2012 Pisgah MTB Stage Race - Stage One

Sam Koerber (MIA), Jeremy Bishop, and Wes who???

Rain.  Hiking.  Lots of rain lots of hiking.

There was lots of rain overnight, and it didn't change much during the day.  Stage one rolled off in the rain.  Except for getting water in my eyes, the clawhammer climb went well.  I stayed with the lead group.  I don't really mind racing in the rain when it's fire/gravel road or single track that still has some grip. 

So at at the mile 7 aid station things were looking pretty good.  But soon we headed into single track.  From here on, all of the single track and much of of the fire roads would be literally riding (or trying to avoid riding) in a flowing stream of water.  I was doing OK, powering through the stream, but when we got to squirrel gap's "1/2 track" things got pretty sketchy.  I really do not do narrow, side of the mountain slick trail well.  In one sharp corner I actually slowed too much and the rock I thought I was going to roll over stopped me abruptly and I just fell off the trail.  ...onto more rocks.  I heard the unmistakable crack of carbon fiber.  I thought my bike was killed,  Turns out it was only a water bottle cage.  This is where Morgan Olsson passed me.  Later, 2 more would get by me.

Eventually I managed to get through this section and to the mile 22 aid station.  I refueled, got a chain lube (Thanks volunteers!) and headed up the fire road climb.  I was pretty recovered because of how slowly I had been riding and managed to pass back 2 of the riders that had passed me on squirrel.  It was only 10 miles to the next aid station and I was hoping it was all fire road so I could make up more time.  But, about 7 miles later we turn onto more single track.  This section is much more rideable for me though.  It's actually kinda fun.  I can push the pace without fear of running off the side of the mountain.  I think it was this section where we had to cross a stream (river?) that was pretty deep and flowing kinda fast.  I actually had to lift my bike out of the water to keep it from washing away from me.  There were quite a few stream crossings today, but being soaked from the start it didn't really phase anyone.

By now things have begun to take a toll on my bike.  The brakes are constantly grinding, my water bottle is barely hanging on and my saddle bag straps are tearing off and it's swinging like a pendulum.

I blow through the mile 32 aid station knowing there is only 7 miles left, including the fabled descent down Black Mountain to the finish.  I forgot how much hiking there was to get to the descent.  Immediately after the aid station I'm off the bike hiking.  Then on a little, but mostly off.  Lots of hiking.  And then the descent starts.  The top is the most technical, and I play it a bit conservative because it's really quite slick.  I hear a thud as my saddle bag straps finally give up.  I decide to stop and pick it up.  So now it's a jersey pocket bag.  A begin downhill again - but only a few hundred yards before I hear a metallic clunk and I slide to a halt.  The rear wheel is locked up.  Well, it will spin backwards, but not forward - which is the direction I want to travel.  Surprisingly, shaking it, kicking it and calling it names does not solve the problem.  But carrying it does.

So I hike.  And hike,  And hike.  It's like 30 minutes before anyone passes me.  I think lots of other riders had issues too.  There is no comfortable way to carry a MTB that far.  Every now and then I drop it, or get stuck in some brush.  Finally I reach the bottom of the steepest part of the descent and lo and behold the rear wheel spins.  So I hop back on for the last 1/2 mile.  Absolutely no rear brakes, but I didn;t really need them much at this point.  I cross the finish line in the rain at about 5:15.  A full hour slower than last year.

I did end up 3rd in my 40+ class, but probably a lot of minutes out of GC. 

And my bike?  Turns out I had only 3 brake pads left.  One of the front ones is worn into the backing plate and the remaining rear "pad" is almost completely worn thru the backing plate.  The other one must've gotten wedged into the rotoe causing it to lock-up.  Eventually it fell out and that's why I was able to ride the last 1/2 mile or so.

Later I replaced all the pads, the rear rotor, the saddle bag, the bottle cage, readjusted my bent rear derailleur, and my front brake lever that was "adjusted" by a tree on a Squirrel.

Tomorrow we roll out of the "Cradle of Forestry" at 11:00am.  Most likely to drier weather.  Hopefully to less carnage.

