Sunday I headed out to Columbia to ride the Marathon event in Cosmo Park. I rode this race last year under very different conditions. Even though it rained most of the morning before the race last year the trail was not muddy at all. Not so Sunday!
I rode the ol' hardtail, mainly because I was too lazy to do the the equipment changes I needed to do to run the tubed setup on the Genius. I think I would have been a bit faster had I done so. I haven't ridden the hardtail for a long time and I have gotten pretty used to the position and suspension on the Genius. Also I went down one time because I clipped my bars on a tree, this wouldn't have happened on the Scott as the bars are a few centimeters narrower. Oh well, lesson learned.
As for the race, I got through without any major issues. On the last couple laps the rear brake was making an awful racket and was dragging pretty badly. After I cleaned the bike, I could see some pieces were not where they are supposed to be. But, other than that, the gears were working and the air stayed in the tires.
The Marathon group was pretty small. Zach Brace and Zdenek were there and a few others I didn't know. I took the holeshot uncontested and tried to put the hammer down. I need the highend work so I was ready to sacrifice optimal pacing. I had a gap pretty quickly and just tried to keep the gas on. Unfortunately, towards the end of the lap I misinterpreted the course markings and did an extra bit of singletrack instead of gravel road. I probably added 30 secs to a minute on this little detour. After that the laps ticked off without incident, and I got in 7 laps when it was all said and done.
The course conditions changed throughout the race. The first lap offered the most traction, mainly because the trail hadn't been churned up yet. After the first lap, the uphills became considerably more slick although the rest of the trail held steady. The mud bog along the powerline got worse with each lap and required a ton of brute power to churn through. About halfway through my race it started to rain and the conditions changed again. The traction on the hills improved, but I think the course got slower as a larger percentage of the trail had a layer of mud that sapped speed.
For me tire selection was the key. The Maxxis Medusas were nothing short of magic. I am definitely going to try to find something equivalent for the muddiest CX races. If I had something like this at the muddy St. Mary's race I would have been considerably faster through some key sections.
For some other perspectives: Aaron Elwell, Dave Breslin, & Jon Schottler.
17 May 2010
14 May 2010
Rhett's Run Prep
The trail is likely to be muddy with over 4" of rain in the preceding week and the forecast is calling for rain throughout the weekend too. Looks like a good race to try out some new treads.
Having ridden Maxxis Crossmarks in minorly muddy conditions last year at the Tall Oak 6hr race, I don't think it'll be the ideal tread for the trail. The Crossmark is a great all-round tread and I have ridden it in wet conditions (Syllamo, Ouachita & Tall Oak), but it can get packed up with mud and traction suffers. For the mud this weekend, I am going to try either the Monorail or the Medusa.
The Medusa is a specialty mud tire, but is not UST. The tread on the Medusa is pretty serious, and probably doesn't roll too fast.
I don't know if conditions will warrant a full-on mud setup, or I should compromise and run the Monorail in the rear. The Monorail has widely spaced knobs and aggressive shoulder knobs; Maxxis says it clears mud well and gets good traction.
Decisions, decisions...
Having ridden Maxxis Crossmarks in minorly muddy conditions last year at the Tall Oak 6hr race, I don't think it'll be the ideal tread for the trail. The Crossmark is a great all-round tread and I have ridden it in wet conditions (Syllamo, Ouachita & Tall Oak), but it can get packed up with mud and traction suffers. For the mud this weekend, I am going to try either the Monorail or the Medusa.
The Medusa is a specialty mud tire, but is not UST. The tread on the Medusa is pretty serious, and probably doesn't roll too fast.
I don't know if conditions will warrant a full-on mud setup, or I should compromise and run the Monorail in the rear. The Monorail has widely spaced knobs and aggressive shoulder knobs; Maxxis says it clears mud well and gets good traction.
Decisions, decisions...
10 May 2010
Krug Park, Saint Joseph
Saturday was the Robidoux Roundup in Krug Park. It was part of the United Dirt Federation series and I raced the XC race. This is a little on the short side compared to what I normally do, in fact, it was the first XC race I've ever done.
