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