2010 Mohican 100 recap

MOHICAN 100 MUTHA!!


Mens Open class podium:

Womens Open class podium:

Singlespeed Class podium:

Masters Class podium:

I am going backwards in posting this well beyond the event. Now that I look back, this "race" remains a muddy blur etched in my psyche. It had been consistently rainy in the week leading up to the event. I caravaned down to Loudenville, OH. with teammates Chris Roper and MIKEWOODS!! Upon arrival to Mohican Adventures as if on queue the sky opened up and it started to pour. Crazy. We went next door and scarfed on some killer pizza while the first part of the storm passed through. We then set up camp and headed down to the registration area. While there another storm blew through and we waited it out watching the rain blowing sideways and the lights flickering.


We returned to the campsite and discovered the campsite strewn about and the EZ-up bent over. The weather cleared a bit and we re-grouped. Some teammates arrived and we threw together some food while preparing for the next days ride. Amazingly, I slept pretty well and before I knew it it was 5AM and time to get going. A big bowl of oatmeal and we were off to the start line.

Little did we know that the pavement leading to the start line was going to be the driest part of our day. We gathered, waited and rolled out through main street up the mile long climb out of town. Once we hit the singletrack it was easy to see that conditions were a sloppy, muddy mess. Deep, soft, squishy soil pulled at the wheels making every pedal stroke feel slow while the wet roots and off cambered sections placed added demands on your technical skill handling.


In a nutshell, the first 24 miles of technical singletrack were a bitch. It took over 3 hours to reach aid station #1 and I grabbed a few items and went to refill my Camelbac to discover there was no water. What? The worker told me with a smile, "it's just another 14 miles to the next aid station". So I pushed on. The rest is a blur and I set my sights to reach aid station #2 and the power wash. My drive train was coated with a thick mix of clay and slop and shifting was getting tough. After what seemed like forever, I reached aid 2 and refilled my bottles and Camelbac. They were out of Heed. Crap! It was like I was following a swarm of locusts consuming everything in their path. I cleaned off the bike and headed out. Blur, blur. I finally reached Aid 3 and was greeted my a smiling MIKEWOODS!! He was out with a mechanical and was offering his services at the aid stations. I was 6.5 hours in and only to mile 47! I was done. My first DNF ever! I hung out a bit and headed back on the road to the campground. Midway on the road it started to pour. I pushed on through the deluge although I was having difficulty breathing with the water on the face. It was surreal although it cleaned me off somewhat. I ended my day with 57 miles in 7 hours.
I cleaned up and headed back to the finish area and relaxed. The Great Lakes and Belles beer was flowing and there was plenty of Mongolian BBQ to consume. We waited a long time to see the other riders from our group trickle in.



The major win of the day for our group was Roper and Big Orca coming across the finish line together after 13 hours out there. Such a great accomplishment for those two under such difficult circumstances.



Looking back I should/could have done a few things differently.
1. Lowered my seat a bit in the technical singletrack.
2. Taken more air out of the tires.
3. Carried an extra bottle of fluid.
4. Screw the camping in the rain! Rent a room or cabin.

I told MIKEWOODS!! to remind me about this day when I start talking about doing this race again in the middle of February 2011. At this point I'm not so sure I want to put myself through it again. Who knows?
Results and report:

Taking a break...

Summer is here. It's time to get out and ride as much as possible. While I ride myself into a lather I will not be updating this blog regularly until things slow down. The Mohican 100 is a blurry memory now and the Lumberjack 100 is just around the corner. I'll post up some updates soon. In the meantime enjoy the ride!

Time for an update...

Mothers Day off road ride.


Mileage to date:
Distance - 2,155 miles
YTD rides - 54
Ride time - 132:15:49

Man, I guess I have been busy and realized it has been about a month since I last updated the Blog. Spring has decided to act like Spring and we are now in a pattern of heavy rain and quirky weather. Since I am a lightweight when it comes to riding in crappy weather I have been planning my rides around the weather. For me, essential rest days are welcome when it's raining cats and dogs.


A few weeks back I was on a training ride on the road bike when I found myself hammering at the bottom of a long decent as I approached a railroad crossing. Rather than use good judgment and slow down prior to crossing I decided to try and bunny-hop the crossing. I cleared about 95% of the tracks. Long story short I jacked up my wheel and limped home. Until the wheel was fixed it forced me to take out the mountain bike for some back road training. I realized that mixing up the bikes had a benefit that put some fun back into the daily rides. During the Spring thaw I was forced to train on the road but my route options were limited to a few SAFE 40-50 mile loops that served their purpose. When I was forced to hit the dirt roads I realized there were endless route options and I found myself venturing further North and West. I mapped out a great 25 mile route to the Hudson Mills Metro park and Pinckney Recreation Area, home of the Potowatamie trail. Here are a few images from the rides:

I rode the Poto single track:

I chased an Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake:

I stumbled upon the U of M Peach Mountain observatory:



Mohican 100 is coming fast...

