Lake Hope Mountain Bike Racing - Left My Jelly & Bread At Home

Right after my finish

This looks bad right?

Real quick from my phone, Yesterdays mountain bike race at Lake Hope. Rain, rain and more rain turned the trail into a sloppy peanut butter mess. Odd thing, the trail was faster and easier to race while it was raining. Once it stopped or slowed, the trail got tacky, sloppy, slippery, and turned into a wild stallion ride around every corner and down every hill. Of course, I still wanted to, a) live to ride another day b) make it to work today and c) have energy to finish.

looks like doody on my saddle?

Mud and more so the peanut butter mud will suck the life out of your legs and back in a 30 mile race. I let the air out of my back tire twice. No luck gaining any traction. I ended up walking a few sections where I just couldn't even find traction to walk, let alone pedal.
I spent some time singing Peanut Butter Jelly time to myself and wondering why I keep putting myself through the pain of these expert races. The mental battle raged on the latter half as my avg speed was reduced and my legs shouted out explatives at me.
I know I wasn't in the top five of my group about 12-15 of Vet Expert starters, I was however one of the top 5 into the woods after the start and the climb up the gravel road and on the rollers before the trail entrance.

Dried - at Home

I had no shifting issues, contrary to the 5.5 lbs of mud on my bike at the end of the race. I weighed it when I got home, then spent two hours cleaning my bike, bike clothes, shoes, camelbak and helmet.
However, my back is killing me today.
I felt pretty amazing for about 85% of the 30 miles which is a great sign. I also think about comparing riding 30 miles at Mohican and how long that would take....so that brings perspective to my finish time and effort on the day, considering the peanut butter time.

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And Just in case you need a moment:

OMBC - Race - Grassman - This Sunday & Mohican 100 Training

 Here's the google map overview of the OMBC mountain bike race this sunday. It's done nothing but rain for almost a week. I hope these trails were designed properly and will dry out today and tomorrow. I am not interested in running up unrideable hills or cleaning mud out of my bike mid race with a stick. There seems to be some talk there is a bunch of climbing, I don't see it, I see short punchy stuff.
My fitness at this point is rolling around, I am still battling the balance of work and training and getting some damn sleep during the work week. I am stoked to race my 2x10 XX setup though.
Proppe had a very enticing invite to go race with him down south this weekend, but I just couldn't make the time this weekend to make it happen. Sorry JP!

Mohican Training:
Teammate Tim and I went up to Mohican and put in a pretty hard lap in the rain this past Sunday. We didn't break any of our Personal time/lap records, in the rain and somewhat sloppy conditions, but we did both stay upright and really kept the pace high (I should say Tim kept it very high for the first 12/15 miles) in the misty consistent rain. The ground and trails weren't as bad as they were during the Mohican 100 last year, but they were soggy, slow and full of leaves, which basically sucks the life out of you for almost every pedal stroke. Thoughts are: "is my back tire flat?", "are my brakes rubbing", "is my rear shock flat?" Not only that but the humidity and constant water on your face, prevents you from wearing glasses, then you just get bashed in the eye sockets at every downhill or short section down hill. I could swear I was mountain biking in a sand storm Monday when I went to work, this week. I didn't start to really feel great and have good legs and lungs till about 12 miles in....Tim and I were remenising how many times we had ridden the Mohican loop and more, at this same time last year....Ohio weather is sucking the mountain biking life out of me this year. Good thing I didn't sign up for a bunch of the hundie's this year :)

Mohican 100/100k Race
So, with the weather here in Seattleohio, I am pretty happy I didn't sign up for the 100 this year, instead I am going for a Personal Best in the 100k race. I have some goals in mind I need to hit and know the 100k course well enough to make sure I can hit some key points at certain times. I'll be time trialing it as hard and fast as I can and leaving it all out there this year. The weather better be nice this year, I've got the training hours in the bank I need to do well. The bike and new drivetrain is dialed. I am wishing to have some 650b wheels and stuff setup before the race, but not sure if that's so smart at this point, since I have no training time to get them dialed. We'll see.

OMBC - The Wilds - Mountain Bike Race - May 15, 2010

IF I only had one of these before my race, I might have manged to make it through the entire second lap at full gas.


This was a tough first race as an Expert for 2010. I decided it was time to step up and stop sandbagging in the top 5 of the Sport. I haven't won a race in a few years in sport, but have been consistently finishing well and getting money. I don't want to be associated with that behavior, so I lined up with the big boys and fast women.

