Jay Peak - Race Report

This year I felt confident to go back and face my demons at Jay Peak. Two years ago this race beat me to a pulp..Uncontrollable cramps that forced me to the fetal position and cry for mama on the finish line. That painful memory had faded but I knew this year was going to be a real ass-kicker. As I type on the keyboard my back side feels like I went 3 rounds with Hulk Hogan as he kicked me no less than 900 times with steel toe boots square in the buttock...that's what I get for riding a hardtail for 8 hours in northern Vermont singletrack.

Jen, Jeff, Bronte and I rolled up to Sarah and Mike's place in central Vermont on Friday. Extremely nice of the Jordans to feed us a home cooked meal and let us crash the night. Mike has been training for the Jay mtb race for the better part of 2006 and by the looks of him at the finish, with a big smile on and a beer in hand his training was a success.


Didn't know what to expect of the race course after driving through couple of full-on down pours but they turned out to be localized flooding. (Yeah, flooding..like the sides of dirt roads washed away down four feet on each side!)
So after eating peanut butter and banana sandwiches for dinner we called it a night and the dreams (more like nightmares) of descending down Jay Peak unraveled from my tired cerebellum. I had time to summon memories from my 2004 experience on Jay and the troubles I got my self into. I vowed never to be in that much pain EVER again so I laid in my motel bed calculating my strategy... to eat lots of bananas and cliff bars and drink gallons of Gatorade and water the entire race was the master plan...sounds easy right?


The morning was upon us, Jeff took charge of instant coffee and oatmeal. We ate up and nervously headed down to the start line (which was directly three flights down - schweet!). Start of the race was delayed for 30-45 minutes, when Dan (the race organizer) stood on a table with a megaphone announcing the pre-race info he again reiterated how brutal the last 12 miles were going to be...sorry Dan...it was the final 22 miles for me. Then Dan told of us of Tinkers' bad luck with the stupid Airline losing his bike!?

The race starts and It's my kind of race! 200+ mountain bikers lumber out of the start gate and proceed to climb Jay Peak. No hurry or sprinting. Just a friendly ascent for 40 minutes. I was surprised to be in the top ten on the summit along with Jeff. Legs felt great, no burn. Heart rate through the roof (180+) all the way to the summit.

Now for the decent. Took it very conservatively remembering my thoughts just hours before. I love to rip down mountains but prefer to do it on a downhill rig with pads and a full face helmet. My ass was hanging soo far back it may have touched (more than once) on the rear tire. The smell of burning brake pads in the air and screeching rotors could be heard from every direction. It was on!

The 40 minute ascent took 5 minutes to descend back to the tram house and rip past spectators on our way out'a town and points unknown. Jeff had let it loose on the downhill from Jay and was tearing up the stretch of hilly asphalt that was the race course. We turned into the woods after a brief stretch on the road and I lost sight of Whittingham. We were united a little while later about mile thirteen on a tight and twisty jeep road heading downhill at about 30-35 mph. Might have been the most fun I'd have all day..Hard-packed dirt double track and banked corners. Hooting and hollering we ripped up the jeep trail, this was great...then a rear flat. Jeff offered assistance but I was prepared for such emergencies. Two competitors sped by as I threw a tube in my rear wheel and inflated.

Back on course within 3 minutes I caught up with Alec (one of the guys that past me). We rode together for a while in search of the elusive Mr. Whittingham. Alec (who I called Alp D'hez) is a self proclaimed roadie who just came back from riding the Alp D'hez stage two weeks ago. Cool! So Alp and I traded off pulling for a while but I lost him at an aid station. Drinking and eating was the plan and I had help on course by none other than a guy that knows this race. Mr Harry Precourt was an essential part of the rest stops. Harry was at every damn stop shoving cliff bars at me and filling my bottles and camel back. Who's the man? - Harry's the man. I know he'd rather be racing on the bike with all of us but after running the mountain marathon the previous day (not to mension hiking 2200 + miles on the A-T) he was taking it easy and helping Whit and myself.
Some great winding single-track through out this race with burley granny gear climbing. I rode along side another competitor for hours, nick-named him flower-power due to his flowered shirt (real name Tyler Merritt). Flower power and I had some good times out there, at that point I couldn't give a shit if he past me or if I past him...it just didn't seem like a race for a big portion of this ride.

