NORBA Finals - Mt Snow, VT

This past weekend's NORBA Nationals race at Mt. Snow was exactly what i had hoped for! I wrote a race report for the crankracing message boards on Monday - and am recycling it here (mostly) as i simply haven't had much time for writing in the blog recently. But, the good news is that Jenn and I have almost dug-out from underneather the piles of work on our desks and in our house - and just in time for our long awaited summer vacation which commences at 5p this Friday! Jenn's the one who's really been under the gun with work, which has effected her running and pretty much everything else, but she still found the time to go with me to Mt Snow this weekend... we both sat at our computers till 10-11p on Friday night to make it happen... but it was really great to have her support at this one.

RACE WEEKEND RECAP:

jenn and i arrived at Mt Snow, VT at 3pm on sat - we headed directly to the race site to catch the pro race. it was really cool to see our heros ride the course. adam craig - a guy who's attitude i really dig... and to see Allison Dunlap destroy the women's field and take a win at the last NORBA race of her career - smiling the whole way! i didn't know at the time it was her last race, i just thought she was the happiest pro on the planet (especially the last lap) - of course, being in front for the final two laps probably helped bring a smile to her face...

by hanging-out near the pit mechanics, i also got to recon what the pros were using for tires/wheelsets/brakes (mavic disc sl's almost all the way around), how they made bottle exchanges, when they goo-ed (i then ate my cliff shot at the same time/place on the course the next day - man those things give you the go-go juice!)...

after we soaked-in the pro scene, i headed-out to pre-ride the course around 6p. a really friendly fellow EFTA racer in the master's cat (he nabbing 2nd in his cat the next day!) gave me some excellent tips on the what to pre-ride and what to look for - nice! he also warned me that i shouldn't even bother trying to climb certain sections of the course - as it was too tough... and to take it easy on the descent... my legs felt great on the pre-ride, climbing was literally effortless and i knew it was going to be a good one... i pre-rode some of the trickier climbs and descents a few times and within an hour was back at the hotel, making last-min tire changes, etc... ready to eat, sleep, and race! little did i know that this dry, smooth course was about to turn to mud! (jenn told me it was going to rain, but i didn't believe it)...

sunday began at 545a under heavy skies and a drizzly rain... by 6a, i was huddled over a bowl of oatmeal, anxiously waiting with a pack of other riders for our hotel staff to bring the coffee out. we could barely speak - 15mins later, we were chatting it up like old school chums. the power of caffine. after suffering from bad cramps in my other "short" races of the season, i woke-up early to eat and drink, then let it settle...

before i get into the race recap, the most important thing about sunday, was that I had a blast riding my bike! It was pure joy. Having Jenn there to support me - and be there with bottle hand-ups (Hammer HEED - great stuff!), was really fantastic, as was Roz getting out of bed so early to camp-out high in the woods (in the pouring rain) to cheer us through the technical climbs.

The course at Mt Snow is relatively short (5miles or so), but a real fun challenge. It begins with a short loop up and down the ski slope (i call this the "prologue section") to the right of the mtn, then cuts back across to the left and heads up, up, up for about 2miles. The climb is on a mix of open ski slopes, fireroad and technical singletrack - stuff I had been warned was "unclimbable." After reaching the top of the climb (about 15mins of steady uphill riding), we head downhill almost exclusively on technical, blown-out singletrack, some real challenging sections, 90 degree turns and some rocky headwalls to navigate - real white-knuckle riding - for 15mins or so! At the bottom of the descent it's a short 1/4-1/2 mile sprint to the finish.

I started the race by blasting-off the start, opening-up a gap after the prologue part of the course, then heading into the long major climb I put it all out there, opening-up a good 2min? (not like i could look back and tell!) gap by the top. Since my legs felt so good, my goal for the race was to sprint, open a solid gap, survive the descent and stay far enough ahead that no one ever saw me. Out of sight, out of mind. BUT, I crashed 3times on the first descent, rim brakes just weren't working in the rain on that technical terrain - the third was a bad one - was rattled from the other two and made a bad mistake when a course marshall blew a whistle as i went by. It really startled me, i hadn't even seen her squatting in the woods...