I Had a great start, on the road and into the woods, there was some of the craziest single track at the beginning of a mountain bike race I have ever seen. I am just glad I didn't get to pre-ride the entire thing, I am not sure i would have done the race. From a scale of 1-10 I would give this place a 9 for hardness factor. There was no room to loose focus, no room for taking big big risks. It was a turn the motor on to 55 and keep it going at 55 type of course.

Funny part was I had no idea we were going to race on parts or most of the AEP ReCreation lands trail, that I helped design, locate, build and maintain for the early years of the trail with COMBO. I actually helped run a few races at the AEP trail, that were also the Official Ohio Single-Speed Championships. So, cool to see some of the sections we thought were so amazing, in a race.

Jon, Tim and Chris were on hand from the Team, with Julie there to do a few bottle hand ups to Jon and I. She was a pro and passed off the bottle to me as I had the empty one in my mouth waiting to roll up that hill for the transition to my third lap (pic).

Dave from B1 and I sat on the wheel of a guy from Cleveland and basically burnt him out pushing from the back. He even said at one point, "you guys are going to sit on my wheel, push me, then pass". I didn't have the heart to admit that was my plan. But, the guy rode really well for 2 laps but faded hard near the beginning of the third one I think. Good rider.

Dave and I paced each other, chatting along the way, complaining about the super steep hills and sections of roots, rocks and trees. Dave was on a 29 aluminum hard tail and I could just hear him getting beat to a pulp by that frame of his. I waited and waited on the last lap, mentally for him to come around me, thinking, he's going to come around me and just smoke me to the finish...We came upon some other racers near the end of our last lap on a difficult log over, but managed to get around them quickly and on to the last fun section of trail for the off camber, steep uphill turn to the finish line. I kept waiting for Dave to come around, I put the hammer down about 2 miles out, but ran out of gas about 1000 meters before the finish, gave it the berries to keep Dave from passing me at the finish. It was a great race, I was happy to have a few guys to keep me motivated and pace. 

Dave is a great guy and certainly can get it done on his mountain bike.

I just missed being in the money by one place, and finished 5th, but still a great result. According to Bruce P from COBC, he said he saw me behind him at a few points - Bruce is fast and a respected mountain biker, road and cyclocross guy by this writer.

Tim looking PRO

Jon giving it 150% on his last lap

Lake Hope Mountain Bike Race - August 2, 2009

Success to failure – in seconds flat

“If you ain’t first, you’re last”

Lake Hope Mountain Bike Race
Sunday, August 2, 2009

Feeling good all week on the bike, I knew all the planning would come together on Sunday for this favorite “A” race for the year. The legs felt strong; the watts were up, the HR steady and flat line, the planets in alignment, the squirrels were busy.

Do you ever have one of those days, where everything just goes right? Where around every turn, you are surprised by how each traffic light turns to green? Where everything just goes right where it is supposed to go in your day? I indeed had one of those days until about 1:50 p.m. during my race.

Jen and I arrive in plenty of time, to be registered and see some familiar faces, Mike Mikes, Dave Groen from my Masters club. I see a few other new faces; my guess is they are getting things in order for cyclocross training. I change into the team kit and get on my bike for a good warm up. From the first warm-up pedal stroke, to the last I know the legs and body are in alignment today. I think, wow, these guys are going to suffer today behind me.

Ryan O'Dell makes his pre-race announcements on his fancy megaphone. He explains how the West Virginia series racers will be combined with the OMBC series race groups. There is a big moan from the crowd, when he announces the Sport category will be combined with several other Sport groups. I think we had 60-65 Or so lined up to take off just after 1:00 p.m. Myself, Mike Mikes and Dave Groen and several of the WV boys all creep and creep our way to a virtual start line – Ryan yells out, “that’s enough creeping boys”.

I had a great spot on the front line. I knew if I stayed on the right side of the road, it would allow me to elbow and maintain my space on the way up the water tower hill at the sound of the gun. It worked. I was or I should say, easily had the legs and fitness to be first up that hill. I sat back at the top for the right turn onto the gravel road. The road certainly separated our group quickly. I glanced back under my arm in my big ring sprint to see a group of about 8 of us shredding the field of sport riders. There is one semi steep (creep up on you hill) climb on the gravel road, just before we hit the single-track into the woods. I stood up and let a few guys in front of me. I figured if they were up here with me, they would know how to handle their bike and could carve trail like a knife into the Christmas ham. Mike is right in my sights and I thought I would just keep him within striking distance, wait for a hill or wait for him to make a mistake and I would not hesitate to pounce (this time).