Lots of concentration needed in the woods to keep it rubber side down, the road was a welcome sight after any of the numerous wooded sections...and vice verse when it came to the road. Some road (and dirt road) sections were brutally hot and long. But nothing as much as the final dirt road ascent that seemed to last for ever.

It was Shortly before the final ascent that Jeff and I met back up at aid station 10. It was classic..meeting back up for the first time in hours, Alp D'hez right on my tail with Flower power closing in...The ladies, Jen and Sarah and her kids there..Mike Precourt shooting mad amounts of pictures with a high tech camera.

It was now the four of us; Alec, flower-power, Jeff and myself...and now it was a race again. Didn't want to get dropped on the dirt roads but didn't want to push it to the point of puke knowing Dan's advice on this section. Forced another cliff bar, spilt more red Gatorade down my gullet and mushed on up the road in our four person train. Alp opened a gap 3/4 up the mountain but this hill seemed endless..I didn't want to attack till the decent but was forced to respond to this now 20 sec. advance by Alp D'hez. I left Jeff and the now ailing flower power to attempt to grab Alp's wheel. Didn't make the pass till the bottom of the decent in the woods..perfect timing. Put on the after-burners in a muddy bog-crossing and stood on the pedals up and over a small rise. Alp was history.

After a ridiculous hike-a-bike section (where I was cursing Dan's name numerous times) with a stream crossing under a bridge? and through the golf course it was just Jeff and I. That brother was back! Alp and Flower Power no where to be seen. Couldn't have planned this grudge match better...this was after all a grudge match between friends. Earlier this year I beat Jeff down in Tennessee and then he beat me in Ohio. This was the final tie breaker that turned into a tie for third place over all. I had hopes for a top five finish but didn't think it would be here at Jay... What a day. Couldn't have predicted such an event in a million years.


After the awards Jeff and I hung around and talked to David Tinker Juarez about RAAM and 24 hour racing. He's a down to earth guy that just rides his bike - alot. David was phyced to race at Jay and was let down by the airlines' screw up...he did however have plans to ride the course on Monday when/if his bike arrived. He'd just follow the dirt marks left behind by 250 riders. Good plan...wish my legs had some power left for a ride with the legend but that simply wasn't the case.

Jay Prep

The foundation is layed for an explosive race. Just finished my first ever twenty hour training week:

three hour solo MTB
four commuting days in steamy 90+ degree heat
an eight hour mtb epic on Sunday.
+/- 250 miles in seven days (180 road, 70 mountain)...now starts the taper.

Sunday's ride was perfect. Relaxed pace was the secret to our success in cleaning nearly every trail on the north shore...next time we'll start at Red Dot and get'em all!

Kerry, Harry, Jeff and I set out at 9 am to reach a cooler full of food, water and a six pack of beers that Jeff and I had ditched in the woods in Gloucester. The weather wasn't the best at 100% humidity but low(ish) temps in the 70's made conditions comfortable.

Most memorable parts of the epic for me:
Being surprised by Harry's arrival for the ride...(he just finished the A-T two weeks ago and hasn't been on a mountain bike since October!)
Asking the group (after 6 Hours on single track) if they'd rather hit the road for an hour spin home...and Kerry asking if we could ride Ancient line again!...so we did.
No camera on the trail to capture the action because of rain...but Jeff's phone somehow lived to dial another day after he forgot it was in his jersey pocket durring the entire ride...Downpour and all.
Post epic cook-out where Jeff and I ate One Pound Burgers and watched Floyd bring home Yellow in the individual TT in the tour de France!

An Email from Kerry describing her favorite moments:
Highlights: lunch, of course..Harry crawling up side of rock...standing at ledge near teeter-totter looking down...watching you riding over those ramps..pouring rain on pipeline..ancient line X2...all the mushrooms and moss..seeing the couple without helmets to mention a few.

good stuff..thanks for the ride.

