So it's been a couple of weeks since the last post and the 8 hour. I had a little spill unpacking the car and managed to shred my knee....nothing serious but it sure looks nasty. As bad as I want to say I was going 40km/h down some sweet single track and I went down it just isn't the case....basically fell out of the back of the van and landed on my knee. No impact to riding.

Speaking of riding I have been managing to get a fair bit of it in recently which is nice. The scale has noticed as well. Around 8 lbs in the past 2 weeks. It's a good start. The Keslo O-Cup is this weekend and since it is my home course I thought I'd at least go up and check the course out. I went yesterday late afternoon and took the full suspension with me. Pretty tricky course with just about every rock garden they could find thrown in. It was extremely hot as well....the fire road climb up was brutal, especially when exposed to the sun. Another strange thing were all of the inch worms. Tons of them....so many you could hear them hitting the leaves on the ground. It became a little frustrating when they would constantly land everywhere. The rocks were still a little slick with moisture from the humidity....course was pretty fun overall. I went again first thing this morning but rode up (about 75 minute ride). Was feeling a little tired but wanted to do a little experiment. This time I took the rigid Niner. It is about 5 lbs lighter but of course no suspension. I ended up riding the course about 4 minutes faster than the day before.....probably could have been faster if I was a bit more fresh. I think the lighter weight helped with the long climb as well as the constant acceleration. I didn't find Kelso to have too many high speed sections where the fully would benefit and most of the technical sections were slow so the suspension didn't make much of a difference. Too bad I don't plan to race Kelso, but if I did I'd probably use the Niner.

So I guess I'll have to think about lightening up the Niner even more and making it the short course racing bike. I wonder what I'll use at the 24 hour race?

Steve

2nd Place!

Well, not for me, but for Noelle in the kids race! More on that later.

The Mansfield 8 hour was this weekend and since I haven't done a lot of riding I really went into it with an open mind just to have fun with complete disregard for results. It was quite refreshing actually.

The morning started in a bit of a frenzy trying to get the car packed. I had to fit 5 bikes into the car plus 2 coolers and a bunch of riding gear etc in the minivan. The neighbour didn't think I could do it but as you can see below it worked. I think I need some bike racks now that everyone wants to bring their bikes to the races.

After a stop at Tim Hortons for breakfast we were off. It has been awhile since I drove to Mansfield and I forgot how far it really is. We rolled in around 9:15am to see the Solo area pretty full. We decided to park in the main area since it was closer to the action anyways for the kids. We found a bit of a quieter area so we had some space to ourselves so the kids could play without bothering too many people. I went and registered then back to the car to get changed. By the time I changed I could hear Chico say "2 minutes to start". Uh oh. I still needed to take my cooler up to the start area so I would have access to it each lap. It was too heavy for my wife on her own so we walked together. I wasn't even halfway there when I heard "GO". Finally made it to the barn area and put my cooler there, hopped on the bike and started up the hill already a few minutes late. They had already taped it off and there were people everywhere. Nothing like starting dead last! It didn't take me too long to catch the tail end of the group due to the congestion in the singletrack...at that point it was just a passing game. Gradually I was with a group of people that were about the same speed as me and that lap turned out to be one of the most enjoyable with the company. I've been reading a lot of peoples write ups about the race and the common theme seemed to be the difficulty of the course and how technical it was and beat up your body. I'm not sure why but I just didn't find it that way. I actually enjoyed the course quite a bit. Near the end it was getting a little rutted up but that happens anywhere. The thing I liked about the course was the longer gradual climbs vs the short steep stuff like Albion. Plus I didn't find it to be a constant up and down either.

I turned out 4 or 5 laps and then the kids race was beginning so I wanted to watch that and it was a good chance for a break. It was the first time for both kids racing and it was exciting to see them go. They had them in different age groups and each group did a different number of laps. It was a lot of fun to watch and I rode around to different points of the 1.2km course to see them go by. Noelle ended up getting 2nd place in her grouping. It was so great to see....you couldn't wipe the smile off her face all day.

After their race was over I went out for a few more laps. I ended up running into a bunch of people on the course I knew. Jeff & Ryan from last weekends ride. And Craig Barlow who I saw a few times out on the course while he was passing me. At the end of the day I did 8 laps which I was satisfied with. I had a good time. The kids and my wife had a good time and that's about all you can ask for. Below are a few more pictures capturing the day.

The kids had a good time.

So did my wife (I think!)

Last lap

Anyways, the 24 hour should be interesting. I'll probably go into it with the same perspective and see what happens. Hopefully I can get some more riding in between now and then and be in slightly better condition....we'll see.

