The Perfect Storm - Round 3

It's here. There's always a time I feel true preparation for the next season begins. I can never see it coming but I always know it's arrived after the fact. In the past it's been when I stop eating a ton of garbage and ride my bike as hard as I can, blistering lungs and all. This usually has taken place shortly after the new year. Last year was different as we started with the TotalCyclist indoor sessions in early November making the new year giddy up a little easier. That was a pretty good wake up. This year I did it Kane Training style, but first, an update on plan 'x'.

Since the last blog I've transitioned to the gym, added some nice workout "pairings" and have made some ground on the strength/balance side of plan 'x'. Sure there are some typical type moves that one might see as u special, but it's the way we execute that makes them very specific and extremely effective. Wanna do pull ups? Well, you gotta make sure you go all the way down on each rep, do them slowly and don't let your body sway at all. Much harder than the way we did them in the infantry (well, the non-rucksack ones anyway). Paired with this is an elevated split squat. The elevated foot is resting on the toes so stability is low. In fact that's the common thread in all that I've done with Mark: work an area but work in a way that increases strength AND stability. One of my favorites is an inverted row that's very unstable and then paired with a single leg dead lift.

Now for the crazy and where I left off describing the season 'opener'. Last night was our first team training session with Mark. All of us were the except for Cricket who is still working on knee rehab. Mark set up a circiut of 10 exercises we'd do for a minute and then rotate to the next one. There were a couple typical ones like the pushup but most of them were in keeping with the specificity of strength and stability that I'm used to from him. My favorite? It's the ball slam (take a weighted ball that barley bounces and, from overhead, slam it into the ground has hard as you can. Catch it with just one bounce. Repeat). Or maybe it's the rope. Take a gym rope and, in a stable athletic position, create waves using only your lower arms. Not so bad? This will smoke your bags after 30 seconds! Need less to say, the team got a workout and our usual joking members all fell silent by the second rotation. By the end most were worked and dripping wet while a large feeling of satisfaction filled the room. Scott said he'd rather do 30 second intervals at 600 watts for an hour than do that again. Well, Scott, week one of 16 is in the books. Just 15 left.

Check out all that Mark has to offer at www.kanetraining.com.

C

Knee Rehab - Life After The Needles

Yes, this is me - on a bike - on the road - in a light drizzle - pedaling! How could this be?

I can not even remember how many weeks it has been now since the knee surgery - 6 or 7 maybe 8 - too many that's for sure. My recover has been progressing with good days and yes bad days and I started to spin on the CompuTrainers at TotalCyclist (www.totalcyclist.com) a little in hopes to progress from no resistance to hopefully being able to watch my power start to build again. Of course, still completely unable to pedal standing up even after a few weeks of spinning with little to no resistance. With a second knee surgery looming in the near future, my one hope was to ride again outside on the road with the wind in my face - and I would even take the rain and snow and hail at this point even bugs and mud - before I start this process all over again. Still working with Mark Kane (www.kanetraining.com) 3 times a week for knee rehab, he began to sense my frustration with the inconsistencies of how my knee would feel and move on a day to day basis. So I think instead of hearing me explain my need to be back on the bike and train with my teammates again and again and again, Mark suggested a new approach in addition to the soft tissue and mobility/strength exercises.

Now, anyone who knows me, knows I have three great fears in life. I will not name them all but one happens to be needles and I was about to come face to face with one of the big three fears. NEEDLES! Mark suggested Trigger Point Dry Needling. It is a technique involving multiple advances of a filament needle into the muscle in the region of a “Trigger Point’. The aim of Dry Needling is to achieve a local twitch response to release muscle tension and pain. This technique is unequaled in finding and eliminating neuromuscular dysfunction that leads to pain and functional deficits. A healthy muscle feels very little discomfort with insertion of this needle. However if the muscle is sensitive and shortened or has active trigger points within it, the subject will feel a sensation like a muscle cramp -‘the twitch response’. That is the technical jargon - what it is are these tiny needles (resembling acupuncture type needles) that are tapped lightly into a muscle causing some discomfort or into a muscle group that is connected to an area of discomfort. So with my motto to "Face The Danger" echoing in my head, I allowed Mark to try the dry needling on the quads and VMO. And yes, truth be told, I personally did not find this to be the most pleasurable of procedures as my muscles were triggered by the needles into a spasm BUT the immediate release was noticeable as soon as I stood up and walked around. My knee was moving almost freely with less stiffness present. However, the next day was a miracle! There is really no other word to describe it. My knee felt the closest to normal it has in 8 weeks or so.

So I returned for a second round of the needles, this time a bit more knowledgable of the results. I also returned with my road bike in hand because - come on - I have to get back on the bike!!! Round 2 started out with Mark watching me pedal the bike on a trainer to see exactly where I was having issues. Then after a few carefully placed needles, we would return to the bike and see the difference. It was working! My biggest issue with spinning was not being able to complete a rotation while I was standing on the pedals. So we worked that area for a while so he could see what might be causing the problem. A few needles later and I was standing and completing full rotations on the bike. You know what came next - well I took the bike out to the road - just a short ride but I was on the road again. It was obvious today that I have lost a lot of fitness and power and my left side is extremely weak. But I do not care - feeling the wind in my face was all I needed! Needle away Mark Kane!

www.kanetraining.com

A Great Team Makes for a Great Race

A few days of reflecting on this past weekends big race leaves several memories that I must talk about. I personally feel the solo SS class win comes in at the bottom of the list.
The best parts of the event are the fact that Sherry came back from her ACL surgery to race for 9 laps (85ish miles) on a SS, win the event, and not even be sore the day after. WTH?? I hurt all over, heck even my eyelids are sore.
Second, Megan our 16 year old daughter. Poor girl doesn't even ride bikes but for her to get her drivers license we asked her to go out there and ride till she could ride no more, and dang it she did! She ended up with 5 laps(48ish miles) on a SS. all I can say is WOW!! My first race was the Cowbell in 2009 were I crawled 4 laps(32 miles), laid down in the grass and watched buzzards circle overhead. If this Tree Shaker would have been my first race I would have got chicked by my daughter!! now that good stuff! All I can say is she is a trooper, and now I hope she realizes what physical and mental ability she posses. DAD IS VERY PROUD!! now if I could only get her to do her chores.
The Third best thing about this race and even the Cackalacky Cup race a few weeks ago is how freaking awesome my teammates and friends are. Baker, Chris W, Traci, Jon, Cricket, Eric, BC, Mudd, Kellie, Joel, Joe and everyone else that gives moral support for these races. You guys are what makes mountain biking so great! Nothing beats coming in to the pit and you have someone there trying to take care of the things you need. food, water, time splits, and overall metal support, BC even offered his beer. Baker and Eric riding a lap with me at my darkest, most tired moments really give me a boost. Thanks Guys!!

Now for race stuff. I have learned it really helps to go into a race telling yourself your going to win, no matter how bad it hurts. I started planning for this race 3-4 weeks ago and the Cackalacky Cup was a training race for this one. The Tree Shaker has always been a tall mountain for me to accomplish and truthfully I was thinking next year was going to be my better chance to shine. Up until the Cackalacky race I have never been able to "race" an event beyond 3 hours. Cramps have always played a large part of my day. It seems to be if I race hard I will be cramping after 1.5hours, race moderate after 3 hours. My latest race where this happened was the River's Egde 50 miler. I went out about 80% effort and bammmm! 3 hours I was pedaling like a stiff legged penguin, then Spent the next 1.5 hours surviving. Somehow finishing a distant 3rd on shear will power but knowingly if I could beat the cramps I could do so much better.
Going into the Cackalacky event I thought I would attempt a slightly easier pace more like a 70-75% effort so I would be able to last 8+ hours, well this plan worked. Any time my heart rate went above 155-160 I backed it off to the 140 range, and wow what a difference. Now I really don't know what my max HT is but I do know anything above 170 and my internal temp. starts heading to overheat zone. Maybe this is why I really like riding in cold weather.

