Carpe Diem!!!

This past weekend was the main event of our fall race season: The Carpe Diem Mountain Bike Festival! It was better than we could have expected. There was a kids race, the regular AMBCS series races, 3 live bands (5th & River, Damn Bullets, and Starroy), plenty of food (including a pizza from Za-Za's straight out of a portable wood-fired oven), New Belgium Brew, vendors, drum circle, and just lots of fun! Oh, and did I mention I was in charge of laying out the course & the kids race?We had something like 15 kids for the kids race. Most were between about age 5-8, but we had 1 or 2 that were 9 or 10 and of course Thomas, who is 2, was definitely the youngest. Check out how little Maddie is on the start compared to all those other kids! That didn't stop her from making her move right off the start though to try to win the sprint into the tight twisty singletrack in the woods.Both the kids did great! Maddie rode the whole trail like a seasoned veteran to the cross-country race scene. And Thomas rode all the down-hills on his pedal-less balance bike so fast that Amanda had to run to keep up with him. She said he was just bouncing from rock-to-rock but never tipped over! We'll get that boy some pedals for Christmas and he'll be pedaling a regular bike with no training wheels before he's 3!It was also really cool how we laid out the course and the stage. We had the racers make their laps by riding right by the stage! You could here the music for much of the race in the woods. That was an experience unlike any bike race we've ever had!

Natchez Trace Part II

I headed back out tonight for another ride on the Trace. Last night I got back to the hotel right around dark and thought to myself, why am I not still riding? So today I strapped the headlight on the bike with full intentions of going around 40 miles which would take me well after dark. Great decision.

The weather was phenomenal again. 82 when I took off, 77 when I got back to the car. The breeze was slight, the kind that just lets you know it exists, but not hard enough to really count as a head wind as you ride. Flying through the hardwood forests hearing nothing but the whir of wheels, chirp of crickets in late afternoon, and feeling the wind in my face made me feel as alive as I have in a while.

I love living in Arkansas, but the beauty of the forest really made me homesick for my native home, the Magnolia State. Looking down into the forest and seeing dozens of deer grazing on the depressed centuries old Natchez trace was surreal. The forests here are one of a kind. Maybe they just have that familiarity that can only exist when it's tied to countless childhood memories. The glassy reflection of cypress knees on the Ross Barnett, the smell of the pines and wisteria all made the afternoon feel like I needed to pedal in search of a porch swing hung under one of the many Spanish moss draped live oaks.

After dark the reflection of the full moon as I returned past Ross Barnett, the fire flies, the call of the owls, and the countless deer becoming emboldened by the darkness and gazing mesmerized at my headlight was all magic. The slow drawl of the other friendly cyclists I occasionally spoke to reminded me of everyone I grew up with.

The two rides yesterday and today on the Trace reminded me of all I love about this state. I do miss Mississippi and even if I never move back, it'll always be home.

Ain't Pride a Bitch

So I'm in Jackson, MS Sun - Thurs this week in a Performance Management Workshop. I've traveled so much this year that I'm taking extra pains on these trips to find a way to enjoy them. I was able to get a hotel about a mile off the Natchez Trace Parkway in Ridgeland. The Natchez Trace is an old Choctaw Indian trading route that traveled several hundred miles - Natchez, MS to Nashville, TN. Now the NT Parkway follows this old road for the full distance and is a National Park. Speed limit is 40, no trucks or industrial traffic allowed, it's there for recreation first. I.e., great cycling road!

So after work today I went out with a goal of riding ~35 miles at around ~80% threshold. It was a gorgeous day. 80 degrees, no humidity, plenty of sun. Very rare combo for Mississippi in late summer. I even stopped twice to look at historical markers. So after seeing those sites, I got on with the serious business of riding. After about 20 miles I started closing on this guy riding a TT bike. No cars were coming so I passed him with a wide berth on the left. Next thing I know, this guy is out of the saddle and jumps on my draft! We were coming South around the Ross Barnett Reservoir and had the wind to our face. It's not that I'm not a friendly cyclist, but I really wasn't looking for company or a free-loading wheel sucker! I will always love my childhood home of Mississippi, but each time I come back with a bike it is apparent to me that the collective bike IQ in MS is about as low as anywhere, and that includes the cyclists!

So for the next couple miles, I turned myself inside out trying to break this guy off my wheel. I'm pretty sure I could have done it quickly with an out-of-the-saddle attack, but I'd made my mind up that the wheel sucker was going to suffer a slow and merciless pain this evening. I just kept gradually stepping up the tempo with no disregard to the fact that I had turned both of my legs into lactic acid production factories. As we started going up a false flat I could hear his breathing getting more laborious and hear his bike start to sway side to side as his pedal strokes no longer were fluid cycles but now were taking full effort from hips and upper body. As he started to break off of me he yelled, "Good pull dude, I'm not much of a hill climber". Flatlander. In 35 miles I didn't see anything resembling a hill.