Confession

I feel bad but I'll post this anyhow...Is anyone one of the lucky thousands to travel on the airlines with their bike?...did you take along some C02 cartridges just in case you flat during your vacation? Did you unpack your neatly packed rig to find the TSA had ripped it apart and confiscated your lube and C02 cartriges...well sorry. But I found where they dispose them...

no, I don't work for the TSA.

scoot'in

No racing for me this weekend...Relaxed Saturday and spent some time in the water with Lesli and the boys and then went to a cook-out with Marko Dirks and his family later in the day. Good food, Thanks to Oscar and Erin for inviting us to the party. good times.
Needed a couple days off the bike...body is beat down from a few quality rides last week. Like Jeff, my brain doesn't see the good lines in the woods when tired...so what's the point of riding.
Went out Sunday on a solo mission to see if my body had recovered...it had not. Felt pretty weak through Gordon woods so I popped out at Pine st, skipping Ancient Line and rode up 127 to Gloucester and reentered the woods at red rock. My brain came around and I started to have some good times on Rez Dog and Pipe Line. The tubeless shit that George gave me rocks! That brother hooked me with 5 or 6 tubeless tires and a pair of XL wheels! Thanks again George. Had a Maxxis high roller up front and the IRC Mibro 2.1 in back. Crazy traction and comfortable ride at 37 psi...don't want to run'em too low and damage the rim. 37 seems good.
Got to save my legs for a planned epic comming the weekend of the 22nd-23rd. Should be a rip! I hear Harry Precourt is rolling up for this one! Going to start assembling a good crew for a 5 or 6 hour kahuna. Only took 9 hours last November with Jeff and John H...cause we took an extended trail-side break to eat, and eat...and eat.

Now the big news for the weekend:

Lesli has been researching scooters (I call them mopeds) for over a month... She wants to leave the SUV at home a few times a week and commute to work + run some errands around town. Yesterday, in a moment of weakness on my part, we went down to Cycles 128 for a closer look knowing this would only lead to us buying one...so we did, a used Honda metropolitan 49cc scooter. Fun little toy..just wish we had good weather year round to get the most out of it's 100+ mpg!! yup..that's right..I was amazed too...but not amazed enough to buy one for myself. She loves it. I dig pink flame helmet.

The whole neighborhood came out for a ride infact!

Kate was a natural.

Mean Jean was not, hat's off to her for getting back on after a little mishap with the throttle.

Good 'ole, Don gave it a try. That's the spirit!

Scott was too cool for the pink flame helmet.

I was trying to find the cranks

First grocery run complete..now let's eat!

Decisions...Decisions...

Got a HOT weekend on tap with a few different riding options...but what ride makes the most sense? - (stupid actually to be this worried about riding a bicycle)

Daulton probably...but don't want to but a full year Norba license (that I won't use again) just to ride a 30 mile race...but a good race indeed...
Pat's Peak 6 or 12 hour would fill the riding void but a muddy course coupled with the fact that I'd be rolling totally solo doesn't sound all that fun...
Kerry's 100 mile epic starting in Arlington, GBF, BCT, ending in Ipswich is a great plan but is a logistical pain in the butt for me...
Super road epic to Mom and Dad's camp?? 95 degree heat and 100 + miles of road...maybe not..

Good to have choices but nothing here is jumping out at me...ugh...

Last night's adventures in the Fells went according to plan. Jeff stayed on the bike and kept his pinky finger out of harms way. We rode some burley-ass lines on the red trail, hike-a-bike'd it on the white trail for a bit and spun da legs out on fire road...perfect 2 hours of after work riding.

George hooked me in a BIG way with a set of Mavic XL's that needed some TLC. The rear got a new hoop and spokes and the front needed to be tweeked back into shape. Rode'em for the first time last evening...IRC Mibro at 37 psi were amazing!! I've been riding tubed tires for years at 40+ psi to avoid pinch-flats therefore giving up comfort and traction, tubeless may just be the way to go...Thanks for the kick-down G !

All out in Moody Park

Fun, fast and technical. I had never done Moody Park, although I thought I had raced there years back but would have remembered the infamous "gravity cavity". Jeff, Thom and I rolled out at 12:30 for our warm-up lap after arriving to the venue a bit on the late side. Did a casual spin around the 4+ mile single track getting familiar with a few mud-holes and tricky spots. We reached the end of our warm-up and were cutting it close to the start time of 1:00, when we arrived at the S/F line got stuck in the way back behind 20 or so other senior II experts...Seemed like a bunch of racers came out for this one.

