Harlan takes 2nd at Vertical Earth Super-D at Blue Mountain Pennsylvania.

This past weekend I embarked on a journey to the top of Blue mountain to race one of my favorite formats. The Super-D! If you are out of the loop, the super-d is a cross between a cross country race and a downhill race. The course is supposed to be a test of a person's all-around skills. In an ideal world the winning time should be at least 10 minutes and the style of the track should not favor to heavily either discipline. The courses demand riders with versatile skills and a bike that can do-it-all. That is one of the main reasons I got the Fisher HiFi Pro 29er. I knew it would be an outstanding machine for the super-d.


What that means is you get to go downhill really fast and then bust your lungs on a couple hills. It turns out to be some of the most intense few minutes on a bike you can have. Your mind is 100% focused on staying in control! It is one of the best times on a bike I think you can have.

Entry fee to the race gave you two days of lift service at Blue Mountain, so I went up on Saturday to pre-ride. That was a wise choice because I felt like a fish flopping around on the boats bottom. The course was fast, loose and full of high speed berms with an intense section of jumps. As a XC racer I wasn't comfortable on the jumps at all. Still, I tried rolling them, or I took what looked to be a line around. A couple I couldn't avoid so I jumped them as best I could. The sections through the woods had some tricky spots that I stopped and tried a couple times, looking for better lines. On the second to last run I burped a tire and mildly tossed myself off the bike, loosing my glasses. Bye Bye!

Then on the last run it started raining. Time to leave.

Sunday my race started at 12 so I got up early enough to get there and have a couple hours to practice a little more. Unfortunately I had some toll booth issues and ended up getting there with only enough time to get one run in. Fortunately that one run felt great and my confidence was high. The rain the night before actually made the course a little easier and washed away some of the looser gravel turns.

We lined up to a Lemans start, which meant we ran to our bikes in a big confused mass and started racing for position into the woods. On the start line was Brian Lopes (World Champion) and local legend John Gabor. At the 'go' I had to sky over another bike and came around to mine in not the best position. I ended up 4th into the woods. On the first climb I came around two riders and went back into the woods in second to Lopes. The intensity of trying to go as fast as you can, but not making a slip is freaking addictive. I was able to hold Gabor off till the jumps then I let him by, knowing there was a climb immediately after. I took the jumps faster than before, but it still wasn't real stylish, while Gabor just floated everything. 

I did barely manage to come around him on the short climb, but he was throwing down. In the next section of turns and berms I was able to hold position and rolled across the finish line in second, but Gabor finished within the same second on the clock!

It was a great time!

I can't wait till Bear Creek races!



Thanks

Harlan

2nd Place at a Dirt Sweat and Gears : Selene

     This Saturday was my 12 hour adventure at Dirt Sweat & Gears in Fayetteville, Tennessee. Last year the race was a war of attrition. Hard rain turned the dirt to clay and the top pros managed just 4 or 5 laps of hiking 100 pound, mud-caked bikes over a 10 mile loop. This year the promoters promised a back up B-plan in the event of rain. But the course, a mix of tight, technical trail, ripping singletrack,  screaming descents and gear grinding climbs that add up to1500 feet of elevation per lap is mad fun, but no walk in the park even on a picture perfect May day….which Saturday was, and then was not, and then was again (more on that later).
      I had set my sights on 10 laps as a goal for the day. But I had just one real desire: Ride smart, so I could finish as strong as I started.  I got to the venue Friday afternoon to sign in and pre-ride the course. It was blazingly hot, into the 90s and I made a mental note to buy more water as I kitted up. The course was gorgeous, lush and pretty with nearly perfect flow. It was challenging, but not grueling, the kind of course that won’t beat you up, but, especially after 12 hours, could wear you down. I made mental notes of where to eat and drink as I rolled along. Back in the venue, I ran into my old friend Jon Cariveau from Moots who was racing duo. I was traveling and racing alone, so I didn’t have a tent and wasn’t sure how I was going to set up and work my pit all by myself. I decided to ask for a little “neutral assistance.” “Jon, this may be an obnoxious question; and please feel free to say no; but would you mind if I set up shop in a corner of your tent? I’m here alone…” He didn’t even let me finish my sentence. “Of course. Whatever you need. And we’ll help you out between laps too.” I owe them…big.
      Race day broke misty, bright and pleasant. I loaded up on a giant breakfast, packed the car and headed over to the Cotton Mill Preserve. I set up, warmed up, and headed over for the pre-race meeting, where I learned an interesting fact. Any lap that finished after 9 p.m. would not count. I looked around. “Is he joking,” I asked the guy next to me, who smiled and shook his head. I’ve never heard a rule like that. It was like a simultaneous slap in the face and kick in the butt. A lap that doesn’t count? At the end of a 12 hour day? Cut offs are one thing. Discarded laps felt like heresy. I would have to think long and hard if I came in close to 8 p.m. Just another mental note.

