The weather outside is brutal. I am determined to get back out on the bike as much as possible for base training but the weather isn't helping. Case in point this morning. Wake up at 7am. Still dark out. But dry. Have beakfast and check the temperature. 2 degrees. Pretty cold but I've got the gear. Rain supposed to hold off until Noon. Head out around 8am. A fair bit of wind making it quite chilly but I can take it. Then it starts to rain. Heavy rain. I am 40km away from home. Luckily I have a tail/crosswind. Made it home in a little over an hour, but I am drenched, especially my feet. They are frozen solid. Soak in the bath for 30 mins but still chilled.
I hope the weather gets better!
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Training has begun
I have ridden my bike much over the past month or so. Trying to just take it easy and re-motivate for the 2006 season. The weather hasn't been that great which makes it difficult to get started but I am officially off. I got my gym membership squared away and will be spending lots of time there doing plenty of different things. I've built an entire training schedule for the next 11 months so it will be interesting to see how well I stick to it. If I can keep close I should definitely seem some improvement for next year.
I've sent out my sponsorship proposals already (done about a month ago) so now it is more of a waiting game. I am anxious to get things organized on that end as it makes a difference on planning some of my races for the new year. I still plan to focus on endurance races, but will also participate in some standard races and maybe even a road race. This was one place I was lacking this past year.....just not enough actual racing under my belt. Nothing simulates racing like racing....you just give a totally different effort from when you try to copy race conditions while training.
Did my first workout with weights last night and boy are my legs sore. I've got a session booked with a trainer next week to hone in my plan to make sure I'm doing the right things for my plan. I know what I want to do and areas I want to improve but need someone to build a proper plan for me so I don't overdo it too much.
Today is a rest day and then back out for a road ride tomorrow. Those are becoming more challenging with the short days and cool mornings....but I'll live with it.
Steve
I've sent out my sponsorship proposals already (done about a month ago) so now it is more of a waiting game. I am anxious to get things organized on that end as it makes a difference on planning some of my races for the new year. I still plan to focus on endurance races, but will also participate in some standard races and maybe even a road race. This was one place I was lacking this past year.....just not enough actual racing under my belt. Nothing simulates racing like racing....you just give a totally different effort from when you try to copy race conditions while training.
Did my first workout with weights last night and boy are my legs sore. I've got a session booked with a trainer next week to hone in my plan to make sure I'm doing the right things for my plan. I know what I want to do and areas I want to improve but need someone to build a proper plan for me so I don't overdo it too much.
Today is a rest day and then back out for a road ride tomorrow. Those are becoming more challenging with the short days and cool mornings....but I'll live with it.
Steve
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Race Report: Pauls Dirty Enduro 100K
Hello all....a race report for the enduro race Pauls Dirty 100. It is a great race I have done a few times which raise money for the Canadian Mental Health Association. It is held at Ganaraska Forest near Peterborough and is a single 100km loop through the forest. Now lets get to the race.
The race was to begin at 8:00am for the 100K racers (there were also 15km, 40km, & 60km events) so that meant an early wake up for me at 4:30am. After packing all my stuff, picking up my friend Dave and driving there it was 7:00am. It was freezing cold in the morning but I knew we would warm up once we got riding, but I still had on arm warmers, knickers, and a vest. 8am rolled around and after forgetting to put on my transponder and holding up the race start we were off.
The first 15km were a little challenging with a lot of climbing (a theme for the race). I was hoping things would smooth out so the speed would pick up. My wish came through and after I shed my vest I was flying in some of the sweetest singletrack ever. The kind were you never have to touch the brakes, but are in the big ring with swooping corners. It was truly amazing. I started thinking to myself...."Steve, you are really moving, your conditioning must be better than you thought after taking the month of September off, before beginning the training season all over again in October". Little did I know.