The race started and I tried to muscle my way up to Jeff and Thom but got held back three or four riders off Jeff's wheel. Forced to practice patience and pick smart lines through the mud and rocks and look for opportunities to pass for half a lap. Now up to Jeff's back wheel looking to hang with the brother but Jeffy proved to be faster on the slick as snot winding downhill and slipped out'a sight. Didn't realize till an hour and a half later that Jeff was riding with a bone-deep gash in his pinky finger and bleeding like a stuck pig.

I held my position for the remaining 3 laps and had fun rocketing up the gravity cavity. Thanks to Roz and Mike Deak for cheering me on while climbing the sandy slopes and to Jen Whittingham in the grassy field atop the final climb of each lap. Always good to hear some friendly shouts of encouragement.

The entire race I thought about Thom pushing his one-geared IF Deluxe and how truly efficient he must have been riding because I only saw that dude on the start line. I attempted to ride my third lap in 34-18 exclusively but found my thumb on the shifter when the going got tough. I am intrigued with the thought of an SS and a new challenge but know how much it will kick my ass at first.

Got home pretty late after the kind medical staff at the Claremont NH emergency room sewed up Whit's finger...which proved a better location to receive a few stitches then the other mountain bike racer who we witnessed slowly limping out of the ER after taking a shot to the mid section.

In all a great way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon in New England despite an 11th place finish but there was a strong field of racer types out there. I did a few things right and a few things wrong, basically got schooled but in a good way.

Got it!

Found the good route to work. Peabody to the out skirts of Lynn and Saugus. Now just need to eliminate rt 107 cause it smells like trash.

Just a'nother day at the beach

Lesli and I had our first ride on Iglehearts' custom tandem yesterday, I like to call it "Big Blue".

Huge fun...this is going to be habit forming for sure.

After a brief riding lesson around the block we were tandem pro's. Communication was essential when slowing, turning and shifting. The shifting part being the most critical...really had to plan ahead of hills and traffic because Big 'ol Blue wasn't the smoothest shifting rig I'd ever pedaled.

We strapped the GPS to the rear handlebar to monitor our progress and to see how scary fast we could get her on the down hills. - only managed to get her up to 27 mph but was plenty fast for Les. I bet if couple guys were riding this thing (Jeff) and we could get her up to near 50 mph.

Spun over to Singing Beach for a slushy and some ocean breezes on this extremely humid day in the north east. On the cruise away from the beach Lesli remarked how easy it was to pedal the monstrous rig...that's because I was doing all the pushing honey...but I liked the work out. Today my body is burnt, legs and ass are as sore as if I'd rode a century. Wonder if this is how you fathers out there feel after pulling your kids around in a bike trailer?

maybe next year

Man, I wanted to do this race... more of an epic ride with friends than a race event. Kerry, have a blast and kick some booty.

Freaky weather weekend.

Hindsight is twenty-twenty right?...maybe next time I'm faced with a weather related decision to ride or not to ride I should just go for it and hope for the best. Turns out I could have gotten away with the northern epic but who knows? Went with a gut decision...was probably for the best.
Anyway, we laid down a good loop today (in the warm sun under blue skies!!)...woke up with my head ringing at the crack of dawn with a slight hang-over and music stuck in my head from last night's bar-room concert. Les and I had a good time listening to some rockin tunes and ejoyed great food. Thankfully I was alternating between beer, water, beer after 11:00pm.
This a.m. I packed up the subbie and drove an hour and a half north through rain and fog to Brad's near Wolfborow NH. 15 minutes from Bev's house the clouds burned off and the sun beamed down! Whoo hoo!
Our ride got underway at 9:30 after filling some bottles with S.E. and lime Heed..I set Brad up with some of the frothy potion. Three scoops S.E. and 2 heed is quite tasty...milkshake like, best when chased with water for sure.
Roads were busy but in good shape for the most part. Couple helmetless NH motor cyclists thought it would be cool to hammer the throttle and show off their loud pipes as they blasted past. Brad had a good come back to a guy in a lifted F250. He roared past with just a trailer in tow (no boat, just trailer) and pinned the throttle 2 feet from Brad...Bev raises his hand and displays a one inch gap between his thumb and forefinger referring to the size of the driver's penis...good one Brad...the driver definently saw him.