      The race started at 9 a.m. sharp with a Le Mans start. The first few laps were uneventful.  Amanda Carey (Kenda/Felt) who is crushing it right now went off the front early. I contemplated chasing, but decided to settle into my day and let the race evolve . I got periodic splits from other racers “She’s 20 second ahead.” “She’s 40 seconds ahead.” But I mostly ignored them. It’s a long day and I was determined to race my race. I felt great. I was eating and drinking well. Then a couple hours into the day I heard the thunder in the distance.
      The rain came, hard and fast. Coach Chris Eatough had said “I pray for dry conditions for you.” I thought he was exaggerating. He was not. I have never encountered conditions so completely unridable.  The mud, where wet, was icy slick, where not soaking wet, it adhered like pottery clay to your bike. Here at home, the rocks are sandstone, so always grippy. These rocks were like Crisco coated marble. I had an instant, profound mental mechanical. As I trudged through the slop, barely making forward progress, I kept thinking, “I will not do this. I will not push a 70 pound bike around a 10 mile course for 9 more hours. No way.” I worked my way  through the muck and abruptly hit a patch of trail that was bone dry. “Huh?” I thought. “Did it not rain here?” Indeed it hadn’t. I saddled back up and finished my lap with new found resolve. As I rolled in, Jon’s teammate Matty from Moots was sitting on the stoop of the van. He jumped up. “What do you need?” I shot him a look. “Okay, everything!” He got to work cleaning my bike and lubing my chain (thank you, thank you, thank you!). I shoveled down food and set my resolve on committed. The sun was shining, so I was hopeful. I rolled out for another lap to discover that the wet mud was now liquid cement. After another  fairly hellacious lap with a 70 pound mud-caked bike, I rolled into transition to get the good news. “They’re running the short course,” Jon told me, grabbing my bike for another quick cleaning and lubing. “They cut out the mud.” “Okay,” I thought,  feeling renewed, “Let’s do this.”
      The rest of the day is almost a blur. I had no idea where Amanda was, but I figured it was way ahead of me. For the moment I didn’t want to know. I had good energy, so I wanted to roll out and keep racing. The day passed pleasantly. I kept ticking off laps, eating my sandwiches, draining my bottles, and enjoying the course. As we neared the end of the race, it happened. At 7 p.m., I heard a female voice. I glanced back and I saw a very fresh, very strong looking female charging up the trail. It was Amanda getting ready to pass me. Neither of us could recollect what actual lap we were on, but I knew she must be one up on me. “I think we could be done,” she said as she passed me, explaining that she had passed Jill, who was in third a while back. “I don’t think I’m pulling fast enough lap times to make it out for another.” I looked at my watch and thought, “You could definitely get in another, sister.” But I kept quiet and thought. First place was out of reach. Third place seemed too far back to catch. I seemingly had 2^nd locked up. But something was nagging at me. “You don’t want to quit. You came here to race 12 hours. Don’t quit.”
      I pulled into the venue at 7:45. Decision time. Amanda had done 10 laps and was done. I had just finished 9. Jill was still about midway through her 9^th. As I stood there, contemplating calling it a day, Clay walked up. “You just pulled a 1:03 lap. You have time to get in another.” “You came here to race,” I thought. “You wanted 10. Go get 10.” I pulled on my helmet, turned on my headlight and rolled out for one more. It was a little slow going to start as I adjusted to dark. And I was starting to get tired and a little sloppy. About a third of the way through I looked at my watch and it dawned on me that if I didn’t get a move on, this lap would not count. “You have about 45 minutes. Put your butt in gear and do this. Or you’re going to be furious with yourself.” I found my second wind and started charging. It was awesome, flying through the trees, shadows dancing on the trail, cool night air streaming over me. I reached the final stretch. I could see the lights of the venue through the trees. I looked down at my watch. “You’re going to make it”! I charged over the finish line with six minutes to spare. “You’re staying for awards, right?” Grant, the other race director asked me. “Oh yeah,” I said. “Good, because you not only got second, but you’ll also get a little money for fastest night lap in the female division.”

