SSAP 2011 Recaps
- Thread starter kush
- Start date
That's worth 1: goddamn!
Glenlivet12
Well-Known Member
This is the most fun i've had at a race! Def. top two races I've ever done
If I have half as much fun in future races it will be a good day. Thank you Darkhorse gang for putting on a great show. There was so much going on I remember bits and pieces of laps...
I started in the second or third row back in sport and wasn't sure how hard to push myself off the line with 20+ miles to go. I figured I'd try and stick someone I knows wheel and see how far I can go. After the horn everyone took off a lot faster than I thought they would. I did what I could to keep up I think I ended up mid pack. All I remember from the prologue was passing someone in hub deep mud, a clear sign of things to come. Coming out of the prologue it seemed like the guys off the front were long gone. Most of the first lap was uneventful I passed a few people here and there until the long fire road climb where I saw Dustin about halfway up. I figured he was either having a bad day or I was having a good day(turned out to be a bit of both). I finally caught him on some single track and realized he was having some mechanical issues. We road together for a bit and I pulled ahead of him just before the end of the first lap. My toes were so cold I was having trouble feeling the pedal to clip back in when I needed to. Seeing Lisa and Jamie at the end of the lap put a big smile on my face and helped me forget the fact I couldn't feel my feet. Lisa had a perfect bottle hand off:getsome:
On the second lap Dustin caught up with me at the peanut butter climb and we continued our back and forth for a bit and passed a few people. It was nice riding with someone I knew, it made it more fun and made sure I didn't slow my pace. Eventually we came up a fire road and saw an orange shirt with curly hair duck into the fire road, Capers... We chased him through a section of single track and Dustin caught him just before the fire road. Like before Dustin, and now Capers, get to the next single track before me but I caught up soon after. We hit a short steep up hill and we all jump off to run it. At that point Dustin makes a comment about wanting me to drop me. Thanks for the motivation buddy. I made sure I stuck their wheels the rest of the race. I felt strong until we got to last bit of short rocky hills just after we passed Luke. I tried to mash up but my legs wanted to cramp whenever I stood up. I thought for sure they would have pedaled up no problem and been long gone but every time i hiked to the top i'd see them not too far away. All of a sudden we came to the last fire road stretch, now both legs wanted to cramp. I came around the bend and saw Dustin and Capers battling at the finish then I heard Lisa, Jamie and James screaming for me keep pedaling. I spun as fast as I could and crossed the finish line shortly behind the Eric and Dustin in 12th place.
Hot dogs and beer hit the spot at the after party. It was good to see people I don't get to see all that often. Congratulations to everyone who placed, awesome job!
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/79868673
If I have half as much fun in future races it will be a good day. Thank you Darkhorse gang for putting on a great show. There was so much going on I remember bits and pieces of laps...I started in the second or third row back in sport and wasn't sure how hard to push myself off the line with 20+ miles to go. I figured I'd try and stick someone I knows wheel and see how far I can go. After the horn everyone took off a lot faster than I thought they would. I did what I could to keep up I think I ended up mid pack. All I remember from the prologue was passing someone in hub deep mud, a clear sign of things to come. Coming out of the prologue it seemed like the guys off the front were long gone. Most of the first lap was uneventful I passed a few people here and there until the long fire road climb where I saw Dustin about halfway up. I figured he was either having a bad day or I was having a good day(turned out to be a bit of both). I finally caught him on some single track and realized he was having some mechanical issues. We road together for a bit and I pulled ahead of him just before the end of the first lap. My toes were so cold I was having trouble feeling the pedal to clip back in when I needed to. Seeing Lisa and Jamie at the end of the lap put a big smile on my face and helped me forget the fact I couldn't feel my feet. Lisa had a perfect bottle hand off:getsome:
On the second lap Dustin caught up with me at the peanut butter climb and we continued our back and forth for a bit and passed a few people. It was nice riding with someone I knew, it made it more fun and made sure I didn't slow my pace. Eventually we came up a fire road and saw an orange shirt with curly hair duck into the fire road, Capers... We chased him through a section of single track and Dustin caught him just before the fire road. Like before Dustin, and now Capers, get to the next single track before me but I caught up soon after. We hit a short steep up hill and we all jump off to run it. At that point Dustin makes a comment about wanting me to drop me. Thanks for the motivation buddy
. I made sure I stuck their wheels the rest of the race. I felt strong until we got to last bit of short rocky hills just after we passed Luke. I tried to mash up but my legs wanted to cramp whenever I stood up. I thought for sure they would have pedaled up no problem and been long gone but every time i hiked to the top i'd see them not too far away. All of a sudden we came to the last fire road stretch, now both legs wanted to cramp. I came around the bend and saw Dustin and Capers battling at the finish then I heard Lisa, Jamie and James screaming for me keep pedaling. I spun as fast as I could and crossed the finish line shortly behind the Eric and Dustin in 12th place.Hot dogs and beer hit the spot at the after party. It was good to see people I don't get to see all that often. Congratulations to everyone who placed, awesome job!
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/79868673
Dusty the Whale
Mr.Chainsaw
You pedaled up this one steep section that seemed to "S" on the way up. I compared it to being robbed but the money isn't yours..."you want it, take it".
