Tim’s Cycling Blog

I love this bike! Fast, nimble, and very smooth. Over the summer, I was doing 100 miles per week. Now I am lucky to get in 20 miles per month!! Oh well, I wanted to post this to remind me to get out and ride more!

Another great race put on by Gettysburg Bicycle for the Michaux Endurance Series. I opted to just go up and take pictures for this race rather than participating as a racer. Good thing, too, because it was very hot for race day so I applaud all of the racers who came out of the woods and finished.

Click here for some pictures from the day.

I got to go out to the RAAM time station a few times this week and check out the action of the super endurance riders coming through. It’s really kind of cool to get a chance to talk with these riders, their crew, and hear their stories on why they are riding 3000 miles on a bike. Yes, Race Across America is a race that starts in San Diego, CA and ends in Annopolis, MD. Of course, when you see them riding by it really inspires you to want to take on a challenge such as this, but then you start to think about riding 300+ miles per day and that inspiration starts to dwindle. So you don’t have to do it solo, but even riding with a team is a major challenge on your body. Not only do you have to complete the 300o mile ride across America, but you also have to deal with riding through multiple time zones, temperatures, and weather conditions. Not to mention that you will pretty much be riding round the clock and we all know that night riding is much different than riding when the sun is out. Either way, RAAM is such a great event and it was fun to get a chance to see some of the riders come through. Here are a few shots from this week.

Well, another Michaux race is complete. I think I can sum up the day in one word…MUD! There was a pretty heavy rainfall on Saturday night, which made for slick and muddy conditions for the race. This was the first Michaux race that I did not take any pictures. With the events of the weekend and family visiting, I just didn’t feel like dragging the camera up there and dealing with it. Oh well, there is always the summer race!

I did the 10 mile race and there really weren’t that many racers doing the 10 miler overall. I came in 6th place in my category, which only had 10 so not sure if that is much to brag about. But I finished the race and had fun, and that is really what matters…at least that’s what I will keep telling myself!

Michaux Productions put on another great race and cut in some nice, new singletrack again for the Maximus race. Other than the huge mud holes and 5 pounds of mud caked on my bike and body it was great! I actually started the race doing really well…was feeling good on the first climb, hopping over the logs and ricks on the first downhill, and so on. Then I got a little cocky and my rear wheel hit a slick log and it slid out from underneath me. I watched as a group went by me and hopped back on the bike. So, not to let the first spill get me down too much I caught up to the ones that passed me and was riding pretty well again. Then the mud came and I guess I wanted to take a closer look because I kept going down. There was one hole that was just too deep and it grabbed my front tire and over the bars I went. A guy came riding by me telling me that the hole was just too deep…thanks buddy!! But like I said before, it was a fun race. I finally made it up the last brutal climb and then it was smooth sailing on the road back to the finish line. We were provided with a nice post-race burger and fries and they always taste so good after a race up in Michaux!

So, next Michaux race is Dark Hollow but I think I am at the beach that weekend and won’t be able to attend. I’ll have to find another race to fill in the void! I need to enter something where I will get a better finish time and get some redemption.

Last week I was able to ride, ride, and ride! My goal was to ride as much as I could and I do have to give Julee credit for this one because it was pretty much all her idea. I started off with a road ride on Monday and then did MTB the rest of the week. I tried to take some pictures of the trails that I rode, but was more interested in riding than snapping pictures. But I did take a few so if you want to check out what I did during the week, the pictures are below. Yes, I am a dork and like to take pictures of my bike on teh trail and also like to set the camera on a timer to try and take pictures of myself!

Monday 4/21/2008 - Road Ride: Today I rode locally on the road for about 30 miles. I got lots of hill climbs in and it was a pretty quiet day on the roads as far as traffic. It was a perfect day for riding and a great work out. No pictures today since I didn’t bring the camera with me on the ride!

Tuesday 4/22/2008 - MTB Ride at Rocky Ridge: What better way to start off the MTB riding than at Rocky Ridge Park? The trails are maintained by YAMBA and they do a fantastic job keeping the trails well-maintained and they are clearly marked. I did about 12 miles out there and realize why they call it Rocky Ridge. It’s rocky and it’s on a ridge. Somehow it felt as though I did more climbing than descending, but had a blast! It was a little wet from the rain but the majority of the trails were perfectly dry.

Wednesday 4/23/2008 - MTB Ride at Gambrill State Park: It has been a long time since I have been to Gambrill so I thought I would head back down there for a nice MTB ride. Just like the ride at Rocky Ridge, I did about 14 miles down there and the trails there are much more rocky and technical. But again, really a lot of fun and a great day to ride!

Thursday 4/24/2008 - Day Off: I needed a day off from riding! So I did yard work, house work, and so on.

Friday 4/25/2008 - MTB Ride at Patapsco State Park: What MTB adventure would be complete without taking advantage of some of the nicest trails in the area? It was a good choice to end the week with a 20 mile ride down at Patapsco. Nice, smooth trails with nothing but time! This was my best day of riding and I have to say my most enjoyable ride during the week. It was just nice to do some fast riding on the trails down there. I will certainly be visiting Patapsco again as much as possible. Some nice hill climbs down there and some sweet singletrack to make a perfect day of riding.

