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Cross Nats
posted by :Stuart on Wednesday October 15, 2008
Well, my last race of the season was held this past weekend in Edmonton, Alberta. There was a combination of cyclocross Nationals and a ‘cross UCI race. I got out there on Thursday to see the course a few times and get used to the time difference. After riding the course a bunch and sleeping/eating even more, Saturday morning was the big day. Apparently this year’s Junior field is the strongest it ever has been, and as I learned, people actually set their season’s goals on ‘cross! I certainly was not expecting that, but it’s not like I hadn’t done any preparation, just not quite so much as some of the others I guess! Anyway, I was feeling confident on the line, and got into the fast moving lead group right off the start. With the blistering pace, the group was quickly down to 4 guys. There were 2 from BC, one from Alberta, and me. Of course I was suffering as much as anyone else, but I felt really strong and thought that if it came down to a sprint, which it looked like it would, I would be in contention. I thought this more and more as the laps went on, but on the last lap, going through the technical ravine section, I saw those hopes go crumbling away. It was on the “run-up” that most of us could ride, except for one of the BC guys. For this run-up, you come down the hill into a sharp 180 degree turn and then have to power your way back up. I took the corner wide to get enough of a start to climb it, when the guy running goes to the inside. Okay, I thought and started to pass him on the outside as he ran. It seemed like it would all be fine, but then he cuts right in front of me and I ran into him. I had to stop for enough time to get off and start from a dead stop, and that was also enough time for his teammate to open up a good gap. I tried hard to close it, but the BC guy was just too strong, along with the others from the group. I rolled in with 4th place. I was certainly very pleased with my race and overall effort, but disappointed to have nothing to show for it.
The next day we had a UCI sanctioned race on the same course. I was hoping for a better race than the day before, but that certainly wasn’t the outcome. I think I bent my rear derailleur hanger while warming up, because during the race it kept skipping like crazy! It was driving me insane! After that trouble came the even worse part. Halfway through the course I got a flat tire. I ran as fast as I could to the pit to get a spare wheel, but the Alberta coach, who was helping me out, forgot my wheels at the tent. He gave me another rider’s wheel, but we had some troubles getting it to sit in the dropouts! Eventually he took the bike and bashed it in, but then when I started my chain got sucked down between the cassette and the chain stay. I hauled it out and continued on, to the sound of a mysterious clicking. I finished without ever knowing what it was, coming in 7th place. I was frustrated by all the troubles, but happy because it was still a really fun race. After cooling down I discovered the clicking source. When I took the wheel off, the cassette completely fell off! There was no lockring holding it on! So, I chuckled to myself about all the problems, but I wasn’t too disappointed because I was just out there for some fun anyway. Of course I wanted to win, but that’s life. I did win a prime for being the first one to cross the halfway point of the first lap, so I actually made almost as much money as the winner! So, after all the racing we were pretty tired, and certainly after a long flight back I am now thoroughly exhausted. I wish I could have a jersey to bring home, but maybe next year. Thanks to everyone who wished me luck and for all the support you have given me over my whole season. Now it’s time to take some rest and get ready for a busy season starting next February! I will be sure to keep everyone posted! Thanks for reading!
The next day we had a UCI sanctioned race on the same course. I was hoping for a better race than the day before, but that certainly wasn’t the outcome. I think I bent my rear derailleur hanger while warming up, because during the race it kept skipping like crazy! It was driving me insane! After that trouble came the even worse part. Halfway through the course I got a flat tire. I ran as fast as I could to the pit to get a spare wheel, but the Alberta coach, who was helping me out, forgot my wheels at the tent. He gave me another rider’s wheel, but we had some troubles getting it to sit in the dropouts! Eventually he took the bike and bashed it in, but then when I started my chain got sucked down between the cassette and the chain stay. I hauled it out and continued on, to the sound of a mysterious clicking. I finished without ever knowing what it was, coming in 7th place. I was frustrated by all the troubles, but happy because it was still a really fun race. After cooling down I discovered the clicking source. When I took the wheel off, the cassette completely fell off! There was no lockring holding it on! So, I chuckled to myself about all the problems, but I wasn’t too disappointed because I was just out there for some fun anyway. Of course I wanted to win, but that’s life. I did win a prime for being the first one to cross the halfway point of the first lap, so I actually made almost as much money as the winner! So, after all the racing we were pretty tired, and certainly after a long flight back I am now thoroughly exhausted. I wish I could have a jersey to bring home, but maybe next year. Thanks to everyone who wished me luck and for all the support you have given me over my whole season. Now it’s time to take some rest and get ready for a busy season starting next February! I will be sure to keep everyone posted! Thanks for reading!
Gore
posted by :Michelle Chase on Wednesday August 13, 2008
Gore. What a great name for not only a place but a race! Conditions were nothing short of Gore-y. The weather for the past week had been pretty much what we had in Moncton. Constant rain. Saturday evening the rain was of biblical proportions. Then Sunday we woke up to heavy fog and high humidity. The sun did come out in the afternoon but too late to dry anything up. Seriously crappy conditions. The course was slippery and muddy.
Teams were Babes on Bikes and SS KK Destroyer. Otherwise known as Caroline Belliveau, myself along with Krista Koval and Sherry Mercer. We battled it out all day with Krista and Sherry...really the only other team in the running. They had about a 3 minute advantage...cause Krista is an animal on a mountain bike. Our laps times were anywhere from 42 to
45 minutes long. Caroline's were about 55 and Sherry's were a bit over an hour.
So give and take...it stayed pretty close. But on the 6th lap, Caroline got a gap on Sherry because of a crash. Then once Caroline handed off to me again...I did the lap like the devil/Krista was chasing me. OMG..it HURT! I am surprised I didn't die not only because of the course conditions but that it was around hour #5 and the brain had stopped cooperating. We did really well and ended up with about a 15 minute advantage at the end. Good race and a decent turn out. Now a couple days of rest and off on a tour!
On another note, Sacha did really great too! She dug deep and finished her laps without quitting. What a first race experience...8 HOURS!! Plus put up with Craig and Sean as teammates
racing in Quebec
posted by :Patrice Boudreau on Friday August 8, 2008
I thought I would inform of a couple of Raid ( mountain bike marathon ) I participated in in Quebec. The first was held in Carleton Sur Mer in the Gaspesie region on June 21 and 22nd. This place is situated 45 minutes outside of Campbelton. This is the Raid Transgaspesien, a two day race with the option of doing the second day ( half Raid ). The first day consisted of 105 km course with low to moderate elevations. The second day consisted of a 70km course with high elevations. I only took part in the second day. We were approximately 250 riders, about 50 less than last years race. Once again, this was a very well organized race and a very important event to draw tourist in the region for a weekend. A number of New Brunswickers attended, Denis Doucet, Donald Mallet, Ken Gauthier, Vital Melanson, Martin Pelletier, John Porter and probably a half dozen more I just got to know that weekend and forgot their names. The race started with fogy conditions but cleared up through the race and finished with sunny skies. For more info see raidtransgaspesien.com
The other I attended was in Quebec City on July 12th. We wanted to head out to Quebec city this summer but chose this time so there was a little something for everyone in the family, dad included. This one was called Raid Velo Mag, a 77km course from the old Quebec to Mont St-Anne. This race kicked off the Velirium, Quebec’s Mountain Bike Festival held every year in Mont St-Anne featuring provincial, national and world cup races over three weekends. A total of 738 riders participated in this race, with 610 taking part in the 77km race and the remaining taking part in the 35 km one. We rode the tight streets of old Quebec for 3 to 4 km and rode our way up through the power lines after about 10km. A very well organized race with feed zones every 20 km with fruits, energy bars, sport drinks, water and lost of people to hand it over to you. Get this, after the race, Right Guard had shower facilities set up for us and supplying us with complimentary soap, shampoo, towels ( $1 ) and deodorant spray.
For more info see velirium.com and 2008 photos are now posted.
Also you can see us on two videos on Youtube. One consist of start and the other is about 6 to 7 km into the race. Just search for “Raid Velo Mag 2008”
These are first class mountain biking events if you ever have a chance to participate in.
Patrice
Stuart's race report from Quebec
posted by :Stuart Wight, on Monday June 9, 2008
Hey everyone, I thought you might like an update after my first race here in Quebec, so here it is:
The 2nd race in the Quebec Cup Argon 18 series was in Laval on June 7th and 8th. We got there at about 1:00pm and were welcomed by about 35 degree weather, and lots of wind. I got my stuff ready and made my way to the line for the start of our race. We had 4 laps of a ridiculously flat 12km loop. From the gun the peloton was just hammering. We averaged 50kph for the first 10km, making it impossible for a break to work, since we were all spinning a cadence of 130 already! Then all of a sudden we slow right down to a very comfortable 30kph which is where it stayed for the next two laps. There were countless attacks going all the time, and we thought we had reeled them all back in, but in fact we missed one, Phillipe Nadon from the Amos club got away and stayed out there for the whole race because we didn't even know he was there! On the last lap I'm right on the wheel of race favourite and series leader Jean Samuel Deshaies when he decides he wants to go, so I go too. ! We are
joined by the other favourite for the GC, Frederic Poisson and the three of us hammer away from the pack. We gained back almost two minutes on Nadon, but never caught him. In the sprint I was not in good position, leading the other two down the home stretch, so I tried for a late attack, but the two came around me at the line. So I ended up in fourth, 55 seconds down on Nadon. We went back to the motel, ate supper, and went to bed.
Sunday:
The time trial started at 8:30, but with all the girls and 52 of the 56 guys going ahead of me, I didn't start until about 10:00. The TT was a very short out and back, with the first half being slightly downhill. Going out was another spin fest, and then coming back was really where time was won. At the turn around I had put 7 seconds into Deshaies, and was still tied with Poisson. I stepped it up a huge notch for the second half and really suffered on the small but brutal climbs. At the end I was the only one to break 9 mins, with a time of 8:55. Then it was Nadon, 14 seconds back, Poisson, 15 back, and Deshaies, 17 back. That put me into second place overall, 41 seconds back. In the afternoon we had a 40 minute crit with a sprint every 10 mins. Again, the pace started really high, and with all four corners being extremely easy there was not much opportunity for any quick accelerations to get away. The guys who did try in the windy stretch were quickly reeled in and shot out the back within a lap or two, so I decided it was best to stay near the front of the pack and preserve my second place than to go out on the attack and surely be caught. However, in the last lap I did decide to give it a go, I led for a half lap but then got eaten up by the peloton in the sprint, getting 5th. So the GC didn't change a bit, Nadon was first, me second and Poisson third. I was really pleased with that and hopefully the next one will go even better!
