I live only 2 miles from work and I've always driven to work. I tried commuting by bike a couple years ago but it didn't seem worth the hassle for only 10 minutes on the bike. Then, last week while running around the neighborhood I wondered why I don't just run to work. It would be a good way to start the day and I'd be able to easily add 20 miles a week to my training load. Plus it wouldn't add much time since there is a lot of stop and go when I drive. I decided to give it a shot.
There were a few things to consider. First was my boat anchor of a laptop that I need to take home each day. It's a 17 incher and is pretty heavy. Luckily when I remove the water reservoir it fits perfectly in the CamelBak H.A.W.G NV that I bought last year for the Hut to Hut ride from Durango CO to Moab UT. It's a good pack with a waist strap that I can tighten enough to keep it from bouncing around while I run. The other thing to worry about was clothing. The dress code at work is pretty casual, but I don't think I can get away with wearing running shorts and dri-fit tee's all day. But I don't want to change clothes when I come and go. The idea for the commute is to be hassle-free so I'll stick with it.
This weekend I bought a few pairs of Kuhl pants that are light and comfy enough to run in and look good enough to work in. I also got a Mountain Hardware jacket for rainy days. I think I need to get a few lightweight shirts for this summer, but equipment wise I am good to go.
This morning was my first run to work day and it was really nice. Took about 15 minutes and with the cool temperature it felt really good. My only problem was that I ran to the door and as soon as I walked in I started sweating. I think I'll have to walk in the last block or so to allow a proper cool-down to prevent that. I'm pretty happy with the idea but we'll see how this works out.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Training
It's that time of year where I try to build my fitness up for the demands of a full season of endurance racing. On Saturday I did 12 laps on my mountain bike around the 5 mile loop at Wilsons Creek National Battlefield. To me it's a great place to train when the trails aren't ride-able. It's a one-way paved loop with minimal traffic and has a great elevation profile. It starts with a mile or so that's mostly downhill, followed by about a half mile gradual climb, then a short steep climb followed by a couple miles of flat road. Then another gradual climb, quick descent, followed by bloody hill which is a LONG hill that starts gradual, gets steep, levels for a short section then goes back up with a pretty tough climb at the top. That's followed by a couple rollers before the end of the loop.
I guess the point of this post is to offer a bit of advice to others that are thinking about getting into endurance riding/racing. You will get to a point when you're riding hard where you're weaknesses will rear their ugly head. It may be soreness in your lower back, it may be burning in your quads or hamstrings. It may be all of the above. The thing is when you get to that point, don't stop. For me this weekend it was around 2 and a half hours. Riding the bike got uncomfortable and I wanted to stop. But I just backed off a little, and kept going. Eventually the pain went away. It always does. Then I sped back up.
Riding through the discomfort will make you sore and you have to make sure you give yourself time to recover afterward, but each time you do this you'll be better.
Don't think about how something is going to feel. It will hold you back. When you're on the bike focus on the moment, do the best you can right now and above all, don't quit. You'll deal with the future when you get there.
I guess the point of this post is to offer a bit of advice to others that are thinking about getting into endurance riding/racing. You will get to a point when you're riding hard where you're weaknesses will rear their ugly head. It may be soreness in your lower back, it may be burning in your quads or hamstrings. It may be all of the above. The thing is when you get to that point, don't stop. For me this weekend it was around 2 and a half hours. Riding the bike got uncomfortable and I wanted to stop. But I just backed off a little, and kept going. Eventually the pain went away. It always does. Then I sped back up.
Riding through the discomfort will make you sore and you have to make sure you give yourself time to recover afterward, but each time you do this you'll be better.
Don't think about how something is going to feel. It will hold you back. When you're on the bike focus on the moment, do the best you can right now and above all, don't quit. You'll deal with the future when you get there.
Monday, January 3, 2011
One year on the Epic
I did 27 races this year on the epic, from short track distances to 60+ mile marathons. I've also put slicks on it and did a fair amount of training on the road. So I've got a pretty good feel for this bike.
Early in the year I would experience lower back pain and a burning sensationafter about 3 hours of racing. It would hurt so bad that I'd have to either ride with one hand so I could sit up or if there was a gravel or paved section, ride without my hands on the bars. After a few seconds of sitting up, the pain would go away for awhile. I think it was a combination of the more extended riding position than I was used to and lack of core training on my part, so I spent some time doing exercises on a medicine ball and lots of riding. The pain disappeared in mid-April and hasn't been an issue since.
