Pfun with Pflug

Hello Cyclocross

2011-10-17T10:10:00.003-04:00

I did my first true cyclocross racing this weekend at the 2-day ABRA CX Series Monstercross Races in Morgantown, WV. After doing mostly 4-8 hour endurance races this year, I knew that the switch to racing cyclocross would be a big change for me. Well, after doing three cross races this weekend, I can certainly say that my legs were not ready for the short, full-out effort necessary to feel prepared for cross.

Some years ago I use to really look forward to cross. I would start preparing in August by getting my cross bikes all set-up. I would also add some hard cross intervals into my training and shorten-up the miles that I ride. By mid-September, I was in full-on cross mode and traveling all over the mid-Atlantic to race. Over the past few years, it seems as if cross has been getting pushed back later and later for me. Not because I don’t enjoy cross racing, but probably because I enjoy endurance racing more.

The social aspect of racing cross and the fact that the weather usually starts becoming kind of nasty makes racing cross at this time of year a good thing, but I have never been a fan of going around in loops multiple times. I like going out on long epic rides, which leads to new sights and adventures. The lure of riding into the unknown is much more appealing to me than dialing in a course and learning the best lines.

My racing actually didn’t go too badly this weekend. I finished in 1st, 3rd and 4th place in the three races that I did, but I could definitely tell that I was not riding to my potential and I also made some stupid mistakes out on the course. I think in a few weeks my legs and mind will be re-programmed for racing cyclocross. Once this happens, I’m sure racing cross will not be as difficult as it was for me this past weekend and I feel fast again. Heck, maybe if I am racing really fast by December, I’ll decide on going out to Wisconsin for cross nationals in January.

No, I doubt that cross nationals will happen for me this coming January. It has been a long season and staying super fit until January is not my game plan right now. Besides, there will be snow on the ground and I’ll have a Salsa Mukluk to take out for long snowy adventures in preparation for another season of endurance racing. But, until the snow starts falling and getting deep you’ll be able to find me at a local cross race having fun.

Happy Trails, Gerry

Photo Credit: Fred Jorden...thanks, man.

Almost!

2011-10-10T10:37:00.001-04:00

Click here to watch my Cyclingdirt.org Video

I competed in the Iron Cross UltraCross Race this weekend, which was the third stop on the US UltraCross Series for 2011. Going into the race I was the 40+ US UltraCross Series Leader and I was hoping to lock-up the series with a good race. Things could not have been better for the event this weekend. The weather was perfect and the race course was in the best condition I have ever seen it. All I needed to do to make the day even better was to get the win I wanted.

About 300 riders lined-up for the 9am start of the 100K race that basically does one gigantic loop around Michaux State Forest on a combination of gravel roads, paved roads and single track trails. The race started in a grass field with cross tape outlining the course. But, rather than a row of eight riders staged at the front of the pack like a typical cross race, the front line had about 30-40 riders lined-up and everyone seemed juiced to get the hole shot. Needless to say, the start was a little hectic and I was glad to find my way to the front of the frenzied mess quickly.

By the time the leaders reached the road, things seemed to calm down a bit, but the pace was anything but slow. I stayed at the front with the lead group on the first long climb and by the top, there were maybe about ten riders that made the most important breakaway of the race. Our group seemed to ride well together and the pace stayed high along the fast paved roads leading to the KOM climb, which kept our group from getting caught by any other riders. I was happy to be up at the front on the climb and could tell my body was feeling good.

After the KOM climb, the gravel roads started again. A few riders already seemed to be having trouble negotiating the fast gravel descents and I heard a couple of tires blow in our dwindling group. I continued to stay at the front of the group because I knew that one of the most technical sections of the course was fast approaching, the Lippencote Trail. This trail would be tricky on a MTB, but on a cross bike it is just plain ridiculous. That doesn't mean it isn't fun, but it sure does test your bike handling skills to say the least.

I had a crazy-fast run down the Lippencote Trail, but the two guys that went down the trail ahead of me were still able to put some time on me going down this technical trail. When the trail came back onto the road, there was nobody behind me, but I could still see the two riders up the road. I put my head down and started hammering the road section to catch the two in front of me, which I was able to do by the time we all entered the trails leading to the Wigwam Trail.

The Wigwam Trail is basically a steep, rocky trail going back up the ridge under power lines. There are a couple of sections which are impossible to ride-up with any type of bike. I was able to shoulder my cross bike to make a fast ascent of the trail and by the top, I found myself in first place. It would have been nice to have another rider with me at this point to help share the work, but since that didn't happen, I ended-up riding alone for about the next 30 miles along mostly paved and gravel roads.

When the course went back into the woods the trail became more of a technical single track mountain bike trail. It seemed like I had a pretty good lead at this point, so I rode the trail pretty conservative and chatted with Thom from Cyclingdirt.org. In retrospect, I probably should have stayed on the gas because as the trail approached the final steep climb I was caught by another rider. I tried to match his climbing speed up the final climb, but my legs didn't have the juice to do it. By the top of the climb, it was too late in the race for me to try and get the leader back, so I rode the final 2-3 downhill miles alone into the finish, which put me in second overall and in the first 40+ finishing position. Finishing first at Iron Cross also gave me a lock on the 40+ US UltraCross Series Win, so overall I am very happy with my result.

It's hard to almost win a race overall after leading for so long, but I can't make any excuses for my ride. I rode as hard as I could and had a blast doing it. I doubt if my fast and mechanical-free ride would have been possible without the use of my Salsa La Cruz Disc Frame and my Stans NoTubes Crest Tubeless Wheel System. The Steel Salsa frame had such a smooth and predictable ride over the rough stuff and the disc brake set-up worked perfectly on the fast and steep descents. And, I couldn't be happier with my wheel choice after my flat infested ride from Iron Cross last year when I used tubes. There is no doubt in my mind that Salsa and Notubes helped me tremendously at the race this year. Thanks to both of these companies for your support!

Happy Trails, Gerry

That's a wrap!

2011-10-03T21:10:00.002-04:00

Well, I'm back home and living life as usual again, which means I'm not racing full-time on the beautiful trials of the Pisgah National Forest like I did last week for the PSR. Racing in Pisgah was a great experience and a great break from reality, too. I've traveled all across the country this year for races and would have to rank my trip to Pisgah as one of the best. Not only was it a fun trip, but it was also one of the toughest weeks I've ever had on a bike.

I started the week by doing the Three Peaks UltraCross Race in Banner Elk, NC, which turned out to be a 51 mile day of racing for me with over 8000' of climbing. I then traveled to Brevard, NC for the start of the Pisgah Stage Race with it's 195 miles of racing and 28,000 plus feet of climbing on some of the most technical trails I have ever seen. I didn't think that the Three Peaks Race would take a lot out of me, but at the start of Pisgah on Tuesday, I could tell right away that I under estimated the difficultly of the PSR.

Not only were my legs still tired from Three Peaks, but I felt me throat getting a little sore on Monday after the race. By Tuesday, I had symptoms of a cold coming and by Wednesday Evening I could no longer convince myself that I was not sick. Additionally, on Stage #1 at Pisgah, I had a minor crash that resulted in a torn groin muscle. I noticed the pain immediately following the crash and had pain while finishing the stage, but I did not want to even think about not continuing the race. I sucked-up the pain and learned to deal with my cold, so that I could continue racing. I did not make any of my aliments known to anyone because I didn't want my weaknesses to also become known by competition, especially with being in third place after the first two days and only 4 minutes back from second place.

My luck seemed to change on Wednesday and even though my legs didn't feel like racing, I was able to take a slight advantage over Garth Prosser and move into second overall on the third stage. The fourth stage was also a good one for me, but the race came down to the last descent. Stage four was a pretty technical route until the last long fire road climb a few miles from the finish. I was able to put quite a bit of time on Garth through the technical riding and thought that I was going to be able to keep a moderate pace up the long climb until getting to the long downhill finish.

I wasn't pushing my pace too hard up the final climb because I didn't see anyone behind me and I wanted to keep some fuel in my tank for the final stage. My conservative cruise to the finish ended suddenly when Garth caught up to me from what seemed to be no where. Initially, I thought that a bear had jumped out of the woods because I didn't think anyone was around me and because he came around me with so much speed. But, as soon as I saw that it was indeed Garth, I immediately jump onto his wheel and increased my pace to match his. His pace was much faster than mine and it hurt bad to match it, but I knew that I could not allow him to gain anytime on me during the next to last stage.

Since another stage had gone up this climb, I remembered where the top of the hill was and knew that I needed to get in front of Garth before the descent, so that I could try to gain back some of the time I had lost to him on the climb. I was able to attack Garth before the top of the hill and get the gap I needed before going down the technical Black Mountain Descent. By the end of the race at the bottom of the mountain, I was able to gain about 1.5 minutes over the finish time of Garth, which gave me about a three minute advantage going into the final stage.

With Andy Johnston being so far ahead of Garth and I, we both focused on securing second place rather than worrying about taking the overall win. Stage #5 started with about 6 miles of fast paved roads before turning up a gravel road climb. I knew Garth would try to gain time over me on the road and gravel climb sections, but I was not too concerned about it because I also knew that a lot of technical riding was ahead in the stage. And, since I was in the company of fast riders like Jeremiah Bishop, Sam Koerber and Adam Craig, I felt confident that the pace would soon pick-up.

By the top of the climb, the fast pros were gone and I went into the single track alone to start my pursuit of Garth. It wasn't long before I caught him riding along with Andy Johnston. I got around Andy first and then around Garth on the long fire road climb to aid station one. Garth looked fried and I felt pretty good considering my cold was in full swing, it was like 40 degrees outside and I had just gone through 8 cold stream crossings. I didn't want to go too hard, though, because I knew many mile were ahead and I needed to conserve my energy for the final climb, which was the same climb Garth had caught me on just a day earlier.

I maintained my lead until the final climb like I figured would happen, but I was really starting to feel the 5 days of racing in my legs on the way up the mountain. I started to become paranoid about Garth catching me again and couldn't help but constantly look over my shoulder for him. When I finally got to the top, I was so relieved to be up there alone this time. I did one final descent of the super fun and technical Black Mountain Trail and rode over the finish line with a solid lock on second place. It wasn't a win, but it still felt good to do pretty well at the Pisgah Stage Race, while riding on unfamiliar trails and having a body that was not at 100 percent.

Doing a hard 5 day stage race like Pisgah is a completely different feeling than doing back to back 100 mile races like I did this summer. While I feel like the effort of doing a 100 mile mtb race is harder for that particular day of racing, the daily accumulation of racing of a stage race like this seemed to wear on me more than even doing multiple weeks of 100 mile races. Which do I like Better? Well, I'd probably lean more towards the 100 mile race because it seems to suit me better and because of the time commitment a stage race requires. But, I will say that bringing an end to my endurance season with the Pisgah Stage Race was an awesome wrap-up to one of best seasons of racing ever and an experience that I will never forget.

Happy Trails, Gerry

Photo Credit: Brad O Allen...thanks!

Moving Up

2011-09-29T22:01:00.001-04:00

The third stage of the Pisgah MTB Stage Race, the Carl Schenck loop, was almost perfect for me. It is the shortest stage of the race and was held on mostly single track trails. For only being 25 miles long, there was still a lot of climbing, but the course didn't have any of the super long sustained climbs like the two previous days.

The race kind of had a slower start today, which was good because my legs were definitely feeling the past two days of racing. The only person that seemed like he wanted to go fast was my nearest competitor, Garth Prosser. He took off and everybody just watched him go. I was happy to sit it the field of riders and wait for my legs to feel like they wanted to pedal.

Not long after Garth took off up the initial climb, I saw him jump off his bike and start messing with his rear wheel. As we all rode by him, I said out loud, "I guess this means that I have to attack now." I heard someone in the pack say, "I would!" And, so I did.

I took off and starting riding hard, thinking that the climb wasn't going to go on for much longer. It did and I got absorbed by the top five riders or so going into the single track. I glanced over my shoulder before entering the trails and Garth was no where to be seen. I did my best to stay on the gas for the entire race. My main goal today was to gain back some time on Garth, but these trails were so much fun that going fast didn't seem to take that much mental effort.

By the end of the race, I finished as the second elite 40+ rider behind Andy Johnson, but five minutes faster than Garth. My finishing time today moved me into second overall with about a 2 minute gap over Garth. I would have rather beat him straight-up, but this is mtb racing and mechanicals will happen. My Salsa/Notubes ride has been trouble free so far and hopefully my luck will continue over the next two hard days of racing.

Happy Trails... Gerry

Thanks to Dan Bennett for the photo.

Southern Hospitality

2011-09-28T21:48:00.003-04:00

By now, I'm pretty sure everyone knows how much fun I'm having at the Pisgah Stage Race. But, what you probably don't know is how incredible the support is at this race. Not only are the race promoter and his staff going the extra mile to make this event perfect, but also all the sponsors and the entire town are going out of their way to support the racers. I've done a lot of racing over the years and I don't think that I can compare the support at this race to any others that I've done.

It's very refreshing to show-up at the start of each day and have a variety of assistance available. Then, once the racing starts, the course is marked perfectly, leaving no guessing on direction or thoughts about being lost. Additionally, the aid station volunteers provide quick assistance to riders, so we can get back to racing. After the race, there is Hammer recoverite and other snacks available for re-charging the body. Two massage therapists are also on hand to work out the knots accumulated during the day.

After regaining my energy at the finishing area, I have been heading back to my hotel, The Sunset Motel. This motel has been perfect for me and the owner, Lori, has been making all the racers staying here feel right at home. She even has a bike wash set-up with a rack, scrub brush and rags for racers to use. Later in the afternoon, the podium finishers head to a gazebo in front of the court house in town for the daily podium presentation. Afterwards, everyone heads over to a local real estate business called Profiles for free beer from New Belgium Brewing and h'orderves provided by another local business called Theophilius. Needless to say, with all of this going on, there is a lot to do here in addition to racing.

But, there is a race and today I scored another third place. I tried climbing along with Garth and Andy, but those dudes were flying again. I did feel better with the hardtail Mamasita, but didn't have enough to match the faster pace of the two guys in front on me. The second stage was as fun as the first, but I would say a little harder with 7900 feet of climbing over 43 miles of trails and fireroads. I found myself smiling a lot today as I raced because the trails were just so much fun. I might not be winning the race, but I sure am having a blast on this bike racing vacation.

One recommendation I do have to anyone thinking about doing this race, or even riding here is to use a pair of Stan's Notubes Wheels with a beefier tubeless tire. The rocks here are numerous and riding with tubes on these trails would be just silly. I would also suggest using a 29er over 26" mtb wheel to help roll over all of the rocks. I've had zero issues with my Notubes Crests 29er Wheels here and I've noticed that most of the leading riders are using a Stan's tubeless set-up, including the three top pros: Jeremiah Bishop, Adam Craig and Sam Koerber.

Well, that's my report for today. Stage 3 is going to be a shorter race of only 25 miles with 3900 feet of climbing. It might be shorter, but I'm not expecting it to be easy; that is for sure. At least I know that I'll have the exceptional support from the race crew during the race and the welcoming hospitality of Brevard, NC after completing another hard day on the saddle.

Happy Trails, Gerry

Better Than Work

2011-09-27T21:52:00.007-04:00

....Yep, racing bikes on a Tuesday is much better than going to work, especially when the trails I'm riding on happen to be some of the best in the world. Pisgah is an incredible place. The climbs and descents are endless and there is just so much variety to the riding here. Some of it is smooth, but most of it keeps you completely focused on the trail because they are so technical.

Today was the first race of the Pisgah Stage Race. It was 39 miles long, had 22 miles of singletrack and a ton of climbing. I was hoping my legs would be recovered from the Three Peaks Race, but I found out on the first long climb that they were not. I didn't climb well at all today, but I felt very comfortable on the long technical descents thanks to the ride of my Salsa Spearfish. But, even with the smooth ride of the Spearfish, I have decided to race my hardtail Mamasita in the stage tomorrow. I am much more use to racing a hardtail and feel like I can climb faster with it, so I'll change things up and see if I do indeed climb better with the Mamasita.

Last year's elite 40+ winner, Andy Johnson, was flying today. He finished 12 minutes up on me today, which is going to be hard for me to make-up. Garth Prosser and I had a good battle today. I was riding the downhills and technical trails better, but he was climbing much faster than I was today. I'm hoping my legs have more snap to them tomorrow and that I can make-up the two minutes he gained on me. There are still four more days of racing left, so a lot can happen.

I'll attempt to post a race update everyday with time permitting. Stay tuned to see how things are going for me in the land of mtb heaven. Yeah, the trails here are really that good!

Happy Trails... Gerry

Nirvana

2011-09-26T10:46:00.003-04:00

During my car drive to North Carolina for the Three Peaks Ultra Cross Race and Pisgah MTB Stage Race, I was reminded by Sirius/XM that Nevermind was released 20 years ago. As a tribute to the album that changed rock music forever, one of the Sirius Channels played songs from Nirvana 24/7. Needless to say, I definitely got my fill on Nirvana for the long drive. It was a good start to my week of racing and riding adventures.

Since I was doing a five day MTB stage race after the Three Peaks Race, I only decided to bring my hard tail Salsa Mamasita and my full suspension Salsa Spearfish for the trip. I probably could have made room in my car for a cross bike also, but I really didn’t feel like lugging it around all week. And, because I have spent very little time on my cross bike this year; I thought that I would feel more comfortable on my Mamasita at Three Peaks. With Three Peaks being called a “cross race,” I figured that skinny tires would be better than fat tires for the race. I briefly thought about switching my 2.0 MTB tires out for a pair of 700x34 tires before my trip, but decided that I didn’t feel like mounting new tires and then remounting the MTB tires after Three Peaks, so I stuck with my fatties.

So, anyway, I arrived in Banner Elk on Saturday Afternoon to preview the first part of the course. I think it is always good to know what to expect at the start of a race. From what I read in an email sent by the race promoter about the course description, I was expecting a hilly, well marked course with some sections of pretty technical riding scattered throughout the course. Instead, what I found on my short 8 mile pre-ride was almost no course markings on super fast paved and gravel roads with one very short rocky jeep road section. I ended-up getting lost on my pre-ride after missing a turn, but from what I rode, I knew that I would have a hard time trying to keep up with riders using cross bikes.

As anticipated, the start was fast. I stayed at the front of the pack, trying to keep pace with the lighter and faster cross bikes flying up the gradual first climb to the first technical section of trail. I ended-up falling off the pace of a small group of about 6 riders or so and settled into my own pace with a couple of other guys. I was glad that I knew where the turn onto the technical jeep trail was because a few of the riders in the lead group missed the turn and ended-up descending the long fire road. It was obvious to me at this point in the race that the course markings were not going to be good and that I needed to stay alert for turns.

After completing the section of the course that I pre-rode, I was pleased to see that the course became a lot more MTB friendly. I’d actually say that it became more of a MTB course than a cross style course. And, because of this, I soon dropped the other riders around me on cross bikes. I had no idea how many riders were in front of me at this point, but I was only seeing one set of tire tracks on the muddy sections of trail I was riding. I started wondered about how many guys might have missed the first two critical turns that I learned about while pre-riding. During this time, I was able to keep-up a good pace, but was afraid to go too fast because of possibly missing turn. I thought it was wiser to keep my head-up and focused on what was in front of me rather than chancing a missed turn. From what I could tell when looking down on the switch backs of long climbs, I had a significant lead on anyone chasing me and during one long climb, I even caught a glimpse of the one rider in front of me.

Even though I was focused on the course, I did miss a turn where a course marking sign was either removed or fell over. The missed turn forced me to ride a climb longer and steeper than any of the others on the course and added at least an extra 4 miles of riding. By the time I got to the top of the climb, I knew that I had missed a turn, but dreaded the thought of riding all the way back down the mountain. I saw a fire road named Beech Mountain Parkway to my right and figured that I would take that down the mountain instead because I remembered reading the name of that road as being part of the course. I descended for a while and the fire road became more of a technical downhill than any type of travelable road. I was really glad to be on a MTB at this time. I then saw a guy climbing the hill on his MTB and stopped to ask him if he was racing and if this was the course. He said no to both questions, but said the course was down the hill a little further. I continued the technical descent with hope that I didn’t lose too much time.

When I got back on course, the first thing I noticed were a lot more tire tracks in the mud. I wondered how many places I had lost after missing the turn and doing the grueling climb I did. This section of the course was really rough and definitely better for a MTB than a cross bike, so I rode hard in an attempt to chase down some of the guys that had passed me. I eventual caught a rider on a cross bike and asked him if he knew how we were doing. He said we were somewhere in the top ten. Wow, I thought, I sure did lose a lot of places and time. Eventually, the trail came out to the top of peak two and there was a check point there. The guy keeping track of riders at the check point told me that I was in fifth overall, but couldn’t tell me for sure which way to go on the course. He said the other riders in front of me went right, so I decided to follow their lead even though it was back down a hill that I had already been down earlier in the race.

As it turned out, the course repeated itself on that section, but it freaked me out to ride it again after already getting lost once. The rest of the race went pretty well. I caught a few riders on the long gradual final climb to the top of peak 3 (actually peak 4 for me…haha) and was able to finish third overall and in first place for the 40+ class. With some better course markings, this race would be a lot of fun and I bet that the promoter will get it right next year after the large number of riders reported getting lost this year.

Next up is the 5 day Pisgah MTB Stage Race, which starts tomorrow. I’m not sure if Nirvana is still playing 24/7 on the Sirius, but I do know that I will be experiencing my own personal nirvana racing on some of the best trails on the east coast this week. I can’t think of many ways that I would rather spend my time than racing my bike in long off-road races for almost a week. It is sure to be a treat!

Happy Trails... Gerry

Pisgah!

2011-09-15T19:22:00.004-04:00

Yes, the rumors are true. I am in for the Pisgah Stage Race. And, to make things even more interesting, I am doing the race on a geared bike instead of my current single speed weapon of choice.

I am so psyched to do this race. I wanted to finish-up my MTB season with a big race after my success with the NUE Series this year, but was unsure of which race I should choose. I thought about doing the USAC 24 Hour National Championships, but heard bad things about the course and venue location selected for the race this year. I also thought about heading to Bend, OR for the USAC Marathon Nationals, but decided against it because I’ve been to Bend once this year already. Furthermore, I doubt that either of these events would be as epic as doing the Pisgah Race.

MTB stage racing is something I have always been interested in trying. I have done smaller 1-2 day type stage MTB races, but never anything as grand as the Pisgah Race with 195 miles of racing and over 28,000 feet of climbing. Additionally, the race is being held on what many riders describe as the best trails on the east coast. The enticing and epic description of Pisgah just seemed to me like a perfect way to end my MTB endurance racing season.

I decided to use a geared bike for this race because I want to give my Salsa Spearfish a good test. I get out on the bike occasionally, but haven’t had the opportunity to do any truly grand rides on it. I can wait to see how the Spearfish handles the technical terrain of Pisgah. I am sure the Spearfish will help me ride the trails faster and more comfortably than my Selma Ti would be able to do, which is going to be important when every second counts over the 5 day race.