The 2nd race in the Quebec Cup Argon 18 series was in Laval on June 7th and 8th. We got there at about 1:00pm and were welcomed by about 35 degree weather, and lots of wind. I got my stuff ready and made my way to the line for the start of our race. We had 4 laps of a ridiculously flat 12km loop. From the gun the peloton was just hammering. We averaged 50kph for the first 10km, making it impossible for a break to work, since we were all spinning a cadence of 130 already! Then all of a sudden we slow right down to a very comfortable 30kph which is where it stayed for the next two laps. There were countless attacks going all the time, and we thought we had reeled them all back in, but in fact we missed one, Phillipe Nadon from the Amos club got away and stayed out there for the whole race because we didn't even know he was there! On the last lap I'm right on the wheel of race favourite and series leader Jean Samuel Deshaies when he decides he wants to go, so I go too. ! We are
joined by the other favourite for the GC, Frederic Poisson and the three of us hammer away from the pack. We gained back almost two minutes on Nadon, but never caught him. In the sprint I was not in good position, leading the other two down the home stretch, so I tried for a late attack, but the two came around me at the line. So I ended up in fourth, 55 seconds down on Nadon. We went back to the motel, ate supper, and went to bed.
Sunday:
The time trial started at 8:30, but with all the girls and 52 of the 56 guys going ahead of me, I didn't start until about 10:00. The TT was a very short out and back, with the first half being slightly downhill. Going out was another spin fest, and then coming back was really where time was won. At the turn around I had put 7 seconds into Deshaies, and was still tied with Poisson. I stepped it up a huge notch for the second half and really suffered on the small but brutal climbs. At the end I was the only one to break 9 mins, with a time of 8:55. Then it was Nadon, 14 seconds back, Poisson, 15 back, and Deshaies, 17 back. That put me into second place overall, 41 seconds back. In the afternoon we had a 40 minute crit with a sprint every 10 mins. Again, the pace started really high, and with all four corners being extremely easy there was not much opportunity for any quick accelerations to get away. The guys who did try in the windy stretch were quickly reeled in and shot out the back within a lap or two, so I decided it was best to stay near the front of the pack and preserve my second place than to go out on the attack and surely be caught. However, in the last lap I did decide to give it a go, I led for a half lap but then got eaten up by the peloton in the sprint, getting 5th. So the GC didn't change a bit, Nadon was first, me second and Poisson third. I was really pleased with that and hopefully the next one will go even better!
Fredericton Road Race
posted by :Mike LeBlanc on Tuesday May 20, 2008
Race was good. Didn't start off so good, Jeff remembered he forgot his road bars when we arrived in Fredericton, so he had to race the road race with his aero bars after getting special permission from Adrian. Sucked, but at least he could ride.
None of the fast young "pros" were there. Lot of NS riders and a crew from PEI. Sunny and super hot when we got there.
Same TT course as last year, rolling hills. Times were much faster than last year for some reason. Not sure why, there wasn't much wind both years, comparable temps... ? My 30 sec man was Scott Clark (one of the Pedro's guys at our Masters race). We were both on same bikes, same TT lid, he was riding Cosmic carbons and I had my Aeolus/disk. He ended up beating me by 1.3 seconds. I was 2nd in Masters and like 5th overall. Kris Barr from Bikes Plus in NS had fastest TT time, then Stuart (only 2 who went under 16 minutes), then Mike Davis, then Scott Clark, me and some other Bikes Plus dude.
Road race was a large pack, Open Elite, Master Ex, Open Female and Juniors. Lorenzo Catarini went off on first lap taking with him Stu and Adam Douthright. They didn't attack or anything, just rode away. If I would have been closer to the front and my legs better after the TT, I would have gone. Not sure if I could have held on to those guys, but I would have tried nonetheless, but it did not happen. The break stayed away and kept gaining on the pack. 2 Bikes Plus guys were chasing, no one else would help really. I rode in the pack for the 4 laps. The pack just kept getting thinner and thinner each lap. I went to the front on lap 3 climb to try to get rid of Scott Clark. Didn’t attack just rode steady "tempo". It caused a single file line of riders behind me, but Scott held on. It came down to a sprint between me and him. I had attacked on the last downhill, but glanced over before the last corner and saw that he was on my wheel. He then came around and stood up, I tried to follow but my legs were done. We averaged like 36k/h and had like 8 or 9 left in the pack at the end of lap 4. Mike Davis flatted and Jeff had to stop to fix his seat (and he was riding with aero bars and couldn't get in aero position). Ian rode a good race and was with the peloton til the last time up the climb. Stu was flying. JR was climbing well but flatted also.
Lorenzo soloed in for the victory in Open Men then Douthright, Kris Barr who was in our pack held on to 3rd.
Awesome day overall. Sun and warm first, then rain shower and cold and then sun and warm again...
Update from NC
posted by :Jeff Currie on Thursday April 3, 2008
After 23 hours of driving, 25 hours of cycling is starting to make me a bit tired. We have climbed 12000m or so. The whole crew is getting quite tired, and odly I am getting stronger (or everyone else is getting tired and I am staying the same). You can tell by the number of photos, yesterday taking over 100. My typical sprint ahead, wait for the group, take a shot, then sprint to get back on.
I am definitely getting stupid. I cannot separate the days in my mind to give you a proper rundown of each day. All I can tell you from memory is that the last two days were sunny, the two b4 that were drizzly.... and today is cool again, overcast, but not raining. Today will be tights again for sure.
Todays climb is Mt Pisgah link to profile , but many of us are opting out to do a shorter, less hilly route. Tomorrow will be a short ride, then jump in the car. I will have a reason to come back.
Hopefully we can get out for a ride on Sunday. Cya all later.
H2V ... the Moncton leg
posted by :Jeff Currie on Monday September 17, 2007
Around 5 PM on Friday night, the H2V team rider arrived in Moncton. The group of 20 (or so) riders were eager to get on the road. The evening was to be full of mechanicals (mostly flats), and started off right away with a shifting problem on Julies ride. The first rider change was to be in the next 30 minutes, utilizing the Weight Station just before Salisbury. It is here where the troubles began. Our Mikes crew was just not prepared for the rapid rider change, and many pee-ers were left scrabling to get back on. Upon getting us re-integrated, flats occured. Things seemed to begin to get under control, and one peleton reformed.
The transition at 8:30 however was even more challenging. Again, most of our crew was scrabling for warm clothing and food restock, and again, the H2V was much more prepared. I was the worst of the our crew, and was very far behind by the time I got my headlight working. Suzie was motor-pacing me back up when crossing the Jemseg bridge, I flatted in the joint. A quick wheel change and I was off again, but at the next bridge, Ian was pulled up flat. Same thing bit him. Not far up the road, Rachel had same problem. We suffered at least 10 flats after that. Darkness not allowing the riders to see the pave were snakebiting all over the place. Serveral of us stopped, waited for all the flats to re-group and we were shuttled to the front of the pack. From there out, things seemed to stay quiet again all the way into F'ton. It was a great time, and hopefully we did not upset the H2V crew too badly. We now know that planning a long distance road ride in the dark takes heavy duty tires and much better lighting. Good luck to the guys on thier efforts.
Thanks for including us.
My pics:
my pics
Dons photos (mostly the prep in Mapleton Pk) are here:
Don's pics
Here is the route:
The route
The transition at 8:30 however was even more challenging. Again, most of our crew was scrabling for warm clothing and food restock, and again, the H2V was much more prepared. I was the worst of the our crew, and was very far behind by the time I got my headlight working. Suzie was motor-pacing me back up when crossing the Jemseg bridge, I flatted in the joint. A quick wheel change and I was off again, but at the next bridge, Ian was pulled up flat. Same thing bit him. Not far up the road, Rachel had same problem. We suffered at least 10 flats after that. Darkness not allowing the riders to see the pave were snakebiting all over the place. Serveral of us stopped, waited for all the flats to re-group and we were shuttled to the front of the pack. From there out, things seemed to stay quiet again all the way into F'ton. It was a great time, and hopefully we did not upset the H2V crew too badly. We now know that planning a long distance road ride in the dark takes heavy duty tires and much better lighting. Good luck to the guys on thier efforts.
Thanks for including us.
My pics:
my pics
Dons photos (mostly the prep in Mapleton Pk) are here:
Don's pics
Here is the route:
The route
Campbellton DH “Gravity Hurts”
posted by :RJ on Friday August 10, 2007
This past weekend was round three of the Nova Scotia / New Brunswick race series. We left early Saturday morning for Campbellton (On time for once). The usual crew of miscreants (Frank, Josh, Brendan and myself) was aboard the Read’s Newsstand Chevy van. After arriving to town the first order of the day was to fix Brendan’s bike. Lucky Brendan had been out in BC with his friend Nate ripping up some of the best trails western Canada has to offer (he also was a spectator at this year’s Crankworks!!). Brendan did what everybody should do out west: ride fast and hard, this resulted in the bike taking a hardcore beating. After new bb’s, grips, Mgyvered chain guide setup and a loaner brake he was set to go. While we were setting up camp and getting ready, the sky turned dark and the thunder appeared. Fortunately for us the downpour did not last and we were up and riding soon after. The Campbellton course was liked by all. There was a rockgarden at the top of the hill some tight turns and an odd wooden table top, this made for a really fun and technical course. Saturday night at the DH races are fun times and this weekend was no exception.
To those who were not present you missed a good race and what might be the only NB race of the year with Poley doing major construction. It was sad to see the little turn out of NS racers at the venue. The Nova Scotia downhill race scene is heavilly supported by the bundles of riders coming from cities such as Fredricton and Moncton and all through out New Brunswick. There are few races and this was a great one! Race day Sunday was a beautiful day. The sun was up and the temperature and wind were drying up the course and made everything nice and tacky. In the Elite category Josh had the fastest time of the day followed by Chris Furlot (super close second) and Frank with third. The sport category was won by Brendan Flanagan followed by Pascal Sirois and myself in third.
The fun did not stop after the race however. Most of the guys went up the hill to go down on the slide…full face, goggles, gloves and all. That was a little hairy at times but, oh so much fun! I would like to thank John Devona from Read’s for lending us the van which is very helpful, Mike’s Bike Shop for the tents and good support and to Tyler Arsenault and Chris Day for putting on a great race. Our next race will be Keppoch in Antigonish Sept 22, although we will be in MSA early September for some fun times. Stay tuned!!
