Overall Standings after Stage 1 and 2

Category, Name, TT Time, SXC Time, Overall Time


Expert Men David Tevendale 0:22:06 0:52:39 1:14:45
Sport Men Daniel Ortiz 0:23:27 0:55:25 1:18:52
Sport Men Whit Zirkle 0:23:54 1:01:15 1:25:09
Sport Men Will Canup 0:30:55 1:01:30 1:32:25
Beginner Men Dillon Long 0:27:29 1:06:55 1:34:24
Expert Women Sheila Scott 0:28:47 1:05:50 1:34:37
Expert Men Scott Ramsey 0:31:56 1:06:44 1:38:40
Sport Men John Scott 0:30:05 1:09:08 1:39:13
Beginner Men Chris Royer 0:31:12 1:10:33 1:41:45
Beginner Men Nathaniel Nickerson 0:36:26 1:22:17 1:58:43
Expert Women Lorene Davidson 0:39:06 1:20:01 1:59:07
Beginner Men Jeff Bentrem 0:38:31 1:31:53 2:10:24
Beginner Women Jennifer Whedbee 0:47:25 1:25:03 2:12:28


High School Overall
Name, Age, TT Time, SXC Time, Overall Time
High School Zak Folks 0:25:12 0:46:09 1:11:21
High School Jesse Thomas 0:25:53 0:48:33 1:14:26
High School Thomas Torries 0:27:52 0:47:12 1:15:04
High School Mason Schmidt 0:29:21 0:47:14 1:16:35
High School Spencer Wuthman 0:30:20 0:52:27 1:22:47

CORO SXC Results

Category, Name, Lap1, Lap2, Lap3, Lap4, Lap 5
Expert Men Kyle Rodland 0:09:46 0:19:46 0:30:26 0:41:34 0:52:17
Expert Men David Tevendale 0:09:50 0:19:34 0:30:08 0:41:30 0:52:39
Sport Men Daniel Ortiz 0:10:05 0:20:35 0:31:35 0:42:54 0:55:25
Sport Men Whit Zirkle 0:10:47 0:21:59 0:34:27 0:47:16 1:01:15
Sport Men Will Canup 0:10:57 0:22:42 0:34:56 0:48:09 1:01:30
Expert Women Sheila Scott 0:11:36 0:24:05 0:37:25 0:51:00 1:05:50
Expert Men Scott Ramsey 0:11:05 0:23:06 0:36:54 0:51:48 1:06:44
Beginner Men Dillon Long 0:12:18 0:25:03 0:38:09 0:52:15 1:06:55
Sport Men John Scott 0:11:59 0:24:47 0:38:48 0:53:50 1:09:08
Beginner Men Chris Royer 0:12:43 0:25:29 0:39:02 0:54:35 1:10:33
Expert Women Lorene Davidson 0:15:04 0:29:40 0:45:15 1:02:27 1:20:01
Beginner Men Nathaniel Nickerson 0:15:15 0:29:16 0:45:28 1:03:37 1:22:17
Beginner Men David Morris 0:16:39 0:31:33 0:47:07 1:05:29 1:24:10
Beginner Women Jennifer Whedbee 0:15:07 0:30:16 0:47:46 1:06:33 1:25:03
Beginner Men Jeff Bentrem 0:16:52 0:32:59 0:50:28 1:10:08 1:31:53

High School Category
Name, Lap1, Lap2, Lap 3
Mason Schmidt 0:15:00 0:30:06 0:47:14
Jesse Thomas 0:15:24 0:30:42 0:48:33
Thomas Torries 0:15:10 0:30:07 0:47:12
Zak Folks 0:15:20 0:29:42 0:46:09
Carlini, Michael 0:21:53 0:46:59 1:14:51
Spencer Wuthman 0:15:54 0:33:18 0:52:27

Wilderness 101 photos

Just a few photos from the W101 that were sent to me. Pretty cool course. A must do for all you east coasters.
-Shawn

Cowbell Challenge

Start Line at Cowbell Challenge 2009.


This past weekend saw Denelle and myself venture south to Davidson, NC. for the annual Cowbell Challenge. This years event was going to be part of the US Cycling National Endurance Calender as well as the Kenda Cup East with races on both Saturday and Sunday. The Saturday race was my focus with a 58 mile marathon event. In past years, this event has been a 10 or 12 hour race that has had a large contingent of local ass kickers taking wins, with this jump onto the national calendar though, things were looking primed for some big names and top speeds. The race course itself is on a piece of property owned or managed by the city of Davidson and known as Fisher Farm Park. There is not a lot of elevation change within the park overall, but everyfoot of it they seemed to make use of by running the race up and down from a small river bed to the top of a 200 foot hill numerous times. Much of the actual climbing seemed to be in the open fields or on wider sections of trail in the woods, so things were very sun baked come noon time. The opening section of trail for the event had some great sections of rocks and TONS of roots that added challenge to corners and desents, add to this some optional "free-ride" style lines made mandatory thanks to liberal application of Kenda Tape and you have a race venue....a super fun race venue.
The race was slated for a 10am start from downtown Davidson with a blitzkreig style rampage from the town to the race venue via greenway paved paths and roads. Having registered in the pro-field for the weekend meant that we were all placed on the front of the race and turned loose at pace. From the gun, someone upfront decided they needed to make haste, and haste they did. I don't know if it was the KOM climbs that were being awarded or just some sick roadie on semi-slicks, but the pace was UNREAL from the get-go. I clung to the back of the front runners, and by the time we hit the first section of single track 8 miles later, there were 8 of us left as the lead pack....and I had already burned some significant matches. On the first climb on single track, I settled in, tried to keep the middle ring spinning over and sipped at my InfinIT bottle on the downtube. Up that climb, and through the Kenda Blowup Archway and we were starting our first full lap. I quickly left the front of the pack and let the paid people move off to do the damage they wished to each other, I wanted little to do with that. Over the next two hours I worked my way around the course, through the rock gardens, up the multiple leg burner climbs and over the rooty corners and drops. I never really felt I could hit full power with the significant heat. Steven from WBR/Siren recorded 103 degrees under their canpoy near the transition area. By the end of Lap 2 I was really feeling the heat. I was pushing the InfinIT and pleasantly surprised by how well it seemed to be working, at the end of Lap 3, I made a request for some Coca-Cola and Johanna and Kyle managed to roust some Dr. Peper from a kid in time for me to have some before going out for my 5th lap. This was to prove to be a deciding lap for me. I felt solid and held steady through the climbs and really was pulling great time through the rooty corners and technical sections. The Top Fuel's ABP systema and Full Floater technology made a HUGE difference on this course. I never had to get out of the saddle through the roots and could stay planted to the bike and produce power through all but the roughest rock garden sections....and luckily, those were mostly downhill. This lap I cought the guy who had been just in front of me. We came into transition with him just in front of me and as I stopped to get a fresh bottle and a bit of food, he rolled through with his camelback and setout on course. A quick feed from Jo and Kyle got me out on course again and I announced to them, I was gonna go find that guy. Kyle's words stuck with me for the lap, "Give him hell."
I rolled throught the first technical features and empowered by the cheering fans on the side once again forced myself to ride the semi-technical rock climb through a narrow and over some precarious roots. I dropped one gear harder than I had been through the next twisty section as I tried to pull time on the guy on the 29er bike in front of me. He still was not in sight though. Coming out of the woods on that lap and into the first sun-burnt field section, I saw him ahead by about 200 yards. I put my head down, drove the pedals around in harder cirles, and found some strength that I did not know was still there. As the gap closed, I got to the first of the field climbs and quickly pulled niner dude back in. I settled in just behind him at a gap for a minute to evaluate what I had left in my deck and try to measure out what he was holding still in his hand. I swept past him in the next little sweeper climb and he hopped straight onto my wheel and seemed to settle in comfortably for the 4th from final climb on my wheel. I ticked the pedals over in the middle ring, turning steady power at about 90% of my LT, hoping I could find a little extra pop in the legs shortly. We crested this climb, and on the next descent, he came around me to create a small gap going into another flat field section. He was a big strong guy and managed to open his gap on me a tiny bit more on this flat....or at least enough to keep me out of his slip stream. Into the 3rd from last climb, we climbed together, steady, holding pace, I pulled around him on the edge of the trail. As we entered a short techinical descent, I managed to clean the line quickly and created a gap of a few seconds. The second from last climb was a short one, only 250-300 yards total, and it had a long descent to flat after it....I hoped out of the saddle and pounced. There was no sound from behind me and I spun the pace up out of the saddle and settled down to a seated position feeling the burn in the legs and still pushing power. Cresting the climb and not looking back, I started the sweeping field descent. I glanced over to where we had just climbed up and saw niner guy spinnning up the climb not responding to the acceleration. I went through the flat section. Powered the final climb in the middle ring and spun through the finish for 8th place in the Pro/Open field.
Race done!!

