Month: May 2013
TSE audio recap – day 3 on XXCMag.com
TSE audio recap – day 2 on XXCMag.com
Day 2 recap…. Click image to jump to the XXCMag site.
TSE audio recap – day 1 on XXCMag.com
Andrea is away riding the Trans-Sylvania Mountain Bike Epic and is too busy to update her blog…
I am going to post up some links from her daily recaps with Ben.
Pre Trans-Sylvania Rundown
I’ve been pretty quiet here since Syllamo because I’m trying to NOT wait until the last minute to have everything ready to leave for Trans-Sylvania. I’ve been pretty successful so far, getting both the Air9 RDO and the Jet9 prepped for action and even managing to squeeze in a 3 hour ride to check out some flooding in north Shelby County…
(Post-ride recovery brought to you by Podium Legs Cold. Easier than an ice bath, and less expensive than moving to a house near a snowmelt-fed stream)
While I was out on my ride, I made a decision on something I’d been pondering for the previous 24 hours. I bought a Specialized Command Post dropper seatpost for the Jet9. Because of the kink in the Jet9 seattube, I traditionally need to trim a longer seatpost down to achieve a proper seat height. The dropper post, at 280mm, was a hair too long. Literally- I could ride it by scooting my seat forward a few millimeters, but it was going to bug the hell out of me, and maybe give me weird “you changed something” feelings in my joints. Upon closer inspection, I realized that there was at least a centimeter and a half of bare post at the bottom end of the mech. So, I made a 2mm modification…
Good news and bad news, though. The good news? It fits PERFECTLY now. The bad news? I got metal shavings in my beer, and the amount you see in the picture below had to be poured down the drain.
So, things are falling into place. I’m excited, scared, anxious, and a little hopeful, all at once. Along with some posts here, you can expect a myriad of stuff on social media, as well as through XXC Magazine and Mountain Bike Radio.
Syllamo’s Revenge Race Report
I’m just going to get my mostly crappy race report out of the way before I talk Infamy.
I felt awesome, had a great start, and was totally rocking the lead. I had a rear flat super early, but didn’t sweat it too hard since it was 15 minutes in to a 5-6 hour day. However, getting back into a race on a narrow, technical bench trail is super hard and ends up being physically and mentally exhausting because you have to yell and beg and punch your way around a couple of hundred people in conga-line groups of 3-10 at a time. I’d worked my way through about 3/4 (I think) of the field and was settling back in to a good rhythm when I flatted my front tire and ended up at the back of the pack again. I fixed it and bailed at the next trailhead, making the decision to cut my losses based on the proximity of TSE and how hard I would have chased & destroyed myself trying to get back to a podium spot. Additionally, having a bunch of air in my front tire was super sketchy because the rocks & roots were already wet & muddy, which makes them a type of slick that you just have to experience to really appreciate.
I hate quitting a race more than almost everything, but my legs feel great (for you wattage nerds out there, I averaged 301 watts for 8 minutes going up the first climb, and wasn’t blown up at the top), and I didn’t want to screw it up by turning myself inside out or having a dumb wreck.
Still, the feeling of a DNF decision is on my top 5 list of things I hate, just under “death or illness of a loved one” and “getting attacked by a swarm of Africanized honey bees.” I still feel regrets about dropping out of Rouge Roubaix after getting hit by a car.
So, that’s it. The highlight of my day was watching Poolboy Matt finish his race in 5 hours, 10 minutes- good enough for 12th overall and 5th in singlespeed. He’s come a long way- doing well at Syllamo’s Revenge is a combination of having the best fitness, skill, and luck.
At least I didn’t get hit by a car.
“Infamous” Trail Designation
Some trails are technical and can be hard on people who arrive unprepared, either mechanically, physically, and/or mentally. They aren’t all too uncommon, and they dot the map all over the U.S. Lots of people refer to them as “Epic,” and they often become popular tourist destinations. However, I can only think of two trail systems- Syllamo and Pisgah- that go above and beyond techy/difficult/epic to achieve Infamy. These are trails that can chew up and spit out even the most well-prepared rider and equipment. If you can ride there, you can ride anywhere.
The name “Syllamo” comes as a tribute to a troublesome Creek Indian who inhabited the Sylamore Creek area in the early 1800s. It’s said that he used to steal horses an support raids of settlers’ homesteads, and, while he was eventually shot, it’s rumored that he still haunts his territory to this day. If there’s ever a legend that I’ll believe, it’s this one.
When people come to the Syllamo trails for the first time, they’re often not prepared for what’s there. It’s 50 miles of the most remote, rocky, and beautiful singletrack that I’ve come across in my relatively few years of riding off-road. The terrain includes steep stuff, flowy stuff, and lots of rock gardens. The shale that makes up the rock gardens is unique to the area and is a challenge in and of itself in two ways: 1) It’s sharp as all getout and will rip holes in even the toughest sidewalls, and 2) when it gets wet, it’s quite possibly one of the slickest surfaces known to man. It’s impossible to go to the Syllamo trails and ride “easy,” because it’s a constant challenge in some way, shape, or form.