      I may not have won the race. But I won a whole lot more.

Brighton Stage Race – May 15th – 16th 2010 : Christian

The Brighton Stage Race runs for 2 days: a time trial and a short track on Saturday; cross country race on Sunday. The winner is the racer with shortest cumulative time on all 3 events.

Time trial:
The time trial is held on the "Torn Shirt" trail in the Brighton State Park, Michigan. Obviously, the trail got its name from the tight turns but not only:
1.Most of the curves of the 100% single track trail have limited to no visibility.
2.There are sections where the riders can get into a nice rhythm as 4 to 5 curves will allow to carry the speed but the following curve is much tighter although it looked just the same as you entered it. Depending how quickly you can react, two things can happen: either you fly off the trail and hope to avoid the trees near by, or you manage to slow down but you are now in way too big gear to quickly regain speed.

The trail was in great shape although there were few corners and steep climbs with some loose sand. It has been 2 years since I raced there.  I remember enough about the trail to keep my fingers on the brake levers the entire time. But I still found myself carrying too much speed in some corners, but fortunately I kept the bike on its tires.

After I crossed the finish line, I was satisfied with my effort, until Steve Dempsey posted a nearly 50 seconds faster time...

Short track:
The short track was held 3 hours after the time trial on a grassy field. 7 laps total. The 10 feet wide trail was quite bumpy and there was a wide range of bikes lined up at the start line: cyclocross bikes, 29er hard tail, 29er rigid, 26er full suspension, etc. The funny part was that each racer was convinced that they had the right bike for the event. I admit I was one of them. I thought my Trek Top Fuel handled the small bumps supremely such that I could pedal non-stop and be in full control in the corners.

I had a good start and was second wheel from the whistle before I quickly went to the lead. Despite my best efforts for 4 laps, there were still 6 of us in the lead group. When I looked back, everybody seemed somewhat fresh and relaxed while I was cooking...I sat up and instantly my heart rate dropped off the near red zone to a much more comfortable level. No wonder, I could not get any gap; drafting was too much of an advantage. Consequently, the group stayed together.

Nothing happened until the last lap. Steve made a good acceleration to stay in the front. Although the other competitors could have been more aggressive and try to make a move in one of the turns, everybody kept their line. At the end the group stayed together, I finished in second place; 3 seconds behind Steve.

Cross Country:
Obviously, the cross country is the event where most of the time canbe made or lost. We needed to complete 5 laps of the Murray's Lake trail which is not as traitorous as the "Torn Shirt loop". It takes just above 30 minutes to complete a lap so with 2h30 this race is oneof the longer one.

I started the race with a deficit of 50 seconds to Steve so I needed to attack. Like the day before I had a good start and was in third position. The leader was riding at good speed and there were not too many spots to pass, so we followed him for an entire lap.

At the start finish area, I upped the pace and dropped everybody but Steve. Steve looked comfortable behind me and rightfully so since he was ahead of me for the overall title.

I kept the speed up and tried to be patient. The Murray Lake trail does not have any significant climbs making it even harder to make any kind of difference. The 2nd and 3rd lap were uneventful but I started to be seriously tired and Steve was still glued to my wheel...

Finally on lap 4, I started to notice that in some areas requiring more power he would drop by 10 yards before rejoining immediately on the smooth trail.  I was playing with fire and I was very tired myself. At each "power zone" I hoped to drop Steve for good but he put up a great effort and we crossed the start finish line together for
our last lap.

At that point it looked unlikely that I could make up the 50 seconds I needed to win the overall but at least I was going to fight for the cross country victory. Steve started yo-yoing behind me just like he did on the 4th lap but also like the previous lap he latched back on to my wheel quickly after each hard zone.

Suddenly, there was no more noise behind me! Steve dropped and I was about 10-12 minutes from the finish. I could have ease up the pace a bit but the large "Team CF" logo printed on my jersey re-enforced my desire to fight to the end. That is the only way not to feel any remorse regardless of the outcome.

My legs were two blocks of lead and making them spin required as much will power as physical energy. Finally I crossed the finish line, completely out of breath. I was catching back my breath before I glanced at the clock and started to count the seconds.

Steve was sprinting to the finish line and crossed the line about 50 seconds behind. Why does it have to be that close? Steve finished the XC race in second pace, 1min15s behind.

In the last third of the last lap I made up enough time to win the overall title. Racing against a strong competitor like Steve made the race super tough, which made victory even more gratifying.

