2013 Pisgah Stage Race - Day 3

Sometimes you tame the Lion and sometimes the Lion tames you.

Cranking along Squirrel Gap trail, I knew I had some issues. Every time I tried to kick my power back up a notch, my lower back gave me a clear signal it was pissed with me. A couple of riders worked the rolling rock strew sections just behind me and I asked them if they wanted a pass. Nope, we were rolling along good and all three of us could ride the techy stuff well. I just did not want to slow them down because my back was aching pretty bad.

Squirrel Gap does not let you back off the power much. There are just too many techy sections and short pitchy climbs that demand momentum. They demand leg power. The legs and hips connect to the lower back. Every pulse of power to the pedals was pulling on my aching back. At least Squirrel Gap would start descending soon.

As an odd bit of coincidence, a small gray squirrel got spooked off a tree and started running down the trail in front of me. The little guy did this for a couple of bends and then hopped onto a tree. Squirrel Gap indeed!

 

Earlier this morning the race started from the Cradle of Forestry center located here in the Pisgah Forest. It’s the site of the birthplace of forestry in the US. We rolled out with a police escort and initially there were no antics. Then, the front of the pack missed the left turn and had to do an about face as the rest of us turned left onto the gravel road leading to the climb up single track.

After a couple of minutes on gravel, I believe everyone was back to their normal riding line up and we made a sharp uphill climb on Club Gap, same as yesterday. Just like yesterday it was very steep and tricky to ride up with many riders dismounting from time to time.

We continued to climb up Black Mountain and soon were rolling single track on top that became more technical as it descended to Buckhorn Gap. A steep set of water bar steps/drops put us right in front of a ripping descent down Buckhorn Gap. We had climbed much of this trail on day 1, but it was much faster descending it!

Then we turned right onto Mills River trail and I powered away in the big ring of my triple at an alarmingly fast pace. A rider from New Brunswick, Canada was riding with me and I told him to let me know if he wanted a pass. He was cool and said we were rolling along good. We powered through all of Squirrel Gap together.

Squirrel Gap sure rides a lot different depending on which direction you ride it in. Today we were riding in more of the descending direction. Technical features we saw creeping towards us during the climb up the trail on Day 1 came flying up to us on the way down. Plus, a lot of these features are right where a tree is. You can see the technical line when climbing, but when descending, sometimes the entrance was nearly blind because the trunk of the tree blocked line of sight. We finished with a steep, choppy, technical descent.

Next a fast and dirty trail with a moderate downward grade took us toward the next double track climb. This section of trail had lots of root drops and small rocks littering the surface. One of the fast guys in my class got KO when he had a hard crash on this section. He would go on to finish well though, that’s pretty tough!

When the double track climb started I knew things were going south for me. My back really hurt and I kept clicking into lower and lower gears. I should have been pushing a decent pace p this climb, but I just could not make it happen. Soon, I started to get passed. I got passed a lot. Towards the top I stopped for a minute to stretch. I got back on the bike and used almost the easiest gears I had. Not good. Still a lot of problems with the back.

I decided to bag it at Aid 1, just before a very long and technical climb up Laurel Mountain. Better to save the back so I can hopefully ride the last 2 stages well.

I took the fire road back to the finish. It was still a pretty good haul, maybe 10 or 12 miles of rolling gravel. Oh well, still a lot easier than climbing Laurel, and hey, I’m on my bike in the woods and not at a desk.

It felt strange to crawl through the finish covering my number and explaining I was a DNF. There is always tomorrow.

I got cleaned up and headed back to the finish and waited for other riders. My friend Tyler came in and looked rough. He had a bad crash coming off the very last bit of Pilot Rock and took a beating. Damn son, tough break!

We took some time to recover with a good lunch at the café. Later we attended the evening’s video presentations and awards party. It was a lot of fun with plenty of fresh war stories and good eats.

Tomorrow is another Stage.

Cheers!

2013 Pisgah Stage Race - Day 2

What a fun, tough stage.

Today’s stage started with a cracking climb up Grassy Road Trail. We rolled out from the start line, but in the opposite direction from the previous day’s stage. The start pace was much more sane today and traffic separated nicely in advance of the downhill section on Sycamore Cove Trail. I could feel the effects of Stage 1 in my legs, but overall felt pretty good on the climb.