But, my crashes weren't the course marshall's fault, but of my own choice. I choose to ride the ultra-light, titanium hardtail with rim brakes vs the full suspension Ellsworth Truth with disc brakes. I also thought we were in for a dry course! The rain had changed conditions and i simply couldn't go into the technical sections with any speed on the rim brakes - i was out of control at the same speeds i had pre-rode the course at in dry conditions. On the 3rd crash my bars rolled fwd and I had to loosen the stem-up to roll 'em back. When I did that I also let more air out of the serac's to hook-up better in the rain, figured as long as I'm off the bike and getting passed (by 2 guys in age), I might as well get the steed dialed-in perfectly for the next 2 laps!

I hammered the flats and the prologue section at the bottom, then reeled-in #1 & 2 on the climb of lap 2. On the real steep, technical section of the climb, I'd get fired-up and just put it all into the bike, yell "track" to the riders pushing their bikes up the line (including the fellows i was battling for position with), as everyone believed it was un-ridable. it was a blur of effort - but so rewarding, so much fun to clean something I didn't think would be possible. it's little breakthroughs that make racing so rewarding - it isn't beating a fellow rider, but beating my own expectations that i love... Roz had camped-out a little above that section and hearing her yelling helped me clean the next section too - and get some nice encouragement from the crowd.

Basically, 3 of us battled it out the whole race after my first lap's disasterous descent, but I knew I couldn't win this one after the first lap - there wasn't enough room after the descent and before the finish to catch-up to the other 2 guys in time. My hand fatigue got so bad (from white-knuckling the rim brake levers for 15mins straight) after the 3rd lap I had to punch the shifters to get them to change for the final sprint to the finish - last thing i needed was someone passing me on the flat to the finish 'cause i didn't have enough thumb strength to shift!

I ended-up 3rd in 30-34, but definitely proved to myself that the legs have made a leap in performance this year. The fastest expert rider of the day was about 9mins ahead, but there were only a handful of these "young guns" - and they were all in the 19-24 age bracket! Future pros, maybe... The 25-29 age bracket was also a little tougher, but by less time than the youngsters. Basically, they were riding their race and we were riding ours. All of the sub 40 age brackets had about 3-4mins between 1st and 5th. Nice, tight racing. A real good time - on an excellent course.

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE:

Results haven't been posted yet for the Expert Men's race, but when they are, they'll be here. They did post the semi-pro results. Semi-pros did an extra lap (vs the Expert's), but they also had nice, dry conditions, while we had a river running-down the descent by the end. Anyway, I rode a 2:02 (40:40 laps), which with an extra lap would have placed me somewhere around 15th place in Semi-Pro - of course, this is all conjecture... but i know my legs could have done another lap no problem... anyway, like i said, it's all conjecture, but it is clear i have officially made the next step forward on the bike - and am far stronger now than i've ever been - and could conceivably compete at the semi-pro level if desired. Pretty damn cool. And i'm pretty damn psyched!

norba nationals @ mt snow this weekend

So, I went for a run on Wednesday afternoon. Without my bike. The real deal. Sneakers, little shorts, no jersey. It was also our third wedding anniversary and Jenn & I thought it'd be fun to run a relay race together... we filled-out our 4-person team with Andy and Roz, while Rob ran with some other folks from Crank. Somehow I ended-up doing the first leg, lined-up at the back of the pack, but found myself inexplicably moving-up through the field after the start. Running is hard. It hurts. It is slow. By the 1 mile mark i had to keep telling myself to "find a rhythm, find a rhythm," and i guess i did as i finished in a respectable time, running a little over 6:15mile pace. Everyone else ran their legs, Rob flew through his, Andy suffered the pains of a large chicken-parm sub he ate a few hours before, Jenn ran well, but was disappointed that she wasn't where she was before Jay... after the race, Jenn and I chilled-out with our peeps, enjoyed the good vibes of the scene at Lynn Woods, then headed home to get cleaned-up before going to a relatively extravagent late-night diner at Union on Washington St in the South End to continue our Anniversary evening... it was nice...