Now back to the tree Shaker, since competition was rather thin I didn't have to focus on many guys. Ross has been in the Tree Shaker and a rather reliable top 3 finisher in pretty much every race he enters so I know he would be to one to beat. Going by last year lap times and several of this years races he tends to be a pretty constant guy. I really don't think he gets tired. He pace doesn't vary much from beginning to end and in some races he's withing seconds every lap. He has never been a rocket off the front in the starts but his strong point is his ability to maintain speed through out the race while the faster guys crack and he rolls on by. My game plan if I could call it that was to ride his wheel on the first lap, hoping his first lap pace played nice with my sub 155 heart rate goal. All while talking to him and grazing his wheel periodically to remind him I was back there. I noticed I could climb in my zone with him but he tended to brake a little more then I would in the corners and the downhill so this weakness become my advantage. I figured If I got away from him I could add a little time in the corners and down hills.
At the end Of the first lap, he pitted but I planned on 2 laps before I needed to pit so I used this time to put some distant between us. Well it was short lived, on the first flat section of the trail a hot rod team guy decided to play lumberjack and try to pass me in the woods, unfortunately for him a 1 1/2" sapling got in his way and promptly dismounted him is a marvelous fashion. Well the tree was strong enough to toss the guy like a bag of rock in a french Trebuchet, then whip back and bi-otch slap me to China. It knock my light off my handlebar, twisted my helmet, and left a stinger on my arm I will never forget. It was bad enough to just stop and do a self assessment, count my finger and my teeth. well I was standing there getting the feeling back in my arm I figured I would do a trail side bladder drain. I surly though Ross would come roaring by but strangely he never did. Well I hoped back on my bike an took off, Sticking with my strategy I attacked the curves and down hill while saving my legs on the ups. At the end of the long red clay climb I looked back and didn't see my competition anywhere. By now I was a little confused, He surely should have caught me by this point, but he hadn't. I though to myself, maybe my strategy is working. well for 8 laps I kept doing the same, keeping the heart rate low and attacking the fast stuff. On Lap 9 former Tree Shaker Champ "Hot Rod", Eric Haggerty popped out onto the course to ride a lap with me and told me Ross had tossed in the towel??? what my main competition has once again bailed? dang it!! I was really wanting to win a straight up race against a endurance legend. Oh Well, Eric talk to me about what I wanted to do and I said keep riding so we rode a lap at good pace, nothing amazing but about as good as it could be seeing that I was over 90miles in. Once we reached the pit area I was pretty drained, maybe because I knew at that time I had won and mentally I was getting tired. After a 1 min 30sec pit I headed back out for lap 10 with Another Tree Shaker Champ The "Shake and Bake" Chris Baker. At this point I felt and looked like a half eating gummy bear. Every hill hurt and my heart rate was around 120 but there was just no energy to be found. Chris talked me through the lap and in the Pit Chris W was giving me food and some mental motivation. BC offered me a beer(I wanted it bad but my stomach said no). I left the pit for lap 11 and about half way through It was like someone replaced my batteries, my power started to come back and the stomach issue went away. I was starting to feel great again. By the 3/4 way mark I felt like I did on lap 3-6. After blasting through the rest of the course I raced up on Sherry and the now 2nd place SS guy Eric Green, 2 laps down. At this point I decided my day was done, he had no chance to catch me and I had nothing to prove by stacking more laps in, so I decided to ride my 12th lap with Sherry and make sure her flaky light worked the whole trail. It was nice and easy victory lap, Eric" flat pedal" Green rode behind us the whole way and we all 3 crossed the finish line together.

I do have to give it to the guy he did great, he ran a 34x19 gear, ouch! rigid fork, ouch! I think it was pretty good to get 10 laps with that combo. Not long after we finished, Markley Anderson our other pit mate and Tour Divide finisher came in to take the first place Solo Men's geared class win. Anyone who attempts Tour Divide and finishes it is pretty amazing in my book. i hope to learn more from this amazing athlete.
Well that's about it for this write up. I hope it doesn't have to many Gastonia education grammatical errors and it makes sense. I may do the point to point race at Kerr Scott in a few weeks but sitting more on the finished for the year side of the fence. Got a lot of non-biking stuff I gotta get done.

Knee Rehab - Week 5

As recovery progresses into another week, I start to think I will never see single track again as I have watched my leg muscles dwindle. It is true that I have regained a considerable amount of mobility back but the knee does not move as freely as it once did and the simple tasks of walking normally and climbing stairs still allude me - making me wonder if it will ever feel strong again. The metal stresses test me everyday I swear! During these last 5 weeks, with no aerobic activity and leg exercises aimed at knee recover versus muscle building, I have been focusing on other areas that I do have control over right now - Upper Body Strength, Core Strength, and Nutrition. I think as cyclist, we sometimes work the

legs hard but forget about the importance of having a strong upper body and core to help us negotiate our bikes. With a strong supportive upper body and core, we have better balance, better control, and better support for our leg muscles to perform optimally. Nutrition is yet another area that is sometimes over looked but is so important during the training and racing seasons. But even during a downtime, like recovering form an injury, nutrition I believe is even more vital. It would be so easy during these down weeks, or months do I dare say, to forget about what goes into our bodies - AND I will admit I forgot for a few weeks and fell into the eat whatever mode. But I am back on track and have been maintaining healthy eating habits so that when the time to get back on the bike and train hard again, I will be ready to give it my all. Getting back on the bike and riding strong again is what is keeping me focused!

I believe that these upcoming weeks will be the most critical in my recovery process as I continue to work on gaining more consistent mobility as well as focusing on gait mechanics with Mark Kane (www.kanetraining.com). Mark focuses on proper body mechanics especially during this recovery process. During recovery, one body part might be overcompensating for another and this is the time when bad habits, the root of all imbalances, are formed. So I have been focusing on walking properly without my leg swinging outward. With the use of my hiking sticks, to take the weight off my legs, I could focus on a proper gait.

So simple and it worked!!! No more hiking sticks. I also exaggerated the gait to aid in increasing flexibility and it too has worked! I am walking with a normal gait - still feels a little stiff but the knee is moving properly again at a walk. Negotiating stairs is like climbing Mount Everest for me these days. We have started to work on some aided strength exercises to work the muscles used to ascend and descend stairs. Aided because it reduces the body weight so I do not overcompensate somehow. It allows me to purely focus on the movement pattern. With the use of a band attached to a door to lessen the weight on the legs, I started with the simple squat and then progressed to a split squat. I can feel the quads being engaged again (YEAH) while protecting the knee and maintaining equal pressure throughout the range of motion.

It is all about taking it back down to the basic building blocks that will ultimately support a strong and balanced body!

