NEO Cross Series - Cascade Cross

Next stop in the Northeast Ohio cross series was a new venue, the Cascade Cross in Elyria Ohio.

Upon arrival, one thing was obvious – there was going to be a lot of pain as the wall of climb right in that you would start on was hella steep. The A’s would climb all the way to the top, the last 20 feet being the steepest.

The course was typical, a double barrier, some wide twisty turns, then up the hella climb, a screaming downhill into some more fast turns, onto the road, up short climb to dismount over a log, some more twisty’s, more road, a few more turns, dismount for the double barriers and then through the start/finish.

Start would cut the first lap in half and shoot you straight through a field and right up the hella climb.

Gun went off, Cameron got the hole shot and all the rest followed. I was sitting in 6th on the screamer of a downhill. A few others got around me on the road section, and a few laps and hella climbs later, I was sitting in 4th, chasing down Jason.

Chase and chase, my gaps got closer to 3rd, as the gap to 5th place rider behind me grew.

Gearing was becoming increasing important on the hella climb and my compact gearing allowed me to carry my speed a little better up the climb. Eventually, I caught 4th with about 5 laps to go.

Jason and I duked it out. He would try to pull away, and then I would return the favor.

With 2 ½ laps to go, I ride beside him and tell him that we call a short term truce and take even pulls until the last lap.

On the last lap, Jason leads the beginning portions and onto the start of the hella climb. I put down an all out effort and open a gap. Down the climb, through some corners and a few minutes later, I pull off 3rd place.

Great new venue – hope it sticks around for the 2011 series.

sologoat out

dead legs and a twisty one

10/16/10 - physco cross in chicago

ah, just a mere 6 days after moab, i am racing again. not a good idea on paper or in my mind, but my heart was telling me to go. so i headed out towards the new home of speedgoat, chicago, on a late friday.

venue was great, the man-made run over and through obstacle was awesome, but the wind was nutty and my legs felt like rocks. had it my mind to go faster, but the legs were not there.

thanks for brendan carting me around for the day and hosting me for the night.

10/17/10 - NE ohio series - cross creek
with a small venue brings tight corners, no wind and no power straights. my legs were still feeling like rocks, but with so many corners, maybe i could fake it for a little bit.

this was a first ever for me, and brought same flashes of horror.

what the hell? a le mans style start in a cross race? somehow, i manage a good start, but john and matt sneak in front. paul is nowhere in sight.

i charge on, chasing and concentrating on the corners.

for two laps, i wonder what is going on behind me, things are still tight. eventually gaps creep out, but not in these starting laps.

my rear wheel gets tapped a few times.

ah, paul comes ripping around me and charges off towards the lead.

gaps grow, i chase. i stay close to the top 3, my power is there, but my legs are not feeling too snappy. i overshoot a corner and tape gets wrapped up on the back of my bike and somehow i don't break my hand as i reach back and grab the tape off and for a second, i stick my hand in my rear spokes. ouch.

laps come down, only a few more to go and gaps stretch out. i finish out the day in 4th, 7 days after moab.

next up - double cross weekend.

sologoat out

24 Hour Nationals

Race Course and Condition:
Moab, Utah. The land of rocks and sand. Rain early in the week before the race had left the typical dusty conditions padded down and perfect to ride, but the sun came out late on Thursday to dry up the course again by Saturday.

The course is a roughly 14.5 mile loop on mostly desert jeep trails that is packed with short little climbs, littered with rock sections with very little flat sections.

With a course this long, and in the desert, one has more to take into consideration as far as fuel and emergency trail side repairs go. Most 24 hour race courses take about 50 minutes to an hour, this lap easily takes over an hour and fifteen minutes late in the race.

The Start:
Saturday, noon. Seconds before the start, I realize I didn’t take my asthma medication and that I didn’t have anything covering my mouth to protect me from the dust I was getting ready to inhale during the Le Mans style running start.

The gun goes off, and a guy wearing a full gorilla suit takes the lead in the run, I get to my bike and make fast work up to the top 40 or so guys. Josh Tostado and Kelly Magelky are already in full flight.