BURN 24 HOUR

It is just over 26 hours until we all line up for this race. The weather is looking to be good with temps in the low 80's in the daytime on Saturday and SUnday and lows of 60-65 over night. Some chance of rain....but we all have to ride in the same conditions.
Crew is looking Strong:
DUO Men:
Cyrus and Danny-O
Mike Walling and Scott-tae.

Solo Women:
Denelle kicking ass.

Solo Men
Jason Hiser and Myself.

The barge is rolling out shortly to make a heist of Danny-O from Highschool. I feel like I am aiding the deliquency of a minor in some respects, but hey, he got permission right.

We are gonna try to do some updates from the venue on Saturday and Sunday, so look to the blog for more information and probably party tips from Cyrus. He can, after all, do these races fueled by hot dogs and HEED.......

-Shawn

Ever seen a 8+ hour HRM file

For scaling purposes, each of the horizontal lines is 25 bpm. So the two that you see this file spending most of the time between are 150 and 200....with 175 being the middle ground. Indeed the average HR for the entire time= 170. The final portion of the file is what happens when you have to pedal a flat tire in. Can't generate much power that way.

Jasper Wins at Twisted Tire!!!

Big News Folks: Jasper took the kids class. I hear it came down to superior course knowledge on his part. During the neck and neck race, Jasper's main adversary took the log, Jasper knew about the clear path around.....and WHAMO!!! He took the win!!!

Nice job Jasper!!!

Hilbert #1

Hilbert was great this past weekend. Our team showed up in solid form and ready to put pressure on the competition. The final results turned out in our favor for certain.
____________________
Sport Men
1st Danny O
3rd Cyrus D.
____________________
Sport Women
9th Lisa Stover
____________________
Expert Vet Men
10th Ken Tankersley
____________________
Expert Women
3rd Sheila Scott
____________________
Sport Vet Men
14th John Scott
____________________
Masters
4th Jim Seguin
____________________
Enduro Women
2nd Denelle Grant
____________________
Enduro Men
1st Shawn Tevendale
4th Kevin Murray
12th Dave Tevendale (ill timed flat)
24th Jason Hiser (quit half way through to go swimming, triathlete in training)


Awesome job to everyone. Huge thanks to my dad and to Danny-O's parents for running the pit and the trailer. You guys were huge help out there!!

-Shawn

Great Weekend for the Team!!

Wow,
what a weekend. With members spread out over 2 states it was a lot to follow.
It all started with a Charlottesville 10K race that our guys were on the front of all day, but not in the "leading the race" sense that we think of, rather, they were the bike escorts for the day. Our local sponsor, Charlottesville Running Company, put on a great event and our guys served as the pace bunnies on bikes to chase. Really cool opportunity for all of us.

The second event was the National Mountain Bike Oktoberfest in Davidson North Carolina. We rallied 2 solo racers, Jason as our mechanic, and a duo coed team for this one, packed a trailer and headed south....into the rain. The conditions were questionable at start with lots of slop and slime to contend with, but we made the most of it all. Jason got to clean bikes and swap tires all day but the combination of Jones ACX and Mud X kept the bikes moving forward under mostly rider power. Erin and Jeremiah Bishop were in our pit as well, so that added to the excitement for everyone when Jeremiah and Harlan decided to ride through together on the next to last lap.....in the End....JB got him though...by 12 seconds!!!
Final for all the BFR riders.
Denelle-2nd in Women's Solo
John and Sheila Scott- "BFR's-Off the Couch" took 3rd in the Coed Duo
Shawn 9th in the Solo Men's field.

Final race for the weekend: Tidewater Challenge on Sunday
We rallied a solid contingent there as well: I don't have all the details, but here are the results as I understand them.
Shannon 2nd place-Beginner women
Christy T. 2nd Place Sport Women
Ken T. 4th Place Sport Vet Men
Dave T. WON!!!! the Enduro cat!!!

Nice job everyone, See ya at the Paranormal this weekend.