The downhill on Sycamore Cove Trail is pretty much the local loop for folks. Soon I was chasing Jim Matthews down some twisting trail that was about a 3 inch ribbon, nestled between roots and the edge of the bench cut. Fast and exciting for sure! A few surprise features for first timers snuck up on me and kept things interesting. At the bottom, wonder woman and I think a female sumo wrestler cheered us on just before the police guided race traffic on to the road. 

A short paved section of 276 lead back to the start shoot again. Here, a gorilla and the Pisgah Lion egged us on. 

Now the climb up began in earnest on Thrift Cove. This was a pretty extended double track type climb that gave way to a fast downward section. A rider was right on my 6 as we zoomed down the trail and I had tunnel vision while hauling the mail. Darth Vader pointed his light saber towards a slight right and soon the trail got steep and fast. After a minute on this descent it became apparent that we were careening back down Black Mountain. I thought this was strange, but there were trail markings so I kept on the gas. 

Unfortunately it turned out that turn near the top got mixed up a bit somehow and I found myself and a few others climbing all the way back up Black Mountain. Several other riders also found our motley crew as they came flying down Black Mountain. And so it was.

Never trust Darth Vader.

I was a little bummed, but damn it I came to race and that’s exactly what all of us lost souls did. We got back on track and summited the gnarly hike a bike back up Black mountain and headed into a ripping double track descent that gave way to a rolling fire road.

 

A left turn onto Buckhorn Gap trail turned out to be a really fun descent with some rocks and gnar at the bottom. Then Buckhorn Gap opens up a bit into a fast and flowing trial covered by a tunnel of trees. It was really fun!

Aid Stop 1 was a welcome sight and as usual the volunteers made it really easy to get what I needed and back on the chase.

 

A long gravel climb up FS 477 led us to Club Gap trail. While climbing the steep entrance I heard what sounded like a raging hornets nest. I was a bit freaked out. Then I saw the quad copter with the GoPro landing. What a relief!

Club Gap sounds like a fun trail. I mean, it’s a club, right? Really it’s a steep rocky climb that led us to the descent down Avery Creek. And oh mama what a descent Avery was. It started out with a steep, chunk, and washed out section at the top. There were many more bombed out sections that punctuated the rest of the trail before it eased up. But not before several seriously big drops had to be dispatched. I leaned back and wheelie dropped these things, but on a 4” xc bike it was a little harsh. Then the flowing section of the trail returned and I was back at the Aid Stop for round 2. A bit more smashed than before.

Zooming down a gravel road felt pretty good at this point and only one more major climb awaited before the final descent down Black Mountain. I drank my go juice and set to work on the extended climb.

Descending black the second time today was a little bitter sweet. Man, it’s a fun ride. But it served as a reminder that the mix up earlier cost at least 20+ minutes and probably 2 or 3 positions. Oh well, sometimes you just gotta play the hand you got. I still had an awesome time riding my bike on wonderful Pisgah trails.

Cheers!

2013 Pisgah Stage Race - Day 1

This morning I choked down a bagel and some coffee. I’ve done a lot stage of racing over the past 5 years and I'm still surprised how my stomach can turn in knots at breakfast before the start of the first stage. I'll just chalk it up to the anticipation of awesome.

Tyler and I quickly gathered all our gear and our bikes that we had prepped the night before. We and loaded up the car and headed to the race start.

I ran into some familiar faces rolling around the parked cars and race start finish. There were also a lot of faces I've not seen before, but glad to share a stage race with.

We rolled out behind the police escort from the start without any dramatics. The pace was pretty easy as we followed the flashing lights to a main intersection. 

As soon as we turned left, the Canadian team guys PUNCHED it, hard. I was not expecting this since the last two times I've done this race, the leaders save the 'pop' for the gravel road where traditionally the race pace has kicked in. There was a pretty big hill on the way out of town that would slow em down a bit, eh?

After a short lived pace line, the group I was rolling with turned left onto Turkey Penn RD, the first gravel climb of the day. 

