Darkhorse 40 2011
- Thread starter maddawg
- Start date
Talk about Fat it was my daughters 8th Bday today and we celebrated it with her favorite Dinner Llyods Ribs corn on cob and broccoli followed with a trip to DQ for blizzards. Now I feel ffffFat
Dusty the Whale
Mr.Chainsaw
mitch
soulchild
Well-Known Member
I had been eagerly anticipating, and specifically training for this event to the extent that I think I’ve ridden with my homies 4 times since April (and that’s being generous)... All last week I got extra sleep, ate well, and drank lots of water (no alcohol since the weekend)… everything is everything…
Saturday night head up to NY check into the hotel (found out the next morning I was parked next to Jdog and Kelly)… grab some grub relax and took it down… Sunday morning nice long hot shower and stretch, breakfast and roll out shortly after…
Get there and see my homies and all the familiar faces… I feel good… stage in the group of the first 20 riders or so… we’re off… debacle of dudeman trying to squeeze in and causing a pile up happens just to the right of me but I escape in about 10 seconds and keep moving up the fire road… legs feel unusually good (usually take me a while to warmup – even with an actual warmup)… hit the ST and the first couple of miles are uneventful… things open up shortly after and we’re moving right along… about mile 10 or so I dropped my chain (happens 3 more times first lap and once on second – ngear doesn’t like my oval and tapered seat tube) annoying but no biggie fiddle with it back on and keep it moving each time… lost some places obviously but I’m not overly concerned... back on the bike and press a little each instance to make up some time… somehow with a Camelback and 2 bottles I ran out of water with about a mile to go so I had to take it down…
reach the feed zone and I switched cbaks and bottles and ate a stinger and drank a 24oz bottle and after about 5 mins I was able to compose myself and get back on the hog…
I set off on lap 2 but I apparently left my legs at my cooler 10ft behind me because I almost literally couldn’t pedal… Mandi came up on me about 1 mile into the fire road and asked me if I was ok – I grunted something and she continued on… by the time I reached the ST (18 minutes when I looked at the lap time) both my hamstrings, calves, and quads (not simultaneously) had cramped/were cramping but I know if I stop the day is over (as it almost was already for that asinine pit stop)… I am spinning that 34/34 just praying that they subside for about 2 miles in the ST and a group of about 5 roll by and the legs have come off life support so I latch on to wheel of the last guy with a second wind and press on… over the next couple of miles or so the legs come back to life… I end up passing 3 of them and drop my chain the fourth time… FML… put it back on and continue on… I don’t catch up… continue on…
As if SSF hasn’t already proven it’s gotten the better of me for 1.5 races (rode 2nd lap of SSaP on taco’d wheel) I have done there, while I’m rolling a slight downhill hovering over the saddle I hit a root, the bike jumps, and my weight shifts down onto the saddle and ‘crunch’… broken carbon rails… WHAT THE F***!!!!!!!... my saddle is pitched at this angle “/ “… I get off and gently push it down cringing at the sound of every crunching fiber… and it’s just wobbling there… whatever… 12 miles to go – let’s get the hell out of here and get some food… well those 12 miles proved to be the longest I have ever spent on a bicycle… back on the bike and oh damnit… you can’t sit down… I get about ½ mile when I think to myself that maybe I can balance myself in the middle of the post – and it works! (for like 8 pedal strokes until if fell completely off) F*** YOU!!!!!!! I literally almost started to cry that’s how GD pissed off I was (yeah I said I almost cried GFY!)… the rest of the way I’m on the bike until I cramp and have no strength to even stand (at one point I got on the bike and tipped over into the sticker bushes) then I’m off the bike, on the bike, off the bike and poking myself with with carbon rail shards stuck in the post (because I don’t ride with tools) eventually I get to the last hydration tent and somebody gives me a tool to remove the post… I think it still took another 40 minutes from there to get back…
Getting passed by EVERYONE on the course was GD infuriating…
In closing I’d like to say FU SSF (next year I'm coming to kick ur ass), and I’ll never go through this shit again… next time I’ll call it and go chill with the beer maids… I guess I’m just a stubborn bastard and a glutton for punishment…
Saturday night head up to NY check into the hotel (found out the next morning I was parked next to Jdog and Kelly)… grab some grub relax and took it down… Sunday morning nice long hot shower and stretch, breakfast and roll out shortly after…