Oh, and congrats to kinda-local-to-Charlotte racer Wes Richards for a fine performance.  The Pro class was combined with the open men class and Wes put down a smoking time to come in right behind the 2 pros!!!

See you on the trails!

My remaining brake pads after stage one

Fool's Gold 100

The final race of the NUE series rolled out of Montaluce Winery in Dahlonega, GA amid overcast skies.  I was really looking forward to this race after Wilderness 101's DNS and Shenandoah's DNF.  I was pretty determined to finish.

I wasn't really feeling the extra "snap" indicative of being fresh and ready to hammer.  In fact I was feeling a bit sluggish trying to keep up with the neutral roll out.  But I thought this course would suit me, and, like I said - I was determined to finish.

I had decided to run my own pace up the early big climb and see where I stacked up.  I dropped out of the lead group early, but pretty soon I was catching people that were getting dropped form the lead group.  It wasn't long before I was in front of all the pro women so I felt my pace was pretty good.

I carried enough stuff to blow through aid station #1 at mile 18 at the top of the climb.  Next came the super fast gravel road descent.  After seeing a few cars on the course I decided to play it a little conservative so that I wouldn't end up a hood ornament on one of the local's pick-up trucks.  About the time we turn off the descent I start to feel the rear tire going soft.  Actually making the super sharp right hander onto the single track prooved to be problematic - I slid the front tire and went down.

It didn't take long to realize there was a problem.  The rear went from a "squirmy" feeling to bouncing off the rim.  Not good, but no "hiss" of air leaking so I keep my weight forward and try to reach Aid #2 at mile 27.  Unsuccessful.  The tire is quite flat now and I seriously considered just banging off the rim to the aid station.  But, I was here to finish, so I stopped and gave it a shot of CO2.  This got me to aid station #2.  I picked up an extra CO2 cartridge hoping I wouldn't need it.

The 2nd biggest climb of the race followed a loop (Bull Mountain Loop) that would bring us back to the same aid station.  It was primarily a fire road climb, but some pretty fast and fun descending on single track.  I was looking forward to doing it again on Lap #2.  When I reached aid #3 I had Anthony check the air in the rear tire: 15psi.  So I had him fill it to 35psi in hopes it would be enough air to keep from faltting again. 

Some more gravel and more sweet single track followed to aid #4.  I stopped for my drop bag here.  I refueled and prepared for the 23 miles back to aid #5 which is the same as #2 and #3 from the previous lap.  The course was redesigned for 2012.  We skip the biggest climb from early in the race but we did 3 shorter, steeper climbs.  My rear tire has so much air in it now I'm getting pretty beat up on my hardtail, but it sure beats fixing a flat alongside the trail.

When I get to aid #5 I'm greeted by ambulances and paramedics.  Apparently someone has crashed in between #5 and #6.  I have no idea who it is, but I hope all turns out well.  The climb up Bull Mountain goes well - there is one short section I hiked both times.  And there is a Gator (John Deere type, not alligor) stuck beside the trail.  It starts to rain on the descent.  What was a slightly slick trail becomes a bit more challenging.  About 2 miles from aid #6 someone warns me to slow down.  I do, and pass by the injured rider and a cast of others who have stopped to lend a hand.  About a mile later I meet paramedics carrying a stretcher up the trail.  Again, I hope that all ends well for the injured rider.

By the time I get to aid #6 it is quite wet, but barely raining.  Anthony checks my air again: 30psi.  We deem it good to go to the finish.  This would be my last planned stop.

The trail to aid #7 is very slick.  I'm not used to riding the red mud they have here.  Sometimes it's soft enough to get some bite and sometimes the tires slide right over it.  Much of the single track is downhill and pretty flow-y.  I tried to keep the pace high, but I keep sliding and seeing where others have slid off the trail.  I play it a bit conservative, but no one is catching me and I keep catching racer's from the 50-mile class.

I bypass aid #7 as planned.  By now the sun is out and the trails are a bit drier and easier to navigate.  It's 10 miles to the finish from here and I've got a little more energy left than usual at the end of one these races because of all the soft pedaling on the slippery parts.

