Race Report: MNMBS #1 - Freewheel Frolic and Buck Hill

Last Wednesday night I packed up the car for a weekend of racing- attempting three races in four days! Thursday night Buck Hill, Saturday the MN series opener at Salem Hills, and possibly a Sunday Duathlon at Hillside Park in Elk River.

Thursday noon comes and I take off to Burnesville hoping to get there around 5:30...I roll in around 6:05 which gave me just enough time to register, change, pedal once around the parking lot and line up. These races are so fun though- and this gives me an opportunity to try out some new strategies that TJ has talked to me about. My start was not great (having to unclip and stop 20 yards off the start line) so I sort of just let the race unfold easy. Most of the field was ahead of me going into the first singletrack, but remained calm, over the four lap race I passed maybe 20-30 others and felt great at the end. Good enough run to have some motivation for Saturday!

Heavy rains arrived on Friday and didnt quit until Saturday afternoon. the mud tires go on and after a decent warm-up I line up with an unusually small wave- I guess the rain kept a lot of people away!

The start was a mad sprint around a grassy off camber prologue to the muddy singletrack. Looking at the tire choices of others I was not worried about having to be at the front as I knew my setup was going to be very predictable once in the mud and could catch others- and I was not wrong. The first lap felt good and the bike was handling great- no sliding through the greasiness or spinning out on the short power climb.

Problems came though at the end of the first lap and into the second. Mud had caked the rear derailleur and cassette and I could not get it to stay in gear! It jumped every other pedal stroke....until about 1/3 way into the 2nd lap I found one gear that would work and hold...unfortunately it was the 28 tooth rear and 32 front- not the best choice for this course! but better than a dnf since I'm already here!

Needless to say I got passed back by a lot of people as I was spinning as fast as possible and definitely as long and fast as I've ever done in a race situation ha! Oh well, finished a little better than mid pack overall which is better than I expected. Good times. Looking forward to seeing the pictures that Dana Shoppe has for this one!

Mechanical trouble (i.e. no brakes) and general bike and equipment cleansing and adjustments kept me from being able to make the duathlon in Elk River. I was a little bummed about missing that but, training-wise...the efforts on Saturday were enough for a stellar workout.

I got to spend some time with great friends as well that I don't get to see very often now that I live in Omaha- always great to see them and take shots at each other about trail riding (or lack thereof for some), our "Acquire" championships (which by the way I'm now in the lead for 2011), and other general topics worth trash talking about ;)

Thanks to John Reinan, and Lisa and Klaus Schneegans for their excellent hospitality! Bandit, Ajax, and I really appreciate it!

Race Report: Platte River Park - Psycowpath Series #3

Lack of pre-race prep = mediocre performance. Arrived at Platte River State Park later than I wanted and wasnt really able to get any pedaling in before the race. This was a problem when everyone sprinted from the start (which was also lemans style). A lot of people were in front of me when I got to the initial climb...I passed a bunch but had to put in lots of effort, and without a warm-up I also paid for about 10-15 mins later and had to back off...way off.

After backing off for 20 mins I finally got my rhythm and could pick up the pace, but many had passed me again and I realized I was already halfway through the race!! Going into lap 2 I felt decent and caught a few people particularly around the technical rock section- where I made up A LOT of time as I didn't need to dismount on either lap.

Came through the finish at 1hr 6mins...fun course and fun to be racing...but really? ...mediocre CAT 2 finishes with that time? We need to be racing for 90+ minutes at least. Looks like for the remainder of the season its going to be the marathon class for me! The 3 hour races will be just the ticket with how I like my races to progress.

Race Report: Kansas Fat Tire Festival...Top 3!

Wow what a weekend. Friday night after all packed and ready for a trip to Oklahoma I just happened to notice on USAC's website that the race is CANCELLED! Thought about Iola for WORS, but thats quite a jaunt for overnight. Then found the Kansas Fat Tire Festival...and it was only about 4 1/2 hours away! They claimed that this course at Lake Wilson, KS reminds people of riding in Colorado...seemed a bit of a stretch for Kansas?! However...the area of the state park we rode in was called the "Hell Creek" area.