Cascade Classic MTB race 2010: rocks, roots, mud and confusion = DNF: Dr. Jim

I ventured north to Montoursville PA for the Cascade Classic which was incorporated for the first time into the Mid Atlantic Super Series (MASS). The course was on private land not open to the public and was billed to include a lot of newly cut single track. I realized the night before the race that the drive was going to be 3.5 hrs which made me think twice about the commitment of time; I packed up the car early the next morning and headed North West for what was going to be quite an adventure.  

The remoteness of the venue diminished participation of the regular MASS crew although a core group of competitive cyclists showed up. I got there early enough to pre-ride part of the course. The weather was perfect and I was psyched to get out on the course. Within 10 yards of the first stretch of single track I realized that this was going to be a tough day. The course was on very technical single track that was significantly littered with rocks and roots.  Three inches of rain the day before on land that resembled a marsh made for extremely wet and muddy conditions which compounded the difficulty of the rocks/roots. After about 1 mile of a pre-ride I came back to the car and calmed my self down hoping (praying) that the remaining 6 miles of the 7 mile course was going to be easier to navigate. 

The expert/elite riders took off at 11 AM. I made it through the first mile of the course in reasonably good shape looking for a break in the rigors of the course. Unfortunately the degree of difficulty went in the wrong direction – it got harder! Much harder!! We dropped down to what resembled swamp that connected a series of mud bogs via small bridges. After ascending up some easily navigated fire roads, we entered into a series of incredibly steep, rocky and slippery drops as well as freshly cut off camber single track filled with roots and branches that had just lost their bark and were as slippery as ice. To make matters worse, at about the 2/3 point of the course, there was an unmarked turn in which a bunch of us (from what I can tell at least 30 of the 70 expert/elites) went the wrong way for quite a while. After getting back on course I completed the first lap and talked myself into starting the second lap with the hope that magically the mud would dissipate and the rocks/roots would not longer be greasy; this delusion did not last long and I bailed and returned to the car. Apparently about 1/3 of the 70 or so expert/elite riders who started decided to DNF.  Those that kept going put in lap times for the 7 mile course in excess of 1hr. With some more work this course could actually be fun as long as it was dry – adding significant quantities of mud to it made it just wrong!!

I packed myself up for a disappointing 3.5 hr ride home. On the way I called my friend Carl and arranged to meet him the next day at 6 AM in Manyunk for a 110 mile road ride up through some beautiful country north of Philly on what turned out to be a gorgeous day. Ten minutes into this ride, the experience of the previous day became a distant memory – it is amazing how therapeutic a simple bike ride with a friend can be. 

Stokesville-Douthat-Stokesville aka SDS (Churtle)

Wow.  What else can you say.  A really big ride, really great people, really great food, really great pain.

Saturday:                                          Sunday:

Time:  13 hours                                 Time:  12:30 hours

Moving Time:  10 hours                     Moving Time:  9 hours

Distance:  80 miles                             Distance:  70 miles

Elevation:  14,122 feet                       Elevation:  11,771 feet

A Hard Win on the Rocks (Selene)

This week I headed out to my old nemesis French Creek On the Rocks, a 6-hour (for the endurance racers) mountain bike race in a state park west of Philadelphia. When I’m not racing, I love French Creek. There’s a lake, an outdoor amphitheater, and yurts for rent. When I’m racing? There’s no love lost. No matter how I prepare, I suffer. And this year was no exception.

This year I really did think it might be different. I’ve been dialing in my race nutrition and have two heaping fistfuls of long hard training days and races under my belt. This would also be my first year racing the course on big 29 inch wheels. The Super Fly would surely take some of the edges off the endless long, rocky descents that pulverize my shoulders and will to go on.

It all started off well enough. After signing in at registration, I kitted up, sprayed on some sunscreen, drank a Red Bull and rolled out with my friend Mike to hit the first hill for a warm up. Legs feel pretty good, I thought as we spun around the bend onto the steepest pitch. Just race your race you’ll be fine. We rolled back down; then hit the climb one more time just to open up the legs and get all systems a-go. As we made our way back to the start finish, the first few drops began to fall. Then it poured. We ducked under the timer’s table. “This sucks,” said the girl sitting behind the race clock. Indeed. As the name implies, French Creek is rocky; nearly nothing but. You’re either climbing up them, sailing down them, or picking your way through them. There are also roots, logs, and many bridges, which take on the traction of freshly Zambonied ice when wet.