Things soon clear out and I am making my way through traffic slowly but surely. Game plan was to ride steady, not max things out too early in the game.

Lap Two
I soon catch up to solo riders both wearing the same white kits. I pass them, they pass me. This goes on and on for several hours and laps. I decide to back off just a bit, let them go and save my full out effort for later.

7pm – 10pm
Things are going south for me real fast at this point. My legs and body feel great, but my asthma has kicked in full force and my stomach is not feeling that great and it is throwing my fuel plan way off. I stop in the pits, contemplate what is going on, take my asthma medication and have some coffee.

At around 8:30pm, I pit and contemplate stopping. I was about 2 minutes away from pulling the plug when everybody around me was telling me to go on despite me looking cross eyed. (They later tell me that they have seen me look a lot worse).

I pedal on through the lap, not feeling super duper great, but my condition is not getting worse, which seemed like a good thing at the time.

10pm
I stop in the pit again, put on some warm clothing, eat some food, drink some strong coffee and take some Pepto to settle my stomach.

Pushing on through the lap, I start feeling a lot better. I am concentrating more on my lines and thinking about the sunrise then I am about my stomach. Things seem to be getting better.

Night Laps
I focus on being fueled, not crashing my brains out on the rocks and making an effort in the early morning. Strong coffee and the thought of daylight and closure to the endurance season was my motivation to finish out the race.

I was now sitting in 11th spot, far back from the 5th spot I was battling for early in the race. I was thinking more about getting to the finish line then I was at a podium spot at this point.

Day Light:
I always love seeing the sun come up in the morning during a 24 hour race as it seems like the end is so near and it gives me an extra kick in my pedal stroke.

Passing through the pits I grab some food and a warmer vest. As I am leaving, I hear a random person in the pit say something to the effect of “he is really slowing down and loosing positions.” I was sitting in 9th at the time and to be honest, I don’t know if he was talking about me or not, but it sent a spark of rage through me. I was going to go all out for this. My lungs felt clear of the asthma and I felt good.

I am soon catching riders here and there, their plate numbers are low, so I know I am making up spots. I don’t make chit chat, I pedal as hard as I can past them and don't look back.

Last lap:
Going out for what I thought was my next to last lap, I was now up to 7th place, only 5 minutes behind 5th spot. I strip off my warm clothing, shout instructions to my pit crew and I am out of my tent and soon in a full sprint towards the first rocky climb of the day.

Just before I hit the climb, I catch 6th spot which happened to be one of the riders I was dooking it out with 22 hours earlier. With an all out effort, I sprint as far as I could all the way up the climb not allowing myself to look back until I got over the short climb. When I turned around, he was not in sight.

Continuing the same pace, I pedal on and soon catch his teammate for 5th. I waited for a section of little roller climbs and a clear section of trail. I jumped hard, pedaled through the short climbs and looked back 10 minutes later. Not in sight.

Full out effort at this point, I wanted my 5th spot to stick. Thinking I still had another lap to go, I was somewhat confused by all the happy screaming faces coming down pit row as I came near the start finish.

When I swiped my card for the last time they said “great job!” and I had to ask them twice if it was over as I was somewhat confused by fact that it was over.

Tough day on the bike. Would be lying if I didn’t say I wasn’t a little disappointed with my asthma situation hitting me so early putting a damper on a chance at a top 3, but happy at how things worked out at the end. 5th at 24 Hour Nationals.

5th at 24 nationals

100_4896, originally uploaded by solo_goat.

had to fight off asthma and the field to take 5th at 24 nationals at moab.

more later - legs are cramping like crazy and i need to go eat a house. and some brews.

long post up tomorrow night.

sologoat out

last post before 24 nats

IMG_4859, originally uploaded by solo_goat.

rain is out, dryness is back along with some of the sand and dust. rain has been keeping most of it down, so i am hoping the moisture holds some of it down and the locals are not out there ripping the hell out of the course as i type.

more riders are rolling in today and the skies have cleared and the wind has died down. looking to be a fast course with good weather, which is always a good thing during a 24 hour.