Get there and see my homies and all the familiar faces… I feel good… stage in the group of the first 20 riders or so… we’re off… debacle of dudeman trying to squeeze in and causing a pile up happens just to the right of me but I escape in about 10 seconds and keep moving up the fire road… legs feel unusually good (usually take me a while to warmup – even with an actual warmup)… hit the ST and the first couple of miles are uneventful… things open up shortly after and we’re moving right along… about mile 10 or so I dropped my chain (happens 3 more times first lap and once on second – ngear doesn’t like my oval and tapered seat tube) annoying but no biggie fiddle with it back on and keep it moving each time… lost some places obviously but I’m not overly concerned... back on the bike and press a little each instance to make up some time… somehow with a Camelback and 2 bottles I ran out of water with about a mile to go so I had to take it down…
reach the feed zone and I switched cbaks and bottles and ate a stinger and drank a 24oz bottle and after about 5 mins I was able to compose myself and get back on the hog…
I set off on lap 2 but I apparently left my legs at my cooler 10ft behind me because I almost literally couldn’t pedal… Mandi came up on me about 1 mile into the fire road and asked me if I was ok – I grunted something and she continued on… by the time I reached the ST (18 minutes when I looked at the lap time) both my hamstrings, calves, and quads (not simultaneously) had cramped/were cramping but I know if I stop the day is over (as it almost was already for that asinine pit stop)… I am spinning that 34/34 just praying that they subside for about 2 miles in the ST and a group of about 5 roll by and the legs have come off life support so I latch on to wheel of the last guy with a second wind and press on… over the next couple of miles or so the legs come back to life… I end up passing 3 of them and drop my chain the fourth time… FML… put it back on and continue on… I don’t catch up… continue on…
As if SSF hasn’t already proven it’s gotten the better of me for 1.5 races (rode 2nd lap of SSaP on taco’d wheel) I have done there, while I’m rolling a slight downhill hovering over the saddle I hit a root, the bike jumps, and my weight shifts down onto the saddle and ‘crunch’… broken carbon rails… WHAT THE F***!!!!!!!... my saddle is pitched at this angle “/ “… I get off and gently push it down cringing at the sound of every crunching fiber… and it’s just wobbling there… whatever… 12 miles to go – let’s get the hell out of here and get some food… well those 12 miles proved to be the longest I have ever spent on a bicycle… back on the bike and oh damnit… you can’t sit down… I get about ½ mile when I think to myself that maybe I can balance myself in the middle of the post – and it works! (for like 8 pedal strokes until if fell completely off) F*** YOU!!!!!!! I literally almost started to cry that’s how GD pissed off I was (yeah I said I almost cried GFY!)… the rest of the way I’m on the bike until I cramp and have no strength to even stand (at one point I got on the bike and tipped over into the sticker bushes) then I’m off the bike, on the bike, off the bike and poking myself with with carbon rail shards stuck in the post (because I don’t ride with tools) eventually I get to the last hydration tent and somebody gives me a tool to remove the post… I think it still took another 40 minutes from there to get back…
Getting passed by EVERYONE on the course was GD infuriating…
In closing I’d like to say FU SSF (next year I'm coming to kick ur ass), and I’ll never go through this shit again… next time I’ll call it and go chill with the beer maids… I guess I’m just a stubborn bastard and a glutton for punishment…
Last edited:
Dusty the Whale
Mr.Chainsaw
Impressive, Lou. I think most of us would have given up. I know I would have. Way to hang in there and finish what you started son! :getsome:
I captured the pain as you rolled through the finish.
defeated. hurts a bit to see you like this since i can't remember any race where you had any type of sucess let alone some luck. but these build more character than simply riding in the rain😛 long live the black cloud
Dusty the Whale
Mr.Chainsaw
plus side those shades make you look like a Terminator:getsome:
Dusty the Whale
Mr.Chainsaw
trust me..lou is all or nothing type of guy. his cow will come home one day and it will be hard to pick my jaw up off the ground. i tell my dude all the time "a few more things have to fall into place than training alone...imo"
Dusty the Whale
Mr.Chainsaw
you should get in on the "get Lou uncontrollably fired up iPhone text thread"
like i said "all or nothing" that also means "0-120mph" the pieces will fall in his favor...Elite
Wow, Utah are we considered "Elite" I like the sound of that 🙂
You may be Elite and I am "almost elite" 😀
Wow, Utah are we considered "Elite" I like the sound of that 🙂
You may be Elite and I am "almost elite" 😀
Lou you need to rid yourself of all that WW plastic shit and get yourself a good old 30 pound Mary and be happy that fat pig of a bike gets you to the finish line. I learned this lesson way way back that the blingy shit is just that blingy SHIT!
Pampa
Well-Known Member
It looks like I grabbed all the good luck yesterday
If you like the short recaps:
In looking at all the recaps from yesterday it looks like there were a lot of mechanicals, accidents, nutrition issues and other problems. I was lucky not to have any major issues and finished way better than I expected (6th in SS). It was great to see many familiar faces and hang around the mtbnj crew, it made me feel more at home in a race that I never did and I enjoyed it more b/c of that.