So now 2 hrs after finishing the ride I'm in the hotel room, legs cramped and suffering from the effort I shouldn't have made 2 days after a race. Damn pride! But I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

Gettin' Race Ready...

So not much new to report here. Just thought I'd drop a short note to keep the blog active.

It's time to start hoisting the sails of training and blow out of the summer doldrums. The fall is coming up, and with that is a busy slate of races. There is a jam-packed schedule of AMBCS xc stuff, but the main event will be the Berryman Epic in Missouri. It's in mid-October and I'm pumped! There's plenty of time to get ready, but not much time to waste. I need to get in gear soon. I need just a little more base work, but I also need speed work and hill work.

I raced the Big Ballin' short track last Saturday and felt really good actually. I was right in there with my man Bob and Zane "boy wonder" Jeffers right before I flatted. I was able to get a wheel change though from Curtis and catch my lap back for a 3rd place finish. Not bad considering I've never been much of a crit racer. Check out the pic of me after the race with my jersey off. Why do I hear banjo's playing in the back ground?? Hmm...

Today I grabbed the skinny tires and headed over to the Spa City to hit a hill routine with Zane. That is what I need to do more of! I can hang with him on most hills, but he's so young he recovers way faster than me. So we're hitting the next hill before I've recovered and he already has. Great workout. I need to capitalize on him as a training partner while I can, because he is making so many gains that pretty soon he won't enjoy riding with me. Tomorrow I'll recover by taking the kids for a spin, then Sunday afternoon I'll do some base work at Camp.

This falls gonna be good...

Why Mountain Bikers Should Stay on Dirt and in the Woods

So I went to ride in the local crit series to try to enhance my mountain bike training. Anybody that's spent any time around bike racing knows that are only 2 types of criterium racers. Those who have crashed, and those who will crash soon. They're a full on violent assault on the heart rate anywhere from 20 min to an hour depending on what class you race. Literally, if you don't spend much of the crit in your red zone, you'll get dropped. I.e., great training for mtb racing. It's like group intensity work, or so that's how I looked at it.

Well, as it turns out the last crit of the series we had like 6 of the guys from the MTB team show. So...all hyped up with adrenaline, endorphines, testosterone, and whatever other performance and mood enhancing naturally occuring drugs we had running through our veins we decided to try some group tactics. Realistically, Clayton or Wes Pruitt would have good shots at a win, if not several primes. I was pretty pumped just to be able to call myself a cool word -- Domestique...Admit it, it has a cool ring...

So the strategy was basically every lap or two one of us would attack the field. People would have to respond because even though the other of us (non Clayton & Wes's) weren't the favorites, we still were capable of competing. So one of us would attack causing several of the other strong riders to chase. Then as other strong riders would go to the front of the main group, we'd go to the front, control the pace at a slow enough cadence that it would take more attacks to real in the break away. Essentially we wanted to wear down the fastest guys. Clayton and I actually worked this well the week before and he won several primes with me controlling the pack while he broke away for the goods.

Anyway...About 15 minutes into our race, it was my turn to attack. I started to make my way to the front of the group. Right after we made a lap at the finish line there's a fairly sharp right hand turn. I don't know what happened. I just know my front wheel went airborn and then I was sliding across the pavement. It hurt sooo bad. Jeeze. It happened so fast. I don't know if I hit a rock, road paint, just slid out my front wheel, what. I just know my ass was sliding at 25+ mph on asphalt before I even knew what was going on. I lost a lot of hide on one spot on the back of my arm and on my hip. Several weeks of healing required.
Moral of the story: even when I "think" I know what I'm doing on a road bike, I don't. Stick to mountain bikes. The crashes are much lower speed, and typically are avoidable, unlike this beauty.

The Chief Got His Again...

So I'm quickly learning that Syllamo's Revenge is the most aptly named mountain bike race ever. As if 50 miles of Ozark mountain biking wasn't difficult enough on it's own, the Revenge seems to have it's own sadistic twist each year. Well, this year Chief Syllamo certainly had a bone to pick and he got his. Between the tornado's of Spring 2008, ice storms of January 2009, and 10 inches of race week rain, the conditions were as brutal as can be imagined.

All that said, I finished, and arguably finished fairly well, so did the Chief get his revenge on Big Head? Or did I finally foil the 19th century Creek Indian Chief? Let's take a brief recap of Saturday's suffering:

Maddie & I drove up with Ellie (new Comfort Retriever puppy) Friday to camp. Blanchard Springs was full, so we went to Gunner Pool. Fantastic camp ground! You gotta see this place, it is gorgeous...