While I will not be entering this event this year, there is a really cool video from last year’s inaugural event. Plum Grove Cyclery is the one that puts this event on and they have had such a huge success that this year’s event is going to be bigger and better than last year. The 1st Annual LBD Video is pretty cool to watch. Not that I was looking for myself through the whole thing, but there is a section in the video where you can see me. There is a section where the camera goes zooming through the woods on a gator and the music changes. About 5 second after that you can see me going through the woods. Don’t blink because you will miss it!! But it’s really cool to see that. I am bummed about missing the race this year, but there are plenty of others to do this season.

I was finally able to get outside and ride on the mountain bike.  It wasn’t an all day epic adventure that I had hoped for, but it was just too nice outside to ignore the trails!  I must say that it was nice to be out…sunny, peaceful, and the trails were in great shape.  If only I could be a professional bike rider and just ride my bike around all day long!

Anyway, it’s been so long since I have been on any type of trail so this was pretty exciting for me to actually be outside on my bike as opposed to riding the trainer or just thinking about riding!

I thought I was going to get up this morning and go riding, but no go again.  Two days off for me again this time.  We are heading to VA this weekend so I won’t be able to ride until tomorrow night.

Yeah, I am just too lazy to get out and do anything.  It was raining all day and I really don’t feel like another round on the trainer tonight.  I’m too tired!!

Even though it was just the trainer I got back in the saddle and did some spinning.  I decided to switch out my usual ‘Off Road To Athens’ DVD with ‘24 Solo.’  Both are inspiring movies about cycling and both very well done.  Maybe I should write a review on both, but just don’t feel like it tonight.  I also said I was going to start tracking my mileage (when I am not on the trainer), time, calories burned, and so on but haven’t done that either!  So many things yet so little time.

This makes two days in a row with no riding!  I had all intentions to ride the trainer tonight, but it’s Julee’s birthday so I replaced the cycling activity with eating ice cream cake.   Tomorrow is another day and I will be sure to ride.  I have to if I want to be ready for the Leesburg Baker’s Dozen race coming up in April.  I hope those of you that stop in every once in a while to check out my blog are riding more than I am.  I need to go up to Michaux and get some miles in there.   I am thinking about maybe taking on Michaux SS this year…MAYBE!!  If I do, I will certainly only do the short loops.  I’ll have to spend more time on the SEMSS (Salsa El Mariachi Single Speed) if I have any hopes of actually doing a race with one gear.   I am currently working on a project for a government agency so they make up acronyms all the time.  It’s like a whole new language.  Anyway, I need to ride more!

Well, no riding today.  Too much rain to be outside and no motivation to be on the trainer.  Tomorrow is another day!

It’s between 50 and 60 degrees here so tonight I decided to ride around the block for a quick 45-minute ride on my Salsa El Mariachi Single Speed…yes another shout out to Jes and Kent at Gettysburg Bicycles. Kind of hard to pass up the nice weather and I am glad I took advantage of it while it is here. I basically went up the hill, down the hill, across the field, up the hill, down the hill, up the hill, back down, and then repeat. See a pattern here? My neighborhood is basically a loop of hills. Good training and a good workout. This was the first time I went across the field at the bottom of the hill and it was pretty sloppy by the pond. There were also a few holes to avoid. Luckily I spotted them before I ended up hitting one and going over the bars. So, that was my fun little ride tonight. Sure beats the trainer!

Oh by the way, the Gettysburg Bicycle t-shirts are in. Email me if you want to know how to get your hands on one of these fine lookin’ shirts!  We went with the one on the right with the yellow lettering.

Well, no “real” riding today. I am getting ready to just make a few laps around the neighborhood to log in some miles. If you have been to the house before you know that this makes for a good workout merely because of the hills around here. Going down is fast but coming back up is some work! Who knows, maybe I’ll just do the trainer again tonight so I don’t have to worry about getting my light ready and all that fun stuff that goes into it. One of these days I’ll make it back on to the trail!!

OK, so it’s not my first choice, but definitely a necessity in order to be prepared for race day this year. It’s not always fun to get all bundled up and head out into the cold weather for a ride. The trainer is nice to get a quick workout in without having to worry about where I am going to ride or worry about getting all the gear ready. I currently have a Minoura Mag 500 and it it’s nice because it has 6 different levels on it for me to go from sprint to tough climbs.

I also have it set up with a portable DVD player so I don’t get quite as bored on it. Tonight I was watching Off Road To Athens, which is what I normally watch while spinning on the trainer. Seems to make the time go by a little quicker and since it is bike related, it just maks sense to watch it.

I’m hoping to get on to the trails tomorrow but I will probably be confined to the trainer once again!

So I guess I had to update to the latest version of Word Press in order to restore all back to normal. Not that I had a ton of posts or anything but having to do this for the cycling stuff and the family stuff did not make me all that happy! Once I figured out that the upgrade would take care of the all the weird things going on, it was smooth sailing from there for me.