bikes prepped, pit setup, and all rested up. just got to race.

check my flickr pics for some more Moab pics i put up, next post up (hopefully) sunday.

sologoat out

arrived in moab

IMG_4835, originally uploaded by solo_goat.

and pre-ride complete. won't go too much into details as too many race day enemies are scoping out the blog for hints of course conditions, but check out the moab weather and you'll get the basic idea.

not too many riders in town yet, think i was the first solo to setup camp, with a few teams coming into town a little later in the day.

course is the same as years past, think it's roughly 16 miles if i am not mistaken.

pivot will also be around since outerbike in moab just finished up last weekend, so more help is always needed at 24 hour events. cool thing too is that 2 other pivot sponsored riders will be racing.

for now, time to relax after a short drive through arches national park. check out my flickr account for the latest and greatest pics, will also try to get out 2 more blog posts before saturday.

sologoat out

fruita, day 3

IMG_4737, originally uploaded by solo_goat.

when in colorado, carry a rain jacket.

todays ride was cut a little short due to the hella short and fierce storm that brought in rain, lighting and some hail for fun.

tomorrow, one more fruita ride then off to the land of moab.

weather looks hit or miss depending on the rain this week, but to be honest, i don't care so much as the dust gives my asthma a little extra boost. more rain, less the chance of asthma - so i tend to cheerish the crappy weather should it so happen.

looking like rain will hit this week, so dust should not be an issue - and then the rain goes away for saturday and sunday.

field at this point is looking pretty slim in the championship division, but the talent is there. toastman and kelly are back, so it's going to be a battle to the end.

after 24 nats, a double cross weekend. going to be some fun going down in the next few weeks.

check out flickr for all my pic updates - 3 sets of fruita pics up already.

with that - some rest and movies in store tonight.

sologoat out

fruita pics...

IMG_4717, originally uploaded by solo_goat.

now up on flickr - check them out.

hanging out here a few days, then out to 24 nats at moab. got to ride a few more trails today that i didn't get a chance to ride last time i was out here.

trails have been packed over the weekend, nice and hot.

trails hit up - marys, steve's, horsethief, lions, kokopelli.

sologoat out

5th at kent state, moab on my mind

DSC_0180, originally uploaded by mehul_gala.

welp, 5th at kent state cross last weekend. not the race i planned, but with my mind on heading out to 24 nats i forgot about the loose seatbolt clamp on my focus carbon cross bike.

so, with matt and paul going like hell, i was in a chase in group behind, hit a bump at speed and wham, the seat was pointing at a sharp angle. my bad.

with that, i had to switch bikes and i lost contact with my two chase buddies - i was now sitting in 5th.

now on my aluminum focus, it somehow seemed to jar me twice as hard as the carbon frame until i got my grove back. that is, until i noticed that i didn't get around to switching the brakes out to my new TRP's. damn.

so, with me having a drama over my bike setup, i slipped back to sixth.

i battled it out, found my lines, caught him back for 5th just quick enough to tell him that the next guy is 8 seconds back, we have 2 laps to go and one of us is taking 5th.

he ends up wrapped up in tape on a bad line, i get 5th, he gets pimped at the line and takes 7th. damn. had the legs, but my mind was elsewhere.

moab.

it's been on my mind for a long time, now it's down to less then 10 days away. will be a tough battle with the toastman and kelly and all the other enduro freaks.

just want to say thanks for the sponsors that have backed me through the years. still can't believe some of the places i have been. i still dream of racing in texas at the mas o menos again.

that's it - gotta roll. get your miles in - we still got races to race.

sologoat out

interbike pics now up

2010_Interbike (149), originally uploaded by solo_goat.

pics now up for Interbike.

check it

sologoat out

whiskey island cross

Whiskey Town cross, was the second stop in the Northeast Ohio Cyclocross Series held this past sunday -- where i was hoping for some redemption of last weeks double mechanicals with a rolled tubular and a loose canti brake stud on my spare. the race was over for me in two laps last week, i was not looking for a repeat dnf.