After a surprisingly restful night Friday considering I weathered 2 inches of rain, thunderstorms, and high wind in a tent with my 5 year old and a puppy, I woke up Saturday with the usual race-day enthusiasm and excitement. I got to Blanchard and met the wife who took over kid & puppy duties so I could warm up. I decided to warmup with a brief stretch then a hard climb up that mile-long 8+% fireroad climb that starts the race. It was muddy & loose. A precursor of the day.

At the start I worked fairly hard to get into the top 50 up the climb and into the woods, but tried to keep it reasonable. This was the first marathon race where I made a conscious effort to go hard out of the gate. I liked it and sort of wish I would have gone a tad harder. Within 3 miles of singletrack it got wet, sloppy, and nasty and I was stuck behind a train of roadies who could climb that first hill like scalded dogs, but honestly had not business riding Syllamo even in good conditions. I spend a good hour working my way around 2 dozen or so of these guys. Tally: Chief Syllamo 1, Todd 0.

That first section of Jack's Branch trail was indicative of the damage done this year by the ice. There was down lumber, face slappers, and huge mine-holes left by the evacuated root balls of old growth hard wood toppling over. It seems like you'd ride 3-4 minutes, then slam on brakes and scurry over or around an obstacle. That being said, all racers had to ride the course, so I don't feel this was a huge disadvantage to me and I feel like I managed it well. We'll call it a draw. Tally: Chief Syllamo 2, Todd 1.

I rolled into the first aid station 20 minutes after expected and was covered in mud, but otherwise unscathed. I slowed down just long enough to jettison my camelback, and put on a new one handed to me by my lovely wife Amanda. Man she's the bomb...

I rolled onto the green trail feeling great. I spun slowly up that first climb so I could eat a little something, then rolled back into race pace. I chatted with a few guys who clearly were suffering worse than me. I started to have good feelings. The mental state is as important as physical in this thing. I gotta take a point here. Tally: Chief Syllamo 2, Todd 2.

Up at the top of the green trail in the midst of the big rocky tech stuff, my fork decided not to move any more. This is bad. I have at least 30 miles of this think left. I just had it rebuilt recently. Must have already blown those new seals, now it's running dry as a bone and not moving. Ouch, this will hurt. As I rolled out of the green trail and into the big orange downhill, "The Polish Dozer", it did hurt. Man, I tried to bomb that downhill like I always would so I wouldn't lose any time and by the time I got to the bottom I was exhausted. What a drain on the core and upper body without a working fork! I could really feel the fatigue as I struggle through the lower end of the orange and blue trails. I was having a hard time keeping a good pace and good cadence. I crossed the very cold and swift Livingston Creek and into aid station #2. There I swapped camelbacks again, and Greg Jeffers helped me lube my chain. I needed a break and was using any opportunity to rest. Tally: Chief Syllamo 3, Todd 2.

Now comes my least favorite part of the race...the section of blue trail east of Hwy 5. That trail is already in my head. Throw in the additional fatigue, anxiety of my bike not working right, and the conditions, and I was having serious doubts as to whether I could even finish the race. I certainly wasn't thinking about my performance. The Chief was playing mind games with me. This was so bad, and I was so discouraged, I have to give him 2 points here. Tally: Chief Syllamo 5, Todd 2.

Crossing Hwy 5 again helped out mentally somewhat because I knew that if I just got up the big blue trail climb, the worst of the race would be behind me. That, of course, is easier said than done. I was beat. But I persevered on this one. I was able to talk myself into a better mental state, and I climbed sections of trail so steep I've only walked them before. Tally: Chief 5, Todd 3.

After finally making it up the blue, I now had that 3 miles or so of Jack's Branch (yellow) to get to aid station 3. I started to get some pain in my right knee, but was able to find a new position to keep it from hurting so much. I got into the aid station, and Greg & Carol Jeffers passed me a new bottle, took the weight of the camelback off me, and told me I was #39. #39! Are your frickin' kidding me? That's actually a good place. I felt like I should have been competing for DFL, how am I Top 50? For the first time it occurred to me that maybe the conditions were hard on everyone. This put me in a new good mental state. Tally: Chief 5, Todd 4.

I rolled onto the 14 miles of red trail and it felt like 80. It would never end. This time, the fatigue was real. This wasn't a perceived mental state. My legs were out of gas and my wrists, arms & upper body were sore from the rigid fork. The only thing that kept me going hard was I kept hearing a bike behind me and I made a deal with myself that I would NOT let anyone pass me on this trail. I was actually able to pass a few guys on this one myself. Towards the end of it, however, some dude was breathing down my neck. He finally passed me on the big downhill going back into Blanchard. I was doing about 35 over incredibly loose & muddy terrain - I could barely see because of all the mud and grit flying in my face - and he passed me doing at least 10 mph faster.

