Andrea

Ouachita Challenge Race Report

First, I have to thank a couple of people-

Eric… my crew guy. He met me at most of the aid stations and did some lightning-fast hydration bladder swaps as well and having everything I could possibly need laid out each time. He also looks a lot like a short Colin Farrell. Any time I’d introduce him to someone, they thought he looked familiar, which was pretty entertaining…

You be the judge:
ericcolin-farrell

Next is Todd Henne- he’s been a great Womble/Ouachita tour guide to me the past few months, and he let us stay at his place right on the trail & play around on the pump track. He’s an awesome recon guy for both the trail and the people of interest that ride it.

So, on to the race report.

The race started from Oden, AR at 8:00 to the sound of a ringing church bell. The first 8.5 miles were a little pavement & some gravel. My plan was to really concentrate on pacing myself. I tend to go out too fast then end up “death marching” the last 20 or so miles of a race, so, when we hit a few rollers, I forced myself to sit back & spin while others kept the intensity up. It was painful to watch the ride away, but I knew that I wouldn’t last the entire 60 miles if I stuck with the lead group.
I kept the disciplined pacing going across the 3 Ouachita trail mountains (Brushy, Blowout, and Chalybeate). Over the latter 2, I was back & fourth with local gal Heather. However, once we hit the forest service road, my bladder was about to explode (NOT the one in my Wingnut pack!), so I was forced to pull off for a “nature break” while she rode away from me.
That stretch of gravel went on for about 8 miles and cut off the hardest part of the Womble. I made sure to keep my tempo pace nice & steady, and managed to find a guy to trade pulls with so we could make up a little time. Once we reached highway 88, I got my much needed pack swap. While I was stopped, Namrita O’dea from Topeak-Ergon flew past me onto the singletrack. When I started going again, it was tempting to chase, but I reminded myself that I still had a long way to go, including two more significant climbs.
The remainder of the singletrack before the 298 aid station passed quickly, though the gravel seemed to go on forever. When I got there, Eric told me that Namrita was a couple of minutes ahead, and that there was about 15 miles left. I was feeling good, so I decided it was time to burn the matches and empty the tank on the last bit of singletrack up & over Mauldin Mountain.
After numerous mudholes and creeks, the climb started. I finally caught sight of her and, unlike the other climbs, started to push the pace a bit. It seemed like forever, but I finally caught up and passed her. From then on, I rode as hard as I could and never looked back. Exhilarating!
Approaching the finish, I actually saw Heather up the road from me, though we were within a 1/2 mile, so there was no catching her. I ended up 4th in the women’s field (Carey Lowery won, finishing about 5o minutes before me!)

I am really, really happy with my ride. I now have a really good feel for what type of pace I can sustain for that type of distance. I finished with a little bit of gas in the tank, so I know that next time, I can push a little harder in the parts where it’d be most advantageous to me (like windy fire road sections where I could either draft off of someone faster or put my head down and go at it TT style). With one weekend open before the Mississippi Grand Prix, I am planning on heading out to ride at Syllamo with some friends to get in a little more rock garden practice before Syllamo’s Revenge in just over a month.

Andrea

…and now, for something totally different.

I read this article about a month ago. I was immediately inspired to try something different. What can I say- I’m just a rebel like that. So, with the exception of my hands, I stopped using soap. Altogether… no soap for about a month now. I know what you’re thinking.

“EWWW, YOU DIRTY HIPPY! I BET YOU STINK!”

I never said I stopped showering, I just said I don’t use soap when I do it. I won’t go in to every detail, but it involves a washcloth and the usual warm water shower. I didn’t tell anyone at first, because I figured I’d see if anyone noticed, though Ryan didn’t even know until I informed him two weeks in to the experiment. (I also just use deodorant instead of antiperspirant… but that’s been for a couple of years now)

The result? My skin is obviously not dry. It isn’t greasy, either. It just feels nice. The texture of my hair is different as well. It’s naturally curly, and, even though I keep it really short, it is less frizzy and the curls seem to form more naturally (I still use a touch of some sort of styling product in it, and as far as I can tell, it all rinses out when I shower). If you’ve got curly hair, I highly recommend NOT using shampoo. Even if you don’t take the full plunge into soap-free-ness, the reduction in frizz is pretty awesome.

