Doing the Double and State Champs

The last two weeks of racing have been quite voluminous and it’s nice to finally sit down and have time to write about it all. I am coming towards the end of a nice little mid year training break right now. Actually, it’s not really a break since it has been higher in volume than most of my training, but the break part comes from the lower intensity. I have really been enjoying some long road rides and also just some mellow rides with friends. Hammering alone everyday can be, well, lonely and its really just nice to have some company every now and then. However, just because the training drops in intensity doesn’t mean that the racing has to also! Two weeks ago, the Morgantown mountain bike community had the awesome opportunity to “do the double” with the Big Bear Ultra on Saturday and the ABRA White Park Throwdown on Sunday. With a chance to race two days in a row within a short drive, and for the Throwdown bike ride, away from home I would be silly to pass it up. So, on Saturday I got up early, got my race fuel in me, and headed up to Big Bear. I had a plan to keep myself in check on lap one, see how the legs were feeling come lap two, and then turn on the gas from there. I was really trying to conserve some energy for Sunday too and, after last year’s Big Bear Ultra, I knew I would be too dead to race at White Park if I went full throttle at the ultra. After chatting with the usual folks for a few on the line and sizing up the competition, we were off. As usual, some guys took off like it was an XC race. I let them ride off, albeit hard to do, knowing that I would most likely catch them within the first 45 minutes and then never see them again as they fell off my wheel. The only one I was really worried about was Rob Spreng of Dirty Harry’s Bike Shop. He took the lead from the gun and I knew he would be able to hold the gap all day if he wanted. Nevertheless, I stood by my plan and rode my pace. I passed everyone who had taken off in the beginning and found myself riding with Jason Cyr of Sanofi Team Type 1. Luckily for me, Jason was only doing the “Lite” race because of other commitments he had later in the day. I was really digging the pace he was setting and decided to just hang with him rather than try to bridge up to Rob. Granted, my legs were feeling good but, again, I had a plan and was really trying to stick to it. At the turn of the lap I refueled at the feed zone, bid farewell to Jason, and decided it was time to turn on the gas a little bit. The time gap up to Rob was about 4.5 minutes at that point. I knew that closing that down would be near impossible but also knew that if he had any issues, bike or otherwise, I could find myself right on his wheel. With that in mind, I set a nice tempo pace for myself and focused on putting in good efforts on the climbs and then recovering on the downhills. I have been playing around with tire pressure for a little while and I was really happy to find that I was able to dial in a low-but-not-too-low pressure that allowed me to really bomb the downhills faster than usual. Having a Stans NoTubes tubeless setup is really confidence inspiring! As long as you are running a solid tire with a strong bead, you can run some scary low pressure. As one of my cycling role models and good friend Robbie Loehr says, “If you don’t feel the rim a few times in the race, you have too much air in your tires.” Another little trick I will share is about tire selection. I always go with something with sidewall protection. Not necessarily for the extra protection, NoTubes sealant insures that, but for the extra rolling resistance that the thicker sidewall provides. This allows even lower pressure and can make a hardtail feel a little plusher once the 2-hour mark hits. Anyways, back to the race. Chase as I might, I was unable to real Rob in. The digital display put our second lap at the same time, which made me feel good knowing that all my time was lost in that first lap. Not saying that I was soft pedaling lap 1 or that I think I could have taken Rob but I definitely think I had more gas that I let show and it would have been interesting to try and battle it out. Oh well, no crying over spilt milk! Sunday brought fatigued arms, an aching back, and the White Park Throwdown. Although I was a little stiff, some early morning roller work and light stretching loosened the body up and I was good to hit the trail. After a last minute emergency bike fix it was time to race. After some race strategy coaching from teammate Scott Benson I knew how important getting the holeshot would be. The legs were definitely not feeling the kind of effort I knew being first into the woods would take but I at least had to go for it as I knew the first into the woods would most likely stay there until the end given the limited passing on the course. The start was hot and I found myself third wheel until the last second when I got taken on the inside on the turn into the woods. Crap! Fifth wheel was not the place to be but there was just nowhere to pass. I saw the two leaders gapping away and it was gut wrenching knowing there was nothing I could do. I finally made a super sketchy, close your eyes pass through some weeds to get into 4th wheel and then was able to get onto the chase after getting around teammate Gunnar Shogren on the climb. I knew if would be tough to catch back up to the leaders given the course style but I had to try. And then, the rain started. It wasn’t really an awful rain or anything but given how fresh most of the trails were it made everything like snot. Knowing that all I had to do to take the series title was simply finish, I decided to just take my time on the greasy stuff and then try and hold onto 3rd place by punching the gas where things were