shenenandoah 100, a race report

friday night, whilst sharing a room w/andy in allentown halfway through a monster drive, lloyd, floyd, chris, ramponi, and others were enjoying each other's company over a cpl-few pints somewhere outside harrisonburg, va. as harvey mentioned in a post, the floyd factor is on, but after rubbing elbows, i'm not sure what the floyd factor is... the picture that most sticks in my mind from the weekend is winner jeff schalk struggling to open the winner's champagne, hands it to floyd for the honors. the cork pops and floyd lightly sprays a crowd of a few hundred, not wearing yellow in paris, but blue cotton in backwoods virginia, as down-to-earth as anyone i've met.

pre-5a wake-up, strong coffee, struggle to eat, wait for ramponi's energy to flow into my pysche. the campground awakens around us, the sun quick to rise, time moves quick on race morning, soon we're lined-up shoulder to shoulder.

manage to roll my front tire off the rim while still in the campground, ride the mostly flat old ust a few miles out onto the fireroad, until the field thins, man this is a fast start to a hundie!, have the co2 loaded and in my hand before hitting the brakes, get 20-30psi in there and back in the saddle quick, not enough air to get the bead back onto the rim, have to repeat the procedure a cpl time until things hold, running low on co2's, tripping on that until a group of 6 forms around sue haywood after the first big singletrack climb. she's flying, doing all the pulling, so i do a long turn then float to the back, can't seem to recover, is it me or sue's pace!? she's flying. aid 2 goes by. aid 3. the group is down to 4, then i'm dropped. it's a matter of self preservation, go hard now and suffer later or take a deep breath, find my tempo, and wait for shenandoah mtn...

the miles tick slowly by, some great pieces of singletrack, ripping descents! aid 4. can't see anyone in front or behind, where are the other 470 folks riding this race!? btw, the volunteers in this event are incredible - thankyou!

on to aid 5 and shenandoah mtn, the road begins to drag, i downshift, look around, no one notices, so i downshift again, just can't get things going. out of nowhere harvey appears, he's pumped, riding strong, magic legs driving his bus. after the race he's talking about the views off shenandoah, the flowers, the scenary... what flowers!? i was deep in the cave, a cpl riders push past before aid 5. this mtn doesn't quit, across the ridge through thick fields offering stunning views, don't see much but dirt and pain.

then we descend. and descend. and descend. i've stopped using the rear brake as a solution to tendonitis in my right arm, its flowing now, feeling good, make-up time for the first time in 30miles, 15-20m to go, time to decide if i'm gonna let bored legs dictate my ride or fight it to the end. grab Jens Nielsen's wheel, try to hang-on as he guides his rig to its 7th shenandoah 100.

jens ditches me up the final fireroad climb, pass a cpl others, but greg turner holds me off, i believe he's 51!, but he makes a wrong turn in the campground, i'm pushing hard w/mashed-potato legs, this is all i got, where is that beer!?, then see a tent, it's right there! a smile finally crosses my face, barely. this has been a hard one. a personal journey, an amazing ride ... the legs weren't there, but fight through it and rip a good time on a dry, fast course. 16th in 8:24.

andy has an incredible ride, blasting 20-30mins from his 2006 time - on his ss - for 3rd in the class! i think he's found his calling. dude's an animal. harlan takes second after an interesting day playing yo-yo w/floyd, harvey in 13th, his legs and attitude incredible, a great ride, buck, lloyd, ramponi, swamper, jeff, and patrick all wearing green, a sea of green... thnks to chris scott, his family, his volunteers, this event is the shit! i'm no rockstar and go down in a swirl of beer and whiskey well before midnight, good times, thanks to all those involved once again.

jonathon bruck photography, great pics of the event... had to borrow this one of andy coming across the finish, this dude is pumped! and he should be - first time on an ss and he grabs podium!!!

there's so much more to say... as a season of epics winds to a close and a long winter awaits, the woodstove already burning up here in vermont... too much to say... anyone who rides w/these epic races as a goal knows what i'm saying. it's time to have some fun and ride w/friends. see ya' at the kahuna!

preppin' for another hundie

wish i could fired-up about this one the way i was for the wilderness 101. that was the race, the big one, the one i'd visualized since march, riding-up roxbury gap on the cross bike through nasty muddy slush freezing into layer upon layer on the booties... went into the season with one major goal - a top 10 overall finish in the NUE 100m endurance series, hoping to be close to the top 5... but then the seatpost snapped and my season goal was crushed. w/only time to schedule 4 of the races and dnf'ing one, it was ovah - and now that i'm packing-up my gear for shen, it isn't with the same zeal, nervousness, and excitement that usually proceeds such an event. the 12hr drive looms, the green mtn stage race is going-off out my front door, what am i driving down there for?... for a little bit of redemption i suppose, to cash-in all those deposits of pain laid-down this spring and summer... i truly love these events, as andy would say, "more moments." moments of doubt, of joy, the sense of accomplishment - or failure.