After picking off a bunch of riders in that singletrack I hit the first checkpoint, but just blew through as I still had lots of fluids. That is when the course became much more difficult. Not particularly technical, but the climbing was unreal. I'm a decent climber but it was starting to wear on me. I was definately looking forwad to the next checkpoint which brought us back to the parking lot and I could replenish my e-load, CarbBoom gels, and get some solid food. It seemed to take forever to get there and I kept thinking that this felt like the longest 60km (we did a 60K loop and a 40K loop) in awhile. When I finally caught site of the main camp I was happy and stopped at Checkpoint #2. I asked one of the volunteers to confirm our distance so far (no computer on my bike) assuming she would say 60K. Nope, we had only done 40K. Guess how long that took! This will give you an idea of how much climbing there was. It took me 4 hours to do 40K. That 10KM/H. I was not a happy camper. All I could think was this thing was going to take me over 10 hours to complete if the course continued on its trend. I thought about packing it in a that point, but I was determined to finish.
After stocking up on supplies I headed back out to do the 60K loop. With my trusty MP3 player continuing to crank out the tunes I tried not to be too bored. So far I had been riding on my own and it wasn't much fun. This was the low point of the race for me. I kept thinking about how long it would take me to finish which was depressing. Plus the climbing was wearing on me and I was desperate to have some company. I started walking a lot of climbs due to lack of motivation as was generally down in the dumps. Then they came. While walking up one of the climbs 2 riders past me....a guy and girl who I thought were a couple but turned out not to be....he was just trying to pick her up I think :-). They seemed to be doing a good pace so I started riding with them. It was wonderful. For the next 3 hours or so we rode together. One dicey moment came on a downhill where I was behind the girl. We were in a section where they were bunch of large sinkholes, some covered with bridges, some not. I always would give her room on the downhills and it was a good thing this time. It looked as though we were going to rollover a bridge but it only covered half of the sink hole. She wasn't prepared for this and literally her bike dropped straight in the hole and she did a superman landing on the far side of the hole. Luckily she was okay. And luckily I left enough room to hit the brakes otherwise I would have landed right on top of her!
Soon after this they asked me to lead the group for awhile. I had my second wind and unintentionally pulled away. Our paths did cross one more time at one of the checkpoints but I didn't really see them until after the race. I was on my own again but felt good and tried to push the pace. I had left my hydrapak at the car after 40K as my back was really sore, so I had to stop at each checkpoint to fill my bottles. My whole body was starting to ache (except for my legs), particularly at my shoulders and my triceps. As everyone knows what goes up must come down and my arms and shoulders were taking a beating from it.
After the last checkpoing I was only about 15km from the finish. I was excited but then the course punched me in the gut again. More climbing. Not too many short steep climbs, but long climbs. I think the last one was about 20 mins of non stop climbing. I was determined to ride it all, knowing I was so close to the finish. I managed to do it and soon after the finish was in sight for which I was thankful.
I finished the race in 8 hours and 19 minutes, so the 2nd 60K loop took less 4.5 hours which was a little better than the first 40K. Having some other riders definitely helped. I grabbed a bit of food, won a prize (framed picture of an NHL goalie) and then got on my way. Overall the race was a good one with perfect weath and the course was in prime condition. Everyone who knows Ganaraska knows there is a lot of climbing....I hadn't been there for a couple of years and it was a shock to my system. I made it through though. I don't have any idea where I placed (not on the podum...I know that) and was too tired to check.
I think this will be my last race of the season. As mentioned, I've taken most of September off the bike with the exception of a few fun rides with friends. I've needed to give my body a chance to recover from some of the injuries sustained earlier in the season. I'll begin my training program all over again in October, with my goal being to be in the best shape ever for the 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo (Arizona) in February.
Many thanks goes out to my sponsors for the 2005 season. Turner Bikes (www.turnerbikes.com), www.Gearsracing.com, Rudy Project (www.rudyprojectusa.com) Glasses and Helmets, CarbBoom gels (www.carbboom.com), Kenda Tires (www.kenda.com), and CatEye (www.cateye.com) lights. Your assistance is greatly appreciated and I have had lots of opportunitys to talk up your products. I look forward to working with all of you again next year!