not so tricky. The strategy worked out, I held onto 3rd, and claimed the ABRA mountain bike series Pro/Open title. Given that I have never won an entire series before I was more than stoked to pull on the Pro/Open champion’s jersey for team Pathfinder of WV! A big thanks goes out to Pathfinder of WV for their constant support that never ceases to amaze me, Stan’s No Tubes for making sure that I am rolling on the lightest and best tubeless wheels in the business, and Cannondale for making it possible for me to ride the fastest bikes in the industry. Putting together a good season is so hard and having superior sponsorship support makes it all the more possible. Also, another big thanks to Morgantown Brewing Company and Jay’s Daily Grind for helping finance the awesome Sugoi team kits! Being comfortable in your chamois is a major part of being successful and thanks to these two businesses’ funding team Pathfinder is able to put our asses in the best stuff Sugoi makes! Just figured it was time for some thank you recognition given the point in the season. This past weekend, the team Pathfinder trio of Betsy and Gunnar Shogren, and myself headed down to the WVMBA State Championship race at Kanawha State Forest in Charleston, WV. As some may remember I did not have a good race there last year breaking my rear derailleur off in the first 20 minutes, being forced to walk back to the start finish in disgust, and getting lost and having to get a ride from some nice country folk along the way. Yea, it was not the best of weekends and I will leave it at that. So part of me was just going back for revenge against the course itself. Rolling out of bed at 5:30 AM so that I could make the drive in time for the 11 AM start, I was just happy to be awake on the start line. The start didn’t go off too hard so when we hit the first climb I just settle in to a nice tempo pace to try and drop some folks. I figured the only person who would hang with me would be local boy and young gun Matt Phillips and then he and I could battle it out from there. Sure enough, after about 8 minutes of climbing he caught onto my wheel and the race was on. Knowing he knows the trails at Kanawha like the back of his hand I was trying to keep him behind me and at the mercy of my sketchy non-local riding. However, that plan went to pot when I picked up a stick and had to pull over to remove it from my wheel. It didn’t take much for me to get back on his wheel as neither of us were really hammering but I knew he was really going to make me earn my keep on the downhills now. Sure enough, he hit the first downhill Danny Hart style and put a solid 20 seconds on me. Lucky for me it wasn’t too long and I was able to get back onto his wheel on the next climb. The next downhill was longer though and that is where he really put some time on me. The Scalpel 29er he was on just rolled over the rocks like butter and, combined with his knowledge of the trails, I didn’t stand a chance. On the next fire road climb we played a slinky like game of me closing the gap and then him opening it up again. I really thought I was going to close it down until an unplanned and last minute dismount to get under a fallen tree gave him just the chance he needed to open it up. I stayed on the gear and churned away but knew at this point that I was going to have to hope for him to make a mistake that I could then cover. The course itself is actually quite bizarre. Most races courses have a character and can be described a “units” of sorts. For example, Davis, WV is technical, The Race to Lil Moes is fast and flowy but keeps you honest, and the Henry Clay 30K is rugged and tests you mentally just as much as physically. However, this course really was just kind of a hodgepodge of various things. It has fireroads and technical downhills but nothing really in between. Not to slam the course or anything but it was just kind of wonky. I don’t mind a techy downhill every now and then but the amount in this course, I feel like, scares a lot of people away from coming to the race in the first place. At one point there was a 4-foot rock drop without any markings or anything warning of its existence. Thank god I was able to get off the bike at the last second but I couldn’t help but wonder how a sport rider was going to negotiate it. Anyways, just a little plug incase anyone wonders what things are like down that way. All I can say is be ready to climb like a mountain goat and descend like an Atherton. Now, back to the race. I was able to maintain control on the downhills and keep it upright all but twice. One crash did prove pretty painful but I was able to shake it off and keep rolling. After an almost wrong turn and some serious confusion about which way to go, I made my way down the final stretch to the finish. I came in about 4 minutes behind Matt which isn’t too bad considering all the confusion and what not but the win would have been welcomed! Overall, it has been a pretty successful summer campaign. I have had some really cool new experiences and gotten to travel to some new races that I can’t wait to get back to next season. I have made a lot of new friends and also learned more than I think I ever have in seasons past. With school getting ready to start back up in just a few days I find myself ready to get back into the balance of class and riding. I really do enjoy the challenge though of trying to make it all happen at once though. Fall plans are actually still not set though as I am now getting the itch to give a real cross season a shot. Either way, I will be racing bikes until probably around the end of November whether it is on skinny tires or fat ones. Thanks for reading, hope it was semi-interesting! Ride on. - Todd

Gravel Grinders, Infinite Sweating, and Summer Head Colds......