The rain tapered off as we began staging. I made my way to the front and looked around for familiar faces. There was Mike to the left; Vegan Rob, Pickle, an old friend Keith, who I haven’t seen in a while but always crushes this course, and Richie Rich, a super friendly, very strong rider I’d met in State College late last year. I was happy to be in good company with plenty of wheels to follow, at least for a while. The race director said, “Ten seconds.” And we were off.

We started fast up the climb, thinning the pack to a small group as we reached the top and made a sharp left for the first big descent of the day. As we barreled over the rock drops and water bars, I was started having flashbacks of sufferings from years past This is why I don’t like racing here, I thought. I’m not a terrible descender. But I’m not a great one either. I’ve gotten much better at learning to ride loose and flow and just point my bike and let it do the work. But the rain had me scared. So there I am white knuckling the bars, wearing my shoulders around my ears and barking at myself to get off the brakes and relax! This behavior, I have deduced, takes a lot of energy, especially repeated 20 or so times over the course of 6 hours.

To be fair, I was riding pretty well and felt good for much of the day. I kept most of the front pack within my sight and finished just a bit behind the lead men on the first lap. I was drinking my bottles, taking my gels, and following the same nutrition plan from the past few weeks. The course was about 10 miles long. I’d made it my goal to do 5 laps. Three laps in, I realized that I was on pace to do 6. Normally that would be a happy realization. But I was starting to feel that creeping fatigue that tells me I’m not staying on top of my food needs. As I came into the pit area for lap four, I was still feeling pretty good, but could tell I was dangerously close to my reserve tank. I grabbed more gels and a bottle and rolled out hoping to rally.

And I did, for a while, until I didn’t. Somewhere, and really it’s sort of a blur, around lap 4 and into 5, I hit the wall. So, I just kept shoveling in calories that my stomach was rejecting, but my body needed. I dialed down the pace and willed myself to digest them. I was grateful for the uphills and swore my way down every jarring, rocky descent that made my shoulders, back, and arms scream and stomach churn. I had fallen off pace for six laps. I was disappointed, but also determined to finish this thing strong. So I made it a game. Just get to the split (the place where the course divides beginner and the rest of the racers) you only have a couple of miles at that point. When I got to the split I thought, just get to the switchbacks. When I got there, it became Just get to the campground; you’re really close then. I nearly got off my bike to do a jig when I came around the tents. I could hear the cheering, music, and general melee of the finish. It’s the most beautiful sound on a good day. It’s like an army of heaven’s angels playing harps for you when you’re suffering like a dog. I turned the final bend and crossed the line at 6:19. Oh, thank God.

In the end, only three riders had made it out for six laps—Vegan Rob and Mike C, 1st and 2nd place respectively (awesome work guys) among them—so I didn’t kick myself too hard. I’d taken first place in the women’s field and come in 11th overall. And Team CF had a killer day with Kristin taking first and Nikki 3rd in the women's elite XC race; Harlan taking 4th on his singlespeed in the men's XC race and Dr. Jim pulling into the podium in 3rd place masters endurance field. All said and done, it was a good day. It just hurt really badly.

French Creek Endurance Race by Dr. Jim

I was looking forward to the French Creek Endurance race of the MASS as a major objective for the year. The course is very rocky with great technical climbs and challenging descents; laps are 10 miles and the Endurance Race translates to how many laps you get complete in a 6 hr window. Due to a last minute mechanical problem with my full suspension 29er (Superfly 100) encountered several days before the race I was forced to use my 2009 29er hardtail (superfly) that Human Zoom dialed in for me at the last minute; thanks Anthony and the guys at the shop.


I was rested and ready to go starting my warm up when the rain started - driving cold rain. We took off in the rain which continued for about 1 hr. The course was as billed - rocks, rocks and more rocks. I started out a little faster than I had planned but kept up on the nutrition and felt great throughout the race. The rain eventually stopped and the wind picked up - with gusts in excess of 50 mph. On the third lap while ascending the long fireroad climb just after the start a huge tree branch let loose and landed on the course just 5 yards to my left. A spectator had been standing in that very spot literally seconds before and fortunately was walking away when the tree limb hit the ground. Falling debris was clearly the most serious objective hazard of the day although the wind and mild temps made for pleasant racing conditions. My hard tail 29er performed admirably although I kept thinking what the full suspension 29er would have been like - being it is made for a course like this. I completed 5 laps in just over 7 hrs and placed 3rd in 45+ endurance category. Today I am clearly feeling the challenge of 7 hrs on a bike at French Creek - more challenging than some of the 100 mile National Endurance Series races.