I’m still considering this to be an “experiment” since I haven’t been out in the real heat yet, but I have made it through a couple of races (road and MTB) as well as some 70+ degree rides, and, as far as I (and any honest friends I’ve asked) can tell, I smell normal.

Anyone else care to try?

Andrea

Hell of the South (belated) Race Report

Not much to see here, folks, move along…

The race didn’t quite go as planned for me. First, rewind a little bit. Back at the Spa City 6hr, I had some pain in the palm of my hand & forearm. It subsided within a day or two, and I thought nothing else of it. Then, over Spring Break, I did a lot of MTB riding in Arkansas. The pain came back. When it started to subside, I was left with weakness in my 3rd and pinky fingers. It was causing me to drop things & generally be uncoordinated with my right hand. This is consistent with compression of the Ulnar Nerve…

So, I’ve been avoiding the MTB. I think that the padding on my gloves (swapped from winter ones to summer ones) was putting pressure on the area, and I’ve been riding my road bike in the meantime. It didn’t seem to irritate the area as long as I paid attention to my hand position.

Back to the race…
I lined up with the B race (W1/2/3 and Cat 4 men). The start was generally mundane. Someone attacked from the start, and rather than chase like crazy, a few guys got up front and rode tempo to bring him back steadily. Early in the first lap, we hit the short gravel road section. Unlike Rouge, I was able to stay with the pack’s little bit of a surge. My legs were actually feeling good. A few of the guys up front (including Dale Sanford, who eventually won) briefly picked up the pace in order to shed the riders struggling with the terrain.

A mile or so later, the pace slacked up a bit. It was at that time that I noticed that my problematic fingers were totally numb. I’d had my hands down in the crook of my drops and hadn’t been paying any attention to keeping the pressure off of where it didn’t need to be. I tried shaking my hand out a bit and resting it in a more neutral position, but it felt horrible. In the interest of saving my “tough the pain out” day for next weekend’s Ouachita Challenge, I pulled out of the race. My first DNF ever. Crap.

I made the “ride of shame” back to the start/finish area and waited for Ryan to get back from his race. Oh, well. Live to fight another day.

Andrea

Singletrack and Tweed

Ok, Ok, I know I’m neglecting the blog a little bit, so here’s the latest:

My final day in the Ozarks was somewhat of an “easy” one. David (mechanic from Bikes Plus) made the trip over from Memphis Saturday evening to get his new Rip9 out on some real trails. So, in the morning we headed out to the Orange & Green loops (my personal favorites). He hauled all sorts of *ss on the rocky decents and overall had a pretty awesome time (as did I).

Monday, I took it easy & went for a hike with the puppies out at Shelby Farms. It always sucks to get back to reality after spending a large part of life focusing on training in some amazing & gorgeous scenery. Makes me want summer to hurry up & get here!

Tuesday, the first RB’s group ride of the season. Ryan and I rode there. I felt kinda crappy and got reminded that road stuff hasn’t been my training focus at all this winter. This weekend’s gonna hurt.

Wednesday has been the highlight of my week, though. I happened to catch wind of a “Tweed” ride in Midtown. At first, I didn’t believe that such a thing could be happening in MEMPHIS, but Facebook confirmed it, so it had to be true.
I gathered together some of my old horseback riding clothes (corduroy jodpurs and tall boots) then made a trip to Goodwill to find everything else to pull a couple of dashing British outfits together. Once I was home, I dusted off the old Free Spirit that I found in someone’s garbage almost a year ago (Ryan brought his cruiser home from the poison factory), and we were ready to rock.

When we arrived at the Midtown Peddler Bike Shop, I knew we’d be in for a good time. About 35 people gathered and left the store to make a slow 5-mile jaunt to a nearby Fox and Hound bar. The ride has gone (way up) on my top 10 list of “most fun I’ve ever had on a bike.” Drivers and pedestrians were entertained as well. Apparently, all you have to do to win Memphis drivers over is to be well-dressed and tip your hat to them as you ride by.

Once we made it to Fox & Hound, the judges deliberated over who had the best costume (I’d had no idea it’d be judged) while everyone enjoyed refreshments. First prize was a new Brooks saddle! The Free Spirit was in dire need of one, so I was hopeful. To my surprise, my name was called along with 3 others. However, I was a runner up. The two finalists both had (fake) moustaches, which was apparently more along the lines of what the judges were looking for. Nevertheless, we had a wonderful time, and ended up riding back with a small group.