We rolled along a gradual incline and it was nice to sense all the riders settling into a more rational pace. Soon we would hit the day's first single track and bomb down the start of the Mullinax trail. There were a lot of small fast water drops that kept it interesting. Then we crossed a short suspension bridge and started the climb up Mullinax Trail towards Squirrel Gap. I pushed a bit harder through this section and made sure to start consuming my calorie laden elixir.

It was not too long before Squirrel Gap trail welcomed us with its mix of roots, tight bench cut, and single track love. It was nice to be climbing lots of sing track. Tough stuff for sure, but much more engaging than grinding it out on the gravel. 

Once up on Squirrel, it opens up a bit into some fast sweeping sections with tight, rocky, and wet turns. These are awlays a bit of excitement. I was pushing hard to catch the rider in front of me and keep my small lead on the rider behind me. Soon, there was a right turn up a rooty and very steep trail. The top of this trail gets very steep and chewed up, making it a challenge to ride. But I knew that some reprieve from all the single track climbing lay ahead.

After cresting the climb, a rolling section of old road bed double track granted some nice views of the Pisgah Mountains. A white knuckled gravel descent had me entertained as I drifted through a few corners. Soon I popped out onto a gravel road and the aid station. The awesome aid station help already had my bag ready and I grabbed my bottle, rolling out in probably less than 30 seconds. Thanks Guys!

The short section of gravel that followed gave me a chance to suck down some nutrition. I was going to need it for the hiking on Black Mountain that lay ahead of us. Just after the gravel, a fun trail called South Mills River was a blast to ride. Race director Todd Brahnam was dressed in a Lion suite and cheered us on. The trail soon began a gradual climb up to the Black Mountain trail head. I was mindful while climbing Buckhorn Gap to leave a little in the tank for Black Mountain.

Roots, roots, and more... roots greeted me as began the assault on Black Mountain. Pretty soon I was just trying to hike my bike as quick as I could. My legs ached as I neared the 1st hike a bike summit nd began pedaling again. Wow, my legs were smashed. Another two or three hike a bike sections had me hurting, but I made it to a hair raising descent. The trail coming off the top soon turned steep and very water eroded, with a deep rut (1/2 to 1 foot) running down the middle of the trail. It was pretty gnarly, but I was happy to clean it all and not smack my hand on a tree. I had done this a few days before when I pre-rode this section.

The angry trail finally eased a bit and I picked up speed heading for the last techy climb and then the sweet downhill that follows. I made it about halfway up the next steep, rooty, and difficult climb. However, my legs surrendered and soon I was hiking again. I knew another rider was right behind me and put it on full steam to keep my position going into the 2nd part of the Black Mountain descent. Cresting the last bit of climb was nice as I shifted into high gear and descent mode.

I made some great time on the descent and had truly ripping finish down the last third of the trail.

I finished 5th Open Men in about 2:58. 

What a fun way to start the 2013 Pisgah Mountain Bike Stage Race!

Cheers!

 

2013 Pisgah Stage Race - Day 0

It's almost here!   The 5th Annual Pisgah Mountain Bike Stage Race

This morning started with a steep rolling climb up the relatively new trail Braken Mountain that starts just a the base of the Pisgah Mountains in Brevard, NC. This new section of single track heaven is a super twisty bench cut masterpiece that flows off of mountains and into Brevard, right next to the music center. The climb out of town was fairy steep, but the numerous and well planned switch backs made the ride a piece of cake. When we turned around on our out and back loop we already had an idea of just how good it would be to roll back into town. And believe me friends... it was awesome on the way back down!

 

After our moderate pre-ride of Braken we headed into town to check out Sycamore Cycles where I had a chance to catch up with Wes Dickson and the crew helping all the racers during the stage race. Sycamore is an awesome shop and has everything you could want in a bike shop at the base of some of the most epic riding on the east coast.

After rolling around town and grabbing some chow, we headed back to the sweet mountain cabin I'm staying in all week. I had some tire repair to take care of after destroying my front tire riding in dupont the previous day. Luckily my bad ass Industry Nine wheels seated up without much fuss and the fix was done.

I took a nap and got ready to head over to the pre-race dinner and festivities.

Sufficiently rested, I got it together and headed over to the Brevard Music Center for the "Day 0" activities.I had a chance to catch up with lots of race friends and relive some tales of Pisgah Past. 2009, it snowed on us on the way up Laurel Mountain. Man that was cool, and cold!

