A Year in Review, a Race Newb Perspective

Where do I begin?

Favorite Race:

Hot August Nights. I was relaxed, I felt strong, I really enjoyed the venue, and the track was just perfect. It just overall was a great weekend of racing, and I met a lot of riding buddies and future racing pals.

Least Favorite Race:

Summer Epic 8. A truly devastating mechanical brought my day to a complete halt. Non mechanical would have to be the Spring Epic 8. I crashed hard on my first lap, and really set my right knee back a few weeks during the repairs.

Hardest Race:

Canal Days Mountain Bike Race. It was insanely hot and humid that day. Losing my bottle didn't help at all, and the cramping for a 30k race was indeed incredibly painful. I finished it, but I was wrecked for at least 2 days, recovering from the pain.


Worst Race:

Summer Solstice. I'm unsure why, but I just had a hell of a time at this race. My night lap was just absolutely brutal and took so much out of me that my morning lap felt like hell.


Best Performance:

Fall Epic 8. I pushed myself hard. I cramped up but my body was good all the way through. The cramps I can deal with in the future with some proper preparation, but overall, the difficulty of the track paired with a good solid technical skillset drawn from a summer of riding, allowed me to put in some very respectable times. 34 minutes on my first, and 40 minutes on my last.

I also wore shorts that got loaded with sweat and weighed no joke about 10lbs by the end of the day. Har.

Things I learned:

1. Pre riding is essentially one of the best things you can do for a course. Planning where you're going to drink and what hills you can get for free is good. This is actually a skill too. Riding a course pre race is fine, but you really need to think critically during your ride. Getting good lines is fantastic.

2. Group riding should be encouraged. I met a lot of really good people this year. Future race buddies, weekend warriors, and great riding partners. They'll push you to get on your bike. Some will be faster then you, and make you work for it. Some will be slower and you learn by teaching some *albeit simple techniques*. They're all good to ride with.

3. Stay off that brake, your tires are fine, they'll hold you in that corner. Unless they don't, then its just a spectacular crash you can take pictures of.... either way its win.

4. Singlespeeding is effing hard. Sure its all shits n giggles to blow by geared riders on hills for your first 2 laps and such, but if you're not in really good shape, *Read: Me.* by lap 3-4 those geared riders are going to crush your soul in granny gear.

5. HTFU.

6. There are specifics that I need to train for next year. I have a good skillset, but its nowhere near complete. Cardiovascular restrictions make the skillset useless when you're trying to get your body to respond to you during a sudden lack of oxygen. A down right after a large hill can be dangerous. Mansfield proved that to me on my first lap.


Ultimately it boils down to this:

Cardio wise, its there but lactic threshold training needs to be improved significantly over the winter.

The best upgrade I can give my bike is to drop around 35-40lbs off my own body. Currently I can put in times which are fairly competitive. Not elite level by any stretch, but sport competitive. A 35lb weight loss will increase power to weight ratios more then any bike part will, and its completely free.

Ultimately this is what will push me into being competitive for next season. The drop in weight from last years 285 to 250, shaved 20 minutes off my Hot August Nights time. I doubt it'd shave another 20 minutes, but even another 5-10 would put me into some REALLY respectable times.

So with that, the push to drop into my 220s is now there. I believe at 220, I will be exceptionally better then I was this summer, and hopefully will help me continue to be excited about this sport as I was this year.


The byproduct of dropping the weight, is the time in the gym that will be required to do it. This will make me stronger, and should help my thresholds.


In 2012, I will train and race all summer again, with the end goal of Crank The Shield. To ride it well, and to hopefully, with some sort luck and training... possibly put in a good enough time to scare the podium guys into bolting like deer every time they see me rolling after them.... on my Big Unit.

Great year of biking. Every day I wish I had picked this up sooner.

Rooting For You Big Guy!

I have Tour De King next weekend, and its looking to be my last race of the season. I’m starting to feel some burnout on my bike and kinda wanna get back to training. I’m actually really looking forward to losing another 35lbs, strengthening my core up, and training for specific parts of my racing that I view as weak.

Tour de King for me will be fun. I’m starting in Wave 2, I’m not sure if I’m going to try to hammer out the 55km, but we’ll see, never know. It is the last race of the season. It also depends how well I recover from this past weekend.

With that:

RACERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREPORT!

Bill showed up around 6:30ish and we loaded my gear into his truck and fired up to Hardwood. Right around Barrie area I realized I left my helmet and shoes in the garage. Full panic mode as I call Hardwood hoping they have a set of shoes in my size. Lo and behold 1 pair left. I also get a free helmet rental out of the deal. Crisis averted. I did remember to throw my halfie gloves in my bag. So at least I had that going for me.

So a bit embarrassed in my morning brain fart, we got to Hardwood, parked, and realized we had saddled up right next to Rob and his team. So we went over, and bummed some shade from the DMBA tent and riders while offering up some tools and a trainer in trade.

We also had parked next to GarageMonster of MTBR fame. He offered his condolences on the tag team pain we were about to embark on. You can’t miss that Orange Misfit.

Bill had to hit up the first lap as I had to recleat my shoes and set them properly. Of which I did on my first try. Thank god. In my race to get ready I didn’t realize I had ridden in my shorts till around 4km into my first lap.

Ahh well.

So I get on the trainer, warm up a bit, head down, and get the chip from Bill and I’m off.

The first KM or 2 is just one climb. Its gradual and uphill, a bit soft so you’re fighting that, but then you get into a pretty steep climb to finish it off. Then once you’re done that, the singletrack begins…. And so do the roots.

Its just small hills, corners, twists, turns, punch a climb, take a turn, punch a climb, ramp down, ramp up. Typical singletrack. There was a bridge at the beginning I remember going over. It wasn’t small by any means, but it was slick, so I was worried about it if it did decide to rain *which it didn’t, it just got warmer and sunnier as the day went on*. Couple of cheat lines here and there. I tried the A-Frame once, I didn’t after, as the ensuing carnage that happened wasn’t great. I went down, but not really hard, but enough to not want to tempt it again.

Mind you, not really 100% my fault, but I’m not going to blame anyone else. There was a rider in front of me that slammed on the brakes just as they were going down the other side causing me to have to stop mid A-Frame or end up freight training them into next year. Its not really their fault, I was following them well inside my emergency braking distance so yeah… ffuuu.

Anyway back on the bike, and I get caught behind what I guess was a roadie. *Remember, right now there is nothing to report other then regular singletrack… with a shitload of roots*

In the singletrack I’m on him like white on rice. He’s a pretty scrawny guy on a pretty expensive bike. I figure he may be spooked or something from a crash earlier, so I figure I’ll just go around on doubletrack. Not so much. Soon as we hit doubletrack its game over, he hits his big ring and I’m spinning out to try to pass.

I ask to go around before the next singletrack, completely ignored. We get into what could possibly be the slowest singletrack session ever. I see my chance… it’s a wooden skinny that I’m not too sure of but I take it anyway. FINALLY AROUND HIM, jesus.

Till he finds me on another long piece of doubletrack. FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUU.. again he’s in before me.

We get to a hill with green mesh on it and I keep with him on the climb, around a corner, and into a switchback, he slows down, and then I get dropped because I have no momentum into the next hill. I have to dismount and cross run my bike up the hill with what I guess is snowmobile track for traction.

I catch him again in the singletrack. He dismounts around a 180’ turn to walk it. At this point I go by him. I never saw him again as there wasn’t any more double track to hammer down on. I have no idea who you are, but for the love of god while its fun to hammer doubletrack, if you can’t ride singletrack well yet, just let someone by if they’re on you. While it is a race, some common courtesy is appreciated. I do it for others.

The most fun actually was the (Sprockids?) single track at the very end. It was a nice refreshing and simple flow to a track that beat you senseless with roots for 9KM. So it was nice to feel fast for a bit. You could flow through it, and hit the last part of the course to the timing tent at a really good clip.

Future laps were all pretty much the same with about 2 minutes added to each lap as I got fatigued. Though nothing exciting on those laps other then the last bit of singletrack getting more and more welcomed and fun as I got tired.

Highlights:

1. Feeling really really strong for this race.

2. A really strange tire washout around a fast corner…. That suddenly hooked up and righted the bike at the last moment. I thought I was going to eat it pretty hard.

3. Cranked out those hills really well.

4. Hydration

Lowlights:

1. Shouldering a tree pretty hard on a bad corner.

2. Strange cramps in the middle of my back right around my rib cage. Not enjoyable at all.

3. Headache about 7hours in. Shoulda gotten into the shade more I think.

4. Lots of Ambulance action. *Update* The girl that got lead out apparently is okay, just a sprained neck and nothing more. That’s so good to hear.

Overall it was a good day of racing and really showcased how far I came even from earlier this summer. With my best time from Mansfield being my worst time at Hardwood, and not losing any weight over the summer, I really think that a winter of really focused training will bring me up a level or 2 in my ability and riding.

I’m in no way even close to elite level riders by any stretch of the imagination, but I have become a respectable team based rider with times that boarder average and competitive.
 