-Shawn

CORO Final Standings

The CORO wrapped up today with the O-hill Meltdown as the culminating event.
The course was everything Ohill is known for, Rocks, Roots, Climbing and Descending.
Meltdown Times
Category Name Finish Time, Start Time (Wave Format) Final Time
Expert Men Dave Tevendale 2:10:20 0:00:00 2:10:20
Expert Men Rob Cook 2:10:55 0:00:00 2:10:55
Expert Men Michael Hosang 2:15:07 0:00:00 2:15:07
Expert Men Nick Pence 2:17:51 0:00:00 2:17:51
Expert Men Jason Scislowicz 2:26:55 0:00:00 2:26:55
Expert Men Kevin Horvath 2:36:00 0:00:00 2:36:00
Expert Men Dave Wooten 2:44:45 0:00:00 2:44:45
____________________________________________________
Beginner Men Eric Moore 0:59:10 0:04:00 0:55:10
Beginner Men Renato Perez 1:53:55 0:04:00 1:49:55
____________________________________________________

Junior 15-18 Will Canup 0:58:14 0:04:00 0:54:14
Junior 15-18 Whit Zirkle 0:59:00 0:04:00 0:55:00
Junior 15-18 Dillon Long 1:07:44 0:04:00 1:03:44
Junior 15-18 Joe Hemphill 1:09:35 0:04:00 1:05:35
____________________________________________________

Sport Men Daniel Ortiz 1:40:48 0:02:00 1:38:48
Sport Men Cyrus Dreyer 1:44:13 0:02:00 1:42:13
Sport Men Donny Peppard 1:48:15 0:02:00 1:46:15
Sport Men Jason Hiser 1:48:37 0:02:00 1:46:37
Sport Men Dan Becker 1:49:42 0:02:00 1:47:42
Sport Men Jim Seguin 1:54:55 0:02:00 1:52:55
Sport Men Eric Fletcher 2:00:35 0:06:00 1:54:35
Sport Men Dave Welty 2:05:06 0:02:00 2:03:06
____________________________________________________
SS Sport Nolan Lavoie 2:12:36 0:02:00 2:10:36
____________________________________________________
Sport Women Lynn Bufke 2:04:00 0:02:00 2:02:00
___________________________________________________
I am trying to cipher times out for Denelle Grant and Johanna Krause still


CORO Overal Final

Cat, Name, TT, SXC, Meltdown, Cumulative
Beginner Men Eric Moore 0:20:28 0:21:47 0:55:10 1:37:25
Beginner Men Renato Perez 0:35:46 0:40:00 1:49:55 3:05:41
___________________________________________________
Expert Men Dave Tevendale 0:17:00 0:41:53 2:10:20 3:09:13
Expert Men Kevin Horvath 0:18:17 0:37:32 2:36:00 3:31:49
Expert Men Dave Wooten 0:20:12 0:39:23 2:44:45 3:44:20
___________________________________________________
Junior 15-18 Whit Zirkle 0:26:21 0:33:47 0:55:00 1:55:08
Junior 15-18 Dillon Long 0:23:47 0:35:04 1:03:44 2:02:35
Junior 15-18 Joe Hemphill 0:24:28 0:36:30 1:05:35 2:06:33
___________________________________________________
Sport Men Cyrus Dreyer 0:22:15 0:30:09 1:42:13 2:34:37
Sport Men Jason Hiser 0:21:05 0:29:41 1:46:37 2:37:23
Sport Men Dan Becker 0:21:18 0:30:06 1:47:42 2:39:06
Sport Men Daniel Ortiz 0:33:00 0:29:05 1:38:48 2:40:53
Sport Men Eric Fletcher 0:21:52 0:30:58 1:54:35 2:47:25
Sport Men Dave Welty 0:20:55 0:31:31 2:03:06 2:55:32
___________________________________________________
Sport Women Lyne Bufke 0:25:05 0:31:55 2:02:00 2:59:00
___________________________________________________

We had many other racers come out and do just one or two events. It kept some fresh legs in the mix and made thing interesting for everyone. Many of the racers had mechanicals along the way as well that dropped some out of contention for the CORO as they did not complete one event.

A huge thanks to all our sponsors, volunteers, and racers.

-Shawn

CORO Day one

The Time Trial and the Short Track both went well. It was interesting to see the normal front runners handicapped by mechanical problems along the courses. It will make for an interesting day tomorrow at Ohill.

Here are the standings in the CORO after day one.

Name--TT Time, SXC Time, Overall
Junior 15 and Under
Liam Agnew 0:28:40 0:26:08 0:54:48
____________________________________________
Junior 15-18
Dillon Long 0:23:47 0:35:04 0:58:51
Whit Zirkle 0:26:21 0:33:47 1:00:08
Joe Hemphill 0:24:28 0:36:30 1:00:58
Andy Hughes 0:27:59 0:46:21 1:14:20
Bon Jun Koo 0:44:18 0:44:00 1:28:18
-___________________________________________
Beginner Men
Eric Moore 0:20:28 0:21:47 0:42:15
Matt Schmitt 0:27:48 0:28:36 0:56:24
Charlie Gadner 0:38:41 0:32:36 1:11:17
Renato Perez 0:35:46 0:40:00 1:15:46
____________________________________________

Sport Men
Sean Agnew 0:19:17 0:29:05 0:48:22
Jason Hiser 0:21:05 0:29:41 0:50:46
Dan Becker 0:21:18 0:30:06 0:51:24
Cyrus Dreyer 0:22:15 0:30:09 0:52:24
Dave Welty 0:20:55 0:31:31 0:52:26
Eric Fletcher 0:21:52 0:30:58 0:52:50
Jonathan Den Hartog 0:23:00 0:34:37 0:57:37
Daniel Ortiz 0:33:00 0:29:05 1:02:05
___________________________________________
Sport Women
Lyne Bufke 0:25:05 0:31:55 0:57:00
____________________________________________

Expert Men
Caleb Walton 0:17:30 0:35:15 0:52:45
Mike Walling 0:18:28 0:35:10 0:53:38
Kyle 0:18:22 0:36:48 0:55:10
Kevin Horvath 0:18:17 0:37:32 0:55:49
Dave Tevendale 0:17:00 0:41:53 0:58:53
Dave Wooten 0:20:12 0:39:23 0:59:35
Scott Ramsey 0:20:37 0:39:45 1:00:22


Shawn

FORD Series

www.fredevents.org

The Fredricksburg Off Road Duathlon Series concluded yesterday with the 3rd race and final race.
Bike Factory Racing placed four riders on the start line for the final event-Christy, Denelle, Cyrus, and Myself.