The pre-race meal and beer were great as well as the race briefing from race director Todd Brahnam.

After getting all set up at dinner, it was back to the house to do final prep on the bike, plan out my aid stop drop, and hit the hay!

Cheers!

2013 Shenandoah Mountain 100

Wow, 15 years of the Shenandoah Mountain 100!

I remember when I was a freshly minted mountain biker in 2004 and took my first ‘big’ mountain bike ride in the GW forest

I had just sketched out a sample route using my trusty National Geographic - George Washington National Forest map. It had topo and everything! Luckily, I met some friendly mountain bikers from Harrisonburg and Churchville and embarked on the first mountain bike ride that pushed me to the edge.

It was a lot more than I had bargained for. I was used to 10 to 15 mile cross country mountain biking in central Virginia. My cheap K-2 Attack bicycle probably weighed 35lbs and I was rocking out an athletic shirt, swim trunks (with the liner removed), and a pair of sneakers. The only thing greener than my appearance was my optimism.

About 15 miles or so into the ride we were ascending the fire road climb to the radio tower. I was running low on water, food, and general fitness… Right at the last steep pitch of that fire-road, I cracked...I got off my bike and hoofed the next 50 yards, which felt like a mile.

After passing the radio tower, we rode the ‘Cookie’ and descended down the Festival trail to a fire road. Finally we made it back to the paved road and I just made it back to the Car. Wow, 25 mountain biking miles with lots of elevation. I was smashed… and I was instantly in love with riding in the GW.


In 2007/2008 I got pretty serious about mountain biking and took on two major events. The BC Bike Race followed with a big season finally at the SM100. Now, to give you an idea of how intimidating the SM100 can be to a 1st timer, I was not sure if I could finish it well, maybe not finish at all? That same year I had completed a 7 day stage race in British Columbia and ridden the hardest trails I’ve ever encountered, but the SM was a lot longer than any single day in the BC Bike Race.

So long ride … err… story short, I finished my 1st SM100 exhausted, destroyed, and completely exhilarated. I made a lot of new friends that day and got hooked on 100 mile mountain bike races.


Fast forward to the present.

This is my 5th year racing in the NUE series, and finally I’m starting to figure these things out. My goal still remains to race a sub 8 hour 100 miler and this year I’ve come my closest with a PBR (personal best record) of 8:18 at the Wilderness 101. The road to get here has been long and there have been plenty of potholes and roadblocks. I’ve also made a bunch of great friends and had some awesome adventures.

So as I got ready for this year’s 15th annual SM 100 I tried to figure out what emotion I was feeling while cutting through the pre-dawn fog hanging in the Shenandoah Valley as I approached Stokesville. It was something I’ve not really experienced before starting any of the hundred milers I’ve raced. Was it nerves? Excitement? Trepidation? No.

It was a strange feeling… Overwhelming anticipation of doing exactly what I want to be doing. Like a hammer just before it strikes a nail.

Bang! And the race is on.

The race rolled out of the observatory campground and onto the pavement. We crossed the old train bridge and turned right. There was an immediate acceleration and the riders were packing in tight. I think there was an extra sense of urgency for everyone who knew the course re-route. There would be no long sustained fire-road climb to separate riders.

Suddenly somebody’s handle bar jabbed into my ass and started to knock me off course. I turned slightly into it to keep from getting knocked over. The rider behind also seemed to be getting sucked in. Just when it seemed to be stopping, it jabbed back in and almost knocked me off again.

We turned left and started a tough climb up festival. It’s normally not that bad, but when you are racing, there is one steep pitch that hurts pretty good. It soon eased up and we were rolling on the new trails on Narrowback. What an awesome set of trails! I gained a position on the up and down bench cut trail punctuated with a bunch of really awesome rock features. Then I rolled the super sweet downhill that follows, hitting a double or two for good measure. I also noticed a lot folks shooting pictures or video of us rolling along. Sweet! Looking good!

The transition from Tillman RD over to Briery Branch Dam is always an essential spot to hydrate and refuel. I found a group to pace line with and stuffed some homemade rice cakes into my mouth. These are great when you are on a training ride, but I was finding them difficult to get down while working a pace.