Cheers RJ
To those who were not present you missed a good race and what might be the only NB race of the year with Poley doing major construction. It was sad to see the little turn out of NS racers at the venue. The Nova Scotia downhill race scene is heavilly supported by the bundles of riders coming from cities such as Fredricton and Moncton and all through out New Brunswick. There are few races and this was a great one! Race day Sunday was a beautiful day. The sun was up and the temperature and wind were drying up the course and made everything nice and tacky. In the Elite category Josh had the fastest time of the day followed by Chris Furlot (super close second) and Frank with third. The sport category was won by Brendan Flanagan followed by Pascal Sirois and myself in third.
The fun did not stop after the race however. Most of the guys went up the hill to go down on the slide…full face, goggles, gloves and all. That was a little hairy at times but, oh so much fun! I would like to thank John Devona from Read’s for lending us the van which is very helpful, Mike’s Bike Shop for the tents and good support and to Tyler Arsenault and Chris Day for putting on a great race. Our next race will be Keppoch in Antigonish Sept 22, although we will be in MSA early September for some fun times. Stay tuned!!
Cheers RJ
8 hours of Gore (Don's saga)
posted by :Don Ricker on Wednesday August 1, 2007
I'm really glad i didn't win.
Finishing last/second was the best thing that could have happened to me all day...and here's why.
Winning makes you think that you're good. it makes you think..."look at me, i rock!". and in fact you do, since you won.
But here's the bad part....it also makes you dream for more; and in the case of an 8hr race it makes you dream of more hours. And i'll be the first to tell myself...more hours would hurt and suck, really an aweful lot!
But mercifully I lost. Finished DFL out of 2 guys. My helmet off to Chris Price from NS, that guys a hard man. His On-One Inbred was geared heavier than mine by a fair bit, it was obvious on anything that went uphill in the way he had to stand and rock the bike to move it forward that he was putting out way more wattage than me to just get around. I honestly expected to outlast him seeing his gearing, but nope. he's way strong.
Long and short of it here's my story;
Motivation was ok for the race and for the conditions prior to start.
my plan was to start slow and keep it consistent for as long as i could.
my plan half worked...i started slow. Keeping it consistent was the part that i had trouble with.
lap one was pretty good, lots of traffic, quite a few people stopping and causing others to have to stop...but that's the nature of race starts. no hurry...i've got literally all day.
lap two, i was cruizing now, good times. everytime the trail turned up i'd pass lots of riders, then i'd settle in for the dh technical bits as best as i could. my seatpost slipped (hey bontrager....you'll be getting an email from me shortly!!!!) and while i was fixing it Chris passed me.
One thing that needs mentioning here is how amazingly heavy the terrain was. With the rainstorm the night prior and the sun coming out during, it turned watered down mud into very heavy clay. In my opinion this made the race 25% harder than a dry course would have been. Good for everyone to do as well as they did.
lap three, settling in now. starting to think about conserving some energy instead of spending it. drinking when i think of it. trying for one gel every lap or so. Lots of riders out here, its nice mostly to be with other people. i'm starting to see fresh clean bikes pass me now as riders get their handoff and start their first laps.
Here's the thing i noticed about this type of racing, it weighs on your mind pretty heavy (well at least on my mind it does). After the first hour or two your thinking, man i'm feeling ok...but i've got 6 MORE hours to go! (or as sean so helpfully said "Go Don, only 5hours and 55minutes left!!!") Its that sense of time still to ride that gives you a moment of pause.
lap Four, well into my second hour of riding now. going well. Started doing some basic math; "well if i'm doing 34min laps, oh lets just say 40min laps, i should be able to do around 12 or 14 in 8hrs.
awesome, i rock!" i blow through the start finish, beg michelle to drop a sandwich off at the feed zone for my next lap.
lap Five"wow i've just downed 3 litres of water and now i'm out" "i wish i had some food, these gels aren't cutting it anymore". I started to notice that the waypoints along the course that i'd benchmarked my time at earlier were taking longer and longer to get to. laps were now around 40min instead of 36 minutes or so. Also noticed a few twinges in the inner quad muscles, i know from experience that the cramps aren't far off now. End of lap 5 i see food where my bottles were "AWESOME" i stopped in the shade and sat and ate a fajita and one of the best cokes i've ever had. quick stretch and i'm up and going again.
Lap Six, now i'm into the meat of it. I'm often referring to the motivational notes i wrote on tape on my bars now "harden the F**k up"
and " be tinker". I'm also noticing more things starting to fail on me.
My triceps are smoked. hands are not quite numb but not responding to voice commands as well as they should either(Infact for long races like this i think some bar ends will find their way onto the bike very soon).
Mentally i'm losing a little bit too. At the start of each lap i've been alert enough to press my lap button on my watch, this is good because more than a few times i honestly didn' t know where i was on the course, but the watch would show a time and that would tell me more or less where i was "oh 12 minutes...i'm near the fireroad climb" or "30 minutes..great, the mud bog is coming" and so on. Without that i'd honeslty have been lost on the race course.
Lap Seven. Now i'm getting mad at myself, mad a the course, mad at my motivational notes
(http://donricker.smugmug.com/gallery/3201522#176508411). "Harden the f**k up?! No YOU harden the f**k up!!!"
(to no one in particuar). Lots of negative thoughts crept in now "man your riding bad", "your sucking on this downhill", "chris is proably closing on on lapping you". Then to make matters worse i tried to correct my negative thoughts and got even madder at myself when i realized i was saying negative things about my negative thoughts "man you're stupid saying things like that!", "you suck cause your so negative".... eeesh. I had prided myself in making time on the fireroad climb, now it was payback. sever leg cramp time. just about at the top everything went south and i got off the bike to walk a bit. Walking i've found is way better for me than standing there sobbing like a small girl, and its probably better for those that would have to witness it.
after 100' i felt ok again, back on and riding. Singletrack...small things upset my flow quickly now and i'm walking more and more. to be honest i'm walking/almost jogging at a really good pace, in fact i still make some ground up on people, so its not a total negative. At one point i find myself riding off the trail and into the woods, that's not performance. However I even feel good running the swamp section, except now i run almost all the way to the road. Lap time around 45min now.
Lap Eight. I stop for a few minutes, get some liquids in. One thing i've suddenly realized, its been 5hrs + of racing, and 1 hr of pre race prep, and i don't have the slightest urge to take a nature break. that combined with the shivers i get whenever i'm riding in the shade (and when sean dumped an ice cold waterbottle on me when i was heading back into the woods on the bike....) are telling me that my hydration tactics are not what they should be. i've told myself that this is it, final lap, c'est tout. Chris isn't showing any signs of quitting, he's ahead by a good margin on the lap, and i'm punch drunk stupid and cramping.
Time to pack it in for a bunch of reasons.
On this my final lap, Michelle starts about 1 min ahead of me, and i'm thinking " cool, i'll get to ride with her for a lap". I hit the single track section and no sign of her. then the next section, and the next and the next and the next...."wow, she's riding really well"
i think. i get to the base of the fireroad climb and i can see her about
1/2 way up. "well i'll catch her here and we'll ride together", i think.HA! 1/2 way up the cramps come in earnest. "Wowsers those are good un's!" as i walk up and riders in granny gear crawl past.
Michelles now gone. i'm back on and riding; whats funny with a single speed is that you can only go so slow up hill. To turn the pedals over in my gearing is faster than most recreational riders ride hills at, so with cramps just a heartbeat or two off, i still manage to pass all the people that pass me on the climb while i walked.
Finally at the bottom of the dh section and beyond the bridge i see her again and say "hi". We ride together for a bit, she's smiling and telling me how much fun she's having..."great, good for you" i say...and almost mean it.
She rides a lot of the mud section that i'm walking and by the fireroad feed zone she's already long gone. I pull up (proudly biking up the feed zone even with cramps) and go to the redbull tent. I shake the hands of the timers, tell them "thanks" and say "that's it...i'm done" I stood around chatting for a while and after about 25min Chris comes though for another lap and i'm grateful that i have no reason to keep going now, the worst thing that i could imagine is that he'd quit after 9 laps, that'd mean that i'd have to get out and do not one but 2 laps to finish in first place. Thankfully he didn't.
6hrs and 20min was long enough for me that day.
For better or for worse, i didn't get beaten up bad enough to not do something like this again. Infact once my backside heals from the abuse i'm kinda stoked to go out again. The full Elgin 80 on a SS this year?
Hell ya!
thanks to steve for making my fork work, and i'm sure this saved my numbed brain and body more than a few times. thanks for all the people sitting in lawn chairs in the shade, drinking cold beers and yelling "go don" as i went by. Thanks for michelle for racing like a monster and still taking time to help the helpless (me) survive. And thanks for reading.
don
ps. please excuse grammer/spelling and punctuation...i'm seriously not firing on all cylinders today.
Finishing last/second was the best thing that could have happened to me all day...and here's why.
Winning makes you think that you're good. it makes you think..."look at me, i rock!". and in fact you do, since you won.
But here's the bad part....it also makes you dream for more; and in the case of an 8hr race it makes you dream of more hours. And i'll be the first to tell myself...more hours would hurt and suck, really an aweful lot!
But mercifully I lost. Finished DFL out of 2 guys. My helmet off to Chris Price from NS, that guys a hard man. His On-One Inbred was geared heavier than mine by a fair bit, it was obvious on anything that went uphill in the way he had to stand and rock the bike to move it forward that he was putting out way more wattage than me to just get around. I honestly expected to outlast him seeing his gearing, but nope. he's way strong.
Long and short of it here's my story;
Motivation was ok for the race and for the conditions prior to start.
my plan was to start slow and keep it consistent for as long as i could.
my plan half worked...i started slow. Keeping it consistent was the part that i had trouble with.
lap one was pretty good, lots of traffic, quite a few people stopping and causing others to have to stop...but that's the nature of race starts. no hurry...i've got literally all day.
lap two, i was cruizing now, good times. everytime the trail turned up i'd pass lots of riders, then i'd settle in for the dh technical bits as best as i could. my seatpost slipped (hey bontrager....you'll be getting an email from me shortly!!!!) and while i was fixing it Chris passed me.
One thing that needs mentioning here is how amazingly heavy the terrain was. With the rainstorm the night prior and the sun coming out during, it turned watered down mud into very heavy clay. In my opinion this made the race 25% harder than a dry course would have been. Good for everyone to do as well as they did.
lap three, settling in now. starting to think about conserving some energy instead of spending it. drinking when i think of it. trying for one gel every lap or so. Lots of riders out here, its nice mostly to be with other people. i'm starting to see fresh clean bikes pass me now as riders get their handoff and start their first laps.