I’m anxiously awaiting the photos. I’m also anxiously awaiting the next event. If you can get 35 people to show up on a weeknight, I wonder what would happen if it were held on a Sunday afternoon…

Edit: Photos! (Thanks to Danny Wilson)

single

couple

riding

Andrea

Morning on the Ouachita Trail

Yesterday afternoon, I headed over to the Mt. Ida area and camped out for the night. Along the way, I stopped at The Ride bike shop in Conway. I was going to buy a new cassette because I’d somehow bent a cog on mine while riding fire roads the day before. When I got there, instead of just selling a new cassette, they took a look at mine, then went at it with a screw driver… lo and behold, he was able to fix it! Woohoo! Gotta love good customer service- if you’re ever in the Conway area and need something, check them out.

Anyway- After a chilly night in the tent, I woke up in the morning and went to a local cafe for breakfast (French toast!) then headed out with Todd to the Brushy Mountain trailhead near the Ouachita trail. We took forest roads to the beginning of the singletrack for the upcoming Ouachita Challenge race. Brushy is tough- I didn’t get off my granny gear most of the time because the trail was either straight up or straight down.

Once we arrived back at his truck, Todd gave me instructions about how to get to the next couple of sections of trail (he wasn’t feeling well). So, I headed off to Blowout Mountain on my own. After the initial climb, it’s not that bad- there are a couple of hike-a-bike sections where the trail is piled over with rocks (see photos below), but it’s otherwise just a lot of picking your way around a lot of medium-sized rocks.

The last mountain was Cleabit (I could be mispelling that… but the name reminds me of the word “fleabit” so I’m sticking with it!) It starts with a steeeeeeeeeep climb. OW! It also had a random rockpile (the photo below with the blue blazes on the trees). I paced myself and was still feeling great by the time I reached the trailhead where Todd was waiting to pick me up. Great day! I’m feeling confident about doing well in the OC race.

Andrea

Back in Arkansas

After my quick trip to Nashville for a Hell of the South pre-ride, I turned around & made the trip back to Syllamo for some MTB riding. Yesterday, I didn’t have time for anything long since there was a storm front approaching. So, I headed out for a quick trip around the Bad Branch trail. Several times, I found myself bombing down the trail with the song “Super Villain” (Powerman 5000) blaring in my head. Fun times! That loop is the final 12 miles of trail in the Syllamo’s Revenge MTB race, so I’m hoping to have it perfectly nailed by the time that race rolls around so that I can go faster while being kinda out of it at the end of the race.

Afterward, Turbo and I sat on the porch and watched the storm rolling over the mountains…

IMG_0517

IMG_0518

This morning (and most other mornings), the river was covered in a thick cloud. I never get tired of it…

IMG_0519

IMG_0525

IMG_0520

Since there was a pretty bad downpour last night, I figured I’d stick to the forest roads. I put together a route that ended up not working as planned (surprised?!?). Here’s a photo of the road between Gunnar Pool and Barkshed, which first crossed Syllamore Creek (yes, I ended up putting BOTH feet in the water) and ended up being on private property in a cow pasture…

IMG_0529

IMG_0528

IMG_0531

So, I ended up climbing back out of Gunnar Pool and taking a detour to get back to Barkshed campground where I wanted to take Barkshed Road to Push Mountain road… lo and behold, Barkshed Road was closed. I’m thinking “Sweet! No traffic!” However, it hadn’t been cleared since the ice storm- the first half mile or so was covered in downed trees, so I figured that if I wanted to be back to the car before dark that I’d need to turn back & detour again.

IMG_0532

IMG_0533

IMG_0534

So after 2 kinda big detours (both involved a bit of climbing back out), I ended up with a little over 4 hours of riding. Time to head to the nearest non-dry county…

IMG_0536

Andrea

Rouge Roubaix Race Report

My recent lack of self-control for training, eating right, and drinking in moderation was all too obvious today. I got shelled at the beginning of the first gravel section, chased back on with a small group, got dropped again on the 2nd gravel section, chased with a dwindling group for the remainder of the race, and rode the last 15 miles alone to finish in 6th.