The best feature of the bike is the brain suspension setup. It provides a stiff and stable pedal platform on smooth ground but goes fully active in the rough stuff. I've been on road rides and had several people say they couldn't believe the bike doesn't bob when standing for a hill climb. I keep the brain set to full firm on both the fork and shock and love it. At high speeds I can feel a little vibration on the front when going over small rocks, but I've gotten used to it and don't notice it any more. I've taken the bike to the shop for service of the suspension 3 times, according to its maintenance schedule. I think it was $50 for the in-shop services, and I don't know what the third one is since I haven't gotten it back yet. In my last ride before the Castlewood Adventure Race, I blew out the platform on the rear shock. It still functioned fine, but was fully active like a normal shock. I went ahead and rode it in the race on December 4th and took it to the shop on the 6th. They sent the parts to Specialized and are supposed to get them back today.
The bike came with a SRAM XX 2x10 drivetrain which is really nice; great, crisp shifting, even under load. But over time, I realized that I never used the small chain ring in front so decided to switch to a 1x10 setup. Dropping the front shifter, cable, housing, derailleur and inner chain ring took over half a pound off the bike.
But I couldn't find a chain-guide that would fit the bike. The seat-post mounted type wouldn't work because it has a curved oval seat-tube and the bottom bracket mounted type wouldn't work because it has a press-in bottom bracket.
So I got creative and crafted several home-made chain guides out of steel, Plexiglas and aluminum but none of them worked very well. I would drop my chain on the rough downhills. I took the bike to the shop where I bought it to get some opinions on why the chain kept coming off and they noticed that my front chain ring was pretty worn, and that there was a bit of a grinding in the bottom bracket. They replaced them both (under warranty) but I kept dropping the chain during races. In August I was talking to Travis Donn from KC who rides the same bike and he said it was my rear derailleur. He said he was dropping his chain (with the stock XX setup) and his shop replaced his rear derailleur with a new one and that fixed it. He said it keeps more tension on the chain. I ended up buying an XX mid-cage derailleur and an MRP 1.x chain guide that I built a DMD (the spot the front derailleur bolts to) mount for out of aluminum. The combination of those have solved the problem and I haven't dropped the chain since.At my last cross-country race of the year, the Slaughter Pen Jam in Bentonville Arkansas, about an hour and a half into the race, I broke one of the rails on my seat. It was a Specialized Phenom SL with hollow titanium rails and the right side snapped behind the seatpost mount. The trails there are really fun with lots of short climbs and dips and it broke at the bottom of one of the dips. I usually try to come off of the seat and hover when riding through those, but there were so many of them I was just staying seated. Even though I still had about forty minutes of riding left, I was winning the race so I just kept going. It made my rear-end a little sore because I was riding on my left cheek, but it wasn't painful. The next day (a Monday), I took the seat into the shop and I had a warranty replacement in my hands on Friday.
About a week after getting my new seat I was riding in St. Louis on the flood-plain section of the Chubb trail. It's a twisty trail with banked turns and lots of dips through drainage ditches. On one of the banked turns I felt and heard a sound like I'd hit something, then felt my rear tire rubbing the frame. When I looked down I saw that I'd snapped non-drive side chain stay.
It was a clean break right in the middle. Luckily there were some hikers walking by that were parked less than a mile away and they offered to drive me to my car. It saved me a several mile hike. The next day (Monday) I took the bike to the shop and they had already heard about my problem and had contacted Specialized about it. I picked up my bike up with the replacement chainstay on Friday, and the shop had also replaced the suspension pivot bushings because they noticed they had some stiction.One place the bike really shines is on long gradual climbs. With just a little extra effort you can fly up a hill without downshifting. But something that still makes me nervous is the feeling of descending rough trails on such a light bike; it doesn't have that confidence inspiring solid feel of a heavier bike.
Over the course of the year I've tried several different tire combinations, and I think my three favorite are:
- Race setup: Rocket Ron front and Racing Ralph rear
- Dry hardpack: Specialized Renegade front and rear
- Muddy: Continental Mountain King
- Strengths: lightweight, climbing, comfort (after getting used to it), quick acceleration, awesome warranty
- Weaknesses: high price, minor rear flex on high-speed turns, stuff breaking after an admittedly hard year of use
Friday, December 31, 2010
Another year
2010 has been a great year, exceeding my expectations in many ways. This was my first full year of mountain bike racing and I did pretty well against some excellent competition.