The Perfect Storm - Round 2

Saturday saw my first return to see Mark Kane and continue my implementation of plan 'x'. Don't ask why it's plan 'x' as I don't really have a reason other than it's easier to refer to something if it has a name. Besides, plan 'x' sounds sorta cool like it's an x-men experiment and I'll come out the other side strong as hell but with some sort of abnormality like poor vision and a slight onion tolerance. I'd rather have a tolerance to wild animals though.

Anyway, it was time to begin work on the areas of concern that were highlighted by the assessment; more specifically my back and glutes. I fall into the 'I sit all day and don't do shit' category when it comes to daily, general activity. Therefore, one thing that tends to happen is my glutes tend to switch off or go to sleep. The trouble is they stay that way and when I try to ride a bike or perform any complicated sports move they don't contribute as they should, leading to reduced performance. We began with some simple exercises to wake up the lazy ones and then moved on to a few more advanced exercises that are designed to engage the entire core but also focus on my weak areas. One is called the Inchworm. Essentially, you begin in a downward dog type position and slowly slide your hands out in front of you as far as possible but still remaining stable. The back must remain flat and not sag; hold for a few second and return. It's basically like a really hard plank.

We also did Mountain Climbers, but these were very much unlike the ones we did all day in the Infantry. These are designed to increase one's ability to resist rotational forces with the core so the movements were preformed very slowly. To me these weren't too bad until Mark had me do them on an instability ball. Nice.

We meet again this week and are going to start a bit of work in the gym to progress things a little. Should be interesting; drive on soldiers, drive on.

C

Knee Rehab - Week 4

Just four weeks after having surgery on my left knee, I was sitting on a spin cycle with no resistance set spinning in slow motion. It has to be the best feeling in the world for a injured cyclist to regain that motion - for me without a doubt. But it did not come easy. The surgery which involved cutting tissue away to release my knee cap has resulted in a lot of swelling and lost of mobility. It has taken great patience and work just to get to this point where I can now sit on a bike again. Any athlete faced with an injury involving some amount of time off to recover will face frustration - it is a given - recovery is the most difficult endurance sport on the planet!

My recovery began immediately with my leg in a Continuous Passive Motion (CPM) machine the day after surgery. Per doctor orders, I used the CPM for 8 hours a day to reduce the formation of scar tissue in the area. Yes, that is right - 8 hours a day for 2 weeks!! This machine became a mental torture devise as I had to sit around and watch my knee go up and down with no effort on my part but the benefits became apparent. Mobility came back rather quickly and has been consistently increasing as time passes. Along with the CPM, I started Physical Therapy (PT) 3 times a week with Mark Kane (www.kanetraining.com) just 2 days after surgery. The use of manual therapy of the soft tissues supporting the knee and active movement exercises in combination with my time on the CPM is working. The CPM is gone now - YEAH - and I am continuing to work with Mark Kane 3 times a week on improving mobility and strength with simple exercises to engage the quad, calf, and glut muscles. The battle with wanting to start where you left off is hard to fight but you have to think baby steps to get back to that point. Reality of this hit when Mark asked to see if I could do a bridge exercise with the band - normally a really simple exercise almost requiring no real effort but I could not do it - not even close. The muscles used to perform this simple

exercise are not working right now. I had to accept and believe if I continue with these baby steps, I will recover better and stronger than before.

One thing I find helpful with this whole recovery process is to find peace with it and not fight it. It is a mental game for sure and I have some exciting things happening in 2012 but I have to be healthy first! Anyone who knows me knows there is always a plan :)) Stay tuned to follow the progression of recovery - it will be a long road as I will have to have surgery on the right knee as soon as the left knee heals enough. Is this really happening ???

To read more about the surgery - visit www.teamup4type1.org.

Pisgah stage 4

Hunter Subaru Pisgah Stage Race - Day 4
Stage details - 39 miles, 8,000+ ft of elevation gain

Race director Todd Branham warned me of this stage and on several occasions he would address the group around him warning of stage 4 being the hardest of the race. His hype was spot on. We started from the bottom of the Black Mountain trailhead and headed up the trails that we normally finished the stages on. That sweet fast downhill was now a long grinding uphill all the way to the intersection of the Turkey Pen trail.  2,000’ of climbing in the first 5 miles, some you could ride, some not as it got rockier, washed out and steeper. Once to the turn off to Turkey Pen we hit some great down hill sections and the constant reminder of how remote we were started to sink in. There is no easy way to these trails so they don’t get much love in the way of trail maintenance. We had to endure constant face and arm whacking by Rhododendron, briars etc as you tried to pick the cleanest lines. Suddenly thrown straight downhill on some of the fastest sections and boom, straight back uphill, off the bike and pushing. (Rinse and repeat). Finally making it to aid station 1 and giving the White Squirrel a “high five” on the way. Stocked up on food and water and headed out for the next trail section. Along the way, I came upon a fellow racer, Cissy who was leading the overall in the Open Women’s division. She was sitting trailside with her 3^rd flat. She was desperate for a spare tube. As I carry only 1 spare with me and have extra ahead at the next aid station, I couldn’t say no. I stopped, took off my saddlebag, fished out the tube, some spare duct tape to patch her tire and wished her luck and moved on. I had a goal to finish the hardest stage in less than 6 hours. I realized that I would be in the same situation as her if I flatted but here I was on day 4 with no flats, no mechanical issues and hoped my luck would hold until aid station 2 where I could pick up my spare tube and pick up the pace. With lot’s of singletrack ahead, I continued to be cautious and rode conservatively as I worked toward the next aid station. After riding Squirrel to Horse Cove, I came upon a banjo player (no kidding) at the intersection, plucking away and pointing me uphill. Ride, push, ride, push. Finally dumping out on to a section I was familiar with since I had ridden it with Tracey, Jim, Andy and Scott a few weeks earlier. Fast, reclaimed FS road with some spectacular views, which in a race, you don’t get to enjoy. Caught up to a couple of riders and sat in behind a guy from Canada named Garnett. Followed him down to aid station 2 and warned him about some washed out sections ahead so he wouldn’t crash. His whole side was dirty; tell tale sign of previously sliding out. As we rolled in to the aid station, Garnett started telling the volunteers about the 2 bears he encountered. Says they were 30 meters away from him and spooked him pretty good. I grabbed some food, small cup of Coke and headed out. Now knowing the rest of the course I realized I would really have to pick up the pace to come in less than 6 hours. I really started pushing harder and started catching more and more racers. About 2 miles from aid station 2 when I realized I had forgotten to grab the spare tube. Holy Crap! I decided to keep on going and just be careful. Made the gradual climb back up to Buckhorn Gap fairly quickly and was looking forward to seeing Tracey there where she was the course marshal. Pulled in and chatted for a few seconds and my teammate Scott George was there. He said he would ride the next section with me down to Club Gap and then he had to turn off. I can’t tell you how much that did for me. We didn’t talk much but knowing he was there gave me a sense that I knew I would finish the stage as best as I could. We rocked that section as we rode the sections where other riders were pushing. I had settled into a nice pace, keeping my heart rate just under 165 and grunting through some of the steeper sections and recovering as quickly as possible to tackle the next set of steep pitches. Scott pulled off at Club Gap, I was sorry to see him go. I headed down the treacherous Buckwheat Knob downhill to FS 477. Once there it was a long high speed downhill to aid station 3 and some more climbing to Maxwell Cove, a little hike a bike section on Black Mountain and I would be at the finish. I stopped at aid station 3 and grabbed the spare tube, emptied my pockets of all non-essential food and headed out. I figured I had lost about 15 minutes on the day from riding cautiously and another 5 from stopping to help. I kept pushing and as I turned onto Maxwell Cove, I picked up the pace, just concentrating on riding as hard as I could. Off to my right I heard a loud crashing noise and as I looked over I saw a pretty good sized black bear about 50 feet off the trail and running at approximately the same speed I was riding and we were side by side. For some reason I didn’t seem to be too concerned and I simply started dinging my bell as I didn’t want him to come up in front of me and cut me off. The encounter was no more than 10 seconds but the adrenaline surge and let down were totally noticeable. Whew. I kept going and finally hit the downhill section of Black Mountain, constantly checking my time and finally figured I was not going to make the 6-hour goal. I kept off the brakes as much as possible without being stupid; I still had 1 more stage to race and didn’t want to risk a crash. I hit the finish line and could see the clock at 5:58:58 and crossed in at 5:59:00. How about that! I finished 6th on the stage and remained 6th overall.
Garmin date for stage 4: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/118182877