OK, so what’s going on with my riding these days? Well, not much. My road bike sees more time on the trainer than on the road and the mountain bikes are hanging from the hooks in the garage. Once again, Gettysburg Bicycle and Fitness hooked me up with a nice SS ride so I will see what I can do to get that going. Kent is the man!! Here are some pictures of the new ride:

So I don’t get what is going on with the site at this moment in time.  I used to have my posts logically sorted by the most recent post first.  Something happened and I am not exactly sure what it is.  I guess I will have to work on that and figure out how to get everything back to normal.  I also want to have a different look and feel to the site, so stay tuned for that.  Keep riding in this cold weather!

Some of you have been asking, “Hey where are these cool graphics for Gettysburg Bicycle that you keep talking about? Like I said before, these were done by Jason Martin and staff over at Martin Design. I think they did an awesome job and they do everything from t-shirt design to full vehicle wraps. Here is what they have done so far for Gettysburg Bicycle. The first one is the Banner and original fairing design and the second image is the new and improved fairing design.

Yes, I realize that I don’t keep this cycling blog thing up-to-date as much as I should. It all come down to time and effort and I have none of either one at the moment!! Anyway, I figure I would at least post a few pictures of my Bikes since there are those of you out there that have been questioning about them.

I went with Bontrager for most of my components on both the Niner and the Felt. I especially like the Race Lite Aero wheels that I have for my road bike. I would give a run down of all the components listed on each bike, but just don’t feel like it! And I have to say a big thanks to Kent and Jes up at Gettysburg Bicycle - my favorite bike shop. They don’t sell Niner bikes or Felt bikes, but they were kind enough to put up with my and build my bikes from the frame up. If you haven’t been in there in a while, go in and check out their new banner, which was done by Martin Design. They also did some fairing stickers for the shop and some new ones are on the way (I’ll post those later on). So here are some pictures:

Once again, Gettysburg Bicycle and Fitness put on a great race. Not that it is a huge deal or anything, but I do have to say that I like the t-shirt design for Teaberry this year more than the other races. They really should change the name of this race to, “The Hardest Race You Will Endure.” Man this was a tough 30 miles! I raced in the “25″ mile group and when I got to the end they said it was in the 30-31 mile range. Jes and Kent from Gettysburg Bicycle and Fitness did tell me that it was going to be a long 25 miles. They were not kidding! I do have to say that at the last checkpoint Kent was chillin’ out drinnking a beer as we suffered and told me I had another 6 miles to go. I think he only said that to psych us all out because it was a lot shorter than 6 miles…which was good!

This was the third and final race of the Michaux Endurance Series and it was tough…as I said above! Prior to the race I had pretty much done nothing with riding. I rode one week prior on the road for about 30 miles and hit the trainer a few times, but nothing note-worthy of “true” training. I wasn’t sure how my body was going to react, but my main goal was just to actually finish the race this time and not accept a DNF like in the Dark Hollow race. Unlike Dark Hollow I made sure that I had enough Hammer Gel and energy bars with me. I also used Hammer Perpetuum instead of Cytomax in my water bottles. I think I actually felt better so it looks like I will be using the Perpetuum in the future. I still like Cytomax for the road, though. Anyway, as usual, I wanted to get up there and snap some photos of the 50 milers and get as many as possible. Since they combined the race with the MASS (Mid Atlantic Super Series) there were a TON of people out there racing for their points. When I got up there I ran into Kevin and Stephen and talked with them for a bit and then got my stuff ready for my race. The weather in the morning was a brisk 50 degrees or so. I didn’t have a temperature gauge, but I do know that it was cold!! So the 50-milers lined up and off they went for the beginning of their race. I went into a section where they would be coming around to snap some pictures and here is the “Harlan Price Ghost” picture. He was so fast that my camera would not react quickly enough to his speed!!

For those of you that are unfamiliar with Harlan Price here is a better picture of him standing still (he’s the one in the Independant Fabrication jersey on the right)

RACE TIME!OK, so it’s about 9:30 a.m. and I still have to go back to get my stuff and ready to head out at for my 10:00 start. I go back to the SAG Van and start getting my gear when I hear, “Hey Tim” from the distance. It was weird because I only know a few people up at those races and they are the guys from Gettysburg Bicycle and Fitness and I know that it wasn’t one of them. It was Mike and Dave Kegley (no relationship to each other though). They were up there to ride Michaux but not race. So we talked for a bit and then it was time for out pre-race meeting. They went through the same stuff as usual and then we were off to our starting point. We head out of the parking lot for about 1 mile or so to our starting point. This was a different starting point from last year’s Teaberry start, but I heard that there were going to be some new sections. So we head out and I want to just have a good start to keep me in the front for a while. We were heading down one of the first sections and my front tire planted in between a few rocks and down I go!! So early am flying over my handlebars…so frustrating. Let me tell you, that left a nice mark on my right knee. It also turned my front brake lever up to the point where I could not really use it. Oh well…who need the front brake? So I hop back on my bike and back into the race. There were probably about 6 or 7 guys passing me at this point but it was OK with me.