Best part of the ride: rt 11b. Climb to Gunstock ski hill and the halfway point in the ride. I had my heartrate pinned in the 180's for miles and some how it felt good?

That's about when a song came into my head, part of a song. Iron Maiden - run to the hills. Never been much of a Maiden fan, just like when the lead guy screams "Run to the hills...run for your lives! I was going to figure out how to embed the song in the blog but that's just a bit overboard.

64 miles in 3:27. few good climbs, fast decents. Average 18.5, max 41mph. good ride for both of us.

Cancelled

Rain, rain, go away

I had to skip the road epic due to heavy rain. Not exactly over-joyed with the current weather situation here in the north-east. Looking out the window I see sheets of water falling from the sky. A road loop is not out of the question but should be. My mother was elated to hear I was canceling the trek up to camp. She could relax knowing I wouldn't be a road pizza somewhere on rt 236 in Maine.
Instead, here I sit infront of my computer, with two bored dogs at my feet, drinking massive amounts of caffeine attempting to kick-start my somber mood.
Hoping Sunday is a little better than today, but weather predictions say otherwise. Tentative plan is to drive north and hook up with Brad for a soggy loop 'round the lake...it's always more fun to ride in the rain with someone else and share the suffering.

Northern road epic

Getting geared up for 'solo epic Saturday'. 100 miles of road grinding. Meeting Lesli at my parents camp near Mt. Chocorua for a night of relaxation after what I hope is an epic day in the saddle.
Merlin needs a touch of maintenance before I hit the road, new rear tire, new brake pads..plan on packing a spare tube, tire, tools, water,food and a spare shirt, rain gear...but going pretty light. Got my GPS loaded with waypoints and printed maps on some cool water-proof paper just incase technology fails me.

Being a solo effort, conservative route to the north-country is the way to go. Starting at sea-level and cruising up the coast (rt1a) for 40 miles to Kittery Maine..turning inland on rt 236 (sea to summit triathlon route) to Berwick, Lebanon, and Wakefield NH. Then the final 20 miles on good 'ol sucky rt 16.

I'll have the option to ride up rt 153 through Effingham and eliminate the 20 mile stretch of rt 16 (just cause I like the name f'n ham!) Hope the weather holds out and I have time. I'd much rather stay off rt 16 if I can.

Rain predicted for Sunday therefore a round trip is doubtful but let's see how the legs feel!

Checking the road loops up north has gotten me fired up for more road epics and hopefully some group road rides with Jeff, Brad, Ken and Daren.. Might be a bit too late for Hulrey to join in, Good luck with life out west and your new job engineering slot machines...next we'll hear that you've struck it rich with the one-armed bandits right?

The mountain roads through Effingham, Parsonsfield, and Cornish look like fun (and pain)
Hope to get up there for a big loop this summer.

Commuting

Two words; Lynn Sucks! I've found no good way to pedal to Logan yet but still trying. This is yesterday's commute mostly on Rt. 107 through Lynn and Salem. I tried out Revere beach Pkwy and Rt 1a last week but the 1.5 mile stretch of the Lynnway north of Point of Pines (Revere) is death waiting to happen.
Thunder storms predicted for later today have kept me from pedaling in...it's not the threat of getting soaked or struck by lightning that scares me..it's the possibility of zero visibility for drivers running my ass over that I'm worried about!
That reminds me- heard some bad news for the Brauss yesterday. Seems that jeff was riding his fixed gear in Salem the other night and got run-over by a hit and run driver! Broken ribs, collar bone, torn rotator cuff and totally screwed summer! Sorry to hear 'bout that. Karma can be a bitch. Hope it wasn't Jonny Miller seeking revenge. Kidding Jeff. Glad to see your alive..hope you were wearing a helmet...but I doubt it.

July Races

July is a busy race month

July 8th-All out in Moody Park DH and XC - two events, two different bikes.
OR
July 9th - 6 hour of power

July 15 and 16 - Pat's Peak 24 - am I out of my mind for wanting to complete a solo 24 two weeks before Jay? Lighten the VT for the 24 hour race? do the 12 hour race again but this time on the Igleheart?

July 22 and 23- 24 hours of Killington - this would be a good one but falls to close to Jay 65

July 30th- Jay 60 - or now called the Jay 65 ? This is the race that beat me down to the fetal position in 2003 and the reason for training this year.