Hopefully next year I can shred off another 10 or so minutes.

Tour de King next, then a wrapup post next week. Then just mindless updates with training till the next Paris to Ancaster.

Ugh... day 2 of recovery.... why are my legs still sore?

24 Hours of Hot August Nights...... the clickening.

Hot August Nights, or my official marker of 1 year of where I started from.

Lets review last year. My best time was 1:11. My worst time last year was a night lap of 1:36. This year my WORST time was 1:00:23. My best time was 56:30. I was 15 minutes faster then my best time last year, and on my worst time, I could have possibly turned a double lap this year....

First, I want to thank Rob for the ride in Durham a few days ago. He's much faster then I am, and to keep up with him I had to really stop using my brakes. I learned to trust my bike quite a bit during that ride, usually I'd brake into corners instead of trusting my tires and just leaning into it. After the ride in Durham I really trusted my bike to do what I told it to. It took almost a summer of riding to finally get to this point.

One other mistake I found myself doing was riding with WAY to much pressure in my tires. I was always so pissed that my tires never seemed to grab, even though everyone would gush about how Schwalbe's were the best thing to ever put rubber to dirt. They never hooked up for me. I finally started riding sub 30psi and they seem to grab everything now. Climbing is a bit more of a try, but I haven't slipped the back tire out from under me since.

Prior to the race I hadn't done much riding. In fact I probably increased calorie intake by a significant amount while not doing much but relaxing at home. On top of this, a weekend away last week really put me in a foul mood for the days leading up to the event. I barely packed for it, and wasn't really looking forward to the event at all apart from riding a few laps, sucking, getting back to camp, grumbling about how I coulda been faster, while secretly hating the fact that I'm not improving at all anymore and the wall that I'm seeing lately isn't giving any sort of way by speed or fitness improvements.

After an evening of sitting on the couch, eating kung pao spicy chicken and noodle and drinking diet pop, I took my bloated gut to bed at 10, getting up at 6:30 for the ride out to Albion where I'd stumble my way through another brutal night course.

I was riding with a corporate team. Evolution cycles has some really fast guys. The're mainly in the shop every once in a while, and their body comps are usually about 88% muscle, 11% bone, 1% fat. So already I figure I'm going to shit the bed with times forcing us into the "yay we'll be casual" category.  Not to mention that a lot of other riders know them by name.



I arrived around 8ish and met up with the group I was going to ride with.


Bill, Brad, Jeff, Shawn, Al and Herb.

First off, I got there pretty foul mooded. I was worried that I was going to roll up on a group of sausage suit wearing mofo's. Not so much. The Big Unit jokes started flying almost immediately, also being given the initial nickname of Unit before we got to know eachother by name was actually a huge moodlifter for me. I went to the chalet to grab all of our race kit, got back and started talking about lights. Al and Shawn had mentioned their friend was selling some for 100 bucks. Renting a light was 65, I figured for another 35 why not. I'll use it in the fall so its good news if it was a good light.

Turns out they're a name brand. Purchase made, we went back to the camp site. At this point I had totally forgotten about how much I was unsure of riding my first lap, and the race bug started getting into my skin.

Secretly I've been wanting to be sub 1 hour since starting this year. In my 24 hour events anyway.

They decided I was riding 6th. Fffuuu...

So my first lap I finally got out at about 4:50 or so.

Race Report:

The first climb into Gnarly Berms was actually a lot easier then last year. I also caught at least 3 riders on this climb, 1 of which left before me like they were on a mission. Most of them I caught were in granny just spinning out. I made it out and up pretty quickly and flowed through the first part of single track. I'm unsure of the name, but I noticed myself not using my brake almost immediately and coming out of the corners kicking rather then gaining my bearings first. I also noticed myself whipping my front tire around rather then waiting for it to come through.

I rolled into IMBA Alley and railed the entire thing, no brakes, just kept my speed up and came out into the spectator area under a good amount of speed, up and into the small climb there and I just kicked through it without much trouble. I noticed by this time that I wasn't really hurting or breathing hard. Heart rate was low as well so I decided to push through Sugar Rush as hard as I could.

I continued through Woo-Wu keeping my flow and braking to a minimum really happy with myself right now. I actually was super happy with how I was riding but I was starting to breath hard because I was pushing pretty good. I came out of Wu Wu and into some downs and ups where you could get a hill for free if you kept your momentum up. I believe this was Sugar Rush, I remembered it from summer solstice. So I continued to lay off the brakes and pedal when I could to gain speed.

One of the things I noticed myself doing was testing during coasting to see if I could boost my speed at all. I imagine there were a few areas I got a bit more out of cause I did this.

I could hear the music blaring so I knew I was around the Misfits camp site. Up and over the road and into a grassy area, I came around a corner to find some MTBR members sitting on a table ringing a cowbells, but ahead of me was a wicked fun straight down and into a crazy grass berm, I hammered into it trying to make the most of what I could, I did feel like I kept a lot of speed through it.

After this there was a section of double track and it lead into a pretty steep climb to the feed hill. I caught a lot of people here. I'm not sure why. I would hit Eload take a massive gulp of what I got, and fire through. Most people I passed would get sapped. The climb was small and into Moraine Momentum. I knew that after Moraine there was the long section of double track that went into the vista. I would stand and go through Moraine every time I hit it, and try to flow as best I could keeping speed where possible.

Into the vista double track and I would make it a point to drink my water bottle here. The entire thing. I also pushed harder through this section then in solstice knowing that last time I meandered through trying to catch my breath. Also this section lead into Get Groen during to solstice, there was a small climb to get there. This was removed all together in favor of the faster and well known Pinecomb Express.

I wish I spent some time pre riding this section as I chose the easy route every time. I just didn't know what was on the far side of some of the tech, and I didn't feel like eating anything I didn't have to. Looking back I should have actually just went for it as there wasn't anything crazy in those areas, and a rock garden was the only thing that looked like it woulda been tricky.

Double track into the bridge, into live and learn. There's a hard right in there that has netting up. I always hit this corner hard and make it through. Then into the shittastic sand climb I've come to love and hate.

Adding the Albion Witch was perfect.

Into High Roller and I made it through to the double track down back to the starting entrance. There were still some climbs in here but they seemed to be nothing in comparison.

I pushed harder through this section spinning out trying to make up as much time as I could.

Into the small hills before the end and I'm pointed into the timing tent. I pull the card out, check my watch... says 58 min, I figure another 1H+ lap as I had buggered the watch up when I left. Swipe the card, hand off to Herb, and go to the timing tent to see my time.

57:39

Stunned. It took a few seconds to sink in. It took a few seconds to realize that after a year of pushing hard and getting out of the chair and onto a bike. I managed to rock out a sub 1 hour lap.

GOAL.... ACHIEVED.

I was excited for myself. I visited with old race teams and friends. I went out to the Misfit camp to share a beer, listen to some tunes, and I went back to camp fired up for lap 2.

I won't bore you with the night lap, but it was exactly the same as the above, but fired up with my new found riding techniques, and my sudden blackout of my surroundings, I rode faster and managed to pull a 56:30. I was and still am, ecstatic about how I rode.

I really needed this race. I needed something to show me I was improving this year. Some of the other races really dragged me down. The 8H really killed my spirits.

This was the first race I really went out there and killed it enough to be average. And suddenly, it feels like the work I put in finally came together.

The guys I raced with were awesome guys. They're all from Whitby so this means I've gained more riding buddies who ride consistently through the week. I felt like I fit in the moment the Unit jokes started.

Just overall an incredible weekend, and a real lift for me. I was starting to think that the salads, and training weren't doing me anything other then making people at work pity my lifestyle changes.

Then finally, it clicked, and I got that clean pure feeling of achievement again. The same I had last year, the same that pushed me through a winter of training and had me so keen for this summer.

Sub 50 next year?

Never know... but sure as shit I'm going to train for it.

Solo 8 H, Round 2

Event:  Solo Single Speed Men


So I'm signed up for the 8H again in Hardwood as a Solo rider. Round 2.


After the first one failed so miserably, I had a lot of wind taken out of my sails. The flat had me spooked all race, the crank failing on me, well... yeah.

CDMBR was a lot of fun even though I really didn't know anyone else on the course. It was a pretty strong race for me as well, so I was kinda happy with how I performed. Minus the no water second lap, I think the race was pretty strong.

I've taken the last week or 2 to relax. I've spent some time on my CX bike just riding around, I haven't been on the SS in a while, like since CDMBR. Tonight I'm heading to Durham with Rob for a ride. I'm really looking forward to it.



I need more high cadence long distance rides. I find it exceptionally boring lately just pumping out a 2 hour ride on stuff. I think what I may do is start to ride to Durham on the CX bike, have a lunch, ride around, ride home day. I need some goals when I ride other then "just do it for 90 min". I also will have to spend some time on the indoor trainer during raining days, or days I don't head out. I'll try to get in 2 of these a week. Forcing myself to do 40km each ride. I'm going to start to get that time in now. I have over a month to really start piling on the KM.