The last month has been filled with both excitement, pitfalls, and general states of limbo. The summer heat seems to have been affecting everyone pretty wildly and I am no different. Although I may be young, I can still not hide from dehydration and the painful consequences that come with it. That said, I have been doing a good job of staying hydrated on the long rides even if it means calling for a bottle delivery from someone on a 5 hour ride. Yes, I did call my mother to bring me cold water on a ride and no, I am not ashamed of it.....ok maybe just a little embarrassed.....but no shame! That particular day peaked out at around 97 degrees and I was super happy to have those icy cold bottles of water to dump over myself hour after hour as I contemplated at what point my tires would start to melt. On June 23rd I had the opportunity to take part in the Hilly Billy Roubaix right here in Morgantown. If you have not heard of it, the HBR, as the locals and veterans like to refer to it, is a 75 mile, mixed terrain race comprised of paved, gravel, and dirt roads. This race, along with Southern Cross, Barry Roubaix, Three Peaks USA, and Iron Cross, make up the American Ultra Cross Championship series. And, if the difficulty of the HBR speaks to that of the other races, one tough series it is indeed! If you dont know already, JR Petsko the owner/operator of the Appalachian Bicycle Racing Association has a pretty good reputation for putting on challenging races. Going into the race with this knowledge, I knew that every little advantage that I could get would matter. Because of the terrain of the course and the topography it follows, riding a mountain bike proved to be a real and possibly the best option. After a lot of contemplation over which bike to ride, I settled on my Cannondale Flash 29er. With Stan's No Tubes Race Gold wheels, I easily had the bike under 20 lbs. and really saw no advantage to the cross bike except for the faster rolling tires. Turns out, several other top contenders had the same idea as endurance veterans Gerry Pflug and Garth Prosser both showed up on mountain bikes as well albeit they were a little better prepared in the rubber department. Whereas they had nice, light, skinny touring or low profile mountain bike tires, I stuck with my tried and true Racing Ralph 2.25 Snakeskin. It wasnt really like I thought I needed phenomenal cornering capabilities or unreal sidewall protection but more the fact that I didnt have anything else more fitting lying around and was not about to drop $100+ on tires for one race. They proved not to be a bad choice in the end though and proved almost necessary when I decided to let it rip down one of the gravel descents which caused the peloton to blow apart and the lead group of 4 to form. After that, Garth, Gerry, and the only remaining rider on a cx bike Adam Driscoll, and myself took turns leading the climbs and pulling the flats until Garth made a brave move by blowing the last aid station in hopes of getting away. I made a quick stop at the aid, tried to chase, but then began cramping and had to hit the abort button. Seeing as my focus has been on the shorter XC events this season, my training really hasnt been preparing me to make big moves and attacks when the clock hits 3+ hours. I kept that in my mind the whole race and when my body finally said enough I just put on the cruise control. I still managed to pull of 3rd overall after getting passed by Gerry on the final decisive climb and was actually really happy with it considering the little preparation both in training and equipment on my part. The final results put me in 3rd overall and on the top step of the podium for the Under 40 age group. Who knows, after that experience, maybe I will have to take a year and focus on the longer stuff.

Next up on the list was the Tomlinson Run XC Challenge in Weirton, WV. Again being another ABRA event, I was more than prepared for a tough day. Add to that the 100 degree temperature and it made for an almost epic race. I led it out smart and followed wheels letting others make the moves. Rob Spreng was the first to try something and put a dig in on a longer climb about half way through lap 1. I followed his wheel and kept myself in check. I could tell he was working a bit harder than myself and knew that if I could keep the gap from opening up on the downhills, where he really shines, I would have a good shot at the win. Much to my dismay, a busted sidewall brought me to a screeching halt after nailing my rear wheel on a brick, yes a big, red, mortar brick, on the courses screaming fast 25+ mph downhill. I was able to throw a tube in it and boot it but found myself flat again the next lap around. Unwilling to surrender I put in another tube, got the tire up to about 18 psi, and gingerly raced the last lap to bring home 4th place in the Pro/Open. I have to admit that I was not too happy with the result given where I was at the start of the day but, hey, that's mountain bike racing. Right now I find myself in the beginning of a rest week after several hard weeks of training. I have really been making a big push this year to add some good, top end speed to my quiver and the work seems to have been paying off. I am happy to say that the rest of the summer is much less structured as far as race plans go and I plan to mainly play it my ear as far as races go. I would like to get out to a few of the bigger races on the East Coast this summer and am planning to try and get down to Fontana Dam for the US Cup East race there. I still keep milling over the idea of a mountain bike stage race but until I graduate college and get a real job or find someone generous enough to donate me an entry, that idea is out. Well, now its off to plan a nice little weekend camping trip with the family. Ride on... - TL