Once I finally rolled in, I my time was 6:42 - 10 min slower than last year. However, I was 35th place compared to 53 last year. So statistically I improved. However, I was still disappointed. Everyone kept telling me I was crazy to be disappointed, but I still was and still am. I know I just didn't have my best legs. Yeah, I had a top 10% finish. Yeah, I improved. (Not sure where I was in my age group.) But I still know I was pedaling slower than I should have had to at some points. I know the conditions played a part, but I think I left as much as 30 minutes out there that I should have been able to crank out. Oh well, there's always next year.

For the final tally, let's do some bonus points: Riding without any mechanicals, flats, etc: Todd +1. Winning the mental game, making me believe I was defeated for most of the last 30 miles: Chief +1. Breaking my fork and wearing me down: Chief +1. Riding with a broken fork: Todd +1.

Final Tally: Chief 7, Todd 6. He got his revenge, but not by much. And as with each race, I've learned a lot and will be better prepared next year. I still had a blast, what a great race!

Ouachita Challenge Update

Well, it's been almost a week since the race. I suppose it's time to post my race report...

I rolled into Oden Saturday afternoon in time to see many of the Tour finishers coming through. It really was cool to see the look of joy, relief, satisfaction, and of course pain, on the faces of the finishers. I suspect that for many of them, this was their first time finishing the Big Ride. I have to give a shout out to our teammate Brad Curtis. Nobody on the team has worked so hard as him. And this year he finished the 60. Finishing that thing is such an accomplishment. Those that don't ride, or just ride road or groomed trail really don't have an appreciation of how difficult it is to do 63 miles in this part of the country. It's physically & mentally draining. There are several stretches in the Ouachita Trail segments where you can never get into a rhythm because of the jagged Martian surface rocks you're riding on. It seems like there's no way to keep momentum. It's cool to see those folks accomplish this. Two years ago I finished it for the first time. Since then I've been on a never ending quest to improve my performance each subsequent marathon event I do. For the most part I've been successful. But I digress...

Anyway...back to Oden...Got there in time to see Brad roll across. High 5's, pats on the back, gave him a little knuckle, then it was time to join in the spaghetti chow fest in the cafeteria. Ahh...cafeteria food. That brings back memories as well. After dinner I had planned on just sleeping on an air mattress in the back of the Suburban in the school parking lot that night. I was talking to Richard & Lee Bell--the best team owner/sponsor/captains ever--and they would have none of it. They had an extra bed in the cabin they rented and insisted I use it. Sa-weet! The good night sleep I would have in the cabin would pay dividends the next day fo sho.

I woke up the next morning feeling pretty fresh. I had a few butterflies in my stomach, but they were the good kind. They were there because I was itchin' to ride! I ate my breakfast of a banana, yogurt, LaraBar, and handful of Fig Newtons and was rolling back to Oden. I've gotten where my pre-race routine is less and less regimented for these marathon races. I barely even stretch now, much less do a real warm-up or time my nutritional intakes. I don't know if it's good or bad. But I think it is psychologically good because I stay more relaxed. And for a race like the OC with such a long road lead-out, it has a built in warm-up I guess.

My biggest concern was actually the weather. I got to Oden and it was drizzling rain and in the 50's. This is a tough temperature for me to dress for. Not quite cold enough for a jacket, but a little chillier than I like with just arm warmers or long sleeve jersey. I finally settled on my short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, and windproof vest. Lot's of options in that wardrobe for adding & removing layers.

Now it's race time! In years' past I've been real good about lining up in the front quarter or so of the mass pack for the start. Didn't happen this year. I got stuck a little more than halfway in the rear of the 375 or so combined riders. This was partially because they started us in a different spot, partially because I had my head up my ass not paying attention. Luckily, this was probably the biggest mistake I'd make all day. (A little foreshadowing there.)

Let me refer to previous posts on this blog and statements I've made to numerous people about my strategy. In years past, even a month ago at the 6 hr race, I let adrenaline get the better of me and I start too fast. Remember, this is not an XC race. This is an all day affair. Conservation and distance or the words to remember. Well...I did it again. I give up. Once that gun goes off I have horrid nightmares of being stuck behind a gajillion slow pokes in the single track. That was compounded by my poor starting position in the back of the pack. So once we were underway, I found myself rapidly trying to work my way up through to the front of the pack. To make matters worse, within a mile or two, the group broke into 2 pelotons. The front one, appeared to be about 75 riders strong. I was too deep in the second peloton to jump in with the A-group until they had a sizable gap. I badly wanted in that group. I figured that would buy my 5 easy minutes by just squeezing in the middle of that big mass of riders and riding the draft. So I kept pushing until finally I was at the head of the "B peloton". Then I decided I needed to bridge that gap, which by then was about 200 yds. What was I thinking? Wasn't going to happen. I worked my ass off for about 2 miles out in no-mans-land and finally reallized I could not ride solo across that gap. So now, instead of sitting in the B-group conserving energy, I was in no-mans-land working alone. Sheesh...