Then i woke-up on thursday. AGGHHHH!!!!! I'm walking around like a 100 year-old man. Taking stairs sideways, one at a time. Quads, calves, shins, feet - just got torn-up! I knew i'd be a little bit sore, but this is crazy... I've had really good, strong legs all week, so i'm hoping this hasn't damaged my "cycling" muscles and is limited to other portions of my muscle groups... who knows... all i know is that today is friday and i'm still hurting pretty bad. Andy and I went for a rippin' little ride yesterday - and by the end i felt great... got home, took a bath, loosened-up and felt even better, then woke-up this morning sore as hell again... here's hoping it won't effect this weekend's race as a good result would look fantastic on the race resume when i submit it this fall to some sponsors i want to "feel out." Hammer Products, Seven Cycles, Litespeed, etc, etc... see if anyone bites and is willing to help me out - as expenses have been through the roof this year - even with the pro-deals from Crank and Pedros - and Jamie's constant assistance (he'll always be the man - and my shop - that guy rocks!). I'm carrying credit card debt for the first time in 5 years - and a ton of it is cycling related... and it's not like i'm splurging - i'm just replacing what is broken - drivetrains and the like... but i did finally get the Litespeed Pisgah built-out as a race machine! Which brings me to Great Glen 24...

What a blast of a race! Andy, Daren, Brad and I kept the whole campground awake the night before, then rode like banshees the next day, battling for a third place finish in the Expert cat. We definitely won the "rock-star" award for this one! Harry Precourt's team of 18 year-old dudes rode 4 mins stronger to finish 2nd. We had about 20mins on them going into the night, but by morning they had pulled 20mins ahead. We battled-back valiantly, smiling and having a good time the whole way, but couldn't quite catch 'em... Brad and Daren also thought it approprate to climb above treeline on the Mt. Washington auto-road the night before at 2am, but that is another story for another day...

For me, a big part of the weekend was about my legs - and riding the Pisgah ti hardtail for the first time in competition since outfitting it with light, stiff, racing parts. I started the race off for us with a 1/3rd mile Le Mans start (run) w/ about 100-150 other riders under perfect conditions - low humidity, clear blue skies with whisps of cloud moving across the gnarled tops of the Presidential Range. As we came around the pond and through the transition tent, I grabbed my rocket-ship off the racks and racks of wonderous race machines and blasted-off onto the trail, someone in 10-15th place. Perfecto.

The course begins by going across Rt 16, up a steep series of switchbacks, then back down across the road into a long stretch of rolling, tight-turning fireroad. My legs felt great, the climbing was easier than i ever remember it being and i quickly began making passes. As we wound our way back down onto a long fireroad section i slowly dropped strong rider after rider. It was like my legs were possessed. Minimal lactic burn, pushing huge gears and getting over the rollers with a ton of momentum on the backside - keeping the pace high. As we moved through the first couple sections of singletrack i continued to drop the remaining few riders until i knew there were only 1 or 2 fellows in front. I scanned every turn for their backs... at mile 4 i heard someone gaining on me. He was far enough back that i would only hear him occasionally - like at the bottom of a climb as i rounded the top, but it was also clear that he was slowly reeling me in. Staring at my back and pulling himself up. Who is this guy?!