After a few more miles of single track we enter gravel road, then paved.  Almost home.  I thought.  However it's like 5 or 6 miles of smooth, undulating, paved road back to the Winery and the finish.  It's funny how I can pace myself up 10 miles of gravel road at the beginning of the race, but this smooth road is wearing me out.  I pass about 10 more 50-milers on the open road before making the right turn into the Winery.  The newly cut grass route is actually quite slick and a lot harder to roll on then the road I was just on.  But it's a short section and pretty soon the Kenda arch looms ahead.  I struggle up the final grassy climb and come in somewhere around 8:03.

I thank God for the successful race and hope that in some way my efforts can glorify Him.

My 2012 MTB season is quickly coming to an end.  Of course, Pisgah MTB stage race is coming up and perhaps the Dark Mountain Point to Point race.  After that - Cyclocross season.

See you on the trails!

Shenandoah 100

I knew going in that Shenandoah 100 was going to be a motivation test.  My ribs were still sore from last weekend, plus rain was forecasted for race day plus Shenandoah has a bit of hike-a-bike, a lot of pace-lining on the road and lots of off camber trail.  Still, it's one of the 4 NUE races that I can drive to, so I wanted to go.

The race starts at 6:30 - first light.  I got a good start and worked pretty hard early.  I wanted to get as many miles in before the rain started.  It's all road and fire road to the first aid station at 11 miles in.  I lined up with the 8-hour group for the start, but I'm passing an awful lot of people.

After aid station #1 we get to some single track.  It's not raining yet, but the rocks are still wet making the going a bit treacherous.  I'm doing Ok, though, having to hike some sections.  I passed eventual female winner Sue Haywood on the road.  She passes me back on the rocky climb/hike-a-bike section.  She's pretty smooth over the rocks.  I get the edge on her on the rocky descent and pass her back.  ...only to be passes back on the next rocky climb.  Oh well.  The last big single track descent is gnarly rocky.  I haven't had much luck fixing flats in the past, so I'm descending with a little bit of caution.  I thought I was doing pretty well because I passed several racers, but then I got passed.  ...and passed again.   ...and a third time.  I stick with my plan.  Which works out well.  Two of the racers that passed me ended up alongside fixing flats (including one Sue Haywood).  The third racer that passed in the super fun roller coaster section ended up crashing near the end and I passed him back too.

Just before aid station #2 at mile 31 it starts to rain.  The forecast was 50%-60% chance of rain.  I think it ended raining on 50-60% of my race as predicted.  I was surprised to have caught Morgan Olsson at the aid station.  He has a pretty good history of top finishes in these endurance races.  So I ride with Morgan for a while through the double track or grassy single track.  In the rain.  Lots of rain.  Lots and lots of rain.  Sometimes I think I have the upper hand on Morgan, but I can't really get ahead of him.  So, we ride together some more.

When we get single track, though, I can't quite match Morgan's pace.  We do some FAST very narrow single track descending on the side of the mountain.  I'm flying ...until I get just a touch off line and wipe out in a big way.  I didn't hit anything, but it got my attention!  The first soggy rock section we get to I notice my seat is moving around a bit.  I knew if I didn't fix I'd end up seat-less, so I bit the bullet and pulled off the trail and tried to tighten the seat bolts.  I couldn't really get to the front bolt with my multi-tool, so I just tightened the rear bolt as best as I could go.  Now the seat is (mostly) tight, but pointed a bit skyward.

After having stopped (and getting passed) I guess I was all out of sync with the trail because I was really strggling to ride the soggy rocky climb.  I get frustrated and hike a bit.  Sue Haywood catches me and asks how I'm doing.  I said "kind of awful".  She asks if I need anything then says "There is a sweet descent ahead."  Believe me I was ready for some descending.  I thought.  Watching Sue roll smoothly along reminded me to just relax, pedal with my legs, work the bike and ride my pace.  I feel like I'm going slow, but I'm much smoother now.  Back in rhythm.

