Thoughts during Berryman Trail Epic 2009

This blog will be the thoughts and musings while riding 56 miles on a mountain bike for the BT Epic. Musings is a funny word. Jay Wright picked me up at my house in is Jeep Cherokee and with his his sweet mtb and my retro mtb on his new sweet Yakima roof racks looking pro, we rolled on down past Steeleville, MO to Bass River Resort. This place is like an oasis in the middle of the Ozark National Forest. New and nice cabins, great people. This race is extremely well organized. Food on the grill and beer on tap when we got there. With thoughts of camping in a tent or Jay sleeping in the back of his Jeep, we ended up sharing a cabin with Brian Busken, Doug Busken, Jason Pryor, Keith Weinkein, Jay and myself. 6 beds for 6 dudes. Keith and Jason made a huge pot of pasta and meat sauce - delicious. Now it was lights out before 11pm and then 6 guys snoring, waking up in the night, nervous thoughts running through our heads so none of us slept for crap. Next event it's Tylenol PM so it's lights out for good (great idea Doug).

All right - the above was the boring setup to the real adventure. Here are the thoughts racing through my skull during the 10 hours from waking to finishing:

6:30am - "Hell this is early. I'm not hungry but I'm eating everything in sight."
8:20am - "People from southern Missouri talk funny. Guess they're from Missoura. It's freezing I hope I'm gonna warm up when riding soon."

8:30am, mile 0 - "Let's rip. I'm feeling good. Go at my own pace but race."
Mile 1 - "This is a Mike Schneider setup - a trailer parked across the deep creek crossing so we can all walk across. Is it cool that those two girls are going to cut in line in front of 75 guys? You bet your ass it's ok; there are less than 10 girls total here and 145 guys. This Schlafly jersey is pimp."

Mile 5 - "Feeling good on this hill climb, passing some suckers, nice... Still on gravel but have been climbing forever and I'm definitely warm now. Is there really an Ozark Mountain? Well we must be nearing the top. Jason, Jay, Keith are sissy's for wearing so much clothing. It's not that cold. The backside downhill is gonna be so fun."
Mile 11 - "Good call skipping past that 1st water stop. I've only drank 16 oz and have 24 more to last until the next stop at mile 20.5. "
Mile 13 - "Shit that hurt, no blood, bike is OK except my chain is off and my brake lever is flopping around. This jump-stop chain anti-derailleur is a POS. Stay focused and no more falls. Let's catch that 16 year old kid who just passed me."

Mile 15 - "Damn chain fell of again."
Mile 18 - "Where's my other water bottle. Uh, oh must have fallen off in the crash. My legs are cramping a little. Spin up the hills and don't cramp the quads."
Mile 19 - "Damn chain fell of again. This sucks."
Mile 20 - "I hear Jim ringing the bell - gotta be close to the 1st stop. I see people: time to fix the chain thingy, eat and drink up." 40 oz of water at this stop, loaded up with 40 more oz, ate one PB&J sandwich and a Clif Bar. Got stung by a wasp, fixed the chain anti-derailleur thing; now let's rip." I heard that the next 17 miles until I got back here at mile 37 were road, gravel and some single track. They don't know...
Mile 25 - "Just did 2 lap distance at Lost Valley. 2 1/2 more and I'm finished - cramps are gone keep going. FN chain off again. I'm getting so good at fixing it I'm the Nascar pit crew of chain fixing."
Mile 28 - "It's really muddy and now I'm riding uphill on a trail that is a river of water coming down at me. Looks like I'm going 15 mph because the water is rushing down at 7 mph and I'm going up at 8 mph. Kinda cool except the trees around me are barely moving. Kinda weird too."
Mile 32 - "I haven't seen another person forever. It's really quiet in the woods and I haven't seen a single sign of wildlife - no squirrels, no deer, no birds, where am I The bright yellow maple leaves that fall on the forest floor are really shiny. Maybe I'm loosing my mind."
Mile 34 - "FN chain off again. My bike hates me."
Mile 35 - "FN chain again. I'm selling my MTB and road bike on craigslist - I hate bikes."
Mile 36 - "Sweet Jesus that's an awesome downhill. I love cycling! Even passed 4-5 people."
Mile 37 - "Slide into this last stop and start drinking. Think I stopped to long, half the people I passed are back out already. Can't believe I have 19 miles to go. Goal is to finish."
Mile 40 - "Passed a few - cool. That one dude was sitting down on the side of the trail. Hope he finishes. FN chain again. Got passed back by a few."
Mile 45 - "Taking turns pulling with a nice guy named Chris who works at Mesa Cycles is good. At least I have someone to talk to. Only bad thing is my 1x9 doesn't go up hills slow enough. Lot's of people spinning really slow at this point and I have to pass with my taller gears. Well start passing without bonking."
Mile 50 - "I'm out of water. It's raining like crazy. I'm freezing - Jason, Keith and Jay are smart for wearing warm gear. It's official, I'm selling the bikes: I hate cycling."
Mile 51 - "Another sweet downhill single track. I love mtb'ing again. Sure was nice of Mary Piper to send a good luck email on Friday. Lindsey sent a good luck note on Facebook. Does anyone write anymore - I can barely spell anymore. This downhill is to long now, my arms are tired of steering and braking: please go back to a flat section. It's flat now and mud is deep...again.