They were not kidding. I did not get a pre-ride in so I found out as I went. For anybody thats ridden the loose sandy rocky stuff along the foothills in Colorado...this was identical...and played in my favor. Decided to drive down Sunday morning- arrived 10:45am with 1hr 15 mins to race time. Register, change, check the bike, organize the fuel, short warm-up and lined up. I was running my XR1/XR0 setup...I was the only one like that- everyone else was running XR2s or 3s, Rocket Rons, and other luggy stuff because of all the sand and rocks. They've ridden here, I hadn't so I was a little nervous but whatever.

About 40-45 line up for Cat 2 mass start and we were off. Good start around 7th going into the singletrack when those ahead of me really checked up on the pace. All CAT 1, 2, and SS were doing one full lap of 21 miles and I guess they were saving, but maybe a little too much?? Not really used to this, but I picked them all off within the first few miles and found myself leading the pack...which was good, because it was about that time when we hit the technical sections...and they were serious gnarly rocky uphill and downhill switchback loose and sandy stuff- I was in heaven because typically I can ride this stuff a little better than others in my class.

I heard lots of "RIDERS DOWN!"s yelled out behind me and could only imagine the bikes stacking up behind. I was AMAZED at the performance of my tire setup. These tires worked awesome, and hooked way better than I thought in this terrain. My legs felt great and was waiting to feel them start to fade from the pace I was trying to keep but it never really happened! The workouts from TJ really showed up here!!

However, one point I was one of the guys that somebody yelled rider down for...over the bars on a steep rock sort-of-drop that I was surprised with around a blind corner haha! Some good trail-cred on the left shin and right wris but nothing really worth bragging about. One other "incident" was me showing off a bit for some cameras and a crowd at a road crossing that had a nice high speed ramp built up to it...that went well...however, I had so much speed off the landing that I didn't see the next ramp about 100 yards further down the trail...this was definitely the longest air I've gotten on a mountain bike...I had enough time to think "This isn't gonna go well" before the landing...but somehow I landed it, not gracefully and hoping nobody saw it haha!

Around halfway I hit some more rocks that either made a pinhole leak or burped some air out of the rear tire. Either way the off camber hill climbs and turns had to be taken very slow and the chase group started to catch me. I held them for awhile, and realized the tire was not going all the way flat so around mile 15-16, hopped off and stuck some air in the tire. Five riders went by but I had only lost about a minute or so to the leaders.

I was able to catch and pass three of them but just couldn't ride that much faster than the other two to catch before the end. Came in third overall in CAT 2 with a great time at 2hrs 4mins. Turns out my tire did have a leak because the last mile the rear tire was a little squishy in the turns...finished on 12psi.

Awesome time racing though- super cool group of racers and the course was amazing. If you happen to be driving across Kansas and have your bikes stop off here (~40 miles west of Salina on I-70) - the whole trail is really sweet. I'd love to race there again!

2011 Ride

Finally getting up to speed on the machine for 2011! I found a great deal on a Yeti AS-R that fits perfect. It came with XTR M970 drivetrain (M960 cranks) and decided to stay with that for now...changing from SRAM XO. Using my 2010 Fox fork, SDG saddle, Stan's ZTR 7000 wheelset.

This year I've been running Bontrager XR1 front tire & XR0 rear and on deck for some looser stuff are Kenda Karma's and for mud Michelin Grip'R 2.0 front and Kenda KOT 1.8 rear...one lesson learned from last year to be sure to have a mud setup. No weight on it yet...but its light ;)

The race at Swanson Park on April 3rd marked the last of the Superlight which I have to say worked awesome for what I used it for...it just wasn't quite the right size and that extra long stem positioned me too far out over the front wheel- kind of unstable on high speed downhill turns and braking...which is definitely not where I want to be at all unstable!!

More Preseason Racing

After much debate...I'm going to check out the race scene down in Oklahoma this weekend. Fruita is a beautiful place and one of my favorites I will get back to again, but the iffy weather and time available are just not in favor of that trip this year.

The race this sunday is in Osage Hills Park outside of Bartlesville, OK and is currently considered a "state" level USAC race. The state level designation says a lot about what USAC thinks of this particular event. In comparison all MN, WI, and Mountain States Cup series races are at this level- which all are very well organized and attract many racers making the field usually very competitive. Plus when the promoter sends results to the USAC office, its a chance to really boost a racers national ranking...which I think is fun to watch how I progress and fuels good competition.