Aaron Elwell was there, so I knew who I'd be chasing. It started with a long, paved uphill stretch to string out the field before the singletrack. Otherwise, the entire 7+ miles was tight singletrack. The course was mostly packed dirt without much in the way of rocks or roots. What it was missing in trail obstacles, it made up for in tight turns and steep ups and downs. There was very little trail that would allow you to get into a pedaling rhythm. It was basically all hard accelerations and decelerations. My lower back definitely felt the effort.
Travis led us up the first half of the paved starting hill. I took over for a short stretch and then Aaron powered it up over the top. He went into the singletrack first and immediately started to develop a gap. I was second in with a Nebraska rider hot on my heels. He was not liking that Aaron was riding away and jumped around me. Tom Price was briefly on my wheel, but ended up puncturing and retiring. The Nebraska rider (Ryan Feagon) was unable to close the gap to Aaron and actually started to slow. After 5 or 10 minutes I passed him back and tried to keep Aaron close. Aaron was running about 15-20 seconds in front of me until he stopped with some shifting problems. He sorted it quickly and was more or less on my wheel as we came through at the end of the first lap (of 3). He quickly started to ride away again and developed a 40 second gap over the second lap. The last lap was a little better for me and Aaron only stretched his lead out another 7 seconds. So I finished 47 seconds down on Aaron for the overall and was the first 40-49.
The XC effort is much higher than I am used to from doing the endurance races. I need the work though and I am glad I raced it. Chasing Aaron made sure I worked hard, but I probably wasn't aggressive enough trying to hold his wheel. I may not have been able to stay with him, but I need to work on not being so quick to settle into my own rhythm.
The summer is full of XC races so I'll probably be taking my lumps in them until the endurance stuff ramps back up in August.
On the road, Luke had a good ride at Joe Martin finishing 34th in the overall of the Men 1/2 race. We rode well and improved from day-to-day. Good stuff, especially since he's only a junior!
Aaron Elwell was there, so I knew who I'd be chasing. It started with a long, paved uphill stretch to string out the field before the singletrack. Otherwise, the entire 7+ miles was tight singletrack. The course was mostly packed dirt without much in the way of rocks or roots. What it was missing in trail obstacles, it made up for in tight turns and steep ups and downs. There was very little trail that would allow you to get into a pedaling rhythm. It was basically all hard accelerations and decelerations. My lower back definitely felt the effort.
Travis led us up the first half of the paved starting hill. I took over for a short stretch and then Aaron powered it up over the top. He went into the singletrack first and immediately started to develop a gap. I was second in with a Nebraska rider hot on my heels. He was not liking that Aaron was riding away and jumped around me. Tom Price was briefly on my wheel, but ended up puncturing and retiring. The Nebraska rider (Ryan Feagon) was unable to close the gap to Aaron and actually started to slow. After 5 or 10 minutes I passed him back and tried to keep Aaron close. Aaron was running about 15-20 seconds in front of me until he stopped with some shifting problems. He sorted it quickly and was more or less on my wheel as we came through at the end of the first lap (of 3). He quickly started to ride away again and developed a 40 second gap over the second lap. The last lap was a little better for me and Aaron only stretched his lead out another 7 seconds. So I finished 47 seconds down on Aaron for the overall and was the first 40-49.
The XC effort is much higher than I am used to from doing the endurance races. I need the work though and I am glad I raced it. Chasing Aaron made sure I worked hard, but I probably wasn't aggressive enough trying to hold his wheel. I may not have been able to stay with him, but I need to work on not being so quick to settle into my own rhythm.
The summer is full of XC races so I'll probably be taking my lumps in them until the endurance stuff ramps back up in August.
On the road, Luke had a good ride at Joe Martin finishing 34th in the overall of the Men 1/2 race. We rode well and improved from day-to-day. Good stuff, especially since he's only a junior!
29 April 2010
Looks like I'll be missing Syllamo...
First, Ouachita, then Lawrence River Trails, and now Syllamo. Can't seem to get any momentum going on this racing thing this season.