Here's the thing i noticed about this type of racing, it weighs on your mind pretty heavy (well at least on my mind it does). After the first hour or two your thinking, man i'm feeling ok...but i've got 6 MORE hours to go! (or as sean so helpfully said "Go Don, only 5hours and 55minutes left!!!") Its that sense of time still to ride that gives you a moment of pause.
lap Four, well into my second hour of riding now. going well. Started doing some basic math; "well if i'm doing 34min laps, oh lets just say 40min laps, i should be able to do around 12 or 14 in 8hrs.
awesome, i rock!" i blow through the start finish, beg michelle to drop a sandwich off at the feed zone for my next lap.
lap Five"wow i've just downed 3 litres of water and now i'm out" "i wish i had some food, these gels aren't cutting it anymore". I started to notice that the waypoints along the course that i'd benchmarked my time at earlier were taking longer and longer to get to. laps were now around 40min instead of 36 minutes or so. Also noticed a few twinges in the inner quad muscles, i know from experience that the cramps aren't far off now. End of lap 5 i see food where my bottles were "AWESOME" i stopped in the shade and sat and ate a fajita and one of the best cokes i've ever had. quick stretch and i'm up and going again.
Lap Six, now i'm into the meat of it. I'm often referring to the motivational notes i wrote on tape on my bars now "harden the F**k up"
and " be tinker". I'm also noticing more things starting to fail on me.
My triceps are smoked. hands are not quite numb but not responding to voice commands as well as they should either(Infact for long races like this i think some bar ends will find their way onto the bike very soon).
Mentally i'm losing a little bit too. At the start of each lap i've been alert enough to press my lap button on my watch, this is good because more than a few times i honestly didn' t know where i was on the course, but the watch would show a time and that would tell me more or less where i was "oh 12 minutes...i'm near the fireroad climb" or "30 minutes..great, the mud bog is coming" and so on. Without that i'd honeslty have been lost on the race course.
Lap Seven. Now i'm getting mad at myself, mad a the course, mad at my motivational notes
(http://donricker.smugmug.com/gallery/3201522#176508411). "Harden the f**k up?! No YOU harden the f**k up!!!"
(to no one in particuar). Lots of negative thoughts crept in now "man your riding bad", "your sucking on this downhill", "chris is proably closing on on lapping you". Then to make matters worse i tried to correct my negative thoughts and got even madder at myself when i realized i was saying negative things about my negative thoughts "man you're stupid saying things like that!", "you suck cause your so negative".... eeesh. I had prided myself in making time on the fireroad climb, now it was payback. sever leg cramp time. just about at the top everything went south and i got off the bike to walk a bit. Walking i've found is way better for me than standing there sobbing like a small girl, and its probably better for those that would have to witness it.
after 100' i felt ok again, back on and riding. Singletrack...small things upset my flow quickly now and i'm walking more and more. to be honest i'm walking/almost jogging at a really good pace, in fact i still make some ground up on people, so its not a total negative. At one point i find myself riding off the trail and into the woods, that's not performance. However I even feel good running the swamp section, except now i run almost all the way to the road. Lap time around 45min now.
Lap Eight. I stop for a few minutes, get some liquids in. One thing i've suddenly realized, its been 5hrs + of racing, and 1 hr of pre race prep, and i don't have the slightest urge to take a nature break. that combined with the shivers i get whenever i'm riding in the shade (and when sean dumped an ice cold waterbottle on me when i was heading back into the woods on the bike....) are telling me that my hydration tactics are not what they should be. i've told myself that this is it, final lap, c'est tout. Chris isn't showing any signs of quitting, he's ahead by a good margin on the lap, and i'm punch drunk stupid and cramping.
Time to pack it in for a bunch of reasons.
On this my final lap, Michelle starts about 1 min ahead of me, and i'm thinking " cool, i'll get to ride with her for a lap". I hit the single track section and no sign of her. then the next section, and the next and the next and the next...."wow, she's riding really well"
i think. i get to the base of the fireroad climb and i can see her about
1/2 way up. "well i'll catch her here and we'll ride together", i think.HA! 1/2 way up the cramps come in earnest. "Wowsers those are good un's!" as i walk up and riders in granny gear crawl past.
Michelles now gone. i'm back on and riding; whats funny with a single speed is that you can only go so slow up hill. To turn the pedals over in my gearing is faster than most recreational riders ride hills at, so with cramps just a heartbeat or two off, i still manage to pass all the people that pass me on the climb while i walked.
Finally at the bottom of the dh section and beyond the bridge i see her again and say "hi". We ride together for a bit, she's smiling and telling me how much fun she's having..."great, good for you" i say...and almost mean it.
She rides a lot of the mud section that i'm walking and by the fireroad feed zone she's already long gone. I pull up (proudly biking up the feed zone even with cramps) and go to the redbull tent. I shake the hands of the timers, tell them "thanks" and say "that's it...i'm done" I stood around chatting for a while and after about 25min Chris comes though for another lap and i'm grateful that i have no reason to keep going now, the worst thing that i could imagine is that he'd quit after 9 laps, that'd mean that i'd have to get out and do not one but 2 laps to finish in first place. Thankfully he didn't.
6hrs and 20min was long enough for me that day.
For better or for worse, i didn't get beaten up bad enough to not do something like this again. Infact once my backside heals from the abuse i'm kinda stoked to go out again. The full Elgin 80 on a SS this year?
Hell ya!
thanks to steve for making my fork work, and i'm sure this saved my numbed brain and body more than a few times. thanks for all the people sitting in lawn chairs in the shade, drinking cold beers and yelling "go don" as i went by. Thanks for michelle for racing like a monster and still taking time to help the helpless (me) survive. And thanks for reading.
don
ps. please excuse grammer/spelling and punctuation...i'm seriously not firing on all cylinders today.
le Tour de l’Avenir du Saguenay
posted by :Stuart Wight on Tuesday July 31, 2007
le Tour de l’Avenir du Saguenay (Stuart’s view)
Well, after many long hours in the car, we finally rolled into La Baie, which is where we were staying, on Wednesday afternoon. We drove both TT courses and the next day’s road race course, got registered, and relaxed for the rest of the day.
Stage 1 – 53km circuit race
Thursday was a very hot and fairly windy day, and everyone was excited to get racing. On the start line you could feel how nervous everyone was, and it showed once the race started. The pace was not overly fast and we got through the first lap safely. I felt great, Jean-Richard, Charlie, and Andrew were all looking quite comfortable, and all was well. That was until some massive rider decides to squeeze through a 5-inch gap between my handlebars and the rider next to me. Our bars got tangled, I tried to pull loose, but him weighing at least 50lbs more than me ended up throwing my bike and me to the ground. I got up and chased hard, but couldn’t catch back on. Possibly due to my two cracked ribs and chipped bone in my elbow. J-R raced amazingly and finished in the bunch, as did Charlie. Andrew flatted and also couldn’t catch back on. So a disappointing day for me, but I decided I would just have to race better in the next stages.
Stage 2 – 7km TTT
Well, that night we had the TTT. I didn’t know how we would do, and the first kilometer was extremely sketchy, but we settled in to put out a great time, taking 7th place overall.
Stage 3 – 63 km point to point race from La Baie to L’anse Saint Jean
A hilly stage was on the agenda for Friday with three KOMs and an uphill finish at a ski lodge. The first 35kms went smoothly, with J-R and I consistently near the front of the peloton and in superb position. The 35km mark was the feed zone, which was absolutely insane! Bottles everywhere, along with crazy kids swerving to grab bottles and food. I got a bottle, but then heard the pssssssss! Of my tire flatting! Oh well, I raise my hand for the neutral service van, but I think I would have been better off riding the flat! The mechanic didn’t have a clue – it took him about three minutes to change one wheel, and even then he didn’t have it in square, so my gears skipped. Anyway, I chased as hard as I could and finally caught back on with 6kms to go which was right at the base of the final climb. With so many accelerations and me exhausted from my solo effort to catch back on, I found my self in the chase group and we ended up losing 51 seconds to the winner of the stage. J-R finished in the bunch just ahead of me, with Charlie and Andrew a little bit behind. Yet another disappointing day for me, but I was pleased that I was able to catch back on after such a terrible change.
Stage 4 – 7km ITT
Well the ITT was just up hill 3.5km, the down 3.5. Andrew was first to leave from our team, with me 3 minutes behind and J-R and Charlie about 20 minutes later. I had set the fastest time after I finished, but the guy behind me was slightly faster, and I saw myself slip down the ranks as riders came in. I was quite frustrated by my ribs inhibiting my breathing, but there was nothing I could do about them. J-R had a good time 2 seconds back of me, with Andrew 5 seconds back and Charlie 30 or so.
Stage 5 – 30km Crit
Well the crit was the most insane stage of all. It had been stinking hot all week, and today the clouds decided to open up, with some rain in the girls race, and a lot of rain in ours. To make things worse there was one tight corner with a slippery sidewalk, and what I liked to call the death-traps (a.k.a, manhole covers). I really had no ambition of being anywhere near the peloton, so when I had to stop behind a crash, I wasn’t all that disappointed, I was actually relieved! Charlie also drifted away from the peloton. J-R certainly put his BMX work to good use and with his strong bike handling skills he was able to stay in the second pack, as was Andrew.
Stage 6 – 52km circuit race
Well the final stage was a beautiful day to race. Fairly warm, but not as hot as most of the other days. The course was a 4km loop that climbed steadily for about 3km and then had a very steep decent (I think I hit 90km/h). The race went well, although I think we were all fairly tired, and my breathing still wasn’t helping me either. J-R flatted, and chased hard, but couldn’t rejoin the field. Halfway through the race I was riding on Andrew’s wheel and I didn’t notice the gap the pack had opened on him. He was letting them go, and by the time I realized that there was quite a gap, it was too late. I tried to close it, but my legs were saying no more! I rode with Andrew for a while, along with a few Americans, but left them with two laps to go. I finished in 14th, J-R 16th, Andrew 19th or 20th, and Charlie finished last, I think.
All in all it was a successful trip and we all learned a lot. We had fun and I know I can’t wait for next year’s race. Hopefully I’ll have some better luck! Good work to everyone on the team, and a special thanks to Sheila Colbourne (who, for those of you who don’t know, is my mom), Keith Manuel, and the Atlantic Cycling Centre for sending us on this trip.
Stuart
Well, after many long hours in the car, we finally rolled into La Baie, which is where we were staying, on Wednesday afternoon. We drove both TT courses and the next day’s road race course, got registered, and relaxed for the rest of the day.