Last week in review...

Overall, a very good week of training and riding.
Monday started off with a nice recovery ride circling the area North of my place. I followed those up with similar rides on Wednesday and Thursday. Here is a sample of the things I saw along the route:
I saw an impaled pig being roasted.

I saw Edith's store of plenty.

I saw my nemesis, the road grader.

I rode the Poto again.

I saw barb wire.

I saw plastic coconut palms.

I saw Spring flowers.


I saw some wildlife.

I had a Hummer moment.


No races this weekend for me. The Paris-Ancaster 60K and the Yankee Springs Time Trial will have to wait until next year.

Sunday Poto and Time Trial

SUNDAY!! SUNDAY!! SUNDAY!!
What a fantastic day of riding. The weather was nice and I headed up to Pinkney Michigan to check out the Potawatamie Trail. The Poto is Michigan's oldest mountain bike trail and also one of the longest at 18 miles. I rode this trail for the first time back in October for the unofficial Single Speed World Championships and realized how truly epic this place is. The trail has many features that makes it fun to ride. Steep climbs, fast descents, roots, rocks and a flowing layout that favors MOMENTUM. Also, the trail is a model for trail advocacy and sustainability. The Poto Chapter of the MMBA maintains the trail and the work they have done to the trail is amazing.
The first 100 feet of trail:

Halfway through my second lap I realized I was starting to fade so I finished it out and headed up the road to Hell, Michigan for a slice of pizza. 41 miles of AM awesomeness!

I headed home and swapped out the bikes and made the trek over to Hines Drive for our RACING GREYHOUNDS team time trial. This was event #3 for our team series. These events allows members from the Mountain, Tri or Touring club to jump in and try a different facet of cycling among teammates. It is truly a team building exercise.

Daniel:

In a nutshell, I really suck at road racing. The intensity is well beyond my tolerance for pain. The Time Trial format was to ride 6.5 miles from Outer Drive to Nankin Mills and turn around. Riders were spaced at 30 second intervals. I started and realized within a minute that my heart rate was through the roof! I was actually seeing spots! I backed off a bit and was eventually reeled in by the rider behind me, Jeffro. As he slid past me he said, "jump on". In "official" time trials you are NOT permitted to draft, but I could not resist the offering. Jeffro is a large, strong rider and I found myself flying along in his vortex. I would move to the front to give him a break and each time I discovered I could not maintain the speed for very long. I suck! This went on until the finish. I was gassed and realize I would never have gone this fast if I was alone on the road like you are supposed to be. I now have a bad case of, "wheelsucker guilt". Crap, I never feel like this after a mountain bike race! My time was 32:45 with an average speed of 23.23 MPH.
Jeffro and the 13 mile leadout:

Afterwards we headed over to Benny's Pizza for some carbs and beer.



Overall, a great day of riding!

2010 Paris to Ancaster race...

Keeping with the gravel road theme for 2010 this race in Ontario, Canada is quickly approaching. 60K of unknown sounds like a blast. Olympian Allison Sydor kicked ass in last year's event. By all appearances, this race is a huge event with no rider cap. It could be freaking epic!! If I can work out sleeping arrangements (find a cheap hotel) I may work this race in. Who knows?

EVENT LINK:

The 4 County Gravel Grinder 100 - April 10, 2010

Keeping with my "try something new" theme for this year,I have been eying this ride for this Saturday. I enjoy the Oxford area and the terrain around there offers some outstanding riding and training opportunities. And it's free...

Ride INFO:

What's going on?

Due to the possibility of rain (I know, it's a lame excuse) I decided to take a rest day and catch up on a few things. The snow is long gone and the month of April has started off great with warmer temperatures and plenty of riding. I've been primarily riding before work on the gravel roads around the Ann Arbor, MI area.


I was also able to squeeze in a ride Easter Sunday and took in a few laps of fabulous singletrack at Stoney Creek Metro park. The trail conditions were primo and it felt great to be railing some turns while taking in the sunshine! The trail had a few re-routes which were very well done and did not take away from the general flow.

A portion of the Roller Coaster (look closely for the trail):


Caution, go like hell!