The highlight as far as racing came pretty early in the year with my 3rd place finish at Syllamo's Revenge. That was the result of some very hard off season training, some early distance racing and a lot of luck. I rode about as well and as hard as I could and it paid off.
The highlight for riding was the Durango to Moab Hut-to-Hut trip in July. It was an amazing experience with an awesome group of people. I plan to do a detailed write-up of the trip, but needless to say, I'd do it again in a second.
I did my first adventure race this year, the Castlewood 8 Hour in early December. I raced in the 4 person co-ed division with Luke Kuschmeader, Jamie Wynne and Dee Anne Sheridan. I loved it and I'm looking forward to doing more of them. We're planning on doing the Bonk Hard Chill in February.
2011 will be a mix of mountain bike and adventure racing. I'm doing a lot of running right now which cuts into my time on the bike, but I really enjoy it and it's necessary to do well in AR. I also hope to travel more and ride in more parts of the country. I got a taste of riding in Colorado and I want more of that.
The highlight as far as racing came pretty early in the year with my 3rd place finish at Syllamo's Revenge. That was the result of some very hard off season training, some early distance racing and a lot of luck. I rode about as well and as hard as I could and it paid off.
The highlight for riding was the Durango to Moab Hut-to-Hut trip in July. It was an amazing experience with an awesome group of people. I plan to do a detailed write-up of the trip, but needless to say, I'd do it again in a second.
I did my first adventure race this year, the Castlewood 8 Hour in early December. I raced in the 4 person co-ed division with Luke Kuschmeader, Jamie Wynne and Dee Anne Sheridan. I loved it and I'm looking forward to doing more of them. We're planning on doing the Bonk Hard Chill in February.
2011 will be a mix of mountain bike and adventure racing. I'm doing a lot of running right now which cuts into my time on the bike, but I really enjoy it and it's necessary to do well in AR. I also hope to travel more and ride in more parts of the country. I got a taste of riding in Colorado and I want more of that.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
AMBCS
Man, no posts since RIM? Pretty sad. I've got several saved as drafts but I haven't found the time to put up anything halfway coherent. Anyway, I got a pretty cool package today. Turns out I finished 2nd in the 30-39 class of the Arkansas Mountain Bike Marathon Series and they sent me a nice plaque. The series consisted of the Spa City 6 Hour, Ouachita Challenge and Syllamo's Revenge. I did fairly well in the Arkansas races, so it's no surprise I plan on doing all of them next year.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Rapture In Misery recap
On Thursday last week I decided to head up to Trenton MO for RIM, a 6/12 hour mountain bike race that's part of the Heartland Racing Series. I'd never ridden the trails at Crowder State Park but I'd heard it was a really fun race and I hadn't done a long (for me) mountain bike since since Syllamo and figured it was time since I've got some long ones coming up. I felt bad because there was a party on Saturday that I had been planning on attending, but I really wanted to race and that desire won out.
I arrived at the park a couple hours before the race and saw Zdenek and Adam from St. Louis. They were both doing the 12 hour solo but I signed up for the 6 hour and saw I'd be racing against Jeff Winkler, Aaron Elwell and Travis Donn among others. I had my work cut out for me. The pre-race rider meeting was full of warnings about the various trail hazards which was a little unnerving. When they are talking about the "bone yard" and "widow maker" it doesn't sound good. The trail was roughly 9 miles per lap and Jeff won the race last year riding 8 laps.
The weather was hot and humid but nothing crazy. I really felt as long as I stayed hydrated it wouldn't be an issue. Before the race I noticed that my right quad was kind of sore and massaged it a bit trying to losen it up. I figured it would be fine once I got on the bike.
The race started with a short run which wasn't very fast and I was sitting in about 6th when we hit the trail.
