The 6 Hour Battle of Warrior Creek...

That's what it felt like...A surging battle with hundreds of Indian brave warriors pressing forward....

I made my way up to Wilkesboro, NC for the second annual 6 Hours of Warrior Creek endurance race. This was a race which was not on the official calendar for the year, but just happened to occur and I just happened to obtain a free transfer entry into the event. I had been very curious about this trail since last year when a few of my close friends had started mentioning just how perfect these trails really were. I then mentioned the race to a few more of my cycling friends and they also agreed that Warrior creek was an excellent, fun course. Fun was definitely the main theme which I insisted on carrying forward as I did not know what to expect. I left late on Friday, made my way up to the Bandit's Roost campground and claimed my spot. After driving a few hundred miles and realizing I had forgotten my tent, I made a quick decision to sleep in the back of my zippy Prius. Meeting me there were Mark Sackett, Mike Pierce and super pitman: Nicolas Deloach. We meet and I start rallying everyone to jump into Mark's van to go preride the course. We finally find the course and quickly start pedaling away! The first entry point into the course was at the 2 mile mark and set the overall tone for the rest of the weekend: FUN! This course is unbelieveable! I immediately got swept up in huge banking turns with spread out sections full of pump bumps helping to keep the speed into various lines with little or no pedaling needed. This course truly was a giant BMX course. I could not believe some of the incredible features this course had to offer! So smooth and so fast and so tricky! The turns would sneak up on you and really smack you around if you were not ready for them. Off camber singletrack really kept your mind spinning and focusing on the singletrack. Good power climbs with well laid out switchbacks and rock gardens topped it all off. Saturday was going to be a great day for rolling in the woods! After getting a poor quality pre-ride dinner, talking about racing and our bikes, getting our bottles and stuff ready, we were all looking at 11pm and time to sleep. I made my bed in the Prius and feel asleep within minutes. Morning clambered in much too soon as I was really enjoying the perfect temperature and sounds of nature to get up and ready. But ready or not, it was time to race!

We break camp at 7am and eagerly make our way to Warrior Creek campground to start 6 good solid fun hours of rolling through the hills. upon arriving, we realize we have made good time and find a great spot in the cul-de-sac leading back out to the trail. The place is getting so packed that we find ourselves parked in front of the Team Ergon booth with the Odeas both getting ready to race. I get my Infinit-infused fluids and Honey Stinger chews and gels out and ready for a solid energy filled day and set off to see who else is here. I bump into Stephen Janes who I did not know was going to be there. He looks strong and ready to throw down some serious racing. I bump into Shanna Powell of Endless Bikes and get hooked up with a few collector's series spoke cards which will go on my everyday riding wheels until I can figure out how to keep them in place on my I9s. Shanna is riding some crazy rigid beast of a bike complete with a big toot horn on the front and streamers to set it all off nicely: the rolling epitome of keeping it fun on the trail! I see and talk with Mike Stanley of Niner bikes showing off the latest cool bike, the Jet 9(drool!). I catch a glimpse of superstar Team Dicky rider, Rich Dillen, but I am quickly pushed aside by either the paparazzi or maybe his team manager, Mike Piazza, has appointed bodyguards to keep the throngs of admirers and facebook stalkers at bay. Lots of familiar faces start to appear from the many endurance events we seem to congregate to year after year. I roll back to my pit and rest for a few minutes taking in all the lovely bikes rolling through the area. Its a good day for racing! As usual, the countdown to the race begins unexpectedly and I get into position for what appears to be one heck of a large mass start. My neutral start strategy places me lower midpack with Mike Pierce, Matt Depp, Allan Atkinson and a few other names I cannot recall alongside me. Mark Sackett is somewhere up front and hungry for a win today. The race starts and takes us up and down the paved streets of the campsite area. This rolling start attempts to spread us out into an orderly mob before entering the singletrack. It is really crowded all around me and I wonder if I will lose more energy riding like this or should I have been further up in the pack. Too late, as I enter the woods and hit that first bit of singletrack. Already there are guys huffing and puffing, blown out, from cruising too fast on the start paceline. The passing frenzy begins. Then ends as abruptly as it starts as there is simply nowhere to go. I stay in line and focus on an efficient, easy low level cadence to conserve energy. The banked turns and fun spots are fully packed with riders, fast and slow. I actually pass a guy on the high side of a banked turn because he kept slamming on the brakes and creeping through the fun turns. Walkers already on the climbs! Tip-toers on the rock gardens! This goes on throughout lap 1 and I arrive back at the pits ready to make up some lost time. I zoom through and Nicolas hands me a fresh water bottle. No time lost in the pits, I go forward entering back into the singletrack with a bit more lap traffic, but this time passing is possible. I start slowly making my way through it all using perceived exertion to stay aware of my bonk limit. My BMX skills really do come in handy here as I whip my 29'' Salsa Selma through the corners with precision which amazes me. I find a pace I like and start controlling my speed and energy levels for most of this lap. I turn in another decent lap, not strong, just decent. I go back out on lap 3 and start trying to assess when I can start opening up my legs which feel great thus far. I fall into line behind some crazy girl with a red tutu by the name of Shanna Powell and we talk for a while. She has the incredible ability to talk, ride and comment on other rider's fashions all while lofting crazy air off the whoop de doos. It was pretty cool just to be able to ride with new friends. I push ahead and find my pace is slightly stronger than I anticipated and tackle the climbs with ease and rock gardens with style and grace. I zoom back into the pits and rip off my noise making bike tool pack. I decide that I am going to have to invest in one of those Awesome straps when I get back home. For now, duct tape was the answer to hold my tube on the frame. Lap 4 was more of the same as lap 3, legs felt great but not super powerful. I felt a little fade, but was able to work through it with no cramps the entire time. I cleaned the climbs once again and was excited that Lap 5 was almost upon me. As I enter the pits, I realized this would be my last lap since the time cutoff was 3:30, so I took a quick break, ate some food, and set back out on my final lap. This lap had me hot and cold throughout. My legs would fade and my body would weaken with no signs of cramping, just weakness. I kept thinking about what I was missing....Fluids, electrolytes, food...hmmm, maybe I just need more sugars...I stopped and propped myself against a tree and slurped down a chocolate Honey Stinger gel washed down with water, which I thought would have sent me into cramp mode, but instead seemed to do nothing, at first. After about 5 minutes of continued slow speed slogging, I started to come out of my slump. I began to pick up my pace and then like Contador passing Lance on the Swiss Alps, I was back to dancing on the pedals again! I started picking off a ton of riders who were struggling, suffering or both. I pass a rider who appears to have flatted out and roll by only to hear him ask me for a tube. I actually was in the process of chasing down one last singlespeeder who had passed me earlier and did not really wanna stop, but being the nice guy I am, I quickly stop, rip the tube off my frame and give it to him and wish him good luck(I later find out that he was 2nd in men's open and would not have placed at all if it were not for the tube I gave him). As I proceed onwards, I track down the singlespeeder who had passed me when I took my Honey Stinger gel break. His legs had shut down and he was walking the climbs. I punch forward and pass him in a full standup climb up the last remaining climbs to seal the deal. I roll through the rock gardens for the last time and call it a day with Lap#5 in the bank. My legs felt weak, but a 6th lap would have been possible. It was a good day to play in the woods!

We broke down the pit area in a mad dash to get to the lodge for the awards ceremony. Mark Sackett placed 5th! That is one strong finish for a group as powerful as I had witnessed today. Mike Pierce had a long hard day in the saddle and left early. I came in 12th in Singlespeed and felt great to have energy on reserve after such a long day throwing the bike around those turns. Shanna got 1st in women's SS which was much deserved after witnessing the beating she was taking on that aluminum rigid beastie. Raffle prizes were awarded and I actually won an Awesome Strap! After eating some great BBQ & beans and saying my goodbyes to friends both new and old, I jumped in the Prius and set out for home to get some Easter family time in...What a Saturday!

Part 1: The Run.

Just made it through one heck of an eventful weekend. I never realized I could do what I did this weekend, but once you get in the flow, it all seems to work itself out.

First off there was the Charleston Cooper River Bridge Run 10k. This event in itself is a handful for most. Last year, I had planned on doing the run and then the Ride after the Bridge Run Century hosted by Charleston Bicycle Company. Unfortunately, running was not as easy as it seemed as I pulled my calf muscle badly enough to have me out of commission for about 2 months afterwards. This year, I set my sights on the same 2 back-to-back goals....