Registration is still open for Pisgah, so you may want to think about giving it a shot too if you want to end your season with an incredible racing adventure. If you need more information about the race, checkout the race webpage: blueridgeadventures.net/stage. I know that I will be counting down the days for this race from now until the starting gun goes off. I sure hope to see you there also, my friends.

Happy Trails, Gerry

3-Peat!

2011-09-05T17:04:00.004-04:00

This past Sunday I did the final race on the 2011 National Ultra Endurance Series Race Calendar, the Shenandoah Mountain 100, in Harrisonburg, VA. Out of all the races in the Series, the SM100 has to be one of the best. The race draws over 600 riders, to include a single speed field of at least 70 racers or so, and is held on an excellent course. The course is basically comprised of technical ridge top single track trails and single track descents, which are linked by 12,000 feet of fire road climbs. All in all, the course has a good mix of everything that I think a 100 mile race should have and the aid station support is second to none. The race is definitely worthy of being the final championship race of the NUE series.

Even though I locked-up my 2011 NUE Series SS Title a few weeks earlier at the Wilderness 101 race, I still wanted to finish off the race series with a win. I think it would have felt a little awkward for me to be crowned the series winner, but not being able to win the final championship race. So, after the Fool’s Gold 100, I continued training hard and set my eyes on my final 100 mile MTB race of 2011. With only two weeks to prepare for the Shenandoah 100 after FG, I decided to plan my training to be about the same as it was in 2010, since I had such a good race at the SM100 last year. My training went as planned and a couple of days before the race I felt more prepared and ready for this 100 mile race than I ever have.

But, even with feeling like I was 100 percent physically prepared for the race, I knew that it would not be an easy race to win with the fast and large group of competitors expected at the event. Additionally, I knew from experience that many things could go wrong during a race over 100 miles and that any of those things could quickly take away a shot at winning. Pretty much every race I did in 2011 has gone as planned. Sure, I have had some bad luck here and there, but for the most part, things have gone pretty smoothly for me this summer. Would this be the race where my luck might change for the worse? I was hoping not.

I arrived in Harrisonburg, VA on Saturday afternoon like I usually do. I checked-in to the hotel where I usually stay and ate at the Chinese Buffet restaurant that always seems to give me the full amount of caloric intake that I need before doing an eight hour race. I then drove to the Stokesville Campground to pick-up my registration packet. Everything was going as planned and I figured that I could get to bed early to rest-up for the 4am wake-up call. But, like most nights before these 100 mile races, my sleep could be rated as restless at best. It would be great if I could actually get a restful night of sleep at least once in my life before doing one of these races. We all have wishes I guess; I doubt that this one will ever be fulfilled for me.

By the time I lined-up on the starting line, I knew my bike and body was ready for the 100 miles ahead, even with the little sleep I had. I also knew it was going to be a fast start. They always are, but the SM100 has about 2 completely flat miles of pavement before the climbing starts. Spinning along at 22+ mph on a single speed is never that much fun. But, fortunately, the first two miles were not too fast this year and I didn’t have to work very hard to stay up front. The pace began to pick-up on the first climb, but I was able to hang with the lead group until the top of the climb. The only other single speed racer with me at this point was fast Mike Montabano.

Mike and I rode together until towards the top of Wolf Ridge. He got away from me on the hike-a-bike section before the ridge top. I knew it was a long race, though, so I was okay with getting into my own more comfortable pace. During this time, I noticed that my saddle bag had somehow come undone. It was moving around and making noise. I briefly looked back at it and tried to tighten it up while continuing to ride, but as I did, I also unknowingly entered into a rock garden on the trail. I quickly fell off my bike and on to my right side, hitting my hip and knee pretty good. There was a sharp pain at each location, but no blood, so I quickly hopped on my bike and started riding again. After the crash, my riding didn’t seem as effortless and I was feeling discomfort on the lateral side of my knee. I also noticed that my saddle bag was still screwed-up and was making all kind of noise bouncing around on the back of my seat, since I failed to fix it after my crash.

It wasn’t long after my crash that another fast SS racer, Matt Ferrari, caught me on the descent off Wolf Ridge. I had a slight gap on Matt by the time we made it to the fire road after the descent, so I stopped to tighten my saddle bag. As I tightened the bag, I noticed that the zipper on my bag was also about halfway opened at this time and that only my spare inner tube remained in the pack. Great, I though…now I have no tools, no CO2 cartridges, a sore hip/knee to deal with for the remainder of the race and Mike was no where in sight on the long straight gravel road ahead. Suddenly, I felt like my shot at winning the race was slipping away. Matt then rode by, so I quickly got on my bike to continue riding with him. We were all alone on this mostly flat and fast section of the course. On sections of race courses like this, I hate being on a single speed bike. I feel helpless just spinning away and not really going anywhere fast. At times like these, I can’t stop thinking about how nice it would be to have the ability to shift into a big chainring. Matt and I talked about Mike choosing a bigger gear for the race than we had and we both knew he was putting valuable minutes on us during this time, but Matt didn’t seem too eager in wanting to chase down Mike as we rode together. I knew that if we had any hope in catching Mike, it was going to be my responsibility to do all the work, so I went to the front and started pulling. Fortunately, a couple of miles before checkpoint #2 Matt and I got caught by some geared racers and I was finally given some help with my chase.

After a very quick stop at the checkpoint, I was able to escape from the rest of the group with two geared riders. Angry Andy and fast masters racer, Doug Andrews, were the two others that got away with me. It’s always nice to ride with guys willing to work like these two. The three of us worked well together and we quickly got a nice gap on the other riders leaving the checkpoint later than us. After a few fast flat miles, one of the major climbs on the course started. By this time, my body and mind started recovering from my little crash and I decided it was time to race again. I started catching a bunch of riders on the climb. It seemed like every time I caught someone on the climb they would tell me that Mike was just ahead. I continued climbing hard and soon caught Mike somewhere before the top of the climb, probably around mile 40 or so.

I got away from Mike a lot easier than I expected on the climb, probably because he was using a gear bigger than mine, but I knew that more than half of the race was ahead of us and that anything could happen, yet. So, I stayed on the gas and continued riding as hard as I could with my one gear. I was climbing great it seemed, but my rigid fork was definitely taking a toll on me during the long technical descents. To make matters worse, I noticed on the long descent to checkpoint #3 that my front brake was losing power. I was suddenly able to pull my front lever all the way to the grip, which only gave me any real stopping power in the rear brake. I added this problem to my list of things that had gone wrong today, but knew that there was nothing I could do about it except learn to live without the use of a front brake for the next 3-4 hours.

Luckily, the rest of the day seemed to go pretty well and I didn’t have any other issues out on the course. I would look over my shoulder on the long climbs to see if any other single speed racers were chasing me, but I saw none. I ended-up racing with small groups of geared guys for the rest of the race and using my finish time goal as my motivation to keep my speed high. I wanted to beat the eight hour mark and to also set a new single speed course record. My time was just a little short in 2010 with a 8:02 finishing time. The course seemed a little slower this year, however, because of the soil being a little more damp and because of the really hot and humid weather conditions. But even with the slower course, I was still somehow able to beat my time from last year by finishing with a time of 7:58. I’m not sure if it was due to having better fitness or using an easier gear than I did a year earlier. I’ll take the better time either way because it was a perfect way to end an almost perfect season.

Winning the Shenandoah MTN 100 gave me 9 NUE race wins for the season out of the 10 NUE races that I did. Winning this race was also a nice way to put a cherry on top of my third straight NUE Series SS title in as many years….a 3-Peat. It’s been an exciting and pfun year of racing for me and I am already looking forward to attempting a fourth straight NUE Series SS win next year.

It would be hard for any of my wins to be possible without the help from my very generous sponsors: Salsa Cycles, Stan’s Notubes, Pro Bikes and The Law Office of Brian Delvecchio. Thank you all very much for your help!

Happy Trails, Gerry

NUE #9, Fool's Gold

2011-08-23T11:32:00.004-04:00

The short and sweet of NUE #9, the Fool’s Gold 100, in Dahlonega, GA is that it was an awesome 100 mile mtb race with some incredible single track, 16,000 feet of climbing and even a swimming pool awaiting the finish of the riders at a beautiful wine vineyard. I must admit that when I first learned about the start/finish venue changing to a new location at the vineyard, I was a little concerned the race would not be quite as good as the old location at a camp ground. But, after completing the event, I can say that the new venue made the race even better than it was before.

The old starting location was at a camp ground at the base of the first big climb on the course. It was a nice starting location because after completing the first 50 mile loop racers went back through the camp ground and could restock on supplies. There were also showers available at the camp to use after the race for cleaning-up. Having showers available after a long race is a huge bonus in my book. The starting location was moved to Montaluce Winery, which is not too far from the original race start at the camp ground. Don’t get me wrong; the winery is nice and all, but I thought it might be a little too nice for a large group of mountain bikers to converge upon for a race. Typically, a camp ground will show less use (abuse) from a large group of outdoor oriented people being there, but I didn’t think this would be the case for a place as nice as Montaluce, especially with a beautiful swimming pool on stand-by for 300 dirty riders to return from their day in the woods.

I am not the race promoter, though, so I didn’t lose any sleep over what the end result of the race would be for the winery. I had enough to worry about with 100 miles of mountain bike racing ahead anyway. For me, it’s not the race itself that requires the majority of the planning, but more the logistics of traveling, booking hotel rooms and just making sure everything I use for the race is ready. Once the starting gun goes off, everything else just seems to fall into place. This is probably because of the pre-planning I do before the event.

So, when I think about the weather in Georgia in August, I imagine hot and humid conditions. When I did this race a couple of years ago, however, I was actually surprised to find that while it was hot, it wasn’t much different than doing a race around where I live in Western PA during the hot summer months. I was hoping for a similar experience this year, but I knew this probably wasn’t likely with the weather forecast calling for a high of 91 degrees and a high amount humidity. I was also hoping that the race would not become a mud fest like it was last year when a ton of rain fell the night before and at the start of the race. Again, with a forecast showing a 30% chance of rain, I couldn’t count out the possibility of gettin wet and muddy.

The race started with a neutral start in the winery on paved roads for about 4 miles or so, before we reached the gravel roads and the pace car pulled off the road to officially start the racing. Things were fast right away, especially for me being on a single speed and trying to keep up with the geared riders on the front of the pack. After being on the gravel for a short distance, we reached the first big climb of the race by the old starting location. I noticed pretty quickly that I felt a lot better getting a warm-up in before hitting the big climb this year compared to past years when we started at the base of this climb.

Things immediately started splitting apart in the race almost as soon as we started climbing. A group of about 5 riders got a gap on the rest of the field and everything behind that lead group was splinting apart fast too. I was maybe like 20 bike lengths off the lead group, but knew that I should be in the lead group because I was feeling good, so I did a huge effort to join the breakaway. After riding with the lead group for a mile or so, I decided to ride off the front and see if I could sneak away to win the KOM prize. I stayed off the front for about another mile, but was soon caught by this fast group of geared riders. I guess my decision to go for the KOM was made a little too early on the climb. I then had to go into recovery mode for a bit after that effort and lost contact with the fastest three riders, but was able to continue climbing very well.

At the top of the mountain, the terrain is mostly rolling with some longer flat sections mixed in also. With my light gearing, I struggled to keep up with the geared riders for a bit, but eventually decided to ride my own race. I went into the single track feeling good and just kept my pace as fast as I could with the gear I had. I knew that I was somewhere in the top fifteen riders overall or so, but had no idea where any of the other single speed racers were behind me. So, I kept my pace high and tried to chase down the geared riders in front of me.

Throughout the race I would catch a geared racer here and there, but it wasn’t until the second time up the biggest climb on the course that I noticed how well I was actually riding. Going up that climb I probably caught about 8 riders and by the top of the climb, I was told by a checkpoint volunteer that I was in fifth overall and only 2 minutes behind fourth place. I was excited to hear about how well I was doing and used this information to keep me motivated during the second lap. At this time I was focused on going fast, but at the same time was smiling ear to ear as I enjoyed the sweet single track on the course. The dry course made the trails fast and fun.

About part way into the second lap, however, the trail conditions quickly changed from being just about perfect to a sea of slippery blood red mud when a heavy down pour of rain fell for about an hour. To make matters worse, I was having issues with my rear wheel and wondered if it would hold together for the rest of the race. A few weeks before the race I broke a couple of spokes on the same wheel. I thought that I did a good job fixing the wheel because it held-up well on the technical trails of the Wilderness 101 and at the Pierre’s Hole Races, so I did not hesitate using it at this race. But, I guess the long, rocky descents on the Bull Mountain descent on this course was too much for the wheel to handle. After the descent off this trail, I went into the checkpoint/aid station and asked for a spoke wrench to attempt a quick repair of my wheel, but none were available.

When I started having my wheel trouble, I had moved into fourth place overall and was told by other riders that third place was less than two minutes ahead. I wanted so much to stay on the gas to move into third overall, but I knew doing so might cause my wheel to completely fall apart. It was already rubbing on my frame and shimming all over the place when I descended at high speed. So, I made the decision to back off the pace that I was riding to minimize further damage and to at least finish the race. Even though I was not real happy about the mud I was riding in at this time, I think it was the only thing that allowed for me to stay in the position I was in overall because it was slowing down the speed of everyone else. During my time on the slick muddy trails, I did get caught by one of the geared guys I had passed earlier, Drew Edsall, and I was starting to wonder if other riders were closing in on me, too.

I did manage to limp into the finish with my damaged wheel, which I think speaks volumes about how strong the Stan’s Notubes Wheels are. I don’t think another brand of rim would have held up as well as this one did with the amount of damage it had. Surprisingly, even my tubeless tire set-up didn’t start leaking air either because of the damage. By the end of the 100 mile race, I held on to 5th place overall and managed to finish as the winner of the single speed class.

After the race, I cleaned myself up with a hose near the swimming pool area, ate some post-race grub provided by the race organizers and then sat in the beautiful swimming pool with a bunch of friendly racing folks, sharing stories of our adventures on the mountain. It definitely was a fun day of racing and I thank my friends Eddie and Namrita O’Dea for doing the hard work of organizing this top notch event. I can’t wait to do it again next year.

Happy Trails.... Gerry

Pierre's Hole

2011-08-08T09:59:00.009-04:00

This past weekend I travelled out to Alta, Wyoming to do a new addition to the National Ultra Endurance Race Series Calendar, the Pierre’s Hole 100. It was my fourth NUE Series Race in four consecutive weekends and the 8^th NUE Race of the season for me. For this reason and because the race course comprised of more than 16,000 feet of climbing, I knew this race would be a difficult test of my fitness and endurance. I always enjoy racing on new challenging courses and I was very excited to test myself out on a course described by some to be harder than Breckenridge.

But, as excited as I was to do this race, I almost did not make the trip because of feeling exhausted from the three previous 100 mile races I did and because I learned at the beginning of last week that a friend I was going to meet in Salt Lake City for the trip could not make the race due to an injury. To make matters worse, I started feeling the symptoms of a minor cold a couple of days after doing the W101 last weekend and wondered if racing somewhat ill at altitude would be a good idea. But, I was determined to complete my goal of doing four NUE races in a row, so I decided to man-up and make the trip alone, feeling less than 100%.

When I finally made it to the race venue at the Grand Targhee Ski Resort on Friday Afternoon and saw the grandeur of the Teton Peaks and the surrounding mountains covered with wide-spread wild flowers in full bloom, I was glad that I stuck to my guns and made the trip. I became even happier with my decision after I rode a majority of the course and got to witness the beauty of the area close-up from the seat of my bike. I found the trails and views to be nothing more than amazing.

The course itself consisted of one 25 mile loop, which would be repeated 4 times to attain the 100 mile race distance. Generally, I like doing big loop races better than lap races, but I didn’t mind doing multiple laps on this course because it was challenging and fun to ride. Repeating the laps gave me a chance to dial in the course and feel more comfortable with the fast downhills and tight single track. Most of the course was on well-manicured trails, but there were also a few technical sections to keep things interesting. There course also contained a few miles of paved road that climbed out of the valley back to the resort on each lap. This section gave me a mental break from the trail riding and also gave me a chance to eat/drink because doing so on the trails was next to impossible. One thing that I really like about races that do multiple loops is the fact that I can use a cooler to get exactly what I want for food and drink. On the races that do one big loop, this is much harder to do with the drop bag system.

So, when the gun went off at 6:15 am, all the 100 mile racers started at once and immediately started climbing a cat track trail in front of the ski resort. The climb lasted for about 5 minutes or so before it turned back down the mountain on the blazing fast Mill Creek Trail. I was able to hang with the lead group of riders up the first climb and came out at the bottom of Mill Creek as the second place SS racer. Dejay Birch was totally ripping up the descent like a mad man and he put a little gap on me during this section of the race. Luckily, my geared (and sometimes SS) racer friend, Rob Spreng, came out of the Mill Creek Trail at the same time as me and was kind enough to give me a fast pull on the dirt road leading to the long road climb. From there, I was able to bridge up to Dejay and ride with him to the next trail entrance.

The trail at this section was also a fast downhill with many big water bars crossing the trail that could easily send a rider flying off the bike if speed wasn’t kept in check. I used some caution on this trail and once again Dejay put a little time on me by the bottom. I knew the biggest and steepest climb was ahead, though, so I felt confident that I would catch Dejay again. I did catch him on the steepest section of the climb and quickly was able to get a time gap on him. I pushed the pace for the remainder of the climb and by the time I climbed back to the ski resort, Dejay was no longer in view. I then made a quick pit stop at the aid station before finishing the 7 miles of super fun single track leading to the start finish line.

At this point, I might have become a little too comfortable with my lead and rode the second descent down the Mill Creek Trail too conservatively because by the bottom of the hill, I heard Dejay ringing his handlebar bell to let me know he was right behind me. I couldn’t believe he had made-up that much time on me going down the hill and I knew that if I wanted to win I would need to immediately put the pressure on during the road climb. My strategy seemed to work and by the time I went back onto the fast downhill trail with the water bars, Dejay was not in sight again. From that point on, I did not see any other 100 mile SS racers and did my racing with the lead geared guys to keep my pace high. I learned after the race that Dejay had a pretty nasty crash on that descent after going over one of those big water bars at high speed. He did not get seriously injured and was able to finish the race, but I am sure the crash took some of the steam out of his ride.

Since I did not know what was going on behind me, I continued to push my pace for the next two laps. One of the rewards of finishing this race is an awesome custom belt buckle for any rider beating the time of 9 hours 45 minutes. One of my main goals was to win one of these belt buckles, so I continued to push myself hard to ensure that I got one. I was somewhat surprised during the race that I felt so good considering how tough the course was and the fact that I was racing with congested lungs at a fairly high altitude of between 6000-8500 feet. I’m sure the reason for this was because my body has become pretty accustomed to doing these long and hard races after doing so many of them this year.

Anyway, with no problems occurring during the rest of the race, I was able to win a belt buckle by finishing with a time of 9:01, which was also good enough to be the first SS racer and 7^th overall. I thought this course was a blast to ride and I would definitely recommend it to anyone thinking about doing it in the future. Oh, and BTW, this course was hard, but I didn’t think it was nearly as hard as Breckenridge, which is a good thing in my book. My only regret of the trip is that I couldn’t stay longer to do more riding in the area. Oh well, I guess that gives me an excuse to go back again.

Happy Trails...

Photo Credit: MTB Race News - top photo

JULY

2011-07-31T20:12:00.007-04:00

Wow, it is hard to believe July is over. I figured at the beginning of the month that July would go by real quick, since I had three NUE races to do, but I had no idea how fast time would actually fly by. Of course, having to also work fulltime, train, do bike maintenance and all the traveling to these races pretty much ate up every free second I had this month. Luckily, I am a pretty organized type of guy and I made a plan of attack at the beginning of the month for my busy racing and training schedule.

With three important NUE races on my calendar during the last three weekends of July, I decided to take the first two weeks of the month off from racing. I used this time to do some hard training and to log a lot of miles in preparation of doing four consecutive 100 mtb races in four weeks. Since I usually race every weekend during the racing season, it felt good to have two weekends off from traveling and racing to prepare for the start of my four race challenge.

The first race I traveled to after my break was the fifth NUE race of the series this year, the Breckenridge 100. Out of all the NUE races I have done, the Breck 100 definitely ranks as the hardest in my mind. I felt completely beat after finishing my first two attempts at the Breckenridge 100. I did not want to feel this way for the start of my attempt at doing four NUE races in a row, so I tried to better prepare myself for the race this year and I thought I was ready. But, the thin air of Breckenridge once again left me feeling completely conquered after the race and actually worse than ever this year. I did manage to survive the race, but just barely. I ended-up finishing 7^th in the SS class with a feeling of complete exhaustion and I wondered if my thoughts of doing 4 NUE races in a row could be accomplished. It definitely wasn’t how I wanted to begin my self-imposed test.

Anyway, I probably should have rested after doing such a hard race. But, I was in Breckenridge, CO and the trails and the beauty of the area was calling my name to ride, so I did. I got in three more days of some awesome riding while I was in Colorado and during this time I also noticed that I seemed to be breathing a lot easier in the high mountain air by the end of my stay there. I was happy that I was feeling better by mid week and suddenly I was looking forward to doing the second 100 mile race of my trip out west in Bend, Oregon, the High Cascades 100.

I won the HC100 last year and had a great time racing on the beautiful trails in Bend. I was hoping for a similar experience there again this year. When I arrived in Bend on Wednesday, I did an easy ride to loosen-up my legs that evening followed by doing a 3.5 hour ride on both Thursday and Friday. Usually I don’t do so many miles on the days leading up to a 100 mile race, but I was on vacation and the trails were just so much fun that I found myself riding further than I wanted each day.

Even though I suffered greatly at Breckenridge the weekend before this race and probably did more riding than reasonable the two days before the HC100, my legs felt pretty fresh at the beginning of the race. I took off on the long road climb at the start and actually rode away from the entire pack of racers. Once the paved road ended and the dirt started, I did get caught by a fast group of geared guys. I decided to stick with their pace as best as I could and by the end of the first 35 mile lap, I was the lead single speed racer and in the top five riders overall. I continued riding well for the remainder of the race and ended-up taking the SS win, finishing in 7^th place overall. After my horrible performance in Breckenridge only a week earlier, it felt good to be riding strong again.

Traveling wears me out, especially when it is at the end of a vacation and on a Sunday before a whole week of work looms ahead. To make my trip home less taxing on my body, I took Sunday and Monday completely off from riding my bike. I was hoping this would give me some time to recovery from my big week of riding and would also allow for me to begin my preparations for my third weekend in a row of doing a 100 mile off-road race. But, even with taking two days off from training, my legs still felt pretty stale when I started riding my bike on Tuesday. Again, I wondered if I was asking my body to do too much and wondered if I would be able to compete in a race that I needed to win if I wanted to secure a third NUE Series SS Championship. I took the rest of the week very easy, but even by Friday my legs were not feeling very snappy and I did not feel like they were ready to be tested at the Wilderness 101 in Coburn, PA.

