First WEMS Race - The Levis/Trow

Well, we can basically scratch all that hoopla in my last post about not racing for a while. Last weekend, my brother Derek roped me in to doing an endurance mountain bike race near Merrillan and Columbia Wisconsin on the Levis/Trow trail system. This course was the toughest/nicest single-track riding I've ever been on. There were plenty of granny hill climbs, abundant roots, rocky technical uphills and downhills, flat/fast windy sections, boardwalks, and a few newer sandy sections of trail. The scenery was beautiful...I wish I had my camera. You skirt along rocky bluffs that provide you with views from several hundred feet above your starting point. It was a classy, well maintained trial that I'll visit again, but next time with a camera! Click here for an article on the trails.

Going in to this race I had mixed emotions on my abilities. On the one hand, I hadn't ridden any single-track since a trek up to Hayward last summer. On the other hand, I have been basically resting since the middle of May. I was so antsy to do something brutal that my drive to get totally worked outweighed my lack of experience riding single-track. Derek was planning to do the 50 miler, so I entered the same.

The start of the race was a typical Le Mans style start. There was a bike staging area, where all bikes were laid on the ground roughly 50 yards away from the actual start. When the bell rang, everyone sprinted to their bikes and off we went. I thought we'd be shooting for 4 loops on a 12.5 mile course to achieve the 50 miles, but just before we started we learned that the the loops were in fact 16 miles long...so now what? Just ride 2 or 3 in my semi-wounded state? We'll see...

My plan was to chase Derek for a while and see if I could hang with and/or drop him...haha, but on the first hill - PING! - my chain snapped! I have the oldest/crappiest multi-tool in northern Wisconsin, so I killed 30 to 45 minutes on my first lap trying to fix my chain. I really needed 3-4 hands to do this well...I ended up pressing my knee against the rear derailleur to ease the tension on the chain to press the pin back through the eyelet. This is really only a temporary fix anyway. Hopefully it would get me though the first loop - when a chain busts it's basically shot. Note to self: Always carry a few extra master links in the saddle bag... About 2 miles down the trail it happened again, killing more time and losing another link. Being a rookie, I'm sure I made the mistake of shifting while pedaling...oops. I was probably more focused on choosing good lines and keeping Derek in sight than shifting properly...but when racing, you have to keep it all in order! The chain was then short enough where I had lost my granny gear. Oddly though, if I accidentally shifted to the granny, it would allow me shift to it, but the chain and derailleur would then be maxed out and there wasn't enough slack to shift back down when needed. Now, each time I accidentally shifted in to that gear I would have to stop, pop the wheel out, move the chain back down to a smaller cog and start again. I felt like I was spending more time with mechanicals than actually riding. Bummer...

I kept cruising along anyway. I finished my first lap, slammed a Pepsi and some electrolyte pills and wondered where Derek was at on his 2nd lap and whether or not he'd be going out for a 3rd. My bike worked (mostly), so I went out for another lap...why not? This one was much quicker. I ended up getting lapped by the front 2 or 3 elite guys, so I was having fun chasing them for a while. I would get passed, then chase that guy - usually hanging right on his wheel for several miles...they might disappear but along would come the next guy...etc. etc. I think I got dropped once or twice, but mostly I kept shifting in to that stupid granny gear. I think I basically cut my time in half on the 2nd lap versus the 1st lap. It was fun! I am confident that I would have had a reasonable time without the mechanical issues. After the 2nd lap my brother Derek and his buddy Chris Hammer (yep, his last name is Hammer) were hanging out at the cooler. 32 miles on this tough course was plenty for the day! Here's sample of what the riding was like....



My body hurt for a few days...my rib and shoulder especially. I think I may have jumped the gun on this one. The awesome thing is...my legs actually feel OK - they were well rested and had the strength to muscle through all of the hill climbs. I really enjoyed the steep hills that force you in to the anaerobic gasps. Did I just say that? Simple road riding around here just can't match that, but I can see how the two can compliment each other. Explosive hill climbing power can be developed very quickly when mountain biking, while aerobic endurance on the road bike is also tough to match. At the moment, I don't have a ton of core strength, and I'm not accustomed to the amount of beating the upper body takes when mountain biking. I was always looking forward to the long flat sections of trail where you could really open up and roll the big gears. Not riding single track for a year, then randomly deciding to ride over 30 miles of it may not have been the smartest/easiest thing...but oh well! It's not really supposed to easy...