Jim Wilson

20 years of Michaux MAXIMUS

And it was 20 years ago that I first raced the Maximus.  I have not attended all 20 races, but there was one hardcore dude who had.  Impressive.  Regardless of how many times I have either raced or ridden the trails of the course it continues to be a challenge.  It is raw, rocky, technical single track that never lets up.  Being a 85.000 acre forest there is always new trail to be explored.  It never gets old.  And thats why I keep going back.  Well ok, it is my home turf and you always do have to defend it, right?!

Sunday's weather fortunately cooperated with us.  I'm not sure I could take another endurance ride in a severe thunderstorm without crawling off my bike into a fetal position.  However, good weather or not I did have obstacles to overcome.  Within the first two fast miles on a downhill single track section a huge stick jumped off the ground and grabbed my rear wheel in its fangs.  I reacted enough to save the derailleur, but a spoke suffered a complete break.  I thought I had it figured out to wrap it on another spoke and out of the way.  But I failed to do that completely and had some friendly trail help to get the spoke wrapped enough to be out of the way.  However, after much dismay with how my gears were reacting, I discovered that the other end of the spoke was stuck in my cassette.  This took some more friendly trail help to get out.  Phew, at least I could finish the race.  "What" said my friend, now its time to chase, and chase we did.  Throughout the chase my gears were angry with the prior stick incident.  It made it tough to negotiate the subtle and not so subtle ups, downs, and twists of the trail that required shifting.  I did my best to not shift much until I remembered about the twisty thing at the gear shifter that can sometimes help you dial in your shifting.  Now all I needed to remember was did twisting towards you tighten or away from you.  After choosing the wrong way at first attempt, I eventually twisted away and tightened things up and although it was not perfect it was definitely better.  Another Phew!

The next 8 single track miles I gunned it and was able to catch my competitors.  I then took a bit of a breather and then after the first aid station I again ramped it up to put some distance on the other women.  After working hard to get in good position I began to feel very tired out on the course.  Oh yeah, I raced 100 miles the weekend previous.  It was a weird feeling.  I kept coming in and out of feeling good then feeling slow.  Fortunately I love the techy single track Michaux has to offer and it helped keep my mind focused.  Riding my superfly 100 is the bomb.  It was so much fun to float over the rocks and find lines that previously didn't exist when I rode a 26'r.

Many thanks to Gettysburg Bike and Fitness for all my bicycle needs and for sponsoring the race.  Kent, Jes and Shawn Rock!  Further thanks go out to all the volunteers, moto riders, and other sponsors for the day.  And yet more thanks to Team CF for making all this possible and to all those who live with or support those with CF. You fuel my inspiration to keep rolling each day and each race! Look out for the belly and notice who is the tallest.

Oh yeah, Thanks Rich.  You better be nice to my husband!

12 Hours of Lodi: Nikki and Kristen

When you're absolute best buds who train together, travel together, race together, and more often than not, enjoy a milkshake or sweet treat together, it can be a real drag to head to a 12-hour relay because you don’t get to spend any time together – except for those glorious moments at the transition area where much more than a wristband with a rusty tag (thank goodness we both have our tetanus shots) is exchanged


The good news is that we know each other so well that verbal communication is not a necessity.

This weekend Nikki and I headed to Fredericksburg, VA to compete as a Women’s Duo at 12-Hour of Lodi. Having only ever done one 12-hour relay last season, Nikki and I decided it would be best to learn from past mistakes: be sure to eat early and often AND don’t try to record the fastest female lap time in the first or second lap (that’ll burn ya twice, sometimes three times).

Our biggest competition of the weekend was dear friend Dee Dee Winfield (fierce cross competitor) and her partner Johanna Krauss. Here’s how it unfolded:

Lap 1: Pretty uneventful – after getting caught up in some traffic early on, I caught Dee Dee and sat on her wheel for the lap, reminding myself that we had 11 more hours of racing to go….We rolled into the transition area together to hand off the wristband (which nobody else seemed to be concerned about as a time-factor other than us!)

Lap 2: Nikki struggled to get the legs and lungs going while Johanna went out of the blocks HARD! (This may have been the fastest female lap of the day – no formal results yet!) Nikki rolled in about 3 minutes behind Johanna. The nonverbal message at transition was not a good one – but I reminded Nikki that we had a long day ahead of us! I’m no expert on this, but I was pretty certain 12 hour races aren’t won in the second lap!

