Stony Creek, Time trial, Christian Tanguy, elite men, 1st place

 

How to pass on a race located at riding distance from my home? The time trial at Stony Creek is not part of the Michigan championship I am pursuing but the race is well organized, the course is fun and the competition is always stiff. 

The entire week the weather forecast called for no rain on race day, so I was a little surprise when I actually wake up hearing the rain drops hitting the roof. It was not a heavy rain by any mean and it stopped by 8:00am leaving two hours for the trails to dry up. 

Doing the full range of mountain bike racing from the time trial to the 100 miles format, I always have a problem settling to pace that is going to bring me to finish line the fastest. Furthermore, I was the first competitor to start and while I would have nobody that could hinder me on the tight single track trails, I would not be able to gage my speed. 

No matter, how often I ride there my legs are burning right from the get go as we are riding on the grass shoulder along side the road. Luckily, the first creek crossing is always welcome to cool them but more importantly, that signify that the single track trails are not too far away. 

My Bontrager XR1 tires were perfect, rolling extremely well on the double track but still maintaining sufficient grip to handle the humid turns in the single track. Being familiar with the trails and the race layout, I proceeded with extreme caution when approaching the greasy spots and the infamous wet wood bridge. 

I was able to maintain the pace to the second and last creek crossing. I then put a harder gear for the last mile to the finish. I was delighted to hear I had the fastest time. Next race is the Wilderness 101 in Pennsylvania; quite an adjustment in race length.

Two Hot Races

The heat has been on high here in the Mid-Atlantic and I’ve been racing in it with varying degrees of success. The first enduro I’ve done since Trans-Sylvania, PAValleys.com Stage Race and Festival in Marysville, PA, was a stifling sufferfest. The race was staged on a partially wooded farm in Central PA and it was oppressively hot. I bungled my hydration early on and never got back on top, still pulling a very proud, very hard fought, 2^nd place for the day. 

A few weeks—and one 10 day vacation—later, things got better. I headed to the Fair Hill Classic in Elkton, Maryland for a 50 mile enduro. It was still hot—100 degree hot—but this time I was prepared. I packed two waterpacks with Infinit (our drink sponsor) endurance formula and forced myself to take in a steady stream. The heat still got to me once or twice, leaving me feeling weak and nauseous. But it didn’t last and midway through the race I felt absolutely fantastic, taking a happy 1^st place for the day.

Christian Tanguy, Boyne Marathon, Michigan, open men, 1st place

Exactly one week after the Stony Marathon, it was time to race yet another Marathon in Boyne ski resort in Michigan. This race is actually a little less lengthy than the Stony Creek one as we need to complete only 4 laps of 11.5 miles and it takes about 40 minutes less than Stony Creek to complete. However, Boyne is possibly one of the hilliest courses out in Michigan.



Once more it was hot and humid, but I almost had a heart stroke when I saw my competitors for the day. Indeed, Mike Simonson (currently in 2nd place for the NUE), Mike Anderson (Michigan's top finisher of the coveted Iceman race) and Chad Wells (recent winner of the race in Michigan) were waiting for me. We were only 4 riders in the Elite Men category but only very high competitive racers.

At the start, Mike Simonson wasted no time to go at the front and crush the pedals on the flat portion of the course. As it was to be expected, everybody matched Mike's effort as we were moving at great speed thru the trees.

Although each lap, we climbed to the top of the ski hill, it is not a single climb to the top but a succession of climbs and descents, just like an inclined edge of a wood saw. Mike S. and Chad were in great form and it was a challenge to follow the first one on the climbs and the second one on the descents as they were trading the lead.


On the last ascent, Mike S. and Chad were about 50 yards in the front, while I was behind Mike A. on the single track. Mike A. was really suffering from the heat and as soon as the single track ended into a paved road, I passed him and joined back to the lead.

Just like on the first lap, Mike S. led us on the flat portion, then I went to the front on the climbs. It was too much for Chad. Just like last year, It was going to be a showdown between Mike and myself.

At times, Mike and I had to be patient with the lapped traffic; but eventually we completed the 2nd lap together. At the start of the 3rd lap, I led us on the flat section and consequently I was ideally placed to increase the tempo as we reached the hillier portion of the course. Quite quickly, I had a sizeable gap. I kept the speed high but most importantly, I try to avoid a mistake in the downhill as we were still far away from the finish and consequently, there would be many opportunities to distance myself again if Mike was going to bridge back.

Of course, by lap 4, I was getting tired but I was confident that I kept the lap time pretty much the same. Finally, I reached the finish in first place; about 4 minutes ahead of Mike. Once more, the Boyne marathon has been a tough race but putting Team CF on the top spot was well worth my efforts.