The course was changed significantly from prior events with a much hillier run course and a bike course that was maybe a bit more challenging before in the number of short steep climbs.
At the gun, the pace started pretty reasonable for the first pass through the timing area. No one sprinted off on the run portion like in the past. As the pace started to settle in on the dirt paths, Justin Riddle started to pull off the front of the run pack. Knowing that I would not hold his pace on this first run, I watched as he slowly spaced off the front of us all. A number of the actual runner types, and super strong guys went after him shortly. In this group of maybe five or six runners was Cyrus. He looked very comfortable at the high pace on the run and seemed to be sizing up who in the group he was gonna pummel later on the bike....awesome!!!
I let the runners go off and as they passed beyond sight line on the trails, I settled into a rhythm that was sustainable, but tough. I came into the transition area from the run with screaming quads, mostly owing to the final descent on the run.....a "climb" DOWN the "wall" as Konrad loves to call it....evil man!!
I kicked on my shoes and placed my helmet on my head to head out on the bike portion. I sipped some energy drink and ate a Clif block or two. As I exited the transition I knew I was about 1.5 minutes off of the 2nd place racer from last time....someone I needed to mark for the series overall placing, Steven Viers. (We will call him Pedal Shop-his jersey and sponsor) As I jumped on the bike and started to pedal, I could REALLY feel the hillier run course in my legs, for the first 10 minutes on the bike all I could do was spin. Luckily I managed to rev it up pretty quick on the early double track and entered the single track with most of the strong runner types in my sights to pull in on the single track. As soon as the trail got technical, many of them slowed down. I went into the no brakes, hope for traction and hop over whatever is in the way mode. It was working well. I quickly saw Cyrus and gave him some words of encouragement as I skidded by on some rooty stuff. The beginners field was now all mixed in with us as they had done a much shorter run and were on the bike course early. This made it a bit harder to know which racers were in your category and which were beginner racers....but it was AWESOME to see so many people getting out here and trying this sport...and especially on mountain bikes. The other good thing about lots of riders on the course- Targets!! Not in a bad or evil way, but every time you saw someone up the trail, it was that little kick that you needed to hammer to catch and pass them. In the tight single track, it became tough to get around some of them, but it all was working out OK. Still no Pedal Stop though....I hit it harder. The last two times we had raced, he had taken the early lead on the run and I had pulled him back on the bike, once to hold him off and take the win, and once he had pulled me back on the final run and beaten me solidly. I wanted to at least catch him on the bike and try to get in front of him for the final run. I plowed on...out of the saddle a lot, hitting it with great power and staying clean and quick on the downhills. I had set the Top Fuel up with Bontrager Jones ACX tires front and back for the day, and they were digging in perfectly and holding tight in the corners. The oversized 2.35 tire on the back was set at about 25 PSI was working great with the rear suspension keeping it tight on the ground for traction control.
As I was approaching the turn off point for the advanced distance, I caught a rider on a Fuel EX from last year. He had placed in the top three at every one of the races so far in the beginner category, so I knew that I was toward the front of the beginner field now. As we came to the final short rooted wet descent before the course split, it was cool to encourage him to open off the brakes and let the bike work....down the hill he went, soaking up everything and making it look easy!!! Cool!!
I made the left onto the advanced course and quickly the course went up hill, I punched it, energized to find Pedal Shop.....where was he!!! I crested the short leg breaker climb and grabbing a handful of gears, popped it hard to try and find him. Finally I saw what I wanted....black and red jersey, glimpsed through the trees...or was it...no, early leaves for the year...but wait...yes, there he was!! That was the final encouragement I needed. Quickly the distance was closed and I was on his whell. As at every other race he encouragingly let me by with a courteous passing lane and cheered me as I cheered him....what a great sportsman!! A true example that we can all learn from. By this point I had worked really hard to find him, but my legs still felt strong, unfortunately the course was no longer to my strength, it was now log jumping and twists, nothing really technical, and nothing with momentum and flow or steep climbs to really work....I was gonna have trouble getting a gap on this terrain. I knew that within 3/4 of a mile, we would be on flat double track, and if he managed to catch me on that, he would be able to draft in to the transition. I worked hard but was only able to open maybe a 30 yard gap in this terrain. When we hit the double track, he was quickly back on me, and rode my wheel to the pit only to pimp me at the line for the "sprint" into the pit.....dammit....he deserved it though...what a ride!

I changed shoes as quick as I could....my hands did not want to work, but I got them on and started the run. I could see Pedal Shop ahead....but he is such a strong runner. I tried to push, but was not closing, he was holding a steady gap...but he was not pulling away. Heartened by this, I tried harder....things were getting tough, the course was hilly now and I was working really hard...when was the pressure seal gonna go on the legs?!

As we scrambled down the final "wall" I could see him just finishing up. I had pulled him back a little, but not enough to take 2nd place from him. What a race, things went well. My ease into the first run seemed to have played out well for the final run, and I felt strong about it. I found out later that Pedal Shop (Steven) had started to cramp up when he saw me on the bike. He knew he was the stronger runner and had tried to work doubly hard on the bike portion to stay ahead of me, and then to hold me to the line. But he paid for by having to go really deep into his suitcase of pain!!!
He seemed really happy about this....I was impressed at how he did on the bike...Strong dude all around!!!

He ended up taking 1st in the series, a really well deserved title for him.
The final results for the day had Justin Riddle off the front all by himself....nicely done Justin!!
I finished 3rd in the Men's Overall.

The rest of our team did GREAT!!!
Denelle won the women's race with Christy taking 2nd place.
Cyrus took 4th in his age group owing to some derailleur misfortunes early on the bike leg, way to stick it out man!!

For the series that put Denelle in 1st place with Christy in 2nd place (I believe.)
I was third in the series for the men.

Other local racers and friends that I sort of remember placings on:
Scott Ramsey took 1st in his age group and was probably top 10 in the overall.
The Old Man, Dave Kelnberger was in the top 6 I think.
Paul Leeger rode and ran well and I think was right near Denelle at the finish...not sure who won this time though
Francine Rapp took 3rd in the women's overall for the event and was very high up in the series as well.

Nice job everyone, and a huge thanks to Konrad Heller for putting this event on, what a great series and race,

-Shawn

24 Hours of BERMS

Denelle changed the name after the event to this one. I have to agree, what a course. Lots of fast, fast, fast sections made for a really nerve addled trip around the course everylap. For the first time I felt like I was actually overriding my HID light beam......and that takes some serious speed. My bar clock recorded 35 mph at one point going downhill through the trees and berms......fast.