i opted for the newly wobblenaught fitted focus marres for the day, rolling clinchers. normally i am ok on clinchers, but a quick few pre-race laps of the course had some concerns for me with all the glass and the tight corners. tight corners cause a clinchers sidewalls to give out every once in awhile if you are coming in hot - the lower the pressure, the higher the probability. i was running pressure pretty low, but i decided to put a few more pounds in the rear to avoid the clincher sidewall issue as well as the likelyhood of a pinch flat.



gun goes off and i get my customary cruddy start and am at least 15 guys back from the front. into the first sand section, guys flail in front of me - and the gap grows to the front. shortly thereafter in the long sand section i don't even try to ride and dismount immediately to avoid some confusion. i pass a few guys riding while i am in a sprint.




now my chase is on.



the lead group has a gap and i am in the second group. i try to to use every mountain bike skill i have to keep up speed, and i slowly break away from the second group with john p.



half way through, coming off of the pier in full speed, some fisherman decide to walk accross the course. One is walking extremely slow, the other at a standstill about 20 feet away. with me yelling, his speed does not increase but instead scares the other teenage fisherman wearing a hoodie that capped his eyes, into full flight nearly right into me. it's yet another great example of why people who are a couple apples short of a picnic shouldn't be wearing ipods or try to do two things at once in public.

soon after, i am by myself with the laps cards counting down. i catch two more riders and am now sitting in 4th with 3 laps to go.



2 laps to go and i can see steve twingey on his mountain bike, i push hard to catch him and the gap is closing, but i think he feels me coming so the gap sticks at around 10 seconds.

on the pier for the last lap, there was no hopes of catching him, i make a few more efforts up the last two little climbs, but the gap is too big. 4th place it is. matt rolls in first, mr martin in second, steve in 3rd. great race, great venue.

4th at whiskey park

DSC_8656, originally uploaded by bstephens83.

great photo with my race face on - write up tomorrow.

sologoat out

jumping logs

last nights cross bike bunny hop practice.

sologoat out

8.26.10 update

ah, this weeks westlake worlds came and went. faked it as much as i could, but the legs were a little sapped from the weekend before.



new cross skinsuits on the way with the season just coming up, so it's always a good time for a little write up on some ernesto approved and tested cross products.

you can check out the post at SPEEDGOAT BLOG.

now, i must depart. 3 hours. but which bike. hmmm....

sologoat out

fools gold 100

ah, the fools gold 100 - for years i have been wanting to race it and this year all the logistics of work and race schedules aligned and i made my way down with gerry and angry andy gorski.

roughly 12 hours of drive time down, we get there, figure out our game plans, start packing up for the next day and then turn on the weather channel. rain.

hmmm... lot's of rain, climbing, humidity. i wasn't looking forward to it, but i had an odd feeling it was going to roll my way.

rain rolled in late, i slept through it all. fools gold (pyrite) mixed in with the mud like little bits of invisible rocks that slowly eat away at brake pads.



gun went off and somehow i managed to get a good start - gerry lead us out with me directly in tow. the rest of the field strung out behind us.

heads down and drilling it fast up the first climb, the pace got a little hot for me this early in the game and i back off. the rain started and stopped. the lead group would stay within site for the next few miles, then i got within a chase group.

in this group, as the climb continued on, were a few single speed riders and geared riders. they were all pushing hard, i was staying within my limits.

it got hot for awhile, then the rain decided to come back and stay until near the end of the race.

at check point one, i picked up some bottles and my hydration pack and my little pack of riders in the chase group broke apart.

i bombed the downhill, pushed hard through a couple of sections and re-caught them just as we were entering single track. i would catch all of them, pass them and then never see them again.

pedaling on, i was in no-man's land. there seemed to be no riders in front, but i was seeing markers and tracks, so i continued my efforts.

soon, after check point 2 riders were coming back to me as brake pads their brake pads wore down to nothing. still having some pads left, i was catching a lot of guys.

through check point four somebody yelled i was in 21rst place but i was only seeing about 5 tracks ahead of me. i knew i was in roughly 10th spot but was confused to see some of the 50 mile riders cutting the course and heading back home in the same way i was going.