Finally we jumped onto this notorious dirtroad climb they said would separate the mass group before we hit single track. They were right. Suddenly I was instantly thrust back into the rear side of the A-group as they strung out for what seemed like miles on this rock, unstable, loose climb. This was a brilliant idea by the promoters. I hope they do it again. It adds more climbing to the course, but served the purpose well! My legs were feeling light and springy. Zane and Curtis jumped back on with me. We were keeping each other "sensible" by not pushing too hard up the climb. But I know we were all feeling good because it felt like we passed 50 people on that climb.

Once we finally ducked into the Womble, I was having a blast. The weather was improving with the sun coming out, my legs felt good, I was riding smooth, the trail was great. What a fun day! The first 5 miles or so of the Womble we were flying! Finally I had to holler up to Zane to slow the pace some. He said he was feeling it today. I reminded him that the race really doesn't even start until the first 25 miles and the Womble are behind us. He agreed and we dialed it down a half notch.

Coming down the East side of Mauldin Mountain, on the benchcut stuff with the big drop to the left, we come on this dude that was like 200 feet down the ravine with his bike. I stopped briefly and yelled to see if he was ok. He said he was cool so we kept rolling. Jeeze...if he went down with his bike, he was like another 20 feet from the cliff side...

We rolled into aid station #1 in good time. I debated not stopping, then opted to swing in and top off the camelback and my bottle. I opened them both and had barely touched either. It dawned on me I better start drinking!

I hit the road again and immediately hooked up with 3-4 guys and we decided to work together to cut the 20 mph winds. Then we picked Zane back up and also grabbed Robert Newcome. We kept this group together until the start of the Ouachita Trail at the Chalybeate Mtn base, and most of us hit the mountain together. Zane and I were riding the perfect pace for each other so far in the race. It's nice to have someone else that is riding your speed. I topped Chalybeate pretty smoothly cleaning everything and riding through stuff other guys were crashing on. However, I now could feel in my legs that they had worked. I decided to take some Endurolyte tabs to fend off the cramps.

Once we got to the next aid station, I took some fluids, ate some oranges, and then headed up Blowout Mountain. My nemesis. I was determined it wouldn't beat me this time. Whether it won or I did is up for debate still. I cleaned stuff I never cleaned on it before. I pretty much road everything that was not boulder covered. Even the long sustained climb to the peak I stayed on the bike. This made me feel good. The downside--I was anaerobic by the time it was finished.

On the way down Blowout I lost Zane. I think he was cramping up. I recovered some on the short flat roll-in to the last aid station. There, I cut up to Chuck Emmons. Now I was really pumped! Chuck is way faster than me usually. He's a bachelor and rides a lot! It was at this point that I first let the thought enter my head that I was having a good day and that a 6 hr time was actually within reach! Chuck and I rolled out and decided we'd try to pace each other the last 15 miles or so over Big Brushy Mtn and down the last road stretch to the finish. I hung with him for 2/3 of the way up Brushy. Then I was cooked. My legs were cramping, everything started to hurt. That was ok though. I just kept telling myself, drag yourself over this mountain, get on the road, and time trial it out to the finish. Unfortunately, I found my pain cave and couldn't get out. I lost a lot of time on Brushy. By the time I rolled off of it, Chuck probably had gapped me by 2 minutes. No worries though. I'm home free!

After time trialling with every last ounce of energy in my body I rolled in just over 6 hours. I think my official time was 6:08. My computer said 6:04. But who cares, either way I didn't break 6 hrs. But I'm not disappointed, that still was a fabulous time for me. Harder course this year, more climbing, and no recovering on the roads with the wind. I got 35th overall. I'm where I need to be in preparation for Syllamo's revenge. I think (hope) 5:30 is possible at Syllamo.

Not so good...

So the official Spa City 6 Hr results are up on the website now. There apparently have been some corrections in results compared to what I saw posted on Saturday. It would appear that I actually was 29th overall, and 9 out of 13 in my age class. I don't feel so good about those results now. The logical side of my brain keeps telling me that the overall competition was better this year (it was), that my time was still pretty good (I guess so) and that I've made big improvements (sure). But I rarely listen to that side of my brain. All I hear is 9 out of 13...

Spa City 6 Hr

So here's the race report: 6 laps, 61.5 miles, 6:10:57, 25th overall, 6th in my age class. I thought I'd get the punchline out there for those of you who may not want to read the rest of this.