Last Sunday I got to thinking I was still 20-something and pushed a little too hard and did some damage. I managed to tweak a tendon in my leg. I've been taking it easy this week and icing it, but I don't think it'll be ready to go for Saturday. I'm bummed. It looked like it was going to be a good race, even with the serious weather in the forecast.
Last Sunday I got to thinking I was still 20-something and pushed a little too hard and did some damage. I managed to tweak a tendon in my leg. I've been taking it easy this week and icing it, but I don't think it'll be ready to go for Saturday. I'm bummed. It looked like it was going to be a good race, even with the serious weather in the forecast.
19 April 2010
The bones are bent...
Bone Bender 6hr is in the books. Monday morning and I am becoming acquainted with the various aches and pains of the long race on the trails. All-in-all the race went well: had good power, decent endurance and the skills seemed to be working. A good season opener.
Rode the Scott Genius 20, mostly with the 150mm f/r suspension fully engaged. I locked the rear out a couple of times early on while riding on the pavement. I stopped doing this after I would forget to open it back up on the trail. Also ran a new set of Maxxis Crossmark 2.1 UST tires at 27/29 psi (f/r). This year I am also riding Scott's Team Issue MTB shoes. All my equipment worked great today and I had no issues.
Here's my recollection of how things went down. Some of the timing or laps may be off, but it should mostly be accurate.
For starters, the conditions were hard to beat. The trail was in great shape, the weather was just right, and lots of people showed up for some good-time racing. Over 200 toed the line for the LeMans start. We ran a short loop on the grass and beach before grabbing the bikes and heading on to the 11.5 mile loop. I started on the second row on the very inside (the run was a short counterclockwise loop). I was a little worried about getting pinched in the first corner but things went fine. I probably hit the end of the run between 5th and 10th, however, I had awesome bike placement and was 3rd on my bike behind Tige Lamb and Doug Stone. Things started to sort out after the first short singletrack section on the first bike path section. Tige was still in the lead with a small gap, Cameron (Duo 6) moved past me, as did Kent McNeill (Solo 3) and Mark Studnicki (Solo 3). A little later on the first lap I let another another 3hr rider by so he could contest the race with his competition.
I trailed this group for the first lap holding a fairly steady gap. I think Tige and Mark faded back to me later in the lap. So at the end of one lap, I was sitting behind one 6 hr duo team and two 3hr solo riders. I later learned I was about 2:30 up on 6hr solo competitors Kip Biese and Matt Gersib. About one-quarter of the way through the second lap Jon Schottler (Solo 3) caught up to me. I let him by and he and the 2nd place 3hr rider (I am pretty sure he was from Iowa or Nebraska) were riding together a little ways in front of me. I think this is how things stayed through lap 2 and about half of lap 3. And apparently I was about 6 minutes up on Gersib after 2 laps.
On the 3rd lap, I rode up to Schottler and the other 3hr rider. About halfway through that lap, the other rider looked to be fading and Schlotter accelerated on one of the bike path sections. I stayed with him and we rode away. Schottler was pushing the pace and I had no interest in passing him. Later, somewhere in the last quarter of the lap Schottler got caught up on a tree and ended up letting me by. I kept the pace steady and we continued to work through traffic. I think I must have put a little gap on him (probably because of lapped traffic) because I came into the start of the 4th lap by myself (although Jon was probably right behind me). At this point I was apparently 4-5 minutes down on Cameron & Travis, with Kent McNeill somewhere in between.
Laps 3 and 4 had a lot of traffic to work through. This is always a tough situation and its impossible to not have some issues passing riders. That said, I think the vast majority of passes were pleasant for all involved. I apologize to any riders who's flow got messed up as a result of my passing.
Laps 4-6 were more of the same, just keeping the pace steady and keeping fueled. Jeremy came out and did an awesome job up handing up bottles and food throughout the race. It was definitely a luxury to not have to stop and refuel.
Jeremy's pit assistant Atticus, however, didn't seem to have a firm grasp on his assigned duties.