By mile 6 he was within 100 feet and i still hadn't seen the backs of the 2 guys I'd been chasing. I was now officially not the chaser, but a rabbit with it's hair on fire. There was no way this guy, whoever he is, was going to pass me before the finish - 2 miles to go... With a little more than 1mile to go we slammed into the last piece of technical singletrack, which climbs up, up, up onto the ridge, before plunging down through the trees and into the open sunlight in front of the spectators - who gather more to see who is going to crash, then who is going to escape the descent in one piece. The guy behind me negotiates the singletrack more efficiently than i and is on my tail by the descent - but it doesn't rattle me and i hammer out of the trees, him in pursuit, through the crowd, i hear Andy yell "pisgah," so i yell PISSGGAAAHHHH" at the top of my lungs, we're back in the trees, dodging through a long series of tight turns, he's almost rubbing my rear tire, then we're out onto the open, tight-turned, big air skills course, 1/3rd of a mile to the finish, we can see the tent on the other side of the pond and field, he swings around me, i grab his wheel and say to him "10 laps to go, it's up to you." We race to the finish, me on his wheel, taking a break, letting him drag me through the open field to the finish - neither of us sprint - too many laps to go for that...

After we hand-off our timing chips to our partners, i see that it is none other than Skip Brown, Professional rider for Seven Cycles. He asks, "Who are you?" We're grinning like idiots - it was a fun ride... I play like i don't know who he is and i ask him the same question. We chit-chat. I feel like a million bucks- i just rode a lap with Skip Brown. My legs have made a break-through. Finally. I'm finally getting to where i never thought i could be... the rest of the race was a blast. Riding with Andy, Brad and Daren is fantastic - their attitudes are superb - all day and all night. I ripped lap after lap - consistent fast times - and in the morning got my chance to chase down Harry's team again and again - ripping lap times i never would have thought myself capable of. It was just a breakthrough... now the question is, are my sore legs up to the task this weekend at NORBA Nationals??? Did the run ruin me? or is it other muscles that are sore - and won't effect my riding... i hope not - and i hope to explode this sunday morning the way i did almost two weeks ago at Great Glen - it would be a fantastic experience - and a sign that GG24 was't a fluke, but the real deal.

gg24 and the love of the ride

Yet again, the bike bins are being packed, hectic last minute changes made to the rig(s), a mid-day drive to Western Cycle planned, new tires priority shipped, etc, etc. There must be a 24 hour race on the horizon. This weekend's team endeavor, however, isn't for training purposes (as I've decided not to attend 24 hour of Adrenaline's World Championships due to a desire to spend quality time with Jenn) and it's not to win at any cost. With a stacked field, our goal is to enjoy the ride. Will we hammer? Of course. Don't mistake a relaxed vibe for a lack of desire to push ourselves to the limit...

This will be my third year racing the Great Glen 24 at the base of Mt Washington. In 2003, I raced with Brad, Andy and Darren for a 5th place finish in the Expert cat. We had many good times despite the heaviest rainfall i've ever encountered - 6 3/4" of rain in 20 hours - it wasn't a moonsoon, it was the great flood. Noah was trying to build an Arc in the main field, but the wood was too wet to work with - and while teams were cracking all around us, we took the elements in stride... just good dudes to ride with.

Last year we switched it up and I rode with Nathan, Rob and Andy. While we finished on the podium and got along great, it was a totally different vibe - it was all about the race, about the minutes and seconds gained or lost on the other teams. I enjoyed the race and the company very much and enjoyed the competition - it's why i train, but it's not the sole reason i ride... "the ride" is freedom, is flow, is power, is finesse, is struggle, is failure and is redemption.

At the start of this year, my focus was still the same - how can I win the Great Glen 24 hour race? How can I be on a team who can do more laps than any other competitor. Not to brag (here it comes!) I've already proven that i can beat 50% of teams at a 24 with my legs alone, now i want to prove that i can beat all teams with 4 sets of legs... Why? I don't know. That's the weird thing about competition. It's an uncontrolable desire and usually inexplicable. As the season wound-on and andy, brad and darren talked of doing the race again together, i thought about the past 2 years at GG24 - and how much I enjoyed riding with them 2003 - and begged my way back into the fold.

