Endurance races, ski trips, musings, and adventures on the East Coast.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Highland Overmountain Enduro Race Report 2012

I headed down to Highland Bike Park this weekend for the Overmountain Enduro, not really sure what to expect. I'd heard awesome things about Highland, and I'd also heard it was pretty knarly. So I was intrigued to say the least. 
I was also a bit nervous. I've done a Super D here and there, and I raced a few gravity events in college, but I've never done a proper enduro before. And even though I have a few tricks in my dh toolbox, racing fast downhill is a different ballgame all together.
Initially the plan was to head down Friday and preride the course. Then it poured all day and I had more work to do than I thought. So I stayed home. Which was great from a rest up and feel good standpoint, but apparently not so good from a race fast standpoint. There is a definite learning curve to these races, and not going down the day before was mistake number 1.
Before I get too far though, there is one thing I should say: this race was a blast. Do yourself a favor and put it on your race calendar for next year.


So, back to it. We got up early and headed down to Highland Saturday morning. Which gave me enough time to register and ride stage 1 a couple of times. Stage 3 was only open to foot inspection, so we checked that out too. Then it was chill out and wait for the start mode until the pros finally started at 3 pm. I have to say I got more nervous for this one than any other race all year. I think it has something to do with the fact that you know you're going to have to take some risks to do well.
Stage 1 was a good time. Super fast, with some wall rides, rock features, and a lot of berms. Preriding helped for sure, and I was riding pretty fast, though I need some berm riding practice for sure. The bottom half featured a hint of climbing and some old school NE singletrack. I figured that would be my strength and I punched it there.
Stage 2 was fast, flowy, tight singletrack. No preriding meant I threw in a few too many brake checks, but it was the shortest of the three stages, so I figured it wouldn't be a big deal. That stage flowed right into the climber's prime. That was a tricky one, because when you're racing Adam Craig and there's no prize for second well......
So basically I rode a fun, fast tempo up the climb, and backed off when it got steep and hard in order to save energy for the last stage, which was the most technical by far. Guess that worked okay, I got second in the climber's prime, though again, that didn't really do me any good. Hmmmm, going to have to asses that one for next year.
That brought me to the top of stage 3, which, for some reason, I had a hard time keeping my head in the game for. I rode the top part okay, but not great, and then came into the steep, muddy chute mid course all wrong. Soon enough I was in the trees. And that was pretty much it. My head was out of the game and I'd lost a bunch of time. Too bad too. It turned out I was 9th on stage one, and a good, clean run on stage 3 would have put me in contention for the top 10.
Guess that reinforces how important pre-riding it for these things. You have to have your lines down for sure, and you need to know what they feel like at speed. I didn't do that for stage 3 and it cost me big time.
Oh well, I guess that's what next year's for. Live and learn.

Friday, October 19, 2012

River's Way Up

It's been raining all day in central VT, with the Mad now the highest it's been since Irene (I think) at our    house. We headed down tonight to check it out, and found the river well 6 feet above where it was this morning, and about the breach the plunge pool wall.


Our usual sun bathing spot (the rocks are usually 3-4 feet above the water) is now a huge rapid.


The fire pit about to be taken out. Irene created a beach here, looks like it might be gone by morning.


Off to Highland for the Enduro tomorrow. Hoping it stops raining.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Awesome Fall Riding

There's been a bit of snow up high on the summits of the Greens these past couple of weeks, which a year or two ago might have tempted me off the bike and onto my skis. But I'm trying to keep the riding motivation up this fall. With Nationals coming to the east coast (finally) next summer, a shorter off season is better than a long one.
So I'm trying to keep the legs spinning as late as I can into the fall, mid-November at least.
This weekend the 1st Annual Onion River Apple Grinder helped the cause for sure - always good to get a good group ride in on some awesome dirt roads. Today was back to riding in the cold rain - so it goes.
At least I had a sweet new bike to ride though. The dirt road riding around our house is seemingly endless, so I sold the road bike and built up a cross bike. I know, it's the trendy thing to do, but this thing is fun. Road cranks, mountain wheels, tubeless cross tires, 140mm disc rotors, and a Sram double tap all bolted to a Specialzed Crux frame. It's light, stiff, and handles well. Pretty stoked on it for sure. Gotta hit up some Class 4 roads soon. See you out there.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Vermont 50 Race Report 2012