Somehow, by the start of the W101 early on Saturday Morning, my legs surprisingly came around again. I knew pretty early in the race that I was feeling good when I realized that I was the only single speed racer to get away with the lead group of geared guys by the first checkpoint, about 19 miles into the race. I was only able to hang with this fast group for just a couple more miles past the checkpoint before it became very evident that the fast pace being set on a long gradual downhill was way too fast for my one gear to handle. I then found myself stuck in no-man’s land and riding all alone. Eventually, another geared rider would catch me or I would catch a geared rider falling off the blazing fast pace up front, but the majority of my time was spent alone. During times like these, I start wondering how close the other single speed racers are to me and if they might be working together with a geared rider to catch me. But, with no way to know what was going on behind me, I just continued to push myself and go hard. After going hard for 7 hours and 19 minutes, pretty much all alone, I crossed the finishing line as the first placed SS racer and in 8^th place overall. I couldn’t believe that I had such a good ride after doing two very hard races the two weekends before this race.

With my busy July over and my completion of three consecutive 100 mile races, I feel pretty confident that I can complete my challenge of doing four NUE races back to back in four weeks. My next 100 mile race is the Pierre’s Hole 100 in Jackson, WY this coming weekend. After that, I will take a well deserved weekend off from racing before traveling down to the Fool’s Gold NUE Race in Georgia and then to the NUE Series Championship, the Shenandoah 100, on Labor Day Weekend. Hmmm, I guess August is going to be a busy month, too, now that I think about it.

Happy Trails, Gerry

The Hilly Billy

2011-06-27T12:24:00.002-04:00

The Hilly Billy Roubaix was a great experience for me last year and I was looking forward to doing well at the race again this year. Additionally, with the Hilly Billy being scheduled as the first race of the new American Ultracross Series, I was also hoping to do well because I am planning to do the entire series. I knew doing well at this race was not going to be as easy as it was last year, though, because the field of registered riders was a much faster group this year. Repeating last year’s performance would require that my bike and riding would have to be perfect.

After doing the race on a single speed cross bike last year and feeling a little less than confident on some of the descents and also knowing that I could go faster with a bike that had gears, I decided to do the race this year on my Salsa Mamasita with cross tires. I could tell early in the race that using the Mamasita over a cross bike was the right choice for the Hilly Billy. I was descending faster than the other riders I was with and was having no problem riding the faster road sections on my fully rigid 29er.

The first 17 miles of the race was going as I had hoped. I was riding very comfortably in a fast breakaway group with Steevo, Joe, Mike and Angry Andy. We were all riding well together and everything was going fine. But, then, on a fast descent a few miles before checkpoint #1, I bombed down a steep hill to make an attempt at splitting-up the group a little. I did get a nice gap on the descent, but unfortunately I nailed an unavoidable deep pothole at the bottom of the hill with my front wheel and crushed the sidewalls of the rim. After the impact, my spokes started rubbing against my disc brake caliper and I immediately knew things were not looking good.

I rode to checkpoint one with the group thinking that maybe someone might have a spare front wheel there. I was not able to get a wheel and the checkpoint, but I did get my spokes to stop rubbing after some finagling. I lost time to the breakaway group during my repair, so I was left all alone to start my chase back to the front. I could see the group on the climb in front of me, so I climbed hard and tried descending fast to make up my lost time. While flying down one steep descent, my tubeless rim started leaking air fast. I knew it was from the earlier damage done to the rim, so I stopped and tried to put a new tube in it. Unfortunately, the damage was so bad to the rim that I could not get the air valve out of the rim until I decided to hammer it out with my Topeak Multi-tool. Then, I couldn't get the new tube value into hole for the same reason, so I had to put my multi-tool to work again to widen the hole. Due to the issues I had with my rim, I lost a ton of time repairing this flat and a bunch of guys came by me.

I started chasing again and eventually worked myself up to fourth place overall after catching steevo at checkpoint two. I didn't initially know it was him, though, so I climbed hard and descended fast again to put time on the rider. On the rough and rutted descent after checkpoint two, I was probably going a bit too fast again and flatted my rear tire. I was without a second tube, so I begged steevo for a spare when he caught me. Luckily, he stopped to give me one because I had already used the one I had during my first repair. After fixing the flat, I went to put the rear wheel back into the frame and somehow got my disc rotor stuck behind one of the brake pads instead of between them. I pulled the wheel out to fix the problem, but one of the brake pads got stuck on the rotor and pulled out with the wheel. I tried to get the pad back in, but it would not stay in place, so I decided to continue riding without a rear brake for the next 30 miles.

After my second flat repair, I seemed to be climbing well and felt good overall, but I could not keep my speed up on the flats. I think it was because my front wheel had such a bad flat spot on it that it was not rolling very well at higher speeds. I'm sure it required a lot more effort to move than a round wheel. I guess after everything that happened I was lucky to still be riding my bike and to still be in contention for a podium spot.

By the end of the race, I was able to finish as the third placed master rider and as the sixth placed rider overall. After all my bad luck, I was happy with my performance for the day, but must admit that I was a bit frustrated that I didn’t get to battle with the leaders at the front all the way to the finish. These types of races will happen, though, and while I may not have had the great experience that I had last year when I won the race, I got to say overall the Hilly Billy Roubaix is a blast to do.

Happy Trails, Gerry

Bigger is not always better

2011-06-24T21:48:00.007-04:00

Picking a gear for singlespeed racing is like picking a fine wine. Like the matching of a wine to a perfect dinner, there are many elements that go into making the perfect SS gear selection for a race. I find that many singlespeed racers have a tendency to pick too big of a gear for racing. I have made this mistake myself many times and it can make a hard race even harder, especially towards the end. As a matter of fact, I used a gear that was a little too big at my first two singlespeed attempts at the Lumberjack 100 Race in Wellston, Michigan. Even though I was able to win those two attempts with the gear ratios that I chose, I felt like I could have been a little faster with an easier gear. This past weekend I made a third attempt at the Lumberjack 100 on a singlespeed bike and promised to myself that I would stick with an easier gear choice this year. Here is my version of how things went down at the front of the singlespeed race with my easier gear choice.

There is a fast start on two miles of pavement at NUE Series Race #4, the Lumberjack 100, which then leads to 98 miles of trail riding. I had to spin my butt off, so that I could keep towards the front of the pack and ensure that I got into the woods with a decent position. My plan to spin fast at the start worked and by the top of the first set of climbs in the woods, I was in the first group of riders containing the fastest geared guys and a couple of my singlespeed competitors. Man, this is going too perfect and I’m feeling great, I think to myself. We start going down some fast descents that eventually lead into some fast, twisty single track. I’m happy that I am keeping up with the fast pace being set at the front and like the feel of my easier gear choice. All is going well, just stick with this group I keep thinking.

After riding the trails with this group for about three miles, I slightly veer off the cleared single track path for a split second and hit a tree stump I didn’t see hidden in the grass. The stump causes me to go over the bars, sending my bike and body to the ground hard. I’m a little dazed by the crash because it all occurred so quickly, but I get up as fast as I can to try and catch the fast group riders now leaving me behind. Damn, they’re gone I say to myself and I now feel totally frustrated that I didn’t pay better attention to the trail in front of me. I decided to calm down a bit when I realized that I had fallen off the fast bus, I then stop my pursuit of the group in front of me and started taking inventory of my body and bike.

During the check of body and bike parts, I noticed right away that I hit my knee pretty good during the crash because I felt some pain there, but overall it seems that most of my injuries are only minor abrasions on my legs and arms. The crash also moved my rear brake lever to an awkward position, caused my suspension fork to not release from the locked-out position and somehow also moved one of my Selma Alternator Dropouts, which loosened my chain significantly. After taking inventory, re-gathering my thoughts and trying to get back into a riding rhythm, I got caught by another SS rider, Matt Ferrari, and a group of about 5 geared guys. Nice, I think to myself. Now I have another group to help me out.

I ride with this group of riders for only a few miles, while I slowly regain my composure and start feeling a little more confident again. I then decide that the pace of the group I’m riding in is too slow and that I need to get going if I want a chance at finishing well. So, I initiate an attack on a wider section of trail with a slight incline to get away. I’m able to get clear and Matt comes along with me. Cool, maybe Matt and I can work together to start reeling in the two SS riders in front of us. Slowly Matt and I start catching some riders dropping off the fast group in front of us. I start thinking that maybe I still have a shot at making the podium and do my best to keep my pace high, even though my body is trying to tell me that what I am doing is NOT a good idea. Matt and I continue riding together and we end-up catching Jorden Wakeley who is one of the two SS riders from the fast group ahead of us. With Wakeley now in our group, only one other SS rider, Rob Spreng, is ahead of me and my two SS riding companions.

I have raced against Matt Ferrari very often in the NUE Series during the past few years and I know that he is a strong rider. Jorden Wakeley is a fast, local Michigan SS Rider and I knew he was a rider that could possibly win this race. I also was very familiar with Rob Spreng because he lives near me and we have raced against each other many times, but mostly on geared bikes. Rob recently broke his geared frame, though, so he decided to try the SS race out at the Lumberjack after I convinced him to give it a try. I also knew another fast SS rider, Mike Montalbano, was in the race, but I had not seen him at the front, yet. It is always helpful to know your competition and what their strengths and weaknesses are. I knew this group of riders had few weaknesses and that I would have my hands full racing against them even if I didn’t crash earlier.

I rode most of the second lap with Matt and Jorden in my tow. I could tell that they were starting to fade during this time, so I didn’t really make any demands for them to help me at the front. Instead, I would put extra effort into my climbs to attempt to drop them and make them work harder. I figured this way I would keep my speed high and make my two competitors work harder to keep up with me. Eventually, my plan worked and I got clear from my two competitors. Yes! Now I just have to catch Rob, I think to myself. Unfortunately, just as my time gap started to grow between me and the two riders behind me, my chain dropped off my front chainring because of it being loose from my earlier crash. You’ve got to be kidding me…Can’t a guy get a break. I get the chain back where it needs to be on the bike quickly, but don’t go super hard after the repair because I am leery of what might have actually caused my chain to have loosened. I decide that I will take a closer look at the bike when I arrive at the start/finish area because I will have better access to tools there. Even with riding gingerly to the end of the second lap, I am able to maintain a slight time gap over Matt and Jorden.

Before the start of lap #3, I grabbed some tools and quickly fixed my dropout before going back out for my third and final lap. The Salsa Alternator Dropout is so easy to use that I am able tighten my chain to proper tension in no time. During my repair, I was caught and passed by my two SS competitors, but I quickly caught the two and immediately got away from them before the top of the first big climb. I now just had Rob Spreng in front of me again and I knew that he was running a bigger gear that might cause him to fade towards the end of this race. I am thinking at this point that I still have a chance for the win if I can just convince my body to keep going hard.

Not long after Jorden and Matt fell off my pace on lap three a different and another fast SS rider, Mike Montalbano, caught me and came by me riding very strong and fast. I start wondering if I will ever get a chance to take just a little break during this endurance race with cross county like speed and a yo-yo like pattern of up and down events. After Mike came around me, I did my best to hang with the fast pace he was setting. Not long after we started riding together we see and catch-up to the lead SS rider. Rob is fried when we catch him and he immediately allows us go by. When we went by Rob, we were on a climb and I noticed that I was got a nice gap over Mike pretty easily. I kept my pace up after the climb, but was caught a short while later because Mike was running a much larger gear than me. I noticed that his bigger gear allowed for me to ride away from him on other climbs on the course, but I also noticed that he would eventually catch me again on the fast, flat trails. After catching me one time, Mike said to me that we are going to have to sprint this one out for the win. I said back to him “I hope not.” I’m not sure if Mike knew it or not, but I am not much of a sprinter and the thought of actually sprinting to the line after 100 miles of racing was definitely not how I wanted to end things.

I knew the course had one last big climb about 2 miles from the finish and I planned to make my final move there if I could muster enough strength to ride the steep climb one last time. I went as hard as I could on the climb when we arrived there and I got the gap that I wanted. Yes, I got this race wrapped-up now, I think to myself. The only problem was that I now had an extremely fast two miles to go until the finish and I was afraid that Mike might catch me with the bigger gear he was using. I kept looking over my shoulder while pedaling as fast as I could and the gap between us was shrinking much quicker than I had anticipated it would. I wasn’t sprinting, but I definitely could not have spun my cranks any faster and I don’t think my heart could have beaten another beat faster either. I took one last look over my shoulder after going around the last bend on the course and was happy to see that I had maintained my gap over Mike. I knew only then that I would make it to the finish line first.

This was the hardest I have ever had to push myself at the end of a 100 mile race. It hurt bad, but could not have felt more rewarding to me. And, now that it is over, I am definitely glad I stuck with a gear choice that many SS riders considered to be too easy for this course. I feel like I am finally becoming a SS gear connoisseur. So, let me remind you all again, my friends, that bigger is not always better.

Happy Trails, Gerry

June: Whirlwind and Waves

2011-06-12T20:48:00.005-04:00

Man, is this month flying-by. It seems with racing, training, working full-time, doing bike maintenance, and taking care of all the other responsibilities in life that I have very little spare time for anything else. If you are an avid racer, I am sure you can also relate to this and know first hand how fast time seems to move during the busy summer racing months. I knew June was going to be crazy because I wanted to do well at four important races on my schedule. First, there was NUE Series Race #3, the Mohican 100, at the beginning of June, which was followed by the Big Bear 2x12 on the second weekend. For the second part of the month, my schedule includes doing NUE Series Race#4, the Lumberjack 100, and the first race of the new American Ultra-Cross Championship Series, the Hilly Billy Roubaix. Yes, June has been a whirlwind of activity for me so far and the next two weeks will be no different.

I had plans of posting my Mohican 100 experience on my blog last week, but my priority list of things to do never allowed for me to write it last week. But, since the Big Bear 2x12 race was on Saturday and pretty close to home, I have some free time now to finally write about my Mohican 100 and Big Bear Race 2x12 race experiences.

The Mohican 100 is just a fantastic 100 mile mtb race. I say this because I like the mix of terrain on the course and think that overall it is organized pretty well. I’m sure there are a lot of riders that may disagree with me because the race seems to always have pretty extreme weather conditions. Usually, the race is held under very hot and humid conditions, but last year it stormed hard during most of the race, so riders had to learn how to deal with another extreme variation of weather on this course. For 2011, the weather returned to its usual hot and humid status that certainly took its toll on a number of racers. While many complained about the heat, I seemed to bask in it.

Things heated-up quick in the singlespeed race right from the start and remained very competitive for me until checkpoint #2. After the road climb out of Loudonville, fellow singlespeed racers Matt Ferrari, Montana Miller and Dylan Johnson were all riding right along with me during the initial section of single track. We were all in chase of my Pro Bikes Teammate, Justin Pokrivka, who had created a gap on the three of us in the initial section of trail.

I then heard a nasty crash behind me while riding down one of the steep descents in the first sections of trail, but I never looked back to see what actually happened. After coming out at the Mohican Camp Ground, I looked around to see where the other singlespeed racers were and saw all the contenders but Ferrari in sight. After the race, I learned that Matt was the rider that crashed behind me on the steep descent. By the time I re-entered the single track and started working my way through the geared riders a head of me, Justin’s gap over me and the other singlespeed racers had increased to a pretty good margin.

Dylan, Montana and I rode the single track together at a fast, but conservative pace, trying to reel Justin back to us. But, it wasn’t until we arrived at a steep hike-a-bike section of trail, about 25 miles into the race, that we saw Justin again. When we got on the gravel roads leading to checkpoint #2, Dylan dropped off the pace Montana and I had set to catch Justin. Eventually, Montana and I were able to latch onto to Justin and a group he was riding in that contained about 5 geared riders. We all rode together from that point of the race to checkpoint #2 at a moderate pace trying to recover from our efforts in the single track, but at the same time keeping a watchful eye on the other riders and waiting for someone to make a move.

I figured things would be hectic at the checkpoint with the arrival of so many riders at once, so I kind of pushed the pace going into the checkpoint and was one of the first to grab my drop bag. I then left quickly and got a gap on the two other singlespeed racers and all but two of the geared riders. Fortunately, the other two geared guys were as anxious as I was to put a time gap on our competition, so we all worked together pretty well. I never saw another singlespeed competitor after that point in the race and basically either rode my own race or rode with a geared guy or two. The heat really became noticeable after checkpoint #3 and trying to deal with it became my biggest battle of the day. However, I manage my fluid and food intake well and was able to maintain my gap over the other singlespeed racers until the end of the race for the hard-earned win.

So, with my win at the Mohican 100 in the books, I began to focus on the Big Bear 2x12. In 2010, Weston Schempf and I were able to ride together for the singlespeed victory at this race. Earlier this year Wes and I planned to ride the race together again to see if we could repeat our 2010 performance. As things turned out, however, Wes was unable to join me this year due to his wife being pregnant and having a due date very near the date of the race. I didn’t learn for certain about whether Wes would be racing or not until the day after the Mohican. Fortunately, I had already talked to Montana Miller about racing with me at Big Bear and he said that he would do it if Wes could not make it. With team Schempflug out for 2011, the team of Salsa Cylces and the Rotten Guacamole was born. I’m sure you all can guess from where the Salsa Cycles part of our team name came, but are probably having a hard time with the Rotten Guacamole part. All I can say is take a look at Montana’s green Niner Frame with the Purple I9 Wheels and the name should become self-explanatory.

The Big Bear 2x12, for those not familiar with the event, is a relay race held on the old 12 mile course used for 24 Hours of Big Bear Race. It was set-up as a race after everyone learned that 24 Hour Nationals were not going to be held at this fantastic mtb racing venue last year. At this race, expert teams of two riders do a total of six laps on a technical 12 mile race loop, with each rider required to do 3 laps. Montana and I discussed our strategy for the race and decided that we would alternate our laps rather than doubling-up our laps like Wes and I did last year. We also decided that it would better if Montana started and I finished the race. We had our plan and all we needed to do was make it work.

The start of this race is a hectic mass frenzy, as all of the individual team starters race up the prologue hill at once to the entrance of the single track. Montana had a great start and was one of the top five riders going into the trail head. He continued riding fast for the remainder of his first lap and came in as the first single speed racer and in the top seven teams overall. This gave me a clear shot into the single track and allowed me to add to our time gap over the other singlespeed teams. Needless to say, things were looking good for us at this point in the race and the rotten guacamole didn’t seem too bad at all to my taste buds.

After finishing my first lap, I handed Montana the baton and as he left I told him to ride fast, but smart. In events like this, a mechanical or a crash can change the order of things quickly. Well, as luck would have it, Montana ended-up double flatting on his second lap, which caused us to lose our significant lead. As a matter of fact, not only did we lose our lead, but the second placed team of Marc Glass and Rob Loehr had about a four minute advantage on us by the time I started my lap.

I knew that I could not afford to ride a conservative second lap, since we were down by so much time. I took some chances on the trail and spun my Ti Selma as fast as I could in an attempt to catch the team ahead of me. After about riding ¾ of the loop, I did catch the leading singlespeed rider ahead of me and was even actually able to put some time on him before I made it back to the relay exchange tent. Montana looked to be calm, but ready for his finally lap. I again told him to be smart out on the trail as he left the tent.

In between each of the approximately one hour laps, I would cool down from my effort, eat and then get ready for another hard effort about 15 minutes before I expected my teammate, Montana, to arrive. I headed to the exchange tent a little early for my final lap thinking that Montana was going to burn-up the trail after his miserable second lap. Well, as I waited for Montana and time started ticking past the time I had expected his arrival, I began to worry.

My worrying became a little bit more troublesome as I saw Marc Glass arrive at the tent first again with no sight of Montana being near. I asked Marc about Montana and he said that he was riding, but didn’t look good. Meanwhile, the clock continued to count off the minutes and put more time between us and the now first place team. During this time, I mentally prepared myself for what would be my third super hard lap of the day. Again, I knew that I was going to have to ride at very fast clip to try and catch the team ahead. The taste I had acquired for the rotten guacamole was quickly becoming too much for me to take.

Montana arrived at the tent about two minutes after the first place team did their baton exchange. I knew that I still had a chance to win the race for us, but I also knew that it was going to have to be another fast and flawless lap. If I crashed, flatted, or had any other mishap, finishing as the first place team would not be possible. In situations like these on a geared bike, I can go faster by pushing a harder gear. On a singlespeed, however, the only way to go faster is to spin more. I spun my butt off to chase down the lone singlespeed rider in front of me. I was feeling good and I’m sure all of the endurance racing that I have done this year was helping me ride fast at the end of the race.

I ended-up catching Rob with about 2-3 miles to go until the finish. He seemed to be pretty spent when I caught him and immediately moved over to allow me to get by. I thanked him for giving me the trail and told him to keep on pushing it until the finish. I continued to push myself hard for the rest of the race to ensure a victory for my Salsa Cycles and the Rotten Guacamole Team. The race might not have gone as I had hoped or planned, but having an undetermined outcome for the last couple laps of the race sure did make it more interesting. I’m sure glad that the Rotten Guacamole didn’t spoil my party, even if it did make me feel sick for a little while.

Well, next up is the Lumberjack 100 in Wellstone, MI. I’ve been pretty close to breaking the 7 hour threshold time on this course the past few years. I’m pretty certain that I would have broken 7 hours last year if it wasn’t for a bad crash that I had part way through the race. I’ll give it another shot this year, while I try to continue riding this wave of good luck that I’ve been on lately. I’ll gladly continue living my life in a whirlwind if I can continue my ride on this perfect wave.

Happy Trails, Gerry

Weekend Warrior

2011-05-23T22:39:00.009-04:00

Having a full-time job makes finding time for riding and racing difficult at times. To maximize the amount of time I can spend on my bike, I often use my bike for commuting to work. When the weather is nice, riding my bike to work is a great thing. On the other hand, if it is raining the ride is usually not much fun. It seems for the past couple of months it has rained just about every day, so this has made finding time to ride even more difficult. Since I usually have a little more free time on the weekends, I usually do my long rides on Saturday or Sunday like most working folks, the weekend warriors. Now that racing season is in full-swing, however, finding time for long rides on the weekend is hard to do now, too.

This past Saturday was special because the weather was beautiful and I had plenty of time to ride. There have not been many nice days this year like this past Saturday, especially on a weekend when I could enjoy it the most. I took advantage of the opportunity by doing a 75 mile on/off road ride on my Selma Ti Single Speed. I could have very easily gone much further with it being so nice out, but I had already pre-registered for a race on Sunday and felt that anything more than 75 miles might slow me down for my race. I usually like to take it easy the day before a race, so my legs feel fresh. I am glad that I didn’t follow my normal game plan this weekend because I would have missed out on an incredible ride.

So, on Sunday, I traveled down to Boonsboro, MD for the Greenbrier AMBC Challenge. For those of you who don’t live in the Mid-Atlantic Region or are not aware of Greenbrier, it is a rocky, technical and multiple-lap course. There have been races held at Greenbrier off and on since the early 1990’s. I’ve raced on this course quite a few times over the years, but always find it to be a good test of my riding skills and a lot of fun to ride.