As the date for the Bridge Run came near, I found myself nowhere near ready to run the Bridge. After hearing some "hype" from friends stating they were also doing the run, I motivated myself to continue with my plans. I did minimal training for the Bridge Run as I knew as long as I ran slow n steady, I would be able to complete the entire run. Wifey pulled me out for a nice long run and this had me wondering if I should be running at all. Coming up on the day of the event, my long time friend from Myrtle Beach, Jeff Dekleva told me me might not be able to run the event due to a previous running injury. This left me bummed as everyone else I knew who was running the Bridge had backed out or simply decided not to run it. I kept with the plan as I knew once the run started, it didn't matter who else ran since it was just me against the Bridge. Thursday, I received the great news that Jeff was running the Bridge so, Wifey, the Raven and I met up Friday night for dinner with Jeff, his brother David, Kristen and another couple of friends whose names I cannot recall. There was some smack talk as to who was going to win. Based on the motivation factor, my money was clearly on David. We planned on meeting up at Starbucks in the morning, but that was a silly plan altogether which will be explained in a moment. Upon waking early at 6am Saturday morning, I sat there slowly getting my morning started thinking about how smoothly everything was going when I realized I should already be in my car on the way to the event to find a parking spot! I panicked, grabbed my bag of clothes for afterwards, and bolted out the door. I rushed to Old Mt Pleasant arriving around 6:30 am and a ton of traffic! Some of the office complexes had turned into fast cash parking lots and I had no cash, so I went off in search of a secluded place to park the Prius. After finding a spot some blocks away, I jump out into the 45 degree weather and hurry down to Starbucks which was crowded beyond belief. Realizing there was absolutely no way to find Jeff and Co., I hang out close to the crowds for warmth and await the start of the run. 15 minutes before the start, I see the lines at Starbucks diminish and grab myself a small cup of coffee. It went down smooth and easy. I felt great and ready to go! Upon the 5 minute warning, I am walking down the sides looking for a place to jump in when all of a sudden, the announcer simply yells out 3-2-1 GO! I was surprised there was not more of a readiness count, but immediately my lines of entry were cut off. Walkers & runners mixed together and before I knew it, I was jumping the fence to mix in with the rushing crowd. This was eerily similar to last year. I immediately told myself to maintain my excitement and just walk until the start line. The only thing that counted was the chip time anyways. After passing through the start gates, my adrenaline rushed and my legs started running. I held myself in control for the first 2 miles doing a light jog with very little passing unless needed. Upon seeing the Bridge coming up, I noticed large gaps in the crowd because of people who had pushed it too hard in the first mile and decided to open up the legs a little. I started running smoothly up the Bridge with little hesitation. My body felt great and my mind was clear. Passing tons of people at this point, I made the gameplan up to run a strong, but steady jog up to the top and then fly down the backside. Good legs, good plan; it all came together. I reached the top in excellent time, and started my mad out of control dash down the backside. The controlled fall I had discussed the previous night with David worked out to my advantage. The load on my legs was very light as long as I kept the flow moving along. The only problems would be walls of people, which were starting to thin out because of their exhausted efforts getting up the Bridge. I felt great and moved along to the bottom. Reaching the left turn off of the Bridge, gravity took over once again and I felt a little worked from my free-run. I throttled my pace down to a light jog and took the time to recover and get my heartrate down. Reaching the first right turn in the city, I felt once again light on the feet and started a nice steady strong stride passing lots of people once again. Going through the streets felt great and I actually was able to notice the throngs of people standing on the sides yelling and cheering this time around. It was great to not be in pain like I was last year around this time in the run. I was able to enjoy the last few miles with a overwhelming sense of accomplishment and the realization that I can set my sights higher next year timewise. As I reached the quarter mile stretch, I opened up my stride and sprinted to the end just to give it a last second punch. Running through that gate with that amount of energy on reserve was an amazing feeling! I had a grin on my face and my body was humming. I let the post race endorphins rush through my body as I went in search of food and anyone I might know...I found the food, but never found the others...As I wound down, I realized it was still cold and I had to get ready for soccer, so after a 30 minute cool down, I went off in search of a shuttle to my car and ended my Bridge Run 2010.

58:00 runtime was recorded in the official books. I had it marked at 52 minutes by my watch, but that is that...either way, I had a great run!

Go home to rest? Nope.

2 hours later, I found myself standing up running up and down the sidelines coaching at the first of my daughter's 2 soccer games scheduled for the day...Then dinner out with friends that night. That was the longest Saturday, I can recall ever having.....

Part 2: The Ride.

Saturday seemed to never end. After arriving home from soccer and dinner, I set out to get my stuff ready for the Ride after the Bridge Run century the very next day. A century is a 100 miles. 5 water bottles, 4 with Infinit, 1 with water, Honey Stinger Gels and Chews and minimal riding clothes were set out. I was going to be on my road bike for a very long time Sunday and was not sure if I would be able to do it based on the previous day's run, so I decided to simply ride it on my own, not use any of the support services and just tag onto the ride drafts when they came whizzing by if possible. This was done primarily because I ride these roads all the time, and I needed to get some training in for the 6 hours of Warrior Creek next weekend. Because of the nature of this decision, I would be skipping out on the first and last 10 miles to the finish, totaling my ride miles at around 80 miles/4 hours which is more than enough for me to know if I could do more. Having a draft help out is just icing on the cake.

Sunday comes quickly and before I know it, I am rolling along with some local friends who are also going along for training rides of sorts. We ride all the way up to Huger before the Bridge Run Ride pack is upon us. It was a crazy, exciting feeling to get swept up by hundreds of riders all of a sudden. Before I know it I am leading the pack for a few miles at 28+ miles per hour and adrenaline is pumping through my body. To picture this, you have to realize I am in front of about 75-100 very strong riders with fresh legs all pedaling as hard as they can inches from each others back wheels! What a rush! I smoothly pull to the left after a few miles and let someone else take the pull, feeling very satisfied that I helped pull the pack along. I make my way to the back listening to friends advise me on where to fall back to and when to make my way to the front once again. I pull a few more times and start to think about ways to conserve energy for the entirety of the ride. I fall back farther into the mass and am surprised to see how deeply the line of riders really is. I find that many riders simply lurk in the back and never actually take their turn up front to pull. Either way, they are making a draft for someone else, so it all works out I guess...I slide in midway into the horde and maintain my position for a great many miles. Then as the weaker riders start to fade, I feel them peeling off little by little. After one or two more major turns, sections start to gap and separate. I lose 2 water bottles in this period because of the rough road conditions. I barely recover in time to make it into the second section as a lead breakaway group of about 10 riders pulls away. It's pretty cool to actually be close enough to the front of the action to see it going down! Those lead riders had to be pushing it extremely hard to get away from our group which was chasing them down at 25+ mph! This went on for the next 20 miles...Then upon reaching the 50 mile mark, I hear a rider mention my tiny Park hex wrench tool had fallen from my bike bag. Thinking about losing the water bottles earlier and now my tools, I decide to pull out of the pack. I smoothly exit left and pedal out to the opposite traffic lane and watch the pack fly away at breakneck speed. I wonder if I made the right choice to get out with 50 more miles left to go. I feel really worried that I should have stayed in place as I pedal alone back to locate my hex tools with a wind pushing me along. Then as the fleeting pack is almost out of sight, I hear shouts, yells, brakes squealing and cleats scraping asphalt! I turn around and look hard to where they are at and notice them all bunched up almost on top of one another. I realize someone has crashed hard. As I stare in amazement, I notice the entire pack pickup their bikes regroup and take off like a mad pack of animals on the run. The pack thins out and all that is left is one rider crushed into the ground and one rider staring at him deciding what to do. I race back to the injured rider and assess the damage. He is hurt really bad. Major scrapes on his forehead, twisted neck, possible spinal injuries, arm pinned under his back, legs tangled in the bike, possible broken bones, etc. I slowly untangle just his bike and urge for him not to move. I ask him if he can breathe and he replies yes, and I tell him I am going for help. I get back on my bike and race back to the support station to notify a rider is severely injured. I start to feel a bit tired riding back and forth, worrying that I may be out in this wind for the rest of the day. I race back to the rider who is now being helped by many and let him know help is on the way as an EMT arrives. They start to take over and I exit out of the way to let them do their job. Shocked by what I have just witnessed and the amount of energy expended to get help flowing, I fall into a sluggish crawl for the next few miles. It doesn't help that the wind is howling into my face and I have so much on my mind now, such as the fact that I almost ended up in that crash if it wasn't for my decision to go back and get my tools. After getting my thoughts back on my pedal spin and energy consumption, I get some Honey Stinger chews and gobble them up. I finish off my third bottle of Infinit (wonderful stuff) and feel my energy reserves stabilize. As I drift into the death march home, I hear a group come up on me and a rider mentions for me to tag onto the back and enjoy the ride. I smoothly enter their draft and trail them for a few miles letting my legs clear out the fog they were in from stopping for so long. I take charge and start pulling the group, noticing their speed increase as I pull them on longer and longer periods. Slowly, we start hitting 20mph averages and develop a nice smooth cruise. We pick up a few more riders and really start kicking it into high gear. Before I know it I am on the final 15 miles home and just open hammer it all the way to Clements Ferry Rd. I politely thank them for letting me tag along on their ride and they thank me for the extra pulls I contributed to get them back home. I cut out and spin out the last mile home satisfied that I had made it back with energy in the tank to spare. Surprisingly, I had enough energy in my legs to possibly squeeze out another 50 miles.