That’s it. I’m writing a two-sentence race report for a 102 mile race because that’s all it deserves. I’m glad that I’m on Spring Break, because I need to be a training hermit in Mountain View this week after a quick trip to Nashvegas for a Hell of the South race course preride.

Andrea

Weekend Redux

Sunday, Matt and I headed west for a quick trip to the Womble trail. I never, ever get tired of overlooks…

overlook

On the way home, we passed a house trailer off to the side of I-40. It had smoke coming out of the windows… I called 911, then we turned around to make sure that if the FD didn’t show up, that no one was inside screaming for help. Luckily, by the time we were close, we saw firetrucks…

911

truck

smoke

fire

Hopefully, everyone was OK…

Now that the results are posted, I’m pissed at myself. Not that it would have made a difference in placing (even though RR had a flat on the last lap, she was far enough ahead that I would not have caught her), but I would have been a strong 2nd instead of a lucky one. Looking at lap times, I would have made the 1:17 time cutoff. My downfall was A) a lack of HTFU, and B) a lack of conditioning. Two things that I’m hard on myself about. It should have been a non-issue. I should not have questioned it. There should never have been a thought in my mind about NOT going for it. Damn.

Andrea

Spa City 6 Hour

The theme of the weekend was Luck.

The Weather.com forecast predicted rain (and possibly snow!) for most of the day on Friday. However, watching the radar, the precipitation seemed to dissipate as it reached the Hot Springs area. Matt and I didn’t get there in time to pre-ride, but talking to people milling around, it sounded like a pretty tame 10 mile loop. So, we set up our pit and headed back to town for dinner.

Saturday morning was chilly and gorgeous. I was feeling good while I was getting ready, and managed to squeeze in to a nice spot on the tri-style bike racks that were set up for the Le mans start (thank you Cyclocrunk for helping me to perfect my Le mans strategy!)

Lining up, I couldn’t tell who was entered in the Pro category and who was age group (aside from Rebecca Rusch, who was wearing kit with World Champ stripes). It was my first NRC Endurance race, and everyone looked fit and ready to kill it.

When the race started, it was business time. I got a nice position in the pack- not in the lead group where I’d blow myself up, but also not behind people that’d be bobbling switchbacks and/or granny-gearing the first climb. Within a few miles, I forced myself to settle into a sustainable pace. I didn’t know where I was in relation to my competition other than “behind Rebecca.” It was tempting to go hard, but I kept reminding myself that I had a long day ahead of me.

IMG_1756

Laps 1-3 were prettymuch more of the same. I wrecked twice on lap 2- once was one of those mystery “wheel grabs” that belly-flopped me onto the ground, and the other was caused by hitting a slippery patch in a turn on a descent. That one could have been a lot worse, but somehow I managed to keep my wits about me during the fall process and, even though I fell into a ditch, I executed it with an Olympic-10 of a tuck and roll.

Lap 4 started to get hard. My back and arms started to hurt. I slowed down a little, but then a friend of mine along the trail told me that I was holding 2nd place. I gave myself a bit of a tough-love pep talk.

“You’re in 2nd place in your first NRC Endurance Race, and you’re slowing down? HTFU, take some Aspirin at the pit, and GTFO!”

The actual dialogue going on in my head included a lot more foul language, but you get the idea.

At the end of my 5th lap, I had the option of going out for another. I’d have to complete it in under 1hr, 17 min, which would have been tough. My inexperience was showing- I hurt all over, and I’d blown myself up a bit. I didn’t think I could make the lap, so I took a gamble and decided to not do it. Laureen Coffelt was almost 12 minutes behind me- if she made another lap, it’d knock me down to 3rd. While I was changing & having a snack, she rolled through the pit. She had 1 hour, 5 min to complete her lap.

Longest hour/five of my life. She missed it by 37 seconds.

I got lucky this time, but I have a feeling she’s going to have that 37 seconds in her head until the next time we meet up. I’m going to have to work harder between now & then to keep her from dragging/beating that 37 seconds out of me.

Today I feel like someone beat my legs/arms with a hose. I shouldn’t. It was “only” 50 miles/5:12 of riding. I’ve got harder races approaching and potential sponsors to woo. That type of effort should be more like a hard day of training than an effort that kills me for a few days. I should be able to go for the 6th lap and kill it.

Next stop- Rouge Roubaix. Take no prisoners.