Chainbuster Finale
This past weekend was the finale for the Chainbuster Endurance Series. The race was held at Jackrabbit recreational area in Hayesville, NC.
The weekend began Friday evening as my road teammate Adam and I went over to set up. We arrived at the venue and made some small talk with other racers and Kenny, the promoter. We set up the tent and hopped back in the car to get a good night’s rest back in Franklin at my friend’s house. We arrived at Pam and Dave’s house and had some awesome homemade Lasagna and some brownies for dessert (Adam liked them). They had an entire room ready for us, and made a pre-race stay away from home as good as it can get (thank you so much).
Adam and I both got up early and got ready, Pam made us some turnovers for breakfast and some homemade mochas. We headed toward the venue and arrived around 8:30 where my mom (pit crew) and Erica were waiting on us. We unloaded the rest of our stuff and started with the whole pre-race routine (getting numbers, getting changed, warm up, etc.)
The weather was a little cool at the start but not too bad. The race had a .5 mile start on the pavement to try and open things up before the start, so we started like a crit, yay! There were the usual bottlenecks when we first got to the singletrack, but things kept moving. I stayed steady m first two laps and felt good. I had it in my head that I had to finish no worse that 4 spots behind 4th in the overall to keep my podium spot. I was calm about that though because this course would favor me and I hadn’t had to worry about finishing that far back too much all year. But on lap 3, it all started coming apart. As I was cruising around for another lap, I went to pass another rider and destroyed my entire drivetrain. I stood on the pedals and busted my big chainring, I couldn’t believe it, I shifted into the small ring to keep rolling, but now the chain and cassette decided to not work, WHAT ARE YOU KIDDING? I limped in on the bike for the last 3 miles and grabbed my single speed to just try and hold on for the rest of the race. Now, I was starting to panic. I had fallen to last somewhere between laps 3 and 5 and felt my overall slipping away. I then learned that 4th in the overall (Robi) had moved up to 2nd. Now, I was really panicking. I knew that on a single speed on this course I would be losing time every lap to the leaders, but I didn’t care about that, I was cheering for Adam more than anyone else (if he held first I would be safe, even if I didn’t move up). I pedaled the next few hours until my knees felt like they were going to pop; I needed to just spin for 1 lap, but with a ss that wasn’t possible. Darkness came and so did the countdown to the end. I was back up into 5th, but still did not feel safe at all. Somehow my chain managed to work its way off (REALLY, ON A SINGLESPEED, COME ON, GIVE ME A BREAK), and I was feeling like my spirit was getting beat up every time I thought things might go my way for just a minute. I rode my last 2 laps with all that I had left and looked forward to just finishing up. I saw the last mile marker and a big feeling of relief came over me, then I was upside down rolling down the trail, of course that had to happen today with less than a ¼ mile to go, I had to be bloody to finish off this race. (Did I mention that during the race that I was stung on my forehead and my right eye wanted to swell shut?)
Somehow I held on to 5th and Adam won in dominating fashion, which kept me securely in 3rd for the overall. It made the whole day worth, even though I didn’t think that I would survive the race, much less be able to worry about position.
It has been a great year and I want to thank;
My wife Lindsay
Mom and Dad for their part time pit support
Pam and Dave
My Velosports team mates
Chumba
American Classic
Kenda
Race Face
Crank Brothers
First Endurance
Honey Stinger
ESI Grips
Rudy Project
661
Albabici (Selle SMP)
Hayes / Manitou
Monday, October 11, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Chumba takes 3rd at 12 Hours at Conyers
This past weekend was the 12 hour race at Conyers, GA. The race was the 3rd race in the Chainbuster racing series.
The weather was going to be extremely hot and humid, making it a day for survival. I got down there with my wife ( #1 pit crew) and my friend and teammate John and his wife Ashley. The temp was in the 80s at 10 pm Friday with high humidity, this got me really thinking about the temps when the sun would be out tomorrow.
We got up Sat morning and had a great breakfast and started loading up with the ice. We made our way to the race, saw Adam and Dave on the way, and got there in time to get a good spot in the shade away from the crowd ( for the dog). Registration was fast and I was being uptight about everything being perfect on my bike. The heat was firing up already, and I was starting on my hydration heavy already with my EFS. The top 3 racers in each category got call ups, this let me start up front for our parade lap.