The pace is high and we are picking off riders shelled from the groups that started in front of our group. Katsu is in front of me, keeping a great pace, but pops and I roll around him on a hill climb. I pick the pace up some more and get on Mike’s wheel. Alas, he picks a wrong line through a tough off camber slickery turn and up to the right. He goes down, but is ok. I put a massive dig in and hit the throttle hard. I figure if I can just keep this up for about another 10-minutes I will have first place. It was not to be. This was not one of those days where everything goes right. It suddenly becomes one of those moments where everything that could go wrong, does. In an instant, I feel the back end of the bike, getting a little wallow on me. I look down between the frame for a quick moment, while out of the saddle trying to see if there is something blatant sticking out of the tire or if it indeed is going flat. UGGGG. It is going flat. I keep riding trying to rationally think what the best course of action would result in the least amount of lost time. I decide to pull out the big Co2 and give it a shot at just replacing some of the lost air. Dave G. catches back up but is suffering and hurting. I get back on…mention I had a slow leak and pass him. About another 10 minutes, the tire is going again. I now know I must get off at some point and change the back tube. The nightmare begins.

I continue to climb up and around and down hanging on to the bike, trying to keep it on the trail with the back end wallowing around like a whale tail. I keep thinking, wow, this just couldn’t suck anymore having to change a tube – mid race. Finally, I yell out to Dave G. I am going to pull over and change it. Dave says good luck. I get the wheel off, get my tube and C02 out, I learn quickly I have no easy way to get the tire off the rim, it’s a newer tire I just put on about a month prior and the bead is still as stiff as an iron wagon wheel. It won’t come off. I fight, fight and fight. Nothing. I try my Cook Bros. multi tool, 9 ways – nothing. I swear and cuss like a 15 year-old outloud when no one is passing me on the trail just below. Wow, has it been an hour, it seems so, standing there sweating, drenched, simply trying to remove a tire. I try to calm down and think think, what can I use to the the tire off….ahhhhh the wheel skewer! Genius. I take the skewer out and think, oh I should thread the other side of the skewer back on with the springs so they don’t get lost. My guess is, I didn’t quite thread them on quite far enough. That’s right, I get the tire off, new tube, tire back on, filled up with air and proceed to put the wheel back on the bike, I look down and don’t see one of the springs or the other side of my skewer, WTF? You have got to be kidding me? Brian A. of COMBO fame rolls up and asks what I need help with…he’s tired and not interested in racing anymore. We slowly scour the ground with a stick find the spring and the skewer nut, wheel back in bike and I am on my way.

I pass 2 riders maybe in my quest to survive this hideous ordeal. About 2 miles roll by, I think I don’t have much further to do, maybe I can salvage a DNF out of this when all of a sudden I feel the front wheel washing around into a corner. I look down and realize, yes another Flat tire. WTF. I calm down and just wait for Brian again. He arrives and automatically knows I need a tube and air. Most racers only carry one tube and enough air for maybe two fill ups. We have a laugh, since he is so “out of his race” and I as well, change the tube and I am off to try to finish. My body and legs by this time are just about finished and I really struggled to power up the last few climbs out of the valley to get to the uphill finish line. Needless to say, when I crossed the finish line I was not a happy camper and ran off to the car to finish sweating and try to calm down. Jen came back to the car, I decided to be a good sport and go hang out, while my co-racers, collected their monies.

It was a good call in the end, karma baby, I got to eat some great ombc food, try to have a few laughs about my double flat situation and not take myself so seriously or the racing. I spoke to Michael M. after and he was amazed I wasn’t running Stan’s Tubeless system. The reason he did it a few years ago….he was leading a race and got flats. So…maybe there is some Stan’s in my future?

I guess, I just wanted the W so bad, worked so hard, it felt like most of my summer was working towards this race (one of my favorites) and I knew I had it in me. When the time came; I did have it, the power, lungs, the skills were all there. We must take away the positive sometimes and not focus on the negative.

OMBC - EastFork State Park Mountain Bike Race - 6/28/2009

Here is what the natural selection after our hill climb ended up being just a few of us...moving away from the pack of about 35 or so in the Masters field. These guys obviously have ridden together quite a bit and played some drafting games before we hit the grass "single-track" before the actual wooded singletrack. I was in my big ring from the start, stood up most of the way up the hill till about this point. The two red/white/blue guys, were sailing pretty hard from the time we got onto the grass. I didn't see them after mile 8 or so. I chased down 3rd place from the time we got out of the woods to make our second lap. But before the second lap ended I wiped out on this slate covered creek crossing. It didn't look like this race day AT ALL, it was running water about 3/4 inches deep and the slate was slick as snot. My goal was to sail like a feather, fast and furious across it and make it up the small rooty hill on the otherside. That plan did not work out, the front wheel slid out and down I went on my right side. That would be the only time I spent on the ground for the day. The second lap, I decided I would cyclocross it over the creek up the other side and around the hard rooty tree turn and remount. It worked, I didn't loose anytime and stayed on-chasing 3rd place. We worked to pass groups of riders and slower folks and he slowed in sections where it was slick. I noticed his climbing ability wasn't quite as strong as mine and knew the uphill section with the left hand banked turn was coming up. I was hoping to pass him quietly, hit it hard and fast, not leave any opportunity for him to get on my acceleration. Well, I surged on the left, he moved left, I surged again right just as hard and he moved right, we hit the banked left turn at the top of the hill and he hit the throttle. I figured also letting him lead the entire lap, would wear him out, or push him to make a mistake as well. That wasn't the case, this guy can ride and really handle his bike and pick some great lines though the trail. I knew I had very few opportunities to pass in the last 3 miles or so and we were really flying. I thought, if I can get on his wheel coming out of the woods and get up and sprint, I can get him in the hard right turn at the finish in the tape. Well, as you can see, I was close, but decided it wasn't really worth the 3rd place and extra 5 bucks to throw him into the tape and trees in front of the 'crowd' at the finish line. I just thought that wasn't very "pro" and a bit unnessesary at a local race. I think the guy knew if I wanted to be an ass I could have been more aggressive and just come by him. These two pics by the excellent photographer (my wife) tell the story at the finish.

≤ Tim did well and got an excellent 6th place at his first ever MTB race. He and I celebrated by jumping in the lake after in full Ohio Orthopedic/Moro kits. The water was warm and the crowd in the water was ... well interesting.

There were some very "un-pro" guys on my first lap about 5 miles in- overtaking a few of the Women racers at the dumbest passing point. I moved over to block them and called them out and told them to chill, since they could have taken all of us down. Again, it's just a local race - settle down out there boys, you are racing Sport not PRO at the Norba nationals.

So, with a few bruises on my right side, cash in my pocket, the 4th place sticks. Best result of the year so far.

Fork in the Road - Eastfork MTB over Tour De Grandview - Ohio State Road Race Championships

I decided for the second year in a row to go mountain bike racing instead of racing the Tour De Grandview. I could have raced the Masters 3/4/5 race which would have ended up being a CAT 3 / strong CAT 4 race or I could have done the CAT 4/5 Race. Naaaaaa. I am going to hit the dirt with Tim S. I am glad he's going to race with me. I think he'll do great and finish high. He's pretty fit and I hope he can crush some of the competition. My goal is to beat my 5th place from last year. It's not my home court so to speak and I battled last year, getting to know the trail during the race. I will run lower pressure in the tires compared to what I usally run, with all the rain, it will be sticky and require some serious confidence in the bike to win I think.

I finally put a new 2.0 Specialized S-Works-Fast Trak LK Tire on the back of my bike today. The old tire, has seen three Iceman's, two hundred mile Lumberjack races, a dozen local mountain bike races, a Mohican 100k and a few other thousand miles. They are and have been beastly tires. Unfortunatly, they will soon go away with the onset of a new team sponsor - Kenda Tires. I have some Small Block 8 Mountain bike and Cyclocross tires on the way. I also will be training on Kenda Road tires. They don't manufacture a tubie cross tire or a tubie road tire - yet so that eliminates them from being raced on with my carbon cross wheels or my carbon road wheels.