The Perfect Storm

While many of my teammates and friends have been gearing up for the last few races of the season, I've been avoiding the bike (per Chad's orders of course). Yea, this year I decided to cut the year a little short (just after River's Edge) and focus on next year. I can't say 2011 racing was all that great to me - or rather, I wasn't that good to it. Things went up and down, left and right and there were only a few times this year when I felt strong and competitive. So, the break was a bit of a welcome and my brain immediately began working out strategies on how to make 2012 better. Long story short and with Chad's help, a plan has been devised and recently hatched.

One of the primary components is balanced strength and body movement. It's way too easy for some of us to get wrapped up in cycling alone. I'm guilty of it; hell, all the exercise I do for the majority of the year is on the bike and I also have an office job that requires me to sit all day. A lot of us end up stale and unable to achieve our full potential simply because our body is not working as a single unit. Our team is very fortunate to have Mark Kane as one of our primary sponsors and this year I'll be relying on him to ensure I'm doing everything I can to be a better complete athlete. I met with him on Sunday and he conducted an initial assessment of body movement, strength, stability, muscular balance and soft tissue. You know, it was my first time doing anything like that and man was he thorough. He quickly found areas where I was weak or overly tight that can have major impacts to one's ability to ride a bike (not to mention live an active life).


You can read more about what Mark does here, but the quick version is that we conducted the Functional Movement Screen which is basically an assessment (and first step) to in the Functional Movement System (FMS). The screen is basically:

"...a ranking and grading system that documents movement patterns that are key to normal function. By screening these patterns, the FMS readily identifies functional limitations and asymmetries. These are issues that can reduce the effects of functional training and physical conditioning and distort body awareness."

The great thing: Mark is far from a one trick pony and he's designed an entire arsenal hell bent on making athletes achieve their maximum. You could say I have two major components moving me into 2012: Chad and his expertise as a cycling coach and Mark covering, well, everything else. The perfect storm? It looks that way from where I'm standing. More to come as I work through the issues Mark and I found and get down to some serious strength and conditioning. 2012? Oh yea baby.

C

Pisgah stage 3

Hunter Subaru Pisgah Stage Race - Day 3
Stage details - 25 miles, 3,200+ ft of elevation gain
After somewhat bonking on stage 2, I was a little apprehensive approaching this stage knowing it was a make it or break it stage mentally for me to finish the race. Fortunately I had ridden about ½ the course on a previous ride with Stephen Janes from Asheville. The start moved to the North Mills recreation area at the Wash Creek Group campsite.  Although shorter, the stage promised plenty of steep climbs and super fast descents. We started out with a FS road climb up to Spencer Gap and the group started a split almost immediately. I stayed near the front 1/3 and was in good position as we entered the first really steep sections and managed to stay on the bike and climb all the way to the top. In doing so, I passed quite a few that were off the bike pushing the climbs.  This eventually leveled out to a 2-3% grade and was a really nice singletrack climb to the top. The downhill was being bombed as I was on the wheels of husband and wife duo team Lee and Brenda Simril. Nearing the bottom we were caught by a couple of insane descenders who blew by us on the creek crossings.  One was a guy from Industry 9 in Asheville and I caught back to him and rode for a while talking as we climbed to the Fletcher Creek downhill which I feel was the most fun downhill section for flat out speed and handling. Keith gapped me a bit on the downhill but eventually I passed him on the climb back to aid station 1. The race director and volunteers have this race dialed in. As you approach an aid station, a volunteer is positioned about ¼ mile and radios in your number, as you approach, they have your bag and digging in it for whatever you need. This keeps you moving and you don’t stop. Great system!. I blew threw and grabbed a fresh bottle and headed for the Lower Trace Ridge descent. Flying downhill suddenly I came to a drop off of about 3’-4’ and as sliding to a stop remembered this phrase that kept going through my head “just because you can ride it doesn’t mean you should”. I yelled an obscenity and jumped off the bike to run that section just as I heard someone say, “watch your language young man”. I looked ahead and there was a couple in their 70’s that had hiked up to watch the racers come through that section. They laughed and said that wasn’t the worse they had heard. Turns out they are both Mtn bikers. How cool is that?

Continuing on the bottom of Trace ridge I see Tracey who is the course marshal at the crossing of the North Mills River. I yelled, “Look, I’m being careful” and then screamed across the river to get to the next climb up Wash Creek road and the hike a bike up Trace Ridge. I was starting to make time on a few of the riders I had caught up to but none were in my race category of 40+ men.  Keeping up the pace and eventually found myself once again riding alone until I approached the last downhill which would be followed by a shorter gradual climb and finally the super fast technical downhill leading to the finish. I caught up to the women’s leader and a duo team member and rode with them to the finish coming in at 2:41 and finishing 6th. I felt good although tired. Time to recover and get ready for stage 4 which is constantly being talked about as the hardest stage of the race.
Garmin data for stage 3: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/117955389

Pisgah stage 2

Hunter Subaru Pisgah Stage Race - Day 2
Stage details - 43 miles, 7,300+ ft of elevation gain
Stage 2 left from the Kuykendall group camp and featured a LeMans running start to get to your bike followed by a stream crossing and 3-4 minutes of super fast riding to get down to FS road 471 and the 7 mile climb to the intersection of FS 229 then the really steep climb up to the Famous Farlow Gap downhill. I moved closer to the front of the pack just to be safe and not get caught up in any crashes. Once on the climb, settle in and keep heart rate under 165 and watch quite a few folks go up the road. I made the first climb in about 40 minutes and grabbed a bottle at the 1st aid station and kept riding. As I came in toward the Farlow Gap area there was a tight section between a tree and huge boulder. A momentary distraction saw my front wheel slide on some roots and I shoulder checked the boulder and ripped a chunk off my left hand, scream, curse and keep going. No way to approach Farlow being dazed but here I went straight down the boulder field, 6-9% grade down hill full of rocks that are constantly moved by each rider before and after you so the lines are always sketchy. About ½ way down was the “White Squirrel”, a local dressed in a giant white squirrel costume and his trademark “Woooooo” yell. Distracting enough in the middle of nowhere to cause most riders to dismount and walk some of the steepest gnarliest areas before getting back on the bike. Several more stream crossings and on to the Daniel Ridge/Cove Creek areas and aid station 2. I’m riding with some locals that knew the trails really well and flying through the woods, smiles all around as we railed the turns. As I came in to aid station 2 I realized I had not drank or eaten anything and suddenly I was feeling really tired. I immediately ate a honey stinger gel and ½ of a PB&J and kept moving. Knowing another 7 mile FS road climb was ahead as well as Club Gap, Black Mtn and Maxwell Cove, I was beginning to feel that maybe I had bitten off more than I could chew. I kept shoving gels, trail mix etc but I was behind the nourishment curve and now could do nothing but hold on and try to finish as I was only ½ way into the race. As I struggled up the climb, several racers I had passed earlier were now coming back and leaving me in their dust, very humiliating. I just kept going and I saw Tracey on FS 477 as I turned to climb up to Club Gap. I tried to look strong but after I was out of sight I fell back in to the slo mo pace to limp to the finish. Knowing that I had to repeat the lower part of Black Mountain to get to the finish was disheartening but once over the climb, I knew I had the finish in sight but probably had lost a place or two in the overall as I knew I finished 20-30 minutes slower than I had expected. I came in 6th for the stage and dropped to 5th overall. Still 3 more days of racing and a shorter stage on day 3. After the finish, Tracey force-fed me even though I had no appetite. Honestly, I don’t think I would have gotten on the bike for the third day had she not been there to “Fix me” after I screwed up by not eating. What a hard lesson, simple as it was and my pockets full of food, I didn’t eat.
Garmin data for stage 2:http://connect.garmin.com/activity/117769065