We were basically riding the 10 mile course in the beginning and I do have to say that I loved this section! Nice singletrack and very fast. Once we got to the split though things changed pretty quickly! It got a lot more rocky and much more technical. This is the stuff I definitely remember from last year. However, I do have to say that I was cleaning some sections that I did not last year so that made me pretty happy. I had more of a “go for it” attitude rather than just letting the rocks and climbs defeat me before even trying. A lot of the downhill sections I had to grip tightly and lean way back to maintain some balance. I think two things really helped me out for this race…I had my MP3 player with me to listen to some tunes and the weather was absolutely perfect! It didn’t hurt that I also had the Hammer nutrition products as well. So after all this battling and ending up getting through Rattlesnake and Rocky Ridge I finally come to the last sprint to the finish. Guys were yelling “Cold beer at the end,” so that was the last little push that I needed to go all out for the finish. I was super stiff at the end coming into the gates, but just happy that I finished.

Usually this is the last of the MTB races for me for the season, but I will be doing an 18 hour race in Richmond, VA with a friend of mine in mid November. It is still 2 months away but the race will be here before I know it! Thanks for reading

Here are some pictures that I took throughout the morning. I didn’t really choose the best place to take some action photos and most of my shots came out too blurry. But here are a few that are fairly OK.

This is why driving a minivan is not all that bad. I recently traded in my Pathfinder and am riding in the Odyssey. Let me tell you something…it is awesome to be able to pack in two bikes, all of my gear, and still have room for the car seats. I have a Saris Triple Track in the back and adjusted the fork mounts and wheel holders for optimum space. This is my own personal SAG van! I still have the roof mounts but it’s nice to have the option to throw everything in the back to keep my bikes protected from the weather and those nasty bugs that go SPLAT on the head tube and all over the bike. Here are some pictures that I took if you are interested. Just click on the picture to get a larger view.

The name should say it all!! This was the second race of the Michaux Endurance Series and it was a brutal beat down! Before I get into the race from my eyes, I have to once again thank Gettysburg Bicycle and Fitness for somehow figuring out a way to add more punishment to an already rocky course. They did a 100K race this time and it started at 7:00 a.m. No, I did not attempt to do the 60+ miles up at Michaux, but plenty of racers did…and some on Single Speed!! Are you crazy?? Much respect out to all of those who took on the 100K challenge, as well as those who did the 10- and 25-mile categories.

So same thing as usual with the night before race set up. I made sure that I had all of my gear, water, nutrition, etc. I decided that since I felt pretty good on the 10-miler at Maximus I would step up to the 25 mile event. Hmmm…somehow I think that history was going to repeat itself for me. I was not feeling 100% prepared for this one and did not go through training rides like I did before Maximus. But still, I felt pretty good so I decided to go for it. I went up to the site to take some pictures of the 100K racers and ended up getting there around 6:30-ish. I snapped some photos, talked to some of the racers and after they made their way into the woods, I had a good 2 1/2 hours or so to hang out. When I was getting all of my stuff together I realized I forgot my water bottles at the house. Luckily for me, I ran into Heath from Gettysburg Bicycle and Fitness and he hooked me up with two 20 oz bottles. Thanks dude!! I start the mental game of racing and the “what if this…” game. I am pretty tired and not really feeling that excitement and adrenaline rush like before. I try to get myself geared up for this thing and get everything I need in place. I snap a few more photos of the 10- and 25-mile racers and then then it’s time to head down the gravel road to the starting postion.

RACE TIME! We get the standard 10, 9, 8…countdown and we’re off. My mistake last year was that I sprinted up this first hill and then pretty much lost my speed in the first 3 miles, so I was going to pick a jersey and take a nice easy pace up the hill. I guess the jersey that I picked was a little faster than I wanted, but was still OK. OK, so the short .75 mile climb is done and we loop around the parking lot to hit Wildcat trail. This was probably the most enjoyable part of the race for me. I lvoe this trail! Nice fast downhill with a few little jumps to make it interesting. This takes us out to an open fire road and into the open for the lung busting climb. Ah yes, now the name of the race is starting to make a little more sense and the challenge of Mixhaux makes itself known! So through the climb and back onto the trail for more climbing. I see a bunch of other people hop off thier bikes and walk through some of these sections, so I might as well conform! I’m still feeling pretty good and my pace is where I want it to be. I am not really pushing too hard at this point, although that first climb was pretty strenuous. So through the woods I go and at about mile 8 I took a pretty gnarly fall. There are some 10-milers behind me and are encouraging me to keep on pushing and go through. Shortly afterwards, I get up to the 10/25 mile split. The 10-milers are heading back towards the parking lot and we get to go for some more pain…I mean fun riding.

I get to take it easy for a little bit at least and head down a gravel road. I get up to 32 mph and I am feeling a little better after a quick break from the rocks and steep climbs. OK, now I start feeling some cramping and some pain. My left leg is struggling pretty hard at this point and I am not sure what is going on. I try to push through and fight it as much as I can because I know I still have a long way to go. I don’t remember at what mile point that I was coming down a hill and then hit the dirt again. This was a good one. I planted my front tire into the ground, go over the handlebars and my bike lands on my back. At this point I am so tired that I seize this opporunity to take a quick rest. I am that drained! Really I only laid there for about 15 seconds and then I got up. Back on the bike and pushing through some more rocks. Will it ever end?