When I woke-up Sunday morning, I was glad that I chose to only do the XC race instead of the four hour long marathon race also being held at Greenbrier. Not only were my legs a little tired on Sunday Morning, but I would have also needed to leave my house by 5:30AM in order to get to the marathon race on time. Additionally, I think doing an occasional XC race is a nice break from the endurance racing I usually do. And, as much as I like riding at Greenbrier, I think doing a marathon race should NOT be held on a course that requires doing more than 3 or 4 laps at the most.

Even though my legs were a little tired from my ride on Saturday, my race went well on Sunday. After a little jostling during the first mile of the race, I was able to take the lead and hold on to it for the win. Other than doing the last couple of laps at the Baker’s Dozen on my Salsa Spearfish, this was the first race that I actually did start to finish on this incredible full suspension 29er. The bike handled the never ending rocks of Greenbrier very smoothly and made the course much more manageable for me. It was also nice to use gears for a change, especially when going up the steep rocky climbs this course has. I’m sure that my Selma Ti would have also given me a fast ride, but the Spearfish made going fast at Greenbrier much easier and more comfortable. Maybe I am getting old???

So, all in all, it was another good weekend to be in the trenches as a weekend warrior. Going to battle every weekend is not a bad thing. I can’t even compare riding and racing to war because I enjoy doing them both way too much, as I am sure most cyclists reading this do. I’m pretty sure that riding my bike will always be something fun and adventurous for me to do, even if finding the time to do it can be challenging at times.

Happy Trails, Gerry

Syllamo

2011-05-16T21:58:00.002-04:00

I did a longer write-up about the race for the Salsa Blog and it should be up in a few days, but I wanted to post a short version here also.

I traveled with Angry Andy down to Arkansas last Thursday Afternoon for NUE Series Race #2, the Syllamo 125 in Mountain View, AR. When we were flying in, I noticed that many of the farmers’ fields looked to be flooded, even though it wasn’t currently raining. After landing, we started the two hour drive from Little Rock to Mountain View. About twenty minutes outside of our destination, it started pouring down rain as hard as I have ever seen. The sight I had of the fields and the heavy rain that fell during our drive to Mountain View started to worry me a little about what the course conditions might be like.

I looked at the forecast earlier in the week and it was supposed to be dry on Friday and Saturday, but the skies were gray and heavy when I got up on Friday. It did end up raining a few times on Friday, but nothing as hard as on Thursday Night. Luckily, Andy and I were able to ride the first part of the yellow trail on Friday without having rain fall on us. Remarkably, the course was not as muddy as I expected it to be. There were definitely some muddy sections, but nothing too severe. The hardest thing about the course was getting use to the limestone on the trails know as “slickrock” to the locals. The slickrock was imbedded in the trails and riding over it was comparable to riding on ice. I was glad to find this out on my pre-ride rather than at race time.

Since a cold front blew-in the day before the race, the temperature at the start was only 50 degrees. By the way, I don’t know about you, but I am starting to wonder if I will be riding in cold and wet weather for the rest of year at this point. I mean really, enough is enough already. So, anyway, the race started and it was a fast start like all the NUE races seem to be. After riding for about a quarter mile on a paved road, we took a right up a steep fire road and climbed for about a mile until entering the endless single track. I was one of the top ten riders to enter the single track and I did not see any single speed racers around me.

Since I knew there was a bunch of technical riding ahead, I just kind of got into my own smooth pace. I rode with Andy, Eddie and Ernie for a short while, but eventually wound-up riding alone for about 4 hours or so. I would look back on the switchback climbs and would not see anybody. My race seem to be going very well, so I stuck to my smooth riding game plan through the technical stuff and would try to spin as fast as I could on the faster single track. After a little more than seven hours of riding, I ended-up taking the single speed victory by more than 30 minutes over second place.

Winning my second NUE Race of the season definitely made me happy, but riding the amazing trail network in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas was a true pleasure. I would definitely recommend riding these trails if you are ever in the area. The four loops of the yellow, blue, green and red trails when combined add up to one large 50 mile loop that offers a very nice variety of trails.

Happy Trails, Gerry

Fine Trails

2011-05-08T21:57:00.010-04:00

Oh, what a nice weekend of trail riding. I had two fine days of riding some very nice trails and I didn’t even get all that muddy. In addition to the trails being in good shape, the weather seems like it is starting to come around now, too. Thank Goodness!

On Saturday, I did the inaugural Wisp XC Challenge put on by ABRA Racing at the Wisp Ski Resort in McHenry, MD. I haven’t race at Wisp since the mid-nineties, but I remembered the trails being pretty rocky and technical on the resort property. While there were a few sections of technical riding on the new 8 mile long Wisp Course, most of it was fairly smooth and fast. I love riding twisty, fast single track and there was definitely some good stuff at Wisp, along with a good mix of types of trails, too.

The race started fast. There was a short prologue loop which then led to the mostly downhill starting part of the course. It was hard to maintain position on my single speed on this fast section, but somehow I managed to stay in the top ten riders for the first few miles of the races. Once the climbing started, I worked my way up to fourth place overall and the second single speed spot behind Montana Miller.

Montana was pushing his big and ever constant 38x20 gear, which I figured would be a little too steep for this course. By mid part on the second of three laps, I caught Montana and was able to get a nice gap over him on the long climb to the start/finish line. I stayed smooth and fast on the third lap and ended-up taking the single speed win, in third place overall.

Before starting the race at Wisp, I did an entire lap of the course to check out the conditions and to get in some extra training miles. Knowing what to expect on a fast XC course is always helpful to me and it was definitely a big help at this race, too. I enjoyed the trails at Wisp so much that after the race I did another 8 mile loop to cool down and to enjoy the trails at a more comfortable pace. All in all, it was definitely a nice day of trail riding and racing at Wisp.

On Sunday, I went to North Park and did three hours of riding on the nicely flowing single track there. I think the North Park trails are some of the best around for training. There is just a nice variety of everything at the park and nothing too severe to break-up the body or the bike.

With all the rain in the Pittsburgh Area lately, it sure has been awhile since I had two nice days of trail riding near home. Hopefully, that is beginning to change and I can spend more time on dirt than on the road. Speaking of trail riding, I will be headed to Mountain View Arkansas this coming weekend to do NUE Series Race #2, the Syllamo 125. From what I understand, this race is almost entirely comprised of technical single track. Hopefully all the fine trail riding completed this weekend will help me ride the trails at Syllamo just a little bit smoother. Be sure to check back next week for my Syllamo 125 Race Report.

Happy Trails, Gerry

A NUE Start

2011-05-05T09:17:00.005-04:00

The National Ultra Endurance (NUE) Series started this past weekend at the Cohutta 100 in Ducktown, TN. The weather was perfect for the race, especially when compared to the hard thunderstorms and rain encountered at the race last year. Everything was going as planned until around mile 30 or so, when my left pedal cleat somehow came loose. Luckily, I was able to repair my mechanical fairly quickly with my Topeak P ro 20 Mini Tool and catch back up to the two single speed riders in front of me. Matt Ferrari and I then had a good battle going between us for most of the race after I caught him, but I was able take the first NUE Series Race win at the end. My Stan’s NoTubes SS Wheels and my Salsa Ti Selma were an important part of my fast ride and eventual victory. I did a more detailed write up about my Cohutta 100 Race for the Salsa Blog, which will probably be posted sometime next week. Happy Trails, Gerry

The Road Bike

2011-03-20T21:18:00.006-04:00

Out of all the bikes I own, I probably ride my road bike the least. Don't get me wrong, I am not anti-road bike or roadie. I like road bikes, but I spend most of my saddle time on the my SS Selma 29er mtb because it is what I race the most. I also consider my SS 29er to be my all purpose, do anything bike. It seldom has any issues and is just one efficient pedaling machine.

Even though I spend most of my time doing long mtb races every year, I also like to do a handful of road races to keep my speed and fitness fresh. After the last road race of last summer, I put my road bike away until Thursday of this week. With no close mtb races around this weekend, I decided it would be a good idea to do a 35 mile local road race in Amity, PA. Since it had been awhile since I was on a road bike, I figured that I better ride it a couple of days before doing a race on it. I must admit that I forgot how fast a road bike is over riding a wide-tired mtb.

Since the Amity race was pretty much just a training race, I also figured that I might as well maximize my effort and ride to the race, which worked out well since the race started a little later in the day. I ended up riding 55 miles to the race and got there with about ten minutes to spare before the start. When I arrived, I registered, gobbled down some food and water real quick and then off we went.

The course was a 5 mile loop with about 2 miles going up and the other three miles going down. I like courses that go up. Climbing and I just seem to get along well. Since I am an old guy, I did the 40+ race. The 40 plus riders were mixed in with the category 1-3 group, since there was not a real big field of riders at the race. After a couple of laps up the climb on the course, things started to split up. I was right there in the move with the initial break, but decided to fall back because there were no other 40 plus riders in the group and I thought the move was just a bit too early. I definitely knew it was too early for me to work hard in a three man break after my ride to the race anyway. It was kind of discouraging to see that the break would probably stick a little later in the race, but I made the most of riding in the pack.

The pack seemed to quickly dwindle in size after each of the 7 laps up the climb and I knew this is where I would need to make a move if I wanted to finish well. I wondered if my legs would have enough snap in them to go clear from the remaining riders with 85+ miles in them, but I gave it a go the last time up the climb. Somehow I got a gap and was able to maintain and even grow my advantage by the top of the climb. I was hurting bad though and knew that the fast ride down to the finishing line was going to hurt me bad. By putting down every last drop of energy I had left in me, I did manage to make it to line first with a small advantage over the fast approaching field sprint. It always feels good to win even when it hurts bad to do it.

After the race, I did two more laps of the course to end my day of riding with 101 miles. It was certainly a good day to be on a bike and it was a lot of fun to race on the road again after my long hiatus off of my skinny tired Salsa Podio speedster.

Happy Trails, Gerry

Thanks to Fred Jordan for the photo.

The Shootout at Anglers Ridge

2011-03-16T20:54:00.002-04:00

I took another trip down south this past weekend to Danville, VA to do the 6 Hours of Anglers Ridge. I didn’t know about this early season mtb endurance race until I received a call from my friend Sologoat on the Monday before the race. Ernesto called to find out some information about whether I was doing the Pierre’s Hole 100 NUE Race in August or not because registration was opening that night. I told him that I definitely was doing PH100 along with all the other NUE races in 2011 except for the Park City, UT race. After discussing the details about PH100, I inquired about what race was next on his schedule and I soon found out all the good details about this SVMBA promoted race.

I really wasn’t expecting my endurance mtb racing season to start so early this year. Heck, I just stopped skiing a few weeks before and basically just started doing some consistent riding, but the thought of riding some nice single track in warm weather was just too much for me to resist. Since I was considering this race more of a good training opportunity rather than a true shot at an overall win, I decided to ride my single speed Salsa Selma instead of my geared Mamasita 29er. To add a little more difficulty to the race, I also had to use a ridge fork on my ride because my suspension fork seals were leaking oil and I did not trust them to hold up during the 6 hour race. I must admit, though, that I was almost tempted to change this plan on Friday when Todd from Pro Bikes called to tell me that my Salsa Spearfish had arrived at the shop. I had Todd rush around to find a tapered suspension fork and headset that would work with the frame. I also figured that I could then strip the old parts off my Mamasita to build-up the Spearfish to give it a nice test ride at Anglers Ridge. Unfortunately, my plan was foiled when I arrived at the shop and found that the frame required a press-fit BB30 bottom bracket. I did not have one and the shop did not have one in stock either. I quickly gave up the idea of riding the smoothness of the Spearfish and went back to my original plan of using the Selma.

During my pre-ride of the 9 mile loop at Anglers Ridge on Saturday, the Selma rode very nice. Additionally, the tight, twisty single track with a bunch of short climbs and descents seemed to be a perfect course for a rigid single speed bike. For the most part, the course is not too technical as far as there being anything real tricky, but there are a lot of tree roots crossing all over the trails that did cause my bike to bounce around quite a bit. A rigid bike would be fine for a cross country length race on this course, but it definitely started to wear on me as the 6 hour race laps started adding up. I did the pre-ride and race with my Stan’s NoTubes ZTR Wheels with the tire pressure set at about 25. Without the use of the Stan’s Wheels, I am sure my body would not have been able to handle riding on this course for 6 hours with a rigid bike.

The race started on a fast straight away which then took a hard left up a wide, short climb before entering the single track. Once entering the single track, it was difficult to make passes, so I worked hard to get the hole shot and take the lead into the trail head. After taking the initial lead, I stayed at the front and set a high pace for the first two laps. This seemed to break apart the field pretty good, so I started riding at a more conservative pace during lap three and four. Towards the beginning of lap four, I saw that Sologoat was chasing me hard and was getting a little too close for comfort. After seeing my hard-charging friend coming up behind me, I knew that I had to start riding fast again if I wanted to stay at the front of the race. During this time, I also decided to skip my stop at the pit during my fifth lap, so that I could gain a little extra time. It was a bit of a gamble because my water supply was getting low and I could have also used some nutrients, but my gamble seemed to pay off.

After skipping a pit stop, I looked back once I was in the single track and saw that there was nobody near me again. I continued riding at a pretty good clip, however, because I knew that I would absolutely need to stop at the beginning of lap number 6 to fuel-up. I made it through that last stop quickly and without having any issues. The last couple of laps during the race were pretty lonely. Occasionally I would see a rider here and there, but I was basically all alone for the most part. It didn’t matter, though, because being alone gave me chance to just ride and enjoy the trails. With about half a lap to go, I took a look over my shoulder at the top of a climb and caught a glance of a rider coming up fast behind me. I immediately knew that this rider was a competitor in my race and also knew that I now needed to pick up the pace again so that I would not be caught before the finish.

I rode hard during this time, but at the same time, I also rode smart. The last thing I wanted to do was crash or cause another problem by being too aggressive on this twisty course. I was pretty fried at this point in the race, which made riding fast again even harder. My arms and hands were on fire from riding without a suspension fork and I started to wonder if I might get caught because of my choice to use a rigid single speed. I did my best during the last part of the race to ignore my pain and just focus on riding my bike. My concentration paid off by race end and I was able to take the win by a very narrow margin of about two minutes over second place.

It was certainly an awesome day of racing on sweet trails and in perfect weather. I am very happy that I made the decision to take another road trip south for some fine early season endurance racing on some great single track and also couldn't be happier with how my rigid Salsa single speed proved once again to be a flawless machine.

Happy Trails, Gerry

Southern Cross

2011-03-03T10:24:00.005-05:00

I did a post about winter training and an endurance cyclocross race I did in Dahlonega, Georgia this past weekend known as Southern Cross. It is up at the Salsa Cycles Website. Click here to access Salsa Cycles and to read the my race report.

Now that racing is upon us, I will be doing regular blog posts again, so please check back often.

I hope everyone is as excited about the new racing season as I am. See you all at the races and on the trails.

Happy Trails, Gerry

Fresh Tracks

2010-12-05T19:34:00.004-05:00

To say this season has had benign cross racing weather, might be an understatement. The western part of Pennsylvania had a beautiful fall. The temperatures were mild and for the most part it was very dry. Most falls are not like this in this area, which makes cross racing a lot more difficult.

This week the weather took a pretty drastic change, which included getting a lot of rain and falling temperatures. The colder weather eventually even brought some long awaited for snow to the region. As a matter of fact, my local ski resort, 7 Springs, was able to make enough snow this past week to open for skiing this Saturday.

Since I can never do enough skiing, I had to make the short trip up to the mountain and do some early season turns. There were only a few slopes open, but it felt good to do some linked “S” turns down the mountain again. And, for the majority of the snow being of the man-made variety, the snow conditions were actually pretty good. 7 Springs is going to close during the mid-week to make more snow and do some grooming of the slopes, but will open up again next weekend. In the meantime, I may need to go up there one day this week to do some renegade runs with my backcountry skis. For some reason, skiing down the mountain is a lot more fun after putting out the effort to ski up it.

So, I got my first skiing tracks made for the season this weekend and as an added bonus, I also got to race my cross bike in the snow for the first time this cross season as well at the Raccoon Township Firehall Race. I did okay at the race, but crashed way too many times to do really well. I also used my single speed cross bike during the race because I thought it would be the better choice considering the mud, snow and cold temperatures. While the single speed was definitely the sturdiest bike choice, it definitely is a slower bike than my geared cross bike. But, my bike finished the race in one piece and without any mechanical issues whatsoever, so I am happy about that. Plus, it is always much easier to clean up a single speed after a race with nasty conditions than it is to clean a geared bike, so this made my SS choice even better for me.

There is one last local cross race next Sunday, which is at Raccoon Twp. Park. Considering that the long range forecast is calling for more cold temps and snow, I am sure this race will be as tricky as the race was today. I will more than likely do this last cross race of the season, but I must admit it was awfully hard staying off of the mountain today. I guess that I just need to remember how much bike racing will be missed in a month or so when the preregistration deadline comes around for the race later this week. I am sure that I will have many opportunities to make first tracks with my skis this winter after racing is done.

Happy Trails, Gerry

Thanks again to Benjamin Stephens for another fine photo.

Staying Local

2010-11-28T21:06:00.014-05:00

Yeah, I know it has been awhile since I last posted a blog entry. So, I figured I better post something now, or people may fear that I have been abducted by aliens or even something worse. Basically, I have been doing local cross races every weekend since my episode of bad luck at Iron Cross in October. Here is a brief report of what I have been doing since the middle of October.

But, before I begin my racing update, I need to tell the story of how my bad luck continued a couple of days after the Iron Cross Race. I was commuting from work to home by bike on a familiar trail on a beautiful Indian summer fall day. I was having a blast on the trail and rode into a rock garden I have ridden many times before with way too much speed. I then clipped my pedal on a protruding rock, which caused me to go over-the-bars and crash pretty hard. I landed hard on the surrounding rocks, mostly on my left side and back. It was one of those crashes where I knew I did a good amount of damage to my body, so I just laid there for a minute to recuperate and to inventory my body parts. When I was finally able to stand, I immediately felt pain in my left hip and upper ribs/back. To make matters worse, all my cuts and abrasions were filled with a black powdery coal dust from the trail, which I knew would have to be scrubbed out after finishing my ride home. The next 25 miles of riding were not much fun and pretty much every passing motorist gave me an awkward look when they noticed the blood on my face, arms and legs.

For the most part, my injuries healed up quite nicely. The injury to my upper left rib cage and back, however, caused pretty sever pain for a few weeks. I trained and raced through the pain during the past month and a half, but now with help from Delfine and Hiles Chiropractic, I am beginning to feel normal again. I know the injury to my back has effected my racing this fall. I had to stop the running I do during this time of year to train for cross because of pain. Additionally, every time I would pull on my handlebars or dismount during a cross race I would also experience pain. I am so happy to finally be feeling whole again.

Well, that is enough writing about my crash and injuries; time now to report about the local cross racing scene here in the Western Pennsylvania Area. Cyclocross is one of my favorite types of bike racing. It brings together my road and off road bicycle racing experience in to one short, hard package. For many years, I have had to travel either to the east coast region of the Mid-Atlantic, or to various parts of Ohio to do a good cross racing series. This year JR Petsko and ABRA put together an awesome 7 race local cross series. The ABRA Series coupled with the ever-lasting Month of Mud Series and Team Freddie Fu’s Murrysville Race, made for a complete season of local cross racing this fall. To make things even better, Gary Dugovich has add two more local cross races for the beginning of December. It is so very cool that racing cross has finally become easy to do on this side of the state without travelling for hours.

Most people know me as being an endurance racer. Racing cross has very little to do with endurance racing, so it is always a big change for me to go from racing in 100 mile races lasting about 8 hours to races lasting for only an hour or less. Because my main focus on racing is doing well at longer races, I decided to make cross racing more of an endurance sport this year by doing more than one category at many of the cross races I did this fall. Holding the high intensity necessary to do well in a cross race is pretty hard to do. I learned this year that doing it in two and even three races in a day makes it even harder. But, even though it is hard, I had a blast doing the extra race and think it has benefited my fitness, too.

Speaking of endurance events, going hard and staying local, I also need to mention the Dirty Dozen Race that I did this past weekend. The Dirty Dozen is a ride which climbs over the 13 steepest hills surrounding Pittsburgh, PA. The first DD Ride first occurred 27 years ago and was created by Danny Chew and his brother Tom. Since that first running of the DD, the event has become more popular each year and now attracts nearly 200 riders from around the region. The idea behind the ride/race is for riders to ride at a neutral pace until Danny Chew blows a whistle at the base of the climb. The riders then basically sprint up the climbs and points are awarded to the top five finishers. It takes awhile for all the riders to get up each climb, so there is a lot of dead time waiting around. As a matter of fact, the approximately 50 mile ride took over 6.5 hours this year. I have done the DD 3 times before, but my last attempt was 20 years ago, in 1990. It was cool doing the race again this year and I enjoyed riding with a bunch of friends up the super steep hills around Pittsburgh. By the end of the race, I had accumulated enough points to finish in second place overall, which was the same place I finished back in 1990. Isn’t strange how things change, but stay the same?
One of the 13 climbs from the Dirty Dozen.

So, in a nutshell, that is how my fall has been spent on the bike. I have really enjoyed staying local this year and look forward to doing the same next fall. I have finished off cross season the past five years by taking a road trip to the USAC Cyclocross National Championship Race. I have decided to skip nationals this year, since I have already travelled out to Bend, OR once this year. I am going to miss finishing off the season with a big bang, but at least I will still be able to do a local cross race that weekend.

Happy Trails, Gerry

Thanks to Benjamin Stephens for the photos.

What a Ride

2010-10-10T21:41:00.004-04:00

This weekend I competed in a unique "cyclocross" race know as Iron Cross. It is unique because it is much longer than a typical 45 minute to one hour cross race and is also one big loop rather than a multiple lap event. The race actually does start/finish on a real grass cross course with barriers and cross course making tape and all, but that is the only thing it has similar to a standard cross race. After leaving the starting area, the course uses a combination of single track trails, hiking trails, paved roads, gravel roads and rough fire roads to complete the large loop around Michaux State Forest. This variety makes for very interesting and challenging 62 mile race course.

I haven't done this race in quite a while because I have concentrated more on doing typical cross races for the past few years, but I decided it would be fun to give IC a try again this year. The course is definitely a lot more cross bike friendly than it was the first time I did the race and I would certainly say that a cross bike is the fastest bike choice overall, but certain rocky and technical sections on this course definitely had me second guessing the use of a cross bike over a mtb.

When I first decided to do this race a few weeks back, I had initially planned to use My Salsa Mamasita at the race because of the old memories I had of doing this race. But, after talking with others doing the race this year and reading on the Iron Cross Website that the use of a MTB is kind of discouraged (though they are allowed in the race), I decided to use my Salsa Ti La Cruz instead. Additionally, since I have been riding my La Cruz more than my Mamasita lately, I figured the Ti La Cruz would probably feel better to me anyway.