Steve
The race was to begin at 8:00am for the 100K racers (there were also 15km, 40km, & 60km events) so that meant an early wake up for me at 4:30am. After packing all my stuff, picking up my friend Dave and driving there it was 7:00am. It was freezing cold in the morning but I knew we would warm up once we got riding, but I still had on arm warmers, knickers, and a vest. 8am rolled around and after forgetting to put on my transponder and holding up the race start we were off.
The first 15km were a little challenging with a lot of climbing (a theme for the race). I was hoping things would smooth out so the speed would pick up. My wish came through and after I shed my vest I was flying in some of the sweetest singletrack ever. The kind were you never have to touch the brakes, but are in the big ring with swooping corners. It was truly amazing. I started thinking to myself...."Steve, you are really moving, your conditioning must be better than you thought after taking the month of September off, before beginning the training season all over again in October". Little did I know.
After picking off a bunch of riders in that singletrack I hit the first checkpoint, but just blew through as I still had lots of fluids. That is when the course became much more difficult. Not particularly technical, but the climbing was unreal. I'm a decent climber but it was starting to wear on me. I was definately looking forwad to the next checkpoint which brought us back to the parking lot and I could replenish my e-load, CarbBoom gels, and get some solid food. It seemed to take forever to get there and I kept thinking that this felt like the longest 60km (we did a 60K loop and a 40K loop) in awhile. When I finally caught site of the main camp I was happy and stopped at Checkpoint #2. I asked one of the volunteers to confirm our distance so far (no computer on my bike) assuming she would say 60K. Nope, we had only done 40K. Guess how long that took! This will give you an idea of how much climbing there was. It took me 4 hours to do 40K. That 10KM/H. I was not a happy camper. All I could think was this thing was going to take me over 10 hours to complete if the course continued on its trend. I thought about packing it in a that point, but I was determined to finish.
After stocking up on supplies I headed back out to do the 60K loop. With my trusty MP3 player continuing to crank out the tunes I tried not to be too bored. So far I had been riding on my own and it wasn't much fun. This was the low point of the race for me. I kept thinking about how long it would take me to finish which was depressing. Plus the climbing was wearing on me and I was desperate to have some company. I started walking a lot of climbs due to lack of motivation as was generally down in the dumps. Then they came. While walking up one of the climbs 2 riders past me....a guy and girl who I thought were a couple but turned out not to be....he was just trying to pick her up I think :-). They seemed to be doing a good pace so I started riding with them. It was wonderful. For the next 3 hours or so we rode together. One dicey moment came on a downhill where I was behind the girl. We were in a section where they were bunch of large sinkholes, some covered with bridges, some not. I always would give her room on the downhills and it was a good thing this time. It looked as though we were going to rollover a bridge but it only covered half of the sink hole. She wasn't prepared for this and literally her bike dropped straight in the hole and she did a superman landing on the far side of the hole. Luckily she was okay. And luckily I left enough room to hit the brakes otherwise I would have landed right on top of her!
Soon after this they asked me to lead the group for awhile. I had my second wind and unintentionally pulled away. Our paths did cross one more time at one of the checkpoints but I didn't really see them until after the race. I was on my own again but felt good and tried to push the pace. I had left my hydrapak at the car after 40K as my back was really sore, so I had to stop at each checkpoint to fill my bottles. My whole body was starting to ache (except for my legs), particularly at my shoulders and my triceps. As everyone knows what goes up must come down and my arms and shoulders were taking a beating from it.
After the last checkpoing I was only about 15km from the finish. I was excited but then the course punched me in the gut again. More climbing. Not too many short steep climbs, but long climbs. I think the last one was about 20 mins of non stop climbing. I was determined to ride it all, knowing I was so close to the finish. I managed to do it and soon after the finish was in sight for which I was thankful.