Until the descent.  Normally I could really bomb the descent and make up time, but I keep getting caught out.  The rain has slowed, but the trail is still soggy.  I slide off the trail another couple of times.  One time I had to drag my bike 15 feet back up the hill onto the trail.  Stupid side-of-the-mountain trails.  Plus now my seat has started to move around again.  When we finally get to some more open trail I feel like I need to make up time.  I decide to ride hammer down and fix the seat at the next aid station.  And then it falls off.  It was a wide open section of trail so I stop and take the time to level it up and snug it up.

When I get to aid station 4 at 57 miles I have the aid station volunteer put a wrench on the seat bolt that my multi-tool doesn't reach well.  I instruct him to tighten the heck out of it.  He does.  So now I'm ready to roll again - thinking all of my seat problems are behind me.

The 12 miles from aid #4 to #5 at 75 miles are all fire road.  Mostly very uphill.  It starts out as a gradual climb that gets steeper as you go.  Perfect for me.  And then the mile 66 "snap".  The carbon seat clamp bracket snaps in two.  So I ride sans saddle all the way to aid #5.  Occasionally I have to stop to readlust the saddle bag which now has no good attaching point.  The climbing is OK, but tiresome since I can't ever take a break.  The little bit of descending is nice, but I can't make up any time.  By now I've decided I'm going to DNF at the aid station.  You lose a lot of control without the saddle and with my record of crashes so far today I feel it would be the prudent thing to do rather than get impaled for what would now be a mediocre finish.

I figured there would be an easy way back to the campground from aid station #5.  I was wrong.  It turns out my choices were to continue on the 20 miles to the finish (Shenandoah comes in under 100 miles - more like 95 miles) or to ride 20 miles back to the campground.  Images of having to hike single track climbs (and possibly some descents) and of course, the whole impaling thing make my decision the all fire-road/road-road "mostly" downhill 20 mile route.  So I head back down the way I just spent so much effort climbing up.  Almost all the way back to aid #4, onto another fire road then a road-road.  I stop at aid station #6 (from the wrong direction) and pick up my drop bag for the remainder of the journey.  Four miles later I cross the iconic iron bridge and make the right turn up the final climb of the day - the entrance to Stokesville Campground.

Almost without notice I find my car.  No cheers.  No pictures.  No finishers mug.  But my cooler is waiting for me in the car.  I begin the rehydrating, change clothes and head to the finish to find my wife who is still expecting me to roll through at any time.  As I do, I see Morgan Olsson cross the inflatable Kenda finish arch and pause for an interview with the announcer.  Shortly afterward Sue Haywood also finishes and gives her victory interview.  The official time clock reads about 8:33.  I briefly wonder what might have been.

But I'm in one piece.  The ribs held up.  My form seemed good.   ...and next week is another NUE race.  The season-ending Fools Gold 100.

Congratulations to Jeremiah and Sue on their overall men's and women's and victories!

See you on the trails!

Race day too

Race two of the weekend was the Maxxis Southern Classic Series finale on the awesome trails of Dark Mountain.  I had missed too many races to be in any kind of points competition.  Which was a good thing, because I was still pretty used-up from Saturday's 55-mile race.

The Cat 1 races started at 12:30.  Good for me, because it gave me the opportunity to sleep in and recover a bit.  When we did roll off, I felt pretty awful.  I had done a 30 minute warm-up, but I was struggling to put out the power I needed to on the climbs to keep up with the lead group.  So I didn't.  I seriously considered pulling the plug and just quitting if I ever got to the end of the first lap.  But I was enjoying being on a bike that wasn't all screwed up from crashing.  The full suspension was a welcome change on the descents and roots as well.  So I kept going.

Lap two was better.  I ditched the sunglasses I had forgotten to take off before the race start, making it easier to read the trail.  And then I started catching people.  I'm not sure if I started to feel better because I was catching people, or if feeling better was making it possible for me to catch people.  No matter.  It was the carrot I needed to keep pushing.

Dark Mountain is the kind of rugged trail that rewards aggressive riding.  You don't really have to be smooth.  You can straight line the rooty sections and power over them, you can bomb the descents and sprint the next climb and you can dive deep into the switch backs before grabbing the brakes and pumping off the berms.  The entire trail is really quite fun.