Started with the front guys, but got pinched out by an abrupt change to the trail, losr about 30 places immediately, but it made no difference. I rode a steady first lap not worrying about other riders, I had a plan for the day to ride for 6 hours and race for the last 6 because of the heat. I felt good, but hot. The 1000 ft of climbing in the 7.5 mile lap was going to be a test by the end of the day. I stayed steady for the next few laps just making minor adjustments to the air pressure in my tires and fork on my bike, while drinking all I could and putting ice in my helmet to stay as cool as I could through the first part of the day. At the first placing check that I got, I was 10 out of 12, ugh! I kept my pace, then felt some rain move in, yes! It rained for 5 min and just raised the humidity, ugh. I kept steady until the 6 hour riders started finishing, then I started to feel pretty good. First and second put a lap on me already and I could see 3rd coming. I decided it was time to lift the pace, I put in a hard lap, the the lightning, thunder, and rain came right as I finished my lap. My wife decided I should wait for the storm to lighten a bit before I went back out, as soon as it did, I left. I was stopped and told the race was neutralized, so I went back to the pits. Meanwhile, everyone that was out was making up time on me. I took off as soon as they let me go, now Adam was on my wheel after getting 15 min or so back becuase of the rain. I got a little frustrated because the time gaps were all closed on me, because I just happened to come in at the wrong time. Adam got by me and we rode together. I was feeling really good and decided that I had to go. I lifted the pace and got back by. I put in a 3 hour charge to see what I could do. I found out this put me all the way up to 5th! The effort drained me, but I stayed out of the red and knew that I had enough to finish the last few hours of the race.
My wife and friends were motivating me every lap, so were all of the "GO CHUMBA" screams I got every lap from neutral support and many of the campsites along the trail. I kept pedaling steady, trying to keep enough energy to finish, and to possibly put in attack if needed. I came through after about 9 hours and saw Adam sitting down. This meant that I had made up my lap on him and moved up one spot. This added a little more motivation. I rolled out another steady lap on the Chumba, and came through tho find out that the other guy in front of me quit, now I was in 3rd, sweet! One more time around I went, and got stopped by the scoring table to check on my position, I had just been lapped again by first and second, so I knew exactly where I was. I also found out that Adam found the strength to go out again from some other racers (thanks guys). So I got some fresh EFS and rolled out again. My rear tire started sliding but looked ok, also the fog was rolling in, so the dark spots in the woods were hard to light up for any type of distance, oh well, I wasn't setting the trail on fire at this point anyway. I came across the line at 9:03, and learned that everyone behind me had shut it down. I could relax because was not going to be able to reel in the top 2 today.
I found out later that the lightning had fried the timing chip system, that is why we had to make sure we were all in the correct places. The promoter did a great job with a very trying day, and my pit crew (Lindsay, John, and Ashley) were awesome. It was a super tough day, but all worth it to get on the podium!
The weather was going to be extremely hot and humid, making it a day for survival. I got down there with my wife ( #1 pit crew) and my friend and teammate John and his wife Ashley. The temp was in the 80s at 10 pm Friday with high humidity, this got me really thinking about the temps when the sun would be out tomorrow.
We got up Sat morning and had a great breakfast and started loading up with the ice. We made our way to the race, saw Adam and Dave on the way, and got there in time to get a good spot in the shade away from the crowd ( for the dog). Registration was fast and I was being uptight about everything being perfect on my bike. The heat was firing up already, and I was starting on my hydration heavy already with my EFS. The top 3 racers in each category got call ups, this let me start up front for our parade lap.
Started with the front guys, but got pinched out by an abrupt change to the trail, losr about 30 places immediately, but it made no difference. I rode a steady first lap not worrying about other riders, I had a plan for the day to ride for 6 hours and race for the last 6 because of the heat. I felt good, but hot. The 1000 ft of climbing in the 7.5 mile lap was going to be a test by the end of the day. I stayed steady for the next few laps just making minor adjustments to the air pressure in my tires and fork on my bike, while drinking all I could and putting ice in my helmet to stay as cool as I could through the first part of the day. At the first placing check that I got, I was 10 out of 12, ugh! I kept my pace, then felt some rain move in, yes! It rained for 5 min and just raised the humidity, ugh. I kept steady until the 6 hour riders started finishing, then I started to feel pretty good. First and second put a lap on me already and I could see 3rd coming. I decided it was time to lift the pace, I put in a hard lap, the the lightning, thunder, and rain came right as I finished my lap. My wife decided I should wait for the storm to lighten a bit before I went back out, as soon as it did, I left. I was stopped and told the race was neutralized, so I went back to the pits. Meanwhile, everyone that was out was making up time on me. I took off as soon as they let me go, now Adam was on my wheel after getting 15 min or so back becuase of the rain. I got a little frustrated because the time gaps were all closed on me, because I just happened to come in at the wrong time. Adam got by me and we rode together. I was feeling really good and decided that I had to go. I lifted the pace and got back by. I put in a 3 hour charge to see what I could do. I found out this put me all the way up to 5th! The effort drained me, but I stayed out of the red and knew that I had enough to finish the last few hours of the race.