Race Start:

Gotime, suited up in the new Trek team kit, sunscreened, fed, lubed up (chamois), and itching to ride after a few days of taper.
Typical Lemans style start, run, run, run. The team riders were allowed to tag off at their bikes, so they could use a runner in tennis shoes to sprint ahead and tag off to the guy in cycling garb to open up the bike leg full bore. I took a solid jog to the bikes about 300 yards away, mounted up and headed off on the first lap. The first lap used the old course and bypassed the newly built section, so first lap times were way faster than every post-ceding trip. Things opened up pretty quick. No backups, no stumbling beginners to contend with....awesome.

Lap one down
Lap one finished quick, I grabbed a bottle from Dave and Jason in the pit, cruised out again for lap two. The legs were saying, "go, go, go." but the mind knew I had to hold back as I had 23.5 more hours of this fun to survive. So I sat back, and tried to entertain myself on the mind numbing parts by drinking and eating.....cytomax and cytogel, powerbars, plants....whatever.

lap 4 down
4 laps in, still feeling solid. Riding the climbs in the middle ring still, eating big: gels, powerbars, more cytomax....yum.

Lap 6 down
Time to acknowledge that it is gonna start getting dark, and I have an entire night of sufferage ahead. I decide to commit to the granny ring for climbing in hopes of staving off muscle failure until morning. Gotta save something for the race for placings that will occur in the final 4 hours of the event.

Lap 10 down.
Nausea. While the idea of eating big may seem good, it should not be only on machine made foods and drinks. My gut is loaded....I want to just pull the trigger and puke, but that will ruin everything. I stop in the pit for a change of clothes, Jason takes care of my bike, Dave helps hand me clean stuff to wear and double checks my light set up.

Lap 11-
More nausea. As I pit I try a coke, and some plain water. Seems to work. I take plain water on the trail with me for the ride. that and a shredded Turkey Sandwich in a cup. I munch and sip as I go. I start to feel better.

Lap ?
After 15 minutes off the bike in the pit, my strength has returned. My body has managed to move the large gut ball of powerbar, gel and such through and all the nutrients are starting to absorb as the plain water dilutes them. I pit, take in some electrolytes, and more coke....and roll.

Lap ? +1
More coke, more PB and J. Ride your bike you fool.

Lap 21- come in, pit crew is doing math, trying to figure out what I need to do. I have climbed from 8th place to 5th now. The guy in 4th is 1 lap plus 10 minutes up on me. They have set up the Top Fuel SL- go time. Speed it is.

Lap 22
I manage to catch number 4 on the next lap. David Holmes, a Fisher 29er Crew rider. I had just put in two really hard laps. I try to ride with him, but instead we go head to head for a short time....he is a small guy with climbing abilities....and puts them to use on me.....I am shamed into backing off quickly. Man that Superfly Carbon can climb with that guy as the engine.

Lap 23
Pit crew tells me that I need to do one more to secure 5th place, I need to go.

Lap 24.
In to pit, they tell me that David Holmes has done some math work at 22 hours into the race, and thinks I can't catch him. I am down one lap and need to do that plus one to get 4th place. I am off, Pushing middle ring again, pulling time on 4th!!!
Dave rides with me for moral support and to see if I fall apart....like watching a train wreck at that point I guess....or Britney...either way.

Lap 25.
Speed...sort of. I am actually pulling faster laps now than all of the top 3 riders.

Lap 26
Cruise control time, push the middle ring on the climbs, flow the downhills, ignore the crying muscles.....you can recover later.
In to the finish line 24hours 23 minutes of riding.....26 laps at 7.5 miles and 900 feet of climbing per lap.
4th place it is. I am pleased.....and learned a bunch from this one.....

Denelle won the women's field in her normal style....make it look easy while the competition falls apart around you. At one point I swear I saw her opponent clinging to a tree on the course like it might help her along.
Nicely done, 14 laps is a solid ride, just over a 100 miles I guess she figured.

Giant Thanks to Jason and Dave, they were awesome support through this whole thing. They kept me and my bikes rolling. Thanks guys!!!!

-Shawn

HIlbert #2 and Walnut Creek Chimney Chase

Ken putting the hammer down!!!

What a weekend of racing it was.
Saturday saw a great day for the team at the Second Camp Hilbert Race of the year.
We fielded a large field of riders and put Jason and my Dad in the pit zone to work on bikes....and boy am I glad we did. Jason ended up having to recable one of mine during the event as I raced.

The Enduro Field started at 930 am with the normal hard start up the dirt gravel and out onto the Single Track. A couple of guys poured it in early including Kevin Cox. I went out hard, and watched the two of them from a short distance before deciding to tackle them and go off the front. To start with Kevin M. and I rode together, K watching my wheel while I set pace. we set a quick 32 minute plus pace through on the first lap, all the while realizing that the rear fender I had put on the bike was a bad idea....it kept rubbing the tire as the suspension actuated....I guess I needed to set it higher than I did....live and learn. As Kevin M. and I came through the transition and went out for lap two, I grabbed another bike from my Brother who was helping in the pit before his race and made the hasty request to yank the fenders. On a Fresh Top Fuel, and feeling good, I decided it was time to launch my attack and try to take the race. Mostly this was gonna be an experiment. I knew my fitness was good, as I am aiming to peak in 2 weeks for the BURN 24, but I did not know how good. What I did know, Endorphins John Rittling and Chris Reynolds were within site behind us, and I wanted to provide a challenge to them and have some fun in the process. I picked up the pace and drilled it pretty solid. Kevin Murray stayed back to help pick up the pieces when I blew up. As I attacked I quickly caught Kevin Cox. Kevin quickly was behind me, giving his normal words of encouragement....he has got to be one of the nicest racers out there. No matter what is going on, he will cheer for you. We need more people like that.
The second guy is sponsored by Vicious cycles and seemed interested in putting on a bit more of a fight. He surged a little, and I quickly nailed it on the up-hills. He was on a 29 inch wheeled bike that went down hill and through corners like they weren't there, but seemed to suffer a small penalty going up hill....so I took advantage of this and made that my area to go. Soon enough I was on my own. Lap 2 was done and I kept the steam on for Lap 3 and Lap 4. I was putting down 31 minute lap times and feeling strong, but knowing that I would pay for this later in the race. As the laps ticked away I realized I was still holding steady. I even took the Hard Tail out for a lap, spun that one in 35 minutes....one of my slower laps. By this time, I had a fair gap to the field, except for Kevin Murray from my own team. He was 5 minutes back and the rest of the racers were at least 5 or 6 minutes off of him. I slowed up a bit, and he surged forward at the 4 hour mark and we rode together for the last lap and a half. We discussed about how to finish...race it out, or ride it solid but together and take the 1/2 placing as a team. We decided that we should not beat up on each other, and we would just aim to keep Rittling off of our wheel. Bike Factory Racing would have the 1/2 slots in the Enduro Race. That last lap we rode solidly, it was about a 33 minute lap time. Kevin would work harder than me on the uphills and I would work harder than him through the corners and downhills. All the time we continued to put more time on the field. In the end we came across the line together in a tie. Our closest competitor would finish about 14 minutes later. An awesome ride for all of us.
The rest of the team did great as well.