If you care for the boring details…
This was my first endurance race this year and have not been riding long distances so I was a bit worried. Well, to tell the truth I didn’t get much sleep the night before 🙂 Anyway, I got to the race, got my number, chit chat a bit with Pearl, Dustin and a few others and went back to the car to try to decide if to do camelback or bottles. I hate bottles b/c I can’t ride w/ one hand or take my eyes out of the road w/o risking crashing. In the end decided to go with both: a bottle w/ energy drink and CB w/ water. I staged a tiny cooler with another bottle and a thermos with some water by the mtbnj area and went for a warmup.
Before our turn to go out I spotted Woody so pull up to him and then got staged by him also. My plan to look for his wheel, or Rob’s or Iggy’s, and try to stay with one of them for as long as I could. We got off and start pedaling like hamsters. Soon a group starts to separate at the front and I hit the turbo to try to stick to it. This part of the race was kind of fun and weird for me. I was like a road race I guess (never done on of those) 10-12 people riding shoulder to shoulder and trying to draft from one another. Even though there some different gearings in the group for sure, the group was still pretty compact for most of the fire road section. Right before entering the ST I told Rob go first so he can set the tone; we were 6 & 7th or something like that.
We rode like this for a few miles keeping 3 other SSpeeders in sight but then those started to pull out a bit. Rob asked me if wanted to go in front but said “no thanks”. At a steep hill I passed Rob since he was in a much harder gear than me and then I felt like I need to go as fast as possible so I would not slow him down and after a while I lost him. In retrospective I should have asked him if he wanted to ride together and try to pull him with me. I realize that now after reading recaps from Utah and other mtbnj guys. I just assumed he was going to catch me soon but after a while my mind was on the next guy ahead and I forgot to be honest. I then came up on a Town Cycle SS rider who looked like he was adjusting the strap of his HR monitor while soft pedaling. I said “on your left” and went for it but then he moved to the left. Instead of breaking I yelled again “on your left” and tried to squeeze by but the guy pulled even more to the left so I went off the ST and over the bars. Luckily I just landed in the bushes w/o any injuries. I was really pissed off and after chasing him I pulled up again and asked him why he didn’t move. He told me he didn’t hear me the first time and the second time he just heard me right before I went out. These things happen and I probably should have waited until he acknowledged he heard me. We then got into a little “fight” and traded positions several times for the rest of the first lap.
Being the inept I am at using bottles I thought the downhill before that steep & long climb on the fire road was a good spot to drink since I didn’t have to pedal. However, I somehow managed to drop my bottle so I had to stop, went back a few meters to grab it and then start climbing w/o momentum, which sucked. I ran out of water a couple of miles before the end of the first lap and also eat my only gel after I ran out of energy drink so I was desperate for some water & food. I got to the rest stop, grabbed a bottle w/ energy drink and start re-filling my CB. This took way too much time and with spills I only managed to get in 40 oz or so of water. I also took a bite of a cereal bar but by now I had seen a couple of people fly by me and Rob, who re-filled quickly, was leaving too so I left right behind him (and forgot to grab a couple of gels).
This is where the race really started for me, in the sense that I knew I could do a ~2hr first lap but I had no idea how for how long I could hold after that. I rode with Rob on the fire road and we caught one of the guys that passed us at the pit stop. This time I got into the ST first and after a while I lost contact with him. Here again maybe I should have waited just a bit so we could ride together but I thought he (and others) would catch up with me when I'd get tired, especially since it seemed I went too fast (for me) on the first lap. When I got that wet and rooty section I clipped a tree and went down hard. I got up and trying to get going in the middle of the roots (instead of walking out of there first) my rear wheels slips on a wet root and I go down again. Shortly after I got going Rob passed me with someone on his wheel. I latch to them and a bit after that I passed them back, I think on a hill.
After that I was a bit on my own (in terms of SS) and feeling OK but really hungry and I had nothing but water. With 4.5 miles to go I was with an empty tank and slowing down. Three geared guys came up on me nad I gave them room on a narrow ST but the last one took to long to pass me (I was just coasting) and I ended up going into the bushes. Not big deal, I got back on the trail and got going but shortly after that I started having these cramps on both my hamstrings in the hills. I’ve never had those before that I can remember. Awful feeling, I was even a bit scared, I thought I was going to pull both muscles. So I started dismounting at the hills and walking them. Then two guys passed me and I could not answer. A little later one more passed me and it was the same. At that point I was in damage control and just trying to finish without losing too many more positions.
It was really nice to hang out with everyone and hear how each one's race went. I also picked several tips for the next one (a second CB and others).
Now I need to get some long rides in before Mooch Madness, and get my hydration/nutrition dialed in too.
See you in a few weeks.
If you like the short recaps:
In looking at all the recaps from yesterday it looks like there were a lot of mechanicals, accidents, nutrition issues and other problems. I was lucky not to have any major issues and finished way better than I expected (6th in SS). It was great to see many familiar faces and hang around the mtbnj crew, it made me feel more at home in a race that I never did and I enjoyed it more b/c of that.