Stage 1 – 53km circuit race
Thursday was a very hot and fairly windy day, and everyone was excited to get racing. On the start line you could feel how nervous everyone was, and it showed once the race started. The pace was not overly fast and we got through the first lap safely. I felt great, Jean-Richard, Charlie, and Andrew were all looking quite comfortable, and all was well. That was until some massive rider decides to squeeze through a 5-inch gap between my handlebars and the rider next to me. Our bars got tangled, I tried to pull loose, but him weighing at least 50lbs more than me ended up throwing my bike and me to the ground. I got up and chased hard, but couldn’t catch back on. Possibly due to my two cracked ribs and chipped bone in my elbow. J-R raced amazingly and finished in the bunch, as did Charlie. Andrew flatted and also couldn’t catch back on. So a disappointing day for me, but I decided I would just have to race better in the next stages.
Stage 2 – 7km TTT
Well, that night we had the TTT. I didn’t know how we would do, and the first kilometer was extremely sketchy, but we settled in to put out a great time, taking 7th place overall.
Stage 3 – 63 km point to point race from La Baie to L’anse Saint Jean
A hilly stage was on the agenda for Friday with three KOMs and an uphill finish at a ski lodge. The first 35kms went smoothly, with J-R and I consistently near the front of the peloton and in superb position. The 35km mark was the feed zone, which was absolutely insane! Bottles everywhere, along with crazy kids swerving to grab bottles and food. I got a bottle, but then heard the pssssssss! Of my tire flatting! Oh well, I raise my hand for the neutral service van, but I think I would have been better off riding the flat! The mechanic didn’t have a clue – it took him about three minutes to change one wheel, and even then he didn’t have it in square, so my gears skipped. Anyway, I chased as hard as I could and finally caught back on with 6kms to go which was right at the base of the final climb. With so many accelerations and me exhausted from my solo effort to catch back on, I found my self in the chase group and we ended up losing 51 seconds to the winner of the stage. J-R finished in the bunch just ahead of me, with Charlie and Andrew a little bit behind. Yet another disappointing day for me, but I was pleased that I was able to catch back on after such a terrible change.
Stage 4 – 7km ITT
Well the ITT was just up hill 3.5km, the down 3.5. Andrew was first to leave from our team, with me 3 minutes behind and J-R and Charlie about 20 minutes later. I had set the fastest time after I finished, but the guy behind me was slightly faster, and I saw myself slip down the ranks as riders came in. I was quite frustrated by my ribs inhibiting my breathing, but there was nothing I could do about them. J-R had a good time 2 seconds back of me, with Andrew 5 seconds back and Charlie 30 or so.
Stage 5 – 30km Crit
Well the crit was the most insane stage of all. It had been stinking hot all week, and today the clouds decided to open up, with some rain in the girls race, and a lot of rain in ours. To make things worse there was one tight corner with a slippery sidewalk, and what I liked to call the death-traps (a.k.a, manhole covers). I really had no ambition of being anywhere near the peloton, so when I had to stop behind a crash, I wasn’t all that disappointed, I was actually relieved! Charlie also drifted away from the peloton. J-R certainly put his BMX work to good use and with his strong bike handling skills he was able to stay in the second pack, as was Andrew.
Stage 6 – 52km circuit race
Well the final stage was a beautiful day to race. Fairly warm, but not as hot as most of the other days. The course was a 4km loop that climbed steadily for about 3km and then had a very steep decent (I think I hit 90km/h). The race went well, although I think we were all fairly tired, and my breathing still wasn’t helping me either. J-R flatted, and chased hard, but couldn’t rejoin the field. Halfway through the race I was riding on Andrew’s wheel and I didn’t notice the gap the pack had opened on him. He was letting them go, and by the time I realized that there was quite a gap, it was too late. I tried to close it, but my legs were saying no more! I rode with Andrew for a while, along with a few Americans, but left them with two laps to go. I finished in 14th, J-R 16th, Andrew 19th or 20th, and Charlie finished last, I think.
All in all it was a successful trip and we all learned a lot. We had fun and I know I can’t wait for next year’s race. Hopefully I’ll have some better luck! Good work to everyone on the team, and a special thanks to Sheila Colbourne (who, for those of you who don’t know, is my mom), Keith Manuel, and the Atlantic Cycling Centre for sending us on this trip.
Stuart
Raid Trans Gaspesien 2007
posted by :Patrice Boudreau on Thursday July 26, 2007
I thought I would inform people of the 11th edition of the Raid Trans Gaspesien Denis, Carol and I participated in this past weekend in Carleton Quebec. Carleton is a small town situated approximately 45 minutes outside of Campbelton down the east coast towards Gaspe. Basically, you have the Bay of Chaleur south of the town and the Appalache mountains north of it. This event is a two day mountain bike race that is part of a circuit of MTB races in Quebec. Riders have the option of just doing the race of day 2. This year, the first day of racing took place in Bonnaventure for a distance of 105km and the second day of racing took place in Carleton for a total of 67 km. Approximately 150 riders participated in day 1 and on day 2, we were 300 at the start with riders from day 1 and riders opting to do day 2 only. We went up to do day 2 only. We arrived in Carleton on Saturday around super time. Driving through town, there clearly signs of a major bike race going on. In parking lots of Motels, bike racks on cars, bikes mounted on bike racks, people cleaning their bikes from the days race, cycling clothes getting dried off, etc... It was beautiful when we arrived on Saturday and continued the next day. Sunday morning, we had clear skies with the temperature in high teens. The temperature, through the day, worked its way up to mid twenties with clear skies still.
Sunday 9am, all 300 of us took off at the sound of “Parté’’ ( Go ), one mass start. The peleton of 300 spread over half of km rolled its way through the streets of Carleton for approximately 6 km until we went off road for approximately 1km and back on the road to begin climbing Mount St-Jospeh, a 500 meter climb over the next 3km. At the top of this climb we then went off road for good. As they say, what goes up must come down so between the 20 and 30th km, we were riding real fast downhills, most of it made up of fire roads. That was all good until we began climbing again. We began climbing Mount St- Louis, a 350 meter off road climb over 5km. For the last 20 km, we worked our way back down to sea level with the occasional short climb until we got the last 8 to 10km where were back to see level and fast rolling through ATV trails. The course was made up of ATV/Snowmobile trails and fire roads with bridges over flowing rivers, beautiful scenery at top of mountains, etc…
I can’t say enough about how well this event is organized. The community is really behind this event. People on side of road cheering us on as we road through Carleton and about 100 people were at top of our first climb cheering us on. A total of four feed stops ( Ravito ) through the race, one at each 12 to 14 km. It was just like an all you can drink and eat buffet. Each stop had about 10 to 12 people handing out bananas, power bars, Gatorade and water melons asking us how things were going and cheering us on when we were off again. At the finish, recovery food and drinks, cantine, bathrooms, outdoor showers, etc… Each rider would be named along with the name of cycling team or club he was part of as he finished. You could even buy bike parts and get free bike repairs on site compliments of local sporting goods store.
Some of our fellow Velo NB members were present, Donald Mallet, Eric Frenette, Martin Pelletier, Bruce Roberts ( NS ) who all did both days race. Some of us even brought home hardware, Donald Mallet ( silver ) 50-59 sport, Martin Pelletier ( silver ) 30-39 expert over the two day race and Carol Doucet ( silver ) 40-49 Woman and myself ( gold ) 40-49 Expert from day 2 race only.
This little town has everything, campgrounds motels, restaurants, sporting good store, grocery store, etc…
Patrice
8 hours of gore
posted by :Michelle Chase on Monday July 23, 2007
Gore..properly named
The anticipation for this event had been building since last year. Krista, Sherry and I did the three woman team in the 2006 Gorefest. When we got back to Moncton we were so excited to get everyone to go, that we managed to “drag” a new bunch with us this year.
The excitement for the 8 Hours of Gore 2007 was so thick you could cut it with a knife or maybe that was the fog and rain you could cut with a knife. Saturday morning the Moncton Weather was cloudy with sunny periods. Not bad. At least it wasn’t raining. Well not raining til Amherst. Once there, it was a monsoon and it continued. Truro – monsoon. But then in Rawdon it tapered to a mere tropical storm. On to Gore and tropical storm had tapered to intermittent showers. Thankfully we got our shelters up before it started again.
With boredom settling in as we sat under the tent, a few of us decided to go pre-ride the course. It had turned muggy and everything smelled like wet grass and cow deposits. Goodie. Note to self: hiking boots next year instead of Crocs. The first part of the course was fairly squishy but not too bad. Then we came to the downhill and hit the fire roads. Everything that once was a puddle was now a lake and the nice gurgling brook crossing was a Class 4 rapid! The sections they cut around of the muck bog, was a muck bog itself. Basically the last 500 m of the course, was ankle deep with no detour. That was our precursor to an interesting race the next day. Then as we sat under the tent later that evening contemplating why we came, the monsoon swung by again and deposited another 20 mm of rain! Needless to say, for some, it was early to bed. Morale and enthusiasm was low.
The next morning I awoke to someone tapping me on the head and handing me a steaming mug of coffee. My savior. Much to my dismay, my brain wasn’t the only thing enveloped in a fog. It took two cups of coffee to get the motivation level to moderate. But with the caffeine kicking in, we started to get organized for the day. The Moncton contingent was pretty strong with four girls making up two women teams. There were a lot of three men teams and last but not least Don doing not only solo, but solo single speed.
The race began with a running start up the hill to the staging area. Its almost sadistic! Bad enough being on your bike for 8 hours let alone running in there too. Caroline, my teammate made me go first. She said something about fitness levels and not being able to run. I think I got the short stick on that one. The course was in pretty bad condition. Ankle deep mud, raging brooks, large lakes in the middle of the road. Each time you took a lap, the course had changed. The mud deeper, the roots more exposed and the sneak routes fewer. But with all that said, its still a really fun race. You took everything in stride because the fun vibe was so strong there. There were no glum faces or a negative atmosphere at all. I think the sun coming out on the first lapped helped with the attitudes too.
At the end of it all the hardware came to Moncton in a big way. The team of three men consisting of Sean, Mike and Steve took 1st in their division. The Two Women teams of Krista & Sherry and Caroline & I took home first and second respectively. Don toughed it out through visions and blank spots in the single speed solo division to bring home second.
Even with the adverse weather and crazy course conditions they had a 150 riders still smiling after the event. I think the Gore organizers are on to something.
8 hours of Gore (Don's saga)
posted by :Don Ricker on Monday July 23, 2007
I'm really glad i didn't win.
Finishing last/second was the best thing that could have happened to me all day...and here's why.
Winning makes you think that you're good. it makes you think..."look at me, i rock!". and in fact you do, since you won.
But here's the bad part....it also makes you dream for more; and in the case of an 8hr race it makes you dream of more hours. And i'll be the first to tell myself...more hours would hurt and suck, really an aweful lot!
