Prepare to enter the dragon

The 2013 Dragons Tale race by Shenandoah Mountain Touring is about 24 hours away!

As I prepare for my 1st Big Day race of the season, my thoughts go back to last years attempt which left me bruised and busted, but not broken. It was a long tough day, I ended up getting stitches that evening... and then, I could barely wait to race this event again!

Taming this beast has eluded me the on my1st and second attempts. My 1st attempt in 2011 was plagued by dehydration, cramping, and a general ass whooping by the many steep hike a bike sections. However, I also remember what a devilishly fun course it was. Lots of great rock features and some screaming descents made for a intense and memorable way to kick off mountain racing.

During my second attempt in 2012, the 1st part of the race went better for me, but I still managed to underestimate the amount of fluids I needed to intake and was fighting cramps for the second year in a row. Also, I made a bike handling mistake and wrecked very hard, just barely missing a tree that caught my leg as I plowed into the trail. I ended up with a pretty bloody elbow laceration. I got home a bit late that day because of my visit to the emergency care facility, where I got stitched up.

So as I look forward to tomorrow, I keep in mind lessons from the past. Bring more fluids that you plan on. Bring more enduralites than you think you need. Don't get too cocky on the descents when you are exhausted. Get ready to have a blast!

Road rage from a couple of cyclists struck me today

I was having a real nice road ride after work today.

 

I passed a group riding on the road on my typical route in Goochland and didn’t call out on your left. Half the time I call out “on your left” when I go to pass a meandering peloton of road riders, especially when they have a slower group, someone will look left and drift right in front of me. So a habit, and maybe arguably a bad one, is to just pass on the left close to the center line.

I stopped to fix one of my cleats and that group re-passed me. No big deal, I’ll just pass them again later.

So, on a rolling section of a back road, I caught two riders who were basically not staying tight and often meandered and took up the whole lane from time to time.

I was coming down off a roller and hammering up the front of a hill when I passed these two guys, one at a time, basically all the way over towards the center line. The second guy yelled at me about “on your left” and I raised my hand in a “like, really?” kind of gesture.

I guess that was just too much for this jerk and he had to chase me down and tell me I “scared the sh!t out of him” and was an a-hole and a whole host of other insults. I said “dude” the road is plenty wide for us both and that the only one being an a-hole was him. He lobbed some FU’s and other crap before dropping back.

So, when I stopped to cross route 250, this jerk made a point to pull in front of me in a mock cut off move. I stopped on the other side and basically said WTF. I was getting a bit hot at this point, so I told him he had a serious problem and added some FU’s and you’re an a-hole of my own. Then I was like “So you wanna go buddy?”

It was a bit silly in hind sight, it’s never worth it to pick a fight. But I don’t like bullies and jerks who way overreact in a stupid a-hole manner. He bantered back “you don’t want to mess with me” and then, someone more sensible in his group was like, “alright guys, let’s bring it down a notch.”

Then the second guy showed up and it was a rinse and repeat with the two of them cussing me and telling me how dangerous and scary it was for them. Seriously? If someone not calling out on your left scares you that bad, you should stick to a tricycle in the park.

Whatever, two real Class A jerks who think they are the only people on the road.

So listen up, if you’re going to come at me like that, I’m coming right back motherfucker.

A monster of a movie

Today I took advantage of a snow storm and finally put together the Monster Cross movie:

 

 

 

 

I got plenty of handle bar cam (1st person) footage during the race, before and after I got knocked down by a deer. Additionally, Marv Sowers provided some awesome 3rd person shots I used to make this film. Thanks!

Mother Nature fights Back!

Jeffro gets served by a deer

This weekend saw the second attempt on my life by mother nature while riding my bike.

I was racing the 2nd annual Monster Cross race and about 15 minutes into lap 1 a doe, a deer, a female deer decided to run at me full steam and jump off the front of my bike sending me crashing to the ground. When I reviewed the video in slow motion, I could see that the deer essentially kicks me at the very last instant. I'm thinking it was a last second course correction with a kick in the face for what the deer percieved as a predator... Me!