My first race with the big boys. My only goal was finish in the top 50 with bike intact. Hang with the team at the start and just tail Norm and Bill through the first sections. Felt good until the first muddy climb and realized I have no traction with my shitty Karma in the back, way too much pressure in both tires and my front shock has seized! Ok, I'll just have to be careful in the slick stuff and the downhills. So every wet corner I'm powersliding and putting on a show for the guys behind me but can still keep a good pace on the flats with the silly 32x16 I was muscling. Guys would pass me on the climbs but I would get it back on the roads.
Hung with the same group of guys pretty much the whole race. Halfway through each climb I was ready to quit and hoping for a mechanical so I could just leave my bike and walk out. Then I would get to top and recover a bit and go back to kill mode.
Second lap I head down one of the steep downhills and realize I have no brakes and try to avoid the tree in front of me only to catapult headfirst into it and land wrapped around it like I was hugging it. Luckily my chest and face took the brunt of it. Two guys pass and I hop back on and go. Little dazed but ok. Catch back up and just follow wheels for a while till I lose it again on the next downhill and hear Utah yell Whoa, and lets go. I follow him and we chat about our wounds. Its amazing how much better I do when I'm distracted and outta my own head. Now we're close to finish and I keep the hammer down and surprisingly put a gap on Utah and track down the 2 guys that passed me. Get by one guy in the ST and the other on the road to the finish. Small victorys. 36th.
Hung with the same group of guys pretty much the whole race. Halfway through each climb I was ready to quit and hoping for a mechanical so I could just leave my bike and walk out. Then I would get to top and recover a bit and go back to kill mode.
Second lap I head down one of the steep downhills and realize I have no brakes and try to avoid the tree in front of me only to catapult headfirst into it and land wrapped around it like I was hugging it. Luckily my chest and face took the brunt of it. Two guys pass and I hop back on and go. Little dazed but ok. Catch back up and just follow wheels for a while till I lose it again on the next downhill and hear Utah yell Whoa, and lets go. I follow him and we chat about our wounds. Its amazing how much better I do when I'm distracted and outta my own head. Now we're close to finish and I keep the hammer down and surprisingly put a gap on Utah and track down the 2 guys that passed me. Get by one guy in the ST and the other on the road to the finish. Small victorys. 36th.
Holy shit this is long
SSaP 2011. 9th Place out of 58, cat 2 NJ.
I'm still coming off the high that was yesterday's race. What a great time! It was more than a race, it was an event. So many friends, good people and good vibes. Big thank you to the Darkhorse crew for throwing it down.
Didn't really sleep much the night before, I have been looking forward to this event for months so the anxiousness kept me up all night. Crawled out of bed at 3:30 and felt surprisingly refreshed despite the lack of sleep. Ate a huge breakfast, eggs, toast, a bagel, banana and a few bowls of cheerios. I'm a bottomless pit sometimes.
The drive up was mellow and meditative. I was grooving out to some hippy shit while totally feeling one with my soul. And then this A-hole in a Honda Civic, apparently going to the same place as I really harshed my flow maaaaaaan…. Oh hey look it's my team mate, Jeremy Short. Dude was wearing a dark hood and aviator glasses, headbanging to what sounded like a jet engine or just pure static and looking like a gangster. He gave me the finger as he sped by. Jerk.
Arrived to Stewart with plenty of time to spare. Did all the typical pre race BS with friends. Lots of familiar faces. Ate a few bars. Then went out to spin the legs a bit with Dustin.
Lined up with buddies, Pearl, Dustin, Bill, Mike and Jeremy. My goal for SSaP was to finish in the top 10 and get a good start up front avoiding the CF entering the ST. The start wasn't as hot as I expected although I was still spinning my 32x19 like a hamster. I took off up front and hovered around the top 10 position all the way into to the singletrack.
Fortunately the lead group was able to get through everything with out issue. There was no waisted time and I didn't get stuck behind any slow pokes. Definitely one of the better, cleaner starts. The first 15 minutes were kind of a blur. With the exception of Jeremy, I don't recall who out of my crew was in front or behind me. I was pretty focused on my groove. I can't remember where or when but Pearl jumped out in front of me pretty Early on. I vaguely remember him shooting out past several dudes and taking off like a screaming banshee. I was stunned. WTF did he have for breakfast? After settling into a solid pace and taking some inventory, it appeared that I had locked in a pretty solid position around top 10-ish. Dustin was behind me somewhere but no where in sight. He was on my wheel not long before so I assumed he got hung up on something, folded another chainring or broke a chain or some shit. Freaking hulk.
The mushy mud climb was a lot of fun. Needed to push it in to my higher end on that one. Had no problems getting through the mess but I could see it really fucking some dudes up. God I hope the rest of the course isn't like that! Bar ends frigging rule.
Rode with ChrisRU for most of the first lap. Seemed like we were really trucking too. Always a good feeling when you have an ally near by, even though we are competing against each other. We came up upon RobG off to the side with a busted chain. He asked me if I had a link, but I didn't. Sucks. By now Chris popped out in front of me and put a little gap between us. I could hear his rear cog making some crunchy noises. he had to pull over and that was the last I saw of him.
Spent the rest of the first lap with a group of 5 or so guys. I guess we had a big lead on the rest of the field behind us. as there was no one else in sight. By now I lost my front brake completely and my rear brake's stopping power was weakening. Had to learn to trust the bike and to be super smooth. Took a digger on this one tricky decent but I was back on my bike so quickly that I didn't loose my position.