Christian Tanguy, Stony Creek Marathon, Michigan, open men, 1st place

During the Independence Day weekend, the chase for points for the Michigan championship was on. The Stony Creek Marathon counts for double points depending on your position at the Brighton Stage Race. The trails there get ridden a lot and each year a new section of trail is added to let some worn out section heal. On the paper, the 6 laps of 10 miles do not look like much, in reality this is quite a challenge.




Due to the length of the event, the Elite Men category starts first at 10:00am, closely followed by all the remaining groups. At the start, it was already hot and humid. The trails were dusty from the lack of rain the previous week. For sure, the temperatures were going to rise up as the day went by.

A group of 5 riders was spun off in the fist mile. The pace was high enough that we had a gap on the pursuers but nobody was gasping for air. After all, there were still 5 more laps to go.

Prior to the start, I thought I would be waiting for the 3rd lap to increase the tempo before I try to shake things up. However, as I noticed that everybody seemed to be "too" relaxed, I decided to try everybody's legs (including mines) a lap earlier. I sped up in the little climb prior to the long single track section called the "rollercoaster". Immediately, the group reduced from 5 to 2 as only Greg Kuhn was able to stay on my wheel. In the following single track, Greg struggled a little bit and I was slowly pulling away from him. It was not a good thing since there were more than 40 miles to the finish and the second part of the lap has significant double track trails.

Drafting in the single track is inexistent, so I let Greg take the lead in the rollercoaster. Both he and I ride often the trails such that we could increase our gap while still saving some energy. Unfortunately, on the last turn, Greg washed out. We remounted our bikes and now I was back in the lead, pulling us on the double track. However, this little mishap was the opportunity needed by Steve Dempsey to bridge back.

On the third lap, I accelerated at the same location than on lap 2; but this time I managed to leave alone. I had a good rhythm, I felt strong both on the tight single track and the double tracks. The 3rd lap was completed quickly.

It was now noon and the sun was really pounding on us as soon as we were leaving the shaded wooded area. I could also notice that I was getting tired as I was not as smooth on the tight trails but the hardest for me was to find the motivation to complete another 30 miles as we were only half way.

The next 3 laps, I kept my speed as constant as possible, realizing that I was fading out anyway. I had no idea where everybody else was located. They could be right on my tail, minutes away or they could have left the race prematurely after an incident. It did not really matter and I kept pushing to the best of my ability to the finish.

I was a little bit surprised when I heard that I had almost 11 minutes over 2nd place. I really wished I knew before my last lap as I would have ease up the pace a bit. I crawled from the finish line to a picnic table where I laid down for several long minutes. My body was in much pain but I was very satisfied to have raced as hard as I could without holding back anything.

For the Michigan championship, it was a good operation as I come closer to Steve for the top spot. I am glad I could put Team CF in the spot light; another few races remains for the championship; I'll try to keep it up.

BC Bike Race 2010

First off I want to thank Brian and Margaret Benson for saving my bike and my race! When my race rig got held up in Canadian Customs, they were there to get the bike and I. Brain and Margaret are Team CF club members and Margaret is a CF butt kicker, with fresh lungs transplanted a few years ago. Go Margaret!

The reason for my trip to Canada was to report on the BC Bike Race for www.Cyclingdirt.org. I would be racing a seven day stage race through the wilds of British Colombia and shooting video along the way. I'd known about the race for years and had heard many great things about it. Being a stage race veteran I felt that I would pretty much know what to expect.
     British Colombia is a beautiful place. Surrounded by water, it is a rain forest with snow capped mountains in the distance. There were ferns chest high and cascading waterfalls. Trails were covered in moss that looked to be dosed with radiation. Big dark woods greeted us almost every day. For four of the five days we had to take ferries from one race start to another.
      Since I was there to report for CyclingDirt and they payed for a big part of my trip, I was obliged to make racing a secondary priority. I was looking at it as a training week for me and went with few expectations, except to have a good time and ride.
It ended up that I budded up with an old friend and now a good friend Ryan Lebar, who was reporting for Bike Magazine. We proceeded to act as if we had nothing to loose and stayed up late talking to people, writing and downloading pictures and videos every night. It was a great way to do the race without the normal early sleep schedule and tight recovery sechdule one would normally follow.
       I think one of the great things about the BCBR was that so much of the logisitcs were dialed by the promoters that we pretty much just had to take directions and could spend 7 days riding mindlessly. Tents, food and transportation were held under our noses every day. We slept on beaches, in the infield of track fields, city parks, bike hostels (cumberland!), soccer fields and resort hotels (Whistler). We ate in small restaurants, hockey rinks, community centers and every day it was good!  That's a terrible sentence.
       Anyways, I found myself contesting for a top ten spot and since it was there I tried hard enough to take it. It was fun riding with some really interesting and legendary people. I spent many days riding the wheel of current World Cup leader Catherine Pendrel and her duo partner and World Cup contender Geoff Kabush. I met free ride legend Darren Butler and after 6 days of trying to ride together fate found us kicking it on the last day. Check out the video for helmet cam highlights on day seven.
http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/237274-2010-BC-Bike-Race/video/345789-Stage-7-BC-Bike-Race-Helmet-Cam-Highlights-