Lets call this exhibit A in the case of mother nature trying to stop Plassmido. As evidence I present the following video:

I'm really lucky, it's a good thing the deer didn't hit me in the body full on. I figure that deer was doing a good 30mph. Shoot, I didn't even have time to react. All I saw was fur, sky, ground. You can't make this stuff up!

Well Poop!

Sometimes, the danger is less sinister... instead of taking you out, there is just a large trail hazard. Logs, dangerous branches, wet rocks, hidden holes, etc... Sometimes other animals leave presents on the trail for you.

Here I present exhibit B, video evidence of a crapy surprise:

 

 

Wasp to the Face!

About half a year ago, the 1st attempt on my life by mother nature was made. Not by a Bear, or the dreaded eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake, nope. I got stung between the eyes by a hornet or something... did not even stop riding my bike.After another 40 minutes or so... I noticed I could see my own cheek!

So after freaking out my wife upon my grand entrance home, after my ride, I found myself on a emergency care center bed getting an IV of cortical steroids and an injection of epinephrine. Soon I would find out from an allergist just how at risk I was. Yikes!

Here I present exhibit C, video proof of the aftermath:

My own worst enemy

Then again, sometimes I'm my own worst enemy...

Exhibit D is proof that I'm a hazard to myself sometimes!

My crash montage:

 

Ouch! That ended up in a broken finger, with a really funny splint:

 And in another incident I got a gnarly laceration after crashing on this rocky mountain bike ride:

Plassman don't care.

 

Watch out boys and girls, mother earth is scorned and as we all know, hell has no wrath like that!

For other race stories check out my race team blog: http://designphysicsracing.blogspot.com/

2013 Superbowl Ride

Chilly temps and fair skies greeted us at the Briery Branch Community Center. The weather was looking good for this years Superbowl ride and the crowd gathering was a fair measure larger than lasts years ride, probably because the weather forecast was much better than last year.

As we headed out my mind drifted to last years ride and the awesome conditions.


Tom, Todd, and myself were all freshly fed and raring to go after our bagel stop at Bodos in C-ville. I checked my gear, bundled up my feet, and set off with the riders streaming out. While heading up the paved section I made a rare bike handling faux paux and nearly went in the ditch after taking my hands of the bars and swerving wildy to the right. I'm just glad I didn't take anybody out. Very embarrassing.

This year I took a nice easy pace up the mountain, a strategy I adopted after blazing to the top last year after freezing while waiting for the group co coagulate as riders streamed in. When we got to the top there was evidence of snow up on the ridge line leading to Flag pole knob. After greeting saying hello to the usual suspects I started getting cold and busted out a bunch of pushups to the amusement of the crowd.

We moved out on the fireroad into a ridge line landscape completely covered in snow. The road held some treacherous icy spots hidden in the white snowy cover. A very light snow shower and chilling wind was blowing in over sweeping views of the Shenandoah Valley. My very peaceful and serene ride to the second way point at Flagpole knob was briefly interrupted buy an attention starved soul boy who had a mini boom box spraying music from his handlebars. I rode away from him to keep the annoyance at a reasonable distance.

The group once again congregated at the top and gathered for some group photos. I wrestled to consume a gel that was almost a solid and uncomfortably cold. The was an excellent view over the valley and I snapped some photos while fireworks cracked overhead.

Todd, Tom, and myself headed out in advance of the large group and started down the mountain on a very slick rough fire road. There were a few rocky and steep sections that tested our skills and kept us off our front brakes. We reached another large clearing and then funneled into the single track that would take us down the mountain to Hone Quarry damn. The snow covered trail had much better traction than the fireroad and was a real blast to ride, and there were no handlebar boombox sporting freds anywhere nearby :)

2012 Wilderness 101

This year’s 101 used the same updated course as the 2011 race. Temps were not too hot, but the humidity was very high. I was drenched all day with an unpleasant amount of perspiration as my body attempted to get some evaporative cooling. Rain showers were a constant threat, but the weather held out for me until the last few miles.