The state Road Race Championships were about two weeks ago. They finally posted up results. I was Top 10. I'll take that - not where I would like to have been, but it was a hard race, with a big super steep hill half-way around from the start. It certainly was a make or break for those that made the final 14 or so in the last two corners. Unfortunatly, the four that went up the road, all wrecked and left a mess on the road for the rest of the other leaders, to weave through. I had a good shot of a hole through it, but there was a train with Dick C and Shannon and Dayton guy rolling by me about 35 mph. By the time I braked, got through the wreck hole on the right side of the road and tried like hell to on the back of Shannon (DarkHorse) and the Dick C.(Abundance) train, I had sat out in the wind too long and didn't have much left to out sprint the others that had caught up to me. However, I am sitting in the top 10% of the CAT 4's in the State of Ohio. I think Dick and Shannon have enough points to CAT up, but it's not like they have been winning races all season. The three of us have been battling it out for finishes all spring and Shannon seems to be getting more of me at the finish's than Dick. They are good people and keep the racing fun. Justin from Jeni's has also had a great spring of racing.

I went out tonight and did some short sprints to just get the motor going for tomorrow. Wow, the Garmin-Powertap does look good. I hope that means good things to come. My buddy, Ben is also racing tomorrow. Hopefully, he'll do well and we can all get up on that podium.

Mohican 100k Mountain Bike Race - May 30, 2009

Happy Reading. I finally got this book finished. It just kept getting longer and longer. Enjoy.
Photo Link Here: All taken by Jen F

Two years later, I finally get to race the race that got away from me. I had an infection that put me out of the Mohican 100k two years prior. I finally got it together enough to go race this semi-local race. I say semi-local, since it is still about an hour thirty minutes away from my home. With the start time (7:00 A.M.) would prevent any sane person from leaving their house at three or four in the morning to arrive in time to pick up their race registration / number / drop bags and get the drop bags filled and then get to the start line by 7 a.m. I would bet, someone did make the early morning trek to the start line directly from his or her house.

The Aid Stations were as follows –
My goal was to water up at Station 1 and get into my Drop Bags at Station 2 and 3. I had hoped to spend no more than 5 minutes at each of the last two aid stations.
Aid Station 1 (At Mile 20):
Aid Station 2 (At Mile 34):
Aid Station 3 (mile 46):
------------------------
Race Highlights:
• The Garmin 705 registered:
o 62 miles
o 9055 feet of climbing and a
o Finish time: 6:46:14
• Actual Moving Time: 6:20
• Speed:
o Average around 10 mph
o Max speed of 41.5 mph
• I traversed three Ohio counties:
o Ashland, Holmes, and Knox.
• 3:53 or so, I hit Aid Station 2.
• 5:08 or so, I hit Aid Station 3.
• I lost my sunglasses at mile 3 or so on the first of many hike-a-bike sections.
• Just before Aid Station 1, I thought I had broken three of my toes on my left foot, by smashing my foot between a stump and my pedal at 15 mph. It ripped my shoe open (time for new shoes) and pulled my favorite lucky racing socks out the same hole. For about two hours, my toes throbbed and ached.
• Around 2:45, I went down hard like a bad skiing yard sale, on some shitty horse trail (have I mentioned how much I hate Horse Trail). >See below.
• Jen’s Photos – turned out amazing. She did a great job!
--------------------------------------------
The race morning started well. Jen, Layne and I up at 5:00 a.m. for laughs, pre-race rituals (dropping the kids off at the pool :), some light breakfast (love that oatmeal) and a bit of last minute prep work. We are out the door of the hotel at 6:10 a.m. We drive separate cars, thinking Layne might leave early and Jen and I were staying an extra night at the (very swanky) Mohican lodge. Layne was planning on parking at the finish area and riding downtown to Loudonville to the start. Jen and I, planned what we thought was a good idea. We would drive the car to the start; I could warm up – use the plastic blue facilities and be ready to roll. So, we park the car and I find out, my two pre-prepped drop bags need to be at the campground and NOT at the start line. UGGGGG. Jen races off in my new car (stick shift) to get my two-drop bags to the proper location. I was thinking, ‘I hope she can get there in time and get back here to see me start. Well, not only did she get the bags dropped off, but also she managed to get back to the start line and get in the back of a truck with the official “race” photographer. I lined up about ¼ of the way back from the front on the left side of the road, hoping to get going, slide into the inside corner and avoid an outside line pile up of people.