If you care for the boring details…
This was my first endurance race this year and have not been riding long distances so I was a bit worried. Well, to tell the truth I didn’t get much sleep the night before 🙂 Anyway, I got to the race, got my number, chit chat a bit with Pearl, Dustin and a few others and went back to the car to try to decide if to do camelback or bottles. I hate bottles b/c I can’t ride w/ one hand or take my eyes out of the road w/o risking crashing. In the end decided to go with both: a bottle w/ energy drink and CB w/ water. I staged a tiny cooler with another bottle and a thermos with some water by the mtbnj area and went for a warmup.
Before our turn to go out I spotted Woody so pull up to him and then got staged by him also. My plan to look for his wheel, or Rob’s or Iggy’s, and try to stay with one of them for as long as I could. We got off and start pedaling like hamsters. Soon a group starts to separate at the front and I hit the turbo to try to stick to it. This part of the race was kind of fun and weird for me. I was like a road race I guess (never done on of those) 10-12 people riding shoulder to shoulder and trying to draft from one another. Even though there some different gearings in the group for sure, the group was still pretty compact for most of the fire road section. Right before entering the ST I told Rob go first so he can set the tone; we were 6 & 7th or something like that.
We rode like this for a few miles keeping 3 other SSpeeders in sight but then those started to pull out a bit. Rob asked me if wanted to go in front but said “no thanks”. At a steep hill I passed Rob since he was in a much harder gear than me and then I felt like I need to go as fast as possible so I would not slow him down and after a while I lost him. In retrospective I should have asked him if he wanted to ride together and try to pull him with me. I realize that now after reading recaps from Utah and other mtbnj guys. I just assumed he was going to catch me soon but after a while my mind was on the next guy ahead and I forgot to be honest. I then came up on a Town Cycle SS rider who looked like he was adjusting the strap of his HR monitor while soft pedaling. I said “on your left” and went for it but then he moved to the left. Instead of breaking I yelled again “on your left” and tried to squeeze by but the guy pulled even more to the left so I went off the ST and over the bars. Luckily I just landed in the bushes w/o any injuries. I was really pissed off and after chasing him I pulled up again and asked him why he didn’t move. He told me he didn’t hear me the first time and the second time he just heard me right before I went out. These things happen and I probably should have waited until he acknowledged he heard me. We then got into a little “fight” and traded positions several times for the rest of the first lap.
Being the inept I am at using bottles I thought the downhill before that steep & long climb on the fire road was a good spot to drink since I didn’t have to pedal. However, I somehow managed to drop my bottle so I had to stop, went back a few meters to grab it and then start climbing w/o momentum, which sucked. I ran out of water a couple of miles before the end of the first lap and also eat my only gel after I ran out of energy drink so I was desperate for some water & food. I got to the rest stop, grabbed a bottle w/ energy drink and start re-filling my CB. This took way too much time and with spills I only managed to get in 40 oz or so of water. I also took a bite of a cereal bar but by now I had seen a couple of people fly by me and Rob, who re-filled quickly, was leaving too so I left right behind him (and forgot to grab a couple of gels).
This is where the race really started for me, in the sense that I knew I could do a ~2hr first lap but I had no idea how for how long I could hold after that. I rode with Rob on the fire road and we caught one of the guys that passed us at the pit stop. This time I got into the ST first and after a while I lost contact with him. Here again maybe I should have waited just a bit so we could ride together but I thought he (and others) would catch up with me when I'd get tired, especially since it seemed I went too fast (for me) on the first lap. When I got that wet and rooty section I clipped a tree and went down hard. I got up and trying to get going in the middle of the roots (instead of walking out of there first) my rear wheels slips on a wet root and I go down again. Shortly after I got going Rob passed me with someone on his wheel. I latch to them and a bit after that I passed them back, I think on a hill.
After that I was a bit on my own (in terms of SS) and feeling OK but really hungry and I had nothing but water. With 4.5 miles to go I was with an empty tank and slowing down. Three geared guys came up on me nad I gave them room on a narrow ST but the last one took to long to pass me (I was just coasting) and I ended up going into the bushes. Not big deal, I got back on the trail and got going but shortly after that I started having these cramps on both my hamstrings in the hills. I’ve never had those before that I can remember. Awful feeling, I was even a bit scared, I thought I was going to pull both muscles. So I started dismounting at the hills and walking them. Then two guys passed me and I could not answer. A little later one more passed me and it was the same. At that point I was in damage control and just trying to finish without losing too many more positions.
It was really nice to hang out with everyone and hear how each one's race went. I also picked several tips for the next one (a second CB and others).
Now I need to get some long rides in before Mooch Madness, and get my hydration/nutrition dialed in too.
See you in a few weeks.
Dusty the Whale
Mr.Chainsaw
unobtainium