Mile 52 - "Passed a girl who was kinda hot and some dude. I can't let this girl beat me. FN chain again. Got passed (again). This time by That Girl. FN chain again. Yes again. She's not that hot."
Mile 53 - "Will I admit that I was 1x9 granny gear on this gravel road? Admit it or not I am in granny and I'm tired, thirsty and running on fumes. You're not gonna catch That Girl so time to eat the second sandwich. That was the best PB&J sandwich I've ever eaten. Thanks Buffy. You make the best sandwiches with the bread aligned correctly and are way hotter than That Girl."
Mile 55.5 - "I can see the end. I don't feel that bad but I look like shit. Cruising through the last river crossing at shin deep at least washed a bunch of nasty off my legs and bike."
Mile 56 - "Success is sweet."

After a quick shower, terrible double vegi burger that I tried to spice up by inserting a hot dog inside between two pieces of wonder bread, Jay and I headed home. My legs are still sore as I'm writing this 3 days later. I finished near the back at 8 hours, 6 minutes and 53 seconds. That's a long time to be sitting on a small piece of bike seat. Next year my goal is under 7 hours. Off to find a better way of keeping my chain on. I stopped counting chain jumps after 13. I got so good at fixing the chain I could stop, flip the bike, fix the chain, spin the crank and get back on in less than 90 seconds assuming it didn't get wedged in badly.

Now the goal is to try and maintain plus tweek my current level of fitness through Halloween, Turkey Day, Christmas and Winter and come out in the Spring at a higher level. Mixing more miles, the gym and higher intensity sessions will all help.

Burnin at the Bluffs

This has been a goal of mine for a very long time. A 12 hour race with teams consisting of 3 members. I was to ride with two other guys from Momentum Racing. We had high hopes of finishing the race in good standings, but as time would determine, it wasnt the case. I was unable to get down to Council Bluffs on friday so I left at 4am on Saturday. I arrived just as team Natural Mystics were waking up, Jason Pryor, Keith Weinkein both members of Schlafly. They cooked a small pancake breakfast and we decided our running order. I was scheduled to go third, Chris was second and Caleb, the fastest, was to start it off. Well my first lap was beginning to look like a good one. I was attacking all the tough hills and the very deep creek crossings. 4 inches of rain two days pryor and more rain the day before made for some wet sections and deep cold water crossings. Well I was on about mile 8and began the nasty rock garden section. I almost made it through the entire thing but at the last minute I heard air gushing out of my rear tire. Damn it!!! I had a small hole squirting out sealant. I tried to let the sealant do its job sitting there with my finger on it. It sealed it up and i shot some co2 in and it blew it out. I decided to take my wheel off and throw a tube in. I was back on my bike in about 10 minutes total. My attitude sort of sucked by this time, bummed out about the flat. I had to pass about 10 people that passed me while changing my tire. Then about mile 13-14 was the finish line. Lap one in 1:33. Not what i was hoping for seeing that the other two came in at 1:23 and 1:27. The second lap went better, no mechanicals or flats, just tired legs. There are two very long climbs on the course and I couldnt bring it to myself to push hard. I spun easily and made it to the top. I rode this lap a lot better but could have pushed a lot harder. My back was cramping up quite a bit and it was hard to push through. I ended up with a second lap of 1:26. much better. I came to the finish line and didnt see Caleb getting ready to leave or Chris waiting either. Finally they came up to me in street clothes and asked if I wanted to continue. I knew Caleb was worn out, Chris wiped out twice and hurt his wrist pretty good, and my back was messed up. I said it was up to them and they said it was time to start drinking. That was sort of the answer I was looking for. We were in 5th out of 12 at the time and was beating natural mystics. We had a fast team, just beat up.