3 hrs :58 mins 82 miles

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/28283223

It was a great day for riding!
My weekend mission was a success!

Snake Creek Gap #3

After my last experience at Snake Creek Gap, I was not too enthusiastic to return to Dalton and give it another go, but with the promise of nice weather and the option to carpool, I made the solid decision to return and face the Snake once again....

It was a smooth ride up to Dalton until we decided to listen to my Garmin Nuvi GPS which siderailed us with a 1.5 hour delay because of poor alternate routing...Once in Dalton, everything was once again under control and relaxed. Matt McMaster and I met up with Mark Sackett, Mike Pierce and some friends from Charleston, Ken Privette and Mike Wagers who were there for their first battle with the Snake...During dinner we shared information on how to handle the mountains all the while thinking of how we were going to ride it ourselves. I went up with a plan to keep it slow for the first 20 miles and then increase my power output incrementally. I stuck with the plan and did not deviate as I had also had similar advice from Dave Hall in regards to how to tackle this 34 miles of trail. My friends weren't so sure it was the best plan, but it was my plan and I wanted to try and stick to something which has been working well for me lately. After a great night's sleep at the Quality Inn, we went down and had some free breakfast and hit the road. Upon arrival for registration, the weather was already looking positively better. I was still cold and had several layers on, but not as many as in February. After some chatting around the fire and loading up our bikes on the transport trailers, we hopped in the big bus and rolled upwards towards our 34 mile destination...No sooner had we gotten comfortably numb on the bus, we were dumped out and made ready to ride....Not wanting to stand around and wait for my legs to start tightening up, I quickly jumped in the takeoff line and before I knew it, I had started my challenge on Snake Creek Gap once again!

I felt a bit mentally cloudy and not yet entirely responsive...but some quick climbs and rapid downward acceleration made sure I was in the game for now... After a few miles, I noticed my tire pressure was too high and my new I9 wheels were definitely stiffer than my old ones...I also think I may have used the wrong tire for the current condition of the trail as it was loose and sandy, nothing like the conditions in February. Cruising along on a open fireroad climb, I come across Mike Wagers who had the deer in the headlights look in his eyes...been there, felt that-not a good feeling...I arrive at the dreaded raging creek of doom and discover that it is a little less than knee deep and pull a wicked wheelie and charge right through it. I come out fairly dry with nothing soaked at all! I continue onwards and keep picking my way through early casualty traffic, always checking my speed and keeping a steady pace...I come up on Ken Privette who is hunched over, grunting, and pedaling like a man on a mission. I mutter something positive to him and continue onwards. I reach the 10 mile mark and clean lots of climbs I had previously walked up. I find a few that I still had to walk on, but most of my walking time was spent running up those climbs to keep my time low. My plan was working well and I was well and working. Upon hitting mile 15, something seem to have messed up the strike plate underneath my shoe cleat and it would no longer engage in the right pedal. I did not want to stop, so I kept pedaling along trying to think of what to do. After doing a fast and messy one footed descent at mile 17, I decided to pull over into the woods and fix my cleat properly. Tools were pulled out, cleat was removed, faulty strike plate was removed and disposed of. All parts reassembled and I was back under way, but with a massive time loss. Matt caught up to me while working on my show and he looked strong. Shortly thereafter, Mark came flying by trailing Namrita Odea who seemed to be having a stellar day. I really wanted to keep up with everyone, but my plan was to keep it slow for a few more miles and on top of that, my legs were cold again from the maintenance stop. I got back into a rhythm and just kept cruising along focusing on the ride and the scenery....After a few more miles, I ran back into Matt who was having some possible hydration issues with severe onset of cramping. I urged him to eat and drink and pace himself for awhile which he did, but shortly caught back up with me. For a while, he was moving along and seemed to be having a good recovery. I reached my first planned destination which is the 21 mile gravel road climb which meant I was "allowed" to increase my attack speed a little based on my overall feeling. I felt great, so I started a nice tempo climb up the gravel road passing a few geared riders along the way. After a few minutes of this, I mentioned to Matt how nice this climb is when the weather is right, but heard nothing behind me. I looked back to realize I had dropped Matt never to see him again until after the race. I knew what had happened as it has happened to me several times in the past. Matt's cramps onset and then returned much harder than before, not allowing even the slightest pedaling to occur. I pedaled onward pushing those thoughts of him suffering out of my head just wanting to keep myself together for the next 10 miles...I rode onwards at a nice clip, playing in the switchbacks, taking on the rock gardens whenever safely possible and passing lots and lots of riders cramping and near cramping in the woods. I started to push myself harder only to find out I did not have a lot to give at once, so I eased up a little and then held on to whatever cadence I had. I would attack climbs, and hug the closest tree near the top of each one for about 30 seconds to recover and then move forward. I did this for the next few miles pulling myself off trees and hugging them to hold me while my heartrate was back under control. I trudged onwards until I saw the 4 mile mark at which point I started pedaling like a madman! I ran up climbs which I could not pedal up and quickly worked my way through lots of small rock gardens and tight singletrack. The descents worked my arms and the neverending 4 miles of trail left worked on my mind. I kept looking for the radio tower on the mountain which meant the race had only 2 more miles to go, but it would not come up! After some major frustration and some near falls on the sharp rocks, the radio tower appeared and the rest of the way was sprint history for me. I worked as hard as possible knowing I could rest on the downhill return on the highway. I hit 40 mph on the downhill straights and really felt glad to have finished.

Upon arriving, I jumped in line for food, water and sat back in the nice warm sun and soaked it all in. What a well organized event! Great volunteers, very nice and approachable. The crowd at the end was thick with talent all having completed their time trials in much less time for certain. I received my results with a time of 4hrs:26mins and deducted my previous time was 45 minutes longer than this time around. I felt great about the improvement and just smiled for the rest of the day....its good to have closure.

Cheers to Matt McMaster for a great ride although he worked much harder this time around... Hang in there Matt, its good to learn this stuff early in the season.
Cheers to Mark Sackett for another consistent result time. Man, you are getting STRONG!
Cheers to Mike Pierce for a good solid ride with only a rear brake! INSANE!
Cheers to Ken Privette for entering and completing his first Snake Creek Gap Time Trial...
Honorable Mention to Mike Wagers for attempting the Snake...some more offroad time in the saddle will transform you into a mountain loving kinda guy, my friend...don't give it up!

Cheers,
Joel

12 Hours of pain, 'er I mean Santos

Being that it has been rainy, snowy and just downright cold and mucky in Charleston, I had been quite sick of the cold and wet stuff, so when the calendar showed 12 Hours of Santos coming up, I was more than ready to take the trip down south for a day and bask in the predicted warmth of the sun....Talk about perfect weather! Rode down with Dave and Robert in the coolest road trip van on the planet ready for a great day of riding on Saturday. Uneventful smooth trip down south with the temperature climbing steadily as we drove. Arriving in great time, we setup camp, watched the freeriders blasting off the jumps and went for a few pre-race laps...My legs felt great! I felt great...I guess being on a road bike for the last 2 months with nonstop headwinds really makes you appreciate the vacuum-like quality of a tight, fast, twisty trail with little or no wind resistance. It was definitely worth the trip. I took a decent speed lap, then another at a lower speed, then played for a while on the rocky stuff looking for easy climb lines...Took time off the bike, waited for Mark, Mike and Nick to roll in and watched Niner & everyone else setup for awhile and hastily went for our annual Mexican food feast. I order 2 entrees with extra guacamole to make sure I had plenty in the tank for tomorrow's adventure and ate every bit of it. That night, the usual Santos campout revelry occurred at a much higher volume than last year possibly due in some part to an alleged conspiracy to keep everyone awake and miserable throughout the night. I heard Dave planning a revolt outside my tent and lots of mutual agreement, but I was so tired from the past week's lack of sleep due to work, that I greeted Morpheus with open arms...