Rolling down that rock face and into the foot deep lake where Luke was taking pictures was was pretty righteous. Luke told me that Pearl said "hi". Hi Pearl! Popped out on to the road, completing the first lap and feeling good. I looked behind me and those dudes I was with were falling back. Dustin's girlfriend Jamie executed a perfect water bottle handoff. Thanks Jamie!! And Lisa informed me that Pearl was a minute and a half ahead of me.
The shit-climb of turd-gnar blew me a part a little. Almost everyone I saw was walking it but I decided to ride it. I muscled up that shit as fast as I could just to get it over with but blew a gasket or two in the process. Shortly after, I started getting passed, Something that wasn't really happening often up until this point. I throttled back the pace a little so that I could pull myself together.
Dustin and Bill appeared out of nowhere. I was surprised to see them as I assumed I left them for dead. Dustin pulls up and says "I've got Bill with me and he's riding clean as hell" while breathing heavily. He wasn't kidding, Bill was looking like a champ. Our rendezvous gave me a second wind because 1. I wasn't going to let Dustin finish this race ahead of me 2. sorry Bill, but I wasn't going to let you finish ahead of me either ;-) and 3. Now i'm riding with my boys. I kicked it back up a notch, blasting through the rocky-ish ST area with the grinder climbs. At one point Bill busts out a sudden surge of power. My man jumped out in front of Dustin and passes the guy in front of me. He darted up a steep gnarly rock face like a frigging lizard, passing the dude on the climb. I was dumbfounded. I think Bill may have burned a few matches on that maneuver as he didn't put up a fight when I wiggled back in front of him to reclaim my position. But shit, that was sick man.
For the remainder of the race, Dustin followed my wheel. Bill hung on for a while but slowly fell back. Dustin and I led a pack of 5 or 6 dudes as we mashed our way through the last 5 miles. My bottle was falling out of my cage so I kept reaching down to fix it. While doing so I hit a tree with my shoulder coming to a complete stop. My bike shot out between my legs and Dustin crashes right into me. Wicked! Miraculously we pulled our shit together and did not loose any spots. Dustin and I cranked up the heat and started picking dudes off towards the end of the lap. We were riding pretty strong together. When we got out to the road though, it was no more Mr Nice Guy time. I gritted my teeth and drilled it all the way to the finish. There was no way I was going to let Dustin take me out in the sprint. The finishing stretch seemed like it would never end and I swear I reached my max capacity. I kept turning around to see if he was gaining on me but could't really tell. We pass our cheering section and I turned it up to 11. Not having any brakes, I came careening through the finish line with both of my feet scraping the pavement in an effort to slow myself down. I think I almost took out Woody and Chris26er before halting to a stop. I couldn't even breath.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/79900557
Ahh, what a good race! I finished 9th, achieving my goal of finishing in the top 10. I was especially happy to see that all my friends had ran pretty solid races as well. Dustin, Pearl, Bill, Mitch Jeremy, Mandi…representn!
The after party was pretty sweet too. I think at one point I was triple fisting ;-)
SSaP 2011. 9th Place out of 58, cat 2 NJ.
I'm still coming off the high that was yesterday's race. What a great time! It was more than a race, it was an event. So many friends, good people and good vibes. Big thank you to the Darkhorse crew for throwing it down.
Didn't really sleep much the night before, I have been looking forward to this event for months so the anxiousness kept me up all night. Crawled out of bed at 3:30 and felt surprisingly refreshed despite the lack of sleep. Ate a huge breakfast, eggs, toast, a bagel, banana and a few bowls of cheerios. I'm a bottomless pit sometimes.
The drive up was mellow and meditative. I was grooving out to some hippy shit while totally feeling one with my soul. And then this A-hole in a Honda Civic, apparently going to the same place as I really harshed my flow maaaaaaan…. Oh hey look it's my team mate, Jeremy Short. Dude was wearing a dark hood and aviator glasses, headbanging to what sounded like a jet engine or just pure static and looking like a gangster. He gave me the finger as he sped by. Jerk.
Arrived to Stewart with plenty of time to spare. Did all the typical pre race BS with friends. Lots of familiar faces. Ate a few bars. Then went out to spin the legs a bit with Dustin.
Lined up with buddies, Pearl, Dustin, Bill, Mike and Jeremy. My goal for SSaP was to finish in the top 10 and get a good start up front avoiding the CF entering the ST. The start wasn't as hot as I expected although I was still spinning my 32x19 like a hamster. I took off up front and hovered around the top 10 position all the way into to the singletrack.
Fortunately the lead group was able to get through everything with out issue. There was no waisted time and I didn't get stuck behind any slow pokes. Definitely one of the better, cleaner starts. The first 15 minutes were kind of a blur. With the exception of Jeremy, I don't recall who out of my crew was in front or behind me. I was pretty focused on my groove. I can't remember where or when but Pearl jumped out in front of me pretty Early on. I vaguely remember him shooting out past several dudes and taking off like a screaming banshee. I was stunned. WTF did he have for breakfast? After settling into a solid pace and taking some inventory, it appeared that I had locked in a pretty solid position around top 10-ish. Dustin was behind me somewhere but no where in sight. He was on my wheel not long before so I assumed he got hung up on something, folded another chainring or broke a chain or some shit. Freaking hulk.