it was around this point that it was obvious my rear pads were going so i did my best to try to stay off the back brakes. swinging in wide and cutting in tight on the clay corners seemed to be working fine to slow me down. doing this in one corner, the clay went from an quarter inch of thickness to over four inches in depth and sent me flying. bike one way, me the other, glasses and two bottles in other directions. your classic yard sale crash.

somehow, unhurt, i pedaled on. with very little front brake and no rear brake left and roughly 8 miles to go on lap one, i decided to race out the lap and then pull the plug on the race. i didn't have spare pads and i was risking life and limb just to get down some of the downhills.

through the next few miles, i could not hear or see a sole rider and as i got near the ranger camp, i knew i was close.



as i came up to the finish line, i was mentally preparing myself for the DNF, but was relieved to hear eddie called the race due to conditions. i am sure a lot racers will debate this call for awhile, but after personally crashing my brains out and hearing about all the other riders out there crashing just as bad (if not worse) due to pad wear, it was the good call.



at the end of the day, 5th overall - my best NUE race for several years. epic to say the very least.

First impressions: SRAM X0

new blog entry up at the goat on the new sram XO. check it out here.

more posts coming from dealer camp, other then that not mucho going on. tomorrow, if all goes according to plan, heading up to westlake for the tuesday night pain training.

this coming weekend off, then off to georgia for the fools gold. should be good times.

sologoat out

dealer camp wrap up

IMG_3961, originally uploaded by solo_goat.

well, park city has come and gone and i think all my pics are posted up at flickr now. location was awesome and i can see why with so many trails and chair lifts that take you right past the climbs why so many bike companies hold events out there.

highlights of the few days out there was riding a BH road bike the last day for about 3 hours, getting to ride for hours with Joe Breezer (a ton of bikes now use his rear dropouts) and a chance to ride the new SRAM X0 and Pivot 5.7.

next up for me race wise is going to be some local crits and then a trip down south for the Fools Gold - should be good times.

also getting pretty pumped up for cross the season as everything schedule wise is looking pretty good for me as i will be able to hit up all of the cleveland cross races and throw in a few bonus others like the cap city series.

blog reviews for dealer camp will be up at the speedgoat blog in the upcoming days, so stay tuned for updates and reviews on the SRAM X0, Pivot 5.7, Crank Brother wheels, Spenco gloves - just to name a few.

with that - gotta ride.

sologoat out

more pics being uploaded....

IMG_3794, originally uploaded by solo_goat.

should be wrapped up tonight with about 500+ pics from dealer camp. full write up on stuff coming in the next few days....

check out flickr for all the pics.

reviews and extensive blog write ups from both myself and jim on the speedgoat blog.

for now, time to unpack.

sologoat out

dealer camp brief update

IMG_3666, originally uploaded by solo_goat.

ah, time was short and my pc was not picking up any wireless.

mucho fun was had, tons of riding done, beer drank and 3 days of bike talk and hanging out.

with that, got to run - but about 500+ pics are currently being uploaded to my flickr account, so check it.

sologoat out

6 hours of power - longer write up

2010 6 hours of power 02, originally uploaded by solo_goat.

sorry for the late update, been hectic getting in some miles the past week.

at the start, field was pretty decent sized and included some fast locals, ross clark and mike simonson.

le mans style start always sucks, kind of getting tired of them but i guess it does the job of stringing it out at the start.

mike takes off at the srart of the first climb, ross is in a group in front of me and i am trailing off the back of them.

it rained the night before and the trails were a little slick at the start. i, of course, had pre-ridden when it was dry and had the tire pressure a little too high and it made things slippy. i backed off as i didn't need to take a spill on the first lap.

lap one down, mike had a small lead that would eventually lead to him winning. i eventually caught up to a small group with ross.

that group would all break up and ross parted ways, i caught back up to him around lap 4 on the start climb. by the top, he took off and i settled in. i was playing a chess game, i would hold him close enough to chase him back in the closing laps - i would drill it on the last lap just as i would roll under the start/finish with about 5-10 minutes to go before the cut-off.