Great race today. This was undoubtedly the toughest competition of any race I've been in. John "Fuzzy" Mylne, single speed legend and SoCal pro ended up winning the day. There were also a few other Men's Pro's including Ernesto from Speedgoat. But the real star on hand was none other than Endurance Racing legend, and 2-time reigning 24 Hr Solo WORLD Champion, Rebecca Rusch. There were a few other high-end pro women, but I can't remember their names. After an incredibly chaotic LeMans start of about 150-200 yds, it was time to mount our steeds and get underway. Here are the stages of my day:
Pre-Race: I felt real good. The weather was phenomenal. I didn't do much of a warm-up because the plan was to start slow and finish fast. That never happens. I don't know why I lie to myself.
Lap 1: I was rolling with a pretty fast group. I should have held back, but I wanted to hang with that group so I wouldn't get clogged up in the slower traffic. Not to mention I was so stoked to be racing again, and my adrenaline was pumping. I rolled out with my small camelback in lieu of bottles. It holds about 2 bottles worth of fluid. ~ 40 oz. This worked on this lap. The little voice inside my head kept telling me "eat, conserve, drink". I mostly ignored the voice on this lap. I finished this lap right around 53 minutes. Too frickin fast for an endurance race, this ain't XC today! I realize this, make a mental note to pace.
Lap 2: Leaving the pits, I'm rolling next to my man, Bob Ocken. He suggests we pace each other. Good idea. I agree. That worked for 3-4 miles until I slightly clipped a tree and moved my left bar-end to a really uncomfortable spot. I stopped to fix it, Bob left me. It's all good though, that is maybe the best way to find out I need to make a repair. I still feel ok on this lap. I end up hanging with this cool guy from Oklahoma. I drained the camelback on this lap and decided to drop it in the pits and go bottles, so I snagged a bottle, rolled through the timer at 1:53. 1 hr laps are what I need.
Lap 3: I lose the guy from Tulsa and end up sticking to the wheel of this dude from Competitive Cyclist. Can't remember his name, but I've seen him in the shop. He's going slower than I want uphill, which I decide is a good thing, so I don't pass him. He was riding a ballin' Turner Flux and he was butter through technical sections and downhill. He was a good leadout guy. I'm starting to feel the fatigue on this lap. I finish at 2:53, the 1 hr plan is working for me.
Lap 4: I swap bottles in the pits and roll out. I go 3-4 miles and it hit me. The dreaded bonk. I got this feeling of, Oh Shit, not this early. How could I bonk this early? I've been training! I don't want my race to be screwed up. So I ate a little something, chugged some Accelerade, and rolled easy. As I came through the section we call the "Big Ring Section" because it's smooth, fast, straight and generally you're in tall gears, I had to leave it in the middle chainring. I started feeling better on the decent. About mile 35 I hear several switchbacks behind me, "Leader through". Right then I was thinking, damn, I know I'm going to get lapped, but I don't want to get lapped this early. So I laid the hammer down thinking, Maybe I can hold them off until lap 5. Why did I do that? Wasted energy and what's it matter? It's a guy thing. At about mile 37 Fuzzy, Jesus Martinez, some pro from Florida, and Ernesto all lapped me. They were railing. I finished this lap at 4:10. 1 hr 17 minutes is not good. If that continues to digress, I won't hit my 6 lap goal.
Lap 5: After taking 3-4 minutes in the pits to stretch and eat, I roll out feeling great! As bad as I felt the previous lap, I was fresh on this one. I have no idea why. You'd think I was on the juice the way that second wind kicked in. I didn't ask questions I just rolled with it. Good lap all around. I even rode the "Big Ring Section" in my big chainring - small mental victory. I rolled around at 5:07. I actually had my second fastest lap, 5 hours into the race. I'm psyched. I have 1:23 to finish my last lap. No worries, all I have to do is not crash.
Lap 6: I'm hurtin, I'm dying. I started counting miles, then tenths of miles, then just had to turn the display on the computer off because it was driving me crazy how slow they were rolling. My legs hurt, I had no lungs, my feet hurt, back, you name it. But there was no reason to leave any in the tank. I finished up at 6:10. Rebecca Rusch was breathing down my neck trying to lap me. She finished her seventh lap several seconds after I finished my 6th. I got beat by a girl, but at least not lapped. As she crossed the finish line I heard her tell Clayton, who finished just ahead of her, "you almost got chicked." Last lap was close to an hour. Good time.