The mushy mud climb was a lot of fun. Needed to push it in to my higher end on that one. Had no problems getting through the mess but I could see it really fucking some dudes up. God I hope the rest of the course isn't like that! Bar ends frigging rule.
Rode with ChrisRU for most of the first lap. Seemed like we were really trucking too. Always a good feeling when you have an ally near by, even though we are competing against each other. We came up upon RobG off to the side with a busted chain. He asked me if I had a link, but I didn't. Sucks. By now Chris popped out in front of me and put a little gap between us. I could hear his rear cog making some crunchy noises. he had to pull over and that was the last I saw of him.
Spent the rest of the first lap with a group of 5 or so guys. I guess we had a big lead on the rest of the field behind us. as there was no one else in sight. By now I lost my front brake completely and my rear brake's stopping power was weakening. Had to learn to trust the bike and to be super smooth. Took a digger on this one tricky decent but I was back on my bike so quickly that I didn't loose my position.
Rolling down that rock face and into the foot deep lake where Luke was taking pictures was was pretty righteous. Luke told me that Pearl said "hi". Hi Pearl! Popped out on to the road, completing the first lap and feeling good. I looked behind me and those dudes I was with were falling back. Dustin's girlfriend Jamie executed a perfect water bottle handoff. Thanks Jamie!! And Lisa informed me that Pearl was a minute and a half ahead of me.
The shit-climb of turd-gnar blew me a part a little. Almost everyone I saw was walking it but I decided to ride it. I muscled up that shit as fast as I could just to get it over with but blew a gasket or two in the process. Shortly after, I started getting passed, Something that wasn't really happening often up until this point. I throttled back the pace a little so that I could pull myself together.
Dustin and Bill appeared out of nowhere. I was surprised to see them as I assumed I left them for dead. Dustin pulls up and says "I've got Bill with me and he's riding clean as hell" while breathing heavily. He wasn't kidding, Bill was looking like a champ. Our rendezvous gave me a second wind because 1. I wasn't going to let Dustin finish this race ahead of me 2. sorry Bill, but I wasn't going to let you finish ahead of me either ;-) and 3. Now i'm riding with my boys. I kicked it back up a notch, blasting through the rocky-ish ST area with the grinder climbs. At one point Bill busts out a sudden surge of power. My man jumped out in front of Dustin and passes the guy in front of me. He darted up a steep gnarly rock face like a frigging lizard, passing the dude on the climb. I was dumbfounded. I think Bill may have burned a few matches on that maneuver as he didn't put up a fight when I wiggled back in front of him to reclaim my position. But shit, that was sick man.
For the remainder of the race, Dustin followed my wheel. Bill hung on for a while but slowly fell back. Dustin and I led a pack of 5 or 6 dudes as we mashed our way through the last 5 miles. My bottle was falling out of my cage so I kept reaching down to fix it. While doing so I hit a tree with my shoulder coming to a complete stop. My bike shot out between my legs and Dustin crashes right into me. Wicked! Miraculously we pulled our shit together and did not loose any spots. Dustin and I cranked up the heat and started picking dudes off towards the end of the lap. We were riding pretty strong together. When we got out to the road though, it was no more Mr Nice Guy time. I gritted my teeth and drilled it all the way to the finish. There was no way I was going to let Dustin take me out in the sprint. The finishing stretch seemed like it would never end and I swear I reached my max capacity. I kept turning around to see if he was gaining on me but could't really tell. We pass our cheering section and I turned it up to 11. Not having any brakes, I came careening through the finish line with both of my feet scraping the pavement in an effort to slow myself down. I think I almost took out Woody and Chris26er before halting to a stop. I couldn't even breath.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/79900557
Ahh, what a good race! I finished 9th, achieving my goal of finishing in the top 10. I was especially happy to see that all my friends had ran pretty solid races as well. Dustin, Pearl, Bill, Mitch Jeremy, Mandi…representn!
The after party was pretty sweet too. I think at one point I was triple fisting ;-)
Last edited:
kush
Active Member
I realize I may have been a little brief in my recaps. Particularly compared to Battenkill
Part of this is that I have very little drama in my race. I drove up, warmed up, raced and finished 25th out of whatever, 70? 80?. I wished I was in top 15-20, but this was a tight fast bunch according to Norm.
I did run a clean race. Not even a dab, never mind a spill, except to run up a section or four.
No mechanicals, brakes worked great. Even the usual squeeky BB didn't squeek. My wheels didn't come off. WTF. Boring.
I drank before, drank during warmup, drank during the race, I took endurolytes, and I ate gels. Yawn.
I suprised myself after all these months of no MTBing of how solid my bike handling felt. I was kind of in a zone. Snoozer.
I warmed up for close to an hour. I thought I'd get there early enough to do the full loop, but that was not to be once I hit the ST and realized it was going to be a slog. So I turned back 1/3 of the way.
I hosed down the bike and changed my shoes after the warmup. That is how together my shit was. No drama no excitement. I ate some more stuff and drank. Have I lost you yet?
Start. I was warmed up, warm, hydrated, and itching to go murder and kill. I lined up in the front row. I thought I was back in Cross (I miss Cross! Cause it's boss!) Probably 120 rpms through the straight into the SS, keeping up with the lead pack on 33x17. HR through the roof. Legs feeling good but I could tell it wasn't sustainable. #1.