If you have the time check out the other videos.

If you ever get a chance and have the fitness, go do BCBR. I give it the highest recommendation, 10 chili peppered rattlesnakes!


Harlan
 

Kaitlyn's big day in the saddle

Kaitlyn’s first MTB bike went down this weekend. Kaitlyn had really never ridden a MTB bike until this winter. Her training got derailed when she crashed in April and fractured her arm. Kaitlyn picked up the training after she mended and targeted the MASS cross country race in NJ this weekend as her first race. Kaitlyn came out charging and held off a late surge from some of her competitors to get the win. Congrats!! Also thanks to Nikki and Kristin for their coaching and encouragement. Jim

TSE Recap: Kristin and Nikki   

This is your first stage race?  You girls will learn a lot!  

We kept asking ourselves, "what do they mean?"  and "why won't they just tell us?"   

But, in time we realized that these are lessons that truly need to be learned.     

After Stage 4  I treated myself to a teaberry custard which landed me in the hospital for two days with food poisoning.  Nikki missed stage 5 because she was hanging with me at the Mt. Nittany Hospital (a true best bud), but returned for stage 6 and represented!  After two days ofJell-o, Who's the Boss re-runs, watching the National Spelling Bee on ESPN, and a lot of sleeping (in a comfortable Hill-Rom bed - just wanted to make sure our sponsors got a shout-out!)  I returned to Boy Scout Camp to casually ride Stage 7 with everybody.    

Nikki and I drove home feeling slightly underwhelmed, it wasn't because the TSE was underwhelming.  It was an incredibly well planned race with beautiful routes and fun people.  We hope to return next year, with a few learned lessons in our pockets (like don't eat the teaberry custard).    

Lessons Learned:

1. Don't miss the arrows - pay attention!!
2. Bring a quick link  - ALWAYS
3. Leave a spare chain and parts at the support stops
4. Don't eat teaberry custard!  PERIOD THE END!
5. Our friendship is stronger than we had ever imagined!

So, why not return to State College again for another epic day of racing next week? 

Steady pedaling - Stoopid 50: Kristin and Nikki  

After arriving at the hotel in State College to find that Back to Future was on TV, we didn't think the weekend could get much better!    

We awoke to a muggy morning in which showers were lingering, fortunately the skies waited until the first 10 minutes of the 2010 Stoopid 50 to open up.  Nikki and I each struggled, each in our own ways.  I threw myself over the handlebars about 10 miles in (hitting a big rock with not enough speed) and tragically destroyed my Honka-horn.  Ray Adams helped me, brushed me off, and picked up the pieces of the horn - which represented the pieces of my soul.  I felt like I was just getting battered by the course and the wet.  But, I kept ticking away - what else was I to do?  

After about 2 hours and a Snickers bar, I started to get my mojo back, but it wasn't until 4 hours and 53 minutes that I finally closed in on the leader.  Having never been in this position (closing in on  the leader nearly 5 hours into a race - unsure of how far the finish was) I tried to be strategic: I ate, I drank, I rode steady until I settled in behind her, recovered, then put in a hard effort on a long, stiff climb.  Then, rode like I was being chased!  I was able to find a rider that had the mileage to find that I was about 1 mile from the finish - a very technical mile.    

In a time of 5 hours and 17 minutes I managed to finish first - a very hard win!  

Nikki  also struggled, mostly with her inner-demons for the first 8-10 miles of the race –often wondering what she was thinking returning to race 50 miles one week after the TSE and wondering if she could call it quits at the first checkpoint.  As she approached the first checkpoint, she encountered fellow racer Janel Demeter, who reminded her that r acing a bike was supposed to be fun and that it was a beautiful day to do so.  Nikki used this to find her happy place and turn the engines on.  By the time she reached the second checkpoint, she’d brought a 29 minute gap down to about 19 minutes.  News of this plus a great course was fuel enough to keep Nikki working hard and  close the gap between she and second place to about 9 minutes, finishing third for the day!