But mercifully I lost. Finished DFL out of 2 guys. My helmet off to Chris Price from NS, that guys a hard man. His On-One Inbred was geared heavier than mine by a fair bit, it was obvious on anything that went uphill in the way he had to stand and rock the bike to move it forward that he was putting out way more wattage than me to just get around. I honestly expected to outlast him seeing his gearing, but nope. he's way strong.
Long and short of it here's my story;
Motivation was ok for the race and for the conditions prior to start.
my plan was to start slow and keep it consistent for as long as i could.
my plan half worked...i started slow. Keeping it consistent was the part that i had trouble with.
lap one was pretty good, lots of traffic, quite a few people stopping and causing others to have to stop...but that's the nature of race starts. no hurry...i've got literally all day.
lap two, i was cruizing now, good times. everytime the trail turned up i'd pass lots of riders, then i'd settle in for the dh technical bits as best as i could. my seatpost slipped (hey bontrager....you'll be getting an email from me shortly!!!!) and while i was fixing it Chris passed me.
One thing that needs mentioning here is how amazingly heavy the terrain was. With the rainstorm the night prior and the sun coming out during, it turned watered down mud into very heavy clay. In my opinion this made the race 25% harder than a dry course would have been. Good for everyone to do as well as they did.
lap three, settling in now. starting to think about conserving some energy instead of spending it. drinking when i think of it. trying for one gel every lap or so. Lots of riders out here, its nice mostly to be with other people. i'm starting to see fresh clean bikes pass me now as riders get their handoff and start their first laps.
Here's the thing i noticed about this type of racing, it weighs on your mind pretty heavy (well at least on my mind it does). After the first hour or two your thinking, man i'm feeling ok...but i've got 6 MORE hours to go! (or as sean so helpfully said "Go Don, only 5hours and 55minutes left!!!") Its that sense of time still to ride that gives you a moment of pause.
lap Four, well into my second hour of riding now. going well. Started doing some basic math; "well if i'm doing 34min laps, oh lets just say 40min laps, i should be able to do around 12 or 14 in 8hrs.
awesome, i rock!" i blow through the start finish, beg michelle to drop a sandwich off at the feed zone for my next lap.
lap Five"wow i've just downed 3 litres of water and now i'm out" "i wish i had some food, these gels aren't cutting it anymore". I started to notice that the waypoints along the course that i'd benchmarked my time at earlier were taking longer and longer to get to. laps were now around 40min instead of 36 minutes or so. Also noticed a few twinges in the inner quad muscles, i know from experience that the cramps aren't far off now. End of lap 5 i see food where my bottles were "AWESOME" i stopped in the shade and sat and ate a fajita and one of the best cokes i've ever had. quick stretch and i'm up and going again.
Lap Six, now i'm into the meat of it. I'm often referring to the motivational notes i wrote on tape on my bars now "harden the F**k up"
and " be tinker". I'm also noticing more things starting to fail on me.
My triceps are smoked. hands are not quite numb but not responding to voice commands as well as they should either(Infact for long races like this i think some bar ends will find their way onto the bike very soon).
Mentally i'm losing a little bit too. At the start of each lap i've been alert enough to press my lap button on my watch, this is good because more than a few times i honestly didn' t know where i was on the course, but the watch would show a time and that would tell me more or less where i was "oh 12 minutes...i'm near the fireroad climb" or "30 minutes..great, the mud bog is coming" and so on. Without that i'd honeslty have been lost on the race course.
Lap Seven. Now i'm getting mad at myself, mad a the course, mad at my motivational notes
(http://donricker.smugmug.com/gallery/3201522#176508411). "Harden the f**k up?! No YOU harden the f**k up!!!"
(to no one in particuar). Lots of negative thoughts crept in now "man your riding bad", "your sucking on this downhill", "chris is proably closing on on lapping you". Then to make matters worse i tried to correct my negative thoughts and got even madder at myself when i realized i was saying negative things about my negative thoughts "man you're stupid saying things like that!", "you suck cause your so negative".... eeesh. I had prided myself in making time on the fireroad climb, now it was payback. sever leg cramp time. just about at the top everything went south and i got off the bike to walk a bit. Walking i've found is way better for me than standing there sobbing like a small girl, and its probably better for those that would have to witness it.
after 100' i felt ok again, back on and riding. Singletrack...small things upset my flow quickly now and i'm walking more and more. to be honest i'm walking/almost jogging at a really good pace, in fact i still make some ground up on people, so its not a total negative. At one point i find myself riding off the trail and into the woods, that's not performance. However I even feel good running the swamp section, except now i run almost all the way to the road. Lap time around 45min now.
Lap Eight. I stop for a few minutes, get some liquids in. One thing i've suddenly realized, its been 5hrs + of racing, and 1 hr of pre race prep, and i don't have the slightest urge to take a nature break. that combined with the shivers i get whenever i'm riding in the shade (and when sean dumped an ice cold waterbottle on me when i was heading back into the woods on the bike....) are telling me that my hydration tactics are not what they should be. i've told myself that this is it, final lap, c'est tout. Chris isn't showing any signs of quitting, he's ahead by a good margin on the lap, and i'm punch drunk stupid and cramping.
Time to pack it in for a bunch of reasons.
On this my final lap, Michelle starts about 1 min ahead of me, and i'm thinking " cool, i'll get to ride with her for a lap". I hit the single track section and no sign of her. then the next section, and the next and the next and the next...."wow, she's riding really well"
i think. i get to the base of the fireroad climb and i can see her about
1/2 way up. "well i'll catch her here and we'll ride together", i think.HA! 1/2 way up the cramps come in earnest. "Wowsers those are good un's!" as i walk up and riders in granny gear crawl past.
Michelles now gone. i'm back on and riding; whats funny with a single speed is that you can only go so slow up hill. To turn the pedals over in my gearing is faster than most recreational riders ride hills at, so with cramps just a heartbeat or two off, i still manage to pass all the people that pass me on the climb while i walked.
Finally at the bottom of the dh section and beyond the bridge i see her again and say "hi". We ride together for a bit, she's smiling and telling me how much fun she's having..."great, good for you" i say...and almost mean it.
She rides a lot of the mud section that i'm walking and by the fireroad feed zone she's already long gone. I pull up (proudly biking up the feed zone even with cramps) and go to the redbull tent. I shake the hands of the timers, tell them "thanks" and say "that's it...i'm done" I stood around chatting for a while and after about 25min Chris comes though for another lap and i'm grateful that i have no reason to keep going now, the worst thing that i could imagine is that he'd quit after 9 laps, that'd mean that i'd have to get out and do not one but 2 laps to finish in first place. Thankfully he didn't.
6hrs and 20min was long enough for me that day.
For better or for worse, i didn't get beaten up bad enough to not do something like this again. Infact once my backside heals from the abuse i'm kinda stoked to go out again. The full Elgin 80 on a SS this year?
Hell ya!
thanks to steve for making my fork work, and i'm sure this saved my numbed brain and body more than a few times. thanks for all the people sitting in lawn chairs in the shade, drinking cold beers and yelling "go don" as i went by. Thanks for michelle for racing like a monster and still taking time to help the helpless (me) survive. And thanks for reading.
don
ps. please excuse grammer/spelling and punctuation...i'm seriously not firing on all cylinders today.
Finishing last/second was the best thing that could have happened to me all day...and here's why.
Winning makes you think that you're good. it makes you think..."look at me, i rock!". and in fact you do, since you won.
But here's the bad part....it also makes you dream for more; and in the case of an 8hr race it makes you dream of more hours. And i'll be the first to tell myself...more hours would hurt and suck, really an aweful lot!
But mercifully I lost. Finished DFL out of 2 guys. My helmet off to Chris Price from NS, that guys a hard man. His On-One Inbred was geared heavier than mine by a fair bit, it was obvious on anything that went uphill in the way he had to stand and rock the bike to move it forward that he was putting out way more wattage than me to just get around. I honestly expected to outlast him seeing his gearing, but nope. he's way strong.
Long and short of it here's my story;
Motivation was ok for the race and for the conditions prior to start.
my plan was to start slow and keep it consistent for as long as i could.
my plan half worked...i started slow. Keeping it consistent was the part that i had trouble with.
lap one was pretty good, lots of traffic, quite a few people stopping and causing others to have to stop...but that's the nature of race starts. no hurry...i've got literally all day.
lap two, i was cruizing now, good times. everytime the trail turned up i'd pass lots of riders, then i'd settle in for the dh technical bits as best as i could. my seatpost slipped (hey bontrager....you'll be getting an email from me shortly!!!!) and while i was fixing it Chris passed me.
One thing that needs mentioning here is how amazingly heavy the terrain was. With the rainstorm the night prior and the sun coming out during, it turned watered down mud into very heavy clay. In my opinion this made the race 25% harder than a dry course would have been. Good for everyone to do as well as they did.
lap three, settling in now. starting to think about conserving some energy instead of spending it. drinking when i think of it. trying for one gel every lap or so. Lots of riders out here, its nice mostly to be with other people. i'm starting to see fresh clean bikes pass me now as riders get their handoff and start their first laps.
Here's the thing i noticed about this type of racing, it weighs on your mind pretty heavy (well at least on my mind it does). After the first hour or two your thinking, man i'm feeling ok...but i've got 6 MORE hours to go! (or as sean so helpfully said "Go Don, only 5hours and 55minutes left!!!") Its that sense of time still to ride that gives you a moment of pause.
lap Four, well into my second hour of riding now. going well. Started doing some basic math; "well if i'm doing 34min laps, oh lets just say 40min laps, i should be able to do around 12 or 14 in 8hrs.
awesome, i rock!" i blow through the start finish, beg michelle to drop a sandwich off at the feed zone for my next lap.
lap Five"wow i've just downed 3 litres of water and now i'm out" "i wish i had some food, these gels aren't cutting it anymore". I started to notice that the waypoints along the course that i'd benchmarked my time at earlier were taking longer and longer to get to. laps were now around 40min instead of 36 minutes or so. Also noticed a few twinges in the inner quad muscles, i know from experience that the cramps aren't far off now. End of lap 5 i see food where my bottles were "AWESOME" i stopped in the shade and sat and ate a fajita and one of the best cokes i've ever had. quick stretch and i'm up and going again.
Lap Six, now i'm into the meat of it. I'm often referring to the motivational notes i wrote on tape on my bars now "harden the F**k up"
and " be tinker". I'm also noticing more things starting to fail on me.
My triceps are smoked. hands are not quite numb but not responding to voice commands as well as they should either(Infact for long races like this i think some bar ends will find their way onto the bike very soon).