My strategy was just to put a big gap on the rest of the and hang on with someone close to the top. I tried to keep Freddie's wheel, then keep him in sight, but damn he was strong, just disappeared after 10 mins. I think there is a pic of me behind him, not sure where that was.
Once in a while I'd look back and see nothing. There is comfort in nothing.
Anyways, I was hanging in there for most of the first lap, but the pace was above my head. The start was too hot, but I was getting pulled along by 2-3 guys all the time. I'd lose 1-2 and then pull up and gain another small pack. #2 wasn't really racing my own race. Bike handling is still solid, and i'm absolutely loving the downhills, I make up time lost on the climbs on my now pissed off legs. And there were BERMS!! maddawg you fucking rock.
At the start of the 2nd lap, up the slush section, I hear "how you feeling?" that was Norm. I said nothing or something like alright, even though I wasn't quite alright as I was repaying the start of the race, and kept cranking. He says, where's Freddie, I say up up up. Norm powers by me like a locomotive in search of prey. You know what I mean.
I draft guys on the roads, and take turns pulling with some of them. I like that. There was none of that in Sport.
I see Mattmor, and hang with him for a while, but in the end fatigue takes over and he leaves.
I see mile 24 on my GPS, look back and see no one. I'm like, great, its almost over, I'm done. Then out of nowhere Robbie comes up and passes me. I pass him right back, but realize that it's futile, as I am leaking lactic acid through my ears. He goes on looking fresh as a daisy. I'm thinking I'm old enough to be his cool uncle.
Onto the finish line, there were a couple guys some distance back, but not in striking distance. Done.
The after was super fun, most fun for me ever I think in a race. This year's course was fantastic and weather cooperated. There were so many of us there it was our party. I ate 62 hot dogs, and drank a lot of really good beer. So much energy. Good stuff. Results posted insta-fast.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/79882458
Some pics here I like a LOT http://www.facebook.com/album.php?fbid=10150156596234333&id=616184332&aid=298595&l=484f6bd1f0
Part of this is that I have very little drama in my race. I drove up, warmed up, raced and finished 25th out of whatever, 70? 80?. I wished I was in top 15-20, but this was a tight fast bunch according to Norm.
I did run a clean race. Not even a dab, never mind a spill, except to run up a section or four.
No mechanicals, brakes worked great. Even the usual squeeky BB didn't squeek. My wheels didn't come off. WTF. Boring.
I drank before, drank during warmup, drank during the race, I took endurolytes, and I ate gels. Yawn.
I suprised myself after all these months of no MTBing of how solid my bike handling felt. I was kind of in a zone. Snoozer.
I warmed up for close to an hour. I thought I'd get there early enough to do the full loop, but that was not to be once I hit the ST and realized it was going to be a slog. So I turned back 1/3 of the way.
I hosed down the bike and changed my shoes after the warmup. That is how together my shit was. No drama no excitement. I ate some more stuff and drank. Have I lost you yet?
Start. I was warmed up, warm, hydrated, and itching to go murder and kill. I lined up in the front row. I thought I was back in Cross (I miss Cross! Cause it's boss!) Probably 120 rpms through the straight into the SS, keeping up with the lead pack on 33x17. HR through the roof. Legs feeling good but I could tell it wasn't sustainable. #1.
My strategy was just to put a big gap on the rest of the and hang on with someone close to the top. I tried to keep Freddie's wheel, then keep him in sight, but damn he was strong, just disappeared after 10 mins. I think there is a pic of me behind him, not sure where that was.
Once in a while I'd look back and see nothing. There is comfort in nothing.
Anyways, I was hanging in there for most of the first lap, but the pace was above my head. The start was too hot, but I was getting pulled along by 2-3 guys all the time. I'd lose 1-2 and then pull up and gain another small pack. #2 wasn't really racing my own race. Bike handling is still solid, and i'm absolutely loving the downhills, I make up time lost on the climbs on my now pissed off legs. And there were BERMS!! maddawg you fucking rock.
At the start of the 2nd lap, up the slush section, I hear "how you feeling?" that was Norm. I said nothing or something like alright, even though I wasn't quite alright as I was repaying the start of the race, and kept cranking. He says, where's Freddie, I say up up up. Norm powers by me like a locomotive in search of prey. You know what I mean.
I draft guys on the roads, and take turns pulling with some of them. I like that. There was none of that in Sport.
I see Mattmor, and hang with him for a while, but in the end fatigue takes over and he leaves.
I see mile 24 on my GPS, look back and see no one. I'm like, great, its almost over, I'm done. Then out of nowhere Robbie comes up and passes me. I pass him right back, but realize that it's futile, as I am leaking lactic acid through my ears. He goes on looking fresh as a daisy. I'm thinking I'm old enough to be his cool uncle.
Onto the finish line, there were a couple guys some distance back, but not in striking distance. Done.
The after was super fun, most fun for me ever I think in a race. This year's course was fantastic and weather cooperated. There were so many of us there it was our party. I ate 62 hot dogs, and drank a lot of really good beer. So much energy. Good stuff. Results posted insta-fast.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/79882458
Some pics here I like a LOT http://www.facebook.com/album.php?fbid=10150156596234333&id=616184332&aid=298595&l=484f6bd1f0
woody
Well-Known Member
Insane!... Gimme! :drooling:
woody
Well-Known Member
check out the 33 to 32 conversion. i think this happened in the prologue. i heard a snap and thought it was my ebb creaking.