Overall, I had a lot of fun! I got to test out the Salsa El Mariachi on some of the best riding around. Those 29ers make the old 26 rigid that I'm used to riding seem like a little kid's BMX bike. That Salsa is a dirt eater! I would like to ride some more single-track here in the near future, but in my condition I should probably stick to gravel grindin'. That's it for now...cheers!

Back on the bike!

I know that it's July, but something got me thinking about this picture I took back in January on Wagner road. (secretly I just think it's a good picture and I want to show it off a little more...hehe) I have been off the bike for the past month and a half, so I have had plenty of time to think about what type of riding I have done, would like to do and/or will do. I don't think I'm longing for another cold winter, but riding the Blue Hills' sledneck trails in January/February was some of the most spectacular riding I have ever done. From cakewalk pavement flats early last summer, to ATV trail and single-track, to winter snow riding, early spring fixie riding, late spring gravel grinders and back...I'll say I've had the most solid year of riding in my life. It's pretty awesome to ride year-round and see the full spectrum of seasons outdoors...seeing/noticing slight changes from day to day in leaf colors, snow melt, budding of trees, etc. really makes me feel sort of in tune or, kind of like I actually know what's going on in the world...but we all know that's just ridiculous. So anyway, I have neglected to post anything since my crash, but I'll give you a recap of how things are coming along, and probably some additional ramblings...

While recovering from the crash, I was able to squeeze in a few rides here and there on the Lemond (fixed - mostly short rides on the flats just outside of town), the Salsa El Mariachi (29er - simple trails in and around town with a few less active friends/riders), and maybe 2? rides on the Waterford (9-speed STI roadie - cheater bike rides where you seemingly coast everywhere). Finally, this week is the first week where I actually feel comfortable getting a little aggressive on the bike...the shoulder is CERTAINLY not completely healed, but it will do for now...I can sit on the couch no more!

So, I rode my first Turtleback Tuesday group ride last week and met a few excellent riders. I hadn't been on the bike for over a week - I had to work out plenty of kinks - but it was a good 35 mile ride at just under a 22mph average. I took my turn with a few pulls and spent plenty of time socializing as well. They seem like a great group of guys - good camaraderie and a collective enthusiasm for bringing new riders out on Tuesdays, regardless of skill level. I'm really looking forward to getting to know some people in the area interested in the sport. I have yet to determine if any would enjoy accompanying me on some weekend Blue Hills gravel grinders, which seems to be my preference for the time being, but if not, any riding will do!

Even though I was so fired up for an active season of racing, I think I might be throwing in the towel for the time being...I don't have the guts to get racing again just yet. A few more rides could honestly sway that in either direction...we'll see. Actually though, not doing any races for a while might be OK for a number of reasons. I'm still a little concerned with what another crash could do to my shoulder...I would hate to delay the recovery several more weeks/months. Mainly though, I'm really starting to get the itch to do some bikepacking...and I'm also considering stepping it up a notch when it comes to commuting. I think I would truly enjoy doing a handful of 2-3 day bikepacking trips around northern Wisconsin this fall, while learning the ropes of surviving on a bicycle. This is a must if I'm considering races like next year's Trans-Wisconsin, the Trans-Iowa, or maybe one day even something like the Tour Divide. I have little to no experience in multi-day biking excursions...but that could quickly change. I have always enjoyed backpacking, and clearly I have an interest in cycling...what better way to fill an insatiable appetite for the outdoors than to combine the two?!!! This way, I could prepare (actually prepare and correctly prepare) for the Tuscobia this coming winter. I probably won't find a better time in my life than the next 6 months to challenge myself on the bicycle in this particular way...so this could be, as they say, EPIC! I'm really looking forward to a life on the bicycle. These are the gears I'm currently turning...I hope to keep you posted on these happenings...

On another side note...here's a short film by Chris Skogen (MC extraordinaire of the Almanzo 100) about gravel road racing and putting on these types of events. Many props to Chris for hosting such an awesome race!


From the Ground Up from Chris Skogen on Vimeo.