Saturday came up nice and smooth until some of our guys started honking their car horns to annoy the other camps, oh well...The organizers of Santos(GoneRiding.com) had a great breakfast spread laid out for the riders complete with oatmeal, coffee, cheese danish and cereal! I ate happily and got suited up for a full day's worth of riding. Have you noticed yet, how I have not complained once about cold weather? It was THAT warm! It was a great day for a race. As always, from that moment on, everything went into fast forward and before I knew it I was running up a hill with a bunch of other nuts in search of our bikes to hastily make our way onto the singletrack express. I actually got into the woods pretty smoothly and proceeded to tag onto some steadily paced riders. The pain train rolled onwards without any major issues through lap#1. I skipped pitting since I did not need anything vital and went out for a full fresh lap. After opening up the legs a bit more throughout lap#2, I realized this was going to be an excellent day for me as I did not have any signs of hesitation when demanding more power. I eased back to make sure I would make it and settled into a very nice pace. I rode strong through lap#4 and then suffered a major setback which possibly cost me a chance at the podium...chain snap! Upon leaving the twisty singletrack, you enter back into a section of the "Vortex" before making your way back to the pit area. The Vortex is a mixture of tight turns and punchy uphill climbs. I went to redline the heartrate to get up the climb, fast and quickly, when my chain snapped without warning. I spun out but thanks to the steady platform of my new Time ATAC pedals, I was able to keep from smacking my knees and "tenders" on any section of my frame. I quickly unclipped pulled my bike over to the side and tried to assess what to do. I looked for the broken chain link, but could not find it. I was not sure what to do, as I could not fix it immediately and wasted a large amount of time making a decision. I finally stuck with just running the bike through the remainder of the lap and fixing it once in the pit area. I ran in, fixed the bike, got back on and took off again trying to makeup for lost time. I actually fell back into a rhythm and decided I would probably be dead last, but I was determined to finish my goal of at least 10 laps. Lap#10 came up quick and next thing I knew there was still plenty of time for more laps! I hooked up my Ayup lights(which worked perfectly) and took off for more pain. Santos was really starting to abuse me around this time as the lava rocks in the course are unforgiving and staggered to make it hard to float over them with precision so I slowed down. 2 singlespeeders caught and passed me in lap#11, and I worked hard to pass them back. We played like this for a while at the beginning of Lap#12 and then I finally noticed both guys suffering in different sections of the trail due to major cramps which allowed me to pass and drop them with ease. I was also feeling weak, but not that weak....I came in off Lap#12 at 9:23 and decided to not go back out for another lap since I thought both of the other guys were 1 lap up on me anyways. I later found out that only one of them was a lap up, so I could have clinched 4th place! If it were not for my chain breaking, I may have had a chance for 3rd place and that would have been fantastic, but nonetheless, this race was a major victory for me to actually tackle and finish a 12 hour endurance race which was truly an unknown to me.

Overall, my hands were hamburger meat, my legs were cooked, and my rear end was chaffed beyond belief, but my passion for lap racing grew a little more. I learned more about what kind of strategy I should try next time as well as how to eat & drink a bit more efficiently. My goal was to complete a 12 hour race with at least 10 laps. I more than satisfied that goal and certainly look forward to next year! I could not have even come close to this goal if it wasn't for Dave Hall's coaching tips and his leading of the WBL this winter which was hosted by the Charleston Bicycle Shoppe. Thanks to Mike from Niner bikes to assist me in the pit area when in need of some quick thinking and reconfiguring of my lights for the night laps, he really helped me out when I just could not think straight anymore.

12 Hours of Santos is quickly becoming one of my favorite races of the year, not only because of the warmth of Florida, but also because of the great people who come down to race, assist, and just generally be a part of it all. Did I mention all the cool looking bikes rolling around out there? Awesome stuff!

Results here:http://www.goneriding.com/2010/12%20hours%20of%20Santos/results/12HOURSOLO.htm

No GPS stats available since it went berzerk at around lap#2.
I believe I may have killed it at the Snake Creek Gap in the nasty elements. :(

Up next, The Snake Creek Gap Time Trial#3!

Cheers,
Joel

Snake Creek Gap TT #2

I cannot believe how tough this first race of the season has been for me. After hearing the horror stories of just how extremely cold it was back at Snake Creek Gap TT #1, I was really worried about becoming a stranded frozen popsicle out in the Chattahoochee National Forest....I really thought I was prepared for what was to come, but I do not think I was even close...mentally nor physically.

Backpedaling in the story, you, the reader, must understand that I have been road training(basically being pummeled by macho roadies who love to drop neophytes such as myself in 15-20mph headwinds at paces above 23-25mph avg), working furiously on a new software feature, indoor spinning, and buying a new home all at the same time. Not to mention that Mother Nature and the unknown forces at work have been pummeling the Earth with massive amounts of rainfall, therefore rendering useless what minimal amounts of local trails we do have! It had not been an easy January...Then closing on our new house(yay!) and realizing we must evacuate our current house(doh!) made the start of race season that much more complicated. So, my "rest" week before the Snake was spent lifting lots and lots of heavy boxes, then working until 4 or 5 in the am, waking at 10am and then doing it again...and still doing it now. I do believe the best night's sleep I received was at the hotel before the race through the Pinhoti Trail System...

So, where was I? Oh yeah, Matt McMaster and myself headed up to Dalton Georgia late on Friday arriving just in time to get some late chow and meeting up with Mike Pierce and Mark Sackett to discuss Saturday's race strategies. Mark mentioned the rainfall would more than likely have a serious affect on the initial creek crossing which had been a frosty nuisance in January. I hoped he was wrong on that one. He also mentioned some serious rock gardens which were close to impossible to climb entirely while in the saddle. I shuddered to think about rock gardens along a ridegeline with temps forecast into the upper 30s...We did all agree that the overall temperature was better than January, but we knew of no other elements which were within our control...off to sleep I went with too many unknowns in my mind.

Saturday came fast and furious as expected...a minor setback, was the discovery that breakfast at the Courtyard Dalton was not complimentary and we had no time left to enjoy a waited breakfast. I simply gobbled up assorted cookies and breakfast bar items and we all set out hurriedly to meet the Snake Creek Gap challenge...41 degrees at the start...Arriving a bit late for initial registrants, we found ourselves rushed from one line to another to get our bib numbers and free tshirts (nice shirts Northwest Georgia SORBA!) and nice cloth maps of the Pinhoti Trail system, which will be mounted on a wall under glass in the future. We then found ourselves being shuttled up towards the start point in a super nice heated luxury RV which I was reluctant to get out of when approaching our destination. After waiting a few moments for our bikes to show up, it was time to say our good lucks and start on our solo adventures.

The Time Trial is setup to have 15 second gaps between riders in order to not have as many riders all scrambling for the same trail space at any given moment. It was an interesting and pleasant way to start the race. Mark took off first, then some other riders, then Matt, then more riders, then it was my turn and last, but not least, Mike. My thoughts kept going forward to the creek crossing: should I ride thru? or walk it barefoot? After some initial warm up climbing for the first mile or so, I arrived at the first creek crossing and my choice was made for me. The water was on the brink of unpassable. It was really coming through thick! My first thought was: there is no way I am gonna get across. Matt was already across. Then, I see some people strip off their shoes, hike on their bike and start sloshing across, getting pushed sideways by the heavy currents, then going deeper, deeper and then coming up and out of it. No WAY! Before my mind could convince me to turn around, I quickly took off my neoprene booties, shoes and socks, stuffed them in my jacket and started across. The creek pushed me sideways and I really had to push my way across...up came the water past my knees, up it came further...oh yeah, past my waist...still inching higher...oh there it goes...mid chest...COLD! I started to slosh faster and just as quickly as I dipped into it, I re-emerged soaking wet from lower mid chest down...so much for staying as dry as possible. My extra socks were soaked, but they were wool(Wigwams rock!), so I immediately wrung them out and slid them on. Mike comes across soaked through. The wind was quickly letting me know just how wet I was, so it was vital to cover up as quickly as possible. 2 pairs of semi-soggy socks, shoes and soggy neoprene booties back in place, I jumped on the bike and take off again to make up for lost time and build my body heat back up. Did I mention there were 2 more back and forths on that creek? I rode through one which went midway up my frame...soaked already, so it no longer mattered. I quickly forgot about the creek crossings as I then entered the no-man's land of mucky climbing, John's Mountain...