Brad is a racer from way back and can hold his own in any EFTA or NORBA Expert cat race, Andy is one of the only guys who scares me when he stands to sprint in the singletrack (poof, he's gone!), and Darren is just an old-school, super-strong rider, more interested in riding epics, carrying his bike up mountains, etc than any of this silly racing business. All three of these guys can ride almost any line on any mountain, what do they have to prove? Their confidence is infectious, their understanding and love of "the ride" much greater than my own. But, that is not to lessen the strength of the other personalities i've had the pleasure to train and race on team 24's with - or how much i've enjoyed their company. Rob, Harry, Jason, Nathan... I'd do a race with any of those guys anytime. Just awesome dudes. And that's the point of all this rambling. You meet great people in this scene... just as you do in the ultra-running scene. Just fantastic personalities... people who understand that life is something to be savored - and that pushing yourself to the limit makes it taste so much better.

Jay Challenge Race Report (a week behind!)

Jenn and I packed-up the car on Friday and headed to Jay, VT to meet-up with the Rob (marathon) & Stacey (belly full of kid); Allison(1/2 marathon) & Kyle; Harry (mtb of course) & his pops. We had a relaxed group dinner chilling-out and got the best sleep we could considering how amped-up everyone in the condo was!

JAY MTN MARATHON (Jenn, Allison (1/2) and Rob):
Saturday was a perfect day for a mountain marathon, with temps in the 70s and not a cloud in the sky. I was sitting this one out, but was excited to tour the aid stations to cheer Jenn/Rob and Allison on. Harry and his dad (Mike) being the super-cool dudes they are, woke-up early and toured the aid stations with me and their dog Powder. Throughout the run it was fantastic to see Jenn coming through each aid station with a big smile. A little less than 10months after her first 8mile trail race she was tackling the hardest mtn marathon in the country - and to make it even tougher, it was 32miles instead of 26.2! Nice one - and one of the many reasons people love to hate the Race Director, Dan DesRoisers. He takes you to the edge - even if you didn't want to go!

Jenn's take:
Quick review of the "run." Allison, Rob and I were chatting at the start and the moment Dan said "go" Rob went and that was the last we saw of him until I crossed the finish line.

It was exactly what I had expected and much much more - like 4 miles more, but hey, who's counting?

We went over the river and through the woods and over the mountain too. It was a merge of Muddy Moose and the Andover race plus a few brook crossings, one water fall navigation and a river crossing. The course was well marked, the volunteers were fantastic at every aid station and the weather was perfect. Not to mention how wonderful the runners were - I'm astounded by how many wonderful people I met along the way and will hopefully stay in touch with them. My only suggestion for next year would be for some other food options - the whole time I was running I was desperate for something other than gummy bears and salted potatoes. To be fair I'm sure everyone craves something different when they're out there running. It's my first race of this nature so I'm just learning that I cannot shake the thought of a nice slice of orange....so of course I bought a whole bag yesterday and signed up for the VT 50 (50 k not miler).

Allison's take:
Good a.m. weary Jay Challenge crew . . . Well, it appears that I'm not as immune to lactic acid snapback as I thought. Was doing well until about 1 pm yesterdayand everything seemed to be seize up - ouch! It's well worth it though, just a reminder that you actually did all this crazy stuff! Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for making the Jay a whole lot of fun and comfortable. To Jenn & Jeff, thanks for coordinating the great lodging, great eats & cookin' -- and to Stacey & Rob for the great snacks, cookies and beer!!! It was the perfect environment to be in, and any pre-race jitters were felled by all the good company, positive vibes, cheering, dogs, etc. I know I felt great going into all this knowing I was in the company of a great crew! A special thanks to Stacey & Jeff for being the best faces you could hope to see at an Aid Station, your enthusiasm/energy were infectious -- and it kept us all going, you rock! And finally, I owe Jenn a huge debt of gratitude for talking me into doing this - I have you to thank for this even being possible. To come away with such a great feeling of achievement is priceless, and I'm so glad you encouraged me to do the event. It was inspiring and so much fun to run with you - look forward to many events, great and small ahead Thanks again all -- as crazy as it sounds (but it won't to this crowd), I can't wait for 2006. Congratulations to everyone for making this so much fun! p.s. Jay Peak is minus 4 slender birch trees . . . shhhhhh, don't tell. Though technically, we're just relocating themto a different PART of Vermont. p.p.s. Leave it to me to get through a 1/2 marathon and then manage to break a baby toe while walkingthrough my laundry room - OW!