The sun is creeping up into our eyes. Ryan O’Dell gives us the signal and we are off and running. Wow, the people in the front three or four rows are GONE! We sail out of downtown and head up a very steep hill out of town, on pavement. People are already popping off the back and sliding back down the hill – many heavy breathers. We get up to the top; go left and hit a long gravel road hill before we head into the dirt and grass. This trail seemed to be a short connector to get us back into the State Park property. We get to the Camping area, where Layne and I pre-rode on Friday and I realize this is the area where we must ride across the creek and hike-a-bike it up this very steep grassy, rock covered hill. Lots of talk and chatter by everyone. I got hot, so I hung my sunglasses on the front of my jersey, thinking to myself I can grab them at the top. Yes, the glasses were long gone when I went to grab them at the top. I stop at the peak of the climb to let some air out of the tires and keep me from sliding around so much. We sail down and hit the familiar single-track of the State Forest.

People are flying by me as if I am not even going anywhere. I tried to keep thinking it is a long race, just pace yourself, and find a rhythm that works. I don’t think I found that rhythm until about mile 15. I kept telling myself, ‘you know this trail, you can kill this section’, but somehow I just felt a little disoriented and not quite so familiar. I had people passing me on hard-tail 29er’s and dual suspension bikes doing double the speed I was doing. They were all very nice and respectful of our safety.

Just before Aid Station 1, I managed to almost remove the left three outside toes by smashing them into a stump with my pedal. It hurt. I couldn’t believe how much it hurt. I caught up to Katsu, an Ohio University student and local fast guy racer. He was keeping a blistering pace for doing a hundred. I sat on for quite a bit, since he was riding steady. He did a great job just after the coverage bridge getting up one of the steepest and longish climbs of the Park single-track. I call it the FU hill. Tim and I always say, “fuck you hill” when we get to the top. It’ hurts, especially at race pace.

After wrapping up most of the State Park single-track track, at about Mile 23 of the actual 25 mile Park MTB Loop, we made a hard left turn and went straight up – having to push our bikes uphill and hump our bikes over the largest tree I have ever seen. The girl in front of me went over it like water. I tried to follow her example and lead. We were now on the Blue Horse Trail. We hit some crazy fall-line trail where I just could not seem to catch my rhythm. The trail was wet in areas and spattered with baby head rocks and loose gravel, I just tried to shuck and jive as best I could, without wrecking. After some downhill, we hit what appears to be a bad impression of a trail. It was lame, poorly designed, and full of water bars – I hate water bars – not only do I hate water bars, but I hate the fake synthetic wood ones. Each of the small 12 x 12 sections between the water bars was slick as snot and full of nice Ohio clay. They were installed about every 4 feet (have I ever mentioned how much I hate water bars built into trails?). With the sun out the water was doing a nice job of rising to the top of the clay creating a snotty mess. It was steep and just when I thought I saw the end was near, the horse trail cut hard left. I picked my way around the turn. Just after the turn, I got my front wheel up and over one of the 8” bars, the back wheel didn’t want to corporate and slid out. I bit it hard, yard sale style. Down I went. My bike was in the middle of the trail; my body was up on the left side of the hill. I see/hear riders coming, they ask if I am ok and say, “wow that was ugly you need help?” I reply, “No I am ok,” however I am hurting. I realize I stretched the same muscle on the back of my left arm I had injured only a week earlier at Lake Hope State Park. I over extended my right shoulder and banged my right knee hard. -- It’s my understanding; there were quite a few folks that fell down in that stretch of “trail.”

We crossed Route 97 and headed towards Aide station 2. I see Glen Gardner standing about; ask him how far Layne is ahead of me, he replies just a few minutes. I swallow down some PB & J, fill up my bottle, 50 Oz. Camelback with my drink mix baggies from my drop bag, and head out of Station 2. This trail section looked like old private hunting roads that were not so fun. It seemed to go on forever. Then we hit quite a few gravel roads with more climbs! The roads came and went, I remember lots of climbing but overall as I was looking at my average speed, I was able to bring it up nicely and was passed several people. I found a moment to look at the Garmin to get a location; we were between Route 3 and Route 97.
I crossed Route 3 at some point and knew I would hit Mohican Wilderness trail at the top. The surroundings were starting to look familiar. Let me just say, I HATE the wilderness trails. By the time I hit Mohican Wilderness, I felt confident enough to let off the brakes and let momentum take over. This trail has no flow, is full of cagey, roots, rocks, stumps, and requires focus. When I finally saw the whoopy doo’s in the pine trees and the bottom of the stupid trail, I realized it was almost the end of the Wilderness trail. Off into the distance I saw the finish of the trail and knew the next Aid Station (3) was not too far.