Steve

Did a 5 hour slog in the rain yesterday. A few people were planning a long distance ride in Hamilton and since I usually ride alone for long rides I thought it would be fun to have some company. Plus I've never ridden any of the trails in Hamilton so it would be a good chance to get a look. The forecast wasn't looking too good for Sunday but I kept my fingers crossed anyways and headed out. Met Jeff and Ryan for a 9am start and we were off. Weather was dry but cool and windy. We immediately hit some fast downhill single and double track which was a lot of fun. After about an hour of riding the rain came but it wasn't too bad since we were mostly in the forest and the canopy was keeping us dry. Eventually we had to hit the road for awhile and proceeded to get completely drenched from head to toe. We made it back into the trails but by now they were pretty bad as well so we cut them short to prevent trail (and bike) damage and stuck to the road and gravel paths. There was a fair bit of climbing (from my perspective) and I definitely had trouble keeping up with the other two. Something to work on over the summer. We were near the end of the ride and had the choice of taking the long way with a big climb or take a set of stair up the escarpment to the cars which was the short way. We were all cold so I suggested the stairs but I suspect the riding the climb would have been better. See the pictures below. All in all a really good ride...good training which I need and good company.

Thanks to Ryan for the pictures.

Steve

8 hour

I'm in for the 8 hour at Mansfield in about 10 days.

Got in an early morning trail ride so at least I'm riding a little so I'm not totally fatigued after only 2 hours of racing. It will be interesting to see how I feel after 8 hours though. I think my kids are going to try the kids race as well and my wife is going to bring her bike to ride around the venue. I want to bring both the rigid and the fully so that means 5 bikes to bring. Not really sure how I'm going to get those all bikes into the car!

2 years ago I finished right about mid pack....if I can do that again I'd be pretty happy.

Steve

Change in plan

Plans for this season have taken a major change. With a major illness in my family that hit in early March and the subsequent passing a week ago, my focus has been anywhere but cycling. In fact there has been virtually no cycling for 2 months. The past 2 months put a lot in perspective and cycling just didn't hit the radar. I'm trying to move forward now and I'm sure it will be a challenge but I've got a great wife & kids as well as family and friends for a support network. I'm still signed up for solo at Summer Solstice and might even try the 8 hour in a couple of weeks, but it will be strictly for personal satisfaction and not to attempt to make a comeback or anything. I've packed on a few pounds after spending countless days & nights at the hospital but I'm really not too concerned about it. I did get out for 2 hours of riding yesterday and 5 hours today which felt nice.

So if you've wondered why this blog is completely out of date now you know why.

See you at the races....(maybe the 8 hour).

Steve

24 Hours in the Old Pueblo - Arizona

So after after getting back from Arizona and having a crazy week at work I finally have a chance to document my adventure to my latest 24 hour race.



As you have read I travelled down to Arizona to race duo with my brother in the 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo last weekend. I decided to leave from Buffalo since my plane ticket was $270 instead of $600. My flight was leaving at 8:30am on Wednesday morning so I figured I leave nice and early that morning to make the drive to Buffalo which is only about 75 mins from my house. Unfortunately on Tuesday we had a huge snow storm. The question was should I even try to get to Buffalo with the terrible road conditions. I ended up leaving at 3am and started down the QEW which had not been plowed at all. Conditions were horrendous....although you wouldn't know it by the 18 wheelers thundering down the highway at 100km/h. Fortunately the closer I got to Niagara the better the road conditions became. By the time I hit the border, which was completely empty, the roads were completely clear. My next problem was I became lost in Buffalo. I had directions but for some reason couldn't find my exit. After stopping for instructions I finally figured it out and arrived at the airport 3.5 hours after I left.


Things were uneventful after that getting down to Arizona. Flights were on time, my bike arrived and all was good. I did have a flat tire when I unpacked my bike but felt that was nothing too serious. Once thing concerning me a little was my brother was very sick, on the verge of pneumonia, and if he should even ride. We still had a few days before the race and he was on heavy duty meds. We spent the next couple of days getting stuff ready, shopping, picking up the rental etc. We ended up leaving on Friday morning for the race venue which was near Tuscon. Problem was the weather wasn't all that great.


The drive down was nice and as we got closer the mountains surrounding us were quite beautiful.

Unfortunately the most of the white stuff is snow. These weren't the mountains were were riding on but there were very close. The race venue is on a cattle ranch and thus the road is just dirt. Because it had been snowing/raining all night and day the road wasn't really dirt anymore....it was mud.

Cars were fish tailing and going into the ditch. It was a bit crazy. It you didn't have a 4x4 vehicle you were in big trouble as some of the mud was really deep. We got into the venue and managed to get our usual campsite.

We get the same one and it is about 100 yards from the start/finish so a good spot. Here's a pic, as well as what our car looked like after the drive in.

We ended up heading back into town for a decent dinner to get out of the cold and rain. We had some ribs, hung out a bit and then came back to camp and went to bed. By this time it had become quite cold and I had on most of my clothes. The sleeping bag I was using wasn't designed for sub freezing temperatures and that is what we were dealing with. I finally got to sleep only to wake up in the middle of the night needing a bio break. Plus it seemed like something was hitting the tent all the time. I unzipped the tent and went outside. This is what I saw.