so now i need to adjust my thinking and make Shen the Big One! gotta get fired up!!! lots of quality in the legs and this wk, lots of rest. been on the cutting, splitting, stacking wood training plan and feeling good. tendonitis in my right arm has been an issue since starting carpentry work a cpl months ago... excuses, excuses... but it is worrisome. training w/the tendonitis is fine as i can stop and shake-out my hand, get feeling into my fingers, but in races you gotta be on the ball... just takes more focus to ride w/an impairment... need to find the focus, get fired-up!!!!

The Pinnacle

made a last minute trip to The Pinnacle, EFTA NECS #8 this wknd. it being my 5th wedding anniversary i was surprised at the opportunity however unfortunate the circustance. see, miriam also decided to attend the event, albeit with a wound in her leg comparable to a shark or grizzly bear attack. we had to see how miriam was doing, and drat, there's a race involved.

been having good legs all week, pushing hard, shenandoah 100 on the near horizon, last chance to lay-down some quality. a large nail made waste to my only road rims on a ride w/sean up middlebury and app gaps the wknd prior and had been forced solely onto the mtbike, ripping it up and down the Valley walls on singletrack sweeter than any i've ever ridden. hadn't had time to get-out on the singletrack much this summer. just like in winter, can't believe how quick the season flies by, but as usual, find the time before it's too late. smooth and flowing switchbacks through stands of wide Beech, prime black bear habitat, to well laid-out descents through root and rock gardens that i probably shouldn't be bombing alone. nature is so close on these rides, the perfect flow so frequently just out of reach. tuesday, it finally came together on trails not previously explored. good legs help. by wednesday i'd dragged Sean the same way, made a new turn steep down the opposite fall line, soon into blow-downs and junk, ghost trails, then the long hike up the way we'd come... only way to learn unmarked trails is to ride 'em all, even the shitty ones...

but really, the riding is just a subtext to it all, sometimes selfish, other times redemptive, pure, necessary. middle ground is there, been trying to find it, keep to it.

sunday. the pinnacle. pj and crew organize and run great events, build and maintain the trails - and rip it up out there! good folks, this is a favorite race. the singletrack is unrelenting, the climbs for realzy, and the downhills downright epic.

lined-up w/the best in new england, stacked field! had a nice start but felt it quick, soon eased-into it behind 5 others, moody and o'keefe breaking-off the front. schmid and i found ourselves trading places, my hands so numb on the technical descent of the first climb that i wondered how the hell i was gonna do this race, but as i relaxed, so did the grip and by the 2nd descent was in more of a groove on these fantastic trails, yet not anyway near the flow. hit the last descent and i'm over the bars, pedal clipped a rock, somehow land on my feet before summersaulting hard to the ground. back up and to the bike, looks fine, on and pedaling, right foot won't clip in, won't clip in, won't clip in... yup, busted. 2nd pair of crankbros pedals to bust this yr, i'm done w/em. ordered a set of heavier, stauncher shimanos today.

since i was out of it, the rest of the race is thom's tale to tell. can't help but give a quick summary, that dude had a great ride! steady and strong, had a feeling after the first 20-30mins of tough singletrack that i'd see thom before we rode all 27miles of course, gnarly trails and tough climbs are that guy's specialty. nice one. was also great to see how well miriam was doing, spirits high.

GG24

2a, there isn't a hint of moon, starlight on the fireroads, which isn't much, HID casting a long and wide beam, legs pump and churn, out of the saddle on the climbs, on the technical singletrack aim for the middle, the full suspension line, my steel IF hardtail bucking, a flying ghost to the solo riders, many of them deep into their suffering, when will morning come?, the night air refreshing and invigorating, the competition stiff, chasing, can i pull our team a minute or two closer?, john foley somewhere in front, is he standing on the climbs?, did he dab on that pile of off-camber roots as i just did?, got to get it flowing, past a group of racers who've pulled over to let me by up the narrow rocky climb, back onto the fireroad, see the 6m sign, 2.25m to go, push, push, then flying down a well-laid ribbon of moist dirt on the fireroad, "a luge track" as foley calls it, see the entrance to final technical singletrack, stay in middle ring, have to bang this one out, push, push, steep and technical here, "ahhhgggg", in pants, "rider, rider!" to the those pushing their bikes, across the ridge and down hard to the left into a steep overworn descent, out into a massive stand of birch where even at this hr a few spectators clap and whistle, back into the trees, quickly through last piece of flowing singletrack, out into the field, through the skills course, let a little air rip on a burm, through it and mash around the pond, this sprint is always a cpl hundred ft longer than i remember, the bright lights of the tent almost blinding, there's greg, hand-out for the baton, he seems unhurried, but once on the course he is nothing short of a tazmanian devil.