I realized at this point that I had selected a gear which was too high

for the circumstances that followed. I kept getting really bogged down in the mud and muck from the water pouring down the mountains. It was the most frustrating climbing situation I believe I have ever encountered. I would jump off and walk, but slip and sink deeper into the mud. I finally found a balancing point which made me maintain a certain speed, either walking or pedaling whenever I could. This went on for the next 10-15 miles. Pedal, get some speed going, approach climb with intensity, bog down, standup pedal lightly, bog down further and spin out from my tall gear choice...walk. Lots of hike-a-biking...After some mindless muck madness, I finally catch up to Matt who seems to be having the same issues except he is geared...but I notice he is spending more time in the saddle than I am which is good for him. We ride together for a while and then I fade/walk, then I catch up again, then take off on some nice singletrack. It goes on like this for about 5 miles...I ride his wheel for a while, then notice we are on a super nice ridge and decide to stop and eat something at the view. The stop was nice, the mountains were beautiful, light snow was falling and the food was sweet and energy filled. I slog on. More creek crossings! I suppose this is why it's called Snake Creek as it winds along like a coiled up rattle snake in various corners of the trail and then it stings you when you are not expecting. Yes, at this point, I got "stung"...Upon nearing the final creek crossing in a series of switchbacks, there were several rocks jutting about in the water, which I did see and hit anyways. It was the "your body goes where you look" type scenario. I saw the rocks and headed right into them. I hit them, rolled over a few, lost momentum, stopped short and fell sideways clipped in into the shallow creek. Soaked and a little bruised, I quickly getup, check myself, and continue onwards. Yelling at myself for getting sloppy, I take off again finding some nice gravel road climbs to make up some lost time on. I catch up to Matt again at a last chance rest stop before the entry into the rock gardens...I skip the rest stop as I am fully fueled and starting to get a chill as the temps are falling. Mile 22, and I ride onwards through some really nice singletrack. It then starts to weave up and down, work, reward, repeat. I enter the rock gardens and entertain my mind manuevering through the jagged terrain. I descend through it all and clean so much of it, that I actually start to begin having some fun! Overconfident, I realize that was just a warmup. As I hit mile 26-27, I see more rocks, more jagged edges, rocks in the turns, both inside and outside...I start to make small mistakes. I fall again, but it is a simple clean tumble. I realize I was lucky. I stop to assess my situation. I am getting colder, my body is not responding nearly as well as I had hoped, and my gloves are soaked thru and starting to freeze. I am sleepy tired, and feel sick to my stomach(mild hypothermia?). My emergency Snickers bar is frozen solid, which I force eat anyways. Not good. I start walking through sections which seem dangerous and simply look for clean lines only, no more challenges. I then start to have a few mechanicals with my chain. I guess the extreme torqueing I was doing on earlier climbs made my EBB slip and my chain was loose. I stopped once to slip it back on and tried to fix it, but my fingers were so numb that I could not feel my tools or work my fingers for that matter. So I simply slip the chain on and ride with less side-to-side vigor. It works for about 3 more miles and then chain off again. As I was putting it back on again, Matt comes rolling up and agrees this rock garden is for superhuman MTBers only...I tell him to keep going and don't stop. He disappears onward...I keep a cautious pace to keep my chain on and finally reach the radio tower. Back to gravel, back to roads and onwards to the finish...half frozen, ridiculously tired, I roll in 5 hours and 11 minutes later...

Mark was there already changed and looking much warmer than I feel. I start to shake uncontrollably and rush straight to my car to change. It hurts more to strip down than it did to remain in my wet cold clothing, but it was necessary. After a bowl of free chili and some talk about the trail and conditions around the fire pit, I start to realize I am not feeling any better or warmer. We wait for Mike to roll in, I say my goodbyes and Matt and I jump in the truck, jam on the heat and roll out. The ride back was another adventure in staying awake, but Matt shared the workload and just like that, we were back home and off to our own worlds again....

Snake Creek Gap Time Trial was very well organized, good support and overall great attitudes for the weather being what it was...Thanks to all the volunteers and organizers who help keep the Snake alive!

Up next....Santos.....

Snake Creek Gap final round next month? Only if those temps inch upwards: playing in the cold is for penguins and polar bears...

No Cowbell Challenge for 2010

Ok...pretty sad to read about it, but CowBell 2010 is no more. Why? Lack of sponsors, internal issues and tough times ahead for many a small company....Why so sad? Well for one, I had my heart set on winning a cowbell this year...yes its a selfish reason, but that little cowbell is so symbolic of a greater accomplishment...it is symbolic of coming back after giving up last year being so close to having earned it....Also sad because it was such a popular race for all who came and knew each other, also sad because of the amount of the money brought in that was given to good causes...sigh...Goodbye Cowbell...

http://cowbellchallenge.wordpress.com/

A moment to reflect....

Well, the end of the year just came and went in a blinding fury of "whooosh"! Just like that, it's almost the middle of January....and what does that mean? Well it should mean I should be pedaling my butt off getting ready for the upcoming season of off-road cycling racing fun! Ok, I am kinda, but not really pushing it to the point that a pro should, being how I am simply not pro, but having fun at an amatuer level regardless I am trying to find the balance between family, work and fun...of course racing is my fun...

Turkey Day & Xmas were great, family visits were wonderful, eating lots of great foods was also wonderful, time off the bike was ok, but I do miss a day out in the deep woods just pedaling along...spent some nice time with my Aunt & Uncle in Charlotte, rode the train to downtown which was exciting.

Work is constantly evolving and we find ourselves with many feature requests in queue, which are sometimes difficult to accomplish, but worth the effort when the results equate to a newfound spike in sales...also have some cool new "hush-hush" integration ideas I have been working on which may gain a few more interest points of recommendation...

We are also closing on a new house Yay! Which means funds may be limited for the meantime to focus on unexpected or unforeseen expenses...but the newer living space will mean more freedom for us to spread our wings and hopefully dig our roots in...I am trying to continue focusing on the cycling calendar which really helps me escape some of the reality of adult responsibility and icky stuff like that...unfortunately, the 2010 calendar may all be tentative this year since the new house thing is coming into fruition much faster than expected...

Family is doing excellent, can't complain. Raven is getting taller and stronger... I am going to be helping coach her soccer team this spring which is new territory to me, but I am really excited to be involved with her sports activities! Wifey is wonderful as usual, keeping us all healthy with her new Superfoods nutrition program. Hopefully this winter freeze will release us so we can go on some nature hikes or bikes.

Currently trying to attend the WBL series which Dave Hall leads out on Sundays, but I always find an obstacle blocking the way. Either work on a Saturday, or 12 degree temps which hinder my ability to pedal properly(although many showed up to the ride last Sunday despite the cold). When I do actually ride one of the WBLs. I really have a great time! So I am going to try not missing the next few since the WBL is probably about over...but definite thanks to Dave for letting us tag along on his strength building program which he is literally allowing everyone to sample....

So, if all goes according to plan, we should be moved out by month's end and putting all the pieces together in the new hacienda throughout February which has a few preregistered races already in motion. Nothing I can do about these races since early registration grabs the discount rates...so I will try and do my best, and hopefully my stress level won't become too much of a factor at events...it may actually help me find an outlet... :)

I have new race wheels which are on the way to give some offtime to the current ones in need of servicing...new pedals also on the way to rid myself of the CrapBrothers EggBeaters...not much else new I believe since most of my components held up great through last season except for the 2 sets of Crank Brothers pedals I went through and not from abuse, but from actual wear...Gonna try Time ATAC this season and hope to not have to focus on pedal spring failures...doh, I am rambling...

Regardless, I will be posting more blog-matter to keep my legion of blog-followers satisfied...you know who you are!

Cheers,
Joel

Swank 65

What an absolutely different Epic Race this was when compared to last year's freezing temps and unknown race course. Moonlight camping, lots of stars, perfect weather, good vibes, good friends, gourmet campfire cooking with my wonderful support Wifey. Listening to spooky stories ala iPod upon falling asleep under the bright moonlight. Waking up to great coffee and the nervousness that comes from pre-race tensions and anxiety and excitement! It's full-0n energy overload! Yes, I did suffer miserably for a short period of time challenging myself against Farlow, but only because of my own bone-headed mistakes, nothing more. I did not train like I did for ORAMM, and I did not come fully nutritionally prepared, but only because this is a really fun-race and nothing more. 33x23t was a good choice for this event due to the high frequency of climbing, but I may be a little more daring in the future and gear up higher to get up climbs a little faster...

Mark Sackett had planned to lead us through the starter of the race to get us a good position at the first climb. Unfortunately, I knew his pace was very strong and a bit higher than my current threshold would maintain, so I told him I was going to lay back and pace cruise up until the first official climb. It was good strategy and I am starting to really understand the importance behind it. Race start was LeMans with a forward roll which was hilarious: if someone did catch that on their camera, I beg you to delete it.