Starting lap 7 fatigue was definitely setting in. At that point, I guess I was about 30 minutes up on Gersib. As it turns out he finished his 6th lap a few minutes before 4:00pm, but didn't go out for a 7th lap. I was happy to have a sizeable gap and have the luxury of taking it down a notch. I tried to keep it steady and rolled through the lap about one minute slower than my previous lap.
In retrospect, the race "went" different than my two 6-hour races last year. Here, I felt really strong and comfortable through most of the race, but felt pretty tired on the last lap. Last year I felt like I was suffering more throughout, but didn't feel as tired at the end. Who knows though, maybe that's just the memories fading.
The Ethos boys had a good day: Travis & Cameron took the 6hr Duo Class with Travis getting the fastest lap too. Garet Steinmetz got the win in the 3hr Singlespeed category.
(photos by Lantern Rouge and J. Pych)
Rode the Scott Genius 20, mostly with the 150mm f/r suspension fully engaged. I locked the rear out a couple of times early on while riding on the pavement. I stopped doing this after I would forget to open it back up on the trail. Also ran a new set of Maxxis Crossmark 2.1 UST tires at 27/29 psi (f/r). This year I am also riding Scott's Team Issue MTB shoes. All my equipment worked great today and I had no issues.Here's my recollection of how things went down. Some of the timing or laps may be off, but it should mostly be accurate.
For starters, the conditions were hard to beat. The trail was in great shape, the weather was just right, and lots of people showed up for some good-time racing. Over 200 toed the line for the LeMans start. We ran a short loop on the grass and beach before grabbing the bikes and heading on to the 11.5 mile loop. I started on the second row on the very inside (the run was a short counterclockwise loop). I was a little worried about getting pinched in the first corner but things went fine. I probably hit the end of the run between 5th and 10th, however, I had awesome bike placement and was 3rd on my bike behind Tige Lamb and Doug Stone. Things started to sort out after the first short singletrack section on the first bike path section. Tige was still in the lead with a small gap, Cameron (Duo 6) moved past me, as did Kent McNeill (Solo 3) and Mark Studnicki (Solo 3). A little later on the first lap I let another another 3hr rider by so he could contest the race with his competition.
I trailed this group for the first lap holding a fairly steady gap. I think Tige and Mark faded back to me later in the lap. So at the end of one lap, I was sitting behind one 6 hr duo team and two 3hr solo riders. I later learned I was about 2:30 up on 6hr solo competitors Kip Biese and Matt Gersib. About one-quarter of the way through the second lap Jon Schottler (Solo 3) caught up to me. I let him by and he and the 2nd place 3hr rider (I am pretty sure he was from Iowa or Nebraska) were riding together a little ways in front of me. I think this is how things stayed through lap 2 and about half of lap 3. And apparently I was about 6 minutes up on Gersib after 2 laps.On the 3rd lap, I rode up to Schottler and the other 3hr rider. About halfway through that lap, the other rider looked to be fading and Schlotter accelerated on one of the bike path sections. I stayed with him and we rode away. Schottler was pushing the pace and I had no interest in passing him. Later, somewhere in the last quarter of the lap Schottler got caught up on a tree and ended up letting me by. I kept the pace steady and we continued to work through traffic. I think I must have put a little gap on him (probably because of lapped traffic) because I came into the start of the 4th lap by myself (although Jon was probably right behind me). At this point I was apparently 4-5 minutes down on Cameron & Travis, with Kent McNeill somewhere in between.
Laps 3 and 4 had a lot of traffic to work through. This is always a tough situation and its impossible to not have some issues passing riders. That said, I think the vast majority of passes were pleasant for all involved. I apologize to any riders who's flow got messed up as a result of my passing.
Laps 4-6 were more of the same, just keeping the pace steady and keeping fueled. Jeremy came out and did an awesome job up handing up bottles and food throughout the race. It was definitely a luxury to not have to stop and refuel.
Jeremy's pit assistant Atticus, however, didn't seem to have a firm grasp on his assigned duties.