I have the Tour De King after the 8H. I believe it'll be my last race of the season. I may volunteer for the Single Track Challenge as a Marshal but no more.

I need to swap out of biking for a while as a form of healthy activity. I'm going to start focusing on core and muscle development. I'm at the point where my body has adapted to biking, but as for muscular endurance, I'm lacking heavily. Its fatiguing my body faster then the actual biking is and the faster I'm pushing myself to go, the more I'm noticing I start to fall apart. It gets kinda dangerous as the day goes on, especially for endurance events.

Also the weight lifting and core exercises will give me a nice break from riding. Throw in some HIIT either hitting the bag or stair climbing and I think I should be ready to start training specifically for 8 hour+ races.

..... always nice to have a plan. Execution is what gives results right?

Edit: I also need to stop writing from work, hurried posts make me look like I fail at grammar badly... I promise I don't... or something.

CDMBR... Sticks and Stones will break my bones... but failure wasn't an option.

It was a race I was looking forward to since last year. I was fairly close to riding it in 2010, but just didn't figure I had the endurance to do it yet. But its a race in my home town, *Welland.. close enough*, and I used to bum around there when I was a kid on my BMX. Of course things are very different now, but riding by the old flour mill was nostalgic enough, and seeing the canal again was a good reminder of crashing my BMX into trees and how much fun it was back then.

Meaghan and I packed up for a weekend at my grandmothers. I knew it was going to be tough to eat right the day before the race. I kept the incredibly good home cooked food to a minimum. It was hard, grandma always has enough food to feed an army, and its always my favorite sausages / polenta / chicken / potatoes etc. Its also as much as you can eat. I opted for salads and picking away at the better food. We were having a BBQ the next day, and I figured I'd reward myself with a couple of steaks after the race as a recovery food.

I slept alright. I don't usually sleep well the night before a race but what can you do? There was a 4-5am storm that came rolling through spilling a bunch of rain down. I figured this was a bad sign. I had heard that the course was fairly technical, and rain would just make everything slick. I got up and out at 8am. Small puddles here and there, but everything looked to be drying up. Though the humidity became a concern. Walking to my car I got a bit of a dose of how the rest of the day would be.

I got down to the City Tavern and signed in. Only 5 Singlespeed entrants. I knew of 2 of them. I figured knowing the caliber of riders on SS's. I had no choice but to resign myself to last or near bottom of my division. I could only place through mechanical failures. I don't wish those on anyone, they're demoralizing and expensive.. I would know. I'm sporting new cranks :(

I sat and talked to Frosti from MTBR for a while before heading out to the starting line. I never got to speak with him after that but I hope his race went fine.

I rode around for a good 30 min or so to warm up. I watched the kids race leave and then went looking for a hill to try a few times.

After my first hill, my rear brake started making some weird noise. Its then I realized I didn't pack any tools with me. So quickly back to my car, grab my park tools, air, etc. Fix the rear brake, and head off.

I got trolled hard by the event organizers. I started in Wave 1. I thought that was comedy. As I pulled into the lanes for the waves. I looked around and saw all 4 other SS riders. The other riders there were pretty skinny guys and looked pretty fit. At this point, my goal was completion in under 2H and not to get passed by any 2nd wave riders. I think I outweighed the entire first wave by 3lbs if you put them all on a scale together.

Horn sounded, and everyone in my wave is gone. I'm geared way to tall to keep up with them without spinning out. I am in front of one rider, and I catch another on the first hill. I don't manage to get in front of them, and my first section of single track is slow. I'm better at technical then they are as I almost run him over twice as I fly over logs and a few rock gardens. My turns for my first lap are pretty dominant, and I'm not on my brake as often as I usually am. I flow pretty well for a while and I finally pass the rider in front, and pull away in the next climb / single track section.

There was a section.. I think it was called mud lake. It was just a single track grind through an area. It wasn't boring by any means but it just seemed to go on forever. The first section of the track prior to this was pretty good. I redlined quite a bit trying to attack hills that I wasn't ready for. I did well making sure I got up them.

The one thing I noticed, is that it was rare to find a flat area... also there were rocks, and logs and roots and a whole world of tech everywhere. If you weren't paying attention, pedal strikes would wake you up pretty quickly. If pedal strikes didn't get you, it was rock garden.

Honestly it was just fun the entire way.

After the long section of straight single track the last section of the first lap *and also second* was a couple of grueling short power climbs and one entire single track section where it was just all rocks. It was kinda fun riding through it as it made clinking sounds like breaking plates would.

Around this time I ran out of water in my first water bottle. I got up and over a hill, and into the feed zone for part 2. I was handed a gatorade bottle. Cap wasn't on. I had to pound it within the first KM of my second lap. This proved to be my downfall of the day. The first part of the second lap was all open area so the sun was directly on me for a good 20 minutes, and it was all in what looked like a quarry. Just rocks radiating heat off them. Felt like I was in an oven. What was worse was that there was no real flat area. It was just hill after small hill, after small hill, after big rock, after small hill, after rock garden.. etc.

The final 4KM were brutal. I needed water, and I wanted to get off my bike so badly. The early signs of cramping also started to make everything seem harder then it actually was. I still had a smile on my face, but inside I was a hurting unit.

My family was there, so I had to at least finish strong, so I managed to spin pretty hard to the finish line. I was done though. I was off the bike and on the ground.

It was nice to have my family there. Seeing Meaghan and Anna at the start of my second lap was a huge mood lifter for me, and I really attacked the first part of the second lap hard. It was also nice to see them at the end of the entire thing as well.

I packed up the bike, stayed for the prizes and podium with my cousin, and then went back to my grandmothers for steak/beer/etc.

Couple of things:

1. No water makes your mind go senile. I saw a bottle on the ground, I considered seeing if it had anything in it... I also considered stopping by the canal.... yeesh.


2. Once you get to a certain point of dehydration, your legs are going to start to cramp. For the last 3k of the race my legs threatened to cramp, but never did full out. I could feel it in my quads, and every bump or log over seemed to irritate it into threatening me more. Never a full out cramp, but you could feel it in the shadow so to speak.


3. I need to get a proper hydration pack for XC racing. I have one, but its a massive all mountain style pack which ends up being like 20lbs once full of water and gear.

4. Apart from above. This was a very strong race for me. I never stopped moving forward, and I think I only ended up walking hills at the end when I was out of water.

Bike damage:

There were a lot of DNF's . The Kona held up very well. The only issue I have right now is that my front tire is YET AGAIN out of true, and as a bonus prize, my front tire no longer holds air. Needs some Stans, and a trip to the truing stand. Apart from that, it felt really good, and the lower air pressures really helped my grip in the rough stuff.

Final time was 2:05:30 on the bike. Properly hydrated I probably could have dropped that down to sub 2 hour. I was passed only by some of the faster riders in Wave 2, but it was rare. For 1 lappers, I coulda been in contention. But I wanted the second lap so I raced with the best they had there, and I'm better for doing it :)

Can't wait for this race again in 2012.

Overdoingit.

This weekend... I just I don't know. Huge derailment.

Race Report:

I got there early and got all my equipment set up. Mike came out to help me hydrate and eat well during the race. He was good at having all my stuff ready for me for the 2 laps that I ended up riding.

I lined up, felt good, and started off. I really just started at a pace that was below my normal riding speed and planned to keep that speed all day long... I got through the added section of the first lap and into the first climb. My tire then got saggy... and I had a flat.  Jan from my Durham riding group was with me during the first part. I think I lost him in a hill. Jump off, look over the tire, fill it with a CO2 cartridge, and there's a hole in my sidewall. Jan goes by and asks if I need anything. I think I'm good but I'm running my finger over it trying to get the Stans to seal up. It finally did. I fire in another CO2 shot and I'm back on my bike. I never trust my rear tire for the rest of this very short race, although it was, and still is holding up in my garage now.

This isn't good as now I'm pretty much back of the pack, this of course doesn't fly with me, so now I'm ripping through crushing hills and trying to at least get back on track. The rear tire feels a bit squishy but its consistent, and I'm kinda liking the lower pressure. It keeps the back down on roots and rocks, so I kinda start to use it to my advantage over rockbed and such.

I take the jump, wait for my back tire to blow up, nothing, good.

Second lap.

Here's were things go to shit.

I passed someone who I think was retching on the side of the course. Right before the large open pit you ride through. I asked if he needed anything or water. He seemed pretty pissed that I asked. So I just rode on.

About half way though my second lap, I rode through a pretty loamy section and kicked up dirt over my legs. My cranks started to grind. I thought there was a small piece of sand in the hollow area of my cranks and never gave it 2 thoughts, but it was pretty noticeable. After another km or 2 it stopped grinding.