Lap 3: I headed out on a steady pace to try to make up a bit of time, but my legs couldn’t quite match my heart. I stayed a steady 3 minutes back off Dee Dee. Nikki’s nonverbal message at transition told me that she was on a mission.

Lap 4: It must have been those farm fresh scrambled eggs and sausage burritos I whipped up between laps 2 and 3 that got Nikki going because she managed to cut a minute off Dee and Johanna’s lead. I am not sure if it was her stellar performance or accomplished grin that inspired me – but Nikki handed off the wristband, I could feel her intensity and power on it. I got the engine started…

Lap 5: This lap I put aside my polite, “I’d love to get by if you get a chance,” and started with, “Excuse me – can I pass? I’m in pursuit!” I could see Dee Dee on different parts of the course and knew that I was closing in – and I love the absolute thrill of solid competition that takes over! I rolled in to the transition about 30 seconds behind Dee Dee, grinned at Nikki, and told her to “have fun!” (which Nikki knew was code for, “get ‘er”)

Lap 6: Nikki did her work and stayed right on Johanna’s tail, moving hard on the climbs and maintaining composure on the technical sections. She could see Johanna throughout the lap but couldn’t totally close the gap, as Johanna was strong and super fast through the technical sections.

Lap 7: Just about 6 hours into racing – Nikki and I were just getting our race legs on. I felt like my dog, Natasha, on this lap (Background: when we go running on the trails she tends to lollygag a bit, but if there’s fresh scent on the trail, her head is down, tail is up, and she moves!) I knew Dee Dee wasn’t far away and that I had to ride smooth and fast, managing my effort, so that when I caught her I had a little fuel in the tank for a short hard effort. I did just this and managed to gap an additional two and half minutes or so – rolling into the transition in front of the other team for the first time. Nikki smiled, took the wristband, and got to work.

Lap 8 – Lap 11: We ticked away at consistent lap times (except for when it got dark) for the next four laps, growing our lead to about 6 minutes before the transition from lap 11 to 12.

Throughout the day Nikki and I would log notes back and forth to one another about everything from how we were feeling, what we had eaten, any funny jokes we thought of or other VERY important things that best friends have to share hourly. Well, come 11:00 pm, I cut the small talk and my note prior to lap 11 read, “I have no interest in going out on a 13th lap!” But, this wasn’t really our decision – if Dee Dee and Johanna decided to do a 13th lap, even though we were winning, we had to as well, and hold our lead.

Lap 12: At the transition (at about 10:35 pm) Nikki mentioned to me that Johanna and Dee Dee were committed to doing a 13th lap, at which I dropped a few “locker room words”. Then Nikki took off into the woods, thinking that there was no way that I was going to do another lap, but that we had to, and she would step up. …And then we both began with the “what if’s”. My final “what if’s” included: What if Nikki and I ride the last lap together? What if Nikki’s light dies? what if I walk away from this race having regrets? (which Dee Dee planted in my head – very clearly when she said, “You don’t want to wake up tomorrow and wish you had done it – just finish what you started)

…What if I just ride another lap? A true best bud would not stand at the transition with a charged light and water bottle to send their friend DIRECTLY back into the woods. And, as Dee Dee herself knows, a true competitor would not stop a 12 –hour race at 11 hours and forty minutes. I re-charged my light, donned my final clean chammy, sports bra, gloves, and dry socks of the day, ate two Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (for the soul) and headed to the transition area.

Lap 13: I enjoyed the sound of the crickets and frogs busy at work at midnight – and the patches of hot air that I would occasionally roll through – and yes, I walked a few sections that my wrists and back couldn’t take a 7th time. But – I still enjoyed the lap and sense of accomplishment!

Nikki and I finished the day in 2nd overall for Duo Team, 1st overall for Women’s Duo (by approximately 12 minutes), with two sweet frame pumps to show for it and 12 hours worth of stuff to chat about on the car ride home!

12-hours of Lodi was a great overall experience and race. Thanks much to Dee Dee and Johanna for great, supportive competition and to the Charlottesville folks that we spent the day with, especially Buck and James for keeping our bikes clean and working.

1st Place at Granogue: A Very Hot, but Happy Day

Sunday was Andrew Mein’s Excellent Adventure at Granogue, a mouthful of a race that is part of the Mid-Atlantic Super Series. I’ve heard many tales of Granogue (it’s apparently quite challenging--read unrideable--when wet), but I’ve never raced there. I’d signed up for the endurance race, where the goal is to see how many 7 mile laps you can squeeze in between 9 a.m and 1 p.m. and though I was psyched to race somewhere new, I also was anxious. I like to visualize before a race, which is a bit tougher to do when you have no idea what you're in for.