This was by far the best mountain bike race I have been a part of yet. A ton of people and a great atmosphere! Everyone was having a blast. I hope to be a part of it next year again.

Now I am in training for the Berryman Epic 55 mile endurance race on Oct 25. I will post a blog after the race. Last race of the year!

Jay

Greensfelder Race

Well it has been a while since the race. My computer is down and using Nikki's laptop.

This was an interesting race. There were only 5 people lined up at the starting line in my age group and the usuals were not there. So I had no idea what to expect from any of the other racers. One guy seemed to be very nervous and anxious. Nathan and his group took off and it was now our turn. The race started and one guy took off very fast out of the gate. I couldnt see him anymore about a mile into the race. I figured he was either in the wrong category, or he would burn out like I have seen many others in the past. Well I was right....About 2 miles into the race I started to see him. There was a gradual hill climb and I saw him struggling. I knew he was nothin to worry about now. I passed him at a very high rate of speed. Now i realized I was in first place and had no one in sight. This was only mile 3 or 4 when i pulled ahead this far. I came through the start finish line in less than 18 minutes and knew this was going to be my race. I put it in cruise control for the entire race, never having to push myself. I did see nathan in the woods and told him i was coming to get him knowing he had at least a minute head start. But he was pushing hard battling with another guy in his class, and I was just cruising trying to finish the race without a flat or mechanical issue. I cruised through the finish line in first place!!! My first victory this year. But I wish I could have beaten all the regulars, and not had such an easy race.
Jay

Greensfelder race

Well I raced in my second mountain bike race last week and was just as nervous as the first one. To make matters worse Jay and I got there about 3 hours to early so I had plenty of time to think about the race. We warmed up by completing a lap about 9:30 or so and felt pretty good. I just purchased new pedals for my mountain bike and opted on using my road shoes instead of spending more money for mountain bike shoes. Well I know now that they are worth the money.We had prerode the course that sat before and I felt like I had a pretty good feel on how I would do. There was a nice climb about 2/3 of they through the course and I though that is were I was going to make up time. It ended up being my nemesis. There was four riders in my group, 3 of were of age and some 40 year old that snuck into are group. He of course had the lead for a lap in a half until I finally caught him and passed by with a little effort. All day long I had been having problems with my new pedals and finding the cleat on my shoe, on top of my bike being a little out of tune. So needles to say that I was a little frustrated with both problems, but in a little better mood when I took first. It lasted 2 laps and I put it on cruise control thinking that nobody could catch me until I slipped up trying to pass someone and 2nd place passed me. I gathered my composure and caught him quick on the hill 2/3 of the way through and passed him leading into the final lap. I put some distance on him and decided that I needed a drink before the big climb and that was my fatal blow. I took a quick swig and forgot about the little creek crossing and before I knew it I was jumping the creek with one hand on my bars and the other holding Jay's water bottle that I though I could not drop. Well I don't know if you have ever tried it before, but don't.... it doesn't work. I crashed hard bending my handlebars and twisting my seat around.... and dropping Jay's water bottle. It took about twenty seconds to collect my thoughts, gather my things and set my bike straight. Just enough time for 2nd place to pass me. I followed him up the hill and regained the lead with a quarter of a mile to go. We came to a small single track about 600 yards long and I ran into slower traffic.... reference picture below, which gave my opponent time to dissolve my lead. We hit the last pavement stretch with about 70 feet remaining and he pulled along side of me and crossed .01 seconds in front of me. I lost the race. It was an awesome finish and I had never pushed myself so hard. I crossed the finish line, saw Mary standing there getting ready for her race and I laid my bike over next to her and collapsed. I was completely gassed, bleeding... check picture below!!....., and disappointed I had given the race away. Thanks to my teammate, as she cleaned me up.... that would have been Mary.... and told me it was a great finish. I learned alot from that race.... mostly, drop the water bottle, no matter who's it is, and never give up in a race. You never know whats going to happen!!