Pisgah stage 1

Hunter Subaru Pisgah Stage Race - Day 1
Stage details - 39 miles. 6,200+ ft of elevation gain.
Weather was great as we lined up for the first stage of the 2011 Hunter Subaru Pisgah stage race. The Lynskey Pro29SL was dialed in with a new drive train, new Ergon grips and running some new Kenda Slant Six tires front and rear. I figured the 120TPI would serve me well as Pisgah is known for ripping some sidewalls. The stage started out from the Black Mtn trailhead and turned right on Hwy 276 past the Pisgah Ranger station and up Forest Service rd 477 to the horse stables. This was a controlled start on pavement and once we hit the gravel road it was “Race on”. The climb up Clawhammer rd to Buckhorn Gap is about 7 miles and an average grade of 6-7% with some steep sections of around 12%. I decided to keep my heart rate just under 165 for the climb, which meant I was letting a lot of folks go by me. I got to the top in about 44 minutes, grabbed a fresh bottle and hit the singletrack down Buckhorn to Squirrel gap, a great reward for all the early climbing. I felt pretty good at this point but had to stop to reposition my saddlebag and rear quick release, which was creaking. The climb on squirrel was great and having ridden it before with Teammate Scott George, Tracey Lewis and others, I knew what to expect so I turned up the screws and dropped several of the riders close by. After getting out of the singletrack we hit a long gravel FS road where I picked up the pace and caught four other riders. The climb back up to Buckhorn was a little tiring especially knowing that I had to hike a bike over Black Mountain to get to the finish. I stopped for some quick chain lube and hit the climb. If you’ve never done that section of Black Mtn, it is a beast on foot, much less dragging a bike up. Once over the top you have some downhill sections with big log drops, washed out trail with lots of rocks etc. One more hike a bike section before hitting the final downhill section and on to the finish. Hitting the fast section and being tired caused me to make an almost tragic mistake. Coming out of a turn at 20+ mph I steered into a flat faced rock head on and had a serious gut check. I grunted so bad that I thought I was flying over the handlebars and race over. I’m not sure how I saved it but credit goes to the bike. I fully used every bit of front suspension so much that it forced oil out of the seals and pushed the ring marker all the way to the top. Slow go to the finish as I realized that 4 more days of racing were ahead. Finished 4th with a time of 4:43. Garmin data for this stage attached:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/117648764

8hr 20min of Lake Norman bootlegging

  I spent a few quiet hours last night with an army of crickets, frogs and spiders at National Whitewater Center fine tuning myself for the  Cackalacky 500, A night race tribute to bootlegger and racer of yesteryear. I figured I would start my ride around 8:30pm after the lot cleared of all the daylight riders and to my surprise I was the only one motivated enough to ride into the night. The temperature was still warm and muggy but the moon was bright. Perfect for a little solo ride. I made sure I had everything, handlebar light, helmet light, ipod, and my handy dandy speaker to drown out the wildlife if need be. I set off at what I am considering my "8" hour pace (heart rate under 150) and running a 32x19 gear on the Lynskey made this real easy to do. My first lap was non-eventful with a time of 1:15. Nothing to brag about but again trying to keep it at the "8" hour pace. After a quick stop at the truck I decided to ride the trail backward, and let me tell ya, it was fun. It completely molded WWC into another trail. Some of the downhill from the normal direction were now steep technical climbs. I even had to hike a bike in two spots due to roots and steep 2ft ridges. It put a smile on my face to be challenged like that at a place that I could normally ride with my eyes closed. It reminded me of how different and great the normal blah ride can be by just strapping on a light.

The Cackalacky 500 starts next Saturday at 10:00pm and finishes up I guess at 6:20am at Lake Norman State Park. With the new 4 miles added to the Laurel loop the race will be a challenge. Heading there in the morning to do some pre-riding of the course to nail down my gear. Right now I'm leaning toward a 32x18 but I don't want to be hurting to bad at the 5hr mark. The 19 felt easy at WW on every climb and I don't think the new section at LKN will have anything that approaches goat hill and gas line. Which ever I choose I just have to make sure I pace myself for the whole night. One thing I learned at WW center is the radio comes in handy when the sound of the frogs get old at hour 3.  

Pisgah, come get some!

Mud, Mud, Mud

Mud and headwinds have kept them slowed down but still making steady progress. Spoke to Cricket earlier and they are having their share of mud and high winds on the original Tour Divide course, Cricket and Stephen are currently at mile 144 and still moving.  Near Sparwood, Canada- elev 3802 at 11:00PM still riding.

Cricket Butler has left the building!

 Cricket left Banff this morning at 9:00AM our time, 6:00AM in Banff on her quest to break the women's record at the Tour Divide. I spoke to her yesterday and she is in great spirits and ready to roll. She will be riding initially with her friend Stephen Huddle from Cincinnati but they have both agreed to ride at their own pace after getting through the dangerous snow packed passes. You can keep up with Cricket's progress at the link as her spot is now functional:

Tour Divide Leaderboard

I will also be posting her progress on twitter under the handle cbake777 for you twits out there and providing updates via text. Send positive thoughts as she will need to average 130 miles per day to accomplish her goal.

Cohutta 100 - The Tale Of The Gravel

Once again I made the trek to DuckTown, Tennessee to race in the Cohutta 100 mountain bike race. This year in tow was team mate Scott George, his first ever 100 mountain bike race, and Andrea Hilderband, returning to racing after 9 years. First let me start with Andrea. Entering and finishing a 100 mile mountain bike race as a return to the sport is insane. But if there is ever a tough enough chick it would be her. I wonder who put this race into her head - ummmmm - KELLY (once again getting people into trouble). Your spot is confirmed for next year - just go ahead and INK it on your calender!