Shannon-in her first race EVER took 10th in the beginner women, but would have been much higher if she was not dropping chains off of an old JAMIS hardtail....we gotta get her on a Trek or Fisher product....and soon.

Christy won the women's Sport
Denelle won the women's Enduro (made it look easy)
Ken took 2nd in the Vet Sport
Jeremy Took 3rd in the Expert Pro (on a rigid SS against the geared guys)
Dave finished mid pack in the Expert Pro-solid ride, but damn that was a fast crowd


HUGE thanks to Dad and Jason for the Pit crew....we needed and used them the whole race.


Walnut Creek Chimney Chase
Great race too. The weather held off until the very end. Dave and Jeremy rode in the Expert/Pro race, Jason rode in the Sport race, and I raced Clydesdale.....yup clydesdale. IN order to qualify for Clydes, I had to tow a BOB trailer loaded with medical gear....as I was the medic for the event as well.
Race went great. Matt Bailey showed up and threw down a commanding performance to take 1st, Jeremy was cruising to 2nd place in front of Bob Anderson before he crashed and ended up in 3rd place. Dave came in for a solid 4th place finish at the event. Jason ended up beating his target time for the event, which is the most important thing. I am not sure what his placing ended up being. James and CRC put on an incredible event....nice job guys.

-Shawn


Shawn with BOB trailer


Thanks to Sean Gallagher for the pics!!!

LODI 12 hour

ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF www.PBASE.COM Thanks a ton!!!

So, Maybe they should have called this a battle, not a race....because that is what I feel like I went through.
The idea of starting a bike race at Midnight is an interesting one to me. It seems that the idea would be to race through all the worst hours of a 24 hour race this way, and indeed, I think that is what we did.
Preparation for this race was big from an equipment standpoints, lots of stuff, lots of people. The idea of supporting 6 solo racers through an event of this magnitude can become too full of "What-ifs". So for almost a week I what-ifed the trailer into shape. We scheduled to depart at noon on Saturday in order to get to the venue and setup the Bike Factory Racing Compound (as it has been affectionately named). We departed on time, hit Chipotle in F-burg and then got to the race venue by about 2:30 or so. Setup went smooth and John C. showed up with the Smoker to cook some carcass. After getting the compound fortified, I went out to hit a lap on the course as a preview of what was to come. I set up the Elite 9.9 Hard Tail and went off, one thing was decided early for me....suspension was key, it was gonna be a Top Fuel type of night....this course was custom made for a Fuel!!!!
The course was full of ups and downs and twists and turns. I think there were more 150-180 degree turns on that course than on any other that I have ever been on. And they were not the type of turn that supported momentum or speed very well, many required braking and then accelerating to navigate. One almost required a track stand!! The dirt was hard pack in many areas, there were lots of roots and some areas of dark boggy soil and loose sandy gravel...it was all here it seemed, other than large rocks....and maybe I am just mentally blocking those at this moment.
I tried to lay down for a nap at about 8pm or so, but Konrad had hired a live band to entertain the crowd, and they were right across from our compound....and the compound was not soundproof...I knew I messed something up. After tossing and turning until about 10:30 I gave up on sleep and got up to finish fiddling with my bike and lights....that and get a last minute snack and some coffee.
At the start line, my body was already in revolt.....It was weird to toe a line doubting your ability to digest food and complete the race, this added a sense of adventure to it all though.
Roll out was at a few minutes after midnight....a "paced" start of all the riders up a dirt gravel path and then a sharp turn onto single track. It was the normal chaos, tires rubbing, people stumbling and nearly falling. The back end of the field apparently got separated from the "pace" bike and made a wrong turn even.
The race paraded back through the start finish at the neutral pace and then game on!!
Steve Schwartz and Justin Riddle went early off the front...or so I heard. I had already resigned myself that in my current condition, it was "PACE, PACE, PACE!!!" or I would be a certain DNF and not just a probable DNF. Kevin M. was on a single speed and went early, he had a score to settle and a title to defend here. Dave "the old man" was here to race and Kevin was gonna milk the rivalry for all it was worth. As Kevin rode off, "The Old Man" sat patiently back and watched him go. The first lap went quick, as did the second. Then GI happiness set in. I will spare the details....but Bib Shorts are not your friends at such times...and probably added to the 30-40 minutes of time I lost between laps checking out the Special "high-volume" porta-potties that FREDEVENTS had rented for the night....nice touch on the advertising.
through the night laps my riding was steady, I used the granny gear liberally to save some pop in the legs for the morning if I made it there. My lights were perfect and other than laying the bike down in a corner once and slipping a cable housing funny, things were mechanically great. Come 5:45 the morning light was starting to come up and the realization was hitting, "we are not even half way through yet."
At sun up I was into the pit again, Dad and Shannon had laid down for a rest, John C. was up and on duty. He handed me some water and Electrolyte pills, I ate a pop tart and debated stalling long enough to not have to carry lights on the next lap....but realized that would be too long. On that last night lap, I was feeling reasonable. The stomach seemed to like the pop-tart and water combo better than the Cytomax that has always been my staple. So come the next lap I was carrying an extra bottle of plain water in a jersey pocket in addition to the standard Cytomax mix bottle. At about 7:30 I checked in at the table and asked placing. I was seriously tanked....Konrad was there, and said, "Get out there, you are in 5th place man."
What??? how had that happened...I felt sure I was in the teens....turns out that through the night the course had taken out plenty of people. It looked like the night had secretly claimed its victims on the super tough course. I rolled out of the transition area and to my pit....heartened that I was solidly placed, but disheartened that I had hours of hard work ahead. I grabbed another bottle of water, some Electrolyte pills, and a pop-tart...off I went. I decided I would try to use some of the energy I was saving all night. I put on a little surge and soon enough saw the guy in 4th place. He let me by on a short climb and I held steady ahead of him and soon could not see him behind anymore. I soon caught my brother, Dave (the young man) on the course....he was doing this to celebrate his 30th birthday...what a party. I chatted briefly with him, but knew I needed to keep going if I was gonna pull 3rd place back and leave 4th place behind me. Through the transition I was told that my 24 minute deficit to 3rd had been cut way down. I continued to push along, leaving it a gear or two higher than normal on the climbs, and pushing power through the flats rather than cruising along easy. It was feeling almost good. Soon enough I came though the pit again, I had done it 3rd place was mine. I put in one more lap and then was able to cash out my chips. 4th place was not chasing, and 5th was too far back to pull me in. so at 11:15 I handed over my bracelet to the timers table and left the course in 3rd place...10 laps done. the winner would ride until the end...doing 12. Second place finished his 11th lap just after I finished my 10th.
The Single speed race went pretty hard. Kevin had a mental and physical stomping moment.....the most painful introspective type of pain you can undergo in these races and avert physical injury. I have been there.....I am sure he blamed everything he could, bike, coach, tires, shoes...whatever....but in the end....you come back to yourself, and fall asleep quietly in a chair and hope that you did enough to be in the points at the end. He rode solidly, but his pack of matches only had so many sparks, and they all blew out before the fire was complete. Dave "the old man" patiently went on to win the battle, he put in 12 laps...riding up until the end. Ted G. chased him, albeit from a distance and came in with 11 laps at about 11:55 into the race....he could have gone again....but why? He was solidly the 2nd place finisher of a well fought battle. Dave T. took 5th in the Men's Solo. Denelle G. won the Women's Solo field handily with a 2 lap lead by the end.....and I think she even squeezed in a nap there somewhere.....she makes this sport look so elegant and easy.