Time to wash the bibs...

2010 Barry-Roubaix recap

Damn that was fun! The Hell of the North was alive and well in Michigan this Saturday. I think what made this race so unique was that it wasn't a true road event and it certainly wasn't a mountain bike race. It was a combination of the two although, it truly suited the road riders. Hell, even the tandums were smokin' fast out there! In a nutshell, the race was a flat out time trial over kick ass hills and gravel roads.



The day started out cold and clear. Once the roll out began it I believe there were around 600 riders who had signed up and the road was pretty well clogged. Once the course left the pavement the dirt road climbs began. Immediately, there was a 2 mile stretch of rutted sandy two track that had riders strewn about. This was the only section that favored the MTB's. Once through this section there were some amazing rollers with sharp climbs and sweeping downhills.



The road was generally dry and loose and I tried to latch onto as many fast trains as possible. The road tems were working together and the pace was fast. My teammate, Jeffro passed me on his fixie at the 15 mile mark and I realized I was fading. At mile 17 my right calf started to twang and I knew it was about to cramp up. I took in a gel and downed some fluids and tried to spin it out. While I did I was passed by about 50 riders! CRAP. I settled in and luckily felt pretty good by the time I hit the 30 mile climb. There was some guy along the side of the road beating a tom-tom drum in a slow, rhythmic sound that resembled my pace as I climbed. Although I felt like I was on the Trail of Tears with riders weaving their way to the top, the drum was a great diversion. Also, the bongo player at the top helped break my trance and pick it up for the last 5 miles to the finish. I finished with an empty tank at 2:07:xx.
The team had some excellent results for the day. I met some great people and the event had a good vibe. Overall, this race is well on it's way to becoming another major event for the Michigan cycling scene. Promoter Rick Plite certainly has that Midas touch. A job well done to he and his crew!

RESULTS:

2010 Barry-Roubaix

Saturday! Saturday! Saturday!
It just doesn't have the same effect as S U N D A Y !
The first cycling event of 2010 here in the mitten state will kick-off this Saturday, March 27 with the Barry-Roubaix a.k.a. The Killer Gravel Road race. This event is gaining in popularity and I'm sure it will be a good time for all. I dig riding the gravel roads of Michigan. They keep me away from traffic and the terrain is much more diverse. Less traveled. I am beginning to realize how popular gravel road racing has become. It is steeped in history dating back to the infancy of bike racing when all roads were unpaved. The L'Eroica is Italy's equivalent of Paris-Roubaix. Check out this recap of last years ride in Italy.
Here in the US it seems like many states have been running gravel road races for some time. Especially in places like Texas, Kansas and Iowa. Check out the Gravel Grinder News BLOG for additional info, especially the event listings on the right side of the main page.
Race recap later...

New Conti training tires

With the dirt roads and trails still muddy from the Spring thaw I needed a durable tire for the road/cross bike. Even most of the paved roads around here are fairly beat up from the harsh weather and limited maintenance. I ride primarily before work with a time limitation and I can usually find myself pretty far from home. My buddy Daniel hooked me up with the Continental Ultra Gatorskin tires. At 300 grams they are heavy but hell, it's a training tire. For me it is a balanced trade-off. So far I am very pleased with their performance and they are so much faster than the 35 cm cross knobbies that I was running on the road. So far, so good.
BANANAS!!



Bike Tires Direct dot com link:

That Butt Stuff

I just came across a half ounce sample of a product that was given to me during my race in Arkansas. I was having serious chain suck issues and I made the mistake of setting up my pit area without any tools or lube and my car was far from the pit area. I guess I can chalk up this lack of planning as a learning experience. I approached the team row near the finish and asked the kind folks at the white tent (located behind woman's winner Rebecca Rusch in the photo below) if they had any lube.

The two young women manning the tent sprang into action and busted out these little tubes of lube. One spun my crank and liberally applied a generous coat of lube until the chain was fully slathered. She grabbed a rag and wiped off some excess while the other gal gave me a tube for my jersey pocket. I was off and running in less than 60 seconds. Those ladies were great! My chain was fine for the duration of the race and I realized the benefit of carrying a small tube of lube for those 100 mile rides that leave you far away from your tool box. These lubes are small, portable and could also be added to a drop bag. The screw on cap is a great feature too. It only makes sense that they also make a chamois cream. Check it out.
That Butt Stuff link:

Taking the win!

I do not know what it is about this video that keeps me coming back for more. The characters are straight from a tour stage. I like how the last rider takes it all in with a sense of humor. Good fun. Double click the video to expand.