Overall I'm pleased with my effort. 10 mph average, or thereabouts. 6+ hrs in the saddle. I never used my granny gear. I can't be dissapointed. Sure, I would have liked to been faster, but this was good for me. I got beat by 3 girls, some older than me and in their 40's, but they were all pro and bad ass. I got beat by 24 men, several were pro. This was a really good Syllamo's Revenge trainer. I now know where my fitness and training are, and where I need to be. I'm not in a bad place at all. I could use some more long base rides, and as usual, could use some hill work.

Put Yo Game Face On!

Tomorrow is race day! I'm so stoked. It seems like it has been years since a race. The Spa City Six Hour is a fantastic first race of the year. Fun format, great trail, relaxed atmosphere. There will be super tough competition there so you can get serious if you want, or you can stop between laps and drink a beer. Me? I'm going to first and foremost have fun. Remind me of this tomorrow when I'm getting super anal about my pre-race routine...Seriously, I'm going to treat this like a good training ride. 6+ hours at a strenuous pace. Hopefully that will translate into a good race time. But I'm also going to be experimenting with nutrition, equipment, tire pressure, fork setup, etc in hopes of figuring out my sweet spot for the OC and Syllamo's Revenge. Either way, it will be fun. The weather will be nice (anything's an improvement from last year's snow), there will be a ton of cool people, we'll be riding mountain bikes, and I'm bringing beer. Is it even possible for this not to be a great day?

Am I Up Or Am I Down??

So I can't seem to find any consistently lately as we are rapidly entering that most critical period in the training for the marathon races (see previous post about wanting a rock) where I should have a solid base and now more or less be fine tuning. One day I feel like Lance Armstrong toying with the competition up a hill, the next I feel like the fat kid in 7th grade trying bunny hop a huffy over plywood ramps.

Case in point: This past weekend was the Ouachita Challenge training camp (mad props to the Henne's for hosting and the CARVE team for organizing). I rolled out with a fast crew for sure, but given my goals this year of being a mid-pack CAT 1 and doing very well in the marathon series, I should definitely be rolling easily with this bunch. They didn't drop me or anything, but after climbing only Chalybeate Mtn then half of Blowout Mtn, I was cooked. I kept riding with the group, but there was no giddy-up in my horse. After we crossed Big Brushy, Penrod & Wes mercifully claimed they were cooked as well and we bailed. Good for me. I honestly didn't feel capable of completing the whole OC course that day. Maybe the snow and cold played a part, probably did, but I just felt like I should have had more endurance at this point in the season. I was actually sore on Sunday. Sore! Jeeze, shouldn't I be beyond that?

Then tonight on the Tuesday night hammer-fest, I rocked. Not to brag, but it was true. I won a difficult uphill sprint through Burns Park over people that have dropped me recently there, then I pulled the rest of the way to the Big Dam Bridge dropping several folks and splitting our little mini-peloton in two. After a brief re-group, we finished out the ride by heading the usual way over the bridge, back to Little Rock, then the grand finale hammerfest up the long Kavanaugh hill into The Heights. I hung with 2 other guys and we gapped everyone else by several hundred yards. And believe it or not, I still had plenty of legs left. And all this only 3 days after being the fat kid at training camp.

So which am I? Am I the fat kid on the Huffy or am I legitimately getting in "CAT 1 shape"? I know that if I made my routine, diet, warm-up etc more repeatable I'd probably get more repeatable results. But my routine doesn't really vary that much. My friend Sarah suggested last week I get a coach. She has a really good one that has yielded good results and she says he's not that expensive. But I just don't think I can be regimented enough with my training to make that worthwhile. Between traveling for work and spending time with my kids I'm just not willing to make it a high enough priority. So maybe there's my answer right there. I am where I am because I'm at the limit of what I'm willing to sacrifice. Part of me is ok with that. Part of me is not because I know I'm really close to making rides like tonight my routine. Oh, and I really want that rock. Can I have my cake and eat it too? Pretty please?

I just rambled.

I Wanna Rock!!!!!!

Really, that is I want A rock, not I want To rock. Subtle difference. The rock of course is one of the Syllamo's Revenge Trophies. Why? For starters, check out the pimp Award Trophy's. These bad boys are much more impressive in person. Last year, the winner could barely pick his up by himself.



Syllamo's Revenge is the highlight of my race season. For me anyway it is the single most difficult event held in the state of Arkansas, and likely in the eastern US. (Of course exclude ultra-endurance 12-24 hour stuff...that's a different category.) I know the Ouachita Challenge is longer and you have Blowout & Brushy Mountains to contend with, but each of the two times I've finished the OC and SR I clearly felt that Syllamo was harder on me. It's a full body 50 mile beatdown. It is the ultimate mountain bike race. Almost 100% singletrack. You have to be in peak form of fitness and skill just to finish the damn thing. I'm not positive, but have been told there is over 5000 feet of climbing, not to mention the gnarliest decents & technical riding you'll find on an xc trail. Mix that in with the Bad Branch Loop where you can just lock it in and big-ring it for 12 miles or so, and it's a real test.