A huge thanks to Shannon, "The Old Man's" young Wife, John, and Dad. Without you guys this would have fallen apart way earlier than it did.
Nice job team, I am proud of us all....we did a really solid race at probably the hardest lap endurance course I have been on.

-Shawn

Another Fun Weekend

Both Last weekend and this weekend.
Last weekend Denelle, Christy, Dave and I all journeyed down to Richmond to ride the National Championship Off Road Duathlon. The Run course was a 5k loop that you ran a total of 3 times. To Start you did it twice, then you got on your bike, did 30 K of riding, and came back in for another lap on the run course. The Run started fast, a runner from Virginia Tech was off like a shot and managed to drag a bunch of the elite field with him. The initial pace those guys were setting was in the high 4 minute to low 5 minute per mile range. I played it smart and held my pace, let those guys go and knew I would see some of them again during my part of the race....the bike leg. On completing the second lap I was into the transition to grab my bike and gear up to rock the Richmond James River Trail system. I had elected to use my Carbon 9.9 Hardtail for this course....proved to be a good choice.....fast fire road type sections broken up by single track that had lots of hard brake and then acceleration corners. I was able to really pop it hard coming out of those corners and even through the rocks and roots that were on the course, the carbon of the Hardtail took out the sting and kept traction for me both up and down.
The bike leg was FAST. I averaged right at 14 mph for the course and completed the 30K in 1:20. During the course of the ride I pulled back a bunch of the awesome runners and they got to watch my backside for a short time until I pulled away....of course in that final 5 k run I got to see some of them again....I guess I should do some running to train for these things at some point.

Overall the Team did well,
Denelle took 2nd overall for women and 1st in here age group.
Christy Won the Women's Sport Race (had shorter run, ride and run distances.....really appealed to me after the fact)
Dave took 14th overall in the Men's Race and 3rd in his age group.
I took 10th overall in Men's and 2nd in my age group.


This weekend is the LODI 12 hour race. The team has been busy gearing up for this one. Lights are charged, bikes are tuned, Trailer is 75% prepped to go. We are gonna field a powerful team for this one, all in Solo categories.
Jeremy, Ted, and Kevin are all gonna race single speed solo
Denelle, Dave, and I are all gonna race Geared solo.
Support is gonna be provided by Shannon, Dad, and John Cox.
The Bike Factory Racing Compound will be ready to rally......even if the weather turns south on us.

Du or Du not, There is no Tri

This weekend will be the second event in the Virginia Off Road Series (VORS). We are currently leading this series, but it has only been one event. This weekends race is a Duathlon with a 2.5 mile run, 12 mile bike, and 2.5 mile run. It should be really fun. In the VORS, Multi-Sport events have a lot of points attributed to them, so we are gonna try to bring a solid team to this weekends race. Kevin and Dave have been training for this pretty solidly. Christy is an all around athlete, and Denelle is a super strong X-terra racer. Me.....I don't really run, but we will see.

-Shawn

Dragon's Back Race-A triathlon

The Dragon's Back Race proved to be an epic undertaking this year for many of us. Multiple days of rain and overcast conditions following high winds in the previous week left a normally rocky and rough course covered with wet, wet leaves, mud, and other debris. Lining up on the start I remember the announcer telling the HUGE Enduro XXC field that the course would diverge from the main cross country course and we would notice it was "ungroomed" from that point on. That was an understatement. At points we were literally riding or scrambling through the woods and over rocks trying to find age old swatches of paint on the trees to guide the right direction that the trail was supposed to go. This was not single track riding for a lot of this time.....we were just in the woods. I made a lot of wrong turns in this area, luckily, I was moving slow enough through here to figure out quickly that I was off course, and usually by no more than 200-300 yards. The Main Cross Country Course was rough, but this XXC course was a disaster, forestry signs from years before were rotted to unreadable stubs, and there were enough blowdown re-routes to make the challenge on the ridge that much more. Multiple Hike-a-bike sections were created by rock piles, leaf piles, and down trees.
After we came down off the ridge we were onto a "road" This had recently had some attention in the form of new Gravel....the size of softballs in some areas.....some states would call this a rock garden, but here in Virginia....it is a road....awesome. I was glad to have a Trek Fuel to rock this section on. The Rock Shox Reba and Monarch armed suspension system made smooth work of it for me. This section was fast and furious with multiple 10-15 foot wide river crossings made swollen from days of fresh, cold rain. I managed to miss a turn part way through this area, a bunch of the signs were blown down and all that was up were a few strands of orange ribbon in the tree branches on the side. Squinting through mud and sweat streaked safety glasses, I missed these. I ended up swimming across a river that was almost to my chest at one point.....this was after my bike floated out from under me while trying to ride through. I followed this road though all the way to pavement......and we were not supposed to find any pavement. After turning around and swimming again, I got back on course and managed to rally pretty solid at the end. Pulled back a couple groups of about 3 riders each, mostly single speeders. All in All, I put in 45 miles for a 37 mile course. Finishing a solid 14th place in a HUGE men's field. It took me almost 5 hours, but what a trip it was. I guess it comes down to that statement of it is not about the start or the finish, but the journey in between that really matters. I saw a lot of broken bikes and protesting bodies today on the XXC. The normal dérailleur and chain issues....that and cramps for all I think as well.