next to last lap, my nightmare happened as the gap to ross was about 30 seconds - my chain dropped into my spokes. AGAIN. hate those freaking "shadow" shimano derailleurs. those things suck. adjusitng them is just a pain in the arse.

dejected, i pulled off to the side of the trail, thought about life for a few moments, and managed to get the chain out. estimate my loss of time roughly about 5 minutes.

last lap, i was convinced i lost 2nd place and came around a corner and washed out the front wheel. nice. another lost minute.

would come in third, behind ross by about 3 minutes. not the race i planned out in my head. that's racing though.

this weekend, pain train ride with phatty.

weekend after - little trip out west (more on that later)

sologoat out

6 hours of power

2010 6 hours of power 01, originally uploaded by solo_goat.

short version - 3rd place.

longer version up in the next day or two as i try to un-pack, clean and fix up the bikes and get ready for a trip out west in a few weeks.

more on that later - time to sleep.

sologoat out

a rare site

IMG_3362, originally uploaded by solo_goat.

the josh "the toastman" tostado at 11,500 feet.

2010 Marathon National Championships

2010 Marathon National Championships, originally uploaded by Jeff Kerkove.

well, colorado offically kicked my arse.

gun went off and the parade start rolled through town. we made a left starting up the first climb of the day and the pace just ramped up slowly and slowy.

soon, i was popped off the back and the heart rate i was seeing on my monitor was no where near my max. altitude hits all riders different, and you can pretty much get your max at sea level, subtract roughly 10 beats and there you go.

even with that rough "science" i was still about 10 beats lower. not feeling bad, not feeling awesome - just feeling like i was kind of stuck in 3 1/2 gear out of 5.

second lap went better, pulled a few riders back, but in the back of my head i was wishing it was another 25 miles.

so with that, i rode out the race and enjoyed it. towards the end, i duked it out with DJ - still can't believe anybody can ride that stuff with just 1 gear. rough finishing spot was mid to back of the pro field.

congrats to all the ergon riders - yuki taking the win in his class, dave 3rd in the pro men, sonya 8th and jeff riding a new PR.

with that - time for some hiking and some riding.

and check out my flick pics when you have a sec - new pics up daily this week.

sologoat out

last pre-ride

jeff_k_01, originally uploaded by solo_goat.

short pre-ride of about 1/2 of tomorrow's course today, partial ride time with mr kerkove.

course is screaming fast, few wet spots here and there but i'll take that instead of the dry pebbles jeff was sketching out on last weekend.

750 riders take the to the start line tomorrow - nothing like starting the race being in a parade. the fun quickly fades as the first major climb starts right out of town and goes about 6 miles up.

50 miles later, you'll end up back in breck to some good food and brews. happy 4th to all - get your bike out and take a spin.

sologoat out

pre-ride at the firecracker

IMG_3079, originally uploaded by solo_goat.

short post up, got to sneak in another ride.

rain bursts have padded down the trails and it's going to be a fast 50 tomorrow. town is hectic with people, trails are loaded up with riders.

chekc out my flickr pics here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/solo_goat/sets/72157624412880972/

today, pre-ride.

tomorrow, race and post race brews, fun, fireworks.

the 5th - heading out with mr kerkove. he's getting 10 hours, i think i may opt for the 5-6.

sologoat out.

big bear, lumberjack and the wayne ultra.

work and racing has been hectic as of late - so here are my race reports, better late then never.

Big Bear 2x12 – the best tag team ever

Date: 6/12/2010

Venue: Big Bear Lake at Hazelton, WV

Format: Duo, 6 laps total, 3 laps each

Mileage Per Lap: 11.3 according to my Garmin Edge 500

Team Members: Ernesto Marenchin (Speedgoat.com) and Brandon Draugelis (Cannondale.com)

Course and Weather conditions: Low 70’s with chance of showers later in the day. Course was mostly dry with some wet/slick spots in various spots, but overall riding very fast for the course.

Game Plan: With $1,000 for the win and it only paying one deep, we opted for the quick start and started Brandon so that we would be ahead of the field and would not have to fight through traffic later on in the day.