My wife and friends were motivating me every lap, so were all of the "GO CHUMBA" screams I got every lap from neutral support and many of the campsites along the trail. I kept pedaling steady, trying to keep enough energy to finish, and to possibly put in attack if needed. I came through after about 9 hours and saw Adam sitting down. This meant that I had made up my lap on him and moved up one spot. This added a little more motivation. I rolled out another steady lap on the Chumba, and came through tho find out that the other guy in front of me quit, now I was in 3rd, sweet! One more time around I went, and got stopped by the scoring table to check on my position, I had just been lapped again by first and second, so I knew exactly where I was. I also found out that Adam found the strength to go out again from some other racers (thanks guys). So I got some fresh EFS and rolled out again. My rear tire started sliding but looked ok, also the fog was rolling in, so the dark spots in the woods were hard to light up for any type of distance, oh well, I wasn't setting the trail on fire at this point anyway. I came across the line at 9:03, and learned that everyone behind me had shut it down. I could relax because was not going to be able to reel in the top 2 today.
I found out later that the lightning had fried the timing chip system, that is why we had to make sure we were all in the correct places. The promoter did a great job with a very trying day, and my pit crew (Lindsay, John, and Ashley) were awesome. It was a super tough day, but all worth it to get on the podium!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
12 Hours of Tsali
This past weekend was the 12 hours of Tsali. I was originally going to do this as a team, and do an xc race on Sunday. But, I was talked into only racing on Saturday by my lovely wife, so I decided to do it solo.
On the way to the race, it poured. John and I looked at each other and just laughed, it was going to be a soggy day. We got there early, had a great pit spot, and had time to get ready. I was calm at the start, but still just wanted to get the first lap over with. My run went great, and I was able to take a pretty easy pace up the 3 mile road to the trailhead. My first lap was smooth and I felt great. That didn't take long to change though, on lap 3 the temp soared and starting sucking out my energy as fast as I could make it. I slowed way down and waited for my body to turn it around. After 3 more hours I started feeling better and the temp started cooling, by this time I started to see other racers in street clothes, they were done. This gave me some motivation to keep going strong, this lasted until about 8 hrs into the race, then I was empty. I crept along and just tried to survive. I made it back and decided that was all I had ( I had trouble getting out of the chair).
All in all I had a great day, 0 mechanicals, 0 crashes, 0 cramps. I just didn't have anything for the podium guys today, but I finished 5th. Best time I have had at a race at Tsali in a long time.
On the way to the race, it poured. John and I looked at each other and just laughed, it was going to be a soggy day. We got there early, had a great pit spot, and had time to get ready. I was calm at the start, but still just wanted to get the first lap over with. My run went great, and I was able to take a pretty easy pace up the 3 mile road to the trailhead. My first lap was smooth and I felt great. That didn't take long to change though, on lap 3 the temp soared and starting sucking out my energy as fast as I could make it. I slowed way down and waited for my body to turn it around. After 3 more hours I started feeling better and the temp started cooling, by this time I started to see other racers in street clothes, they were done. This gave me some motivation to keep going strong, this lasted until about 8 hrs into the race, then I was empty. I crept along and just tried to survive. I made it back and decided that was all I had ( I had trouble getting out of the chair).
All in all I had a great day, 0 mechanicals, 0 crashes, 0 cramps. I just didn't have anything for the podium guys today, but I finished 5th. Best time I have had at a race at Tsali in a long time.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Tsali
This past weekend was the Tsali xc race. It was on the national calendar and would probably be the biggest race in the Southeast. I was excited and ready for the race, the weather was perfect, I had support there (mom, Pam, Dave, Phil, Karen, etc.) and Clayton from American Classic was there to demo some wheels.
The start was a few minutes late, but no big deal. I had almost zero nerves for the start, I was totally calm. I was looking forward to the new route and dry conditions. There were 25 people in my class adding to the hype of the race.
We started up the road and people were sprinting like it was a 1 mile race. I let them go knowing that I knew the trail, where to catch up, where to pass, and where I could recover (if ever at Tsali). We hit the singletrack and ran into a small bottleneck meaning some of the guys sprinted for no reason. I let one of the guys that I usually race with know that I knew the trail and I would take him with me, he let me go by and I hit the gas. I caught 3 more guys within 1/2 mile, 1 looked like he already popped (shouldn't have sprinted). I could see the next 5 guys and it was on. I was keeping a steady but fast pace and was closing the gap to the next rider, on the first hill I closed half the distance and on the next little one I nailed the gap shut, I knew where I could go around, so I followed the guys downhill.