Starting lap 7 fatigue was definitely setting in. At that point, I guess I was about 30 minutes up on Gersib. As it turns out he finished his 6th lap a few minutes before 4:00pm, but didn't go out for a 7th lap. I was happy to have a sizeable gap and have the luxury of taking it down a notch. I tried to keep it steady and rolled through the lap about one minute slower than my previous lap.
In retrospect, the race "went" different than my two 6-hour races last year. Here, I felt really strong and comfortable through most of the race, but felt pretty tired on the last lap. Last year I felt like I was suffering more throughout, but didn't feel as tired at the end. Who knows though, maybe that's just the memories fading.
The Ethos boys had a good day: Travis & Cameron took the 6hr Duo Class with Travis getting the fastest lap too. Garet Steinmetz got the win in the 3hr Singlespeed category.
(photos by Lantern Rouge and J. Pych)
15 April 2010
Smithville Trail Recon
The trails are in primo condition right now!
The course map is up (here) and it is listed as 11.5 miles. I got a couple laps in and it was good. I am pretty sure I rode the course correctly, with the exception of the bits around the start/finish. Here is Chris' Garmin info from his ride last night. As you can see there is not much elevation change out there, but it is pretty twisty and speeds don't get too high. All in all it flows nice and will be a great race, if we don't get too much rain tonight.
Although the course is pretty smooth, with the exception of a couple rocky sections, I'll be out there on my Scott Genius with 150mm of travel. I'm sure I'll be loving that cushy feeling 6hrs in!
Looking forward to seeing everyone in a few days.
The course map is up (here) and it is listed as 11.5 miles. I got a couple laps in and it was good. I am pretty sure I rode the course correctly, with the exception of the bits around the start/finish. Here is Chris' Garmin info from his ride last night. As you can see there is not much elevation change out there, but it is pretty twisty and speeds don't get too high. All in all it flows nice and will be a great race, if we don't get too much rain tonight.
Although the course is pretty smooth, with the exception of a couple rocky sections, I'll be out there on my Scott Genius with 150mm of travel. I'm sure I'll be loving that cushy feeling 6hrs in!
Looking forward to seeing everyone in a few days.
09 April 2010
08 April 2010
Tuesday Nighter
Fairly epic weather for this one. King Kelly wasn't there, but this picture captures the evening (especially the ride home in the dark). It was dry at first, but about halfway through it started to rain hard and even a little hail came down. Thankfully it was not the walnut and golf ball sizes they talked about on the news. Needed a waterproof camera for some action shots! Sometimes the weather gets so bad that riding in it is almost funny. It definitely changes the dynamic when you are struggling to see the road and riders around you.
All in all it was a good time, unfortunately now I've caught a head cold. I doubt it was from riding in the rain, but that may not have helped!
Tom Price has some pics and results here.
Also, our local malcontent weighed in on the affair here.
06 April 2010
April showers? I hope not...
So, it appears the weather has finally warmed up for good and the sun is coming out. I even have managed to get a couple tan-lines started.
I didn't make it down to Ouachita this year, so nothing to report there. Its too bad, it looked like a quality field and would have been a good race.
April will be full of MTB races, as long as the weather cooperates. First up, is the UFD race at the Lawrence River Trails this weekend. Then its Bone Bender 6hr, Tour de Tick, and Ride with the Devil 6hr. Looking forward to testing out the legs and start working my MTB skills back into shape.
I didn't make it down to Ouachita this year, so nothing to report there. Its too bad, it looked like a quality field and would have been a good race.
April will be full of MTB races, as long as the weather cooperates. First up, is the UFD race at the Lawrence River Trails this weekend. Then its Bone Bender 6hr, Tour de Tick, and Ride with the Devil 6hr. Looking forward to testing out the legs and start working my MTB skills back into shape.
24 February 2010
Scott Genius
This is what I'm riding this year. Actually, I'm riding the 2009 model, but they are mostly the same. The 2010 has the Twinloc feature allowing you to adjust the front and rear suspension on-the-fly from the handlebar, sweet!
Thanks to Rich Anderson I am in the Ouachita Challenge again this year. Unfortunately, I had assumed I wasn't racing it so I'm a little behind on the training. I'll see what I can do over the next month to get ready!
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