It's been a long time since I've had a good ride at the Vermont 50. I think I'd have to go all the way back to racing it as a junior at age 16 actually. Since then, it's been a string of years with bad form, mechanicals, and asthma issues. Which is a shame, because the 50 really is the biggest endurance race in New England.
Not everyone does it every year, but it's the only race around that draws 800 people. That in and of itself would be enough. But it also draws a lot of fast folks too. Not the same ones every year mind you (but few races do). And the past winners include Jason Sager and Ted King - both of whom are pretty darn strong.
This year, like quite a few editions of the 50, was rainy. Which was fine with me. I figured my training had been a touch subpar, so anything that would make the race less of a pure wattage fueled slugfest would be to my advantage. Rain slows the racing down and favors sheer power, muscular endurance, and technical skill over top end speed. I was okay with that.
It almost didn't happen. Some last minute bike issues and general craziness meant that I almost didn't race. Thanks Aaron and Nina for making things happen for me. I didn't have everything squared away and dialed in until late afternoon on Saturday. Not ideal prep, but racing is waaay better than not racing. Every time.
Bike issues solved we headed down to our friends Ginger and Pete's house. They've made an annual tradition of graciously housing and feeding us the night before the 50. Plus they live about 10 minutes from the start, which is particularly handy when the riders meeting starts at 5:15 am. I couldn't ask for anything more.
So, after a lot of help from Friends, Family, and Sponsors, I lined up to start. At 6:00 am, in the dark. For whatever reason (mostly reducing the size of the starting packs in the dark I think), my wave started 5 minutes behind the first wave (which included eventual winner Ted King). I wasn't too worried about that at the start. I was way more focused on trying to have a good ride at a race where I've had quite a few bad ones.
Off we went, and it was, in a word, dark. Fortunately I was able to mooch a little bit off of other people's lights. In the end though, I think the dark worked a little bit to my advantage. There were a few dirt road descents early on, and no one else was stupid enough to bomb them full speed, so all of a sudden I had a gap.
On the first single track climb I still couldn't see a thing, but I rode by feel and worked my way through the slower Wave #1 starters, figuring the more people I could put between me and everyone else in my wave the better. The 50 doesn't have an open class, so you're really racing for age group wins. I started to think I could pull the old out of sight out of mind trick on the other guys, and sneak away.
It seemed to work. Or I was climbing well. Mostly the second part. When it comes right down to it, that's what it's about at big races. Descending on the duelie 29er was pretty rad too, it's just that most of the descents are so steep and fast that they're over to quickly to make much of an impact.
Sometime around Garvin Hill I started to think about the overall and working my way up through. That's when I caught up to my friend Phil, who'd just spent a week in Pisgah doing the stage race there. He's a fast guy, so I figured I must be on an okay day at that point. I climbed up through the mist, pulled back a few more guys, and headed back into the woods.
The rest of the days just seemed really solid. I rode all the climbs, even the ones that normally make me walk (yup, there are a couple of really steep ones at about mile 30 or so). Descending felt good, and the singletrack was super ridable and not too torn up yet. Having no idea where I was place wise, I just rode the best tempo I could and hoped for the best. At the very least I was creating a cushion for myself in case a broken chain or a flat.
I also lucked out and had someone from the first wave to ride with the last 10 miles, which is definitely a moral booster. We crossed more or less together (though I was 5 minutes up). Turns out it was a great day, 5th overall and the age group win. Pretty sweet to end the season on good form with a great race.