Our Team did Fabulous.
Our winners:

Denelle Grant 1st place Women's Sport (she also beat all the expert/pro women as well)
Michele Co 1st place Womens Enduro 6 hours 10 minutes....
Jeremy Senn 1st place single speed.

The Rest
Christy Tankersley 2nd Place Sport
Ken Tankersley 4th Place Sport (I think)
Chris Cunningham 7th place Masters Sport
Shawn Tevendale 14th Place XXC race

Nolan and Jason both took DNF's....and I kinda wish I had as well....ouch.

Hilbert #1-a mystery still not solved.

Race is in the book, but not on the books. Results are still not up, so we really have minimal idea of how we did. The new software system that they were using did not tabulate stuff as it was supposed to, so they have the raw numbers that they have to sift through and figure things out from. I wish Mark luck with that.

Results we "know":
Nolan Lavoie 2nd place Clydesdale (rode a SS Gry Fisher Rig in the geared category)
Jeremy Senn 4th Place, Pro/Expert (rode a SS Gry Fisher Rig in the geared category)

Results we think we know:
Denelle Grant 2nd? women's Enduro
Michelle Co 4th? Women's Enduro

We are waiting on results for Christy, Ken, Ted, Jason, Mark, and Shawn.

This is what my Nike HRM had to say about my 5 hour and 5 minutes on the bike:

Full on this was one of the hardest starts for an Enduro race that I have been a part of. HR was way too high for the first hour, and I needed time to recover.

18 Hours of Cold

First things First-
Thanks to my crew for the night, you guys and gals all rocked. Caleb W., Nolan and Becca L., Denelle G, Dave T., Shannon R, Luther B, Jon C...........

Now the race:
6pm start time.
Line up on the front with the other guys, look around, and realize, this is a large field and most of these people next to me are racing duo or 4-person. Make the decision to not go out guns.
6:01pm Neutral start behind a single speed, roll out on gravel, then grass, start into single track. Pace car out of the way, race on.
6:54pm- First lap done, feeling good. Charles Clarkson and I are together. I pit quickly for a bottle, and back on course. Charles is just out ahead, but soon we are back together.
7:47pm Through on second lap, realize I am not getting enough drink in, start focusing more on eating and drinking.
9:00pm Come through the pit area, get news that Denelle left pit area just ahead of me and I am supposed to go catch her.......
9:10 Find Denelle on course, helping one of the kids from the Boy and Girls Club team. She is riding a lap with him. Sure is great to see these kids started into the sport young....Luther and that group are doing a great job.
9:50? Through pit zone on lap ? No idea what is going on at this point, just know I need a new bike, this one is clicking and crunching funny, Dave latter tells me I broke a middle Chain ring - XTR carbon Titanium- that will be expensive. They set up a new crankset on the bike
10:50? Through the transition, take a slightly longer break to grab a bottle and gel. Back out and rocking. Kevin Cox is off the front, I am third, Charles Clarkson is in third and only slightly behind. The time gaps are all less than 10 minutes though, so really we are all riding together. I arrange for my crew to start warming my next set of clothes for the 6 hour change out.
midnight- In the pit zone- time to change and get dried off. The sweat has started to soak and I am getting chilled. Cycling shoes and shoe covers are swapped for full on winter cycling boots, cold weather gloves, balaclava and fleece lined tights. Dried and warmed, I am out on course, now behind both Kevin and Charles, I set to work.
2am- In for a new bike- Swap the carbon Top Fuel out. Was supposed to go back on the Top Fuel 8, but apparently something is wrong with the cranks and the bolt won't seat right. They have prepped the Fuel EX 8 and put it in service. This bike rocks and will scream. The Jones XR tires are probably the right ones to go to now anyway- the course is starting to get to a churned up peanut butter-frost-slime type consistency, so additional cornering traction on the roots will be good.
3AMish- Charles and I are together, I am riding behind him. He is starting to struggle a bit, so he lets me by and I go. Full on time. Through the pit, hardly a stop for a bottle. Make the request to swap the Revolt Super X tires out on the Top Fuel 9.9 for Jones XRs with the way the conditions are working out, things are really slippery now, roots are treacherous in places.
5:45 AM In the pit zone, nauseated. Too much liquid- drinks and gels have left me with a sloshing stomach, a guaranteed way to get that ill feeling on a mountain bike. I am in the trailer for an extra layer of clothing and a clif bar. Back out on the bike.
6:50ish Through transition, Bike Swap time, back on the Fuel EX, lights out.....day has arrived.
By this time I have managed to lap the field, and I continue to press forward, trying to do the math of when I have done enough. Denelle meets me in the pit zone...kitted out in her Xterra champion garb, ready to go ride a lap. Really nice to have her along for the lap....she sings to me, even askes for any requests, but I have nothing I really want to hear, so she sings what she knows.
8:00amish, Through transition, I now have two laps on Charles and one and a half on Kevin, the rest of the field is at least a lap behind them.
9:05ish. Through transition. Dave comes out on a lap with me. I make him ride every log over and uphill log jump, he does it no problem, I struggle to follow suit by this time. On this lap, I pass Kevin, that give me two laps. I can stop on this lap when I get in.
1000am In my pit, chocolate milk in hand, needing to shower and dry off. My race is done, I have done enough to this point and even stopping now, they would not be able to catch up and get in one more lap. 14 laps done- about 130 miles of single track and 21,000 feet of climbing or more. Time to start recovering.


A great race, a few things learned from the racer side.
1st-Solid food early- Power bars, Clif Bars, Chips, and Pop Tarts----anything to settle the stomach a bit

2nd-Knobby tires as soon as conditions change- Don't wait until you start slipping out a bunch, get the right stuff on early. The Bontrager Revolts hook up great on everything except wet roots and peanut buttery rocks, their low- rolling resistance was great early, but when traction needs to happen. Get on the Jones XR's

3rd And maybe most important- The Fuel EX is perhaps the best bike in my arsenal- This bike can do anything you ask of it. It climbs like a XC machine, descends like downhill bike, and truly is a no-compromise solution to bike choice. The extra travel and stability were much needed at 3am. For all out cross country speed, the Top Fuel still gets the nod, but when it you are talking enduro riding, the Fuel EX design is incredible.