Rob's take:
This was definitely the most physically demanding race I've ever done. The terain was varied and helped to keep things interesting. The course had one too many brook running sections for my taste but they were welcome when they came since you had to walk or run slow to pass. I wish I could say the race flew right by and didn't seem like 6+ hours of running - but it did. Dan, the race organizer, was right - Jay Peak was the "meat grinder". Surviving that was tough but then to have 22 more miles of running left after your legs have been toasted is a challenge.

Fueling your body for long runs is much different than biking and the "only" issue I had was bad stomach cramping from too many sweet drinks/gummy bears/gels. Stuff sloshes around much more running (duh!) The aid stations didn't have salted potatoes after the halfway point so my stomach rebeled. Chicken broth would have helped.

This race had by far the nicest specatators, aid station personnel and most of all, other competitors. I guess everyone realized what a challenge it was.

My hat's off to those who did all 3 days. That's UNBELIEVABLE. As for next year? Don't mention it for several months...

JAY 60 MTB (me):
Sunday morning was just as picture perfect as Saturday. The race started well and I got into a similar position climbing Jay Peak as last year - 100meters behind the lead group, working hard, sweat running-down my arms in the relatively cool temperature. My legs were telling me to keep it up, no problem senor, but my stomach wasn't pysched with water so i let the sweat drip, not willing to ease-up on the legs. Had to dismount, push, run, walk, push a few times, but rode some sections i couldn't clear last year. As I neared the summit with legs feeling solid, I had a burning desire to bridge-up to the lead group. To this end I was willing to use little or no brake as I rounded the final bend and began the descent. Very quickly the headwall dropped-off , speed became unrealistic and I was coming off the bike, hurtling forward - head towards the ground, but the pitch was such that the top of my helmet careened across a rock as it came forward - can't remember if the bike was attached or not, then back around to fall hard onto the ground on my shoulder. Back-up quick, grabbing the bike a few feet up the slope, untangling the cables and back on with hands squeezing brakes for dear life... then slowly easing-off the brake as the ride takes back over, the pitch behind me, wood bridges over steep perpendicular waterbars coming now, speed, brake, slamming-down onto the wood and back-out the far side with all speed possible, 5 or 6 of those, around a corner and into the first of a series of smaller waterbars, this time without planking covers, front tire down in and immediately flying back-out the 1-2' gully, bike up into the air with the back-end following suit, higher into the air than anticipated, but tires back-down with squirrly landing, arms holding it together, then pushing the bike towards the ground on exit of the next waterbar, then the next and the next, using my bike's 4" of travel to keep me on the earth versus shooting-out the far side of a waterbar high in the air - half in control...

On the bottom of the descent a mile or two past the spectators, I bridge back up to the leaders, but as i cruise into their ranks, one of them pulls a wheelie and rides uphill for quite some time as i huff and puff by him. I enter the first section of atv track in front of the pack, pace is pretty mellow, i'm debating whether i should pick it up and ditch guy who is running the "mud" puddles in front of me, but know the leaders are coming... and within a few miles the leaders open-up their legs and cruise past at a pace not reasonable for me to maintain. A couple guys offer encouragement as they go by. Unexpected. For 3-4miles I was in 2nd or 3rd place at the Jay Challenge. Does this mean anything? Nope.