The thing about Endurance races is they start so early - really before you start to wake up. So after we arrived at the race site, we realized the keys to unlock our bikes were back at the B&B. So we raced back to get them and made it back just in time to get ready and head for the start. The race started just as we rode up to the starting area so we were in the back. The three of us took off up the paved climb with a string of racers as far as the eye could see in front of us. Scott and I entered the single track together and settled into a comfortable pace - then I had to stop once after my seat bag fell off and lodged itself in my rear wheel and Scott, Megawatt, broke his chain at mile 18 - what a surprise:)). We spent at least 15 minutes gathering a chain tool and quick link from other racers and then had him back on route. We blew through the first check point and started the gravel road section which is about 65-70 miles long until you reach the last 10 or so miles of single track leading you to the finish. I settled quickly into a comfortable pace and Scott and I started catching and passing all the racers that passed us while we were busy with the chain repair. I looked back after a while and Scott was no where to be seen - I even waited at a switchback for 5 minutes or so and never saw him. I figured his chain broke again and so I decided to keep pushing on - he would catch me on the next climb for sure. I blew through check point 2 and started to the never ending and ever steeping climb up Potato Patch Mountain. I caught Stephen Huddle, a fellow Tour Divide racer, and passed him on the climb. Reaching check point 3 was a welcomed sight at the crest of the climb! I stopped and topped off my bottles, ate some real food and took off. From checkpoints 3 to 4, I lost my heed bottle and had to make an unplanned stop at 4 for a replacement. The heat of the day was kicking in and the stretch from checkpoint 4-5 was long and hot - I needed 2 bottles. At check point 5 I had to stop yet again - still thinking Scott would catch me at any moment. Stephen and I left together and hit the climb pacing along side one another. I would pass him on the climbs and then he would pass me on the down hills like a missile - impressive! But between all that we would end up riding with each other on and off for most of the day. By checkpoint 6, I had to stop yet again unplanned. I kinda waited on Stephen but then I took off into the last section - all single track - to the finish. It was nice to be in the shade but negotiating single track again after all the mindless gravel road riding was a shock to the system. I found my rhythm again and knew the end was near. Finishing with my best time ever and before they took the finish line down - I was in shock. Scott came in a little behind me completing his first ever 100 mile race with some good MacGyver stories to share - it is amazing what that boy can do with a skewer :)))). Scott and I cheered Andrea in, again both completely in awe of what she had just done with almost no riding to date! We all packed our finisher mugs up and started comparing our days. We all finished and with such different experiences - a little sore, very hungry, and laughing!

Results:

Cricket Butler - 9:44

Scott George - 10:28

Andrea Hilderbrand - 12:05

Link To Official Race Results And Photos:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/national-ultra-endurance-nue-series-cohutta-100-ne/results

Training Tour Divide Style !!

Teammates support one another, encourage one another and sometimes in doing so, go above and beyond- right? Our team had Chris Baker and Scott George racing the Grind in Charlotte this weekend while I headed to the Mount Mitchell area for yet another day of training on the loaded bike, Tour Divide style, with Wieczorek. After spending the day before in the cold Pisgah rain for nearly 4 hours climbing up the Old Toll Road on my loaded bike with Wieczorek, Bonnie, and Laura, and then descending Heart Break Ridge, I decided to give Wieczorek a small taste of training Tour Divide style. While we were getting ready to start our day, I attached a small frame pack onto his bike and stuffed it with 2 liters of water, no purpose other than extra weight (heheehe), a small map case to his handle bars stuffed with food and an extra bottle of gatoraid for no other purpose other than to add weight (heheehe), my custom saddle bag with my bivy and sleeping bag, and 1 of my top tube bags loaded with all the bike repair stuff. He also was carrying all his stuff for the day in a camelbak. He was loaded! He looked the part of a Tour Divide Racer and was ready to hit the climbs. He fell rather silent once the climbing on Curtis Creek started and I thought, just thought for a second, he might be struggling a little and I might have finally found a way to slow him down. Then BOOM - out of nowhere - I here click click click and he stands up and hammers it on the steepest part of the climb, looking back at me yelling to match his pace and hang on to his wheel - r i g h t......... It was inconcievable to me, as I watched him with all that extra weight on the bike, just pull away from me like it was nothing. So that was pretty much the rest of my day, trying to pace with Wiezcorek. I rode lighter than the day before but at a much faster pace than I would have if I had been alone and Wieczorek pushed hard with extra weight on the bike. We both got a hard workout in for the day but --- ummmm - I think I have developed a twitch now every time I hear click click click - I know what it means - PUSH THOUGH THE PAIN - COME ON BUTLER!!! I think I liked it better when he was silent :)

6 Hours of Warrior Creek - Race Report

This is one of the good ones. The 6 Hours of Warrior Creek has fast become one if the best run and most fun races in the southeast. The BMCC guys always do a great job and the trail is all joy. Seriously, if you haven't been, go, now. Last year the race was super fast as the trail was bone dry and it made for a very fun riding experience. This year the rain man had been pounding the area pretty good, but as the end of the week drew to a close it looked like we would luck out and have fairly dry condition for the weekend; no chance for rain. Kelly and I drove up the night before and found no puddles or wet areas around the hotel. Nice. The next morning I woke up to the sound of Kelly making his way to the bathroom.

Me: "Dude, it rained all night. The ground is totally soaked." I smirked not even getting out of bed.
Kelly: "What?" he rushed to the window and drew back the curtain. "Whatever, there's no wa...oh, man."
Me: "Wait, what?" I jumped up hoping he knew I was messing with him and was playing his own card. "Oh, man. Well, it prolly won't be bad on the course. The area under that car isn't even wet."

I was wrong. It was wet. It was cold. It was windy. It was much different than 2010. The first lap was a mess, the second was better. By the third lap it was game on; wicked fast. Kelly and I were in the duo male class and knew we had our work cutout for us. I had a good start but quickly realized my dry, hard pack tires (Bontrager 29-0) were not happy in the slime. I lost some time but was still in the top 10 when I flatted near mile 10. Ok, it's been a while since I've changed a flat in the mud and I hope it's at least that long again. Plainly stated: it sucks. Kelly and I managed to come back well on laps 2 and 3 but our fourth lap was a disaster. Kelly decided he didn't like riding over the rock gardens; tumbling through them was more his style. A high speed crash really took the wind out of us (well, him), and it was the final nail that would keep us out of the top 5. Thankfully, he's alright and will live to fight another day. We ended the day 6th out of 36 teams.

Scott "The Megawatt" George was also there racing in the highly competitive singlespeed class. It was his first race of the year so his plan was to take it easy and get some good miles in. He was riding really strong when, on his second lap, he broke his chain halfway through the course. Bent plates kept him from repairing it on the trail and he was forced to run back to the pit. He was still able to bang out 4 laps and go home with a bit left in the tank. In the end it was enough to finish 14th out of 38.

Chris Baker and Tracey Lewis were also on hand and did a great job finishing 5th in the super fast duo coed class. Always the gentleman, Baker rode the first two laps in the mess and only let Tracey go out once the trail was dry. Intentional or not, she loved it.

I also played around with the new Contour GPS camera that Bicycle Sport has at the shop. Check it. BTW, it's in HD, just adjust your settings in the You Tube box (720p). Enjoy.