I get to the 16 mile marker and there is a water station there. I fill up on some water but decide to bail at this point. I mean, my body just did not want to fight anymore. I realized that if I pushed on, I was going to do a lot of walking instead of riding. I started my ride of shame back towards the parking lot and was going to deal with taking a DNF. Not much of a role model to the young kids out there, but I had better days! I rode about 2 miles or so from the water station and ran into a park ranger who was kind enough to load my bike and me into his truck and drive me back. Ahhh….air conditioned vehicle! I grabbed my bike, headed over to the finish area and shamefully handed in my stub for a DNF. Grabbed a burger and headed home. Better luck next race!

Even though I DNF’d I have to say a big THANK YOU to Jes, Heath, and Kent at Gettysburg Bicycle and Fitness for putting on another successful and well-organized Michaux race. Also thanks to the many volunteers who make racing at Michaux possible, thanks to the sponsors, the spectators, and (of course) the racers! I better start training for the Terror of Teaberry. I have 2 months so that should give me plenty of time to get out spinning and working on my technical skills as well as learning the basics of nutrition!!

Here are some pictures from the beginning of the race. I did’t really get many good ones this time around and wasn’t really focussed on taking pictures like I was at the Maximus Race.

Dictionary.com defines the word photojournalism as 1. journalism in which photography dominates written copy, as in certain magazines or 2. news photography, whether or not for primarily pictorial media, publications, or stories. A photojournalist is defined as a journalist who presents a story primarily through the use of photographs. I don’t think that I fit the definition, but I sure tried!

A while back I was asked to take some pictures for Liberty Sports Mag for the Michaux Maximus race back in May. So I snapped a bunch of photos, primarily for Gettysburg Bicycles Michaux Race website but also to submit down to the editors of LSM. I tried to take a bunch of solo as well as group photos to try and portray some of the local riders. I took over 300 photos and sent the CD down to LSM. They chose about 10 that they liked and asked for captions and names of the people in the race. I had some good shots and even had some close ups of pros Chris Eataugh and Harlan Price. In addition to the captions and names, I also wrote a few paragraphs of the actual race, which I thought was pretty good. I guess they didn’t want the write up but one of my pictures and captions did make their magazine. The July/August edition can be found here and you have to go down to page 46 to see the photo. I don’t think I will be winning a Pulitzer anytime soon, but I am published!! Honestly, I am really surprised that they used this picture. It’s not really a great shot and does not show action like some of the other pictures I sent down. But I am not the editor and don’t get to make that decision.

Here is my write up if you care to read. Maybe someday I can get an article in the magazine

MICHAUX STATE FOREST, PA. The Michaux Endurance Race Series kicked off on Sunday May 6, 2007 with over 200 racers on hand to battle the rocks, roots, and windy trails of northern Michaux Forest in Pine Grove Furnace State Park. Gettysburg Bicycle and Fitness in Gettysburg, PA has been hosting the Michaux races since 1996. With names like Maximus, Curse of Dark Hollow, and Terror of Teaberry one has to wonder if these are races or part of a horror movie trilogy. The race events have become increasingly popular with local racers of all ages and skill levels. Racers come from as close as Gettysburg to as far away as Washington, DC and beyond to test their skills and endurance in one of the hardest races on the east coast.

Jes Sith, owner of Gettysburg Bicycle and Fitness, attributes the success of the races to the participants, sponsors, volunteers, and spectators. This is the first year that they have introduced the 50-mile endurance class, which had 93 total racers. Mountain bike pros Chris Eatough and Harlan Price came out to participate in the endurance race allowing spectators and riders to get a glimpse of the best mountain bike racers in the nation. He is also trying to make sure that first time racers and beginners have a chance to come out by keeping a short race loop of about 10 miles. He states, “This way they get a chance to come out, enjoy a little racing, and bolster their confidence level.”

Joining Sith in the planning and organizing of the race series is Heath Roney, the manager of Gettysburg Bicycle and Fitness as well as Kent Anderson, who is the top mechanic for the shop. Along with the many volunteers, they go out on motorcycles prior to the race to ensure the trails are ready for race day and cleared of any obstacle. Sith actually carried a chainsaw on his back for 50 miles a few days before the race to clear the fallen trees on the trails.

The weather cooperated with temperatures in the low- to mid-60’s with clear, sunny skies. This is a great venue for a mountain bike race and allows spectators to go out on to the trails and watch all of the action. Experienced Michaux racer Stephen Wahl of Frederick, MD says, “These races are tough but are a ton of fun.” First time Michaux racer Kevin Clark of Annondale, VA says, “The trails up there are amazing! Everyone talks about the rocks but there is also some very sweet singletrack.” Both Wahl and Clark completed the 50-mile race with times of 5h 53m and 6h 23m respectively.

The next race in the series is scheduled for Sunday, July 15, 2007 and Sith is planning a 100-km category in addition to the 10- and 25-mile categories. The Curse of Dark Hollow race is sure to bring out another large group of racers, spectators, and volunteers and is sure to be another success.