TJ's still has the great preseason workouts setup for me and has been able to get these schedules to fit in to my ever-changing "other" schedules without me feeling guilty...and thats huge- just keeping it fun- what it should be ;) I got the most recent edition of Momentum Endurance newsletter today...always full of GREAT information, racing success stories, and links to websites that I never knew about with great race videos and post-race interviews and other really good stuff to fuel the passion.

Life's been busy so this has been a little neglected- no pictures or fun stories really...I just realized also that I have no info about my new ride yet even! The core season of racing is right around the corner- should have some good racing this year- yesterday the Powertap gave me some encouraging numbers!

Colorado Training

Driving to Colorado so often has made the drive feel almost like a regular commute...not joking...kinda sad ha! The weekend went well for a 2am arrival Friday night. On Saturday, I had already nixed the MSC race for Sunday (for several reasons), so I got in one of my favorite rides: the Super Walker.

Sweet 30-40 minute mountain climb before descending to the trailhead, and then getting some sweet technical skills riding- both ascending and descending- on some awesome singletrack. The lap at Walker can really test the skills in all areas.

I did take advantage of this technical stuff by passing through, stopping and going back, then riding a different lines...so fun to get out and play while in between these sessions getting some great interval/climbing work. The new bike works so awesome.

Saturday night was a good night out in Old Town Fort Collins wih friends. It still amazes me just how many people commute there on bikes at all hours! Awesome! Except I'm still a car guy...hopefully things will settle down soon so I can get buildin my next project. Some talk about that over the weekend as well...

Sunday was as usual...mostly depressing cause I had to leave...

What to do this weekend...

I am heading to Colorado tomorrow. Can't wait to get my dogs that my parents have been watching for me through this rediculous month of traveling!

Race on Sunday...maybe...it's the season opener of the Mountain States Cup in Colorado Springs. Should be fun but I have to say the entry fees are a bit crazy. I was planning on the TT Saturday and the XC on Sunday but that would cost $100. I understand its not cheap to run these things but geeeeeeeez- $45 for a TT?

If anything, I guess $55 for the XC I might do...mainly because I have just assembled my latest weapon for the 2011 season and I REALLY want to get out there! More to come on the new ride ;)

Race Report: Psycowpath Series Opener!

Busy days leading up to this...I was in Miami Beach for the four days leading up to this...and it turns out that is NOT the best way to preapre for a full weekend of racing...weird huh?

Well started off on Saturday with a Time Trial at 1:34pm and short track later at 5:30. The TT course had lots of power climbs and tons of surprise switchbacks. Going all out for ~20mins was really tough- couldn't get any rhythm with the steep quick climbs and turns. I finished 8th out of about 23 in the CAT 2 Open class- but only 3 seconds out of 5th...meh...whatever...not the greatest but could've been worse.

The short track course was at a different venue and really flat and really fast- 50% singletrack. I was able to stay loose and felt my legs coming back a little...finally realizing what they're supposed to be doing.

At the start line they combined our class with three others which made it roughly 35 riders. Off the start I got the third spot and held it for the first four of 8 laps. About six of us broke away- the leader put 10 seconds on us. I slid to fourth on lap 4, fifth on lap 5, but then those that passed blew up and I got back up to 3rd again on lap 6. Off the last turn into the last sprint to the finish, I drag raced the 2nd place rider to the line but just couldn't get past him. We were still about 10 seconds back from the leader but there was at least a big gap behins us! I felt awesome during and after with this finish! Short track racing is awesome!

I finished 4th overall on the day...those 3 seconds in the TT would have put me in third (on the podium) and riding the TT course at least just once or twice to get the layout could have put me in 2nd or maybe 1st. But it was a great day of racing!

Sundays XC Race...I woke up SORE!!...the prior weeks lack of riding or training is really showing up now. After getting some warm-up riding in I knew I was way down on power.

I couldn't get a good start- I couldn't sprint my way to the top 5 off the line going into the singletrack like the day before and wound up around 15th going in...and there were several crashes involving riders around 7th through 12th within the first 100 yards of singletrack leaving the rest of us stopped and weaving off course four different times.