C

Chasing the Swamp Fox

Its been a few days since Tracey, Cricket and I fought off Piranha flies, stomped through black swamp mud, climbed tick infested trees, and paddled through a plethora of hungry gators (well never saw any but I know they were under the boat). These few days have allow me to reflect back on Indiana Jones adventure through the Swamps of Francis Marion National Forest with great clarity. What were we thinking, who in their right minds does this for fun? It has to be less then .001% of the US population. Most if not almost all sit at home at watch other do this stuff on the ol' tube-o-matic while eating a tasty bag of Cheese puff. Well I am excited and very proud that I am now part of that .001% adventure race family. I have to admit next time I'll strap a bag of those tasty orange air puffs to my hydro pack.
As a rookie adventure racer I really had no idea what to expect. About the only thing I knew was my team needed me to be like the famous Cars character Mator. My simple job was to pull/ carry/ paddle and not complain, perfect. I was just happy I didn't have to do the smart stuff like plotting UTM, course direction, and all that fancy compass stuff. Just load me up and point me in the right direction and all will be good. Besides a streaming constant supply of food and water my needs are pretty low.
We started off with a cold early morning run around town collecting secret decoder ring stuff. Luckily Tracey was familiar with the town and the game. One catch to the game was each team had to hold onto a rope so we would not get separated. Work as a team, run as a team walk as a team was the point of the game. Once the announcer said GO! we were off straight through back yard, ditches, roads. Cricket and Tracey were like laser beams focused on the first check point. Once we arrived, we saw it was in a tree. I decided to be the one to climb it so as I waited for the few that beat us there to get up there and back down, Tracey used her smarts and ran around the tree and got the code. As she raced back around toward us, chanting lets go, let go! Off we ran to the next point. The next thought that went through my head was wow shes good!!
The second point was just a blur I don't even know if we slowed down for it as Cricket and Tracey grabbed the code with some Jedi mind trick. By now this running stuff was for the birds, we had covered 2-3 miles which is about the limit of my training so the thoughts of roller skates came to mind. I was wondering if they were legal. Just as the second check point whizzed by so did the third. Next stop was the start line to turn in the codes and pick up our passport.
Once we reached the start line I felt like I ran about 30 mile but truthful it was only 4 and I was excited about the canoe. My legs needed a rest. Oh yea about that code thing we had to turn in, I didn't know what it was then and can't remember know. I just followed the girls like a puppy, so props goes to them for getting us through the pre-start torture.
Off to the Canoe we raced, this really wasn't worried about this event, I paddled a canoe about 10 years ago so I was feeling pretty fresh and itching to get to rowing. With my extensive paddling skill I had only used a wooden oar in the famous J-stroke style. The ladies didn't have old trusty wooden paddles they had state of the art, NASA design carbon Fiber stealth paddles from US Kayak Team that we used to propel our floating chariot down the water in fine fashion.
After paddling for a few hours we hit the trail run.
Ok gotta speed up my story a little for those that are falling asleep. The next few hours we raced around the swamp on feet and bicycle searching out check point. Check point after check point we worked our way across the map until we had all 24. At around 10.5 hours we where on our way back to the finish line. With a cruising speed of 17-20 mph our mountain bikes were near terminal velocity, well at least my legs felt topped out. Once we arrived at the finish line we were a little disappointed in our 3 place finish but felt great with our overall accomplishment.
Well, I promised I would finish my first blog entry by the end of the March, all though the story got cut a little short, if your interested in more details, we can chat over some wings and beer and I'll fill your ears with all the micro moments of one of the best races ever.

2011 Swamp Fox Adventure race photos

2011 Swamp Fox Adventure Race

Team Total Cyclist places 3rd in the Elite Co-Ed division. Covering 8-10 miles of canoe paddling, 8-10 miles of running through the Francis Marion National Forest swamps and pedaling 55+ miles on Mtn bikes. They cleared the course gathering all 24 check points. Congratulations to Cricket Butler, Scott George (his 1st Adventure Race) and Tracey (aka "off the couch") Lewis for a great race.

Anglers Ridge Race Report

This past weekend Cricket and I traveled to Danville, VA to take part in the weekend long festivities. Saturday was filled with a morning course pre-ride with some of our Charlotte friends Cathi Mowery, Laura and Terry Gleason, Bonnie Kelffman, Layla Billowitz and Mike Schafer. We also took O-Jo along and she took full advantage of the leisurely pace by chasing a few squirls and taking a few creek baths. I didn't know what to expect from the course. Id' heard it was a lot like the Whitewater Center without the fire road sections for passing. Well, I don't know about all that but I do know it's tight, twisty and throws a few really steep climbs at you. In all a fun course and that could take a big hunk out of your ass if you didn't give it the respect it deserves. You see, we were to do 3 full laps the next day; and the 6 hour riders, well...I've seen harder endurance courses but this one would not be easy. After our ride Cricket and I contemplated doing a time trial they had planned for the afternoon, but we opted for more time sitting in the sun, eating lunch and generally enjoying the great weather.

That night there was a showing of the movie 'Great Divide'. The documentary that follows the riders long the Tour Divide course in 2008. The race promoter also organized a little Q&A after the movie with 6 time champ Matt Lee and our own, and 2010 female winner, Cricket Butler. It was cool to see all the interest people had. I train and race with her a lot and know quite a few of the stories. I mean, I've always been interested in how a 2,700 mile race goes down but to see others really get into it and check out her gear and such was cool.

The next morning came extra early because of daylight savings time and the fact the our teammate Kelly Hudson decided he'd give us a call at 5am as he began his drive from Concord to Danville. It went something like this:

Phone ringing.
Me (under my breath as I pick up the phone): "WTF? What time is it?"
Other end: nothing

Expecting it to be a wake up call from the front desk that Cricket set up the night before I quickly hang up.

Phone Rings again.
Me (not under my breath as I pick up the phone): "WTF? Who's calling at 5am? Cricket, did you set a wake up call? Hello?"
Kelly: "Yo, yo, yo. Don't hang up the phone."
Me: "Kelly?"
Kelly: "Yo, what up c-dub? You ready to get it on?"
Me (with very little enthusiasm): "Oh, hey. I guess so."
Kelly: "Were you sleeping?"
Me: "Typically."

Kelly then proceeded to tell me that he got an email form the race promoter that on-site registration will be closed at the race and preregistered riders only will be able to race.

Me: "What? You registered, right?
Kelly: "No, man. We're turning around right now. Noel's driving and he hasn't registered either."

Long story short, they didn't make it. We slowly got up, ate, packed up the gear and dog and headed to the race course to set up our pit and get all our food in order. We were alone with no support so there was planning for both of us to do. Jason Wilson and Luke Sagur from the CBC team joined us a little later. The race came quickly enough after a slight delay and before I know it we were off. CRASH! 25ft into the race 4 rows in front of me cat 1 and pro racers were on the ground. I make a huge swerve to the left, roll though some grass and onto a parallel paved road where half the field were avoiding the pile. I got in the woods without a hitch and settled comfortability into a strong steady pace. Not much went wrong for me. I had a little problem with a tree but really it was perfect. I went good on the first lap but somewhere in the second I began to feel my strength slipping. 5 min later I knew it was going to be a painful day. What fitness I had was good, but the tank was a small one and the short, steep climbs took their toll. I started to hemorrhage positions and figured I was in 3rd just behind Jason Wilson. On the third lap I lost Jason and was eating out of the 'sufferfest bucket'. As I crossed the finish I was sure I was out of the top 5. To my surprise I held on for 4th and a nice $75 check.

After my race Cricket still had another 3 hours of racing to go. After about an hour she came into the pit frantic because she thought she was in second in the pro/open by just 2 or 3 min. I fed and sent her out to chase the girl down. She battled very well and in the end held on to a solid second place taking home a cool metal and 150 bones. Did I mention the payout was great? Yea, it was great. They even paid in the Cat 2/Sport classes. I've never seen that.

Danville was a great little town and the race was nice with a fun course. In all, we had a great time and were fully smoked by the time we got back to Charlotte. O-Jo slept most of the next day without moving a little paw.