Gimme!
woody
Well-Known Member
Robin
Well-Known Member
The Benders convinced me to sign up for SSAP just as registration was closing…at that time I didn’t even own a SS. Matty told me that he would find me a bike to use – but I decided just to get my own. He helped me build a simple Misfit a few weeks ago, which I have been having tons of fun on.
I pre-rode the course the week before with the girls and had a blast – the trails were in great shape and I felt strong…although it was only one lap. I had to do two? Hmmm…this was going to be my longest mountain bike ride…and it was a “race”. I was thinking about this all week – how to survive.
I arrived early Sunday morning, greeted by so many friendly faces. I met up with the Benders and Johnnie Oxford for a little pre-ride around the fire roads. We lined up at the start and finally got to me “Mom”, and had two lovely ladies, Patty and Mandi, on both sides of me. We were chatting while watching the groups before go off…and all of the sudden…it was our turn.
We started down the road, my legs spinning…and I kept telling myself, “don’t go so hard that you blow-up in the prologue”…I was probably one of the last ones to get to the chaos of the woods…that’s when I realized that I needed to stop dilly-dallying and get moving. I was able to make some progress through the prologue and up the road to the first climb. I was feeling good…
I got into the slip-n-slide mudfest climb…and that is where I floundered…I got hung up behind some people but didn’t have the moves to get around/move on…and I ended up walking…while watching people pass me. I thought I might be able to make some time up later in the ride – after all, I had to do this loop…again! I got to the top, got on my bike and pedaled…I was thinking “damn, why is it so hard to pedal? Yep. I had half the course stuck in my brakes. Cleaned them out…several times…and continued on my merry-way.
At the start of the race, my goals were to 1) finish and 2) finish with a smile. I accomplished both. And I managed to place 6th! I later realized that I was only 3 minutes behind 5th…3 minutes! Could I have gone out harder in the beginning? Could I have been more aggressive? Definitely – something I learned about myself from this race. Oh yeah...and why disk brakes are better than V-brakes in mud.
Thanks to all that encouraged me and got me through the day – I had a great time and already looking forward to the next DH party!
I pre-rode the course the week before with the girls and had a blast – the trails were in great shape and I felt strong…although it was only one lap. I had to do two? Hmmm…this was going to be my longest mountain bike ride…and it was a “race”. I was thinking about this all week – how to survive.
I arrived early Sunday morning, greeted by so many friendly faces. I met up with the Benders and Johnnie Oxford for a little pre-ride around the fire roads. We lined up at the start and finally got to me “Mom”, and had two lovely ladies, Patty and Mandi, on both sides of me. We were chatting while watching the groups before go off…and all of the sudden…it was our turn.
We started down the road, my legs spinning…and I kept telling myself, “don’t go so hard that you blow-up in the prologue”…I was probably one of the last ones to get to the chaos of the woods…that’s when I realized that I needed to stop dilly-dallying and get moving. I was able to make some progress through the prologue and up the road to the first climb. I was feeling good…
I got into the slip-n-slide mudfest climb…and that is where I floundered…I got hung up behind some people but didn’t have the moves to get around/move on…and I ended up walking…while watching people pass me. I thought I might be able to make some time up later in the ride – after all, I had to do this loop…again! I got to the top, got on my bike and pedaled…I was thinking “damn, why is it so hard to pedal? Yep. I had half the course stuck in my brakes. Cleaned them out…several times…and continued on my merry-way.
At the start of the race, my goals were to 1) finish and 2) finish with a smile. I accomplished both. And I managed to place 6th! I later realized that I was only 3 minutes behind 5th…3 minutes! Could I have gone out harder in the beginning? Could I have been more aggressive? Definitely – something I learned about myself from this race. Oh yeah...and why disk brakes are better than V-brakes in mud.
Thanks to all that encouraged me and got me through the day – I had a great time and already looking forward to the next DH party!
Mom
Dr. Hott
Great job Mandi and Pedals! Patty, how's your finger doing?
Wish I could have kept up with y'all but I was amped to simply finish. Thanks dad and Luke for cheering me on. Maybe I'll actually put some time in on the bike prior to the next race.
It was great to meet a lot you you in person!
Wish I could have kept up with y'all but I was amped to simply finish. Thanks dad and Luke for cheering me on. Maybe I'll actually put some time in on the bike prior to the next race.
It was great to meet a lot you you in person!
Glenlivet12
Well-Known Member
yeah, you nailed it... The first lap I noted some muddy tracks up that line and kept it in the back of my mind if I happened to be behind someone on lap two. It felt like a good idea at the time but hurt me when I got to the top. I honestly don't think not doing that would have made any difference in where I finished though.
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RNG1
Well-Known Member
Man I have been so busy reading everyone else recaps everytime I sit down on my computer that I haven't had time to do my own ramble til now.
OK OK I will admit that although I never ever thought of not showing for a race that I had registered for, I was as close to not showing for this race as I could have come. There were several reasons why I just couldn't get myself psyched up for this but mainly the combo of spending the few days before just trying to make my ss bike function only to likely destroy it in 1 ride and also having not ridden off road since the Ringwood race, actually had me concerned for my body parts. However when I was saying goodnight to my kids Saturday night, (cue slow violin music) and they were saying good luck tomorrow, I said that I may not go and they both looked at me with their puppy eyes and said "but...but...you always tell us to never quit and always do your best.....you always say that...don't you????" OK you get the idea.