The climb up Lynn trail seemed a bit harder than usual. Then I realized I was doing this climb for the 1st time with a 2x10. My other 29er’s got a 24 small ring and those 2 teeth seem to make all the difference for me. I just never could quite get enough of a reprieve to ride most of Lynn like I usually do. That was very frustrating. Oh yeah, the wet rocks were a bit tricky too. The descent down Wolf Ridge was awesome as usual. The dirt was damp and had incredible traction. Soooo much fun!

Rolling the other direction on Tillman RD, I noticed there was some ‘snap’ missing from my legs. OK, I’ll just eat some more food. I hoped my remixed nutrition strategy would work well, but feeling it this early was not a good sign.

I made a pretty good pace up the 1st part of the Hankey mountain climb. I worked on more nutrition and hydration while rolling out the climb to the gate where the old double track really gets steep. Now I definitely noticed a bit of a problem with my energy level. Oh well, just focus on grinding out the last of this green monster of a climb.

Finally the climb was over and bombing down Dowells Draft was made even more exhilarating by a rain shower that had just started to move in. I rode the 1st half of the pavement on Rt. 250 solo. Then another rider passed me and waved to my GoPro. Too bad I had to let him know the battery was toast. We formed a two man pace-line and traded pulls till the next single track section.

The climb was slick and the roots were tricky. The rock gardens on this climb are no piece of cake when it’s dry! I made good time to the top and had a rocking descent on the way down. I’ve ridden this trail down to Braley Pond plenty of times, and it’s really interesting when it’s a bit wet. It was awesome!

Then there was a lot of wet grass and muddy trail to get to Aid 4. Luckily the awesome volunteers were ready for each one of us and made the transition back to gravel a seamless one. Thanks so much to all the volunteers!

Back on the road, I headed towards West Virginia. I was joined by a couple of riders who helped pull me along this psychologically challenging section of gravel I call ‘sh*t road’ because it just seems to go on and on and on…

When I got to the bottom of the ‘death climb’ I knew I was in trouble. I decided to stop for a moment. I normally never stop, but I was running low on juice. After a minute I was back on the bike, but turning a much lower gear than usual. That’s when I really knew I had blown my nutrition. At this point getting to Aid 5 was going to be hard. Blowing up is really frustrating, you started getting passed a lot when you normally might not. I felt like I was inching my way up when I got within striking distance of Aid 5.

At Aid 5 I took longer than usual and stuffed a bunch of food into my mouth. I stood around for a moment but got on my bike as soon as I felt like the guy that folks were looking at like “hey, are you alright?”

I struggled to ride with any sense of competition as I made my way through meadow after meadow of the grassy double track that heads up to the Chestnut Ridge descent.

I stopped, sat on a rock. I had stopped racing an hour ago, now I was wondering about finishing. I took a couple of minutes to consume a gel shot and was soon overwhelmed with nats and such. Grrrr, no rest….

OK. Let’s finish this one out. I got back on my bike and got back too it.

Soon, I heard lots of familiar voices asking me if I was OK and encouraging me to soldier through. I told some I was felt like I was falling apart. Everyone encouraged me to keep going. These were friends, competitors, and fellow soldiers in the fray. Thanks so much to everyone for willing me on.

The first half of the Chestnut descent I was trying to not lose my cookies. All that food and gel I consumed to get my blood sugar up was getting jostled quite a bit and for a minute I thought I might spew. Gross!

Finally nausea subsided and shredding commenced. I started to feel a lot better and even had some energy by the sharp right turn in the middle of the Chestnut downhill. My speed and my spirits picked up as I flew down to Aid 6.

I ground out the last section of the race with a steady, albeit slow pace. It was not too much longer before I bombed through the campground and made the final grass turn towards the finish, the food, and kegs.

Lots of friends greeted me at the finish and we all had a lot of fresh war stories to tell.

I started the day looking for a new personal best at the Shenandoah Mountain 100. This year it didn’t turn out that way. But that’s just the way it goes sometimes.

However, I did spend the day and night with friends at the best 100 miles in VA.

Thanks so much to Shenandoah Mountain Touring for making the SM100 best event ever.