I finished the race in 8 hours and 19 minutes, so the 2nd 60K loop took less 4.5 hours which was a little better than the first 40K. Having some other riders definitely helped. I grabbed a bit of food, won a prize (framed picture of an NHL goalie) and then got on my way. Overall the race was a good one with perfect weath and the course was in prime condition. Everyone who knows Ganaraska knows there is a lot of climbing....I hadn't been there for a couple of years and it was a shock to my system. I made it through though. I don't have any idea where I placed (not on the podum...I know that) and was too tired to check.
I think this will be my last race of the season. As mentioned, I've taken most of September off the bike with the exception of a few fun rides with friends. I've needed to give my body a chance to recover from some of the injuries sustained earlier in the season. I'll begin my training program all over again in October, with my goal being to be in the best shape ever for the 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo (Arizona) in February.
Many thanks goes out to my sponsors for the 2005 season. Turner Bikes (www.turnerbikes.com), www.Gearsracing.com, Rudy Project (www.rudyprojectusa.com) Glasses and Helmets, CarbBoom gels (www.carbboom.com), Kenda Tires (www.kenda.com), and CatEye (www.cateye.com) lights. Your assistance is greatly appreciated and I have had lots of opportunitys to talk up your products. I look forward to working with all of you again next year!
Steve
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Been taking it easy the past while with rides every few days. Kind of using this as my down time before I start the whole crazy training thing again. I've got some new ideas for a training program which should really help my fitness. One of my other goals is to keep the winter weight off (and maybe drop a few pounds too)....I really have to watch my diet. Being on the road for work doesn't help much when I'm looking for cheap and easy food to get. Usually its all bad.
Working on the whole sponsor thing again. Some have a deadline of September 15 (for the following season) which is crazy. I'm looking for some very specific stuff. Hopefully I will be able to provide more of an update as this process moves forward.
I'm still mulling over doing a couple more races. Specifically the Ontario Enduro Championships this weekend and Pauls Dirty 100 a couple of weeks later. I think both will depend on the weather and how I am feeling. I'm more interested in the 100k event as I have a craving for singletrack these days and there's nothing like 100k of riding to quench that craving.
Steve
Working on the whole sponsor thing again. Some have a deadline of September 15 (for the following season) which is crazy. I'm looking for some very specific stuff. Hopefully I will be able to provide more of an update as this process moves forward.
I'm still mulling over doing a couple more races. Specifically the Ontario Enduro Championships this weekend and Pauls Dirty 100 a couple of weeks later. I think both will depend on the weather and how I am feeling. I'm more interested in the 100k event as I have a craving for singletrack these days and there's nothing like 100k of riding to quench that craving.
Steve
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
I've done a few rides since the 24 Hour race just to get my legs moving. My shoulder is still sore but seems to be getting better every day which is a good sign. I went for a wicked MTB ride yesterday for about 3 hours. A ride into my parents place and hit up the singletrack following the Don River. It was in fantastic shape and I had a ton of fun riding which is the whole point, right? I managed to clean the lower half which doesn't happen very often, but when I hit the upper half it was a different story. This area is very steep and quite technical. I can handle moderate technical trail but this particular area was super steep up and down with several bridges which always make me nervous. I ended up walking a few sections just to be safe, but overall I had a blast. It really reminded me how fun MTBing is, considering how much time I have spent on the road bike this year.
Just to give you an idea of the split in mileage between the two up to the end of August:
MTB - 568km
Road - 7773km
Quite a difference huh! I need to ride my MTB more....to increase my technical skills and learn how to ride faster on singletrack. I'm not a super fast guy, just usually a consistent one. Guys I can drop on the road where it is all fitness kill me in the single track. I really have try riding once or twice per week to work on these areas.