When I got to the bottom, I saw a puddle. I was going too fast to try and go around, so I tried to bunny hop it, bad mistake. It was deeper than I thought and I cased the backside of it. My handlebars snapped and I was on the ground. My day was done. I walked back to the start and tried think of the positives, but was truly disappointed. Super fast and nothing to show for it, except 30 or so scabs, 4 giant bruises and a broken bar. It was an awesome 2.5 miles though.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
12 Hours of Santos
12 Hours of Santos 2/20/2010 
I made my annual trip down to Santos again this year. The trip this year provided some perfect weather to finally get some good riding and a chance to really get some good miles on my new Chumba. I didn’t have the geared on finished yet, but since the geometry is exactly the same for both bikes, I looked forward to riding the single speed down there.
My wife and dad came down for support again, and this year I was doing a team event with some friends of mine, Pam and Dave Forshee. We got to Santos early in the afternoon on Friday, we had plenty of time to set up and get in a lap or 2 of test riding. The weather was perfect (around 70 degrees) and the course was nice and dry. The test lap went great, it seemed easier this year than it did last year, and felt really good on the new bike. I was running a 32 x 16 and actually considered putting a 15 on the back, but decided to wait and see. Pam had a little difficulty with the really technical sections, but did great on the course.
On Saturday I was a little late getting to the race because the GPS wanted to take us on a sightseeing route from the camper. Pam decided that she wanted to do the run and the first lap, which worked out well for me too. She took off in the middle of the mob and held position on her lap. I took the next 2 laps and I wanted to see what I had at this point. The first 2 miles or so are very technical and did not give me a lot of room to pass riders, so I took what I could until the trail opened up. When I got to the open section, I got to a pace that I could keep for a few hours if I needed to, but could still gain time. I passed my wife, taking pictures, about 5 miles in and let her know that I had passed 29 people so far (it turned into a game for me). I was spinning like crazy on a couple of really open spots on the course to keep my speed up, the bike was perfectly stable and stuck to the pine needles and sand like glue letting me keep all of my momentum with almost no drifting. I was having a blast!
Dave went next, the Pam again, and I knocked out 2 more laps. When I came in to hand off to Dave, Pam let me know that she was done for the day and Dave would only be doing one more. I was okay with that, we decided before we got there to do it for fun and do as much as we wanted too. I was just hoping I had enough left for the last 5 + hours. I got in one more lap before the night laps and could tell that I was already a little slower, but I still felt good. I put on lights and had a good first night lap and I was stoked that it was still warm enough to ride in shorts. On my next lap, I started to feel cramps on the really steep stuff, but tried to take it as easy as I could on a ss in those areas. I got to the flats and just kept it smooth, some of the faster geared guys started getting around me now, but gave me a good update on my pace. When I got to the last part of the course, which is also very technical all muscle strength had disappeared. I piled it up on the first really steep section and offered some skin to the trail as a sacrifice, then scraped a tree really hard on the way back down and gave up a little more skin. After my 4th time of testing the firmness on the ground I decided to pull in to the pits and call it a good day. The race got me really motivated for the rest of the season!! The new bike was awesome on both the really technical and really flat stuff.
I made my annual trip down to Santos again this year. The trip this year provided some perfect weather to finally get some good riding and a chance to really get some good miles on my new Chumba. I didn’t have the geared on finished yet, but since the geometry is exactly the same for both bikes, I looked forward to riding the single speed down there.
My wife and dad came down for support again, and this year I was doing a team event with some friends of mine, Pam and Dave Forshee. We got to Santos early in the afternoon on Friday, we had plenty of time to set up and get in a lap or 2 of test riding. The weather was perfect (around 70 degrees) and the course was nice and dry. The test lap went great, it seemed easier this year than it did last year, and felt really good on the new bike. I was running a 32 x 16 and actually considered putting a 15 on the back, but decided to wait and see. Pam had a little difficulty with the really technical sections, but did great on the course.