Mentally i'm losing a little bit too. At the start of each lap i've been alert enough to press my lap button on my watch, this is good because more than a few times i honestly didn' t know where i was on the course, but the watch would show a time and that would tell me more or less where i was "oh 12 minutes...i'm near the fireroad climb" or "30 minutes..great, the mud bog is coming" and so on. Without that i'd honeslty have been lost on the race course.
Lap Seven. Now i'm getting mad at myself, mad a the course, mad at my motivational notes
(http://donricker.smugmug.com/gallery/3201522#176508411). "Harden the f**k up?! No YOU harden the f**k up!!!"
(to no one in particuar). Lots of negative thoughts crept in now "man your riding bad", "your sucking on this downhill", "chris is proably closing on on lapping you". Then to make matters worse i tried to correct my negative thoughts and got even madder at myself when i realized i was saying negative things about my negative thoughts "man you're stupid saying things like that!", "you suck cause your so negative".... eeesh. I had prided myself in making time on the fireroad climb, now it was payback. sever leg cramp time. just about at the top everything went south and i got off the bike to walk a bit. Walking i've found is way better for me than standing there sobbing like a small girl, and its probably better for those that would have to witness it.
after 100' i felt ok again, back on and riding. Singletrack...small things upset my flow quickly now and i'm walking more and more. to be honest i'm walking/almost jogging at a really good pace, in fact i still make some ground up on people, so its not a total negative. At one point i find myself riding off the trail and into the woods, that's not performance. However I even feel good running the swamp section, except now i run almost all the way to the road. Lap time around 45min now.
Lap Eight. I stop for a few minutes, get some liquids in. One thing i've suddenly realized, its been 5hrs + of racing, and 1 hr of pre race prep, and i don't have the slightest urge to take a nature break. that combined with the shivers i get whenever i'm riding in the shade (and when sean dumped an ice cold waterbottle on me when i was heading back into the woods on the bike....) are telling me that my hydration tactics are not what they should be. i've told myself that this is it, final lap, c'est tout. Chris isn't showing any signs of quitting, he's ahead by a good margin on the lap, and i'm punch drunk stupid and cramping.
Time to pack it in for a bunch of reasons.
On this my final lap, Michelle starts about 1 min ahead of me, and i'm thinking " cool, i'll get to ride with her for a lap". I hit the single track section and no sign of her. then the next section, and the next and the next and the next...."wow, she's riding really well"
i think. i get to the base of the fireroad climb and i can see her about
1/2 way up. "well i'll catch her here and we'll ride together", i think.HA! 1/2 way up the cramps come in earnest. "Wowsers those are good un's!" as i walk up and riders in granny gear crawl past.
Michelles now gone. i'm back on and riding; whats funny with a single speed is that you can only go so slow up hill. To turn the pedals over in my gearing is faster than most recreational riders ride hills at, so with cramps just a heartbeat or two off, i still manage to pass all the people that pass me on the climb while i walked.
Finally at the bottom of the dh section and beyond the bridge i see her again and say "hi". We ride together for a bit, she's smiling and telling me how much fun she's having..."great, good for you" i say...and almost mean it.
She rides a lot of the mud section that i'm walking and by the fireroad feed zone she's already long gone. I pull up (proudly biking up the feed zone even with cramps) and go to the redbull tent. I shake the hands of the timers, tell them "thanks" and say "that's it...i'm done" I stood around chatting for a while and after about 25min Chris comes though for another lap and i'm grateful that i have no reason to keep going now, the worst thing that i could imagine is that he'd quit after 9 laps, that'd mean that i'd have to get out and do not one but 2 laps to finish in first place. Thankfully he didn't.
6hrs and 20min was long enough for me that day.
For better or for worse, i didn't get beaten up bad enough to not do something like this again. Infact once my backside heals from the abuse i'm kinda stoked to go out again. The full Elgin 80 on a SS this year?
Hell ya!
thanks to steve for making my fork work, and i'm sure this saved my numbed brain and body more than a few times. thanks for all the people sitting in lawn chairs in the shade, drinking cold beers and yelling "go don" as i went by. Thanks for michelle for racing like a monster and still taking time to help the helpless (me) survive. And thanks for reading.
don
ps. please excuse grammer/spelling and punctuation...i'm seriously not firing on all cylinders today.
coaches view
posted by :Sheila Colbourne on Wednesday June 27, 2007
The GP Alcoa Race Report (coaches view)
Stuart?s race in Quebec ? the coaches view
The GP Alcoa
It?s Saturday afternoon and Stuart is on the line with 49 Quebec under 17 riders, he looks tiny ? they grow em big here in la belle province! Stu looks cool but I can tell he?s nervous. My nerves are twitching for him ? I?ve left enough skin cells on Quebec roads for my own episode of CSI so my heart is in my mouth thinking about all the possibilities. After a pile of instructions in French the announcer counts them down and there?re off. Unlike the casual pace of a road start we have here they are off like they?ve been hit by a cattle prod. Stu has to scramble to get up in the top third of the peloton. They are doing five laps of a pretty flat course ? one small climb near the end of the lap. On the second lap a big lad from the Louis Garneau team takes off and Stu decides to jump in ? the two of them shake off the couple of others who also joined the initial break and they manage to stay away for most of the lap before the bunch decides to reel them in. Stu spends the rest of the race getting used to riding in such a big peloton. He gets pushed off onto the sandy shoulder a couple of times but manages to get back on pavement after a bit. Knowing he has no field sprinting experience he makes a go of a break on the last hill but alas those Quebec lads are not having any of that and he is swallowed up and spit out the back at the finish. He ends up 25th just off the bunch finish time. I?m pleased for him ? he stayed in the whole race, was active and competitive and got the respect of a number of the riders. He?s ticked about not finishing in the bunch but I?m happy he still has all his body parts attached. We pack up and head out for food and rest.
The next day, the TT is early so we are up with the dawn ? Stu is looking tired but is looking forward to the TT ? at least he knows what he?s doing in a TT. He rides hard and it?s done. In Quebec the results are up within ten minutes of the last rider in so by the time the bike is on the rack and Stu?s changed we can see how it all came out ? 5th place ? I am ecstatic ? the four riders ahead of him are the top four in the province! This vaults him up to eighth overall on the GC.
Next up is the crit. We drive down to the site right after the TT since I?m not sure where we are going or if the site is accessible once the earlier races start. The back of the car looks like some sort of lycra bomb has gone off and there are socks strewn everywhere. Stu is starting to look like one of those kids you might hold a telethon for! I make him eat and he goes through four water bottles but he still doesn?t look good. As his race time approaches he starts to feel better but the fatigue is plain to see on his face. This ain?t no picnic that?s for sure.
The TT performance stands him well for the crit start as they call the first 15 on GC to the line first ? it?s cool to see him there in the first group. He looks even tinier but never mind, Charlie Gaul was no heavyweight either. Instructions are given and they?re off and again, no time is wasted getting comfy. The crit course is wild, there is a short steep climb just before the second corner and they hammer it hard every lap. The hill burns three or four off each lap. Stu handles the hill well but the pace and the cornering are taking their toll. After about 15 minutes he is off the back and chasing ? I?m hollering to get back on but I can see he won?t be able to ? they just keep hammering with assorted guys trying to get off the front and the bunch reeling each one in. At about thirty minutes in, I lie and tell him the pack is slowing down, just to keep his spirits up. He?s in a little chase group but only he and one other guy seem to even care so they are doing all the pulling. I?m down to just trying to be encouraging ? mostly I?m not sure I even want to watch anymore. After 45 minutes they post two laps to go and I?m so relieved. The next lap we hear the sweetest sound in the cycling world ? the bell. Watching the sprint makes me glad Stu?s not in there ? picture a dozen teenaged boys hurtling at you at full tilt, you?ll see why the mother in me is glad he?s in the chase bunch. He and his little group also have a good sprint and Stu manages to beat them all at the line to take 16th in the crit. I thought he looked bad before the crit but now he really looks bad ? I hand him a couple of bottles of water which he drains and we go find some shade. Stu being Stu he goes to thank the commissaries and organizer and then we go back to the car to pack up.
All in all it was a fabulous experience ? Stuart learned a ton and can?t wait to go back for more. He?s so tired his eyelashes hurt but while pleased to have finished 13th overall he wants to do better and he wants to come back for more. The club directors I spoke with were very impressed with him as were the commissaries. We got home late the next day both exhausted (I felt like I?d ridden every stage) but happy. Next stop the Tour de L?avenir in Saguenay Lac St. Jean in July.
Wenthworth DH
posted by :RJ on Thursday June 14, 2007
Race report from the Wenthworth DH (RJ 's report)
This past weekend was round 2 of the NSNB Gravity Series. The Mike?s Bike Shop crew was in beautiful Wentworth Valley for fun times?riding and some pre race antics. We loaded up the ginourmous Chevy full size van early Saturday morning with coolers, tools, bikes lots of beer and four amigos (Brendan, Josh, Frank and me). We got to the hill noonish ready for our first shuttle runs. This year?s race course was Grassy Switchbacks.
The top of the hill is somewhat rocky and it gradually turns into mossy?grassy terrain as the trail goes down. There was nothing particularly gnarly about this course, but it still was hard to keep the bikes on path. As Josh said it best: loose cannon! The roots and soft moss made it hard to stay on course around the many flat turns.
After a few runs on the trail we decided to get eaten alive by the black flies. Oh my god was there ever lots of those things! Actually we scoped out the trail to see what the best lines were for the following day?s race. As soon as we got down the hill we were off to the hostel and some much needed carbs!
When the day turned into night it was time for some good ol cowboy TV. After a few brewskies things started to get interesting?I should tell you more, but nah. You had to be there to really enjoy it!
Race day Sunday rolled along. We had two mandatory runs to do. For the most part they were uneventful, except for my flat on my second run. When the first race run came along things weren?t going as planned. My run was ok but, I slid out near the end of the course. Meanwhile Brendan crashed early on, Josh had three minor crashes and Frank had a so so run. Run #2 was better for Brendan, Josh and Frank. Josh got third, Frank was a very close 4th only ten tenths away and Brendan won the Senior Sport category. As for me well let?s say my first run was better! As a side note over sixty riders were out ripping it up on each day. DH is definitely healthy in the Maritimes! Our next race is July 14th and 15th at Poley. That is sure to be a blast!
I would like to thank John Devona from Read?s Newstand for letting us use the full size van. We had a pro setup and lots of people dropped by to chill with us...cool! A big thank you also to Mike?s Bike Shop for the tent and of course without the helps of organizers like Connor Scalion and Mark McKay and their crew of volunteers, events like this would not happen. Props to you guys!