I made my first mistake early on. Jeff was right in front of me and I rode the first lap on his wheel at his pace. I know that in order to do well I have to ride my own race and not worry about other riders until the latter stages of the race, but in the excitement and wanting to do well I figured I needed to hang on to someone that I knew would be in contention for the win. It didn't feel that fast but there was no recovery that lap. I was pushing pretty hard the whole way. The course has a technical rock garden early in the lap (the "bone yard") some steep non-technical climbs that last a few minutes but overall the course is relatively flat. Unfortunately I had to ride hard on those sections to keep up. The downhills were a bit slick from rain the night before so there was no relaxing there either. I finished the first lap in 48:47 sitting in third, grabbed a fresh bottle of water/perpetuem and headed back out.
I had dropped off Jeff's pace by the second lap and tried to settle into something I could maintain for the long haul. Unfortunately the damage from riding out of my comfort zone for too long the first lap had been done and even when I backed off I wasn't able to recover and get my breathing under control. Travis passed me on the last significant climb of the lap as I was spinning in my granny gear. I was really struggling and just didn't have the energy to do antyhing else. The second lap wasn't very fun and I finished it with a time of 53:54.
My third lap was hell. On the first real climb I had to drop to my granny gear right off the bat and about halfway up my right quad seized with a cramp. I had to get off the bike because of the pain but it hurt if I tried to straighten or bend my knee so there was no relief. I must have looked bad because another rider climbing behind me asked if I was okay. I just had to wait a bit for it to go away. When I got back on the bike I realized I was sweating like crazy and I couldn't catch my breath. I rode a mile or so until I got to the aid station that's about halfway through the lap and I just got off my bike, went over there and ate a couple cookies and drank some water. It was frustrating watching riders fly by. A few other people stopped (including JP Brocket) complaining of cramps so I wasn't alone with my issues, but I felt didn't make me feel any better. I eventually started back up but at the base of the climb where Travis had passed me the previous lap I just stopped at the bottom and leaned up against a tree. That's the first time I've ever gotten to a hill where I just didn't feel I could make it to the top. I was exhausted and I think I officially bonked. I eventually finished the lap with a 1 hour 13 minute lap time but as I crossed the start/finish line I told them I was taking a break and went and sat down. I figured my day was over but I didn't say that, I hoped that I could keep going since I've never quit a race.
As I was sitting in my chair sipping a diet Dr. Pepper I saw Jeff and he came over to chat. The heat had gotten to him and he was already showered and cleaned up. He offered me some encouragement but he said his shower felt really good. I was tempted to throw in the towel but instead just sat there and rested. JP had stopped after that lap feeling like I did and while we were talking he suggested I drink some pickle juice to help with the cramping. At that point I was willing to try anything so when his son brought me a big cup I downed it. It actually tasted pretty good. Watching people ride by didn't.
After sitting for over an hour I decided to get back on my bike and finish the race. I felt better so I figured I'd go out, ride a nice easy pace and just try to have fun. I don't know if it was the pickle juice or the relaxed pace, but that was a really fun lap. The trails were great and I was feeling fine. I didn't cramp at all. With the break time included my lap time was 2:11:26.
I only had time for 1 more lap so I went back out riding like I had the previous lap and again, it was pretty fun. I stopped at the aid station to eat a cookie and chatted with the guy manning the station for a minute or so. He was a really nice guy and I know everyone that stopped appreciated him being there. I ended up finishing my last lap in 1:05 which landed me 14th in my class. I was glad that I got back on my bike and my reward was a pretty sweet t-shirt that I'm sure I'll be wearing proudly.
While I was hurting, Zdenek was putting the pain on everyone else in the 12 hour solo. It was his first 12 hour solo race and he won by almost an hour completing 12 laps. He was a machine out there and it was very inspiring.
Aaron Elwell won the 6 hour solo and actually came in 2nd overall counting the teams. Travis Donn had an awesome 6 hour debut coming in 2nd. He raced a very smart race and if he keeps doing the distance events he will do very well. I hope he does the BT Epic later this year.
Overall I think Heatland put on a great race at a great venue. It was so cool to be able to shower after I finished and the atmosphere was up there with the best race experiences I've had. I'll be back next year for sure and hopefully I'll do better. I've just got to remember to ride my race and not get sucked into the competition early on. As Travis said it's much more fun catching people than getting caught.