Snow. I couldn't believe it. The ground was covered. And so was our tent. To the point it was almost going to collapse. I brushed off the tent, made a few snowballs and then went back to bed. I was freezing at this point....I've never camped in the snow before! When we woke up the in the morning the snow had begun to melt and a few hours later it was gone.





The race began at Noon with the Le Mans start and since Jim was sick I did the run. It didn't go to bad and I started out. Each lap of this course is about 27km long but it is very fast. There is a fair bit of climbing but nothing too steep....mostly gradual. Things were clogged up a bit but overall it was a fun lap. I did virtually the entire lap in the big ring, even the climbing, which was fun, and passed a lot people. I probably finished in the middle of the pack in 1:37. My brother decided he wanted to do a double lap. I wasn't sure this was a good idea but wasn't going to argue with him and off he went. He did manage to do 2 laps but they were long and he was done after that. By the time my next lap came around it was already time for lights! This coures is one course that doesn't slow you down much at night and my lap time showed that with a 1:38 lap. I was planning to pull a double lap but I was freezing at this point and went into the campsite to stand by the fire. I decided since we were only there for fun I was better off to just hang out at the fire and keep warm for the night. We still froze our butts off sleeping, but at least it didn't snow.





I woke up the next morning to a much nicer day that warmed up very quickly. I had a quick bite to eat and went for another lap. Managed to turn a 1:38 this time so my laps were staying consistent which I was happy with. I went back to the site to change into cooler clothes and eat again before doing my final lap. And what a great final lap it was. I felt good, still riding a lot in the big ring, and really having a ton of fun. Final lap time was 1:34....my fastest of the race. I was pleased with myself to say the least....I know I only did 4 laps, but thats over 100km of racing and I got better with time. Given the training I have been doing I hope this means things are looking up for this season. I think we ended up 39th out of 58 teams....not that it mattered since we were down to have fun and hang out.


We packed up and went home to Jim's place that afternoon. I was catching an 11pm flight home so needed to wash bike & clothes, pack bike etc to get ready to leave. Unfortunately I had a really sore throat and by the time my flight left I had a full blown cold. It made for a miserable flight and I had trouble sleeping and blowing my nose at the same time. I finally made it home around 11am on Monday morning. I tried to sleep that afternoon but not much luck at that either. I guess I must have really run myself into the ground between the travelling, the cold weather, and the racing. But it was fun anyways. I would highly recommend this event to anyone looking for an early season 24 hour....it is well run, well attended (1700 riders) and they have a great expo (Mavic, Ergon, Siren, Kenda, Niterider, Light & Motion, WTB, lots of food etc).



I took down my rigid Niner and it performed flawlessly. It was the first time I had it on trails so it took a little bit of time getting used to it, especially on the really rocky areas. There were times I tried to blast through like I was on full suspension and it didn't really work out. Once I adjusted people would drop me on some of the rocky decents but I would be right back on them in the singletrack. The bike just rips on single track and climbing. I was loving it. I'm going to have to figure out the right places to use this bike vs the Asylum for the season this year. One thing I am going to do is lighten the Niner up a little more and put a more comfortable seat on. One other observation is my back didn't bother me at all. I had a lot of trouble with it last season but nothing this race. I suspect it has a lot to do with all of the snow shovelling I've been doing and that has strengthened my core up enough to cover that problem. Hopefully I can keep it up.



That's it. Not sure exactly when the next race is going to be. I'd like to do the 8 hour in May and might do a few shorter ones before. I plan to get a little more regimented with training in the next week or so to really build up to Summer Solstice which is my major focus this year. I'm a little nervous about how I'm going to get the training in as I just received a big promotion at work which is going to take up a lot time. But I was planning a lot of early morning rides so hopefully I'll still be able to fit those in.

Until next time.....

Steve

Got outside for the first time on the bike in awhile yesterday. I just couldn't pass up a semi-decent day to do some riding. Got out for about 2.5 hours of slushy, partially snow covered riding on the road. Beats nothing though. My biggest problem was my back. After a few too many rounds of snow shovelling from Friday's storm my back was acting up a bit. I think I am going to take it easy to let it settle down since I leave for Arizona in a little more than a week.

Speaking of Arizona it sure is going to be interesting. Weather can be somewhat unpredictable. One year it rained the whole time. Another time it went below zero at night. So you pretty much have to pack for all conditions which is a bit of a pain. I've decided to take the rigid Niner. Part of me wants to take the full suspension and give the new XTR drivetrain a go but the Niner is really well suited to this course with a fair bit of climbing and not much technical terrain. We'll see how beat up I get. Good thing is I'm only doing this as a duo with my brother. Plus we rarely ride throught the entire night so I only expect to ride around 8-10 hours or so. I think I'll be able to handle it.

Maybe I'll even get lots of pictures!

Steve