Found a few pictures of me on the first section of the race. There are some great photos posted here of the race.

MICHAUX STATE FOREST. This was the first race of the Michaux Endurance Series and it was a blast! Gettysburg Bicycle and Fitness added a 50-mile category this year and it turned out to be a huge success. There was also a 10- and 25-mile category as well for those that did not want to log 6+ hours in the saddle. Over 200 racers braved the rocks and gnarly climbs of Michaux. My main mission for this race was to take pictures both for Gettysburg Bicycle and Fitness and for Liberty Sports Mag. So here was my dilemma…do I miss the race and focus on just hiking through the woods for some good shots of the racers, or do I decide to race in the best race series on the East coast? I decided to do both! The 50-miler started at 8:00 a.m. so I figured I could get a lot of good pictures before our 10:00 a.m. start. I also decided to ride the short 10-miler instead of the 25 so that I had time to get back, grab my camera and get some more photos at the finish. I took plenty of pictures and you can see them all here.

So same thing as usual with the night before race set up. I made sure that I had all of my gear, water, nutrition, etc. Since I was only doing a short 10 miles I wasn’t all that concerned if I forgot to bring a Clif bar or forgot some Hammer Gel. So everything was packed up and I was ready for race day. I think I got about 6 hours of sleep and then it was off to the northern part of Michaux at 6:30 a.m. I wanted to make sure I got up there with plenty of time to take pictures of the 50-mile racers getting set up as well as making sure I was down there at the starting time. This is always the time that you get to meet new people and talk about…well mountain bike stuff! I met Niel and Cory Popovich, who were both racing/riding Michaux for the first time; Niel did the 50-mile and his wife, Cory, did the 10. I also met Niel’s dad, Bob, who was also there getting pictures. After we took some pictures of the beginning of the race, we headed down to the first road crossing to get some more action photos of the group. After snapping hundreds of pictures I noticed it was about 9:30 a.m. and I needed to get back to get all of my stuff ready for my race.

RACE TIME! You never know what to expect when you line up at the beginning of the race. I was actually quite calm at the start of this one. It was probably because I didn’t really care about going all out to try and win this thing. I was just up there to have fun. So, they do the countdown and the race starts on a fire road climb and then a downhill section before taking a sharp turn into the woods. I was actually surprised to see some new singletrack up there and it was a lot of fun to ride! I was prepared for the giant rocks but it was a nice start with some sweet singletrack trail. Then it turned muddy and there were a lot of tight sections where I didn’t navigate some lines properly but managed to find my way back on course. And wouldn’t you know it about 3 miles into the race…I fell down and came down on the handlebar pretty hard. My stem actually turned a bit so when I thought I was pointing straight, I was actually headed off to the left a bit. I figured I better stop and fix this thing before I go crazy! As I am fixing it, of course there are several racers going by me. I got the standard, “Are you OK?” question, which really means, “See ya!” Oh well, like I said, it was about having fun! So I got that problem solved and was really praying that I didn’t have anything worse. So off I went and didn’t really push super hard, but rode pretty well.

We get to the first road crossing and the dude in front of me takes a sharp right off the trail and up the road in a full out sprint. I heard the volunteer down there yelling at him to come back on the trail. Hey works for me…I got to pass him!! Then we hit some uphill climbs. Nothing too bad, but enough to remind you that you ARE riding through Michaux State Forest! We clear the uphill sections and then get into this nice long rock garden. Now this is what I was expecting up there. Rocks the size of watermellons with sharp edges waiting to tear your tire to shreds! Now, last season up there I will admit that the rock gardens gave me serious issues. However, this was actually my favorite part of the race. Yeah, I know that’s kind of sick, but I rode through there really well. I chose the right lines and really had fun on that section. Go figure! Anyway, the rocks come to and end and then it is pretty much a sprint down the road and into the gates.

Pretty short race and I ended up coming in at 1h 15m 52s, which was enough to get me 9th place. I was happy with the results because I felt relaly good at the end and was in no way winded or hating life at this point. I wasn’t even mad at the fact that I could have done better if I would have done something different. So all in all I was proud of my finish. Now with all this babble of me being happy and proud you’re probably thinking, “Oh, I didn’t know they make 9th place ribbons.” But like I said, I had fun and that is really what matters!

So I go back to the car, change back into street clothes and get all of my camera stuff to capture some of the finishers of both the 25 and 50 mile riders. I even got to get some of the finishers of the 10 mile loop like the guy that popped a flat at mile 3 on his 29er bike. I remember him shouting for a 29X2 tube, but apparently he never got one because he ran the whole way back into the gates. Judging by the results, I am guessing this was Neal Adam, so way to go Neal! That was a long way to run with a bike!

A big THANK YOU to Jes, Heath, and Kent at Gettysburg Bicycle and Fitness for putting on another successful and well-organized Michaux race. Also thanks to the many volunteers who make racing at Michaux possible, thanks to the sponsors, the spectators, and (of course) the racers! I can’t wait for Curse of Dark Hollow in July! And one more time, check out all of the pictures posted in the Gallery of the GBF website

OK, I know I am a little behind on my post race write up, but you know how it goes! I will have a full race report with some pictures posted up here soon.