Here's a link to the results, and below are some links to photos I've found:
I arrived at the park a couple hours before the race and saw Zdenek and Adam from St. Louis. They were both doing the 12 hour solo but I signed up for the 6 hour and saw I'd be racing against Jeff Winkler, Aaron Elwell and Travis Donn among others. I had my work cut out for me. The pre-race rider meeting was full of warnings about the various trail hazards which was a little unnerving. When they are talking about the "bone yard" and "widow maker" it doesn't sound good. The trail was roughly 9 miles per lap and Jeff won the race last year riding 8 laps.
The weather was hot and humid but nothing crazy. I really felt as long as I stayed hydrated it wouldn't be an issue. Before the race I noticed that my right quad was kind of sore and massaged it a bit trying to losen it up. I figured it would be fine once I got on the bike.
The race started with a short run which wasn't very fast and I was sitting in about 6th when we hit the trail.
I had dropped off Jeff's pace by the second lap and tried to settle into something I could maintain for the long haul. Unfortunately the damage from riding out of my comfort zone for too long the first lap had been done and even when I backed off I wasn't able to recover and get my breathing under control. Travis passed me on the last significant climb of the lap as I was spinning in my granny gear. I was really struggling and just didn't have the energy to do antyhing else. The second lap wasn't very fun and I finished it with a time of 53:54.
My third lap was hell. On the first real climb I had to drop to my granny gear right off the bat and about halfway up my right quad seized with a cramp. I had to get off the bike because of the pain but it hurt if I tried to straighten or bend my knee so there was no relief. I must have looked bad because another rider climbing behind me asked if I was okay. I just had to wait a bit for it to go away. When I got back on the bike I realized I was sweating like crazy and I couldn't catch my breath. I rode a mile or so until I got to the aid station that's about halfway through the lap and I just got off my bike, went over there and ate a couple cookies and drank some water. It was frustrating watching riders fly by. A few other people stopped (including JP Brocket) complaining of cramps so I wasn't alone with my issues, but I felt didn't make me feel any better. I eventually started back up but at the base of the climb where Travis had passed me the previous lap I just stopped at the bottom and leaned up against a tree. That's the first time I've ever gotten to a hill where I just didn't feel I could make it to the top. I was exhausted and I think I officially bonked. I eventually finished the lap with a 1 hour 13 minute lap time but as I crossed the start/finish line I told them I was taking a break and went and sat down. I figured my day was over but I didn't say that, I hoped that I could keep going since I've never quit a race.
As I was sitting in my chair sipping a diet Dr. Pepper I saw Jeff and he came over to chat. The heat had gotten to him and he was already showered and cleaned up. He offered me some encouragement but he said his shower felt really good. I was tempted to throw in the towel but instead just sat there and rested. JP had stopped after that lap feeling like I did and while we were talking he suggested I drink some pickle juice to help with the cramping. At that point I was willing to try anything so when his son brought me a big cup I downed it. It actually tasted pretty good. Watching people ride by didn't.
After sitting for over an hour I decided to get back on my bike and finish the race. I felt better so I figured I'd go out, ride a nice easy pace and just try to have fun. I don't know if it was the pickle juice or the relaxed pace, but that was a really fun lap. The trails were great and I was feeling fine. I didn't cramp at all. With the break time included my lap time was 2:11:26.
I only had time for 1 more lap so I went back out riding like I had the previous lap and again, it was pretty fun. I stopped at the aid station to eat a cookie and chatted with the guy manning the station for a minute or so. He was a really nice guy and I know everyone that stopped appreciated him being there. I ended up finishing my last lap in 1:05 which landed me 14th in my class. I was glad that I got back on my bike and my reward was a pretty sweet t-shirt that I'm sure I'll be wearing proudly.
While I was hurting, Zdenek was putting the pain on everyone else in the 12 hour solo. It was his first 12 hour solo race and he won by almost an hour completing 12 laps. He was a machine out there and it was very inspiring.
Aaron Elwell won the 6 hour solo and actually came in 2nd overall counting the teams. Travis Donn had an awesome 6 hour debut coming in 2nd. He raced a very smart race and if he keeps doing the distance events he will do very well. I hope he does the BT Epic later this year.
Overall I think Heatland put on a great race at a great venue. It was so cool to be able to shower after I finished and the atmosphere was up there with the best race experiences I've had. I'll be back next year for sure and hopefully I'll do better. I've just got to remember to ride my race and not get sucked into the competition early on. As Travis said it's much more fun catching people than getting caught.
Here's a link to the results, and below are some links to photos I've found:
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
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