It's too bad the Wilderness 101 falls on July 29th...maybe next year.

But I am in for the Shenandoah 100 in September.



Now two ugly pictures, one worse than the other.

Unknown rider enjoying a mud bath at NS Classic last weekend
courtesy of mtb mind

A.P.'s broken elbow.
But I'm sure your girlfiends are looking after you.

All Zip-tied up! Stay off the skateboard for a while...

Big weekend for a few friends:

Good luck Jason at the Hard Core 24, Jeff at Mount Snow- Kick ass!
and Alex at the Lumberjack 100!

NS Classic

Mud, Mud and more Mud! I was surprised that the race even happened because it had rained for so many days leading up to Sunday. I learned that Nemba fest was cancelled due to soggy conditions at Wompituck state park and thought for sure that paved the way for efta to cancel the race at Bradley Palmer...Thankfully not.
I peddled down to BP early Sunday morning to warm up and scope out the race. Met up with Roz at the Luna tent and proceeded to eat 10 mini luna bars for breakfast. Went out for a slow loop 'round the course to check out the new stretch of single track volunteers made for the event...it was a greatly needed section to eliminate a washed-out downhill - the new section rocks! Dumps out at the Ipswich river dam with a tough corner to a small grunting climb. Thanks to the volineers I'll have a sweet new section to rock on my morning loop...nice.
Huge turn out for this race...saw more racers than at any efta event...ever. Must have been 250-300 racers at the start. Would have been a disaster to mass start everyone, so the Pro's went off first with 2 minutes between categories. Huge Expert field. Don't know how many guys in my cat.
The expert class got underway with a sprint for 10 minutes. The pace slowed on a muddy climb and I was able to catch my breath. We dove into the new single track and I was having a blast! Was glad I pre-rode the course and knew about the climb by the dam..dumped it down to the granny and made the climb passing a few guys. Up into the 1st grassy field, cruising along I decided to pass on the right and got a bush caught in my derailuer...won't pass in the high grass again.
After the first 7.5 mile loop things were going better than expected. I had made a bunch of passes and was in good position. I Felt great.. then a flat tire! How is it that I have raced two 100 miler's this year and no flats- and in my own back yard get a flat? Oh well, I didn't dwell on the situation. Had a tube, made the swap, two co2 cartridges filled it back to 40 psi...three minutes lost...big deal.
The next two laps were increasingly muddy. My front tire found one mud hole that was three feet deep! It added a challenge for all the riders and was a good way to level the field. I was running a front fender to keep my face and eyes clear of mud...at the end I was clean from the neck up.
I saw Thom Parson's and Skip Brown finish the pro category one after the other. Thom put in a HUGE effort this race. Wish I had a camera to capture that image of the two muddy single speeders coming across the line, totally encased in mud from head to toe. Skip had several inches of glistening thick mud on his chest and shoulders and Thom's face was completely speckled with only his eyes and teeth showing. Good job going balls out!
I didn't stick around for the results, I think I came in mid pack with the experts...but will be checking later this week when the results are posted on-line.

Got together with the crank racing team after the race for some burgers and free beer for Ipswich Brewery!

Muddy weekend coming

It's been raining all week! Lots of relaxing, not alot of biking. Got back on my racing hardtail Thursday after I gave it a good wash and was surprised everything worked, fork, gears, brakes, drivetrain. Hell, there was so much Ohio mud stuck on it I couldn't tell what color it was. Just need to lube the shift cables and it'll be ready to slog through s'more mud at the N.S. Classic happening 3 miles from our house! Nice, don't have to drive 10 hours to race this weekend! Brad is spinning down from NH and a bunch of crankers are due to attend what is going to be an epic mud fest.

Somewhere on Grannygear.com you can find real-time reporting of results of 24 hours of big bear.

I'll be watching (if I can find the link) and rooting for Kerry Combs' women's expert team - representing Shenandoah Mountain Touring and Buck aka Brian Keich and his buddy Mike Carpenter's (Tour da Burg "director") duo team. Go I.F. !!

Anybody need a new bike? There's no doubt that some young Canadian downhiller is drooling over the opportunity to grab this bike for cheap $$. I love ebay!

