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):
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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!
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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.

Mohican 100k

I decided not to bite off too much this year and just take in the 100k/68 miles or so of this race.
Legs are feeling good, finally recovering from the abuse of our training weekend during our 50 mile training weekend.
Hopefully, I'll get some rest, eat well, get organized and be ready to roll Saturday at the butt crack of dawn.
I have a finish time in my mind I am planning on hitting. I will know how that is going at the halfway point or at one of the check points. There are a few little eating things and drinking things along the race I might alter slightly, but other than that, my goal is to just keep going and keep my stops at the aid stations to less than 5 minutes. Fill up the water bottles, small camelbak, eat some things and pedal away.

I am planning on chain cleaning and bike detailing tonight.

Oh, and I have to drive south about an hour after work tomorrow, to pick up a new hitch for my new car! :) Then I will try to get it installed Wed or Thurs night. Need it for my bike rack.

Mohican State Park - Mountain bike - Training

Sunday, myself and Layne had planned to hit up 2 full-on almost race type laps at Mohican State Park. This was just shy of 50 miles for both laps. We were hoping for sub 6 hours. We did it.
Moving time 5:21 total time. Much of the group (Joel, Ben) finished within 30 minutes of each other after the first lap - good stuff for Joel and Ben. Joel got in not too long after us and said he had some cramping issues - Ben rolled in shortly after on his Single speed stiff forked bike >owww.
The first lap, I pushed the pace, really hard with Tim, Layne, Glen and Jon on the first lap. Layne, Tim and I kept our stops to the very minimum and slowed up to eat and drink out of bottles etc. when needed. This was a great way to simulate eating, drinking and racing. We finished the first lap, went back to the car, got some food - drink and headed back out. Layne and I were the only ones. We paced and motivated each other on the second lap. I felt great for about 70% of the second lap didn't feel great at mile 21, but it came back around about mile 23. We were both excited to see our ride time for both laps. It was a good measure of our fitness for the Mohican 100k which is at the end of May.