2012 Mohican 100

The 2012 Mohican started early as usual about 5:15 am. I was glad to be well rested from a good night’s sleep that normally eludes me the night before a hundred. The weather looked good and I got ready to race. As my Design Physics Racing teammates and I got ready to roll, David got some interesting news on his batphone... there was a race story contest for the Cohutta 100 that I had entered. Turns out I got second place and won a cool hitch rack. The top 3 stories, including my "Cohutta Remixed" story are posted online: http://www.trailheadoutdoors.org/newsevents/

Rolling into downtown Loudonville, it seemed we were almost late and lined up on the sideline near the front of the huge gathering preparing to ride out of town. Churning up the hill leading to the city limits was tough but I was pleased to be holding the wheel of my nearby competitors.

I entered the woods in a good position and began the 1^st part of the race through the Mohican forest single-track. I found myself surrounded by single speed riders and enjoyed the steady and quick pace we were rolling. I was regretting not having my clear lenses on my riding glasses. The woods were pretty dark in the tinted lenses and it made picking out the troublesome parallel roots strewn about the course a real challenge.

I skipped the 1^st aid station and spent the remaining single track holding my position and focusing on smooth riding to keep my lead on the rider I could hear negotiating the trail a few turns behind me. Soon there was a ripping section that ended in hard left and a serious wall of washed out fall line trail. After hiking up this monster, I rode through the horse trail sections of the race, thankful that it was not a soaked as the last time I rode here in 2010.

Finally the trail gave way to road and gravel and it was a nice relief so I tried to drain my last bottle and realized that this freebie bottle I got at some race was terrible, I could barely get anything out!

After a bit I passed under a ranch style entrance to a farm and soon was at aid 2. Volunteers hooked me up and I was on my way in a flash. Next there was some fun double track that connected back to the country roads. At one point I passed a sign for a castle, odd. Back on the open road there were some strong winds and a steep gravel climb just after a farm had some strong smells to boot.

The single track just before aid 3 was a lot of fun, but tough because my legs were shot. I enjoyed some of the short techy bits that took my mind off pedaling. There are two hills in that single track section and I remembered from previous racing here that you see aid 3 only to plunge back into the woods for one more section of trails. At least aid three had cold coke and great volunteers. Then, just after aid 3 there is a green monster of a climb. It was not as bad as it looked, but the singe track afterwards was more up than down.

Back on rolling road and gravel, my legs were shot. Some friends catch up to me and I tell them I am “in the pain cave”. I rolled with them for a bit and climbed up and rode along a park that had Frisbee golf and horse stables. It was followed by some very nice single track rolling out to the road. After passing large barn with “chew mail pouch tobacco” painted on it, I got started on the long rails to trail passage. I came across a strange wedding group on the bridge, and kept on rolling. My knees started to hurt bad and I battled this problem until I finally popped back out into a small town and aid 4 where I scored some Motrin.

Following some single track there was a long suspension bridge that was a bit scary to tide across. Later, while rolling along the Mohican river I saw white water rafters and I knew I was getting close.

Finally I popped back out on the road and back into the state park. It was time to get busy and enjoy the last section of single track. The trails re-invigorated me and I gained a position motoring through the trail. I was surprised to take a left turn into the Mohican campground and I knew I was so close.  I weaved through the campsites and rode the last bit of downhill and crossed through the RV park to the last 1/2 mile or so of paved access road. I looked back just in time to see the racer I had gapped in the single track making an attack, I had a pretty solid lead on him but shifted in afterburner just in case. There was a big crowd on bleachers and I pulled a nose wheelie as I crossed the finish and was surprised to be handed a growler, instead of a pint glass. Sweet! Then I saw more friends and soon hear the cheer of "Assman!!"

I had a tough day of racing and really fought through the pain on the rails to trail, but in the end, it is always worth it. I was pretty happy with my finish time of 8:48, almost 2 hours faster than my previous best here at Mohican.

I also made a video from my GoPro footage:

2012 Urban Assault bike race

Great race action this weekend at the 2012 Urban Assault bike race here in Richmond, VA. This was my 2nd time racing in the expert class for a local XC event, and I really enjoyed the ride and the fast pace. It's nice not to have to work your way through the waves of people that have started before you. This has often been the case while racing in the sport class. However, the flip side is that you don't feel quite as fast because you are not passing people often.

The weather was excellent and the trails were dry, dusty, and super fast! I enjoyed the way the race course started this year. Winding around Bell Isle parking lot kept things interesting and the long dirt road section evenly paced riders out.

Overall the race went well for me, with the exception of a high speed crash in Forest Hill. I clipped my right foot on a root or rock or something and was immediately ejected with extreme prejudice! I estimate the incident cost me about 40 seconds and I've got some new body art and sore ribs, courtesy of the trail. I'm just glad I was not seriously hurt.