The venue was a sea of friendly faces, local racers and riders I’ve shared many a trail with over the years. I was happy to see Dr. Jim and Sean from Team CF also milling about. After checking in at registration, I rolled out to do a quick warm up, chat with some fellow racers, and get a feel for the course. I’d been a bundle of buzzing frayed nerves since Saturday, but just 10 pedalstrokes in, I knew it was going to be a good day. The course had everything I love : steep drops, swooping, looping twists and turns, a few tricky rock sections, open climbs and miles of sweet singletrack you can take at speed. I was abuzz with energy and felt light and ready. It was going to be hot—August hot—with temps kissing the 90s. But I had a cooler packed with ice cold bottles and a couple of awesome friends (thanks Liz and Annie and Saucon Valley Bikes!) ready to hand me what I needed as I passed through each lap.

The enduro field, about 60 or 70 riders, staged at 8:45. I sidled my way to the front of the pack and waited. As I looked across the field, I made a few mental notes. Dan “Pickle” Bonora was there. He’s a singlespeeder racer I met at Iron Cross last year and saw again at the Michaux Mash last month. He’s strong and steady, and though I can often get by him on the climbs (thanks gears), he always spins past on the flats and descents and we generally spend the day within sight of one another. Jake, another strong rider I met at Michaux was there, too. Mike Cushionbury, one of my training partners from Bicycling was up there, front and center. Okay, hang with these guys as long as you can and see what happens, I thought as we waited for the start signal.

And just like that we were off, up a fireroad climb to a sharp left turn onto a grassy field for more climbing before bombing a long smooth ripping ribbon of track into the woods. After a little jockeying, Mike took the lead along with Jake, a guy Chris I'd just met, and a few riders I didn't know. The pace was hot, but within my comfort zone, so I went with it. I glanced over my shoulder as we beelined into the woods. Nothing. There was nobody behind us. Our little group had an early break. Awesome, I thought as we cruised onto the first bit of windy, tree strewn trail. I’ll need to take it down a notch; but then I can settle into a good sustainable pace for the day.

The day went by swimmingly. I drained a bottle each lap and stayed on top of the heat. My goal was 6 laps. As I spun through the start/finish area at the end of my 5th, I looked up at the race clock: 3:54. “You’ve got time to do one more,” said the timer with a smile. I returned the grin, grabbed a bottle, and pedaled on. I wrapped up the day with a 1st place in the women’s field, 3rdoverall among the endurance riders, and fully happy and satisfied with my day. Thanks to everyone who makes mountain bike races happen. Thanks to the organizers and volunteers. Thanks to the racers who show up and put themselves on the line. Thanks Team CF for the support. And a big special thanks to Chris Eatough (http://www.chriseatough.com/), who has been providing coaching plans for our team. I have always loved mountain bike racing. But I’ve never felt so consistently great. It’s elevated the joy to new heights. Thanks all from the bottom of my heart. You are really why I love the sport.

Fort Custer, Michigan: XC, Open Men, Christian Tanguy, 1st place

The past weekend, Christian went for some action on the local scene.

If you think that Michigan does not have fast riders, think again.  Despite the rainy forecast, there was a large turn out and a tough
race was to be expected.

The start was crucial since the trail narrows to a single track in the first 50 yards. Too bad for Christian who reached the single track in 3rd position from last! The single track not allowing any passing,Christian waited several miles before he could pass and chase down the leaders. By then, they had a decent gap and while pushing the pace some caution was required. Indeed, the rain before the race left several greasy corners and wet bridges causing several riders to fall.

At the end of lap 1 (out of 4), Christian was in 5th position and with an open trail in front of him, his lap time improved. Some of the corners were drying up and the racers now had fun ripping thru the typical Michigan flowing single track.

Christian made contact with the leader with one lap to go. By the half lap mark, on some sandy uphill section, Christian made his move and created a small gap. It was maybe a little premature as Christian is not a "powerhouse" and the second half of the course advantage those with good power. (long and flat straight away). Eventually thanks to an all out effort, Christian was able to preserve his lead to the finish line.

At the finish, Christian got a lot of attention as it was an exciting finish for the spectators but also because of the "showy" jersey.  People were also wondering what Team CF meant – which Christian gladly explained.