As the leaders cruised by, I hung with my pace and waited for the next group of riders to approach - i'm very accustomed to racing alone and find it similar to doing a hard endurance training effort. Just keep the rpm's up and push the biggest gear I can at HRM 140-160, keeping lactic burn to a minimum at all times. I didn't see anyone until Nathan came maybe an hour after the climb? - at aid station 4 (he punctured off jay and had lost time)... at this point been mostly on really fast fireroads - not really my deal, but i can try to hang (but not with Nathan!). As Nathan passes me as well as 2 other faster fireroad fellows, he mentions he doesn't have enough air in his rear tire. No problemo, that's why I carry 48grams of CO2, just in case. I hand him up 16grams as he pulls away (where's the singletrack at! - I'm no roadie!). Anyway, not 30secs later I feel my rear tire flattening. A brand new tubeless Serac. Just put it on the night before. The sidewall is torn. How? We've only been on maybe 5 miles of ATV roads and 20miles of fireroad, how could the sidewall bust? Anyway, I patch it up and continue, losing some time, but at this point, I'm not too worried...

I catch Nathan as we search for a missing trail marker and finally enter some sweet singletrack. I'm having a friggin' blast! My legs feel solid, I'm right where I want to be in the race, the sun is streaming down through the trees and i'm seeing all the lines. Some early stomach issues have resolved themselves, I'm drinking like a fish now... Then I feel the rear tire going flat again. I pull over. New rip in the sidewall, different spot. WTF? I've been riding clean - the only part of my tire that's touched a rock are the treads, I'm not slopping through this. I try to patch, but the hole is just too big. I try to put a tube in it, but it rips through the hole and I somehow tear the tube. A group of rider swings by and someone hands me some instant patch, so I dump a bunch of super-glue in the rip with a luna wrapper and the instant patch. It holds. 10+mins gone. I get going and not 5-10mins later, psssttt... Rear tire going flat! WTF!!! Now I've got a rip right down the middle of the tire, between two treads. YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING!!! I begin to run/ride - it's only 5 miles to aid station 7, jenn should be there with my gear box, I'm pissed, frustrated, all that... Then who do I see again? Nathan. Broken chain. What the heck is happening to us!!?? Nathan offers me his rear wheel. I offer him my chain. Nathan tells me to get going and figure it out at aid station 7. I try to ride as much as i can, but it's as hard to ride a flat as it is to run... and my sweet Mavic SL rear wheel doesn't deserve being ridden over rocks and roots with a flat!

Aid station 7 wasn't accessible by car. No Jenn. How may miles to aid station 8? No one knows. Yack. Nathan offers me his wheel again, he's broken his chain yet again! I offer him my chain again. He's a better rider, he should go on, I'll take the DNF. No dice. Nathan won't do it. I get going again on the flat, nathan is trying to wait-up for me, I'm mad as hell that this is happening - I go 110%. 10 people pass me, my heart is maxed, aid station 8 can't be that much farther... I make it to aid station 8, jenn and mike (harry's dad) are there, as are our dogs. They lick. I swear. Nathan waited or was doing repairs... He offers to wait for me. I know he's faster than i at this point and i don't want him to wait, so I tell him it'll take me 10mins for me to change my UST tire. He looks perplexed that I'm that bad of a mechanic (I've already taken this tire off 3 times today!). It takes me 3-4mins to change the tubeless, I'm so pissed I want to DNF. I never DNF. Jenn tells me to just relax and enjoy the ride. I eat an orange she peeled. Mmmmm.

The ride. My legs are trashed from running/riding a flat. Thank god for the ride. After aid station 8, we hit a decent climb. I go real slow, trying to recoup some energy, but the course immediately begins the 2nd of 3 major climbs. As we enter some ATV track that wraps up and down, up and down through a Sugarbush stand, I begin moving through the field again. This is mtbiking! I've regained my composure. The next 20miles go w/o incident - and before we hit the pavement to climb Jay Pass, we get some more really nice singletrack. I take it easy and enjoy, my legs are pretty fried and I'm saving my gas for Jay Pass. I chit-chat with the guy in front of me for a couple miles and just enjoy the ride...

