for a 6th lap. He didn't miss it by much.

Bike worked well. I felt pretty good. I haven't been feeling my best lately and have been trying to figure out why. I used this race as a gauge to see where I am in my training. I was scared to death that I had over-trained. This is often the end of a season and is very hard to recover from. I was worried because Dwayne and I are heading out next week to race a 24hr in Wisconsin. I rode well last Tuesday night at Lost Valley and completed my first century this year today so I think all is well.

Best part is that I still have the series lead by two points, Bou-ya! Here is a link to my race on the new Garmin Connect.