When I start heading up in the morning within a few streets of my house I see that the local reservoir has crested and is completely covering some main roads and I have to follow detours immediately. This has only happened like twice in the 11+ years that I live around here so I am thinking wow how bad is this really going to be up there.
I have to say that I was pretty surprised to see so many people when I got there. I totally read this wrong about people not showing and thankfully so as we all know despite the water it was still tons of fun and very rideable.
Ok so my "warmup" consists of riding down the road to Bills monster truck and taking a look at Norm's Paleo breakfast remains laying there decaying on the road and then over to the start line. I am not having any grand illusions of anything actually and am just looking forward to ride in the woods and hope that it is more riding than trudging.
Head to the start and realize that "oh yeah I am actually racing expert now" and am a bit disoriented even tho there are only like 4 groups. I say hi to some people along the way and then I group up with the teamies and at least for the moment it is cool to have a bunch of us together. Shortly after the start the front guys get a gap as we do the hamster thing. I actually laugh out loud as this really is the goofiest thing ever, spinning like this and then drafting. Totally not dissing dedicated ss riders but c'mon it is funny at the start.
Woody and I find ourselves next to each other and talk a bit. I feel relaxed and just ready to have fun and my legs are actually feeling really good. I get through the prologue really enjoying myself until I feel what I think is my front wheel chattering. I'm kinda pissed cause I specifically checked both skewers in the morning and I don't know why but this front one has an issue or maybe the way it clamps to the fork. Whatever I know I have to stop. At that little patch of road towards the end of the ST I have to jump out of the line and check it out and mess with it and still can't find why it is doing this and lock it back down hard hoping this doesn't keep happening.
I get back going and after a while I find myself with Jeremy and Jeff. I find out that they are the 2 and 3 spot in the cat2 field. I talk with Jeremy a bit and without going into details I execute some intricate team mountain bike racing tactics that Jeremy has totally undermined in his recap of his glorious victory. Yes congratulations are totally warranted to his win and also to Jeff's 3rd place finish but clearly Jeremy has to learn the PR side of bike racing and share credit with his team mates like Norm does with his crits.
OK so back to the race, I ride along with those guys for a while and I am thinking that this is actually a cool vantage point to be able to watch them and see how this lead group unfolds. I am feeling great and no issues at all with staying with them and I am happy about that. That is right until we come out of a pavement section and make a right turn into a lovely winding ST section where it is nice and smooth and then BAM my pedal hits something and I look down and my chain is gone. I look around in disbelief as I really can't even see anything in this section that my pedal could have hit other than this tiny little branch stump thing. I decided for the first time ever not to carry anything but a co2 because, hell the conditions are going to be crap and if something other than a flat happens screw it I'm done anyway. It never occurred to me that the something that could happen could be the absolutely furthest point from the start line and that I would have to get back somehow anyway. I start to look for the chain and can't find it. A guy that was just kinda marshalling and helping people came by and asked what was up and he helped me find the chain.
People started coming by and I kinda did my homeless impression and asked if anyone had a tool and a link and eventually ChrisRU came around while I was doing jump rope exercises with my chain just to stay loosened up and tossed me his multi tool with his link and tie wraps and everything else he would eventually need to have with him to save his race which led to him chewing through his arm sleeves. I feel bad about that bro, I won't ask you for anything else in a race again, I promise. Well unless I really need something.
So I finally get going again and I am feeling good again and really happy to be riding as I was really enjoying myself. Until I started losing brakes. This was pretty hairy in a few spots and I went off the trail a few times but without impact with non moving objects. I stopped a few times to crank down the knob on the mechanical brake calipers and that seemed to help a little each time but the rear would eventually give me nothing in return and the front worked the rest of the way marginally but that little bit was way better than nothing. I was riding well enough that I really wasn't on the brakes all the time so I really don't know why they went so quick. I kept catching up with various people and moving ahead, I don't really recall being passed by anyone when I was actually riding and I finished strong and cranked it all the way to the finish and never let up.
I feel positive about my riding, and maybe it was all my "rest" stops but I actually felt like I could have easily ridden another lap. Maybe I was just so happy to be back in the woods or due to the Battenkill experience the week before which was a suffering on another level altogether. I know that sounds goofy but that is how much I was enjoying it.
So that's really it, believe it or not I never checked to see what place I came in and frankly still haven't. It clearly doesn't matter or change my feelings about how I did. I know that when I was moving I was moving well, I didn't get hurt and I had fun. I also came up with a great slogan that I shared with a couple of people that no one seems to like so much. But I like it, I think the back of next years Tshirts should say something like" It could be worse, your wife could be yelling at you while you ride through this crap"..
Speaking of next year, although this was a step up in tough conditions even from the Gallop 2 years ago, I think this will be tough to top. Maybe put a few alligators in the water sections but I really can't think of anything that this race is missing.
Congrats to all the do wellers and those who stuck it out and finished, and those who just showed up and gave it all they got.