My friend Dave just sent me his race report from the 24 hour. He did a good job and came third in the race (he was in 1st until a "bike issue"). The most important thing I took from that report is having a solid crew and listening to them no matter what. Case in point, Dave crashed with 3.5 hours to go in the race. He was in first place. He thought he bent his fork. He ends the race. Turns out the fork isn't bent. Now any seasoned 24 hour rider knows one is not thinking straight after 20 hours of riding. Your mind and eyes are playing tricks on you. Which is why you need to listen to your crew. (Dave, this isn't directed toward you!) I know I have trouble doing it....particularly when they are telling me to go out for another lap when I don't want to. So unless you are badly injured or have a catastrophic mechanical you just need to do as your told!! Hopefully I take my own advice next year. :-)
Steve
Just to give you an idea of the split in mileage between the two up to the end of August:
MTB - 568km
Road - 7773km
Quite a difference huh! I need to ride my MTB more....to increase my technical skills and learn how to ride faster on singletrack. I'm not a super fast guy, just usually a consistent one. Guys I can drop on the road where it is all fitness kill me in the single track. I really have try riding once or twice per week to work on these areas.
My friend Dave just sent me his race report from the 24 hour. He did a good job and came third in the race (he was in 1st until a "bike issue"). The most important thing I took from that report is having a solid crew and listening to them no matter what. Case in point, Dave crashed with 3.5 hours to go in the race. He was in first place. He thought he bent his fork. He ends the race. Turns out the fork isn't bent. Now any seasoned 24 hour rider knows one is not thinking straight after 20 hours of riding. Your mind and eyes are playing tricks on you. Which is why you need to listen to your crew. (Dave, this isn't directed toward you!) I know I have trouble doing it....particularly when they are telling me to go out for another lap when I don't want to. So unless you are badly injured or have a catastrophic mechanical you just need to do as your told!! Hopefully I take my own advice next year. :-)
Steve
Saturday, August 27, 2005
24 Hours of Albion, Hot Summer Nights
We'll that was a race for the books! I went up to Albion Hills on Friday to set up camp but didn't get very far when the worst storm of the summer rolled through. Wind, rain and lightening made for a spectacular storm, but left worries about the condition of the course for the weekend. Well, Chico Racing (www.chicoracing.com) did a specatular job and the course was phenomenal.
The 24 Hours at Albion is the 2nd largest event (1800 riders) of its kind in North America (its sister event, 24 Hours of Summer Solstice in June is the largest with 2400 riders) and is a top notch event with tons of stuff to do when you are not racing. Bands, movies, kids race, BBQ etc along with the laid back style make the event lots of fun. As usual the race began at Noon, but no Le Mans start (hooray!). We did a short start loop and I could tell I didn't have the power in my legs I did in the June race. My friend Dave (who was the best solo rider there) left me in the dust shortly after the start and I just settled in to my own race. The course was in good shape....a little slick in the rooty sections but very tacky everywhere else which made things fun. There were a lot of short power climbs which took their toll, but also some fun swoopy single track which you can really rail. The course was about 17km long and the fast guys were doing it in about 1 hour with averages being in the 1:10 to 1:20 range.
I settled into a steady rythm for the afternoon, keeping my laps times remarkably consistent. It was around 7:30pm when I had to take a break to try and rectify my neck and back situation. My legs felt very fresh, but my lower back plus my shoulders were quite sore. I went over to the massage area and they went to work. After a few minutes I felt my back crack and new that at least my lower back would be better now! My masseur went to work on my shoulders and did a fantastic job, but there was one area that wasn't going to be solved by the massage. It was the should I injured in my crash in June and I was just going to have live with it.
After slowly changing into some fresh riding clothes I headed out for my first night lap. My Cateye Stadium 3 lights did a great job lighting up the trail but the bike was still flying around on the roots which were very slick from the dew (there was a lot of humidity that day/night). After whacking my bad shoulder on a tree during this lap I decided that I was better off packing up for the night, rather than risking more injury to my shoulder.