Marysville 3-Day Relay: Team Kristin and Zach  

Mike Kuhn is a cruel cruel man!   I mentioned this to his father at the TSE and his father copied down my race number and "reported me".  But I am telling you, this man creates courses that destroy!  

Friday night I set up camp with the Trestle Bridge Folks (how fun!) before Zach and I took off on the night team time trial.  Feeling like I was working the cob webs off - the first 10 minutes were tough, but we boogied nonetheless!    

Saturday morning at 10:00 am the 8 hour relay began.  Zach went HARD out of the blocks - winning the lap, recording the fastest lap of the day, and sending me out on to the course FIRST!  This was fun when 8 minutes into the lap fast men started picking me off one after the next.  BUT - did set me up for one of the highlights of the day.  I asked the rider back if they wanted to pass and the response I got was, "you're okay, you're riding well like you usually do," only to find that it was Chris Beck.  WHAT AN ABSOLUTE COMPLIMENT!  

Lap one felt hard, as I am sure it did for Zach.  My second lap felt great - I rode clean, hard, and steady, knowing full well that there were many more laps to come.  At this point we were in the lead for co-ed duo's, but this didn't last long as the fastest couple on the east coast was ticking away and closing in.  Sometime in the middle of the day Ron Harding passed Zach, and Zach temporarily disappeared.  When he emerged we learned that he had torn off his rear derailleur (a condition I believe I am the primary carrier for and it's contagious) and cracked his frame.  He picked up Ron's rigid singlespeed to finish out the day.    

After over 8 hours of racing, and 5 laps each, Zach and I finished second in the co-ed duo category.  It was the hardest day of racing I had experienced all year!  But, nothing big s'mores couldn't take care of…  

Sunday was nothing but fun!  After critical thinking and strategizing, I failed miserably at the "huck a huffy" competition - but I think it helped me get my energy back for the 1 hour relay short track we were about to embark on.  I actually think they should call this funtrack, not short track!    

Zach's face captures the fun of the short track - as does Rob L.'s commentary, "animal house".   After 52 minutes of turning out sub-4:00 minute laps we finished 4 overall duo, 2 co-ed duo (again to the fast as heck Hardings!).  It was this 52 minutes of racing that reminded me why I race bikes and how fun cyclocross season is - going fast is fun!  

So, it's July, I'm absolutely wrecked, a new homeowner and balancing two jobs, developing Gearing Up www.gearing-up.org and managing the bicycle ambassadors with the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia.    I'm not sure what the rest of July has in store for me - other than continuing to ride with Kaitlyn (did someone say animal house) in preparation of her first race at the Summer Sizzler, working hard, and preparing to turn my endurance legs in to something fast….  

June 27th 2010, Big-M XC (Michigan), Open Men, 1st place

This weekend, we were back in action in the National Forest inWellston, MI. It was strange to return to this location only one week after having raced there for the Lumberjack 100. When I pre-registered few days prior to the venue, the weather forecast called for 30% of rain.

Around 5:00am it was a down pour followed by sustained rain. I knowthe course does not get muddy but the idea of using my fingers aswiper blades got me to wish for the rain to stop.

Apparently, I got my wish answered as by 9:30am, the rain stopped. The sandy terrain was packed down and at the exception of some slippery corners the trail was perfect for fast rolling tires. The line was
stacked with the contenders for the Michigan Championship and a hard race was to be expected. Today's program was to complete 5 laps of approximately 6 miles.

At the start, I was in 3rd wheel. The first couple of miles are flat and it was perfect to draft and gradually warm-up the legs. At the start of the first gradual climb, I upped the pace and after few minutes, only Steve Dempsey (Bell's Beer) was able to stay with me. I hammered the climbs one after the other and yet Steve was still on my wheel until the last steep pitch at the end of the lap. The hardest part still ahead of me: stay in the front until the end.

From time to time, we were ridding thru the clouds and with all the moisture in the air, my glasses were never really fog free. Anyway, I
carefully went down the sandy hill and tried to keep constant lap
times.

The clouds seemed to get darker; this was another incentive to maintain the pace high before the next rain shower. Finally, the
finish line! I could maintain my time advantage to the end. Luckily
enough, the elite race has been a dry one. It was not the case for the
sport and beginner classes that had to compete under the rain.

Once more I could place Team CF at the top; I also move closer to
first place for the Michigan championship. Next race is July 3rd;
everybody will fight for the points...