OK OK I will admit that although I never ever thought of not showing for a race that I had registered for, I was as close to not showing for this race as I could have come. There were several reasons why I just couldn't get myself psyched up for this but mainly the combo of spending the few days before just trying to make my ss bike function only to likely destroy it in 1 ride and also having not ridden off road since the Ringwood race, actually had me concerned for my body parts. However when I was saying goodnight to my kids Saturday night, (cue slow violin music) and they were saying good luck tomorrow, I said that I may not go and they both looked at me with their puppy eyes and said "but...but...you always tell us to never quit and always do your best.....you always say that...don't you????" OK you get the idea.
When I start heading up in the morning within a few streets of my house I see that the local reservoir has crested and is completely covering some main roads and I have to follow detours immediately. This has only happened like twice in the 11+ years that I live around here so I am thinking wow how bad is this really going to be up there.
I have to say that I was pretty surprised to see so many people when I got there. I totally read this wrong about people not showing and thankfully so as we all know despite the water it was still tons of fun and very rideable.
Ok so my "warmup" consists of riding down the road to Bills monster truck and taking a look at Norm's Paleo breakfast remains laying there decaying on the road and then over to the start line. I am not having any grand illusions of anything actually and am just looking forward to ride in the woods and hope that it is more riding than trudging.
Head to the start and realize that "oh yeah I am actually racing expert now" and am a bit disoriented even tho there are only like 4 groups. I say hi to some people along the way and then I group up with the teamies and at least for the moment it is cool to have a bunch of us together. Shortly after the start the front guys get a gap as we do the hamster thing. I actually laugh out loud as this really is the goofiest thing ever, spinning like this and then drafting. Totally not dissing dedicated ss riders but c'mon it is funny at the start.
Woody and I find ourselves next to each other and talk a bit. I feel relaxed and just ready to have fun and my legs are actually feeling really good. I get through the prologue really enjoying myself until I feel what I think is my front wheel chattering. I'm kinda pissed cause I specifically checked both skewers in the morning and I don't know why but this front one has an issue or maybe the way it clamps to the fork. Whatever I know I have to stop. At that little patch of road towards the end of the ST I have to jump out of the line and check it out and mess with it and still can't find why it is doing this and lock it back down hard hoping this doesn't keep happening.
I get back going and after a while I find myself with Jeremy and Jeff. I find out that they are the 2 and 3 spot in the cat2 field. I talk with Jeremy a bit and without going into details I execute some intricate team mountain bike racing tactics that Jeremy has totally undermined in his recap of his glorious victory. Yes congratulations are totally warranted to his win and also to Jeff's 3rd place finish but clearly Jeremy has to learn the PR side of bike racing and share credit with his team mates like Norm does with his crits.
OK so back to the race, I ride along with those guys for a while and I am thinking that this is actually a cool vantage point to be able to watch them and see how this lead group unfolds. I am feeling great and no issues at all with staying with them and I am happy about that. That is right until we come out of a pavement section and make a right turn into a lovely winding ST section where it is nice and smooth and then BAM my pedal hits something and I look down and my chain is gone. I look around in disbelief as I really can't even see anything in this section that my pedal could have hit other than this tiny little branch stump thing. I decided for the first time ever not to carry anything but a co2 because, hell the conditions are going to be crap and if something other than a flat happens screw it I'm done anyway. It never occurred to me that the something that could happen could be the absolutely furthest point from the start line and that I would have to get back somehow anyway. I start to look for the chain and can't find it. A guy that was just kinda marshalling and helping people came by and asked what was up and he helped me find the chain.
People started coming by and I kinda did my homeless impression and asked if anyone had a tool and a link and eventually ChrisRU came around while I was doing jump rope exercises with my chain just to stay loosened up and tossed me his multi tool with his link and tie wraps and everything else he would eventually need to have with him to save his race which led to him chewing through his arm sleeves. I feel bad about that bro, I won't ask you for anything else in a race again, I promise. Well unless I really need something.
So I finally get going again and I am feeling good again and really happy to be riding as I was really enjoying myself. Until I started losing brakes. This was pretty hairy in a few spots and I went off the trail a few times but without impact with non moving objects. I stopped a few times to crank down the knob on the mechanical brake calipers and that seemed to help a little each time but the rear would eventually give me nothing in return and the front worked the rest of the way marginally but that little bit was way better than nothing. I was riding well enough that I really wasn't on the brakes all the time so I really don't know why they went so quick. I kept catching up with various people and moving ahead, I don't really recall being passed by anyone when I was actually riding and I finished strong and cranked it all the way to the finish and never let up.
I feel positive about my riding, and maybe it was all my "rest" stops but I actually felt like I could have easily ridden another lap. Maybe I was just so happy to be back in the woods or due to the Battenkill experience the week before which was a suffering on another level altogether. I know that sounds goofy but that is how much I was enjoying it.
So that's really it, believe it or not I never checked to see what place I came in and frankly still haven't. It clearly doesn't matter or change my feelings about how I did. I know that when I was moving I was moving well, I didn't get hurt and I had fun. I also came up with a great slogan that I shared with a couple of people that no one seems to like so much. But I like it, I think the back of next years Tshirts should say something like" It could be worse, your wife could be yelling at you while you ride through this crap"..
Speaking of next year, although this was a step up in tough conditions even from the Gallop 2 years ago, I think this will be tough to top. Maybe put a few alligators in the water sections but I really can't think of anything that this race is missing.
Congrats to all the do wellers and those who stuck it out and finished, and those who just showed up and gave it all they got.
ArmyOfNone
Well-Known Member
did chris and pearl split the DFL prize? it sure looks that way.