Race to Sunset and breaking news about my butt

August 4th was the Mountain Goat Adventures Race To Sunset at Blankets Creek. I was thinking about racing it and in the week prior to the race, Grayson sent me a message telling me that he was injured and asking if I wanted his race entry. Of course I had to do it now, that race being as local a legitimate race as exists. Then, Brother talked himself into doing it too; his first mountainbike race in 5 years or so, and probably his 10th ride on a mountainbike period in as many years.

So we set out for the race and it poured rain the entire time we were driving the 35-40 minutes to the venue, thankfully shutting off right as we pulled off the highway. Upon arrival, we talked to the lovely ladies at Registration which was a completely pleasant and painless process in every way. Having done tons of races, I’ve come to expect everything and anything at race registrations. I liken it to checking in and going through security at airports. Some are great, like Vienna or Reno; some are terrible. Like LaGuardia. This was definitely one of the better ones. After we registered, we found Janice and set up the pit box and got ready to race. A Pastor from the church that was letting us use its parking lot for the race gave a prayer before the race which was very genuine and very nice and left everyone in a good mood. Then we heard the Anthem and I couldn’t help but to think of our athletes at the Olympics which then made me want to go and crush it. I'm sure everyone felt the same.

There was a LeMans start, which I like, and I went into the woods in 4th position or so, along with Wyatt who was doing his first 6 Hour Solo and planning on destroying it on the first lap, and Brother right in front. Shane went by and I knew he was going to set a quick tempo. The rest of the first lap was pretty hectic, as I overtook Shane for second place in the sector between the two loops, and caught Wyatt who then let me go by as Shane caught back up and passed me as we headed back to the Start-Finish. My main issue was with picking lines; I ride Blankets several times a month but exclusively the opposite direction to the race (it had been 2-3 years since I last rode the trail that direction) and I felt like I had never ridden the trail before in my life. Plus is was HELLA slippery and my rear semislick was proving to be a bad decision. So that was fun.

After a while, the wet trail started to dry out and become more tacky and less sticky. I was overtaken for second, falling back a few minuted into 3rd position. On the 3rd or 4th lap I clipped a tree with my rear derailleur at speed and it bounced me back into another tree on the opposite side of the trail so I had to dismount and straighten my mangled hanger and rotor manually (I didn’t do a very good job) so that I could continue. Grayson was giving me splits to the guy in front and I passed him on the 6th lap after he had blown up trying to chase Shane so I was back in 2nd.

After a while, I became aware of Cesar chasing me in 3rd and closing a minute or so on each lap, but with Grayson giving me splits I calculated that he was not closing fast enough to be able to do a 9th lap where Shane and I would be able to. So I came in from the 8th lap and saw that he was still at least 7 minutes back and Shane was still 6 minutes up on me. I would not be able to catch Shane on the last lap and Cesar would not have enough time to complete another so I hung it up then, happy with 2nd.

We had awards very promptly ( I still don’t know if anybody took podium photos or where those may be if they exist, I will continue trying to find them) and had a really nice friendly podium because those guys are just that cool. Brother came 4th after Cesar which was a tremendous result for him because even though he would have been able to flog anyone and everyone on pure fitness, there is no getting around the fact that the kid does not ride the mountainbike at all anymore so I was stoked for his result there for sure.

The bike was brilliant on the whole race except for the parts that I managed to destroy. I never had a single bad shift; through all the mud and crap the SRAM X0 shifted brilliantly, even on the one section of the course (Hurl Hill) where I dropped from the 39t to the 26t chainring while climbing at full power. I can report that I had absolutely no pain in any body part (except one, see below) which is really remarkable for a 6 hour race. Before this Breezer Cloud9, I can honestly say that I’ve never before had a bike that I can get off after almost 6 hours of racing and feel like I was only finishing two hours of easy training.

Now the crappy part that some of you may want to skip if you’ve just eaten: I’ve been dealing with a pretty heinous saddle sore for the past few weeks that made me want to skip the race entirely and stop racing for a while to heal. I’m sure many of you have seen me avoiding road group rides lately, now you know why. It is slowly going away from what I can tell but I am forced to sit on the saddle crooked to keep from putting pressure on it and it is aggravating the tendon under and behind my right knee and totally killing me.
I’ve been racing for 11 year continuously now and have had my share of saddle sores but they almost always manifest during base miles season after cyclocross is over (January-February). I’s really a pain in the ass. Hopefully it is gone soon. Sorry for the TMI.