Cove Creek was a bit logjammed, so there were 2 choices to make, charge ahead and pass aplenty, or cruise along and pass when necessary...I simply cruised along. My legs felt great, body was feeling good, but my head was foggy, so a slow pace really was for me at the moment.

I continued on this pace, averaging 8.5-9 mph until the first climb up 475. I stopped for a very short moment at RS#1 to remove a thermal layer and continue forward. The climb was smooth short and fast. I storm through RS#2 no need for any refills. 13 miles in, legs feeling great! Did I mention the reststops? They were great! Maybe a little too nice...made me wanna stop and relax at each and every one...but I digress as this is a race recap and forward momentum must be maintained...Downhill to Butter Gap...smooth sailing, loving this high speed descent! Butter Gap flows along and I clean almost everything I challenge my legs with. It's looking like a great day for riding. 475 comes along much too quickly and I excitedly realize I am climbing again with a good constant speed. Oops, I am out of water. By skipping RS#2 earlier I had depleted all of my reserves inbetween Buter Gap and Long Branch. 8.6 m,ph avg here...No worries, I am almost back up to RS#2. I arrive parched and worried about the lapse inbetween water. I guzzle down fluid from my reststop supplies only to find out I guzzled some Heed which just does not agree with my system at times. I eat, drink some clear water, jump back on the bike and start climbing Pilot Mtn Rd up towards Farlow....Well, well now...20 miles out and here comes a fast onset of the most serious cramps I have felt in quite some time. Both legs involuntarily seize within seconds of each other leaving me standing straight legged, staring out at the beautiful views that come with this climb listening to other racers pass me by, some quietly mumbling something about insanity and singlespeed in the same sentence...I wait patiently for the return of my legs and calmly drink water and start the death march up to the top of Farlow....I switch back and forth from walking to riding for a large portion of this climb realizing that I am totally bonked and my legs may never come back. At this point, I almost turn around and coast down the climb to quit at RS#2....But like the stubborn goat that I am, I march on, determined to find my legs again. I cruise up to the point of no return at Farlow and lean back, set my sights on the prize and take the plunge. I clean the upper section only to find myself sliding sideways on newly fallen leaves which change the personality of this descent entirely. I find a safe stopping point(meaning, jamming on the brakes and almost crash) whereupon I decide to hike the rest of the way. Lots of other hikers were present and some commented positively on my futile attempt to try and traverse the leaf laden mountain side...I actually pass a few people hiking since I am actually familiar with the creek crossings and the overall distance remaining as well as having rubber soles to grip on stuff (Mavic Contagrips rock!). I once again run out of water and dip into the highest creek stream I can find and drink aplenty. My legs return after a few short minutes with newfound energy ready to take on Daniel Ridge. Man, what is in that Pisgah mountain water?! I start really moving along, trying to make up for lost time. RS#3 comes along with a fresh water refill and nothing else. I eat some honey chews on the way and get another burst of energy, which powers me up until the end of the very last climb up 475b/225. I once again find my legs screaming in misery upon entering the Cove Creek trail within the last few miles, wishing I had more magic Pisgah water... Lots of people strewn up in here with cramps and pain. I zigzag through it all, managing my own pain, focusing on finishing ...time no longer an issue, I finish! Ahh yes, and what is the first thing I see, Wifey's worried look wondering where I have been, Mark and Mike holding beers, already changed, asking what took me so long...sigh, good friends....A few hamburgers, recovery beers and warm fireside conversation, and back to sealevel I went, Wifey leading the way...Thanks Marsha for being there to support and worry about me, you rock!

Total time: 5:46:06

Total miles: 37.81miles

Elevation Gain: 5641ft.

Cheers to Mark Sackett for his outstanding 30th place result!

Cheers to Mike Pierce for his outstanding results even with his wardrobe malfunction!

Todd, Heather; it gets better every year! Thank you for once again organizing this event and giving everyone a chance to goof off in the mountains.

Looking forward to next year guys!

Francis Marion Expedition ala Kawasaki!

Went out on a super fun off-road excursion earlier today. Dave Hall and I took the motorcycles out for a little trip out and around as many backroads in the Francis Marion forest area as we could find in the time we had. Turns out one too many stops for fun riding over obstacles and exploring obscure trails made for a definite re-visit in the future...There are so many gravel roads out there to explore...Dave also got stuck a few times although he was able to slog out of most of his predicaments. I, unfortunately, got stuck knee deep in some very swampy muck which almost saw me leaving my bike there to return with towing assistance(my truck). Fortunately, Dave remained calm and collected while I impatiently kept tugging away on my sinking motorcycle and thought of a great idea having to do with tons of sticks and brush to make a false floor. It worked long enough to pull the bike over and out of the swamp. Most of the day was spent exploring lots of trail ends leading to various sections of the Santee and North Santee as well as Echaw Creek. So much fun...so little time...more exploring in this area to come.

Total Distance: 104 miles...
Time: 5 hours total including mud jam interruptions...

More details at:
http://imdavehall.blogspot.com/

Garmin GPS Data:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/17169617

Enjoy the pictures!

Mini-Adventure...

So it started out as a great idea. Get up early, load up bikes, and ride the Palmetto Passage...7 miles...seemed easy...and it was a great idea...initially.

I thought it would also be a great way to take the Raven out on her first ride on her newly built Salsa Moto Rapido mtn bike.

But then, like a pesky friend, chaos took over the driver's seat...and things got a little more hectic...

Somehow, in the fog of the early morning, I ended up changing our initial departure riding point from Buck Hall to the Swamp Fox trailhead. And just like that, we were riding up the Swamp Fox trail at 8:30 in the morning..which seemed ok at the time considering the weather was nice. I figured, a mile up through scenic points of the Swamp Fox trail and then turn around, and fork over to the Palmetto Passage and leave the best part for last...so far, so good..

But, did I mention anything about the mosquitos? Absolutely relentless! At first few miles, not a big deal...but wow, they never ever gave up the fight...not once!

The Raven was the first to spot a snake on our ride. Snake, she yelled as I rode past it much too closely. When I asked her to describe it, she said, brown with diamond markings on it...gulp.

I started to worry that my great idea to get the Wifey and Raven into some nice weather trail riding was much too premature in the season.

After turning around a mile or so into the Swamp Fox trail, we return back to the fork in the trailhead and I decide to simply ride onwards towards the Palmetto Passage...another left turn taken by chaos. I figured it couldn't be too muddy on this part of the trail, so we pedal on. Upon looking back to check on the family, they heft big smiles letting me know they were having fun or at least smiling for me to let me know they were with me....Then I hear the Wifey say something about a tree going after her and then "oof!". Wifey hit a tree, but had a great recovery and we were back pedaling away. Raven trudges through some muddy lines and holds up the Wifey who is starting to pedal like a pro through the muddy stuff. It was classic lowcountry trail riding. I really wish I had brought my camera. We cross the highway and enter the Palmetto Passage with the family still showing a good deal of energy left...The Palmetto Passage is definitely a must repeat for cooler weather since everyone was really enjoying this part of the ride...

Remember those pesky mosquitos? Well, they certainly don't give up the fight easily. All of the nice scenic stops I had planned on making basically did not happen. We simply charged through each and every break point only to stop on top of a windy bridge long enough to hydrate and take a break from blood loss...Raven wrecks once into a tree and holds back the tears and continues onward. We reach Buck Hall and briefly rest to catch our breath. At this point I realize it is getting very hot, much hotter than was forecast for the day... I round up the troops and we set off cruising along at a good pace. The Wifey blazes ahead with a newfound set of legs and sets a pace that Raven simply cannot hold, so I bring up the tail end to keep everyone in check...The Wifey clears some roots on a climb which simply leave me amazed while looking back Raven gets off to walk...all the while mosquitos are eating us alive...literally. I tell here to get back on as soon as possibly and keep moving...The Wifey later announces she has just seen a snake on the trail about 50 feet ahead with a mixture of screaming and excitement in her voice. The Raven and I plunder on carefully making our way forward. I take back lead point and start pacing us closer to the end constantly reminding everyone that it is ok to walk over obstacles that they do not feel comfortable riding over. The Wifey seems to have taken to mountain biking overnight as she attacks another rooty uphill climb with positive determination. I stop and stare at her in awe as she flies up the climb only to stop a few feet short of the top and discover she is geared too high. She falls over, tangled up in her bike in a nasty looking pile. I wince watching it happen and then we help her recover. She gets up and keeps on moving! Wifey is on a mission! Raven cannot believe her mom is a mtb maniac! We finally exit the Palmetto Passage and we try riding up the side of the highway to shortcut our way back to the car, but Wifey finally succumbs to her rampant energy bursts and hides out in a shady rest while she commands me to continue onward and bring her chariot to her. I proceed, pick the family up and head back home..

