Southern Cross

It’s hard to believe racing season has started already with the beginning of the American UltraCross Series this past weekend in Dahlonega, GA. It seems like cyclocross season just ended only a few weeks ago and now I find it’s time to take my heart rate up to maximum effort again. I think the off season went by so much quicker this year because of the lack of any consistent snow this winter. Usually, when there is snow on the ground, I take a lot more time off the bike and do a large amount of skiing. Even when it did snow this winter, I found myself riding my Salsa Mukluk rather than skiing on the marginal snow amounts.

With a lot more time on the bike and much less time spent skiing this off season, I figured my bike fitness would be ready to go for the first UltraCross Series Race, Southern Cross. I did well at the race last year, finishing in fourth place overall and as the first placed master rider. I figured my race result would be even better this year, since I had more miles in my legs. Shortly after the race started, though, I soon found out my day of racing was going to be a lot more difficult than expected.

The course design of Southern Cross definitely suits a rider with good early season fitness. The 51 mile course has approximately 6200 feet of climbing on mostly gravel and paved roads. Before heading out on the main part of the course, Southern Cross goes through a traditional style cross course on the grounds of Montaluce Winery. Starting this way immediately causes separation in the field of racers and sent my heart rate into the danger zone pretty quickly.



The first "run-up"

 Right off the bat things started kind of shaky for me, when my chain decided to jump around on my rear cassette just as the word go sounded. This skipping of my chain caused my left knee to go directly into my stem and caused some pretty intense pain. I recovered quickly, however, and by the first steep climb found myself mixed in with the lead riders before heading out of the winery. A fast pace line soon formed on the paved roads leading to large gravel loop ahead. I felt happy about making the split, but could already tell the pace was going to be much faster than last year.

As the paved roads ended and the gravel began, the climbing also started. Southern Cross starts off with a few rolling climbs before the longest sustained climb to the top of the mountain begins. It was on these rollers that I started having difficulty and fell off the pace of the lead group. My travel companion for the weekend, Ernesto Marechin, also seemed to be having trouble at this point, so we ended-up riding together and did our best to keep our tempo high. But, the lead group continued to pull away from us and we were eventually caught by a small group of other riders.

I had a burning in my lungs and legs that I haven’t felt in a long time as the serious climbing started. I just couldn’t seem to get my legs of lungs to warm-up like I wanted. I’m sure the main reason for my discomfort was the cold (less than 40 degrees) temperature of the morning. My body started to feel better about one hour into the race. By this time, I had pulled away from most of the guys who caught me and also started catching a few guys that also fell off the pace of the lead group. I finally felt like I found my grove and could do what I wanted my body to do.

I started the race with two water bottles. I had one filled with plain water and another with a sports drink mix. By the mid point of the race, I had only consumed about half of one bottle probably because the temperature was so cool, but knew it would be nice to have the extra fluid to drink on the second major climb of the course. My strategy to use my second bottle latter quickly ended after I lost my full bottle when descending from the top of the mountain back to the base. Since this happened at the half way point and I still had a half bottle left, I figured my remaining supply of fluid would get me to end of the race if things didn’t warm-up too much. So, I took a gamble by not stopping at the final aide station to replenish my bottle. My gamble was a good choice and I had just enough liquid to get me to the finish without too much suffering.

The start of the second major climb did not seem as effortless as the top of the first big climb. I think my body cooled down during the descent and needed to be warmed-up again. I lost contact with the guys I was riding with and even had Garth Prosser catch me after he had flatted earlier. I knew Garth was also in the masters race, so I did my best to hang with him. I had trouble matching his pace and soon found myself climbing alone and not feeling too good about my ride or fitness. I heard many reports about other racers also flatting out on the course. I was sure glad to be using my Stan’s NoTubes Crest 29er wheels mounted with 700x35 cross tires instead of a standard cross tire/tube combination. Additionally, my Salsa Mamasita seemed to be a much better choice on the descents than the cross bike set up I used last year.



By the top of the climb, my legs started feeling a little better again and I caught one of the riders ahead of me. We then rode by the last aide station and were told by a volunteer that we were both in the top ten. Hearing this news and then seeing Garth fixing another flat gave me a renewed boost of energy, which helped get me to the top of the mountain and eventually to the finishing line.

The overall 2011 master mens podium with my IUP buddy, Doug.



By the finish, I was able to arrive in 8^th place overall and as the first master rider. I may not have felt as strong as I did last year, but overall was happy with my result at this very difficult early season race. I’m glad the season is just beginning because I now know that there is a lot of hard work ahead me to reach a better level of fitness before the main part of racing season begins. And, even though this is my 30+ year of consecutive racing, I am still excited about doing this hard training, the new season and the competition that awaits. See you at the races, my friends!     Happy Trails....

Hello Cyclocross

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!




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!

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

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

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

....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