6 Hours of Tsali BIRTHDAY WIN yaaa trick

 
Story of how I won the 6 Hours of Tsali on my birthday and thereby Shredded All Available Gnar.

I arrived at Tsali in early afternoon on Friday and grabbed one of two remaining available campsites (which I felt very smug about). Then I set up my tent and went out on the course preride. The first thing I noticed was that the course was very washed-out and chunky; more technical than I remembered. It was also drizzling which made me think that the already muddy course could possibly be rather damp for the start. All of these factors could play in my favor so I can happy about riding an actual mountainbike trail versus the smooth F1 course that I remembered Tsali being from years past. I also noticed that a lot of people (first timers?) were annoyingly preriding the trail backwards from race direction and giving me angry looks. Hmm.

I got back to the campsite, ate some bagels, Janice arrived and fed me some vodka and some of her awesome chili, the temp went down to sane levels, and we talked about life next to the campfire which was nice. Then we went to sleep and I was massively stoked to race. I also listened to a bunch of 50 Cent. That's my secret. Now you know how to win bike races.

Race day morning, I registered and said hi to Mr. and Mrs. Berger who are the nicest race promoters you'll ever meet, having known them for 10 years.

Bike Setup went as thus: I was on my Breezer Cloud9 29er hardtail which is smooth and steady through anything and also very light; a huge benefit on such a hilly course (~2500 feet/760 meters of climbing per 11.6 mile/18.7 km lap).
I went with 22.0 psi front and 24.0 psi rear in my Specialized tires and 6 clicks of Terralogic in my Fox F29 fork. This gave me a firmer ride than usual but it would suit the course well. I had 7 bottles of endurance ISO mix, 3 bottles of standard ISO mix, and several packets of various flavors of Honey Stinger chews and waffles. This would be my food for the following 6-6.5 hours.

I elected to start in the second row for the 500 meter gravel LeMans start, giving some team riders the front row spot. I ended up about 5th to the bikes although my bike was a little further up the road and I was passed by a few more riders on the 3 km. gravel road climb that lead into the singletrack. I entered the trail about 10th-15th. I noticed some fellow Solo 6 hour racers setting a fast tempo but my legs could not respond and I let them go for the first three laps, settling into 4th.

The first half of the race was uneventful, although my legs finally came around and I was able to overtake two guys in my category to slide into 2nd, where I was comfortable. Unfortunately, I had no idea how much time #1 had on me as I was racing unsupported, and I also had to stop for ~10 seconds at my pit box to grab new bottles after every lap. Then, towards the end of Lap 6, rain started to pour and the course immediately went to hell. My semislick rear tire was super fun, let's just leave it at that.

Legs were great though, and I had a good steady tempo, until when I was finishing my 6th lap and getting ready to depart for the final one, where Emily's BF (sorry dude, don't remember your name) told me the leader was 1 minute ahead. Slay mode ENGAGE.

I made steady progress through the mud and pouring rain and at around 8 kms on the course, I caught him. He didn't realize who I was and he was noticeably cramping and in difficulty, so I called the pass and he let me through. About 1 km farther down, I hear him calling for a pass so I let him back by. Then he set a good (higher) tempo and I had to attack him on the steepest part of the course which was rocky and enormously slick. I didn't give a look back until the end of the 1 km. final climb and when I did, he wasn't there.

However, not wanting to take any chances, I stayed on the rivet in big chainring the entire 4 km. back to the Start/Finish after dropping him, and ended up with a 3 minute gap at the end. Mr. Berger called out my name and said I was the winner.

Then I took a shower, we had a podium, and I drank the entire bottle of sparkling wine by myself.
Hurrah. The end.

This past weekend was the third race of the Chainbuster Series, which is a local Southeastern endurance mountainbike race series at which I am concentrating on the Solo 6 hour category. The event was held at Fort Yargo State Park in Winder which is a fantastic venue because of the fast, rolling course and close proximity to Atlanta. The 11 miles of the Yargo course is one of the fastest in the Southeast besides Jackrabbit in North Carolina. I registered at the venue the morning of the race and we were expecting hot weather throughout the day with a high chance of thunderstorms later in the day. Because I had been out West riding the trailbike for the past few weeks, it was going to be interesting getting back on the racebike again.