finishing loop
morning
andy


greg

thom and greg, waiting for andy to finish-up
all done
harry takes it! 1st 19-39 soloist, 2nd out of 55 solo competitors, he's cooked! sweet, nice job h-bomb, you the man, fought through bad lights, off the bike for over an hr working it out, fights back for the win!
jason achlich works it out on the ss, winning the ss solo class! nice one dude.
me, harrry and andy, after 24hrs of racin'
igleheart having a laugh
our splits, nice and steady, minus a night-lap issue w/bad lights, everyone did their part, rode as hard as they could, we all had a bad lap or two, but fought back to kill it... and have to mention thom's efforts on his SS - unbelievable!

but it wasn't quite enough for the win! taking 2nd overall to chris, matt, john and... can't remember his name. they took a cpl minute lead early in the night and never gave it up, nice racin' fellas, no mistakes from their camp. thanks andy, thom, and greg for a great one. that was by far the "easiest" 24hr race i've done - it's all about the company! you guys are the shit. thanks to igleheart for dinner and the support, like the use of his lights, w/o'em we'd have been effed. thnks to mike precourt for being the man. miriam, if you read this silliness, get well, heal-up quick and let's ride!

Wilderness 101

fri. made the drive to amish country w/andy, harry and thom, the seven cycles van motoring nearby, skip, lloyd, kerry, greg, and mike aboard - all good folks, all bringing a totally unique personality and reason for loving being on their bikes all day - mike's love was clearest as he yelled and sang, "i'm gonna ride my bike all day, bike all day!!!" during the opening miles. and after hanging w/mike, can't stop yelling, "wet melba toast!"

we pile-out of air conditioned comfort into the stifling heat of coburn, pa, sweating just standing around, so i move slow and drink lots. problem solved, but inadvertantly make everyone wait on me for a mass pre-ride. quick 4-5m jaunt on the technical fisherman's path, chit-chat, jeez these rocks are big... feeling good about saturday.

7a start, not as humid this morning, we're all taking it nice and easy, cpl miles into it i sense we're picking-up, paranoid ab0ut getting stuck back like at mohican, start to make my way forward, 250'ish folks out here, lots of good spirits, slowly move past mike singing the joys of all-day riding. we begin to climb and find myself working harder, eventually see that we're reeling-in someone who's gone off the front, happens a cpl more times. keep moving up, not looking to push the pace, just cruising, see the usual suspects, some not-so-usual, we're all waiting for the singletrack, the big climbs, the hand-numbing descents, the fun!

the road begins to head down to the left and i'm 2nd or 3rd wheel, pull ahead, needed to drive this bus at least once, screaming down, old piranha's not hooking-up well, tap the brakes, need to shed some speed and hear a loud "yip-yip-yeah!" behind, slide to the outside and jb rolls through the corner full-tilt, big smile, me sliding way right barely holding-on. not sure how you couldn't be having fun! past aid 1 and into the first big climb. tinker, josh, harlan, jb, and sam do their thing, take it off the front, i wish harlan the best of luck as he moves along. if you didn't already know, harlan lays it down and breaks the course record! w/ jb also breaking the course record, a mere 5mins in front. harlan certainly has been doing his homework, jb mentions in his race report that harlan picked-up a gear or two this yr, no doubt!

a number of chase groups form, i try to take it easy on the climbs, lots of work ahead of us today, patience always pays. a cpl big climbs and surprisingly tough, fast, super damn fun descents later i find myself working in the midst of a mixed group (ss and geared) of local tough guys, greg, andy. a move is made at the btm of little shingletown, not sure where we are so i work hard to close the 10-15 sec gap, grab greg en route, get-on, group slows. ha.