Aid Station 3 (mile 46) was on the corner of the road at the bottom of a Wilderness Trail section. I was glad to see it, as I was out of juicy juice in my Camelbak and the bike bottle was almost empty. A guy just at the bottom of the trail was calling out race numbers and a few volunteers were hunting out Drop Bags. This was awesome! I see Cara Boney is there and ask her for some lube they were giving out. I also ask if she saw Layne and how far ahead he was. She said he left about 4/5 minutes ago – dang it – I need to close that gap. I get my bag, put the Fig bars in my jersey pocket, empty trash, grab some new Gel a new bar or two – finish filling up my drink mixes and wash my face off with some fresh water. My eyeballs are killing me, since I didn't have any glasses and the dirty dusty air is staring to wear on my eyes. I think it was a too-long 8 min stop. I get out, say goodbye to Cara and tell her to keep the faith for Ben.

I head off down the gravel road and was pretty much on roads for the next 15 miles. Around every corner was another nasty hill on the road. I was passing quite a few people that seemed to be slowing down and suffering. I put the bike in the big ring as much as possible and hunkered down in a “MTB aero” position when it was applicable. I didn’t even bother to look up at the top of a few of the gigantic road climbs. Some racers were walking. I found a pace, stuck with it up every climb just pacing out a steady pedal stroke, and kept moving forward. I never had any thoughts of quitting or not finishing. I never had thoughts of wow, this sucks, or when is it going to be over. I think those thoughts certainly have entered my head in the Lumberjack 100. There always seem to be those moments when you hate life riding these types of races, but oddly enough, I just did not have them at this race. I looked down on the GPS map to see I wasn’t too far from crossing Route 3. Wow, great that 15 miles or so went fast. We turn right onto Route 3, ride down the road for just a bit, pass Route 97 on the left, and cross the bridge over the water and make a hard right just across the bridge. I look down and see Jen is there taking pictures of me crossing the bridge. She is happy to see me and Doug Berube is there providing support. I decide not to stop and motor on…Jen cheers me on, I hear Doug say, the finish is only 6 miles? I think No way, just 6, that cannot be right? It wasn’t right.

Throughout the day, I was back and forth with many of the same people and I was enjoying the friendly hey bro/dude “when you get a second could I come by on your right or left?” or “Hey are you doing the hundie or the hundred K” or “where are you from” conversation out on the course and I was enjoying the race, despite the difficultly. I certainly saw more flats and mechanical issues in the first part of the race. I was always puzzled where people were getting flat tires, though.

I was stoked leaving the aid station with only a short bit of miles remaining. I seemed to be getting stronger as the day wore on and felt good here. I knew the next bit of trail well and was hoping to catch the rider in front. This first section is up on the ridge, parallel to the park entrance road. It’s a way fun trail going the other way. It is not so fun going this way. We get to the end of this rolling rocky Cub Scout trail and make a hard right up into the depth of the woods. I knew we were going up and up at some point – I was going to just keep pacing myself and try to lay down some tread for the next 10 miles to the finish. I was closing in on the guy in front of me, since I knew this section of trail really well. I just had to keep the pressure on and try to pass him in the campground.
I see the 2-mile, and then 1 mile white signs posted on the Forest Trail and know the finish is near. We dump out onto the mulch trail, which parallels Route 3; I get in the big ring and hit the gas hard to pass the three riders in front of me. We get to the end make a hard left back into the Campground area and realize we have to go up this super steep fall line trail and get back up into the crazy campground roads. The lame part of this was, we could all see the finish and hear the announcer. Uggggg – why are we going this way, I think to myself. We roll by all these campsites and head back up the original hill where I lost my sunglasses. I have the rider in front of me in my sights; he is sailing down the hill and across the creek. I think I can catch him on the dirt Power Line road just before the finish. I pumped and pedaled as hard as I could. Just as I wound it up, I see a Subaru coming down the road, and it looks like Garth Prosser and someone else – they both yell GO GO GO as I pass them through the dust storm. I pedal on as hard as I can and turn off the gravel road, through the gated fence and under the Finish banner. Funny, I actually got within about 10-feet of the person I was chasing just before the finish.