Overall, I could maintain a steady and decently quick pace throughout, but any time I got out of the saddle to make up some time I felt like my tires were full of lead. Finished 13th- 5 minutes behind the race winner. Each of my 3 laps were within one second of each other at 25mins each- and I felt like I could've held that pace for 2-3 hours...but just NO power.

Not what I was hoping for...but I'm still excited and moving on and looking forward to the training and preparing for the next race!

Race Report: Spa City 6-Hour ProUET

Edit: Just after I posted this, I remembered that I had the flu last week as well...I was already happy with performance and had forgotten that little detail! anyway...read away...

Wow! So...I made it! First attempt a any mountain bike racing longer than three hours so I was a little nervous going in. I'll get into the race recap in a minute but first I just have to say that this whole experience was great. I've never been that far into Arkansas and realizing that I was still in the Ozarks was a pleasant surprise. Hot Springs was definitely a cool (albeit very busy) town- population signs said ~35,000 people but with all the tourists it seemed 2 or 3 times that!

The USAC ProUET event was very well organized and everything clicked off smoothly from what I could tell. The course was fast...faster in the first couple hours than in the last couple hours...but definitely fast and fun- no smaller ring stuff here! It wasn't very technical but rough with lots of loose rocks, some nice places to catch high speed air, half a dozen or so water crossings, very fast flats and downhills, switchbacks, and 'fun' climbs. Aside from those flat sections it really reminded me of riding around Duluth, MN- and I love that place as well.

About 150-175 riders lined up for the Le mans start. I'd love to see a video of this- running in these shoes is not always the most stable! Jumping on the bike I was not in a very good position, but made up a lot of time and positions on the road section of the prelude before settling into the singeltrack of lap 1.

Each lap was somewhere between 10-11 miles and at a 6-hour long kind of pace I wanted to avg about an hour each. Laps 1 and 2 were easily done in that and I was holding a good pace and surprisingly good position until about 1/3 of the way into lap 3...front tire became very soft and where ever was leaking was too much for the stan's to fill- I tried pumping up 3 times hoping I could last until the end of the lap and make one stop as I needed to refuel anyway. The last time I pumped it up I rode out as long as possible before I realized other riders were suddenly closing hard and eventually passing. No choice now but to stop and throw a tube in it...I wasted way too much time on this deal and easily lost 20 minutes on the race. After the first time I pumped the tire up again I should've pulled off and went with the tube right away. Lesson learned!

Overall still feeling great about the race, refueled on lap 4 and caught major hamstring cramps 2/3 into the lap on a short climb that luckily I was able to spin out of by dumping the gears and reving the cranks up to about 100 rpm for the rest of the race- kept eating and drinking and didn't stop- thought that might make it worse! Starting lap 5 I looked at the time and knew I wasn't going to make my goal of 6 laps. But still happy with how things are going overall I kept spinning the lighter gears and again had to spin through another spell of major hamstring cramping in the exact same part of the course- but again not stopping, they were not as bad as the lap before so kept on truckin'!

That finish line was a joy to see...I rolled through the traps at 5hrs 50 mins with only 40 mins left to fully complete another lap- obviously that wasn't happening so I was done...and happy with it all.

Upon the finish I realized I should've started the lighter gears earlier because my last lap felt really good. It was about 8 minutes slower than my first and second lap, but for not ever racing this long- I was good with that. Fueling-wise...I could've done a little better- that combined with better handling of the flat tire situation and I could've gotten the 6th lap for sure- my fitness is obviously in good order so I am super pumped to build off this! I wasn't sure how I was gonna feel about this Ultra-Endurance stuff in the end but so far I love it.

The Flu will do that...

Well...Sundays lackluster ride was due to the beginnings of the flu (doctor confirmed) as Monday felt progressively worse and continued into Tuesday. It's Wednesday...and I feel 'okay' at best ...will get the bike on the trainer tonight to see how I feel. Haven't pulled the plug on this weekend yet but...we'll see.

I've been really looking forward to this race though...I'll have to be feeling pretty miserable still to not go. 6-hour race though...that alone will take a lot...hmmmm...