The beginning part of the race was going just as I had hoped and my Ti La Cruz was riding beautifully. I almost forgot it was a cross bike because it had such a smooth and predictable ride quality to it even on the technical sections of the course. The race started well for me when I was able to get away with four other riders on the first big gravel road climb. From this point, we all pretty much stuck together until the long and steep Wigwam run-up. Basically, Wigwam is probably a mile long hiking trail going straight up to a ridge top. I shouldered my Ti La Cruz at the bottom of the long hike/run and by the top had put myself into first place overall. I was eventually caught by two other riders behind me on the gravel fireroads after Wigwam and we joined forces to work together. I couldn't see anyone else behind us and things were looking good. After a fairly technical section of trail past checkpoint two, one of the riders in our group of three lost contact with us. At this point, we had about about 40 miles of the race completed and just over 20 miles to go. I was feeling very confident with my ride and thought at this point that I might be able to take the win.

Unfortunately, my good ride soon came to an early end when I got a flat rear tire on a fast gravel road descent. I rushed to do a quick tire change and was back on my bike before another rider was able to pass me. I rode for about 200 yards and my rear tire blew out again. I wasn't sure what caused the tube to go so quickly, so I looked and felt the tire more closely on this second repair. I then tried to fill the tube with my CO2, but my tube value was too short to allow a compete air fill. I actually had to walk for a short while before another rider offered to give me a CO2 to use. This second fill gave me enough air to get me into checkpoint 3. I wasn't comfortable with the low amount of air in my tire because I knew more technical sections were up ahead, so I used a pump at the checkpoint to fill me tire to a higher pressure. I also picked up another tube and CO2 canister just in case I got another flat.

Well, my "just in case" was about a mile up the hill from checkpoint 3 when my rear tire blew out again. I immediately did my third tire change of the day and was about to put the wheel back on my bike when the tube/tire blew up in my hand. Completely frustrated and with no other options for repair, I rode my flat tire bike back down the hill to checkpoint 3 to do my fourth tire repair of the day. During my ride back to the checkpoint, I started to think that maybe I should just get a ride back to the starting area rather than continue with the race, but I instead decided that it would be better to make the most of the beautiful day and trails by continuing to ride the course. Luckily, the guys at the checkpoint had a spare tire and tube there for me to use and get me on my way again.

Of course after doing this many tire repairs, I was pretty far behind and out of contention for a good finish. I continued riding hard anyway, though, to get in a good workout and because I was having so much fun out on the course. By the time I came into the finish, I had managed to put myself into the top 40 overall out of 240 riders or so. I was pretty happy with this finish after having the issues that I did and was also very happy with how well my Salsa rode over the diverse conditions out on the course.

Interestingly enough, I found out after finishing Iron Cross that I will be racing on Stan's NoTubes Wheels for the remainder of this cross season and for 2011. I bet if I would have had a pair of the new ZTR Alpha 340 Rims set-up with tubeless cross tires for this race, I probably would not have had the tire issues that I did. Oh well, I guess this means I will have to try my luck at Iron Cross again next year with the Salsa Ti La Cruz and a pair of tubeless Stan's Wheels.

Happy Trails, Gerry

A homecoming of sorts

2010-10-03T22:58:00.002-04:00

Well, I finally had a chance to put my Salsa Ti La Cruz to the test this weekend. On Saturday, I did the APCXS Waynesburg Cyclocross Race and on Sunday, I did the Month of Mud Grove City Cross Race. Both events were a lot of fun and it felt great to finally test out my cross legs again. It was also nice to not have to travel any great distance to get to these races.

On Saturday I decided it would be fun to try doing two cyclocross races at the Waynesburg Race. With the race promoter, JR, offering a registration fee of only ten dollars for each additional race entered, it was hard to pass up doing two races, especially when there was a single speed category available. Interestingly enough, I did not have a great start for my first race of the day in the single speed event. I was totally unprepared for the starting whistle to go off and because of this ended up going into the first turn near the back of the pack. I did a few hard efforts and by the middle of the lap I had worked myself up through the back half of the pack. I then came out of a turn and started to sprint to try to make up some more time. When I made this attack, my chain popped off my front chainring and I was forced to get off my bike and take off my rear wheel to get my chain back onto my single speed bike. By the time I did this, I was at the back of the 50 or so person pack again and knew that I would have a lot of work to do if I want to finish well. I was hoping for an easy race, so that I would be able to save some energy for the elite race later in the afternoon. I considered pulling out of the single speed race at this point to conserve my energy for the later race, but decided I would do a couple of real hard laps to see what happened.

In about two laps, I was able to work my way completely through the pack and catch the race leader and my teammate JPOK. I then figured I would ride with him for a few laps to recover and see how things developed. I started to feel okay again and started thinking that if I drop my chain again it would be nice to have some time to fix it, so I did some accelerations to get away on my own. My gap stuck and it was a good thing I decided to get away on my own because with three laps to go my chain popped off again. I lost a little time putting it back on my bike, but I was able to hold on to my nice lead and take the single speed win.

After the single speed race, I ate, relaxed and prepared myself for the elite race. I definitely used a lot more energy than I wanted in the single speed race, so I knew my second race of the day was going to hurt. Additionally, the field had a good group of fast riders to compete against that I knew would make the race super hard. For the second time of the day, I had another bad start. This forced me to hard, so I could work my way through the pack to get towards the front of the race. Unfortunately, by the time I got towars the front of the pack, the lead group was clear. To make matter worse, my legs felt slow and heavy and it took a few laps for them to feel like they wanted to pedal again. Eventually, I was able to get into a flow and was able to work myself up to fifth place, which was the last money spot in the race. I was stuck in this position for about half of the race and was basically in no man’s land doing an individual time trial. I stayed consistent for the remainder of the race, though, and was able to hold on to finish fifth on the fast, dry cross course.

The second day of racing at the Grove City Month of Mud race was anything but fast and dry. It started raining on Saturday Night and continued for us during the race. I was happy with my racing from the day before and thought for sure I would be one of the main contenders at the muddy GC Race. But, once the race started and the speed picked up, I knew pretty quickly that I was asking more from my legs than they were willing to give. I am not sure if it was the cold, wet weather of the day or my two races from the day prior, or a combination of both, but I could not get them to go fast. It was hard for me to watch the lead group of racers ride away and know that I was going to have to ride hard all alone again for a second day. I accepted this fate, though, and suffered for an hour, basically on my own, to finish in the top ten.

Win or not, it is always fun for me to go back to the Grove City M.O.M. race. Back in the mid 1990’s, when I owned a bicycle shop in Grove City, I did a lot of my mtb training at this park because it was so convenient. After riding in the park for a year or so, I thought it would be a cool place to put on a race. I think it was in 1995 that I was able to organize a Month of Mud Race at the park with the help of Gary Bywaters. Back in those days it was definitely more of a mtb race than a cross race, but some of the same trails are still used for the race held there now. I didn’t grow up in Grove City and only lived there for a few years total, but it still feels good to go back to place once called home.

Happy Trails, Gerry

Thanks to Benjamin Stephens for the photo.

Thank You, Thank You Very Much

2010-09-26T19:00:00.004-04:00

I had a great time traveling to the second home of the King of Rock and Roll for the Interbike Trade Show this past week. Not only did I get a chance to see and ride the latest products in the bike industry, but I also had the chance to meet a lot of really cool people and watch the awesome CrossVegas Cyclocross Race. Of course, since I was on vacation, I was also able to get in some good rides during the week, too.

First off, I need to mention just how impressed I was with the new Salsa Bikes I saw and rode at the show. I was able to test ride the Fargo, the Chili Con Crosso, the Mukluk and Salsa’s new 29er suspension frame, the Spearfish. All of the new frames are different because they serve different purposes for riding, but one similarity they all have is that they are all super fun to ride. I wanted to take them all home with me and had specific ideas of how I wanted to use each one of them for different types pedaling fun. I would highly recommend checking out Salsa Cycles for more information about their new offerings. Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to ride the new Ti Selma by Salsa, but if it rides even half as nice as it looks, it is sure to be a winner, too.

Probably the thing I enjoyed most about my Interbike experience was meeting the people at Salsa. It was very interesting to speak in person to the engineers who do the design work for the bikes I enjoy riding so much. It was also very nice to finally meet all the people responsible for helping me so much with my racing. In addition to all of the Salsa Guys being really nice, down-to-earth people, I thought it was cool that they are all bike riders and seemed to be as passionate about riding as me. I am very lucky to be riding for such a great group of people and for a company truly dedicated to making quality bikes.

CrossVegas, the first major US cyclocross race of the year, was amazing to watch in person. It was kind of hard not being out there suffering with the rest of the racers, but watching the speed and tactics of the race was just as enjoyable for me at this race. The large number of cycling fanatic spectators at the race and the singing Elvis impersonator at the venue made this event as interesting as the City of Las Vegas itself. I haven’t had a chance to do a cross race yet this season, so seeing this race made my craving to do a cross race even stronger.

After witnessing CrossVegas, I actually thought about driving 4 hours from home to do my first cross race of the season on Sunday when I returned from Vegas, but decided it would be better to stay local and do the Brady’s Park Month of Mud Race, near Beaver, PA instead. After doing the race and a nice long ride afterwards, I definitely knew that I made the right choice with staying local. The trails at Brady’s were in great shape and super fast because of the lack of rain here. I ended up taking the overall win for the day, but only after having won a hard battle against Evan Perrone. The racers of western PA and I are very lucky to have this long-standing and tremendous local racing series in our area.

Next weekend I will finally be able to do some much anticipated cross racing on my Salsa La Cruz Ti. I will be racing at the first ABRA Cross Race in Waynesburg, PA on Saturday and at the M.O.M. GC Cross Race on Sunday. Hopefully all the racers in the Pittsburgh Area will be doing the same thing.

Happy Trails, Gerry

The short game

2010-09-14T10:19:00.001-04:00

It’s always an interesting thing to switch from doing endurance MTB racing to cyclocross racing for me. I go from training for races lasting anywhere between 7 to 10 hours to training for races lasting only 45 minutes to an hour. It is a switch to make, especially in only one week. To make a quick transition to cross racing, my plan after doing the SM100 was to jump right into cross with both feet by doing the first MAC Race near Allentown, PA, about a four hour drive from home for me. After giving some thought about this during the beginning of the week and missing the Wednesday pre-registration deadline, though, I decided to do some local races instead. I guess this decision could be considered a short game also because I didn’t have to do much as much traveling. I must admit that after traveling all over the US this summer it was really nice to only have to drive up the road for about 30 minutes for a race.

Both of the races I did over the weekend were part of the Tour de Strongland. On Saturday, there was a mountain bike race held on the trails of Roaring Run Park in Apollo, PA and on Sunday a Road Race was held, which started and finished in Leechburg, PA. Compared to what I have been doing all summer, these races were much shorter in distance and they gave me a chance to test my “short game” out before cross season really starts rolling for me in October.

Having rode the trails at Roaring Run only a few times in the past, I decided to arrive at the race venue well before the start and do a pre-ride of the course. After a short time on the trails, I was glad I made this decision because I had forgotten about how technical these trails are. Comprising of rocky, twisty and tight single track trails, it is hard to get any flow going at Roaring Run. To do well on this course, it is a matter of riding smooth, but also being able to stay on the gas the entire time. Overall, I thought I did pretty well at this on Saturday, but Rob Spreng seemed to be dialed-in for the race and the course. I finished in second place behind Rob, but was happy with my effort on a course that really did not suit my style of riding.

On Sunday, there was another cross race in Cleveland that would have been fun to do, but I had plans with my family to celebrate my daughter’s 18th birthday during the afternoon, so there was no way I was going to miss this for the cross race in Cleveland. I wasn’t even sure I was going to race on Sunday at all until about 8AM on Sunday Morning. I had heard some bad things about the safety of the Tour de Strongland RR from other riders over the past few years and I had torn my road bike apart a few weeks ago for the season. But, after looking outside and seeing the wet Sunday Morning weather outside, I decided it would be more fun to do a hard effort at a race rather than a training ride. Additionally, I thought it would be a good way for me to see how my newly built Salsa La Cruz Ti Cross Bike felt during a race.

I had to rush a bit to switch out my wide cross tires for a pair of skinny road ties and I also thought about switching my big 42 tooth chainring out for a 46 tooth chainring, but decided to stick with the 42 because of time constraints. I made it to the race venue just before registration closed and did a short warm up ride before the race started rolling. I only recognized Bob Gottlieb and Jared Babik in the pack at the starting line and knew that these would be the guys to watch. The race started on some pretty flat roads in the valley, so the pace was pretty high initially. I was happy that I really did not seem too under geared, though, on this fast, flat section of the course. I guess all the spinning and riding I do on my single speed MTB was a help to me in this situation. Anyway, during this section of the course, I took a hard pull to see what would happen. After pulling the pack at over 30 mph for about a half mile, I pulled off and waited for someone to pull through. Apparently my effort split up the pack a little and things were strung out. Bob and Jared then went to the front and did another hard effort and actually escaped from the pack with two other riders. I missed this break and was bummed because I knew it would stay away. Bob and Jared dropped the two riders with them a short distance later and on a slight hill rise, I attempted to bridge the gap up to them. My attempt failed, so I had to sit back in the pack a bit to recover and I made a plan to try another attempt on the first big climb out of Apollo, PA. On my second attempt, I was able to get away from the pack alone and bridge up to Bob and Jared. I thanked the two of them for waiting for me, but Jared said to me, “we weren’t waiting.” I laughed at the remark.

The three of us shared the work for the remainder of the race until the last couple of miles when the cat and mouse games began. I knew my sprint would not be a match against these guys, especially since my gearing was so much lower than theirs. Jared threw the first attack leading to the finish and created a nice gap, but Bob countered and soon was able to latch on to him. I was left in their dust, but was happy with the workout I received during the race and with how my new cyclocross bike felt at speed. At the end, Jared took the win, Bob was second and I came in third overall with an average speed of about 27mph over 37 miles with 2200 feet of climbing.

After doing the two Strongland races, I was very happy with my decision to stay local this weekend and work on my short game at home rather than in Allentown or Cleveland. I have the rest of the fall to travel out of the area for cross racing. Unfortunately, I will be delaying my actual start of cross racing another weekend, as I will be leaving for Las Vegas and Interbike this coming weekend. I am going to ride while I am out there, but will not be able to race again until September 26th when I will have to choose between the Brady’s Month of Mud Race or traveling to a cross race in the Mid-Atlantic Area. Either way, I think my short game should be dialed in a little more by then.

Happy Trails, Gerry

What you give

2010-09-06T19:34:00.010-04:00

It’s funny what goes in and out of my mind during a 100 mile mtb race. There is a lot of time to think about stuff when riding a bike for eight hours at a time; that is for sure. Much of the time I am probably thinking about the race itself; but, other times my mind wanders into my past or thinks about the future to come. One thing I do for certain during each long race is replay some song in my head ad nauseam. At the Shenandoah Mountain 100 (SM100) this past weekend, the final race of the NUE Series, my mind chose to replay “What you give” by Tesla. This song choice may lead you to believe that I am some old school head banging heavy metal band fanatic infatuated with rock ballads. While I don’t mind this kind of music, it is definitely not my musical preference. I am pretty sure the main reason this song came into my head during the race is because my co-worker had Tesla playing from his ipod desktop player a few times this past week.

So, anyway, enough about the song made by the hair band Tesla and onto the racing action. The first thing I need to say about the SM100 is that it is an absolutely fantastic 100 mile mtb race. It is professionally run, well marked and held on some of the best trails on the east coast. Additionally, the volunteers who help out during the race at all the checkpoints are second to none. It definitely gets my vote for being one of the best 100 milers around. Add to all of these great things the fact that the SM100 was also the championship race for the NUE Series this year and you get one extraordinary event for 2010. For me, the race was even more important because it would also be the determining factor if whether or not I would win the NUE Series SS Champion Title this year.

After my disappointment at the Fool’s Gold 100 two weeks ago, I decided to step my training up a bit in preparation for the SM100. My game plan was to train really hard for ten days and then tapper off with three easy days of training. Well, the first part of my plan worked fine and I did beat myself up pretty good for ten days; however, my three rest days were not as restfully as I would have liked and I actually felt pretty worn out the day before the SM100. To make matters worse, my stomach and GI track were giving me issues on Saturday. I began to worry on Saturday Night about whether I might have pushed myself a little too hard before the race. Luckily, by Sunday Morning my guts seemed to work out the problem they were having before the race started and my legs actually felt pretty fresh, too.

I was happy that my body had worked out the issues it was having, but another potential problem suddenly appeared just after 6:30AM. My racing and traveling companion, Andy Gorski, and I arrived at the race venue at little after 6AM because we thought the race was going to start at 7AM. When we arrived, I went out for a little warm up ride and then headed back up to Andy’s car to put on the rest of my gear at about 6:30. Before doing so, I decided to take one last pee break, so I walked over to a port-o-john. After finishing my business there, I heard a lot of noise and then saw a huge pack of riders going by the car. I immediately realized that the race had started early and without me in it. I then had to quickly rush back to the car to grab my helmet, gloves and food supplies for the day. By the time I gathered all my goods, more than half of the nearly 600 racers had ridden by me.

I can’t say that I was in a state of panic, but I did know that I would have a lot of catching up to do in order to make my way towards the front of the race. During the first mile or two of pavement leading to the first climb, I had to spin my butt off to work my way through the mass of riders. I then had to bury myself even deeper on the first climb to get through even more racers and find the lead single speeders. Eventually I came up on Matt Ferrari and Harlan Price and was able to recover a bit from my hard effort near the top of the first climb. The three of us then basically rode together for about the first 25 miles of the race.

As the three of us were climbing up a slightly up hill paved road climb somewhere before checkpoint #2, I noticed a group of about five geared riders about 200 yards in front of us. I decided it would be nice to catch a draft off of them on the flat fire roads that followed, so I did a quick acceleration to bridge the gap. When I latched on to the back of the geared rider group, I figured Matt and Harlan would be right behind me on my wheel. I was shocked to see, however, that they did not make it up to the geared group. The geared guys started rolling fast and I was able to ride along with them and gain valuable time on Harlan and Matt.

From that point on, I was basically on my own during the remainder of the race. Occasionally, I would catch up to a geared rider and get to ride with someone for a short while, but the majority of the time I was out on the trails alone singing “It’s not what you got, but what you give. It ain't the life you chose, it's the life you live.” The song seemed appropriate and I just kept giving all I could to each pedal stroke. Eventually, I did enough pedal strokes to arrive at the finish. And, I arrived feeling very good because I had not only won the race, but also the overall NUE Series Singlespeed Championship for a second year in a row. Thanks to Salsa Cycles, Pro Bikes, SPK and Tesla for helping me achieve my major 2010 cycling goal.

Happy Trails

Fool's Gold

2010-08-22T21:21:00.001-04:00

Like one of the many miners that flocked to Dahlonega, GA in search of gold during the early 1800s, I also traveled to the area this past weekend in search of gold at the Fool’s Gold NUE Series race. There were no big changes with how the race was run from previous years; however, the weather this year was beyond bad. Heavy rain fell the night before the race and then continued by falling heavily during the beginning of the race. This downpour of rain combined with the high mineral content of the soil in the area caused the brake pads of many racers to wear out before the completion of even the first 50 mile long loop.

I figured there would be a good chance of going through a set of brake pads during the race, so I had an extra set available at the halfway point just in case I did need to change them out. Unfortunately, the conditions were so bad that my pads completely wore out shortly after I passed checkpoint number two. At the time this occurred, I was riding in fourth place overall and was the second placed single speed rider. Needless to say, I was feeling really good and was prepared to complete a race that I knew was going to be very long and hard due to the horrible conditions.

When my pads had finally lost all braking power, between checkpoint #2 and #3, I had no choice but to walk all the downhills. I can’t explain how frustrated I was to be forced to end my race so early, especially since I had checked the condition of my brakes at the beginning of the day and had preparations in place for just such an incident at the midpoint of the race. Eventually, after doing some walking and some riding, I was safely able to make it to checkpoint #3. When I arrived, I was amazed to see the mass of riders there suffering from all sorts of mechanical issues and realized at this point that there would be few if any riders able to finish the complete 100 mile race.

By the time I made my way back to start/finish area, the leaders of the race had finished loop number one, but the race was stopped at this time by the race promoter for the overall safety of the riders. I do think that stopping the race was a wise one because it was certainly unsafe for riders to continue and in reality I doubt that few if any of the racers would have been able to continue anyway.

Out of all of the NUE Series Races that I have done, this is only my second DNF. The last one was last year when I cracked my bike frame at the Mohican 100. It is never fun to abandon a race, especially when it is due to a mechanical issue. The only positive things I can take from my race being cut short this weekend is that I did not get hurt at the race, I did get to talk to some really cool people while heading back to the start/ finish area and also did a ton of training for cyclocross by constantly dismounting/mounting my bike so many times while trying to make it safely out of the woods. I thought I had a good chance of winning gold this weekend for the NUE Series, but my quest for the treasure was only met with a huge pile of fool’s gold.

The next and last race of the NUE Series is the Shenandoah 100, which will be held over Labor Day Weekend in Harrisonburg, VA. This is the super bowl of the NUE Series and there will certainly be a lot of fireworks at the race and especially in the single speed race. Only Harlan Price and I have a shot at the overall series SS win, so the championship race will be very important for both of us. Hopefully, Mother Nature will cooperate a little more for this race and allow the race outcome to be determined by actual racing and not because of bike issues. I have had my fair share of fool’s gold this season and would really like to take home the real stuff the next time.

Happy Trails, Gerry

The Sweetness

2010-08-11T20:54:00.007-04:00

It was a pleasure for me to compete in the sixth race of the NUE Series, the High Cascade 100, on August 7, 2010 in Bend, Oregon, on and around the slopes of Mt. Bachelor. I realize that many of the blog entries I write are about the pain and suffering I endure while competing in 100-mile bike races. Believe me, there were times when I was also hurting at this race, but for some reason the HC 100 never made me feel completely spent. I find this to be quite remarkable because my finishing time was close to 9 hours, which is a much slower time than I typically ride at most of the NUE Series Races. But, looking back at the race now, in hind sight, I can understand why my time out on the course went by so quickly and found the race to be such a great experience.

The HC 100 starts off at the ungodly hour of 5:30 in the morning with a mass start up a road climb. I arrived at the starting area with about 15 minutes to spare before the race started and was actually still getting all my gear together when the race promoter, Mike Ripley, started calling people to the line with his megaphone. I was barely able to make it to the starting line before the large pack of 200 riders began rolling out of the parking lot. With no warm-up and also having the sensation of needing to pee, I decided to go pretty hard up the first road climb to put my head and body into race mode. I do this often at the beginning of a race. Not so much because I have a plan to ride away from everybody, but because it clears my mind of other thoughts and at least puts me in the front group where I feel I need to be for a successful race.

After leaving the pavement, the large pack of riders turned onto a rough dirt fire road. Almost immediately, a cloud of churned up dust made visibility on the course nearly impossible. An email sent out earlier in the week by the race promoter suggested that riders should consider wearing a dust mask for the start. I had one packed in my jersey pocket and was real close to putting it on, but did not because I was afraid to take my hands off my handlebars in order to remove it from my jersey and place it on my head, since it was hard to see what was coming up on the trail. Since we were still climbing, things split up pretty good anyway, so the mask was really not needed after the first off road mile or so.

