The Long Road Back

xc62701

xc62701

Well-Known Member
BrianGT3 said:
Nice meeting you yesterday Ryan. Great work out there! MTB racers representing! That Tri was a ton of fun yesterday, the MTB course was awesome.
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Yes it was a fun course. Good meeting you as well. I hope I'm not the only one that can't walk right this morning. I'm sore!
 
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MadisonDan

MadisonDan

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Holy shit dude! That's a great result...
a friend from work who is a triathlete and endro MTB guy from CT thought this would be a great race for him. His comments were "most technical course I've ever ridden" and "rocky AF". Needless to say, those rocks are no joke.
 
xc62701

xc62701

Well-Known Member
MadisonDan said:
Holy shit dude! That's a great result...
a friend from work who is a triathlete and endro MTB guy from CT thought this would be a great race for him. His comments were "most technical course I've ever ridden" and "rocky AF". Needless to say, those rocks are no joke.
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Haha for sure. People thought this would take an hour and a half total. That's more like just bike portion for most. I knew if I could survive the swim I could put time on people on the rocks. The bike leg was a blast!
 
xc62701

xc62701

Well-Known Member
I finally got the soreness out of my legs and hips from the run at the triathlon. The swelling and bruising in my feet have finally subsided as well. So with that I'm on to my next adventure. Williams Lake.

I haven't been to WL in probably 5 years or more. I remember it being wet, greasy and rooty. I'd like one more good hard effort before Mohican so this is it. I'll hit it hard and get some last minute prep for the 100 and let it fly next weekend.

As for Mohican I feel like my fitness is in a good spot. I'm in the best shape I've been since my knee surgery but I'm still behind form from a few years ago. Weight is holding at 165 and the legs want to go so that's a positive sign. I've done Mohican twice in the 7's and a few in the 8 hour range. I don't know if I'll have a sub 8 race in me, but I'll find out race day.
 
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Patrick

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
fantastic - killed me to miss it (was thinking about being the bike in a relay) - next year.
good luck at WL. crush it.
 
xc62701

xc62701

Well-Known Member
fidodie said:
fantastic - killed me to miss it (was thinking about being the bike in a relay) - next year.
good luck at WL. crush it.
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The relay would have been great! But I guess I like to torture myself too much. I'll do my best at WL. With me there will be 5 at the line as of now. I hope a few more show up on race day.
 
onetracker

onetracker

Well-Known Member
xc62701 said:
Rattling Creek was just as amazing and brutal as I remember. I know they shortened it from the 50 a few years ago to the 60k they have now but I don't think they took any trail out. It seemed just as rugged as ever with less fire road. Still one of my favorite courses ever and such brutal trails. It was great! The first climb was a nice evil 2 miles straight out of the parking lot and I was not into that. I kicked back and rolled in the top 20 and got through a few over the top. Then I blew a turn that could have been more clear and got back on it. I was riding really well when I got into the nasty rocky stuff and came up on @Joe J and a rider behind him. I followed them for a bit but then caught a rock badly as I was too close to the racer behind Joe and flatted. I was pissed but popped off and then realized I haven't ever taken this wheel off my brand new bike. I had to figure out how the tool was stashed - swat storage - and then pull out the thruaxle and get the tire tubed up. I aired it with Co2 and off I went. It took me 6 minutes to change the flat and get rolling again. I started charging again but had to ease up with the tubed rear tire and knowing that was my only tube. I was hoping to get at least a little further before I flatted. It was 40 minutes into the course so I had probably 12 people pass me as I was fixing it.

I did the best I could to get around some but had to wait in the singletrack - which seemed like forever - for the next fireroad to get around and really start charging back. I lost a few more minutes there for sure. I rode well the rest of the time picking off people here or there but then around the 2:30 mark I started to cramp and then from 3 on my power was fading. I just wanted to keep it rolling as fast as I could to get to the finish. I hit the open field just before you start to bomb back down the 2 miles to the finish and it was a welcome sight to see. I must have been going 40+ down that hill and I just pinned it and kept going. I finished 11th in the open, 14th overall and in a time of 3:31. The new bike did well, the legs did pretty well, I just need sturdier tires to keep my ride rolling. They are going on this week in preparation of Mooch for sure.
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Rattling Creek, so good! I love that place.
 
onetracker

onetracker

Well-Known Member
Also a great place to just go, camp and ride. Lots of primitive camping options and camping permits are free.
 
xc62701

xc62701

Well-Known Member
Raced William's Lake today and WON!!!