Mohican 100 report

Mountain biking may just be the best thing to ever happen to me. I met my wife 10 years ago while mountain biking, (our 4th wedding anniversary is tomorrow) and the majority of my friends are comprised of mountain bikers. This weekend I met a few more people that fall in to the mountainbiker-friend category...

Jeff arranged for transport (mooched a ride for me) to the Mohican 100 via the Seven Cycles team van. We met up on Thursday afternoon at the Seven Cycles factory and was introduced to Skip Brown...super nice guy, legendary powerhouse mountain bike racer...and driver of the 14 passenger cargo van. Soon there after Kerry Combs (24 hour and endurance specialist for I.F.) arrived, along with Tiffany Mann (Skip's gf and super-fast I.F. racer) and Thom Parsons (I.F. single speeder and comedian). We packed six bikes, coolers and camping gear in the back of the bus and loaded in for an 8 hour cruise to Buck's house in Harrisburg Pa. Buck was friendly enough to let us crash Friday night at his place where we stayed up late watching videos of the 2005 single speed world championships (where buck was tattooed for winning the sswc! that's hard core!)

Buck riding his longboard home after devouring a huge breakfast Saturday morning.

We arrived at Mohican State Park in one piece (thanks to Skip and his skills behind the wheel, we survived a near crash exiting the highway in a rain storm somewhere in Pa.) on Saturday evening and met up with Harvey Minton (I.F. endurance racer) and checked in for the race.

It had rained for 3 or 4 days leading up to the race..Luckily the bad weather was heading east and the skys were clearing. Unfortunately the course was going to be muddy...The race started out with the 175 entrants traveling down the road in a two mile rolling start to a dam and from there it was on! We launched into the single track on a super fast pace. We rode on an extremely slippery, off chamber, thin brown ribbon of trail for the first 26 miles! The mud was super slick, best described as 4 inch deep wet talcum powder. I took two big crashes while cornering but didn't get too banged around till we hit the river. I was riding near another I.F. rider-sully (yes, there was a sea of green on the Mohican course) when I took a swim after attempting to ride a tight technical section and got owned.

From what I could tell I was somewhere in the top ten, riding along with a Cannondale rider at mile 26 when the trail ended at a campground...and when I say ended I mean ended...I frantically looked around for Mohican 100 course arrows but saw none. Spun down the road and concluded that some jerk must have removed the markers from the campground. 10 minutes of searching and now I am surrounded by a bunch of familiar faces and we're all lost.

Now about 15 of us peddling around the stupid campground aimlessly when Garth Prosser emerges from the woods and directs us straight up a 300 foot hike-a-bike climb to get back on course. Oh well, shit happens! Who ever did remove those markers it's a good thing we didn't catch you doing it...your mother would probably not recognize you after we got threw with ya!

Jeff and I (now reunited) pedal on, trying to regroup and shake out the mishap and hit up sag 1 for some fluids. Soon were flying along muddy double tracks and crossing streams again. The course takes us on big road climbs and on open country roads. It was about that time that we met up with Alex. We biked together from mile 26 to about 52 when my legs start giving me signals to slow the pace...seems that I hammered the road portions a bit too hard and didn't properly hydrate. It was time to spin slower and drink up so I said bye bye to Jeff and Alex, they disappeared in the single track.

I concentrated on drinking and eating my way back into the race. Spinning with my heart rate somewhere around 150's. Now on rural country roads, being passed by horse and buggy carts - weird, you just don't see that stuff in Massachusetts. I was looking at the driver of one buggy when I missed a left hand turn. Went up two miles and decided to turn around after not seeing a ribbon or an arrow for a while. Lots of concentration needed while out on the open roads, no more day-dreaming or I'll miss another turn!

Skip passed me on a flat double track like I was standing still at about mile 67. What was he doing behind me? Later he told me he had trouble with his chain a bunch of times.

I stopped in to sag 3 (mile 70?) for water and a banana and talked briefly to Harvey and Thom. They both were looking strong. They left and I continued eating and drinking. I ran into Harvey a bit later when we were confronted with a no-trespassers sign. Infact it said no bikes allowed, $500 fine?? But the course markers pointed that way so we gave it a go and were right...maybe the race officials should have put a mohican 100 sticker on the sign?