Eventually, the long initial climb came out in the parking lot of the Mt Bachelor Ski Area. I looked over my shoulder while riding through the parking lot and noticed that I was the lead singlespeed racer and did not see any others around me. I also noticed that the cold morning temperature of around 35-degrees had caused my fingers to go numb. This is not a great feeling to have before entering the first long technical section of singletrack. Shortly after entering this singletrack containing many section of lava rock outcrops, I saw two of the overall pre-race favorites ( Schaulk and Tostado) fixing flats on the trail side. After getting a flat the weekend before, I could empathize with the frustration they were probably feeling and also began to worry about the possibility of one of my tires being torn by the razor sharp lava covering this section of the course. Perhaps it was this feeling that caused me to ride a little bit conservatively through the many lava rock outcroppings on the trail. In any regards, I soon heard someone heckling me from behind. I looked over my shoulder to find Team Niner rider and fellow singlespeed racer Deejay Birch fresh on my wheel. Deejay was the only other SS rider I knew in the race and I also knew that he would be giving me a run for the money at the event.

Deejay and I rode the singletrack together for about 30 minutes or so, before his bike started making a bad squeaking noise. He stopped to check his equipment over as I continued down the trail. At this point, I knew there was a lot of time remaining in the race, so I didn’t push myself too hard. I figured the break from head-to-head competition would provide a chance for me to eat, drink and return to riding the more technical stuff a little more conservatively. During this time, I was also able to get some great views of high alpine lakes and enjoy the natural beauty of the Cascades, which would have been hard to do with another rider with me. Before I knew it, I was done with the first loop and arriving back to the main checkpoint and transition area. I did a quick grab of a filled camelback and two bottles, before rushing off to do loop number two.

Without a doubt, loop number two was the toughest of the three and this immediately became evident on the first trail leading out of the transition area, which is called ‘Ugly.’ This trail is basically a logging road that climbs partway up the mountain again. It is called Ugly because it is cover by 3-6 inches of moon dust, which covers hidden roots and rocks under all the mess. I was so happy to be on a singlespeed with all the dust being kicked up. I could not imagine the havoc it would cause to the drivetrain of a geared bike. At the top, things did not get much better as the trail descended down into a pit filled with small to medium-sized loose lava rocks. I was able to handle the descent down with no problems, but the steep climb out of the large pit was covered with the same rock and it became a hike-a-bike portion for me. It was at this point that I realized I forgot to remove my long sleeved Salsa jersey at the transition area and I began to notice it was warming up fast. I thought about ditching the jersey by a tree or bridge and picking it up later, but figured instead it would be better to wait a little while and leave it at the next checkpoint, which was only about 20 miles away.

Loop two continued to climb up the mountain and I eventually came to a section the race promoter warned all the riders about at the pre-race meeting. Apparently, there was an angry grouse at this section of trail and she was reported to be very protective of her territory. I checked for the bird and was glad that she had decided to let me pass her home without consequence. Other riders reported after the race that they were not so lucky. After making it passed the angry grouse section, I came to what I thought might be the top of the climb. I decided to stop here and resolve two issues I was having. The first priority was to remove a small stone that somehow had entered my shoe and felt like it was digging a hole into the bottom of my foot for the last 15-20 miles. After removing my shoe and knocking all the junk out of it, I took care of issue number two. During a 100-mile race, there are times when it becomes necessary to relieve the body of excess liquids. I figured this was as good of a place as any to allow myself this relief, since it appeared that I was all alone and in the middle of nowhere. It always feels good to take a quick pit stop, but sometimes it is hard to allow the time for the relief.
Not long after I jumped back on my bike after my pit stop, I heard the familiar heckling of Deejay behind me again. It was actually good to hear his voice and I yelled back at him, “Where have you been?” We then rode some of the best singletrack on the mountain together for about the next hour or so. It seemed during this time that we were in a constant state of descending. But, I knew eventually the long fun ride down the mountain would end and when it did I knew we would have a long journey back up to the top. My guess about the course wasn’t wrong, but I had no idea that the course was basically going to go up for the next two hours of ride time.

It was during all of this climbing that I was able to get a pretty good gap on my closest SS competitor. It was also another great section of amazing trail, which eventual lead all the way back up to Mt Bachelor and even passed a handful of snow piles along the way. The pristine beauty of the high mountains has always been a favorite of mine and the Cascades did not disappoint me with the views I saw on that trail.

After leaving the Mt Bachelor checkpoint, it was mostly downhill again leading back down to the ‘Ugly’ trail, which then led to the main and final checkpoint. I was shocked as I rode down Ugly and saw other racers just starting a trail that I had entered about 4 hours earlier. I felt like stopping to warn them of the obstacles ahead, but decided they would be better off not knowing what loop two had in store for them. It felt great coming back into the transition area and the final checkpoint, leading to the super fun loop number three.

Since loop number three is only 13 miles long, I did a pre-ride of the loop the day before the race with my fast friend Josh Tostado. It was great having at least an idea of what to expect going into the last leg of the race. But, at the same time, I had no idea what my gap was on Deejay and feared the possibility of being caught with so little course remaining. So, to maintain my lead, I stayed on the gas and tried to keep things smooth on the BMX-ish style loop. This section of the course is so awesome because it has tons of banked berms, large tabletop and double jumps, and basically just has a nice flow to it. There is no way to become bored with riding on this trail, even after completing 87 miles prior to starting it.

I was able to finish loop three without any trouble and secure the hard-earned singlespeed victory with a winning time of 8 hours and 55 minutes. After finishing, I rode up the parking lot a short ways turned around and then noticed that my friend and competitor of the day, Deejay, had finished a short two minutes and one second later. On a course containing so much climbing, I was surprised to see that my finishing time was actually good enough for a 6th place overall finish out of 200 riders.

It was a great feeling to finally get another win at a NUE Series Race after struggling at many of the races this season. It was also nice to not have to dig so deep within myself to find the energy and courage to finish a race for a change. These feelings coupled with the course layout and the amazing singletrack trails of the race may lead for me to refer to this race as the sweetness, instead of the HC 100. Yeah, it really was that good.
Happy Trails, Gerry

The Wildness of the Wilderness 101

2010-08-01T22:02:00.010-04:00

Out of all of the NUE Series 100 Mile MTB Races, the Wilderness 101 in Coburn, PA is one of my favorites. The course has a great combination of everything to make the race interesting, fun and challenging over the big 100 mile loop. The race starts off on a long climb and basically goes up and down for the rest of the race, as the elevation profile of the race course pictured above shows quite nicely. At the 101, most of the climbs are of the fire road variety and the descents are usually rocky and technical trails, which creates a good mix of riding terrain in my opinion. This year the perfect weather of the day and the super dry course conditions made the race course even faster than it usually is.

Here is my version of how things went down in the single speed race.

After the first big climb, three other single speeders (Matt Ferrari, Justin Pokrivka and Montana Miller) and I separated ourselves from the rest of the large single speed contingency at the race. Justin was the first to drop from our single speed group on a big climb before the Three Bridges Trail. Matt was the next victim to drop from the pace as Montana and I exited the technical trail onto a fast fire road section. Then, a few miles from checkpoint #2 (around 42 miles or so into the race), Montana could not hold the pace being set by two geared guys we were drafting and was also dropped. I had a quick stop at check point two and quickly jump on another geared riders draft out of check point #2 without any other single speeders in sight.

I was feeling good at this point in the race and thought that I might have an easy victory ahead if I continued my fast ride and rode smart. But, I soon found out the race was far from being over when Matt and Montana caught back up to me before mile 55 or so. After a hard effort on a big climb before check point #3, I was able to get clear from Matt and Montana again, but knew that they were probably still hot on my trail. So, I did a quick pit stop at checkpoint #3 (around mile 62) and was able to leave the checkpoint before any other riders arrived.

The climb out of checkpoint three is a hard one. It is a steep single track trail covered with roots and rocks. It is a hard trail to climb with a geared bike, so using a single speed on it is pretty brutal. Half way up the trail I tried to get over a section of big roots while standing out of the saddle to get more power out of my pedal strokes. During this attempt, my rear wheel lost traction, which caused all of my body weight to go forward and for me to then go over the bars. I hit my knee on my handlebar stem during this crash, but was able to walk off the pain after pushing my bike for about 10 yards up the hill. I was happy that I was not seriously injured and that my bike also made it through the crash without any damage.

After the hard climb out of checkpoint #3, the course goes into some technical single track, which eventually leads to a super steep downhill. I decided to ride the downhills fairly conservatively after getting my gap on the other single speeders to avoid race ending mechanicals and crashes. I might have been a little too conservative, though, because my Pro Bike Teammate, Justin Pokrivka (J-Pok) caught me by the bottom of the descent. I let him ride by me in the technical single track that followed the descent because he rides the stuff like a mad man.

This section of technical single track was followed by another fire road climb; however, and I was able to gain my time back on J-Pok and actually put a little time on him before entering the next section of single track. But, soon after going into the single track J-Pok was on my wheel again and I again gave him room for a pass on the trail known as Beautiful. This is probably the most technical trail in the race and J-Pok easily put some time on me again by the bottom of the hill. Knowing that another friend and geared racer Andy Gorski was close behind, though, I knew catching a draft on the fire road section leading to check point #4 would not be a problem. Andy did a great job pulling me along and I was thankful he was around for the help.

After our quick stop at checkpoint #4, Andy and I started climbing the long rocky trail that followed. When we started the climb, we could see J-Pok about 30 seconds up the trail. Andy told me to go ahead and that he would see me at the finish. So, I left Andy behind and climbed hard in an attempt to catch J-Pok again. By the top of the climb, I finally caught him and even put a little time on him before descending back down the ridge.

I knew that I would have to descend fast to keep pace with J-pok, so I let my bike fly a little faster down the descent this time. About part way down the descent, I heard a loud popping noise and figure it was either a rock busting my tire or Justin's. At the bottom of the hill, J-Pok says to me, "Hey, do you know you have a flat." I said, "No, I thought it was yours." I probably was aware that my tire was losing air quickly, but said "no" to J-Pok because I was in a state of denial about it.

As much as I like doing the Wilderness 101, I have had constant issues with getting flats at the race. I have flatted at each of my last three attempts at doing the 101. Before the race, I made sure the tires on my bike were in good condition and even filled them with a higher pressure than I typically run to eliminate my chance of getting another flat this year. Unfortunately, however, this year turned out to be no different than my past three 101 attempts and I was again forced to fix my flat at about mile 70.

When I stopped, J-Pok was courteous enough to stop with me and ask if I had everything. I said that I was good and had what I needed for the repair. He then asked if I wanted him to wait for me to fix the flat, so we could ride in together. I appreciated his offer and wanted to say yes to his kindness, but instead I said "No, go ahead. This is your day, man. Go get it." J-Pok took off and I began my frustrating tire change.

I thought that if I rode hard after my flat repair I might have a chance to catch J-Pok again. I did chase hard for the next 30 miles, but I never did see my teammate again. At the end, J-Pok finished the race strong with a finishing time of 7 hours and 30 minutes. I came in about 4 minutes later in second, but very content with the outcome of the race. J-Pok is a good friend, a good racer and was definitely the fastest racer of the day.

The next 100 mile race for me will be the High Cascade 100 in Bend, OR this coming Saturday, August 7th. I am really excited to race on the trails around Bend. I have heard great things about them and it will be cool to experience them first hand. Hopefully, I will be recovered from my Wilderness 101 effort to have another fast race there, especially since I will be going against the Team Niner Duo of Fuzzy and Deejay. Wish me luck!

Happy Trails, Gerry

The Breckenridge 100

2010-07-21T18:11:00.007-04:00

Yes, I did a blog post about my experience at the NUE Series Breckenridge 100 Race, but it is not posted here. If you want to read it, please check out the Salsa Blog. Happy Trails, Gerry

This picture shows the main mountain at Breckenridge, which is the first really long climb of the race from about 9000 feet to almost 12500 feet in elevation at the top. The mountain trails lead up to and over Wheeler Pass. What a great way to start a race! And, yes, that is snow on the mountain top.

A Double Header

2010-06-27T22:41:00.005-04:00

There were two endurance races near home this weekend that I really wanted to do. On Saturday, the first annual Hilly Billy Roubaix was held in Morgantown, WV and the Wayne Ultra Endurance MTB Race was held outside of Marietta, OH on Sunday. I have never done two back to back endurance races, so I figured why not give it a try.

The Hilly Billy was the first race of the weekend and it was a 72 mile on and off road adventure through the hills of northern WV. The recommended bike for this race, according to the course designers, was a cyclocross bike because of the mixed terrain and the lack of anything truly consider technical. Without currently owning a geared cross bike, I decided to register in the single speed race. I have used my single speed cross bike for muddy cyclocross races, but I must admit the idea of doing a long on and off road mass start race with it was a little intimidating.

In addition to the tough terrain of the Hilly Billy, the hot weather also added to the difficulty of the race. But, even with nearly 7000 feet of climbing ahead and the temperature rising quickly, the race still had a very fast start. I had to draft and spin my butt off to hang with the geared guys until the first gravel climb a few miles after starting on the pavement. The climb almost immediately started to split the pack up. While struggling up the steep climb, I started wondering if I could push the big gear I had chosen through out the rest of the race.

The pack thinned out even more to a group containing me and just a handful of others after heading down the first loose gravel descent and then entering the first of many muddy sections on the course. They race promoter said everything we rode during the race was a WV State Roadway, but this “road” was at best a quad trail with many 2 foot deep mud pits. The nastiness of this trail changed my mind about my decision to use a single speed, as I could only imagine the noise and problems a muddy chain and derailleur would be making all day.

It seemed as if the majority of this race was either climbing up steep gravel climbs or descending back down the other side. Occasionally, there would be a fast road section or some muddy stuff to go through, but the majority of the race was all about climbing, which always seems to be good for me. At times, I wondered if I was going to be able to keep my big gear turning up all of the steep climbs without blowing up. But, it seemed to be working for me and by the halfway point in the race I was all alone in the front and leading the race overall. I never thought that a single speed bike would be the best tool to use for this type of race, but it certainly seemed to be helping me with my job. It gave me no choice but to ride hard, really hard.

I continued to climb hard and spin out the occasional flat section as fast as I could for the remainder of the race. By the time I finished the race, I had a lead of over 11 minutes over second place and by over 20 minutes on third and forth. I was completely amazed at how well I did with only one gear. Winning a race overall on single speed against 100 other racers almost made me feel like superman for the day. The following day, however, my superman thinking quickly disappeared at the Wayne Ultra.

I felt fine on Sunday Morning and was really psyched to go back to the Wayne Ultra after being the overall winner of the race last year. The trails at the Wayne Ultra are super tough. They are technical and constantly shoot you up and down steep trails. The distance of the Wayne is only 45 miles, but because the trails are slow riding, technical trails finish times are four plus hours. Anyway, feeling good about my win at the Hilly Billy and being the past winner of the Wayne, I didn’t think I would have any problem pulling out a second win for the weekend at this race.

The race started on a paved road and headed up a big climb to the first section of single track. I felt good up the first climb and stayed directly on the leader’s wheel, entering the single track in second place. I knew it was a long race and the heat was already feeling more than uncomfortable, so I let the lead rider go and a couple other riders also as I tried to find a more comfortable endurance type pace. The pace stayed pretty face, though, and I didn’t want to drop back too many positions, so I stayed on the gas. I don’t think I could have felt any hotter than I did during that time. Sweat had completely soaked through everything on me and my body was definitely not happy about what I was asking it to do. I started making stupid mistakes on the trails and seemed to be going backwards faster than forwards by about the midway point of the race. I had also gone through the majority of my liquids and was not feeling comfortable about pushing myself to the point of complete exhaustion after the effort I gave only a day earlier. I am not one to pull the plug often, but I came to realize that if I continued on with this race, I might be paying for it for a long time.

So, I made the hard decision to DNF. I then rode back to a fire road I saw off the course, looked at my GPS and decided to ride east because I knew that it would eventually get me back to the starting area. I rode for maybe a mile more, most of it up a long fire road climb, and then had to get off the bike and just sit in the shade for about five minutes to rest. Eventually, my heart rate and all finally seemed to calm down, so I got back on my bike and rode about 10 miles back to my car. When I saw that the temperature gauge in my car had hit 95 degrees, I understood better why my body was starting to shut down during the race, especially when the humidity was also so high. I figured that doing two hard endurance races in two days would be a hard thing to conquer, but with the weather adding an extra level of severity, it became too much for me to achieve my goal.

I am still glad that I attempted doing both races. I definitely had a blast at the Hilly Billy and even though I did not finish the Wayne Ultra, I did have fun riding about 20 miles of The Wayne Single Track Trails up to the point where I pulled the plug. I would highly recommend both races to anyone interested in doing them. They are well promoted, well marked and well supported by all the race volunteers. But, if I can make one request to both promoters, please consider coordinating your calendars, so that each is on a separate weekend. Doing double header endurance races is something I don’t want to try again soon. Happy Trails, Gerry

Thank to Benjamin Stephens for the photo above and to see more of his work from the Hilly Billy, checkout this link: Ben's Flickr Page

Almost Perfect

2010-06-21T21:28:00.010-04:00

Sometimes things go pretty well at a race. Other times plans are made, but things don’t go as expected. This past weekend at the third stop on the NUE Series, the Lumberjack 100, I had an interesting mix of the good and the bad. It all worked out in the end, though, as I was able to finally win a NUE Series Race this year after my two failed earlier attempts.

The weekend started out pretty good as I was able to take Friday off from work and start the long trip to Michigan on Thursday. On my way from PA to Michigan, I picked up my long time friend Sologoat in Ohio. Back in the mid nineties Ernesto and I used to travel to many races together, but it is a rare occasion for us to travel together now. It is always cool to catch up with an old friend and share life’s stories.

We traveled about half way to our final destination on Thursday Night and stayed at one of my infamous crusty carpet inn internet special hotel selections. I am usually happy to just have a bed and a shower for use and really do need any special hotel luxuries, so typically these hotel choices work okay for me. On this occasion, my choice seemed to be a good one for sleeping, but the “continental breakfast” was a far cry from anything worthy of eating. But, being the miser that I am, I was soon more than content to consume the offerings of the establishment. The funny thing is that Sologoat walked in about an hour later than me and had even fewer stale donuts from which to choose from on the breakfast bar.

Our travels continued on in pretty much the same uneventful manner on Friday. After about 4 hours of driving, we finally arrived at our hotel in Cadillac, MI. We decided to check in first, so that we could leave some of our stuff behind before continuing out to the race venue in Wellston, MI. When we arrived at my second crusty carpet selection of the trip, the lady behind the hotel desk was involved in a heated argument with another employee of the hotel. It didn’t seem to faze them that there were customers waiting for them to stop their argument. This should have been my first warning to move along to another hotel. But, the lady finally calmed down, gave me two keys and then warned me that if the room was not clean it was because check in time was not until 3pm. BTW, it was 2:30pm at this time. I figured the lady was just joking around with me and I exited the lobby to walk down to my room. I thought the number the lady wrote on my key envelope read 104, but after trying to enter the room 104 a few times without success, I checked the number again to see that it actually read 124. I then tried my keys at room 124, but had no luck there either. At this point, I decided to go back to the hotel lobby and ask for clarification on the room number and ask for new keys if my guesses at her writing are correct. She doesn’t believe me that the keys don’t work and sends a maintenance man with me to confirm my key usage is being done properly. The maintenance man also cannot get the key to work, so I walk back to the lobby to get some new keys. This time I am finally able to get into the room.
A "Cocktails" sign in front of hotel...got to love it!

So, of course, we go to the room and it is not clean. As a matter of fact, it was a mess. And, judging from the receipt on the empty pizza box in the room it had not been cleaned since the weekend prior. Being the calm and collected person that I am, however, I walk back to the front desk to find out if it will be cleaned while we are away on our pre ride of the course. I am assured by the owner of the hotel that our room will be cleaned, so off we go for the pre-ride.

Before doing a 100 mile race, there is definitely not a need to do many miles. As a matter of fact, it is much better to rest up to prepare for the race than do a long ride. Ernie shares my thoughts on pre race rides, so we both decide to ride for about an hour and checkout the beginning of the race loop. Well, we get moving along and come to a section of the course where the race traffic will be sharing the same trail. The trail is separated with course tape at this point and we figure this will be a good point for us to stop our preview of the course on the way back through. We only had about 40 minutes of riding in and figured that we would only have a few more miles to do at most before coming back to this point on the course. As it turned out, though, I was wrong with the mileage estimate back to this section on the race loop. Of course, we didn't figure this out until after after I had already told Ernie let’s just go for a few more minutes about 5 times. Our ride time was at nearly two hours at this point and we had no clue as to where we were on the course. We finally decided to stop and read a trail map posted on the trail side. By looking at the map, we figured we would only have a few more miles to go to get back to the car if we took a fire road instead of the marked trail.

We followed a sandy fire road for awhile and then climbed up a long gravel hill quite a distance before eventually coming to a fire tower on top of the hill. There were no well used trails and no trail maps around this tower, so we had no choice but to head back down the long gravel climb. We eventually found some more course markers on the fire road and decided to follow them. From the map we viewed earlier, staying on the fire road seemed like the best option for us. But, now time and mileage was still ticking away and we did not have a clue as to where we were going. We became encourage, though, when we saw some houses in the distance. Unfortunately, as we rode by the homes most did not seem to be occupied, but finally we did find one with a few cars parked in the driveway. Just when we were about to go up the driveway to ask for directions, we saw a car coming down the fire road and decided to flag it down instead. In the car was a very old man. I asked him if he could direct us back to the Big M Ski Area. He mumbled something about going back the way we just came and taking a trail back to the area and nothing more specific. This did not seem like a very good option to me or Ernie because we knew it would take a long time to figure out if we were going the right way. So, I then asked the man about just staying on the fire road instead. He says, “Well, you will have to go about a mile or so and then will come to a paved road. Go left and then the ski area will be on the left.” It was a no brainer as far as Ernie and I were concerned and we took the second option of staying on the road. We ended up with 2.5 hours of riding and about 28 miles in our legs. Not what either of us really wanted the day before the race.

On our way back to the hotel, we started betting on whether the room would be cleaned or not. We both thought that it would still be dirty, so we did not place any wages on the bet. Surprisingly, we were please to find that the room was cleaned while we were away. Unfortunately, though, nothing else that night would go right except for the all-you-can eat fish dinner we had a little later at a restaurant near our hotel.

After our delightful dinner, I had the “smart” idea of changing my gearing to something just a bit harder, so that I would not be spun out on the flat sections of the course. At the time I made this decision, around 9pm or so, it seemed like a good idea. At around 10pm when I was cleaning up the mess I had made, it did not seem like a very good idea. In hind sight, it all worked out fine, but I would have probably been fine with my initial gear selection.