At dawn I was up again riding, planning another 3 laps or so before the finish. I managed to get those 3 laps in and even engaged in a battle with another solo rider on the last lap for position (although we didn't know it at the time). Unfortunately that was for a whoping 19th place. Oh well, it was still a good race and I kept consistent lap times throughout the race which was a positive sign. Perhaps if I rode through the night I would have had a high position (based on my consistent lap times) but I didn't and it is easy to say "if, if, if...." I will use this for motivation to train for next year and build on the huge base I created during this season.
I need to get some rehab for my shoulder as it is just not healing as well as I would like. I'm not sure if I will race any more this year....maybe one or two low key events just for fun such as the Enduro Cup or a 100km event. Then it is back to the road and gym to build up over the winter for next season. I need to focus on learning how to peak for events....I did a great job for the June event and a terrible one for the August event. I thought about a coach but I like to do my own thing and probably just need to stay focused on the intensity throughout the summer and not just until June.
Hopefully I will get back to updating this blog more frequently. I need to figure out my sponsor situation for next year and whether to focus on MTB again or a combination of MTB and Road. I've begun to really enjoy road riding, but this past 24 hour race reminded me of my passion for mountain biking (esp. since I have done very little of it this year).
Thanks for reading!
Steve
The 24 Hours at Albion is the 2nd largest event (1800 riders) of its kind in North America (its sister event, 24 Hours of Summer Solstice in June is the largest with 2400 riders) and is a top notch event with tons of stuff to do when you are not racing. Bands, movies, kids race, BBQ etc along with the laid back style make the event lots of fun. As usual the race began at Noon, but no Le Mans start (hooray!). We did a short start loop and I could tell I didn't have the power in my legs I did in the June race. My friend Dave (who was the best solo rider there) left me in the dust shortly after the start and I just settled in to my own race. The course was in good shape....a little slick in the rooty sections but very tacky everywhere else which made things fun. There were a lot of short power climbs which took their toll, but also some fun swoopy single track which you can really rail. The course was about 17km long and the fast guys were doing it in about 1 hour with averages being in the 1:10 to 1:20 range.
I settled into a steady rythm for the afternoon, keeping my laps times remarkably consistent. It was around 7:30pm when I had to take a break to try and rectify my neck and back situation. My legs felt very fresh, but my lower back plus my shoulders were quite sore. I went over to the massage area and they went to work. After a few minutes I felt my back crack and new that at least my lower back would be better now! My masseur went to work on my shoulders and did a fantastic job, but there was one area that wasn't going to be solved by the massage. It was the should I injured in my crash in June and I was just going to have live with it.
After slowly changing into some fresh riding clothes I headed out for my first night lap. My Cateye Stadium 3 lights did a great job lighting up the trail but the bike was still flying around on the roots which were very slick from the dew (there was a lot of humidity that day/night). After whacking my bad shoulder on a tree during this lap I decided that I was better off packing up for the night, rather than risking more injury to my shoulder.
At dawn I was up again riding, planning another 3 laps or so before the finish. I managed to get those 3 laps in and even engaged in a battle with another solo rider on the last lap for position (although we didn't know it at the time). Unfortunately that was for a whoping 19th place. Oh well, it was still a good race and I kept consistent lap times throughout the race which was a positive sign. Perhaps if I rode through the night I would have had a high position (based on my consistent lap times) but I didn't and it is easy to say "if, if, if...." I will use this for motivation to train for next year and build on the huge base I created during this season.
I need to get some rehab for my shoulder as it is just not healing as well as I would like. I'm not sure if I will race any more this year....maybe one or two low key events just for fun such as the Enduro Cup or a 100km event. Then it is back to the road and gym to build up over the winter for next season. I need to focus on learning how to peak for events....I did a great job for the June event and a terrible one for the August event. I thought about a coach but I like to do my own thing and probably just need to stay focused on the intensity throughout the summer and not just until June.