I cross the finish with a time of 6:45

At the finish, I was given a Mohican 100 Beer glass and see Jen, Cara and Glen. Jen is snapping photos and following me around trying to help me, since I am in a finish-line fog. I got a Pepsi and someone that came in after me, actually turned in my Tifosi Sunglasses – such luck and what a nice guy to carry them all that way. Layne shows up and said, that was him in the car with Garth, heading up on the hill to fix some of the signage. I chat a bit with everyone and the guy I was chasing. Funny, he said he was actually racing the Hundred, but decided at the third Station to throw in the towel and do the 100k back to the finish.

The rest of the afternoon included a nice clean, cold shower at the campground finish. We got some dinner at a nice little hidden gem of a Restaurant on Route 3. This place was a stone throw from the Campground. After a yummy chicken dinner and some homemade apple pie (that was AMAZING) Jen and I went back to the finish to hang with the other racers, wait for Ben and Brian (from BikeSource) to finish. Ben came in and I took some great photos of him finishing and with Cara. He was happy to finish and I think he might be back for another race like this in 2010. Everyone was socializing, eating food, drinking beer and water and watching the last of the finishers. We hung out for a bit outside on the patio with some of the BioWheels team and Ryan V. Jen and I decided to hang out for the awards and prize giveaways. Jen took photos of the Award Winners. The photos ended up on Cycling News website. They oddly enough listed my name, but she actually took the photos. As we were leaving, Brian from BikeSource came in on his single-speed with a rigid fork with a time of 13 hours and 22 minutes.

Overall, this was an amazing experience and I really enjoyed myself. The fun factor was high for a race of this length. I believe next year will be on a 29er or on a dual suspension 26 bike. I might even go for the hundred next year and follow it up with the Lumberjack 100. I will be back for 2010.

OMBC - Lake Hope State Park - Mountain Bike Race

weeeeeee,
My race today went like an 1:24 min ride on a super fun roller coaster. My watch said 1:21 min, Avg. Speed 12.34 mph, 1730 feet of elevation gain, . I need to look up my info from last year.

I have never ridden Lake Hope so fast in many years of riding there. This was my second year racing there in the Sport Category. Layne, my wife and I all Subaru'd down together.
This race is combined with the West Virginia race series and their race catergories do not match up with OMBC. So....to make things easy the Sport Catagory for racers from 19-50 were all leaving in one group. Yeah that was fun. I think 50 guys? I nudged up to the front 12 or so for the start and hoped to get a good flying start up the gravel road to the water tower. I did, but we were 4.5 wide on that road and I was eating branches on the right side up the hill, when many faded in fitness towards the top, I manged to get passed 5 or 6, make the turn to the left at the bottom of the hill, where our cars were parked, and up the second real gravel road hill. We fly up that, fly down the hill and head up to the crest of the third hill right before the single-track into the woods. I manged to pass quite a few in my big ring before the dirt and we all bunched up at the entrance. I think there may have been 15/18 or so of us at the front of the Sport group. I felt pretty good about where I was sitting. I did manage to get some warm up before the race start, but now the legs were starting to feel pretty good about 3 miles or so in. I was passing lots of riders, passed a few of the women off the back and trying to maintain a steady pedal state. I rode really agressive on any hills or sections I knew really well, thinking anyone that was behind me would have to fight till the end to pass me. I saw one girl go down really hard on her face after flying right over the handle bars. She ended up being ok and finishing. Jen and I hung out with Amanda Sproat and Joe Devault today after the race at a picnic table eating and drinking. It's a nice change of pace being at mountain bike race from the 'serious ness' of the road and crit scene. Although there are some somewhat serious, too serious dudes at these mtb races, it was good to hang with the Superfly Twins.

I do believe I should have ridden with the Experts today. I don't think I was sandbagging per say - all the other guys in my Sport group were all within 1 min of each other. And the only guy to beat me today, came around me in the last few miles, pretty rude in his pass, ran into the wheel that was in front of me after passing me.
I was within 10 to 15 seconds of getting 1st back at the finish, I saw him look back at the top of the second hill before the finish. I dug really hard in my big ring to catch him coming out of the woods and up the steep dirt hill before the campground pavement.
I ended up with a solid Second Place this year.
I am pretty sure after thinking about it today, that the top 3 finishers in the entire sport category should be racing Expert as well. There were guys that finished 5 to 10 min faster than I did - they must have been just motoring, sick. My low back is so sore, after riding in the car home, getting on a plane to chicago, I sit here with ice on my low back. Dang, I am old.
Layne got third in the Single Speeds today, pretty good considering, he hadn't ridden MTB much this year.
More tomorrow if I can come up with more -