17 miles of mosquito laden lowcountry trail fun was had...Overall, a great day!

Cheers to my Wifey and the Raven for riding as hard as they did...

Next family ride: Marrington(hopefully on a cooler day)

Captains Log; Stardate 63216.1

Seems I haven't written much in a while...while it may seem that not much has been going on, there actually has...

Life has been going on. Regular, busy life...

News which has been rocking our boat of life:

First, I broke my toe. Yes, its broke and I can't figure out how to get it to heal without sitting dead calm still...its quite an annoyance. I broke it surfing trying to stand up too fast for a wave and jammed it into the top of my board...I thought it was jammed, but I cannow clearly see it is broken, all swollen and different looking... Hitting it into all sorts of corners only helps me verify the toe exists. i thought it was done healing recently, but a weekend event last week left it really puffy and not feeling all too well...

The Wifey has been going through a major case of kidney stones... From what she describes, its like giving birth all over again...ouch! Anyways, its a bit different having to adjust to running out to get her meds, handling some of the indentured Wifey's chores as well as just being there for her to "hug". I really do feel for her...especially when she had one pass a day before our Waves to Wishes 5k run....so now she is on meds for most of October and has been told via doctors orders to chill out...

Awaiting exciting news for one major "secret" event which is currently going on involving living arrangements for the Wifey and I.

Adopted a new pet into the family...a Green Cheeked Conure Parrot we named Mr. Bean because of his silly antics...so far, he has really fit in well with our current menagerie of animals...
All other animals are doing fine and receiving considerable attention and care as well...

Cello practice has hit a wall...I am learning long stretch positions for flat notes on the first position...needless to say, there is pain involved and it really has me frustrated... simply means more practice, more focus.

Work is moving along...always lots to do in software land...Writing some really cool features for more secure multi-threaded SSL related communications which I had wanted to integrate for quite some time now...also dabbling with a bit of low volume eCommerce stuff which may make our software more powerful in the foreseeable future...

Bought a lightly used Dual-Sport motorcycle from Dave Hall. Its a really well kept mini-green machine Kawasaki KLX 250. Since it had a kickin new aftermarket pipe on it, jetting was needed. I ordered a new jet kit from it and knocked that out in a day. What a difference that made! This bike is great! Lots of off-road power, and I can simply ride from my house right to the trail head in under 15 minutes. I have been out a few times recently and hope to get some more time in out there since it just begs to be ridden, and it keeps my broken toe stationary in a stiff boot.

Finally was able to license both motorcycles, both the BMW and the Kawasaki...now both are fully street legal! woohoo!

Participated in the Folly Beach Challenge Triathlon. Did miserably in the kayaking portion, probably because I used my giant aluminum canoe, Did ok on the bike portion since I am an ok spinner, and did really miserably on the running portion. Left me spent and hurting. Did I mention my toe was broken? Not planning any more of these events anytime soon. I really like biking, and running is ok for small events, but combine them all up with some kayaking/swimming and you really have to be in tip-top condition...and nowhere in my hectic little world is there such time to alot to multiple sports...and probably a bit too late in life to get into super multi-sports...

Speaking of sports, the Raven is now fulltime on the soccer bandwagon.. After wanting to call it quits early in the season, I went out with her for a little one on one training (broken toe and all) and taught her fundamental basics on different passes, attacks, control techniques and the essence of defense strategy to help give her the foundation she missed. Upon attending her next scrimmage match, the coach came up and asked what happened, since the Raven was on fire! She was a totally different player! I was so proud! So, soccer is our current family focus with her and she has a massive schedule of events coming up for this sport...so it will definitely keep us entirely too busy for the months to come...

Since I am canceling all of next month's racing activities because of my increasingly weakening athletic abilities(broken toe, broken spirit), family has planned to sneak in some simple convenience camping sometime in October...looking forward to this...

Built the Raven a new bike...Salsa Moto-Rapido with some nice farkles...21lbs ready for some fall XC fun...i think she is gonna love it...

Bought some new shoes to replace the Bontrager RXL Dutch-boy clogs I was so enamored with. What a disappointment those shoes were...I now entirely associate the word "Bontrager" with "Pain". Replaced them with some super comfortable Mavic Chasm shoes...the difference is night and day! Rubber Tread, Carbon Sole, nice arched inners, excellent fit. Superb workmanship has gone into the Mavics and I really look forward to great times spent in them...

hoping to get back on the bike soon and just remember what it was I was trying to accomplish before all the dust started flying...a weekend in DuPont sounds really nice right now...sigh...

River's Edge Thoughts...

The River's Edge Marathon despite my shortcomings was a well organized and very fun event. I will definitely be looking forward to it next year. Instant race updates and great support during the event really make this a happening race.

It turns out the guy that broke his hip was on Goat Hill which was a rocky climb section, and overall slippery early in the morning...I got through that section by hike-a-biking up it on my first lap... I wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see him racing again soon...

Overall, the trails were fun and fast and once dry, really let me bike hookup on the corners. The USNWC is one of my favorite trail systems when visiting relatives in the Charlotte area. It is amazing how tough they can be after a few nonstop laps on them.

I believe a large reason('excuse') for my performance hit was that I had not properly recovered from the previously raced events. I had just finished ORAMM, and Fools Gold, both of which are giants to accomplish outright for someone like myself. I also think going out surfing from Thursday-Sunday the week prior to River's Edge in hurricane surf for 4-5 hours each morning did not help. I think I have to learn to consider my past actions as well as the future when deciding to race these events since my overall fitness level in the "now" does not always dictate how I will do 4 hours into such an event. I guess I am going to have to learn more about tapering and preparation.

Sleep deprivation may/may not have had such a large impact on my performance, but I am thinking it did. I will have to monitor my sleep levels more carefully and determine what I truly need to have a stellar day...

Once again, I need to refactor my nutrition... My friend Mark is a die-hard user of Infinit liquid nutrition and I may start using this product soon to get used to it before the 12 hours of Unicoi. This will be my first 12 hour and I really want to NOT worry about my stomach clogging up with crap, which is what my gut felt like 3 hours into both Fool's Gold as well as River's Edge...Honey and water seem to really unclog my system, so I am sticking with those. Electrolytes kind of just felt like they sat in my stomach...Less electrolytes may be the key to help keep my system normalized, but I just don't know without further experimentation..so I am going to go simpler in my upcoming training rides.

SHOES....my new shoes hurt so much I am going to be changing them out as soon as this post is done. I had been riding SIDI Dragons for the last 2 years without any issues whatsoever, when they finally felt apart after the Cowbell Challenge scorching heat race... I then went to my LBS and purchased some nice new blingy Bontrager RXLs with lots of toe box room...Well, lets just say what's good for some is not always good for me. Not only will these shoes not tighten down enough to hug my foot, the cleat positioning is still too far forward on the backmost setting which puts my hold over the front of my foot instead of where I was used to it previously, stressing a totally different set of leg muscles. They also have a terribly wide heelcup which makes me feel like I am wearing large flipflops when off the bike and hiking. Partly to blame is the fact that they are fully carbon undersole and stiff as concrete. Power to the pedal is the only thing that these shoes do well. If you are a superhuman biker and never consider getting off your bike to push, these shoes might be right for you, but not for me. Because the ankle strap cannot be repositioned, they dug into my right upper foot pretty badly. I still have a tender lump where the ankle strap meets my foot and cannot even put them back on to do a recovery ride. So I am now considering new pricey SIDIs or some Mavics with the rubber sole for hiking....Cannot wait to get the shoe issue straightened out to get on with my riding...Sheesh!

So to wrap this blathering all up, lets review; recovery, sleep, nutrition, and properly fitting shoes should be my focal points...like I said before, "The learning never ever ends"...

Rivers Edge 50 Mile Marathon...

The personal learning just never ever ends...you think I would know all there is to know about myself by now, but it just never seems to end...

First off, it is now a fact that I do not do well without a proper night's sleep. I can work all night on software projects and really fascinate myself with some of the solutions I come up with, but I cannot actually go to sleep and then wake up in the middle of a heavy REM cycle and start performing properly again.

The Rivers Edge 50 Mile Marathon at US National Whitewater Center was not a race I was planning on entering, but being that I knew the course so well, I was curious to see how it would go for me racing from memory. Well, with no real preparation, the battle was over before it started...

I left the house at 4am on Saturday morning and drove my caffeinated butt up to Charlotte, NC for the race. I was prepacked and very organized before getting to bed and left in a seemingly awake state. The drive up was very uneventful. So far, so good...