I decided to try out my first MTB endurance race this season and started with the Leesburg Baker’s Dozen. The race was on private property in Leesburg right off Route 15. It was right across the street from Rhasberry Falls Gold Club if you know where that is. Anyway, the race was set up as a 13 hour race and the goal was to get in as many laps as you could in the fastest amount of time. OK, so maybe 13 hours seems like a long time to be riding a bike thorugh the woods, right? Right. It is a loooong time and feels even longer when you are out there! I did this race as a solo to see how many laps I coulld accomplish. I figured 8 laps was a pretty realistic goal with it being my first endurance ride and all. At about 8 miles per lap, that would put me at riding 64 miles.

So I was able to head down there and set up and do a quick pre-ride the day before the race and I completed the lap in about 1 hh 5 mm. I was just trying to get a feel for the course and see what I could expect for multiple hours out there the next day. I figured if I kept the pace of 1 hour per lap I might do pretty decent in the race. I have say a big THANK YOU to Gettysburg Bicycles for their help in getting my bikes ready for race day as well as lending me their Trek Canopy for my pit area. As you know from some of my other posts, they are an awesome bike shop and are the ones that put on the Michaux Endurance Race Series. Here is a picture of my pit area for the race. I ended up spending way too much time in there, but it was definitely nice to have!

I did all of my pre-race stuff the night before….made sure I had all my gear, water bottles, Hammer Gels, and all that stuff. My Pathfinder is loaded up with everything I need for a long day of riding…or at least I thought it was packed with everything! As I am driving down Rt 15, I realize that I do not have my heart rate monitor. I have the chest strap but no HRM to go with it. So now I won’t know how many calories burned, how fast my lap times are, what time of day it is, etc. OK, not a huge deal so no need to worry too much. Then i realized I forgot my work stand. OK, now I am getting a little flustered. I look up through the sunroof just to make sure my bikes are up there!! OK, bikes are there and that is really the most important thing. I got down to the race site around 7:30 and started to unpack my stuff and put it in the pit area. I walked around a little bit and tried to stretch out my legs and my lungs and to start mentally focusing for the day. I went back to the pit and started mixing up my Perpetuem and getting all of my water bottles ready for quick changes. My tables is set up, my clothing is all in order so it’s time to head up and register. I register and get the “Good luck” wishes from the volunteers. A few tweaks to the bikes to make sure they are in working order and then it’s time to just chill and relax for a bit.

RACE TIME!

LAP 1. It’s 11:00 and the race officially begins! It was a great start and I was feeling really, really good and totally pumped for the next 13 hours. I was riding flawlessly and basically kept on the rear wheel of this team racer. I figured as long as I have him in front of me I can draft off him and make sure I hit the same lines that he does. I was definitely feeling good after knowing I was keeping a good pace. After about 25 minutes of riding, it all started going down hill for me….and not in a good way! I hit a rock with my shoulder, which pushed me into another rock and off balance. I pulled off the trail to let the others pass me and I counted about 9 people passing me. CRAP!!! Hop back on the bike and get right back into the group. I am going down a hill and get ready to sprint past a guy in front of me and *SNAP* my chain breaks. I pull off to the side and am frantic because I have no chain tool. Three of the guys I ride with are about 100 yards back from me and I quickly snag one of their chain tools. I flip the bike upside down and try to frantically fix the chain. I am watching everyone tear by me (each of which asked if I needed help, which was cool) and I start getting pissed that I am not riding. After 20 minutes of fighting with the chain, I say screw it, I am going to run the rest of the way in to the gates…BIG MISTAKE! I was about 1.5 miles away from the end so running in clipless shoes with my bike was not a good idea. There were some sections where I could coast down so I put my foot on the left pedal and literally was riding my bike like a scooter! I had to hop off and run up the uphill sections and I realize that I am overdoing it if I am going to last 13 hours. I try to drink some fluids and calm myself down but I am so far behind that the leaders were now lapping me. At least I was at the last stretch but I am already tired and mentally I am drained! I also got a nasty cut from the crank while trying to be the scooter king but just pass through the gates and off to my pit. Luckily I had my other bike with me, but I had to switch out the bib number…ARGH!!!

LAP 2. I am going as fast as I can on lap 2 to make up for some lost time. Again, I am riding it flawlessly and am feeling pretty good. My chain was making some terrible noise and I had to hop off to check my front dérailleur. Get back on the bike and it’s still making noise. OK, just keep going and deal with the annoyance of the chain! I get into the last section and see that my right sock and top of my shoe are basically covered in blood. My ankle was bleeding like crazy so I went through the gates and over to the first aid tent to get it cleaned out and taken care of. I ask the owner of Plum Grove Cycles to take a quick check on my bike so he takes it over to their Pit area for a quick fix. After a quick PB&J sandwich and some water I don’t see him come down with my bike. 25 minutes has gone by. What am I doing? Too much rest so early in the race! I head back up to get the bike and it’s just sitting there on the work stand. The guys said they fixed the front derailleur and lubed up my chain and it is ready to roll so I am off for my 3rd lap.