The remainder of the race continued without a hitch and at a blistering pace. Jeff Lenowsky was racing in the expert class and at one point was nipping at my heals. I had to work hard to fend him off and finally pulled a decent gap. It was cool to race with such a well known and accomplished rider. 

I've put together a short video of the race I created from my GoPro footage.
Check it out, and if you like this kind of video action, make sure to follow my blog for more upcomming races!

Cohutta 100 Pre-ride

I'ts been a while since I have posted, but I'll make up for it ith some sweet videos...

First off is a pre-ride of the Cohutta 100, check it out!

50/50 in the RVA for 2012

The 2012 50/50 started nice and brisk abut 7:20am and would warm up into a classic cluster fudge. The typical cast and crew assembled for the day's ride and would soon be scampering through the city.



Early in the morning, the motly crew blasted through Carytown and the museum district, taunting the overindulgent new year's eve revelers with our loud hooliganism.





We made our way to Church Hill via a multitude of questionable railraod causways and a seemilingly continous processions of sketchy traffic violations. Stay on the front of the train or get dropped off the back like a new years resolution.



After making our roost on Church Hill, the urban ride transitioned to the questionalbe and ghetto phabulus pirate trails. One of our crew got to sample a rusted I-beam to both shins. In the 50/50, There will be blood.



A bit later, and after mechanical fixes and various types of refueling, the ride headed out towards the port of Richmond and we skirted a large stone quarry I had never ridden near before.

Then, the ride stiched together southside city pavement, a "wheelin" gravel road, train tracks, and some county roads. We stopped for lunch before kicking it over to Pocahontas State Park. I got a front flat while the ride cranked through Poco and was promtly dropped off the back. Plassman don't care.

Finally, we were mountain biking. The group rode most of the old trails and all of lakeview. My legs were aching pretty good at this point and we stopped for water while sizing up the situation of a rapidly fading day.

The crew formed into fractured set of pacelines as we headed back to Richmond via Courthouse road. I struggled to hold a wheel and was eventually cranking along solo for the majority of my ride back to the house where we all started.

Throughout the day, proper riding nutrition inevitably got cast aside or left behind. On the final stretches of road back to Richmond and up Riverside Drive, my legs and body were bonking pretty good. Kickig it solo at this point left me little motivation to ride enough extra road and trail to make it an even hundred so I settled for 88. Not my preffered way to end a -group- ride.



An awesome feast of homemade Chilli, Dip, Cornbread, Cookies, and other treats awaited back at the start/finish residence. Soon, calories and beer had me feeling like a man again. A hella big thank you goes out to Brandy & Travis for hosting.

The ride was everything I expected, and more or less. I'm already looking forward to wrecking myself next New Year's day.

Cheers!

Tidewater Challenge - Racer's point of view

Tidewater Challenge was really fun this year and I had a great race.

I used my handlebar cam to capture race footage and made this video. Enjoy!

Birthday Present

Birthdays are a good time to treat yourself. So I did with a quick get-away to Douthat State Park last Friday/Saturday.



Originally, Pisgah was to be the destination. However, rustling up an accomplice to ride in Transylvania Co. down in North Carolina did not pan out. So, as not to let a beautiful weekend wither, a quick decision was made to roll out to Douthat for riding and camping.



Friday provided the perfect blend of crisp fall air and high clouds with a low sun breaking through to illuminate the polychromatic landscapes of Virginia’s mountains. Driving west was filled with some of the best interstate views I have seen in a while.



Nearing the WV boarder, I exited the interstate for a close up view of the mountains. A twisting road leading into Douthat greeted me with warm fall shades and I reciprocated with a wide smile. My worries about getting a camp site were fortunately a waste of time. I was able to pick from about 4 or 5 lakeside camp sites.



Finally I was ready for my ride that would circumnavigate the park on ridgeline trails with some excellent climbs and descents. The trees were absolutely stunning with a vibrant variety of colors that were amplified by the cloudy skies and sharp contrast with dark limbs and brown leaves on the ground. Sometimes a ride where you are by yourself delivers you to a deeper Zen and so it was as I enjoyed just rolling through a sublime fall landscape.



As night drew near, I flowed down the trails back to the campsite. A quick trip to Covington let me gather proper fireside fair at a local grocer. Soon I had a nice fire waiting to smoke the brats and beans I looked forward to. After some grub and IPA I settled into a nice slumber in the crisp air under the stars.



Morning on the lake produced a fog that was eerily skipping across the lake just before the sun broke over the eastern ridge of the park’s mountains.



A few more hours of riding and it was time to return for lunch to finish off the brats and pack up my gear. Heading back to Richmond, I realized that this would be a great gift to give myself every year.

Video - Pisgah Stage Race- day 4 Black Mountain downhill

I finally got some free time to start looking through all my videos for the Pisgah Stage Race. Here is a quick video I shot from my hadle bar cam while descending Black Mountain on stage 4. (click on the photo)