Things only became worse when two over sized vehicle escort drivers (male and female) arrived in separate vehicles and were given the room right next to ours. It seemed to me that this was there first night off the road in a while and they were ready to have some fun. And, to make matters worse, they had a dog with them that would not stop barking. Ernie and I discussed about asking for another room before climbing into bed, but the barking had stopped briefly and I was not too excited about facing the hotel management again. About 45 minutes into this decision, the barking started again. It was around 11:30pm at this time and we had our alarms set for 4:15am, so things were not looking good. Needless to say, the barking continued most of the night as did constant door slamming, loud music and other unspeakable noises. If I slept for an hour that night, I would have felt lucky. The best part about this hotel story is that when we got up in the morning the only two rooms occupied on our side of the hotel was the one we stayed in and the one occupied by our neighbors.

Even after a having a horrible night of sleep, I amazingly still felt good to go in the morning. The race started fast like I expected and I was happy with my bigger gear selection. I was able to enter the initial single track in the first lead group. Perfect, I thought to myself. We started climbing the first long section of rolling climbs at the beginning of the course and I worked my way up in to third place briefly. Not so much because I wanted to be there, but more because I had to keep my big gear rolling. I saw Schalk and Tanguy riding next to me and then had the feeling like my heart was about to explode. I decided my best option at this point was to wave the other riders around me, so that I could settle back into a more manageable pace. A lead group of about 8 riders (all the race favorites) then got a gap on me and a few others. But, I was not too concerned because from what I could tell, I was the leading single speed rider. Soon after things in the chase group calmed down a bit, fellow Pro Bikes Rider J-POK came spinning by our group. I decided to join him and soon we were all alone.

Justin and I then came upon Mike Simonson on the trail side fixing a flat. I screamed “Get it fixed fast Mike” and continued riding with J-POK. Shortly thereafter, Simonster caught us on a fire road and I decided to jump on his wheel for a bit. J-POK had some trouble at this point and missed this key draft. I rode with Mike for a few miles until we went up and over a few steep rolling hills. His pace was way too much for me to match on my SS, so I settled back into a more reasonable pace. I then rode alone for a long, long time, about 40 miles, I would estimate. But, I was cool with this situation because my riding seemed to be going very well and I was enjoying my ride on the fun single track.

Then, for unknown reasons, at around mile 60 or so, I veered slightly off the trail on a fast downhill into the grass on the trail side. Suddenly, I had my life flash in front of my eyes, when I hit a tree stump with my front wheel, which was hidden in the grass. The stump sent me air born and I landed hard into a dirt embankment at a trail crossing. It was one of those crashes where you need to take a quick inventory of your body parts when you get up because you’re not sure if something might be left behind if you rush off too quickly. I was in pain, but everything seemed to still be attached. I jumped on my bike and started riding again. My bike seemed fine, but my elbow was very tender and was already swelling. Of course, making the decision to do the race with a rigid fork was not making my elbow feel much better after my crash.

Trying to fight off the pain in my elbow, I attempted to find a more comfortable riding position on my bike. Nothing was working too well, but I found that descending without holding the right grip very securely made my descents much less painful. I decided to ride the last 1.5 laps pretty conservatively because of the discomfort in my elbow. I managed to endure my discomfort for the rest of race and hold on to lead even with my pain, however, for a very satisfying SS victory and my fastest time at the LJ 100. So, overall I would have to rate my race as an almost perfect experience except for my crash and my lack of sleep the night before the race.

On a side note, Ernie and I decided to cough up an extra 10 bucks each on our trip home and stay at a hotel where we could actually sleep. Not that it would have been too hard to sleep that night anyway considering what I had just endured over the past 24 hours. And, oh did I sleep well that night.

The Lumberjack is a super fun 100 mile race and Rick Plite, the race organizer, does a great job at putting on the event. It is certainly another race that I would recommend for you to put on a list of must do races.

Happy Trails, Gerry

Thanks to Jack Kunnen for the first photo and Sologoat for the second shot.

Big Bear 24 Hour National Championships (NOT)!

2010-06-13T21:16:00.006-04:00

As many of you know, Granny Gear Productions has hosted a 24 hour endurance mtb race at Big Bear, WV for many years. I was excited to learn last year that this race was going to be the USAC 24 Hour National Championship Race for 2010. I think many east coast riders were also excited to finally have a shot at this race without doing too much traveling. However, early this spring a sudden announcement came out, which stated the 24 Hours Nationals were being cancel at Big Bear and were instead being held at Moab, UT once again.

If you have never had a chance to ride the trails at Big Bear Camp Ground, you are missing a treat. There is a great network of fun, technical single track trails throughout the property. The main man behind this network of trails is Mark Schooley. After 24 Hour Nats were canceled, Mark stepped up big time and decided to promote a relay mtb race on the same date as the canceled 24 hour race. After a couple format changes, Mark decided to call the race the Big Bear 2x12. Basically, the race was designed for teams comprised of two riders to do a multiple lap relay race. The technical race loop was 12 miles long and had expert duo teams completing 3 laps per rider (6 total for the team) and sport teams doing 2 laps per rider. The one catch to this race for expert teams was that only first place received money for the win. Second and third placed would only receive a trophy. And, to ensure that the race would attract a good amount of fast riders, Mark offer $1000 to the winning team of each expert category (duo men, duo women, duo coed and duo single speed).

Wanting to have the best chance possible at winning this race I had to consider my single speed teammate choice very carefully. After much consideration, I decided to ask Weston Schempf if he would be interested in doing the race with me. Wes was totally psyched about doing the race and I was also excited to have one of the fastest single speed racers around on my team. Next up was naming our team for the event. But, with Weston’s name ending in PF and mine starting with PF, we decided to combine the two names and call ourselves the Schempflug Effect. Which, if you google it, actually has something to do with photography.

So, on race day Wes and I came up with our game plan for how we were going to do our laps. Wes started first and what a start he had. He actually took the hole shot going into the section of single track like the experienced cyclocross racer he is and then finished the lap a few seconds off the time of the fastest geared guy. I was up next for my first lap of three, but instead of doing only one lap I decided to do two laps. Not only did this give Wes a chance to rest up for his next two laps, but it also let me do a longer sustained effort, which is better for me than shorter efforts. Our game plan seemed to be working pretty well and by the time Wes went out for the final lap of our race we had a 7 minute lead over second place.

The first two laps of the race were pretty fast and dry for us except for a few slick spot in some wet areas. But, by the time most expert classes were beginning their third laps, the wind blew in a rain storm. It didn’t take long for the fast course to become a really slick one, especially with all the roots and rocks on the trails. Wes had a Stan’s Crow Tire on his rear wheel, which I tried to get him to change prior to the start of the race because of the technical nature of the course. I told him that a more substantial tire would hold up a lot better on this course, but Wes stood by his tire selection. On my last and super muddy lap, I couldn’t stop wondering how Wes was going to ride this slick stuff with basically a bald tire on his bike. I can’t tell you how relieved I was when I returned to the relay tent to learn that Wes had switched his rear wheel out for my Salsa Semi 29er Disc Wheel mounted with a knobbier tire for his final lap. Ironically, however, Wes nailed a rock on the longest and most technical descent of the course on his last lap and got a flat tire anyhow. He then had some trouble with his tire change after breaking his one and only tire lever. Fortunately, though, he did get things back in order before being caught by the second place team and was able to take the win.

I can’t say enough good things about this race. The payout was incredible (if you won that is), the trophies were awesome beer steins and for a first year event it organized perfectly. If this race becomes an annual event, I highly recommend finding the fastest guy you know to team up with you for some good racing times next year. In the end, I am actually happy that 24 hour Nats were replaced by this event. Not only was this event a lot less painful, but it was a better way to prepare for the Lumberjack 100 next weekend. Happy Trails, Gerry

A Dark Place

2010-06-07T06:57:00.004-04:00

As a friend of mine and fellow single speed racer, Ron Sanborn, said to me while we were waiting in line to clean our bikes after finishing the incredibly muddy NUE Series #2 Race, the Mohican 100, in Loudonville, Ohio, “My mind was in a very dark place at many points during the race.” I could not have agreed with the description Ron gave of his mental state during the race more. The Mohican 100 was intensely tough this year after the area received many days of saturating rain, which included heavy rain falling the day before the race and on the day of the race. Riding in wet, muddy conditions for 8 plus hours will make an already difficult race almost impossible at points.

I think for many riders the race was more against the course than it was against other riders. Sure, there were individual battles taking place between riders on the course, but I am pretty sure most riders would agree the race was more about surviving the nastiness being thrown at us by Mother Nature and hoping that the mud on the course would not cause a fatal bike mechanical than it was about beating the guy next to you. In conditions like these, the single speed is a viable weapon of choice. Overall, my Salsa Selma accepted the challenge quite well. I did have my issues at times, both physically and mechanically, but my trusty single speed helped guide me through the muck and the mire to a respectable 3rd place SS finish and to 13th place overall.

There were so many points in the race where I just wanted to quit because things were such a mess. I started questioning why I torture myself this way race after race, year after year. I couldn’t come up with a good answer, so I just kept riding, waiting for the pain to come to an end. Eventually, everything that hurt, including my mind, went numb and my only focus was on finishing the race, not allowing the course to beat me.

As I entered the last four miles of single track, which was more like a flowing stream of water at that point, I actually became euphoric about conquering the course. It didn’t matter what I was riding over or through during this time because I knew I had won my battle against nature and I was feeling good. The feeling of overcoming such a difficult test is a good one, especially since many did not finish the given challenge.

After the race, the darkness that entered my mind faded into the past as I was able to share stories of the race and hang with many friends that endured the same hardship. I am sure there are many people that would consider riding a bike in the mud for 8 hours and 53 minutes over a 100 mile course as being somewhat insane and at certain points during the race I would probably have agreed with them, but it is almost impossible to describe to anyone never experiencing such a thing just how rewarding it also feels to push yourself to the limit and finish something so hard. Congratulations to everyone else that suffered along with me at the Mohican 100 and was able to push through all the mess to finish the race. It is one challenge that I will never forget. Happy Trails, Gerry

Mohican Preparations

2010-05-31T21:45:00.004-04:00

I stayed with my game plan the past couple of weeks and did my racing on the road instead of on the dirt in preparation for the Mohican 100. I raced at the PA State Championship RR near Bloomsburg, PA on 05/22/2010 and did the ABRA Tour of Tucker County this past weekend in Thomas, WV. My game plan of staying on the road to keep healthy and fit held up pretty good for the most part, but I did have an unexpected battle with sickness last week that I was worried might ruin my chances at having a good Mohican 100 Race.

So, anyway, my bad luck all started when I woke up at 4AM to travel 4 hours up to Bloomsburg, PA for the State Road Race. I raced for about 8 miles in what seemed to be a pretty fast master’s field and then all of the sudden, without warning, I blew my rear tire. I immediately raised my left hand and pull off to the right side of the road to receive a wheel from the wheel truck. The change was not a real fast one, but the part of the course we were racing at that time was. I chased as hard as I could for about 3 miles, but there was no way that I was going to catch the fast pack.

Not wanting to waste the day after getting a flat I decided to keep on riding anyway, so that I could at least get in a good workout. I soon joined up with another rider who also suffer from a flat tire during the race and we rode hard together until the end of the first lap. After finishing the first lap, we decided to do another fast lap together and then I decided to do one more hard loop after my flat tire riding companion decided to pack it up. Doing a ride after my flat did help clear my mind of the frustrations I had about my flatting and made me feel a little better about getting back into my car for the four hour ride home. My bad luck may have started on the bike, but the bad luck soon continued by attacking me by the end of my long drive home.

During the drive home, my gut did not feel right and latter Saturday Night it was impossible for to keep and food in my body. Even now I am not sure if I got a case of food poisoning or the flu, but I can tell you that it knocked me down for a few days whatever it was. Being the way I am, I tired to ignore my symptoms on Sunday because I had planned to do a long ride. Well, being the way I am, I did the long ride anyway. It took just about every ounce of energy for me to complete and probably only made a bad situation much worse. By Sunday Night, I was so sick that I was unable to eat, was shaking from being cold and had a screaming headache. I took so many trips to the toilet on Sunday Night and during the day on Monday I started thinking about staying seated on the thing rather than heading back to bed. Thankfully, I was able to call off work on Monday to try and recover from my sickness, which definitely did some good. I also stayed off the bike on Monday and Tuesday, which was easy to do because I had no energy to do anything.

It wasn’t until last Thursday that I started feeling somewhat better. I was already pre-registered for the Tour of Tucker County (ranked as one of the hardest road races in the United States), but I was having apprehensions of doing it because of how I was feeling. But, by Saturday, I figured it would be best to give it a try and see how my body responded. My goals were simple: attempt to ride hard and hope that my GI track would withstand the extra stress of riding hard. I managed to exceed my expectations by actually being one of the main riders to create a five person breakaway on this major climb that was eventually whittled down to me and another rider by the last climb. Additionally, my gut felt fine and I didn’t have to finish the race with a chocolate stream running down my leg. However, being the non-sprinter that I am, I mistimed the last charge to the finishing line and wound up in second for the day. I was stilled pleased, though, because only a few days earlier I thought I was on my death bed.

Things seem to be back to normal for me now. I followed up the tough Tour of Tucker County Road Race with 3 hours of single track riding on Sunday and a hard 4.5 hours of riding on Memorial Day. Hopefully my spat with bad luck is done now and I can have a smooth week leading up to the Mohican 100 NUE Series Race this weekend. I am so psyched to do the Mohican and feel very fortunate that my health turned around quickly enough for me to prepare properly for the race. Let the count down to the weekend begin! Happy Trails, Gerry

BTW, thanks to Benjamin Stephens for the photo.

Wide tire fun...on the road???

2010-05-17T09:44:00.003-04:00

After a little indecision about where to race this past weekend, I finally decided on doing a road race called the Fawn Grove Roubaix, near York, PA. The race was held on a 14.5 mile loop and had an interesting concept of combining fast paved roads with about 5 miles per lap of gravel roads. With a course description of some tough climbs also being included, I figured the race would be a good match to my racing strengths.

A couple of days before the pre registration ended on the race I talked with a racing friend, Blair Saunders, about the course, since he did it last year. Blair said that a cross bike would be best suited for the race because of the rough gravel road sections on the course. I told Blair that I recent sold my cross bike, so I would not have one for the race. He said that a road bike is not the best option because there is a good potential of getting a flat tire on the gravel sections of the course.

After discussing the course with Blair, I started doing some brain storming and decided to race my Salsa Mamasita at the race with cross tires mounted to my 29er wheels instead of standard mtb sized tires. I set up my wheels with Hutchinson Piranha Tubeless Cyclocross tires and filled them with 60 psi. Since I was not too sure about my bike selection, I packed my Salsa Podio Road Bike and took it with me to the race also.

On race day, I took my Mamasita out for a quick pre ride of the course specifically to checkout the gravel sections on the course. After I encountered the first section of gravel, I was pretty certain that the Mamasita was the best choice for the day. Like Blair told me earlier in the week, it is better to work harder during the race than chance getting a flat; and, after driving over 3 hours to get to the race, I totally agreed with his thoughts.

So, anyway, Blair and I lined up at the starting line with him on a cyclocross bike and me on a mtb with wide cross tires, while everyone else on the line was on standard skinny tired road bikes. At that time, I was definitely feeling like an outcast and a minority, since I was surrounded by road bikes. Things didn’t seem to get much better for me after the race started either, with the first section of the course being on fast pavement and having a couple of climbs. But, after entering the first section of gravel road, I was soon feeling much more confident about my bike choice and was happy I made the bike selection that I did.

I wanted to be one of the top riders into the first gravel section, so that I could stay away from potential crashes. I initiated an attack one climb too early, though, so I ended up entering the first gravel road about 15 riders back from the front. The race totally blew apart in the first couple of gravel sections. Tires were blowing, water bottles were flying out of cages and riders were drifting all over the place trying to find a good line. At the same time, I just smiled as my Mamasita picked a straight and clean line through the carnage.

My smile was short lived; however, because hanging with the faster road bikes on the paved climbs was intensely hard to do on my heavier bike with wider tires. Blair was in the breakaway group with me, but ironically he suffered a rear flat about part way through the first lap. Eventually, the breakaway group was whittled down to me a two other riders about part way through the second lap. The two guys I was with were absolutely hammering me in our three man break and on one road climb actually powered away from me. I had to dig really deep to bridge back up to them at the top of the climb where the pavement ended and another gravel road section began. I think the other two riders were pretty shocked that I latched back on to them after they had dropped me. From that point, I decided to save my energy a bit and not do much work in the break, so I could survive the fast pace on the road sections. I am pretty sure they understood my decision, especially since my high gear was only a 42x12 compared to their standard road gearing.

The three of us finished the third lap and the race together. I did not contest the sprint at the finish, since my two roadie friends did the majority or the work during the race…not that I would have been any match against them anyway. I was pretty happy with finishing the race in third overall on my Salsa 29er and I bet there will be some other riders making the decision to do the race on a bike with wider tires next year.
Happy Trails, Gerry

On the Road Again

2010-05-10T21:39:00.002-04:00

After four long weeks of doing endurance mountain bike races, I decided to go back to road racing this weekend. This past Saturday, I raced in the Appalachian Bicycle Racing Association’s New Martinsville RR. I find that by doing an occasional road race my body seems to recover quicker from the rigorous endurance mtb races that I like to do, but at the same time I still get in a race and a good workout. I think doing a combination of road racing and mountain bike racing is something every racer should consider. Both types of racing are hard, but they are hard in different ways. Mountain bike racing requires a hard consistent individual effort. Road racing, on the other hand, requires surges of super hard efforts, but often allows for periods of recovery. By doing both types of racing, I think racers gain better overall fitness and become more well rounded riders, which can be especially useful during the fall cyclocross season.

Ironically, most of the New Martinsville, WV Road Race Course was held in Ohio. Additionally, the flattest part of this course was the mile or two we did at the start in WV, which is also ironic because most people think of WV as being hilly and consider Ohio to be mostly flat. The New Martinsville Course was certainly not flat by any means and basically went up and down during the entire length of the race, which was okay by me.

After we crossed the Ohio River and headed onto the first of the two 25 mile laps of the course, things started climbing. As a matter of fact, the first climb on the course was 3 miles long and it pretty much was the main determined factor of the race. Fortunately, I was one of the few that made the early separation during this climb and the only master rider to stay connected to the lead break away group. Our break away group stayed together until the end of the first lap, when SteveO and the eventual race winner separated themselves from the rest of the lead group. The two leaders then rode the next lap together, while the group I was in, which contained about 7 other riders, attempted to chase them down. By the end of the second 25 mile lap, everyone was pretty shattered from battling the strong winds with 40 mph gusts and the constant climbing on the course. By race end, I managed to stay up front for the masters race win and actually finished 5th overall for the day.

For the next couple of weeks that lead up to the Mohican 100 NUE Race, I will probably be doing a couple more road races. I think by doing some road races during the next few weeks I will keep my fitness level high without wearing myself out too much for the Mohican. Of course, I will still be doing plenty of mtn bike riding during the week because playing in the dirt is too much fun to miss. So, if I don't see you on the dirt for the next couple of weeks, I sure do hope to see you on the road. Happy Trails, Gerry

LOST

2010-05-03T08:16:00.003-04:00

Not only is Lost a show on TV, but it is also what happened to me at the Michaux Maximus Race this past weekend. I have never watched the Lost TV Series, so I really don’t know too much about the show; however, I do know how frustrating being lost can be and can empathize with other victims in the same situation. I was not lost because of another person’s mistake or error, but because of my own failure to accurately follow the course markings.

Up until the point where I got side tracked, the race was going pretty well. The 19-34 year old racers started first at the event and about a minute later or so, the group I was mixed in with containing the master and single speed racers went off. During the first 10 miles of racing, I was leading the single speed race and had worked my way up into the top 10 riders overall, catching many of the racers in the younger age group that started ahead of me. My good race beginning started to go wrong when I went over the bars while descending down a short steep section of single track because of a large stick getting stuck between my front wheel and fork. The crashed caused a good size abrasion on my inner thigh, tweaked my left should a bit and also broke my lockout lever off my front suspension fork. After the crash, I decided to take things a little more conservatively since I was leading my race and seemed to have a comfortable lead.

I went into check point one and then entered some more of the infamous Michuax Technical Rocky Single Track, which then lead to a fire road. During my descent to this fire road, I heard another single speed racer coming up behind me. I could tell it was a single speeder because I did not hear a chain slapping on the approaching rider. Before I exited the single track, I saw a course direction arrow pointing to the left. I then took the left onto the fire road and looked over my shoulder to see who had just caught me. Unbeknownst to me, while I was looking over my shoulder instead of the course ahead, the course almost immediately turn left off the fire road back onto a single track trail. The other racer also missed the turn because he was following me up the fire road.

I like to turn my speed up on fire road climbs, so with another racer catching me, I had no problem with hitting the turbo switch on the climb to gain some time over the other racer. To make matters worse, the fire road we were climbing actually came back onto the course, so we now had course marking to follow again. The course marking eventually lead to the finish line and, at that time, I knew something was wrong. After talking to the race organizers at the finishing area, the other single speed racer and I decided to head back down the fire road to where we though we took the wrong turn. We descend down the fire road climb and took a left onto another fire road that we assumed was from where we came. We followed it for a while and climbed up another ridge, which lead us back to checkpoint one. Knowing this was wrong we then descended back down to the original fire road and eventually found the turn we missed. Probably about 100 feet or so into this trail my lost single speed companion got a flat rear tire and told me to go ahead without him.

Since I lost about 30-40 minutes of time after trying to get back on course, I knew there was no shot of me having a good finish at this race. But, since I had paid $70 for registration and driven almost 3 hours to do this race, I figured that I would at least get a long, hard training effort out of my mistake. I rode to check point two and only saw few riders here and there, but started to catch riders pretty regularly after the checkpoint. Even though I was not in the game for the win, I was still having fun riding the sweetness of the Michaux Trail network.

By the time I had finished the race, I figured out the extra mileage of being lost added 7 miles onto the 40 mile race loop. Even with this additional mileage, I somehow still managed to finish in the top 7 single speed riders. I also learned a few things during my misguided ride, which made the race a good learning experience for me anyway. First, I learned it is more important to pay attention to the course a head of me rather than the riders coming up from behind. Secondly, I learned that my body does not like to use Perpetuem by Hammer Products during a race on hot days. It seemed like everytime I would take a swig of the stuff my stomach would knot up. I am not saying this will happen to everybody, but it is the experience that I had with using it. I also learned that Caffe Latex Tire Sealant works wonderfully. I tore my side wall on one of the many rocks at Michaux sometime during the race and Caffe Latex sealed up the hole enough to allow me to finish the race without any repair. Other tire sealants that I have used have not done this nearly as well for me as this one did.

Yeah, sure, it would have been nice if I would have stayed on course and remained competitive for a good finish, but at least I learned a few things from the race and had a good time riding on some incredible single track. As I believe there is with most things in life, there is always a positive experience to gain from every situation, even if it is a bad one. Happy Trails, Gerry

One long, wet road

2010-04-25T21:32:00.004-04:00

The first race of the National Ultra Endurance Series, the Cohutta 100, was a wet one for sure this year. For the past five years, this race has alternated year after year from a wet course to a dry one. With 2009 being a fast dry course, it was time for 2010 to be a wet course again and it was a deluge of wetness this year.