Hopefully I will get back to updating this blog more frequently. I need to figure out my sponsor situation for next year and whether to focus on MTB again or a combination of MTB and Road. I've begun to really enjoy road riding, but this past 24 hour race reminded me of my passion for mountain biking (esp. since I have done very little of it this year).
Thanks for reading!
Steve
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Previous race, upcoming race
I haven't posted since my last race in the middle of June.....well, because I am just about finally recovered from it. I wish I could say it took me a long time to recover as a result of the hardest effort I have ever put in, resulting in a win.....but sadly that is not the case. I arrived on the morning of the race to light showers (it had been raining most of the week) getting my pit set up in a primo spot right on the course. I was feeling awesome after having a good taper and just felt like I was ready to dominate. I had my prerace pasta breakfast about 2 hours before the race began and just chilled out. After a short warm up I headed down to the start line. At this race there is no lemans start.....just a traditional race start with people on their bikes which suits me just fine. I was about 1/3 from the front and was off to a comfortable start. Everything is pretty slow for about 10 minutes as the field sorts themselves out. Once things were strung out I really started motoring. I was feeling great and riding about 3rd in the solos. I actually thought to myself...."man we are going fast, faster than normal"....but I was feeling good and not overextending myself. I figured it was just that I was in good condition and since I didn't have a lot of time on my mountain bike I just wasn't used to the speed. We continued along into the newly cut section of the course. It was in much better shape from the rain compared to the pre-ride when it was very soft and sandy. I was pleased and had just made it through a section I was having difficulty with during the pre-ride. I think my confidence was a bit too high. I came around a corner and was going down a steep hill with a bit of a compression dip. I was looking ahead at the small rock garden ahead looking for my line when I hit the dip.....I didn't have my weight back far enough and over the bars I went. Actually I stayed attached to my bike. I went straight into the rock garden and landed on my head and shoulder. I lay there a little dazed (still clipped into my bike) and tried to assess the damage. The worst thing was my shoulder. So bad in fact, I couldn't put any pressure on it to push on the ground to get up. I knew it wasn't my collarbone but I was having a lot of trouble moving my arm. Another rider kindly helped me get sorted out and I was on my way. Only problem was I couldn't hold onto the bar with my right hand. I knew my race was done. As I watched all of my competition pass me for the next 15 minutes I could only think what could have been. The best shape of my life only to crash 40 mins into the race by a stupid mistake on my part. I got myself back to the start/finish and went to first aid. They put me in a sling and sent me to the hospital thinking I either separated my shoulder or broke my scapula. Luckily, after 6 hours in the ER, I had no broken bones....just severe deep tissue bruises and an sprained shoulder. I am now fully recovered (still some occasional stiffness) and have been riding a fair bit on the road.
This weekend I am going to race in an 8 hour MTB race at Hardwood Hills. I'm not sure how I will do....don't think I'm quite in the condition I was in June as I am rebuilding towards another 24 hour in mid August. So this race will be more of a training race than anything. Then I will take 4 days off to go camping with my family. The following weekend will be highlighted by another 8 hour ride (not race) followed by 2 weeks of long, high intensity training. Then I will taper down to be ready for the 24 hour where I hope to seek revenge.
I hope to post a report shortly after the 8 hour.
Steve
This weekend I am going to race in an 8 hour MTB race at Hardwood Hills. I'm not sure how I will do....don't think I'm quite in the condition I was in June as I am rebuilding towards another 24 hour in mid August. So this race will be more of a training race than anything. Then I will take 4 days off to go camping with my family. The following weekend will be highlighted by another 8 hour ride (not race) followed by 2 weeks of long, high intensity training. Then I will taper down to be ready for the 24 hour where I hope to seek revenge.
I hope to post a report shortly after the 8 hour.
Steve
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