It's been a while since I've raced there and it was just as greasy and rocky as I remembered. Even better my tires actually stayed inflated today! I worked my way from 6th or so into the singletrack and tried to ride the rocks as smoothly as I could. I picked my way through a few riders and mid way through lap 2 I was alone and not sure if I was chasing a guy or not. I kept the pedal down to try and get this guy and I finally see him mid way through lap 4. I find out he is in the 40-49 group. After getting by him I thought I might be in the lead. I still wasn't sure and didn't want to take any chances. I kept riding hard and just wanted to get to the finish line and then see what the results said. I hit the finish line happy to be done and still upright.

I checked results and yep. I WON!!! It was awesome to see that and realize that my training has been paying off. I didn't know if it would happen after my ACL replacement last year. Endurance is one thing but XC has always been tougher for me to put together a good race. I had one today! Super happy and glad I took the trip north today. What a fun place to ride!
 
xc62701

xc62701

Well-Known Member
Next up in 4 days is the Mohican 100! I'm super happy to be going back to central Ohio to take this one on again. I think this is round 7. My best time was 2012 when I finished in 7:33. Since then the course has changed a bit and each year for weather, terrain, or lack of fitness my time has increased. My last attempt in 2015 was 8:44.

This year I have my goal set as 8:10. It's gonna be a wet mess but that's when I usually place better although times will suffer. I'm excited to race hard in the rain all day. I know the course and know the effort needed to get there. I hope to feel good the day of the race and let it all hang out!
 
xc62701

xc62701

Well-Known Member
Also I went to check over my race bike tonight and I remember during Williams Lake I heard some noise from my brakes I didn't like, and I remember in the first lap some odd resistance when pedaling hard down the rail trail. Turns out my rear brake caliper was totally loose and dragging my rear wheel. I spun the rear wheel and it immediately started slowing down. I set it up correctly and now it's running free like it should. Guess I should have checked that over :x
 
xc62701

xc62701

Well-Known Member
I spent all night debating what to do as far as running a front fender on my Epic without messing up the paint. Tape one on? I have one that uses these rubber bands to hold on and thinking of a bunch of other home made ones as well. Turns out that was pretty key. Looks like the weather may be giving us a break in Ohio. The forecast has since cleared a bit. As long as it stays semi dry I'll be happy. I'm looking for a fast race this time around. I've raced it plenty of times in the rain, scorching heat, etc... I'll take a nice mild dry day for once. For me AND the bike.
 
Mountain Bike Mike

Mountain Bike Mike

Well-Known Member
xc62701 said:
Raced William's Lake today and WON!!!

It's been a while since I've raced there and it was just as greasy and rocky as I remembered. Even better my tires actually stayed inflated today! I worked my way from 6th or so into the singletrack and tried to ride the rocks as smoothly as I could. I picked my way through a few riders and mid way through lap 2 I was alone and not sure if I was chasing a guy or not. I kept the pedal down to try and get this guy and I finally see him mid way through lap 4. I find out he is in the 40-49 group. After getting by him I thought I might be in the lead. I still wasn't sure and didn't want to take any chances. I kept riding hard and just wanted to get to the finish line and then see what the results said. I hit the finish line happy to be done and still upright.

I checked results and yep. I WON!!! It was awesome to see that and realize that my training has been paying off. I didn't know if it would happen after my ACL replacement last year. Endurance is one thing but XC has always been tougher for me to put together a good race. I had one today! Super happy and glad I took the trip north today. What a fun place to ride!
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Congrats on the win and more importantly one hell of a comeback...

Kill it at Mohican!
 
Pearl

Pearl

THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
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or video:
 
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