So lap 2 went well, on lap 3 I passed a few more riders (mostly from the younger classes) and just before the final descent I catch Jim Shelton, who is in my class but racing a single speed.  I couldn't pass him on the descent, but when we got to the flat gravel road leading to the finish line, we both knew it would be game on.  I didn't want to pass too soon, and get passed back.  It turned out that wasn't an issue; I was struggling to stay on his wheel.  We round the final left hander and almost hooked wheels.  I had to back off a touch and we were both in full hammer mode to the finish.  There was no definitive finish line, but the scoring tent was in front of a right hander.  I managed to nose ahead of Jim a bit, but we both went wide on the corner and almost ended up in the scorer's lap.  In the end, I was scored in 5th, 1 spot ahead of Jim who put in a heck of an effort on his one gear.

It was good to know that I could still sprint at the end of the day.  Especially after how slow I felt at the start of the race.  I'm looking forward to Shenandoah this coming weekend.  Hopefully, all of the miles I have been putting in will pay off in the 100 mile race on Sunday.

Thank you to all who cheer us racers on!

Thanks to all the promoters who put together these amazing races and race series!

And a special thanks to Cycle Works in Mt. Airy, NC for putting my bikes back together after I bend and break them!!!

See you on the trails!

-bruce

Congrats: Morgan Olson, Eric Marland and Jim Shelton.  40+ Champs!

River's Edge MTB Marathon

Today was the second race of the Turn and Burn Series.  Instead of a timed race, Rivers Edge is a 5 lap, 55 mile marathon.  The trails have been reworked since last year's race and it is now very fast and flow-y.

We started on the main gravel road leading through Uwharrie.  I got a pretty good start.  Shortly after we funneled into the singletrack, someone dropped a chain.  The rider in front of me stopped abruptly and I was forced off my bike.  So I got to practice my cyclocross remounts a little early this year.

While I was working through the pack, the racer directly in front hooks his handle bar and goes down right in front of me.  I manage to catch the lead group and take my place in line.  When we get to the fast, smooth, sweeping corners of the Super Tree trail, another racer gets crossed up and goes down hard.

When we enter the single track to start lap 2 I find myself 3rd in line.  Morgan is on the front pushing the pace a bit on the climbs, but descending at a more reasonable pace.  And then, for no apparent reason, about 1/2 way through Keyauwe trail, I unexpectantly clip a small tree with the handlebars and go down hard.  I heard my helmet hit the ground hard and I had to fix the retention system to get it to sit on my head right.  There was no easy fix for the rear derailleur though.  The chain would make noise, occasionally drop and I was limited to about 4 gears that wouldn't skip teeth when I pedaled.  It was going to be a long race.

I struggled on with a few other scrapes and bruises.  The limited gear selection is not so bad on the fast parts of the trail, but I am way over geared for the climbs.  On lap 3 I launched my chain into the spokes ...twice.  And had to stop and wrestle it back out before I could continue.  By lap 4 I'm learning which gears I can use, and only have to stop 1 time to pull the chain out of the wheel.  So far no one has passed me though, so I keep hammering away.

Lap 5 I shift quite cautiously and never drop the chain.  Riding the climbs with the bigger gearing is causing me to be right on the edge of cramping.  There doesn't seem to be anyone closing in on me, though so I resolve to ride smoothly, and not risk losing any big chunks of time.  About 1/2 way through the lap I start to feel the rear tire getting a little soft.  Every now and then I bounce off the rim.  I look down at the tire, and it looks OK.  I'm determined to finish the final lap now.

I cross the finish with no one in sight in front of me, or behind me at a time of 4:24.  Good enough for 2nd in class and 4th overall.  I'm pretty beat up, my bike is pretty beat up, but I finished on the podium which was my goal.  Tomorrow I race an SCS race at Dark Mountain.  Fortunately I had already planned to race a different bike.

No wonder I had shifting issues

A cut sidewall was the reason for losing air late in the race

Me and Rick Pyle representing Cycle Works of Mt. Airy, NC in the 40+ class

The big loop

This weekend I had the opportunity to ride on the roads I that I rode on as a kid.
 