I had a center front row start and immediately went to the front to avoid any trouble. There was about one mile of pavement on the first lap to thin the field leading into the singletrack. After leading most of this, I let about 5 riders in front of me to avoid having to set pace or pull on the front (our average speed for the first lap was 16.1mph / 25.9kph so drafting was indeed a factor). After some crashes opened up gaps further back in the field, I took over second from the Aussie Jim MacPherson in the third lap. I settled into a good pace, keeping time in the pit box to a minimum and remaining smooth and fluid throughout the course. I had a good race but had no idea if I was in first or second because I had no support crew to give me updates. After my sixth lap (right at 5:00 hours in), I paused in the transition to have a look at standings and found out that the Unstoppable Mr. Josh Fix had been smashing it at the front the whole time and had gone through 10 minutes prior. Perhaps by some miracle I cold catch him with one lap to go. MacPherson was 5 minutes back. His previous lap had been :55. He came in 7 minutes later. Surely he could not do another in :52 now. He powered back out onto the course. Surely he would not make it. I sat down to wait an hour. I took off my shoes and helmet and gloves and sat down with a Coke. Was I being stupid and lazy? Did I not have to do a seventh lap to keep my placing? We would find out.

I had called his bluff. I was wrong.

He arrived back with 40 seconds to spare, yelling things in Aussie.
I had been knocked down a spot but couldn’t even feel bad. He told me he thought I was still out there in front of him. He was ecstatic. It was a good moment.

Racers who have been doing this for a long time will tell you to race every race like it’s the World Championships. Take nothing for granted. I had a lot left in the gas tank after the race. No racer could tell you they would not be mad at themselves in that situation. But you learn something every time.
Congrats to Jim and of course to Josh for your amazing rides. This was one I will remember.

2012 starts!

First, let me apologize for the lack of bloggage in the past few months. A quick update follows, after which I will detail the agenda for 2012.
Since the last post, cyclocross has come and gone; I got sick shortly after the last 6 hour race in the fall and spent the entire cyclocross season battling various degrees of sinus infections and bronchitis. After this experience, you may imagine that I am back to training 100% while trying to maintain my health (I have already been sick once this season, in the beginning of March) and ready to get at it in a nice varied schedule of endurance and standard XCO races.

The big news for 2012 is that I am riding for Fuji Bicycles - Advanced Sports International. This was arranged through Paul and Roy of ASI and through the steadfast support of my quasi-manager/industry pimp Todd Muller of Reality Bikes. I have already received and spent many good hours training and racing on my Breezer Cloud 9 29er hardtail (20.8 pounds of carbon sexiness, ready to race) and am anticipating taking delivery of the brand new for 2012 Fuji SLM29 within the following few months. Stay tuned to this space for details on these amazing machines and what makes them worthy podium contenders of the highest caliber.

My season kicked off at the Chain Buster 6 hour race at Tribble Mill park in Lawerenceville, GA. an event where I came second on the podium between the amazing Jeff Clayton of Georgia Neuro (who I beat to win the event in 2011, and who clearly has been training hard in the offseason as evidenced by our increased average speed) and the ever-present endurance talent Eddie O’Dea of the Topeak-Ergon team.

The second event (this past weekend) was also a Chain Buster 6 hour race, this time at the Georgia International Horse Park in Conyers, GA. This time, I pulled off the starting line first to achieve fast lap, and led the first 3 hours of the race. After this, I was caught and then overtaken by Eddie O who had clearly brought the better legs on the day. On the 7th lap and over 4 hours into the race, I was overcome by a terrible loss of depth-perception and vertigo brought on by the immense amount of tree pollen in the air having affected my inner ear; I subsequently withdrew from the event and slid from second to seventh place by the end of the race. However I retained enough points from that result to still be tied for second place in the series.

The following race will be the kickoff event of the US Cup East / Southeastern Regional Championship Series at the legendary Tsali trails in Bryson City, North Carolina. The Saturday event is a cross country time trial for bonus points and Sunday’s XCO Pro race consists of 30 miles of the finest Western North Carolina singletrack.

Thanks for reading and I wish everyone a successful 2012 season!