About 10 minutes before I arrive at the USNWC, I start to feel groggy. Not good..I park, start unloading my cooler and simply stare at my equipment before me for about 5 solid minutes in complete and utter indecision. This was the first sign! (I definitely was not entirely awake).

I finally start toting some of my stuff down to the feed area since this was a lap race and I had to setup my station for my bottles and food. I find a spot way down at the far end and upon returning to my car to suit up, I run into Stephen Janes of Siren Bicycles! He greets me and offers me a spot under his feed station tent and I move my stuff over there. I meet his friend OJ and his lady friend whose name I cannot recall. Then Mark Sackett shows up with Mike Pierce and his lady friend Krystal...all good friends ready to have some fun racing. At this point, I find out the race has been postponed because of the prior night's rain by an hour, and I simply start to settle back under the tent and forget to start preparing. I start checking out all the cool bikes everywhere, and find out this is the largest single speed group I had ever raced in. I watch everyone shuffle around and suddenly snap to attention, run back to my car, suit up and head back not knowing what to do next. I realize I am in a groggy haze.

Before I know how to snap out of it, the race is being started in a stretched out mass group format...basically a free-for-all! I suddenly wake up knowing if I am not in a good position entering the woods, I will be hike-a-biking, so I start flying up through the pack and find myself a few nice temporary spots and then catch Mark Sackett up ahead doing the same thing...I catch his wheel and start pacing him flying right into the woods on his tail. We find a steady flow for the first 5 minutes and then start encountering lots of mass traffic. Mark starts navigating traffic really well, so I slipstream into his wake and flow past most of the stragglers undetected. This works really well and we end up passing well over 30 people in the process. I know we went into the woods upper lead pack so I start thinking about how hard I am going and try to set my own pace at this time. Mark also eases off the throttle and we find a smooth group of riders cruising at about the same pace. Body feels good, legs feel great, bike is handling perfectly...Now we are racing! Too much fun!

Reality check: This would have worked well if it were not for how eel-skin slippery the trails were because of the rain. People were slipping left and right on any little root in any given spot.

Chaos...

I had not realized the severity of this critical situation even after watching a guy go down nearly 10 riders in front of us (and find out later he had broken his hip)! In my mind, my only concerns were to set and keep my pace, drink often and ride a strong first and second lap, backing off on the third and punching out the last. All of a sudden, I am flat on my left side, helmet grinding across a root face, with my body soaking up the entire blow. The air being forced from my body let out a massive bellow and I simply slid right off the trail into the bushes. I had slipped on a massive angled root. It was over before I knew it and later I would realize the damage that had been done. Some riders from behind witnessed it and stopped to make sure I was alright, shocked by the hard crash they had seen. I simply said go on, I will be fine...(not!) I let/watched 5-6 riders fly by me and limped my way back on my bike hoping I could shake this off. For the time being, I lost my entire focus on the race and simply ghost pedaled my way through the remaining few miles left in lap #1 thinking I should go ahead and DNF. Upon arrival, I decided to not DNF and try and ride a slow second lap to find my pace again. Did not happen...I entered the woods for my second lap and really started to feel the pain setting in. Left hip, elbow, neck, mid back...all over the left side...pain. I cruise through lap# 2 in good form, but the pain was really wearing on me. I enter lap# 3 and think I should have stopped to relax a bit before taking off again, but I really wanted to find my speed again. I lose a ton of energy from my body at this point trying to manage the pain and stop to pop some Advil to help out with that. It seems to make things worse as my legs start locking up and I start getting wicked cramps. Nothing seems to help with the pain and onset of fatigue...

The downward spiral begins...

1/3rd of the way through lap# 3, I start to feel a rush of riders start passing me. I simply had given up the fight. It was not my day to race. I hadn't felt this terribly during a race since Cowbell and only because of extreme heat had that happened. I decided I did not want to DNF, so I start the deathmarch. It was some ugly deathmarch...Stephen Janes catches me at a open spot in the field as I was waiting out some debilitating cramps and looks in great form! He asks if everything was ok and if I needed anything, I say no thanks quickly to him to allow him to keep his speed and he flies by as I cheer him on! A few minutes later, Mike Pierce comes up on me crawling up goat hill and also checks on me. I basically tell him I am not going to quit and will figure out a way to finish this thing...He is also moving along at a great pace! I start back up and do the cramp dance every 2-3 miles pissed at myself for falling, not sleeping enough, not eating enough, possibly overdrinking too much fluid, etc...simply pissed. Fully upset with myself, I feed on that energy and get a little momentum going. I finish Lap# 3 and stop to guzzle down some cold water. Before I let myself relax, I go out for Lap# 4. I find routine in this lap and also a little comfort knowing I won't have to trudge up this trail anymore today. I find myself climbing areas I had not earlier and although still shaky, I am not cramping up as often. I actually clean the clay hill climb from earlier which I had only cleaned during lap# 1. I am shocked that my legs are actually semi-working again. Pissed at myself again for coming back to life so late in the game. I actually felt more in control during this lap than #3. I finish Lap# 4 satisfied I had not quit.


Total Time: 5:58:41
Place: "DFL" (last place SS) :(

Pain factor during race: 85%
Overall in-race fun: 90%

Hanging out with friends after the race: Priceless...(Beer and Advil really helped)


Today I am truly feeling the after effects. MY hip is purple. My elbow slightly bruised and tender and my neck muscles are super sore...my back keeps spasming and my body all over has a truly worked over feel to it. I haven't really felt this poorly after a race in a very long time. Not to mention the scores are posted and I left thinking I was in 15th place to find out I am in DFL place...

This might mean a little time off the bike to let things work their way back into place...but I think its for the best...(we shall see how long that lasts)

more thoughts on this race fiasco to come I am sure...

Cheers...

Daniel Island 5k finale...

Since I had just ridden a pretty tough race on Saturday, I was just not feeling like running on Thursday, so instead of just quitting altogether, I decided to do something much cooler... I actually paced Marsha through her last 5k run and I believe I helped her gain 2 minutes on her previous times...It was a nice pace for myself and a bit more pressure for Marsha. Overall, it was a good decision for myself as the running helped shake out my legs and keep my heartrate from surging too much. It was a great experience to wrap up the series running along with "wifey" since she is really the reason I am even running in the first place...So, our first 5k series is wrapped up and we are already looking forward to a few more of these little runs, maybe even a 10k in the future....I, myself, have found my stride and feel much more comfortable running and will continue doing so in order to fulfill my cross-training requirements as well as enjoy the simple peace of mind that running gives a person...

Dahlonega, Georgia...

After my Fool's Gold race writeup, I never really got to write about how nice it was to visit up there in Dahlonega, Ga...It is definitely a hidden gem in the foothills...It's one of those "blink your eyes and you might miss it" driving through type of towns, but it was definitely full of charm! Since I was focusing on the race, I had not been expecting much out of the town I was staying in since there is never really time to take it all in before and usually after a race...

Local Blueberries for dessert!

Good thing I stayed as a guest of the Hall's or I would have never had any relevant information on the town hosting this tough endurance race. Did you know Dahlonega was site for the first real "gold rush" in the US? If you are a Deadwood buff like myself, then this is a neat fact! Anyways, Dave's mom & dad were a treasure trove for information and I really enjoyed their time while there. I actually stayed right down the road from "Dahlonega Square", which is a really nice little square with lots of shops and antiquities nested with restaurants and lots of churches. I was amazed by the number of people frequenting about on Sunday throughout the square. It was filled with motorized mountain goers, family members and lots of casual tourists all centered around a building labeled the Dahlonega Gold Museum.

Speaking of Gold, during the race, I had my head down plenty enough during my long arduous uphill hikes to realize there was a reason for the name of the race. Mostly everywhere I looked, pyrite was littered into the rocks strewn along the trail. Fool's Gold! It was beautiful in the noonday sun. I actually brought home a small nugget for my daughter's rock collection.

During my race on Saturday, around 48 miles in, I passed by some amazing falls very close to Camp Wasega. I believe they were called Black Falls, but I am not sure. Riding up along the river on my bike, the water had slowed up into a dark glassy pool and then suddenly a telltale dividing line where it fell down a smooth edge about 10-20 feet onto the rocks below. It was beautiful and it begged me to stop for a short moment (I really enjoyed stopping). I entertained the notion of staying out there and swimming for a moment, but then came around and started pedaling to the finish once again. I marked it on my GPS, so a casual return visit to the falls will be in order.

Lunch for myself on Sunday was at a slightly shabby little place called Foothills Diner. While I was apprehensive at first, it was pretty tasty for diner food! I will have to go there again next time I am in town.

Dahlonega is definitely a must repeat experience!

Cheers!