I then continued but things were getting crazy hard now. I was wondering if I was tired, or something. There's no way I'd be tired after 10km, that's just crazy... but flats for me now felt like massive hills. And hills just felt like I was biking through water. Like the most slightest of incline and it just felt like I was chugging. I managed to keep up and pass a large pack of riders who were lining up still in the technical areas. I actually just rode around them and jumped off one of the lips that a tree had provided. So that was at least 12 riders at this point that I had gotten back up on. I started seeing familiar solo faces at this point as well so I figured I was okay. But exertion to keep up was just unbelievable.

Around the big hill leading into the final down tech section I started to pedal again. I thought I had a stick stuck in my cranks as I felt something snap. Everything was working so I paid no mind. I pulled into the solo area and Mike again had everything ready like a pro. I downed my boost, downed my GA, filled and took off. Down to the timing chip area.. through, and onto 3rd lap. I felt better after having the Boost... like actually felt really good all of a sudden.

I got a quick sponge splash on me, and left for lap 3....

Now this track is a huge grind for the first little bit. I got through it but at this point I'm redlining on everything. I can't keep this up all day, something is very wrong with me... I get to the road crossing, I make a joke with the marshals, I cross.. I get off my bike cause its just getting impossible.

I look down and my bottom bracket is a twisted mess of sheared metal.... I can't ride another lap on it.. and I can barely turn it with my arms and hands. There is a LOT of resistance. I turn around, call in my lap reset, and hope the entire way that this can be fixed.

Nope. that's the end of my day. 2 and a half laps. I bow out at 2 hours in. At the pace I was going even with the bottom bracket shitting all over itself, I was on time to easily do 8 laps, and murder myself to try to get to 9.

My cranks are currently back at the shop. I'll call in today to see whats up and what warranty work can be done. I'm optimistic about getting my bike back and running by Canal Days this weekend. My entire family was coming out to that, it'll be a huge upset if I can't ride.

As I was packing up my bike, I also lost one of the nuts for my front quick release. So I have to replace that now too. It just wasn't a good Saturday. I got home, ordered a Pizza, downed it, went to bed at like 9.

Fast forward to yesterday afternoon's ball game. I'm rounding third and turn on the jets for home, and POP.. yeah baby, hamstring injury. I hobble home. I hobble my way around 1st base for the rest of the evening.

Its hard to keep high spirits when you have a weekend like this but I'm trying to figure out the bright side. The only thing I can come  up with is this.

It was probably a good thing that my bike failed out on me from a physiological point of view. I probably would have murdered myself getting to lap 9. I don't know when to stop when I have a goal. It was really hot out, and the forest was just one huge pocket of humidity. I would have done well, and I would have stayed hydrated, but the heat would have gotten to me eventually, and I doubt 1 day of recovery would have been enough, and I'm sure the drive home would have been terrible.

I'll try again in September's 8H. I need a bit more time in the saddle really and to get some more sprinting training in, but my plan was sound and I'm sure I could have done 8 over the day.

I need to let my leg heal. My right leg over this year has taken a beating. This winter I know exactly what I'm going to do for training, and I'm already looking forward to getting stronger physically.

I refuse to let this weekend shake me off my horse though. I've had a good run up to now, and I was due for a mechanical just through sheer odds alone. *The fact that I got through P2A without ONE mishap was already statistical wonder* Oh well. I'll get that crank replaced, I'll get a new BB, and my tire is fine.

Canal Days up next. Then my first triathlon. We'll see how things go from there.

Things To Bring to a 8 Hour Race

This is something I'll continue to work on, but I can't find anything online that really lists it in detail. So consider this a work in progress and hopefully this helps other first time 8H riders.

Tertiary:
1. Sun Screen
2. Ibuprofen
3. First Aid Kit
4. Mesh Dome Type Tent Thingy *29.99 at Canadian Tire Kinda Thing*
5. Chair

Bike Crap:
1.Bike Equipment *This should be mandatory stuff to ride, gloves, helmet, your bike, cleats*
  b) Spares of the above.
2. Repair stuff: *Extra set of cleats, and tools required to wrench you bike*
3. Tube
4. Compressed Air
5. Bike Stand *If you can manage it. I can't
6. Spare Tire
7. Hydration Pack

Food:

Perpetuem
Boost
8L of Gatorade
8L of Water
Watermelon
Gummy Bears
Beer

I think I have myself covered. I'll write more if I bring anything else or if I see other good ideas.

Wish me luck. Race report Sunday!

Over the weekend..

I managed to get out to Hardwood last weekend to ride the epic 8 course.

I found it easier then Albion's 24 hour course. I donno why, I just did. There's not a lot of places there to keep your speed, and there's going to be some terrain that's going to cause some people to slow down, and a few really hairy areas but nothing out of control. Some sections were long and grinding but I really didn't see a place where it was horrible.

I'm pretty optimistic about meeting my goals of 80K. If I take my time, fuel right, water myself well, I should be able to get through the day. If I average 40-50 min laps should be okay, and MIGHT have enough for 9 possibly 10 laps. *If I do 10 laps, I'd be pretty happy with myself to be honest*

We'll see how my legs hold up.

I've been biking a lot with a group of guys and gals that I met on a miss timed DMBA ride. I got there early. They got there early and we just rode together. Now we pretty much ride consistently every Saturday morning.

This weekend we spent all day crashing and falling in Hardwood. The course wasn't bad, most of the crashing happened when we decided to ride through Gnarly. I was having a really good go at it actually then ended up getting overconfident, and setting a new record for number of trees hit in a single fall. I believe it was 4. I got complacent *Read: Tired* and ended up not timing a drop well.

Anyway, these guys volunteered to help be support during the day helping me get water, gatorade, and food as I'm riding. They're also riding in 2 teams of 3 and 5 so I'll see them around the course as well, and I'll jump on one of their wheels and keep a bit of conversation going to keep me sane.

I'm actually looking forward to this. I'm really interested in seeing how this plays out for me :)

Shopping list being made today, then pic of food and stuff on Friday night :)

7 out of 500.. 8H of Solo.......

 

Well then.

It would appear that I'm in a 7 person category. I know of some of the other riders I'm racing against I've seen them around and I lurk / post a bit on the Eastern Ontario MTBR boards where they do the same. But... odds are... I'm going to come in dead last... and I'm okay with this.

I'm in my 1st year of racing. Solo racing is a pretty large step up all things considered. I won't go into how people don't do it, or how soloists are crazy, and how hard it is. I'm pretty much sure that this is an assumed thing by all people.

I'm not doing this to toot my own horn *Hi, I'll be that SS riding Clyde in last place*. I'm doing it because I want to see how far I've come past last year.

Last year after a month of biking, I rode 50km in the heat in Heber. At 289lbs and poorly prepared, I was able to finish it, limp home, then pound a truckload of banana's and apples. All I brought with me was 2 bottles of Gatorade for that ride. It took me the greater part of 3 and a half hours to do it on flat surface with one major climb in there... that I did on foot.

I got home and went to sleep almost immediately. I never cramped though, and never quit or thought about quitting.

Later that year, I rode an 80km ride same idea, poorly prepared but better prepared then last time, I still completed this in about 4 hours. Faster then the original ride, with more hill climbing, and less hill walking. Less panic when I got home, and less frantic eating. Still major sleep that evening.

I have no illusions that this is much different given the terrain I'll be riding. Nor will I have the option of granny gearing the course till I generate enough wind to power southern Ontario... but I'm preparing a lot differently.

First of all, I've dropped down from 32/18 to 32/21. After the test ride last night I found the bike to be a bit more agile as I can put more power to the back, but a lot less speed. I'm going to go test out Hardwood this weekend to see if the gearing is right, if its too easy, then its perfect. I'm going to try to get 3 laps in just to make sure I have the flow and terrain right.

I took the Kona out with the new gearing last night for some intervals. The hill I usually use for intervals was actually taken slower then normal, but with a lot less perceived exertion once I hit the top. Once done there, recovery was extremely fast. This may be a fitness thing, but also mental. Also I noticed that my legs took FOREVER to warm up yesterday, that sucked, as they felt burnt before I even got to the first hill.

A little more air in the tires, and a small adjustment to steering and I think the bike is ready to go. Apart from the SS creaking that almost all SS's have, I have the bike tuned in to me, and I REALLY like it.

Secondly... I'm really trying to pay attention to food and fuel for this race. I drank a crapload of Eload and Endurolyte infused water at the 24H. It really worked well. After my second lap I had dinner and let that settle. I don't believe I'll have the option to do that at the 8H so I'll probably bring bananas with me and Perpetuem blocks/drink so I can down those after each lap. Cliff bars are good pre and post race. During the race they started to back up on me causing some nastyness, that and they take time to eat.

I like gatorade, but I find Eload is actually better for events. I've bought my last bit of Gatorade a while back. I'll bring Eload with me for sure.

I'm going to try to drink 1 bottle of Eload / Water per lap, and try to consume at least 200 calories of food per lap. You can't do 1:1 for calorie loss to gain during intense work so I'm going to try to keep as much as I can in me while I race to make sure bonking just never happens.

Thirdly.. I'll have support crew there this time to remind me to drink and to check my times for me. All I have to do is focus on keeping the cranks turning and the rubber side down. Also a bit of family encouragement never hurt.