Happy trails
RJ
5 hour mtb race
posted by :don Ricker on Monday June 4, 2007
Race Report (Don's version)
(5 hour mtb race)
Fantastic Race.
Got there at 8:40, leaving fredericton the sun was out...by woolastook it was cloudy and jacket wearing cold.
Just prior to the start the sun came out, armwarmers got put away and a general happiness was everywhere.
Jeff and Sean and Christian were representing Mikes in the SoLOW category, while Chris Selkirk and I considered ourselves a bit smarter/wimpier and went into the Team competition as Team 27:1.
The big contenders in the solo category was jeff, martin pelltier, a young kid from Cyclesmith and andrew from fredericton.
In the team "competition" (funny word considering) it was Matt Hadley and His other 135lb pro contract partner from the Yukon. Matt was going to ride for 2.5hrs while his partner fed him on the laps, then they'd switch.
The lineup was down by the entrance to the park on the paved road. Riders came up and past the feed zone, then after the wooden station turned left and hard left again (not down by the now underwater beaver dam mud bog area...more on this later)
The course was in amazing condition and the only bit of wetness occurred in the first minute of racing but it didn't amount in any accumulation or problems.
The organizers made the course about 85% singletrack, 14% double track and a tiny bit of pave towards the finishline. it was 8 k long but personally it felt shorter when riding it.
Since Chris had gears i made him start.
To be honest its really enjoyable to race as a team. the race was on, and even though i was a part of it...i went and sat quietly and contendedly in a lawn chair. Fantastic!
It wasn't long, at all, about 27min or so, until mr hadley came ripping though the start line. yikes. Shortly after the top solo riders came around as well. the pace was obviously high.
a bit later i saw chris turn the corner and rip up over the start line to hand off to me. Sweet. It was very unstressful really. I started with no other riders around me so the blistering MTB start wasn't there. However i made the first turn...the proceeded to turn right instead of left. saw the beaver dam road flooded...and stopped. a quick scan of the field showed me an arrow pointing the opposite direction. whoops.
Back on course i immediatly started passing people, i thought i was off course or had taken a shortcut, but no. i was on a 1 lap rythym while the solo dudes were on a 5hr rythm. pretty fun from my perspective to be passing people so often and quickly (no wonder Hadley smiles so much....)
The new course that had been laid out was great. lots of surprisingly tight turns, challenging root combinations, and a good number of flowing fast trails. on my bike the entire course was rideable aside from the long grindy uphill just after the technical downhill. I started the race running 32:16 gearing and found it nearly perfect, just a bit high for some of the climbs where i'd come over the top of them doing about all i could do to turn the pedals, in the flowy singletrack it allowed me an excellent cadence.
My first lap was just over 30min, i was very pleased with that.
and equally pleased with tagging off with chris and a chance to sit down for a bit.
Its funny 'racing with a partner', the reality is you see them less than any other person the entire day.
The soloists kept chugging through. each lap looking a bit more haggared. jeff came by for the start of his 3rd lap, stopped and had some pasta and a pear. he was looking a bit tired but he always looks like that in racing when he's on good form.
Peter Rowan and Mike were partners on another team, so i got to sit beside Peter for most of the day. It was great to see so many people out there who weren't angry they weren't in first place. people just out to challenge their own abilities and ride with a friend. the vibe was more social then competitve and people were actually smiling. Hey VELO NB....Welcome to the Future of Mountain bike competition.
Laps came and went. my goal was not to try to win but to remain consistent each lap. Sort of doing a TT every time. it worked well. i had 10 and 20minute marker on the trail to me know if i was on schedule.
After my second lap i switched from running 32:16 to 32:19 to see if the lower gearing would allow me to ride faster overall (even though obviously slower on the flats). I haven't downloaded my watch yet but i believe i was 30 min and change for the first lap, 33min, 32 min and 34 minutes for the last lap. the last lap i was a bit concerned that i could have gotten to the start finish just barely inside the cutoff ..and personally i could have, but didn't want to, do an additional lap, so i purposefully took it a bit easier.
chris was a bit oddly delayed on the end of his 4th lap, jeff had just come by and yelled at me that he was coming..so i went to the start finish and stood...and waited...and waited. then a rider came by and said "some rider is in the woods on the ground with leg cramps", i asked "big guy with a red/blue jersey on?", rider said "yup". Dam!
a medic was sent down to find him. a few minutes later chris comes around the corner riding...but not looking too happy. Gotta hate those debilitating leg hyperextending quad cramps eh?
finished my last lap and that was that.
Immediatly after that the beer came out, and shortly after, and in timely fashion the awards ceremony was held.
they started with the Team comp, and to my serious surprise, Team 27:1, with 8 laps completed, got third place (and a medal).
Second place team did 9 laps i think. and first place, team 138lbs, did 12 or so.
Solo category.
jeff currie with 8 long solo laps, got 3rd place.
kid from Cyclesmith with 9 laps, took second.
martian pelliter took it solidly with ten strong laps.
andrew was in the hunt but a flat tire and some bad luck took him out of the top 3 race.
Lots of draw prizes was a nice bonus. HOWEVER (and i shouldn't complain but i gotta) can the organizers please stop going to the basement of the bike shops, finding the oldest and dustiest steel beaded tires and most obsolete parts to hand out at the race?!
I know the shop wants to get rid of stuff...but seriously. Old orange and black semislick steel beaded tires...no racers going to use those. I recieved an easton EA60 stem, probably from 1992. 1" steerer, 26.8 bar size, and 130mm long. But i spose those parts are more useful than NB Power ballcaps and towels....
The organizers and volunteers did a fine job with the course, marshalling and flagging. they made a few mistakes with other parts such as no available water for racers on site, no toilets that worked (that got nasty), no food available for free or to buy, no music or any other sense of "fun". These aren't hard things to do, and are fairly important to the overall sense of the event. Those complaints being said; if they hold it again next year i'll be there. Infact...i think i'll be at a lot more endurance events.
thanks for reading
don
SJ mtb race
posted by :Michael LeBlanc on Monday May 28, 2007
This is what Mike remembered from the SJ race yesterday:
Beautiful day, sunny, light winds and like 17 degrees. Course was very dry, same course as last year. Real fun, fire road and long sections of technical, rocky single track.
9 elites - me, Brian McKeown, Shaughn Smith, Derek LeBlanc, Remi Parent, Andrew Arsenault, Jonathan Daigle, Tim Clarke and some dude from Cyclesmith.
Brian McKeown stood up at the start and sprinted all the way up the first hill, he just sat down after the feed zone and already had a huge gap by that point. He won easily. I briefly rode with Shaughn Smith and Andrew Arsenault. I was sketchy on the first lap in the single track not always riding the fastest lines. Jonathan Daigle passed me in the first lap and I passed him back at the beginning of lap 2. I then rode in 4th position til the end. I figured out how to ride the single track better by lap 2.
So, elite results were: Brian M, Andrew Arsenault (he's riding strong) , Shaughn Smith, me, Remi Parent and I'm not sure after that.
Other MBS results as best as I can remember...
Jean-Richard Cormier - 1st under 17 expert
Stuart Wight - 2nd under 17 expert
Charles Cormier - 2nd 40+ expert
Patrice Boudreau - 3rd 40+ expert
Chris Selkirk - 2nd or 3rd Master Sport
Alain Goguen - 1st Expert
Sean Ritchie - 3rd Expert
Luc Belliveau - 2nd or 3rd Senior Sport
Melanie - 1st Women Sport (I think)
Don Ricker - dnf (broken bike)
Michelle Chase - dnf (crash - she's OK)
RJ - dns
Tim Clarke - dnf (flatted and C02 didn't work)
Good job guys and gals !
Michael LeBlanc
Fredericton RR
posted by :Michael LeBlanc on Monday May 7, 2007
NOTE - This race report is just what I could remember from yesterday. Time gaps are likely not 100% accurate and with my oxygen-deprived mental capacity, it is very probable that I forgot or screwed up certain details.
Well it wasn't as nice as climbing mountains in Italy, but a very good day nonetheless?
Cold drizzle when I left Dieppe, sunny when I got to Fred. Went up to 14 degrees I think, very light winds.
There were like 12 Master Ex riders. Me, Paul Goobie, Francois Gazanno, Charles Cormier, Derek LeBlanc, Mark Mosher, OSB guys, Hub cycle guys and other dudes that I didn't really know. Apparently some of the Fred guys are in Europe (Andrew Arsenault and Heidi King?) so they weren't at the race.
Fast elite dudes were Matt Hadley, Brian Mckeown, Terry Tomlin, Lorenzo Caterini, Shaughn Smith, Mike Davis, Jeff Sparkes and some other dudes. Alain Goguen was racing Open for Mike's Bike Shop.
TT - TT course was different from years past. Rolling up and down with 1 or 2 decent little climbs. 5.5k out and back, 11k total. 30 second gaps, so you could see people which was motivating. Paul easily won masters, 45 sec faster than Mark Mosher in second. Charles was 10 sec slower than Mosher and I was 4th, 2 or 3 sec behind Charles. Francois was 5th, Derek 8th I think. Elites were - Matt Hadley 1st (amazing on an old Cannondale road bike with no aero bars), Tomlin 2nd (2 seconds behind) and Mckeown 5th. I don't remember the other elite results. Stuart Wight from Mike's Bike Shop had a smokin' fast time and beat alot of the Open Elite guys. Amazing that he's just 15 and riding with junior gears !! Remember us when you're pro, Stuart...
Road Race - They sent us Masters with the elites, ouch ! Start was like a mountain bike race. Tomlin attacked immediately and the whole pack just blew up on the first hill. It was mere survival at that point. At the top of the hill, the pack was 4 or 5 elites in the break. Me and 4 other masters (Paul, Mark Mosher, Francois and some OSB dude) were in the second pack with like 6 elites (Mike Davis, Jeff Sparkes, Joe Ewing, Martin Pelletier and some other guys). Our pack caught the break at the end of lap 1, but they attacked again immediately and it broke up again. The masters did not want to work to catch the break cause we had no guys in it, so we just rode after that. Our pack stayed together til the end. Our race ended in a sprint finish. Mosher timed it perfectly and beat me in the sprint easily, I was second, Paul third and Francois 4th.
So, Masters gc was 1st - Paul, 2nd - Mosher and 3rd - me, Francois - 4th. Good day for Mike's team riders 1, 3 and 4.
Elites finished in a sprint between Hadley, Tomlin, Mckeown and Lorenzo Catarini. Not sure who won.
Dan Leger from Dieppe won Master Sport. 1st road race ever.
Michael LeBlanc
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