At sag four I met back up with Thom on his ss. We started together on the final 11 miles of single track. My legs were beat down and my body didn't want to play any longer. Thom dropped me early on the twisty climbing switch backs. I spun a slow pace in...looking back now I should have eaten some pb+j's at sag 4 when I had the chance...oh well...learn from that mistake.

The race was soon over. I believe I got 10th in the geared mountain bike devision and 15th overall but official results aren't out yet. I had a hell of a time and will be looking for a few long adventures before hopefully tearing up the Jay Challenge in late July.

Now some pics...
Kerry, Harvey,Sully,Thom,Jeff,Harlan,Tiffany,Andy
I didn't see too much of Harlan as he proceeded to kick the hell out of the race for the win!

Tiffany and Skip

Kerry looking on while Jeff and Alex show off their loot


me and Jason (aka soiled chamois)

Tour de Cape Ann

Great day in the saddle. The weather guys couldn't have gotten this day more wrong..Prediction was for rain starting early and lasting all day. Nope, just a warm super-humid, super-sweaty day. Jeff and I enjoyed an enormous shake-down ride incorporating every type of terrain the North Shore has to offer. Pretty rough on the steel hardtails through Mill st with super technical rocky rooty lines. Put the first few scratches in the powder coat of the new bike. Gotta get it over with on the first ride! After punishing our selves for an hour we hit the road for a coastal cruise to the flowing trails of Dogtown. Psyced to pedal to D.T. because I had never made the push all the way to Rockport on the mtb.

The steel bikes shined on these trails. Rocky, technical, flowing, small climbs, scary descents..dogtown was the best trails of the day. We then stretched out da legs a bit on 127 through Gloucester and Manchester over to Ancient Line and pulpit Rock...was awesome to open the legs up with so much road in between the hairy ass sections. By the time we hit up Ancient line we were just flying over the shit. Jeff had some bad luck with his fork locking up early in the day so he aired down his 2.20 Cortez' to get a bit more suspension under him. Good job rocking that ride with 20 mm of fork travel...and not one flat! Huge accomplishment on that ride.
The look of total satisfaction (and cold beer)

Quick review

Took her over to Bradley palmer for 75 minutes of smooth single track. Having a hard time wiping the smile off my face.








Have to make small adjustments; secure rear cable, tweak chain device, adj front derailuer. Made some on the trail adjustments. Cockpit feels spot-on ! Frame is flexible but in a good way, climbs like a billy-goat. Not fully impressed with the el-camino brakes, gave me trouble at Cohutta and today. In Tennessee I had trouble with both master cylinders not retracting after pulling the brakes for 90 miles...and today, while installing the rear wheel with the bike flipped over, one of the rear brake pads fell-out! No big deal on a casual ride but don't want that shit happening in a race. Two strikes Hayes, one to go then these brakes go.




Long, scary screech, (like fingernails down the chalk board screeching) noises from the middle finger of the Bontrager chain device. Noth'in a 3 mm can't handle but initial scraping was a bit alarming, thought the disc was slicing a hole in the frame.

Smack down

I have been slacking in the blog dept lately. It's been a busy week with work and bike related activities - of coarse :).

Wednesday night I rode with the fast group out'a Topsfield - man what a spirited ride! I thought I was in a race, well I guess I was! I prepped my legs Monday and Tuesday by riding conservative recovery rides on the road (30 min each) and went into Wednesday nervous, but knowing the golden legs were beneath me.
The ride started out quick in a paceline of 14 of us. By mile 10 it was on! Full-out, hang on or be dropped! Not knowing these guys or their road routes it was tough to judge where and when to lay it on the line so I played it conservative..or tried to. My strategy was short 20 sec pulls. I did go for a sprint I should have let fizzle - by the time I caught him my heart rate was in the 190's and I was seeing spots.
I liked the smack down! 36 miles of high intesity road riding with some good guys - no hold barred! On this night I held on, I am sure there will be night I am less fortunate.

The Igle-bike is back!!!! yeah yeah yeah!!! Mark at Western Cycle did the final tweeking on my ride yesterday.

and the before shot...

metallic cream soda blue, better than poop rust brown!

reminds me of the paint on my old super 8

The IgleBike is all set for a long epic with Jeff tomorrow. Going to try a new route for the Kahuna, this will be the Super Kahuna! Got just the tires for the Super-K...Kenda Cortez 2.20 super sticky.