Goals for me are as follows.

1. At least 8 laps. That's 80km of riding. If I manage to have time for a 9th, I'll try for it, but 8 laps is my signal that I can get off the bike and die out.

2. To prevent calf cramps as much as possible. My legs tend to crank out high volumes of torque to get myself up hills. What I didn't plan on was my calves doing so much work. This has lead to some serious calf cramping in the last 8H race I did as part of a team. The fact I ran rigid as well didn't help with body fatigue.

3. To bike as hard and as long as I can at my own pace and really feel like I left nothing out there.

4. To not come in dead last.

We'll see how these go. Preride is this saturday so I'll probably have more to squawk about when I'm done checking out what its going to be about.

Tour De King - Wave 2.

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2011-10-02_TOUR_DE_KING

Pain Train: 24 Hours Summer Solstice

Well it had rained all night, and the morning of the race, so I was a bit skeptical of race conditions. I packed up early, drove out to a teammates house, packed up into her SUV, and drove up to Albion. In the rain.

During this time she was worried she'd be our slowest rider. I already knew I would be but all in all she ended up being our strongest rider. Not fastest, just able to pound out laps. She did 6. Impressive when other people are crying about how they're cooked after 2 or 3. Kudo's to her for sure. 6 Laps woulda put me in a Coma.

Team

Ryan: Ryan and I had raced at the 8h in Mansfield together. We were pretty decent there despite my injury.

Rob: Rob was our fastest guy. Also running a SS.

Gary: Gary rode a loaner bike from AGOGO bikes, also had some 3500+ lumen lighting system on his bike, he became a crowd favorite on the night laps... you could see him coming from Montreal. Also did a night double.

Jacki:  Jacki was our strongest rider. Doubles, and another lap in the morning. She has some wicked lungs.

Me: I'm a Clyde, I have almost 30lbs over our heaviest rider, and ride SS. I managed to stay within 10M of our fastest rider, and kept my laps consistent. 1:02 fastest, 1:16 slowest evening lap. Lights were terrible.. blrgh. I'll get faster as the weight continues to peel off, but compared to last year, my best time last year, was my worst time this year. It wasn't the same course, but I thought it was much harder with more hills. It was nice to have something to compare it to.


I actually wanted to start off this race, so we flipped a coin with Jacki who also wanted to go first. She won. I chose to take my lap on the second run.

During this time Ryan figured we might qualify for Clyde, we had 2 165lb riders, the rest were 205, 220, and me at 250. We just snuck in at a smidge over 1000lbs.

Now here's the story. The other Clyde team *There were only 2 teams in our category so second place was last place* was actually going to drop out and race in the 200+ age category. The one we were going to race in anyway. Once we moved, they decided to stay in the category. We didn't know there were only 2 entrants, they knew at the time that they were the only ones. We just swapped out thinking there'd be 5-6.

200-249 Cat
Clyde Cat

Even if we raced in 200-249 we would have come in 4th-5th place out of 17 teams. For a ragtag group who's never raced with each other, I'm actually really happy with our performance. I really hope we can race together again next year as I had a really good time with everyone, and we raced well together. Also, seemed like a really good meshing.

At 12pm or so... we realized the other clyde team were in a camp site almost across from us. The smack talk began almost immediately.

Over the course of the night, it was a pretty tough battle, back and forth they'd be up 10, we'd be up 10, they'd be up 3, we'd be up 30 seconds. At the end they were only 2:30 min faster then us.

I'm not going to run down all my laps here, but I'll do my first day lap. Technically all my day laps are the same, except they're progressively slower by 2 min or so. Except the night lap, but I'll bitch about lights after.

The first climb right off the bat was pretty tame until you got into the bush, then it started going up at a pretty good pace. The first sections of single track was a lot of uphill switchbacks that I don't have a lot of practice with. I would power up them but didn't really have a smooth corner in most. I probably exerted myself a lot more in this section then I really needed to. I remember getting out of it the first time and onto some double track heading into Woo Wu and seeing 178bpm. Not where I wanted to be after this part, but I guess standing and climbing isn't going to help me with any form of heart rate control. After Woo Wu there's a good solid speed you can maintain through Sugar Rush and the double track sections. Those sections didn't have much in the way of terrain. This moved into some doubletrack and into Get Groen, the first climb was just steep with roots. I never was able to get through it just on account of people dismounting here. I'd have a good amount of speed and would get up the roots only to have random dismounts or get caught behind someone in granny. Unfortunate, but what can you do.... CROSS RUN IT UP THAT BADBOY WOOOHAAAHH!

The first section above though was wet. And incredibly rooty. I remember my front tire sliding everywhere off some of those roots. It was not that enjoyable of a ride as I haven't really gotten my bikes legs under me yet, even though I've been riding in Durham and such. I just don't get the same terrain. I'll try to ride Albion more. Its just so much more enjoyable and loaded with things that make me have to work hard, and ride right.

After that section there's a nice tempo'd uphill and vista view that I used to pound back my bottle of Gatorade and get my lungs back. This went into Pinecomb Express. Probably my favorite section of the course. Lots of fun things in there, good drops, lots of options, fast flowing single track. The scenery was excellent as well. Just a really solid piece of track, super enjoyable.

Double track, into Albion Witch, and BMBC, that sand climb sucked last year, and sucked this year, just a little less though. SSing I guess has made me stronger, because even with a granny last year I had to walk it. Not so this year, not even once.

Live and Learn was really fast and enjoyable, nothing to note in here.

High Roller had a couple of climbs in there that were in weird spots. The ground before one of the climbs had a bunch of sand there that just bled off any speed I had before the hill. I made it up but it was a good solid spike in my heart rate for sure. The rollers in there were fun but I found myself just riding around them to conserve speed.

Hot August Nights was a fun twisty down. Once you were through that thing it was double track and a sprint to the end.

2 Things

Screw that 5KM sign. Just made things worse.
Much love for the 1KM sign, it made everything better.

I rented some lights there for my night lap. It was terrible. Last year I remember having a really strong lighting system which illuminated everything. This year it was weird. It was a really powerful light but had no real area of lighting at all apart from a 2 meter radius wherever I pointed my head. I didn't get used to leading with it till much later in my ride, but it made the root section almost scary when my tire would just suddenly skirt left or right on me for no reason. Also my night lap was surprisingly silent with only 1 or 2 riders passing me. It was really enjoyable once I got into the groove though. Just wish I had better lighting overall, or found someone with a better lighting system.

Couple of highlights.

1. Someone riding my wheel for like 2/3rds of the course. I asked if he wanted a go around, he said nope. Perfectly fine back here.

2. Lots of people commenting on effort on the SS and to keep it strong.

3. One guy rocking by me but screaming up a hill. Like vocally yelling WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO... CRANK IT SINGLE SPEEDER.

4. Taking some of those hard sections flawlessly and handling the terrain really well.

5. Hand Blisters from wrenching on my handlebars up hills. This is completely new.

That's about it. 4 hours of sleep over the 24 hours, and about 80KM of riding overall.

Will edit the report later. I'm sure there's crap all over here that doesn't make sense, but I'm doin with what I got right now, and right now I don't got any grammar skills :P


..... that was intended.

24HSS....

 

Aww yeah.

Well prepped. Team's well prepped. Bike's in great condition. New fork, ready to ride 100km baby.

I picked up a RockShox Reba RL TTI 29" yesterday to swap in for longer rides. I have the equipment now to swap to rigid when I feel like it. Eventually that fork will make its way onto my full suspension rig I'll build over the winter for ultra endurance races.

Went for a run earlier this week, felt super strong during the run. Calm and relaxed, good rhythm and breathing, and ended up doing 10km before realizing how far I had gotten. Not bad either, did 10K in under 50 min. Bugs are killing me in there... time for some OFF.

I think running is my new workout. Riding works, but if I'm under 20KM its not really a workout anymore, just a warmup. Running used to destroy my legs. Now they recover within a few hours and aren't sore anymore. Even after 10K.

Ajax Pickering Tri Club will have me doing 100KM rides on weekends, so I'll pick up my saddle time there along with what races I have and weekend rides in Durham. I'm going to start hitting the beach up for open water swimming when I have some time. I don't need to do much in the water, but its more of a "just get comfortable" thing.

Solstice is looking to be a pretty wet ride to be honest, I'm not 100% on it being completely enjoyable, but I'll bring extra socks, and my rain jacket just in case. Saturday is looking like a mixed bag. Hopefully the track is quick drying, otherwise its going to be a muddy sloppy mess.

Going to spend most of Friday packing up and getting my gear ready, then I'm either out Friday night, or Saturday morning. Haven't decided. Kinda want to get a pre ride in... we'll see. Race report for sure.

Also I came across a Rammstein song called "Ich Tu Dir Weh"

"I hurt you, 

I'm not sorry, 

It does you good, 

Hear how it screams" 

Thats the rough translation of the song.... and a pretty direct explanation of singlespeeding.

Hrm..