On Saturday I rode a very well supported metric century with my uncle.  Together with thousands of others riders, we rolled along the scenic back roads of Lancaster county - through covered bridges, by Amish farms and rolling pastures.   It was a joy to ride with someone who shares my love of riding.
 
For Sunday I plotted a route that would hit all the highlights in the area.  I climbed the biggest hills in the neighborhood.  Hills that seemed almost insurmountable as a youth.  I rode to the neighborhood where I lived until I was 11.  I past that church my family used to walk to every Sunday.  I rode on the roads where us neighborhood kids would ride to go fishing or to go to the store to buy ice cream.  I rode by the bike store where I got my first (used) 10-speed.  The original 2 rings and 5 cogs 10 -speed, that is.  I rode by the house where I grew up daring to dream of some day being able to make a living in auto racing, and of being good on a bike - whatever that meant.

I rode by the first place I ever got knocked unconscious on a bike.  And the second..

I rode the routes I used to drive as a teenager.  Everything seemed so much closer together now.  I rode by the farm where my Dad grew up.  I rode by developments where lush farmland used to be.  I passed many new businesses, and many of the old ones, occasionally passing a horse and buggy or Amish "scooter".  

It was a great weekend on the bike.

The kid is now grown, but the dream's alive!

 See you at River's Edge on Saturday and Dark Mountain on Sunday!

Sizzler

After a week of road racing, it was a refreshing change to get back on the MTB.  I did this race last year as a CAT 2 and had a lack-luster mid pack finish.  I was kind of anticipating a thorough thrashing as a CAT 1 this year.  Last year, however, the trails were really slick.  This year the trail was quite a bit faster and, while I'm not in top cross country distance form, my endurance form is pretty good right now as I am preparing for two 100 mile races and a stage race in September.

The long grass climb is the hardest part of the lap for me.  It's not steep or technical.  It's just a grass hill.  The grass is kinda long and the surface is a bit rough and the incline is not quite steep enough to warrant pedaling out of the saddle.  It's just a long grind up a hill.  It feels like you are not going anywhere.

The course is pretty short.  The Cat 1's do 4 laps.  I was really hoping I wouldn't get lapped...

The start was (of course) at the bottom of the grassy hill climb.  The start area was wide enough for everybody who wanted a front row spot to start up front.  I didn't, but I did anyway.  When we started the inevitable happened.  Everyone sprints off the line leaving me to dangle alone off the back.  It seemed kinda silly to go so hard up the hill just to gently easy through the super wide downhill grassy section before the single track.

When we got to the single track section the pack stayed pretty close together.  I was pleasantly surpised that I was able to maintain contact with the lead group.  The pace was uncomfortably fast and the pack started to string out a bit.  When we got to the first part of the greenway section I took off.  It maybe wasn't the best place for an attack but it's usually a good idea to go fast in the fast sections.  After the greenway was some slick off camber trail that kind of reminded me of cyclocross.  If I didn't hit the brakes anywhere I could roll through it pretty fast.  It was really pretty fun and I think this was one of the better parts of the course for me.

There was one short, steep, slick climb near the finish.  I rode it every time, but not without spinning the rear a bit.  I could see where several others had to run it.  I caught a glimpse of my teammate and eventual 3rd place finisher, Rick Pyle, at the top of the climb on lap 1.  It looked like he had struggled a bit with it.  I lost sight of him after we went thru the start/finish, up the dreaded grassy hill and into the single track again.

The next couple of laps I caught several riders from various classes.  I learned the trail a little better each lap.  By the time the 4th lap rolled around I realized I had been letting myself gradually ease off the pace so I pushed myself hard on the last lap to try to catch 3rd.  And I did.  About 20 seconds after he crossed the finish line.

Still, a good day for me.  No mechanical issues, no crashes.  A pretty sweet trail.  These shorter races are hard for me to do well in.  There are so many super fast 40+ CAT 1 racers, you really have to be on top form to be competitive.  It gave me something to reflect upon on my 53 mile pedal back to the house...

See you on the trails!
...or on your way to the trails.  Putting in some big miles this week, so lots of road riding too.