I get onto the asphalt and the guy who was in front of me through the woods tells me to get on his wheel. I do for a min, they pull ahead to pull. I look back and he's 25feet behind - he yells up, "see ya' at the finish." I mutter, "if i can hold this pace." Before I even get to Jay Pass I crumble. I get cold sweats, have to stop, get-off the bike and just stand in the road. I didn't eat or drink enough all day and combined with the running - i've cracked. First time i can remember this happening... a weird feeling of powerlessness... everything was shimmering. A support vehicle cruises by and asks if I'm ok. I say yes. The guy I've decided not to pace with, passes me and says, "come-on brother! don't stop now!" Other folks I'd seen earlier in the course also pass, and also offer words of encouragement.

I begin to walk, try to ride, then walk again. 5mins passes and so do the cold sweats. I'm back in the saddle - sticking to the 32-34 instead of pushing with the middle ring. I cruise up and over Jay Pass pretty slowly, Jenn and Mike are cheering, she hands me some oranges and they're just the energy i need. 35mins later, i'm an hour behind schedule, but crossing the finish. Dan "triple threat" DesRoisers is there - as he is for every racer he can be there for to congratulate. Race completed. Done. Done. Done.

Nathan would finish 30mins ahead of me - and Harry about 15mins behind. They're both animals! Awesome rides!

Overall, from my jersey pockets, i handed-out 4 electrolyte tabs and 3 succeed caps to ailing riders, gave my water bottle to a rider who lost his and was w/o fluids, gave nathan some CO2 AND RECEIVED FROM OTHER RIDER's jersey pockets, 2 pieces of patch, a tube, and lots of and lots of offers for assistance as i struggled through those miles with the defective tire. That's what a race should be. Riders helping riders. Good vibes all over the course. As Dan DesRoisers says, "it's all good."

Jenn and Allison before the race:


Jay Peak. The runners ran/walked it and the bikers rode/pushed it. Jenn and Allison are to the right of the pole in the center of the pic:


And they're off like a herd of turtles!


Jenn getting some aid:


This is some burly, burly stuff:


26miles into it and Jenn's still smiling and posing for the camera!


As Allison would call him, Dan "triple threat" DesRoisers - one solid race director:


Took a nasty spill trying to go no-brakes off Jay, but back in focus at base:


Harry taking it to the line - look at the pain on his face!

been too long...

It's been a while since i've had time to sit and spend some time on the blog. Work has ramped-up the past couple weeks, then Jenn and I were off to the Jay Challenge, then back into high-speed work-mode on Monday (and pretty beat from Jay)... then on Friday evening we scooted-down to Atlanta to chill with my folks. Now we're getting ready to fly back home, but due to some thunderstorms delaying our flight, have found 30mins to get some thoughts together... This weekend we had a great meal with the folks at a fantastic fish place on the chattahoochie (sp) river, saw my grandpa for brunch today, watched my mom do her thing in the church choir - and of course, got to ride...

Today kicked-off at 645a with a hilly 2-hour ride under heavy cloud, but unexpectadly pleasant temps. One of my dad's riding buddies let me borrow an older steel framed bike, a little large, but well-maintained and with good components. A year ago we would have been playing golf, but now that Jeff Sr has gone bike crazy, we were out with his new riding buddies hammering the hills before most people have gotten their first cup of coffee.

It was great to meet my dad's crew and talk a little about their cycling goals - which right now include getting a century ride in before winter strikes... right-on!

In other news, i posted a race report for the Jay Challenge to the CrankRacing forum, but will publish one here in a few mins - have some pics and some stories that need to be told before it gets too stale. Man, i need a couple 30hour days to get caught-up with my life!