As I mentioned above, I've finished it twice. That's exactly how many times I've started it. Most folks will tell you that batting 1,000 at the Revenge is pretty damn good. I haven't had a single mechanical issue there or even a flat tire. But for some reason, I still feel the mountain bike gods owe me out there. (See Todd's involuntary dismount in the middle of Livingston Creek with water temp about 40 degrees. Going down. All in!) That water was eff'in cold!

In 2007 I rode the Revenge with my buddy James. We chilled out and rolled in at about 9:15 or so. Last year I ventured out solo and shaved about 3 hours off that time down to 6:32. Not a bad improvement. But for some reason I just have to believe I have more in me. Third place in Men 30-39 last year was 5:13. Why am I looking at third? That's the last rock! So...Is it possible for me to knock better than an hour off my time? I don't know. I'm not physically or genetically gifted enough for me to pull it off without some serious training. And I don't know if I can train enough to do it. We'll see. Truthfully, if I went sub-6 hour I would be happy. But damn I want to win in this race worse than any other. So much so that I'm using the Spa City 6 Hr and the Ouachita Challenge strictly as training events. In each of those I plan on tinkering with my bike setup (tire choice, pressure, fork pressure, etc...), strategy (start fast, start slow, ??), hydration and nutrition selection, etc. I'm planning on riding the carbon fiber-sex on the trail-Orbea Alma this go round. It's a hot bike no doubt, and a full 7 lbs and change lighter than the reliable monster truck-roll over anything-Titus I've ridden the last two years, but can I ride a hard tail over 50 miles of Chief Syllamo's most brutal singletrack at race pace? Yet to be seen. But I'm going to try it. I'm hoping carrying 7 lbs less weight alone will buy me 30 minutes...Maybe that's wishful thinking though...

More to come...

First Lager

After a half dozen or so batches of homebrew ales, I've got my first lager in fermentation. Today it was time to move the sinister strawberry lager to secondary fermentation.

I know it looks like refuse from an urban sewage treatment plant, but let me assure you, about the time of Syllamo's Revenge I won't be able to keep enough of this stuff. So anyway, I racked the brew to secondary, and in 6-8 weeks I'm thinking we'll be knockin these cold ones down.

After a hellacious week at work, a disheartening feeling of reality regarding my mountain biking potential (more on that to come), and just generally a hectic day, it was nice to chill at the house, drink some homebrew, and work on the next batch.

What's Next?

So...After a 2008 in which Bell & Co Mtn Biking shocked the world (or at least the world of Arkansas Mtn Biking) by winning the Fat Tire Fest Team Competition, laying claim to 6 individual state championships, and coming in second in the Class A team competition, how possibly could the team follow that up in 2009? Well I'll tell ya...how about co-sponsoring a race at Camp Robinson to get it back on the AMBCS schedule after a multi-year hiatus and adopting a section of the Ouachita Trail.

For those that may not know, the Ouachita Trail is a jewel smack dab in the central US of A. Go to http://www.friendsot.org/ for the full low-down, but the short story is that it is a 223 mile trail stretching from Talimena St. Park in Oklahoma east through the Ouachita Mountains and ends at Pinnacle Mtn State Park right here in Little Rock, AR. What a resource!

Well...back to the trail adoption...Anyway, Bell & Co Mtn Bike Racing has adopted part of Section 8 from Mile Marker 133.6 to 136.1. This past weekend 8 of us went out to scope the trail and conduct our first trail work day. Richard Bell, Clayton Bell, Jeff Lovelady, Greg Jeffers, Zane Jeffers, Kevin Williams, Curtis Racher and yours truly all braved 10 hours in sub-freezing weather to do our civic duty for the greater good of the hiking and biking community. It didn't feel like work one bit. I forgot just how fantastic pretty much every step of the OT is. We blew leaves, lopped most face slappers and knee slappers, weedeated, cut down trees, and built 2 jumps just for the bikers! Also on this section is the Big Branch Primitive shelter. What a great shelter in a beautiful valley. We even thought we heard a black bear, but turns out that was Kevin (don't go there). After the work was done, we devoured every crumb of food we brought, then headed to Hot Springs Village for pizza & beer. What a way to unofficially get started on the season. 2009 is gonna be great!

I forgot my camera, so pictures to come once I get some emailed to me. Till then, happy trails!

Here we go...

So...I came to the conclusion that I needed to start blogging. Let's see how this works. If you're reading this bear with me as I figure this thing out. Amanda finally talked me into starting facebook last week. So in about 7 days I've gone from using email as a necessary evil straight into the throws of 21st century social networking...