No matter how strong, skilled, and lucky you are, the Syllamo Trails can crush you and/or your equipment. That’s why I love them more than any trails I’ve ever visited. I get the same vibe from the Pisgah-loving people out East. It’s a mix of respect (for the trail and its ability to destroy) and an undercurrent of the self-confidence gained from successfully riding trails that cause a disproportionately large percentage of the people who visit to swear they’ll never come back.
Even though the trail won out this weekend, there were hints of awesome in my very short time racing. I don’t think it’s possible to be more ready for Trans-Sylvania than I am now.
Cautious Optimism
As I mentioned in last week’s posts (as well as in TSE Journal #2 that I wrote for XXCMag), I successfully completed a sold block of training. It’s something I haven’t done much because of either A) work or B) some unforeseen issue like injury or feeling overly-fatigued. (glad to have eliminated option “A”) This time, however, I did it. Every minute of all of it. Perfectly.
Following that last big ride on Wednesday, my legs hurt like hell. I was supposed to do a 1hr recovery ride on Thursday, but all I could muster was a painfully slow ride to/from Outdoors (20 minutes round-trip) to give some love to the rear brake on my Air9 RDO. Apparently, some sort of reverse hydro brake jesus has been working his mojo on my bike, because the mineral oil inside had mystically been turned into black swamp water…
After flushing at least 4 syringes full of mineral oil into it and tapping it all over with a screwdriver to chase the bubbles out, it’s as good as new.
Aside from some pretty kickass yoga classes, I otherwise took it easy until yesterday, when I had a “half” training ride on the schedule. After making a Mother’s Day brunch that even Gordon Ramsey would be proud of, I went out to my favorite pain cave spot in Shelby Farms and proceeded to destroy my two prescribed intervals. They almost felt too good to be true.
Almost.
So, I get one more of the same abbreviated interval workouts between now and Syllamo’s Revenge on Saturday. I don’t ever like to get my hopes up about a race and the possibility to feel awesome, because there are soooo many other factors that go in to having a good race- especially at Syllamo, where the potential for outside killers like inclement weather and mechanicals is probably greater than any other race I’ll go to this season. It’s kinda like getting my hopes up for my birthday on Wednesday- all I can do is turn 32 as best as I can, but the quality of the birthday party is reliant on outside factors that I have little control over. Philosophy of “hope for the best, expect the worst” is implemented.
aaaaaaand, Done.
Yesterday I put the wraps on my aforementioned training block by going out and riding 100 miles. Typically, I’d connect a couple of my longer routes with some gravel out on the eastern ends of each loop. However, this time, I was recon-ing for the “Poolboy Matt’s 2013 Gentleman’s Ride,” and had a “no gravel” stipulation on the route choice. At first, I was a little disappointed, but it turned out really well because I found some gorgeous, rolling farmland and hardly any traffic. I’ve found that once you get out past a certain point, the traffic that you do encounter gives you the three finger country wave from the steering wheel (not to be confused with the one finger wave that you get closer to town).
The way I do long rides is to carry all the food I need then stop at various churches (or volunteer fire dept.) along my route to refill my bottles:
Side note: For those of you wondering how I have a “working” EVO frame- it’s not. It’s one of the out-of-spec frames with a PF30 to English adapter and the GXP Quarq off of my cyclocross bike. I’m not sure when the new warranty frame will be available.
90 miles in:
Salty:
I needed a “snack” after I cleaned up, so I went for the (grass-fed/nitrate & antibiotic free) bacon cheese burger:
I generally felt good for the entire ride, which was great considering the training I’ve done over the past few days. If you’re actually interested in what I do, you can take a look at Strava. If you don’t really care about training, but you want to see random photos (and you aren’t already inundated with social media), you can look at Instagram instead.
Now it’s mostly recovery until Syllamo and TSE where hopefully the hours of saddle time invested turn in to successful racing dividends.
Doing the work…
I haven’t had much opportunity to sit around and be disappointed that I wasn’t as fast as I wanted to be at the Whiskey 50. That’s due, in part, to starting in on my last hard training block before Trans-Sylvania Epic. In 4 days of riding (May 5-8), I’ m slated to put in 16 hours worth of riding, all of which includes some sort of intervals. So far, so good- I’m halfway through, and I’m feeling better than I would have expected (I’ve got another 4 hours on tap for today, so we’ll see if I’m saying the same thing this afternoon). After these 4 days, I’ve got a couple of more reasonably spaced hard rides, Syllamo’s Revenge 50 (May 18th), and lots of recovery rides.