we all stop at aid 2 and re-load. smaller groups form, find my climbing cadence, which means riding alone, watching as guys come back or move up, constantly yo-yo'ing. take a spill on a high-speed corner, tire simply not hooking-up, rip hip back open, later find that my pump was all f'ed and i had 45psi vs 32 in the front tire, kinda a big difference, one i should have caught. blame the fall on andy's line, wasn't his fault, just pissed-off. up quick and through aid 3. enter a nice singletrack climb, the climbs just don't seem steep today, everything feels so right. cpl miles into it i lay-down a touch more power, have been eating/drinking on schedule, riding conservatively, but experienced enough (finally) to know it can change at any second, need to stay on pace till it's time (last 10m), sitting right where i want to be, somewhere between 8th-12th position, hard to know exactly. start playing with the trail, having a blast. the descent gets pretty narrow, ravine to the right, sandy, scary, make it down and let-out a "whooop!" - that's the best, involuntary "whoops!" good stuff. these trails are gnarly, nice and technical, but good flow, can really roll. the rock types are sharper down here than in new england, more sand, see more folks flatted than any race in memory.

a mile later (mile 60 something), SNAP! my seatpost sheers-off at the seat-tube. hun!? what!? really!? it's sheared-off right at the seat-tube. i try to remove it, no way, then try to push the broken piece down with the seatpost, no go, start banging the seatpost down w/a rock... no dice. a few mins have gone by, cpl riders. i put the seatpost in my camelback and move-on, my race is over, around the corner is greg. flat tire. he's not into it. mentions he's gonna wait for thom and ride w/him. andy rolls-up looking strong. soon we're rolling, i keep-up for a while, then andy is gone, then greg. my feet are burning from standing on the pedals, wasn't bad for the first cpl miles, but by aid 4 (mile 70'ish), i realize this is really over, the sag wagon awaits! sucky.

i felt no guilt in drinking many beers, but do feel bad for telling folks that my fireroad whipe-out was andy's fault. old, bald tires, bad air. not good air. bad air. too much air.

am definitely bummed how things turned-out, was focused on having a good one here and being in the overall top 10 for the 100 miler series... practically took my entire bike apart for maintenance, but never checked the seatpost... next up, the SM100. may not ride so conservatively there, got nothing to lose!

Putney / West Hill XC

woke-up to a near bluebird day, loaded-up the family and headed-down to putney vermont for the 7th race of the norba root66 xc series. mikey-j smoked a pork shoulder the night before that was stupid good, maybe the best ever bbq'd, hard to say, will have to keep taste testing, beers flowing, bonfire going, was hard to keep it in check. a clear head and bounce in the step sunday morning had me almost more nervous, no excuses today. was in a bit of a mood en route, nervous, hoped to have a good one. bumped into Mo at registration and she reminded me that we do this for fun. no doubt, need that advice sometimes.

staged in a small field under a row of varied colored leader's jerseys blowing in the breeze, prayer flags for dirt freaks. Five 4-5m laps for us, hit the woods mid-pack in a congo line. justin (finn) and john (foley) seemed to escape early. brett (racine) soon passed as i slipped around a cpl guys into 4th w/chris (hamlin) on the wheel up the first climb. brett was sidelined shortly after w/a broken chain, figured i'd see him again before the finish.

would catch glimpses of john early-on, after that thought he was way up, the short flowing switchbacks of the course making it hard to mark the competition. the trails were in perfect condition, fast smooth flowing singletrack w/a cpl technical sections thrown-in to keep ya' honest. a cpl of the descents had a few tricks and was having a lot of fun picking lines at high-speed, the hardtail bucking, a great roller on the 2nd to last descent had me skying-out the Steel Deluxe a bit, couldn't wait to get to that portion of the course each lap.

would occasionally try to shake chris, but he refused to let go, could open-up a small gap on a climb or go no-brakes on a descent, but he'd charge back within moments, especially in the singletrack. brett caught us at the end of the 3rd lap, a few minutes later i looked back to ask if he wanted to drive the bus and he was gone, chain snapped again.

raced against chris at Flower Power in late may and he was stronger in that 60min speed-fest. tried to ride smart on the 4th lap, save a little for the end. bumped into Mo on a technical climb, she was looking strong, going-on to win the women's open race!

picked-up the pace a tad on the 5th and final lap, felt a cramp coming-on in the hammie w/the effort, hadn't drank enough and was forced to settle-down and stretch it out on the descents, chris right there, breathing-down my back, unless i was hallucinating, i think he offered me some water, top-notch bloke there. by the final climb, the leg felt fine and was able to hold chris off for 3rd, first podium of the yr (and in the open class). wicked. john looked like he'd been there all day, turns-out he was 30sec up with justin winning by 3 1/2 minutes.

hoping to hit-up moody park xc next wknd, then nothing until Nationals on July 20th at Mt Snow, VT. Fired-up for 7 laps on that course!