LAP 1 – Brandon
Brandon starts off for us under cloudy skies at 10am. Starting on the bike on the entrance road leading into the venue was less chaotic then the Le Mans style start and Brandon would be lead into the first section of single track by one of the riders of the eventual single speed class win.




Brandon rips off a super fast start and comes back to the start/finish with the single speed rider hot on his tail. Now it’s my turn.

LAP 2 – Ernesto
I take off with us in the lead. I am pushing the pace, but as soon as I near my limits, I back it off just a little.



Towards the end of the lap, going up the climb, Gerry catches me and soon after, Nick Waite. We are now sitting in second spot – about 45 seconds down by the end of the lap.

LAP 3 – Brandon
Brandon takes off and regains the lead. His pace puts us in the lead again by minutes.

LAP 4 – Ernesto
It’s tight, so I have to push it. At the top of every little climb or whenever my speed slows down, I stand up to pick up the pace – and I’m now pushing the limits of my heart rate. I’m bumping up to my max, but staying under it.

At the top of the last climb, I can’t see Nick and push on – I have about a minute lead on him as Brandon heads out.

LAP 5 – Brandon
Brandon takes off under darkening skies and somehow misses most of the rain and worsening conditions. He puts more time into the team headed up by Nick, but the finish is going to be tight.

LAP 6 – Ernesto
Mud has now engulfed the entire course, but I have ridden on these muddy trails many a time. I had to slow down in several spots, but kept my speed up overall.



Up the last muddy slow climb, I take a peek back – Nick is nowhere in sight. I push on and we take the win with about a 2 minute gap at the end.

lumberjack 100

Date: 6/19/2010

stop 3 on the NUE series was the lumberjack 100, a venue i have been dying to get to for awhile now and it is always scheduled the week after big bear. the last time i was there, i raced the 24 hour event and then the lumberjack back to back. not good. i was until about 75 miles in and then my heart rate shot sky high.

so, i was back to conquer my demons, but it was not to be.

dry conditions made for a fast course and just as i was dropping down the backside of the first climb, my front wheel hit something under some leaves and some me flipping over a couple of times and whacking my knee that i busted up last year. instant swelling and pain in that knee made it an easy decision to yank the plug for the day. if it were 7 miles to go, that's one thing, with 70 miles. my heart told me to keep going, but my head was telling me i may be doing some serious damage.

so, i headed back and iced, iced, iced - and drank a pint, pint, pint, pint and maybe a few more. two days later, i would be riding again, feeling rested and calmer since the swelling all went away.

wayne ultra

Date: 6/27/2010

getting there was a fiasco.

not really knowing where i was going, i headed down to marietta ohio only to realize when i got there that the location that was listed on the one website i pulled the address for was the ranger station 18'ish miles down the road.

at 10:22, i am debating to drive back home or to try to make it to the start. having just been ticketed for speeding a few days before, i was not in the mood to be on the recieving end of another one - but, i headed north and attempted to get there.

i got to the venue with literally 1 minute to spare before they shut down registration - and it was a good thing i had prepped all my fueling the night before. i was putting on my helmet just as everybody was ligning up.

field was smaller, but packed with about 10 guys who could take the win.

soon we were out of the parking lot, and soon after that, we were heading up the first demon of the day, a hellishly long road climb.

the temps were screaming and so was the pace, by the first right hand turn i had popped off the back of the lead group and was in a group of 4 - and there was not a soul in sight behind us.

i backed off, thinking the pace was too high with these temps (average for the day was 89!) and i am the early call that they would pay for their efforts.

into the single track, i stay steady and within my limits. i pick a few riders off that i was with and then start heading towards the next main group.

by mile 11'ish or so, i catch the group with gerry and notice 2 riders are not with them. most of these guys are riding rigid's and my pivot eats up the rocks as i inch closer and eventually past them. i now search out the leaders.

i ride by myself the remainder of the race, only stopping once to grab a mountain dew and some water from an aid station.



overall tough course, but well laid out and flowed awesome. can't wait to go back next year.

next up - tuesday night worlds at westlake.

sologoat out