C

HuRaCan 300 Report

The HuRaCan 300 Challenge was promoted as the ULTIMATE OFF-ROAD ENDURANCE EXPERIENCE in the state of Florida. In my opinion, it was promoted correctly and I verify this by my desire to lie down in the middle of the street the moment after crossing the finish line to go to sleep! The race started Friday morning at 8am sharp – 13 starters – 5 women – 8 men. There are only a few brave souls that will attempt a 300-mile self-supported mountain bike race across Florida and on that morning we were all lined up fumbling with our GPS devices. There were no maps or cues available for this route – it was all loaded onto a Garmin. My Garmin specifically was not loaded up with the route until around 930pm the night before the race and since I was not familiar with this specific GPS, I was lining up at the start questioning my ability to navigate the route quickly. So my Plan B, just in the case my Garmin failed or I failed at the Garmin, was to try to pace along with Rob Roberts, a local rider who rode the route last year and set the 41-hour record. My thinking at the beginning, as I stood around all fresh and pain free, was just hang on as long as I could and get use to the Garmin along the way. I figured my Plan B was quite unrealistic but why not try.

We all rolled off leaving the start behind not really knowing what the next several days would bring. My best friend, only known here as Racer X, came to Florida with me to race her first self-supported race and even though she had never even held a Garmin in her hand, she was up to the challenge. I stayed back with her for some time to insure she was comfortable with following the GPS. The others disappeared rather rapidly and Racer X and I just held our on pace. Eventually, the time came for me to leave my Racer X behind and try to hold a pace true to me. I really thought I may not see another racer after that but now I had that “carrot” in front of me and it kept me motivated and I knew Racer X would be fine. I settled quickly into my pace with only Linkin Park playing on the iPod and even with the strong headwinds on the open road, after about 30 minutes, I was surprised, and owe it all to Linkin Park, to see a line of racers pace lining up the road in front of me. I had no idea who was there but once I caught up, I decided to settle in the back to get a bit of a rest. It was just nice to be riding with others and such a surprise I found them. I could see several racers missing but I did not know how many or who. Carol sat right in front of me and then made a move to pass the group and I matched her pace and followed. We rode together just for a short time when I spotted another rider far ahead up on the horizon. YES another “carrot” I thought! So I passed Carol and pulled in front so she could catch on if she wanted and all my focus went to that rider up ahead. I looked back a little later and saw no one on the road behind me – thinking shit I must have taken a wrong turn… But wait there is still the rider in front and I was bridging the gap slowly. I finally caught up with Rob – I was so happy to see that pink jersey! Then Rob and I finally started catching up to the leaders – I had no idea at this point how many were ahead and who so I only focused on staying up with Rob. I mean he was my Plan B if theGarmin was to fail.

We slowly began catching the 3 other racers and ended up on our own eventually in the front. Rob was riding so strong and steady and as soon as we hit the sandy roads he pulled ahead quickly. There is apparently a skill for riding in the sand that I lack and I just worked through it trying to keep Rob in my sights even though he was pulling away! As soon as the road surface improved to a harder dirt surface, I cranked it out to match his pace again – praying for no more sand. We rode together for a while and it was a perfect pace – fast and steady and a little chatting about Tour Divide stuff. I kept following my green line on the GPS to stay true to the course and all was going well. Then there was this sharp right turn onto an abandoned double track section. I put my head down for just a few seconds to verify with the GPS and when I looked up – no more Rob. It was like aliens or something had abducted him. No sign of him anywhere…. So I kept my GPS arrow on that green line marking the route on my Garmin. That was when I noticed for the first time, that was all there was on my Garmin, only a green line and a black screen. I was missing ALL the topo and land features. There were no roads, no rail roads, no towns, no rivers, no lakes, no topo lines, no nothing and with the GPS having a percentage of error associated with it, my little GPS arrow was always off just a little from that green line. I was lost for about 30 minutes at that point wondering around in the forest when I backtracked to find Markley up on the railroad bed struggling to find his way. We decided to work together and still remained lost for another 20 minutes.

During that time, Jeff passed us by without us knowing and we fell back into 3^rd place. We eventually caught up with Jeff again on a Greenway section and decided to all work together in hopes we could find our way better and might have a better chance in catching up with Rob. That plan was constantly challenged though out the night as we continued to lose the route and lose time. We became very familiar with every Kangaroo Gas Station on route, as we did not want to stop and take time for a full meal at a restaurant. Our stops consisted of around 15 minutes – we all had our routine to get in and out - for me I would head directly to a chocolate milk and chug it as I stood there. Then I would wonder around the store grabbing and eating anything that look appetizing at the moment and pick up a few extra items to snack on while on the bike. Then a quick pee and not to forget the reapplication of DZ Nuts Bliss, then fill up on water and maybe a chain lube and then off. Every stop was efficient and there were always the strange looks of the people inside the store as they watched us gobble down as many calories as we stood in line to check out. There was that occasional brave person that would approach us and ask what we were doing, still keeping a safe distance.

The three of us continued to work together through the night our longest stop around 30 minutes to try to eat something more substantial. Riding through the night was a good strategic move even with the navigation errors, crashes, and doubts. We all hung in there strong and having 3 suffering along side one another made it tolerable! It is incredible how close you can bond with another person during such an experience even when you just met them several hours prior. I feel like I have known them forever and most importantly trust them! There were many moments of TMI but everything becomes comical at some point. Finally the moment we had talked about all night, the moment we anticipated all night, and the moment that would lift our spirits for another day of riding - the sun finally came up! It was amazing to see our surroundings so differently and the sky just lit up and it did revive our drive to continue pedaling even though the pains and fatigue from 200 +miles were starting to set in! We still had a difficult river crossing to look forward to and about 80 more miles. At this time, I personally envisioned those 80 miles paved road with a tail wind gently blowing me into town because I could just not imagine it getting any worst that what we had just survived through the night. How could there be more single track in this state? But you know there was more single track and many more miles of sand and many more ambiguous route issues and those palm fronds just making everything more difficult and many more barbed wire fence crossings. There were moments of paved road as I dreamed of – obstacle free - but I never envisioned trash being thrown out of the car window at me. Just add it to the list of new experiences I suppose this race has offered!

So many stories and memories for such a short period of time and even though I have never experienced Florida in this way, I believe I saw the best parts! In all honesty, The HuRaCan 300 Race was an amazing adventure through some very unexpected rough terrain. Karlos and Rob designed a challenging course that surprised racers. At the end, I felt like, walked like, looked like and probably smelled like a Zombie from the Walking Dead!

I finished in 31 Hours 36 Minutes – 1^st Place Female and tied for 2^nd overall with Markley and Jeff. We were only 3 hours behind the 1^st place Finisher Rob Roberts! It was a close race and I hear fun to watch. Of the 13 racers to start, only 8 finished. I feel amazing to have been part of this experience and ride along side some really strong positive racers. The day after the race I was ready to ride again and looking forward to seeing some of my new friends at the starting line for the 2011 Tour Divide Race!!!

Rob Roberts Blog below:

http://milesforpink.blogspot.com/

Official HuRaCan 300 Website:

http://www.singletracksamurai.com/p/eye-of-huracan.html#results

HuRaCan 300 Photos:

http://www.sorba.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=35627

Official HuRaCan 300 Call-Ins:

http://www.venusbars.com/huracan300/index.php