W101 - Quick Stats for Plassman

Time: 8:44
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Hydro: 12 bottles consumed - about 2.1 gallons
Fuel: 9 scoops of magic go power, 1 cliff block pack, 2 gels, 10ozs coke
Electrolytes: 1 gel flask of pickle juice and about 12 enduralyte capsules
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Crashes: 1 (silly fall on small rock)
Mechanicals: 0
Cramping: minimal
Tunnels: 2
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Curses lobbed at Panther Run Jeep Trail: 10+ F-bombs
Equestrians encountered: 2
Little girls scared: 2 (not on purpose)

Ride the lightning

In a pre-race email, there was mention of the last section of rail to trail having been marked off with “no trespassing" signs as well as being blocked by some felled trees and such. The email also mentioned that the owner of this property would help make it clear for registered racers only.

My team mates and I ran into the owner while we pre-rode the final section of rail to trail and the last rock filled train tunnel. He was a serious looking man surrounded by serious tools and equipment. We probably looked silly to him in our race clothes as he worked to collect the freshly slaughtered remnants of the trail blockade. We asked if we could lend a hand. He gazed at us in a solemn, serious stare and paused slightly, almost dramatically, and said: “Shouldn’t you be worried about the lightning?”

It was such a sublime and effective statement that we all just basically said thanks and proceeded to turn around and ride back though the tunnel. Then, as if on queue from the property owner himself, a loud crack of thunder rang out and the wind kicked up ominously. We finished our pre-ride in a tempest brought on by a pop up thunderstorm. We all now had wet shoes for race morning.

Race Day

I was finally able to get a good night’s sleep before race day. I suspect that it was due in part to getting a lift to the race and not having to drive. The cold I had sensed developing in my sinuses was still present, but had not made it into my throat or lungs.

A sleepy and damp morning greeted us all with a thin fog. The race's road sections were a good start and I found a few pace-lines to settle in and knock out much of the early gravel. Soon, I got to enjoy the first real single track section and had a lot of fun dicing up the rock infested single track and fern lined trails. There was nice flow on this section and I did my best to look cool for Bob Popovich who is always on hand to make us look good in his photos. Unfortunately, my GoPro got fogged up a bunch due to the humidity, and I did not get a lot of usable footage.

The rest of the race went well. I tried out my pickle juice flask at aid #2 as my legs threatened to cramp. After aid #3 I got a good position into the single track and rode most of it in loc step with a single speeder who possessed good technical skills. During the rest of the technical sections I was able to make a lot of passes and regained many of the positions I gave up on the climb to aid #3. By the time I got to aid #4 I was rallying out of the slump of exhaustion that usually hits me between miles 40-50ish. Lots of technical rocky sections re-affirmed my love for my Anthem X 29er and stiff I-9 wheel set.

After getting completely rattled by the near cobblestone jeep trail called “Panther Run”, I passed aid #5 and got on the gas heading into the rails to trail sections. There are 2 tunnels in this race and the first tunnel is always long, absurdly dark, and super spooky to ride because all you can see in the middle is the tombstone of light at the other end… This time it was also full of people and 2 way traffic! Fortunately, someone had LED lights and lit the tunnel up. That was awesome! Next year I will bring a small light for sure.

I caught up with my friend James Burris, and another rider I’ve met before, and we rode a nice pace line to the final climb where I got off the back by just about 15 seconds. I was able to reel them back in on the last descent.  Then I pulled a small gap as I rode out the last 25% of the super rocky “Fisherman’s Path” while the rain set in. A missed turn on the rail/trail cost me about 1 minute and I had to charge hard to try and catch James. In the last half mile of road, I looked back to see another rider working very hard to chase me down. I churned hard in my biggest gear combo to fend him off. Luckily, I managed to keep a small 2 second gap rolling into the finish with a time of 8:44

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: