dsg 12 hour - longer write up

arrived early in the week to get prepped for the race and to get accustomed to the new flow to the counter-clockwise layout. course flowed well, but had a lot of short steep little climbs that you had to really put an effort to get over. and it seemed like a lot more rocks were exposed then what i originally remembered from last years mud fest.



course was dry - for now.



john was in with matt from moots - always good to catch up with them. and everybody is always in car envy when you pull up in a sprinter.



friday was more or less the same, except i got to ride with the toastman.



saturday am, the weather was looking good, but the rain was coming. i think having lived through last years event, i was a little more prepped mentally for what was to come.



gun goes off, brandon and josh and the eventual 3rd place rider would all take off - i was in chase.



soon, the rain hit - and the mud came - and i soon caught 3rd place.



it was odd, but the south side of the course was dry and the north side was muddy as all heck. i switched bikes but was still having some issues with the clay like mud.

and, with less then 4 hours to go - i overshift and place the chain in tightly between the spokes and the cassette, lodged perfectly under a pin in the cassette so i couldn't pull it out.

in a panic, i start back tracking the wrong way - 4th place catches me for third.

i turn around, make it back to the pits - probably loosing easily at least 25-30 minutes. very disappointing to say the least.

i would battle back into 4th place overall.

josh would wind up in second after battling through some nasty cramps.

and brandon would take home the well deserved win.



and i would like to entitle the above pic as "i am about to kick your ass - with a smile"...

that's it - thanks to the dsg crew for a stellar race and an overall well run event. and thanks to mother nature for delaying the hellish rain downpours until the next day.

sologoat out

dsg 12 hour short write up

100_3961, originally uploaded by solo_goat.

dry start, 4 hours later rain and then it turned to clay.

sitting in 3rd, got the chain caught between the spokes and cassette. i ran down to the pit area, lost a ton of time but got it fixed and got back out.

salvaged 4th place and got to drink some cold yazoo brews to top the night off.

brandon rode super strong and took the win, the josh the toastman rolled in second.

long write up tomorrow - time to unpack.

sologoat out

dsg - friday

IMG_2880, originally uploaded by solo_goat.

setup and some bike prep out at the dsg venue today as racers are starting to head in.

heat and humidity have gone up, and the wet stuff has stayed away.... for now. weather forcasts have about a thirty percent chance of it hitting.

course this year is running counter clockwise which makes for a more flowing course and new sections near the end make it a longer loop then compared to years past. overall, i think it rides a lot better years past.

some more pics up with my ride with the toastman.

with that, i'm out - time for food and rest.

sologoat out

dsg 12 hour - thursday

IMG_2872, originally uploaded by solo_goat.

drove through the rain to get to dryness, course is prep'd and ready to go. rain? we'll see if that stays away.

new sections laid out on the backside which is a little fresh, but fast rolling and fun. the pivot setup with the conti mountain kings were hooking up sweet.

in town - the toastman, dj, brandon and the matt and john from moots. field is looking small, no doubt the result of last years mud fest.

that's it - gotta sneak in a lap and some rest.

pics up on flickr - check them out.

sologoat out

cohutta 100 write up

20913440-co104_1_small, originally uploaded by solo_goat.

better late then never, eh? work lately has been kind of crazy, so sorry for the delay. good news is that my client went live this past weekend, so the end is near.

drove down early friday AM and was able to get to get to the venue at around 3'ish after roughly a 9 hour drive which included a short stop for lunch and to pick up some fat tire ale (can't get that stuff up north).

hit up the beginning climb and single track with billy a, richie rich, matt and a few other friends whom i was supposed to stay with. long story, but my directions got hosed up somehow and i ended up staying with josh the toastman which was cool since i haven't seen him in awhile and as bonus, he cooked dinner and i supplied the krispy cremes.

woke up saturday AM to the sound of rain which quickly cleared by start time, but both josh and i started the race with vests and arm wamers as i think we both feared the rain that was about to come. and, incidentally, i think we were the only two riders with arm warmers on in the front five rows of riders.

race started, i got dropped off the back of the main group just before the top. could of made it, but i didn't want to peg it that early in the race. by the first single track, i caught the back of the main group but some slower riders got in between me and the main group - they slowed me down and the main group went away. it was totally my bad, just a lapse in aggressive position holding at a super critical time.

about half way through that first single track, i passed the slower riders and slowly started making my way to catch the main group.

caught the first guys before the stream crossing as they made a mess of the little root section right before it (as i have made a mess of it my first year). the pivot 429 ate up the roots and i rode by.

think the next main group i caught was with eddie o and antoher rider on the flat road section. we rode together for awhile and then i parted ways as the road went up.

next group i caught was with john p from ohio and 2 other riders. we rode together for awhile but i again lost contact with them as the road went up and they stopped for food.

next up was with garth with whom i would ride with for awhile but would loose on the feeds, the last of which i saw him was in between food stop 5 and 6 as we caught up (and got dropped) by matt who was freakin' riding a single speed. garth would sneak away too.

after food stop 6, it's all mostly single track that looks like it's going down on the topo map, but it doesn't really seem like it. very similar to the sm100 where just when you think it's done, the race kicks you in the gut again.

i roll through it, keeping up good speed and keeping pressure on the pedals as i have lost places in this section before. i pick off one rider in my class with about 6 miles to go that looks like he's seen better days and then i pick off another rider literally a few hundred feet from the finish line.

ended up 11th on the day. good start to the 100 miler series.

next up, the dsg 12 hour (let's hope for no rain) - and a mucho thanks out to steve for finding me an entry for the lumberjack 100.

sologoat out