It’s been a little cold and really rainy since I came home from Whiskey. I’ve managed to get rained a little (and a lot) during all of my rides up until today (forecast is for 70 and sunny, so that’ll be a pleasant change). However, as I mentioned yesterday on my Facebook page (link is on the right sidebar if you’re not already on there), my desire to get faster has completely overridden my want for personal comfort. The only thing that I’m disappointed with right now is that the trails are so soaked that it’ll be this weekend before anyone should touch tires to them again.
As a side project/torture test, I applied some ProGold Xtreme lube to the chain on my road bike on Thursday before heading out for 3.5 hours in the rain, and I’m waiting to see how long it is before my chain starts making tweety bird noises. If you’re like me, you’ve probably noticed a lot of people plugging ProGold lately on their blogs/facebook/wherever. It’s not just because Bruce Dickman is a nice guy who hands out a bunch of lube- it’s because, as a whole, it’s been stupid rainy here in the Southeast, and ProGold makes a lot of stuff that will very effectively clean/lubricate the parts on your bike.
(I didn’t really mean to shill for the sponsors for two posts in a row, it’s just that mentioning how much rain riding I’ve done lately reminded me of my lube experiment)
Somewhere in the mix of training, raining, and recovery, I’ll be turning 32 on May 15th. In light of the slowly growing number of scars and dents on my body from various & sundry wrecks, as well as my recent run-in with a motor vehicle, I’m coming to realize the reality of this quote from Hunter S. Thompson:
“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!”
A safe, pretty-bodied life seems way too boring. When I look at a scar or a bruise, I don’t think that it’s made my body less attractive, but that it’s a reminder of the fun and/or adventure I was having at the time of its installation.
Photos & Great Sponsors!
This weekend was a reminder (from my road racing days) that, if you race with the big-name pros of your sport and don’t hang with them, then NO PHOTOS FOR YOU!
My one exception was a listener of the Just Riding Along radio show- Benjamin Wendorf. He took photos and video of Friday night’s crit and sent them to me Thursday (including a good nosebleed shot that’s now my photo on the Brickhouse Facebook Page)…
DAMN that kit looks good! (thanks to Micheal at Second to Nuun for the design) If you’re interested in purchasing one, my plan is to get a Nimblewear shop set up soon for orders. It will likely be a slightly modified version of what you see here- the same black/purple houndstooth w/pink accents, but without the sponsor roll-call down the front & back (not sure on that yet- feedback from YOU would help me out there). Hit me back on the comments below, or on Facebook/Twitter if you would purchase one- I’d really like to get a feel for reader interest so I know if I’d hit minimums or not.
Here’s another photo of the leaders that includes a good view of the crest of the first hill/crowds…
Take notice of the Giant GuEnergy Gel. Having Gu (who sponsors me) sponsoring a race is pretty awesome, because I get to meet all the people I’ve emailed with the past few months, and they’ve got all my favorite stuff at the booth/aid stations. I’ve also never seen any other nutrition companies send a giant gel mascot into the crowd.
In general, I’ve got a great bunch of sponsors this year.
Everyone from bystanders to the pros I lined up with were stoked on the bling-ness of the I9 Trail 24 wheels. Surprisingly, a lot of people have never seen Industry 9 wheels in person, so I have a good time telling them how not only do they look awesome, they kick ass as well.
On the same “awesome” list is ProGold. If you’ve only used the lube (something I’ve been doing long before I knew Bruce Dickman, ProGold rep extraordinaire and Brickhouse Racing superfan), I highly recommend trying the rest of their line of stuff. I got some of the bike polish (and some other stuff to try out and report on later) from Bruce over the weekend, and it made my beat-up Air9RDO look new again. Plus, Bruce gave me a call-up at the start of Sunday’s race as well as a kickass pair of ProGold Swiftwick 7s
If you go back to my post about Friday’s race, you’ll see the Maxxlite 29s that I raced in the crit. Maxxis has a very diverse mountain tire selection (I saw other ladies riding hybrid tires. They fared fine, but personally- and you know how picky I am- given the high-speed nature of the downhill turns on course, I’d rather have something a little more performance-oriented rather than commuter/cruiser oriented). Sunday, I rode an Ardent 2.25 front (favorite all-around front tire, ever) and the Ikon 2.35 rear. The Ikon 2.35 is available now. If you live in Memphis, Outdoors Inc in Cordova should have some in stock. As I’ve said in the past- a fat, fast-rolling rear tire on a hardtail makes a lot of sense.
I couldn’t do it without them. My advice to you is to look at who makes your favorite bike stuff and see who they sponsor. See what shops in town sponsor riders in your area (I know it sounds cliche, but I couldn’t do this without the help of Outdoors, Inc.) Let those companies know that not only do you like their products, but that you also like that they help people in the cycling community. It reinforces their decision to help out racers like me.