Spent some time this weekend in Durham. Rode pretty strong on some hills, doubled up on a hill where I borked up a climb just not remembering where a root was. Ended up having to cut a corner too sharp and got off the bike to complete.

Rode with a fully loaded camel back on though, just to get used to it for the 24H, though I may not need it now all things considered. But I may just start riding with it as its almost another 10lbs of weight to haul around. It only makes you stronger...

I'm also running a lot lately. I'm not sure why though. I used to hate it, now I actually don't mind throwing the buds in and running a few laps in the bush. I actually don't mind it at all. It does peel weight off like crazy though, I guess that's motivation enough. There is another underlying reason why I'm running now.. with less pain. I'll actually credit the Kona.

One of the things I noticed with the Kona is that the rides feels smoother now. Even the rough stuff seems okay. I've taken a lot of running starts at hills with roots and gone directly up and over while just barreling over things I would usually navigate instead. The bouncing isn't that bad anymore, where originally it would just be massive shocks everywhere. After longer rides I'd feel super beat up. The epic 8 I did last month I felt like a truck hit me after the race was over. Not so much cause of the crash, but overall just white knuckling it over everything and expecting the bike to absorb everything was a very silly way of riding on a rigid. Combine it with a creeping fear of technical terrain, and you have a recipe for a very long day.

Fast forward a few weeks of riding and racing.. I'm now hitting log overs and rockbed without any issue. Like solid 2ft log overs. My climbing is a lot stronger then it ever used to be, and my descents are much more in control, although with speed comes some panic braking when I don't know where the trail is leading... I locked my front and rear tire on Saturday trying to stop. I'm surprised I didn't go over the bars, just slid :)

Overall, I deal with shock better after subjecting myself to it almost every night for the last couple weeks. Things that would jar me before now really don't have any effect because I ride differently.... we'll call it riding light. Mostly I'm about an inch or 2 above the saddle, and I use my legs and arms a lot more to absorb any impact that may be coming my way. This kinda translates to running I guess. I'm impacting the ground with my legs, but I don't feel it reverberate throughout my entire body.

This reverberation can tire you fast as your body contracts small support muscles every step or pedal stroke to keep you upright and in balance, this uses glycogen, and the more you call on these muscles to keep you upright, the quicker it runs out. These small support muscles don't store a lot of it either. Once the stores get low, you get tired as they stop working or degrade into a state dependency, calling on other muscles to help stabilize you . So instead of using energy  for pedaling, bike control, or jogging you actually are fighting yourself just as hard as you are the trail you're riding or running.


I'm going to take back some shit I said earlier... Riding a rigid bike will make you tougher. Riding a SS will make you tougher. A SS IS hard work. You don't have the same options that guys on the FS/30spd bikes have. You have one option. Go. It doesn't make you tougher in the I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS kinda tougher. It makes you tougher as in strengthening the muscles you don't use often. It promotes good core and joint strength. It also gets you riding looser so you're able to deal with things using your body as a suspension fork.

This rolls right over to running. As you get stronger, you can run farther as your body doesn't deal with the shock of running anymore.. and running helps with the rigid bike set up.

Now I'm not shitting on the FS/30spd guys. In fact I'm hardly doing that. Believe me, I'll get a FS rig eventually. I can only imagine how strong you ride on a bike with the technology behind it after riding a bike that uses none of it.

One bike makes you tougher. One bike will allow you to ride longer. Use one, benefit in the other, look pro on both.... or try to anyway....

24 hour in 5 days baby, lookin  forward to it!

CAN.. YOU... DIG IT...... out of my side, it hurts.

Proud.

I'm so Screwed

So its done. My first long distance solo event since picking up cycling last year. It didn't take long.... its also on account that nobody is available to team up with me. My group ride buddies will be there as a team, and my doubles partner is away that weekend. That leaves me... and I want to race it. I've also been debating doing a Solo event for a while just to see how far I can push myself.

So here's my chance. 

My goal is ultimately survival through100KM. Which is 10 laps. If I do laps at 45-50m a lap. I can do this. It looks like I'll have a really decent support crew so I'll be ready to ride without much issue. I also have the 24H coming next weekend. We'll see how that goes as well. I'm aiming for 5 laps in Albion.. which I am really pumped for.

Also, I think I'm going to swap out of the full rigid setup and go with a front fork. I worry way to much about that thing when I'm racing, or taking some downs and such. Its awesome don't get me wrong, but I'm going to go grab a reba XX with a remote lockout this week I think. I'll put the all mountain bike aside. I doubt I'll go anywhere or ride anything that's ever going to require it. Also... it kinda sucks cause I don't have buyers remorse over my current bike... I just want MOAR.... and I realized it last night, and then shut it down. Mebbe in 2012 or so, or something. But I'm going to stop thinking about how to do it this year. Its not really something that's required for a long time from now... possibly Trans Rockies in 2012.

So anyway back to basics. I'm actually running now too, I did 10K last night. I know surprising, but I can run... the most surprising thing is... I'm not sore.. I feel warmth in my legs, they're tired, but they're not broken, and I could probably go running again tonight. This is a good thing. I just need to get into the water now, and I can say I'm training for my Triathlon.

But I'm actually really looking forward to the grindfest that is the 8H coming up. Who knows, may lead to a 2 man 24H race....... or quite possibly a Solo 24.

.... haha, you so crazy.

4th Time's a Charm. O-Cup

I'm not making excuses... but 2 things.

1. Gears woulda helped hugely. SS in a geared category, probably not smart, but whatever. I love my bike somuch. HTFU is probably the answer here.. the SS category is epic man. I'd get destroyed. Looking back though I coulda dropped my gearing down a bit, and just climbed a bit slower, and descended a bit quicker. Woulda easily made up time..... looking back I can even see places I coulda been faster.

2. Need to believe in my legs a bit more, they deliver when I don't think they will.

After a calm and relaxed ride in Durham on Saturday... which included a pretty good amount of technical log overs and some rockbed. I found myself seeking out things to practice on during the ride. The causal air of my own "derp" riding came to a screeching halt when my pedal hit a hidden stump and my headset decided to punch me about 2" away from my dangly parts. The rest of the ride was actually really good. Relaxed but attentive and focused.

There was a pretty severe hill in there that I got to climb. Really technical. I could spend all day on that thing learning it. I'm glad I powered it out on my first try... it proved that sitting slowly on a hill is actually more detrimental to a single speeder then anything. I need speed/momentum in the hills, and usually all I get is some room right before them which is enough for a couple of cranks. Otherwise I'm grinding out in power mode.... this causes issues as most of the time as I get trapped on a hill and grind to the top. I'm not gassed, but my body is in a weird place where downs get slower cause I'm overly cautious trying to let my legs and lungs recover from the onslaught of what I figure is the equivalent of doing squats for 2 minutes straight.

Results

I came 14th out of 24 riders. In beginner. I am not super fast. I am not slow either.. on the otherhand.... if you match out speed and times for the podium guys, and go look around at other standings... well you get the picture. I would have placed mid pack for a Try an O-Cup.... which would have been like 5th.... but whatever, I had an awesome race... simply because of the finish... and I'll explain why yesterday was AWESOME.. though I'm definitely not racing beginner next year. I'll move to a proper category so I lose with pride.

RACE.....RRRRRRRRREPORT:

Line up and I crack jokes with some people. I'm the ONLY guy on a SS in the pack. There are many chuckles, and questions as to why I would do this to myself. I'm unsure as to how to answer them. I know its hard. But I don't want to come off like I'm sort of awesome rider or anything... I just say that I enjoy riding my bike, and its fun. More chuckles. I fire off my 3 speed joke about biking, walking, and pass me a beer. One guy tells me I'm his hero, another guy tells me I'm crazy when he see's I ride with a rigid front fork.

<opinion> Apparently Single Speeding is some level of masochism that I was unaware of. I did understand that it was harder, and I DO NOT SEARCH OUT any sort of kudos or anything about it, but people somehow respect single speeders just on what I guess is difficulty. It IS hard. Yes, but I chose to ride it not for the ooh's and ahhs of self inflicted difficulty. I ride it cause I'm TERRIBLE, and it makes my ride easier not managing gears, and suspension, and whatever. I get tunnel vision when I ride... having 1 gear means that when I need power, I move my legs, when I need to stop, I use my brakes. I appreciate encouragement on the course though, don't get me wrong, I am not ungrateful for the "GO CLDYE SINGLESPEEDER, YOU EFFIN ROCK* as someone yelled at me yesterday, THAT fuels me. But by no means am I searching for it. So I appreciate it when I'm racing</opinion>

AAND we're off.

AAAND its a hill first thing. FFFFFFFUUUUU. Naturally, I'm all pumped up and having no clue how to race, I power up this hill like a boss. I am IN FIRST PLACE. FIRST MOFUGGIN PLACE. I have dominated everyone up this hill. I look like a boss, I rode that hill like a BAWWS... I ride the single track, nobody can pass me as I take up a lot of room. I get to the first double track down. Guess who's not a boss anymore... THIS GUY. No matter how I spin, guys with gears are faster then me on downs :( Back into single track, I count at least 7 guys who pass me at this point. I'm also realizing that I'm redlining myself... and have been for the last 5 minutes. Not good.

Into the next climb on single track and I'm starting to get tunnel vision. I'm holding technical together well, but small mistakes are being made just due to the lack of oxygen. I calm myself down on the next section of double track and coast down it, giving my legs and lungs a break. I come out of the tunnel vision and into a pretty fun down. At this point I've counted about 10 guys past me. I catch them in the hills on their granny, but it works against me. They're slow and they can power out in their crazy gear ratio. I on the otherhand need lots of room to keep momentum up, and find myself torquing through these sections. I slide on a root, and its game over. I have to let another 4 guys by me on granny while I haul my bike to the top.


I go down the other side, and hit a slick section. Front tire gives a bit of a slide and I recover. Guy behind me says "Nice recovery man, I thought you were down". I say thanks.

I keep on going on, getting to some shattered stone down, and navigate it at a pretty good clip. Bike feels put together but I feel every single bump.... at this point, I want gears and a full suspension bike. I don't hate my bike, but those guys are milking this section by bombing the shiat out of it.

At this point I realize I'm getting angry. The last guy to pass me is a skinnier guy, probably 150 or so full suspension fully geared, race gear and all. I tell myself, you're going to keep with him, and you're going to beat him. I get into the last part of single track, its got a short down in it, with a pretty fun drop. I lose 0 speed here, and power up the last hill. I realize I have better hill legs then him as he's grannied up and spinning. I almost collide with him while powering up the hill. Into the recovery and lane section, people are cheering us through, and I pound some Gatorade.

Lap 2.

Start hill again. This time I crank to the top, but take a bit of time to do it so I don't trash myself.. I'm still on guyface's tire though. Though at this juncture an new challenger appears. He's right behind me. On the downs I can hear him, but on the double track he's not passing. I offer to let him by, but he says.. and I QUOTE THIS SHIT " No, you're good through the technical sections, I'm just stealing your lines".. Well eff me someone's borrowing MY lines. That's comedy... I suck.

I continue to ride well and this time I'm not red lining myself, but rather keeping at a good pace and keeping up to my frienemy who's bombing the flats, but getting caught in the hills.... all of which this time, I stand and deliver on. I'm actually warm now, and performance is there. Starting races cold is really dumb... like super dumb. My downs are actually much crisper this time through the twisty stuff. No "whoops" or "HOOOAHH" sections. I bomb through that rock section picking a good line, and all drops are ridden well. I cannot let this guy get too ahead of me. Lap 2 is my lap, it is slower then lap 1, but its stronger and I'm not off my bike at all.

Guyface behind me makes his move. He blows by me on some doubletrack.. I feel bad for him, he dives on the next section of single track :( It wasn't a hard fall but I get away from him a large distance before he's back up and biking.

I start to plan. This race is no longer vs 23 other people.. My fitness *Read: HAHAHAHAHAHA (tears)* takes over and I am biking well, so I drift to planning where I'm going to make my move. I plan it for the last part of the race, through that single track section with the down and small jump / drop. It has a very short but steep hill I'm going to power up, and time it to get right on his ass as we crest into the final sprint. We enter into the final section, and he's looking behind, he knows its on now, he's heard me behind him the entire race, hell I probably talked about the plan out loud for all I know, cause now he's riding hard.

750m left......

Into the sandy down and its on. I pedal my ass off, chose to go no brakes. I hit the down with him right in front, he brakes a bit, I ride the side and drop into it gaining some momentum.. We spin into the hill, and I start to hear the clicking of his gears.

Ever hear a drill Sgt yell at someone? Ever watch full metal jacket? Yeah, that right now is my brain. " YOU WILL GET UP THIS EFFING HILL AT SPEED, OR YOU WILL QUIT BIKING RIGHT NOW. I'M SURPRISED YOU EVEN MADE IT THIS FAR YOU FAT BASTARD, YOU GOING TO CLIMB THIS HILL LIKE A MAN AND BEAT THIS GUY, OR YOU'RE GONNA QUIT OUT BECAUSE YOU ARE A PANSY BOY. IT MEANS NOTHING RIGHT NOW TO ANYONE ELSE, BUT IF YOU LOSE THIS FIGHT I WILL NOT LET YOU LIVE THIS DOWN"

I have never, ever, ever hit a hill this hard. Remember, I suck hard and I have been close to red line this entire race cause I have no idea about energy conservation... But no, not this hill, not this time. I rickroll this hill like I'm possessed. I am standing, I am leg pressing trucks, and I EXPLODE over the crest and air my bike out. I hit the ground and I have passed him right at the spot I said I would. SPINNING like its going out of style, I never look back. I spin so hard, I cannot effing see what is beside me so it doesn't matter. 100M left, and I am into the grass and around a corner, still spinning. A EvoCycle rider yells out " GET GOIN MIRO, HE'S ON YOUR TIRE"

I hear Chico yelling and the crowd actually cheering the both of us as we're racing like its tour de frances final stretch. Its entertainment if anything. I am literally growling and grunting my ass off the entire stretch.

I beat him. By 3 seconds. He was coming for me at the end there in a bigger gear and I could hear him doing the same.

First place finish? No. But that finish in and of itself was epic to me.

That finish in and of itself is something I would say will keep me coming back to racing over and over.

I may never podium, but I'm having way more fun being in shape and looking better every week then the podium guys are getting puny medals.... a finish like that, is just an example of what I would have missed had I not started this quest.

Too awesome... too too awesome.

14th place baby. But it felt SO good... not because I finished... but because I actually planned something other then finishing. I planned a final sprint and a rank improvement. It wasn't a question about finishing.. but one of strategy... and this makes me so giddy.

CHARGING LEGS [0% |||||||||||||||||||||||----- 100%]

I have a fun relaxed ride in Durham tomorrow morning, followed by a possible pre ride in Albion later tomorrow afternoon. Then a race in Albion on Sunday regardless of pre-ride or not. It should be fun. I hear the course is super fast and smooth, but just a lot of elevation changes. Not a big problem I don't think. Also part of that O-Cup will be included in the 24H Albion race as well so a bit of a scout out.

I'm not sure that any of my teammates are going to pre ride Albion with me on the 18th or so, so I may just can that and pre-ride it on the Friday when I get to the camp site and after I set  up.

Good weekend of MTBing coming up. Hopefully the weather plays nice.

NO-Cup 2...

Again I bailed out of the O-Cup this weekend.

2 reasons.

1. My knee was / is still healing, and its on my mind when I ride.
2. I pre rode it this Saturday.. in the cold, and during a Thunderstorm... twice.. so race length, at scout pace.

After pre riding and slow crashing once....

Slow Crashing: When you crash and you have time to look at your watch as you bike tips over on you, but there's nothing you can do except kinda contemplate your navel while its happening and brace for impact eventually. 

I realized that a Full Rigid / SS combination requires a lot of skill to navigate some nasty terrain.

Skill I lacked horribly this weekend. It might have been the rain. It might have been the knee, it might have been the course, but my brain was NOT there for the trail, and things I usually do without issue were taxing and difficult. This would have lead to another injury, so I passed it up. Upsetting as it was, I'll get over it. Mind you there were 2 things there that really jumped out at me, both of them were about the same difficulty.

Rocky terrain in a decent where I couldn't find the line. After almost bailing out on the second one, I realized that there were cheat lines through the sides. The realization of this POST doing it was a good indicator that I wasn't thinking right.

There's another O-Cup this weekend in Albion, of which I may go and hit up. I've ridden in Albion before and the elevation changes are really the only factor, the trail is pretty neutral with some technical log overs and some root drops but nothing like rock stairs. I'll register Saturday after my DMBA ride if I'm feeling strong like I did after last nights ride.

The 24H race is around the corner, and I'm actually super psyched for it. Getting in more hill training, though I'm going to start to focus on the rockbed climb on my local trail. The one I avoid because I torque my rear tire somewhere in there and lose all momentum EVERY TIME I TRY IT. This will be the basis for my technical climbing training... a skill I lack right now. To compensate I use a CX style "Hop off, kick someone in the face, run up hill with bike on shoulder, hop on, kick someone in the face, ride down hill" kinda thing. That needs to change.

I remember last years ride, and the one hill that absolutely just wrecked me was a long grinding hill to a feed station. I remember sitting up there for a long time trying to find my lungs while downing half their eLoad supply. I found a hill that's VERY similar to that particular hill. I grind that hill out at least 3-4 times on my ride now, just to make sure.

I am debating going to a 32/20 for the 24. I ride a 32/18 right now and its great on some hills, but if I remember correctly, Albion doesn't have a lot of flow into some of the hills they give you. It may change this year as they've done something like $100,000 worth of trail maintenance and development since last year.

I'll update Saturday with a decision.

Sandbagging... never thought about it... after 4 races, there it is.

Lets put this into perspective. I am by no means a fast rider. For my weight, and for my skill level. I am fast. For my weight, and my skill level in the classes I race in, I am a mid pack rider. I am okay with this. I am not the slowest. I am not the fastest. I am quite literally the best trollface rider there is.

I've been in a discussion on a forum about Clydes and sandbagging.. well not so much a discussion but just realizing that more and more people defend themselves voraciously using the same argument that a 250lb guy is trying to make. Only the light guys are right and heavy guys are wrong. Its the ignorance that bothers me the most. Not the classes. Fat guys should train harder and not be fat, so they can compete with the guys who should train harder, drop the 1lb, and race in age categories where their times are on par with podium, or near top times.

The argument about training harder for the fat Clydes now applies to you as well. Personally, while I do have a bit of investment just due to starting to bike at 312lbs, and chipping away to a much more competitive 249, I understand where the 275lb guy who's at the top of the hill gasping for air is mentally at that point. Hell I even get there now with some of the stuff that 150lb guys just ride up like they're on a quad.

Personally, I don't think there really should be a category for guys who are 250+lbs or whatever. I don't, and because I just don't think its needed. I actually wouldn't even be in that category anymore now that I think about it. But really its not the case. I train pretty hard to go as fast as I can at the weight I'm toting around. I'm not fat by any stretch of the word.

The case to me is that while there are guys who cling to 201lbs but race in the Clyde category acing 275lb riders by well over 10 - 20min a lap on a 17km track, they're the same guys who tell the 250lb riders that they're whining if they bring up sandbagging. Easily dominating the category is okay for them, but if you bring up the fact they could move to another category and still be competitive but not win, its time for you to shut up fatty.


I'm done with the back and forth on this particular subject, its actually useless to continue to argue it. Some guys will race in Clyde because they are fat. Some guys will race in Clyde because they used to be fat, and are now leaner and faster. Some guys will race in Clyde cause they can't hack it in their age group. It's the way things will be, and from what I've seen... has always been. Nothing I can do about it, except train harder.


Citizen class race this weekend. I looked at the times from last year. The podium finishers all have times that EXCEED or are on par with the times in some of the Masters and Elite categories. One has a podium finish in masters if he raced there. More mileage in those categories overall, but average speed was on par.

If by chance I ever get to a point in my racing endeavors where I'm dominating a category *Read: Probably never*. I'll move on and get my ass kicked somewhere else. I'd actually rather finish mid pack of a hard race, then finish first and berate those who come out and provide enough support to keep the category I'm sandbagging alive.

Overall I finished low mid pack in Paris to Ancaster overall, but in my age category I finished end of the pack. In Clyde, I finished mid pack almost exactly. I have a lot of training to do, and these times will get better as I train and as I'm getting experience.

But I won't ever look down on a beginner or a heavier set rider in a race.

Knights who say Knee

I went for a 20km ride last night. Originally my knee complained a bit but it seemed to settle into a relaxed pace. I did a few hills, nothing insane, just moderate climbs.

I should be alright for the O-Cup this weekend. Hardwood I hear is pretty nasty. Fun course, but a lot of work.

We'll see how it goes. I'll keep testing the knee out as the week goes on.

There's a casual ride on Saturday that I'll probably do. I should take the bike in to get fixed up though. The front wheel is a bit out of true and needs to be checked over. Also a quick once over of my forks to check for cracks as well. I don't see any, but a trained eye might find one.

Opus Epic 8 or How I learned to Ride My Bike.

Here's the map and elevation changes for reference.

Rode this for 4 laps. Ryan and I got in 9 laps or so. We could have done much better. I could have done more, but I'll explain in a second. I'm actually kinda upset at my first lap, and the crash that ensued causing my day to get all borked up. No excuses though the crash was entirely my fault for being cocky.

First of all, that initial climb is just long. Its not intense or anything, just long, but I was on a SS and I was leaving along with a lot of fresh legs, and I found myself powering by people. I stood and cranked the entire thing really hammering my way to the top. The next little bit in there was some flowing single track, downs ups, downs, nothing crazy, some rooty sections but nothing I didn't just light bike my way over. Everything was holding up fantastically. I was getting more confident by the second... and continuing to pass people.

Into the first climb after the 5km mark. I got up this on my bike the first time. It was really rooty, but I've developed a very very bad habit of leaning WAY over my front and pedaling hard. I blame spin classes for this. I manage the hill but I'm actually gassed at this point. Not out of energy, but kinda light headed and kinda not really paying attention.... note, there is a big drop at the 8km mark.

I get through the next climb as well and at this point I have thrown everything I have at this course, into the down, and I think its going to be flowing and peaceful.... this is why you pre-ride.

Half way down, there's a shitty root section and a big dip.. and I'm leaning over the front. Full rigid means no contact except for on the other side of that dip, and I'm wondering why people in front of me are getting close fast..... ASS OVER TEAKETTLE. I hit hard. Like hardest crash so far since picking up biking. I check my bike over. My abs are on fire, and my knee is already showing signs of swelling. Not good. Get on my bike, and continue to push, surprise there's a lot of UP after that, and into the Solo area.

I take my time through here and assess how much damage I've done to myself. I'm kinda worried about my bike as the front has developed some weird chatter, but at this point now I realize I've cut myself on my torso as well. No head damage, and my knee is sore and swelling.... what comes after can only be explained as the biggest fuck you I've ever received.

The hill I stroll up to next is impossible for me to ride a SS up. I know it immediately when I see it. Its steep, its rooty, and its got a 180' switchback right in the middle of it, and it goes on FOREVER. I get off my bike half way up and walk the rest.

After this hill comes a single track flow and then into another downhill. I"m gassed, I'm hurt, and I'm not thinking, and I go into it without much thought, again, huge potholes in the steep fast down, and there are people everywhere who have crashed on it. I manage to hold the bike together, pop out the sandy road downhill to the exchange, pedal my ass off *haha SS* and then pass the keycard off. I'm hurt bad.

Head to the tent, Erika gives me a gatorade, and a clifbar. I down it. I head to first aid. The nurse tells me that I might have some insane injury. I tell her I hope she's wrong. I get ice, I pack it down. I wrap my leg. I pray.

Ryan comes in from his lap. This is where things go to shit. We WERE in 4th, our average lap times were actually really good. My knee is screaming though. Ryan has to do a double. He takes a 20 min break, and heads back out. During this time. I'm icing and massaging my knee like the armageddon is coming. I've worked out way to F'n hard and eaten too many goddamn salads to get knocked out this early. I'm not going home. I wrap my leg up, and I swap off when Ryan comes back.

The next lap I start off on that hill just pedaling and taking my time. I'm still faster then some on that hill but not a lot faster. I make sure to get to the top of the hill at a good pace but very calm, and with a heart rate that's not booming. This time through I pick my lines very carefully and really try to flow through the trail without being a goddamn Sasquatch. I notice that I'm much smoother, and actually WAY less tired, I also notice my knee is alright, sore, but its holding up well.

I pick my lines, I'm way more careful, I come up to, and pace a solo rider for a bit, pass around and continue. I get to the same down, I pick my lines, slow down, and make it out no problem. Again, doing the same with the second down. The second down was comedy cause I found a line that allowed me to ignore EVERYTHING. So I took it instead.

3rd lap, same thing.

4th lap, my calves went into fits before the second hill.

I finished the 4th lap, and Ryan was done. He said I could do a double. I quit at that point fearing my calves. On the otherhand.... looking back now, I should have given it a go. I coulda taken my time and finished for another lap putting us 2 ranks higher.. FFFFFFFFuu.

It was a good eye opener for me. I need more technical training. The fitness is there, but I learned the hard way that you can't just roll over everything with the setup I have. I'll actually consider a full sus bike in the future as those guys just hoverboated through the downs.

Was a good day over all though. Just wish the crash didn't happen.

OH just FYI. Trek had a bunch of demo bikes there. Including a $7000 full carbon XC bike. You could take it, crash it, and they didn't care. So that was actually very cool of Trek. Makes me think about looking at Trek for a Super D bike.

All my times were relatively close to eachother, low 40s. Some of the top racers were in the high 20s low 30s. That's pretty intense.


Things I learned:

1. DO NOT SIT SO FAR FORWARD, YOU WILL GO OVER YOUR BARS.

2. Pick your lines properly.

3. Full rigid bikes require way more thought riding then full Sus, this is actually not a cool thing as it can get you into trouble.

4. Singlespeed is progressively harder and harder as the race goes on... and while I said SS is just as easy to ride... I should probably just keep my mouth shut, cause once you get into some of the areas where you're climbing forever... I was praying for a granny.

5. Singlespeeding and full rigid is fun as all hell.

6. People can tell what kind of hub I have on my bike by the sound... that's kinda cool.

7. Flowing single track with good skill doesn't require you to pedal much if you pick your lines right.

8. My times didn't have much variation to them... which was awesome.

I wanna thank my wife for giving me time to train, and I want to thank my cousin for coming and feeding me Gatorade and cliff bars. Also for comic relief as I was raging hard about my knee.