LAP 3. I get into the woods and then major cramp in my left leg! Too much time resting and not enough stretching. I work through the pain and try to push as much as I possibly could. I was feeling OK at this point and was still thinking about that stupid chain that snapped on me! I get up to the area with a huge drop off - about 4 feet - and decide I am going to jump off it rather than navigate down to the other rock in front of it. I mis-calculated with my speed and came down hard on my fork. Luckily I didn’t fall, but the impact hurt my wrists and my chest. I ride a little further and am still feeling OK. I am in an open area towards the middle of the trail and I go for my water bottle. As I take a drink, I hit a small stump and it twists my handlebar and down I go! Nothing hurt except for my pride at this point! Get back on the bike and my brake lever is loose. Not that big of a deal as it was still working. The gauze on my leg was now getting loose and the tape was coming off. I’ll fix it when I get to the gates. There were a lot of people in the woods cheering us all along and that really helped me to keep going. I reach the end and have to go right back to first aid. I get a fresh wrap with extra tape this time and I am going into lap 4 when I see that Mike and Mehdi are taking a break. So I decide to stop and see how their race is going. We talk about my mechanical problems and have a good laugh at my expense!! They are both 1 lap ahead of me at this point so I decide to make it a short break and then back out again.

LAP 4. With all of the talking I was doing I forgot to get fresh water. So now I am going to have to take this lap easy or else I won’t make it. I take some of my Carb Boom but that doesn’t replace the water. Nothing major happened on lap 4 and I was just glad to be through the gates again. I stopped at the Pit and drenched myself with water and grabbed my fresh bottles to go. I see Mike and Mehdi again resting so I decide to stop again. Mike is at 6 laps and Mehdi with 5 so we were still pretty close. I am feeling good and decide to get my chain fixed on my first bike and to take another longer break this time. It was about 30 minutes of a rest and I am off for my 5th lap.

LAP 5. It was a complete mental and physical break down at this point. It was almost as if I just ran out of steam….literally! Mehdi passes me and I am feeling really, really tired and cramped up at this point. I don’t know what is going on so I down some water and take some Hammer Gel to see if that will kick start me up again. I am riding like a small child at this point and just feel like total crap! My whole body hurt and my lower back was extremely stiff. I had no idea what was going on and I did a lot of stopping out on the trail. The short climbs that I was hitting really well now seemed like the longest climbs I have ever done. I had to exert a ton of energy just to clear them. There was one climb where I thought I was going to throw up. Man it was bad. I got to the final clearing and I was sprinting to get to the end just so I could rest again! I come into the pit and just crash! I am feeling really cold and I just don’t know what my body is doing. I dry off and eat some more PB&J and a banana to get that extra bit of potassium. My brain tells me I can do one more, but then I am done with 6. OK, I get back on the bike and off for one last lap.

LAP 6. I guess because I told myself it was the last lap of pain I would have to endure, I am going to ride this one really well. I didn’t go fast, but I rode really well on this lap. I just took it nice and easy until the end and enjoyed the ride rather than get all frustrated with the race aspect of it. I come through the gates and feel really good. So the question is….do I go for one final lap and call it with 7? Nope, I was feeling good and knew that if I tried one more I would just end up hating it too much. At the time this seemed like the right thing to do, but looking back on it, I really wished I would have stayed, got my bearings back, rested a little more and done 2 more laps. I ended up doing about 8 hours out there and just could not stop focusing on that first chain snap issue. I was mentally and physically done and just wanted to go home, take a shower and get into my own bed.

I guess there’s always next year! My next race is Michaux Maximus on 5/6/2007. I am looking to do better for this race so we’ll see what happens! I should be getting a few more pictures so I will post them up here once I get them. Thanks for reading!

I picked up a Trek GoBug at Gettysburg Bicycles for Sydney and Avery and I couldn’t believe how much harder it made climbing those hills! Of course, I had it attached to the single speed so there was no way for me to downshift to the granny gears. I took them quick ride around the neighborhood and the downhills were great. Climbing back up the hill was another story! I think I will have to take them up to the Heritage Rail Trail or the C&O Canal to save myself from all the work. However, it could be a good training method for hill climbing! Even though Sydney is big enough to ride around on her own bike, I think she prefers being pulled around in the comfort of the GoBug!!

So I decided to give this whole Single Speed riding a chance and see how I like it. I got a Redline Monocog SS 29′er and so far so good. Not only am I trying the SS out, but also taking on the 29′er world. There has to be something about the big wheels on a bike. I mean, it just tackles the obstacles better than the tradiaional 26″ wheel. I rode a Gary Fisher Paragon last year to try out the 29″ wheels and thought the same thing back then. It’s all about the momentum, I guess. So downhills become faster and rocks and stumps become easier. The only drawback I have seen thus far is the tight stuff and maneuverability. The big wheels seem a little more sluggish when trying to navigate tight turns, but other than that, it’s a great ride.

The Redline Monocog is your “back to basics” set up with the linear pull brakes and base components. No frills and no bling. Even the earth brown frame color states simplicity. But it takes me back to the dyas when I was a kid with a BMX bike with the one gear. Hills are a bit more challenging, but grinding up them is all part of the fun!