The rain started early Saturday Morning and came down long enough to make the trails pretty slick for the start of the race, but luckily the rain let up just enough during the start to allow us to begin without standing in the rain. However, it didn’t take long for everybody to get muddy and wet even without the rain falling, since the trails were already soaked. After about 4 hours of riding in this early grit, my face and bike was completely coated in a layer of dried mud. After this period of time, Mother Nature then took it upon herself to clean everybody up by pouring buckets of rain on us for the remainder of the afternoon. Of course, this made coming down the mountain on the last section of single track pretty bad, especially since most people had worn through their brake pads by this time in the race.

I usually don’t mind racing in bad conditions, but if given the choice, I would much rather have faster dry conditions. I also like when the cleaning up I have to do after a race it not such a difficult experience. Pretty much by the time I finished the race and got back to the car to start ridding myself from all of my almost permanently attached muddy clothing, I felt like I was about to go hypothermic. I doubt that I can accurately describe just how good taking a warm shower at the camp ground felt after doing this race.

The 2009 Cohutta was my first long race on a single speed and I ended up taking the win. I set my expectations pretty high this year because of my win last year and hoped for another victory, even with 2006 overall NUE Series Champion Harlan Price also registered in the single speed class. As the race started, things seemed to sort out pretty well for me and I was able to enter the single track in the second leading group along with fellow single speed competitors Harlan and Matt Ferrari. But, by the end of the first single track section, I let a few geared guys get in between me and my single speed competition just before entering a technical section on that part of the course. Unfortunately, they were both able to get a nice gap on me during this time, so I had to chase fairly hard through the next section of single track to get back up to them. Fortunately for me, I was able to re-join the two of them again not long after starting the long fire road section of the course.

The three of us rode well together on the fire roads up to check point #2 and we all stopped to replenish are liquids of choice there. Matt had some difficulty at the check point, which caused Harlan and me to gain a slight advantage over him. We took it pretty easy, though, so Matt was able to get back into our group. But, it was not too long after Matt re-attached himself to us that Harlan kicked up his speed. Matt soon fell off our pace and a few miles later, before check point three, I also then lost contact with Harlan.

The rest of a race was basically a matter of survival for me. I was still able to keep my pace up, but dealing with the prospect of riding in the rain for a few more hours and the mental defeat of being dropped was not playing over too kindly in my mind. Thankfully, I endured the rest of the race with little to no issues and finished second in the single speed class and tenth overall with a time of 7 hours, 33 minutes.

Overall, I am pretty happy with my performance. Sure, it would have been nice to take the win, but I guess second is not so bad when considering how difficult the conditions were and who my competition was. One thing for sure, the NUE Series Single Speed Class is going to be a whole lot different with Harlan in the mix this year. It will be, for sure, a long, hard road for whoever takes the overall series victory this year, which is a good thing. Right??? Happy Trails, Gerry

The LBD

2010-04-18T21:07:00.004-04:00

The LBD, otherwise known as the Leesburg Bakers Dozen, is a 13 hour endurance team relay event just outside of Leesburg Virginia. I have heard good things about the race from previous episodes of the event, but have never had the chance to do it until this past weekend. As of my last blog writing, I was not too sure where I was going to race this weekend. I thought maybe a XC race close to home, or if the weather was bad maybe a road race close to home. Well, my unsure race plans all change on Monday when I received an email from my friend Blair Saunders about joining him on a two person team in the sold out LBD. I mean how could I say no to this offer? Not only is Blair a fast racer, but I also got to do an off road endurance race instead of doing a race option that would have probably been used more for training purposes.

So, the next thing I knew team CanAm was listed as a last minute entry on BikeReg for the two person team category of the LBD. Blair picked the team name of CanAm because he is Candian, even though he now resides in Delaware, and I am American. With the quick changes in my race plan, I had to adjust my training plans for the week a little, so that I could arrive at the LBD feeling fresh. I also had to organize a lot of gear, food and other things to make sure I had what I needed for the race. One thing I can say for certain is that preparing for an endurance race is completely different than the preparation needed for shorter races.

Upon meeting at the hotel I booked, Blair and I made up a race plan based somewhat on his past experience from doing this race. First, and most importantly, we decided who was going to start the race. We both felt like a fast start would be important for this race, so to make this critical decision about which of us would start we decided on doing a coin toss. I loss the coin toss, so Blair got to be our starter. I actually preferred not starting because it gave me an opportunity to pre-ride the approx 8 mile loop before I went out on a race lap. Lord knows you need a good warm-up and pre-ride of the course during a 13 hour race, right??? Anyway, we also decided to do a one lap on and one lap off race format until we decided to see how things were going between us and the other teams.

As it turned out, the 8 mile loop was taking us about 30 minutes to do during the race. At first, our format seemed to be going pretty good and it was allowing us just enough time to recover from our hard effort before heading back out for another lap. We used this strategy for the first 7 or 8 hours of the race before deciding to switch to doing double laps. The switch seemed to be a good idea because after we made the switch we soon moved into the first place position, after riding the first part of the race in second place at about 4 minutes behind the lead team. Once we took the lead, it was just a matter of us being consistent, smart and smooth on our bikes to maintain the lead. We seemed to do all of these things perfectly and were able to finish the race without any problems and secure the win in the two man team category.

It has been awhile since I have raced in a mtb relay event and I must say it sure was fun to do again. Usually, I concentrate on long individual endurance events, but I may have to try and fit some more of these events into my racing schedule in the years to come. Of course, having a good teammate makes a world of difference when doing a race like this. So, I must say thanks to Blair for thinking about me when he made his teammate choice and also thanks for riding a good race. If you ever need another "CanAm" teammate, Blair, you know where to find me.

The LBD Registration sold out this winter on BikeReg in less than an hour. The promoter limits the number of total racers to 425 probably because 95% of the course is held on tight single track trails and having more riders would jam up the trails way too much. The promoter had things organized well for the race itself, plus he finished the event off with a bonfire, free pizza and a live band. What more could a guy want? I was lucky enough to sneak into this race at the last minute because Blair was one of the first to be put on the LBD waiting list and because he thought of asking me to do it with him. If you missed your opportunity to do the race this year, I feel for you and if you have never done it, be sure to get online early next year to register because this is an event not to be miss. Happy Trails, Gerry

And so it begins...

2010-04-11T21:39:00.003-04:00

Well, the 2010 racing season officially started for me last weekend and I have a packed season of racing ahead of me. Last weekend I did the first race of the Appalachian Bicycle Racing Association Series, the Morgantown Road Race, on 04/03/2010. I followed up that race this weekend by doing the Michaux Mash Endurance MTB Race on Saturday and The Allegheny Cycling Association’s Mingo RR on Sunday. Overall, I am happy with my early season fitness and how the races turned out for me.

The Morgantown RR was around 43 miles long on some very hilly terrain in southwestern Pennsylvania. In addition to the tough terrain, the temperature on race day was above 80 degrees. Yeah, I know 80 is not super hot, but when you’re used to riding in 50-60 degree weather it does make a difference. Anyway, when I race on the road, I always prefer to ride on a course that is hilly and causes the pack to naturally break up a bit. The Morgantown Course was just such a course. After the first few climbs, a group of about 7 riders, including me, split away from the rest of the pack. I did what I could in this pack to keep the pace high on the climbs, to hopefully thin out things a little more. But, by the end, my race hard tactics and the fact that I was stuck in a break with riders from the same team left me feeling pretty zapped for the last few important miles. I did finish fourth on the day, but felt like I put all I had into the event, even without the win that I wanted. BTW, JR Pesko and the rest of the Backyard Cycling Team did an outstanding job with putting on this race and certainly should be commended for a job well done.

This weekend was a different story for me at the Michaux Mash, since it was on the dirt instead of on the road. One thing I will always like better about mountain bike racing over road racing is that things separate quickly and hard riding is almost always positively rewarded. The Mash had a pretty interesting race concept, which was similar in format to a 24 hour race, with the racer doing the most laps during a set period of time being declared the winner. The Mash was set-up to be a four hour race, with each lap taking about an hour to complete on average. The first part of the race course was on a pretty long climb that lead to some really sweet technical single track, then back onto a brief stint of fire road and then back into the woods for a long technical descent back to the start/finish area. I really could not have asked for a better race on Saturday. Almost immediately, I was able to get a pretty large gap from the other racers on the first long climb. After that, I just got into a sweet groove and kept it going. The next thing I knew I had four laps done, but still had around 20 minutes of race time left. So, with a large amount of time remaining, I had no other choice but to go back out for a fifth lap to ensure victory. My last lap went as good if not better for me than the first four and I rode to the finishing line aboard my Salsa Mamasita with the overall win in hand. I can’t describe how good it felt to have a very solid early season ride and also how nice it was to ride a bike that absolutely worked flawlessly. Thanks to Zack Adams and Fast Forward Cycling for promoting one heck of a cool race.

After such a hard effort on Saturday, I knew my legs would not feel too fast in a road race on Sunday, but I decided to do the ACA Mingo RR anyway. If nothing else, I figured it would be some good training and an opportunity to see some friends. I was definitely correct with the forecast of how my legs would feel at the race. I mostly hung in the pack, but I did get the opportunity to put down a few hard efforts during the race. By the end, I finished with the pack and was convinced once again that mountain bike racing is so much more enjoyable for me to do than road racing. Since I got a ride to the race from Brain W. in his truck, I was able to do a nice long ride home to flush the legs of their past two days of hard efforts and it certainly felt good to do.

So, now that the season has started I will try to write my blog updates a little more frequently. It just seems that with all there is to do in life sometimes my blog entries take the back seat to other things, like riding for instance. I am kind of up in the air about which race I am going to do next weekend, but at the moment I am leaning towards doing an XC race at Big Bear, WV in preparation for the first NUE Series Race, the Cohutta 100, the following weekend. Wow, I can’t believe racing is in full swing now when I was skiing on some really deep snow here only about a month and a half ago.

Well, that is about it for now…Enjoy your racing season my friends whether it be on the road or mountain bike. Happy Trails!

Welcome Spring!

2010-03-23T09:20:00.005-04:00

Last week was the first spell of real nice weather in months in the Pittsburgh Region. It was a great prelude to the official coming of spring and hopefully the start of much more fine weather to come. The weather was so nice, that I was actually able to do my bike commute to work all week long. To me, there is nothing better than starting or finishing a day at work by being on the bike. Additionally, it is a great way to get in a lot of riding without taking up a bunch of free time.

With no close races to do on the first weekend of spring, I decided that doing a hard, long road bike ride on Saturday would be the best choice for my race preparation. Additionally, I wanted to test out my newly built Salsa Podio Road Bike. I don’t think that there is any better way to test a bike than to build it up and then take it on a super long ride the very next day. Anyway, to find some riding friends, I posted a message on Facebook looking for volunteers to join me for my planned hell ride. My recruitment of other riders only generated two other people that were crazy enough to join me: Rob Lochner and Justin Pokrivka. Brian Wieczorek and his work colleague Zack did join our small group for a little more than an hour, after they rode down from Ligonier on their bikes to my place.

My ride plan was to do a very difficult road bike route, in preparation for the start of the NUE Series in about a month. The three of us all seemed to be in agreement with this plan and the ride was executed just as I had expected it would be. After doing many long mountain climbs, riding at least 10 miles of sketchy dirt roads someplace in WV, we ended up with over 7 hours of riding, 112 miles and 10870 feet of climbing. It was indeed a good early season challenge for our legs and we all seemed to pass with flying colors. It was also an absolutely perfect ride to welcome the first day of spring.

To make the weekend even more special, sometime last week I found out about a bootleg road race going on in a town very close to me from my long time friend Brian DelVecchio. The “race” seemed very interesting to me because of the multiple stage format of racing up 8 climbs, while at the same time riding one big loop. I didn’t commit until the actual day of the “race” because I was not too sure of how my legs would feel from my hard effort the day before. I can certainly say now that I am very happy about making the choice to do the event after riding my Podio to the (undisclosed) starting point and meeting up with all the other riders.

After everyone threw a little money into the registration pot, the event started with a kind of crash-up-derby style event for bikes. The rules of the event were that all fifteen of us would start in a small circle and the last man standing in the circle without putting a foot down would be declared the winner. I ended up third in this stage because I did my best to avoid everyone until Don Powers decided to take me out. Thanks, Don! The real racing up the hills started soon after this fun and from this point the race leaders were determined by awarding points to the top 7 finishers on each designated climb. But, to make things more interesting, points could also be accumulated by finding things during the ride on the side of the road like panties, porn or a Pontiac Fiero. I tried my best to score some bonus points but with expert underwear hunters like Jason Mahokey in the group, I had no chance for any extra credit points. Fortunately, I was able to do well enough on the actual riding portion of the event to score the overall win of the “race” without collecting any bonus points or my inability to score any points at the PBR Beer Chugging Stage.

After completing this crazy event of cycling madness in about 3 hours and since the weather was super nice, I decided to continue my awesome weekend by doing some more riding. My wife was planning on meeting me at my mother’s place for Sunday Dinner at her home near Mars, PA. Initially, my plan was to have Brian give me a ride there in his car, but with the nice weather I could not resist riding my bike back instead.

The ride to my mom’s ended up being a pretty tough one because of all the climbing on the route that I took and because my legs were shot from sprinting up eight tough climbs during the race. And, I am sure that the 112 miles in my legs from the day before did not make things any easier for me. In any respect, I completed the ride, feeling like a beat down man after logging 88 hard miles for the day and a total of 200 for the weekend.

I can’t imagine that I could have welcomed in the spring in any better way than I did this weekend. Thanks to my friends that made it so much fun, including you Mr. Todd “insane race promoter man.” Oh, and BTW, if you are considering a new road bike this spring, the Salsa Podio is very, very sweet! I could not be more pleased with how it felt after just building it and taking it on such a hard test this weekend.

Happy Trails….

Vacations help me feel complete

2010-03-01T20:57:00.005-05:00

This winter has been a brutal one in the Mid-Atlantic Region. There have been many frequent and deep snow storms during the entire month of February where I live, which has made outside bike riding almost impossible to do because the snow has been between one and two feet deep on average. I usually don’t mind riding in cold winter weather and actually enjoy riding my bike in manageable snow amounts, but the depth of snow this winter has mostly been way too high for riding. To be honest, though, my inability to ride has not been too much of a concern to me because I do enjoy skiing and other outdoor snow sports. I spend so much time on my bike during the year that taking a break from riding and doing other activities during the off season is a good mental break for me. I must admit, however, that if I am given a choice between riding in nice weather or staying in cold snowy weather, I will most likely choose the warmer option with riding my bike.

So, with this in mind, when my mother asked if I would like to join her for a trip to Southern Florida a few weeks ago, I made the required arrangements to go without hesitation. Taking a little vacation time is always a good thing for me, as it is for most people. When I take a vacation that is not associated with going to a bike race, I almost always take my bike along with me anyway to do long rides and explore the area that I am visiting. I like going on new adventures and taking my bike to places which are not easily accessible by other means. Doing bike trips like these are something special and rewarding for me.

In total, I had six days of riding in Florida during my trip. Since most of the first day was spent traveling, I was only able to do a short 30 mile ride. The rest of the week, however, I was able to spend at least 3 to as much as 7 hours spinning my legs. I have found over many years of riding that the best bike to use for this type of riding is a cyclocross bike with on/off road style tires. For this particular trip, I actually chose to go with a single speed cyclocross bike with disc brakes.

I enjoyed ever ride I did during my trip, but my longest ride in both time and mileage will forever be stored in my memory as something special. The ride, like most of the others over the week, was a combination of paved roads, dirt roads and trails. Initially, I had planned to ride to a Florida State Park by using some paved roads and then take some dirt roads and trails once I was in the park. When I arrived at the park, I found the out and back trail that I had initially planning to ride, but decided that it was too wet to continue riding after being on it for a short while. After exiting the trail, I then went back to the dirt road and took it deeper into the park.
The maps of the park I had viewed prior to my ride showed this road as being a dead end. But, when I followed this dirt road to the park boundary, it then entered into another wild area preserve. Until I came upon this second wild area, my initial plan was to turn around once I came to the end of the dirt road. But, now, with a whole new area to explore and a large posted trail map at the trailhead, I decided to push forward into the unknown. I have never been a fan of out and back rides anyway, unless I know for certain there is no other way to go forward. With about three hours of riding in at this point, I figured at most I might have another 2-3 hours of riding to go from what the posted map at the trailhead had indicated.

I had started my long day with two bottles of water, one bottle of a sports drink and two energy bars; easily enough nutrition for me to stay fresh on a ride of less than 6 hours. I also had my newly purchased GPS system mounted and figured that going deeper into the Everglades should not be a problem even though I was riding alone. The ride was going great as the wild preserve I entered switched between paved and unpaved roadways. There was absolutely nobody around and no sign of civilization, which is exactly what I wanted to find. I was even more excited when I saw signs along these deserted roadways giving caution about being in a panther habitat. I thought of how special it would be to see a rare glimpse of a Florida Panther. I also saw a few wild alligators sunning themselves just off the dirt road I was riding. It was definitely a new experience for me to suddenly come upon a couple of alligators on the roadside. Of course, this was something that I just had to stop and photograph.

Lookout for possible panthers and alligators!

Eventually, the wider dirt roads lead to rougher double track. From the posted map, there should have been only one trail system to get me back to the paved roadway that I knew. But, as things usually go for me, there were many trails pointing in all directions. To make matters worse, the majority of the trails were not marked and the trails that were marked did not have trail names I had seen at the trailhead. I decided to continue forward anyway and take my best guess at finding my way by using the compass feature on my GPS unit to head west. Besides, the trials weren’t too bad and I was still having fun.

The first trail I chose ended up being a loop and basically took me back to the trail where I had started. This was probably a warning sign of things to come that I should not have ignored. Anyway, after this mishap, I then decided to take a second trail basically heading west, even though it was marked with a name I knew for certain was not on the trailhead map. I was on the trail for quite awhile and did a lot of hard work pushing my big 42x17 single speed gearing through a lot of soft sandy areas, when I came to a four way intersection in the trail. At this time, I also noticed on my GPS that I was heading more north than west and was probably not even close to where I needed to be. By this time, I had been riding for nearly 5 hours and still did not have a clue as to where I was going. I decided to take the trail that headed south at the intersection because I figured it would eventual run into a good trail heading west. After being on this trail for awhile things turned really bad when the trail basically came to an end at a large swampy area. I considered going around the water but the vegetation was too dense and thick for passage. So, with some uncertainty, I started riding through the nearly hub deep murky water and eventually made it to dry land without any issues. I was happy that I made it through the water without much trouble, especially after seeing alligators only a short time earlier on the trail side. The trail remained dry for a pretty good portion, but I soon came upon another large wet section. Since the last section was not too bad, I again went through the deep water. This section was much longer than the last and only lead to a brief section of dry trail. By this point, it was starting to seem as if the trail had completely disappeared and had instead become some type of water way.

Here is a picture of one of the lovely “trails” I encountered on my ride.

My ride time at this point was now well over 5 hours and I knew that I definitely did not have enough nutrition to head back, so I continued riding and pushing my bike through the deep nasty water, keeping my eyes very focused on the water and “trail” sides for lurking animal dangers. I must admit that I was pretty freaked out at this point and figured it would be only a matter of time before I came across another alligator, snake or other type of wild animal which could do some major harm to me. At the same time, the noise I was making would scare large birds out of the thick trail sides, which would in return cause me to jump as each would suddenly fly out in front of me. Becoming very frustrated with the situation, I would occasionally deviate from heading south onto other trails that appeared to be drier. Of course, after changing direction, my new trail would also soon turn into deep swamp water. I started to wonder if I would make it out of this mess alive, but certainly did not want to go back from where I had been.

As I was pushing through the swamp, I came upon 3 otters playing in the muddy mess. They looked to be pretty happy in the muck, but they only made me think of what a nice catch they would be for a hungry alligator. I yelled at the otters to see if they would react to me. They stood up and looked at me before swimming off quickly, but continuing to play with one another during their escape. After they swam away, I thought to myself about how cool of a picture that would have been to take. It was like an animal show on the Discovery Channel or something watching those guys play in the mud. After my comic relief from watching the otters play was over, I now had to trudge through the same area where my new friends had been playing. I think at this point the water was up to my waist and I was wondering if quick sand might also exist here.

It took more than an hour to totally make it out of this swampy mess. I am probably lucky to have not encountered any major problems during this time and I can’t tell you how happy I was to hear the sound of automobile traffic noise. I usually prefer dirt over pavement on my rides, but I can’t tell you how glad I was to ride that one hour of paved road back to my hotel.

In total, the ride was 7 hours long and 83 miles in length. I would definitely rate this as one of my toughest rides ever because of how nasty and tough the swampy portion was. But, as tough as it was, it was absolutely amazing to do. To me, there is nothing like the feeling of adventure and conquering something difficult. It is hard for me to explain and probably even harder for other people to understand the amount of satisfaction I get from doing long hard rides like this. Without this bike ride, my vacation would not have felt complete.

Something New

2010-01-19T11:13:00.005-05:00

So, if you know me and my old blog, then you probably recognize that some new things are going on here. I am pretty excited about my changes and think that they will make 2010 an outstanding year. With the coming of the New Year, it just seems like now is the right time to announce my 2010 plans and the changes I have made to everyone.

First, my old blog, two mountain goats will no longer be used for postings. I am going to keep it up, so that my old posts will still be available, but all my new entries will be posted here. As before, I plan to post blogs about my racing activities, my bikes, my thoughts and whatever else I feel like sharing with the world. Hopefully I will convey my thoughts and racing stories with a fun (pfun) twist.

Another change that probably stands out is my change of bike shop sponsorship. As many of you know, I have spent the past few years racing for Speedgoat Bikes. I enjoyed racing for them and appreciate all they have done for me during my tenure there, but I have decided to switch teams and race with Pro Bikes of Pittsburgh for 2010. Pro Bikes is a major supporter of Pittsburgh Area Cycling, by sponsoring individual riders, many teams and also adding their support to many cycling events in the area. They are very accommodating to the riders they sponsor and were able to offer me better accessibility and service than a mail order shop can do.

I am also proud to announce that I will be racing for Salsa Cycles again in 2010. Salsa is generously supporting my road, mountain bike and cyclocross efforts for the season. It is an honor to race for a legendary cycling name like Salsa and a privilege to compete with their top quality equipment and frames. I will be sure to post pictures of the Salsa Stuff I am using and post reviews of how it all works.

Last, but certainly not least, the Law Firm of Swensen, Perer and Kontos (SPK) is helping me again for 2010. One of the firm’s top attorneys, Brian DelVecchio, has made a strong commitment to protecting the rights of cyclists and has convinced his firm that supporting bicycle racing is a great way to publicize the firm. In addition to helping me with racing the last two years, Brian has supported the Pittsburgh Area Month of Mud Race Series and is a very active member of PTAG. There is no question in my mind that SPK is the most cycling friendly law firm in the region.

Well, that is about all the news I have for now. After a few good weeks of playing in the snow on skis and such, I am mentally ready for the new racing season to start. But, first let the accumulation of miles begin. Happy Trails, Gerry