On Saturday I was a little late getting to the race because the GPS wanted to take us on a sightseeing route from the camper. Pam decided that she wanted to do the run and the first lap, which worked out well for me too. She took off in the middle of the mob and held position on her lap. I took the next 2 laps and I wanted to see what I had at this point. The first 2 miles or so are very technical and did not give me a lot of room to pass riders, so I took what I could until the trail opened up. When I got to the open section, I got to a pace that I could keep for a few hours if I needed to, but could still gain time. I passed my wife, taking pictures, about 5 miles in and let her know that I had passed 29 people so far (it turned into a game for me). I was spinning like crazy on a couple of really open spots on the course to keep my speed up, the bike was perfectly stable and stuck to the pine needles and sand like glue letting me keep all of my momentum with almost no drifting. I was having a blast!
Dave went next, the Pam again, and I knocked out 2 more laps. When I came in to hand off to Dave, Pam let me know that she was done for the day and Dave would only be doing one more. I was okay with that, we decided before we got there to do it for fun and do as much as we wanted too. I was just hoping I had enough left for the last 5 + hours. I got in one more lap before the night laps and could tell that I was already a little slower, but I still felt good. I put on lights and had a good first night lap and I was stoked that it was still warm enough to ride in shorts. On my next lap, I started to feel cramps on the really steep stuff, but tried to take it as easy as I could on a ss in those areas. I got to the flats and just kept it smooth, some of the faster geared guys started getting around me now, but gave me a good update on my pace. When I got to the last part of the course, which is also very technical all muscle strength had disappeared. I piled it up on the first really steep section and offered some skin to the trail as a sacrifice, then scraped a tree really hard on the way back down and gave up a little more skin. After my 4th time of testing the firmness on the ground I decided to pull in to the pits and call it a good day. The race got me really motivated for the rest of the season!! The new bike was awesome on both the really technical and really flat stuff.
Monday, January 18, 2010
First Race
I got to hit the starting line for the first time in 2010. I would be trying a double today at the short track races. I would be racing the single speed and pro/expert categories. I knew the day was going to hurt, because getting any real riding this winter has been tough and gym miles only get you so far.
Last year I had trouble with my top end speed, but could ride forever. So, I wanted to see what I had right now. I went hard off the start and led through the first turn, I checked my sides after that and saw that I was clear, this let me take the hole shot into the woods. I kept the gas on because I could hear at least one rider on my wheel. I kept the gas on through the woods and up the hill to the clearing, I heard one of the guys say that we had a gap, but I couldn't believe how big it was until I turned around. There were 3 of us with nobody in sight already. I fell back some on the easy part of the hill, but really struggled when all of the muddy gravel and hard dirt was replaced with grass and super soft mud. I had on dry condition tires and slipped all the way back to the start finish line. I lost about 10 spots in that little section. I also felt a little winded after such a hard start but I felt that I could recover. My pace slowed on lap 2, but got faster on every lap after that. I just kept losing time on the soft/slick spots. I looked for the rockiest lines I could find to try and keep traction and power, but could't get what I needed.
The race hurt, but I felt good with the speed that I could produce. The Chumba was amazing through the muddy bumpy singletrack and helped me to make up time in the woods. I felt good considering that this was my first opportunity of the year to really try and kill it.
I pulled out of the pro/ex race to save the Orbea (to be sold) and because my legs were starting to get toasted from climing in the mud. Good times!
Here is a link to the pictures: www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30598667&id=1083131804#/album.php?aid=2050392&id=1316798690
Last year I had trouble with my top end speed, but could ride forever. So, I wanted to see what I had right now. I went hard off the start and led through the first turn, I checked my sides after that and saw that I was clear, this let me take the hole shot into the woods. I kept the gas on because I could hear at least one rider on my wheel. I kept the gas on through the woods and up the hill to the clearing, I heard one of the guys say that we had a gap, but I couldn't believe how big it was until I turned around. There were 3 of us with nobody in sight already. I fell back some on the easy part of the hill, but really struggled when all of the muddy gravel and hard dirt was replaced with grass and super soft mud. I had on dry condition tires and slipped all the way back to the start finish line. I lost about 10 spots in that little section. I also felt a little winded after such a hard start but I felt that I could recover. My pace slowed on lap 2, but got faster on every lap after that. I just kept losing time on the soft/slick spots. I looked for the rockiest lines I could find to try and keep traction and power, but could't get what I needed.
The race hurt, but I felt good with the speed that I could produce. The Chumba was amazing through the muddy bumpy singletrack and helped me to make up time in the woods. I felt good considering that this was my first opportunity of the year to really try and kill it.
I pulled out of the pro/ex race to save the Orbea (to be sold) and because my legs were starting to get toasted from climing in the mud. Good times!
Here is a link to the pictures: www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30598667&id=1083131804#/album.php?aid=2050392&id=1316798690
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